SpellRogue News

This is just a small update to fix a few issues and interactions, notably Localization had a few bugs resulting in missing strings and a spell upgrade that did not work as intended.

• Added missing translations.
  
• Small updates/hotfixes can no longer break existing save files.
  
• Fixed Multi Jet upgrade requiring dice it does not allow.
  
• Fixed “Disenchant for Money” decreasing gold by 1 when owning Giant’s Pouch artifact.
  
• Fixed Black Market “gain 2 random potions” tooltips.
  
• Fixed “Infectious Ones” mutator getting ignored when having “M’olly” artifact.
  
• Fixed upgrade UI is obstructing the socket change
  
• Fixed Wounded tooltip now being shown in some cases.
  

May your dice roll true 🧙
Tim & Thorbjørn

In the previous update we focused on late game and ended up (over-)simplifying wizard loadouts, as we repurposed the starter attack/defense Spells (which we planned to rework, but ran out of time for the update). We recognize though - as many of you rightly pointed out - that this feels like a step back, so we are currently working on improving the Loadout system. Here's a quick peek into what we are experimenting with.

PLEASE NOTE: Screenshots below show experimental and untested content, some of which will never be implemented in the game

[h2]Experiment: New starter Spells[/h2]
One approach we are exploring is basically reintroducing unique attack and defense Spell for each loadout, while attempting to have more build-defining Spells.
In Development example of a blood themed Loadout for Fire.

A potential new loadout focused on the Rain countdown mechanic.

A new set of attack/defense Spells for Mulch that relies on midrange dice values.

[h2]Experiment: Drafting attack/defense Spells[/h2]
A struggle we always had with loadouts (and part of the reason for the simplification) is that we want to avoid players keeping all of their starting Spells throughout the game. Ideally, players are finetuning their build after each combat by for example switching out starter spells. Our approach has been making attack/defense Spells comparably weak, pushing you to replace them quickly as you are putting together your build. However this makes it (surprisingly) difficult and time consuming to design attack/defense Spells which both feel unique and interesting.

Another potential approach is using common Spells in loadouts, or draft attack/defense Spells at the start of each run.
Some combinations of Spells don't work well, so this approach might require a limited selection of Spells, or instead be an optional game mode.

[h2]Experiment: Signature Spell upgrades[/h2]
The dice focused "signature" Spell that each loadout has, is what has always defined the loadout and is usually the only starting spell you keep throughout the game.
Still, the signature Spells usually don't affect your build that much, as many of them behave similarly and are purely for dice control.

One experiment we are trying is adding upgrades to Signature Spells, as a way to support more uniqueness for each loadout.
The best types of upgrades are the ones letting you lean into your element’s mechanics.

[h2]Experiment: Unique starter Artifacts[/h2]
For a long time we have had plans to make character selection more interesting by making loadouts even more unique, and have more ways to customize your starting condition.

One approach we are considering is having unique artifacts for loadouts, and/or allow choosing a specific artifact in the loadout selection process.
Different Artifacts that could be selected during character selection.

Although we think there is a lot of potential in this approach, we have found it difficult to design a large set of Artifacts like this. It also feels like some of these ideas could just be regular/starter Artifacts, and/or the examples above would be better suited for some form of optional "Challenge Mode" due to their very large impact on how you play.
However, having unique Artifacts that lean into different build-archetypes could work well as an “intro” for the more complex build synergies, so they still seem worthwhile to explore further in some capacity.

With all this in mind, we’re looking into doing some public testing for the loadouts and the other features we’re working on, but we will have more to share about that in the near future.


May your dice roll true 🧙

Tim & Thorbjørn

Today’s Hotfix patch addresses some of the issues which you have been reporting over the last week, as well as balancing Spells, Artifacts and Enemies. One of our goals is to slightly reduce the difficulty in Act 1, so we have increased wizard starting health, made some Spells easier to cast, and lowered health/damage for a few Enemies.

