Game Update! (v0.4.2)

New Update!

This update introduces the highest difficulty system in the game - Infernal Shards. Since I need lots of feedback to figure out what's the expected difficulty for hardcore players, please let me know what you think after trying it out! The first two tiers are available in this patch, and the third tier will be available in the next patch.

Originally, I planned to add more poison towers in this patch, but working on the Infernal Shard system took up most of my time, so the new towers will be postponed to a later update. Instead, I used the spare time to make several new relics. Some of them are quite different from the previous ones!

As for the April Fools Event character - Joker (honestly, I was surprised so many people liked it!), it will remain in the game and will be labeled as an "Event Character". Since the fun of this character lies in its chaotic nature and block-removal mechanic, balancing it to match the strength of other characters would likely turn it into a really boring character. So, the plan is to keep it usable in most of the game modes, but after the Achievement System is implemented, using the Joker in high-difficulty content (like the newly added Infernal Shards) will not unlock achievements. This allows me to add some silly event ideas to the game without worrying about overall balance!

Hope you all have fun trying out the new challenges!

- Refi

New Feature: Infernal Shards

Originally this was only planned for Heroic difficulty, but I know some players prefer a more relaxed experience, or don't have enough time to play high-difficulty content, so in the end I decided to release this system in all three difficulty levels. I hope everyone can play at the difficulty they're comfortable with and still experience the upgraded boss fights and new challenges!

Unlocked after clearing the Sealed Citadel.
Activate Infernal Shards to add more challenge to your run.
There are 8 different types of shards, each representing a different category of challenge. Each type has 3 difficulty tiers.
Monsters and bosses become stronger as you activate more shards.
Tier 1 and 2 shards are available in this update. Tier 3 is coming in the next one.

15 New Relics Added:

Wood Elf's Charm: When you play the leftmost card in your hand, all your towers cost 3 gold less to build. Restores after building any tower. If a block card triggers this effect, the block it places will be locked immediately.
Dormant Hammer: If you do not build a certain type of tower in a round, its cost is reduced by 15%. Stacks up to 5 times. Cost resets after building the tower.
Statue of Greed: When a monster dies within 5 tiles of your fire source, you gain 30% to 100% extra gold. The closer it dies, the more gold you gain.
Bomber's Package: If the leftmost card in your hand is a block card with an empty rune slot, it automatically gains an Explosion Rune. Can trigger up to 3 times per turn.
Impact Dispersion System: When a tower receives malfunction effect from monsters, the duration is evenly shared with nearby towers within 3 tiles. Each affected tower will be disabled for at least 1 second.
Statue of Poverty: When you have less than 30 gold, each missing gold increases the critical rate of all towers by 1%.
Cartographer's Manual: For every 5 blocks locked, you earn one free card draw.
Auctioneer's Cheat Sheet: In preparation phase, towers on buff tiles can be sold at full price, and does not lose value over time.
Waste Recovery System: Building a tower that costs more than 15/45/75 gold will create 1/2/3 Scrap Towers within 5x5 area. The tower's sell price is reduced by 5/10/15 gold.
Chameleon Shell: When a Normal type tower is placed next to a tower with other elements, it changes to that element. If there are multiple elements nearby, one is chosen at random.
Amulet of Light: At the end of each turn, removes the 5 corrupted tiles closest to the fire source. One of the removed tiles turns into an Attack Boost Tile.
Glacial Axe: Each stack of Chill increases the chance for monsters to receive a critical hit by 5%.
Amplify Matrix: When a tower crits, towers within 3 tiles gain 20% critical rate for 5 seconds. This effect does not stack.
Venom Satchel: When you use the rightmost card in your hand, a random tower without a buff card effect gains the "Poison Bottle" enhancement. If a block card triggers this effect, the block it places will be locked immediately.
Magma Gem: Burn duration is increased by 100%, but Burn consumes 1 stack of Chill every second.

Game Adjustments

Boss fights

Steelrail Overlord (Bone Desert):
- After pushing back the boss, the layout of the new train is no longer a fixed combination.
Skeleton King (Frost Ruins):
- The wind mechanic has been removed.
- New mechanic added: Trial of the Skeleton King.
- Every three turns, the Skeleton King will present a choice. You must select one out of five trial challenges. Each option can only be selected once.

Game Options

Added an option to reduce the electrical conductivity effect of blocks. When enabled, it switches to a less flashy visual effect.

Balance Adjustments:

Characters

Tana the Sorcerer: Extra tower build cost decreased to 30%, but now also affects upgrade cost.
This makes it easier for Tana to survive the early game, and makes her less powerful in the later waves.

Monsters

Broodmother: Base HP - 10%
Orc Berserker: Base HP - 10%
Swift Phantom: Base HP - 10%
Crusher Bot: Base HP - 6%

Towers

Scorch Tower: Range increased (3.5 → 4)
Arcane Missile Tower: Speed decreased (1 → 0.8)
Magic Arrow Tower: Damage increased (8 → 10)

Relics

Cryo Conductor: Extra Charge effect increased to +200% (was +100%)
Unstable Mixture: The Charge effect needed to proc the relic decreased to 30% (was 50%)
Sacrificial Pact: Now heals 1 HP for each 5 Ember Stones consumed (was 10 Ember Stones)

Buff Card

Powerful Shot: Now increases damage by 150% (was 100%), duration lowered to 20 seconds (was 30).

Emberward » Patches