Plague Lords News

[h3]Long time no see, mercenaries![/h3]

It’s been a while since our last update — and we haven’t been idle. Over the past few months, Plague Lords has undergone massive changes. We’ve reworked core systems, added quality-of-life features, and improved the overall gameplay experience. Here's a quick breakdown of the most important updates:

[h2]🧳 Items Can Now Be Dropped on the Ground[/h2]

No more disappearing gear! Dropped items will now stay on the ground for a couple of in-game days. If your squad is overloaded, you can temporarily leave some supplies behind and come back for them later. Perfect for forced marches when you don't want to lose valuable resources.



[h2]⚖️ Morale System Fully Reworked
[/h2]
Morale now dynamically responds to everything: character actions, conditions, and story events.

• High morale may allow characters to walk without losing stamina, do more work, or even gain bonus attacks in combat.
  
• Low morale means reduced effectiveness and negative statuses.
  

Had a few too many drinks? You'll get a “Had too much wine” debuff.
Run from too many fights? Your squad might earn the dreaded “Running like cowards!” trait.

Morale is no longer an infinite buff — it's now a tactical tool that can help or hurt, depending on your choices.



[h3]💥 Abilities Now Use Stamina Instead of Morale[/h3]

Abilities now consume stamina, making the system more intuitive. Morale now affects combat indirectly, while stamina governs your ability to act. This makes skill use easier to plan and overall combat resource management more strategic.

[h3]🔧 Equipment Repair Now Happens in Workshops[/h3]

You can now repair worn-out gear at workshops. This allows you to keep your equipment in good condition without having to waste extra resources crafting replacements.

[h3]🧍‍♂️ Easier Unit Selection in Combat[/h3]

No more hunting for the right portrait in the UI — just click the character directly on the battlefield to select them. Fast and intuitive.

[h3]🛡️ Attack and Defense Now Use Percentages[/h3]

Calculations are now shown as percentages and influenced by character stats. This makes outcomes more transparent and allows for better tactical planning.

[h3]🔁 Limited Counterattacks[/h3]

Each character and enemy can only make one counterattack per turn. The old “do nothing and win” strategy is no longer viable — now, every move counts.



[h3]🎨 Colored Hints and More Info On-Screen[/h3]

Want to know who you're up against? Hover over characters and enemies to see detailed info right on the battlefield. It’s faster, clearer, and more informative.

[h3]🔍 Equipment Comparison in Inventory[/h3]

When a character is selected, item tooltips in the inventory will now highlight attack and defense stats in green if they're better than the equipped item, and red if they're worse.
This makes comparing gear quick and effortless — no more switching back and forth.

[h3]🧮 Item Usage Counter[/h3]

Consumable items like food, water, and arrows now show a small icon indicating how many uses are left.
Simple and convenient for resource management during long expeditions.

[h3]🧠 Smarter AI[/h3]

Enemies now behave more logically — instead of circling around endlessly, they’ll push through camps and buildings to reach their targets. Defense is now more straightforward, and tactical gameplay feels cleaner and more predictable.

And finally — we’ll be sharing more about the prologue very soon...

[h3]Greetings, survivors![/h3]
Over the past few months, we've been hard at work enhancing the game experience, fixing bugs, and adding new elements to the tutorial. Let's break down the key updates:

[h3]Tutorial Improvements[/h3]



We've completely revamped the tutorial, breaking it down into short, easy-to-follow steps with visual aids. The learning process is now more intuitive and accessible. Here are some key additions:

Food and Morale: The tutorial now explains how to properly feed your squad and maintain their morale. Morale directly affects combat performance, so keeping an eye on this stat is crucial.



Character Abilities: We've added detailed explanations for using character abilities. This knowledge will help you plan your battle tactics more effectively.



[h3]Gameplay Improvements[/h3]
Armor and Tool Restrictions Removed: We've lifted the strict limitations on who can use what armor and tools. Now, any character can equip any gear, but their effectiveness will depend on their skills.

