v12.05 Major Update

[p][/p][p]Expected patch release: Monday, June 16 [/p][h3]News[/h3]

• [p]Check out Jules' Gameplay & Balance AMA from this past month[/p]
• [p]Next Nova Cup is June 28-29! Join the Tournament Discord to participate and receive tournament notifications. View all past Nova Cups here: Legion TD 2 Esports Portal.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][h3]New Team Member: Brett[/h3][p]Please welcome Brett from the United States to the team! He will be helping with animation and creative work.[/p][p]Some of his favorite games include the original Final Fantasy 7, Baldur’s Gate 3, The Last of Us, Resident Evil 2, and Stardew Valley. Outside of video games, he enjoys a homebrewed, 2-years-running DnD game, painting Warhammer 40k minis, binging shows, and reading. He also recently got back into running and marathons and has 3 cats named Hulk (Marvel), Nott (Critical Role), and Amira (Princess in Arabic), as well as a dog named Diego (Umbrella Academy).[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]PvE Rework[/h3]

• [p]Mythium is now shared across your team, rather than across all 8 players[/p]
• [p]Re-enabled Redraw, Lock-In, and all Legions[/p]
• [p]Worker scaling now matches other Classic game modes[/p]

[p]Because mythium was shared across all 8 players, workers in PvE were significantly weaker. This encouraged players to stop pushing workers earlier than expected and heavily prioritize value-generating units like Sakura, Eggsack, and Dwarf Banker. This change to PvE addresses the underlying problem and also allows us to re-enable Masterminds and Legions that were previously disabled.[/p][p][/p][h3]Patch Notes Viewer[/h3][p]You can now view patch notes from within the game for all patches from v11.00, including a handy search feature![/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Patch History in Codex[/h3][p]You can now view a history of all changes to units from v11.00 in Codex.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Mastermind Matchups on Drachbot[/h3][p]You can now view mastermind matchup data on Drachbot! Example takeaways:[/p]

• [p]Fiesta synergizes with Kingsguard and Cartel[/p]
• [p]Fiesta has anti-synergies with Fiesta (itself) and Saboteur[/p]
• [p]Fiesta counters Stash[/p]
• [p]Fiesta is countered by Cartel and Saboteur[/p]

[p]"Nothing is certain except death, taxes, and Fiesta Cartel." - Benjamin Franklin[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Double Lock-In[/p][p]Removed from the game[/p][p]Double Lock-In was a point of frustration in low MMR, where it was used to access pub stomping combos like Crab Warlock + Sacred Steed / Starcaller. It was also a point of frustration in high MMR because it reduced game-to-game variety and was primarily used to abuse the flavor-of-the-month strongest combo.[/p][p]We don’t take the decision to remove something from the game lightly, but after a lot of consideration, we believe this is the best decision.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]New Mastermind: Scrapper[/h3]

• [p]+3 income[/p]
• [p]You can now Scrap units for 80% gold[/p]

[p]Anyone who previously purchased Double Lock-In will receive Scrapper for free.[/p][p](Yes, we're using the same art - it's quite fitting for Scrapper!)[/p][p]Shout out to Shadowings for the inspiration.[/p][p][/p][p]Tips for using Scrapper:[/p]

• [p]Build strong early game units (Nekomata, Fire Archer, Bone Crusher, Whirlybird, etc.), then Scrap them later in favor of strong late game units and synergies[/p]
• [p]Scrapper is especially good with auras because you can Scrap units that have already served their purpose, then suddenly have a super clean build buffed by auras[/p]
• [p]Access expensive units earlier. Think Doomsday Machine, Banana Haven, Sovereign, or Dread Knight on wave 9 or even earlier[/p]
• [p]New way to get out Eggsack on wave 2. For example, open with Wileshroom or Oathbreaker, then Scrap it for Eggsack[/p]
• [p]If you're expecting a big send, build for now, then on the following wave, Scrap and build for that wave - rather than having to guess "are they sending now or next?"[/p]
• [p]Reposition units more liberally[/p]

[p][/p][p]
Read more about our design philosophy on game balance, and use Drachbot to see mastermind, unit, and spell win rates and pick rates! [/p][p][/p][h3]Masterminds[/h3][p]We believe in incremental changes. Masterminds are largely substitutes for each other, which means if one mastermind is slightly better than another, it takes the lion's share of the pick rate.[/p][p]For example, Cash Out used to be +20 gold and was considered the worst mastermind in the game. A few patches ago, we buffed Cash Out by 1 gold to 21, and it's now top tier.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Cartel [/p][p]Income after wave 10: -38 → -39[/p][p]Slightly high pick rate and high win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Castle [/p][p]Income after wave 10: 46 → 47 [/p][p]Slightly low pick rate and low win rate.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Champion [/p][p]Damage reduction and attack speed: +10% → 10.25%[/p][p]Low win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Chaos [/p][p]Starting resources: 4 income → 3 income + 4 gold[/p][p]This change gives us more granularity to balance Chaos.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Redraw [/p][p]Redraw gold cost reduced by 10% on average[/p][p]Low pick rate.
[/p][p][/p][p]Saboteur [/p][p]Starting resources: 6 income + 4 gold → 6 income + 5 gold[/p][p]Very low pick rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Yolo [/p]