[h2]Upcoming changes[/h2]
We are currently working on a replacement for the simplified Loadouts from Update 4. We want to bring back the uniqueness from each loadout, and hope to give each of them even more speciality. We already started experimenting with new starter Spells, but we will share more about them in another Steam post early next week and hopefully start testing very soon!

We are still evaluating some of the other design changes from Update 4. Although some of you dislike the new “+value dice overflow” mechanic, we still want to give it a proper chance for it to accomplish the design intention. The goal was to keep turns interesting and avoid players casting the same order of Spells every turn. Sources that provide reliable access to specific dice values often devolve into players “automatically” placing dice which limits player agency and weakens the core of the game.
This is also why we previously changed other dice generating effects to roll as larger value ranges such as the Fire “theme” rolling dice from 1-2 -> 1-3. With all that said we are still considering somehow we can bring back the old mechanic in some way.

[h2]Keep the feedback coming![/h2]
And a big thanks to everyone who has been reporting bugs, issues and voiced their opinion, we truly do read it all! And we will keep on monitoring raised complaints about Update 4 and look for ways to address the issues, but for now, here’s the changes for this patch:




[h2]General[/h2]
Buffs to various spells, upgrades, artifacts.
Slight nerfs to various enemies.
Increased Wizard Health 50 -> 60.
More Events have the option for “Rune Drafts”.
Chance for Pre-Runed Spells in drafts has been increased slightly.
Updated translations.

[h2]Bug fixes[/h2]
Fixed Sentinel Sigil artifact, no longer double triggers and corrected charge amount.
Rune Catalog now has a tighter layout to remove scrollbar.
Fixed Runes seen in drafts not adding user knowledge.
Fixed Fury Rune missing "Has Uses" requirement.
Changed Stygian dice to not attack if slotted in Spell

