The Farside is live for UNDECEMBER with Agony Wave, moving channelling skills, new Essences, Skill Runes, dungeon consolidation, and returnee rewards. Here is what lapsed action RPG players gain by reinstalling.
Image: pocketgamer.com
The Farside is live, and its sharpest change is aimed at old build pain
UNDECEMBER’s new season, The Farside, launched on September 10, according to LINE Games’ press release carried by Games Press, and the most immediately readable change for returning action RPG players is simple: five existing channelling skills can now move while maintaining their channel.
Pocket Gamer reports that Flamethrower, Sacred Light, Domain of Strength, Sacred Devotion, and Mana-Infused Sentry now keep firing while the player walks. LINE Games’ own press release lists the same five names and describes the change as a significant improvement to existing Channeling Skills. Inven Global, citing LINE Games, also reports the overhaul, though its translated article names the fifth skill as Enchanted Sentry rather than Mana-Infused Sentry. Given that both Pocket Gamer and the LINE Games press release use Mana-Infused Sentry, that appears to be the safer name in English, but the discrepancy is worth noting for players checking older rune terminology or localized client text.
That one systems change gives The Farside a clearer hook than a seasonal activity alone. Channelling skills in action RPGs often ask players to trade movement for sustained damage, which can feel punishing in dense dungeon rooms or boss patterns. The confirmed change does not say these skills have been buffed numerically, and the sources do not provide damage values, cooldown changes, or exact balance tables. What is confirmed is mechanical: these five builds are no longer rooted in place by their core action. For lapsed players who left a channelling character parked because the feel of combat lagged behind the fantasy, this is the season’s cleanest invitation back.
Agony Wave turns Chaos Dungeon progress into a new seasonal loop
The new headline mode in Undecember The Farside is Agony Wave, described by LINE Games, Inven Global, Pocket Gamer, and Kongbakpao as roguelike wave-defense content. Access begins in Saluto, but it is not an always-open menu activity. LINE Games says players need an Agony Key, obtained by defeating a Chaos Dungeon Boss, before entering. Inven Global’s translated report uses the terms Erosion Key and Erosion Fragments, while the LINE Games press release and Pocket Gamer use Agony Key and Agony Shards. That looks like a translation or localization mismatch rather than a design difference, but players should expect the in-game client to settle the naming.
The structure is straightforward from the publisher’s description. Players defeat normal monsters to fill a gauge, then face the Wave Boss that appears. After each cleared wave, they choose one of three options. Each option combines a Blessing and a Curse. LINE Games also says players get a limited-use removal option for unwanted choices, which means the mode is not pure random acceptance, but it still builds runs around tradeoffs rather than fixed route planning.
For returning players, the important detail is how Agony Wave plugs into existing progression. Because the entry item comes from Chaos Dungeon bosses, The Farside is not asking endgame players to abandon the familiar dungeon spine. It adds a secondary loop on top of Chaos Dungeon clears: farm the key, run the wave mode, collect shards, choose a final reward chest, and chase the newly added Essences. That gives the season a recognizable action RPG rhythm, though players already tired of roguelike modifiers and wave arenas should read the Blessing-and-Curse system as a taste warning rather than a guaranteed cure for repetition.
The new Essences target rune growth, gear quality, and Forge options
The Farside’s progression additions are concentrated in Essences, which matter because UNDECEMBER’s identity is built around runes, gear modification, and layered character construction. LINE Games says the season adds Spica, Casthor, [The Forge] Birth, and [The Forge] Imbue as new Essences obtainable through gameplay. Pocket Gamer and Inven Global report the same set, with minor naming differences around the Forge label.
The effects are specific enough to tell returning players where the grind points. Spica grows Runes at level 31 and above. Casthor applies a multiplier to a gear item’s Quality and Option values, according to the LINE Games press release. [The Forge] Birth guarantees that a [The Forge] Option is included when options are re-rolled, while [The Forge] Imbue guarantees that a [The Forge] Option is granted.
Those are not cosmetic rewards. They speak to late-progression friction: pushing runes past earlier growth breakpoints, improving gear rolls, and reducing uncertainty around a particular option family. The sources do not state drop rates, seasonal exclusivity, crafting costs, or whether these Essences will remain available after The Farside ends. That leaves an important practical question unanswered for completion-focused players. If the Essences are scarce, Agony Wave becomes a targeted farm. If they are reasonably available, the season may shorten some of the build-correction work that keeps lapsed players from rebuilding an old account.
Two new Skill Runes also arrive with the season: Divine Punishment and Charged Shot. The provided sources confirm their names but do not describe their tags, elements, scaling, weapon requirements, or intended build archetypes. Until official skill data or player testing fills that in, it is safer to treat them as new build candidates rather than proven meta replacements.
Dungeon consolidation and presets reduce some returnee friction
The Farside update also includes housekeeping changes that may matter as much as its new mode for anyone returning after a long break. LINE Games says the Constellation of Time Dungeon has been merged into Chaos Dungeons. Pocket Gamer describes Constellation of Time as having been folded into the Chaos Dungeon, while Inven Global reports the same integration.
