Hey everyone, it's been a while, and we have some news on the progress of the upcoming combat update.
Map win condition
Now you can win a map! There are 4 enemy towers on each side of the map, if you destroy all of them and survive the final enemy wave you win. You will still be able to play after that if you want to, but if you’re looking for a challenge, now you have it. Make sure you are ready to defend your castle, as a destroyed tower will summon a much bigger wave of enemies at night. And if you will destroy all towers you will have to defend against the final and strongest enemy wave.
Better unit roles
Since the release, we've struggled to find a good balance between our units, but I think we've found a good solution.
Swordsmen will now have shields by default, and they can use them to protect themselves from arrows. Along with better armor, this allows them to take significant damage and still survive
Knights still wield a big two-handed sword that deals splash damage, making them the most dangerous unit in melee combat.
Pikemen now have long spears, which allow them to have greater attack range. By combining pikemen with knights or swordsmen, you can create a squad that fits your needs in terms of damage or defense
Archers are mostly unchanged, but they have almost no armor. So, leaving them alone in an open field at night might not be the best idea, as enemies also have units with shields.
New levels
Levels make units more powerful than before, and you can easily see the unit level icon. Control and position your troops in a way that allows them to gain experience in each fight, and try not to lose too many of them.
Dead or injured
Speaking of that, you will be able to see how many of your troops died during the fight. A skull icon represents a unit that died, and a cross represents a unit that can be healed in a hospital. The more skulls, the bloodier the fight was. You can hire more doctors to increase the chance that a unit will not die in a fight.
Banners
Also we've added banners that you could give to any unit, each banner will have different aura that will affect your troops. So now you will have much more tools to create unique defence strategies.
Smarter enemies
You’ll need to be more creative defending your castle, as there will be more enemies, and they will be smarter this time! Enemies will bring siege ladders and towers only when it makes sense, saving time to reach the castle keep. They will also use rams to break through gate doors now.
You will be able to see the possible enemy paths, which will help a lot when planning your defenses. The visuals are still a work in progress, but you can already see how enemy attack paths change when you place a wall. Enemies will choose to run around if it’s much faster than breaking down the wall, but if the detour is too far, they will try to break through the wall and might even use a siege ram to help them.
New map
All these new combat mechanics need a better world to truly shine. That’s why we’re working on new map types, along with a map editor, so you’ll be able to create custom maps with interesting designs and challenges. If you’d like, you can also share them with others through the Steam Workshop later on.
When it's going to be released?
We wanted to release it much earlier, but as usual, things grew out of scope. We want to ensure this release is the most polished yet and that we deliver the best possible experience with it. We still aim to release it in a few months.
Let us know what do you thinkg about the upcoming update in the comments!