Element TD 2 News

It's been nearly a month since release, and while overall it's been fairly successful, there's been lots of bugs and other stuff that's been reported. This patch here aims to address some of it with a mix of quality-of-life updates, bug fixes, and tweaks to the Campaign.


[h2]Improvements[/h2]

• There's now an option to turn In-Game Notifications off
  
• Essence Prompt replaced by flashing essence icon in the corner, so that it's much less intrusive/in your face
  
• The Speed Score Multiplier is now listed in the corner next to the time
  
• Creeps now list the actual movement speed value, and if it goes up or down, it'll now list the % change
  
• If there's an Elemental Boss next to a bunch of other creeps, it should be much easier to select the Boss now
  
• Toggling Ready On/Off in a lobby now has a 2 second cooldown
  
• Once the countdown begins in a lobby, the host can no longer kick/switch players (which previously led to breaking the lobby)
  
• Minor optimization improvements
  
• Max Sound Channels increased from 32 to 64
  
• Western Mode can now be toggled On/Off in-game (yeehaw)
  
• New Trail added: Fractal Squared
  
• Chinese Localization has been improved
  

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed being able to do an online singleplayer game while in Ranked Queue at the same time, causing lots of disconnect shenanigans
  
• Fixed Extreme Mode bug where creeps would mysteriously stop spawning at a certain point
  
• Fixed an issue where you could sometimes unintentionally "double-click" and select all towers of a type
  
• Fixed a bug where changing a tower's Focus setting wouldn't transfer to a Clone
• Fixed names not being colorized in replays
  
• Fixed Random Map showing up in the Co-op Leaderboards
• Fixed Co-op and Team Leaderboards cutting off before 100 entries are shown
  

[h2]Campaign[/h2]

• In the Campaign, "Insufficient Requirements" now lists the actual requirements
  
• When you have a Specialization, affected stats are now green/red, depending on whether they were increased/decreased
  
• There's now an option to turn the Hint Box off by default
  
• Transference stacks can no longer transfer to Spawners
• M2 Score Thresholds reduced, that one was apparently sorta ridiculous
  
• Toned down the HP of the Light/Dark creeps at the end of M18, Wave 25
  
• M25 Speed Multiplier kicked down, shouldn't be nearly as easy to 4-star it
  
• Fixed M25 Achievement breaking if you built during the 10 seconds before Wave 25 actually starts
  
• Fixed M25 Achievement also breaking as a result of Trickery Clones
  
• Fixed a bug where multiple Slingshot Bosses could launch a creep flying so fast that it flies off the map (and in some cases, resulted in it being unkillable because it was so far out-of-bounds)
  
• Fixed Income hover display resetting to 0 when loading Checkpoint
  
• Fixed loading Checkpoint resetting your available Essence
  

That's it for Version 1.01! It's not all the bugs that have been reported (we're still hacking away at them, keep your reports comin'), but it's a good start. There's also some more pressing concerns that we're going to try and in address in the coming weeks:

• The game is a serious hog on the GPU
  
• Cheaters
  

On the second point, we have noticed an influx of cheaters recently, both in Ranked play and on the Leaderboard. We've got some fixes in mind that should help mitigate that, if not erase it entirely. In the meantime, if we catch you cheating, be it raising your gold/elements in-game or plopping an impossible entry on the Leaderboard, we will ban you. More automated measures will be coming soon.

About two weeks ago, Element TD 2 officially released into Version 1.00, and we've seen a huge increase in the number of players! Reception has been generally positive, and for those not as happy with the game, we've been working on fixes to address those concerns.

Now that we've released though, folks have been wondering what's next for us. This isn't quite a Roadmap, but In this post, we'll be addressing both short-term and long-term plans. Read on for the full preview!


[h2]Short Term[/h2]
[h3]Version 1.01[/h3]
Within the next few days, we'll be releasing the next version, which should contain a mix of bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements. Ranked disconnects, more options for fine-tuning notifications, Campaign tweaks, and more!

FYI, due to changes we're making on the backend, when this patch releases, if you have a Checkpoint in the Campaign, it will unfortunately be nuked (meaning Load Checkpoint from the menu won't be available until you reach a new Checkpoint). We apologize in advance for this inconvenience.


[h3]Quality of Life Updates[/h3]
Over the next few months, expect to see the following:

• Define your own Hotkeys
• Improved Localization
• 5th co-op map
• Set your own default Targeting Priorities
• Improved Tower Customization screen
  
• Performance Optimization
• And more!
  

