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Steam News11 April 20262mo ago

Parties, Group Queue, & More

The main new feature here is group queue. Every game has to have it, so I chose to do it now rather than later. This also means full party functionality is online too.

In this update6

Full notes

Full Alea update

Read the full published notes in a cleaner layout. The original post stays linked below.

What changed

4 fixes5 additions11 changes0 removals
  • Gameplay
  • UI and audio
  • Balance
  • Maps
  • Fixes
addedThe main new feature here is group queue. Every game has to have it, so I chose to do it now rather than later. This also means full party functionality is online too. If you've ever played any multiplayer game ever, you know parties can be inconsistent. That will undoubtedly be the case here as well.
changedPARTIESParties are now fully functional. Press Esc -> Social and you'll see your Steam friends. From here, if they are playing Alea and eligible to be invited, you can click their name and invite them to party. In the party UI on the same screen, you'll get basic party functionality: promote, kick, leave. You'll also see your party in the top-left of the screen in the Hub. NOTE: Both inviter and recipient need to be in the Hub to send/receive invites.
changedSETTINGSFinally, your settings should save. This means video, audio, gameplay, and keybinds. This was surprisingly difficult and actually took a very long time to get right. But, like group queue, it's a must, so I'm happy to have it done.
changedBALANCEAll abilities now cost 0 Stamina!
changedBALANCEMage: Fireball now does less upfront damage, but more Burn damage
changedBALANCE"Push" had its strength increased by a very small amount (like 3%)
Orb spawn time in Arena mode20s25sOrb spawn time in Arena mode increased, nerf

Alea changes

addedThe main new feature here is group queue. Every game has to have it, so I chose to do it now rather than later. This also means full party functionality is online too. If you've ever played any multiplayer game ever, you know parties can be inconsistent. That will undoubtedly be the case here as well.
changedParties are now fully functional. Press Esc -> Social and you'll see your Steam friends. From here, if they are playing Alea and eligible to be invited, you can click their name and invite them to party. In the party UI on the same screen, you'll get basic party functionality: promote, kick, leave. You'll also see your party in the top-left of the screen in the Hub. NOTE: Both inviter and recipient need to be in the Hub to send/receive invites.
changedFinally, your settings should save. This means video, audio, gameplay, and keybinds. This was surprisingly difficult and actually took a very long time to get right. But, like group queue, it's a must, so I'm happy to have it done.
changedAll abilities now cost 0 Stamina!
changedMage: Fireball now does less upfront damage, but more Burn damage

The main new feature here is group queue. Every game has to have it, so I chose to do it now rather than later. This also means full party functionality is online too. If you've ever played any multiplayer game ever, you know parties can be inconsistent. That will undoubtedly be the case here as well.

PARTIES

Parties are now fully functional. Press Esc -> Social and you'll see your Steam friends. From here, if they are playing Alea and eligible to be invited, you can click their name and invite them to party. In the party UI on the same screen, you'll get basic party functionality: promote, kick, leave. You'll also see your party in the top-left of the screen in the Hub. NOTE: Both inviter and recipient need to be in the Hub to send/receive invites.

GROUP QUEUE

Queueing as a group now works too. The same UX as normal applies. Press Esc -> Queue for mode. Your group size should lock you out of certain modes (i.e., can't 1v1 while in a group of 2). Only the party leader can queue. Queues should also auto-abandon if someone leaves party, disconnects, etc.

NOTE: All queue UX should remain the same.

SETTINGS

Finally, your settings should save. This means video, audio, gameplay, and keybinds. This was surprisingly difficult and actually took a very long time to get right. But, like group queue, it's a must, so I'm happy to have it done.

BALANCE

  • All abilities now cost 0 Stamina!

  • Mage: Fireball now does less upfront damage, but more Burn damage

  • "Push" had its strength increased by a very small amount (like 3%)

  • Orb spawn time in Arena mode increased to 25s (from 20s)

IMPROVED UX

  • Dodging now better conveys the iframe via a brief transparency change

  • Dodging has some improved VFX

  • Characters' different stances now have their own color for their icons sets (not just the Mage anymore). These colors are also reflected in their [F1] menu, banners, etc.

  • "Leave Queue" button now plays a sound

MISC

  • Discord bot now shows who is in which queue (check the #in-queue channel), and even shows when it last updated

  • Refactored the Discord bot completely with some nice improvements

  • Significantly improved some data lookups for Emotes

  • Added some small ledges near the center on Snow Bridge map

  • Fixed some water issues in the Hub

  • Added several torches to the Hub's obstacle course, so it's more visible at night

  • Added better dithering to foliage, trees, etc., in the Hub

  • Fixed some clipping & other collision issues in the Hub

  • Fixed a bug where the Esc menu would sometimes close incorrectly

  • Fixed a bug where private queue passwords could persist incorrectly

Source

Steam News / 11 April 2026

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