Bonfire News

Here we go! 0.9.4 is the biggest update so far, bringing a complete overhaul and expansion of the character progression system and a new core end game activity to test your newly empowered heroes. As well as countless other improvements and fixes, of course.

[h2]NEW MECHANIC: SKILL TREES[/h2]

Skill trees introduce a brand new character progression system that replaces attribute training. Each character has access to a unique set of powerful passives that can heavily alter or improve their playstyle, allowing for different builds and setups. You can learn more about the system as well as check a few skill examples in our last sneak peek post. Or just play the game.

Dev Note: With the introduction of this third pillar of character development (runes and inspirations being the other two), we consider this part of the game mechanically complete. We may still decide to expand it with more content, though.

Dev Note #2: Skill points are gained by gathering XP or by purchasing them from the Master. As they replace stat training, the first time you launch the game, your existing upgrades will get converted into skill points.

[h2]NEW END GAME ACTIVITY: GAUNTLET[/h2]

Gauntlet is an endgame activity that serves as a less time-consuming alternative to Endless runs. A condensed repeatable quest that gets harder each time you complete it, quickly ramping up from manageable to near-impossible.

While its levels are procedurally generated, they are also persistent between runs. This means that even seemingly impossible scenarios can eventually be overcome with tailor-made strategies, that can later be shared with other players.

Dev Note: Gauntlet provides the ultimate challenge for your party, with technically infinite difficulty (and rewards) cap.

Dev Note #2: For now the Gauntlet doesn't have any narrative context and just unlocks after a certain amount of missions. This is due for a change in an upcoming update.


[h2]FULL PATCH NOTES:[/h2]
[h3]NEW CONTENT:[/h3]

• Introduction of skill trees and a new XP system.
  
• 36 unique skills have been added to the game.
  
• Missions and errands now grant skill XP.
  
• New endgame activity: The Gauntlet.
  
• Two new early game story missions to get first runes for Hildie and Ephrem.
  
• Two new activities centred around gathering XP.
  
• A repeatable story mission to hunt the Bloody Countess.
  
• Two new boss-centric end game challenge missions.
  
• New enemy: Grim Slayer.
  
• New enemy: Undead Shepherd.
  
• New enemy: Oakheart.
  
• New miniboss variant: Nexus Mage.
  
• New miniboss variant: Wilted Oakheart.
  
• Three new elite types with tactically unique modifiers.
  

Dev Note: The two new story missions have been introduced to account for the fact that new players no longer start with runes unlocked. If you already got them, these missions won't be available.

Dev Note #2: The Bloody Countess mission is intended to make unlocking Erzsie less RNG-based, with the player deciding when and how to do it.


[h3]BALANCE:[/h3]

• Nadia's inspiration now only grants 33% of its effect to AoE attacks (from 50%).
  
• Ephrem's Pure Force now only removes enemy buffs and debuffs.
  
• Erzsie had 5 of her Armor points moved to Attack.
  
• Cauterize buff power got reduced from 100% to 95%.
  
• Hildie's Bandage no longer targets summons.
  
• Characters now start the game without any runes unlocked.
  
• Elite versions of easy enemies now get additional +10 Health and +5 to all stats.
  
• Normal tier elites also get +5 to all stats.
  
• Raging Troll's stun effect has been increased from 100% to 200%.
  
• Crystal Golem's Nexus charges duration has been increased from 2 to 3.
  
• Bloatscorch's Self Destruct power has been reduced from 160% to 150%.
  
• Bloatscorch is also less likely to use Self Destruct in succession.
  
• Regenerating elite's duration has been increased from 5 to 6.
  
• Berserker elite's duration has been increased from 5 to 6.
  
• During the early game grace period, enemies' Attack is reduced by 5.
  
• Boss class enemies have their stats reduced by 5 until one is defeated.
  
• Max Health depletes more slowly in early game.
  

Dev Note: Erzsie's stat change may seem like a nerf, but it's intended to make her new damage-oriented build more viable.

Dev Note #2: Buffs to elites aim to make these encounters more threatening and memorable, especially for high level heroes.

Dev Note #3: Extra cushion in the early game is there to adjust for the initial lack of runes.


[h3]COSMETICS:[/h3]

• Most ability icons have FINALLY been replaced with final ones.
  
• Likewise, buff icons have been altered to match the new look.
  
• Complete character screen overhaul.
  
• Mission summary screen got overhauled to include XP gains.
  
• New training and rune upgrade GUI.
  
• New sound effects for character movement, jumps, etc.
  
• Healing sound effect's volume now depends on its power.
  
• Sound volumes have generally been adjusted in several places.
  
• Additional sounds for some of the attacks.
  
• Positional sound is now being used selectively for better ambience.
  
