February Month End Update - New areas, weapons and much more!

Welcome to the end of Feb update for Rise of the Village Hero! I’m thrilled to share everything I’ve been working on this month, and there’s quite a lot to cover. Let’s dive in a lot to break down.

New Bows Added: I’ve introduced a whole arsenal of new bows, each with their own model: • Silver Bows: Huntress, Death’s Sigh • Green Bows: Thunderstrike, Willow, Hatred’s Sting, Quickstrike, Barrage • Blue Bows: Windrunner, Death’s Kiss, Warsong • Light Gold Bow: Razorsong • Gold Bow: Devil Whisperer • Purple Bows: Valkyrie, Hornet’s Sting, Needle Shooter Will need to add some proper descriptions to these. With the addition of these bows (more to come in future updates), there are now officially two distinct playstyles in the game. You can either fight up close in true warrior fashion with a sword and shield or take down enemies from a distance with these bows. I’ve adjusted the Dexterity requirements for bows—since Guy is a hunter, it only makes sense for him to be proficient with bows and arrows, so requirements are lower for Dexterity.

On top of that, I’ve added a quiver of arrows to the player character’s back to visually reflect that he’s got arrows and ready from the very start.

New Swords Introduced: Inspired by the rich legends of Dobrogea, I’ve added several new swords to the game: • Sword of Eternity • Sword of Buceag Lake • Blade of Skirtos (wielded by a famous Dacian mercenary and gladiator) • Blade of the White Wolf • Blade of the Hunter Prince

New Armor Sets: • Skirtos Armor Set: Chest plate, greaves, boots, helmet, and wristbands—rewarded through different quests in Chapter 3. • Eternity Armor Set: The chest plate and other pieces are available in Toothless Rick’s shop at the tavern.

New Potions: I’ve expanded the potion system with medium and large versions: • Medium Health Potions & Large Health Potions • Medium Stamina Potions & Large Stamina Potions

These potions have been added to shops (mainly in Chapters 2 and 3) and as floor drops. I’ve balanced their distribution, removing some potions where I felt there were too many, but this will still require a lot of testing to get the pricing and effectiveness just right.

New Quests: Chapter 3’s Wynter Town now has a new quest from the mayor, who needs your help saving his home from an evil creature. More side quests will be added soon—there are a lot of houses players can explore, and I think a couple more adventures can fit right in.

Cinematics and Voiceovers

I’ve added new flythrough cinematics for Chapter 2 and the transition to Chapter 3 (The Long Road to Wynter).

There are also new voice queues

• "I completed this quest" plays when a quest is finished, reminding players to check their inventory for rewards. • "I got a new quest" plays when you receive a new quest, prompting you to open your quest book (press Q) and see your objectives and rewards.

These sound effects aim to improve the player experience based on your feedback. And yes—it's still my voice, since there’s no budget for a professional voice actor yet. Maybe one day!

Chapter 4: Desma – Work in Progress:: I’m excited to announce that work on Chapter 4 has officially begun! The Desma Outskirts level is already added to the build – let me know what your thoughts are - , and I’ve set up music, lighting, and visual effects. Some enemies have been placed as placeholders—though they likely won’t all be the only enemies in this area—I’ll flesh out the area with proper NPCs and dialogue soon.

What to Expect in the March Update: Provided testing goes well (and as any game dev knows, it usually brings up things to tweak!), here’s what I hope to focus on next: • Unique weapons for Chapter 3 enemies • Finalizing Chapter 3 with a couple more quests and more armour and item drops • Adding more daggers, shields, axes, maces, and possibly spears • Completing a majority of Chapter 4’s levels and placing temporary NPCs with some dialogue • Polishing existing levels to fix anything that stands out • Add more enticing descriptions to the new sets of armours and weapons added.

Chapter 4 will be the final chapter I don’t think I’ll wrap everything up next month, but I’m getting close. More testing is ahead.

Thank You! A heartfelt thank you to everyone who purchased Rise of the Village Hero during the recent sale, and to those who’ve supported the game since its launch in January 2024. I truly appreciate every player, and I’m so grateful for the streamers—both big and small—who’ve helped spread the word about the game. Thank you for all the feedback you’ve given me over the months. It’s helped me improve the game in so many ways. As a solo developer, your support means the world. And if you’ve enjoyed your time with Rise of the Village Hero, please leave a review, it would help me a lot!

See you in the next update!

Silviu