When setting out to create our “end game” system, our primary goal was to ensure players would be able to convert time spent (i.e. “the grind”) into meaningful power increases. We also wanted to make sure that the power increases were with stats players cared about, so they felt worth chasing for hours on end. Finally, we wanted the system to be useful at any level, and not JUST at the end. That’s why it’s more of an all-around power enhancement system than “end game” (hence the quotes!).
Enter Prisms; A brand-new power-boosting system that’s part of a FREE update coming alongside the final DLC, The Dark Horizon, on 9/24. It works directly with the preexisting Fragments that have been in the game since day 1.
However, before we dive into Prisms, understanding how Fragments work is the foundation to understanding the core of the Prism system. Throughout your journey, Fragments can be found in chests, they drop from certain enemies, and they can even be purchased at Dwell, the vendor, in Ward 13. Fragments grant small stat buffs, ranging from extremely weak to moderately powerful.
For example, an early level “Cracked” Ranged Damage Fragment might grant 1% total Ranged Damage. However, a Mythic might grant 10%. More powerful Fragments are found on higher difficulties, with Level 31 (aka Mythic) being the final tier.
Before DLC3, there were 39 unique Fragments, each providing a unique stat that could supplement your build. In The Dark Horizon, we removed about 14 or so, and added 20 new stats in return, bringing the total to 45 possible choices. We believe the newer Fragment choices provide more total value than the ones replaced.
Players can slot up to 3 Fragments at any one time. With our totally reworked Fragment UI, Fragments are now decoupled from the Relic and can easily be slotted and unslotted with a simply click – a setting that is remembered even if you change your Relic.
OK, finally onto Prisms!
In a nutshell, a Prism is a container for Fragment buffs. Any stat buff that’s obtainable as a Fragment can also be obtained within a Prism. In fact, they can also reach the same exact power level. This means that if you have a 10% Critical Damage Fragment, you’ll also be able to – with a little luck – obtain 10% Critical Damage in your Prism. 20% Crit Damage!
Let’s break down how this all works.
At the baseline, a Prism has 5 slots for buffs. Each buff is earned through experience gain and chosen from a selection of 3 of all 45 when the player levels up their Prism. When a Prism is ready to level up, it glows and an in-game HUD element reminds the player that they have enhancements available. Clicking the Prism will bring up the buff selection screen, and the player chooses 1 out of the 3 presented.
The player makes their choice, and they now have 1 of their 5 Prism slots filled with a Fragment buff. It’s important to note that until all slots are filled, each choice will be random from the entire group of 45 total options.
In the example below, the Prism was leveled up a few more times by grinding out EXP – kills, quests, etc - and a few more choices have been selected. When leveling up a Prism, your choices matter, because you want to make a cohesive creation. Remember that the Fragment Slots above the Prism can be changed, so depending on what you put into your Prism, you may end up mixing and matching, or even double stacking when given the choice to add a new stat!
This Prism is really starting to take shape. We have Fire Rate for a nice damage boost, we have some Health and Stamina to increase our durability and utility, and we also have Reload Speed to make sure our weapon is always loaded.
Each of these stats go to +10, and as mentioned before, the maximum value matches the maximum value of a Level 31 Mythic Fragment stat. So double stacking can become quite powerful for builds that really lean into certain stats.
Now, you may be wondering if you can control which choices appear when your Prism is leveled up. The basic answer is “no”, but there is a caveat. You can actually FEED a Fragment to your Prism to skew the chances of that stat rolling when choices appear. It’s much more effective early on when you have multiple empty slots.
Feeding a Fragment to a Prism will destroy the Fragment, and depending on the quality of the Fragment fed, skew the roll chances of that stat. In the image below, we sacrificed a Mythic Ranged Critical Chance Fragment to obtain the maximum roll chance buff. It isn’t guaranteed, but it’s more likely to appear over time, which is why having more slots open is a good idea when sacrificing a Fragment.
It’s a good thing everyone saved some extra Relic Dust (right?). Dwell will be happy to accept it to help you obtain any missing Fragments... but you can also just play the game and get them that way.
On the very next roll, Ranged Critical Chance rolled for us. It is not guaranteed to roll, even with a maximum roll chance buff, but it does highly skew the odds. We got lucky here, but sheesh, those are some good choices!
A roll chance buff will remain until it is no longer valid. If your buffed stat is already leveled to +10, it will disappear since it’s no longer needed. It also goes away once the Prism is fully leveled to 50.
With this buff in place, each time we roll, we are much more likely to see Ranged Critical Chance appear in each of our selections. This means that it will most likely hit +10 before any other stat because it’s favored to show up more frequently.
Check it out... it showed up again on our very next roll!
