Update 7: Even the Odds

major update

As We Descend · published 5 months ago · build 22585412

Greetings Wardens, this is Kev. Update 7: Even the Odds is now live! This update is compatible with any run from Update 6 and forward, though do note that some of your cards may have changed (and certain cards have become deprecated; they will still work for the remainder of your current run, but more cards of those types will no longer be accessible or draftable) and some fixes will only take place after you start a new run (such as the Elite encounter sizing fix).Before we get into the changes though, I want to give a headsup that after this update, we'll be 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).This means that until we get those features done, our monthly updates will tend to be smaller in the interim period. There's no specific timeline for either of these features, as they have their own 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.

Update 7 Highlights:

14 major card reworks/overhauls
23 new cards
6 new/reworked empowered starter perks, including the Knight's
3 new perks
Added two new unlocks and adjusted unlock criteria for existing unlocks
Encounter balancing changes across the board

This update heavily focuses on balancing things across the board. Low-pickrate and low-winrate cards and perks have been reworked. New cards have been added for units who had low draft variety. Encounters that were trivial have their threat level increased, while certain boss encounters have been adjusted to be closer to the level of the others.

For those that play at higher Descensions, there are two major changes that will impact you (besides all the balance changes):

Defiance no longer puts multiple copies into your battle deck as Fatigued increases; instead, a single more-potent version of Defiance will be added to your battle deck for that unit. This should smooth out of the variance of dealing with Defiance as Votive versus Guild.
Mutation ε (the 5th mainline descension) also increases the number of Elite expedition sites that spawn, and allow them to spawn closer to the City

As always, this update contains plenty of bug fixes, many of which you have reported! 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.

Cheers,
Kev and the team at Box Dragon

Full Changelist

(Patch 0.12.0)

