DevBlog #6 | Version 0.5.6 – Kicking off the year!

Welcome to our first update of 2025! We hope you had a fantastic holiday season, and we’re excited to kick off the new year with a big update for Valor of Man. (Don’t worry, we spent a lot of quality time with our families during Christmas, but we also had time to work on our beloved game!)

This release is packed with enhancements, new mechanics, balance changes, and of course, your ideas brought to life. Let’s dive in!

[h2]Streamlined Tutorial[/h2]

• Revamped the tutorial for Action/Reaction mechanics to be quicker and less overwhelming.
  
• The Bestiary window (formerly Enemy Details) is now hidden by default for reduced complexity. Use shortcut B to toggle it on/off or hit the button on top of the enemy Portraits.
  
• Next Action and Reaction are now shown as icons on enemy portraits. Hover over them for detailed information.
  

Dev Comment: These changes make the game more welcoming for new players while retaining depth for veterans.

• Improved starting fight against Zephyrath (Bone Dragon).
  
  • Zephyrath now always collapses in the second turn, giving players a better tactical opportunity to capitalize.
    

[h2]Sneak Peek: Berserker Class[/h2]

Introducing a first look at Alistair’s upcoming Berserker class! While this is still in development, we couldn’t resist sharing a preview of its raw power.



Dev Comment: The Berserker is shaping up to be an adrenaline-fueled addition. We can’t wait to see your reactions when it goes live.

[h2]Gameplay Improvements[/h2]

• Action Controls:
  • Left-click to perform actions, right-click to cancel/select units.
    
  • Added an option to revert to the old system.
    
• Shortcut keys F1–F4 can now be used to select heroes.
  
• The Grid now turns grey when a hero has no actions left.
  
• Improved end-turn mechanics: The confirmation is disabled by default but still available as an option.
  
• Exhausted heroes now stay on the battlefield, displaying the reason for their exhaustion.
  
• Renamed Miscast keyword to Strain for clarity.
  

Dev Comment: These changes enhance usability, accessibility, and overall gameplay flow. Your feedback was key for these, so THANK YOU!


[h2]Enemy Behavior Overhaul[/h2]

• Introduced new Instinct keywords:
  • Define behaviors like Dive, Rush, and Reposition.
    
  • Enemies now move more naturally with an improved pathfinding algorithm.
    
  • Enhanced Tormentor reactions with keyworded tooltips.
    

Dev Comment: These updates make enemy behavior more intuitive and combat more strategic.

[h2]Quality of Life Improvements[/h2]

• Added Save & Quit to the main menu, allowing players to reload their campaign without fully exiting the game.
  
• Added a Back button for the map menu.
  
• Dragon Collapse/Reassemble animations revamped for smoother visuals.
  
• Staff projectiles now appear larger for better visibility.
  
• Added new hero banter for extra personality.
  

Dev Comment: Who doesn’t love a bit of in-fight humor?

[h2]Balance Changes[/h2]

• Added Remove Conditions option for in-game events to counteract permanent debuffs like -1 Action Point.
  
• Reworked starting weapons and abilities:
  
  • Blade Dancer’s starting weapon now deals higher damage with a single hit (instead of two weaker ones).
    
  • Teleport is now a free action.
    
  • Warrior’s Free Move added.
    
  • Buffed Blade Dancer’s Feign Death
    
  • Buffed Anointed and Piety abilities for the Cleric
    
• Reworked Pendant of the Moon: passive magic resistance replaces its active ability.
  

Dev Comment: These adjustments focus on improving flow, accessibility, and fun.

[h2]Bugs & Stability[/h2]

• Fixed Miss sound not playing for Royal Assassin.
  
• Added a ceiling to the Undead level. (Poor skeletons had no roof!)
  
• Fixed overlapping subtitles in artifact rewards.
  
• Improved flavor text visibility in the fight rewards menu.
  

Dev Comment: No more squinting at your screen to read flavor text!

[h2]Looking Ahead[/h2]

Thank you for all your incredible support in 2024! We’ve got an exciting roadmap for the new year, and your feedback has been essential in shaping Valor of Man. Let us know what you think of 0.5.6 and keep those ideas coming.

Happy adventuring! 🎮

— Legacy Forge