[h2]Full Changelog:[/h2]
Spell (Void) DARK ARTS Rupture: 2 -> 3
Spell (Void) GAZE FROM BEYOND Damage: 50 -> 60
Spell (Void) GAZE FROM BEYOND+A '+15 damage' -> '+20 damage'
Spell (Void) INSCRIBE Sockets: [*6*] -> [*5*]
Spell (Earth) EMANATE Sockets: [*9*] -> [*8*]
Spell (Earth) FLEETING MIGHT Sockets: [1-3] -> [1-4]
Spell (Earth) FLEETING MIGHT+A '[1-5]' -> '[ ]'
Spell (Earth) FLEETING MIGHT+B '+1 power , +1 drain' -> '+1 power +1 drain'
Spell (Earth) FORTITUDE+A '+2 block , -1 charges' -> '+2 block -1 charges'
Spell (Earth) FORTITUDE+B '-3 block , +1 barrier' -> '-1 block +1 barrier'
Spell (Earth) GLEAMING FORCE Sockets: [=2] -> [Odd]
Spell (Earth) GLEAMING FORCE+A '+2 damage' -> '+3 damage'
Spell (Earth) GLEAMING FORCE+B '[*2*]' -> '[*1*]'
Spell (Earth) GLINT GLAIVE Damage: 20 -> 25
Spell (Earth) GLINT GLAIVE Blessing Multiplier: 4 -> 5
Spell (Earth) GLINT GLAIVE+A '+4 damage / blessing' -> '+5 damage / blessing'
Spell (Earth) INFUSE SCALES Sockets: [3-6] -> [4-6]
Spell (Earth) JAVELIN Damage: 5 -> 7
Spell (Earth) JAVELIN+A '+3 damage' -> '+4 damage'
Spell (Earth) JAVELIN+B '+1 rupture' -> '+2 rupture'
Spell (Earth) PROLIFERATE Sockets: [*11*] -> [*10*]
Spell (Earth) PROLIFERATE Charges: 1 -> 2
Spell (Earth) PROWL Block: 8 -> 9
Spell (Earth) PROWL+A '+4 block , +1 silenced' -> '+3 block'
Spell (Earth) PULVERIZE Charges: 2 -> 3
Spell (Earth) PULVERIZE+B '+1 charge' -> '+1 charge +1 damage'
Spell (Earth) ROCKSLIDE+A '+2 damage , -1 charges' -> '+1 damage , -1 charges'
Spell (Earth) SACRED SHIMMER+A '+3 damage' -> '+4 damage'
Spell (Earth) SANCTIFY SHELL Sockets: [*13*] -> [*12*]
Spell (Earth) SPRING TO ACTION Sockets: [1-3] -> [1-4]
Spell (Fire) ASHEN PLATING Block: 10 -> 9
Spell (Fire) BLOODWARD Block: 3 -> 4
Spell (Fire) BURN SCAR Sockets: [=6] -> [5-6]
Spell (Fire) BURN SCAR+B '[Even]' -> '[*4*]'
Spell (Fire) DEMEAN Sockets: [*8*] -> [*7*]
Spell (Fire) DEMEAN Charges: 1 -> 2
Spell (Fire) DEMEAN+B '[*6*]' -> '[*5*]'
Spell (Fire) ERUPTION Damage: 25 -> 30
Spell (Fire) ERUPTION+A '+7 damage' -> '+10 damage'
Spell (Fire) FLAME SURGE Surge: 1 -> 2
Spell (Fire) FLAME SURGE Banefire: 2 -> 4
Spell (Fire) FLAME SURGE+A '2:+1 banefire' -> '2: +2 banefire'
Spell (Fire) GLOWING VISAGE Block: 4 -> 6
Spell (Fire) HEATSTROKE Sockets: [=6] -> [5-6]
Spell (Fire) HEMORRHAGE Sockets: [1-4] -> [1-5]
Spell (Fire) HURT Charges: 2 -> 3
Spell (Fire) INCINERATE Damage: 12 -> 13
Spell (Fire) INCINERATE+A '+4 damage' -> '+5 damage'
Spell (Fire) INFERNO Banefire: 3 -> 4
Spell (Fire) INFERNO+B '+1 banefire' -> '+2 banefire'
Spell (Fire) LEECH Damage: 4 -> 6
Spell (Fire) METEOR On Receiving Status Effect: Radiant -> Critical
Spell (Fire) ROARING EMBERS Damage: 2 -> 4
Spell (Fire) SHARP SPARK Sockets: [*6*] -> [*5*]
Spell (Fire) SOLARITY Sockets: [3-6] -> [2-6]
Spell (Fire) SOLARITY Value Reduction: -2 -> -1
Spell (Fire) VINDICTIVE STRIKE Damage: 12 -> 14
Spell (Fire) WILDBLAZE ORB Sockets: [*4*] -> [*5*]
Spell (Fire) WILDBLAZE ORB Damage: 4 -> 5
