Full notes
Full Hero's Descent update
Read the full published notes in a cleaner layout. The original post stays linked below.
What changed
- Balance
- Performance
- Gameplay
- UI and audio
Change Summary (Spoiler-free):
A bunch of work has gone into preparing the game for a desktop release. The aspect ratio has been switched over to 16:9 to support more standard displays.
A new telegraph system has been added. In addition to the "!" icon, enemies now pulse and telegraph some of their attacks. If a square will result in you taking damage next turn and is the result of an enemy directly attacking you, it will shine red. This change doesn't impact very fast players, but is designed to help newer/casual people keep up with the game and learn enemy patterns. In some cases (mainly the Dragon Key Guardian), additional tiles may glow red in order to teach you how their attacks work.
Un-targeted attacks (like the spells cast by bosses that nuke specific areas) will render an animated target reticle. Entering these damages you as well, but the icon is different in order to help indicate how the attack works.
Thanks to the new telegraph system, the Angel and Beholder are now showing up as enemies in Area 2. They may migrate elsewhere soon.
Traps have been added. For now there are Fire Traps in Area 2, but more are coming.
Music and SFX have been added to a bunch of areas and actions.
Experienced players may encounter a different boss in Area 1.
Misc bug and UI fixes. Probably added some new bugs as well
Known Issues:
The tutorial is horridly out of date
Some SFX are missing or don't make sense
Area 3 is no longer tuned properly.
Sometimes monsters under the effect of a certain shield don't render the effect. Their HP values do properly reflect it for now, though.
***SPOILERS*** New Content ***SPOILERS***:
The Beholder
HP: 1 ATK: 3 Rotates clockwise every 3 turns. 1 turn after rotating, it telegraphs a laser, and fires it 1 turn after that. Entirely stationary, serves as more of a dynamic obstacle than an enemy.
Angel
HP: 1 Shield: 3 ATK: -3 The angel seeks to heal and buff nearby allies. It will heal for 3 HP, and can apply a 3 HP shield to fully-healed targets. It will prioritize the nearest target that needs assistance (< max HP or no shield), and will branch out searching for targets that meet this criteria. Angels will not assist Rats or other Angels, primarily for balance reasons.
Fire Trap
ATK: 3 Simply burns the area it occupies every 3 turns. If you're nearby, you'll be able to see how close it is to going off. If you're speed running, learn to count!
The Fairy Queen
This is a new boss encounter that appears in Area 1 if you've beaten the game. It has a 50% chance to replace the Slime King. It's intended to essentially be an "expert" variation of the Slime King fight, and the same general tactics apply. The Queen herself is virtually un-killable until you cross the two bridges and take out the weaker Fairies. Portals will periodically summon Moths. Learning to deal with the Moths here is tricky, as they behave entirely randomly. Good luck!
Source
Changelog.gg summarizes and formats this update. How we read updates.
