Chapter XIII: Poetry In Motion - Now Live!

[p]Epic Poems and the Torn Hordes await - welcome to Chapter XIII: Poetry In Motion![/p][p]The Odyssey, Gilgamesh, Beowulf, the Divine Comedy - as Scribes, the time has come to craft your own Epics! [/p][p]Major Chapter XIII: Poetry In Motion brings a new game mode: Epic Poetry! In a single arena, battle to the bitter end against stanza after stanza of the Torn Hordes - all while enduring the interference of the Torn Lords![/p][p]Chapter XIII also brings Resound: an extendable 1-cost Spender Spell, Fortify: a new Orange Keyword, and many Pages of Power for your other favorite Inks and Spells![/p][p]As always, you can review the abridged Vellum timeline below - or see the full journey in game, Interlude Patches and all![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Under dire scrutiny of Torn Lords, the Scribes repel the ill-borne hordes...[/p][p]Face stanza after stanza of fearsome foes in Epic Poems! Pick your loadout, grab your fellow Scribes, and holdout on a single map for as long as you can. You'll earn Font Points to Purchase Pages of Power fluidly between different categories - but the tension ramps up as deadly and dastardly Binding Combinations activate, shifting the challenging tides of battle from wave to wave![/p][p]That's not the only challenge awaiting you; the Torn Lords won't be watching from the sidelines, they'll be interfering from afar, hoping to trip you up and throw off your poetical rhythm with dangerous (but rewarding) distractions![/p][p]Epic Poetry is perfect for players with an appetite for action-focused arcade-y play sessions. Dive right into the Vellum combat and build-making; fight and write your way to glory![/p][p][/p][p]Seek to right these poetical wrongs, revel and dance to victorious songs![/p][p]Unlocked next to the game-start pedestal after mending Rivals, you'll be able to select your desired Arena and Difficulty for Epic Poetry - then set off and battle to your heart's content... or until your Ink runs dry! You'll be offered an optional exit portal after vanquishing the 20th Stanza, but are free to continue further at no risk to your rewards.[/p][p]We're launching with 4 maps available at the start: Ritual, Threshold, The Forum, Crossroads, and will be adding more in the future.[/p][p]Face the Epic Poems on Folklore, Chronicle, and Mythos difficulties to gain additional Quillmarks. Additionally, you'll be able to unlock new cosmetics for fighting through a cumulative total of Stanzas![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]If music be the bane of Torn, play on![/p][p]Tune up and tune in for the newest spender spell to echo through the Tomes - RESOUND! [/p][p]Throw down a bell, then make it ring across the fields of battle to overwhelm your foes with the power of music! Resound is a 1-cost spell with a unique behavior - your first cast will summon the Bell for a time, while subsequent casts will throw Piercing Notes to extend and re-ring the Bell![/p][p]You'll also damage any foe caught in the projectile's path - so watch your positioning AND your tempo![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Admire the vast strength of a turret, and hope your foes dare not endure it![/p][p]We're introducing a new Keyword for Orange: Fortify! Fortify helps define and extend the "be close to your Atlas" state further than before! While you're close enough to your Atlas, you'll become Fortified and see a new hovering shield above your Book! [/p][p]There are over 20 new Pages of Power, touching on Quip, Jot, Concoct, Wordsmith, Callback, Swoop, Ghostwrite, Orange, and General Movement Spells - let's look at some highlights: [/p]

• [p]Signal Interval will periodically grant you Parry while Fortified, adding extra offense and defense to sticking close to Atlas. [/p]
• [p]Driving Force grants a chance to reset your Movement Spell cooldown when it deals damage, opening up more offensive mobility builds.[/p]
• [p]Catalyst gives Concoct +33% size and additional bounce - additionally, Concoct now interacts with bonus bounces and projectiles better![/p]
• [p]Hammer It Out now slams nearby foes with a hammer when casting Wordsmith! [/p]

[p]There are plenty more to collect and use in your fight for the Illuminated Library! We can't wait to see what busted new combinations you uncover, Scribes![/p][p][/p][p]What's next? We'll be keeping an eye and ear out for Epic Poetry feedback while working on the next Interlude Patch. You can expect more maps to enter the poetry pool, and we're planning to look at some more balancing across the board. Keep the feedback coming![/p][p]We're happy with the response to the previous interlude patch - thanks for perusing the Illuminated Library![/p][p]Special thanks to the Discord for really hammering on the testing branch and finding bugs for us to squash. As always, your insights continue to be invaluable.[/p][p]Go, masters of Ink, and mark your prowess amid beautiful Poetry In Motion![/p][p]- The Vellum Team[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]New Game Mode: Epic Poetry[/h2][p]- Epic Poetry: Battle through Stanza after Stanza of Torn Hordes[/p][p]- 4 Arenas: Threshold, The Forum, Crossroads, Ritual[/p][p]- 3 Difficulties: Folklore, Chronicle, Mythos[/p][p]- Exit Portal opens after 20 Stanzas, with an option to continue (at no risk to your currency rewards)[/p][p]- Unlocked after mending Rivals, begin by approaching the open book near the Font's pedestal[/p][p]- New Cosmetic rewards[/p][h2]New Spender Spell: Resound[/h2][p]- 1-Cost Spender Spell, Bell Ring: 55 Damage, Piercing Notes: 45 Damage[/p][p]- Orchestrate a Blaring Bell to ring nearby foes and persist for 5s. (Interact to Recall the spell early.)[/p][p]- Bell Active: Launch Piercing Notes to ring and prolong the Bell, damaging all foes struck.[/p][p]- New Pages of Power for Resound[/p][h2]New Keyword and Pages[/h2][p]- Orange Signature Ink Keyword: Fortify - (Note: This functionality already existed, we're just further defining and expanding on it)[/p][p]- Over 20 New Pages of Power for Quip, Jot, Concoct, Wordsmith, Callback, Swoop, Ghostwrite, Orange Ink, and General Movement Spells[/p][h2]General and Fixes[/h2][p]- Spell: Concoct now behaves correctly with increases to number of projectiles[/p][p]- Spell: Concoct Pages and effects related to bounces interact properly now[/p][p]- Bonus Objective: Golden Ink no longer prevents Chapters from ending[/p][p]- Page of Power: Set Up Shop interaction fix[/p][p]- Page of Power: One Ton size change temp deactivated[/p][p]- Page of Power: Flourishing Splash should now correctly position itself[/p][p]- Page of Power: Biding Time now has the correct numbers in tooltip[/p][p]- Arena: The Forum adjusted navigation and geometry[/p][p]- Raving: Crab has seen some movement adjustments[/p][p]- Internal: Added better logging for networking disconnects[/p][p]- Vignette: Thesis, A Ship Rewritten has had some planks replaced [/p][p]- Adjusted scrolling sensitivity of Friends List in Pause Menu[/p][p]- NPC Entity navigation fixes[/p][p]- Typo fixes[/p][p]- Unity Update addressing vulnerabilities[/p]