Spell (Fire) WILDBLAZE ORB+B '+1 charges, [*6*]' -> '+1 charges, [*7*]'
Spell (Water) ACCUMULATION Sockets: [=5][=5] -> [5-6][5-6]
Spell (Water) BLIZZARD Sockets: [*13*] -> [*12*]
Spell (Water) CRASHING WAVE Sockets: [1-4][1-4] -> [1-5][1-5]
Spell (Water) ENCASE AZUR Sockets: [1-4][1-4] -> [1-3][1-3]
Spell (Water) ENCASE AZUR+A '[ ][ ]' -> '[1-5][1-5]'
Spell (Water) ICICLE BLADE Sockets: [*3*] -> [*4*]
Spell (Water) MULTI JET Sockets: [Even] -> [Odd]
Spell (Water) POISON BARRIER Block: 5 -> 4
Spell (Water) RISING TORRENT+A '+2 damage /cast' -> '+3 damage /cast'
Spell (Water) RISING TORRENT+B '+2 charge' -> '+2 charges +2 damage'
Spell (Water) TETHER AZUR+A '2x dicex damage' -> '+3 damage'
Spell (Water) VILE LITURGY Sockets: [4-6]=[4-6] -> [*7*]
Spell (Water) WATER VORTEX Rain: 2 -> 3
Artifact FAERIE'S CURSE Sap: 2 -> 1
Artifact DEMONIC SEAL Rupture: 3 -> 4
Artifact ARCTIC AXE Fury: 6 -> 7
Artifact GRANITE ORB Dazed: 3 -> 2
Artifact HYMN BOOK Critical: 1 -> 2
Artifact SENTINEL SIGIL Change Stacks: 2 -> 1
Artifact SENTINEL SIGIL Change Spell Properties: 1 -> 2
Artifact SUNWEAVE CLOAK Countdown: -2 -> -3
Enemy WILL-O'-WISP HP: 42 -> 47
Enemy WILL-O'-WISP Action 2: Deal 6 Damage. Heal 1 per Health Lost. -> Deal 7 Damage. Heal 1 per Health Lost.
Enemy HEART OF THE FOREST Action 1: Deal 15 Damage. -> Deal 12 Damage.
Enemy HEART OF THE FOREST Action 3: Gain 5 Power. -> Gain 4 Power.
Enemy ROOT OF THE FOREST HP: 25 -> 20
Enemy CARRION ABOMINATION Action 2: Deal 12 Damage. -> Deal 10 Damage.
Enemy CRONE OF DEATH HP: 60 -> 55
Enemy WARLOCK HP: 45 -> 40
Enemy BLUE HYDRA HEAD HP: 80 -> 75
Enemy GREEN HYDRA HEAD HP: 70 -> 65
Enemy GREEN HYDRA HEAD Action 1: Deal 4 Damage 2 times. -> Deal 3 Damage 2 times.
Enemy RED HYDRA HEAD HP: 65 -> 70
Enemy RED HYDRA HEAD Action 2: Deal 5 Damage. Gain 3 Power. -> Deal 4 Damage. Gain 2 Power.
Enemy ABYSS WALKER Action 3: Deal 7 Damage. Apply 3 Sap. -> Deal 7 Damage. Apply 2 Sap.
Enemy CHAOS ANGEL HP: 250 -> 225
Enemy DARK REFLECTION HP: 19 -> 14
Enemy DREAMWEAVER HP: 200 -> 190
Enemy ORB OF INFINITY HP: 225 -> 250
Enemy TESSERACT HP: 70 -> 45
Enemy FIERCE VOIDLING HP: 45 -> 50
Wizard AZAR HP: 50 -> 60
Wizard HAZEL HP: 50 -> 60
Wizard LAPIS HP: 50 -> 60
Mutator CATACLYSM++ Value: 10 -> 12
Mutator CATACLYSM+++ Value: 15 -> 18
Mutator SHATTERED SPELLBOOK+ Value: 10 -> 9
Mutator SPINY Value: 2 -> 3
Mutator TOXIC THREES Value: 10 -> 12
Event CHAPEL Gift 3: Receive Desecrator's Mark: Add Random Rune to target Spell -> Receive Desecrator's Mark: Choose and gain Rune
Event GRAVEYARD Gift 2: Lose Utility Spell: Add Random Rune to target Spell -> Lose Non-attack Spell: Add Random Rune to target Spell
Event RIFT IN REALITY Gift 2: Receive 30% Damage: Add Random Rune to target Spell -> Receive 30% Damage: Choose and gain Rune
Event TRAVELER Gift 3: Receive Black Mark: 100 Gold -> Receive Black Mark: Choose and gain Rune
Event VAULT Gift 1: Lose 30% Max Health: Gilded Dowsing Rod -> Lose 20% Max Health: Gilded Dowsing Rod


