The Isomicon reveals its first secrets! While you’ve been defending against the evil that threatens Etheria, Gran Ma’ster found a way to imbue certain shards with incredible power. These hyper shards contain a very unstable power so she is only providing them to defenders that prove their mastery of the defensive arts. At the Gran Ma’ster’s behest, the Defense Council devised a set of challenges for the heroes to overcome.
With the aid of the Abyss Lord, Gran Ma’ster continues to delve deeper into the forbidden knowledge contained within the Isomicon. There’s still much more to decrypt, but there is a growing concern from what’s been revealed — dark forces are coming, and we are NOT ready. Go forth, Defenders! Prepare yourselves, and PROTECT ETHERIA!
Greetings Defenders,
It's time to take a look at the future of Dungeon Defenders II by talking about our upcoming 1.2 Update, Ancient's Prelude. This is a monster of an update, introducing some amazing features that will push your limits. Not only are you getting some awesome new content, but you’re also getting numerous bug fixes, balance changes, quality-of-life fixes and more! Thanks for giving us feedback as we continue to evolve the game into its final form!
In Ancient’s Prelude, we are introducing Mastery, a game mode that challenges your ability as a defender and rewards you with great power. In addition to a new game mode, we’re introducing Flair! Flair is another cosmetic system that will take the look of your heroes to the next level. Shards and Flair aren’t the only rewards though. We’ll be handing out rewards such as golden pets, Ascension levels, gold, and more!
This is only the beginning of some serious changes in the world of Etheria and we can’t wait until the Isomicon reveals more information about what’s to come. There have been whispers of an endless level of challenge on the horizon.
New Game Mode: MASTERY
The new game mode, Mastery, provides access to all Chaos maps, allowing you to choose where and how you progress. Gran Ma’ster requires you to complete up to five challenges per map, each indicated with a star on the Mastery progress bar. She’s not going to be making it easy either. In order to earn the full five stars on each map, you’ll need to complete all of the challenges together. All stars are earned one time, so once you’ve five starred a map, you have mastered the challenges presented and will have earned all the rewards it has to offer. The power contained within the Hyper Shards is unstable, so only Defenders that prove their might may equip them.
Mastery is intended to be a challenge for all levels of Defenders, both those climbing the ranks and seasoned veterans. Each challenge will bring your item level down to the appropriate level of the Chaos difficulty that you’re in, so there’s no way to just waltz right through these challenges. You’re going to fight tooth and nail to prove you’re worthy of the power that awaits you!
When conquering the Mastery game mode you’ll receive great rewards as you progress. Here’s what you can expect to earn as you decimate challenges:
- Hyper Shards
- Exclusive Flair
- Golden Pets
- Ascension levels
- Defender Medals
- Gold on gold on gold
To achieve absolute mastery, you will have to experiment with new builds to overcome the tasks set before you, pushing your limits as a Defender. Over the coming weeks, the Defense Council will work diligently with the Gran Ma’ster and Abyss Lord to continue deciphering additional levels of challenges and rewards for heroes capable of proving their mastery. The amount of time needed to decipher and develop each new Hyper Shard is about a week.
New Shards: HYPER SHARDS
Exclusive to the Mastery game mode are Hyper Shards, unique shards that you’ll only be able to claim if you are able to conquer the challenges Gran Ma’ster has provided for you. Hyper shards will be reminiscent of some of your favorite shards, except cranked way up in power. Each type of these shards will only be earned one time, and don’t worry — you can’t sell them.
New Cosmetic System: FLAIR
A new cosmetic system, Flair, was created that allows your heroes to look even more legendary! Flair can be equipped over any existing costumes or looks on a hero and there’s currently four categories of flair:
- Head (Halos, masks, and auras)
- Back (Wings)
- Waist (floating objects and auras)
- Feet (auras, fire, and other effects)
There’s more than one way to acquire this new cosmetic so you can look even more heroic on the battlefield. Flair will unlock as you collect more stars through Mastery, future game content, and available through our various store fronts. One of the packs will be available outside of the game for a particularly demonic look, but we’ll discuss later in the blog. With such a wide variety of customizable ways to mix and match flair, you’ll be sure to stick out in the Heroes Marketplace!
New pets: GOLDEN PETS
Golden pets are BACK! Well… some of them. Golden pets are pets that you will receive while playing through the Mastery game mode. It’s another way to show off just how great of a defender you are to those around you. With golden pets and the new flair system, you’ll be the envy of all that see you!
Halloween in Etheria
You’ll notice that your Private Tavern and the Heroes Marketplace have been decorated to celebrate Halloween. To add to the celebration, you’ll now be able to acquire Halloween-themed seasonal flair through sales on Steam, Xbox Live, and the PlayStation Network. This flair will be our first iteration of seasonal-themed flair, but it most definitely will not be our last — you have to look amazing year-round, right? With the Halloween set in particular, you’ll not only terrify your enemies on the battlefield, you’ll also be their worst nightmares!
Bug Fixes
Besides submitting terrific feedback and suggestions, you all have helped us by finding various bugs that we’ve been able to fix with this patch. Thank you for the help in getting them fixed!
Even More On The Way...
Mastery is just the tip of the iceberg for you, Defenders. While Gran provides difficult challenges and tests, they are required to attain the strength needed to protect Etheria and the citizens of Dragonfall from the darkness that lies ahead. We’ll learn more as Gran, the Defense Council, and the Abyss Lord decipher the Isomicon in the weeks to come!
We are eternally grateful for your support, Defenders, and will be providing more information on Ancient’s Prelude and sharing more knowledge of the upcoming power of the Ancients.
For Etheria!
The Dungeon Defenders II Team