Hello Talented Gamers!
Just one more week to go until the Beastmaster's Call DLC drops along with the 1.3 update. Things are shaping up really well and we can't wait to see what everyone thinks of Mastery 35, Ability Upgrades, Beastmaster and Gauntlet Mode!
If you want to be 100% up to date on the launch of Beastmaster's Call you can Wishlist it here...
As with all of our major updates we've taken this opportunity to fix bugs, add some quality of life features and introduce a couple of key balance changes. This week we're going to take a look at some of those...
Quality of Life
First up, one of our most requested features since adding endless modes - you can now increase the Game Speed to 1.2, 1.5 and 2.0 in Endless Mode and Eternal Nightmare!
Originally these settings were disabled for performance reasons, but with all of the performance improvements that have occured since 1.0 I felt like it was the right time to re-test. There weren't any obvious issues so we're trying it out for 1.3.
Note: It may be worth being cautious of crashes on lower spec machines and using the appropriate Graphics Settings.
Next up, you're now able to skip the post game results animation by pressing Escape (or the B Button on Gamepad). We know this can be particularly tedious, especially when you're already max level on a class - so we've put a stop to it!
Damage numbers will now change colour if they come from a Status Effect - making it clearer what is contributing towards that key boss takedown in your runs.
And finally, we've added a simple Talented themed cursor that blends much better with our art style than the default OS one.
Balance
Although we spend a considerable amount doing post release balance for Waves Mode, it's become clear over time that Summoner is still struggling and often needs specific setups to succeed at the higher difficulties.
For this reason we're introducing a handful of Waves Mode specific buffs to help anyone who is still persuing those final Achievements or Summoner mains that feel left behind.
Summoner gains 25% additional Magic Point Regeneration Rate in Waves Mode
Summoner gains 15% additional Summon Speed in Waves Mode
Summoner gains 5 additional Maximum Health Points in Waves Mode
Summoner gains 10 additional Maximum Magic Points in Waves Mode
We've also heard your frustration with the Icky Wave, so that will now only spawn 4 Flies in each lane (down from 6). We'll continue to monitor feedback during our post-release support for 1.3 and will make adjustments as necessary.
Next up, when we introduced the new Ability Upgrade system we mentioned that Alchemist would be getting some compensation buffs as he couldn't access Ability Upgrades.
We've chosen to increase the power added by the 3rd and 4th ingredients added to potions as these most closely resemble the mid/late game power added to the other classes by the new ability system. These changes might only make sense to those fully familiar with Alchemist, but rest assured if you're making a 4 ingredient potion you're almost certainly going to feel stronger than you did in 1.2.
Conservation (4th ingredient Bubblebloom) now grants 100% additional Charges (up from 50%)
Focus (4th ingredient Mageleaf) now grants 75% cooldown reduction (up from 50%)
Potency (4th ingredient Cinderoot) now grants 100% additional damage (up from 50%)
Expanding (3rd ingredient Mageleaf) now has a 60% chance to trigger a second activation (up from 50%)
Volatile (3rd ingredient Cinderoot) now grants 75% Critical Strike Chance (up from 50%)
Rending (3rd ingredient Bloodthistle) and Demise (4th ingredient Bloodthistle) have had their effects swapped.
Rending now causes the ability to apply Decay and Demise now increases experience granted by enemies killed with the potion by 75% (this is increased from 50% when it was Rending's effect)
And there you have it, the next you'll hear from us will be the release notes! As always we'll be watching the Discord, Steam Discussion Forums and Reviews for feedback and hotfixing the game where needed. Best of luck with your runs next week and...
Stay Talented