The Farside, the newest season for the hack-and-slash action RPG Undecember, went live on September 10 and changed a long-standing rule about channelled skills. For years, keeping a continuous beam or aura active meant standing still on one tile while enemies closed in. Five channelling skills now keep their effect going while you move, alongside a new roguelike mode, two new skills, and fresh crafting materials.
Quick answer: Flamethrower, Sacred Light, Domain of Strength, Sacred Devotion, and Mana-Infused Sentry can all maintain channelling while you walk. Flamethrower and Sacred Light also auto-target nearby enemies.
Five channelling skills that move with you
The five reworked skills no longer root you in place. Two of them also handle aiming for you, and one gained a straight damage boost on top of the mobility. Here is what each one does after the overhaul.
| Skill | What changed |
|---|---|
| Flamethrower | Channels while moving, auto-targets nearby enemies |
| Sacred Light | Channels while moving, auto-targets nearby enemies |
| Domain of Strength | Moves while building charge, damage substantially increased |
| Sacred Devotion | Channels while moving, aimed at summoner builds |
| Mana-Infused Sentry | Channels while moving, aimed at summoner builds |
Flamethrower and Sacred Light previously forced you to stand still and manually point them at enemies. Now they lock onto targets near the caster automatically. Domain of Strength addresses two old pain points at once: you can reposition while stacking charge, and its output is much higher than before. Sacred Devotion and Mana-Infused Sentry mainly help summoner builds, which tend to leave the caster fragile, by letting you strengthen your summons while dodging.
New channelling runes and Zodiac nodes
The overhaul comes with support built specifically for channelling. New channelling-exclusive Link Runes reward the new mobility, and there is an upgraded Trigger Rune plus two new Zodiac Specializations.
- Haste: converts Movement Speed into damage.
- Overconsumption: damage climbs the longer you keep channelling.
- The Link Rune that triggers a Spell during channelling now has a 100% chance to fire its Spell every cycle.
- Void Specialization: periodically creates Shadows while channelling.
- Bloom Specialization: grants extra effects the longer channelling is sustained.
Two new skills: Divine Punishment and Charged Shot
Divine Punishment
Divine Punishment is a Lightning-attribute Spell and a channelling skill in its own right. While channelling is held, it repeatedly strikes enemies in range with lightning bolts, and landing a Critical Hit triggers an additional strike. It is built to scale through the new channelling-exclusive Link Runes and Zodiac Specializations.
Charged Shot
Charged Shot is a Bowgun-exclusive skill that charges for a set time before firing a single powerful round. You cannot move while charging, and the longer you hold, the stronger the shot. The trade-off is timing: commit to a longer charge for more damage, or release early to stay flexible.
Agony Wave, the new roguelike wave-defense mode
Agony Wave is the season’s headline activity. You enter it from Saluto, and getting in requires an Agony Key, which drops from a Chaos Dungeon Boss. Inside, normal monsters keep spawning, and defeating them fills a gauge that summons a Wave Boss. Clear the required number of bosses to advance, with higher waves demanding more of them. Normal monsters keep spawning even while a boss is present, so a refilled gauge can put several bosses on screen at once.
After each wave you pick one of three options, and every option pairs a Blessing with a Curse. Blessings can raise rewards or add combat help, while Curses raise difficulty or cut rewards. A limited-use Reroll swaps out an unwanted set of options, and a limited-use Ban stops a specific option from reappearing. Only bosses drop Agony Shards, which you spend at the end to choose a final reward chest. Richer chests cost more Shards, so each wave’s choices carry weight.
New Essences for runes and gear
The season adds several Essences for rune growth and gear crafting. Spica and Casthor can both be obtained from Agony Wave.
| Essence | Effect |
|---|---|
| Spica | Grows Runes Lv. 31+ past the cap, up to Lv. 45 or higher |
| Casthor | Multiplies gear Quality and Option values (double or half) |
| Casthor Revitalization | Restores a piece of gear’s remaining Casthor uses |
| [The Forge] Birth | Rerolls options so at least one Forge option is included |
| [The Forge] Imbue | Guarantees a Forge option on a piece of gear |
Spica has three outcomes when used, Growth, Retention, and Failure, with Growth and Failure sharing equal odds, and a failed attempt can drop the rune one stage. Casthor only works on Rare-grade gear or higher and its multipliers can stack, but any gear it touches becomes untradeable and can no longer take other Essence types. Each piece has a set number of Casthor uses that only Casthor Revitalization can top up.
Replaced options from Casthor always come in at the highest Tier and can appear even if they overlap with existing options.
Quality-of-life and system changes
Several long-standing routines are streamlined this season. The biggest is where you farm Zodiac Stones.
- The Constellation of Time is folded into the Chaos Dungeon; a random Traces of Time event now grants Zodiac Stones and Emotions, and Chaos Points can force the event to occur.
- Zodiac Pass-exclusive materials now give double the Essence drop boost they used to.
- Rune Cast Preset saves a rune layout and rebuilds it from runes you own across your Compendium, Storage, and Inventory.
- The Koko’s Great Adventure in-game event returns.
A saved Rune Cast Preset records each rune’s position and its unique details, then re-equips them automatically when you load it. If a rune is unavailable, for example sold or equipped on another character, that slot simply stays empty, since a preset finds runes rather than storing them. Together with the channelling rework, the changes push The Farside toward builds that can keep dealing damage while staying mobile.
