Hey everyone!

We're excited to announce some big changes coming to Legion TD 2.

Behold the next legion: Atlantean!

An ancient legion that once flourished on an isolated island nation. A three-headed water deity gave them magic, and with that magic came growth and power. As their civilization grew, they forgot the origin of their power. This angered the sea god, so he sank the island with a thunderous tide, banishing its inhabitants to the depths of the ocean. For a thousand years, they scourged the seabed, waiting for their moment to reaffirm their loyalty. With hope nearly lost, they found the most peculiar of signs - a glowing egg. The radiance of the egg invigorated them. Re-imbued with energy, they emerge from the murky waters. Commanded by a beautiful empress and ruled by a monstrous titan, they seek to claim the continent of Nova as their empire. Beware that which hatches, adapts, and evolves.

Introducing the next official legion: Atlantean! Instead of releasing as a full legion, we're releasing units on a rolling basis to Mastermind. The first fighter and upgrade will be playable on March 26th. We'll be releasing fighters and upgrades every ~2 weeks until Atlantean can be played as a complete legion. We plan to continue releasing new units (fighters, mercenaries, etc.) on a more regular basis to have a steady stream of new content and keep the game fresh. Each new unit has an impact on the game's balance and meta, so prepare for things to shake up a lot.

We're keeping the first fighter a surprise for now, but here's a small teaser:

All of the new art coming into the game is brought to you by our new team member, Curing.

Try your skills at 2v2!

Legion TD 2 will be 2v2 (instead of 4v4) from March 26th to April 9th. This is a change being considered for the game, and we're excited to try it out and collect feedback.

Here's our rationale behind the change:

Gameplay
The reason Legion TD 2 is 4v4 is that we wanted to stay true to the original mod. The mod was 4v4 because Lisk has two brothers and wanted to play with both of them. In terms of game design, Lisk actually preferred 2v2.

We believe Legion TD 2 will be more fun as a 2v2 game. You'll spend less time doing menial tasks like scanning your screen across 8 players and more time actually making decisions and playing the game. Making the game 2v2 does not "dumb down the game." On the contrary, it allows you to express skill through decision-making, rather than through information-gathering.

Matchmaking
The complaint we hear about the most is matchmaking. The reality is that our matchmaker is very good, but even the best matchmaking system is limited by playerbase size. It's incredibly difficult and often impossible to find 8 players of the same skill level queueing at the same time. It's easy to find 4 players.

2v2 games will have significantly faster queues and fairer matches. For 99.7% of players, we can guarantee you will be matched with players within 200 rating of you, and most of the time, within 0-100 rating of you. For players rated over 2000, we can guarantee you will be matched with 1800+ players. High-rated games will also be possible at any time, not just during peak hours.

Performance & Pathing/Targeting
Legion TD 2 isn't a perfectly optimized game. Some players experience late-game lag and others have trouble running the game entirely. There are even some games that hit the 1200 unit maximum, which causes the game to crash. Pathing and targeting is also affected by the number of units in the game. The more units there are, the less responsive and intelligent units are.

In 2v2, the game will have improved performance, units will feel more responsive, and we'll be able to design new, unique units and introduce gold into the ecosystem without fear of breaking the game.

Accessibility
Legion TD 2 is a great competitive game once you learn it, but it's not so friendly to new players. We've found that the majority of new players have trouble understanding the game - so much that they don't even give it a chance.

If we want Legion TD 2 to grow, we need to make some big changes to the game. By cutting the number of lanes in half, we're making the game more accessible without compromising strategic depth. We believe this change will help attract and retain new players. We also have other accessibility improvements, such as a tutorial, in the works.

Data
The vast majority of players (91%) play the game solo or duo.

Tournaments
It's not a surprise that the only ongoing Legion TD 2 tournament/league right now is 2v2. It's hard to form teams of 4, and a lot of players prefer how the game feels in 2v2. Shout-out to SiK Myth for being awesome and hosting this tournament.

FAQ:

Will there be a new map?
Yes, but not right away. For a few weeks, the game will still be played on the current map with the right two lanes disabled. If 2v2 is fully implemented, we will create a new and improved map that is optimized for a 2v2 experience.

Can we still play 4v4 customs?
Yes, custom games will still allow for 4v4.

Will matchmade 4v4 ever come back?
Potentially, yes, when we have a larger playerbase that can support it.

What if I prefer playing as a trio/quad?
As much as we want everyone to be happy, the reality is that we have to embrace change to grow the game. If we stay as 4v4, the game will continue to struggle with matchmaking. The good news is that you can play Legion TD 2 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, or 4v4 in custom games, which is a lot more flexible than most games.

Why is this change being done at the end of the season?
Although it seems like a huge change, 2v2 actually plays very similarly to 4v4, so you're not going to have to relearn the game. The improved matchmaking that comes with 2v2 also allows for a fairer competitive environment.

What if I don't like the change?
We expect some players to react negatively to this change simply because it's a change and because it's different from the original. You're welcome to dislike the change and to give feedback now, but we ask that you approach the change with an open mind and share your thoughts after trying it. Anyone that knows us, knows that we are constantly engaged with the community and that we take your feedback seriously.

Can we just go free-to-play to get more players?
We're happy to consider free-to-play in the future, but it's not possibile right now. We need to improve server stability/scalability, improve our banning tools, build out a store, and do a hundred other things first.

Growing the playerbase!

Next month, we're going to start marketing for the first time. In April, Legion TD 2 will be featured on the front page of Steam and will go on sale. Our goal is to bring as much attention to the game as possible. You can help by playing the game, streaming, creating YouTube videos, and telling your friends. We're confident Legion TD 2 has a lot of room to grow and are excited to see where the future takes us.