Update 10: Recyclic Phenomena

Hail wardens, this is Kev. Major update 10 is now live, and is of larger scale like our monthly updates prior to Update 8. This update is focused on weighty decision-making in the City. Due to the system reworks, your current runs in progress will NOT be compatible with the new patch! As always, your meta-progression will be retained.A quick aside: if you just want to read more about progress on controller and the Sacrosanct, scroll to the bottom of this update! I have a brief status report there, and you'll hear more about it in a future news update.Since the last cycle rework in Update 5, I've kept an eye on the feedback (both good and bad) and have been analyzing what worked and what didn't work regarding the rework. The changes in this update are a culmination of that, meant to amplify the compelling parts of the City gameplay loop while rebuilding the weaker aspects. The top aims of the rework:

• Increase the strategy of decision-making in the City. It's the last City of humanity, and the weight of your decisions should feel appropriate. Every ally sent should count; there should be obvious trade-offs with why you visit one location with another. Ally stats have been swapped for Signets; these are badges that mark where your allies can traverse.
• Streamline the redemption of rewards. Instead of only getting one reward for each card sent, regular interactions allow you to take many choices all at once while you're visiting a location. If you have items to use, you'll gain access to even more options.
• Reduce the amount of random events that just happens. With this overhaul, the Market Plaza no longer offers random events. There are also no more random die roll actions. Instead, you'll be confronted with many more "Choose One" events, plus you'll have to be smart about resource allocation. Essentially, the randomness will now be confrontational choices you'll have to make.

The specific changes are listed below in the full changelist.Thanks for everyone that's been reporting issue they've run into, it's been invaluable for our bug fixing efforts. If you encounter any bugs, be sure to report them either in the Steam discussions, our Discord, or directly in-game using which is the best way to get bug reports and feedback to us.

Full Changelist

(Patch 0.15.0)

City System/Cycles

• Cycles no longer have specific types; each Depth retains 4 cycles. You draw your whole City deck each cycle
• Your City deck is made up of an Envoy, an Emissary, and an Expedition Force at the start of each descent
• Ally stats (Strength/Intelligence/Charisma) have been replaced with Signets instead, which represent the location types they can visit; all die roll events are also removed
• Items are no longer represented by City cards; instead, they go in your Pouch and are automatically utilized for dialog options
• When visiting a locale with an ally, a few properties have changed
  • You can choose any number of dialog options before leaving
  • Items can be spent directly from your Pouch for additional options
  • The location goes on a 2-cycle cooldown if you perform any action

• You no longer get automatic visits to the Old Mentor (Votive) or Relic Researcher (Guild); instead, you gain access to additional bonus event options based on your Origin
• All shops (Shopkeeper, Collector, Librarian) have been reworked to have more options as well as major options that refresh each Depth and minor options that refresh each cycle
• Apothecary has been converted from a Shop into a regular Market Stall location
• Innkeeper reworked to explore more market locations if you're willing to part with Supplies
• Locations that can be found in the market: Work Pit, Courier, Apothecary, Noodle Master, Tinker, Fountain
• Market Plaza reworked to allow you to sell items to opportunistic buyers
• Most locations reworked with a multitude of new events
• The Rally Point is now manned by the Guard Captain instead of the Scavenger Leader
• Chef location
• Benefactor location
• Locations that can be repowered with Reactor Rods: Artisan, Mycologist, Farmer, Quartermaster, Chef, Benefactor, Workshop, Idol of AVA
• Undermarket location is no longer available for now!

Main Menu/Pause Menu/HUD

• When choosing to Begin New Descent while you have an ongoing descent, confirming the Warning popup now immediately abandons the prior run
• Added new option to "Abandon Vault" to pause menu
• Merged "Return to Menu" and "Quit Game" into "Save & Quit" (Saves and Quits to Main Menu; still saves at the same cadence as before)
• Improved the visuals of right-click upgrade previews
• Added cursor highlighting in all draft screens with mythion glass background
• Fixed a layering issue in the deployment screen where card drawers would be behind the deploy/retreat buttons, obscuring the cards inside

Units/Cards

• Ready for Action renamed Steady Resolve
• Pyrolysis renamed Distillation
• Chemical Burn renamed Pyrotechnics
• Precision changed over to using Ready for Action's old art
• Steady Resolve, Relief Force, Cleanse, Extol, Procession, Execute, Fury Slash, Cheap Shot, Stasis Ward, Oblivion, Blazing Blade, Flame Forged, Toxic Dose, Meltdown, Distillation, Pyrotechnics have new card art
• Fixed bug where Defend always repeated the effect on the Vanguard rather than the target
• Fixed bug where Pressure Release showed the wrong Stagger preview value

Descensions

• Market Shortage reworked
• Contaminated Ruins adjusted to work with the new system
• Last Bastion (Major Descension 4) benefit reworked to give an extra temporary Ally at the start of each descent
• Eternal Ruin (Major Descension 9) benefit reworked to give an Auxiliary Expedition

Enemies

• Regular enemies (not Bosses) are generally a bit more stagger resistant to keep up with the pacing changes
• Thrasher no longer gains Attack Power while staggered; the Attack Power it gains while not staggered has been increased from 2(3) to 3(4)

Controller

• Most screens, outside of the city and certain aspects of battle, can be operated with just the controller

SFX

• Added a default sound on all buttons (notably affects tutorial buttons)

Fixes

• Fixed bug where Reactive Armor didn't work properly
• Fixed bug where Affliction cards were no longer triggering the Microbiology innate
• Fixed bug where Bombardier's Empowered Piercer innate would give it armor-piercing regardless of whether it was Empowered
• Fixed bug where dead units could be healed with max health increases
• Fixed bug where the Artisan, Noodle Master, Apothecary, and Curio Collector did not use the right building visual when the location was discovered
• Fixed bug where buildings didn't get restored to the right visual state from save
• Fixed bug where Ally cards (Envoy/Ally/etc) could have an off-center name when the game was restored from save
• Fixed bug where victory/defeat could occur at the same time in rare instances

Thanks for playing, and hope you enjoy the new update!

Status update on Steam Deck, controller support, and Sacrosanct:

This update was a much needed switch to some important reworks; the next updates will be back to our priority focuses as we head towards 1.0. As I mentioned back in Update 7, we've mostly been focusing our efforts on a couple huge features for As We Descend: Sacrosanct, which is the third playable Origin with its own mechanics and variations on the units and gameplay; and improved Steam Deck support (with corresponding controller support and other UX adjustments as needed). Controller changes have steadily found their way into Updates 8, 9, and now 10, allowing most submenus to be used via strictly controller. We also got the game Steam Deck verified a month ago.

This is also a reminder to everyone that there's no specific timeline for these features due to the uncertainties when it comes to completion; they will be tested on the experimental branch before they're completed, and they'll be done when they're done. That said, we hope to have an update with full controller support soon™. In a future news post, I'll also go more in-depth on the Sacrosanct.

Cheers,
Kev and the team at Box Dragon