Can't wait for the Mazing DLC? You don't have to anymore! At least, for this weekend. Welcome to the first open test of our upcoming Mazing Mode! Included in it is:
- 5 FFA/Teams Mazing Maps
- 2 Co-op Mazing Maps
- You can play the above in Singleplayer and Multiplayer
- Casual Mode
Do note, these maps do not have terrain yet; that's still being worked on.
To jump in, just grab the alpha branch and hit play!
- To do so, right-click Element TD 2 in your library
- Select "Properties"
- Go to the "Betas" tab
- Select "alpha - Mazing Alpha this weekend!"
- Once downloaded, play at will!
This first open test for Mazing will last until Tuesday, September 13th at 1pm PST.
If you want a preview of how this works, read on below for the details!
What is the Mazing DLC?
This will be a paid expansion that adds a new mode to the game, Mazing Mode. In the standard game, creeps take a predetermined path to reach the end. In Mazing, the towers you place act as blockers that change the path creeps take to reach the end.
This DLC will contain the following:
- Mazing Mode
- A 14-Mission long Mazing Campaign
- 10 FFA/Teams Mazing Maps
- 4 Co-op Mazing Maps
- Leaderboards for Mazing
Additionally, it'll be paired with Version 1.8, which will include Turbo Lite, Casual Mode, New Cosmetics & Achievements, and more!
How Mazing Works
While you can place towers down directly, there's a far more efficient way to maze, and that's with the Blocker. Located on the left side of your Build Bar, you can use this to quickly build up a maze.
As you place Blockers, the path will automatically adjust.
By default, you'll start with 20 Blockers. Each wave you clear, you gain 1 Blocker, and every 5 waves, you gain 2 Blockers instead.
- The number of Blockers you have also acts as your Tower Limit.
- These are values we may adjust over time.
However, these aren't just for increasing the path length. They also let you build Towers directly on them.
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Selling a Tower will always leave a Blocker behind. This way, you don't accidentally open up a hole in your path.
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If you place or sell Blockers in the middle of the wave, they'll be ignored by all currently active creeps.
- This prevents you from accidentally opening a hole mid-wave, or routing creeps through an infinite loop via buy/sell abuse of Blockers.
If you place Blockers mid-wave, they'll be highlighted red, and creeps will walk through them.
Open Alpha Feedback
If you'd like to give us feedback on the Mazing Open Alpha, drop a comment below, make a steam thread, or post on our Discord. We'll have a dedicated #mazing channel that you can drop your feedback in and ask questions.
For now, we're looking on feedback on the following things:
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How does the difficulty curve feel?
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Do you start with too few or many Blockers? Do you gain enough over time?
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Do the maps feel good to play? Do any of them have infuriating quirks that need to be fixed?
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What bugs are you running into it?
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Does rushing in multiplayer feel bad to play against?
- We're considering turning Casual Mode on for Multiplayer Mazing by default. For reference, this is a new checkbox that sets everyone at their own pace, meaning the first person to clear the wave doesn't start the next wave for everyone else.
DLC Release Date
Although this first test of the mode is fully playable, we are still a few months out from release. Some internal delays pushed us back on our estimates, but now we're back in full force. That said, we still have a number of things we're trying to finish, including:
- Finalizing map designs
- Actual terrain for each map
- Mazing Campaign
- Polish and other fixes
The Mazing DLC is expected to release Friday, December 2nd!
We'll be dropping more details about it in the coming months, including price and other stuff. There will also be more open tests down the road. In the meantime, try out the Open Alpha this weekend!
What are you waiting for? Grab the alpha and hop on in!
EDIT: The latest batch of fixes have made Teams & Co-op properly playable now. As a result, we've extended the open play period by another day. Have fun mazing!
Changed depots in internal branch