Automatic Food Distribution: Your squad now automatically distributes food among themselves, allowing you to focus more on the strategic aspects of the game.



New Hunger and Thirst Icons: We've added hunger and thirst indicators to help you keep track of your squad’s status at all times. This makes the interface more user-friendly and intuitive.



Loot Optimization: We’ve reduced the number of dropped items, as playtests revealed that squads often became overloaded with too much loot. You’ll now find it easier to manage your inventory and spend less time clearing out excess items.

Overload Indicator: The inventory screen now shows an overload status, which simplifies managing your squad's load.



[h3]Small but Important Improvements:[/h3]

• You can now move characters by clicking directly on them during trading.
  
• Updated crafting recipes for better balance.
  
• Trees become transparent when your squad enters the forest, improving visibility.
  
• Map scrolling added by moving the mouse to the edges of the screen for easier navigation.
  
• Characters on the battlefield can now be selected by clicking directly on them, not just on their portraits.
  
• During trading, you can click on a character to get detailed information about them, making it easier to form the squads you need.
  

Add the full game to your wishlist and follow us on social media!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2616100/Plague_Lords/

[h2]Hello, mercenaries![/h2]

Over the past few months, we’ve been hard at work balancing the game, improving the interface, and reworking the hunger and fatigue mechanics. We've made great progress and are excited to share our achievements with you!

[h2]Open Playtest[/h2]



We are currently performing an open playtest of the Plague Lords prologue on the main game's Steam page. Join in and leave your feedback—your input helps us make the game better. Thank you to everyone participating!

This week, we updated the playtest several times to fix critical issues:

• Fixed a bug where the interface wasn't displaying for some players.
  
• Added support for ultra-wide monitors.
  
• Fixed numerous minor gameplay bugs.
  

Don't forget to join our Discord server to discuss the game with the developers:
Discord

[h2]New Character Abilities in Tactical Combat[/h2]



We are continuing to add new abilities to the tactical combat system. These abilities become available to characters with certain combinations of attributes and equipped weapons.


[h3]Counterattack[/h3] - Available to Guards armed with a shield and sword. After activation, the next counterattack will deal double damage.


[h3]Charge[/h3] - Available to Guards armed with a shield. After activation, a random enemy will miss their turn.


[h3]Thrust[/h3] - Available to Squires armed with a sword. Deflects the first attack and strikes back, finishing off the enemy.


[h3]Defender[/h3] - Available to Squires armed with a shield. After activation, intercepts two random attacks during the enemy's turn.

Many abilities require high morale to use. You can boost morale with good food, completing quests, defeating enemies, and, of course, drinking. What mercenary doesn't love a good drink?

[h2]Interface Improvements[/h2]

We've made several enhancements to the interface:

Turn Progress: The progress of turns is now displayed on the new turn icon at the top of the screen, allowing you to better track and plan your actions.


Movement Gauge: A movement gauge has been added to indicate the available movement for your squad, helping you tactically calculate your move.


Quest Compass: A compass with the direction to the main quest has been added. The map in PL is quite extensive and has many points of interest, so we wanted to guide exploration in the right direction.


Character Status Information: Expanded character status information is now available when hovering over a character's portrait.


[h2]Updated Tutorial [/h2]

To make the game's immersion as enjoyable as possible, we've reworked many parts of our tutorial.



[h2]Nighttime Attacks[/h2]

Infected enemies have become more aggressive during nighttime. Don't leave your craftsmen unarmed after dark.



[h2]Other Changes:[/h2]

• Camp Changes: Characters no longer go hungry in the camp, allowing you to focus on building without worry.
  
• Loot Adjustments: The amount of secondary loot has been reduced to prevent characters from constantly being overloaded.
  
• Mission Updates: Some missions in the prologue have been altered, and a battle with a strong opponent has been added.
  

Don't forget to add the main game to your wishlist and follow us on social media!

