The latest build for the Shadowstone Closed Playtest is now available to download.
Check out all the recent additions below.
Runs can now be saved and continued across multiple play sessions.
Multiplayer runs require all original party members to be present to continue.
Runs can also be abandoned via the in-game Settings menu if you know it's not worth continuing.
Only one single player run and one multiplayer run can be held at a time.
Hero progression is now split out from quests.
Rewards earned by each progression level are displayed when returning to Hero Select.
You can preview the rewards for the next level.
A new General setting has been added (Default setting is set to Off) which, when turned on, will generate a path for your hero to follow based on the tiles you hover over.
The Independent Variable
Heya everyone! Another new system has been added into the game this patch, Rituals.
Rituals are a "party passive" your group selects together at the start of a run. Over the course of the run, the chosen Ritual can be advanced by anyone whenever a specific condition is met (by anyone!). When fully advanced, the Ritual activates, immediately firing off an immensely strong effect. After activation, the Ritual resets, and can be readvanced and reactivated infinitely.
Our hope with the system is that it provides a more explicit avenue for building towards a "group synergy", that is, building across Heroes towards a shared mechanic. This system is not meant to replace making your own Hero-unique ultra build, but more so to loudly serve as an additional and more collaborative alternative strategy to pursue; as we believe having a synergistic party is both a fun and effective gameplay approach we want to encourage players to explore.
All that said, the Ritual system is being released in a very early stage, and we have more plans in place around making the experience of using it better (manual activation? 👀), as well as making more content that better work towards buildable mechanics (Ritual of Exodus and Ritual of Conquest revolve around broad gameplay rather than a specific buildable mechanic). So please, try out the system and let us know your thoughts!
The Ritual System has been added.
The Party will be prompted to pick a Ritual at the beginning of a run.
An initial spread of Rituals have been added to the pool.
Hey gang! We've been gradually absorbing feedback on in-run hero progression and room rewards, as well as consulting The Data. Overall, we think it's been too easy and reliable to access some of the more powerful hero builds, and that upgrade choices in late game can sometimes feel unnecessary (getting a new card in Act 3, for example).
To try and improve this experience, we've focused on tightening up and adding some constraints around rewards. This will hopefully better pace the way a kit feels over the course of a run, keep Act 3 reward choices more relevant, and, yes, make it a bit harder to proc your favorite build every time ;) While these changes may take some adjustment time, we're really looking forward to your thoughts!
Reduced reward screen choices from 3 to 2.
Removed the skip rewards button.
Added a Gain Gold choice to the Potion reward screen if you are at max Potions.
Changed "New Spell" reward on boss monster fights to a "Spell Upgrade" reward.
Spell Upgrades are now more likely to appear in Hard rooms and more likely to appear later in runs.
New Spells are now more likely to appear in Normal rooms and more likely to appear earlier in runs.
Hard rooms now always have two rewards, one of which is a Potion.
Please note: As part of testing rewards, if you have unlocked the "Paths" functionality in the game, you will now see three paths in Acts 2 and 3 (instead of just two and one, as it has been up to this point). Since we only have one biome in Act 3 (Sands) and two biomes in Act 2 (Fungal Forest and Coast), the additional paths will also be of those biomes (so you'll see three different Sands paths in Act 3, and in Act 2 you'll see a Coast path, a Fungal Forest path, and then a third path that's either Coast or Fungal Forest).
We hope to create new environments in the future to populate these paths, but want players to be able to make build choices more robustly in the meantime. By giving players all three intended paths, you can scope out what rewards you'd like to pursue as intended in the full game.
Three new Uncommon Runes have been added to the game.
Gatekeeper
Removed randomized Spell Actions & Biome Hazard spawning.
As the final boss of the act, the Gatekeeper stands directly between you and your escape. Feedback from our playtesters highlighted that the encounter felt overly punishing unless players relied on highly specific, optimized builds.
To address this, we’ve iterated on the Gatekeeper's design and mechanics to reduce frustrating complexity while preserving what makes the fight unique. Specifically, we have removed the randomized spell actions and Biome Hazard spawns, which were creating too much visual and mechanical noise. By trimming the clutter and focusing on what makes the fight fun, we've ensured the Gatekeeper retains its mechanical depth while remaining a fair, engaging threat in entirely new ways.
Twin Apostates
Passives have been altered to empower an Apostate should the other take damage or is defeated from battle.
When designing our bosses, we want them to tell a story through their mechanics, not just their visuals. To achieve this, The Twin Apostates have been reworked to deeply emphasize their bond as sisters. Now, their connection dictates the flow of battle: when one sister is harmed, the other will temporarily power up to seek revenge. If you manage to defeat one of them, the surviving sister will enter a fit of rage, leveling up to become significantly more powerful. How you balance and tackle this deadly duo is entirely up to you!
Note: This mechanical rework also allowed us to squash a large number of bugs previously reported for this encounter, making the entire fight much smoother.
It’s time to welcome some new faces to our monster families! The Frozen, Coast, and Fungal Biomes are each receiving a brand-new creature to round out their respective rosters.
New enemies added: Frostling.
New Mechanic: Throwable.
Enemies updated with the Throwable mechanic: Ooze and Hermit Crab.
The introduction of the Frostling also brings a brand-new mechanic to the game. Monsters designated as Throwable can now be interacted with directly by the player. Instead of just pushing them away, you can grab them and hurl them across the board! Use them as improvised projectiles or clear them out of your path—the choice is yours. First appearance with the new Frostling Monster!
Potions are now capped at 3.
Corruption iterations will continue to be tuned each patch, if you have any specific thoughts on the relative difficulty/fairness of when a Consequence is showing up, let us know!
Various bugs fixed with Corruption Consequences and Bargains.
"Vendetta" Consequence should only show up at Corruption Levels 5 + 6.
"Gouged" Consequence should now show up appropriately.
"Apocalyptic" and "Tormented" Consequences should now be mutually exclusive (they both won't show up in the same run).
Fixed an issue with some of Witch's animations being incomplete.
Fixed an issue where Ranger's Wild Bloom spell card was not showing the passive indicator UI on targets.
Fixed an issue with Pyromancer's Flame Breath spell card not showing the damage indicator.
Fixed an issue where Heroes were in A-pose when using the Pull 2 potion.
Fixed an issue with Witch's 2nd Germinate upgrade that did not correctly highlight the expected changed action.
Fixed an issue where Elite rooms on Lab Stronghold biome could spawn less monsters than expected.
Fixed an issue where uncommon and common Rune rewards were appearing in Act 3.
Fixed an issue where the Leave banner on the Victory/Defeat screen was misaligned.
Fixed an issue with the "Ante" bargain not functioning as intended.
Fixed an issue with fog VFX appearing on Sand Biomes which was not intended.
Fixed an issue with inspect hover not appearing for the Waylaid Medic NPC.