Intro
Hi! First of all – sorry for the long silence. I really appreciate how patiently you guys have been waiting and following the project, and how eagerly (and rightfully!) you ask for updates. It seriously motivates me and constantly reminds me that a lot of people are genuinely excited about this kind of game.
The reality is, I still have day jobs, so I only get about 3–4 days a week to really dive into the project. And when those days come, I just want to stay in the zone and make actual progress. Writing a detailed update (I always want to do things properly) takes a surprising amount of time.
So every time I thought about stopping to write one, my brain went: “Hmm… let me just finish this one feature first, then I'll drop an update and you guys are going to love it.” And yeah… that's pretty much how the last couple of months went 😂
Which brings us to today. I really hope the long wait ends up being worth it. Let me finally give you some insight into what’s been happening behind the scenes...
Kickstarter + Beta Progress
Let me thank everyone again for supporting the Kickstarter – it’s been a total game-changer, and you’ll see exactly why very soon with what we (myself, the artists, and the community) have pulled off since the campaign ended.
I’ve already delivered on a bunch of the promises: the wallpapers, Discord roles, the digital short comic, and the Beta itself have all been fulfilled. The Beta kicked off on January 18th – so roughly 3 months ago now.
Since then, it’s been getting major bi-weekly (and sometimes weekly) updates packed with new features AND new content. I’m sure some of you have been keeping an eye on the progress through the public updates posted on the Kickstarter page.
I don’t think it makes sense to go through every tiny change here – I’m pretty sure what you guys really want is the big-picture progress: the major steps forward, the current state of the project, future plans, and – most importantly – some actual gameplay footage (screenshots and videos).
State of the game
So, the core gameplay loop – which, based on community feedback and demo reviews, was already pretty fun – has stayed exactly the same and has only been improved and polished. For everyone who hoped the game would build on its existing strengths instead of making major shifts: don’t worry, that’s precisely what happened.
Apart from a bunch of quality-of-life updates driven by player feedback, the Beta has focused on and delivered 5 MAJOR aspects (on top of just piling on more content):
1. NPC variety and depth
Each raid now pulls from its own unique pool of enemies. Every enemy type doesn’t just have different base stats and special stats anymore – they now come with their own distinct abilities, behaviors, and decision-making logic. Back in the demo, you had enemies that were for example “low movement, high defense, decent damage + a sprinkle of block chance.” Now they have much more unique identities: they actively use a set of abilities triggered by specific conditions, and they behave in different ways.
Note: enemies are still sketch art; they'll also receive full coloured art.
2. Full item, loot, and rarity system
Before, loot was basically placeholder icons with very basic types and stats. Now it’s completely transformed – day and night difference. There are tons of different item types, each with their own strengths, affix pools, and roll ranges. While some items have a general drop chance, many are tightly linked to the specific raid region and the enemies you’re fighting, so loot feels meaningful and tied to where/how you play.
There are 5 rarities right now:
Basic (white)
Refined (blue)
Superior (gold)
Elite (green)
Masterful (purple)
Rarity is influenced by several factors:
Your current renown level (higher renown unlocks access to higher-rarity drops)
Enemy level (mini-bosses and bosses have a much higher chance to drop better stuff)
The number of waves you decide to push through (more waves = bigger risk, bigger potential reward)
And in the future: special raid modifiers you can apply to crank up the difficulty (and the loot quality) even more.
This setup makes every raid feel like it has real progression weight – pushing harder, going deeper, or tackling tougher enemies directly pays off in better gear.
One thing that was absolutely essential for making both of the above work (NPC variety and Items) was massively expanding the special stats system. The demo had a handful of cool ones like Grievous Wounds and Block Chance, but the Beta now features many, many more. This makes both NPCs and player characters feel way more distinct, and it deepens the item pool too. Simplified example: Blunt weapons have a higher Armor Shatter chance and higher damage ceilings on rolls, while a sickle has a very high chance to inflict Grievous Wounds.
