Will the Hub become haunted? Will the Deflector AI discover the tiniest pumpkins ever documented? Will Oogles rebrand into Boogles?
Guess we’ll just have to wait and see!
Deflector
Halloween is coming to Deflector!
Will the Hub become haunted? Will the Deflector AI discover the tiniest pumpkins ever documented? Will Oogles rebrand into Boogles?
Guess we’ll just have to wait and see!
Patch note 0.7.4.4
Here’s what’s been changed or updated:
- Lightfist’s deflection now charges to maximum level quicker;
- Resolved an issue causing Flipbugs (the beetles you can find in Hollow Hive) to never open their shell and stay invulnerable indefinitely;
- Resolved Spark’s Orb Expansion mutation not working after loading an ongoing run;
- Resolved an issue with some unlocked specimen mutations not appearing during play.
Enjoy!
Lightfist Update is live!
The wait is over and the Lightfist Update is finally live!
Evolve your bioshell
In place of the previous Variants, you will now obtain mutations unique to each Specimen as you unlock nodes on the DNA table. Choose a new mutation at 4, 10 and 20 traits, stacking up to three mutations to drastically affect the way your bioshell performs.
Gunslinger & Spark reimagined
Gunslinger’s back with a more streamlined ammo system that will keep your primary attack coming. Your energy gauge now refers to Gunslinger’s deflective Shotgun charges rather than the main weapon. Aggressive gameplay will reward you with faster reload times, so keep those guns blazing!
Meanwhile Spark returns with revamped attacks. Extend and accelerate the orbs orbiting you to damage enemies. Launch the orbs through enemies and projectiles both to deflect and destroy. Accumulate enough charge through deflecting and become a literal spark of lightning to chase down and damage your enemies.
Lightfist joins the Experiment
Lightfist herself is finally here and she comes packing a punch! A brand new Specimen joins the experiment. With abilities based around her massive fists, punch enemies, punch away projectiles, dodging and weaving and charging up your fist to make your deflection even more powerful.
Go to The Source (and punch it in the eye)
Beat any three different Apex Viruses and face off against the final threat. The Source is a challenging boss that fills the screen with projectiles both between and during its damage phases. You’ll need to think on your feet and bring all that you’ve learned to this fight!
The full list of changes can be found below:
What’s new
- Variants removed, replaced with evolution system
- Unique mutations added for each specimen (5 per specimen)
- New specimen added: Lightfist
Changes to specimens:
Slasher
- Active ability damage increased, consecutive hits against the same enemy deal decreased damage;
- Active ability always prioritizes a different enemy per hit whenever possible;
Gunslinger
- Energy replaced with charges for the Shotgun;
- Deflecting has increased range & damage, but costs a charge. Deflecting without charges reduces deflection range & damage;
- Charges regenerate over time (killing enemies speeds up regeneration);
- Reduced turret damage;
- Reduced turret duration;
- Increased base movement speed
Spark
- Active ability transforms Spark into a bolt of lightning, becoming invincible and dealing damage;
- Holding the main attack button expands your orbit, making your orbs deal damage;
- Traits now display their family color on the DNA table
- Resized some UI texts for better readability;
- Added support for ultra-wide resolutions: 2560x1080; 2880x1200; 3440x1440; 3840x1600;
- Added new UI sounds for pausing/unpausing and hovering/placing mutations on the DNA table;
- DNA table now has a crosshair cursor for better user experience and control;
- Final boss visuals & gameplay mechanics reworked;
Balance
- Reduced the increment enemy health increases by based on difficulty;
- Increased difficulty of survival rooms, but they now appear less frequently;
- Reduced the increments enemy waves increase by based on difficulty;
- Reduced cost of freeing prisoners;
- Reduced spawn rate of Larvae (Hollow Hive);
- Reduced base health of Hive (Hollow Hive);
- Reduced base health of Fastclaw (Hollow Hive);
- Increased cooldown between Fastclaw dashes (Hollow Hive);
- Elite Fastclaw variant now shoots less bullets on dash (Hollow Hive);
Bugs
- Resolved an issue where some challenges would complete before they were supposed to;
- Resolved an issue where sometimes killing an enemy while in the arena would reward 0 DNA;
- Resolved an issue where sometimes the enemy Flipbug would not open the shell and remain invulnerable forever;
- Resolved an issue where the Bouncing Bullets mutation would not properly mark enemies;
- Resolved an issue where enemies that were not killed in survival rooms would count towards kills for challenges;
- Resolved an issue where Double Bastion's defeat challenge would pop up after defeating just one of them;
- Resolved an issue where collector would not properly display information on unlocked traits;
- Resolved an issue where dying in the tutorial would take the player to the main Hub;
- Resolved an issue where strand materializer upgrade would not reduce the cost properly;
- Enemies spawned by other enemies no longer trigger the Life Drain anomaly;
- Resolved an issue where player death SFX sometimes wouldn’t play;
- Cursor resolution fixed
Don’t forget to check out our brand new trailer before you jump back into Deflector!
New Boss
Introducing The Source. The pinnacle of your challenges in the Deflector Experiment. To square off against it, you will first need to clear any three worlds from start to finish, destroying the Apex Viruses waiting at the end. Surviving that long means you’ll have many tricks up your sleeve, but the fight you face is still going to be intense.
