LifeAfter Season 8-Midnight Starfire

[Fortune Festival]
From January 16th to January 30th at 8 AM, the Fortune Festival will grandly commence amidst the flickering flames of the bonfire! In the first week, craft the Ultra-Infected Scarecrow, and during the Wonderful Grand Celebration on January 21st in the second week, collaborate with other Survivors to destroy the scarecrow, symbolizing the dispelling of infection and praying for blessings for yourself and your companions!
1. Ultra-Infected Scarecrow: The Ultra-Infected Scarecrow is an essential prop for participating in the celebration! To ensure every Survivor has one, the Federation has delivered scarecrow boxes to your doorstep. After the January 16th update, return home to claim your Ultra-Infected Scarecrow Box. The scarecrow features both decorative and target functions—carry it around, place it anywhere, and test real-time damage. During the Fortune Festival, participate in special events to customize your scarecrow’s appearance. At the end of the festival, you’ll receive a scarecrow furniture piece matching your customization. The Ultra-Infected Scarecrow furniture retains its target function—place an "infected creature" at home and take out your frustrations on it whenever you're in a bad mood!
2. Crafting the Ultra-Infected Scarecrow: From January 16th to January 30th at 8 AM, defeat Mystic Creatures in the wild to obtain infected materials from them, which can be used to craft decorative components for the Ultra-Infected Scarecrow. Straw hats, drills, wings, tails… design a one-of-a-kind "infected creature"! Unlock entries in the Decoration Index to earn the exclusive emote: "A Little Battered." During the Fortune Festival, Fortune Bonfires are set up near the spawning locations of Mystic Creatures. Spend Wood to repair the bonfires and activate the Fortune effect, which grants free Ammo Boxes and a 100% durability cost reduction.
3. Preparing the Celebration Venue: From January 16th to January 30th at 8 AM, Rachel will be preparing the celebration venue at the camp Downtown and Hope 101. Plant crops listed in the Manor Manual and receive additional Celebration Petals upon harvest. Track down Mystic Creatures in the wild to obtain infection resources. Donate both resources to Rachel to assist in preparing the celebration and earn rewards such as the Avatar Frame: Bonfire Blessing, Card Frame: Bonfire Blessing, and Avatar: Let’s Pray Together. Participation can be individual or camp-based. If participating as a camp, additional limited-time Downtown camp looks will be unlocked. Decorated camps will trigger extra hit effects when attacking ultra-infected scarecrows in target practice mode within the camp area.
4. Participate in the Wonderful Grand Celebration: On January 21 at 19:30, the Wonderful Grand Celebration officially begins. From January 21 to January 29, every night, bring the Ultra-Infected Scarecrow to Downtown or Hope 101 to join the celebration. Place the scarecrow around the central Bonfire and work together with other Survivors to destroy it, dispelling infections and blessing yourselves and your companions! During the celebration, attacking the Ultra-Infected Scarecrow does not consume weapon or drone durability. The first time you break your own Super Infected Scarecrow during the celebration,  you will receive generous rewards.
5. Celebration Shop: Participate in the Fortune Festival events to earn Celebration Shop tokens. These tokens can be exchanged in the Shop for various Mutation Cores, the limited title: Cross Paths with Grapefruit, Chase Away Misfortune! the limited Headwear: Sunny Grapefruit, and Paso Fino.

[Events Recommendation]
1. Premium Collection: From January 16th to February 12th at 8:00 AM, the Collector's Edition outfits "Red Lotus Hellfire," weapon skins "Flaming Serpent Spear," and portable vehicles "Wind Fire Wheels" are coming back! Additionally, the vehicle "Apollo's Chariot," projection "Celestial Inferno," backpack "Universe Within," Collector's Edition outfits "Galactic Love" and "Azure Abyss," as well as skins like "Arc EM Collector's Edition," and drone skins "Gleam," "Spirit Jade," and "Polaris" will be available for a limited time in the Premium Shop! During the event, spending Astral Gems will also grant you Celestial Keys as Gacha items.
2. Secret Store: From January 16 to February 1, the New Year-themed looks return—"refresh" to find your favorite items!
3. Frostwhisper Reverie: From January 22nd at 8:00 AM to February 5th at 3:00 AM, listen to the whispers of falling snow and immerse yourself in a crystal-clear icy dream. Participate in the Frostwhisper Reverie wheel for a chance to win outfits like "Frostwhisper Reverie," headwear "Stellar Frost Crown," weapon skins "Snowkissed Twin Stars," Ice Crown Coins, and other rare items. The guaranteed clear count has been reduced from 120 to 100 spins.
4. Limited Chip Selection: From January 22 at 8:00 to February 5 at 3:00, the new attack chip - Coverage Strike debuts! Within the first 160 rewards obtained in Advanced Research, you are guaranteed to receive a Premium Chip Optional Chest. The chest contains two Premium Chips: Coverage Strike and Perseverance. During the event, the cost for researches is discounted for a few times!
5. Consumer Squad: From January 16th at 8:00 AM to January 30th at 8:00 AM, form a squad and participate in events like "Frostwhisper Reverie" and "Premium Collection" to accumulate squad points and unlock generous rewards!

