Alchemist Update

New

• New Playable Character - The Alchemist: Once unlocked, head to the bottom of the hub room and interact with the player statues to change character between runs.
• Challenge system has been trimmed while maintaining the same level of difficulty. The new order is: (i) elite enemies, (ii) stronger enemies, (iii) invasions, and (iv) arenas evolve. The effect of the previous "bigger waves" challenge level is now included in all runs by default. The effects of the previous "tougher enemies" and "stronger enemies" challenge levels have been combined into a single challenge level. (I want the vast majority of challenge levels to be novel gameplay changes to avoid artificially inflating the longevity of the game, especially since challenge levels are unlocked separately for each playable character.)
• New Emblem - Arcane Insight: You have 15% bonus maximum life and 2 bonus life regeneration as long as you have an arcane spell equipped.
• New Emblem - Alchemy: Healing potions drop 3.5 times more often but you no longer regenerate life.
• New Emblem - Concentration: Your spells deal 20% more damage but you can no longer move while casting.
• New Emblem - Elemental Harmony: You have 15% bonus power as long as there are 2 different elements among your equipped spells, or 30% bonus power for 3 different elements.
• New Emblem - Excessive Force: You have 30% bonus critical hit damage and critical damage from spells knocks enemies back.
• New Emblem - Fire Insight: You have 10% bonus power as long as you have a fire spell equipped.
• New Emblem - Kill Time: The next time you deal critical spell damage, all cooldown timers are reduced by 1 second. This effect refreshes after 1 second.
• New Emblem - Lightning Insight: You have 50 bonus maximum mana and 30% bonus cooldown speed as long as you have a lightning spell equipped.
• New Emblem - Marksman's Brew: Collecting healing potions causes the next spell you cast to deal critical damage. Each enemy can only be critically damaged in this way once per spell cast.
• New Emblem - Photosynthesis: All regeneration is increased by 100% but you only regenerate while not moving.
• New Emblem - Potion Guzzler: Healing potions can overheal, granting bonus maximum life that degrades over 15 seconds (stacks independently).
• New Emblem - Vigor: You have (3x life regen.)% bonus move and attack speeds.
• Reworked Emblem - Ambush: You have 30% bonus critical strike chance while your life is at 90% or higher.
• Reworked Emblem - Boulder Stance: You gain 20% bonus power, 30 bonus resistances, and knockback immunity, but your base move speed is reduced by 50%.
• Reworked Emblem - Brawler: Spell damage you deal to enemies within 4 tiles is increased by (30% resistances)%.
• Reworked Emblem - Cursed Touch: Enemies that damage you are slowed by 50% and take (10% enemy max. life) arcane damage per second for 5 seconds. Deals (3% enemy max. life) damage per second to bosses.
• Reworked Emblem - Dark Thirst: You no longer regenerate mana but you restore 5% of your maximum mana whenever an enemy dies.
• Reworked Emblem - Dragon Heart: Every 20 life you gain deals 40 fire damage to enemies within 6 tiles.
• Reworked Emblem - Elemental Devotion: Whenever you cast an elemental damage spell you gain a stack. Upon reaching 6 stacks you lose all stacks and the element of the last spell cast becomes empowered, increasing all damage you deal of that element by 15%. Only 1 element can be empowered at a time.
• Reworked Emblem - Grit: You have 0.8 bonus life regeneration and 4 bonus resistances for every 10% missing life.
• Reworked Emblem - High Voltage: Critical lightning damage stuns enemies for 1.5 seconds.
• Reworked Emblem - Maim: The first time you deal critical damage to an enemy, that damage is increased by 25% and that enemy is permanently slowed by 20%.
• Reworked Emblem - Reaper: Each enemy you kill during combat grants you 0.3 bonus maximum life until end of combat. Your maximum life is reduced by 40.
• Reworked Emblem - Reckless Strike: Basic spells deal 20% more damage but casting basic spells deals 5 true damage to you.
• Reworked Emblem - Tempest (previously Trailblazer): You leave a trail of electricity as you move, dealing (70% power) lightning damage per second to enemies for 4 seconds.
• Reworked Emblem - Withdraw (previously Thick Hide): After being damaged by an enemy, all damage you take is reduced by 50% for 4 seconds. This effect refreshes after 10 seconds.

