Back on August 19, Game of Thrones: Kingsroad rolled out a hefty update expanding equipment tiers and tweaking class balances. Naturally, this sent power scores skyrocketing and shook up the job distribution nicely. Let us dive right in and break down what actually shifted.

The Assassin Dethrones the Knight in Share

Unlike past balance patches that came and went quietly, this latest round of tweaks actually provoked an immediate reaction. First off, the Mercenary class is finally feeling a lot smoother in actual combat after developers mercifully deleted the rage acquisition penalty on the chronic annoyance known as the 'Rampage' skill. Meanwhile, the Assassin scored some genuinely neat buffs, including enhanced utility on the 'Backstep' skill and a damage boost triggered upon removing 'Rupture' stacks.

The community welcomed these changes with open arms, and the hard data backs it up. Looking at the class distribution within the 'Altar of the Abyss' rankings, both the Mercenary and Assassin saw their shares climb concurrently. Most impressively, the Assassin pulled off a major upset by surpassing the Knight's share for the first time in six long weeks.

Of course, one could argue that the Altar of the Abyss difficulty has failed to keep pace with the sheer stat inflation of the player base, leaving the rankings a bit lacking in distinction. However, with today's update introducing a brand-new 'Hard mode' designed to test the absolute limits of top-tier rankers, you can safely look forward to next week's rankings where true skill and a fresh meta will violently collide.

Meanwhile, the jump in equipment tiers has drastically raised the power threshold required just to crack the rankings. The record for the number one spot hit 313,939, shooting up by a staggering 42,136 in a single week. Even the gatekeeper guarding the 100th spot saw an increase of 16,429, landing at 208,263—so keep that in mind if you are currently grinding your way up the ladder.

A Wider Spread of Relics to Choose From

Relics received a rather sweeping performance overhaul in this balance patch. For starters, casting certain relic skills now grants hit and stagger immunity, vastly improving combat stability and operational convenience. Furthermore, numerical buffs were handed out to six class-exclusive relics, while awkward options like simple groggy damage modifiers were converted into outright damage increases, breathing practical life into previously dubious choices.

Naturally, these shifts wasted no time reflecting in the rankings. The metrics show a sharp surge in the adoption rate of the 'Twin Axes' across all classes. Moving away from the old duopoly held by the 'Warrior's Son Skull' and the 'Bloody Towel', the Twin Axes have rapidly emerged as a formidable challenger. Aside from boosting critical damage through relic skills, the weapon boasts a neat synergy that simultaneously fills the rage gauge of both the user and party members upon promotion, not to mention the high base stats inherent to upper-tier legendary relics.

On the passive relic front, the variety in Mercenary choices stands out the most. While other classes stubbornly stick to 'Letter of Corso Scholar' as a staple, the Mercenary class is actively testing various setups in actual combat, led by 'Andal Tunic' alongside 'Ice Hilt' and 'Broken Sword'. As we roll into the second week following these balance adjustments, we can expect a clearer picture of the definitive end-game relics for Mercenaries to emerge soon.