[Profession Co-creation Season Adjustments]
After the profession refashion, we received a large number of co-creation suggestions from Survivors. Based on your feedback and the performance data of each profession, we have implemented the following balance adjustments and bug fixes. Some optimizations are still in progress and will be released in the late January update. We welcome your continued feedback and co-creation efforts.
Rifleman:
1.  To allow the "Relentless Pursuit" trait to be compatible with more types of light weapons and deliver more consistent performance even at low hit rates, we have increased the cooldown reduction granted per hit and raised its maximum cap.
2. Slightly increased the accumulation speed of the overload value for the trait "Overloaded Magazine".
3. Fixed an issue where the same target could be suppressed multiple times in a short period by the trait "Ambush".
4. Fixed an issue where auto-reloading during the active skill "Electric Surge" of Mimicry would reset the overload value.
5. Fixed an issue where the trait "Overloaded Magazine" would abnormally deduct bullets when using the Flamethrower.
Sniper:
1. In response to survivor's feedback regarding delayed talent unlock levels, and considering the Sniper's performance across various game modes, we have brought forward the unlock levels for the "Precision Shot" and "Demolition Expert" talent abilities.
2. Due to the Sniper's Devastation ability underperforming, we have added a new talent called "Fatal Finish" to increase damage dealt to Devastated targets.
3. The trigger condition for the current trait "Farewell Gift" was too strict, so we added a base attribute boost to it.
4. Now, upon upgrading "Devastating Reload" to "Shield Smash", it can also trigger the same damage boost as "Devastating Reload".
5. Fixed an issue where using effects like "Devastating Reload" while crouching and aiming with a Sniper Rifle or charging a Howitzer would interrupt the process of scope in.
Warrior:
1. In some cases, the Survivor's Movement Speed could drop to extremely low levels, which resulted in overly poor experience for Warriors who must engage in close combat. After this adjustment, the Warrior's Core Talent "Martial Arts Expert" will now also increase their minimum Movement Speed when triggered by injury reduction.
2. The trigger condition for the trait "Boulder Strike" was too strict, so we added an additional base trigger probability.
3.Fixed an issue where the continuous barrier of the trait "Steady and Firm" would deactivate when knocked back.
4. Fixed an issue where the trait "Phantom Veil" sometimes failed to trigger its effect.
Serologist:
1. We fixed the inconsistency between the actual effect and description of the talent "Serum Expert" and increased the enhancement ratio of the Diffuser's recovery effect.
2. Fixed an issue where some weapons caused abnormal or even no Toxin DMG.
3. Fixed an issue where the trait "Dual Solvent" would sometimes fail to work.
Spore Hunter:
1. Using the talent "Recovery Spore" to remove severe injuries will no longer result in entering a Feeble State.
2. Fixed the discrepancy between the text descriptions and actual effects of the Agility Spore movement speed buff and Hyperactivity Spore damage buff in the status bar.
Ark Knight:
1. Compared to before, Ark Knights now rely more on Resonance Bullets, but the cooldown was too long. Therefore, we slightly reduced the base cooldown time of Resonance Bullets.
2. The movement speed boost provided by the trait "Swift Ranger" was insufficient to effectively synergize with other movement speed-related effects. We increased the movement speed boost when "Swift Ranger" is triggered.
3. The current talent "Powered Bullet" requires too much movement speed buff to be effective. As a result, we increased the conversion ratio of speed buff into damage buff.
4. Next-gen Arsenal effect improved.
5. Increased the indirect damage value of the trait "Heterogeneous Impact" and reduced the number of attacks required to trigger it.
6. Fixed an issue where the trait "Quick Draw" might trigger manual reloading after switching weapons under certain circumstances.
Exorcist:
1. The trait "Bone-Biting Strike" did not align well with the Faction's playstyle. Therefore, we adjusted the effects of this trait when learned by Exorcists.
2. The activation conditions for the trait "Desperate Survival" were too strict. We relaxed the activation conditions and renamed the trait to "Curse Revival".
Logger, Miner, Hemp Picker:
1. To increase the usage of Tactical Chainsaws and Distraction Grenades, we extended their duration and reduced their cooldown.
2. To make the trait "Silent Step Concealment" more useful, additional Attributes are now granted while concealed.
3. Fixed an issue where the PC version of the Tactical Chainsaw skill "Chainsaw Heavy Slash" had no hotkey assigned.
Gun Maker, Armorer, Upholsterer:
1. To enhance the effectiveness of summoned units like Sentry Turrets and Mechanical Spiders, we improved the resistance of Tactical Gear against area damage.
2. Fixed an issue where the Mechanical Spider's damage was abnormally low.
Other Adjustments and Improvements:
1. To help Survivors better recognize their status, we optimized the visual effects of debuffs such as Paralysis, Freeze, Confusion, and Suppression.
2. Optimized the Max Fullness settings; when entering certain PVP scenarios, Max Fullness will now automatically be set to full instead of 100.
3. Improved the descriptions of some talents to make them easier to understand.
4. Fixed the incorrect description of the Gathering Team's exclusive resource profession level.
5. Fixed the inconsistency between the described and actual effects of Hyperactivity Spore in the part-time description of the trait "Mutation Spore."
6. Fixed the issue where the part-time effect of the trait "Cursed Combo" sometimes failed to activate.
7. Fixed the issue where the magazine sometimes didn't fully reload after switching weapons with the "Quick Draw" trait in certain situations.
8. Fixed the issue where the Devastation effect could not be removed in certain situations.
9.Fixed the abnormal duration of the Knockdown effect caused by Thump.