• [p]Starting resources: 7 income → 7 income + 4 gold[/p]
• [p]You can no longer reroll[/p]
• [p]Removed unintended roll randomization bias that caused expensive fighters to be rolled more often[/p]

[p]Rerolling is more like you only live… twice? Bringing back Yolo as the premier high skill, high variance, high adaptability mastermind. [/p][p][/p][p] [/p][p]Lock-In: Random (developer note)[/p][p]If you prefer the feel of old Yolo, we recommend Lock-In: Random, as it plays similarly. You get 6 auto-drafted units and still have reroll. +4 income +7 gold gives you a nice edge too![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Mastermind Rolls[/p]

• [p]You are no longer guaranteed a fortified/natural tank, swift/natural tank, or arcane tank[/p]
• [p]You are now guaranteed at least 1 true tank, which is defined as a high effective-health-per-gold fighter with value between 160 and 250[/p]
• [p]You are now guaranteed at least 1 true DPS, which is defined as a high effective-DPS-per-gold with value between 160 and 250[/p]
• [p]You are now guaranteed at least one high-priced fighter (T4-T5)[/p]
• [p]Removed unintended roll randomization bias that caused cheap fighters (T1s) and tanks to show up more often than other fighters[/p]
• [p]You are still guaranteed at least one cheap fighter (T1)[/p]
• [p]You are still guaranteed at least one mid-priced fighter (T2-T3)[/p]
• [p]You are still guaranteed at least one epic fighter (T6)[/p]
• [p]You are still guaranteed at least one source of fortified/natural defense, swift/natural defense, arcane defense, magic damage, impact damage, and pierce damage. However, the definitions here are applied liberally–Elite Archer could be your only arcane defense, and Sand Badger could be your only impact damage.[/p]

• [p]Fighters are now more equally likely to be rolled (refactored roll system)[/p]

[p]Mastermind rolls always gave you multiple tank options, but the same didn’t apply for DPS. We’re making this consistent, but also don’t want mastermind rolls to be too safe. Part of the fun and skill of the game is adapting to tricky situations, including suboptimal rolls. These changes strike a nice balance between having viable rolls and sometimes forcing you to think on your feet ;)[/p][p]On average, rolls will be less reliable in terms of defense types, but more reliable in terms of cost balance and presence of DPS.[/p][p]Affected masterminds: Greed, Cash Out, Castle, Cartel, Champion, Stash, Fiesta, Saboteur, Kingsguard, and Scrapper.
[/p][p][/p][h3]Bounty[/h3]

• [p]Breaker gold no longer gives a minimum of 1 gold, decreasing gold to the teammate(s) of the breaker by 1 on waves 1-3[/p]
• [p]Gold to the leaker decreased by 1 on waves 1-4[/p]
• [p]Net effects:[/p]
  • [p]Leaking the wave is slightly more punishing on wave 4; otherwise, unchanged. Wave 4 was previously less punishing to leak on than other waves.[/p]
  • [p]Mercenaries (other than Snail, Lizard, and Dragon Turtle) are slightly more punishing to leak on waves 2-4; otherwise, unchanged.[/p]
  • [p]Breaking your opponent rewards your teammate less on waves 1-3.[/p]
  • [p]Leaking is slightly more individually punishing on waves 1-4.[/p]

[p]Leaky players will be less likely to be top power score, and breaker players will be less likely to be bottom power score. This should also reduce frustration with Fiesta teammates.[/p][p] [/p][h3]Legion Spells[/h3][p][/p][p][/p][p]Dark Ritual [/p][p]Gold: 145 → 140[/p][p]Slightly high pick rate and win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Divine Blessing [/p][p]Attack speed: 18% → 20%[/p][p]Slightly low pick rate and win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Embargo [/p][p]Mythium after wave 12 spawns: 80 → 75[/p][p]High win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Executioner [/p]

• [p]Now works with lifesteal (new synergy!)[/p]
• [p]Execution damage now shows up in the damage tracker[/p]
• [p]New, brighter icon (thanks to DarkQuacker for the suggestion)[/p]

