Pox Nora

Desert Owl Games LLC

Released: Oct 15, 2014
Platforms: WindowsmacOS
Last updated: 05 Sep 2026, 02:30 GMT

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20 posts

01 Aug 2026Developer post
20 Years of Pox Nora!
Hello Pox Community, 20 years ago on August 1st 2006, Pox Nora was released. Since then there have been over 10 million games played from players all across the world. It is truly humbling to see your dedication to this game and the interest that continues to this day. To celebra
23 Jun 2026Developer post
June patch
For the June patch, we have focused mostly on client quality of life fixes as well as some fixes and changes to allow for some runes to be allowed in ranked play again. Client Updates Network DEV NOTE : issues with disconnection are important and so some care was put into trying
For the June patch, we have focused mostly on client quality of life fixes as well as some fixes and changes to allow for some runes to be allowed in ranked play again.
Client Updates
Network
DEV NOTE: issues with disconnection are important and so some care was put into trying to find the source of this. An issue was identified in which the client could incorrectly treat the connection as unresponsive and disconnect if it determined that no server message had occurred within 30 seconds. There is no specific reason for this method of validating that the server connection still exists, so that system has been disabled.
Made adjustments to the disconnection system
Fixed an issue in which the game would disconnect if the game took more than 30 seconds to load into a match due to it not processing incoming messages during load.
Game User Interface
Removed an area to the right of the rune dock in which you could not select champions or deploy runes. There is now longer a dead zone there.
Left clicking a rune in the rune dock will now focus it in the lower UI and show information about the rune.
Tweaked the font for player names to enhance readability
Fixed an issue in which the display for player names in 2v2 contained incorrect graphical elements and increased size of player names in 2v2 games
Rune Manager
Added quick filters to the client rune manager for factions
Rules text and combat log
Fixed a number of missing combat logs for various abilities and spells (thanks IMA for providing reports of this)
Art & Effects
Fixed an issue in which the effect for Blink and Focused Nexus could cause performance issues.
Added additional high resolution rune art
Added additional foil improvements for various runes
Game Logic Fixes and Balance Changes
Details about server-side bug fixes and balance changes can be found on the Pox Nora website
Original post
26 May 2026Developer post
Game Client hotfix
We have released a small hotfix for some issues that have arisen from the May patch. Fixed an issue in which double clicking a chat tab would not show/hide the tall chat window when using the new inline game chat UI Fixed an issue in which the arrow keys would always select previ
We have released a small hotfix for some issues that have arisen from the May patch.

