The launch of Tribes of Midgard Season 3: Inferno Saga is bringing many new updates to the game, including Blessing and Combat improvements coming to both Saga and Survival Mode!
Ahead of the launch day, we wanted to share with you some of the improvements coming to Blessings and several Combat Updates we’ve got in store.
These changes, as well as all content from previous Seasons, will also be included for free in the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch versions when Tribes of Midgard releases on those platforms.
Blessing Updates to Saga Mode
With the release of the Inferno Saga, each of the 8 classes in Saga Mode receive 2 brand new Blessings, with some also benefiting from changes to other Blessings, as well as a layout overhaul with a better grouping of related Blessings.
Blessings are a vital part of Tribes of Midgard’s genre-blending Surthrival gameplay, and we wanted to take the opportunity with Inferno Saga to re-evaluate how each of the Classes performs and how the community has been utilizing their Blessings to create unique play styles.
We’ve been monitoring the feedback, pick rate, and performance of each of the Classes since their debut at launch in July of 2021. One thing we noticed was that a lot of what drove the popular Class choices came down to very powerful utility-focused Blessings like the Seer’s Tempered and the Warden’s Dwarven Made. We felt that these Blessings could lead to playstyles contrary to what we intended and have made some adjustments. But rather than focusing purely on these, we spent time looking at how to empower the other Classes to try to achieve the same levels of success that Wardens and Seers were… seeing. By empowering every Class to do what they do best, we can ensure everyone has a strong, capable Class that speaks uniquely to their style of play.
Warrior:
The Warrior occupies a great mixture of offensive and defensive capabilities. With Inferno Saga, we wanted to lean further into each Class’s archetypal fantasy; with Warriors being adepts of Týr and the “best of the best” among a culture that reveres strong fighters, new Blessings like Underdog and Warrior-Gatherer felt like the perfect fit. We also updated Reckless Roll to increase its value now that every Class is getting limited invincibility during their Evade rolls.
- Underdog [NEW]: Feeling surrounded? Great! Increase damage dealt per each nearby enemy.
- Warrior-Gatherer [NEW]: Labor like the Warrior gods of old! Combo attacks from any Weapon can now break Resource nodes, retrieving their precious Materials without Tools. Everything’s an axe!
- Reckless Roll [UPDATED]: Now avoid damage throughout the entire Evade roll animation.
Ranger:
The Ranger’s damage really shines once you have some Equipment and Runes on your side. However, we noticed it was much more difficult for Rangers, as primarily Bow users, to deal with hordes of enemies due to the Bow’s more limited AoE capabilities. Both new Blessings aim (ha!) to augment the Ranger’s ability to deal consistent multi-target damage.
- Ullr’s Step II [NEW]: Ullr’s Step now triggers a rain of arrows on your original position, dealing [medium] physical damage over time.
- Ricochet [NEW]: Each arrow fired has a 50% chance to ricochet, bouncing to up to 3 additional enemies.
- Quickshot [UPDATED]: Was originally affecting Arrow flight speed and now affects the attack speed of Bow Combo Attacks.
Guardian:
The Guardian is our tankiest Class, as a result new Blessings, like Unwavering, lean into the stalwart stature of this immovable object. The Pain Release Blessing is the Guardian’s main (counter) offensive mechanic, so the inclusion of a second tier that adds movement and attack speed intends to empower Guardians to explode from behind their shields and deliver devastating reprisals for a short time after unleashing their Pain gauge.
- Pain Release II [NEW]: Let it all out! Gain increased attack and movement speed for 5 seconds after unleashing your Pain.
- Unwavering [NEW]: The judgment of Forseti is absolute. Stand your ground against any who would dare say otherwise by becoming immune to knockback effects.
Seer:
Our goal with the Seer was to empower support players, offering a Class with innate healing, improved revives, and crowd-control. The new Blessings for the Seer further reinforces this idea.
We found Seers equipping the Tempered Blessing turning into lone wolves that traveled out on their own into difficult climates, rather than sharing the support with the Tribe. To encourage the original intent of the Class, we have adjusted it to mitigate Temperature effects (rather than nullifying) and extended this out to nearby allies. You can still travel out into difficult climates easier than others, but now you can do it with friends!
- Yggdrasil’s Roots II [NEW]: Enemies entering the Seedling’s radius receive damage from the roots of the World Tree. Wouldn’t want to be on its bad side.
- Sacred Revive [NEW]: Further empowered by the golden apples of youth, reviving allies now triggers a healing pool in the area, granting HP over time.
- Tempered [UPDATED]: Now generates an aura that reduces Temperature effects for you and nearby allies.
Berserker:
The Berserker’s playstyle is being an unrelenting wrecking machine.
As a result, we buffed Battle Resistance to make them unstoppable as they shrug off 100% of incoming Stun/Slow effects. Undying Anger allows them to spring back into action so long as they have some Wrath built up, and Wrath Soothed rounds out the Blast-based Blessing chain, returning HP to keep the Berserker sustained while fighting wave after wave of enemy hordes.
- Undying Anger [NEW]: Channel the rage of war. Automatically self-revive when down and receive healing based on your current Wrath.
- Wrath Soothed [NEW]: Gain HP for every enemy hit by your Blast.
- Battle Resistance II [UPDATED]: Chance to resist Stun/Slow effects increased from 75% to 100%.
