Greetings Vessels,
We’re here with the latest update, and we’re eager to show off what we have in store for you with 1.2! Having taken your feedback on board as we’ve progressed, we have a range of new features, quality-of-life updates and balances designed to improve the player experience and bring Ravenbound into a place you can all enjoy.
One requested feature that we’ve been excited to bring to you is the addition of the Map of Ávalt, giving you a much clearer view of your surroundings so you know exactly where you need to go.
If you’ve seen our roadmap, you’ll have seen our plans to improve combat after hearing your feedback. We’re happy to announce that we have made a number of improvements and changes to the combat system to make it look and feel that much better. With changes to your Dodge, Surges and more, you’ll find that fights are much more stylish and interesting.
New Features
Map of Ávalt
One feature we’ve seen requested time and time again from players has been the addition of a map, and we’re excited to reveal that the Map of Ávalt is available now!
The world of Ávalt has never been so easy to navigate!
This detailed map is filled with all the information you’ll need on your journey to save Ávalt, with a marker to show your location and keep you on track.
With two different zoom levels, you’ll be able to find exactly what you’re looking for, as one level shows you the locations of Wardens, Towns, World Bosses and more, while the closer level reveals Camps and Sigil Chests, saving you time as you roam the world. You can even place Custom Markers around your map, letting you know exactly where to go or where you’ve already been.
Raven Mode
Since Ravenbound’s launch, we received a lot of feedback from you about the difficulty of traversing the map on foot. We mentioned previously that we felt ground travel was necessary to help give depth to the scale of the world, and attempted to help alleviate some of the difficulty with more Raven Towers around the map.
That said, we have continued to listen to your feedback regarding this matter, and with this update, we have made changes to allow you to transform into a raven wherever you are outside, as long as you are not locked in combat.
Tomb Rewards
The players who have attempted speedruns to defeat the Betrayer have shown us some amazing tips and tricks to shave minutes and seconds off their run, and we thought that speedy actions deserve a reward of their own!
With this update, we’ve added new Legendary Chests to the Ellri in each Tomb. One of these will always be open, with the loot free for the taking. The other, however, has a timed lock on it, and in order to retrieve the goodies inside, you need to reach it within a set time.
Both of these chests will include higher chances for rare and legendary items, and will modify the Mana Cost of Cards to reduce the cost to 0! To open each of these chests, you must reach the chests within:
- 10 minutes for the first Siphon
- 20 minutes for the second Siphon
- 30 minutes for the third Siphon.
Major Improvements
Combat
With your feedback in mind, we wanted to take another look at the combat system. This has been in the works for a while, and we have made a series of improvements to the combat system in order to give you more interesting ways to slay your foes.
Posture
By combining Guard Health and the Stagger mechanic, we have reworked them into Posture. Both players and enemies now have a Posture bar, which can turn the tide of the battle in an instant. This bar fills when you, or your opponent, take a hit, and when an enemy’s Posture bar reaches capacity, they become Stunned to give the player the chance to use a Devastating Attack*.
If your own Posture bar reaches the maximum and you take another hit, you’ll be briefly stunned and 10% of your health becomes Grey Health, so keep an eye on your Posture! When you Surge, your Posture bar is reset, allowing you to reap the full benefits of Surge. If you see your Posture bar getting too full, you can stop using Guard for a brief moment will allow this bar to start to deplete.
As a result of this addition, the Raven Guard no longer has its own health bar. Instead, it will block a certain amount of incoming damage, including some Posture damage. If you time your Guard perfectly, this will inflict both Impact and Posture on your opponents, so make sure to keep vigilant!
*Info on Devastating Attack below.
Dodge
One big change that we’ve made is to dodging. We have implemented a Charge system for Dodges that is displayed on a player’s HUD and can be upgraded through the Skill Tree. These Dodge Charges recharge one at a time, so be mindful of how many dodges you have left.
Surge
We’ve taken Surge under consideration with the other changes made to the Combat System, and now when you activate Surge, you will be able to dodge freely without costing a Dodge Charge. Your Posture bar is also reset, making you immune to Posture damage while Surge is active.
Forceful Attack
To allow for the weapons to feel unique enough to make a difference, we’ve added a unique Forceful Attack for each. Visible on screen, you’ll be able to see when your Forceful Attack is ready to be used, allowing you to decimate your foes with style, all while gaining invulnerability during the initial part of the attack.
Devastating Attack
When your foe’s Posture bar is completely filled and they’re Stunned as a result, a player can take advantage of this to deliver a Devastating Attack.