Fixed an issue in which double clicking a chat tab would not show/hide the tall chat window when using the new inline game chat UI
Fixed an issue in which the arrow keys would always select previous chat commands rather than moving the map when using the new inline game chat UI. The arrow keys will now only select previous chat messages when the chat input field is selected
Added a potential fix for both the min/max and up/down arrows appearing when using the new inline game chat UI. Only the up/down arrow should be visible when using the new game chat.
Added a fallback case to the new inline game chat ui in which the min/max button will now also just show or hide the tall UI.
Made adjustments to the map panning when using the up/down arrows so that it smoothly scrolls rather than just jumping 20 pixels every 1/60th of a second
Made an adjustment to the network subsystem to catch a potential error case that could potentially break the network thread leading to the game either becoming unresponsive or showing that the network thread had terminated and disconnecting. [DEV NOTE: I am hoping this fix will catch whatever case is causing disconnection issues but as always it is a bit of a stab in the dark. Please leave feedback or report issues on this in the discord or on the forums]
Original post
17 May 2026Developer post
May Patch
For this month's patch, there have been some pretty significant changes to the game client while in game. The chat and combat log is now integrated into the lower UI so it can be seen immediately and while the game is being played. In fact, this design inadvertently functions alm
For this month's patch, there have been some pretty significant changes to the game client while in game. The chat and combat log is now integrated into the lower UI so it can be seen immediately and while the game is being played. In fact, this design inadvertently functions almost identical to the UI from before expansion 12 when the game was launched on Facebook. Everything old is new again!
On top of the client changes and improvements, there are also a number of balance changes for this month's patch.
Enjoy!
Game Client
[p align="start"]
Chat and Combat Log
[p align="start"]The Lower UI in the game now has the chat & combat log integrated to be shown at all times.
[p align="start"]When a match starts, the combat log is now selected by default.
Pressing the right stick in on a controller (R3) now cycles between chat tabs and the combat log while in game.
Long pressing the right stick in on a controller (R3) now brings up the on screen keyboard (steam only) for the current chat while in game.
KNOWN ISSUE: the keyboard currently covers the input field for chat, this will be corrected in a future hotfix/update.
Game Help
[p align="start"]Made major improvements to the Help screen including contextual screens for key and button layout
Lobby / Menu
Pressing ESC on the keyboard now acts as a back button rather than opening the Options modal when on screens besides the main landing screen.
Fixed some instances where buttons would have a jumble of text on them when a controller was plugged in and the option to Gamepad UI was set to disabled.
Art & Effects
Adjusted the effects for the spells Pygmy Hippo Stampede and Boghopper Bravado to improve performance.
Added additional high resolution rune art.
[p align="start"]
Game Mechanics
Knockback now suffers from diminishing returns when the unit hits another unit or impassible terrain. The damage starts at 5 damage per space that the unit failed to move, with each subsequent space doing 2 less damage with a minimum of 1 (5 for 1 space, 8 for 2 spaces, 9 for 3 spaces, 10 for 4 spaces, etc).
Game Logic Fixes and Balance Changes
Details about server-side bug fixes and balance changes can be found on the Pox Nora website
Original post
19 Apr 2026Developer post
April 2026 Patch
This month's patch has some more quality of life updates as well as adding the new factional Pox Harbingers to the store. You can still earn these by being in the top 5 for any faction in the Drums of War, so pick a faction and do your part. Ranks The minimum amount of gained rat
This month's patch has some more quality of life updates as well as adding the new factional Pox Harbingers to the store. You can still earn these by being in the top 5 for any faction in the Drums of War, so pick a faction and do your part.
Ranks
The minimum amount of gained rating for winning a ranked game is now 1 (was 5)
The maximum amount of lost rating for losing a ranked game is now 32 (was 20)
Due to these changes and to promote fairness, ranks have been reset for all players.
Client
User Interface
Added a "message" button when a user is selected from the user list in the lobby.
Additional minor improvements for the campaign map screen.
Improved the display of equipment on the lower HUD for a champion when selected.
Art & Effects
Added additional high resolution artwork.
Game
Game Logic fixes and Balance changes
Details about server-side bug fixes and balance changes can be found on the Pox Nora website
Original post
04 Apr 2026Developer post
Network hotfix
We have released a small hotfix to correct some issues that were occurring after adding some adjustments to networking including the latency monitor. Fixed an issue that could make the client disconnect in some cases due to it not correctly registering that network traffic had oc
We have released a small hotfix to correct some issues that were occurring after adding some adjustments to networking including the latency monitor.

