Hello once again, Shadowstoners…
Our latest update, Patch 0.8.0, has not only brought new enemies, new rituals, and updated boss mechanics, but two new heroes for your next experiments: The Rogue and the Assassin.
Check out the path of creation for these two stealthy additions, straight from the team who made them.
Happy Accidents?
In the early days of Shadowstone, once a darker tone was established, it was decided that Sunderfolk heroes would get an edgy makeover for Shadowstone. The Rogue was one such hero that would undergo a transformation into an Assassin; a class change, a promotion, if you will. There was no plan to also have a Rogue class as well.
But Fate had other plans. Our Hero design lead set to work crafting the Assassin, but in their creative fervor they ended up crafting three different ability kits for a single character. The third time’s the charm, and with the third kit, the abilities were distinctly assassin-y. As for the first kit, it was more suited for a Rogue, which meant the Rogue could slink from the shadows into Shadowstone. After all, in Shadowstone, as with every run, we embrace happy accidents.
What happened to the second kit, you ask? It was Butchered, of course.
Separating from their Sunderfolk counterpart
Making the Rogue play differently from their Sunderfolk counterpart was top of mind when adapting the class for Shadowstone. In Sunderfolk, the Rogue was very executionally complex and extremely reliant on their Shroud ability, leading to a feast or famine playstyle that was often very single-player focused.
We wanted to ensure that Shadowstone’s Rogue would be less constrained but also more team reliant so they weren’t always distancing to use Shroud.
Now the Rogue can reliably proc their passive damage by working with their team to debuff enemies or buff themself before attacking, and Dodge is their tangible reward for working together.
This allows for the Rogue to be less binary, have higher survivability, and of course appreciate their sweet sweet Ranger teammate for all the debuffs. You’re welcome.
With the Rogue we really wanted to lean into their unique abilities from Sunderfolk: Buff stealing.
Buffs and Debuffs are even more important in Shadowstone than they were in Sunderfolk, so it seemed like a good niche for the Rogue to slot in. They use status effects as their currency to deal damage and enable their allies, opening up a unique support role for them. Any good Rogue is a jack of all trades, and they can fit into comps that focus on ground objects, granting buffs, or inflicting debuffs.
…What’s this? Some kind of file fragment?
SUBJECT: ROGUE_0521
ORIGIN: Saltshore
DESCRIPTION: A con artist found █████████ along the docks. Excels at parting others from their money. Described as “charming” and “insufferable” by locals in equal measures… Intriguing. Evaded █████████ for hours. Did not take part in the struggle in Arden.
RELATIONS: May know Subject ASSASSIN_0627 in previous dealings. Relation unclear.
ACQUISITION: █████████. Hardest subject yet to █████████ due to their evasive nature. Eventually, █████████
The Rogue wants to reliably proc their passive to deal damage and protect themselves from harm. Try to act after other heroes that can either buff you or debuff the enemy before you attack.
Make sure you’re smart about your engages so you can dodge your attackers and not take too much damage. Positioning and team composition is key!
“On a Knife’s Edge”
Please enjoy the current in-game model while we polish up the Assassin's art. It'll be so cool, trust us.
We wanted to lean into the fantasy of what it’s like to be an assassin; take a job, any job, get it done, and grow your renown. We adapted this into a passive that scales progressively through the game, which is unique from any other Hero in the lineup so far, and has the potential for very high damage output in the late game.
The Assassin was conceived as being a pure single target damage dealer; no frills, no strings attached. We wanted to take the idea and vibe of spells like “Sense Weakness” and Sunderfolk’s “Thousand Cuts” into a slick, edgy character that deals death like second nature.
However, it was important to us that this Hero also be close and comfortable with death; which meant unlike Rogue, they would have little in the way of inbuilt survivability and would have to rely heavily on their team for that.
Additionally, a character that progressively gets stronger through the course of a run has the potential to be too powerful if they had too many tools, so we made the decision that they should live or die by the sword… or knife, as it were.
…Another file fragment, hmm…
SUBJECT: ASSASSIN_0627
ORIGIN: Saltshore, Arden
DESCRIPTION: A hitman of the crime-ridden city. Despite being responsible for many high-profile hits among the crimelords, has managed to maintain anonymity. Humility or prudence? Further study requested. Unclear if they took part in the struggle at Arden. Appears to have an unremarkable life outside of work and relatively mundane pursuits when not in the hood; work-life balance? Fascinating.
RELATIONS: May know Subject ROGUE_0521 in previous dealings… A previous mark? Relation unclear.
Appears to be in contact with Subject MOL█████████ and can make use of his tunnel system. █████████: Sibling? Partner? Relation unclear. Further study requested.
ACQUISITION: █████████. Straightforward. Posed as █████████
The Assassin greatly benefits from being played by or alongside a shotcaller.
It’s important to understand the layout of the map and the position of your Bounty. Take in your position of your starting hex each turn in relation to your enemies, and weave in to collect your bounty with the help of your team. Afterward, use your enhanced strength to pick off enemies and deal damage, while soaking what hits you can.
The Assassin excels with positional support and sustain teammates (Witch, Berserker…perhaps someone else…🎶) to keep them topped off while dealing damage; remember, there’s no point for you collecting your Bounties if you keep all your strength to yourself.
We greatly appreciate the initial swings and playtests of the Assassin and appreciate your in-depth feedback. We’re reading and listening to all of it! Special shoutout to DDR Khat and KaioKenneth in our Discord! So far it seems the Assassin’s rewards aren’t quite high enough to live up to “high risk, high reward,” so we’re planning buffs for the Assassin. Stay tuned.
Existing playtesters can check out these two new murder-y Heroes in Patch 0.8.0! If you haven’t had a chance to explore the world of Shadowstone yourself, sign-up for a chance to play and add your mark to its foundation.
Up next we’ll show you Shadowstone’s UI journey, as well as some exciting news for upcoming plans.
Stay tuned and good luck in your runs!
The Secret Door Team