Encounter: The Lost Cards News

After a short Early Access, Encounter: The Lost Cards officially reaches 1.0 on January 26 at 8:00 AM EST.

This release represents the complete core vision of the game. The systems are fully realized, the tone is unapologetically intact, and the Tarot-driven chaos is exactly where it was always meant to be. If you’ve played before, you’ll feel the difference. And if you’ve been waiting, now’s the time.

Why call it 1.0 if I still have ideas? Because while I’m very happy with where the game is today, I still have plans, including additional cards and some end-game story content I want to explore post-launch. At some point, the cards have to hit the table.

[h3]Launch details:[/h3]

• Full 1.0 release (new cards will continue to be added)
  
• $9.99 USD with a 15% launch discount
• Price increases after the discount ends

As always, thank you to everyone who played, tested, streamed, broke the game, and called it “interesting” more times than I can count. Watching people discover unexpected interactions—and then push them way too far—has been one of the most rewarding parts of making this!

Come join the discord :)
https://chat.encounter.gg/

Thanks to our friends at frenglish, Encounter now supports 10 languages—so you can get ambushed, judged, and bankrupted in the dialect of your choosing.
Below is the complete list of supported languages:

English
Ah, splendid! You’ve chosen the Queen’s English. Please queue up politely and mind the gap while collecting your tea and crumpets.

简体中文
哇，太棒了！你选择了简体中文。筷子准备好，热腾腾的饺子马上就来！

Русский
Товарищ! Вы выбрали русский. Закутайтесь потеплее — ваш текст прибудет в толстых зимних пальто и с подозрительно крепким чаем.

Español (España)
¡Olé! Has elegido español (España). Prepárate para mucho drama, diálogos a toda velocidad y una siesta entre los tutoriales.

Português (Brasil)
E aí! Você escolheu português (Brasil). Agora o texto entra sambando na interface — aceite este pão de queijo de cortesia.

Deutsch
Wunderbar! Du hast Deutsch gewählt. Alles wird präzise organisiert, gnadenlos zu Komposita verklebt und exakt nach Zeitplan geliefert.

日本語
すごい！日本語を選びました。丁寧さレベル：最大。装備する前に、インベントリにお辞儀をお願いします。

Français
Magnifique ! Vous avez choisi le français. Attendez-vous à des tournures élégantes, des soupirs dramatiques et une taxe baguette à chaque clic.

Polski
Dzień dobry! Wybrałeś polski. Spokojnie — jeśli wygląda to na nie do wymówienia, twój język wkrótce wbije poziom.

한국어
좋아요! 한국어를 선택했어요. 이제 텍스트가 e스포츠 속도로 로딩됩니다—읽기 전에 손가락 스트레칭 잊지 마세요.

If you spot any awkward phrasing or hilarious mistranslations…
oopsie daisy. It's gonna be a work in progress.

[h2]Improvements[/h2]

• Added support for 8 more languages (see the latest news post).
  
• Added a new Solid Armor icon to better distinguish Solid Armor from Weak Armor.
  
• Missions can now be inspected at any time (not just before starting a new run), so you can check mission progress mid-run.
  
• Added freeze-frame explainers to help new players learn the game.
  
• Improved tooltip icon descriptions for clarity and accuracy.
  
• Runes now always display their conditions at full opacity (no more fading to indicate applicability), improving readability.
  
• Added an explainer popup for Runes when right-clicking (or tap-and-holding) them.
  

[h3]Changes[/h3]

• You now need a Wayfinder to obtain Knowledge or Wisdom from the Inn via Royal Decrees.
  
• The Divine consumable in Heaven now requires Food in addition to a Flower.
  
• Substantially reduced Orb durability (it was too strong).
  
• Fast Mode is now disabled by default for new players.
  

[h3]Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed a UI layout regression so the interface is snappy again and less glitch-prone since the last patch.
  
• Fixed an issue where dying Virtuous as Rose didn’t correctly trigger the achievement/mission.
  
• Fixed an issue where buying Knowledge with a decree at the Inn could award the Knowledge item instead of the intended currency.
  
• Fixed a rare bug where the player could attack while already dead.
  
• Fixed a regression that could cause the game to hang at the menu after completing the tutorial.
  
• Fixed the “Having trouble streaming?” menu popup appearing randomly.
  
• Fixed an issue where Stamina refresh could trigger an extra time upon death.
  
• Fixed an issue where selling an item, going to the menu, then returning could corrupt state if items were sold/salvaged/discarded in between.
  
• The inventory handler now correctly treats non-infinite items as inferior to infinite ones of the same ID.
  
• Fixed an issue where tapping the XP icon in the menu could show 0 XP when starting a new account.
  
• Fixed the Faint encounter showing the wrong dialogue on the second death screen.
  
• Fixed an issue where entering Hell would show an extra death in the Stats tab.
  
• Fixed Esc behavior when the deck layer is open (Esc now closes the layer first).
  
• Fixed an issue where player accounts sometimes failed to initialize properly after completing the tutorial.
  