• New FX and sound for effect for Sanctuary.
  
• Nicer FX and sound effect for Purge.
  
• Better FX and sound for Assassinate.
  
• New FX for Booby Trap.
  
• Fixed animation timing on Resonance effect.
  
• Damage text floater are now more "juicy"!
  
• Attacks with increased damage now display extra FX and a "!" in their damage number.
  
• "Save!" floater has been added on death prevention for more clarity.
  
• Reinforcements counter's look has been adjusted for more clarity.
  
• Rune icons have been updated to higher resolution.
  
• Fixed particle positions on beam effects (level up, Prism attack, etc.).
  
• FX for purchasing items is now nicer because why not.
  
• Updated recoil animation on some of the larger monsters.
  
• Smoothened coin appearance effect.
  
• New, nicer backdrop for menus.
  
• Area counter now disappears during cutscenes.
  

Dev Note: As you can see, cosmetics have been a major "hidden" goal of this update, with big, small and completely tiny changes everywhere. We wanted the game to catch up to its final look and feel.

Dev Note #2: Soundscape in particular has been improved with the amount of sound effects nearly doubled. It's a subtle but noticeable difference.


[h3]GAMEPLAY & QOL:[/h3]

• Profile reset button has been added to the options menu.
  
• Item and gold counting during mission summary is now much faster.
  
• Ditto for errand summary.
  
• Story quests no longer disappear from the area when failed.
  
• Hero-specific items get removed from the inventory if that hero fell during Endless.
  
• Inspirations now get automatically unequipped if the particular hero has left.
  
• Endless quest info now displays your current record.
  
• Unified terminology for Skill XP and Motivation XP to avoid confusion.
  
• Monsters now belong to families: Mournfolk, Undead, and Creatures.
  

Dev Note: Monster families currently only come up in relation to some skills, but this is going to get expanded in future updates.


[h3]BUG FIXES & MISC STUFF:[/h3]

• Item use quest now updates correctly.
  
• Fixed a rare crash related to Potion use.
  
• Adjusted wrong offset for Bloatscorch's attack.
  
• Fixed some cases where quest messages and tutorials overlapped.
  
• Golem's attack no longer ignores Magnetic Field & Sanctuary.
  
• Fixed shadow positions on purchasable items.
  
• Pins on the map no longer overlap (except for Gauntlet/Endless... ugh).
  
• "More DOTs" quest now updates correctly.
  
• Fixed a rare issue where heroes sometimes wouldn't get replaced during Endless.
  
• Some missions now correctly require a particular set of heroes.
  
• Fixed a crash in the scene with Nadia inquiring about Hildie.
  
• Enemy Wights and Knights no longer use Protect on each other.
  
• Fixed an issue with runes sometimes saving in wrong slots.
  
• Ripostes no longer get bonuses from item effect boosts when reacting to item attacks.
  
• Fixed a Booby Trap-related crash (thanks to Jack Carr for the report).
  
• Added custom dialogue for Erzsie during the food scene.
  
• Fixed some incorrect positions for Runesmith's animations.
  
• HP bar size for elite enemies now updates correctly.
  
• And many more too specific or minor to list...
  

[h3]FUTURE PLANS:[/h3]
This update has been by far the most complex to develop, with its overhauls touching pretty much every core mechanic in some way. As such, we want the game to cool down a bit before introducing further major changes. The next patch is likely going to be smaller and focused on content.

Of course, for now we're going into rapid hotfixing mode on any bugs you may find, as well as balance (because let's be honest: we just turned the entire thing upside down).

We hope you like the changes! If you encounter any issues, would like to check our current development roadmap or make any suggestions, feel free to drop by our community forums. You can also follow me on Twitter or join MoaCube's Discord server for more frequent updates.

-Tom

Let's talk about the other major feature coming in the next update.



[h3]GAUNTLET[/h3]
Gauntlet is an endgame activity that serves as a less time-consuming alternative to Endless runs. A condensed repeatable quest that gets harder each time you complete it, quickly ramping up from manageable to near-impossible.

Here's the kicker, though. While Gauntlet levels are procedurally generated, they are also persistent and stay the same until completed. This means that even seemingly impossible scenarios can eventually be overcome with tailor-made strategies. Got swarmed at the stage with several summoners? Bring a more AoE-oriented loadout and party composition next time.

This encourages experimentation and successful tactics can also be shared with other players.


[h3]NEW DANGERS[/h3]
The introduction of Skill Trees significantly ups the relative power of heroes, so if any endgame activities are to work, new dangers are necessary to put that power to the test

As you can see from the thumbnail, several new enemy types are coming in this update, each bringing a unique tactical twist. This is partially just us moving towards our final content target, however. Balance-wise, we're focusing on Miniboss vaiants and Elites, with both adjustments and fresh additions.

