Reworked Chapter 2 is OUT NOW!

Hey, Warlocks!

Welcome to the Chapter 2 Rework update! Urd is back, and ready for rampage!

Let's start off with a brief trip down memory lane, to when we released the Reworked Chapter 1. Our main idea was to expand and emphasize on what made Project Warlock II a proper sequel to Project Warlock. We've taken a few pages from our original playbook, brought them up to modern standards, and introduced them to Palmer's campaign. It wasn't perfect, but it felt like we were heading in the right direction. We're also circling back a bit by reintroducing Fire and Ice spells for Palmer in place of Phantom Palmer and Ammo Refill. Fire and Ice just feel like Palmer's elements, and they're back. These aren't the only Palmer changes you'll see in the patch notes, keep reading!

After launching the Reworked Chapter 1 it was time to polish the ongoing Chapter 2 Rework. The whole process had 2 goals:
1. Unify the character progression systems - we decided to move away from Wargression, as having 3 different character progression systems would be too disorienting in the long run. We're still thinking on ways to use the Wargression system in the future, as some of you were really fond of its idea.
2. Update Urd's arsenal to bring it up to Chapter 1 standards - Urd's arsenal was simpler than Palmer's - mainly due to Wargression system as well as the Spell Book. Now that Urd has access to Weapon Upgrades, as well as Stats, Perks, and Passive upgrades, she has a fully upgradeable set of weapons. You'll notice a few familiar guns from the previous Chapter 2 version, But the majority of her arsenal is brand new.

Along the way we've made more changes to how Chapter 2, and, to be honest, the whole Project Warlock II plays out. Reworked Chapter 2 brings a fresh HUD for Urd AND Palmer, as well as brand new SFX to the whole game, including new sound effects for weapons and monsters, and new music tracks for Chapter 2. We've also revised the level design of Chapter 2, and made some adjustments to encounters, and, most notably, the Lava Worm fight happens in E2M7. Not that long ago we've come up with a brand new World Difficulty Level system. After completing M7 of each Chapter the increased world difficulty level allows Elite monster variants to spawn. They are deadly, and should make the second part of each chapter more interesting. We've also adjusted difficulty levels across the board, and let us tell you... the Hardcore is really... hardcore.

We'd like to offer a huge thanks to our brave Discord Playtesters who helped us along the way by providing a ton of valuable feedback. Thank you for all the bug reports, suggestions, and discussions we had over the course of the playtest.

Without further ado, here are the Reworked Chapter 2 Patch Notes:

Chapter 2 Rework

Overhauled and reworked Chapter 2, matching the quality and features from Chapter 1

Added HUB between levels to Chapter 2

• Added Stats & Perks Shop
• Added Weapon Upgrade Shop
• Added Spell Upgrade Shop
• Added Passive Upgrade Shop
• Added Bestiary Room

New SFX for Chapter 2

Revised the sound effects of Weapons, Monsters, as well as the Soundtrack.

Reworked Chapter 2 Arsenal

Revised all Weapons in Chapter 2, new arsenal consists of:

• Kunai Dagger
  • Tribal Tomahawk
  • Tribal Spear

• Revolver
  • Buckshot Revolver
  • Magnum Pistol

• Pump Action Shotgun
  • Winchester Rifle
  • Shorty Shotgun

• Crystal SMG
  • Gatling Gun
  • Dual SMGs

• Dynamite
  • TNT Charge
  • Firecrackers

• Magic Crossbow
  • Magic Tripleshot Crossbow
  • Magic Ballista

Revised Chapter 2 Stats

• Strength
• Vitality
• Spirit
• Capacity
• Poison
• Crystal

Revised Chapter 2 Perks

Alongside pool of common perks, Urd has access to her individual ones:

• Poison Cloud
• Poison Aura
• Crystal Blast
• Crystal Aura

Revised Chapter 2 Spells

• Temporal Speed
• Crystal Spell
• Poison Spell

Revised Chapter 2 Spell Upgrades

• Temporal Speed
  • Melee Master
  • Duration Increase

• Crystal Spell
  • Unstable Crystals
  • High-speed Crystals

• Poison Spell
  • Grand Opening
  • Cloud Control

Revised Chapter 2 Passive Upgrades

Passive Upgrades are commonly shared between all Chapters

Added Rune Tasks for Chapter 2 Weapons

Urd can augment her weapons with either Poison or Crystal runes.

Revised Chapter 2 Levels

• Most levels received updated and balanced encounters
• Moved Lava Worm boss from E2M11 to E2M7
• Reworked E2M12 Final Boss Fight mechanics
• Reworked area where Lava Worm boss was in E2M11

Chapter 1 Changes

Reworked Chapter 1 Spells

Frost Spell replaces Phantom Palmer
Fire Spell replaces Ammo Refill

Reworked Upgrades for Spells

• Frost Spell
  • Ice Bolt
  • Ice Storm

• Fire spell
  • Extended Flames
  • Extended Range

New SFX for Chapter 1

• Revised Weapons Sounds
• Revised Monster Sounds
• Revised Audio Balance and Mixing

Game Difficulty

World Difficulty Level

World difficulty level increases after completing M7 of each chapter.
Increased world difficulty level allows Elite monster variants to spawn.

Elite Monsters

• These monsters have a chance to appear on the increased world difficulty level.
• They move and attack faster and have higher health pool.

Game Balance

• Balanced monsters and difficulty levels

Difficulty Levels

• Adjusted difficulty levels

Weapons

• Reworked the magazine logic
• Magazines now show real magazine ammo
• Ammo is not subtracted from the ammo pool when shooting, only from the magazine

Visuals

• Added Emission Maps to active Upgrade Stations
• Added Emission Maps to doors for better visibility
• Added SSAO effect around sprites, when SSAO is enabled
• Added Visual Hint for explosive projectiles displaying their hit radius

UI

• Overhauled Chapter 1 HUD Palmer's Mugshot is still in the works, therefore new HUD contains an outdated icon
• Overhauled Chapter 2 HUD
• Revised all menus visually

Gameplay

Coyote Time

• Coyote time got an update and works more accurately!

Loading Screen

• Added new loading screen between Buckshot Software and Main Menu to prepare the assets for the game

AI/Monsters

Flying Monsters Rework

Flying monsters now actually fly (kinda)

Bugfixing

Fixed over 120 bugs total found during past months

Known Issues

- You might encounter some audio-related issues, such as sound cutting out, multiple sounds overlapping each other - we are working on fixing those and we'll have a patch ready in the next few days to address that. If you come across any audio-related issues, make sure to let us know!

- The icons for Fire Spell upgrades in the shop are placeholder and subject-to-change.

Next Steps...

We can't wait for you to re-enter the Brutalist West and see what Urd's new arsenal is capable of. We'll be taking a close look at your endeavors, and making adjustments where necessary and can't wait for your feedback.

Have fun in the Brutalist West, and see you next time!