Element TD 2 News

It's been a little while in here, but we're back, and we've brought Version 1.9 with us! Contained within are a couple new Mazing Co-op Maps, fixes, and the last balance update for a while. Read on for more info!

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[h2]2 New Mazing Co-op Maps[/h2]
For those of you that have the Mazing DLC, we've added a pair of new Co-op Maps!

[h3]Gemini[/h3]


A map composed of 4 large islands, each containing two spawns. For those of you that love the abusable nature of checkpoints in the Space map, in Gemini, creeps head for a checkpoint before proceeding to the end. Enjoy breaking this map!


[h3]Mega Spiral[/h3]


A massive spiral connects each area. Each player's spawn goes through their area + the next player's area before they reach the end. Except the last player, theirs teleports to the middle area. While not quite as abusable as Gemini, it has a lot of flexibility for building your maze how you please.

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[h2]Fixes & Improvements[/h2]

• Unity Version upgraded from 2020.3.21 to 2020.3.42.
  
• You now start the Campaign with 1 extra point.
  
• Fixed "pink portals" on Mission 25 of the Campaign.
  
• Fixed Jinx effect not applying to creeps that have been split by Shredder Tower.
  
• Fixed Polar effect not working on creeps once they reach a high enough HP.
  

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[h2]Balance[/h2]

General

• Tower Build Times have been increased by 0.5 seconds per tier.
  • This should make building/upgrading towers a bit riskier and easier to push. And in Random, this will also make Buy/Sell spam much easier to punish.
    
• Interest Upgrade increased from 0.6% to 0.65%.
  
• You are now granted two freebie Essences: one after clearing Wave 50, and another after clearing Wave 55.
  
• Essence Upgrade can now only be picked once, and grants 2 Essences.
  

Tower Balance

• Light Level 4 damage increment for consecutive hits increased from 1296 to 1404.
  
• Darkness on-kill HP removal increased from 9% to 12%
  
• Water Level 4 damage reduced from 38880 to 35640
  
• Fire Level 4 damage increased from 12960 to 14040
  • Damage gain per second increased from 432 to 468
    
• Nature Level 4 damage reduced from 41040 to 37620
  
• Earth Level 4 shockwave damage increased from 15120 to 17640
  

• Lightning Level 3 bounces reduced from 6 to 5
  
• Bloom attack speed recharge rate reduced from 1 to 0.9 per second
  
• Mushroom damage reduced from 490 to 450
  
• Poison damage-over-time reduced from 65 to 60
  
• Solar debuff duration from 5 to 6
  

• Flooding damage increased from 470 to 500
  
• Root damage per second reduced from 100 to 90
  
• Muck damage reduced from 1000 to 900
  

• Obelisk AoE increment gain reduced from 50 to 25
  
• Archdruid attack speed increased from 0.33 to 0.4
  

As usual, Score Leaderboards have been reset. We'll be doing a follow-up patch next weekend to properly reset Ranked Leaderboards. This may be the last time that Leaderboards are reset for a long, long time.

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A few weeks ago, we announced Axon TD: Uprising, and at this point, just about all of our efforts have shifted over there. As thus, this is our last big update for Element TD 2. There will be future hotfixes for bugs, quality of life changes, and additional localization.

We do still have a Mazing Tournament coming up though. This will require you to have the Mazing DLC, so if you don't have that and you're interested in joining, hop onto the bandwagon! For now, just know that once again, it'll be free to enter, and we'll be announcing sign-ups sometime in May. We'll fill you in with all the information then.

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the new maps and balance, and to all of you who are still around, thanks for sticking with us and playing Element TD 2 for so long!

Finally, Karawasa will be doing an AMA on Reddit next Saturday starting at 12 PM CST. It will be in the gamedev subreddit. Questions about any of the mod versions are welcome too as he has been there for all of them.

"It was supposed to be a simple mission. Get in, defend the colony, and get paid. Instead, I found myself trapped on the planet, caught in a war between mankind and a robot uprising. In the end, I'm not sure who I should be fighting for..."



[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
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[h3]What is Axon TD?[/h3]
Axon TD is a mazing-centric tower defense where you manipulate the map layout to your advantage. Build towers, make the longest maze, and survive against an onslaught of enemies!

In the Campaign, you'll play as a defense contractor on a routine mission. But when you arrive, your ship is shot down, and you're attacked by a robotic force called the Axons. Your only way off the planet now is to fight. Build towers, secure each location, and push back against the Axons! And perhaps, find out the truth behind the war...

Be free of your restrictions and maze how you please!


[h3]Ways to Play[/h3]
Outside of the Campaign, there's three major modes:

• Quick Play: Pick a level, choose your Tower Loadout, and try to beat it!
  
• Survival Mode: A longform mode that has you start with minimal towers and space, but throughout the course of the game, you'll receive randomized expansions that you can place where you please, and slowly grow your loadout. Just beating all the waves is a challenge in of itself.
  
• Online Co-op: These are larger levels designed for 2, 3, or 4 players. Each of you chooses your Tower Loadout before the game begins, and then you're free to build where you please. Coordinate with your team, transfer resources, and try to clear each level!
  