[p][/p][p]Guardian Angel [/p][p]Health: 1500 → 1550[/p][p]Low pick rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Magician [/p][p]Mana regeneration: 0.48 → 0.46[/p][p]High pick rate and slightly high win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Protector [/p][p]Health: 650 → 700[/p][p]Low win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Pulverizer [/p]

• [p]Stun duration to non-bosses: 2.5 → 1.5 seconds[/p]
• [p]Now also gives 5% attack speed[/p]

[p]Re-introducing attack speed as a lever to balance Pulverizer more incrementally. Too long of a stun duration wasn't particularly helpful, as the target was perma-stunned anyway.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Titan [/p][p]Health: 1350 → 1400[/p][p]Slightly low pick rate and win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Vampire [/p][p]Lifesteal and spell vamp: 28% → 30%[/p][p]Slightly low pick rate and win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Venture [/p][p]Maximum gold ventured: 105 → 100[/p][p]High pick rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Villain [/p][p]Damage amplification: 20% (12% on ranged) → 22% (13% on ranged)[/p][p]Slightly low pick rate and win rate.
[/p][h3]Fighters[/h3][p][/p][p][/p][p]Masked Spirit / False Maiden / Hell Raiser [/p][p]Attack speed increased by 1.7%[/p][p]Slightly low pick rate and win rate.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Oathbreaker / Oathbreaker (Final Form) [/p][p]Fixed a bug where activation of Unchained Rage was one attack delayed[/p][p]Thank you to Julian and D2R for the bug reports.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Slime Siren [/p][p]Damage decreased by 3.2%[/p][p]Slightly high pick rate and win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Howler [/p][p]Attack speed decreased by 1.4%[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Sunfang [/p]

• [p]Health increased by 2.1% [/p]
• [p]Damage increased by 2.3%[/p]
• [p]Attack speed decreased by 1.4%[/p]

[p]Shifting power from Howler to Sunfang.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Kingpin [/p]

• [p]Base health increased by 3.9%[/p]

• [p]Base damage increased by 2.2%[/p]

[p]Very low pick rate and low win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Seadragon / Lifebinder [/p][p]Mana regeneration increased by 3.7%[/p][p]Low win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Dwarf Banker / Big Wig [/p][p]Attack speed increased by 1.9%[/p][p]Very low pick rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Tree of Knowledge [/p][p]Auto attack damage decreased by 3.4%[/p][p]Slightly high pick rate and win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Mudman / Golem [/p][p]Health increased by 1.5%[/p][p]Low win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Butcher / Head Chef [/p][p]Attack speed increased by 4.3%[/p][p]Slightly low pick rate and low win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Warp Wing / Void Manta [/p][p]Damage increased by 2.4%[/p][p]Slightly low pick rate and win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Cursed Casket / Cage of Pain / Iron Maiden [/p][p]Health decreased by 1.4%[/p][p]Slightly high pick rate and win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Crab Warlock / Crabomancer [/p]

• [p]Summoner damage increased by 3% [/p]
• [p]Summon health decreased by 3.5%[/p]
• [p]Summon damage decreased by 3.5%[/p]

[p]Crab Warlock is a point of frustration in low and mid MMR. This power shift from the summon to summoner, the Pack Leader rework, and the removal of Double Lock-In from the game this patch should help (Crab Warlock was the most picked unit with Double Lock-In). [/p][p]Additionally, here are tips to beat Crab Warlock:[/p]

• [p]Send the newly reworked Pack Leader [/p]
• [p]Send other DPS mercs: Brute, Imps, Ogre, Witch, or Centaur, depending on the rest of their frontline.[/p]
• [p]Send on impact and magic waves, notably waves 10, 13, 14, 16, and 20.[/p]
• [p]When in doubt, save mythium for one wave longer. It’s important to overwhelm them with a big send and not let the Crab Warlocks hit critical mass.[/p]

[p]
[/p][p]Antler [/p][p]Thick Hide: Bonus damage reduction from Whitemane’s Council: 8% → 5%[/p][p]High pick rate. Encouraging multi-unit synergies, rather than Whitemane + Antler spam.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Disciple [/p][p]Decreased synergy with mana gain effects by 7%[/p][p]Encouraging multi-unit synergies, rather than Starcaller + Disciple spam.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Radiant Halo / Arc of Justice [/p][p]Attack speed increased by 1.7%[/p][p]Slightly low pick rate and win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Gatling Gun / Vulcan Cannon [/p][p]Attack speed decreased by 2.5%[/p][p]High win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Holy Avenger / Sovereign [/p][p]Attack speed decreased by 2.1%[/p][p]Slightly high pick rate and win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Millennium / Doomsday Machine [/p][p]Attack speed increased by 1.9%[/p][p]Slightly low pick rate and win rate. [/p][p][/p][h3]Mercenaries[/h3][p]
[/p][p]Pack Leader [/p]