[h3]Balance[/h3]
Unlike Early Access where there were balance patches every 1-2 months, we're extending that period a bit and aiming for 2-3 months. The game's overall balance is pretty solid now, and while there are things to adjust, there isn't as much of a need to change it immediately. Like before, Score Leaderboards will be reset whenever there's new balance.

Expect a Balance Patch to arrive in June or July!


[h2]Long Term[/h2]
[h3]Quad Element Towers[/h3]
Since the start of Early Access, we've long teased the idea of Quad Element Towers, and you folks have been posting a slew of ideas, both on our Forums and our Discord. Obviously, this update will fundamentally change the game, as it'll add 15 towers to the game. Not only that, but we also plan to change the Essence Upgrade into something much more interesting than its current incarnation.

Quads are expected to release as a Free Update by the end of the year. In the meantime, post your ideas to our Forums and our Discord!


[h3]Mazing DLC[/h3]
Later this year, we plan on adding Mazing Mode to the game as a DLC! In this mode, you'll be able to make your own mazes, rather than deal with a predetermined path. As this will be a paid expansion, this will be a larger update than the norm. Expect its own Maps, Leaderboards, and even a Mazing Campaign!

We'll provide more info as we get closer to its release, which is expected by the end of the year. Whether it's before or after the Quad Towers update, we can't confirm yet.


[h3]An Actual Tutorial[/h3]
Although the early part of the Campaign sort of covers some basics, it's a farcry from an actual in-depth Tutorial, and there's a lot of aspects of the game that aren't really covered well anywhere, like UI, how to use Support Towers, how to make use of 100% Sell in Random, etc.

Throughout the rest of the year, we'll be adding actual Tutorials to the game, covering everything from Basics to more Advanced Tactics.


[h2]Other Stuff[/h2]
[h3]Ranked Mode[/h3]
A lot of people play this mode, both in Pick & Random, and while many certainly enjoy increasing their rank, it's not necessarily clear how that MMR is calculated. Or that the mode is locked into Very Hard. Or if there's any rewards for reaching a higher rank. Or if- you get the point.

In general, expect to see a mix of UI and quality-of-life improvements to this mode throughout the year, an improved formula for going up or down in MMR, and eventually, actual rewards for going up in the ranks.

As for the possibility of other modes getting a Ranked adaption - presently, we can't confirm if there'll be a Ranked Teams or Ranked War added.


[h3]Speaking of War Mode[/h3]
When hosting a game, you may have noticed something called War Mode (or Team War). The intent of this mode was to provide a 1v1 experience with very active counterplay. To that end, we almost succeeded, but the mode is falling short of its full potential. Certain towers dominate it, the abilities become something of a waiting game, and in general, there's not enough to do in the mode, despite being more active than the standard game.

We intend on revamping this mode into something that achieves our original vision, and will be scalable to a higher player count. In the meantime though, it's still a fun and frantic mode. Find a friend and give it a try, and let us know what you'd like to see from it. The entire dev team considers it a hidden gem!


[h3]Will there be a Chapter 5?[/h3]
Most likely yes! However, this is a long ways off and won't release until sometime next year. When it does, it'll be a DLC, but it'll also be the most significant chunk of the Campaign yet. Look forward to it... eventually.


[h3]Regarding Workshop Support...[/h3]
More than anything on this list, we keep getting people asking if they could make their own maps for the game. Presently, Workshop Support is not planned for this year. It's not entirely out of the question, but in order to support it, we'd need to completely overhaul our backend. If it happens, it would come after both Quad Element Towers and Mazing DLC.

We know this is a highly requested feature, and yes, it would be really cool to see it implemented into the game. But it's also a large project that could take us many months to complete, and rather than have you guys waiting a really long time for that, we would rather push out more modes, towers, and other updates that can be completed in a significantly shorter amount of time. We'll continue to research it as we deliver more content to you.


[h2]In Conclusion[/h2]
We hope this answers your questions about what's coming next. We know it's short on actual details, but fret not, we'll expand on those with proper previews as we get closer to the various updates.

[h2]Campaign Fixes[/h2]

• The AoE Upgrade now applies the gold cost increase to all towers, even though it only increases the AoE of AoE Towers.
  • This fixes an exploit where you could upgrade a Single-Target Tower to an AoE Tower, and then sell it for net profit. Or vice versa, where you could lose gold.
    
