1. Across the Obelisk
  2. News

Across the Obelisk News

🌿 Blessed Be the Trunkys, They’ve Found the Light ✨

[h2]Welcome back to our Weekly Challenge Report, Travelers!

[/h2][p]This is Weekly Challenge Report #6, and first off, we want thank you for all your feedback these past weeks. While we sort through them, we’re back on track with our Weekly Challenge Reports, with more fun stuff coming later this month![/p][p]
Welcome to Forest Awakens.[/p][p][/p][p]This week, the forest isn’t just awake, it’s judging you. Its champions (the bushes) wait in ambush, its roots slow your every step, and the thorns? They’ve been blessed by the holy light and are using it against you.[/p][p]
⸻ [/p][h3]☕️ What You’re Dealing With:[/h3][p]

Sacred Thorns – Thorns deal Holy damage instead of Piercing. That’s right, instead of being pointy, it's blessing you to death.
[/p][p]⚔️ More Champions – The forest is hosting its own tournament arc just for you! Expect more champions on the map to punch through.
[/p][p]🐢 Slow Heroes – Heroes start with Speed -1. Hope you like going last.
[/p][p]🎲 Unlucky – Event rolls are harder. I don't have a joke for this one. Life is hard.
[/p][p]💰 Wealthy Heroes – Each hero starts with +300 gold/shards. Congratulations, you’re rich and cursed.[/p][p][/p][p]🪨 Reinforced Monsters+10% resistance to Slashing /Blunt/ and Piercing damage. They weren’t even squishy before. Now? Bring a chisel and other types of damage.

⸻ [/p][h3]
🛡️ Your Party – The Forest-bound Four:
[/h3][p]
📖 Reginald – Healer, light-bringer, and the only one who thinks glowing thorns are normal.
[/p][p]🔥 Cornelius – Pyromaniac grandpa. Fire is still a solution to things that grow out of the ground.
[/p][p]🏹 Andrin – Hunter slowed by the woods, but those arrows still find their mark.
[/p][p]🐺 Magnus – Shield, taunt, and sheer stubbornness. Basically a tree trunk that barks back. Get it?

This crew isn’t here to light the way through. They’re here to outlive the dark, molded by it.

💡 Tip of the Week:[/p][p]Honestly? Sacred Thorns makes everything you do hurt, all the champions are scary, and Unlucky makes RNG a nightmare. If you want real answers, go ask your fellow adventurers in the comments or on Discord. I'm not awake enough for this and they probably have better advice than we do right now.

⸻ [/p][h3]🎁 Rewards Should You Follow the Light:
[/h3][p] Survive to Floor 3 and unlock:[/p][p]
🌿 A card back grown from bark and bloom[/p][p]🐉 A card back depicting a dragon crowned in festival colors[/p][p][/p][p]Both proof you lived long enough to stop being mulch.

⸻ [/p][h3]💬 Your Turn – What Drew Blood First: You or the Thorns?
[/h3]
  • [p] 🌲 How many champions did you end up beating?
    [/p]
  • [p] 🔥 Did Cornelius solve theology with fire?
    [/p]
  • [p]🎲 Do you think “Unlucky” ruined your one good streak? [/p]
[p]
Stuck in the thorns? Not sure which build works best or how to out-heal all the damage you're taking in? Ask in the comments or hop into our Discord where our best adventurers are always ready to share tips.



The forest woke up in a bad mood.[/p][p]It’s holy, it’s thorny, and this week, it's itching to go back to sleep and so are we.

—The ATO Team ⚔️[/p]

📣 What Do You Want to See More Of?

