Root News

[p][/p][p]Critters of the Woodland, gather ‘round: the Hirelings & Landmarks expansion is coming soon to Root Digital![/p][p][/p][p]Hirelings bring a whole new layer of cunning alliances and shifting loyalties to your digital battles. These opportunistic critters — feisty Forest Patrols, raucous Rabbit Scouts, conniving Corvid Spies, and more — join the fray as hirable allies! Additionally, Landmarks make their way to Root Digital, adding new points of interest to the Woodland![/p][p][/p][h2]Hired Help [/h2][p][/p][p][/p][p]In any game where Hirelings are included, exactly three of them will join your game. They can be added to games of any player count, in either Promoted or Demoted form. [/p]

• [p]Promoted Hirelings: These Hirelings act as minor factions who can be temporarily swayed to your side, each with their own map presence and unique abilities. This has a massive impact on the feeling of two-player games, with Hirelings filling out the Woodland and lighting the map abuzz with the familiar flavors of your favorite factions. The fewer players you have, the more Promoted Hirelings will join you!
  [/p]
• [p]Demoted Hirelings: For each player you add beyond the second, one of the three included Hirelings will join the game in their Demoted form. Demoted Hirelings have less presence on the map (if any at all), and instead typically grant a special passive ability to the player that controls them. [/p]

[p]Hirelings pass their services from player to player throughout the game, bringing a whole new layer of dynamic strategy to your games of Root Digital![/p][p] [/p][p]13 Hirelings — each with a Promoted and Demoted variant — are joining the fray. The ten factions in Root Digital each have an associated Hireling, along with three neutral Hirelings. It’s important to note that a faction cannot be represented by both a Hireling and a player in the same game, so if a player chooses, say, the Lord of the Hundreds as their faction, it means the corresponding Hireling — the Flame Bearers— will be absent from the game. This ensures plenty of variety in the Woodland every match you play![/p][p][/p][h2]Landmarks - Wonders of the Woodland[/h2][p][/p][p][/p][p]Landmarks also come to Root Digital in this expansion, bringing new locations to the board, each with unique effects that shake up gameplay with new strategic challenges and tactical possibilities. Best of all, they work with each of Root's maps![/p]

• [p]Barter for anything you need at the Black Market![/p]
• [p]Benefit from the unity of fox, mouse, and rabbitkind in the fabled Lost City![/p]
• [p]Craft a masterwork at the Legendary Forge![/p]
• [p]Sit proud upon the grand throne in the Elder Treetop![/p]
• [p]Expand your reign by securing control of the mighty Tower![/p]
• [p]Travel swiftly across the Woodland by boarding the Ferry![/p]

[p][/p][h2]Hirelings & Landmarks is Coming Soon to Root Digital[/h2][p]Ready to hire some help and claim your throne? The Hirelings & Landmarks expansion is coming soon to Root Digital — be sure to Wishlist it today![/p][p][/p][p]We’ll be taking a look at the contents of this expansion — and introducing you to many of the Hirelings coming your way — in upcoming preview articles. To stay updated, tune into our Woodland whispers by following us on Bluesky or joining the Dire Wolf Discord![/p]

Today’s small patch fixes some display issues, in particular for players using ultrawide monitors or newer mobile devices.

[h2]Bugs[/h2]

• Fixed black bars appearing at the top of the display for certain mobile devices, in particular newer iOS devices.
  
• Fixed handling of safe areas on iOS devices.
  
• Fixed the battle scene along with a few other scenes to properly extend left and right on ultrawide display.
  
• Fixed pillarboxing on 16:10 displays.
  
• Fixed clearing selections so that players can easily place warriors, buildings and other tokens without triggering tooltips.
  

[h2]Known Issues[/h2]

• The AI timer buffer is given to players who do not have an AI between them and the previous Human opponent.
  
• VP gain VFX plays out of sync with actual increase in VP.
  
• Anytime in Birdsong cards can only be used after Refresh and Slip.
  
• Occasionally, Skip Replay doesn't skip to the start of your turn.
  
• Normal difficulty Corvid AI leaves plots unprotected for too long.
  
• Vagabond is missing confirmation when ending a turn with actions available.
  
• Some opponent prompts do not appear for Underworld factions/maps.
  
• AdSet: Discarding is not simultaneous.
  
• Duchy player is told to activate ministers when they do not have any.
  
• Export prompt says "Craft" instead of "Export".
  
• Sub-optimal order of removal in some cases when Base and Sympathy are removed at the same time.
  
• Cannot select bottom center clearing on Mountain Map for first AdSet Homeland as Cats.
  
• "Playable" displays instead of card names for mandatory cards.
  
• The Adventurer using Improvise displays the items in the wrong order.
  
• If all other players have left a multiplayer match, the last user cannot view the EoG screen.
  
• Action Log: No entry for winning a game.
  