[Mimicry Adjustment]
1. When using the active skill "Mimicry Swamp Burst," the swamp can only be detonated once every 0.1 seconds.
2. Fixed the issue where the active skill "Pressure Waterbomb" continuously caused knockback during its duration.

[Death High Season 25]
1. From January 16 to February 22, 2026, Death High Season 25 will officially begin! The Corruption Crisis sweeps through Death High, bringing numerous distorted Corrupt Infected to the stages. Survivors, prepare your Acid Mutation Cores to combat them! Additionally, some floors will feature distorted Infected, so hone your counterattack skills and be ready!
2. The new season of Death High features a total of 320 floors. Challenging these floors yields abundant rewards, including limited-edition Dusk Pink - Glow Stick, Dusk Pink season furniture, Dusk Pink season spray paint, and Dusk Star season backpack.
"3. To ensure the fairness of the Death High competition, this season introduces the Royal Knight video verification rules. The specific rules are as follows:
a. Video verification will be triggered in challenges from and above Floor 305. After uploading, the verification video can be downloaded and viewed by other Survivors on the leaderboard. If the video is non-compliant (e.g., tampered footage, displaying prohibited content) or contains actions that undermine fairness (e.g., third-party software exploits, critical bugs), the Survivor's current season Death High results will be invalidated.
b. Verification method: Select ""Enable Video Recording"" at the start of the challenge. After completion, the video can be uploaded via the clearance interface or manually by the Survivor on the Death High event page.
c. For Royal Knight tier rankings, leaderboard placement will prioritize verified video results. Unverified Survivors will only be added if the leaderboard lacks sufficient entries.
d. If technical issues prevent in-game verification, Survivors may manually record their gameplay before 23:59 on 2/22/2026 and submit the video + server + character ID to customer service or email mrzh_fsgx@163.com for manual verification.
e. Manual recordings must cover the entire gameplay from entering the elevator to the results screen and must display full-screen game information. These videos will also be listed on the leaderboard."
4. Challenging Death High rewards you with Death High Core Optional Chests (Corruption Crisis Season) and a large number of Mutation Droplets. The Death High Core Optional Chest contains non-tradable Mutation Cores: Acid Flow, Acid Echoes, and Rusted Blade. Clearing floors with distorted Infected grants extra challenge rewards, aiding Survivors in overcoming this Death High crisis (Mutation Cores, Mutation Droplets, and extra distorted challenge rewards cannot be claimed multiple times via weekly dividends).
5. Mimicry, Blue Fire Solvent, and the Assist feature remain available, enabling Survivors to utilize powerful Mimicry to team up and ascend higher floors. Accumulated participation in combat assists yields exclusive titles, delicate repair vouchers, and other rewards.
6. Mirrored High is open up to the 70th underground floor, with challenges available in units of 10 floors. As Survivors progress through the tower, more challenges will gradually unlock. Completing Mirrored High challenges can earn rewards such as Rescuer Badges.
7. In daily Area Operations, the Mutation Core Chest will rotate to the Mutation Core Chest (Acid).

[Winter Pass Officially Launched]
1. From January 16 to March 8, the Winter Pass is officially launched. Complete pass quests to earn valuable rewards such as Optional Enhancement Materials, Accessory Chests, and SSR Acid Core Optional Chests!
2. Unlock the Upgraded Pass to gain Quest Speed-up privileges, along with exclusive rewards like the Outfit - Pure Joy Delicacy, Non-firearm Skin - Sweet & Savory, and more! Upgrade to the Premium version to receive additional perks like Pass Discount Coupons!
3. The Premium Upgraded Pass now includes the Death High Dash privilege. Upon unlocking, floors previously limited to SPD+ can now be dashed through.

[Gear Crafting Optimization]
1. To improve the early-game experience for Survivors, we have reduced the material costs for crafting, repairing, and Dismantling certain gear below level 48 after the update.
2. After the update, crafted gear will now display the time of its creation.

[Other Improvements]
1. Optimized the Winter Season artisan experience: Actions like Winter Season pickle mixing now more noticeably increase the master rate, while also reducing the failure rate of smoked livestock.
2. Increased the daily EXP cap for Winter Season artisans to help them grow faster. With the upcoming honey-collecting gameplay, more Winter Coin benefits will be added during the winter break. Stay tuned!
3. To make mature animal management easier, a batch-recycle feature has been added to livestock pens for animals that are mature and no longer productive.
4. To reduce UI clutter, more gameplay panels have been optimized and integrated into the Quest Bar. Enable this via [Operation Settings] - [Consolidate Top-Left Objectives into Quest Bar Panel].