Element TD 2 News

First off, we apologize for the troubles some of you have been having playing Ranked Mode. Rest assured this was a top priority and it's finally confirmed fix for this upcoming patch!

Many of you have been asking for Leaderboard support for Teams & Co-op, and we thought that would require our own leaderboards and thus thought that would be further off. Well, we figured out a way to bypass the limitations of Steam Leaderboards, annnd behold:

They're finally arriving! Wait a minute, how did you generate all those entries?


We'll keep this brief, but a nutshell of what's arriving in Version 0.66:

• Team & Co-op Leaderboards, finally!
  
• Ranked Mode finally being fixed
• Toggle Focus Target On/Off
  
• Some love for War Mode
• Out-of-date/boring Campaign Specializations being updated
  
• Minor optimization tweaks
  
• The usual bout of bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements
  

We're aiming to release Version 0.66 this weekend. Also, we're going to be running some server maintenance. This'll be happening Friday, February 26th @ 6:00am GMT. Servers will be down for roughly 30 minutes. Afterwards, you'll be able to resume your usual multiplayer shenanigans.


In regards to Version 0.65's Balance Update, the reception to it seems to be overall very positive. It's not perfect yet (Money is still a bit problematic, and so is Atom), but it's not too difficult to fix at this point. Expect to see another balance patch when the game officially releases next month. In the meantime, look forward to Version 0.66 this weekend!

[h2]Fixes[/h2]

• Attempted another fix for a bug where you could get disconnected from a Ranked Game the moment you joined.
  
• Optimization to reduce GPU usage.
  

These notes are a culmination of the tiny updates you may have been seeing over the last few days.

[h2]Fixes[/h2]

• Attempted fix for a bug where you could get disconnect from a Ranked Game the moment you joined.
  
• Fixed Periodic not costing the intended 14000 gold.
  
• Fixed a bug where, if you had a lobby already selected, double-clicking it from there would not result in automatically joining it.
  
• Minor optimization tweaks.
  
• Various localization tweaks.
  
• All Random is back to 3 second wave timer.
  • Instant wave timer still applies for Same Random, as that's the competitive random. We're considering exposing the wave timer as a modifier in a future version.
    

Welcome to Version 0.65! We're about 5 weeks from Official Release, so you know what we could use? A balance patch that fundamentally changes the game by fixing certain abused mechanics! Which, frankly we should have done some of these things much sooner, so for those of you that have to relearn some of the game for this patch, we do apologize.

But, after much testing, we can confirm it's a much more fair and balanced environment, especially in Multiplayer. Now, without further adieu, here's the patch notes!


Yep. This looks balanced.

[h2]Damage Overview[/h2]

• You've asked for it repeatedly, and we're finally delivering. On the right side, there's now a Damage Overview, telling you how much damage each tower type does.
  
  • All towers of the same type (including all levels) are bundled together for an entry.
    
  • Tower counts are also listed in here, so you know how many of each type you have.
    
  • Only the top 10 entries are kept; after that, it prunes everything else off.
    
  • You can switch between "Total", "Current", and "Previous".
    
• In the future, we'll add the ability to select all towers of a type via the Damage Overview, among other tweaks. If you have any suggestions for it, let us know!
  

[h2]Improvements[/h2]

• Korean localization added.
  
• Damage pop-ups are now color-coded by element type.
  
• While a tower is selected, pressing T will now open the targeting menu, and you can press 1-6 to select a targeting priority from there.
  
• In the Customize Towers screen, there's now an option to equip a single hat to all towers.
  
• Added a x0.5 speed multiplier option (offline singleplayer only).
  
• Added support for 2560 x 1600 resolution.
  
• Pressing "Esc" while on the main menu should now be the equivalent of hitting "Back".
  
• The Leaderboard now shows each player's avatar next to their names.
  
• Added a sound for when players join/leave the lobby.
  
• Temple is now 1-Path by default, rounding out Ranked Mode to be four 1-Path maps and four 2-Path maps.
  
• Desert Variant paths actually make sense now.
  
• Long Paths on Volcano Co-op now move at double speed (instead of triple) and only go to the halfway point instead of trying to cross the whole god darn map.
  

No more weird crisscrossing on Advanced Paths in this map.

