Dungeon Defenders: Awakened News

[h3]DEFENDERS,[/h3]

We’ve got some PTR changes in after receiving a lot of feedback and getting a ton of help from the brave adventurers who have jumped into the PTR. Keep the feedback coming, and as we continue to polish Episode 1, we’ll be sure to include as much as we can. We appreciate all your help in making Episode 1 the greatest it can be!

[h2]Heroes[/h2]
[h3]Squire[/h3]

• Added MVP Piercing Projectile VFX.
  
• Updated Piercing Projectile to have a larger hitbox and no collision with the world.

[h3]Rogue[/h3]

• Added SFX to bow firing on Rogue.
  
• Updated audio on Rogue abilities.

[h2]Enemies[/h2]
[h3]Lycan[/h3]

• Added SFX for the Lycan.
  
• Slightly sped up Lycan’s run animation.
  
• Fixed an issue with Lycan’s bones.

[h2]Maps[/h2]
[h3]The Mill[/h3]

• Equalized the ambient sound of The Mill to better mesh with the music and environment.

[h3]Foundries and Forges[/h3]

• Reduced Foundries and Forges max loot quality to match Mill.
  
• Foundries and Forges is now unlocked after beating the Mill.

[h2]User Interface[/h2]

• Slightly reduced the size of damage numbers.
  
• Updated static effect visuals for tooltips so that static effects always show as legendary.

[h2]Balance[/h2]
[h3]General[/h3]

• Adjusted Hero Attack Power Item Effects.
  
• Removed health scaling for repair.
  
  • This will mean that no matter how much MAX health the tower has it should take 3 seconds MAX to repair a tower in the combat phase. This is to counteract not having “Cast Rate”.

[h3]Huntress[/h3]

• Increased Huntress’ Secondary Ability damage from +50% to +100% of Base Damage and Removed falloff.

[h3]EV-A[/h3]

• Increased EV’s Secondary Ability damage from +50% to +100% of Base Damage and Removed falloff.

[h3]Rogue[/h3]

• Decreased Rogue's Carnage ability cooldown by 50%.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Rogue couldn't activate Upgrade / Repair / Sell without looking at a defense directly.

[h3]Warden[/h3]

• Increased Sprout damage to +100% of base damage.
  
• Increased angle of Sludge Launcher from 15 to 45.
  
• Beaming Blossom tooltip now shows fire damage instead of physical.
  
• Roots should now heal.
  
• Reduced volume of Shroomy’s scream by half.

[h3]Lycan[/h3]

• Adjusted timing of Lycan’s howls.
  
• Increased Lycan’s Health.
  
  • 5x on Easy to Medium
    
  • 10x on Insane and above

[h2]Misc[/h2]

• Updated VFX on Polearm trails.
  
• Added new method to weapon actors for implementing swing trails.
  
• Updated and added VFX for various polearms.

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Side swiping enemies with the Rogue's Assault ability no longer allows the player to continue the dash animation pose indefinitely.
  
• Rogue can now transmog his offhand weapons.
  
• Fixed a bug where transmog tooltips weren’t showing.
  
• Updated buff count to scale properly from rolling.
  
• Fixed an issue where healing may not have worked properly.
  
• Removed Defense stats from Bow 15.
  
• Fixed a bug that would cause leaving the inventory to crash the game.
  
• Fixed a few stuck enemy issues on The Mill.
  
• Fixed a crash that would occur when upgrading then swapping heroes in the inventory.
  
• Fixed a lot of visual and functionality bugs for item effects, their VFX, and displays.
  
• Fixed an issue where Ability Count effects were not correctly counting shots fires from ranged weapons.
  
• Double Edge should now be working.
  
• Fixed a bug where Upgrade / Repair / Sell weren't canceling each other when activated so you could have multiple activated at once.
  
• Fixed an issue where Sirens were getting stuck when fleeing to their spawn points.
  
• Fixed an issue where Act 4 Maps didn't save wave progression.
  
• Survival: if you beat a certain wave on a harder difficulty, you can now play the same wave on a lower difficulty.
  
