Stats

Stats The entire stats system has been revamped. With the higher Level cap, the cap for max stats were also raised up to 130. The increase in availaIble stat points allows true hybrid classes to be made. Below is a short description of each Stat with comparison to Pre-Renewal mechanics, if applicable.
STR: For melee weapons, every point in STR increases StatusATK by +1 and WeaponATK by 0.5%. For ranged weapons, every 5 points in STR increases StatusATK by +1. Each point of STR also adds +30 Weight Limit. The bonus ATK per 10 STR for melee weapons is no longer applied.	AGI: Every point in AGI adds +1 Flee and increases ASPD. Additionally, every 5 points in AGI adds 1 SoftDEF.
VIT: Every point in VIT adds +1% MaxHP, +2% HP Healing Item effectiveness, and +1% resistance to several status effects. Every 2 points in VIT adds +1 SoftDEF. Every 5 points in VIT adds +1 SoftMDEF and +1 HP Recovery Rate.	INT: Every point in INT adds +1.5 StatusMATK, +1% MaxSP, 1% SP Healing Item effectiveness, and decreases cast time. Every 2 points of INT adds +1 SoftMDEF and every 6 points in INT adds +1 SP Recovery Rate. The multiples of 5 and 7 bonus for minMATK and maxMATK is no longer applied.
DEX: For ranged weapons, every point in DEX increases StatusATK by +1 and WeaponATK by 0.5%. For melee weapons, every 5 points in DEX increases StatusATK by +1. Every point in DEX also adds +1 HIT, decreases cast time, and increases ASPD. Every 5 points in DEX adds +1 StatusMATK and +1 SoftMDEF. The bonus ATK per 10 DEX for ranged weapons is no longer applied.	LUK: Every point in LUK adds +0.3% Critical Hit Rate, as well as resistance to several status effects. Every 3 points in LUK adds +1 StatusATK, +1 StatusMATK, and +1 HIT. Every 5 points in LUK adds +1 Flee and +1% Anti-Critical Rate, and Every 10 points in LUK adds +1 Perfect Dodge.

Substats

Aside from Stats, several Substats were also drastically changed. Most of these define the main difference between Pre-Renewal and Renewal Mechanics.
ATK In Renewal, the Attack Power(ATK) is divided into two, StatusATK and WeaponATK. In essence, they both contribute to the final damage (StatusATK being multiplied by two). However, when amplified by racial/size/elemental bonuses (such as Hydra Card or Skeleton Worker Card), only the WeaponATK is amplified. This makes it so that people no longer rely on 4-slotted starter weapons (such as a Quad-Racial Composite Bow), and instead will strive to get higher level weapons with higher ATKs and Refine rates to deal better damage.	MATK As with ATK, Magical Attack Power(MATK) is also divided into two, StatusMATK and WeaponMATK. With the introduction of this update, many weapons now possess a flat MATK number (e.g. 280 MATK from Staff of Destruction; 105 MATK from Bazerald). In MATK's case, WeaponMATK makes up the greater percentage of the final damage, due to the variance factor which relates to weapon level.
DEF/MDEF The Defense(DEF) and Magical Defense(MDEF) system was revamped in the Renewal Update. HardDEF/MDEF is no longer limited into a 1-100 point system, with 100 being full immunity. Instead, the effect of HardDEF/MDEF is now reduced exponentially as the number goes up (i.e. the higher the number, the less effect every single point adds); and in DEF's case, the number often goes way beyond 100. For example, 200 HardDEF gives about 25% damage reduction, and 400 HardDEF gives about 40% damage reduction. As for MDEF, 20 HardMDEF gives about 15% damage reduction, and 40 HardMDEF gives about 25% damage reduction. With this change, many armor have had their DEF number raised significantly (e.g. 85 DEF from Meteo Plate Armor; 16 DEF from Naght Sieger's Flame Manteau; 120 DEF from Sacred Mission) to match the new DEF calculation system.	SoftDEF/MDEF which is mostly based on VIT and INT respectively, did not go through a lot of change from Pre-Renewal. They reduce damage subtractively, removing flat amounts from the final damage after the HardDEF/MDEF reductions are applied.
Critical Critical hits had been slightly altered in Renewal. Critical hits still ignore FLEE, but it does not ignore DEF anymore. Instead, it will deal 40% more damage by default. Additionally, more items provides Critical Damage bonuses, which means with the right combination of equipment and cards, it's possible to deal 200% your regular damage per critical hit, or even higher.	Cast Time One of the most significant changes that happened with the Renewal update was Cast Time. It is now split into Fixed and Variable Cast Time The Fixed Cast Time part is not affected by Stats, and can only be reduced by special means (e.g. Arch Bishop's Sacrament or Temporal DEX Boots). Not all skills have a Fixed Cast Time, but the addition of Fixed Cast Time disallows skills like Acid Demonstration and Asura Strike to be cast instantly; thus offering balance in PvP. Variable Cast Time, on the other hand, is similar to the Cast Time in Pre-Renewal. The main difference is that it is no longer reduced only by DEX, but also by INT. Variable Cast time can be completely eliminated if (DEX x 2 + INT) = 530.

Cast Delay display in Hotbar

Delay is a relatively obscure mechanic that was mostly ignored in Pre-Renewal. In Renewal, however, it can be separated into two: Cast Delay and Cooldown.
Cast Delay (also known as Global Cooldown or After-cast Delay) is a delay that prevents all skills from being cast. Some skills, such as Magnificat, has longer Cast delay, while others have shorter ones. This delay can be reduced by certain equipment like Expert Ring and Kiel D-01 Card, and by a Bard's Poem of Bragi skill.
On the other hand, Cooldown (also known as Hard Cooldown) is a delay that prevents certain single skills from being recast immediately. Not all skills have Cooldowns, but some, such as Asura Strike, has a long Cooldown. This Cooldown is not affected by Poem of Bragi, and is only affected by very specific items, for example: Tornado Axe reduces the cooldown of Mechanic's Axe Tornado, and Bow of Storms reduces the cooldown of Maestro/Wanderer's Severe Rainstorm.