Player

• Multiple instances of damage taken from enemies in a small duration is greatly reduced to help prevent the player from being bursted down before they can react.
• Entering a new arena now removes poison and fully heals the player.
• Changed how life and mana regeneration works to be more accurate (now internally measured in amount per second instead of amount per frame).

Spells

• Chain Lightning: Cast speed reduced.
• Electric Field: Damage per second reduced from 110% of power to 65%.
• Grasping Vines: Now also spawns vines behind you, range reduce from 18 tiles to 13, duration reduced from 6 seconds to 5.5.
• Static Discharge: Damage reduced from 100-780% of power to 100-700%, base charge time reduced from 2 seconds to 1.5, damage radius increased from 5.5 tiles to 6.
• Stone Skin: Shield reduced from 40% maximum life to 30%, cooldown increased from 10 seconds to 12.
• Whirling Death: Updated visual effects.

Runes

• Skipping a rune no longer grants a random tome.
• Rework - Grasping Vines (Harvest) (previously Strangle): Each enemy grants you 0.3 bonus life regeneration and 0.5 bonus mana regeneration while rooted by this spell.
• Apparition (Raiju): Now deals 50% power lightning damage, changed area of effect visuals.
• Black Hole (Supernova): Damage reduced from 500% of power to 400%.
• Burst (Demolition): Number of bubbles reduced from 10 to 8, cooldown increased from 4 seconds to 5.
• Dragon's Breath (Wildfire): Damage increased from 700% of power to 720%, channel duration reduced from 0.83-1.83 seconds to 0.5-1.5, changed fully charged sound effect to be more noticeable.
• Lava Chakram (Nimbus): Damage reduced from 110% of power to 70%.
• Solar Beam (Overheat): Bonus attack speed reduced from 40% to 30%, bonus move speed increased from 60% to 70%, added sound effect upon gaining the overheat effect.
• Stone Skin (Crash): Stun radius increased from 2.5 tiles to 3.5.
• Whirling Death (Throw): Throw effect is no longer cancelled if only invulnerable targets (e.g. hazards) were hit.

Emblems

• Arcane Invocation: Bonus resistances reduced from 9 to 4 per stack, no longer grants bonus cooldown speed for 7 seconds (stacks up to 5 times).
• Adrenaline: Now grants 4 bonus power and 4% bonus attack speed per stack, no longer grants bonus move speed or bonus resistances.
• Affinity Emblems: Damage bonus reduced from 15/30% to 10/20%.
• Aftershock: Now deals (30% enemy max. life) lightning damage after a brief delay or (5% enemy max. life) damage to bosses.
• Agony’s Insight: Cooldown timer reduction reduced from 1.5 seconds to 1.
• Avatar: Cycle interval reduced from 6 seconds to 5, bonus damage increased from 25% to 40%, now reduces the damage of other elements by 30%.
• Berserker: Bonus attack speed reduced from 80% to 50%.
• Blessing of Brutality: Bonus critical hit damage increased from 20% to 40%.
• Blessing of Elusivity: Bonus ranged resistance reduced from 20 to 12.
• Blessing of Rejuvenation: Bonus life regeneration reduced from 3 to 2.
• Blessing of Strength: Bonus power reduced from 14 to 10.
• Blessing of Toughness: Bonus melee resistance reduced from 20 to 12.
• Close Combat: Damage bonus reduced from 14/28% to 15/25%.
• Crippling Aura: Movement speed slow increased from 20% to 60%, attack speed slow reduced from 20% to 15%.
• Elemental Assault: Now causes enemies to take 15% more damage while marked by 2 elements or 25% more damage while marked by 3 elements instead of increasing damage taken by 7% per element, changed emblem icon.
• Enlightened: Bonus power increased from flat 15 to 15%, grants 20 bonus resistances instead of granting evasion, changed emblem icon.
• Entropy: Damage per second increased from 600% of life regeneration to 10x, damage ticks per second increased from 1 to 2, no longer plays non-critical hit damage sounds, radius effect improved.
• Essence Shift: Heal reduced from 18% of mana spent to 10%.
• Fairy Ring: Bonus life regeneration reduced from 6 to 4.
• Fire Invocation: Bonus critical strike chance increased from 2.5% per stack to 3%, bonus critical strike damage increased from 5% per stack to 6%.
• Frenzy: Bonus attack speed reduced from 2/4% per stack to 1/3%.
• Hail of Blades: Projectiles now pierce to damage enemies in a line, damage reduced from 80% of power to 50%, improved visual effects, changed emblem icon.
• Heavy Hitter: Damage bonus reduced from 25% to 20%.
• Hunter’s Dash: Damage bonus reduced from 18% to 15%.
• Invigorating Brew: Changed emblem icon.
• Levitation: You now start moving at maximum speed.
• Lightning Invocation: Now grants 0.33 bonus move speed per stack, no longer grants bonus maximum mana.
• Malaise: Enemy power reduction increased from 18% to 25%, now also increases enemy damage taken by 5%.
• Mana Shield: Bonus resistances reduced from 4 per stack to 2, maximum stacks increased from 9 to 10.
• Meditation: Bonus life regeneration reduced from 6 to 5.
• Mine Layer: Now deals fire damage, damage increased from 50% of power to 70%, maximum number of mines reduced from 16 to 10, mine duration reduced from 12 seconds to 8, refresh time reduced from 8 seconds to 3.
• Overachiever: Damage bonus increased from 20% to 25%.
• Patience: Instead grants 5/15/30 bonus power and 15/30/50% cooldown speed for 2/3/4 equipped cooldown spells respectively.
• Potion Master: Changed emblem icon.
• Psychic Scream: Now fears instead of stuns enemies, damage threshold increased from 50 to 60, duration increased from 1.5 seconds to 2.
• Sharpshooter: Damage bonus reduced from 25/50% to 15/25%.
• Simplicity: Damage bonus reduced from 20/40% to 10/20%.
• Sumo: Now deals (250% max. life) damage.
• Time Leak: Clock catch radius increased from 1.8 tiles to 2, catch altitude threshold increased.
• Unshackled: Now grants (20% missing mana) bonus critical strike chance.

