EVER BELOW · published · build 25735070
Since version 0.5.15, EVER BELOW has received a larger progression and world update focused on making the village feel more alive, improving post-run feedback, and introducing the first full version of the Anchor Relic system.
Living Village
The village has been expanded with more ambient life and activity.
- Added additional villagers and NPCs to make the town feel less static.
- Added ambient movement and local interactions in the city.
- Improved NPC placement and general world presentation.
- Added and refined the Blacksmith as a permanent village service NPC.
Blacksmith
The Blacksmith now has a full interaction menu with several dedicated services:
- Talk
- Anchor Relics
- Salvage
- Leave
The Blacksmith is now the central location for working with Anchor Relics after they have been successfully extracted from the Tower.
Anchor Relics
Anchor Relics are now fully integrated into the persistent progression loop.
There are currently:
- 6 Anchor Relic Tiers
- 5 fixed Relics per Tier
- 30 unique Anchor Relics in total
Anchor Relics begin appearing in later Tower biomes and are considerably rarer than normal equipment.
The Relic Tier system has also been cleaned up and now uses a simple Tier I–VI structure.
Anchor Relic Collection
The Blacksmith now includes a permanent Anchor Relic collection screen.
- Relic Tiers remain locked until you have actually extracted a Relic from that Tier.
- Tiers unlock independently from each other.
- Each Tier contains five fixed Relic slots.
- Once a Relic has been discovered, its entry remains permanently known.
- Salvaging your final copy of a Relic no longer removes its discovery from the collection.
- Identified Relics keep their discovered information permanently.
This means the collection now functions as a real long-term discovery archive instead of only reflecting what you currently own.
Relic Identification
Newly extracted Anchor Relics can now be identified by the Blacksmith.
Before identification:
- the Relic name is known,
- its deeper properties remain sealed.
After identification:
- full stats become visible,
- equipment details are revealed,
- the Signature Effect is revealed and activated.
Identification costs are now balanced around the current Gold economy rather than extremely high placeholder values.
Current identification costs are:
- Tier I: 5 Gold
- Tier II: 8 Gold
- Tier III: 12 Gold
- Tier IV: 18 Gold
- Tier V: 25 Gold
- Tier VI: 35 Gold
Relic Upgrades
Identified Anchor Relics can now be upgraded through the Blacksmith.
Relics use a Star progression system:
- Star 1: Identification / Unseal
- Star 2: Base stat improvement
- Star 3: Signature Effect improvement
- later Star levels are prepared for future progression
Upgrade costs use both Gold and Relic Material.
Relic Protection
Anchor Relics can now be marked as protected.
Protected Relics:
- can still be equipped,
- can still be upgraded,
- cannot accidentally appear in the Salvage list.
This makes it much harder to destroy an important Relic by mistake.
Relic Salvage
Unwanted Anchor Relics can now be dismantled at the Blacksmith.
Salvaging:
- destroys the selected Relic copy,
- grants Relic Material,
- always requires confirmation.
Equipped and protected Relics cannot be salvaged.
Relic Material is used for further Anchor Relic upgrades.
Improved Anchor Relic Drops
Anchor Relic drops are now tied to dedicated high-quality chest logic.
- Anchor Relics begin appearing from the appropriate later Tower floors.
- High-quality chests are much rarer than standard chests.
- A genuine high-quality chest contains exactly one Anchor Relic.
- High-quality Mimics do not drop Anchor Relics.
- Existing chest and Mimic rules remain intact.
Anchor Relic discoveries also receive more prominent visual feedback than ordinary loot.
First Anchor Relic Event
Extracting your first Anchor Relic now triggers a dedicated progression event.
After returning from the Tower:
- the Receptionist reacts to your discovery,
- explains that Anchor Relics are extremely rare,
- directs you to speak with the Blacksmith for further investigation.
This provides a clearer introduction to the Relic system instead of silently unlocking the feature.
Expedition Report Improvements
The post-run Expedition Report has been redesigned for faster readability.
Current run results and personal bests are now shown side-by-side.
The report includes:
- Run Time
- Highest Floor
- Enemies Defeated
- Gold Extracted
- Anchor Relics extracted during the run
The report also now tracks:
Total Anchor Relics Found
This shows your permanent collection progress across all 30 unique Anchor Relics.
When a completely new Relic is discovered, it is highlighted with a special NEW indicator.
General UI Improvements
Several menus and interaction screens have been refined for better readability and consistency.
- Improved modal layouts.
- Improved controller focus behavior.
- Improved Blacksmith menu hierarchy.
- Improved Relic detail presentation.
- Reduced unnecessary scrolling in the Expedition Report.
- Fixed several UI display issues and warning-causing edge cases.
Progression and Persistence
Anchor Relic progress now persists correctly between runs.
Persistent information includes:
- discovered Relics,
- identified Relics,
- Relic upgrade progress,
- protected Relics,
- Relic Material,
- permanent Tier discovery.
Relics that are still inside an active run remain unsecured until successful extraction.