We want these encounters to feel truly special and challenging even for late game parties.


[h3]RELEASE DATE[/h3]
Initially this update was meant to focus just on the Gauntlet and new enemy content, but ultimately we decided that based on your feedback Bonfire really needs finalised character progression. So essentially we're merging two updates into one (for a while we considered three, but let's not go there...), especially as their systems are closely intertwined balance-wise and require a lot of playtesting together.

Our current release goal is either the end of August or mid September.


As always, if you have any questions, feedback or just want to chat, drop by our Discord server.

-Tom

As the next content update is getting closer to its release, we want to start giving you sneak peeks of some of the new major features we're working on.

For starters, we've finished the character customisation system! While Bonfire offered a lot of freedom in terms of different party and ability setups, there was little in the way of actual builds. This will change with the introduction of unique skill trees for each hero.

Skills replace the current stat training system and can be acquired through adventuring as well as purchased from the good old (if a bit skinny) Master.


Some let you build your hero towards a certain specialisation:

FOLLOW UP Character: Nadia
The Assassin deals increased damage against poisoned targets.


Some grant completely new abilities:

NECROMANCY Character: Erzsie
Killing an enemy using Countess' Enthral spawns a zombie minion.


And some add new ways to utilise your existing toolset:

DISENCHANT Character: Zivko
Blastmancer's uncharged attacks shorten enemy buffs.


These new abilities effectively increase the power of your party by quite a bit, so you can also expect introduction of some new high-end challenges. But more on that soon!

-Tom

Version 0.9.36 of Bonfire is out. We normally don't publish full patch notes for hotfixes, but this one includes some balance tweaks that you might be interested in.

[h3]BALANCE:[/h3]

• Stat boosting items are now back to 12 points bonus, but each consecutive use on a given hero is less effective (12->6->4 and so on). This should make them more impactful on shorter Journeys while also less overpowered during Endless runs.
  
• Nadia's Assassinate rune's damage has been adjusted from 100-350% to 100-300%.
  
• Trickery inspiration's first turn damage boost has been reduced from 100-160% to 90-120% (half for area attacks).
  

[h3]BUGS & OTHER TWEAKS:[/h3]

• Fixed a rare crash related to riposte effects (such as Resonant Golem's shockwave).
  
• Fixed a crash in one of the story scenes.
  
• Fixed a rare crash in one of the high-level boss encounters.
  
• Increased the minimum amount of exits from each map.
  
• A few more typos and grammar errors have been corrected.
  
• Adjusted volume for a couple sounds.
  
• It's no loner possible to click two items at once.
  
• Wording on some tutorials has been adjusted for more clarity.
  

As always -- if you encounter any problems, would like to check our current development roadmap, or share your suggestions, feel free to drop by our community forums or MoaCube's Discord server.

-Tom

Version 0.9.35 is out! Its main focus is on balance adjustments to account for the introduction of a new hero and the Inspiration mechanics in the Blood Bonds update. It also includes several changes in the ongoing effort of making Bonfire more accessible and easy to grasp for new players.

Initially these tweaks and additions were meant to be a part of the next large content update, but as they're all of the small-but-high-impact variety, and there's already a lot of them, we've decided to roll it out earlier.

We would also like to give a shoutout to the community, as a good third of the following fixes were either reported or directly suggested by the players. In particular we would like to thank Midnightdragoness, Tobias Wehrum, TowerWizard, Mahotion, and ltwhiting who provided us with an absolutely copious amount of feedback!
[h2]FULL PATCH NOTES:[/h2]
[h3]NEW CONTENT & FEATURES:[/h3]

• Bloatscorch, a new enemy type, has been added to the monster pool.
  
• Two new mini-bosses have been added, both with unique abilities and combat patterns.
  
• Three new highly-challenging quests have been added, featuring the new mini-bosses.
  Dev note: these new enemies are designed around disrupting the currently dominant tactical patterns and should stir things up quite a bit.
• Character's progress towards their next turn can now be seen as a circle around their portrait.
  
• Affinity gains are now visible through a little heart effect on hero's portrait.
  Dev notes: These changes are a move towards more clarity for the basic mechanics, but they're more of a stepping stone than the final solution.
• A new tier of super-hard combat encounters has been added to late-game rotation.
  
• Links to Discord and Bonfire Wiki are now available in the main menu.
  
• Added some custom errand texts and interactions for Erzsie.
  

[h3]BALANCE:[/h3]

• Zhu the Pyra now accumulates Motivation XP 5% slower.
  
• Zhu's Detonator rune has been reworked to damage all enemies (leading to some sweet chain reactions), but its power has been reduced from 400% to 250%.
  