New/Reworked Unit Cards & Starter Perks

(Lantern) To the Rescue changed to have a {Gate Bonus} Gain <1> Command (+1 per refine), can now be refined, and upgrades to change its bonus effect to a standard effect rather than decreasing Favor cost
(Vanguard alt) Lunge reworked to inflict Stagger that scales with total armor among friendlies
(Vanguard alt) Defend reworked to repeat when played in the Support Zone, but also applies Exerted to the Vanguard
(Multiclass) Protect reworked to draw a card when played in the Support Zone, and plays an animation for the casting unit. Can also now be learned by Knight/Custodian
(Arbalist) Precision Shot changed to have a damage multiplier against Staggered enemies; upgrading it improves both the base damage and the multiplier
(Dauntless) "Empowered Javelins" reworked to add Javelins to hand each turn
(Dauntless) Javelin reworked to apply Rupture based on damage and to count as a counterattack
(Dauntless) Thorn Skewer reworked to count as a counterattack and draw cards with its support bonus effect
(Dauntless) Puncture bonus effect changed from a flat Rupture amount to doubling it, and upshifted from Basic to Rare
(Knight) "Empowered Juggernaut" starter perk replaced with "Empowered Titan", which grants bonus Stagger inflicted to auto-attack and stagger effects rather than bonus Attack Power
(Knight/Custodian) Cutting Edge <0> This unit gains Attack Power equal to Armor x2 but also gains Exerted 1.
(Knight/Custodian) Interpose <1> Inflict 25 Stagger. This unit gains Provoke but also gains Exerted 1.
(Knight/Custodian) Whirlwind <3> Deal 5 damage x3 hits to all frontmost enemies. {Formation Bonus} Each hit applies Rupture equal to Armor.
(Knight/Custodian) Shoulder Bash reworked to also apply Rupture, both Stagger and Rupture scale with Armor x3
(Lancer/Cataphract) Kinetic Cycler - <0> Add Lockstep (2) to Hand. {Guard Bonus} Gain 2 Runes.
(Lancer) Savior (Advanced Lancer unlock) <1> Apply Fading Armor 2. {Exerted Bonus} Repeat this.
(Lancer) Generator (Advanced Lancer unlock) <1> {Exerted Bonus} Gain <1> for each friendly with Exerted.
(Lancer) Stun Needle (Advanced Lancer unlock) <0>{1} Deal 21 Damage and inflict 21 Stagger. Apply Exerted 1 to all friendlies.
(Lancer) Blitz bonus effect reworked to be a Command discount; can now be learned by Cataphract
(Forge Smith) Meltdown <0> Whenever you Recycle a card this turn, Banish it. {Support Bonus} Gain 1 Rune.
(Purifier) "Empowered Healing" starter perk replaced with "Empowered Wrath", which creates an AVA's Answer whenever you recycle an Affliction
(Purifier) Anoint <1> Apply Fading Attack 2. {Tithe Bonus} Add Lockstep (2) to Hand.
(Purifier) Beseech Divinity <0> Spend up to 2 Runes to add that many AVA's Answer to Hand.
(Purifier) Immolation <7> Apply Supercritical 2 to all friendlies. Cost <1> less for each Rune.
(Purifier) Invigorate <1>[2 uses] Apply Fading Attack 3 to a unit and Dispel all debuffs. {Tithe Bonus} Also restore 3 health.
(Purifier/Docent) Gaze the Abyss <0> Shuffle Discard Pile into Draw Pile, then draw all Affliction cards. {Tithe Bonus} Gain 1 Command.
(Zealot alt) "Empowered Slayer" that applies Auto Flurry to all friendlies whenever you reapply Fixation
(Zealot/Surgeon) Open Wound <2> Deal 3 Damage x3 hits. Apply Rupture 3. {Sadism Bonus} Gain <2>.
(Surgeon) Quick Stitch <1>[1 use] Restore 6 health to a unit. {Sadism Bonus} Gain <2>.
(Surgeon) Toxic Dose <1>[2 uses] Apply Rupture 4 and Dizzy 4.
(Surgeon) Infection <1> {Sadism Bonus} Deal 30 Damage and apply Rupture 15 to ALL enemies already affected by 3+ different debuffs.
(Zealot) Cheap Shot reworked to trigger Rupture immediately when used on an enemy with Fixation (rather than being a Support Bonus)
(Zealot) Pursuit reworked to gain 3 Runes when used on an enemy with Fixation
(Ascetic/Herald) Unbreakable reworked to apply 6 Barrier and draw 1, and is retrieved from Discard Pile when a friendly is Exerted
(Fire Maiden alt) "Empowered Flare" that causes empowering the Fire Maiden to empower ALL other friendlies
(Bombardier alt) "Empowered Piercer" that allows Bombardier auto-attack to ignore armor and deal high damage
(Bombardier/Demolisher) Wrecking Ball <1>{1} Deal 20 Damage and apply Fixation. Whenever an enemy with Fixation is hit this turn, draw 1.
(Bombardier/Demolisher) Scrap Barrage <1> Whenever you Recycle a card this turn, trigger an extra auto-action for this unit. {Guard Bonus} Gain 1 Rune.
(Overseer/Dive Suit) Soak <1> Double the Barrier on this unit. It gains Provoke.

