As We Descend News

Steam Patch 0.2.3
[v.403198]

We patched in a minor fix as well as a buff to consumables. This should not wipe out your current run.

Balance ✦All Consumable Items changed to now cost 0 Command
Fixes Added support for Korean, Japanese, and Chinese main title logotype variants
Fixed issue where you could leave a Scavenge early while there were still free rewards available
Fixed various minor translation issues
Fixed crash that could happen when playing the game in Korean
Fixed a random crash that could occur during the collections phase
Fixed a few rare crash bugs
Fixed a performance issue that caused stutters when leaving the game idle for a while
Removed a UI element to clean up clutter during combat
Fixed the descension gauge in the progression screen not updating correctly
Fixed an issue in the post-combat scavenging screen where an example card could show up

Patch 0.2.2 [v.402975]
ːsteamthisː ⇒ Community-inspired change

Hey! We've got a whole bunch of languages available for you to play the demo in for this new patch. All of these languages (plus Russian, the localization is still underway and will take more time) will be available in our Early Access launch:
Deutsch (German)
Italiano (Italian)
Español-España (Spanish-Spain)
Polski (Polish)
Українська (Ukrainian)
한국어 (Korean)
简体中文 (Simplified Chinese)
繁體中文 (Traditional Chinese)
Français (French)
日本語 (Japanese)
Português-Brasil (Portuguese-Brazil)

You can try it out right now in these languages.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3256480/As_We_Descend_Demo

Apart from the language update, we've focused on improving learnability and clarity. One major change is that we've added in the new Tip system.

There's also new content and balancing adjustments, as well as an increased frequency of upgrades and forgets in the City. In general, you should find the game a bit easier than it was before.

For those of you who are already playing, this will invalidate your current run save after you update.

[h2]ːsteamthisː Tips (Soft Tutorial)[/h2]
Designer notes: The metaprogress screen should be a bit clearer now with these changes. Maximum challenge level is still Descension 5, but it's now a tiny bit more forgiving at base difficulty with the change to the Fatigued mechanic while also streamlining the base experience.

• Added a new system for "Tips" which introduce a number of core gameplay mechanic to new players!
  
• If you've already played before, see how these feel to you.
  

[h2]ːsteamthisː Staggered Adjustments[/h2]
Designer notes: The Staggered state now behaves much more consistently for most players. While players could optimize their Staggered durations in the previous behavior by allowing units to trigger Staggered with auto-attacks instead of triggering preemptively on their own turn, it frequently created unintuitive gameplay states.

• When Staggered is triggered, the enemy is guaranteed stunned for the current turn
  
• Enemies now uniformly recover alongside other enemy actions instead of after your unit auto-action phase
  
• Lasher and Husk recover from Staggered slightly faster than before, but no longer do a revenge attack; their recovery grants them a minor amount of Barrier
  
• Behemoth's revenge attack now happens on the second Staggered turn rather than the first
  
• Plague Soldier's initial revenge attacks have been replaced with an Affliction intent
  
• Various visual adjustments on the Staggered state
  

[h2]Progression Screen (Purifier)[/h2]
Design notes: Due to its complexity, it's best that Purifier doesn't show up until a player's 2nd or 3rd descent. The unlock condition should be quite easily attainable.

• ːsteamthisː Purifier must be unlocked before it's available in the Rare unit pool
  

[h2]General Gameplay[/h2]
Design notes: Improved recovery rate for both the starter Innkeeper's Blessing and the Battle Fatigue variant to ease the healing pressure a bit.

• ːsteamthisː Innkeeper's Blessing: Healing from visiting the Innkeeper improved. Cost reduced from 20 → 15 and healing amount increased from 10 → 15
  
• ːsteamthisː Innkeeper's Blessing (Battle Fatigue enabled): Between-cycle healing amount for units without Fatigued increased from 5 → 10
  
• ːsteamthisː On the Expedition Map, you can now find scavenge sites where the primary reward is guaranteed Copper
  
• ːsteamthisː It is now mandatory to spend all Scavengers at an scavenge site
  
• ːsteamthisː When entering a new Depth, you automatically start at Cycle 1 rather than Cycle 0. (You no longer have to press End Cycle to start the new Depth!)
  
• ːsteamthisː Adjusted various impact SFX across the board
  
• All effects which say "Draw a card (for a specific unit)" will always prioritize non-Reposition cards (and similar cards) if possible
  

[h2]City & Events[/h2]
Design notes: Adjusted both Old Mentor and Lantern Researcher choices to be a bit more streamlined in the interest of reducing low-importance gameplay complexity.