So just to reiterate, each stat can be leveled to +10, and you can skew the odds of stats that will show up by feeding Fragments. That’s already pretty powerful, seeing as you can make a Prism with up to 5 Mythic-level stats to go along with your previous 3.
But... we’re just getting started.
Hidden in the system are special stats called “Fusions”. These are special combinations that fuse together to grant 2 stats in a single slot. Not every stat goes together, but the ones that do can consolidate into a slot and re-open new slots for even more power!
Here’s an example.
In our current Prism we have Health (Percent) and Stamina (Percent). When both reach +5, they have a chance to spawn “HULK” as a Fusion. The Fusion IS guaranteed, but it isn’t guaranteed immediately. You may have to roll a few times to get it to appear, so deciding what to enhance in the meantime is a strategy in and of itself.
This example Prism is really filling out nicely. Now that we have both Health Bonus and Stamina Bonus at +5, we keep leveling up so we can get the Fusion Bonus. Remember, it IS guaranteed, so you may not even want to waste any level-ups on those stats. This is because once you take the Fusion, it sets the level back to +1.
We leveled up this Prism a handful of times until HULK appeared. It’s... beautiful!
Now let’s look at our Prism:
We have 5 stats, but we also have an open slot! The minds of all the build-crafters out there must be racing, right?
There are quite a few Fusions, and it’s up to the community to figure them all out. Even knowing them doesn’t guarantee that each Prism will contain them, because it’s still random as to what selections appear. However, Feeding can drastically skew the odds in your favor... for a price!
Now that the Prism has been leveled up even more, we can see that it’s really turning into something special. Fortunately, we know how to game the system, so we are going to extract even more power out of this Prism!
Another Fusion! That means that another slot opened up!
Alright, this Prism is really looking like something that would make your friends jealous. The power level when all stats are +10 is really going to be something.... but, hold onto your horses, we aren’t done. Why? That’s because we have yet another Fusion on the horizon!
No kidding... we’ve made a Prism with 3 Fusions. We also added a few more one-off defensive perks to balance it out. Depending on your choices, you might go full damage, add some utility, or even MORE defensive. It’s up to you and the RNG gods, but we’ve already shown you how to skew those odds in your favor.
“MOM... GET THE CAMERA!”
Now THAT’S a Prism. 8 Stats in the Prism alone, 3 more on top. That’s 11 total stats up from the 3 we had before with Fragments alone... and before you ask, “YES”, you can absolutely have 4 Fusions, bringing the total stats to 12.
As a special note, you can “Cleanse” a Prism and start over. If you have a Prism that you no longer like, you can simply cleanse it and set it back to its default state, giving you fresh start to build an even better one. It can only be done once a Prism is at maximum level. You may come to like certain combinations that you initially thought didn’t quite fit with your playstyle, or you may even discover a new playstyle, but in the end, if you just want to start over, you can.
So... The power is in your hands. Get your hands on a Prism and go get some EXP! You can obtain them in several ways, and grinding EXP has never been more fun with the recently released Boss Rush mode... which ALSO rewards a few Prisms for your collection. It’s safe to say that build-crafting potential is going to skyrocket, and chasing down that perfect Prism will be a chase worth pursuing!
Whew, that was a lot to go over!
The team put a lot of passion and love into this system to give players even more tools to personalize their build to absolute perfection. You can start using the Prism system as soon as you obtain a Prism - it isn’t JUST end game. In fact, Dwell will sell you your first one for 1000 Relic Rust, or you can just play Boss Rush and kill a bunch of bosses to obtain your first Prism. Get that power boost early to help you through increasing difficulty challenges, or min-max to become a GOD... it’s all up to you.
We hope you enjoy interacting with this system and we can’t wait to see what sort of Prisms you create. Be sure to post your best creation online so we can see...
*RECORD SCRATCH*
WE AREN’T DONE YET!
LEGENDARY BONUSES!
That’s right! At Level 50, gaining enough EXP to level up one additional time will grant you a Legendary Bonus choice!
Legendary Bonuses are absolute game-changers that can push your build into the stratosphere... or beyond. We’ve already hinted at a few of these online, and if anyone is wondering, there are over 40 of these crazy effects. Things like:
Increase Relic Charges by 100%
Increase Concoction Limit by 5
Increase Dodge Weight Threshold by 100
Halve all Cheat Death Mechanic Timers
Grey Health Cannot Be Removed
Every Evade Triggers Perfect Dodge
Double Mod Charges
... and MANY more.
So, after all that... our example Prism is finally complete, and this is how it looks. Not bad... not bad at all! When you finally get the Prism system in your hands, be sure to show us your best creation. We can’t wait!
The end (for real this time).
Ben Cureton – Principal Designer (https://twitter.com/verytragic)