Played a bit of the new version! I've got some feedback, but overall I'm feeling good about the direction the game seems to be heading!

It should be noted that I played the Android version of the game.

• I'm enjoying the new combat system, characters already feel like they have more individuality on the battlefield. Sound effects and movements feel right, and battles play out swiftly, too. I also like the mechanic of being able to switch out your party mid-round.
• A (very) minor nitpick would be that I'd like to be able to activate auto-battle mid-round, as it'd save a few taps when you know you've won.
• The character art looks good and appealing! No complaints here.
• Definitely sad to see some features (temporarily) leaving but I understand why.
• On that note, I do hope the story will return to easing the player in a bit more, as there are many unexplained gameplay events right now, or lack of character introductions and the sort. That said, I can tell that it's because the bulk of the story simply hasn't been implemented yet, which it wasn't supposed to be in this version, so I completely understand why it's like this right now.
• THANK YOU for not having a character gain 0 EXP when they die mid-battle. So many RPGs do this wrong and I'm glad you got it right.
• I'm not sure how I feel about repeatedly losing characters after every mission. Character stories aren't yet implemented but I feel that when they are, this could be disruptive. That said, I don't know what your plans are, and this can definitely be done right, but it's a slippery slope for a gacha game.
• The feeling of gaining power is also gone right now between loops, but I assume that's because victory points are meant to replace that; though they aren't implemented yet, as far as I could tell. I have a feeling that the gameplay loop is going to feel a lot better once they have a proper usage and I'm looking forward to that most of all!
• Equipment is a fun way to customize heroes, bravo on that!
• Many gachas usually give characters some skills (passive or active, or both) to make them stand out, though wether that fits with this game is of course entirely up to you.
• Having characters fulfill non-combat roles was great and I can't wait to see it return!

Overall I'm happy with what seems to be a shift towards more tactical gameplay, and making you work with what you've got. Though I'm still not used to losing all my characters, it definitely keeps you away from the "meh, just use the 5-star" "strategy" and gives every character a chance to shine! I'm just really happy to see this game getting updates again! I'm frustrated with the current gacha game market, as I enjoy gacha games themselves but I've had to quit almost all of them because of agressive monetization. I really hope that this project will eventually be able to show people that gacha games can be so much more.

Oof I really typed a lot there. I kinda just meant for this to be a quick comment at first. Ah well. Sorry that it turned out to be such a long comment. I hope it was at least of some use to you! I think I'm going to get food now, I'm tired after typing all that.

Godspeed!