Other Card & Unit Adjustments

(Lantern) Catalyze cost increased from 1 to 2 and its effect now counts as friendlies (including the Lantern); net Command gain should be the same
(Lantern) Lightspeed changed from Guild-only to Neutral
(Lantern) Seeker Beam now highlights when there is an enemy with Fixation present
(Lantern) Sturdy Shield barrier amount increased from 2(+1 per refine) to 4(+2 per refine); wording changed
(Ranger) Concussive Shell dizzy increased from 2(3) to 3(4)
(Ranger) Tracer Round damage increased from 9(10) to 10(11)
(Ranger) Snipe attack power growth increased from +4(+5) to +6(+8); Snipe+ base damage reduced from 10 to 8
(Vanguard alt) Breaching Slash changed to also apply Fixation
(Vanguard) Distract no longer has limited charges
(Vanguard) Shield Slam upshifted to Rare
(Arbalist) auto-action can target any enemy at random, rather than being frontline targets only
(Arbalist) Critical Aim buff now enhances critical damage (like Empowered Critical) rather than critical attack power, so that it's additive rather than multiplicative with other similar bonuses
(Dauntless) Impale wording slightly changed
(Dauntless) Art for Impale and Puncture swapped
(Wayfinder) Riptide can now target any enemy rather than only frontline
(Wayfinder) Psionic Blast upshifted to Rare
(Wayfinder) Siphon Strike downshifted to Basic
(Wayfinder) Repeater Beam damage increased from 3(5) to 4(6)
(Wayfinder) cast animation sped up
(Wayfinder) has a different splash impact VFX for Riptide
(Wayfinder) now has a cast animation and impact VFX for Psionic Blast and Reality
(Knight) can no longer learn Battle Hymn or Bladestorm
(Knight/Custodian) has a bigger splash attack VFX
(Forge Smith) Slag Pit, Battle Forged, and Hardened Plate are now marked as Votive-only (no gameplay change)
(Chemist) can now learn Smolder
(Lancer) Precision no longer requires Advanced Lancer unlock
(Lancer) can no longer learn Stun Lance
(Lancer/Cataphract) Ready for Action upshifted to Rare
(Lancer/Cataphract) Relief Force downshifted to Basic
(Lancer/Cataphract) Art for Precision and Ready for Action swapped
(Ascetic) Shared Burden, Shatter, and Unbreakable no longer require Ascetic Mastery
(Purifier) starter cards changed from Rite of Battle x1, Shadow Sight x1, Turn to Cinder x2 => Anoint x2, Turn to Cinder x2
(Purifier) Rite of Battle upshifted from Starter to Rare; cost reduced from 1 to 0; art changed
(Purifier) Shadow Sight upshifted from Starter to Basic
(Purifier) can no longer learn Renew
(Docent) Death Ray damage reduced from 9(13) to 6(9)
(Docent) can now learn Healing Surge
(Zealot) can no longer learn Torn to Shreds
(Zealot) Gouge feeble amount increased from 3(5) to 4(5)
(Zealot) Bloody Sutures can now target any enemy, rather than only frontline enemies
(Zealot) Adrenaline Rush now has a Sadism bonus that repeats its effect
(Surgeon) can no longer learn Second Wind, Pursuit, or Backstab
(Bombardier/Demolisher) Base attack power increased from 4 to 6 (per squad value increased from 2 to 3)
(Bombardier) "Empowered Bomb" damage dealt as splash decreased from +100% to +50%
(Bombardier/Demolisher) Recoilless Cannon and Junk Barrage can no longer be learned
(Overseer/Dive Suit) Dive In no longer has limited charges
(Dive Suit) Depth Charge upshifted to Rare
(Exosuit) now has an animation for Earthbreaker
(Orbwheel) "Empowered Barrage" now spends 1 Rune in order to activate its effect
(Orbwheel) Rechamber cost increased from 2 to 3, and Rune gain increased from 2 to 3(4)
Fixed bug where Nerves of Steel was marked as Starter rarity instead of Rare, so it wouldn't show up in drafts for the Commander/Overseer/Dive Suit
Fixed an issue where Static Force upgraded to the wrong card
Fixed bug where Assimilation wouldn't repeat when targeting a weakpoint of an enemy with sufficient Shock
Fixed bug where Jolt would not detonate Shock of an enemy if it targeted one of their weakpoints
Fixed bug where various cards were not tagged as movement cards (for the purposes of Escape Plan, among other effects)
Fixed bug where Junk Barrage, Rummage, Opening Draw, Under Pressure, Tempest, Consecration, Awestruck, Tempered Blade, Voltmeter, Static Force weren't tagged as Support cards
Fixed bug where Shocker, Wither, Tar Splatter, Chemical Burn, Dust Bomb, Smolder, Tar Bomb weren't tagged as an Offense cards
Fixed bug where Topped Up, Spike Formation, Immortalize, Intervene, Iron Fortress, Hardened Plate weren't tagged as Defense cards
Fixed bug where Matching Flow Bonus effects could incorrectly be highlighted when the Flow cost of a card had been changed; it now highlights when it matches the current flow cost, which is when the bonus is active
Fixed bug where conditional bonus effects that could vary based on target (such as having a Fixation bonus highlight or Sadism bonus highlight) would highlight regardless of your current target; it now takes the current target into account when you are targeting with the card in question