  • Example: if you beat Wave 20 on Massacre you can play up to Wave 20 on all lower difficulties.
• Healing Item effects are now healing % of Max Health.
  
• Fixed an issue where the scroll box was spamming with geometry valid checks.
  
• Fixed an issue where Ogre Copter’s hat was too large.
  
• Fixed speed limiter on projectiles.
  
• Fixed up frame timing logic in scroll box.
  
• Added Attack Rate stat to display correctly.
  
• Mainhand/Offhand stats on the Hero Stat Panel is now updating correctly.
  
• Fixed an issue where Map Selection wasn't selecting your last map played difficulty.
  
• Fixed an issue where Cooldown text wasn't showing when you swap heroes.

[h2]Social Defenders[/h2]
To stay up-to-date on the latest news from Chromatic Games and the Dungeon Defenders franchise, follow us on all our social channels:

• Discord
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Twitch
• Forums

For Etheria!
Chromatic Games

[h3]DEFENDERS,[/h3]

The Public Test Realm (PTR) is out now and there’s a lot for you to test (click here to find out how to get in). We’re going to be gathering feedback on and updating based on that feedback as we go! You may notice there is more in this update than what we have already announced (and we plan on adding even more as we get closer to launch), so we will frequently be adding to this list in order to get your feedback on additional elements and changes.

[h2]DISCLOSURE[/h2]
This is a PTR build. That means that things are going to be in a rough state, not finished, maybe a bit buggy, etc. It’s by no means a perfect representation of the game, or final in any means. Please take this into consideration when providing feedback. We’ve spent a lot of time working hard on getting this massive update going. We ask that you be respectful when providing feedback and understand that actual people put a lot of time and effort into everything you’re testing.

[h2]Feedback[/h2]
Through the escape menu, there is a link to a survey. You can fill this survey out and edit it over the course of the PTR.

[h2]REWARDS![/h2]
For your time spent testing the PTR (we ask at least 30 minutes if possible) and filling out our survey, you will earn a brand new reward, Tester’s Eagle Wings:



We are able to track your account, so don’t worry about adding any identifying information, we’ll get the reward automatically unlocked on your account when Episode 1 launches. To ensure it gets unlocked, there is a question on the survey that has your “PlayFab ID” (this is what we use for cloud storage and account saving). Do not edit whatever is in that field, otherwise the rewards will not be able to be applied to your account.

In future PTR tests, we will have additional rewards for your time. We really appreciate your feedback and constructive criticism, and our goal is to give something back. :)

[h2]Defense Rate Changes[/h2]
Before we get into everything else, we want to talk about Defense Rate changes. Through our development with the Switch, and throughout our certification process, our game was not able to perform with the speed at which towers were attacking, effectively making releasing on the Switch impossible (due to how towers calculate enemy positions, priorities, tons of AI tracking, VFX being played, damage calculations, etc.) because of how many resources they took to make those processes work. As a result, we’ve provided a cap for Defense Rate that caps most towers at 0.50 shots a second.

This brings in Defense Rate overflow. Basically what this means is when you pump Defense Rate into a tower, that stat is rolled over into Defense Power instead. This means that while some towers will be attacking slower than before, they will be hitting harder to compensate for the Defense Rate cap (so the stat is not wasted). This includes any Defense Rate increase that you would get from boosting a tower using Overcharge or Speedy Gemstone for example.

We had to act pretty fast on this to ensure we can release it on Nintendo Switch. We discussed having two different versions (a Switch version with the lowered rates), but that just isn’t possible for us to maintain with a team of our size. Balancing it and making it fair would be impossible, and there might be metas where playing certain content on one platform may be easier than others, which is something we want to avoid entirely.

We’re looking to get as much feedback as possible here to make sure this change feels good while allowing us to fulfill our promise of releasing on Nintendo Switch.

[h2]Heroes[/h2]
The Rogue and The Warden are now available for testing!

[h2]Maps[/h2]
The Mill, The Outpost, The Keep, and Foundries and Forges are all available for testing!

