Update log
Full Hell Clock update
The complete published notes, normalized for clean reading and source attribution.
Repeated intro
Hey folks,
Extracted changes
- Gameplay
- Compatibility
- Balance
- Events
We’ve been in “heads down, focus on development” mode for a while now, and it is about time for an update!
After we shipped all of the promised post-launch features from our Roadmap, we have shifted our efforts 100% to the new upcoming Cursed War expansion and patch 2.0.
While we were originally targeting a Q1 launch, the scope of the expansion ended up, uh, expanding, so we need a bit more time to get it polished and ready.
We expect this to be a short delay. In fact, we already have a new date internally that we are committed to, and our publisher Mad Mushroom should announce it officially Soon™.
In the meantime, we think it’d be rude to keep you waiting without at least a few spoilers about what’s coming, so buckle up!
New Endgame: Endless Nightmares
Patch 2.0 will include a full revamp of the campaign Endgame, introducing a new system called “Endless Nightmares”.
This is a “mapping” endgame done in the Hell Clock style: you’ll face randomized dungeons in completely new biomes, with 16 tiers of scaling difficulty. Each one of these Nightmare dungeons will have modifiers that will be familiar to ARPG players. The twist is that you’ll be able to choose these modifiers as you play through the dungeons, rogue-lite style.
The existing Abyss/Oblivion system (that is, the “replay the campaign” endgame) will still be available for those who enjoy that experience, but we will be removing the temporary “Void” tier. You will be able to play either Abyss/Oblivion or Endless Nightmares, or combine both freely as you progress your character through the endgame.
Expect more details and a full breakdown of Endless Nightmares when we officially announce the expansion release date!
Improved Ascension Mode
The experimental Ascension endgame is undergoing significant improvements for patch 2.0, and it will be officially released out of “Beta” state!
First of all, Ascension is getting the fancy new endgame Biomes from Endless Nightmares, so you will have fresh environments and enemies every time you Ascend. No more fighting the Jailer at the Basement on every restart!
Also, we have finished implementing all of the nodes of the Penance Tree, so the experience will be much more brutal than before.
To counter-balance that, we are making two pivotal changes to this rogue-like gamemode:
The very first run on each Ascension was a bit boring and too RNG-based. We are introducing a “starting shop” every time you Ascend so that you can go into your first run with a Blessed Gear and a Unique Relic of your choice (from a randomized pool of options).
Ascension attempts were a bit too long, sometimes taking upwards of 1 hour or even 2+ hours if you’re not a blaster. We are rebalancing the difficulty scaling of the mode so that you can progress faster, but also reducing the maximum number of Runs before the Ascension fails. The goal is to keep the same challenge level as before, but have you either succeed or fail faster.
We are also currently looking into reducing the time spent on “farming” runs where you are not looking to progress deeper into the dungeons
New Skills and Relics
The Cursed War expansion, besides a whole new story campaign with new monsters and bosses, will introduce six new active Skills to the game, as well as dozens of new Unique Relics to shake up the meta!
While we cannot spoil everything before
Source