Techs & Perks

Spear Craft (Perk, Dauntless only)
Volt Attraction (Perk, Guild only)
Helm Station (Perk, Mythion unit only)
Spearmaker can no longer be learned
Executioner renamed Lethality, and reworded to reflect its behavior
Monster Hunter renamed Focus Fire, and reworded to reflect its behavior
Escape Plan, Illusory Bloom, Marble Pillow now require Votive Research unlock
Holo Caster, Unwinding Gears, Pale Reflector now require Guild Research unlock
Harmonic now grants Attack Power equal to the amount of Empowered gained (rather than 1)
Empowered Bombs icon changed
Overflowing Surge icon changed
Static Shock icon changed
Lightning Blitz icon changed
Obsession icon changed and can only be learned by units that can learn cards with Fixation (Arbalist, Ranger, Shock Trooper, Zealot, Orbwheel)
Mythion Bearings icon changed
Fixed bug where Jet Turbine and Thunderous Cavalry could trigger even if the Cataphract was not deployed in battle
Fixed bug where Marble Pillow wouldn't trigger sometimes

City & Events

Workshop now has a few new events to help clarify the state of the war machine's reconstruction; only Mythion level unit can be built, and in order to complete the reconstruction you have to turn in a Corrupted Core

Enemies

Design notes: I reviewed many of the encounters in the game for their challenge level, and noticed a few outliers in terms of player feedback as well as data. Encounters that were too easy to defeat consistently were stepped up in this patch since this patch also brings many synergistic tools with its unit and card changes. Other encounters that had a bit of excessive variance were also adjusted.

