Riftbound: Demonlore - NEW Free Expansion Deep Dive!

Hello Adventurers!

A few days ago we announced our new upcoming FREE expansion! Below we have put together a deep dive by the devs, into our motivations and goals for this expansion. A full Roadmap will be announced in the coming days!

In case you missed the announcement... https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1588340/view/6819068581452804944

From The Developers

We have spent the past several months working on the public test build of the expansion so that we could ensure everything worked well together. Now, you are able to play the expansion in its current state and provide feedback to help shape the final direction.

Not everything is set-in-stone just yet, so if you have any feedback, be sure to let us know!

"Demonlore" Expansion

One Quick Note: Below are our current plans, but, they are subject to change based on player feedback. We aim to have this update available on the public test branch, and will keep it there before it is pushed to the live branch.

Goals

This expansion focusses on some key goals, with adjustments to existing features, and new features.

Goal #1 - Don't hard-lock too many things behind progression

Our initial implementation of the Roguelite mode locked too many things behind progression. You would unlock perks, earn gems to spend on those perks, unlock difficulty modes and so on. Looking back, this was simply not necessary. Players already have to earn gems to unlock perks, so why limit their perk choice? And if players want to attempt a harder difficulty, why not let them do it as soon as they like?

All perks and difficulties will now be unlocked from the start (the whole perk system has also been overhauled, see more on that below).

Goal #2 - Give players more rewards, more often

We have adjusted the map generation so that there are fewer battles per stage, and each battle is slightly longer. In addition to this, encounters are now on the nodes, instead of on the path between the nodes (we may still have some special events on the paths).

The end result of this is that you are getting more rewards between battles.

Goal #3 - Give players a series of more interesting choices

While we did have some choices in the perks you choose and rewards after battles, we felt that there was more we could do in this area.

Before you even start a run you will now have choices that affect your run. Choose a character, choose your perks, choose your difficulty, choose your run type, choose your evolution mode (experimental).

In battles we have made it so choosing when to use consumables is more important, and we are experimenting with a new veterancy system that allows you to upgrade your elementals throughout a run.

Goal #4 - Give players choice over run length & variation

Based on your feedback, we know that some players wanted shorter runs and some players wanted longer runs (this was split pretty evenly). We wanted to come up with a way to implement runs that could cater to both of these in an interesting way.

We have kept the main run (which is currently a 4-stage run) and have plans for a new feature that can expand this to a 5-stage run. In addition to this however, we have setup a new run selection screen which contains a number of shorter 2-stage and 3-stage runs. To make this more interesting, each run also features a different combination of enemies, mutators and elite affixes.

Features

The above goals give some insight into the direction of this expansion, but in reality, they only scratch the surface. With those goals in mind we have overhauled existing features and introduced new features.

New character system

In the existing system, there were these occasions where you could end up with really interesting builds and combinations of spells, upgrades etc. However, due to the randomness of rewards, a lot of players would never get to experience these.

We wanted to come up with a fun way for players to do runs with a more focused starting build that they could try an expand upon in their run. This led us to the idea of adding character selection to the start of a run, where each character had a unique starter kit and purpose.

This has opened up some REALLY fun possibilities for us that allow for some truly different gameplay experiences and strategies based on the character you choose. For example we have a character built around being a "Glass Cannon", a character focused on the "Tank" role, and another character focused on sacrificing your elementals (where those elementals come back after a short time).

So in addition to having a different starter kit, these characters can also have unique upgrades that significantly alter the gameplay. On top of this each character has a special Unique Perk.

Perk System Overhauled

In addition to perks being always unlocked, we have removed some perks and added a range of new perks. You also now choose between two perks from each "category", after you choose your character, this is where you start making some further choices on how to build out your strategy for a run.

On top of this, we have added a new Mastery Perks with a new meta-currency. These mastery perks are element based and introduce new mechanics and bonuses to the game.

As mentioned with the new characters, on top of this there is also a unique perk for each character, which is unlocked based on a specific requirement (for example our water-themed character will unlock a unique perk if you have Water Mastery 2).

