[Devlog] Loadouts, Dodge-y Upgrades and the Bottlebrook Hag (0.0.13)

Hi all, Ben here 👋

I have returned and brought back the calm and soothing left-aligned text. You're welcome.

We have been quiet for the last few weeks because we're not quite ready to unveil some exciting new changes to the game.  In the meantime we have a new new version to share!

Version 0.0.12 0.0.13 Update 

This was supposed to be about update 12 but thanks to some timely feedback from the community we had to patch a couple of things...

New Event - Bottlebrook Hag

After round 5 a new event will be available to the player, a visit to the Bottlebrook Hag. Little is known about her, but she will make you an offer. Trade a dice for a chance to earn back a lost life or to earn a relic! 

Synergies and Dodgy Upgrades

Now that there is a strong foundation for the game, we've started experimenting with a variety of new and exciting mechanics, relics and upgrades. The goal is to start designing and creating more depth in the game by way of synergies.

The first pack of upgrades have to do with dodge chance and effects on dodge triggers. We've also introduced the concept of "True Strike" which cannot be dodged. 

We've added 8 new upgrades:

• Initial Precision: First strike against each target has True Strike
• Like Smoke: Always dodge first attack (Once per battle)
• Counterstrike: On Dodge, get free attack on attacker
• Bob and Reave: For each successful dodge, increase damage by 2 for the fight
• Flash Step: On dodge, teleport to attacker
• Blindspot: On Dodge, next attack has 100% Crit chance
• Desperate Grace: +10% Dodge when below 50% Health
• Squad Lockstep: +10% Dodge, -20% Movement Speed

At the moment these upgrades don't have icons just yet and just show the initials of the upgrade to help with differentiation.

Also more are on the way soon!

Loadout selection changes

We have changed the starting loadout selection phase. Previously you were presented with 3 loadout archetypes (mixed, melee and ranged) and had to select one. Now you're presented with 9 dice and select 3. There is also a randomise option if you're feeling spicy!

Battle Corruption and Draws

Since the introduction of the shield goblin and the catapult, there have been occasions where stalemates can occur. Shield goblins only do reactive damage and catapults can run out of ammo. So if these are the last units standing, the battle cannot end, instead they stare lovingly across the battlefield and nothing is done. A temp fix was the "concede" button in the pause menu but that forces a loss and doesn't feel great, especially if you're on your last life and are facing the Fool King (As shown below, sorry Eryndor Nightrider!)

So we've made two changes:

• At the start of each battle, a 30 seconds timer begins. When it elapses "battle corruption" infects all living units, dealing increasing amounts of damage over time until one team is left standing.
• If all units die on the same frame, the player will take the victory.

Balance & Bug fixes

We've been making minor tweaks under the hood to improve gameplay and iron out some bugs

• Fixed rare issue where chain-lightning would crash to desktop
• Added healing numbers
• Axefolk now move in closer before attacking to better utilise their splash damage
• Reduced attack interruptions when target dies: For example Fire Wizards will continue to cast fireball at the last target's position even if they've been killed.
• Well fed: Fixed text to align with underlying effect
• Fix to stop various triggers when hit by friendly fire

The balance changes in the last update seem to have worked as we hoped and shook up the meta a bit, there has been a lot more variety in the Fool Kings!

We want to hear your thoughts!

We're really excited to interact with the growing community, so if you have ideas, suggestions or feedback please let us know! 

• Join our discord for early updates, WIPs and a nice place to hang out
• Contact us at info[at]lootdonkey.com

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Thanks for reading and please help us dethrone Jarek Starstike!