Added a Worm variant that's a bit more aggressive
Standard Worm variant never moves up on the first turn
"Worm Holes" encounter in Depth 1 (Worm x3)
"Worm Territory" (Worm x1, Drone x1) encounter adjusted to show up slightly later in Depth 1 and have a lower variance attack pattern
Skitterling base health increased from 26-28 to 27-29
Mongrel "Leap" shattered debuff stacks decreased from 2 to 1
Fodder "Shriek" barrier increased by 2
Drone base health increased from 35-38 to 37-40, "Seismic Clap" damage increased by 1
Buzzkill base health increased from 33-35 to 34-36, "Bloodied Recovery" healing increased by 3
Death Moth base health increased from 38-41 to 39-42, health scaling increased by 1, "Weaken" and "Drawn to Light" each afflict an additional Miasma
"Balloon Defense" encounter (Debaser x2) can show up slightly earlier in Depth 1, and can scale to be slightly more powerful when encountered later in the Depth
Thrasher perk reworked
Thrasher now uses a different animation when taking damage while Staggered
Fool (minions in the Piper encounter) Dread afflictions increased from 1 to 2 (+1 at high Descension)
Piper and Mesmer enemies have much faster animations on their music attack, their skill, and their recovery; and use a slightly different attack animation when using their siege attacks
Mesmer perk reworded, and its perk now appears in its encounter description
Mesmer gains +20 additional Barrier at the start of the fight at high Descension
(Impossible Bosses only) Behemoth begins battle with 3 Magnitude like its non-impossible variant rather than 7 Magnitude; however "Magnitude Rising" now afflicts an extra copy of Aftershock into the DECK for each Magnitude in addition to the regular copy of Aftershock in the Discard. It still gains +2 Magnitude with each "Magnitude Rising".
Kraken base health increased from 177-183 to 181-187 and stagger max increased from 95-99 to 96-100. Descension health scaling increased from +19 to +21 and attack power scaling increased from +2 to +3.
If you banish the final Struggle card, your unit will be freed (so now you can either play and/or banish all the Struggles)
Molter King base health increased from 145 to 160, Helm weakpoint health increased from 16 to 20
"Entombed" encounter (Dire Fodder x1, Phantasm x1) in Depth 2
"Blistering Boils" encounter (Dire Fodder x2) in Depth 2
"Bombs Away" (Dire Mongrel x1, Living Bomb x3) encounter Dire Mongrel has additional attack power scaling
Dire Mongrel "Leap" damage increased by +1, Rend and Tear scales slower with attack power scaling when encountered later in the Depth
Living Bomb base health increased from 26-28 to 29-31, base attack power from 9 to 12, and "Gas Bubble" strength gain increased from 3 to 4
"Skittering Sands" encounter (Dire Skitterlings x3) adjusted to appear in slightly later expeditions with a higher challenge level
"Phantom Pain" encounter (Dire Mongrel x2, Phantasm x1) adjusted to appear in slightly later expeditions with a higher challenge level
Siege Murk "Besiege" base siege damage increased from 6 to 12 and Dread affliction count increased from 2 to 3
Shield Murk "Protector" base barrier amount from defending increased from 15 to 20
Molter Matriarch base health increased from 195 to 210, "Castle" base barrier amount and health cost increased from 50(+10) to 60(+5), and she always begins battles by using "Development"
(Impossible Bosses only) Molter Matriarch "Dispersing Recovery" barrier amount increased
Abomination Slime debuff no longer stacks
Dire Vermin base attack power increased from 6 to 7, and afflicts Gunk x2 when advancing to the Guard Zone
"Thunderdome" encounter Thunder Bug has additional attack power scaling, and only shows up in earlier half of encounters of Depth 3
Assassin health scaling increased, stagger scaling increased, attack power scaling increased, and "Execute" Dread affliction amount increased from x3 to x5
Genesis "Face of Grief" uses its special attack 1 turn earlier
Fixed an issue with Genesis "Tantrum" intent showing a buff when "Face of Rage" was inactive and an incorrect value with Impossible Bosses modifier
Caustic Commando stagger threshold reduced from 150(+30) to 125(+25)
Fixed an issue where elite expedition sites had the incorrect unit limit (since it was greater than the number of units you could have)

Unlocks

Design notes: Due to the unlock requirement changes, some of your unlocks may be re-locked as a result of these changes, even if it's unlikely since many of the new requirements are easier than before and retroactive with your past runs.

Votive Research - Unlocks more Votive tech into the draft pool. Takes the place of where Smith Mastery was before.
Guild Research - Unlocks more Guild tech into the draft pool. Takes the place of where Advanced Technician was before.
Fire Maiden Mastery and Overseer Mastery combined into Votive Training: G-Type; now also grants a possible starter perk for the Bombardier
Ascetic Mastery replaced with Votive Training: S-Type; now also grants possible starter perks for the Purifier and Zealot
Advanced Vanguard unlock requirement changed from drafting Vanguard cards to causing enemies to become Staggered
Advanced Arbalist unlock requirement changed from drafting Arbalist cards to destroy breakable weakpoints
Advanced Lancer unlock threshold reduced from 64 to 32 zone switches
Commander Mastery unlock requirement changed from drafting Commander cards to applying Fading Attack to friendlies
Smith Mastery prerequisite changed to Votive Research rather than Advance Lancer
Experimental Lantern unlock requirement reduced from 20 to 12 refines
Advanced Ranger unlock requirement changed from drafting Ranger cards to applying Fixation
Advanced Technician unlock requirement changed from drafting Technician cards to gaining Flow; Advanced Technician prerequisite changed to Advanced Navigator rather than Advanced Ranger
Purifier, Overseer, Cataphract, and Herald unlock requirements reduced from 2 to 1 unit drafts of the appropriate origin
Certain unlock icons (like the ones that match card art) are now better center-aligned
Fixed an issue where Lantern: Lightning would swap Shock Blast for Lightning Rod instead of Short Circuit

Descensions

(Descension 2) Defiance stacks no longer increase the amount of Defiance received per-unit; instead, a single Defiance is added to your battle deck with a scaling effect based on Fatigued stacks
(Descension 5) Elite expedition sites show up more frequently, and closer to the City

Settings

Design notes: Inside the settings, you'll have the Unlock All Mode option. This enables you to play with all the modifiers without progressing normally. This is meant to be an option for testing and accessibility, and is not the intended way to play the game.