Tutorial Update
With all these changes and updates, the Tutorial needed an update of its own. When loading the game after this update, players will receive a message to advise of the changes to the Tutorial.
If you want to try the tutorial out again to see the updates here, you can access the Tutorial in the Settings Menu.
Skill Tree
We’ve updated the Skill Tree and the traits to reflect the changes made to combat.
Weapon Traits
- Sword and Shield: While Guarding, Posture Resistance is increased.
- Great Weapon Master: Forceful Attacks increase Posture Damage.
- Great Axe Master: While Frenzied, Posture Impact is increased.
Upgrades
Various of the Passive nodes have been updated, such as:
- Predator’s Precision: Devastating Attack damage is increased.
- Stabilising Force: Posture Impact increased.
- Surge Force: While Surging, Posture Impact is increased.
- Crushing Momentum: Forceful Attack damage is increased.
World Bosses
With update 1.2, Open World Bosses will now only be available one at a time, changing as you defeat Wardens. The reward for defeating them has also been updated. You will now gain the Superior Inner Growth Card once you defeat a World Boss. That Card transforms all your Cards in your Hand into new Cards of equal or higher rarity, and grants 5 Mana. We’ve also added two new World Bosses, giving you even more of a range of enemies to challenge.
Cultist
Spawns after the 3rd Warden is defeated.
Earth Troll
Spawns after the First Warden is defeated.
Variations
We want each run to feel different and interesting, which is why we’ve added a whole range of additional enemies and variations that you have the possibility of facing!
- Vittra - Two-Handed Spear
- Häxa Mentor - Staff
- Cultist - Dual Dagger
- Cultist Zealot - Dual Swords
- Cultist Zealot - Two-Handed Hammer
- Cultist Brute - Dual Sword Magic
- Cultist Brute - Two-Handed Sword
- Svartalf Medium - Two-Handed Axe
- Svartalf Chieftain - Two-Handed Axe
- Svartalf Chieftain - Dual Axes
- Bandit Rugged - Sword
Gameplay Changes
Along with the new features and improvements we’ve made, we also have a myriad of changes to the gameplay, ranging from Difficulty to Loot and the Hatred system to make your journey through Ravenbound feel that much smoother and balanced.
We have an entire post dedicated to our Card Balance Changes, as they didn't quite fit in the one page!
Unique
Several Cards have become Unique, meaning they can only appear once in a Run. Their descriptions will feature the keyword Unique, and they have their own distinct Card appearance.
Magic
Status Effect Potency is changed to Magic Potency as it now scales the effect of all magical damage, regardless of source. It will also increase the effectiveness of things like Weakness, Cursed, and Frozen. All Status Effects in the game count as Magic, meaning even effects such as Bleeding grow stronger through Magic Potency.
The Weakness Status Effect has been changed to no longer decrease Weapon Damage, but instead decrease the Posture Impact dealt by the creature under its effect.
Difficulty
To make everything much more streamlined, we’ve made some changes to the different levels of difficulty within Ravenbound.
For the Hard and Nightmare modes, we’ve added stat modifiers to increase the Health, Damage, Stagger Tolerance and Posture Tolerance of enemies, making them more of a challenge to defeat. Elites will now maintain the same rarity progression as on the default difficulty.
Unique spawn groups will also appear depending on the difficulty chosen for your run.
Loot
We’ve made some changes to the rewards within Chests to make things more streamlined and effective for your runs. All drop rates have been adjusted.
Fragments
Interacting with a Fragment now immediately presents you with 3 Cards:
- Only one Card can be a Weapon Card
- Only one Card can be an Armor Card
- Only the side Cards can be Bounty Cards; neither will be Riches or a Mana Card.
- The middle Card will always have the Suit of the Fragment.
- The side Cards will either have a Neutral Suit or the same Suit as the Fragment.
Hidden Chests
These Chests will now contain Relic or Equipment Cards with a Neutral Suit, with a general low rarity.
Coin Chests
When you loot a normal Chest, the center Card will always be a Riches Card. The difficulty of the camp dictates the rarity of the center Card.
Mana Chests
The center Card of a Mana Chest will now always be a Mana Card. The difficulty of the camp dictates the rarity of the center Card, and the rarity of the Mana Chest is now reflected in its appearance.
Folk
- Ulvar now gain 15% Weapon Damage increase on Drain.
- Simlar now gain 2 Mana on Drain.
- Humans now gain 80 Coins on Drain.
Misc.
- The Apothecary Vendor now charges more Coins the further into the run you are.
- The Relic Slot Vendor now charges more Coins as you have Relic Slots unlocked.