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed a bug where searching for a Ranked Game could drop you into an empty game.
  
• Fixed a bug where you could disconnect as soon as you join a game.
  
• Fixed a bug where you could join an in-progress game.
  
• Fixed a bug where a dead lobby could happen and then wouldn't go away for a while.
  
• Fixed a bug where someone could unready at the same time as the last person readying up, causing the lobby to break. To do this, there's now a 1.5 second buffer time before the countdown starts.
  
• Fixed a bug where Level 1 Slows could extend the durations of Level 2 Slows.
  
• Fixed Teams not ordering up properly at the end score screen.
  
• Fixed Game Time continuing after the end score screen appears.
  
• Fixed Elementals stacking up the 4th path in 4-Path Co-op if you had more than 4 Players.
  
• Fixed a bug where entering lines back-to-back as fast as you could in the lobby chat would murder the chatbox.
  
• Fixed a bug where, if you have a lobby or leaderboard entry already selected, and you attempted to double-click it, it would not automatically join/open it.
  
• Potentially fixed a crash error that could occur on certain systems.
  • If you're still having crash errors, let us know!
    

[h2]General Balance[/h2]

• Income Upgrade no longer gives you a flat gold increase at the end of each wave. Instead, it now spawns 20% / 40% more creeps per wave.
  • If you're in Co-op, each upgrade will spawn 10% more creeps instead. Meaning yes, if you have 8 Players and everyone gets Double Income Upgrades, you'll have 160% more creeps. Enjoy.
    
• Diminishing Returns increased from 5% to 6% per stack
  • This is to help counterbalance the big buff that Level 1 Debuffs are receiving this patch.
    
• Boss Waves will now work the same as all other waves in Multiplayer - whoever clears it first starts the next wave for everyone.
  
• Wave Timers are now 3 seconds across the board, regardless of the difficulty. This means towers like Haste and Earth can't both push the wave and stay at max power.
  • Playing on Same Random will reduce Wave Timers by 3 seconds, meaning they're instant. All Random is unaffected.
    
• Total Bounty up through Wave 55 has been increased by roughly 10%.
  
• HP Scaling has been adjusted to be about 10% higher by Wave 55.
  
• Build Times increased by 0.25 seconds for all towers and upgrades. This is mainly noticeable for Buy/Sell in Random.
  
• The cost of Level 4 Singles/Periodic are reduced from 15000 to 14000 gold.
  
• Wave Order has been adjusted for Waves 1 through 9.
  

Check it out, rainbow damage numbers! Not that you can read them any better, but at least it looks cooler.

[h2]Tower Balance[/h2]

• Arrow & Cannon now sell for 80% of their gold value, just like all other towers. This means you can no longer Buy/Sell Abuse these towers in Pick.
  • Random is unchanged.
    
• Arrow damage increased from 45 to 70
  
• Cannon damage increased from 55 to 80
  
• Light damage reduced from 120 / 720 / 4320 / 43200 to 100 / 600 / 3600 / 36000
  • Consecutive damage bonus increased from 3 / 18 / 108 / 1080 to 5 / 30 / 180 / 1800
    
• Water damage increased from 75 / 450 / 2700 / 27000 to 80 / 480 / 2880 / 28800
  
• Fire damage increased from 30 / 180 / 1080 / 10800 to 32 / 192 / 1152 / 11520
  
• Lightning attack speed increased from 1 to 1.5
  • Damage reduced from 200 / 800 / 3200 to 140 / 560 / 2240
    
  • Bounce range increased from 1000 to 1200
    
• Poison attacks now extend the duration of all existing stacks by 0.1 / 0.2 / 0.4 seconds
  
• Ice attack speed reduced from 1.5 to 1
  • Damage increased from 525 / 2100 / 8400 to 800 / 3200 / 12800
    
• Mushroom damage increased from 115 / 460 / 1840 to 120 / 480 / 1920
  
• Life renamed to Bloom and reworked:
  • Attack speed increased from 0.66 to 1.5
    
  • Damage reduced from 1250 / 5000 / 20000 to 500 / 2000 / 8000
    
  • New Effect: When it's not attacking, its damage grows by 20% per second, up to max of 250%. While attacking, its damage drops by 40% per second.
    
