Greetings Dice Slingers!
In the previous update we focused on late game and ended up (over-)simplifying wizard loadouts, as we repurposed the starter attack/defense Spells (which we planned to rework, but ran out of time for the update). We recognize though - as many of you rightly pointed out - that this feels like a step back, so we are currently working on improving the Loadout system. Here's a quick peek into what we are experimenting with.
PLEASE NOTE: Screenshots below show experimental and untested content, some of which will never be implemented in the game
Experiment: New starter Spells
One approach we are exploring is basically reintroducing unique attack and defense Spell for each loadout, while attempting to have more build-defining Spells.
In Development example of a blood themed Loadout for Fire.
A potential new loadout focused on the Rain countdown mechanic.
A new set of attack/defense Spells for Mulch that relies on midrange dice values.
Experiment: Drafting attack/defense Spells
A struggle we always had with loadouts (and part of the reason for the simplification) is that we want to avoid players keeping all of their starting Spells throughout the game. Ideally, players are finetuning their build after each combat by for example switching out starter spells. Our approach has been making attack/defense Spells comparably weak, pushing you to replace them quickly as you are putting together your build. However this makes it (surprisingly) difficult and time consuming to design attack/defense Spells which both feel unique and interesting.
Another potential approach is using common Spells in loadouts, or draft attack/defense Spells at the start of each run.
Some combinations of Spells don't work well, so this approach might require a limited selection of Spells, or instead be an optional game mode.
Experiment: Signature Spell upgrades
The dice focused "signature" Spell that each loadout has, is what has always defined the loadout and is usually the only starting spell you keep throughout the game.
Still, the signature Spells usually don't affect your build that much, as many of them behave similarly and are purely for dice control.
One experiment we are trying is adding upgrades to Signature Spells, as a way to support more uniqueness for each loadout.
The best types of upgrades are the ones letting you lean into your element’s mechanics.
Experiment: Unique starter Artifacts
For a long time we have had plans to make character selection more interesting by making loadouts even more unique, and have more ways to customize your starting condition.
One approach we are considering is having unique artifacts for loadouts, and/or allow choosing a specific artifact in the loadout selection process.
Different Artifacts that could be selected during character selection.
Although we think there is a lot of potential in this approach, we have found it difficult to design a large set of Artifacts like this. It also feels like some of these ideas could just be regular/starter Artifacts, and/or the examples above would be better suited for some form of optional "Challenge Mode" due to their very large impact on how you play.
However, having unique Artifacts that lean into different build-archetypes could work well as an “intro” for the more complex build synergies, so they still seem worthwhile to explore further in some capacity.
With all this in mind, we’re looking into doing some public testing for the loadouts and the other features we’re working on, but we will have more to share about that in the near future.
May your dice roll true 🧙
Tim & Thorbjørn