May your dice roll true 🧙
Tim & Thorbjørn

Today we are releasing Update #4 for SpellRogue!

This is a big one, with major structural and mechanical changes, new exciting content and a bunch of quality of life improvements across the game.
Our primary focus has been on enhancing the late-game experience by increasing build variety and making player choices more compelling and impactful.

[h2]Umbraxis the Great Lindwyrm[/h2]
The face of the update is the addition of our new Void boss, Umbraxis the Lindwyrm!
[previewyoutube]https://youtu.be/RBIYhZet16Y[/previewyoutube]
The Wyrm joins the pantheon of Void Gods, with a unique new battle to test your skills against. The primary mechanic is his summoned hands. These limbs damage the body once killed much like the Desert Hydra. Beware though, as Umbraxis will re-summon increasingly stronger hands. As you can imagine, Area of Effect or single target nukes are great for bursting down hands with their limited health and thus avoiding their attacks. So make sure you plan and adjust your strategy in Act 3 once you know which Void God you’re up against!

[h2]Spell overhaul and Runes[/h2]
To reiterate the previous dev post, we have made major changes to the balance of Spell rarity and added “Runes” as a modular upgrade system on top.
The important thing to note is that higher rarity spells are now generally stronger than their common counterparts, and that rare Spells are more likely to show up in the drafts of later acts. Sometimes Spells even come with a Rune already slotted in!


The goal is to give more incentive to change your build throughout the game and let Spells continue to be viable options into the late game. Combined with Runes, things should feel more dynamic than ever!



[h2]Loadout changes[/h2]
We streamlined loadouts so that wizards use the same starting attack and block Spells for all 4 of their loadouts. The unused starter spells have instead been converted to common spells available in standard drafts. We are planning further changes for additional loadout customization down the road, but didn’t manage to get it ready for update 4.

We feel like this is not a major change as the affected starting spells are still something you are not intended to keep for long, so it felt unnecessary that each starting spell pair was unique. We also redesigned and balanced a few signature spells to fit the new structure.

[h2]Effect changes[/h2]
We have taken a look at a few of the existing mechanics and made them slightly less predictable. We feel that elements of randomness are important to keep players thinking and not just cycling through the same line of spells each turn!

An example is the (somewhat hidden) mechanic of increasing dice value over 6. Previously, we would simply generate another dice with the overflow value, and thus were a very predictable way of generating additional dice with certain values.
We have now changed the “overflow” to instead split the dice in question. This means that if the value would total 7, it is split into 2 dice of random values that total 7 (2 and 5 for instance). While this takes a few runs to get used to, it is way more fun to gamble on what dice you will be getting, and it has the added benefit of splitting an enchanted dice into multiple dice.



We have also made some changes to Spell effects to have more unique effects and combos, and to avoid relying too heavily on Power (at least for Water and Fire). As an example, more Water spells now have “Rain” (which now triggers on dice rolls), and “Hailstorm” being permanent for the combat. There’s more but this post is already long enough so we will let you explore those on your own.

[h2]Map changes[/h2]
We made some changes to map tiles in an attempt to make the path you take more interesting. Maps are slightly shorter with less battles overall. Shards are now given from Elites but Elites are somewhat more difficult, and Shards slightly less important to pick up.
The map generation algorithm has also been improved to avoid unlucky map rolls affecting your run too much.

Sanctuary has been simplified and has the option of “rerolling” a Spell.

Shops have been slightly reworked, with Artifacts replaced with a “choose 1 of 3 artifacts” option.

Random events now often has the option of adding Runes to your Spells.

[h2]Balance and difficulty![/h2]
There are tons of changes that affect balance in this update. This means that the game can feel a fair bit more difficult, and although we spent a lot of time balancing there is likely still some overpowered/underpowered Spells and combos. We will continue tweaking content according to player metrics and the feedback you provide us on Discord and the Steam forums.

We are really happy with this direction for SpellRogue and are having a lot of fun playing our game, but we hope you can forgive us if we broke your favorite mechanic or Spell. Please do let us know though!