  • To counterbalance this change, the AoE Upgrade has been increased from 10% / 20% / 30% to 15% / 30% / 45%
    
• Fixed upgrading from Arrow/Cannon to Elemental Towers not being affected by the gold cost increase of Range/AoE Upgrades
• Fixed the Fire Spawners in M25 - Wave 8 having an extra 0 in its HP
  
• Fixed Geyser Spec 1 reducing range
  
• Fixed the giant bright flare of doom in Mission 23
  
• Fixed a bug where you could get a "free element pick" on certain missions, which could stack up over time
  
• Fixed a bug where, if you had the Income Upgrade, and you loaded from checkpoint, you'd lose the extra gold from the most recent wave.
  
• Toned down the last 5 waves of Mission 6, particularly the third path.
  

[h2]Other Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed a rare freeze error that could occur when selling a tower
  
• Fixed Super Galaxy Hat for towers missing its icon
  
• Fixed not being able to see anything in Tropical Variant
• Fixed a bug where, after you die, you can't select someone else's towers
  
• Fixed a bug in Ranked where you could match with someone outside of the 150 MMR search range
  
• Fixed Tundra minimap offset
  
• Fixed various tooltip errors
  
• Reduced the size of hats on the Sorceress builder
  
• Fixed and overhauled the VFX for the Jetpack cosmetic
  
• Updated the VFX for the Elemental Master trail
  

After 13 months in Early Access, we're proud to announce that Element TD 2 has officially released! With it, the price has increased from $9.99 to $14.99, along with a host of new content and features. We also have a fancy new launch trailer, courtesies of community member Wade. Check it out here:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

And now onto the longest patch notes to date. Here's the full release notes for Version 1.00!

[h2]Chapter 4[/h2]

• Chapter 4 of the Campaign is here, with 7 more missions to cap it out! The maps are bigger, the challenges are harder, and it packs some diabolical surprises, including:
  • Adaptive Creeps: Each wave, these become highly resistant to one of your elements. Whatever tower tops the damage tracker for the wave, Adaptive Creeps will take 25% damage from that tower's element on the next wave.
    
  • Spawners: Every 15 seconds, it spawns 3 small creeps with 15% HP each. There is no cap on the number of creeps these can spawn, so kill them fast!
    
  • And 3 New Bosses!
    
• New Upgrade Column in the Loadout. These are passive upgrades that can help bolster your defenses. Requires beating Chapter 2 before you gain access to them.
  • Income: At the end of each wave, gain 5% / 10% / 15% end-of-wave bonus.
    
  • Extra Lives: Start with 10% / 20% / 30% more lives.
    
  • Range Bonus: All towers gain 10% / 20% / 30% more range, but they cost 5% / 10% / 15% more gold.
    
  • AoE Bonus: All AoE towers gain 10% / 20% / 30% more AoE, but they cost 5% / 10% / 15% more gold.
    
  • Essence: Gain 1 / 2 / 3 Essence to be used for building Level 4 Single Element or Periodic Towers
    
• New Achievements for Chapter 4:
  • Trebuchets Only: Clear Mission 22 on Hard using only Towers with 1250 Range or more (including Range upgrades)
    
  • Splash Defense: Clear Mission 23 on Normal using only towers with 200 AoE or more
    
  • Triad of Light: Clear Mission 24 on Normal using only Light, Water, and Nature Elements
    
  • Set of Annihilation: Clear Mission 25 on Hard without building a single tower during the last wave
    
  • Triad of Darkness: Clear Mission 26 on Normal using only Darkness, Fire, and Earth Elements
    
  • Full Support: Clear Mission 27 on Normal using only Buff, Slow, and Damage Amp Towers
    
  • Portal Master: Clear Mission 28 on Very Hard without using Infernal Towers
    
  • Wizard Prime: Clear all Mission in Chapter 4
    
  • Annihilator: Get 4 Stars on every Chapter 4 Mission
    
  • Master of Elements: Clear all 28 Missions in the Campaign
    

You can reach some pretty silly ranges on certain towers now, thanks to the new upgrades.


[h2]Features[/h2]

• 4th Co-op Map added: Tundra!
  
• In Campaign, you can now pick up where you last left off, thanks to a new Continue button!
  • How it works is whenever you reach a Checkpoint (aka every Wave Break), it'll save your progress for that mission, letting you quit the game and later continue where you last left off.
    