[p]Hey travelers, gather ‘round the campfire for a moment. 🔥

The summer's almost over, and we’re looking ahead to the future of this game and community. With more updates, events, and community features coming soon, we’re rethinking how we use this space on Steam and we want all of you get to help decide what that looks like.[/p][p][/p][p]This isn’t just about patch notes and sale announcements, we promise. We want this to be a space you look forward to just about every week.[/p][p][/p][p]So now's your chance to tell us: What kind of posts would you love to see? Here are some examples ⬇️
[/p][h3]🧭 Choose Your Path:[/h3][p][/p][p]🧠 Strategy & Builds – Tips, synergies, overpowered combo breakdowns?[/p][p]📊 Polls & Feedback – Want to weigh in on balance, mechanics, or future tweaks?[/p][p]🎨 Community Highlights – Fan art, mods, lore theories, or cool custom decks?[/p][p]🏆 Event Posts – Weekly challenges, seasonal updates, or exclusive rewards?[/p][p]💬 Team Q&As – Ask us (almost) anything?[/p][p][/p][p]I know there's probably something we left out. Oops.
[/p][h3]💬 Drop Your Scroll-Worthy Ideas Below Below[/h3][p][/p][p]This is your cue to be loud, weird, and helpful all at the same time.[/p][p]Want more guides? More memes? More Lizard? (I'm not sorry this meme's been stuck in my head for weeks. 🦎 )[/p][p][/p][p]Drop it in the comments. (Please?) We’re watching. 🦎 . Taking notes.[/p][p][/p][p]—The ATO Team ⚔️ 🦎[/p]

Across the Obelisk is 50% off for Steam Summer Sale! ☀️

[h2]If you haven't heard already...[/h2][p]
Across the Obelisk
is 50% off during Steam Summer Sale. That means it’s the perfect time to drag your friends into the fire and burn down the obelisk (figuratively, of course).[/p][p]
The best part of it being summer means you get to:
[/p][p]👥 Have more co-op chaos[/p][p]🃏 Draw and pick the (best) cards (or worst)[/p][p]🐾 Get all the pets. You heard me. Pets are the best part of vactioning[/p][p]⚔️ Endless roguelite replayability and fun maps![/p][p][/p][p]If the base game isn't enough and you need more cooling off, pick up the Across the Obelisk - Complete Bundle that includes the base game and all the DLC from Spooky Night in Senenthia to our newest DLC release, The Sunken Temple! [/p][p][/p][p]☀️ Drop a comment, ping your friends, and let’s ride the waves of the Sahti map. [/p][p]There's only one week left, so don’t miss your chance to build the perfect team with a friend and immediately regret everything. The sale disappears into the shadows on July 10th at 10am PST, just like your hopes in Madness.
[/p][p]👉 Grab ATO on Steam now before it’s gone!

Stay cool out there, adventurers!

—The ATO Team ⚔️
[/p]

🕷 Tulah Build Guide

[h3]“In the webs of fate, Tulah doesn’t struggle. She spins.”
[/h3][p]
Tulah the Spider Queen brings unique mechanics and powerful versatility to your party. Whether you’re healing under pressure, cursing enemies with Sanctify, or melting minds with Vanish-fueled spells, she thrives in roles few others can fill. This guide offers three builds that focus on her strengths; each sharpened by traits, perk paths, and card suggestions that will help you craft a deck worthy of her silk-threaded domain.

Big shoutout to @BinBin in Discord for teaming up with us on this hero guide! Their tips, feedback, and all-around brainpower helped bring this to life for the AtO community. If it saves your run or sparks a new build idea, make sure to show BinBin some love in the comments or over in Discord! 🔥 [/p][p]
🧭 This guide also includes quick TL;DR beginner notes, as we wanted to support both new players and seasoned veterans. Visuals and combo examples are provided throughout.[/p][p][/p][h3]⚙️ Perk Selection Basics[/h3][p]• Always take Energy.
• Use Speed if needed to adjust turn order.
• Choose extra perks based on team synergy! Regen, Vitality, or Buffer are great for support builds.
• Spend remaining points on Resistances, Max HP, Shards, or Gold.
[/p][hr][/hr]
🧡 Build 1: Healer Tulah
[p]
This build focuses on a minimal deck built around high-efficiency healing spells.. Rather than loading up on lots of healing cards, Tulah benefits from cycling a tight core of spells. Cards like Prayer of Healing become very effective when discounted by Omen of Peril and Holy Hatchery. Use vanishing low-cost cards like Clarity or Detoxify to further slim your deck while still supporting your team.
[/p][p]✅ Strengths:
• Leverages a small deck size for fast, repeated spell access.
• Prayer of Healing and Spark of Life scale well with Bless.
• Great adaptability when you need reliable healing and status cleanse tools.[/p][p]
🔧 Traits:
[/p][p]Holy Hatchery ➝ Temple Lurkers ➝ Cleansing Prayer ➝ Webweaver[/p][p]
🛠️ Perks:
[/p][p]• Core: Energy, Healing, Bless
Further Support: Powerful, Regen, Vitality, Buffer
As Needed: Speed, Resistances, Max HP, Shards, Gold