• Nadia's inspiration first-turn damage boost has been increased from 75-120% to 90-120%, but the effect is halved for area attacks.
  
• XP gained from area attacks has been reduced by 15%.
  Dev note: The combination of Nadia's Trickery and Zhu's high damage output made her the clearly dominant choice for the team carry on Endless runs. These changes aim to reign her in a bit and prevent her levels from spiralling out of control without resorting to ability nerfs. It should also free Nadia's inspiration as a viable option on other heroes.
• Erzsi's inspiration Max HP restoration effect has been reduced from 8-14 to 7-10.
  
• Erzsi's Hypnotize delay power has been reduced from 130% to 120%.
  
• The drain effect on Erzsi's Thrall debuff has been reduced from 80% to 70%.
  
• Erzsi's can now only have one skeletal minion at a time when using her Skull Seed rune.
  Dev note: Erzsi's power levels and damage output were simply too high for such a flexible hero, so a small nerf was in order.
• Nadia's Venom Strike has had its poison power increased from 50% to 60%.
  Dev note: On the other hand, Nadia's DoT output started to lag behind Zhu and Erzsie, so we've decided to give her a significant buff and see how it goes.
• Endless Journey has been re-balanced to be more challenging, with faster growing difficulty.
  
• Certain high-difficulty encounters may have mini-bosses mixed in as normal enemies.
  
• Food chests are now much less common in the Endless Journey.
  
• The effect of all stat-boosting items has been reduced from 12-10.
  Dev note: Endless Journey's challenge level couldn't keep up with the hero power spike caused by Blood Bonds, and some players were able to reach areas in the low hundreds. This should no longer be possible, making Endless runs a more interesting late-game activity.
• After a certain in-game event, all Mournfolk begin to utilise more advanced AI & tactics. Watch out!
  
• Similarly, all undead enemies get a stat boost after another event.
  Dev note: These changes let the game catch up with the power of late-game heroes. Mournfolk AI boost in particular should make the battles against them much more challenging and tactical.
• Unassuming Undead's Multi Slash attack is now less random.
  
• Slightly increased the stats of Wight and Wight Berserker.
  
• All summoned creatures (both enemy and party-controlled) now have 50 HP instead of 70.
  
• Summoning, as well as actions taken by the summons, now grant Motivation XP to the summoner.
  
• Likwise, abilities that manipulate turn order also grant XP now.
  

[h3]GAMEPLAY TWEAKS & MINOR ADDITIONS:[/h3]

• Story quests no longer disappear from the map upon loss. You can retry them right away.
  
• Quest Log can now be viewed during gameplay through the options menu.
  
• Numbers shown when using healing abilities now show the actual amount of HP restored.
  
• Levitating heroes and monsters now actually float!
  Dev note: This is clearly the most important update in the entire patch.
• Piercing attacks now take negative Armor values into account when calculating damage.
  
• Coins are now more shiny-sparkly!
  
• Kill Events won't happen in the very early game now.
  
• Several early tutorials were added to explain some basic but critical mechanics and concepts.
  
• Hero descriptions on the character customisation screen have been updated.
  
• Replaced some ability sound effects with nicer ones.
  
• Timing on several attack animations has been adjusted.
  
• A few shockwave effects have been given way more oomph.
  
• Summon HP bars no longer displays over heroes.
  

[h3]BUG FIXES:[/h3]

• Heavily optimised the amount of texture swaps, especially on the quest summary screen.
  
• Fixed a pretty nasty memory leak related to ambient sounds.
  Dev note: These two changes could lead to a significant performance increase on some low-end systems.
• Wight Berserker is now correctly classified as a mini-boss.
  
• Mandatory encounters with Erzsie are no longer missable.
  
• Inspiration tooltips now show the correct next level data.
  
• Earshot buff no longer produces an attack sound if the user got killed before its activation.
  
• Some important menu chatter on the quest screen is no longer missable.
  
• Several wording issues and typos were fixed.
  
• Fixed a rare crash related to quests with bonus item drops.
  
• Gold counter could sometimes get stuck on sceen for the entire quest. Not anymore.
  
• Corrected some erroneous sprite positions.
  
• Fixed a few more potential crashes related to The Hunter.
  
• Hunter now also displays sportsmanship by actually staying dead when killed.
  
• Mournfolk Knights won't protect other protecting Mournfolk Knights, no matter how hilarious that was.
  
• Fixed some errors in the item collecting sequence at the end of a quest when many items are present.
  
• Corrected some transparency issues on the hero upgrade screen.
  

We hope you like these changes. As always -- if you encounter any problems, would like to check our current development roadmap, or share your suggestions, feel free to drop by our community forums or MoaCube's Discord server.

-Tom