Finally - the patch I spoke about 2 weeks back is ready for play time! Thanks everyone for being so patient, and doing your best to ignore that bug (I see you Well of Stars, offering people the same Artifact!!).
Let’s dive in...
Quantum Protocol Crossover - Queen enters the Vault!
So I’ve been chatting with the developer of QP for a little while now. We spoke a few months back of potentially doing a crossover - and it's finally here! First, go play QP now - it’s a great game and super unique (and challenging!).
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1328530?utm_source=collab&utm_campaign=vault
Now let’s talk about Queen's event in Vault of the Void. You’ll now have a chance of finding Queen on Floor 2. She’ll have a collection of chess pieces floating around - look closely and you’ll see something you’ve all been asking for.
New. Unique. Void Stones.
Yup, 16 in total, some class specific, some random to the run. I’m not going to spoil them all in here.... okay maybe just one:
Queen’s very own Void Stone is pretty simple. Trigger +1. Yeah... have fun :)
Also - for fans of QP, you can claim your very own QP deckback in game - use the code "checkmate" (no quotes)!
Anyway - I really hope you enjoy the event! As always, a close eye will be kept on balance with the new stuff, and any changes I’ll let you know in next week's post!
The Reflections of Sin
So Floor 2 got an event - how about Floor 1? You know it.
The Reflections of Sin event is one I’ve been planning to get in since I started working on Vault. I’ve always been in love with the idea of a 7 Deadly Sins themed event, and after tossing around some ideas in a call with the Card Council - it’s finally a reality. And I couldn’t be happier.
On Floor 1, there's a chance you might run into a little Apple icon on the map. Once inside, you’ll have a chance to reflect upon things, and a chance to embrace 1 of the 7 Deadly Sins (personified in Vaulty fashion of course!). For doing so, you’ll suffer a Void (or 2), but each Sin has its own unique playable Affliction card. And they’re all pretty good.
Each one also comes with its own Achivement, and each Achievement comes with it’s own Deckback. Yup, you guessed it. Which one are you going to be hunting for?
Daily Impossible+, and a little discussion about Imp+ moving forward
So, first the good news! Daily Impossible+ is in the game now! A daily random selection of modifiers set to Imp+30, so you can just jump in and have a rip. It will also set a Seed for you based on the Dailly, but you’re free to change that if you wish. Why Imp+30? That might become more clear next.
Forgive me, this is going to be long.
So first, I’ll start by saying - I don’t claim to have all the answers - I’m learning a lot of this as I go! I do ask for a bit of leash where possible based on this - I’m more than happy to take feedback and make adjustments, especially where I get things wrong. Which I think I have here.
There’s been a bit of talk in the Discord recently about Imp+, the level of difficulty, and the intent. Previously in the game, if you set ALL the modifiers on, you’d reach Imp+66. Based on what I hear from those players, this is definitely in the realm of “not every seed is winnable”. This could also be translated into “not super fair”. Most high challenge players I spoke to in the early days, ran the modifiers up to Imp+50, grabbed the Achievement, and then settled in around Imp+30 for their “casual play”. Imp+30 is around the zone where it feels like, with perfect play, most seeds are winnable. I won’t say all, but this seems to be the zone where the challenge is there, and players seem happy.
That was how I figured the system would be used, so I never put a cap on the Imp+. However, it's become more and more clear that, if a scale goes higher, then many players do feel they’re not beating the game at it’s highest difficulty. And once they push on beyond 30+, hitting high 30’s, early 40’s, it’s becoming more and more frustrating. I totally get this - playing on Imp+30 when Imp+66 is available feels wrong to those who want to play at max difficulty. I totally agree - I can honestly say I think I screwed up a bit here.
So here’s what I’ve currently actioned, and where I’m looking to move to.
What I've done:
As of this patch, I’ve capped custom mode Imp+ at 50. You can’t go beyond that. Guided still stops at 30 and Daily is set to 30. Custom you can push it up to 50, and get that last Achievement.
