Lone Survivors Playtest Reminder!
In less than 24 hours, the Lone Survivors Playtest will open. If you've signed up, you'll be able to download and play the playtest starting tomorrow at 1PM EST, and finishing November 30 at 1PM EST.
Once the playtest is over, I will be offering a reward to the highest scoring competitor on the leaderboards, $40 Steam game of their choice!
In addition, I will randomly draw from all of the players who participated in the playtest and offer the lucky individual a $10 Steam card/game.
How Do You Compete?
Entering the competition is as easy as playing the game,
Launch the Lone Survivors Playtest.
Press Play
Choose a class.
Start an Endless
When the run ends (by dying), your score will automatically be uploaded to Steam.
Tips & Tricks
I've compiled some advice from my development playtesters, as well as some of my own advice, on how to succeed in Endless:
Purchase Coin Collector as soon as possible from the Progression Menu
In Lone Survivors, purchasing upgrades between runs is key to surviving longer, and the way to get more upgrades you need more money. Upgrades range from new abilities to grab in the run, to extra damage, to health regen (on a per-class basis)
GET HEALTH REGEN. In Lone Survivors health regeneration is not provided by default. Most classes have a way to heal, but it needs to be purchased. Health regen is critical for surviving late!
Invest in core upgrades early. Re-rolls are crucial for forcing the abilities you want.
Don’t tunnel on the same build every run. Try different abilities and find combos that match your playstyle.
Level your characters. Unlocks from individual character levels usually apply to everyone.
Keep moving. Don’t get surrounded; use obstacles and terrain to funnel enemies.
Use your active ability often. Many provide healing or utility depending on character/upgrades - don’t sit on it.
Test different areas of the map. Some spots make great choke points or safe perimeters that work better for certain builds.
Pick up your level-ups. Don’t let XP pile up; missing them can slow your power curve.
Save shrines for the right moment. Clear waves first so you can use them safely.
Focus elites early. Their drops can make or break a run - an early legendary can carry you through tough waves.
Biggest thing for me is to learn what the class you're playing is good at and then experiment with how different abilities synergize (e.g. the controller active with purifying flame mitigates the proximity risk that normally comes with the ability, stuff like that)
If I reached out to you for the tips, thank you so much for your advice!
What Can I Unlock?
I'm going to spoiler the actual methods, but unlocks in the playtest come from two methods:
Purchasing unlocks in the Progression menu (apply permanently, some are class-specific)
Fulfilling conditions to unlock in the endless mode
Spoilers for conditional unlocks:
[removed - couldn't spoiler them properly]
Playtesting
Got feedback from playtesting?
There's a feedback button in the main menu, or you can drop your feedback in either the Discord or the Steam forums!
Discord & Steam Forums
I'll do my best to monitor the Steam forums, and Discord as well. If you'd like to join the Discord and become a Lone Survivor playtester, leave playtesting comments or feedback there, here is a link:
Performance Issues
Late-game, you may experience some performance issues. I would love to get feedback on your computer specs to try to troubleshoot, but there are two performance options available for this:
Performance Mode
Show Hit Text
To maximize performance, turn ON Performance Mode and turn OFF Show Hit Text.
Closing Thoughts
Best of luck to everyone, and I look forward to seeing the leaderboard and seeing what kind of strategies are the most effective!
See you tomorrow!