We’ve reworked how the Warlock handles danger on the lane. Instead of rigid, all-or-nothing retreats, he now plays as a rear-guard summoner: staying behind your army, holding position when safe, and kiting backward along the lane when threats get too close.
What’s improved:
Rear-guard kite AI — The Warlock positions behind skeletons and wraiths, uses idle stance when holding ground, and retreats in controlled steps when enemies enter his danger zone.
Better reactions to enemy champions — He no longer ignores champions blocked by your summons; he properly flees from high-priority threats, including after taking damage.
Smoother retreat behavior — Fixed jittering and “stutter-stepping” when kiting; retreat now completes the full safety distance before stopping again.
Summoning fixes — Summon animations always play correctly; ghost queues no longer get stuck; the Warlock can be summoned again after New Game or returning to the menu.
Respawn & lane-change fixes — Death respawn cooldown and UI now work reliably; rare freezes during lane changes while summoning have been resolved.
Visual polish — Champion aura is properly centered; pulse rings now expand as donut rings from the Warlock’s sprite and follow him as he moves.
Ghost rewards — Delivering ghosts grants +50% XP (balance constant in GameBalance).
If you rely on the Warlock to hold the back line while your horde pushes forward, he should feel noticeably more consistent — and less likely to get himself killed standing still.
Several display issues affected how the battlefield looked on different monitors. This update cleans that up.
Black bars / letterboxing
Switched to an ExtendViewport: the playable 1920×1080 area stays undistorted, while extra screen space is filled with procedural grass instead of solid black bars.
The core map is drawn at fixed world size; padding areas use matching grass texture so ultrawide and non-16:9 setups look natural.
Lake, rivers & alignment
The central lake and rivers are realigned to the bridge, so water no longer “drifts” relative to lanes and structures on wide or tall displays.
Water visuals upgraded: depth shading, shoreline foam, ripples, lily pads, and reeds.
Softer map contrast between grass and sand lanes for a cleaner, less harsh look.
HUD layout (related fix)
Gold, pause, spawn buttons, and the enemy base health bar were repositioned so they sit in the margins outside the playable lanes, not on top of combat paths.
Jump into a match on ultrawide or a non-standard resolution and run the Warlock through a few fights — lane changes during summons, champion pressure, ghost deliveries. If anything still feels off, leave feedback in the community hub.