Hey everyone!
A new update is here that brings a new talent line, adds a weapon type that can be used with the Unarmed talent, improves certain UI elements and many other things.
Changelog v0.17.0
Illusion Magic
A new talent line "Illusion Magic" has been added.
The abilities of this talent require expertise, which can be bought at the wand (magic supplies) trader in Immerfurt.
(Please note that the sources for receiving this talent expertise might change during EA.)
- Blinding Light: Reduces sight range of all enemies within range to 1 tile.
- Spectral Copy: Creates a copy of yourself that taunts nearby enemies, but disappears again when hit.
- Charming Whisper: Allows you to charm any type of enemy, making them fight by your side for some time.
- Illusive Defense: Increases your dodge chance for any active ability of the Illusion Magic talent.
- Shadow Minion: Summons a shadow minion that fights by your side.
New Weapon: Knuckles
This new type of fist weapon can be used with the Unarmed talent, allowing "unarmed" players now to wield a weapon and gain access to related bonus stats. However, knuckles are limited to +1 physical damage, regardless of their item level.
New Arcane Magic Ability
A new perk has been added to the end of the Arcane Magic talent, which modifies the previous Mana Shield talent and make the absorbed damage being reflected to all nearby targets when the Mana Shield runs out.
The perk requires expertise, which can be bought at the wand (magic supplies) trader in Immerfurt.
Activation of Random Seeds
Each new playthrough will now use a random seed upon which many areas are generated.
Depending on the type of area you will see more or less differences to the original level generation that has been used since day 1.
Hand-made areas like the first quest dungeon or any settlements are not affected by the new seed. Most other dungeons and outdoor areas will have a new layout (once you start a new playthrough).
Existing savegames are not affected by this change.
UI & QoL improvements
- Improved positiong of various tooltips, especially in inventories. They should not get in your way anymore now when you hover over items.
- Added a subtle hover effect for items.
- Added more texture to certain UI elements.
- Added a display option to toggle between low and high quality visual effects. This should improve performance on low end devices.
- Giving better feedback for when tiles are blocking a tile selection for certain skills.
- Prevented an exploit that allowed upgrading/modifiying items that shouldn't get altered.
- Missing talents have been added to attribute descriptions.
- Updated several translations.
Balancing & Fixes
- Minor perk bonusses in the Unarmed talent line have been slightly adjusted.
- Prevented an exploit that allowed upgrading/modifiying items that shouldn't get altered.
- The wand trader in Immerfurt has expanded their stock and is now called "Magic Supplies Trader".
- Fixed a potential problem where the treasure spot of a treasure map could be covered by a rock.
- Fixed a bug that prevented modification of certain items.
- Fixed a bug with expertise traders not offering expertise after re-entering the level.
- Fixed a potential quest blocker for the inn delivery quest.
Savegame Compatibility
Savegames from version 0.16.x are compatible, but your ability points will be reset and you need to redistribute them again at the bonfire.
What's next
I think alternating between small updates and bigger world expansions works well. So the next one will most likely be World Expansion #3. In fact I already started working on some of the new contents.
It will introduce a new barren land biome, which is also home of the boar tribe.
Their combat arena is as famous as it is dangerous and will play a bigger role in the upcoming adventures :)
As usual, world expansions take their time, but I'll make sure to update you with a preview post as I go!
If you enjoy your time with Of Blades & Tails and the new contents, then please consider writing a short Steam review. It really helps the game to grow and reach more players :)
Until next time, take care everyone!
Felix