What I’m thinking about doing:
Based on feedback, I’m thinking about lowering that cap to 30 for Custom as well. This means a few things - it means that the “max difficulty” of the game will be Imp+30. This is a pretty sweet spot, it provides a challenge, but also isn’t unfair to the player. There will also be 3 ways to experience it then, through Guided set, through Daily set or through custom, where you can share setups with your friends.
Achievements will move and change accordingly.
The thing about this change is that the modifiers still work the way they’re intended. They work as a way to provide players with challenges that they get to custom set, turning off things they do or don’t like. Allows for the option of challenging friends with different setups. Most of all, it allows me to add many, many more modifiers, and by doing that, not also randomly increase the max difficulty of the game.
Thanks if you made it this far - I’d love to hear your thoughts! Any high Imp+ runners feel their experience would be lessened by this change?
New Cards
10 new cards, a couple for each class, are now in as well! You can find them in the Compendium, if you search for 1.3.78! Again, because they’re new, back to holding artwork sadly but I’ll have those replaced by next week hopefully!
Compendium Change
Small change to the Compendium I wanted to try out. Now, cards that you haven’t discovered will have their details changed to read “???”. However, “discovering” cards now just require you to pick it up on the run, rather than “play” the card - then it will become unlocked to view the details!
All in all, there's a bunch more changes! You’ll see a new logo, new way of presenting updates on the Main Menu, more particles, lots of bug fixes and more! I’ll post a full list down below.
Nintey-Freakin-Seven-Percent
Before I go - I mean, wow. This week Vault of the Void hit 97% overall on Steam reviews. That's... mind blowing. I have no words to express how thankful I am, and that you all enjoy Vault as much as I enjoy making it! We’re getting closer to 500 overall reviews as well - I’ll have to start getting my act into gear and get a Community Reward ready to go!
Thanks everyone - I hope you really enjoy this update :) It’s been easily the most exhausting to cram in for me, but I’ve had a blast. Now, time to catch up on sleep!
All for now.
- Josh
Full(ish) Patch Notes
Overview
- New Floor 1 Event - Reflections of Sin
- New Floor 2 Event - Queen
- New Achivements for the Sins event
- New Card Backs for the Sins Event
- New Log artwork!
- Compendium ordering has changed, and so has the discovery method and display.
- Particles add to reshuffling cards
- When you enter Zen, an orb will appear letting you know in a more noticable way, the amount of card plays remaining
- Removed Volatile from all Hidden Blade generation - it's just a part of the card now that its a token card.
- Have switch button orders around on Popovers (Accept is now on the left). Please be careful, sorry for having these around the wrong way.
- Daily Instablity is now in!
- Max Instability set to 50. Likely to change again, please read above!
- Can now see your Instability details when mousing over the item.
Cards
- Blood Siphon reduced to 0 cost.
- Timely Maneuver block has dropped a touch.
- State of Mind is now a 2 cost.
- Cohesion Block upped by 1
- Spirit Essence's Energy clause changed.
- 10 New Cards added!
Bugs
- Fixed Punching Bag with new enemy spawns
- Soul Collector shouldn't sell you stuff you already own anymore!
- Fixed Flask of Blue Juice not giving the 20%
- Fixed Escalate to stop being silly during Dragon Mother fight.
- Fixed an issue which allowed you to get multiple spells from the Swamp Witch
- Fixed typo on Forgotten Fuse.
- Fixed an issue where viewing the Map would make it a bit scrambly
- Fixed an issue with Swift Hand.
- Fixed a bug with Red Glasses and Crystalized Ichor when interacting with 0 Bleed (with Garnet Band)
- Ornate Fork now counts Fatigue
- Jade Mantis now counts Rage
- Fixed the re-roll issue (no really this time)
- Fixed Lascerations triggering on 0 Bleed
- Can new view upgards in Lost and Found
- Buttons in Lost and Found shouldn't be clickable underneath stuff now
- Seive vs Sieve spelling war has been won
- Quick Smith will now upgrade Void Coins
- Put a fix in place for the Class Trainer re-rolling the same card
- Unholy Cleansing damage should show its name in the Combat Log
- Re-Roll on Boosters shouldn't roll the same card anymore. "Shouldn't"