Hunter:
Skaði never travels anywhere without her trusty wolf, and now she’s passing that gift of companionship onto you! With the changes in the Season 3 update, we wanted to hone in on the ‘cunning rogue of the wild’ archetype for Hunter. They excel in combat through misdirection, traps, and other means of indirect damage. The changes emphasize this playstyle all the while keeping the Hunter out of harm’s way.
- Skaði’s Spirit II [NEW]: Your Decoy is now armed with a Bow and will fire Arrows at nearby enemies.
- Skaði’s Wolf [NEW]: Roll to deploy Skaði’s kindred spirit that will attack nearby enemies. Go get ’em boy!
- Skaði’s Spirit I [UPDATED]: There is now a visual indicator to show the Decoy’s taunt radius.
Sentinel:
The Sentinel is a unique Class in that it relies heavily on its Shield-based abilities for its combat effectiveness. Shields are fun to throw around and with these changes, we have (literally) doubled down on that! These new Blessings should greatly improve the Sentinel’s Shields as their deadliest Weapon, especially when paired with higher rarities and the below updates to Shield Blocking for all Classes.
- Shield Throw II [NEW]: Your Shield Throw ability now throws the second Shield in rapid succession.
- Shield Ring II [NEW]: Shield spin to win. Your Shield Ring ability will now revolve around you a second time, dealing damage and effects twice.
Warden:
Warden was intended to be a unique type of support role, one focused on utility and logistics, which are crucial to success in Tribes of Midgard. The new Secret Stash and Rationing Blessings further lean into this skillset.
However, with the original Dwarven Made, we felt that being able to bypass the Durability mechanic entirely altered the playstyle that we intended for the Class a little too heavily. With this adjustment, the Wardens will still be able to endure more Durability loss than other Classes, but the added perk of being able to Repair for cheaper will benefit both the Warden as well as their Tribe, which we felt was more important in order to emphasize that ‘village manager’ play style.
- Secret Stash [NEW]: Vigilance is key when safeguarding a Village’s supplies, and their trade secrets! Materials carried are no longer lost upon defeat.
- Rationing [NEW]: An Einherjar knows how important rationing can be in dire times. Gain a chance to recover your Meal immediately after consuming it. Tasty!
- Dwarven Made [UPDATED]: Now reduces Repair costs & Equipment Durability loss by 50%
Blessing Updates to Survival Mode
As mentioned in the Survival 2.0 Blog post, the Class system has been swapped in Survival Mode in favor of a brand new Blessing Tree. 90 Blessings will be unlockable as you increase your Character Level during gameplay. The Einherjar will be able to mix and match to their heart’s content for a unique experience that transcends a specific Class. These additional skills and changes will be included in the Blessing Tree for Survival Mode as well.
Combat Updates
The below changes to gameplay will be for both game modes in the update coming on August 16th.
Invincibility Frames when Evading
You get an i-frame! You get an i-frame! Everybody gets an i-frame!
Every Character now has an invincibility frame as part of their Evade action, allowing them to negate any incoming damage with a well-timed roll.
Animation Cancelling on Evading/Blocking
We’ve tweaked our combat behavior to allow for more responsive timing when choosing to Evade or Block at key moments, even when mid-animation performing a separate action. You’ll still have to make sure your Evade is off cooldown, however, so roll with caution.
Changes to Mana Gains:
Successfully blocking enemy attacks with a Shield will now reward additional Mana. The better the Shield, the more Mana gained! Guardians will synergize well with this change, as their Refused Judgement Blessing will allow them to gain even more Mana per Shield block.
In parallel, you now earn a set amount of Mana per attack, regardless of how many enemies were struck in that attack.
Changes to Durability Loss:
Similar to Mana Gains, your Weapon will now only lose a set amount of Durability per attack, regardless of how many enemies were struck. This will help to maintain your Weapon when taking on hordes.
Mana Loss from Powerful Foes:
Action RPG combat is a big part of what makes Tribes of Midgard’s genre-blend special, and with each passing update, we want to revisit our core combat mechanics to see where we can fine-tune to make it more in-depth, fun, and engaging. The improved Animation Cancelling and global i-frames on Evade rolls should go a long way in helping the combat feel more fluid and empower reflexes to get out of danger in a pinch. While the changes to Mana Gains and Losses should serve to help make each combat encounter feel more strategic in how you proceed. Managing Mana against a tough opponent will be more important now, and we hope this will make the fights all the more exciting.
After the update, being struck by Powerful Foes will leave you winded, causing you to lose a bit of Mana from your gauge. Powerful Foes include Jötnar, Elites (red skull indicator), Ancients, and the roaming mini-bosses of Midgard (yellow health bar, like Fossegrim and Linnorms). Make sure to watch those moves to avoid being hit!
Changes to Bows:
Our original intention with Aimed / Charged Shots was to provide the player with a means of holding their position when firing, as Combo Attacks move with each shot. We did not intend for Aimed / Charged Shots to outclass Combo Attacks in every regard and wanted the player to be able to pick and choose which type of Bow attack to use depending on the situation.
The changes in the August 16 update make the Bow easier to use, more durable, and more powerful at all stages of the game while retaining both stances as useful. This will provide more agency for our pew-pew’ers out there!
All this and many more, arrive in our biggest update yet, Season 3: Inferno Saga, on August 16. Make sure to read patch notes, releasing the day of the release, and the blogs on the new content to get all of the information on TribesofMidgard.com!
Seil seil for now,
The Norsfell Team
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