Alrighty, we got another big combat mechanic again. This time we have range checks for abilities, commander units, and “Look Out, Sire!” traits.
First, let me show you a picture of the battlefield, with drawn in zones. Below the picture I will explain each zone and it’s function.
-Frontline:
The frontline is a preferable spot for melee units. Any unit in the frontline can only strike units from within the Melee Zone. In addition, frontline units can be attacked by melee units from the range zone.
Units in the frontline can also attack units in the range zone if no enemy exists in the melee zone. In addition, units in the frontline that flee will have a chance to rally back from the range zone before running into the retreat zone.
Ranged attacks (Thrown and Certain Spells are exempt) will not be able to fire from this zone.
-Melee Zone:
The melee zone consists of units locked in melee battle. Melee zone must be empty on the enemy side, before units can begin melee attacks into the range zone.
-Command Zone:
Each battle will consist of a commander (Arcanist for the player side). The commander is typically stronger than the other units, but may be lower level. The commander has command abilities at its disposal which can help buff his units on the battlefield. Most commanders will have a frontline that has units with the “Look Out, Sire!” trait. Which helps protect the commander from initial attacks. The commander is still bound by the rules of the melee zone, but with one exception, they can also used ranged abilities regardless of not being in the range zone.
The commander will never flee from battle, but rather “Waver” when he fails his morale check. The command zone also prohibits a lot of tactical abilities that are available to units outside the zone. This is assumed the commander stands his post issuing orders.
-Range Zone:
Any range ability can be freely used from this zone.
Melee attacks from this zone can only occur if the target is in the melee zone or if the melee zone is cleared. Anyone in this zone is protected from melee attacks until the melee zone is cleared.
Fleeing from this zone will automatically run off the battlefield without any chance to rally.
-Retreat Zone:
Any unit that ends its turn in this zone will have been counted as fleeing the battle and will be destroyed.
-Look Out, Sire!:
This trait is given to most melee units. This trait only triggers when the user with the trait is in the frontline and the enemy has targeted the commander. If the commander is targeted in such case, then a morale check will be performed by the commander, if passed, all users with the trait on the frontline will attempt to block their commander from harm, redirecting the damage unto them causing 30% of the actual damage. If two users attempt to “Look Out, Sire!” then both will be hit by the same amount.
Additionally, the Arcanist has an option to push his companions out of the way and take the damage himself, if the player so chooses. The enemy commander is not as heroic and will always let their minions take the hit.
Other Game Changes:
-Market has increased its overall stock by 500%
-All units in the middle of enemy groups have been replaced by a Commander.
-50% debuff on enemy base health has been removed.
-50% reduction to player and companion’s health gains per level.
-Dramatic increase in experience requirements, turns out. The current system allowed reaching level 10 way too quickly.
-Another attempt to try to fix the animation glitch.
No patches for a few days now. We are beginning our final work on the new UI and are dedicating all efforts towards that now.
Please don't expect too much from the new UI, it will still have a similar style and layout. But we wanted to make it sharper and more optimized. We also want to try to make the combat easier on mouse users.
That said, even when the new UI comes out, we will continue to build on top of it. We're not master developers, but we are working hard. Expect 0.60 in a few days.
Thank you,
Stoneworks Games