Fixed an issue that could make the client disconnect in some cases due to it not correctly registering that network traffic had occurred. This would occur if the game did not register any network traffic within 5 seconds and the last outgoing network message was more than 30 seconds ago.
Adjusted the networking subsystem to wait for less time before handling incoming and outgoing traffic. This shouldn't really make any major difference in game latency or network performance but it should allow for a more accurate latency reading.
Changed the legacy K'thir Forest map graphics so that it has an overlay of trees at the bottom of the screen when units are in the obscured area. This was already applied to the ladder version of the K'thir Forest map.
Slightly reduced the volume of the button click sound.
Original post
31 Mar 2026Developer post
March 2026 Patch
Client User Interface Added an option for changing how transparent the map grid is. Fixed an issue in which the artwork for campaign encounters did not appear for the The Ancients Arrive campaign. Fixed an issue that caused seams to appear in the map showing campaign encounters.
Client
User Interface
Added an option for changing how transparent the map grid is.
Fixed an issue in which the artwork for campaign encounters did not appear for the The Ancients Arrive campaign.
Fixed an issue that caused seams to appear in the map showing campaign encounters.
The view for campaign encounters now shows the current encounter with a green outline and a darker green outline and checkbox for completed campaigns (as per the old client).
Fixed an issue in which the controller UI graphic appeared on the difficulty button for campaigns even if no controller was attached.
There is now a button in the bottom left for toggling the map grid display in game.
Added an option to set the default map grid display for games.
Added a latency meter to the bottom right hand corner of the in game user interface.
Art & Effects
Map graphics at the bottom of the K'thir Forest and Lava Plains maps now show a semitransparent effect over units that are behind them rather than having the unit just appear to stand on top of the trees and stalagtites.
Added more high resolution rune art.
Added additional main menu artwork.
Game
Maps
K'thir Hill (4 fonts) changed from UNCOMMON to LIMITED rarity
K'thir Hill (5 fonts) changed from COMMON to UNCOMMON rarity
Added Underdepths to ranked rotation at EXOTIC rarity
Added Ironfist Pass to ranked rotation at EXOTIC rarity
Faction Bonuses
Forsaken Wastes faction bonus changed to: Your Champion runes have their cooldowns reduced by 30/60%. When a friendly champion captures a nora globe by moving onto it, you gain 10/20% more nora.
Sundered Lands faction bonus changed to: Champions you control take 1/2 less damage from attacks.
Game Logic fixes and Balance changes
Details about server-side bug fixes and balance changes can be found on the Pox Nora website
Original post
23 Feb 2026Developer post
February 2026 Balance Patch
The first quarter February 2026 balance patch is now live! More details can be found on the Pox Nora website
23 Jan 2026Developer post
January Patch
Today we have a small monthly patch with some improvements, some bug fixes, and some minor balance tweaks. A larger balance patch will be coming in February. As always, you can make your voice heard on the Pox Nora community discord. Enjoy, and welcome to 2026! Client User Interf
Today we have a small monthly patch with some improvements, some bug fixes, and some minor balance tweaks. A larger balance patch will be coming in February. As always, you can make your voice heard on the Pox Nora community discord.
Enjoy, and welcome to 2026!
Client
User Interface
Unranked games once again have a different colored background in the lobby.
There is now a button in the bottom left for toggling the map grid display in game.
Added an option to set the default map grid display for games.
Art & Effects
Fixed a texture seam that appeared on the bottom trees of the K'thir Forest and K'thir Plains maps.
Added more high resolution rune art.
Game
Game Rewards
Maximum gold reward for winning either unranked or ranked games has been increased by 100 gold.
Maximum gold reward for losing ranked games has been increased by 50 gold.
Maximum gold reward for losing unranked games has been increased by 25 gold.
Maximum gold reward for winning skirmish matches vs AI has been increased by 50 gold.
Maps
Removed Lost City from ranked rotation.
Changed the map rarity of Tundra Lake from EXOTIC to LIMITED.
Balance Updates
The list of balance changes can be found on the Pox Nora website.
Original post
24 Dec 2025Developer post
Client hotfix
A client hotfix has been released to correct an issue in which the game could fail to show the lobby chat and would not correctly enter lobby screens (and thus the game was unplayable without relaunching the game). In particular, this issue would happen when the game was run outs
18 Dec 2025Developer post
December Patch
From the messy desk of Slugbait: Seasons greetings everyone. For this end of the year patch, I've focused almost entirely on additional quality of life features in the game client. There are also some map tweaks and a couple of minor changes. We hope everyone is having a happy ho
From the messy desk of Slugbait:
Seasons greetings everyone. For this end of the year patch, I've focused almost entirely on additional quality of life features in the game client. There are also some map tweaks and a couple of minor changes.
We hope everyone is having a happy holiday. Next year Pox Nora will be entering its twentieth year. It's old, I'm old. We're all old here. As always, I appreciate you all.
~slugbait
Client
Game UI
The tile info above the lower hud now shows location effects such as Dead Magic Zone, Unstable Ground, Hallowed Ground, and many others. Please call attention in the discord to any effects that are not visible that it would be useful to have in this list.
Fixed an issue with the name of equipment on a champion being potentially cropped on the Rune Details window.
Lobby
After leaving a game, you will now be returned to the screen that you were in before entering the game (i.e., ranked play, custom games).