- The Gambler Vendor now charges less, but the cost increases the more you Gamble.
- The Reforger Vendor now charges more.
- The Blacksmith Vendor now charges slightly more.
- Tears of Hatred now gives 4, 5, and 6 Mana at each tier.
- Side Quests now reward more coins.
Hatred
We’ve been listening to your feedback on the Hatred system, and have been working to make this the best possible system that it can be.
Fragments
- Fragments now display Hatred smoke to a lesser extent.
- Fragments immediately draws Cards instead of being stored in a Fragment Slot.
- When you interact with an object carrying Hatred, one of the Cards will be a Hatred Card, unless you have a Blessing.
Blessings
- In order to give you the best possible start to your run, players will now start with 6 Blessings. These Blessings will allow you to interact with Hatred objects without drawing any Hatred Cards, so you can come out swinging!
- When interacting with Hatred Objects, you’ll be able to see how many Blessings you have left.
- When you no longer have any Blessings to protect you, the Vessel Screen will indicate both the next Hatred Card and your current Hatred Level.
- Each Ellri you visit will grant you 6 more Blessings, allowing you to save up several if you so choose.
UI Changes
There have been so many changes and updates that we’ve updated where you’ll find some information to make it more informative, all while making sure they don’t get too cluttered for you.
Hatred Bar
To help prevent your screen from feeling cluttered, the HUD no longer displays the Hatred bar or Fragment slots. When you start to gain Hatred, you’ll be able to monitor it on the Vessel Screen, which updates as your Hatred level changes.
Combat
With the changes we’ve made to the Combat system, we’ve updated the HUD to show your Forceful Attack, along with the Dodge Charges and Posture bar, so you can keep vigilant while slaying your foes.
Card Screen
We’ve made some changes to the HUD on the Card Screen to make things more intuitive and clearer for everyone. Now you’ll be able to see how many Blessings you have to use. Once these Blessings are used up, you’ll start receiving Hatred.
Balance Changes
We’ve made some adjustments to some enemies to help improve the balance overall.
Starting Health
WardenBeforeAfterSpirit30002500Sky20002750Ice30002500Fire30002500Earth30002500
Movement
We have made adjustments to the relocation, teleportation and evasion of the following enemies:
- Alvar Dancer
- Alvar Halberd
- Alvar Tempest
- Häxa Apprentice
- Cultist - Dual Dagger
- Cultist - One-handed Sword
Misc
- We have made adjustments to the Stagger Impact for the Earth Warden.
Bug Fixes
With this patch, we aimed to cover a large range of bug fixes to make this update smooth and issue-free, and thanks to a lot of hard work from our team, we have a massive list of fixes to share with you!
Tutorial
- Fixed a bug that prevented Tutorial Tips from appearing consistently when abandoning and starting a new run during the tutorial phase.
- Fixed an issue where loading a save during the tutorial would spawn the player in without a weapon.
- Resolved an error where playing the tutorial again after abandoning a run prevented the player from spawning with a weapon.
- Fixed a bug where a black texture would appear over the water in the Dungeon Camp.
- Fixed an issue preventing players from replaying the Tutorial when there is a saved run active.
- Fixed a bug that would cause a Tutorial Tooltip to get stuck on screen.
- Fixed a bug where the Tooltip explaining Raven Flight would appear at random times.
- Fixed a bug where the Tooltip stating that a player doesn’t have enough Mana would appear at the wrong time.
- Resolved an issue where the wrong popup would appear during the Basic Attack Tutorial.
- Fixed a bug where players would get stuck in the Tutorial due to a lack of Mana.
Combat
- Fixed a bug where players would get stuck in the Devastating Attack menu.
- Fixed an issue where the Betrayer’s health bar was broken.
- Resolved an error where the Svartalf - Two-Handed Axe would not spawn.
- Fixed an issue where World Bosses would spawn the wrong enemies on Hard and Nightmare Difficulties
- Fixed a bug preventing Frenzied from increasing Weapon Damage.
- Resolved a bug where the Sporetraps from The First Saplings would not despawn.
- Resolved an issue where the Forest Guardian’s Axe would set a player on fire when dodging.
- Fixed an error where the first attack in a Basic Attack chain would miss more frequently than intended.
- Fixed an issue where the Crown Mother would spam a failed cast animation.
- Corrected an error where the Charged Attack effect would not display correctly.
- Fixed a bug where the Elder Häxa’s attacks would ignore a player’s Guard.
- Corrected an error where an enemy would get stuck inside a house.