Added an "Unlock All Mode" option, allowing you to immediately access all unlocks in the progression screen

Card Visuals

Afflictions now use a distinct rarity gem, rather than sharing the standard Special rarity gem
Mastery visual only uses the top "crown" to distinguish themselves, rather than both the "crown" and the clasp beneath the name banner
The clasp beneath the name banner now indicates the number of refines that have been applied to a particular card; this should make it easier to identify improved (upgraded/refined) cards at a glance, even when the cards are tucked below the baseline of the screen

UI

Improved performance in draft and scavenge screens
Updated the upgrade screen visuals
Updated the refine screen visuals
Updated the forget screen visuals
Updated the lantern draft screen visuals
Updated the visuals of card select during battle
Fixed an issue in the upgrade screen where cards in the upgrade slot would not show the correct tooltip
Fixed an issue where codex cards would not have a tooltip if they were just revealed
Fixed a text formatting issue in the progression screen
Fixed an issue where progression screen modifiers would not properly move into view during animations, causing new unlocks to be hidden and confusing
Fixed an issue where locating progression screen modifiers by clicking them in the list would not jump to the right position
Fixed a few places where cards that refer to a unit would show the wrong text

HUD

When gaining Command/Flow (such as at the beginning of each turn), there is now a corresponding VFX for the resource gain. There is also a VFX for spending Favor
Friendly and enemy HUD only show the max stacks for a perk when hovered, rather than always
Empowered Perks now show a max stack value (based on the squad's current empower capacity)

Text & Wording Changes

Card textboxes now have unified font scale between the normal description and the bonus description
Card textboxes are less likely to extend into the art for cards with long descriptions
Perk and Tech descriptions now have their names and effects on different lines
Empowered Perk wording simplified
Wording cleanup on various cards that sometimes referred to "all units" instead of "all friendlies"; cards which affect all friendlies, including the Lantern, use "friendly" or "all friendlies" whereas the few cards that cannot target the Lantern still use "unit" or "all units"
Wording cleanup on various cards that ambiguously referred to the recipient of "Gain <Buff>" (and cards where you the player gain the Command or Runes still use the "Gain <Resource>" wording)
Copper Cast, Battle Forged, and Hardened Plate now use a new keyword "Engrain" for their effect of modifying "Fading" buffs to last the battle
All effects which use the Readiness buff "The next card you play this turn costs 0 <Command>." all write out the full effect. When hovered, they provide the tooltip for Readiness rather than for Command.
Critical weakpoint wording has been changed to reflect its gameplay behavior of increasing damage dealt by +50% rather than multiplying it by x1.5
Critical damage bonuses have their wording unified (Critical Weakpoint, Empowered Critical, Critical Aim, Darkened Scope) to make it more clear that they stack additively with each other
Fixed an issue where a period following an icon in a textbox could be pushed onto a new line by itself
Fixed an issue where lengthy text for the score summary description (in certain languages) could run past the screen length

Misc Fixes

Fixed an issue where Wayfinder wouldn't use a cast animation for splash attacks
Fixed bug where there were many more mythics offered for units than intended; also changed rarity weighting algorithm to not be variable based on how many of each rarity type a given unit has (e.g. basic :: rare :: mythion odds remain consistent for all units, regardless of how many types of those cards they have)
Fixed an issue that could cause unrefinable cards to show up as refined options during a Lantern draft
Fixed an issue where enemy critical weakpoints could sometimes disappear in certain circumstances
Fixed an issue where certain stat rewards in events could be truncated
Fixed an issue where the Refresh tooltip icon was black and white

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