• ːsteamthisː Shopkeeper: Now sells slightly fewer Favor and Bandage items initially, and sells an AVA Miracle draft (once per Depth) and a Lantern upgrade or remove (once per Depth)
  
• ːsteamthisː Collector: No longer sells one-time buffs for Attack Power, Armor, or Stagger Power; instead, sells an assortment of Unit Forget, Unit Upgrade, and Unit Perk (once per Depth)
  
• ːsteamthisː Librarian: Added a Unit Card Draft (once per Cycle)
  
• ːsteamthisː Apothecary: Increased the number of potion types sold from 3 → 4
  
• ːsteamthisː Market Plaza: Can no longer trigger the Gambler Event
  
• Old Mentor: When redeeming an Ancient Manuscript, no longer offers a specialized choice of what to draft
  
• Relic Researcher: No longer offers a sub-choice of what to draft (always offers cards from the whole Lantern pool)
  
• Mycologist: Now properly starts with 1 mushroom
  
• Caretaker: Will no longer accept the Dreamfruit to forget a card if no cards can be forgotten
  

[h2]HUD & UI[/h2]

• Unit Display
  
  
  • [New] Compact cards have modified visuals based on rarity
    
  • Compact cards no longer show their card type (unless you hover them)
    
  • Perk display has been updated to be larger and clearer, and shines during the unit draft screen
    
• Progression screen
  
  
  • Unlocking a modifier now shows an overview of the reward
    
  • Updated the animations that play when unlocking new modifiers
    
  • Updated the way modifiers show their information
    
• City events and pins
  
  
  • ːsteamthisː City events now properly display output for most location actions
    
  • City events no longer show the full log of all past events
    
  • You can now right-click city pins to open the full log of past events
    
  • Pins can now show a small dialogue bubble in certain cases
    
  • Small fixes and changes to the portraits next to the dialogue panel
    
• Combat HUD
  
  
  • ːsteamthisː Long HP bars are no longer arbitrarily split into 3 parts
    
  • Enemies with an "Enrage" effect (altered behavior when health is 50% or lower) now have a single split
    
  • Fixed issue where the number of buffs/debuffs could be desynced from the number of displayed buffs/debuffs when hovering an enemy
    
• [New] Added settings button in top bar
  
• We've changed several fonts in the game in preparation for localization; see if you like the new fonts!
  
• Overhauled Cycle meter visuals
  
• The deploy screen now shows the number of offense, defense and support you are bringing into battle, rather than the total card count
  
• Increased size of combat SCTs and updated various SCT icons
  
• Hovering units in the Forces listing now shows their name tooltip
  

[h2]Units & Cards[/h2]

• [New] Added various card arts added for many cards
  
• [New] Field Promotion (Commander)
  
• ːsteamthisː Empower now tries to draw a card for the chosen unit if possible
  
• ːsteamthisː Radiant Formation: Attack Power applied increased from 1 → 2
  
• Hunting Blade: Damage decreased from 4(5) → 3(4) and Fleeting Attack Power increased from 2(3) → 3(4)
  
• Crushing Blow: Damage increased from 4(6) → 5(7) and Stagger increased from 4(6) → 5(7)
  
• Fire Bomb: Burning increased from 4(6) → 5(7)
  
• Shoulder Bash: Stagger from Armor multiplier increased from 4(7) → 5(8)
  
• Battle Hymn: Fleeting buff stacks increased from 3(5) → 4(6)
  
• Rally: Fleeting Stagger stacks increased from 3(5) → 4(6)
  
• Grit: Fleeting Armor now applies to all friendlies instead of just the Vanguard
  
• Adjusted various Navigator animations
  

[h2]Perks[/h2]

• [New] Hallowed
  
• [New] Weapon Ablaze
  
• [New] Heavy Metal (Knight)
  
• [New] Violent Entry (Zealot)
  
• Quick Guard: Now only learnable for Guard Zone auto-attackers
  
• Strongarm: Stagger bonus increased from 1 → 2
  
• Trailblazer: Dizzy stacks increased from 2 → 3
  
• Blindside: Feeble stacks increased from 2 → 3
  
• Absorbent Mass: Barrier received bonus increased from 1 → 2
  
• Monster Hunter (Arbalist): Damage bonus increased from 2 → 4
  
• Crossbow Crank (Arbalist): Ephemeral attack power increased from 3 → 4
  
• Removed Feel No Pain (Zealot)
  
• Oathsworn: No longer learnable for Purifier
  
• Harmonic: Now only learnable for Navigator
  

[h2]Techs[/h2]

