Empyrean Defense · public · first seen
The campaign continues with five new missions now available in Empyrean Defense. This is the largest campaign expansion added during Early Access so far, bringing the game to 17 playable missions as development moves closer to the 1.0 release.
The fight against General Zharos now extends across five new regions, each bringing new layouts, enemy formations, objectives, and defensive challenges.
Whitewater Fjord: Hold a narrow, frozen inlet against Zharos's fleet and a new threat lurking beneath the surface.
Pinehaven: Defend a river city and its Research Center from the first wave of heavily armored Tanks.
Mirage Flats: Stop Zharos's heaviest armor and MLRS rocket launchers from breaking through a desert basin.
Gadriel's Peak: Hold the road to the realm's highest summit as Fighter Jets join the assault for the first time.
Serpent Mire: Hold back a relentless assault through a flooded jungle at night, in the middle of a storm.
Added five new campaign missions, bringing the campaign to 17 missions
New Enemy - MLRS: Heavy artillery unit capable of launching explosive rockets at range. Slow and lightly armored but deals massive damage
New Enemy - Fighter Jet: Fast moving strike aircraft armed with guided missiles. Hits hard and moves quickly through defenses.
New Skill - Compound Interest: Earn 5% interest on your unspent credits each time you complete a wave, up to 500 credits per wave. Saving up now pays off.
New Skill - Quartermaster: Crafting ammunition in the Foundry produces 50% more per craft. With the skill learned, the Foundry shows the boosted amount in blue
New Achievement - Wasn't Even Close: Use an ability to destroy an enemy at the last moment, just before it breaches your defenses
Building sites now shows a holographic preview while you choose and build, and finished sites land with a stretchy bounce
New projectile trail distance setting: controls how far away rocket and missile trails are drawn
Missile Strike and Rocket Strike trails now always show, whatever the trail distance setting
Projectile trails are drawn a bit farther away by default
Smarter targeting: when a site's preferred enemy type isn't in range, it now picks its next target in a sensible order instead of treating everything else the same:
Prefer Naval: Naval → Air → Ground
Prefer Air: Air → Naval → Ground
Prefer Ground: Ground → Air → Naval
Rockets and Missiles from sites now reliably hit long, narrow targets such as LCVP and Submarines
The Lightning Storm tooltip now shoes its real total damage
The Tropical biome is now called Jungle
Updated terrain and vegetation in Rolling Hills and Dusthorn Canyon
Removed "Not available in Early Access" labels from achievements that are now obtainable
Sites
Ion Cannon: Damage increased from 1,000 → 3,000
Core Reactor: Power increased from 2,000 → 3,000, Cost decreased from 2,000 → 1,800
Field Tent: Upgrades bonus decreased from 15% → 10%
Abilities
Ion Beam: Damage increased per hit from 500 → 900
Skills
Cash Flow: Economy sites output bonus increased from 15% → 30%
Market and Foundry
Rotary Cannon Blueprint: Cost reduced from 10,000 → 5,000
Advanced Rounds: Amount crafted increased from 200 → 400
Plasma: Decreased Energy Cell component requirement from 5 → 1
Fixed site upgrades being reset when a support site was sold or destroyed
Fixed the crit chance upgrade bonus not applying correctly
Fixed enemy missiles sometimes doing no damage
Fixed upgraded rocket, missile, and plasma colors showing on shots from sites that weren't upgraded
Fixed an issue with the Power Generator's force shields
Fixed the Attack Vessel's Armory tooltip showing the wrong damage value
Fixed small UI issue with Foundry components
As development has progressed, I have refined the scope of the base campaign. Earlier descriptions referenced 27 playable regions. The 1.0 campaign is now planned to feature 19 playable missions across the Empyrean Realm.
Eight additional territories will remain visible on the campaign map in a reserved state and may be used for potential post-launch expansions. This revised campaign structure will allow me to focus the remaining development time on the final two missions, balance adjustments, testing, stability, and polish.
Following this update, work will continue on those final missions and preparations for the full 1.0 release. More information about the launch will be shared once the remaining content is ready.
Jump Back In
If you have already played through the available campaign, five new missions are waiting for you. With 17 of the planned 19 missions now playable, this is the biggest opportunity yet to return, continue the fight, and prepare for the campaign's conclusion.
Found a bug or have feedback? Join our community and help us shape the future of Empyrean Defense as it approaches 1.0.
| Depot | New manifest | Previous manifest |
|---|---|---|
| 3575691 | 6387197642220175159 | 864111081698599536 |