DISCORD XTwitter

Exciting news! We are starting the open testing of Plague Lords: Witch Hunt.

To join, click this button on the game page



The testing will be open until July 28, so make sure to join in.

Don't forget to give your feedback in the form.

We invite you to our discord server, where you can communicate with developers and get more news about the development

DISCORD server Red Unit Studios Twitter

[h2]Hello mercenaries![/h2]

From the beginning of this year we've been working on improvements to the game: new character abilities and improved tactical combat, reworking the work, overload and energy counting system, and much more, we can't wait to share what we've done with you!

[h2]Playtest Results[/h2]



During the playtest, we got a lot of feedback and made sure we were moving in the right direction. However, we also identified a few weaknesses of the game. For example, the hunger and overload mechanic doesn't work as we expected, many players ignore it. Enemies proved to be too weak for a well-armed squad. We also noticed a quest where players face endless defense. We have already started to tweak the balance, rework said quests, as well as identified and already fixed several bugs. This has added to our work, but now we know exactly how to make the game better and are already actively working on improvements.

And yes, playtests will continue! Join our Discord server so you don't miss out on the next playtest: DISCORD server

And of course, thanks to everyone who joined! You are our heroes!

[h2]New character abilities in tactical combat[/h2]

Let's talk about the new character options in tactical combat.



Last time we already talked about the new combat system - tactical comba: if you have a commander in your squad, the battle takes on a new look: the camera zooms in on the squad tile, the characters are set up in two lines and you are given the opportunity to attack each unit individually using their special abilities.

Now let's take a closer look at the new abilities!


Reach - This ability is available to Militiamen armed with a spear. A special attack that deals double damage.

Recklessness - ability available to Guardians armed with a sword, attacks three random targets in one turn.

Defender - ability of Guardians with a shield, once used, will intercept 2 random enemy attacks directed at allies.

Execution - ability of a Squire armed with a halberd. Attacks the enemy with the most power, dealing double damage.


Not Aiming - ability available to archers, pathfinders, and scouts with bows. A special attack that hits three random targets in one turn.

To use many abilities you need high moral of your character. Raise morale can be delicious food, completing tasks, defeating opponents and of course drinking, what mercenary does not like to drink.

We replaced horns with flags, it's strange to blow a horn when there are zombies around reacting to sound. Now all brigadiers, sergeants and captains wear different flags, which are displayed on the map.



[h2]Changed character work calculation[/h2]

All tools have become more useful in work: helpers without tools give only a unit of work, while masters with tools bring from 10 to 30 units of work. At the same time in a group, a character with the needed skill for work will get the bonus of the best tool of the group.



[h2]Character Overload, Energy Recovery[/h2]

Character overloading now affects their energy more, and a character without energy stops the whole group until he has a rest.



The energy recovery mechanism for characters has been redesigned: now the maximum energy storage is larger, and it is recovered faster if the character is full and thirsty.

[h2]Technical improvements to the game[h2]

Over the past two months we have been focusing on improving the technical side of the game. Map generation and free construction create a huge number of possible scenarios that can create bugs and freezes. But we are very happy with our progress in this respect: if at the end of January it was difficult to pass the game without errors, now the situation has changed radically. Now we encounter bugs much less often.

[h2]Other changes:[/h2]

• Knives have now taken on a role not only in hunting and cooking, but also in farming and gathering, replacing sickles.
  
• Improved the display of unit moves in tactical combat: resting units get comfortable on the ground.
  
• Added many new recipes for crafting armor and weapons, so arm yourself!
  
• Many improvements have been made to the UI to make the game more user-friendly and understandable.
  

[h2]Prologue release plans[/h2]

At the moment we can't give an actual release date for the prologue of Plague Lords: Witch Hunt. But we are actively working to make sure that moment comes as soon as possible. Before the release we are planning one more playtest, so check out our Discord channel to make sure you don't miss it.

[h2]Add the main game to your wishlist and subscribe on social media.[/h2]

Plague Lords

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