The Slave Market, Custom Pose Improvements & Boss Overhauls

Another Early Access update is ready.

Version 0.4.5 expands the world of Concubine with the Slave Market, our first Tier 11 random instances, a rescue mission for Katarina, major improvements to Custom Pose Mode, and significant changes to the Alamet and Salome boss encounters.

This release also introduces the Pure Intentions Lingerie Set, improves high-level item progression, and includes another round of combat fixes, visual polish, and quality-of-life improvements across the game.

The main character’s combat animations have also received a broad overhaul aimed at reducing stuttering and awkward transitions. The Great Spear now has a completely new animation set, and hand placement has been corrected when using two-handed weapons.

Some of these additions bring immediately visible new content, while others strengthen systems that will continue to grow in future releases.

Let’s take a look at what’s new.

The Slave Market

Steam post imageThe Slave Market is now available as a new high-level location, bringing a different atmosphere and encounter style to the world of Concubine.

The level has been built around a dense marketplace environment, complete with its own music, lighting, quests, and progression. During the mission, players will also have the opportunity to find and rescue Katarina.

Unlike many of our previous locations, the Slave Market introduces more vertical pressure during combat. Archers positioned across rooftops and elevated areas add an extra layer of action, forcing players to pay closer attention to their surroundings while dealing with enemies on the ground.

The mission also ends with a two-boss encounter, giving the final section of the level a more intense and memorable conclusion.

Alongside the new location, this release introduces our first Tier 11 random instances. Players exploring this tier will be able to find Carbonite weapons through the newly added loot tables.

Tier 11 armor sets are not included in this release yet. Until they are ready, armor rewards within these instances will provide a larger number of Tier 10 drops. This allows players to begin progressing through the new difficulty tier while we continue developing the remaining equipment.

The Slave Market represents another step toward expanding the game with locations that offer their own atmosphere, combat identity, companions, and challenges.

Pure Intentions Lingerie Set

Steam post imageThe Pure Intentions Lingerie Set adds another visual option for players who enjoy creating different looks for their concubine and companions.

It also gives players more variety when using Pose Mode or taking screenshots, whether they are creating staged scenes or simply capturing moments during gameplay.

We know that some players would like to see a wider selection of lingerie in the game, and this set is another step toward expanding that collection over time.

Custom Pose Improvements

Steam post imageCustom Pose Mode has received its first major expansion since its introduction.

Custom poses can now be saved, loaded, and shared in a similar way to character presets, allowing players to preserve their creations or exchange them with others. The current setup still requires files to be placed manually, but it provides a useful foundation for a more streamlined Steam Workshop system in the future.

We have also added eye and pelvis controls, providing more precise control over where characters are looking, how their posture is shaped, and how the overall pose is presented.

These additions bring Custom Pose Mode closer to our long-term vision for the feature, and we will continue improving its controls, usability, and creative possibilities in future releases.

Alamet & Salome Boss Overhauls

Steam post imageThe Alamet and Salome encounters have changed significantly.

Both bosses now have their full combat setups in place, with expanded attacks, animations, behaviors, and encounter logic. The main systems behind the fights are now complete, allowing our focus to shift toward refining their difficulty and overall combat flow.

Because these encounters have received substantial changes, they may still require balancing adjustments. Damage values, pacing, attack frequency, and other details may continue to change as we test the fights and receive feedback from players.

This is an important milestone for both encounters, and we are excited to see how players respond to their updated combat designs.

Item Quality & Rarity Improvements

Steam post imageThis update introduces several important improvements to equipment progression.

Item tooltips will now display both item quality and item level, giving players clearer information when comparing equipment and deciding which items are worth using.

Item rarity is now directly connected to quality. As a result, higher-rarity items should consistently be better than lower-rarity alternatives, making equipment progression more understandable and predictable.

The rarity distribution for weaponsmiths and armorers has also been adjusted for players above level 50, improving the equipment available during higher-level progression.

We have also fixed an issue that could cause comparison tooltips to appear more than once when inspecting off-hand equipment such as shields and quivers.

Together, these changes should make finding, evaluating, and upgrading equipment feel clearer and more rewarding.

Additional Improvements

Steam post imageAlongside the headline features, this update includes a variety of smaller fixes and improvements across the game.

The Maiden Tower door will now remain locked until all enemies on the lower level have been defeated. This creates a clearer progression path through the encounter and prevents players from unintentionally skipping the lower section of the tower.

The Slave Market has also been connected to the Maiden Tower map unlock logic, helping the new area fit more naturally into the game’s wider progression structure.

Additional work has been completed on weapon damage calculations, Slave Market lighting, rescue mission lighting, enemy archers, map data, loot tables, and boss encounters. We have also increased the texture quality of armor sets and fixed issues affecting Moonstone and Meteorite weapons.

We have continued polishing the overall presentation and addressing smaller issues discovered during development and testing. As always, we will continue monitoring feedback and resolving any bugs or balance problems that appear after release.

Looking Ahead

Steam post imageFollowing this release, our main development focus will shift toward Controller Support.

Controller Support is not a small or simple addition. It affects almost every part of the game, including movement, combat, menus, inventories, interactions, customization systems, and interface navigation.

Our goal is to spend most of August working toward a polished and comfortable controller experience. Depending on how development progresses, we may also release smaller content additions while that work continues.

Tier 11 armor sets, another lingerie set, further Custom Pose Mode improvements, optimization work, and additional boss balancing are all part of our upcoming plans.

It is possible that some of these additions will arrive before Controller Support is fully complete. However, finishing Controller Support will remain our primary objective throughout the month.

As always, development priorities may shift as we test new systems and respond to community feedback, but we are excited about the next stage of development.

Thank you for your continued support, feedback, screenshots, bug reports, and suggestions.

Every update helps shape the future of Concubine, and we’re looking forward to sharing more as the next features take shape.

🖤

The Team ⚔️