Valor of Man News

Hello there Wardens!

Today is a very important day for us, because we're finally ready to share Valor of Man with more people!

Releasing a Demo wouldn't be possible without your constant feedback and support, so we wanted to thank you again - we wouldn't be here without you.
Please, leave your feedback and impressions for the Demo as well after you try it out:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3222870/Valor_Of_Man_Demo/

Important note: We are officially closing the Beta, but don't worry, your progress is available when you start the Demo.

Looking forward to your Feedback!

Traian & Florian

If you like to connect with fellow Wardens, join our Discord: https://discord.gg/VZse9tUehk

Hello Wardens,

Here are the latest changes as we approach 10 February when we will launch the Free Demo.
We made the starting heroes a little more special so they are aligned with their philosophy, Theurg has a free heal, Blade Dancer starting weapon has an additional attack with 2 hits, and the Archmage has a new Firebolt spell.

Traian & Florian

If you like to connect with fellow Wardens, join our Discord: https://discord.gg/VZse9tUehk

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Starting abilities:
- Cleric Theurg Minor Heal now costs 0 action points.
- Rogue starting weapon now has a 2xHit attack.
- New starting ability: Archmage - Firebolt.
- Nerfed Archmage starting weapon: Arcane Dart.

New artifact:
- Burning Bush

UI:
- Added 2x in double-hit attack names.
- Added numpad Enter as an alternative shortcut for end turn and others.
- Improved Impervious and Invulnerable keyword descriptions.
- Recurve Bow cooldown instead of charges per turn

Balance:
- Status Effects (Stun, Immobilised, Terrified etc) no longer stack for multiple turns.
- Toxic Mushroom always applies Fumble when it reacts.
- Buffed Scorpion damage.
- Nerfed Volatile Bug damage.

Fixes:
- Fix Boasting blade dancer ability.
- Fix Gladius both attacks having double hits.

[h3]Hello Wardens! [/h3]

Thank you very much to all of you who showed interest in our project. Seeing the support and the feedback we are getting keeps us determined to continue improving our beloved game on our exciting path to launch!

It has been a long road to this point, but we are very proud of the journey so far, and really excited for what's to come.



We should probably close this post with a deep and epic quote but all we can say is:
From the bottom of our hearts, Thank you!!

Florian & Traian

If you like to connect with fellow Wardens, join our Discord: https://discord.gg/VZse9tUehk

Greetings, Wardens,

A new dawn rises for those who stand watch. This new update brings a complete overhaul of Common enemies, new Execution animations and a plethora of quality of life improvements. We appreciate all the valuable feedback you provided and we wanted to roll this out as quickly as possible before we focus on new content.

The Intent system now shows as a hoverable icon above each enemy’s Health. These provide quick information about the next Reaction; whether the enemy moves, attacks, uses an AOE, buff/debuff or does something special. Hovering over these icons shows a quick tooltip explaining the next Reaction.



Common enemies now have a single Reaction that aligns with their philosophy, simplifying how you engage with them. To enhance clarity, the enemy overlay now displays only Health and active buffs. Additionally, you can hover over the enemy Intent icon for a quick tooltip explaining their next Reaction. These changes are part of a broader update to improve your experience on the battlefield.

Thank you so much for the comprehensive feedback. We understand much better where Valor of Man shines and which parts still need some love. As we move closer to Early Access, your feedback is invaluable for future design decisions. We’re already working on some exciting updates on the new hero classes and can’t wait to share them with you!

Until the next watch, Wardens!
Traian & Florian

If you like to connect with fellow Wardens, join our discord: https://discord.com/invite/eJK4GvSDE5

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[h2]Full Patch Notes 0.5.7:[/h2]

New features
- Common enemy design overhaul to a single Reaction.
- You can now hover over the enemy Intent icon to see what the next reaction does.
- Heroes now perform Execution animations. Each weapon has special animations for fatal hits. Let us know what you think!



Enemy Feedback:
- Removed Terror, Enemy Name from the Health & Intent overlay.
- Removed unnecessary feedback when the enemy Reaction deck only has 1 card.
- When an enemy fails to use its Reaction, a Failed feedback shows.
- Card icons now show whether the enemy targets heroes directly, through the Instinct icon.

Cursor:
- Show number of Hits in attack cursor.
- Show if the selected hero Action will also perform a move action.

Misc:
- Simplified Main Menu - Wiki now contains the previous Almanach, Bestiary and Help menus.
- Added a preview for the upcoming Full game content.
- Lower chances of slowdown on Critical and Fatal hits.
- Critical hit screen fx polish.
- Changed Beholder and Slime card icons.
- Normalized music volume.
- Small Tutorial update to improve flow.

Balance:
- Bless nerfed duration.
- Buffed starting throwing attacks.
- Buffed Motivate range.
- Buffed Mass Inspire range.
- Removed Zephyrath Bone Prison reaction.
- Nerfed Trample damage.
- Nerfed Tormentor Execute damage: 7-10 (from 10-15).
- Tormentor Cleaver Reaction no longer moves.
- Nerfed Beholder Health: 28 base Health (from 32). Starting health bonus: 3 (from 7).

Bug Fixes:
- Fixed Goblin Shaman Voodoo sound.
- Fixed Royal Assassin jump animations.
- Fixed Lamp artifact not working properly.
- Fixed Succubus DeadlyDance floating after animations ended too quickly.
- Fix Giant Wurm Sulfuric Discharge Intent.
- Fix Orc Archer not skipping Reaction when suffering BloodLoss.
- Fixed BoneBoltman Awakened buff.

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