Hey everyone!
It’s been a few months since the release, most of the team enjoyed some summer holidays but we’re back and we have plenty of things to talk about (especially teasing about the upcoming update) so let’s dive in!
Release feedback
First of all, we wanted to thank everyone who supported us during this launch and before, as well as everyone who joined the ride of Early Access!
We’ve received super valuable feedback both in reviews and forums, from the controls to the leveling up of characters, we’ve read everything and took some time to work on your suggestions. We’re still implementing and testing some of the new features, but we can already tease a bit what will be there in the coming weeks!
Introducing: Demon Hunters Awakening update
2 new playable characters: New faces will join your squad in this brand new update, for it is the time of the demon hunters, their caravan stalks and hunts beasts, demons, and warlocks alike, as long as the reward lives up to it... Hagias masters traps and Verdun is the herald of poisons, it is time to turn the hunt into death!
Meet Hagias: He is one of the three demon hunters who roam the island of Statera in the service of their wandering caravan. There is no honor in his trade, only contracts. If the payment is good, the prey falls, whether it is a succubus corrupted by the Dark Pain or a demon emerged from the folds of the Void.
Before the hunt, Hagias studies the terrain like someone reading a map of bones: twisted roots, claw marks, and beast footprints. He is a patient trapper, capable of sowing the forest with elemental traps that turn any clearing into a silent sentence.
Meet Verdun: Before being a hunter, Verdun was one of the most renowned botanists of a long-forgotten monastery, where he learned that every plant holds an edge if one knows how to distill it. When the plague devastated his order and only he remained standing, he understood that nature does not distinguish between cure and damnation: they are the same sap.
His weapon, Autumn Willow, came to him as a legacy of past lives: a greenish steel sword that whispers the curse of the Black Death with every slash, withering what it touches.
New battle scenarios: new battle scenarios have been added to give more variety to encounters;
Controls and camera improvements: We've made major improvements to controller support, including free movement with the second analog stick and several adjustments to the control scheme. You will also be able to access a complete controller and keyboard mapping menu from the settings screen. In addition, we're improving camera behavior, particularly in semi-automatic and manual modes. However, since controls are a big part of our feedback and it encompasses many layers of the game, some improvements of the controls will take multiple updates to be complete, we thank you for your patience on that point and we're listening to every feedback along this rework!
Forge overhaul: The system now includes item comparison, expanded item information, and the ability to equip items directly to characters. We've also redesigned most of the interface to significantly improve the overall user experience;
Progression: We identified some issues with how experience was being distributed across certain roles, so we want to simplify and improve the way experience is managed in the game. All heroes will now receive 100% of the battle's experience. The MVP receives an additional +20% bonus, while dead heroes receive a -20% penalty. Finally, there will be a 20% residual experience gain for heroes who did not participate in the battle, allowing bench heroes to level up passively. Also, MVP Calculation works as follows: the hero receiving a +20% experience bonus is determined based on an average of the damage dealt, healing provided, assists, and kills achieved by each hero.
Bug fixes & performance improvements: More than 100 bugs will be fixed in this update. We're currently focusing on two key areas: terrain grid management and the optimization of how the engine handles heroes, enemies, and NPCs. This will be an ongoing process throughout Early Access and will be implemented progressively over time;
More QoL and other features that we’re keeping secret for now: other new features and quality of life improvements will be part of this big update, but it would not be a teasing dev blog if we display everything here, so we’re keeping some mystery for the release of the update!
As for when does this update will be available, we’re aiming the beginning of next month, a specific date is not available yet as we’re still testing all the new additions to make sure it’s in the best conditions for you to enjoy!
Let us know your thoughts of what's coming and be ready for the Demon Hunters Awakening!