Hello everyone and welcome to The Slormite Chronicles #56!
This month, we’re taking a look back at the work we've accomplished in November. As mentioned in our previous Slormite Chronicles, we started from scratch on a new class. This time, unlike our experiments with the Rogue Mode, there were no nasty surprises, everything turned out to be quite smooth and straightforward. We weren’t sure what challenges we would face, nor were we certain this would be the class we’d add, but for now, all signs are green.
Creating a Class
The design of the first three classes dates back nearly two years before Early Access, more than six years for us, and it’s really interesting to revisit that. The game has evolved a lot since then, and the constraints are no longer the same. Back then, we had almost none of the other layers that now make up the game: maybe a few Slorm Reapers (in their very first version), but no Ultimatums, Traits, Ancestral Legacy, Legendaries, Runes, Inventory, etc.
This actually makes class creation much easier. Back then, we had to be cautious with more generic effects that we preferred to reserve as the base for Slorm Reapers or legendary effects. Now that everything is in place, it’s fairly simple to navigate and fill in the gaps with what’s missing, or at least take into account what already exists and avoid redundancy.
A class consists of 8 Active Skills, 3 Support Skills (with their specializations), one class mechanic, and between 3 and 4 sub-mechanics. In total, there are roughly 220 effects (Active, Upgrades, and Passives) to design. It’s a lot.
We started by laying the foundations of the class mechanic, then the sub-mechanics the class would have. Once these were in place, the identity of the class became clear, and we could quite easily design skills based on all these ideas.
Where We Stand
The first step was creating a big spreadsheet with all the ideas for mechanics and skills thrown together. Then we cleaned it up, because writing the tooltip that will appear in-game requires a good deal of clarification and helps us ensure that we’ve accounted for all the parameters of a skill (mana cost, duration, range, etc.). With a well-written tooltip and a clear logic, almost half of the coding work is already done since I know exactly what needs to be implemented.
We’re currently at this stage. About 75% of the effects exist in a more or less rough form, which we’re now refining. In doing so, the remaining missing effects usually become obvious. For example, if two upgrades of the same tier are useful for two very specific builds, adding a third, more generic upgrade that is useful by default becomes quite easy.
Once everything is polished in a first version, I can jump straight into coding. But since the brainstorming is done by both of us, the art side only kicked off in mid-November when I started finalizing the tooltips on my end. We already have the base sprite (idle, no animation) and a design we really like, distinct enough from the other three classes but still keeping the Slormancer spirit.
So… What Is This Class?!
Spoiler alert: Names, mechanics, and effects are all still very much subject to change. Between finalizing, implementation, and testing, we’re far from the final effects.
The class we’re working on has the codename “The Whimsical Witch.” She wields a Scythe and casts witchy spells. Among other things, she can: gather ingredients to brew potions with various effects, spread Infection and disease around her, or open a third eye to cast spells from another position.
We didn’t necessarily aim to fill a gameplay gap in the game, since we feel it’s relatively complete at this point. Even though the Necromancer class is highly requested, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. We wanted to build a unique class with its own mechanics, with a possible minion-focused build and a more passive gameplay style.
That said, given The Slormancer’s constraints and our desire for all Slorm Reapers to be playable with this new class, we kept a classic foundation with melee attacks, projectiles, and AoEs.
A Little Teaser: Soulstones and Minions
For minion enthusiasts, one of the Witch’s class mechanics (similar to the Mage’s Clones) allows certain spells to be converted into more or less permanent Minions. Here’s how it works in more detail:
The Whimsical Witch has some spells with the keyword “Life” that launch projectiles or AoEs. For example, “Spectral Bat Fling” launches a bat at an enemy. It’s a homing projectile that applies a DoT on hit. With the right upgrade, once the projectile finishes, the Spectral Bat becomes a Minion that can autonomously attack nearby enemies for a short duration.
This duration is determined by your Soulstone reserve, which fills up when casting “Death” spells. By building your character with the right upgrades, it’s possible to reduce Soulstone usage and gain them passively, allowing for a more or less passive Minion-focused build depending on your preference.
Beyond Bats, The Whimsical Witch can also summon Toads, Spiders, and Ghosts, which, once their skill effect ends, can become Minions.
That’s it for this first teaser.
See you in 2026 for another year full of Slorm!
Merry Christmas!
Cheers!