[h2]Item Effects[/h2]
Our new system dubbed “Item Effects” have been added to gear (lower level pieces do not contain them) and are available for testing!

[h2]New Set Bonuses[/h2]
New Set Bonuses have been added to gear and are available for testing!

[h2]Boss Tests[/h2]
Test of the Demon, Mech, and Ancient have been added in a new game mode called Tests and are all available for testing!

[h2]Bonus Waves[/h2]
In Nightmare and Massacre Survival, Bonus Waves are now available for testing (unlocked after beating Wave 25 Survival of each difficulty on Alchemical Labs, Throne Room, The Summit, and The Keep)!

[h2]The Lycan King[/h2]
The Act IV boss, The Lycan King, is not available for testing at this time.

[h2]Rift Portals[/h2]
Selecting Rifted and playing the new Act IV maps will have Rift Portals appear and is now available for testing!

[h2]Rifted Changes[/h2]
Rifted enemy schedules have been changed to not include non-Rifted enemies and are available for testing!

[h2]Level Cap Increase[/h2]
The level cap has been increased to 105 and is now available for testing!

[h2]New Accessory: Wings[/h2]
Wings have been added to the game and are now available for testing! (you must complete one of the Boss Test maps)

[h2]Offhands[/h2]
Offhands have been added to drop tables and are now available for testing!

[h2]Hero Deck Changes[/h2]
The Hero Deck size has been increased to six, as well as providing additional bonuses for heroes in the hero deck. This is now available for testing!

[h2]Crit and Crit Bonus[/h2]
Critical chance and critical bonus have been added to swords and polearms and are now available for testing!

[h2]Secondary Ability Changes[/h2]
The Huntress’s secondary is a grenade toss, and the Monk’s secondary now scales off level instead of weapon. Both are now available for testing!

[h2]Ammo and Reload[/h2]
Ammo and reloading have been removed from the game and replaced with an exploding secondary on crossbows (you can rocket jump with it). This is now available for testing!

[h2]Projectile Speed[/h2]
Projectile speed has been adjusted across the game and is now available for testing!

[h2]Build, Upgrade, and Repair Speed[/h2]
These speeds have been adjusted across the game and are now available for testing!

[h2]Pet Changes[/h2]
All pets have been updated, except “Giraffe on a Treadmill” and “Mista Mine” (these will get updated in a later PTR patch).

[h2]Known Issues/Work-in-Progress List[/h2]
Work-In-Progress

• The Outpost
  
  • Combat/Build phase music
• The Mill
  
  • Combat/Build phase music
    
  • Needs wisps
• The Keep
  
  • Combat/Build phase music
• Lycan
  
  • Tacmap image
    
  • Billboard image
• Warden
  
  • Create-A-Hero select sound (currently same as EV)
    
  • Roots of Purity tooltip does not display a correct range
    
  • Roots of Resonance tooltip does not display correct range
    
  • Wisp Den tooltip does not display correct range
    
  • Shroomy Pit tooltip does not display correct range
• Rogue
  
  • Spellbook
    
  • Create-A-Hero description
    
  • Create-A-Hero select sound (currently same as The Huntress)
    
  • Unfinished SFX on some Rogue abilities
• Cinematics
  
  • Missing audio in Cinematics
• UI
  
  • Stats panel isn't in its final form
    
  • Spellbook is missing some information
• Pets
  
  • Mista Mine is not up to date.
    
  • Giraffe on a treadmill is not up to date.

Known Bugs

• The Outpost
  
  • Gas/sludge can be inconsistent with dealing damage to the player while moving through it.
• The Mill
  
  • Collision issues
    
  • Boundary issues
• The Keep
  
  • Collision issues
    
  • Boundary issues
• Endless Spires
  
  • Enemies getting stuck
• Lycan
  
  • Subsequent howls are not faster than the original
• Rogue
  
  • Melee attacks are missing when it should be on target and hitting.
    