You can check out all the changes and new content added below!


[h2]General:[/h2]
New Act 3 boss: Umbraxis, the Great Lindwyrm!
New Rune mechanic: Modular upgrades to spells!
Major overhaul of Spells!
9 new Spells, 2 new Artifacts, 1 new Potion, 7 new Mutators!
Spells: Rare Spells more powerful but less frequent in early game
Spells: Rebalanced and reworked Spells to have more unique effects and useful upgrades.
Spells: “Loadouts” now only change the signature Spell.
Potions: Rare Potions more powerful.
Rituals: Rebalanced and added additional actions to some Rituals.
Enemies: Rebalanced some combat encounters and made Elites more challenging.
Mutators: Initial Mutation selection can now be rerolled once.
Mutators: Rebalanced and reworked several mutators.
Mechanics: Redesigned Vex, Hailstorm, Rain, Lifesteal, Icy.
Mechanics: Increasing dice values over 6 now splits the dice randomly.
Map: Slightly shorter maps and improved tile placement algorithm.
Map: Removed random Shard tiles and moved Shard to Elites.
Map: Added random Artifact tile to each act and free Shard tile to act 1.
Map: Sanctuary reworked slightly and forced one before bosses.
Map: Ritual removed from bosses and added free Ritual to start of act 2.
Map: Also added random Ritual tile in act 2 and 3.
Map: Shop Spell costs increased especially for rare Spells and Potions, added guaranteed rare Potion, replaced Artifacts with Artifact draft with increasing cost.
Map: Start with more gold (30->50) and increased gold from combats in act 2 and 3.
Map: Increased draft reroll cost 15->20.
Map: Spell drafts now exclude Spells you have already seen.
Map: Rebalanced and reworked some random events.
QOL: Increased gameplay speed: Quicker dice rolls and visual effects. (We’re still planning to add additional ways to speed the game up for veterans.)
QOL: Added tooltips for a few previously unexplained mechanics and keywords.
QOL: Added "Are you sure?" dialog when leaving Shop.
QOL: Improved and streamlined descriptions for some Spell/Artifact/Mutator/etc. effects

[h2]Bug fixes:[/h2]
Fixed Reinforce applying block multiplier before Sap/Fortfiy.
Fixed Elemental Overdrive Ritual not displaying increased status effect on some Spell.
Fixed Spell Echo + Concoction interaction.
Fixed Spell Echo showing previews for random effects in some cases.
Fixed controller "inspect mode" not working in combat in some cases.
Fixed controller tile selected resetting when opening and closing menu.
Fixed Malady triggering before e.g. Barrier applied.
Fixed Sight Shield + Ossuary's Touch interaction.
Fixed some cases where effects applied to invalid Spell targets.
Fixed Golem action not showing preview of incoming damage.
Fixed Finger of Justice not applying Dazed to all hits.
Fixed back button missing when selling spells in shop in some cases.
Fixed some cases where random effects were shown in previews.
Fixed Lifelink not canceled by Nullify
Fixed some Spells not showing glowing/disabled description when requirement fulfilled

[h2]Full Changelog[/h2]
For the full changelog please visit our Discord or the SpellRogue website, as 20ish pages is too long to fit in this steam post!

[h2]Final Thoughts[/h2]
All of this obviously changes the game dramatically, which is why we are expecting to make a small “companion balance update” fairly soon to address the biggest issues we may have overlooked in the beta testing.

For the future, we do not expect to be making as big structural and mechanical changes to the game, and are instead going to be focusing on tweaking other non-core aspects of the game such as progression, unlocks, achievements (The 45 minute speedrunning one comes to mind), game modes and the Mutation difficulty system in the coming months.

We think update 4 is a ton of fun with the improved flexibility of Runes along with the new boss, but do let us know if there are aspects that you don’t like or think are a poor experience. We will continue to evaluate or roll back things if necessary!


May your dice roll true 🧙
Tim & Thorbjørn