Hello everyone!
If you're not a regular Slormite Chronicle reader, or if you're not following the Road Map of the game, here's a quick recap: We're currently working on the last part of "The Mage Academy Update" which will introduce a new end game mode called The Great Forge. We haven't revealed much about it yet, but everything's coming along nicely.
We have lots to talk about, so let's get to it.
The Great Forge:
Gameplay and Rewards
I'll start with what we've made the least progress on. We've worked on a few things, including the environment itself. We also have most of the mechanics down but everything is still very rough around the edges.
But basically, here's what you can expect in The Great Forge:
Your goal will be to outlast as many waves as possible to get as much rewards as possible. Easy.
Every few waves (we still have to figure out the pacing) you will be facing Cory's Challenges:
You will have to make a choice between 3 Challenges that will either add a new Cataclysm for the next few waves, make enemies stronger for the rest of the run, increase the number of enemies, add elites to the next waves, add new attack patterns to the boss, increase its spawn chance, spawn a new type of enemy we're working on, etc...
You may have guessed it, we're introducing a new boss (codename "Siege Leader") that will randomly spawn during The Great Forge and that will get stronger over time.
Each Challenge will have a different / bigger Reward based on its difficulty. Once you complete a Challenge, and once you feel like you have completed enough Challenges or that the difficulty of the cumulated Challenges is getting out of hand, you will be able to leave The Great Forge and collect your rewards.
The reward system inside The Great Forge will allow you to unlock new Reaper Runes (which we talk about below), or upgrade Reaper Runes you already own, or Reapersmith Spirits (which we talk about below as well). That's on top of more regular rewards such as Goldus, Slorm, Equipment and such. We're also adding a "multiplier" type of reward such as "The value of your next Rewards are increased by 25%" or "The value of your current rewards are increased by 10%".
Wraths will work just like in Battlefield Expeditions: Enemies will be stronger but Rewards will be better.
That's the very basic idea behind The Great Forge and we'll be able to share actual screenshots and informations in the next Slormite Chronicle.
The reward system will also tend to reward you with Reaper Runes and Reapersmith Spirits related to the Slorm Reaper you're using. As an example, Challenges that reward you with 3 Astorias Spirits will instead reward you with 9 Astorias Spirits if you're currently using a Slorm Reaper wrought by Astorias.
One of our goals with The Great Forge is to emphasize a bit more on Reapersmiths.
Reapersmith Spirits:
We're adding 7 new currencies called Reapersmith Spirits.
Each Spirit is tied to a Slorm Reaper Reapersmith (or family):
- Spirit of Astorias
- Spirit of Adrianne
- Spirit of Beigarth
- Spirit of Cory
- Spirit of Smaloron
- Spirit of Fulgurorn
- Spirit of Hagan
Reaper Runes:
We're adding a new layer called Reaper Runes. We've explored a different approach from what we talked about in the last Slormite Chronicle. Basically, our goal is to create a new "minor" layer of customization for the player, that reuses Hall-of-Fame Slorm Reapers effects in different ways.
There are three types of Reaper Runes: Activation Runes, Effect Runes and Enhancement Runes.
Right now, there are:
7 Activation Runes (1 for each Reapersmith)
14 Effect Runes (2 for each Reapersmith)
7 Enhancement Runes (1 for each Reapersmith)
The idea is to combine 1 of each to create a unique Effect that suits your build the most.
The only rule is that you cannot use an Effect Rune that is the same as your current Slorm Reaper.
DISCLAIMER: Reaper Runes have not been tested or balanced yet so do not take values inside these tooltips for granted. They will most definitely be changed.
Activations Runes offer various trigger conditions. Once you meet the trigger condition, you trigger the associated Effect Rune.
Effect Runes grant you a temporary buff or a single trigger strongly inspired by Slorm Reapers.
And finally, Enhancement Runes allow you to upgrade your Effect Runes or modify your Activation Rune to customize the effect even more.
Each Rune can be upgraded up to Level 15 by using Reapersmith Spirits at Cory Ironbender's Shop or by playing inside The Great Forge where you can loot Rune Upgrades via the reward system.
Just like Slorm Reapers or Equipment, you will be able to change each Rune at any moment.
Slorm Reapers Affinity:
Slorm Reapers Levels from Equipment
First and foremost, we are removing the bonus Levels that are granted by Equipment to Slorm Reapers.
This will be replaced by Slorm Reaper Affinities, a layer that we will talk about below that is both more progressive and more flexible.
Here are the reasons for that change:
- The original goal was to ease the transition from a Slorm Reaper to another by allowing the player to purchase the first few levels, which almost never happens.
- The upgrade is not progressive enough. Most of the time, players get to the beginning of the end game (which is when you start using the Blacksmith) with a Level 70 Slorm Reaper and get their +55 Levels for a small amount of Goldus. This usually tend to double or even triple the Damage of the Slorm Reaper without any form of progression.