  • Cannot sell/upgrade/repair on Keyboard and mouse
• Weapons
  
  • Flamethrower doesn't continue firing if double clicked and held
    
  • Certain weapons look appear too dark in game
• UI
  
  • Ctrl+Shift does not work for assigning points
    
  • Stat tooltips on Clients may not always show
    
  • Defense Ability Bar will sometimes disappear on Clients when swapping heroes quickly
    
  • Ability cooldown countdown visual freezes after entering an menu
    
    • Countdown is still completed and ability is able to be activated
      
    • Icon resets after swapping heroes
  • Item Effects on Weapons might not show on tooltip for Clients
• Other
  
  • Repair speed is taking longer than it should

[h2]What’s Next?[/h2]
We’ll be updating the PTR based on feedback and bug fixes. Meanwhile we’re also still working on Nintendo Switch certification, as well as a DD2 update. We’re plenty busy at Chromatic, and are super excited to share with you this newest update coming to DDA!

[h2]Social Defenders[/h2]
To stay up-to-date on the latest news from Chromatic Games and the Dungeon Defenders franchise, follow us on all our social channels:

• Discord
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Twitch
• Forums

For Etheria!
Chromatic Games

[h3]DEFENDERS,[/h3]

We need YOUR help! Starting today, we’re asking for input from Defenders through our own Public Test Realm (PTR) build for Dungeon Defenders: Awakened. The main goal for our PTR tests is to gather player feedback on game updates before releases—we want to make sure each of you feels a part of the development process. You get to try out new content and we get to make sure the new content works as planned by its release. Sounds like a win-win!

The PTR format is a bit different from our past testing system and current live-game action, so we want to break down what this looks like for those who are interested:

• The PTR is only available for PC/Steam Defenders. Those interested in joining the public test realm must own the game on PC.
  
• You will only be able to choose the Play Online mode. Sorry, no playing offline within playtesting.
  
• The PTR will not always be available. We keep the build open for specific periods and if you try to join outside those times, it’ll shut down when you try to Play Online. We’ll let you know what these available times are for each testing cycle.
  
• No changes are made to your normal saves! (cloud or local) Your data is pulled down from the cloud and stored locally.
  
• The build includes specific updates, not all of them. We choose specific features and changes that we need feedback on for the relevant updates, but these builds do not include ALL of the new content. We need to keep some of it a surprise! Check out what's in the latest build here.
  

Now to the important stuff. How do you actually become part of the testing crew? Here’s how:

1. Log in to your Steam account.
   
2. In your Steam library, right click on Dungeon Defenders: Awakened.
   
   
   
   
3. Select “Properties” from the menu that appears.
   
   
   
   
4. Once the Properties window opens, click “BETAS”.
   
   
   
   
5. In the BETAS window, click the drop-down menu for the “Select the beta you would like to opt into” prompt and choose “recruit - Public Testing Realm”.
   
   • Note: If you only see the “None” option from the drop-down menu, you will need to restart Steam.
   
   
   
6. Once “recruit - Public Testing Realm” is selected, you can close the window. The test build will begin downloading automatically and you’ll be able to enter the game once the download is complete.
   
7. Testers can then provide feedback under the Discord section “DDA - PTR” on the Dungeon Defenders Discord server.
   
   • Join the server: Dungeon Defenders Discord
     
   • New members will only be able to see the 📌COMMUNITY section. If you are a new member, you’ll need to go to the channel #❗-role-assignment-❗. Then, choose “DDA” at the bottom of the role instructions.
     
   • Once the DDA channels show up in the server, find the section titled “DDA - PTR”. (This will only be visible when a PTR build is active.)
     
   • Read through the #getting-started channel to learn more about the rules and expectations for feedback.
     
   • Give us your feedback in the channel #ptr-bug-reports.
     
   • Please keep in mind that we may not be able to implement your feedback by the release of an update, but we always appreciate your comments and suggestions.
     

We are SO excited to get this first build out to Defenders today. As an indie studio, feedback from you all is integral to our continued success with Dungeon Defenders: Awakened, and with your help, our upcoming update can be the best one yet.

