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Steam News24 June 20251y ago

Better Aim Helpers Update

The Book of Aaru is a challenging roguelite, as it should be. But we also know that not everyone is looking for a try-hard experience.

In this update3

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What changed

0 fixes3 additions4 changes0 removals
  • Gameplay
  • UI and audio
changedTo support a wider range of playstyles, we've always offered two aim-related helpers in combat: Aim-Assist and Lock-On Target . Now, with this update, we're making them more accessible, better explained, and easier to manage during gameplay.
addedHow Do These Systems Work?Aim-Assist is designed as a quality of life feature. It’s for players who want to stay in control of their aiming but wouldn’t mind a little help. With this option enabled, you still control rotation manually, but if your aim drifts slightly off target, within a small angle tolerance, the system gently nudges your attack back toward the enemy.
changedHow Do These Systems Work?Lock-On Target , on the other hand, is a more powerful assist, which completely lowers the difficulty of the game. It fully takes over your character’s rotation and always focuses on the nearest enemy, letting you concentrate purely on dodging and attacking. You can manually cycle through enemies as well, giving you full control over who to target next.
changedWhat’s New in This Update?Until now, many players weren’t aware these features even existed in the tutorial, it was easy to miss how to interact with these features. With this update:
changedWhat’s New in This Update?You can also change your default aim setting permanently via the controls options menu.
addedWhat’s New in This Update?And for extra clarity, we’ve added new HUD icons that clearly show whether Aim-Assist or Lock-On Target is currently active all the time.

The Book of Aaru changes

changedTo support a wider range of playstyles, we've always offered two aim-related helpers in combat: Aim-Assist and Lock-On Target . Now, with this update, we're making them more accessible, better explained, and easier to manage during gameplay.
addedAim-Assist is designed as a quality of life feature. It’s for players who want to stay in control of their aiming but wouldn’t mind a little help. With this option enabled, you still control rotation manually, but if your aim drifts slightly off target, within a small angle tolerance, the system gently nudges your attack back toward the enemy.
changedLock-On Target , on the other hand, is a more powerful assist, which completely lowers the difficulty of the game. It fully takes over your character’s rotation and always focuses on the nearest enemy, letting you concentrate purely on dodging and attacking. You can manually cycle through enemies as well, giving you full control over who to target next.
changedUntil now, many players weren’t aware these features even existed in the tutorial, it was easy to miss how to interact with these features. With this update:
changedYou can also change your default aim setting permanently via the controls options menu.

The Book of Aaru is a challenging roguelite, as it should be. But we also know that not everyone is looking for a try-hard experience. Some of you are here to enjoy the rich Egyptian Sci-fi world we've built, and want to let that sink in without the roguelite struggles.

To support a wider range of playstyles, we've always offered two aim-related helpers in combat: Aim-Assist and Lock-On Target. Now, with this update, we're making them more accessible, better explained, and easier to manage during gameplay.

How Do These Systems Work?

Aim-Assist is designed as a quality of life feature. It’s for players who want to stay in control of their aiming but wouldn’t mind a little help. With this option enabled, you still control rotation manually, but if your aim drifts slightly off target, within a small angle tolerance, the system gently nudges your attack back toward the enemy.

Under the hood, this uses two invisible cones:

  • A tight cone that confirms you’re aiming closely enough to “attach” to an enemy.

  • A wider cone that helps reattach your aim if you momentarily slip off target after already locking on.

Lock-On Target, on the other hand, is a more powerful assist, which completely lowers the difficulty of the game. It fully takes over your character’s rotation and always focuses on the nearest enemy, letting you concentrate purely on dodging and attacking. You can manually cycle through enemies as well, giving you full control over who to target next.

What’s New in This Update?

The most important change: clarity and accessibility.

Until now, many players weren’t aware these features even existed in the tutorial, it was easy to miss how to interact with these features. With this update:

  • The first time you plug in a controller, a pop-up explains both aim helpers and asks if you'd like to enable Lock-On by default or opt for a more challenging experience without it.

  • Once you make a choice, the game remembers your preferred default and automatically reapplies it whenever a level is loaded - even if you accidentally switched it mid-combat.

  • You can toggle either system on or off at any time during battle temporarily.

  • You can also change your default aim setting permanently via the controls options menu.

  • And for extra clarity, we’ve added new HUD icons that clearly show whether Aim-Assist or Lock-On Target is currently active all the time.

Got Feedback?

We’d love to hear what you think! If you have questions, suggestions, or want to share how the new system feels, drop a comment below or join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/UV72k3h7hy.

Thank you for playing, and good luck fighting off waves of demonic foes!

Source

Steam News / 24 June 2025

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