Hello again.
In the first dev diary I talked about the basic loop of Lootlands and why an idle ARPG makes sense in the first place. This time we zoom in on three systems that quietly run the whole game: storage, shops, and itemization.
These are the parts that decide whether loot is something you think about, or something you fight against.
Storage
Storage in Lootlands is quite simple.
You start with a simple, readable stash. From there you can upgrade it in two ways:
Add more tabs
Add more rows inside existing tabs
So if you like tidy, themed tabs, you can just keep buying new ones. If you like one giant dump tab that grows with you, you can just keep stretching a few tabs vertically. Both upgrades cost gold, which gives you a steady money sink that is always useful but never mandatory.
A few key points:
Storage is shared between all characters
You never need mule characters
Moving gear between builds is trivial
Storage panel on the left side. Please ignore the temporary UI.
Shops
Towns are where you stop, breathe, and make choices. Shops are being designed to be one of the first places you visit.
Once again, please ignore the temporary UI.
Each shop has a clear identity:
Weapon vendor sells weapons
Armor vendor sells armor
Magic or oddity shops sell things like orbs, scrolls, special consumables
What they offer is affected by your character level. A level 30 character will not see level 5 trash clogging the store. The item level range scales with you, so that shops can always stay relevant.
Refresh logic:
Shops refresh on a real time timer, even while you are offline
You can pay gold to force an instant refresh if you are hunting for upgrades or specific bases
On top of standard stock, shops can sell:
Identified items, where you see exactly what you get
Unidentified items, cheaper but risky
Consumables and crafting materials
The unidentified items are there for players who enjoy a small gamble. Buy something that only shows the base, rarity, and level, then pray that the affixes do not roll complete garbage.
We are also working on a more gambly system similar in spirit to the blood shard style mechanic from Diablo 3: RoS. The idea is:
You pay a specific currency
You pick a slot or category, for example one handed weapon or ring
You get a random item of that type, tuned around your level
You know the slot, not the outcome. Sometimes you get a sidegrade, sometimes you hit something that completely changes your build plan. It is a controlled way to target farm without killing the randomness that makes loot exciting.
Itemization
Itemization is where most of the long term depth lives, so this will definitely get its own dev diary later. For now, here is the spine of the system.
Rarities and affix count
Lootlands uses several rarity tiers:
Common
Uncommon
Rare
Epic
Legendary
Rarity controls how many affixes an item can roll but not the ceiling those affixes can reach. A common item might have one meaningful line. A legendary can have a full set of affixes plus something special that warps how you use it.
The idea is simple: higher rarity means more lines to play with, more chances for synergies, and more risk of bricking a roll.
Prefixes, suffixes, and rules
Affixes are split into prefix and suffix groups. Behind the scenes they sit in pools with weights and rules, so we can steer what appears where without making it feel scripted.
Some examples of rules we use:
Mutual exclusivity: only one main attribute prefix on an item, so you do not get Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence slapped on the same piece
Slot multipliers: the same affix can have different strength depending on where it appears, for example attributes rolling hardest on jewelry, lower on armor, different again on weapons
Offensive and defensive pools: so your chest armor does not roll like a wand, and your wand does not roll like a shield
These rules keep items focused. When you see a roll, you get a sense of what the item wants to do.
Tags and scaling
Items and affixes both use tags. Things like:
Melee
Projectile
Caster
Fire, Cold, Lightning
Weapon class tags, like Bow, Dagger, Staff
Tags do a lot of work:
They control which affixes are allowed to appear on which bases
They influence weights, so a bow is more likely to roll projectile damage, and a staff is more likely to roll spell damage
They allow specialized affixes, like extra projectiles only appearing on tagged bases
On top of that, tiers scale with item level. A level 50 bow can roll higher damage tiers than a level 10 bow, even if the affix name is the same. This keeps drops relevant as you climb, without forcing you into legendaries only.
Implicits and identity
Every base item has implicits. These are the always on stats that tell you what the item is good at before you even read the affixes.
Daggers lean toward crit chance
Shields lean toward block and defenses
Armor pieces lean toward armor, evasion, or other core defenses
Affixes then layer on top of that. This keeps item identity clear. A dagger that rolled badly still feels like a crit focused weapon. A shield with bad affixes still feels like a defensive piece.
Complexity where it matters
The guiding rule is:
Complexity goes into how items are generated and scaled
Clarity goes into what the player sees
We use things like weighted pools, mutual exclusions, per slot scaling, and tag driven rules behind the scenes, so we can support weird builds and niche synergies. But what you read on the item should stay understandable at a glance, not a wall of ten micro bonuses that require a calculator.
There are still rare, spicy affix combinations that feel broken in the good way. That is the point.
Wrap up
Storage, shops, and itemization are not flashy features, but they decide how sticky an ARPG feels after the first hour. In Lootlands, storage is a shared, upgradable tool. Shops are level aware and optionally gambly, not clutter. Itemization is deep in the backend, readable on the surface.
There is still plenty to tweak, especially high tier affix balance and shop economy, but the core shape is there and it feels good to play around with.
If you have feedback, build ideas, or you think the stash should be twice as expensive, drop a comment. I read everything.
Join the discussion on Discord -> https://discord.gg/Y4jYx36Qs4