• [New] Energy Exchanger
  
• [New] Cyclic Dial
  
• Hallowed Sphere: Barrier applied increased from 8 → 16
  
• Reactive Armor: Fleeting Armor amount increased from 1 → 2
  
• Soma Tablets: Barrier applied increased from 2 → 4
  

[h2]Enemies & Encounters[/h2]

• [New] Worm (Depth 1 Enemy found in 2 Expedition Encounters)
  
• [New] Various introduction animations for enemies
  
• ːsteamthisː All enemies which use Lock-On Intents now have a VFX indicator when it's active (Kraken's Devour, Abomination's Slimequake)
  
• Lock-On Intents are now sorted properly before other intent types (like all other Attack Intents)
  
• Molter King has a new weakpoint that can be destroyed to Stun it for an extra turn
  
• Dire Vermin no longer show up in Depth 2 (but this won't be the last you see of Dire Vermin...)
  
• Vermin Broodmother can now spawn by itself as a Trio encounter, later encounters include a pair of Vermin
  

[h2]Rendering & Optimization[/h2]

• [New] Added Upscale Mode: “Stretch”
  
• ːsteamthisː VRAM usage further optimized
  
• Fixed several issues with exclusive fullscreen mode
  
• Fixed AVA on lantern being visually cut off when FSR is enabled
  
• Fixed AVA on lantern visual blurriness
  
• Fixed tooltips going through pause menus
  
• Fixed several objects wrongly being affected by camera fade occlusion
  
• Fixed Lantern having inconsistent targeting reticle sizes
  
• Fixed a bug where a default tooltip showed up in several screens
  
• Fixed bug where settings menu did not respect the main menu framerate
  
• Fixed several graphic setting slider bugs
  
• Render resolution slider is now capped to 1x display resolution, when FSR is enabled, it is capped between 3x-1x upscaling
  

[h2]Miscellaneous Bug Fixes[/h2]

• ːsteamthisː Fixed issue where units wouldn't play the proper SFX when absorbing damage with Barrier
  
• ːsteamthisː Fixed bug where the Forge Smith would breakdance
  
• ːsteamthisː Fixed issue regarding missing animation & VFX for Disruption Wave and Incinerate
  
• ːsteamthisː Fixed the odd overlaps that could happen between unit displays, perk modules, and the expedition map
  
• Fixed bug where a Stunned enemy would lose the guarding effect
  
• Fixed bug where Behemoth had an extra target reticle
  
• Fixed issue where Dispel Intent shared an icon with Recovery Intent
  
• Fixed bug where certain cards would play a dissolve effect in the City
  

Wishlist and Follow As We Descend to make sure you get all the announcements as well as a notification when the game launches:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1769830/As_We_Descend

If you are itching for more experimental content, you can signup for the closed beta. You can also join the Discord to talk to other players and have a greater chance to earn a beta key. Thanks for following along in our development journey, looking forward to seeing you in the Demo (and hopefully the Beta too)!

Cheers,
Kev
Game Director at Box Dragon

Hey,

We've decided to postpone the Early Access release of As We Descend, so we're no longer launching on March 27th. We've had to make difficult decisions, but we felt it was the right call to make sure the game will be as good as possible for its launch.

The new release date is currently undecided. Why? A big factor of the decision was the huge influx of feedback, discussion, and reviews from Steam Next Fest. We want to dig down into the heart of the feedback and make the proper changes; it will take time to test the changes and iterate them with our community. Even though Early Access only represents the start of the journey for us, we don't want to rush the launch of the game and we want to optimize the playability of the game even from day 1. As We Descend adds a ton of new mechanics into the roguelike deckbuilder space that give it a unique feeling, and we want to give the proper introduction for these gameplay systems.

I know you're excited for the launch of the game (as are we!), so we'll have followup news for you regarding the release date before the end of the month. We'll be continuing to test the game in our closed beta, and we'll have further news about the demo shortly.

If you don't want to miss any further updates, make sure to Wishlist and Follow As We Descend so you get all the announcements as well as a notification when the game launches:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1769830/As_We_Descend

Stay tuned,
Kev and the team at Box Dragon

P.S. We'll be keeping the demo up, so you can continue to try out the game and leave reviews and feedback for us as we continue on the road to release. If you tried out the Demo already, make sure to make your thoughts heard, whether it's critical or positive!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3256480/As_We_Descend_Demo

[v.397515]
ːsteamthisː ⇒ Community-inspired change

Hail, new Wardens! Kev again with new patch notes. Hope you're enjoying Next Fest so far. It's awesome to see so many players playing and discussing the game! Thanks to all those who have joined in so far, and extra shoutout to those of you who have gone the extra distance to leave a review on our demo.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3256480/As_We_Descend_Demo
(For those with a keen eye, yes, we've just updated the capsule art on it for Next Fest!)