  • However, you can only hold onto one Checkpoint at a time, so if you try changing to a different mission, it'll warn you that it'll erase your previous Checkpoint.
    
• In Campaign, there is now a Hint Box in the bottom-left corner, which you can toggle on/off. This gives extra insights on the game and tips for specific missions.
  

New Cosmetics:

• New Builder: Master Captain
  
• New Builder: Titan
  
• New Builder: An Actual Duck
  
• New Builder: ???
  
• New Hat: Super Galaxy
  
• New Trail: Nebula
  
• New Trail: Elemental Master
  
• Additionally, some of the high level Cosmetics can now be unlocked by completing certain Achievements. You'll still need to buy them with Shop Points though.
  

Introducing Tundra, the 4th Co-op Map! And one of the new missions in Chapter 4.


[h2]Improvements[/h2]

• When hosting a Multiplayer lobby, the default map is now set to Random Map.
  
• Added a Random Map option to Co-op Mode.
  
• In Singleplayer, the game now remembers the last Mission you were playing, as well as what difficulty.
  
• War Mode now gives you a primer about how the game works during the loading screen.
  
• UI shrunk by about 10%.
  
• Maps now have actual borders and skyboxes instead of the darkness of Fog of War
• Switched Tropical Variant out with the second version that shows up in the Campaign, which is a far more interesting map.
  
• Winter Variant is back to 2-Path by default, but its short path moves at 80% speed
  
• Adjusted Advanced Paths for:
  • Wasteland now speeds up creeps by 20%
    
  • Desert paths are asymmetrical
    
  • Autumn paths are asymmetrical
    
  • Winter paths are asymmetrical
    
  • Forest Variant third path no longer pingpongs. Instead, it goes to its own portal at 75% speed.
    
  • Winter Variant short path is reversed and moves at full speed
    
• In No Sell Mode, you can now cancel building/upgrading. But once it finishes, you're locked in.
  
• Right-clicking on the Mini-map no longer moves your camera
  
• Geyser bounce has been slowed and looks considerably smoother
  
• Earth, Fire, Bloom & Money Towers now have status icons that track their bonuses.
  
• Removed the In Good Health Achievement from the game, as it no longer exists.
  
• Missions now give you a decent amount of XP when clearing them.
  
• When you clear a mission, it now displays a Mission Cleared message.
  
• Chapter 2 has been made roughly 10% easier
  
• The second half of Mission 11 has been redesigned, it should be much more fair than it was before
  
• The last wave of Mission 18 has also been toned down, particularly the boss
  
• Minor optimization improvements
  

As you load into a War Mode game, it now briefly tells you how it works.


[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Attempt #63849 on fixing the Ranked Disconnect error.
  • We're pretty sure we nailed down the exact cause, and we've added some stopgaps that should prevent it. Should.
    
• Coincidentally, fixed the zombie lobby bug.
  
• Fixed a bug where, if you upgrade a tower, then cancel the upgrade, it'd reset your changed target priority.
  
• Fixed a bug where Fire Tower's damage could stop going up and get permanently stuck.
  
• Fixed a bug where Wisp Tower was doing 40% less damage than intended.
  
• Fixed a bug where the VFX of Fast Creeps would flash across the whole map on leak.
  
• Fixed a bug where winning a Co-op game counted as 2 Wins instead of 1.
  
• Fixed checkpoints not saving Damage Overview information.
  
• Fixed manual targeting not overriding your Focus Target setting.
  
• Fixed loading from a checkpoint turning Focus Target setting to off.
  
• Fixed loading from a checkpoint resetting statistics for Towers Built/Sold, Creeps Killed, and Total Interest statistics at the end of the mission.
  
• Fixed tooltips going off-screen,
  
• Fixed hover tooltips vanishing upon clearing the wave,
  
• Fixed Mission 10 Achievement being clearable on Normal Difficulty,
  
• Fixed Geyser's AoE displaying 300 AoE for its standard attack and 0 AoE for its ability (this was purely a UI issue)
  
• Fixed toggling Show VFX off not actually removing the Shoot/Hit effects. It should only be showing projectiles.
  

One of the new missions features a spiral heading down several tiers, with interlacing paths on the corners.


[h2]General Balance[/h2]

• Income Upgrade extra creeps spawned reduced from 6 / 12 to 4 / 8. However, you now gain a 5% / 10% end-of-wave gold bonus.
  