[h2]Features[/h2]

• [p]Enter the Pearly Gates! When a Virtuous soul dies, you now ascend to Heaven—where, in addition to resurrection, you can purchase Legendary items and even trade for Divine consumables![/p]

[p][/p]

• [p]Added a new Flip effect to certain items, reversing the orientation of the current encounter card—perfect for battles you’d rather not face head-on.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Improvements[/h3]

• [p]Rodd’s Built Strong ability now grants +1 durability to all gear you receive.[/p]
• [p]Updated Vice’s bonus action (used outside of combat) to place greater emphasis on Luck.[/p]
• [p]Added an explicit Revival effect to Faint encounters.[/p]
• [p]Actions that consume a Wayfinder now default to the one being used, instead of displaying both options.[/p]
• [p]Runes now scale in power based on the rarity of their host item.[/p]

[h3]Fixes[/h3]

• [p]Fixed an issue where Faint encounter background music would continue playing after dying while Virtuous.[/p]
• [p]Fixed “or” conditions not displaying correctly when their requirements were met.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the Stash was inaccessible at the first and last Inns.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where Health could display incorrectly during NPC retaliation.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug where the Mystical condition was not triggering correctly when cards were queued.[/p]
• [p]Improved client response handling when the game service fails to respond in-game.[/p]

[h3]Item Changes[/h3][p][/p][h3]Rune Changes[/h3][p][/p][h3]Encounter Changes[/h3]

• [p]Knight of Cups: coin payout increased (8 → 10).[/p]
• [p]King of Cups: sinful outcomes were rebalanced (higher Health loss), and the Judgment option now also removes a random item when sinful.[/p]
• [p]Four of Cups: options streamlined and outcomes rebalanced (stronger Stamina heal; the Sin + Heal outcome now replaces the previous last-action variants).[/p]
• [p]Six of Cups: added a new food option that grants Virtue when Primed.[/p]
• [p]Seven of Cups: rewards refocused toward accessories and consumables, with updated costs.[/p]
• [p]Seven of Cups: NPC reward targeting is now accessory-focused instead of random.[/p]
• [p]Nine of Cups: the first two options now require a small coin cost.[/p]
• [p]Checkpoint: updated special choices—“sage” rewards replaced with “wayfinder,” and an extra empty option removed.[/p]
• [p]Lily's Domain: the first two choices now revive instead of restoring 8 Health (same conditions and costs).[/p]
• [p]The Gates: added a new Heaven-gates variant encounter.[/p]
• [p]Game Over: XP-day rewards adjusted and options simplified (Wayfinder replaces Sage; a redundant option removed).[/p]
• [p]Shamsiel's Inn: stats and rewards rebalanced; durability and Health coin costs and outputs reduced.[/p]
• [p]Yomiel's Inn: stats and rewards rebalanced; added a sale discount; durability and Health coin costs and outputs reduced.[/p]
• [p]Arakiel's Inn: stats and rewards rebalanced; added a sale discount; durability pricing adjusted; Health pricing and output updated.[/p]
• [p]Cassael's Inn: stats and rewards rebalanced; options reworked (durability purchase replaces craft debuff option; sale discount increased).[/p]
• [p]Beburos's Inn: options and tags rebalanced—sale discount increased; “mystic” purchase converted into a craft debuff; Health purchase is now cheaper but weaker.[/p]
• [p]Limbo?: added a new high-cost gamble option while keeping Shuffle as a separate choice.[/p]
• [p]The Fool: added an NPC tag and split the encounter into a sale option plus a separate Shuffle option.[/p]
• [p]The Magician: Wayfinder now grants rewards (and XP-day); redundant XP-day option removed.[/p]
• [p]Death: increased the not-virtuous Health penalty and added a major-cost option that trades Sin for Virtue.[/p]
• [p]Four of Pentacles: shifted away from “wealth” rewards toward “reserved” targeting; sale discounts reduced; third option changed to an unlock-based coin payout.[/p]
• [p]Four of Pentacles (Reversed): shifted toward “reserved” targeting; sale discounts updated; final option now trades Eat for coin.[/p]
• [p]Six of Pentacles: the final option now always grants Sin + Stamina (instead of conditional Stamina only).[/p]
• [p]Seven of Pentacles: both options reworked—unlock choice now removes gear and pays more coin; purchase choice yields a different misc reward.[/p]
• [p]Seven of Pentacles (Reversed): added a second option that reduces Sin when not-wealthy.[/p]
• [p]Three of Swords: coin payout reduced (8 → 6).[/p]
• [p]Five of Swords: stamina-gain condition requirement updated (d5 → d6).[/p]
• [p]Seven of Swords: Health cost reduced for the “remove random” option (2 → 1).[/p]
• [p]Eight of Swords: craft costs rebalanced; Magic vs Luck outcomes retuned.[/p]
• [p]Two of Wands: added a new craft option that grants Magic.[/p]
• [p]Seven of Wands: slightly increased reward currency values.[/p]
• [p]Seven of Wands (Reversed): slightly increased reward currency values and added a new Flower reward option.[/p]
• [p]Eight of Wands: Virtue condition trigger updated (not-wealthy → enchanted).[/p]
• [p]The End?: updated special choices—“sage” replaced with “wayfinder” rewards; Major Arcana now granted via remaining options; extra option removed.[/p]

[h2]Improvements[/h2]
- Added music to the entire game... finally.
- Pressing Esc now returns you to the menu and prompts you to exit the game (instead of minimizing the window).
- Updated the final two Inn encounters before the end-game “Déjà Vu.” They look cooler and sell cheaper food—but you can no longer go upstairs at the 6th Inn. You will see why.

[h3]Fixes[/h3]
- Fixed an issue where the Artisan ability wouldn’t disappear from the Inn selection after being purchased.
- Fixed Equipment Slot highlights not appearing correctly when moving items from the Stash.
- Fixed the surrender sound effect triggering after every rune trigger.
- Fixed an issue where the battle fist bump effect could trigger every time you moved an item (yeah… that was annoying).
- Fixed a hang that could occur after defeating the Swamp Tickler boss.