Hello Heroes and welcome to this new blogpost!
Today’s subject is the Level Progression system in Forgotten Mines and everything you need to know about how your choices will affect your run.
In the game, players must venture deeper into the mines to defeat enemies and level up. As simple as that! Well, not that simple actually. But I’ll try and make it as informative as possible, so let’s start!
Difficulty scaling
In Forgotten Mines, you get to pick your team from a wide variety of classes, before hopping on the first floor. Called Verdant Halls, it leads you to slay Goblins, and eventually you will progress through the four floors filled with many different enemies. With that in mind, you might be wondering how the difficulty scales, well let me explain.
The player can control a maximum of 3 heroes, while enemies grow in number and strength as well as being more and more powerful. At the end of the first two floors, there will be a boss room with one powerful enemy and their henchmen to conquer. From the third floor onward, sub-bosses appear in rooms leading to the main boss, leaving the player with the feeling of facing two bosses.
Progressing in the game means more challenges. Enemies will work hard to poison the player's Heroes while the environment becomes more and more hostile. For example, explosive elemental stones as well as pits tiles are added, making the environment hazardous. The size and strength of enemy reinforcement hordes also escalates as the player makes their way through the mines. In short, the difficulty intensifies dramatically as you venture deeper towards the depths of Hell.
Endless strategies
In Forgotten Mines, there are numerous ways to collect XP and level up, and it’s essential for the player to constantly seek it out. Leveling up is a crucial part of the game, marking the moment when the player selects the base abilities for their chosen class, which can have a huge impact later on. For instance, a Knight can evolve into an offensive tank, a support tank or a unique combination of both if you’re wild enough. Additionally, you are allowed up to three rerolls per run to find and select your favorite abilities at each new level.
Not only your strategies will depend on how you level up your team but also on their equipment. Items are highly varied, making it rare to find or obtain the exact item needed to complete a specific build. Players must adapt to the items they stumble upon. However, through leveling up, players have more control and can create builds that better align with their preferences, within the class’s possibilities. This allows players to get to grips with their gameplay as the run goes on.
The game’s high level cap (10) gives players the sense that they can infinitely scale certain parameters. This allows for, say, an archer with a 99% critical chance or a tank with over 200 HP, and so on.
Skills exclusivity
Some skills are exclusive to certain classes and can only be unlocked through level progression. While some classes operate similarly, with minor differences in weapons, armor, and shields, others feature distinct mechanics. My favorite among these unique classes is the Blacksmith. This class boasts several unique abilities, such as Forge, Improve, and my personal favorite, Hammer Lord. Hammer Lord ensures that the player’s damage is doubled when using a hammer.
You might stumble across the Blacksmith as a NPC in between rooms, he will also help you forge and improve your equipment but, well, you can’t play him.
In conclusion, while developing this game I really wanted to weave together strategic elements and Meta-mechanics to create a rich gameplay experience.
Thank you for reading, I'm looking forward to you trying out the game and discussing all your different strategies!
And don't forget: Forgotten Mines will be available on July 23rd!
Until then, you can of course wishlist the game:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2238630/Forgotten_Mines/
If you want to chat with me and other players, you can join the Discord and Twitter!