Enemies

• Enemy projectiles now have damage scaling based on distance traversed, dealing less damage at close range.
• Gembound elites (purple) projectile speed and turn rate decreased, damage and cooldown increased.
• Toxic Elites' (green) poison trails are now broken up randomly.
• Bloat: Base life and move speed increased.
• Fly: Attack range increased.
• Giant Frog: Base power reduced, poison cone angle and duration reduced.
• Giant Rat: Can no longer be staggered while attacking, base life increased.
• Spinner: Move speed and acceleration increased.
• Vulture: Move speed, acceleration, and turn rate increased.

Other

• Added character-specific achievements for completing runs and challenge levels, removed obsolete achievements.
• Flat stat modifiers are now applied before multiplicative stat modifiers.
• Emblems, spells, and runes can no longer reroll into a choice that has already been seen this round.
• Choice altar collision and spacing has been changed to reduce instances where players would accidentally bounce off and choose the wrong reward.
• Sonic turret hazard attack range greatly reduced, attack cooldown increased, sonic wave speed and turn rate variance reduced.
• Healing potions now emit a hearts to increase visibility.
• Changed unlockables order.
• Mouse cursor is now locked to game while in fullscreen, preventing players with multiple monitors from accidentally clicking out of the game.
• Added third-party assets to the credits menu (i.e. GameMaker plugins by JujuAdams).
• Tome - Critical Strike Chance: Bonus increased from 3% to 5%.
• Tome - Critical Strike Damage: Bonus increased from 8% to 15%.
• Tome - Life Regeneration: Bonus reduced from 1.1 to 1.
• Tome - Maximum Life: Bonus reduced from 10 to 8.
• Tome - Maximum Mana: Bonus reduced from 25 to 20.
• Tome - Resistances: Bonus reduced from 8 to 5.

Bug Fixes

• FIxed bug where enemies immune to incapacitate effects (stun, fear, root) could be incapacitated by certain spells and emblem effects.
• FIxed bug where player stat descriptions could be seen while the stat panel was hidden.
• Fixed bug where the descriptions for spells in the unlockable unlocked presentation would include a rune description.
• Fixed bug where Lava Chakram (Nimbus) was dealing the same fire damage instead of increased lightning damage.
• Fixed bug where taking damage from certain sources while the Cursed Touch emblem was equipped would crash the game.
• Fixed bug where Clockwork Golem lasers wouldn’t damage the player in certain situations.
• Fixed bug where Steam screenshots weren't working.
• FIxed visual bug where mouse cursor would flicker during scene transitions.