Hello! Summer rages on and so do the IKARUS updates - another update hot off the press this week!
Balancing
Player feedback suggested that the Level 1 Boss (X-TERMINADER), also known as Hefty Chungus in our files, was too difficult and causing a bottleneck. Level 2 and 3 are a lot of fun so we wanted to make sure people can more consistently clear Level 1 when they’ve got a feel for the game - so we’ve nerfed the boss. It still has the same attacks and health but the rate of attacks is a lot more forgiving, giving the player more time and space.
(God gamers need not worry as the upcoming Ascension system will bring new levels of challenge - and you can always equip more Burdens as the leaderboard is still very much up for grabs!)
Level 2 (Factory) enemies have also been rebalanced, including some bullet sponginess reductions for some enemies.
New augments: Shock and Prey get some love
Shock is a powerful mechanic but needed a bit more love to make it to go hard in the late game - so we’ve added some augments that make shock more powerful but also make it synergise better with volatile - making Shock/Ignite combos become more viable for the Catalyst archetype. Prey needed some more love too - so we threw a couple in (one of which is defo a boss killer).
High Voltage: Reduce shock explosion trigger point (from 5 to 3 stacks)
Volatile Spark: Shock damage triggers Volatile
Electrofishing: KOI missiles deal +1 damage to shocked enemies
Neural Spark: On Draw: Shock nearby enemies
Food Chain: On kill enemy with Prey: Overgrowth 1
Relentless Pursuit: Prey damage is doubled
Other updates
VSync option added to Settings menu
Initial wave card draw / redraw will no longer activate card draw effects
Critical chance now applies to attacks more consistently (Strikes, Slashes, Lasers, Grenades, Missiles and player bullets can all Crit now).
Ignite felt too weak so has had a big buff - it now ticks 3 times before reducing its value by 1 - making ignite last longer and do a lot more damage.
Reactive Plating and Riposte now need 15+ bullets to be parried (as opposed to 5 and 10), to reflect that it’s a lot easier to parry a lot of bullets in the current game.
What’s next?
We’ve got lots more in the works too, including features suggested by players so far - so please keep them coming! Some examples we’re working on right now:
Ascension difficulty system
More Boons and Burdens
Lots more Augments that unlock new and crazier synergies
Shop system overhaul - including card removal options
Construct overhaul - simplifying how constructs work as new players find these cards the most difficult to understand
As always please do leave any feedback or suggestion on the Steam Discussion page or on our Discord (link below)! It's been incredibly helpful so far and we want to hear about your simple or even crazy ways we could improve the game!