New Consumable System

The consumable system was interesting, however because your consumables replenished at the start of each battle, this made them less meaningful and removed an important choice that consumables often offer, that is, "should I use the consumable in this battle, or save it until later".

The new consumable system means consumables are persistent throughout the run, but you can stockpile more of them, even use them all in one battle if you like. We have also moved previous items to be consumables (Circle of Power, Totems etc), which both makes them more interesting, and also means you now have control over which tile they are placed on.

Furthermore this new system allows us to add some interesting and powerful consumables, which weren't really possible before due to balance reasons. We have already added Vine Trap and Healing Potion consumables, and we have more planned!

New Tactics System

Tactics spells were quite interesting, and players enjoyed them, however because they had X uses per battle, they were quite limited.

We have overhauled this so that you can now choose up to 2 tactics to take into battle, and they are on a cooldown when you use them. Recall is also now a tactic. This new refined system gives us more opportunity to implement some interesting Tactic mechanics, and players can come up with interesting ways to use them throughout the entire battle.

New Ways To Spend Meta-currency

One issue with meta-currency in Roguelite games is what to do with that currency once you have unlocked everything. We addressed this by adding some ways you can permanently spend your currency, this not only includes a "Retry" option when you lose a battle, but also the new "Gem Exchange" options prior to starting a run.

New Mini-boss System

Players have been quite positive about our existing boss battles, however, once you have done them several times they start to lose their impact. So when we added the new run options we didn't just want to re-use those bosses.

To make things more interesting, we now have a new mini-boss system. Mini-bosses are quite tough, however they are different from our main bosses.

• Mini-bosses CAN walk down a lane and destroy your lanes.

• Mini-bosses don't have immunity to all crowd-control effects from spells.

• The health bar is divided into segments, once you get each segment of health down, they teleport back the end of a lane.

We currently have several mini-bosses already, and more are planned.

Experimental - Veterancy System

One thing we have heard from players is that it would be cool to have some way of upgrading individual unit types. We have a new experimental veterancy system that allows you to do just this.

Between each wave a series of unit upgrades will be presented, for any unit that is currently summoned on the battle. You get to choose one upgrade, many of which stack. These upgrades include basic things like damage, crit chance etc, however if you keep upgrading the same unit-type you will also encounter more interesting options such as Piercing +1, and potentially unique upgrades for that unit.

So if you have an elemental you love and you just want that elemental to be a beast, you can put all of your upgrades in to that unit. These upgrades will also stack with the existing Hero system, so will be able to make some really powerful units.

Experimental - Evolution Mode

While our existing Evolution system is interesting, we have always wondered how the game would have felt if higher tier units were direct summons instead of something you could only get by evolving units. Very early in development we did test both methods and determined that ultimately the evolution system was an interesting addition.

However, with all of the new systems we have added since then, and the new systems being added in this expansion (e.g. the veterancy system), this makes a direct summon system quite interesting as well.

We are experimenting with having this as a new feature that you can choose before starting a run. Meaning you will be able to choose between 2 systems. You will some advantages for each method, and can choose which one better suits your strategy.

1 - The In-Battle Evolution System

• This is the existing system

• Summon tier 1 units, evolve them into tier 2, then tier 3 units

• It takes time for units to evolve

• The cost of the higher tier units is spread out

• Evolutions do not take spellbar slots

2 - The Direct Summon System

• This is the alternate system

• Summon Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 units directly from your spellbar

• You don't have to own a previous tier

• The full cost of the higher tier unit must be paid up front

• Higher tier units take a spellbar slot

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Where to share your feedback

• Right here, in the comments of this post.

• On the Steam forum for our game.

• In the Discord channel.

Thanks so much for your support! All of your feedback so far has helped shape the game, improve balance and make it more enjoyable for everyone.

⚡ If you enjoy the game please consider writing a Steam review, it really helps us small indie developers getting recognized in Steam. ❤️

Join Us!

We are very active devs, so you are more than welcome to join our discord or leave your feedback on the Steam forum with anything you would love to see in the future of the game! Join discord here