This week we’ll be diving into a few of the Magic Cards you’ll have at your disposal as you make your way through Lele’s Palace. As mentioned previously in our Introduction to Magic Cards, Dandy Ace’s core mechanic revolves around the Magical Cards which act as skills in the game. Players are able to create countless combinations of skills, upgrades, and play styles by combining the different cards they come across on each run.
We can not begin talking about Blue Cards without mentioning the two main types of mobility skills found in Dandy Ace; Blinks & Dashes. Nothing will get you through the palace quicker than the wide variety blinks, dashes, and other mobility based skills that make up the Blue Magic Cards. Dashes allow Ace to travel forward and pass through enemies but do not offer any invulnerability frames during the dash. Ace is vulnerable to enemies and can’t dash through attacks without taking damage. Blinks on the other hand allow Ace to teleport forward a short distance, avoiding any enemy attacks that may be between the start and end points.
While these skills let you move between enemies and around obstacles, they can also bring a lot of utility as well as additional offensive options during combat.
Dashing Dash
Starting off with dashes, the most basic Blue Card you’ll come across in Dandy Ace is Dashing Dash. Using Dashing Dash will have Ace dash forward dealing damage to anything in his path. Ace is able to travel through enemies during the dash dealing the full damage to each enemy hit. As mentioned previously, Ace will need to be careful though when dashing towards enemies due to Dashing Dash not having any invulnerability frames.
One of the strongest aspects of Dashing Dash is its Upgrade Effect which adds Haste (Buff) to any card it is combined with. If a card is activated while upgraded with Dashing Dash, Ace will gain Haste for a short period of time increasing Ace’s movement speed by 50%. Some Upgrade Effects, such as Haste, will have internal cooldowns. While the Upgrade Effect is on cooldown you may still activate the base card but will not receive the additional upgraded bonuses. Any cooldowns for cards used as upgrades can be seen below the base skills on your action bar when activated.
Blazing Sprint
Light your path ablaze with Dandy Ace’s Blazing Sprint Card. When activated Ace will dash forward, leaving a trail of blue fire behind him for a short period of time. Any enemy that Ace dashes through takes a small amount of damage. While the initial damage may be weaker than that of Dashing Dance, the fire will continue to deal damage to any enemies that remain in it. This can be useful when attempting to kite groups of enemies around obstacles or immobile enemies such as Totems that are unable to avoid the blue flames.
Looking for a different Magic Card but really like the trail of blue fire? Use Blazing Sprint to upgrade another card with Blazing Shoes (Buff). When the upgraded skill is upgraded, Ace will start leaving a trail of blue fire behind him for a short period of time. Blazing Shoes allows Ace to move around freely and lay out the trail of fire in a more strategic way rather than in a straight line when dashing. The other benefit of Blazing Shoes is the amount of area you are able to cover while it's active.
Shocking Arrival
Another dash in Ace’s arsenal, Shocking Arrival, will specifically punish mobile enemies looking to chase after or run from Ace. When activated Ace will dash forward, creating an explosion at the end of the dash that deals damage to anyone within range. Any enemies hit by Shocking Arrival will also gain a Hex (Debuff) during which the affected enemies take damage while moving.
If you choose to instead upgrade another card with Shocking Arrival, that card will gain the Hex (Debuff) effect that is applied to enemies on hit. This can often be a very powerful tool when combined with Pink Cards and skills that can hit multiple targets quickly. It is important to note that Hex will only deal damage if the enemy moves while they have the Hex debuff. This makes it ineffective against Totems and Turrets but can be paired with knockbacks, pushes, and other displacement skills to maximize Ace’s damage when using Shocking Arrival.
Jump Scare
One of the more unique blink based Blue Cards available to Ace is Jump Scare. Activating Jump Scare blinks you forward, dealing damage to and scaring away any enemies within range. Fear (CC) is applied to all enemies hit causing them to move away from Ace and restricts their attacks for a very short period of time.
The Upgrade Effect will vary depending on the color of the Magic Card Jump Scare upgrades. Fear (CC) is added to Yellow and Blue cards. Taste of Fear is added to Pink cards. Taste of Fear causes any enemies affected by Fear to take additional damage from the upgraded skill.
Resonance Cascade
Travel back and forth between portals when you use Resonance Cascade. When used, Ace blinks forward and opens two portals. The portals are located at the initial location Resonance Cascade is activated and the end point Ace blinks to. For a short period of time, Ace will be able to travel between the portals. Damage is dealt to any enemies near the portals every time Ace travels through them.
If you’re constantly dealing with multiple enemies surrounding you, consider using Resonance Cascade to upgrade another card. The upgraded card will gain Dimensional Burst which causes Ace to deal damage to all nearby enemies when the upgraded skill is activated.
We’ll be covering the rest of the Blue Cards in Part II as well as the other types of cards as we approach the launch of Dandy Ace in early 2021. Be sure to add Dandy Ace to your Steam Wishlist and follow us on all social media to stay up to date as we post new announcements such as upcoming betas and events! You can also join us on the Mad Mimic Community Discord to chat with members of the development team as well as other community members.
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