🃏 Core Cards:[/p][p]Healing: Prayer of Healing, Flash Heal, Benediction, Spark of Life, Omen of Peril[/p][p]Support / Dispel: Clarity, Detoxify, Dispel Magic, Delay Response, Healing Rain[/p][p]Utility: Fanaticism, Expected Prophecy, Meditate, Demonic Tutor, Scry, Fortune Telling

🔄 Play Pattern[/p][p]Begin by vanishing cheap support cards like Clarity or Detoxify to cycle quickly. Reach Prayer of Healing or Spark of Life, which should now cost less thanks to Holy Hatchery. From there, replay discounted cards over and over, while protecting your allies from debuffs and bleed. 
[/p][h3]📘 TL;DR Healer Tulah: Quick Beginner Tips[/h3][p]Small deck = consistent healing. Try to keep your deck below 20 cards![/p][p]• Omen of Peril makes healing spells cheaper each time you cycle your deck.
Clarity and Detoxify are perfect vanish cards to help you further reduce your deck.
Prayer of Healing heals everyone, and works great with Bless.
[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][hr][/hr]
✝️ Build 2: Holy Priestess Tulah
[p]This build turns Tulah into a Sanctify-focused damage dealer. Sanctify reduces enemy Holy resistance and heals allies. Tulah works best in teams that revolve around Holy Damage, as each charge of Sanctify increases everyone’s Holy Damage. She can apply Sanctify to heal up her allies while supporting her allies, or if you are looking for even more damage, she can combo with Fade to set up big AoE damage turns using Holy Storm.[/p][p]
✅ Strengths:
• Strong AoE burst damage with healing synergy
• Benefits from both support and DPS party setups
• Smooth transition between offense and utility roles[/p][p]
🔧 Traits:
[/p][p]Holy Hatchery ➝ Temple Lurkers ➝ Cleansing Prayer ➝ Webweaver[/p][p]
🛠️ Perks:
[/p][p]• Core: Energy, Holy Damage, Sanctify
Further Damage: Powerful, Bless, Stealth
Further Support: Buffer, Regen, Vitality
As Needed: Speed, Resistances, Max HP, Shards, Gold

🃏 Core Cards:[/p][p]Damage: Flash, Dawnlight, Holy Nova, Holy Storm, Radiant Assault[/p][p]Further Damage: Fade (amplifies AoE), Inner Fire, Holy Smite[/p][p]Support: Healing Rain, Delay Response, Dispel Magic, Anthem of Hope[/p][p]Utility: Fanaticism, Meditate, Demonic Tutor

🔄 Play Pattern[/p][p]Start by buffing Tulah with Energize, Inspire, or Bless. Then reduce their resistances with Sanctify before, setting up a Fade and unleashing powerful AoEs like Holy Storm or Holy Nova.. If played well, this build creates momentum that snowballs over time.[/p][h3]
📘 TL;DR Holy Priestess Tulah: Quick Beginner Tips
[/h3][p]Buff Tulah first, then go all in with Holy Storm.[/p][p]• Fade makes your next spell much stronger, make sure to use it before big AoEs.[/p][p]• Sanctify lowers the enemy’s Holy resistance and heals your team, so stack it with AoEs!