That consolidation changes the shape of the endgame menu. The sources do not spell out every reward conversion or whether any old unlock requirements changed, so it would be premature to call this a simplification across the entire economy. Still, folding a separate dungeon into Chaos Dungeons suggests LINE Games is concentrating more activity around one familiar hub of endgame play. For lapsed players, fewer parallel systems to remember can be a real advantage, especially in a game where character planning already asks a lot from rune, gear, relic, and material management.
The newly added Rune Cast Preset feature is another returnee-friendly addition. LINE Games says it allows a saved configuration to be automatically searched for among owned Runes and re-equipped. Pocket Gamer phrases it as rebuilding a saved configuration from what the player owns. That distinction is important: the feature is not described as granting missing runes or solving incomplete builds. It appears to be a re-equipping tool for configurations supported by your inventory.
Quality-of-life changes extend beyond presets. Inven Global reports improvements to Relic summoning and Abyssal Stone favorites. The Games Press release mentions Unique Gear Summon and Abyss Stone Favorite functions. Again, terminology varies slightly, but the supported fact is that the update includes convenience changes around these systems. The practical read is that The Farside tries to reduce account-maintenance drag at the same time it adds a new seasonal farm.
Balance adjustments are confirmed, but the real winners are still unproven
LINE Games says The Farside includes new gear items and balance adjustments intended to narrow performance gaps between Skills and Unique Gear. Inven Global similarly reports balance changes designed to add new equipment and narrow performance gaps between skills and Relics, while Pocket Gamer notes new Essences and runes expanding builds.
That is a meaningful design goal, but the sources provided do not include patch tables, before-and-after numbers, affected unique gear lists, or damage comparisons. For build-minded players, that limits how confidently anyone can declare winners. The confirmed direction is broader viability. The unconfirmed part is whether underused archetypes can now compete with established farming setups, or whether the changes mostly polish outliers without shifting the top end.
The moving channelling rework is the exception because its gameplay impact is clear even without coefficients. A channelling character that can reposition while attacking has more uptime, safer boss movement, and less pressure to over-invest in survivability purely to survive being stationary. That does not guarantee these skills become best-in-slot, but it changes the decision tree. If your old build was Flamethrower, Sacred Light, Domain of Strength, Sacred Devotion, or Mana-Infused Sentry, The Farside gives you a concrete mechanical reason to log in and test feel before worrying about spreadsheets.
For everyone else, the smarter approach is cautious. Treat Divine Punishment, Charged Shot, new gear, and the announced balance pass as build opportunities to investigate, not settled recommendations. The update’s systems point toward experimentation, but the provided sources do not support definitive claims about the season’s strongest farming build, boss killer, or mobile-friendly setup.
Rewards are aimed directly at new and absent players
The clearest business signal in the Undecember season update is that LINE Games is pairing new content with attendance and support rewards. Inven Global reports that, until the season ends, LINE Games is offering growth rewards through exclusive attendance rewards to new players and returning users who have not logged in over the last 30 days. The same report also mentions season opening celebration attendance rewards and season support gifts.
Koko’s Great Adventure is also back, according to both Inven Global and Pocket Gamer. The provided sources do not describe the event’s reward table, quest requirements, or daily time commitment, so players should check the in-game event page before planning a full return around it. What is supported is that The Farside is not relying only on Agony Wave to bring players back. It also includes a timed reward structure that specifically names returning users by inactivity window.
That matters for reinstall decisions because action RPG seasons live or die on the first few hours back. If the game asks a lapsed player to repair a build, re-learn a dungeon map, farm entry items, and catch up without help, many will bounce before the new systems become visible. The Farside at least acknowledges that problem through growth rewards, season support gifts, dungeon consolidation, and a preset system. The sources do not confirm pricing changes, platform-specific bonuses, performance improvements, download size, or paid-pass value, so those remain open checks before reinstalling on a limited mobile data plan or a storage-constrained device.
Is The Farside enough reason to reinstall UNDECEMBER?
Based on the confirmed details, The Farside gives certain lapsed UNDECEMBER players a stronger reason to return than a routine seasonal reset would. If you left because channelling builds felt too rigid, this update directly addresses that complaint for five named skills. If you bounced off endgame clutter, the Constellation of Time integration into Chaos Dungeons and Rune Cast Preset feature may make the account-management side less abrasive. If your interest is long-tail progression, the new Essences are aimed at rune growth and gear option control, which are exactly the kinds of systems that can pull an action RPG player back into optimization.
The case is less clear if you wanted a new campaign chapter, a fully explained lore arc, or a fresh class-like identity. The provided source material does not mention new story quests, new regions, new bosses outside Agony Wave’s wave bosses, platform expansion, controller changes, or monetization revisions. Agony Wave also carries the familiar risk of roguelike seasonal fatigue. Blessing-and-Curse choices can create satisfying run texture, but the structure described by LINE Games is still repeated waves, gauges, bosses, and reward chests.
So the practical recommendation is conditional. Returning players with old channelling characters should reinstall and test their builds early in the season, especially while new and returnee rewards are active. Endgame grinders who enjoy deterministic improvement through Essences and gear work also have enough confirmed systems to justify a look. Players hoping The Farside completely changes UNDECEMBER’s core loop should wait for detailed patch notes, community build testing, or a clearer event reward breakdown. The Farside appears to be a systems season first: movement fixes, wave-based farming, progression materials, and convenience changes. For an RPG built around builds, that is a real pitch, but it is strongest for players who already know which part of their old character they wanted to fix.