Fixed an issue that could cause the client to get stuck in a "Validating Deck" state when entering the ranked or custom games screens before the deck information had been loaded from the server.
Fixed an issue in which the incorrect art was being used for newer foil runes in the rune/deck manager.
Fixed an issue in which the incorrect unit sprite was displayed on the rune details window when viewing a rune in the rune/deck manager.
Art & Effects
Added an enhanced foil effect to many foil runes. This is a work in progress as the image mask has to be created manually. Additional foil runes will be given this enhanced effect over time.
Added hundreds more pieces of high resolution rune art
Improved a performance issue that could cause low framerates when many units with Immobile (.g., mission 2 of the Madness in the Mountains campaign). Please note that this issue still exists and will require some further refactors for performance improvements, but it should be better
Added a new effect and sound for the ability Desecrate Earth.
Controller Support
Pressing R3 (right stick in) on a controller while in game will now toggle the combat log.
Steam Integration
Added support for Rich Presence in the steam friends list. This will show when you are in a match, playing a campaign game, etc.
Maps
Removed Brood Pits from the ranked map pool.
Made adjustments to the ranked maps for Shores of Maljara and Lost City.
Balance Updates
The list of balance changes can be found on the Pox Nora website.
Original post
13 Nov 2025Developer post
November Patch
For this November patch, we have focused on balance changes as well as some bug fixes. This patch also signals the start of the 44th Drums of War. Maps Updated the location of the player 1 shrine on Tundra Lake . Updated the locations of nora fonts on Lost City . Readded Brood Pi
For this November patch, we have focused on balance changes as well as some bug fixes. This patch also signals the start of the 44th Drums of War.
Maps
Updated the location of the player 1 shrine on Tundra Lake.
Updated the locations of nora fonts on Lost City.
Readded Brood Pits and Shores of Maljara to ranked rotation.
Balance Updates
The list of balance changes can be found on the Pox Nora website.
Original post
23 Oct 2025Developer post
October Update
The October patch is upon us and with it comes another round of balance changes and tweaks. In addition, a new client is available on Steam with additional UI improvements including showing if conditions are Cleansable or Dispellable. Have a spooky halloween everyone and keep an
The October patch is upon us and with it comes another round of balance changes and tweaks. In addition, a new client is available on Steam with additional UI improvements including showing if conditions are Cleansable or Dispellable.
Have a spooky halloween everyone and keep an eye out for witches and hyaenids!
Client
User Interface
Unit Conditions and effects now display if they can be dispelled or cleansed. In the list, the icon will now have a circle around it to indicate if it can be cleansed (purple circle) or dispelled (cyan circle) and that status also appears in the tooltip if you hover or select the condition.
Fixed an issue in which the race Djinn was not available for the filter in the Rune Manager
Rules text and descriptions
Updated and fixed many instances of incorrect descriptions
Added some missing combat log text
Art and sound
Added some additional updated sound effects (as always, thanks SAForg)
Added additional high resolution rune art
Added additional backgrounds to the main menu
Maps
Updated the ranked versions of the maps Brood Pits and Shores of Maljara.
Adjusted the map rarity of Shores of Maljara to RARE.
Adjusted the map rarity of Lost City to RARE.
Added Brood Pits to the ranked map rotation.
Balance Updates
The list of balance changes can be found on the Pox Nora website.
Original post
06 Oct 2025Developer post
2025 Rebalance addendum patch
For this early October patch, we have included a number of balance changes and fixes. There also are a couple of minor game client improvements and fixes. Client Security The game client has been rebuilt with the newest version of Unity to address the CVE-2025-59489 vulnerability
For this early October patch, we have included a number of balance changes and fixes. There also are a couple of minor game client improvements and fixes.
Client
Security
The game client has been rebuilt with the newest version of Unity to address the CVE-2025-59489 vulnerability as detailed on the Unity website. Please note that there have been no evidence of this vulnerability being exploited in Pox Nora or any other Unity-based game.
Rune Manager
Fixed an issue in which the Rune Manager would not correctly add or remove runes from a battlegroup with the A/X button
Fixed an issue that could prevent moving between the collection and the battlegroup with the right joystick if all items were deselected (i.e., from pressing on the screen on a handheld pc like a steam deck or rog ally)
In-Game UI
Conditions now show as stacks with a counter when a unit has multiple copies of the same condition/effect with the same duration.
Made some spacing adjustments to the lower HUD.
Maps
In the balance update, a new system was put in place to try to select different maps if it was the case that the players had just played on that map. This system has been adjusted to now only trigger if a player has already played on that map twice before in order to better maintain map rarities.
Removed Sundered Lands from ranked rotation.
Removed Shattered Peaks from ranked rotation.
Updated the locations of nora fonts on Lost City.
Updated the map configuration for Shores of Maljara.
Changed Shores of Maljara map rarity to EXOTIC.
Drums of War
Custom 2v2 games should now award Drums of War contribution points.
Balance Updates
The list of balance changes can be found on the Pox Nora website.
Original post
29 Sep 2025Developer post
Rank reset and hotfix
To coincide with the 2025 Rebalance patch, all player ranks have been reset. The following changes have been made to the Pox Nora Client: Updated text based on recent ability and faction bonuses changes. Fixed a number of incorrect or missing descriptions and combat logs. Added m
To coincide with the 2025 Rebalance patch, all player ranks have been reset. The following changes have been made to the Pox Nora Client:

Updated text based on recent ability and faction bonuses changes.
Fixed a number of incorrect or missing descriptions and combat logs.
Added more high-resolution rune art for champions.
The following changes have been deployed to the game: Drums of War

Due to the infrequency / ease of use for finding matches, Custom 2v2 games now award Drums of War points.
Faction Bonuses

The Forsaken Wastes faction bonus now gives a 2%/4% refund for owned champions and a 4%/8% refund for enemy owned champions.
Abilities

Champions created by the abilities Skeletal Rider, Dark Rider, Double Trouble, and Disperse now have a 0 nora cost.
Copies of the champion created from the ability Split now have a 0 nora cost. The original unit retains its nora cost.
The ability Blood Fueled can now only be used once per turn.
Fixed an issue in which the ability Sandbreach was not triggering.
Original post
25 Sep 2025Developer post
2025 Rebalance Patch
Today we have deployed a major rebalance patch that includes new themes and reworks across all factions. In particular, there have been reworks of Barbarians, Hyaends, and Vampyres. Details of these reworks can be found on the Pox Nora Website . Client Fixed an issue that could c
Today we have deployed a major rebalance patch that includes new themes and reworks across all factions. In particular, there have been reworks of Barbarians, Hyaends, and Vampyres. Details of these reworks can be found on the Pox Nora Website.
Client
Fixed an issue that could cause units and map terrain objects starting from the bottom of the screen to disappear when using Callouts.
Various text fixes and corrections.
Additional high resolution art.
Balance Changes
The list of balance changes can be found on the Pox Nora website.
Original post
02 Sep 2025Developer post
Client hotfix
A hotfix has been released with the following changes: Fixed an issue that caused rune deployment popups to appear for units that were deployed via various abilities or spells which are supposed to be hidden (e.g., Summon Rock Trap, etc) Fixed another issue with word wrapping in
A hotfix has been released with the following changes:

