Granblue Fantasy Relink's Endless Ragnarok DLC showcased their new Primal Burst and Summoning mechanics during its latest Open Beta Test. See what these mechanics add to the game and what other content is featured in our article!
Granblue Fantasy Relink: Endless Ragnarok New Features Revealed in OBT
Work With Your Team to Unleash Primal Burst
One of the main new features missing from the previous Closed Beta is the Primal Burst mechanic. This is an upgraded version of the base game’s Full Burst, which is triggered when multiple characters activate their Skybound Arts within a short window of each other. However, to pull off a Primal Burst, all four party members must use their Skybound Arts.
Primal Burst is primarily a visual and numerical upgrade, featuring a Primal Beast such as Bahamut who will join in on the fight. However, it does not completely replace Full Burst; Primal Burst utilizes its own meter that accumulates independently of the characters' Skybound Arts Gauges.
Summoning: New Combat Mechanics
Another feature added for players to use is Summoning. These are a set of skills that, similar to Skybound Arts, become available once enough of the summoning charges are full. However, unlike Skybound Arts, players can freely control the summons within its limited scope and time limit. For example, summoning Furycane allows players to continuously attack and pressure enemies in an area, while summoning Nazarbonju provides ranged damage and Glaciate (freeze) effects.
Another difference between Summoning and Skybound Arts is that the former cannot be chained into a combo. This means each player is free to time their summons without feeling obligated to trigger them immediately after a teammate. However, there is an optimal summoning order, as the cost of subsequent summons is reduced depending on the cost of the summon before it. Therefore, using lower-cost summons before high-cost ones is recommended.
New-ish Playtest Stage
The Open Beta also provides a sneak peek at a new stage and boss that may be implemented as part of a new quest or the Conflux Mode area. It features the same arena and a reskinned version of the boss from the base game’s Golemology 101: Desert Golems stage. More importantly, the stage name (Sephira’s Sanguine Glimmer) and the boss name (Aquila Ruby Golem) may hint to Granblue enthusiasts as to what the expansion DLC will contain.
The fight itself is quite difficult, as the recommended Power is roughly 33% higher than the maximum players can reach using the provided characters and equipment in the Open Beta. However, with proper use of Primal Burst and Summons, victory is certainly possible.
Returning Features: What Carried Over from the CBT?
Beatrix Returns: The Contractor of Embrasque
Just as in the Closed Beta, Beatrix returns as Relink’s poster girl for the upcoming roster of playable characters.
In contrast to her counterpart, Zeta, who values precision and timing, Beatrix facilitates a far more reckless playstyle. She is a melee DPS with a core gimmick revolving around the Delta Clock. This allows her to switch between three buff states: Attack (Red), Defense (Yellow), and Healing (Green). It also allows her to enter Devour Causality mode when her Embrasque Gauge is full, gaining increased attack speed and enhanced combos, as well as access to unique attack options.
Unlike certain characters that rely strictly on maintaining momentum, Zeta included, Beatrix is easier to manage. Her Embrasque Gauge, for example, fills primarily by landing combo finishers and hitting link attacks. As these occur naturally over the course of a fight, resource accumulation feels frictionless.
However, she does have her kinks. Activating her Devour Causality is a minor headache, as it is bound to the same button used for cycling Delta Clock buffs. Consequently, it is rather easy to miss the desired buff. Furthermore, the OBT’s lack of a Masteries system makes it difficult to judge exactly where Beatrix will fit among the existing roster.
Cross-Play Support Across All Platforms
Considering that the Open Beta’s main goal is to test networking, it makes sense for cross-play functionality to return. Is it smooth? For the most part, yes. I, for one, was only disconnected once after a couple dozen runs testing Beatrix.
That is a promising success ratio!
What’s more, cross-play between platforms is also seamless, even when Steam is connecting with console players. Hopefully, this will allow more players to experience Cygames’ underappreciated ARPG together.
Classic Stages for Playtesting
The three quests featured in the Closed Beta return once again for the OBT. These are Protect Our Woods, I See a Deathly Vision, and Hide and Chic, which pit you against a gauntlet of mobs, Gerasene, and the Blizzadile, respectively. In essence, these stages were pulled from the original game with tweaked difficulty levels so that a party of level 10 characters can challenge them. Thus, long-time players should have no trouble clearing them again.
Missing Content: Modes and Characters Yet to Be Featured
Roguelike Mode: Conflux
Unfortunately, the Open Beta does not include the expansion’s upcoming Conflux Mode. While it’s understandable, given that the playtest is focused on stressing networking and cross-play, it remains a disappointment as it is one of the major content additions to the base experience.
This also means there is no hint as to whether Conflux will remain a single-player experience or if Cygames has considered allowing co-op functionality.
Maglielle, Gallanza, and Eustace Still on the Bench
Among the first batch of new characters coming to Relink, only Beatrix has been made playable. Characters still on the bench include Maglielle and Gallanza (prominent antagonists from the base game) and Eustace (from the broader Granblue Fantasy franchise).
New Quests, Bosses, and the Chaos Difficulty
According to promotional materials, Granblue Fantasy Relink: Endless Ragnarok will feature approximately 160 quests in total. Whether this means they are adding 160 new quests, or adding 40 to the roughly 120 already in the base game, is still unknown. Regardless, even the latter would be a massive improvement to Relink’s overall replayability, as most current quests are rarely repeated once players reach the last parts of the post-game.
It is also uncertain if the only new quest featured in the OBT, Sephira’s Sanguine Glimmer, will make it into the final DLC release or if it is a playtest-exclusive stage.
Continuation of Relink’s Story
Lastly, the next part of Granblue Fantasy Relink’s story isn’t at all featured in the OBT. So, players are still in the dark as to what happens after beating up Lilith and Angra Mainyu.