• DIminishing Returns increased from 6% to 7% per stack
  
• Bulky HP Multiplier increased from x2.25 to x2.5
  
• Bulky creep spacing reduced from 1.5 to 0.75
  • For reference, all other waves have a spacing of 0.5
    
• Temporal now triggers its ability when it loses 25% of its Max HP and only jumps half the distance.
  
• Temporal now has a cooldown of 15 seconds, meaning it can trigger multiple times.
  
• Level 4 Singles & Periodic cost increased from 14000 to 15000.
  • However, their damage was increased by 20%.
    
• Wave Order adjusted again:
  • Wave 7 is Composite Fast
    
  • Wave 10 is Nature Temporal
    
  • Wave 12 is Water Bulky
    
  • Wave 13 is Earth Shield
    
  • Wave 14 is Composite Cursed
    
  • Wave 15 is Light Healing
    
  • Wave 17 is Earth Temporal
    

You can make a pretty decked out builder, thanks to all the Cosmetic options.


[h2]Tower Balance[/h2]

• Arrow damage reduced from 70 to 60
  
• Cannon damage reduced from 80 to 75
  
• Light Level 4 damage increased from 36000 to 43200
  
• Darkness Level 4 damage increased from 100800 to 120960
  
• Water damage increased from 80 / 480 / 2880 / 28800 to 85 / 510 / 3060 / 36720
  
• Fire Level 4 damage increased from 11520 to 13824
  • Damage gain increased from 360 to 432
    
• Nature Level 4 damage increased from 28800 to 34560
  
• Earth adjusted:
  • Attack speed reduced from 1 to 0.66
    
  • Damage increased from 80 / 480 / 2880 / 28800 to 125 / 750 / 4500 / 54000
    
  • Shockwave damage increased from 45 / 270 / 1620 / 16200 to 60 / 360 / 2160 / 25920
    
• Atom consecutive damage bonus reduced from 15% to 10%
  
• Lightning damage increased from 140 / 560 / 2240 to 150 / 600 / 2400
  • Bounce range increased from 1200 to 1500
    
• Poison duration increased from 14 to 15 seconds
  
• Disease damage increased from 100 / 400 / 1600 to 110 / 440 / 1760
  • Damage formula no longer adds +1, meaning it no longer deals double damage vs. full health creeps. In general, it deals less damage than before, up until creeps are about 10% HP or less, at which point it does more.
    
• Vapor damage increased from 170 / 680 / 2720 to 175 / 700 / 2800
  
• Solar damage-per-second reduced from 140 / 560 / 2240 to 125 / 500 / 2000
  
• Mushroom damage increased from 120 / 480 / 1920 to 125 / 500 / 2000
  
• Bloom adjusted:
  • Projectile speed increased by 20%
    
  • Damage increased from 500 / 2000 / 8000 to 550 / 2200 / 8800
    
  • While not attacking, it gains 30% Attack Speed per second, up to a max of 300%
    
  • While attacking, it loses 20% of its bonus Attack Speed per second
    
• Flooding damage increased from 375 / 1500 to 400 / 1600
  • Consecutive AoE gain reduced from 20 to 15
    
• Haste attack speed gain increased from 5% to 7%
  • Decay rate reduced from 50% to 30% of its bonus per second
    
• Money damage reduced from 3200 / 12800 to 3000 / 12000
  • Damage bonus now caps at x2 of its base damage. Note that this takes about 40,000 Unspent Gold, so this mainly only affects Teams/Co-op.
    
• Incantation base amp reduced from 10% / 20% to 8% / 16%
  • Solo amp search radius increased from 200 to 300 AoE
    
• Periodic damage increased from 45000 to 56000
  

RIP Atom TD 2. You will not be missed.


[h2]Campaign Balance[/h2]

• Frost Aura Boss AoE reduced from 700 to 600
  
• Inferno Boss build locations now come back after 120 seconds instead of being permanently scarred
  
• Earth Spec 2 attack speed reduced from 0.66 to 0.33
  • Damage multiplier increased from x3 to x4
    
• Well Spec 1 attack speed bonus reduced from 10% / 30% / 90% to 8% / 24% / 72%
  
• Blacksmith Spec 1 damage bonus reduced from 10% / 30% / 90% to 8% / 24% / 72%
  
• Trickery Spec 1 clone damage reduced from 40% / 120% / 360% to 32% / 96% / 288%
  
