Hello Adventurers!
We're arriving a bit later with the follow-up news than promised, but we're still on track! At the moment we're doing QA work, localization, and console testing all in parallel, to bring you the next Update and DLC, along with all fixes and improvements, across every version we manage.
We expect to give you the release date within the next four weeks. Until then, we want to take you on a deeper dive into the systems.
So you don't miss the most important news from us regarding other systems and more, you can do the following:
Free Update - Kill/Time Mode
One of the main motivators for the Boglands Kill Mode was feedback about possibly shorter runs. We've seen how short runs can get in that mode if the builds crush the enemy streams. We decided that making Kill Mode available for the late/end game would bring more action and challenge for long-term players. The Kill Mode toggle will be available in the Shrine of Torment.
To unlock it, you need to finish a quest on each map, usually the first damage quest, to show that you can deal enough damage for Kill Mode not to drag on forever. In general, the required kill count has been balanced to reflect the requirements of the later kill quests. We've added UI feedback and information to make it clearer when the lord will spawn.
As already with the Boglands, we'll be introducing new artifacts with the Archives that let you increase the monster spawn rate. The two artifacts that can do this are the "Ritual Dagger" and the "Ferryman Purse."
Free Update - Fragile/Affliction
We decided to rework the effects that increase damage dealt to enemies, making them simpler and more effective to use. The first major change is that, from now on, Fragile and Affliction will affect ALL damage: so Fragile will now also increase Effect Damage, and Affliction will also affect direct Damage.
This poses the question: what is the difference between Fragile and Affliction now?
Fragile: Increases the damage dealt by a base of 20% per stack and has a slow falloff. Fragile stacks will not have a hard cap. Applying Fragile will always happen before damage, if you have an attack that applies an effect and deals damage.
Affliction: Works mainly like Fragile, but starts at 10% per stack. When an enemy with Affliction dies, 50% of the applied stacks will spread to a nearby enemy.
Since both will have additional cross-interactions with new characters and items, we believe this change might be interesting for new and old players.
The Archives - The Blood Apostle
One of two new characters will be the Blood Apostle, who has a heavy focus on Health Sacrifice mechanics. Her main attack is the Blood Pulse, which sacrifices HP to deal massive damage in the aim direction. Her secondary spreads Affliction in Pick-Up range.
The Blood Apostle has no natural regeneration; instead, she recovers HP when enemies with Affliction on them die in her Pick-Up range. And to go further into the Sacrifice mechanic, we'll be adding a dedicated ability for it, as well as items and ability upgrades for existing abilities.
An example of a new upgrade on an existing ability:
The Sacrifice mechanic is a hard one to use, as many synergies can easily lead to your character being constantly on low health. This may be something you want for a strategy, but since sacrifice effects are more effective the more health you have, it's vital to find good recovery mechanics.
An example of one such item:
There are some safeguards so that a sacrifice will not kill you, as they always take a relative amount of your current Health, unless it's an absolute number like existing items such as the Mask of Madness.
We'll give insight into more mechanics and content coming soon!
Stay Hydrated!
Chasing Carrots
