Hello Everyone!
Update v1.2 is coming along nicely, and I thought I'd drop a little preview of it so everyone knows what to expect before it drops. I had also originally predicted the update would be ready this weekend, but it's not quite where I want it yet so I'm gonna take my time to finish up the last few features!
So, here's what's coming in update v1.2!
New Arena Bosses
3 new bosses are making their debut in v1.2, each with their own unique abilities. Above is a preview of the new Fear Factory boss, Razorclaw, which has a set of different attack patterns that you'll need to memorize in order to take it down.
New Arena Objectives
In addition to new bosses, there's also a new arena objective type called "Boss Takedown", where you need to defeat the boss in order to get the achievement for the arena. Fear factory and Dynamo are both receiving these objective changes. Below is the new Dynamo boss, "Dualwing", which you'll need to defeat in order to complete the arena and get the Steam achievement for it.
The final boss being added I want to keep secret so as to avoid too many spoilers, but you can expect to see it in the Bomber Blitz arena at the 3 minute mark.
Balance changes
Although these new bosses are a fairly large addition, it's not the main focus of v1.2. So far one of the biggest complaints with the game has been that it's too easy, and so I wanted to really try and balance out all the arenas so that they're challenging but not annoying. Here is a list of the balance changes you can expect to see in the update - these are by no means final and are subject to change!
BALANCE CHANGES:
- First crystal to drop after a synergy is available is now guaranteed to be red
- Increased enemy scaling on infinite stages by 50%
- Increased Healing Totem heal amount from 0.5hp to 1.5hp
- Increased Drone projectiles by 100%
- Increased Drone rotation speed from 20 to 25
- Decreased Drone movement speed from 80 to 60 (buff)
- Decreased Drone range from 35 to 25 (buff)
- Decreased Multi Missile cooldown from 1s to 0.5s
- Decreased Torpedo base damage from 25 to 15
ABYSS CHANGES:
- Increased Hammerhead health from 30hp to 35hp
- Decreased Hammerhead XP drops from ~20xp to ~15xp
- Decreased Mesmer XP drops from ~10xp to ~4xp
- Decreased Triangle cooldown from 1s to 0.5s on Phase 3
- Decreased Sawblade cooldown from 1.25s to 1s on Phase 4
- Decreased Fighter cooldown from 1.5s to 1.25s on Phase 4
- Decreased Hammerhead cooldown from 10s to 5s on Phase 5
- Decreased Fighter cooldown from 1s to 0.5s on Phase 6
- Decreased Fighter cooldown from 1s to 0.5s on Phase 7
- Decreased Fighter cooldown from 4s to 3s on Phase 8
- Decreased Fighter cooldown from 5s to 3s on Phase 9
FEAR FACTORY CHANGES:
- Decreased Hammerhead cooldown from 5s to 4s on all phases
I'm still planning on making changes to Bomber Blitz, but these initial changes should make the other arenas a lot more challenging and make 10+ minute runs a LOT more difficult to achieve. The game was designed for short, fast-paced runs - NOT hour long AFK runs!
Quality of life
Another big focus of v1.2 is on QOL features. This update wont have all the QOL features I have planned, but should be a good start to making the game a more enjoyable experience for everyone. Here's what QOL features are being added in v1.2
- Cursor customization options
- Power module loadouts
- Power module tooltips
- New player tutorial
- Secondary auto fire toggle
- Crystal count in-game
- Colorblind accessibility options
Note: Some of these may be in subsequent patches and not available right away.
And more!
In addition to what's above, there's even more minor changes / additions and bug fixes being added. Again, a lot of this stuff is still a WIP and not everything will be addressed in the initial version of 1.2, but it should be a step in the right direction to raise the overall quality of the game.
I hope you're all excited for v1.2! Although it isn't a massive content update, it should address most of the main concerns so far. (and make the game more challenging) In regards to when it will be released, whenever it's ready, but most of the update is already complete so hopefully not too long!
Thanks for reading,
~ Ben