• The score isn't grayed out when the Lizard player only has Bird cards in hand.
  
• Cats cannot see future costs for buildings.
  
• Confusing icon used in Birdsong of Duchy Faction Phase Order.
  
• Battle animation covers some locations of buildings when in Quick Battle.
  

As always, if you run into trouble or need help, drop us a line at [email protected] and we'll be happy to help. And if you haven’t already, be sure to join our player community on Discord!

Thanks for playing Root!

Denizens of the Woodlands, thank you as always for your reports and suggestions! This patch includes several improvements and fixes that flow from community feedback.

For improvements, players can now select a card suit to spend when crafting a card with a wild cost. We are examining other tabletop fidelity improvements too, so stay tuned!

Next, we improved display handling to support more aspect ratios and display sizes for both desktop and mobile players. If you spot any irregularities, please send Feedback via game settings or drop us a line at [email protected].

We also added a warning and action log entry for Lord of the Hundreds players attempting to loot in clearings they don't rule and failing to loot. We hope this adds clarity to these interactions.

We're happy to have patched Chinese localization for some gaps with prior expansions. This should replace all English entries with Chinese translations.

[h2]Features and Improvements[/h2]

• Enabled players to select which card suits when crafting a card with a wild cost.
  
• Improved display handling for a broad range of aspect ratios, especially for ultrawide devices, phones and tablets.
  
• Added a warning for Lord of the Hundreds players attempting to loot in a clearing they don't rule.
  
• Added a Lord of the Hundreds action log entry for failing to loot.
  
• Added Chinese localization for Exiles and Partisans, Underworld, AdSet, Lake and Mountain maps and other fields that were previously using English.
  

[h2]Bugs[/h2]

• Made various localization fixes for several languages.
  
• Cleaned up some clearings on the Winter Map and fixed a few clipping issues on other maps.
  
• For Switch users, the multiplayer lobby now displays a tooltip to indicate they are unable to chat.
  
• In the Shipping Empire challenge, river clearings will always have 2+ assigned suits, never all the same suit.
  
• Easy AI should now purchase Riverfolk services less aggressively.
  
• Added some missing gamepad highlights and made some elements navigable.
  
• Eyrie players are now prompted to confirm setup.
  
• Crafted cards can now be used in battles triggered by Instigate.
  
• Clockwork traits on the create game menu now have tooltips.
  
• Fixed the Vagabond attack value on the player detail screen to display based on the number of undamaged swords in inventory (visual only, gameplay rules were and are correct).
  
• Vagabond players can now minimize the New Quest prompt and view the board state before making a selection.
  
• In Pass and Play, Vagabond clones should no longer appear during setup.
  
• In Pass and Play, Corvid Plot tokens remain hidden when played by AI.
  
• Player can now play Dominance cards at the end of daylight if they have 10+ points.
  
• The Protect the Warlord toggle is now respected in async matches.
  
• Made Waystation icons more visible at scale.
  
• Cleaned up some Alliance tutorial prompts for 4:3 displays.
  
• Fixed an issue where Lizard Cult gardens could be invisible if they were built while a player was away from the game.
  
• Moved Keep icons to the top left of clearings instead of the lower right where they can overlap with clearing suits.
  

[h2]Known Issues[/h2]

• The AI timer buffer is given to players who do not have an AI between them and the previous Human opponent.
  
• VP gain VFX plays out of sync with actual increase in VP.
  
• Anytime in Birdsong cards can only be used after Refresh and Slip.
  
• Occasionally, Skip Replay doesn't skip to the start of your turn.
  
• Normal difficulty Corvid AI leaves plots unprotected for too long.
  
• Vagabond is missing confirmation when ending a turn with actions available.
  
• Some opponent prompts do not appear for Underworld factions/maps.
  
• AdSet: Discarding is not simultaneous.
  
• Duchy player is told to activate ministers when they do not have any.
  
• Export prompt says "Craft" instead of "Export".
  
• Sub-optimal order of removal in some cases when Base and Sympathy are removed at the same time.
  
• Cannot select bottom center clearing on Mountain Map for first AdSet Homeland as Cats.
  
• "Playable" displays instead of card names for mandatory cards.
  
• The Adventurer using Improvise displays the items in the wrong order.
  
• If all other players have left a multiplayer match, the last user cannot view the EoG screen.
  
• Action Log: No entry for winning a game.
  
• The score isn't grayed out when the Lizard player only has Bird cards in hand.
  
• Cats cannot see future costs for buildings.
  
• Confusing icon used in Birdsong of Duchy Faction Phase Order.
  
• Battle animation covers some locations of buildings when in Quick Battle.
  

As always, if you run into trouble or need help, drop us a line at [email protected] and we'll be happy to help. And if you haven’t already, be sure to join our player community on Discord!

Thanks for playing Root!