- Fixed a bug where Draugrs would spawn underground.
- Fixed an issue where Häxa Apprentice orbs did not work.
Cards
- Fixed an issue where the unique Card Frames were not set up on the Card Collection Screen.
- Fixed a bug where certain Cards were missing strings.
- Resolved an error where certain Relics were not set as Unique.
- Fixed a bug that caused the “Superior Inner Growth” Card to perform incorrectly.
- Fixed a bug where the “Sword & Shield Specialist” Card was missing the ‘Can only pick up Sword & Shield Weapon Cards’ text and effect.
- Fixed an error where players could access locked weapons after deleting their save file.
- Resolved an error where the “Bringer of Ragnarok” Card displayed the wrong text.
- Fixed a bug that prevented Cards from spawning correctly.
- Fixed an issue where “Everhumming Chimes” did not stack Electrified damage.
- Fixed a bug preventing “Hilt of the Stolen Blade” from increasing Magic Damage effects.
- Fixed a bug where using Icebreaker would cause the Frozen status effect to be cancelled out instantly without the enemy taking extra damage.
- Resolved the issue where “Nature’s Caress” would not increase Burning damage.
- Fixed an issue where “Blades of Nature’s Growth”, “Executioner’s Greataxe” and “Hatchets of Glacial Advance” would not stack damage.
- Fixed a bug preventing “Hellfire Blades” from giving the correct amount of bonus Burning damage.
- Fixed an issue where the effects of “Gold Shackled Bottle” did not drain a player’s coins.
- Resolved an issue where the relic “Hope’s Recital” does not increase weapon damage when an enemy is cursed.
- Fixed an issue where using “Longsword of Gloom” does not spawn a Draugr Champion.
- Fixed a bug preventing “Bringer of Ragnarok” from using its effects.
- Fixed an error where “Redoubt of Arcane Curse” did not do any extra damage when the player had unspent Mana.
- Corrected an issue where “Sharpened Longsword” did not extend the Bleed duration.
- Fixed a bug where the effects of “Thundertusk” do not occur when the player surges.
- Fixed an issue where “Greatsword of the Mountain Guard” did not work.
- Resolved an issue where the relic “Flint Earrings” had the wrong text.
- Fixed an error where “Swords of the Frost” does not give an extended Frozen duration or apply increased damage.
- Resolved an issue where “Ashen Reckoning” would not set fire to Staggered enemies.
- Fixed an issue where the relic “Frozen Feather Charm” did not reflect damage when guarding.
- Fixed a bug preventing the “Shockwave” weapon from working correctly.
- Fixed a bug where “Velaug’s Vein Tearer” did not work as intended.
- Fixed an issue where “Card Armor Erosion” did not decrease Armor.
- Resolved a bug where “Tornado Axe” does not spawn Tornados.
Chests
- Fixed a bug where Mana Chests had the wrong rarity for the Camp difficulty.
- Resolved an issue preventing the Raven Talon loot chest from spawning.
- Fixed a bug where Ellri Chests would cause a soft-lock on the loot screen, preventing the player from choosing a Card.
- Fixed a bug where two chests would spawn in a Camp.
- Fixed an error where Sigil Chests would give the incorrect warning that enemies were nearby when a player did not have any Sigil Keys.
Graphics
- Fixed an issue where the Hatred Beam wouldn’t spawn over an active Siphon.
- Resolved an issue with enemies being hard to see in a certain cave.
- Fixed a bug where environmental assets would block the path to start an objective.
- Fixed a bug where the visual effects on the Fragment Interaction were missing.
- Resolved an issue where the Earth Troll Boss arena was too dark when fighting at night.
- Fixed an issue where the Raven Text was not displayed in the centre of the text box.
- Resolved an issue where snow texture would clip through the ground in the open rift in the mountains.
- Fixed an error that played the grapple animation when sprinting and jumping.
- Fixed a bug where “Thunderstrike” does not create a Lightning Strike effect.
- Fixed an issue where birds can be seen stuck mid-flight in an enemy camp.
- Fixed an issue where the Guard Break glow would stick.
- Resolved a bug where the Dive effect would get stuck on screen.
- Fixed rendering issues when underneath water level.
- Fixed an issue where an enemy would Stagger twice if hit rapidly.
Gameplay
- Fixed a bug that prevented a door from re-opening if the player leaves the Boss Room before the Gates are closed.
- Fixed a bug that prevented a Buff from clearing after defeating a Warden.
- Fixed a bug where the Gale Door was made available again after the Gale Warden was defeated.
- Resolved an error where the Earth, Sky and Betrayer Doors would open at the same time.
