The first major update for Balatro, 1.0.1, is available for public testers on Steam, and will debut publicly within the coming weeks. The update brings changes
Making the tags make their jokers free is such a welcome addition! The amount of times I skipped, won, and then had a joker be ridiculously expensive for the early game has made me ignore these tags unless I'm already rich (at which point I probably have all the jokers I need anyways).
Added toggle for 'Reduced Motion', removing the swirly background and gyrating card motion
Judging by other comments online people seem to love the aesthetic, but I IMMEDIATELY turned off the CRT, scanlines, and screen shaking settings. It was just too much for me. I'm so happy they're letting me take out the last thing that is fucking with my vision after a long play session.
Changed the first shop in every run to always include a normal Buffoon pack as one of the pack options
I think this is a good change too. Might still be a little RNG reliant, but this definitely helps when more often than not, I restart the run after taking a look at the first couple of shops.
Upcoming blinds/tags can now be seen in the shop immediately after defeating a boss blind/cashing out
Also a worthy change.
Changed Fibonacci - costs $8 instead of $7, because Fibonacci
lol
Changed Seance - Now uncommon and $6, was rare and $7
Awww, I'm disappointed that the Magic TCG reference is now a little less on the nose.
Overall there's a LOT of balance changes in here. I'm a little concerned that LocalThunk might have bitten off more than he could chew. Especially given that the blinds' base values have been reduced to make the game easier. Though, is it to make it "easier" or "less RNG heavy?" I guess we'll find out soon enough.
Easier but more interesting, and more of a solid foundation to build high end challenges on top of. 1.0 Gold Stake was not a fun experience, it was pushing the game to a breaking point. Now Gold Stake is a challenging but reasonably balanced feeling mode. Maybe not quite as hard as a top difficulty should be, but now the systems are in place to support extending the difficulties further.
Most of these changes are welcome. The Swashbuckler change feels weird since it removes some strategy. Joker positioning is actually important and fun, so removing effects that enforce that mechanic is a little sad for me.
Guaranteeing a joker booster pack in the first store is a very necessary change since RNG on even getting a joker has screwed more than one run for me, but at the same time it almost feels like a required purchase which indicates some sort of design flaw.
The Swashbuckler change feels weird since it removes some strategy.
No, Swashbuckler change was a well-needed buff. The amount of times I've had to just ditch Swashbuckler because it wants me to put it to the right of a X mult was frustrating. Often, I was left with a near-useless +5 multi joker, since the good X mult jokers were rares.