• Geyser attack speed reduced from 1.5 to 1
  • Damage increased from 600 / 2400 / 9600 to 900 / 3600 / 14400
    
• Astral damage increased from 1600 / 6400 to 1700 / 6800
  
• Laser damage increased from 4500 / 18000 to 4800 / 19200
  • Damage decrease per nearby target increased from 500 / 2000 to 600 / 2400
    
  • Max damage drop increased from 2000 / 8000 to 2400 / 9600
    
• Flooding damage increased from 350 / 1400 to 375 / 1500
  
• Wisp attack speed reduced from 1.5 to 1
  • Damage increased from 600 / 2400 to 750 / 3000
    
  • Effect Rescaled: Each attack decreases its AoE by 10 but increases its damage by 5%. Caps out after 30 attacks at 200 AoE and 400% damage. Resets after 4 seconds of not attacking.
    
• Flamethrower damage increased from 300 / 1200 to 320 / 1280
  • Napalm damage increased from 150 / 600 to 160 / 640
    
• Haste max attack speed reduced from 6 to 5
  • Attack speed gain per attack reduced from 7% to 5%
    
  • Instead of instantly resetting after 5 seconds, it now gradually decreases over 5 seconds.
    
• Quake damage increased from 1400 / 5600 to 1500 / 6000
  • Shockwave damage increased from 2800 / 11200 to 3000 / 12000
    
• Money has been reworked:
  • Attack speed increased from 0.66 to 1
    
  • Damage reduced from 5500 / 22000 to 3200 / 12800
    
  • New Effect: Gains damage equal to 15% / 30% of your Unspent Gold
    
• Nova damage increased from 660 / 2640 to 700 / 2800
  • Slow increased from 10% / 30% to 16% / 32%
    
• Windstorm damage-per-second increased from 500 / 2000 to 550 / 2200
  • Slow increased from 10% / 30% to 16% / 32%
    
• Muck damage increased from 800 / 3200 to 950 / 3800
  • Slow increased from 10% / 30% to 16% / 32%
    
• Root damage-per-second increased from 140 / 560 to 150 / 600
  • Slow increased from 10% / 30% to 16% / 32%
    
• Corrosion damage amp rescaled from 15% / 45% to 20% / 40%
  
• Jinx damage reduced from 1200 / 4800 to 1100 / 4400
  • Bonus damage per tick rescaled from 6% / 18% to 8% / 16%
    
• Polar damage increased from 1300 / 5200 to 1400 / 5600
  • HP Burn increased from 8% / 24% to 12% / 24%
    
• Incantation damage reduced from 500 / 2000 to 450 / 1800
  • Base damage amp reduced from 10% / 30% to 10% / 20%
    
  • Solo damage amp rescaled from 30% / 90% to 40% / 80%
    
• Periodic damage increased from 40000 to 45000
  

Life and Money have finally graduated from their WC3 versions. Rest in peace, you broken effects.


Several pages of balance notes later, annnd that's it! By far the largest balance update done to date, and in theory, this shouldn't be one-upped anytime soon. As per usual, leaderboards have been wiped, so have fun scaling the boards once more! In general, this patch should make the game easier for new players, and make it a more even playing ground for everyone in general.

Anywho, we hope you enjoy the Damage Overview and updated balance! Up next, look forward to another highly requested feature, which will be making its way into 0.66 at the end of the month!

Over the course of Element TD's 16 year existence, there's a handful of concepts we've tried to hold on to. Things that were iconic in the original and would still be recognizable, even now. However, some things are just inherently unbalanced by design, and until we let them go, this game will never be balanced, resulting in a lopsided multiplayer experience. Specifically:

• Life Tower
• Money Tower
• The darn Income Upgrade (formerly the Interest Upgrade)
  
• And in Pick, the ability to cheese the early game with Arrows & Cannons, resulting in dumb rush builds that can't be countered
  

In the upcoming Version 0.65 Balance Patch, we'll finally be addressing those points and more. Read on for the full preview!


[h3]No More Fixing Mistakes[/h3]
Life Tower has been in a spot for a while where it's broken for a specific build, and horrible for everything else. Frankly, this is just bad balance. Also, the way it can be used to "fix your mistakes" makes it frustrating to play against. Using them on Co-op made it kind of easy as well.