All three of these modes support Global Leaderboards.


[h3]When will it release?[/h3]
Axon TD will release in Early Access in Q3. By then, it will contain the following:

• 32 Towers, Traps, and Mines
  
• 8 Castable Abilities
  
• Chapters 1 & 2 of the Campaign
  
• Numerous Quick Play Levels
  
• Survival Mode
  
• Co-op with up to 4 Players
  
• Leaderboards for Quick Play, Survival, and Co-op
  
• And an actual Tutorial
  

[h3]How does this game differ from Element TD 2?[/h3]
The speed, scale, and style of the game is very different, even from Element TD 2's Mazing Mode. You choose your Towers at the start of the game. You've got unlimited time between each waves. You have a limit to how much you can sell, making each placement really matter. And you can directly manipulate the map to add pathways that didn't exist before.

On some levels, you can even change where the "end" is.


[h3]Will there be Workshop Support?[/h3]
Hypothetically, this would include the ability to create custom maps for Quick Play and Co-op. We don't know when it'll happen, but we're making Workshop Support a top priority for this game.

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[h2]Wishlist Axon TD[/h2]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2296550/Axon_TD_Uprising__Tower_Defense/
Arriving in Q3 2023.

[h2]Join our Discord Server[/h2]
We'll be providing smaller weekly updates on here. Hop on in!

Greetings! It's been a little while since we last posted. 2 months ago, we released the Mazing DLC, and it's gotten overall positive reception. Player counts for the game have been up since then, and we've seen a good influx of new and returning players.

As for us, we've been working quietly in the background, both on Element TD 2... and maybe a new project. Below is a list of upcoming things we're working on:

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[h2]Version 1.9[/h2]
Coming on Friday, March 31st, we'll be releasing Version 1.9. This will be the last major patch for the game (for the foreseeable future). Contained within it will be 2 More Mazing Co-op Maps, one last round of Cosmetics, balance updates, resets for Ranked & Score Leaderboards, and various fixes.

Speaking of those Co-op Mazing Maps, we're looking for designs to implement. If you've got a cool idea you want to see added to the game, hop onto our Discord and post it in #map-ideas! Some things to consider:

• People really like the Space map, especially due to how open it is plus how abusable the Checkpoints are. We want to make use of Checkpoints for at least one of these two maps.
  
• Path lengths can only go so long before it imposes a framerate drop. So for example, if all the paths are capable of circling the map twice over, that's unfortunately a no-go.
  

We'll be locking in which designs we implement within the next 2 weeks.

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[h2]Another Tournament![/h2]
Sometime during Q2 2023, we'll be doing another Tournament. This time, the settings will be:

• Map: Random, Non-Variant
  
• Difficulty: Very Hard
  
• Element Selection: Pick
• Length: Full
  
• Paths: Standard
  
• Wave Order: Normal

As for whether it's Mazing or not, we'd actually like your input on that. On one hand, the game is not balanced around Mazing. On the other hand, it's fresh and seems to be the preferable game mode. Be aware that Casual will not be on, meaning you can't immediately go for the longest maze and stall a ton of interest.

That said, comment below which you'd prefer! We'll also be running a poll on our Discord.

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[h2]Next Project Announcement![/h2]
By the end of Q1 2023, we'll be formally announcing out next game project! We've been silently working on it on the background for some time now. For the time being, know that it's a Tower Defense, and it's not related to Element TD 2. When we announce it, expect a short trailer, some info, and a release window!

Fret not, although our resources are shifting to the next project, Element TD 2 is not forgotten! We've got a few more things to look forward to over here.

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Just to clarify, we'll continue updating Element TD 2 throughout the year, it's just that after 1.9, the fixes will be focused on bug fixes and quality of life. Otherwise, that's what we've been working on lately! Apologies if we've been quiet on that front, but with work split between two game projects, we've been quite busy. Look forward to our upcoming stuff this year!

[h3]Fixes and Improvements[/h3]

• Towers now instantly build in Campaign wave breaks.
  
• Health bars have been optimized for performance.
  
• Fixed Casual mode toggle not being remembered when creating multiple lobbies in a session.
  
• Fixed the Casual mode Scoreboard Creep column not accounting for game length.
  
• Fixed an issue where going into a ranked game and then playing single player would result in you being unable to quit out.
  
• Fixed an issue where playing Mega Survival Online resulted in a single lane instead of two.
  
• Fixed an issue where Co-op replays were displaying the wrong starting gold.
  

[h3]Fixes and Improvements[/h3]

• Fixed Mazing Campaign not saving progress across different devices via Steam cloud.
  
• Fixed Mission 14 of the Mazing Campaign not ending when all the bosses were killed before creeps were done spawning.
  
• Fixed "Avalanche Avenger" achievement being impossible to unlock.
  
• Fixed Balanced Paths in Co-op not being reflected correctly in replays.
  
• Fixed "No Blocker Limit" option not listing that it made the session ineligible for achievements.
  
• Updated Russian Localization
  

[h3]News[/h3]

• We will be holding another tournament before the summer!
  
• We plan to add two more Mazing co-op maps. We're looking for map layout ideas so please visit #map-ideas on our Discord if you have one.