Today’s hotfix addresses a handful of issues discovered by the community.

[h2]Bugs[/h2]

• Fixed a case where Marquise could avoid spending wood to construct buildings.
  
• Fixed a rare case where game results could display incorrectly if a player's app crashes.
  
• Fixed a case where a network error popup could appear after a live match.
  
• Fixed a case preventing construction of gardens on a subset of spaces on the Winter Map.
  

Please let us know through the in-game feedback or on our Discord Server if you experience any unusual disconnects or other instability!

[h2]Known Issues[/h2]
The following issues are known to the dev team and will be addressed in future patches. UI

• The Woodland Alliance Evening actions counter can appear during Daylight if a player uses undo to step back from Evening.
  
• Players are unable to choose which crafting pieces to use when crafting a card with wild suits in its cost.
  
• If a player enters a battle while a faction info page is open, their cursor may get stuck on that page. Press the B button to reset your selection.

Mobile

• Faction select options are partially off-screen on fold devices.

Localization

• An action log entry related to Hundreds mobs incorrectly states the "mob dies" in Italian
  
• Coffin Makers text is mistranslated in Italian.
  
• The descriptions for normal and heroic Delivery Mission challenges are swapped in non-English languages.
  
• Sway Ministers description is mistranslated in Polish.
  
• Improvements needed for Disable Faction Draft description to better clarify options.

Gameplay

• Players on minimum spec devices may experience game freezes on Winter, Lake, and Mountain maps
  
• Players report games may freeze when playing on Multiplayer.

Thanks for playing Root!

You can almost see the green under that melting snow! In this patch, we have included a number of balance updates for Challenges, bug fixes, and various polish improvements. Thank you for playing Root Digital!

[h2]Improvements[/h2]

• Balance updates for Challenges, including new rules and restrictions for Hundreds’ heroic challenges.
  
• Marquise Wood Picker added to the Marquise building mode: The Marquise build selection prompt should now include a ‘Choose wood to spend’ toggle. When enabled, the Marquise can select which clearings to spend wood from.
  
• Play to your strengths! Woodland Alliance may now choose which supporters to spend by selecting them in the lower left of the game screen before a revolt or spreading sympathy.
  
• Gamepad: Overall improvements to gamepad usability. Added gamepad support for Retinue card picker (as well as for the two new ones above).

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

Challenges

• In the Delivery Mission challenges, all Move Boot icons are now the same size.

Adset

• Banning second Vagabond now removes it from the faction pool in Advanced Setup.
  
• You should now be able to press X on a gamepad to see additional information about the Vagabond during Advanced Setup.
  

Gameplay

• Your Clockwork opponent settings should now be saved along with other game setup details! This means you can easily repeat previous conditions or make small adjustments without starting from scratch.
  
• Keepers and Hundreds can now claim Dominance cards.
  
• After Eyrie activates Tax Collector from the Charismatic Leader, you should now be able to place the removed warrior for the second part of the recruit.
  
• Eyrie should now be able to use the League of Adventurous Mice before going into turmoil.
  
• Fixed an issue where Rule was not being calculated correctly after a player used undo on a crafted Soup Kitchen.
  
• Stacked relics can now be consistently targeted.
  
• When the Hundreds gain warriors from their Lavish mood, the effect on Rule now applies immediately.
  
• Rule is now recalculated after the Hundreds anoints a new Warlord.
  
• Mobs should now be able to spread through adjacency with Boat Builders and Tunnels.
  
• Field Hospitals should now be able to be used before Keepers Delve in the Keep clearing.
  
• You can now select which Waystations and Relics take battle damage.

Steam Deck

• UI: Selected highlight icon in Retinue Picker should now be more prominent.
  
• Dominance card hangers now display fully on screen on Steam Deck.
  

Playmat, prompts and stingers

• Relic models should be fully visible on the Mountain Map.
  
• The Barren Tree should no longer obscure warriors in one of the clearings on the Autumn Map.
  
• Ultrawide resolutions no longer display a duplicate relationship tracker.
  
• You should now be able to mouse over Retinue icons.
  
• Waystations should now play an animation when destroyed during battle.
  
• Exposure button now highlights when usable.
  
• The victory point number shown when Hundreds craft for VP should now display the correct value.
  
• Relic VP values now display in the casualties prompt and in the HUD during Battle.
  
• When prompted to select a Minister, the gamepad cursor should now default to the Minister HUD.
  

[h2]Known Issues[/h2]
The following issues are known to the dev team and will be addressed in future patches.

UI

• Crafting Resource Selection: Players can’t choose which resource to use when crafting with Wild icons.

Localization

• Missing Translations: German and Japanese translations for expansion content are incomplete.

Note:
We are deploying a rework of some of the networking infrastructure with today’s patch.
Please let us know through the in-game feedback or on our Discord Server if you experience any unusual disconnects or other instability!