Absence of Light

Repel the Darkness Playtest · published

Highlights

  • Darkness: monsters can now darken your tiles. A Darkened tile has no effect until the Darkness is removed.
  • Illumination counters Darkness. Illuminated monsters cannot darken tiles.
  • Relics: On rare occasions a relic will spawn on the board. Place a tile next to it to find out what it does.
  • Placement previews now show exactly what a tile or unit placement would change as UI chips over every affected object.
  • Reworked Slow and Thicket.

New Content

  • Added one new monster.
  • Added seven new monster augments.
  • Two existing monsters gained a new initial trait.
  • Added three new unit augments.
  • Added one new tile augment.
  • Added two new base rewards.
  • Added one new perk.

Monsters

  • Ranged monsters now walk their previewed path to a position within attack range and hold it. They no longer plan a new route toward the base between attacks, which could take them off the previewed path or stop them from attacking.

Units

  • Reworked Slow to a counted stacks. Each stack reduces move speed by 25% for up to 3 stacks. Critically Slowed no longer exists.
  • Reworked the targeting of Suppressor so that it spreads its Slow stacks across the monsters.
  • Reworked Binding Fire. Attacks deal +1 damage per Slow stack on the target.
  • Reworked Winter's Grip so that the attacks of Suppressor Root a fully Slowed monsters.
  • Reworked Shatter Chill so that the target loses 1 Shield on every hit, so it also works on monsters that are already Slowed.

Tiles

  • The Obelisk is no longer a tile you place.
  • Reworked Thicket. Monsters walking over it become Bound, opening up new synergies to explore.

UX & QoL

  • While placing a tile or unit, every unit, tile, spawner and the base whose stats or statuses would change shows a chip above it with the change (for example "+50%" or "1→2").
  • Renamed the "Shifting Ground" reward to "Tile Swap" and clarified its description so that it is easier to understand.

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed ranged projectiles despawning mid-air when their target was diminished before the shot landed. The projectile now finishes its trajectory.
  • Fixed the Defend button overlapping the Undo button on ultrawide screens.
  • Fixed resuming a saved level dropping the Sturdy Thicket and Barbed Thicket augments.
  • Fixed Minions spawning outside of the Spawner's tile, unless the tile is too crowded.
  • Fixed the Echoing Shrine missing triggers that happened near the corners of its cell.
  • Monster spawns can no longer appear inside an area enclosed by Rivers with no land path to the base.