- Fixed an issue where enemies would not spawn in a Camp.
- Fixed a bug preventing Shards from spawning after defeating enemies.
- Fixed an error where a player is not informed that they can gain Frenzy when using “Blood of the First”.
- Fixed a bug where players are unable to pick up fragments after killing an enemy.
- Resolved an issue where dropping Raven Mode in town would crash the game.
- Fixed a bug where the Raven would prevent a player from going to the first Tomb when the quest objective instructs them to go there.
- Fixed an issue where the character would not automatically enter Raven Mode when leaping out of the Siphon Select doors when jumping or dodging.
- Fixed a bug that caused Alvar Halberd to stop spawning.
UI
- Fixed a bug where controller input would stop working in the Pause Menu.
- Fixed an error showing the wrong quest objective when going to the Betrayer.
- Resolved an issue where the World Marker for the Cultist World Boss was the same as the Troll marker.
- Fixed a bug where pressing LT/RT would fail to respond if used at the same time as moving to the side.
- Fixed an issue where the game would crash when fighting certain enemies.
- Corrected a bug where players would see a red placeholder Card in their inventory after dying to the first boss and starting a new run.
- Fixed an issue where the game would not close correctly when exiting.
- Fixed a bug preventing the Skill Tree message from closing.
- Fixed a bug when using the lower Hatred Card, where the Hatred Level did not show as decreased until the interface was closed and reopened.
- Fixed an issue where trying to swap to Simlar in the Vessel Select screen would start the game in controller mode.
Audio
- Fixed a bug where the ‘Vessel Has Fallen’ effect would play twice.
- Resolved an error where a sound would play incorrectly in Camps.
- Fixed a bug where no combat music would play during the Cultist World Boss battle.
- Fixed a bug where the Quest Completion celebration after the Tutorial would play three times.
- Resolved a bug that would play the incorrect reverb when a player is inside.
Misc.
- Fixed an issue where an enemy would spawn inside a wall at certain locations.
- Fixed a bug where relevant articles were not added to the Codex.
- Resolved an error where Relic Slots only cost one coin each.
- Fixed a bug where the Difficulty Option isn’t saved when the run has ended.
- Fixed a bug where the Siphon Arena would clip through the world.
- Resolved an error where various texts and descriptions were missing.
- Fixed an issue where the XP awarded for completing the Betrayer was lower than intended.
- Resolved an issue where rebinding the Raven’s Talon would prevent it from working correctly.
- Fixed a bug where deleting a save in-game did not delete the save.
Known Issues
We have included a list of issues that we are currently aware of at this time.
Crashes
- The game may on rare occasions crash in the open world.
- The game may on very rare occasions crash in the character select screen after starting a new run.
Cards
- On occasion, some Weapon Cards may not trigger their effects correctly.
- The Foresight Card may draw an already played Unique Card, resulting in the player not receiving a new Card.
- The Card “Bouquet of Invigoration” does not give extra life.
Combat
- The new enemy variants Häxa Mentor and Cultist Brute may lose sight of the player in some circumstances.
- If the player reaches 100% posture damage and dodges out of a fight the posture bar may fade out even though it is still full.
- Sometimes the Forceful Attack cooldown icon may not update correctly.
- Some enemies in camps may start a fight with some lost health.
- Spirit Damage from Shield and Sword weapons does not work against Draugrs.
Gameplay
- On rare occasions, enemy camp chests may not spawn correctly.
- On very rare occasions dropped fragments may not be interactable.
- On rare occasions, the Forceful attack and Devastating attack may not trigger correctly.
- On occasion, some Hatred-filled chests do not have Hatred in them.
UI
- There may be issues with missing line breaks or overlapping text in localized languages on some Cards.
- In some cases the icon for the amount of dodge charges left may not update correctly, showing 1 used even though 2 are used.
- If setting down a custom marker on the map, this may stay on the map between runs.
- The next Hatred Card shown on the vessel screen may be incorrect.
Graphics
- The map screen may cause a FPS drop on some machine setups.
Audio
- On occasion, some music transitions may end abruptly.
- On very rare occasions enemy sounds may stop being audible, requiring a game restart to resolve.
- On rare occasions, the Hatred cleanse sound may play twice and overlap on Hatred Chests.
Thank you all once again for your continued support! Please let us know what you think of the changes introduced in this update.
If you have any questions or comments, drop them in the replies. There's also the option to come and join our Discord to talk about Ravenbound with your fellow Vessels. We’d love for you to come and hang out with us!
See you in Ávalt.