Whether during the damage phase or in-between, a relentless storm of projectiles will threaten you at all times. Quick learning, honed reflexes and of course your fully decked out build will be crucial for you to stand a chance.
We are excited to see the outcome of your encounters once Deflector’s new update lands!
⚡️ Meet new Specimen: Lightfist!
Your basic left-click attack launches a punch in front of you. Punish your enemies with the old one-two punch!
Your deflecting ability lets you punch away projectiles! But it’s a bit more elaborate than just punching bullets. If you hold down the button, you’ll start charging your deflecting punch. At maximum power it will send enemy projectiles flying back with greater force, making them inflict more damage! Time it just right (you’ll know it’s time when you hear a sound and see a visual effect) and you’ll also shoot forward a giant fist for even more damage! You are not immobile while charging, but your movement speed and range of your dash are reduced. Use them to position yourself just right to deflect the most projectiles and dish out pain!
Finally your ultimate ability transforms your attacks into fierce ground pounds. For a time Lightfist’s every strike will slam both fists into the earth like an angry ten-finger meteor, dealing AoE damage on impact.
If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know that the update is also introducing a new system, replacing Variants with Evolution, which unlocks Specimen-specific mutations as you unlock your DNA table. Let’s lift the veil and see what sorts of tricks Lightfist can evolve to use.
Running punch
Attacking after dashing hits with both arms in the direction you are aiming.
Multiple parry
Perfect parry releases 3 fists in a cone.
Ghost fists
Your fists pierce enemies, but deal less damage.
Charge strike
Upon reaching maximum deflection charge, release a wave that damages nearby enemies.
Great fists
Your attacks fire both fists, increasing damage at the cost of attack rate
And there you have it! Lightfist is coming with the next update. But the Evolution system and the new Specimen aren’t all that’s coming. There’s a new threat too. More on that in our next news article. Stay tuned!
P.S. visit our Twitter to see Lightfist in action!
Specimens evolution system 🧬
Following the next update, Variants will be no more – each bioshell will begin in its default form emphasizing its base playstyle. As you clear viruses and unlock new traits on your DNA table, your chosen Specimen will eventually evolve.
Every time your Specimen evolves you get to choose between two out of five mutations unique to the Specimen you’ve chosen. You can look up each bioshell’s potential mutations when you first select which one you want to use.
You unlock a new mutation at 4, 12 and 22 traits. That means you can have up to three mutations to shape your bioshell! The counter in the middle of the DNA table is going to tell you how many traits you still need to unlock in the table to Evolve.
A Specimen that survives long enough to accumulate all three mutations gains abilities surpassing their original form! Let’s examine what sorts of mutations each bioshell can acquire.
Growing Boomerang
Your boomerang increases size the more you deflect it.
Explosive Boomerang
Every 3 consecutive times you deflect the boomerang it releases a damaging explosion at its max distance.
Side Boomerang
You can throw an additional boomerang, but your boomerangs deal less damage.
Quick Boomerang
Deflecting or throwing your boomerang immediately after dashing charges it, significantly increasing damage, travel speed and range.
Linked Boomerang
A laser connects you and the boomerang, continuously damaging enemies it touches.
Sword waves
Reduce base damage, but release flying swords with each attack attacks that deal a small amount of damage.
Long sword
Your basic attack has increased range.
Wide throw
The sword is now thrown horizontally and deals more damage.
Triple sword
Release 2 additional swords in a cone when throwing the sword.
Radial fast-slash
Attacking after a dash releases a 360-degree attack.
Turret protection
Your turret deploys an area that increases your damage and reduces damage taken.
Split shooting
Your gun shoots 2 additional bullets in a cone.
Overcharged bolts
Your shotgun has an additional charge and deals more damage.
Piercing bolts
Bullets pierce enemies but deal less damage.
Bolstered bolts
Greatly reduce rate of fire, but increase damage and size of bullets.
Orbs expansion
You are orbited by two additional orbs.
Unstable orbs
The orbs explode when retrieved instead of traveling back.
Far-charged orbs
Deflected orbs deal less damage up close, but fly further and deal increased damage the further they travel.
Powerful Orbs
When using Expanded Orbit, the orbs become bigger and deal more damage.
Skillful orbs
When using Expanded Orbit, initial spin speed is slower but increases over time.
On second thought, maybe this last one deserves special mention another time. Look forward to it very soon!
Steam Bash Bash Sale began!
Deflector, the high-octane bullet hell roguelite is part of the Steam Bash Bash Sale! From September 19th to September 26th pick up Deflector at a 20% discount.
With a brand new character on the way now's a great time to take up the fight against viruses in Deflector!
Wallpapers #1
CLICK TO GET WALLPAPER PACK #1
Let us know what kinds of wallpapers you'd like to see for your desktop, phone or tablet in other packs down the line. Happy accessorizing!
VFX Reel
These are some of the ways environmental hazards, traps, or your own abilities can have their colors pop. Do you have a favorite?
Mutation combo tips
For those of you looking for the perfect match made in a petri dish, we decided to put together a few very promising combinations. Any mutations out of the groups you see below will synergize and give you an edge!
Remember, Deflector is an experiment, so experiment away and discover combinations to carry you through every world and hail of bullets. Share your own findings in the comments!