*Here's a before and after showing how damage scales with more stacks of Sanctify! [/p][hr][/hr]
🌀 Build 3: Deja Vu Tulah
[p]In this build, Tulah sheds her healing silk for threads of madness. She becomes a Mind-based damage dealer, fueling her power through Vanish; a mechanic where cards disappear from your deck during combat. The core of this build is Deja Vu, a spell that grows stronger the more cards you’ve Vanished. Doing this successfully means that Tulah can unload bursts of Insane damage that tear through resistances and sanity alike.

✅ Strengths:
• High-scaling damage that ramps with each Vanish
• Applies Insane, weakening enemy resistances and output
• Can flex into hybrid damage or support roles as needed
• Plays well with draw-heavy and vanish-friendly items[/p][p]
🔧 Traits:
[/p][p]Premature Hatching ➝ Mental Scavengers ➝ Pendulum ➝ Webweaver[/p][p]
🛠️ Perks:
[/p][p]• Core: Energy, Mind Damage, Insane
Further Damage: Powerful, Bless, Stealth
Further Support: Buffer, Regen, Vitality
As Needed: Speed, Resistances, Max HP, Shards, Gold

🃏 Core Cards:[/p][p]Damage: Dawnlight, Mind Blast, Deja Vu, Spectral Missiles[/p][p]Further Damage: Mind Twist, Clairvoyance, Foresight, Pandemonium[/p][p]Support: Clarity, Detoxify, Delay Response, Dispel Magic[/p][p]Utility: Fanaticism, Expected Prophecy, Meditate, Demonic Tutor[/p][p][/p][p]🔄 Play Pattern
Begin by flooding your Vanish pile with 0-cost or vanish-enabled cards like Clarity, Dawnlight, and Mind Blast. Use draw tools like Expected Prophecy to refill your hand and cycle again. Then cast Deja Vu for massive damage and Insane application. Clean up with Mind Twist or additional Mind spells.
[/p][h3]📘 TL;DR Deja Vu Tulah: Quick Beginner Tips[/h3][p]• Deja Vu deals more damage for every Vanished card, so vanish early and often.[/p][p]• Look for draw cards (like Expected Prophecy) to help you chain turns.[/p][p]• Sanctify lowers the enemy’s Holy resistance and heals your team, so stack it with AoEs!
Insane makes enemies take more Mind damage and reduces their output—stack it against bosses.
• Items that draw and vanish are especially powerful in this build (e.g., Fishing Rods, Mixed Salad).[/p][p]
*P.S.: This build was our capture artist's absolute favorite out of the three!
[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][h3]🧪 Final Thoughts
[/h3][p]“The web doesn’t ask what you intend. It only holds or breaks. It’s up to you.”
[/p][p]Tulah isn’t defined by a role. She’s not just a healer, or a Sanctify spammer, or a Mind damage dealer. With the right deck, the right traits, and the right timing, she becomes the backbone of your run, whether it’s to keep you alive or be the sharpened edge of it.[/p][p]
You can choose to guide her threads toward restoration, revelation, or ruin and she’ll reward your precision.[/p][p]
🕸️ “Choose your thread. Then pull.”
[/p]

Two new DLCs and Bundle are out now!

[h3] Play "Tulah, the Spider Queen" and "The Sunken Temple" now!

[/h3][p]
The Spiders & Temples bundle, for Across the Obelisk, combines the base game of Across the Obelisk, a Hero Pack “Tulah, the Spider Queen” and a new type of content, a Dungeon Pack “The Sunken Temple”.

Dive deep into the ancient ruins of Aquarfall in the Sunken Temple dungeon, a perilous two-floor adventure packed with branching paths, over 15 new events, dynamic boss encounters, and unique rewards including a new pet, Rocky, and a treasure trove of items, skins, and cardbacks.

