Hello there, Survivors!
Last time, we talked about how a Blister’s corpse can bring new threats and strategic opportunities to the game.
Today, we’re diving into a mechanic that you may have come across before—but now it’s back with even more tactical potential: Charm.
Charm – Looks Harmless, But Packs a Punch
Charm is an enemy attack type that’s been around since the test versions after Early Access. You’ve probably run into enemies like the Harlot or the Petal, who love using Charm to throw your team into chaos.
These enemies aren’t strong in terms of raw attack power or defense, but don’t underestimate them. If they land a hit—or sometimes when you land a hit on them—they can inflict Charm, which makes your character completely helpless until they either take damage or a turn passes.
What makes it even trickier is that Charm attacks usually hit multiple targets at once. Rush in carelessly, and you might find half your Survivors stuck, unable to move—standing helplessly in the path of a devastating follow-up attack.
Charm was designed as a gameplay mechanic that reflects the narrative and intended player experience of the upcoming district. Set in the dazzling yet ominous Red-Light District, it highlights the Survivors' determination as they resist the deadly allure of hostile people and the horrific creatures that lurk within...
But we wanted to take it a step further. Rather than just being a simple Status Effect, Charm now comes with a unique twist, offering new narrative depth and strategic choices as you progress through the district.
Charm Rework: Is the Enemy of My Enemy... Truly an Ally?
Before, Charm was pretty simple—it’d disable your character, but getting hit would snap them out of it. That meant you could quickly shake it off with a bit of damage and carry on.
But with the Pleasure District setting in mind, we figured, why not make Charm more interesting?
Now, Charm doesn’t just disable your character—it actually turns them into an enemy for a bit. So, if an ally is Charmed during the enemy's turn, they might start attacking the other Survivors!
The good news? Since they count as an enemy while Charmed, you can attack them to break the effect and hopefully get them back on your side.
This kind of change might be a bit more fitting for the "Emotional" side of things, adding to the "Charm," but it’s still quite a stretch from offering a truly diverse gameplay experience. It’s really just the difference between becoming uncontrollable at that moment or directly threatening your own team. Characters under the Charm effect don’t just see allies as enemies but also consider creatures targets too. So, a character in a Charmed state might actually attack the creatures in certain battle situations.
Taking advantage of this, it’s become possible to make tactical choices where sometimes getting Charmed could even lead to greater benefits. Of course, it’s hard to perfectly predict the movements of a Charmed character, so any tactics that use Charm should always be done so with caution.
Another Use for a Stone – A Good Hit Will Snap Them Out of It!
In the last Dev Note, [Strategic Strike: Blister's Corpse]we mentioned the humble throwing Pebble which you can use on expeditions. Well, it’s actually pretty great for breaking Charm too!
One of the things mentioned earlier is that the stone deals "very little damage." This wouldn't really be useful as a weapon, but it's perfect for waking up an ally who’s zoned out. As the expedition goes on, your allies get stronger, and resources like TP and WP become more valuable. So, if you go and attack a Charmed ally using WP or whatever to snap them out of it, they’ll take heavy damage, and you’ll lose a valuable attack chance. But with a Pebble, you can get them out of Charm more easily and efficiently. After all, when someone’s out of it, a gentle rock works wonders!
Well, we hope you found today’s Charm update interesting! We’ll be back with more cool updates in the next dev note.
Catch you later, Survivors!
Thanks as always!
REMORE