• Infernal Spec 1 reduced from 125 to 100 AoE
  
• Geyser Spec 1 damage is reduced by 25% instead of 30%
  
• Geyser Spec 2 AoE reduced from 300 to 100
  • It wasn't supposed to be dealing 300% damage AND 300 AoE, that was unintentional
    
• Poison Spec 1 damage-per-second increased from 125 / 500 / 2000 to 150 / 600 / 2400
  
• Solar Spec 1 damage-per-second reduced from 90 / 360 / 1440 to 80 / 320 / 1280
  
• Solar Spec 2 damage-per-second reduced from 300 / 1500 / 6000 to 250 / 1000 / 4000
  • If you were using this before and wondering why Levels 2 and 3 melted everything before, I may have multiplied it wrong. I blame maths.
    
• Mushroom Spec 2 attack speed increased from 0.66 to 1
  • AoE reduced from 300 to 250
    
  • Damage multiplier reduced from x4 to x3
    
• Bloom Spec 1 range reduced from 750 to 600
  
• Bloom Spec 2 now increases max attack speed from 300% to 500%
  
• Disease Spec 1 damage reduced by 25% instead of 20%
  
• Atom Spec 2 consecutive damage gain reduced from 30% to 25%
  
• Impulse Spec 1 damage reduced by 20%
  • Range increased from 1750 to 1800
    
• Impulse Spec 2 damage increase is now 25% instead of 20%
  
• Windstorm Spec 1 duration increased from 12 to 15 seconds
  
• Windstorm Spec 2 AoE increased from 300 to 400
  
• Nova Spec 1 slow reduced from 16% / 32% to 10% / 20%
  
• Nova Spec 2 damage increased by 20%
  
• Jinx Spec 1 damage increase is 80% instead of 70%
  
• Flamethrower Spec 2 napalm duration increased from 10 to 15 seconds
  
• Incantation Spec 2 base damage amp changed from -40% / -80% to -30% / -60%
  • Solo damage amp increased from 40% / 80% to 60% / 120%
    
• Root Spec 1 damage reduced by 20%
  
• Root Spec 2 no longer doubles damage-per-second, it just doubles the slow
  

You know those April Fools notes from yesterday? As it turns out, one of those notes might have been true...


[h2]Ranked & Leaderboards[/h2]

• First off, congratulations to __Tobias__, HerrDirektor, and Funkelinchen and wadebbqwall2 for topping the Ranked Leaderboards!
  • Double congrats to __Tobias__ and HerrDirektor for being top two on both of them. You monsters.
    
• Now that we've officially released, Scoreboards & Ranked Leaderboards have been wiped. That said, we've tweaked some values for Ranked:
  • Starting MMR reduced from 500 to 300
    
  • Rank up thresholds reduced to actually achievable values: 400, 600, 800, 1000 and 1200
    
  • MMR Search Range reduced from 300 to 150.
    
  • In time, as the Ranked Leaderboards fill back up, we'll be looking into a proper scaling solution for this, as well as improvements to Ranked in general.
    

It's Forest, but not the one you know...


It's been a long journey since the start of Element TD 2. In the beginning, our vision was to make a faithful successor to original, but when we launched into Early Access, we found that alone wasn't enough. Over time, we've added an insane amount of content and features, including Co-op, New Maps & Modes, Achievements, Cosmetics, and even a full on Campaign. We've also seen tremendous growth in our community and our Discord Server.

All in all, we couldn't have done it without you, so this is a thank you to everyone that's supported us along the way. Enjoy the Official Release, and we hope you'll stick around for a while longer as we transition into Post-Release!

It's April 1st, and you know what that means? Yes, Element TD 2 is scheduled to release in exactly one day from now! To help hype you up, we've prepared a special patch preview of things you can expect in tomorrow's release. Read on for the full notes!


[h2]Features[/h2]

• The Campaign has been made a fully competitive experience, matching you up against other players doing the same respective mission.
  • Whoever clears the wave first starts the next wave for everybody.
    
  • Whoever hits the "Ready" button first will end the wave break for everybody.
    
  • This pulls the game closer towards a true Multiplayer Tower Defense experience, and we think the game will greatly benefit from increased competition in all aspects of the game.
    
• Chapter 4 has been removed from the game and will return after a brief hiatus from its time-traveling journeys. Wish it luck.
  

[h2]Improvements[/h2]

• Constantly selling all of your towers prior to every Interest tick is now mandatory. Failure to do so will give you a VAC ban.
  