Current Special Stats:
Lifesteal Chance
Grievous Wounds Chance
Cripple Chance
Blocking Chance
Stunning Chance
Armor Shatter Chance
Knock Back Chance
Dodge Chance
Armor Piercing
Ability Recharge Chance
Chill Chance
Death Burst Chance
Fear Chance
Stamina Draining
3. Map Travel and Resource Management
This has just been recently added and is currently under testing – I’m actively waiting for feedback on it. Many of you were wondering how map traversal in this game would actually work. I teased some ideas in my early devlogs on the official website, and now the first iteration has been implemented.
Put simply, it works like this: After every raid you gain coins, items AND provisions as rewards. Provisions are the currency required to travel from one point to another on the map. A pin always highlights your current/latest position, so if you did a raid in a certain region you can repeat that exact same raid without spending any provisions.
If you want to travel to another location (whether it’s a city or a different raid), you need to spend a certain amount of provisions based on how far away it is. In the background there’s a node system with set costs depending on where you go. But the costs aren’t only linked to distance – they’re also tied to the environment. For example, heading into the Ice Desert requires more provisions even if it’s relatively close to your current position. This means progressing across the map step by step usually costs fewer provisions than trying to travel very far in one go.
4. Random obstacles and battlefield variants
Each raid now comes with different variants – some change things up quite a bit, others are more subtle tweaks that keep every run feeling fresh and a little different. Obstacles can either fully block both movement and vision, or they might only block vision. Which brings me to the last big new major aspect:
5. Line of Sight (LoS)
I actually experimented with this feature way back in some early versions but ended up scrapping it. During the demo though, several players brought it up again and really pushed for it, saying it could add another awesome tactical layer to the battles. So I listened to you guys, brought it back, and found better ways to make it clear before you move your units – showing exactly which enemies are in your LoS.
Now I’m really glad we did it. This turned out to be the perfect balancing tool for ranged units on top of the other mechanics (like melee penalties, etc.). And because LoS changes how visibility and positioning work, I also decided to make armor a universal defense stat against ALL physical attacks – not just ranged ones like in the demo. With LoS in play, this adjustment makes melee combat feel way more tactical too.
New general content overview
Early Access will focus first on Lifarsland – the region of the Nordur. (Learn more about it here: https://www.fangs-forges.com/nordur) Right now, we have 4 brand-new raid regions in that area – each with a night and day variant, unique enemies deeply tied to the lore, and their own boss fight.
Beyond that, there is one additional raid region coming soon to the Beta closely tied to the main story of the game. Here’s a little sneak preview for you:
It will bring a entirely new unique enemy pool with totally different loot tables. On top of some really cool new item types, a lot of the loot from this raid will let you modify existing raids by adding special challenges that lead to special rewards. I don’t want to spoil too much right now…
You’ll also start with a fresh selection of characters from the Nordur race. Check out the current Beta roster here, including some ability examples:
One big change I decided on: I’ve split player characters into two distinct types.
Combatants: These are the units you’ll use in your squad for battling in raids (just like in the demo).
Artisans: These live in a separate collection and provide special services, buffs, and utility.
For example, right now we have Jonas Munzer. Based on his lore, he handles trade and economy matters. He’ll let you buy specific item types you’re after (e.g., melee weapons, ranged weapons, armor, etc.). It’s still random what you get, but you have 2 rerolls per attempt, and the service comes with a cooldown.
Other impactful changes:
Debuffs Clarity:
One of the most highly requested improvements was better highlighting and explanations for special stats – especially their debuffs. Now, when a unit has a certain debuff (like Grievous Wounds, Stunned, etc.), it gets clearly highlighted in the sequence bar, and it also shows you exactly how many turns it will last. Makes tracking status effects way easier and more intuitive.
Retaliation / Attack of Opportunity:
Based on demo feedback, this has been adjusted too. Now, quick breakaway attacks (Attacks of Opportunity) no longer count toward the overall retaliation counter. Previously, units could only retaliate once per round, and those quick hits from enemies you moved away from would eat up that single retaliation charge. That’s gone now. On top of that, every adjacent enemy now gets to perform a quick breakaway attack when you leave their hex. So if you’re surrounded by multiple enemies and you move out of a hex, all of them will deal some quick damage to you as you disengage. Overall, I think this is a great change – it makes positioning in melee way more important and tactical. You really have to think twice before pulling a unit out of a surrounded spot!
