Hey Dawnseekers,
We need to be honest with you about something.
While playtesting Zone 1, we kept running into the same problem: you fight a LOT on your way up. And our old combat system, simple attack and defend exchanges, just couldn't carry that weight. It worked. But it wasn't fun by the tenth fight. And a climb to the surface deserves better than "it works."
So we made a hard call. We threw the old combat out and rebuilt it from zero.
COMBAT IS NOW A CARD BATTLE SYSTEM
Every fight is now a tactical duel played with cards:
— YOUR DECK: Attack cards, defense cards, and unique cards, each with different energy costs. Three energy per turn. Every placement matters.
— ENEMY DECKS: This isn't solitaire. Every creature in the depths fights with its own deck and its own personality. A Mutated Rat swarms you with cheap aggressive bites. Other things down there... play smarter. Their cards are placed hidden, you commit your moves without knowing exactly what's coming.
— THREE CLASSES, THREE PLAYSTYLES: The Breaker overwhelms with raw damage. The Welded outlasts everything with armor and reflection. The Tinker wins with dodges, traps, and dirty tricks. Each class has its own card pool that plays completely differently.
— PROGRESSION: Level up your survivors and unlock stronger cards, from Rookie basics to Elite cards that can turn a hopeless fight around. The deeper your run, the stronger your deck becomes.
That's the old combat above. We're not going to pretend we miss it.
This overhaul touched almost every fight in the game, and it's the foundation for everything coming next: more enemies, more cards, and combat encounters we simply couldn't build before.
Deep Rise is still on track for Early Access later this year. If you want to help us test the new combat when the preview build is ready, keep an eye on these updates.
And if you haven't yet, wishlist Deep Rise so you don't miss launch.
See you in the depths.