• [p]Health increased by 15%[/p]
• [p]Damage increased by 73%[/p]
• [p]Leadership Aura: 5 damage (15 for bosses) → 15% damage and ability damage, but also increases damage taken by 18% (allied units take more damage)[/p]

[p]Pack Leader heavily incentivized cheap mercenary spam, making Pack + Imps outperform more expensive mercs. Beyond that and always sending on wave 16, it didn’t have a strong identity.[/p][p]This change:[/p]

• [p]Makes Pack Leader’s identity a fast breaker, optimal against summoners, healers, and ramping builds and during base races[/p]
• [p]Makes Pack Leader work as intended with Four Eyes and Wave 18, which do ability damage[/p]

[p]
[/p][p]Centaur [/p]

• [p]Health increased by 0.7%[/p]
• [p]Attack speed increased by 1.5%[/p]

[p]Low usage rate and slightly low win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Ghost Knight [/p][p]Health increased by 1.8%[/p][p]
[/p][p]Siege Ram [/p][p]Health increased by 2.2%[/p][p]
[/p][p]Kraken [/p][p]Health increased by 1.9%[/p][p]Tank mercenaries as a class were too niche.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Shaman [/p][p]Blood Lust now breaks ties based on the health of the target unit[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Balance Watchlist[/h3][p]The dev team is constantly monitoring game balance, between looking at data and listening to community feedback. If anything is being more closely monitored than usual, it will be listed in this Balance Watchlist section. For this patch, the following are on the watchlist:
[/p]

• [p]Summoners, healers, and ramping units, which are indirectly nerfed by the Pack Leader rework[/p][p][/p]

[h3]Improvements[/h3]

• [p]Fixed takeover bots unexpectedly training Workers late game[/p]
• [p]Fix for takeover bots getting stuck trying to build more than 1 Nucleus[/p]
• [p]Reduced false positive warnings for no tanks/DPS in rolls[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the total bounty of the next wave doesn’t show during the build phase when hovering gold[/p]
• [p]Longer build phase when using -lockwave in sandbox[/p]
• [p]Ability to copy last week's weekly challenge builds[/p]
• [p]Added Nucleus monument[/p]
• [p]Improved visual clarity for Executioner VFX[/p]
• [p]Improved clarity for tutorial Legion select[/p]
• [p]Pinging Mimic now shows plunder gold[/p]
• [p]Gold hover shows gold from leaks and potential cover gold[/p]
• [p]Fixed Oathbreaker sometimes not going into ragemode when below 50% health[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Game Translations[/h3][p][/p][p]Legion TD 2's translations continue to be improved, thanks to major contributions from community members! If you'd like to contribute to improving the game's texts further, visit the following link:

Help Translate Legion TD 2

HUGE thank you to everyone who has helped up to this point! [/p][p][/p][h3]Reward for Boosting Discord[/h3][p]Anyone who Boosts the Legion TD 2 Discord will receive 500 Premium Essence each month the Boost is active. Here's how it works: [/p]

• [p] When you Boost the Legion TD 2 Discord, you'll get a DM from Safety Mole with a code [/p]
• [p] The code can be redeemed by typing "/redeem code" in the in-game Global Chat [/p]
• [p] Players who keep their Boost active will receive a new code every month [/p]
• [p] Codes expire when the Booster receives a new code or if the old one wasn't used[/p]

[p]Thank you to everyone for contributing to the community! [/p][p][/p][h3]Monthly In-Game Reward Code[/h3]

• [p]This month’s ultra-secret code is “369brutebrutebrute” to unlock some free Essence in-game! [/p]
• [p]Each month, a new code will be revealed right here in the patch notes. Codes are only valid during the month they are announced.[/p]

[p]Here’s how to enter a code in-game:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]This patch replaces Double Lock-In with a new mastermind—Scrapper! It also reworks Yolo and Pack Leader and improves mastermind variety and the early game meta.[/p][p]As always, with any major patch, we'll keep a close eye on things and rapidly hotfix as long as needed. Thank you again for playing Legion TD 2! We hope you continue to enjoy the game. [/p][p]If you've enjoyed the game, but haven't left a review yet, please consider posting a short (hopefully positive ) review for the game! If the game reaches 90% positive, Steam will give it more visibility = more players = more freelo better matchmaking!

If you enjoy these updates, please give it a Thumbs Up, too!

If you have constructive criticism, let's chat about it. Discord and /r/LegionTD2 on reddit are our main channels of communication, and aside from the development team, there are community helpers who can ensure your feedback is heard, as well as answer pretty much anything you've ever wanted to know about the game. If you want a guaranteed answer from the devs, the monthly AMAs on /r/LegionTD2 are your best bet.

Sincerely,
The Legion TD 2 Team[/p]