Alongside this comes Tulah, a dark and mysterious new healer hero who brings a fresh twist to team composition with her spiderling swarm, unique evolving pet, and powerful synergies rooted in corruption and decay. With Tulah’s arrival, you'll also unlock new cosmetics, emotes, and roleplay responses that make her as fun to play as she is to build around.

Both DLCs are available now—expand your journey, sharpen your decks, and brave the new challenges![/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p] [/p][h3]Buy the Spiders & Temples Bundle now!
[/h3][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][hr][/hr][p] [/p][h3]Tulah, the Spider Queen, Hero Pack [/h3][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]
Tulah, the Spider Queen Hero Pack contains:[/p]
  • [p]Tulah, a unique hero who blends summoner and support roles. Use her spiderlings to overwhelm enemies or protect allies with layered debuffs and healing effects.[/p]
  • [p]A hero unlike any other. Tulah’s gameplay revolves around her Broodmother talent tree, letting you build around aggressive spiderling swarms, poison synergy, or haunting control strategies.[/p]
  • [p]New Pet: The Cocoon – A curious creature that mutates over time. Depending on your choices, it can become a powerful offensive threat or a supportive companion.[/p]
  • [p]Three chilling skins – Dress Tulah in styles as eerie as they are divine.[/p]
  • [p]Three Sahti-themed cardbacks – Embrace the spider’s touch with new, sinister deck designs.[/p]
  • [p]Expanded world dialogue – Experience new event responses and unveil Tulah’s connection to the ancient powers of Sahti.[/p]
[p] [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][hr][/hr][p] [/p][h3]The Sunken Temple, Dungeon Pack [/h3][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]
In The Sunken Temple Dungeon Pack you will:[/p]
  • [p]Explore a new dungeon zone filled with narrative depth and gameplay variety.[/p]
  • [p]Experience a dynamic final encounter with 9+ unique boss variants and reward paths.[/p]
  • [p]Uncover 15+ new events that illuminate the ancient secrets of Aquarfall’s mysterious past.[/p]
  • [p]Unlock 10 new items and powerful underwater relics to enhance your builds.[/p]
  • [p]Discover a new pet, Rocky, to fight alongside you on your dives into the deep.[/p]
  • [p]Equip 7 new ocean-themed skins to give your heroes a look worthy of the sea.[/p]
  • [p]Earn an exclusive deep-sea cardback to mark your conquest of the Sunken Temple.[/p]
[p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][hr][/hr][h3]
The 1.6 update for Across the Obelisk[/h3][p]
Along with the two new DLCs, we also updated the base game of Across the Obelisk with a few changes. Check out the patch notes below:


New features
- Weekly challenges now reward 2 cardbacks. The first is the one that corresponds to the weekly and the second is a random cardback from the pool that includes the seasonal cardbacks.
- Added a new chain event covering all zones. This event can start in Senenthia at the crossroads and is related to the Casthak family history.
- Added 1 new item, the Spear.

Balance changes
- Sahti boss the Rust King, reduced the scaling of Rust Volley, so there should be substantially less dmg, poison and wet applied.
- Sahti boss the Rust King, made Kings Presence yellow version reduce the cost of cards by 1 (instead of 2), and give -1 speed.
- Sahti captain enemies, made Captains Presence yellow version be random single target (instead of all heroes).
- Challenge Madness 9 modification "permanent injuries" changed so that injuries cannot be removed in the towns, but you will be able to remove them normally during the adventure. [/p][p]- Increased the damage of Nenukil Extra Gunpowderâ enchantment by 5%.

Fixes
- Singularity, from Madness 1 onwards, 4 monsters should appear per combat in Senenthia and first combat of Act 2 (as M1 adventure).
- Fixed Reginald white combat bandages, to be the one intended instead of the corrupted version.
- Fixed Equalizer corruptor not rewarding correct scores.
- Fixed some text, typos and inconsitencies here and there.
[/p]