- When thinking about the +55 levels, we unfortunately completely ignored the fact that some Slorm Reapers had a much stronger Damage multiplier than others. These +55 Levels are not equal for every Slorm Reaper at all. Here are couple of examples of the Level 100 / 155 differences: The Most Powerful Reaper: At Level 100: 3524 - 5502 Damage At Level 155: 13228 - 20686 So about a 275% Increase of the Max Damage Range. Reaper of Necromancy: At Level 100: 377 - 527 At Level 155: 717 - 1005 So about a 90% Upgrade in Max Damage Range. It means that a Slorm Reaper that does not have a strong Damage multiplier gets even worse at level 155. This was never intended. We kind of forgot how fast multipliers tend to go.
Slorm Reapers Affinity
Slorm Reapers Affinity is a new type of Upgrade that you will be able to purchase at Cory Ironbender's shop with the use of Reapersmith Spirits.
There are 7 Slorm Reaper Affinities, one for each Reapersmith.
Each can be upgraded up to Level 100 using Reapersmith Spirits that you can find in The Great Forge.
The previous Slorm Reaper Levels granted by Equipment will be replaced by Slorm Reaper Affinity. And for the sake of round stuff, it will be capped at 50.
This means that when the update comes out, your Reaper Damage will be reduced, especially if you're playing with The Most Powerful Reaper or a Slorm Reaper with a high Damage multiplier.
For The Most Powerful Reaper, if you had it at Level 155, you will get back to:
3524 - 5502 + 25% = 4 405 - 6 877 Reaper Damage.
After a bit of farming in The Great Forge, you will be able to get back to :
3524 - 5502 + 75% = 6 167 - 9 628 Reaper Damage.
That's about a 50% nerf in the end (Since Level 155 was 13 228 - 20 686 Reaper Damage).
So you will be able to exceed Level 100 and get to Level 150 with the dedicated Equipment.
However, Levels you purchase from Cory are permanent and bound to your save (not your Character).
Slorm Reaper Affinity is a way to permanently upgrade the strength of all the Slorm Reapers of the same "family". They get stronger, are easier to Level and it is also easier to trigger their Primordial form.
Balancing Slorm Reapers' Damage
Most Slorm Reapers are often immediately disregarded by players as soon as they are found because they simply lack Reaper Damage. And even though they add fancy effects or powerful synergies, they cannot compete with the strongest Slorm Reapers (such as The Most Powerful Reaper).
When designing Slorm Reapers, we either try to create a Reaper that is strong from the start that does not require the player to build around it but that does not scale well in the late game or the complete opposite: a Reaper that does not immediately shine but get immensely stronger when you build properly around it.
Easier said than done. And unfortunately, we tend to not give enough Reaper Damage to these Reapers, which lead them to never see the light.
So with this update we are also buffing the base damage of all the Slorm Reapers that needs it, by a lot, if necessary. Our goal here is not to nerf The Most Powerful Reaper for no reason (which is done by removing the +55 Levels from Equipment). We actually want players to find creative options with their Slorm Reapers and get back to what The Most Powerful Reaper was offering with a dedicated build and a good use of synergies. Not just brute force.
Forging Slorm Reapers
Unlocking Slorm Reapers for the first time feels natural and happens at a pace that we currently like, however, we want to change (or at least add new options to) how Slorm Reapers are unlocked for your other classes.
Right now, if you find a Slorm Reaper (even a Primordial Reaper) with The Fierce Huntress and think "oh this would be nice on my Mage", then you basically have to grind until RNG gets you the Reaper you want, which can take quite a bit of time. And for Primordial Slorm Reapers, you then have to farm it all the way back to their Primordial form.
This is why we are introducing a way to forge Slorm Reapers.
To be able to forge a Slorm Reaper, you simply must have found it with at least one other character. This includes Primordial Slorm Reapers as well, though you will also need the regular version to be able to forge a Primordial version.
Reapersmith Spirits costs are heavily subject to change.
Fate-Crusher
If you're curious about the last button in Cory Ironbender's shop. It is where you'll get to purchase a new and unique Slorm Reaper called "Fate-Crusher, Reaper of the Seven".
That's about it for new stuff.
This Chronicle has introduced quite a bit of changes on top of new things being added, so please let us know what you think about all this.
As for the release date.
To be honest, this is the biggest update we've made so far and we're not yet done. So please be patient a little longer, we're getting there. And I believe it'll be worth the wait.
Our best guess for a release date is mid-August.
We're falling behind on the Road Map, but we believe that's a good thing. After all, this update will add an unplanned boss, an unplanned environment and an unplanned layer of customization, on top of various unplanned changes and features. :)
Have a nice day everyone!