Fog hung thick against the night, the clean mountain air corrupted by the putrid scent of sulfur. Two men stood as still as statues, tucked between trunks and branches; they ignored the sharp, leafless twigs scratching their skin. Snow still dappled the ground where winter held tight to the changing of seasons, the packed earth cold and hard beneath their feet. Approaching footsteps from the darkness seemed to echo, heavy thudding heels that snapped the silence from its stupor and mingled with the occasional crunch of wilting frost.
“He’s close,” the stranger whispered, his breath becoming white smoke.
The footsteps grew louder, as did the sickly smell of sulfur. Gudge wrinkled his nose and blinked an errant tear from his eyes. He held his arms before him, one fist tightly gripping the other.
Stop shaking, you fool, he told himself firmly.
This is what you wanted, isn’t it? Gudge’s teeth began chattering as the first shadowy glimpse of their visitor crested the hill.
“Is that…” Gudge choked on the words, his misted breath sputtering to a stop.
“Yes,” the stranger replied softly, “that is He. The Great Prince Himself.” Slowly, carefully, the man bent down and prostrated himself against the frosty ground.
“Orobas.” Gudge mumbled to no one, his eyes wide with awe and fear in equal measure.
[h3]The History of Orobas[/h3]
Orobas plays a pivotal role in The Bornless, impacting both the game's narrative and its multiplayer dynamics. During the earliest alpha playtests, Orobas was introduced as a formidable NPC demon that instilled fear in players' hearts. At that time the game featured an "Orobas Game Mode". This mode was a unique take on battle royale, featuring 8 players in a fight to the death. Players could invoke Orobas at specific shrine locations on the map in exchange for incense, turning him into an ally who would aggressively pursue and attack nearby players. Orobas also aided in locating and combating enemies in the dark, fog-enshrouded town of Farmouth. However, allying with Orobas was a double-edged sword: aggression towards him, or a rival team offering more incense could turn him against you. This introduced a strategic element of managing incense supplies. Players often faced the dilemma of spending their precious incense on weapons with Haag, a merchant demon within The Bornless universe, or securing Orobas's support.
[h3]What Changed?[/h3]
Orobas's role meant his influence needed careful balancing to ensure fun gameplay. Feedback from players highlighted that Orobas was overpoweringly strong, making games too dependent on his support. The intention was to have Orobas offer a fun advantage, but not to the extent of overshadowing player skill as the primary factor for winning.
Thus, we rebalanced Orobas, adding anti-camping mechanics and removing his map-wide teleportation ability among many other nerfs and buffs. This led to a split in player experiences: hardcore players learned to dodge and kill Orobas entirely, while casual players still struggled against him. Amid this, the community expressed a strong desire to play as demons, drawn by the allure of embodying The Great Prince of Hell.
[h3]The Future of Orobas[/h3]
And so, player-controlled demons came to life in The Bornless. This began with Botis, a colossal snake demon, in the Titan Game Mode. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with players enjoying the new dynamic. Alongside this, feedback on weapons, character models, gunplay, and movement laid the foundation for our main game mode,
The Ritual Game Mode. In the next playtest, players will experience this mode for the first time, showcasing an expanded, improved, and optimized version of the original Orobas Game Mode. However, this time Orobas will not be an easily ignored NPC.
Whether you're in control or it's another player at the helm, Orobas will become a daunting presence. If you're aiming to stay alive and make off with your hard-earned loot once The Bornless Ritual has been unleashed, there's only one thing left to do...
Run as fast as you can.Thank you for Staying Unholy!
- The Bornless Team 🖤
[h3]Want to be among the first ones who will experience the true horrors of Farmouth? Add
The Bornless to your
wishlist.[/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2411280/
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