• When hosting a Multiplayer lobby, the default map is now set to Random Game. Upon playing, you'll be thrown into a random game other than Element TD 2.
  
• Several players have complained that the game's UI is too small and often unreadable, so we increased the size of it by 300%.
  
• The Advanced Paths modifier improves the pathfinding of the creeps. They'll now use Advanced Tactics and strike from multiple directions at once, even where there's no path. Where they're going, they don't need roads.
  
• Added a True Sound Mode to the game, which unlocks the full potential of the game's sound. Instead of hearing drums, you'll hear towers in their native habitats. That's a bad omen.
  
• The Fog of War on the edge of maps can now be revealed by sending your builder into the uncharted territories. Who knows what discoveries they'll find?
  
• No Sell Mode is now on by default, and it prevents you from selling and refunding this game. Attempting to turn it off will sell you.
  
• We've noticed the GPU usage of the game is startling high, but it provides little to no rewards. We've optimized it so that it will now mine bitcoin in the background. Now there's no reason to complain to about your GPU setting itself on fire, as long as you're able to make money while playing.
  

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed a bug that allowed you to successfully connect to a Ranked Match.
  
• Fixed a minor bug that allowed WindStrike to balance the game.
  
• Fixed an issue that allowed players to select Normal Difficulty.
  
• Fixed a bug that allowed Ronalds to die.
  

[h2]General Balance[/h2]

• Difficulties have been revamped:
  • Normal has been changed to Easy Mode, which is required for anyone from Element TD Mobile edition.
    
  • Hard has been removed from the game.
    
  • Very Hard is not a real word.
    
  • Insane has been replaced with Bullet Hell Lunatic Mode, which requires your Builder to dodge and defeat creeps swarming from all directions simultaneously. Any time you get hit, one of your towers is randomly removed from the game's code.
    
• Creep abilities were often deemed underpowered and uninteresting and hardly affected the game at all. To that end, we hope these changes will increase their challenge level slightly:
  • When an Undead Creep revives, it now reduces your lives by 1.
    
  • Healing Creeps now heal themselves upon death, reviving them to 30% HP. This can trigger multiple times.
    
  • Fast Creeps have been removed from the game, due to speeding ticket costs.
    
  • Slow Creeps have been removed from the game for not making it on time.
    
  • Shield Creeps are now naturally invulnerable and only become vulnerable when you insult them. You monster.
    
  • Temporal Creeps will now time travel to the past to prevent them from getting harmed in the first place, creating a temporal paradox where you never built that tower, because that creep was never there, and neither were you.
    
  • Bulky Creeps now have collision detection and will physically shove all other creeps out of the way and tip over towers.
    
  • Cursed Creeps permanently reduce the attack speed of your towers by 10% per stack.
    
  • Transference Creeps can now transfer their buff to towers. If any tower becomes large enough to engulf its neighbors, it'll explode, causing you to lose the game instantly.
    
• Extra Short Mode was rushed in development. We apologize for taking so much time on it. It has been changed to Strolling Mode. All creeps will now take their time to appreciate the view and occasionally stop to check out your towers.
  
• Random Mode causes towers to appear, fire, disappear, move, and update the game at random times.
  
• Chaos Mode randomly causes the timescale to change to a random value between x0.01 and x100 every 5 seconds, giving you a real sense of control.
  
• Extreme Mode now summons Ronalds starting from Wave 1.
  

[h2]Tower Balance[/h2]

• New Tower Added: An actual tree
  • It has no stats. It has no grace. It's just a tree. Get used to it.
    This tree is so stealthy, it can hide among the game's props. Can the real An Actual Tree please stand up?
• Single Element Towers:
  • Fixed a bug that allowed Single Elements to get married.
    
  • Light is now weightless and will float into the sky like a balloon.
    
  • Darkness now fires ninjas from within the shadows of its projectiles. If you can see them, it's because there's a knife in your back. If you can't see them, that's unfortunate. You might want to inspect the knife in your back.
    
  • Water now quenches the thirst of creeps, causing them to stop for a moment and get a drink of water.
    
  • Fire now sets itself on fire as it gradually burns to its own death.
    
  • Nature damage increased from 80 / 480 / 2880 / 28800 to infinity. None dares to oppose Mother Nature and the natural disasters she brings forth.
    
  • Earth has been removed from the game after getting tossed around by Mother Nature Tower.
    