Life will be receiving a new effect:

• Life renamed to Bloom
• Attack speed increased from 0.66 to 1.5
  
• Damage reduced from 1250 / 5000 / 20000 to 500 / 2000 / 8000
  
• New Effect: When it's not attacking, its damage grows by 20% per second, up to max of 250%. While attacking, its damage drops by 30% per second.
  

[h3]No More Easy Gold Advantage[/h3]
Meanwhile, Money Tower fits into almost any build, and nets you so much extra gold you can spam it like crazy, and you'll still have more gold than everyone else. Technically, this one could be nerfed, but if we did, it'd end up in the same spot as Life where it works fine for one build and garbage for everything else.

Money will also be receiving a new effect:

• Money renamed to Greed
• Attack speed increased from 0.66 to 1
  
• Damage reduced from 5500 / 22000 to 3200 / 12800
  
• New Effect: Gains damage equal to 15% / 30% of your Unspent Gold
  

[h3]Income Now Comes with a Cost[/h3]
And on the topic of more free money, the Income Upgrade is getting replaced. Currently, you can just get this upgrade and get a major gold advantage over everyone else for no downside. Again, we could just nerf the value, but... same issue as the above two cases.

So instead, we're replacing it with Extra Creeps, which will spawn 6 / 12 more creeps per wave. If you manage to kill them decently, you do get considerably more gold than before, but it carries a big risk, especially in Multiplayer. Even in Singleplayer, it'll take longer to clear those creeps, slowing you down and reducing your Speed Score Multiplier.


[h3]RIP Buy/Sell Abuse with Arrows & Cannons[/h3]
We've long contemplated this one, but we're finally doing it. Arrow & Cannon Towers will no longer sell for almost their full value and will be 80% sell, just like everything else. In exchange, their damage has been dramatically improved.

For anyone that relied on buy/selling these towers in the first quarter of the game to cheese your way into certain rush builds, that will no longer work. We're aware that this will change the early game considerably for some folks. Frankly, we should've made this change much sooner in development.

Just to be clear though, they still sell for 100% in Random, just like all other towers.


[h3]More Changes[/h3]

• Boss Waves will now work the same as all other waves in Multiplayer - whoever clears it first starts the next wave for everyone.
  
• Wave Timers are now 3 seconds across the board, regardless of the difficulty. This means towers like Haste and Earth can't both push the wave and stay at max power.
  • Playing on Random will reduce Wave Timers by 3 seconds, meaning they're instant.
    
• Total Bounty up through Wave 55 has been increased by roughly 10%.
  
• HP Scaling has been adjusted to be about 5% higher by Wave 55.
  
• Build Times increased by 0.25 seconds for all towers and upgrades. This is mainly noticeable for Buy/Sell in Random.
  
• The effects of Level 1 Support Debuffs are roughly 50% stronger (ie 10% --> 15%).
  
• The cost of Level 4 Singles/Periodic are reduced from 15000 to 14000 gold.
  
• Wave Order has been adjusted for Waves 1 through 9.
  
• Various buffs, most notably Periodic Tower
• Various nerfs, most notably Haste Tower

[h3]A Fancy New Feature[/h3]
We've had a bunch of people request this feature, and it's finally happening. We're actually adding an in-game Damage Tracker. As your towers deal damage, you'll see a little chart on the right tallying everything up, displaying the damage from your top ten tower types. You'll be able to switch between Total Damage and Per Wave.

Over time, we'll have other ways to improve this feature. And as usual, expect a number of quality-of-life improvements and bug fixes.


In conclusion, if you relied heavily on specific unbalanced towers or Buy/Sell Abuse (in Pick), you'll have to relearn the game to some extent. To that end, I'd like to apologize that we didn't make some of these changes sooner. However, if you didn't rely on any of those, the game should be easier overall.


Version 0.65 will be releasing sometime next week! If you'd like to try out these changes early, hop onto our Discord and check the pinned post in the #testers channel. The values listed above miiight shift a little bit, but otherwise, it's pretty close to where they'll end up. So far, the testing experience for this patch has been largely positive, despite all the big changes, so look forward to it!