For this patch, we've made some changes mostly focused on quality-of-life adjustments, with some balance changes as well and improvements to the metaprogression screen. For those of you who are already playing, this will invalidate your current run save after you update.

[h2]Metaprogression Screen[/h2]
Designer notes: The metaprogress screen should be a bit clearer now with these changes. Maximum challenge level is still Descension 5, but it's now a tiny bit more forgiving at base difficulty with the change to the Fatigued mechanic while also streamlining the base experience.

• While unlocking, no longer focuses camera on non-demo unlocks
  
• ːsteamthisː Added delineation for positive & negative effects of Descensions unlocks
  
• Smaller icons on non-major unlocks
  
• ːsteamthisː [New] Tactical Retreat, available in the demo
  
• Grievous Wounds renamed Battle Fatigue, now available in the demo
  
• Dire Fatigue is no longer available in the demo
  
• ːsteamthisː Added new Descension Gauge tooltip on hover
  
• Added Sacrosanct origin logo preview and mythion circle to link the three origins
  
• Shifted a few other dependencies around
  

[h2]HUD & UI[/h2]

• ːsteamthisː Max UI scale increased from 1.1 to 1.2
  
• ːsteamthisː UI scaling now affects City Event panel
  
• ːsteamthisː Added hover tooltips for the combat zones
  
• Updated on Main Menu exit prompt
  
• Combat HUD health loss changed to all-white
  
• Fixed issue where Combat HUD would have an aliased white pixel at certain resolutions
  
• Fixed typo on difficulty disclaimer
  

[h2]Cards[/h2]

• Added card art for Doom (Mesmer - Affliction) and Under Pressure (Navigator)
  
• Fix for inaccurate stagger preview of Force Blast (Guardian)
  
• Fix for inaccurate stagger preview of Thorn Skewer (Dauntless)
  
• Fix for Armored Warfare+ morphing the function of the card
  

[h2]Innkeeper's Blessing (Starter Tech)[/h2]
Designer notes: Innkeeper's Blessing and Fatigued have been slightly reworked to reduce baseline complexity and offer more consistent healing. This also provides a real decision at the Inn even at base difficulty level.

• Healing changed from 40%/20% of max health to a flat 5
  
• Additional healing can be purchased from the Inn
  
• Fatigued is only induced after Battle Fatigue modifier is enabled
  
• Innkeeper's Favor option Charisma check threshold increased from 7 to 8
  

[h2]Enemies[/h2]
Designer notes: This patch includes tuning for various encounters to move some enemy damage into debuffs and utility instead.

• Enemies with Scatter Attack intents are now capped at 3 targets (mostly a visual change, behaviorally nearly identical)
  
• Recoil intent type for Vermin Broodmother instead of Special intent
  
• ːsteamthisː Vermin (Blue) Spit exchanged for Slimy Spit that deals less damage but applies Sapped
  
• Minor adjustment to intent cloud position of Vermin
  
• ːsteamthisː Dune Stalker encounter overhauled to reward more aggressive play and offer greater counterplay
  • Applies Armorshred instead of Sapped
    
  • Sweeping Strike cleave damage greatly reduced
    
  • Staggered duration increased from 1 to 2
    
  • Stagger threshold slightly decreased
    
  • Weakpoint health slightly decreased
    
• Fixed bug with Spiky buff opacity (Spiker)
  
• ːsteamthisː Fixed Decimator to no longer ignore provoke effects (like Dauntless's Phalanx) (Siege Spire)
  
• ːsteamthisː Added VFX for Executioner's Mark (Phantasm)
  

[h2]Events[/h2]
Designer notes: Added new events that allow more drafting and perk options, as well as removing a boring choice to remove pool dilution. Cleansing items now consistently offers more compelling choices.