• Dual Element Towers:
  • Fixed an exploit that allowed Dual Elements to get divorced.
    
  • Atom: All towers have been replaced by Atom Tower, and the game has been renamed to Atom TD 2.
    
  • Lightning is lonely without its companion, Rain Tower, and has thus elected to leave the game.
    
  • Trickery can now clone builders. However, they are controlled by a growing AI that will soon consume the game.
    
  • Poison has poisoned itself and is now laying dead on the floor.
    
  • Disease is right next to the dead Poison Tower. What did you expect?
    
  • Solar renamed to Burning Plant, which no longer exists because now it's just a pile of ash.
    
  • Infernal's appendages have been replaced by spider legs. Good luck getting that image out of your head.
    
  • Blacksmith buffs can now stack infinitely.
    
  • Vapor can now be inhaled. Now comes in grape flavor!
    
  • Ice: Every time it fires, it plays a random variation of Let it Go from the wide assortment of the internet itself. In its full length. Every time, and even when the tower is gone. If you don't like it, that's too bad, you'll just have to let it go.
    
  • Well well well...
    
  • Mushroom can be paired with dead creeps to create some tasty dishes. Eating them may or may not create a sense of high though...
    
  • Bloom now increases the game's bloom intensity with every shot. Here comes the sun!
    
  • Life: Due to lack of use, Life Tower has been removed from the game.
    
  • Howitzer range increased from 1500 to 15000000 and can now be used to launch artillery strikes into other games.
    
  • Geyser corpses that have been yeeted into the air will now fall back down. Falling corpses will inflict fall damage to other creeps proportionate to the height and speed at which they fall.
    
• Triple Element Towers:
  • Polygamy between elements is now legal.
    
  • Due to imbalance, Polygamy is no longer possible, but still legal.
    
  • Astral now summons meteors on the Earth. No, not the one in-game, the one directly outside your window-
    
  • Laser now focuses all incoming projectiles into its crystals and refracts them in all directions with the power of physics. Are we sure we just used the word "refract" correctly? Probably not, but at least everything is dead now.
    
  • Nova range reduced from 900 to -900. It now sucks in all creeps and towers in range, transforming it into a Black Hole Tower and sucking up everything until the game itself has been pulled into its wake. There goes your Steam Library as well...
    
  • Ethereal is no longer visible.
    
  • Runic isn't a real tower, stop asking about it.
    
  • Jinx: Creeps killed by this tower come back to life as Cursed Creeps.
    
  • Flooding now continuously floods the map, until it not only hits every creep on the map, but floods and drowns out your own towers.
    
  • Wisp has smoked itself and no longer exists.
    
  • Windstorm has been renamed to WindStrike Tower. Every time you do or say anything, it's delayed by WindStrike Time, which is comparable to Valve Time, but 100% more random.
    
  • Polar renamed to Bipolar Tower and randomly switches between attacking creeps and attacking your towers.
    
  • Haste attack speed cap removed. Even when your computer inevitably suffers from its firepower, it'll continue to attack faster and faster and faster...
    
  • Flamethrower has been banned for excessively flaming. It's against the rules, don't do it.
    
  • Corrosion's attacks will now eat through the terrain, creating holes that creeps can fall through and descend until they reach the molten center of the Earth.
    
  • Impulse now attacks impulsively and preemptively, in an attempt to preempt the preemptiveness. This should help fix its late-game issues of being late for the game.
    
  • Golem can now animate itself, allowing it to freely move around the map. That makes more sense, doesn't it?
    
  • Root exists to counterbalance Golem, restricting its freedom. There may be a revolution soon...
    
  • Incantation is unbalanced and can kindly burn in a fire.
    
  • Quake can only be built by Karawasa. Despite this, he will still find a way to lose the game.
    
  • Money: In an attempt to make it more relevant, it will now increase your Interest Rate by 0.01% per kill it makes. If this is still considered underpowered, we'll give it the ability to mine bitcoin.
    
  • Muck is now out of commission due to allergy season.
    
• Periodic will now only periodically attack.
  
• Due to lack of use, the Builder has been removed from the game.
  

In all seriousness, we're working on the finishing touches of Version 1.00, and the game is set to transition from Early Access to Official Release tomorrow, as the price raises from $9.99 to $14.99. Don't worry, we didn't spend too much time on this patch preview, as we're more focused on getting the game up and ready for release. Look forward to it!