Patch 0.5.0.x – Rise of the Boss Cores

we’re excited to share Patch 0.5.0.x – Rise of the Boss Cores with you.

This update brings a wide range of new content, gameplay improvements, balance changes, and system overhauls. Below you’ll find the full patch notes.

Thank you for playing and for all the support and feedback.

The full patch notes can be found below.

• New Feature: Compendium

• Full encyclopedia system with 5 categories: Characters, Weapons, Chips, Enemies, and Game Mechanics

• 47 detailed entries with icons, stats, descriptions, and gameplay tips

• Accessible via a new button in the main menu

• Full controller support with tab navigation

• Automatic language switching - supports all 12 languages

• New Feature: Character Stats System

• Every character now has unique base stats (HP, Speed, Attack Speed, XP Gain, Gold Gain, Armor, Crit Chance, Crit Damage)

• Character stats are now displayed on the Character Select screen

• Centralized stats file for easier balancing

• New Feature: Critical Hits

• All weapons can now deal critical hits

• Critical hits are visualized with yellow damage numbers and a "!"

• Crit Chance and Crit Damage now vary by character

• New Feature: Damage Numbers

• Floating Combat Text now displays all damage dealt

• Normal hits appear in white, critical hits in yellow

• New Feature: Armor System

• Armor reduces incoming damage by a percentage

• Maximum damage reduction is capped at 75%

• New Upgrades in the Level-Up Screen:

• Armor: Reduces incoming damage by a percentage (4 rarity tiers: +2% to +12%)

• Crit Chance: Increases the chance to land critical hits (4 rarity tiers: +3% to +12%)

• Crit Damage: Increases the damage dealt by critical hits (4 rarity tiers: +10% to +50%)

• Pause Menu now shows Armor, Crit Chance, and Crit Damage under "Your Upgrades"

• New Chip Types:

• Armor (ARM): Increases damage reduction (5%-30% depending on quality)

• Crit Chance (CRT): Increases the chance to land critical hits (5%-30%)

• Crit Damage (CDM): Increases the damage dealt by critical hits (5%-30%)

• New Feature: Boss Cores

• Each of the 11 bosses now drops 1 Boss Core on death

• Boss Cores are used to unlock characters

• Replaces Gold as the character unlock currency

• Boss Overhaul:

• Existing bosses now spawn on wave 5 and then every 10 waves afterward

• Added 11 unique bosses with individual mechanics and attack patterns

• New bosses spawn every 10 waves (Wave 10, 20, 30... 110)

• Enraged Mode: Bosses become faster and more aggressive below 33% HP

• Boss Health Bar: Sci-fi HUD in a red design with boss name and HP display

• Guaranteed Chip Drops: Every boss drops 3-10 high-quality chips

• Added 11 new Steam Achievements

• 5 New Playable Characters:

• Ember (5 Boss Cores)

• Glacius (6 Boss Cores)

• Seeker (7 Boss Cores)

• Ricochet (8 Boss Cores)

• Reaper (9 Boss Cores)

• Character Unlocks:

• Ironclad: 0 (free)

• Buckshot: 1000 Gold → 1 Boss Core

• Vortex: 2000 Gold → 2 Boss Core

• Prism: 3000 Gold → 3 Boss Cores

• Stormrage: 4000 Gold → 4 Boss Cores

• AddedEmber5 Boss Cores (NEW)
• AddedGlacius6 Boss Cores (NEW)
• AddedSeeker7 Boss Cores (NEW)
• AddedRicochet8 Boss Cores (NEW)
• AddedReaper9 Boss Cores (NEW)
• AdjustedFast EnemyMovement speed reduced by 25%
• AdjustedTank EnemySpawn rate reduced by 50%

• Enemy Movement completely overhauled:

• Formation System: 60% of enemies now systematically surround the player from different directions

• Velocity Prediction: 40% of enemies anticipate your movement and cut off your path

• Separation Steering: Enemies now automatically keep their distance from one another - no more "clumping"

• Movement Noise: More organic, less robotic movement patterns

• Type-Specific Movement:

• Fast Enemy: Zigzag attack pattern

• Tank: Charge mechanic every 5 seconds (3x speed for 0.8s)

• Ranged: Active strafing instead of standing still

• Necromancer: Enhanced orbiting behavior

• Balance Changes:

• Wave scaling adjusted (per wave):

• HP: +10% → +5%

• Damage: +6% → +2.5%

• Speed: +2.5% → +1%

• Max Health bonus on level up changed from 2% to 2 HP

• XP requirement scaling stops at level 40

• Improved controller navigation in the options menu

• Steam Achievements translated into all 12 languages

• Character Select: Hover effect now correctly respects locked / unavailable characters (they remain dark)

• Character Select: The Loadout can no longer be opened when characters that have not been unlocked are selected

• Fixed the death animation of the small bosses: they now actually disappear during the explosion

That’s everything for Patch 0.5.0.x – Rise of the Boss Cores.

We hope you enjoy the update and have a great time exploring all the new systems, bosses, and characters. Thank you again for your continued support, your feedback, and for being part of the journey.

See you in the next update.