[h2]Social Defenders[/h2]
To stay up-to-date on the latest news from Chromatic Games and the Dungeon Defenders franchise, follow us on all our social channels:

• Discord
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Twitch
• Forums

For Etheria!
Chromatic Games

[h3]DEFENDERS,[/h3]

We’ve shared a lot with you over the last few weeks about all of the exciting additions and revisions coming to Dungeon Defenders: Awakened with the release of the Epsiode 1 update. It’s been a blast showing off our two new heroes, the Warden and the Rogue, along with introducing new maps and our new inventory and stats system on our Twitch dev stream each week. For this week, we shared some more goodies that will add to Defenders’ experiences.

[h2]Enemies in Rifted[/h2]
After our last update where we reduced the number of enemies across the board to boost game performance, the experiences in Rifted mode were impacted more than we (and Defenders) wanted. Rifted was designed to challenge the most dedicated Defenders, but as the enemy counts reduced, this mode kind of felt like a punishment rather than an exciting challenge. The longer runs that resulted weren't an intentional design choice and we’re fixing that to make Rifted all it was meant to be.

How are we doing this? Rifted will no longer spawn any normal enemies! Only Rifted enemies will show up when you choose Rifted mode. The Rifted enemy counts, attack damage, and HP are staying exactly the same as they are now. You just won’t need to bat off the normies anymore. This means fewer enemies overall with the increased challenge from Rifted enemies, achieving our goal of having Rifted require more skill but less time out of Defenders.

[h2]Hero Levels[/h2]
For all of you who feel reaching Level 100 wasn’t difficult enough, we’re increasing the level cap for all heroes with the Episode 1 release to 105. The best items in Episode 1 require level 105 to equip, meaning you’ll need to conquer many foes on your journey to utilize the strongest gear available!

[h2]What Else?[/h2]
If you’ve been keeping up with our news, we’ve spilled a lot of beans over the last month. We’ve been paying attention to your feedback and can’t wait to show off all of our hard work to our GLORIOUS Defenders. We haven’t announced a release date for Episode 1 yet, but know that we’re working hard to get the awesome and exciting updates into your games as soon as possible. We promise we’re as giddy as you are to see and try out these changes!

Another important topic to Defenders is updates on console development. We want to reassure you all that DDA ports for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 AND PlayStation 5 are still very much under way. We’re working hard to get Nintendo Switch through the Lot Check process, while fixing bugs and prepping it to be live for you all while also knocking out Episode 1. The Switch version will be completed and released before PlayStation, and we are aiming to have DDA on all consoles by the end of the year.

Finally, we’re also working on an update for Dungeon Defenders II. We’ve got so much going on at Chromatic Games and we are making sure this stuff is ready to go before we ship it out, but we promise it’s on its way!

[h2]Social Defenders[/h2]
To stay up-to-date on the latest news from Chromatic Games and the Dungeon Defenders franchise, follow us on all our social channels:

• Discord
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Twitch
• Forums

For Etheria!
Chromatic Games

DEFENDERS,
With all the news on gear upgrades from last week, it may feel like we can’t possibly give away any more Episode 1 news, but you’d be wrong. Here we come with even more reveals with a brand-new game mode and some spicy additions to current play.

Developer Note: All of these things are subject to change by the release of Episode 1.

[h2]“Tests” Boss Challenges Game Mode[/h2]
We’ve got a NEW GAME MODE! We’re calling this the “Tests” mode because it’s one defender being tested against one big baddy. The “big baddy” can be any of DDA’s infamous bosses, and you fight one-on-one to defeat them on their own map. One more small detail—you fight the bosses with zero defenses. Wait, there’s one more small-ish detail to add to that. You can’t use your heroes. You must choose to fight with one of two predetermined heroes. Don’t worry, they come with their own gear, too.

Guess it's time to hone those combat skills!

Now for the details of the fights. Each fight has a 3-minute timer, so you need to be skilled and quick. These fights should be difficult, but not impossible to beat. To help with this, you have one extra life during the fight. That means you can die once and everything is peachy. If you die twice, though… That’s the end of the fight.

Along with the extra life, each boss has three difficulty levels for you to choose from: Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III. Each boss is also equipped with a “deadly” mechanic that deals some serious damage. This should go without saying, but you definitely need to avoid being hit by the deadly mechanic at all costs. We warned you.

