In the last update, we have removed the cap on the cost penalty on building multiple traps of the same type. The reasoning behind this change was to nerf trap spamming. Putting all gems into one DPS trap and spamming it everywhere requires no thinking, yet it was one of the most powerful strategy.
Filling every walls to the brim with cheap traps is the best strategy to counter Wall Totems in the endless mode. Yes, it is a clever solution and it works extremely well. But it discouraged players who were countering Wall Totems by using specialized traps to destroy them. I've added an XP reward for destroying Wall Totems to encourage the players who are destroying them. But it seemed not enough.
As an avid fan of tower defense games, I believe the true fun of tower defense games comes from formulating one's own strategy. Not to mention the sense of accomplishment that comes from achieving a high score by a series of carefully optimized moves.
In tower defense games, where the enemy has no means to adapt to a certain strategy, a single best solution always exists. But the solution is obfuscated by many layers of depth so it's not apparently visible, like a jigsaw puzzle. Part of the fun comes from using your own pieces to create a good enough solution. And comparing your solution to other's. But when a simple spamming is the best strategy, it takes away the sense of accomplishment from players. In the current state of the game, the most apparent solution to me was nerfing the trap spamming.
Still, trap spamming can be a legitimate form of strategy. And I must admit, it can be quite fun, too. Besides, people seemed to think the nerf was harsh. Hence, we have increased the skill level cap of Upkeep skill. When maxed out, the skill will give you 80% mitigation of the cost penalty. This will help players to survive early waves to accumulate treasury gold before spamming becomes prohibitively expensive.
Please note that this is a temporary solution. A more permanent and fun solution is under development. Details about this solution is here. Please share your opinions and suggestions on this matter.
Thank you for your support.
Changelogs
- Shockwave Generator - Physical force bonus per level increase from 4% to 6%.
- Lich Tomb - Damage and health bonus per level increased from 5% to 10%.
- Demon Portal - Damage and health bonus per level increased from 10% to 15%.
- Inferno Trap - Damage bonus per level increased from 8% to 10%.
- Spike Trap - Damage bonus per level increased from 10% to 15%. Cost decreased from 650 to 600.
- Grinder - Damage increased by 300%. Capacity and damage bonus per level increased from 20% to 25%.
- Rocket Trap - Cost increased from 1200 to 2000. Trait cost increased. Area of effect radius decreased by 20%.
- Teleporter Trap - Now limited to 5 traps. This maximum trap count can be increased with Mastery level. Removed rearm speed bonus per Mastery level.
- Hex Trap - Damage increment per Mastery level decreased from 20% to 15%.
- Upkeep - Skill level cap increased from 10 to 15.
- Singularity - Value increment per level decreased from 12 to 10.
- Portal Guardian - Damage increment per level increased from 10 to 15.
- Loophole - Cooldown reduction per level increased from 4 to 5 seconds.
- Overload - Duration increment per level increased from 1 to 5 seconds.
- Learning - Skill level cap increased from 10 to 20.
- Hazard Course Map - Modified layout. Added flying units.
- Active Killstreak at the end of a game now rewards gold and experience.
- Increased maximum enemy spawn speed.
- Removed Mastery level cap.
- Decreased Rune drop rate.
Miscellaneous
- Genocide Achievement - Decreased kill requirement from 1,000,000 to 100,000.
- Improved the way item drag and drop works in the inventory.
- Tutorial windows can now only be closed after three seconds have passed. This is to prevent players from accidently closing the tutorial window.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a bug that caused Bisons to receive Rune mod speed bonus.
- Fixed a bug with Grinder's Abattoir traits nullifying Reservoir trait.
- Fixed a bug that prevented looping sounds from getting muted properly.
- Fixed a bug with Soul Harvesters causing performance drop.
- Fixed a bug that prevented Singularity buff from getting removed from a trap.
- Fixed a bug that prevented trap selection in touchscreen devices.
- Fixed a couple of exploits.
- Fixed various minor UI bugs.