Healing/Reviving Systems: In the demo, healing worked like this in short: After battle, units healed a small amount based on their remaining health. If they were below 20% health, they were marked as heavily injured – they didn’t heal at all post-battle and couldn’t be used again until healed outside of battle. No self-healing happened between raids. Now it’s been completely reworked:
Units below 20% health are still allowed to be used in raids (no more forced benching).
Reviving costs have been heavily increased and are now tied to unit tiers – the higher the tier, the more expensive it gets.
BUT units that are NOT used during raids (i.e., sitting out in your roster) now heal and revive passively over time.
Dead units follow a tier-based “recovery time” (which you can think of as days or raid cycles):
Tier 1 dead units: After just one raid (“1 day”), they come back at 50% health; Tier 2 units: Take 2 “days” to revive; Tier 3 units: Take 3 “days.”
On top of that, every unit that’s alive and not used in your active squad will automatically heal back 10% of their max life per passed raid (“day”). This gives you more strategic flexibility – you can push harder with low-health units if needed, but it costs more to revive high-tier ones, and benching units becomes a real recovery/management tool.
Bounty Costs (first edition): This was also teased in the past, and it’s something we felt was really necessary for balance – so we’ve now added different costs depending on unit tiers. Here’s how it works right now:
Tier 1 characters: Once you have them in your roster, they require no additional fees to take on raids. Free to use forever after recruitment.
Tier 2 and Tier 3 units: These now require an upfront payment (a bounty fee) before you can deploy them on a raid. This means building a stronger, higher-tier roster actually requires real investment before heading out – it’s not just about unlocking them, but committing resources upfront to bring the heavy hitters.
Currently, feedback and testing suggest that especially Tier 3 units might need either higher upfront fees, or as originally planned: a share/cut of the coins you earn after the battle (like a post-raid bounty payout).
Upcoming Content (very soon)
It might happen this weekend, but more likely it'll be next one – we're adding the first full city location you can visit in Lifarsland! It comes packed with a proper shop, a bunch of unique location-tied commissions (some even repeatable), and new characters to unlock. Another location is already in the works and will follow soon after.
So the next big focus is on commissions aka questing. Here's an early insight into how it works:
Some commissions are reoccurring – they come back after a cooldown period.
The hub always shows a maximum of 6 commissions at a time.
Each time you visit the city, the available quests are randomized.
The list only resets when you actually leave the city and come back – just reopening the city menu while you're still there won't refresh anything.
Sometimes you'll see quests you can't accept yet (because you don't have enough renown), but at least they're visible so you know what's coming and can work toward them.
Many commissions will reward cool unique items, hefty amounts of provisions (great for more map travel), and of course renown – which is super important since it unlocks the ability to hire better/higher-tier characters and opens up even more options down the line.
Also, as already teased above, the raids tied to the game's main story.
Next Steps
Right now, my goal is to get the Beta to a solid milestone:
2 full city locations complete (including shops, quests/commissions, and new unlockable characters)
The main story related raid properly introduced and playable
Realistically, this should take until the end of April. After that, I’m planning to release the Beta into a free short public playtest on Steam – probably just a weekend or a few days. I want to gather fresh eyes and broader feedback on how everything feels when more people jump in. Based on that input, I’ll iterate quickly and aim to join the Steam Next Fest this summer.
If we build good momentum from the playtest and the Fest, the next big step is launching into Early Access soon after.. With the revenue from Early Access supporters, I’ll keep the content updates coming bi-weekly or monthly:
Finish fleshing out the Nordur region as fast as possible
Then expand into the remaining regions and factions
Push toward full 1.0 launch
And finally… here’s an unedited raw gameplay video (unlisted on YouTube) to give you a real feel for where things are at right now:
Let me know what you think!
Here are a handful of Beta Keys:
877WK-PAR9K-89A5F
EXNHZ-QPJWA-44L8C
DLCW7-7A0ME-84QA8
EPXDR-QFJ7W-76RLQ
AYIWB-6AIQY-L3X0R
If you grabbed one, let me know in our Discord Server so I can add you to the Beta-Channel discussion.
I really hope this update didn’t disappoint. Thanks again for sticking with me and the project. Cheers!
Alpenwolf