We’re sure there are lots of questions running through your head right now. What heroes can you use in these fights? What is this “deadly” mechanic you should avoid? What else did we leave out because we love keeping secrets? Well, here’s the breakout for each “Tests” battle.

Test of the Demon

• Available Heroes:
  
  • Huntress
    
  • Series EV-A, with staves
• Demon Lord specials:
  
  • Demon Lord is immune to damage unless stunned by the Generators
    
  • When Demon Lord is stunned, goblins and/or orcs rain from the sky
    
  • Deadly mechanic: Fireball

Test of the Mech

• Available Heroes:
  
  • Apprentice
    
  • Series EV-A, with bows
• Goblin Mech specials:
  
  • Mech has increased movement speed
    
  • Mech takes reduced damage from hits that don’t hit the weak point
    
  • Dark Elf Warriors periodically spawn
    
  • Deadly mechanic: Melee attacks

Test of the Ancient

• Available Heroes:
  
  • Monk
    
  • Squire
• Ancient Dragon specials:
  
  • When flying around the map, the Dragon can only be damaged by the Ballista
    
  • Wyverns spawn after Dragon is shot by the Ballista
    
  • Deadly mechanic: Fireballs

You’re probably asking yourself what the rewards are like for this new game mode. That’s a great question! Since we want to keep some of this a surprise, the answer to this is kept simple for now. For defeating each of the bosses at each of the tiers, you can earn unique rewards that are only available through Tests. With three different bosses at three different tiers in this game mode, there are 9 unique rewards up for grabs.

This type of game mode that gives Defenders a way to just fight bosses with only a hero is something we’ve seen people asking for. This is also something that’s easy for us to add and test out. It is a bit of an experiment for DDA, and if you all enjoy it, we’ll be sure to include it in all of our future episodes.

Speaking of other fun experiments… Our next section goes over the fun we’re adding in for fans of Rifted.

[h2]Rifted Portals[/h2]
Another fun addition to DDA in Episode 1 is Rifted Portals. What the heck are portals?!

Rifted Portals are alternate spawn points for enemies that appear at set locations and times on Rifted Episode 1 maps. Enemies are removed from their original lane and ported to the alternate location. What defenses they miss along the way, nobody knows.

How do you deal with these pesky portals?? Lucky for Defenders, these can be destroyed by your hero. There’s a catch, of course. Portals cannot be destroyed by your hero’s defenses. So, choose your hero wisely!

An added benefit to destroying a portal is the loot that drops once it’s gone. There’s always that incentive to take it down. If you don’t destroy it before the wave is over, it will quietly disappear and a fresh portal will reappear on the next wave, but you won’t receive any loot. Gotta work for the goods.

[h2]Bonus Waves[/h2]
Finally, let’s talk about Bonus Waves. These are one of those spicy additions we’re adding for late-game defenders who are itching for that extra challenge. With an extra challenge comes extra rewards in the form of a chance to get max quality gear from EVERY MAP. What’s the point of a Bonus Wave? To earn extra awesome gear, of course! And you should believe us when we say these rewards are extra awesome.

What Are Bonus Waves?
The basic explanation for these are extra waves that can be unlocked once defenders complete Wave 25 on any Boss map in Survival and Mixed modes at Nightmare and Massacre difficulties. All maps have their own Bonus Wave that unlocks once you defeat the boss within its respective Act. As you can imagine, enemies in this extra wave are faster, stronger, and tougher, but as we said, you’re rewarded for your hard work.

These Bonus Waves are purely opt-in, meaning you can choose to complete them on each map if you want — you don’t have to complete them to finish the map, though. Oh! Here’s a fun fact: Bonus Waves for Boss maps also feature the boss! Sorry, not sorry for that goodness. To note, Bonus Waves for Boss maps only appear after defeating the next boss. For example, you unlock a Bonus Wave for Alchemical Labs once you’ve defeated the Throne Room Nightmare/Massacre Survival Wave 25.

We’ll spend the rest of this section going over how to actually access the dang maps and what goodies come from completing them.

