Hello everyone!!
You've been waiting for it, so there it is: the Perks Update!! Right now, it's only available in the Beta Branch,
To find more information about the upcoming updates of The Last Spell, we wrote a blogpost last month detailing everything!
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1105670/view/3142950121387743033
So, from today, you can try the "Perks Update" in the Beta Branch and give us your feedback in our Discord Server!
Perks Update
tl;dr
- Perk system rework – Each Hero has a different perk tree.
- New and reworked perks – 75 perks are now in the game, mixing new and previous ones.
- Better information on perks – More details about perks before and after unlocking them on a Hero.
- New HUD elements – Statuses and unlocked perks are now displayed above the Hero's skill bar.
- Opportunistic and Isolated rework – Renamed as “Opportunism” and “Isolation” respectively, they are now applied on every attack and the corresponding skill effects have been reworked.
- Traps rework – Traps can now be repaired in exchange for materials.
Perks System rework
Each Hero will be given a different perk tree, increasing the diversity in builds.
Perks are now divided into thematic collections, presented as columns of 5 perks (1 for each Tier). The content of these columns is determined during the Hero’s generation, involving randomness:
- Some specific collections are not always present.
- Main collections are always there, but behind the scenes they have several possible perks for each Tier, so the result will be different between Heroes.
However, as before, the only condition for being able to unlock a perk is to have access to its tier. It is not at all mandatory to unlock the previous perk of a column to get access to the next one. We actually wish for the opposite, resulting in a broader experience with many fun combinations!
New and reworked perks
Many perks previously featured in the game have either been reworked, tweaked or removed. Feel free to revisit the perks you think you already know!
This update also marks the creation of a lot of new perks, there currently are 75 perks in the game while there used to be 40.
New mechanics have been created for this occasion, we will let you discover them on your own...
Better information on perks
In the perk tooltip, you can now view the real, dynamic value of the granted bonuses. This comes in handy if you want to have a clear idea of what a perk actually provides before and after you unlock it.
Perks providing a skill also show a preview of the one your Hero will get to add to their kit.
New HUD elements
Above the skill bar, perks are now visible, which allows you to have a clear view of your hero's build at all times. This new display also provides other features: conditional activation, highlighting when using a skill, dynamic bonus value, decremental counter, range on hover...
We also used this opportunity to display the current statuses of the selected unit. This is shown on both heroes and enemies.
Opportunistic and Isolated rework
“Opportunistic” and “Isolated” are now applied on all attacks. They have been renamed as “Opportunism” and “Isolation” respectively and are now using a base-100 value (default: 100%) just like Damage and Critical Power.
Whenever your Hero's Opportunism or Isolation value is above 100%, they get bonus damage when the conditions are met, no matter what attack they use.
The corresponding skill effects (which were previously mandatory for a skill to benefit from those damage bonuses) are now referred to as “Opportunism Multiplier” and “Isolation Multiplier” and work just as advertised: the corresponding attribute's value is multiplied for this attack.
For example, if my Hero has 110% Opportunism and their skill has an Opportunism Multiplier x2, then during the attack the Opportunism attribute will be considered to have a value of 220%.
Traps rework
Traps can now be repaired in exchange for materials.
Also, traps cost a few materials more than before but do not disappear anymore when they are depleted. This way they can be repaired at a lower cost rather than having to rebuild new ones.
QoL/Balancing and more!
- Changed some attributes’ boundaries (mostly some « max » going up).
- Increased bonuses of healing received in level ups and items.
- Added some information about the ongoing run in the main menu (elapsed time, city, apocalypse level).
- Optimizations.
- Replaced all alterations with a duration of “99 turns” with an infinite duration.
- Bug Fix: turbo mode mode will not interfere with the run duration anymore.
Which feedback to give us?
Although we won't ask specific questions for this open beta, here are what we'd love to read when you try the beta!
- General Feedback about the Update (the Perks, and the visualisation QoL of the perks)
- What builds did you use and/or did you find the most useful/cool?
Don't forget to come to our our Discord Server to tell us your feedback and opinions about the Perks Update!
How to play the Beta Branch:
This thread is a tutorial on how to switch branch to access different/older versions of the game. This can be useful if you want to give a try to the beta or if an update makes your save obsolete and you want to finish your run before going on the new update. To access the open beta, you need to change the branch on Steam. However, before you change branch, we VERY STRONGLY advise you to put your saves somewhere safe! Even though they’ll be in different folders, you’re never too careful with saves!
So, before you do anything, you should get your save folders %Appdata%/../LocalLow/Ishtar Games/The Last Spell/Save and copy them on your desktop if you want!
- Go to your game library on Steam
- Right click on The Last Spell
- Click on “Properties”
- Go to the “Betas” tab
- Now you can select the update you want to go with the dropdown
- Select “open_beta"
- If you want to switch back to the latest version, you have to click on “None” in the dropdown
Can I use my current save in the beta branch?
Yes! The game will consider the branch as an update so you can definitely use your current saves. However, you won’t be able to go back to the previous branch with those saves!
For example, if you have a save in the 0.93.1.3 version, and decide to use the save in the 0.94.0.1 version, then you won’t be able to go back to the 0.93.1.3 version with those saves.
So, we strongly advise you to create a backup copy of your current save files if you decide to go to the Beta Branch.
Reminder: You can find your save files in %Appdata%/../LocalLow/Ishtar Games/The Last Spell/Save
How can I give feedback?
For the beta branch, please only give us your feedback in our Discord Server, in the "TLS-Beta-Branch" channels. Please don’t write your feedback in the other channels, otherwise it will be quite difficult for us to differentiate the “beta feedback” and the “normal feedback”.
I’ve found a bug!
To make sure our devs fix the right version, please only report your bugs in our Discord Server, in the "TLS-Beta-Branch"for the beta branch with as much info as you can:
When reporting a bug or an issue, please don't forget to join the Output log:
To get the logs
- Search the file in your explorer by copying this: %Appdata%/../LocalLow/Ishtar Games/The Last Spell/Logs
- Ideally, make an archive (.zip, .rar, etc.) with the 3 logs MAJOR, NORMAL and DETAILED. If it's not possible, just send us the DETAILED.