Hello. In this update I would like to show one of the two meaty parts of upcoming verion 0.12: The new Lotus types and Idols.
The Ugly
This is Red lotus. Red lotus will be your new best friend in Tier 3. (If you are not sure what happens in Tier 3 be sure to check january update )
In Tier 3 you can say goodbye to all the Gold Lotus mechanisms - No more rewards for population, workshops or anything of the sort. So in fact Red Lotus will be your ONLY friend.
Red Lotus represents Sacrifice. To gain a Red lotus, you will have to give up some bit of your progress (or progression speed). There will be several methods of doing that and you will unlock one by one as you go through the Tier 3 Tree.
Red lotus are special in that they can technically be produced infinitely as long as your civilization can withstand another sacrifice (there is an increasing cost).
They will also always be the first ones to clash with Black lotus making them a reasonable method of protecting more valuable Lotus types later.
The Good
Meet the White Lotus. Unlike Gold lotuses, white lotus will be gained only from a new Pledges mechanism - something like optional objectives. The pledges will work similar to the old Bonus Star system (which has been removed last year).
At the start of each game, you will have the option to pick any number of Pledges (from among your Civilization Perks). Each Pledge has different condition which must be met but more importantly kept for the rest of the game. It works like a difficulty handicap.
If you complete the Pledge successfully each will grant 1 White lotus on your ascension.
The Pledges will be unlocked one by one as you progress through Ascensions. As a matter of fact I plan to introduce White lotuses back in Tier 2 so that Players have access to them earlier.
Also White lotuses will have a new feature - they will be 'Transient'. Meaning you cannot hold onto them in between ascensions. All White lotus you earned, you must either spend, or lose them.
Because gaining multiple White lotuses at the same time will be difficult (by having to complete multiple Pledges in a single run) - White lotus will lead to slightly different economy than grinding Gold Lotuses.
Note: Most ascensions will not require White lotus. It's role is mostly reserved for rare upgrades and important milestones in the Ascension tree.
The Bad
Finally the mighty Black Lotus that we all know already. As you probably noticed in the current system each Black Lotus destroys one non-black Lotus during ascension. Thus it works like a generic punishment for playing 'badly'. This mechanism stays, but there is a little twist. Tier 3 will actually need you to play a bit more 'naughty'.
With Tier 3 there are two main additions to the Black Lotus mechanism:
- From Tier 3 There will be new powerful abilities which will generate Black lotus as a cost. Black lotus thus will also act as 'currency' (in a sense that for a special bonus also receive black lotuses)
- Black lotuses can actually be 'Captured' and used to purchase some very powerful ascensions deep down Tier 3.
- Black lotuses (along with other colors) will be used to purchase special abilities (or 'Instruments') used to combat Meta-Nemeses (codename 'Judgements') in meta-physical world (i.e. in the Ascension Tree itself as mentioned in the same january update mentioned earlier )
I'll share more details about points 2 and 3 next time hopefully. So for today let's look at point 1.
Idols
Idols are a new type of hero introduced in the dark times of Tier 3. They represent primitive cultural 'Spirits' and are interpreted as Animal idols. These spirits are the only culture your Micropeople have before inventing arts, religion, science, mythology, or comic books. You will need these powers to win the Tier 3.
Bull Idol will be one of the earliest available 'factions'. Besides having a random economical trait (from different pool than heroes) it will have a unique ability permanently increasing your unit damage.
Rat Idol will be available on later stage. Its special power will allow you to dispel Predicaments (finally). The exact mechanism is still being proven against the rest of the game.
There will initially be 6 Idol 'factions': Bull, Raven, Vulture, Hawk, Rat and Hog. Idols only have one economical trait (compared to up to 3 on Heroes) but each has a very powerful single-use ability (usable once per run).
This ability will grant you a permanent trait for the rest of the run but at the cost of generating Black Lotus over time. You won't be able to cancel that ability once used so make the decision wisely.
Ascension Tree Tier 3 work in progress. In here you can see main path through it beginning from its center. A number of secondary ascensions will be added too.
Using idols in all your four slots will grant you a lot of power. You will most likely be able to defeat any opponent and succeed in goals otherwise impossible. The downside is that you will also generate a plenty of Black Lotuses during this time, plenty of dead and thus jeopardize your ascension progress.
So the choice will be up to you how much of this dark power you will use.
Idols are simpler than old-school Heroes. They can only reach level 10 (though more expensively so) and only exist in one rarity (possibly a handful of Unique idols will be added in the future). They will be the only type of hero you can equip during Tier 3.
So you may be asking what happens with your Idols when you reach Tier 4?
Socketing
Upon reaching tier 4 you can again equip you old heroes (and to gain new 80+ level ones). From this point Rare/Unique Heroes can be infused with your Idols (one per each). This will technically insert the idol to the Hero - creating a different frame around them. They will share the same space and can be equipped at once. You will also be able to 'unsocket' the idol freely via Salvaging.
Tier 4 will therefore again allow you to combine both your traditional Hero build with the new Idol-powered super-abilities. This will be necessary to confront the Tier 4 challenges and final boss.
More about that another time.
Have a nice day,
Ondrej