Unlocking Bonus Waves
The tricky thing here is that defenders can only unlock Bonus Waves in each Act after completing Survival Wave 25 on the Boss maps on Nightmare and Massacre difficulties. We want to make sure Defenders are rewarded for attempting (and completing) more difficult maps, too. So, once you complete a Boss map, that boss’ named Bonus Wave is unlocked for all prior maps. For example, defeating the Goblin Mech at the end of Act 2 will unlock the Goblin Mech Bonus Wave for all Act 1 and Act 2 maps (minus the Throne Room and Endless Spires).

This gives defenders freedom to choose the battle that’s appropriate for your style of play. If you want to skip over the Demon Lord and Goblin Mech maps, heading straight to Ancient Dragon to open the Bonus Waves for all three Acts, you’re able to do that.

Here’s a handy example explaining how Bonus Wave unlocks work:

You, a glorious defender, complete the Alchemical Laboratory on Massacre Survival. With this great takedown of the Demon Lord, you unlock access to the Demon Lord Bonus Wave on all prior Act 1 maps.

If you, our GLORIOUS Defender, go on to complete Tornado Valley, you don’t yet have a Bonus Wave for that map. Quickly realizing this, you defeat the Throne Room on Massacre Survival, and this unlocks access to all prior Act 2 Goblin Mech Bonus Waves at Massacre difficulty, plus Goblin Mech Bonus Waves for all maps in Act 1.

There’s more we want to add that may make it into Episode 1, if not a future update. We want you to have multiple Bonus Waves to choose from (e.g. Demon Lord and Goblin Mech), where you’re only able to choose one of those waves to complete. So, in the case of the example above, when opting-in to the Bonus Wave on Deeper Well, you must choose to complete the Demon Lord Bonus Wave or the Goblin Mech Bonus Wave. Not both, or at least not in the same session.

You may be asking, “Why bother with these extra waves if they’re just tougher challenges?” Well, we left out some important pieces of information…

Loot Drops
We hope you’re ready for some AWESOME rewards because that’s what defenders are getting from these Bonus Waves. Many of you already know this, but it’s worth explaining again just in case some of us need a refresher. The quality of the loot drop from a map’s chests are dependent on a number of factors, including the game mode, selected difficulty, whether or not you’re playing on Hardcore and/or Rifted, and, of course, RNG.

These Bonus Waves are no different, but there are some small-ish differences to ensure the reward is equal to the work. We do this by increasing the loot quality of every Bonus Wave according to the level of the boss associated with the wave. Basically, Act 1 Bonus Wave loot drops will increase in quality after you defeat Demon Lord, and Act 1 and 2 Bonus Wave loot drops will increase (again) after you defeat Goblin Mech. Activating Hardcore and/or Rifted further adds to the quality of Bonus Wave loot drops on all maps.

That’s Bonus Waves, Defenders!

[h2]Summary[/h2]
Like we revealed on our Friday Funday stream, Episode 1 ramps up DDA’s difficulty with a new Tests game mode, Rifted Portals, and Bonus Waves that reward you for your hard work. Once we have this content in place, we’ll be able to expand on it in future episodic content. This is just the beginning!! We can’t wait for you to try it all out and pick up some awesome gear at the same time.

We haven’t announced the release date for Episode 1 yet that includes all of these additions, along with the new heroes, new maps, and an overhaul of gear, but be on the lookout on our social pages. We love sharing that kind of exciting news on those pages first!

[h2]Console Update[/h2]
We want to reassure you all that DDA ports for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 AND PlayStation 5 are still very much under way. We’re still working hard on getting Nintendo Switch through the Lot Check process, fixing bugs, and prepping it to be live for you all while also knocking out Episode 1. The Switch version will be completed and released before PlayStation, but we are aiming to have DDA on all consoles by the end of the year.

[h2]Social Defenders[/h2]
To stay up-to-date on the latest news from Chromatic Games and the Dungeon Defenders franchise, follow us on all our social channels:

• Discord
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Twitch
• Forums

For Etheria!
Chromatic Games