• [New] Tool Schematic
  
• [New] Barrier Breakthrough
  
• No longer possible to trigger Master in Market (+1 Attack Power / +1 Armor buff choice)
  
• Cleansing Ritual
  • ːsteamthisː 20 copper to cleanse no longer shows up if you don't have 20 copper
    
  • New Favor option
    
  • New Dissolve option
    
• Health values post-revival adjusted to be generally higher for the payment options
  

[h2]Major Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed issue where a player's event choice option could be ignored by the game's input system
  
• Fixed bug where the camera could freak out if the player navigated through the deployment menu too quickly
  
• ːsteamthisː Possible fix for bug where an uninitialized card could get stuck in the top-left of the screen, which blocked input
  

Wishlist and Follow As We Descend to make sure you get all the announcements as well as a notification when the game launches on March 27th 2025 (yes, that's next month!):
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1769830/As_We_Descend

If you want more experimental content, you'll have to signup for closed beta access. You can also join the Discord to talk to other players and have a greater chance to earn a beta key. Thanks for following along in our development journey, looking forward to seeing you in the Demo (and hopefully the Beta too)!

Cheers,
Kev
Game Director at Box Dragon

[v.396944]
ːsteamthisː ⇒ Community-inspired change

Hail, Wardens! Kev here, game director of Box Dragon and our resident game designer. You're just in time for the new patch. But first off, did you catch the new gameplay trailer where we reveal the release date?
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
I'll keep these patchnotes short and not go over every little detail. We've got plenty of other fixes, gameplay, and art improvements in various places. So, onward to major changes since the last Demo update:

• Two FULL Biomes in the Demo
  
• ːsteamthisːDouble Expedition Pacing Change
  
• ːsteamthisːNew Scavenge System
  
• ːsteamthisːNew Encounter Info
  
• ːsteamthisːNew Market Event System
  
• New Wound System
  
• New Unit: PURIFIER
  
• ːsteamthisːNew HUD, UI, and HUD Scaling Setting
  
• ːsteamthisːOverhauled Favor Economy
  
• ːsteamthisːRupture and Tar Reworks
  
• Recoverable Technology
  
• Over 40 new cards, 20 technologies, 5 enemies, 2 minibosses, 2 bosses
  
• Tons more unit, perk, tech, card, and enemy adjustments
  
• ːsteamthisːNew Meta-Progression Screen
  
• Lots of new card art
  
• ːsteamthisːVarious performance improvements
  
• ːsteamthisːAnd yes, the Hold-Escape bug has been fixed
  

[h2] Two Biomes of Gameplay[/h2]
Designer notes: You can now play through all of the first two Biomes with the first Origin, even in the demo. Countless challenges await you here, and for the daring, you can even crank up the Descension difficulty system.

[h2] Double Expedition Pacing Change[/h2]
Designer notes: Tired of the methodical pacing? You can now deploy at rapid speed. But be warned; your forces only get time to catch their breath upon a new cycle, and there are far fewer cycles now then before.

• Biome 1 Cycles decreased from 6 to 4
  
• Biome 2 Cycles decreased from 7 to 5
  
• You get 2 Expedition Force cards each cycle now
  
• However, this may be quite taxing for your forces, so keep an eye on their health and fatigue
  

[h2] New Scavenge System[/h2]
Designer notes: After each successful expedition, you will be able to use the Scavengers you bring with you to salvage resources. A risky option you can do to make room for additional Scavengers is by sending fewer units to each Expedition.

• 5 Scavengers are deployed with you into expeditions
  
• Leaving empty deployment slots will grant +2 Scavengers
  
• Scavengers are spent to scavenge resources from ruins
  
• Some resource deposits in ruins are extra dangerous, beware of Contamination!
  

[h2] New Unit: Purifier[/h2]
Designer notes: The Purifier arrives, a new rare unit that is a solo squad. It wields powerful support abilities, but can also harness the power of Afflictions using its Absolution perk to turn the tides of battle.

• Absolution: Auto-action grants a stack. At 3, unleashes a powerful auto-attack that scales with the number of Affliction cards in your battle deck.
  
• Starter cards: Purge, Penitence, Shadow Sight
  
• Features 11 learnable cards and the unique Deliverance affliction
  
• Various cards feature the Absolution Bonus, which spends a stack of Absolution to gain a bonus
  

[h2] Technology[/h2]
Designer notes: You will find many artifact fragments while out on Expeditions. Returning these to the Elder will allow you to craft powerful technology to aid your forces.

• Turn in two Artifact Halves to gain a new technology
  
• 18 powerful technologies await you in the demo
  

Congratulations on making it to the end of the patch notes! If you've got any thoughts, please leave a comment below. Eager for more? Wishlist and Follow As We Descend to make sure you get all the announcements as well as a notification when the game launches:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1769830/As_We_Descend

If you want more experimental content, you'll have to signup for closed beta access. You can also join the Discord to talk to other players and have a greater chance to earn a beta key. Thanks for following along in our development journey, looking forward to seeing you in the Demo (and hopefully the Beta too)!

Cheers,
Kev
Game Director at Box Dragon