Today I’m excited to dive into the balance and QoL changes we’ve been cooking up.
Let’s start with the topic you’ve asked about all year.
The entire balance sheet has been rebuilt.
The 80 % difficulty tier is gone.
The gaps between 100 %, 150 %, and 200 % are now much sharper—you’ll feel every step.
We rewired nearly every system that controls enemy spawns.
Early-run behaviour:
100% - Only specific enemy types and a limited set of Elites can appear at the start. The mix heats up with each loop.
200% - Almost the full Elite roster and enemy pool are available from the very first second.
Loop 1 is mostly unchanged.
Deeper runs raise the chance that Sirens spawn in packs of 2-3 (some may be Elite). Higher difficulty brings this forward.
From Loop 2 onward, Rampants spawn alongside Sirens, scaling with difficulty and run length.
Two new global events enter the rota:
Shield Generators – every enemy spawns with a shield that must be broken before you can damage health.
Immortal Pursuit – each player is hunted by their own Immortal. Immortals die only under specific conditions or with certain artefacts; if they hit you, it’s a one-shot. Ouch.
These join the existing pool, so up to 3-4 events can now trigger simultaneously in late-game normal runs. Mind-blowing chaos.
Some artefacts were rebuilt from scratch, others tweaked. Individually small, collectively run-shaping.
For example:
Fractal now saves you from death once, then shatters. A spent Fractal can be smelted at the forge for 10 Scrap.
Enter the Triad of Fractal: assemble it and Fractal gains unlimited uses.
Result: artefacts matter more, smart planning matters most.
Unlocking an achievement now instantly unlocks the artefacts linked to it.
To preserve drop-pool control, ban slots jump from 4 → 10.
Hosts no longer disconnect from their own runs (ancient bug, finally gone).
Gatekeeper skill descriptions and evolutions rewritten: unified format, key stats up front, readability way up.
Quiet Bay remade—smaller, flatter, faster.
Added Merchant’s Altar: trade Omni-Stones for Prisms when you’re just short of an artefact.
You can shove small enemies by walking into them (push strength scales with enemy size).
UI overhauled: cleaner visuals, far better controller navigation.
Optional crosshair backdrop for bright arenas and dense fights.
Plus a pile of other tweaks we’ll keep secret for launch.
That’s all for today—thanks for the continuous feedback and ideas.
Playtest details land in the next few days.
Until then…
See you in the Throne Room.
— Gravity Lagoon