Fixed an issue that caused rune deployment popups to appear for units that were deployed via various abilities or spells which are supposed to be hidden (e.g., Summon Rock Trap, etc)
Fixed another issue with word wrapping in chat, seen most prevalently when using the /who command.
Fixed an issue in which the game would sometimes play the turn time running out sound when clicking the Ok button to return to the lobby.
Fixed an issue in which the ability Stun did not play any animation or sound.
Original post
31 Aug 2025Developer post
August Update
For the August patch, we've focused on fixing a series of issues (some longstanding) with the Pox Nora client. Client User Interface Fixed an issue in which the main menu background could appear darkened if the user switched to another screen and back while the background was cha
For the August patch, we've focused on fixing a series of issues (some longstanding) with the Pox Nora client.
Client
User Interface
Fixed an issue in which the main menu background could appear darkened if the user switched to another screen and back while the background was chaning to a different image.
Tweaked various elements of the main menu and added additional backgrounds.
Fixed an issue in which the login screen would not show the quit dialog when pressing Circle/B on a controller
Fixed an issue with the new creation panel of the login screen in which certain error messages would not appear if the user was using a controller
In-game User Interface
Improved behavior of Rune deployment popups in bot games. These did not correctly work in most cases and appeared in some cases in which they shouldn't have. The new behavior is as follows:
Rune deployment popups now appear in Skirmish and Daily Quest games against AI.
Rune deployment popups will no longer appear in Campaign games.
Rune deployment popups will continue to be displayed in player vs player games.
Fixed issues with the combat log when wrapping to multiple lines.
Fixed an issue in which the HP bar would display incorrectly when the unit had a very large amount of max hitpoints (i.e., bosses in solo matches, etc).
The tile info display now shows if a map space is Inaccessible or Impassable
The unit conditions Immobile and Rooted now have a unique condition icon.
Art and Effects
Fixed an issue in which units with composited sprites (such as Avatars) could have the composited parts drawn at the wrong position during animations
Fixed an issue in which units with composited sprites (such as Avatars, again) could have the composited parts incorrected flipped the wrong direction
Fixed an issue in which the front wing of the champion Myx Hurricane would not correctly animate
Fixed an issue in which the ability Decapitating Blow would not animate the champion using the ability
Added more than 200 more pieces of higher resolution rune artwork
Text and information
Added a topic in the knowledgebase on how to acquire more runes.
Fixed various incorrect descriptions.
Server
Abilities
The condition Crystallized can now be cleansed when it is added to an enemy champion via the ability Freeze.
Spells
The condition Crystallized can now be cleansed when it is added to an enemy champion via the spell Flash Freeze.
Fixed an issue in which the spell Huntmaster's Charm would give Huntmaster Bound to champions on its effect being removed that did not have that ability when it was cast upon them.
Fixed an issue in which the spell Huntmaster's Charm would not give the correct effect when cast upon Pygmy Hippos created from the spell Pygmy Hippo Stampede.
Fixed an issue in which the spell Throw Bones could be redirected onto a non-Undead champion via Snow Blind
Original post
09 Aug 2025Developer post
Wrath has won the Drums of War
Wrath has again won the Drums of War. Across the realms, loremasters struggle as they try to find new ways to describe this onslaught of repetitious events. Drums of War 42 has ended. Drums of War 43 will begin soon. All players who participated in the Drums of War have been give
05 Aug 2025Developer post
Client hotfix
A hotfix has been released with the following changes: Fixed an issue that caused the tutorial to not correctly highlight runes to deploy, thus breaking the initial tutorial mission Fixed some map fx and depth sorting issues on K'thir Forest and Shores of Maljara 2 Redid the effe
A hotfix has been released with the following changes:

Fixed an issue that caused the tutorial to not correctly highlight runes to deploy, thus breaking the initial tutorial mission
Fixed some map fx and depth sorting issues on K'thir Forest and Shores of Maljara 2
Redid the effect for the Warchief abilities
Corrected an issue that caused 1 image to not appear in the main menu rotation and added 2 additional images.
Fixed an error in the Rune Manager
Corrected a few minor issues with effect descriptions and names
Original post

Updates & announcements

Client Updates

Network

Game User Interface

Rune Manager

Rules text and combat log

Art & Effects

Game Logic Fixes and Balance Changes

Game Client

Chat and Combat Log

Game Help

Lobby / Menu

Art & Effects

Game Mechanics

Game Logic Fixes and Balance Changes

Ranks

Client

User Interface

Art & Effects

Game

Game Logic fixes and Balance changes

Client

User Interface

Art & Effects

Game

Maps

Faction Bonuses

Game Logic fixes and Balance changes

Client

User Interface

Art & Effects

Game

Game Rewards

Maps

Balance Updates

Client

Game UI

Lobby

Art & Effects

Controller Support

Steam Integration

Maps

Balance Updates

Maps

Balance Updates

Client

Maps

Balance Updates

Client

Maps

Drums of War

Balance Updates

Client

Balance Changes

Client

User Interface

In-game User Interface

Art and Effects

Text and information

Server

Abilities

Spells