With the upcoming 5th year anniversary of Element TD 2, it felt time to release something meaty. We've pushed an alpha build that adds Peer To Peer Networking support. Both public and LAN options are available. Public is for playing with anyone. LAN is for private lobbies within an internal network.
It's seamless, just select the appropriate region in game settings. When you do so, a small application is launched in the background (ElementServer.exe). This is a build of the game server running on your computer. If Windows asks for internet/firewall access, please allow it.
For those concerned about privacy, it uses the same port as Steam. And if you don't want it running, just change your region back to something non-P2P and the server will be stopped. It only runs when you have set the region to P2P.
Improvements
Peer to Peer Networking Support Added
Updated Unity game engine version
Updated network libraries
Balance Changes
Co-op Creep HP multiplier reduced from 1.153 to 1.15
Co-op Boss HP multiplier reduced from 1.25 to 1.2
Water tower damage increased from 90 / 540 / 3240 / 38880 to 95 / 570 / 3420 / 41040
Earth tower shockwave damage increased from 35 / 210 / 1260 / 15120 to 40 / 240 / 1440/ 17280
Poison tower base damage increased from 130 / 520 / 2080 to 150 / 600 / 2400
Poison tower DoT increased from 65 / 260 / 1040 to 75 / 300 / 1200
Nova tower damage increased from 260 / 1040 to 300 / 1200
Windstorm tower damage increased from 300 / 1200 to 350 / 1400
Root tower DoT increased from 35 / 140 to 40 / 160
Wisp tower damage increased from 850 / 3400 to 950 / 3800
Archdruid tower base damage reduced from 25000 to 15000
Obelisk tower base damage reduced from 9000 to 7500
Obelisk explosion damage build up reduced from 4000 to 3600
PS: To play the alpha build, from Steam client, go to game properties, betas, select alpha from the dropdown.
Leaderboard Issues Resolved
There have been issues with scores not submitting to the leaderboards correctly. This has now been fixed. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused.
A note on Cheating, Leaderboards, and Bans
Let me start by saying that we don't condone cheating. That said, we don't care if you cheat in singleplayer. But when you cheat for the leaderboard or multiplayer then it hurts other players.
If you want to cheat in Element TD 2 and not get banned please keep the below in mind.
Campaign is only singleplayer so you can do whatever you want.
Survival you can exit the match anytime before you die. Leaderboard submission happens upon death.
Alternatively, you can turn on God Mode in Survival.
Mega Survival is the same as Survival for this.
Ranked, FFA, Co-op, Teams, and War are all multiplayer and completely off-limits. Do not play these.
We added an option in Axon TD to disable all leaderboard submissions based on player feedback. It has worked out well so we're going to add this to Element TD 2 in 1.9.5. That way you can play Survival without any concern.
We have a three strike policy. First time cheat entries appear on the leaderboard we simply delete them. Second time cheat entries appear we ban the player. The player can appeal either on Discord or Steam Forums to get a second chance.
If you're intending to cheat singleplayer only and accidentally get an entry on the leaderboard, please reach out to us on either Discord or Steam Forums. We're not looking to ban people for accidents. We're looking to ban people trying to cheat others.
For the other side of players, those who worry about cheating in multiplayer, we'll have something in 1.9.5 for you too. We're trying some anti-cheat with Axon TD and what ends up working we'll add to Element TD 2.
Our newest game, Axon TD, has Officially Released!
Element Studios is proud to present our latest entry. Axon TD: Uprising is now Officially Released! Check out our trailer below.
The game features:
40 Towers and Traps
10 Castable Abilities
Mechanics for Map Manipulation
35+ Unique Enemies
Co-op with up to 4 Players
A Roguelite Survival Mode
A Story Driven Campaign with 40 Missions
21 Quickplay, 18 Co-op, and 4 Survival Maps
Leaderboards for Quickplay, Co-op, and Survival
And a Map Editor with Steam Workshop support
With the full release of the game, the game is 20% off for the next week!
Last month, we released Version 1.94, which applied performance updates, quality of life features, and a fresh round of balance. Today's update is a follow-up, touching up on balance and fixing some annoying issues.
Improvements & Fixes
Co-op first wave timer can no longer be bypassed
Fixed a bug allowing people to join lobby during countdown
Fix for kick player sometimes not working
Fixed various crash errors
Improvements to spacing and font size for localization support
Balance Changes
General
All 850 range towers increased to 875 range
All 1150 range towers reduced to 1125 range
All 1450 range towers increased to 1500 range
Level 3 Elemental Boss HP curve tweaked so that it's harder to kill up to wave 40
Dual Element Towers
Solar Tower DoT duration now scales with level from 6 to 6 / 7 / 8
Poison Tower impact damage (not DoT) increased from 120 / 480 / 1920 to 130 / 520 / 2080
Triple Element Support Towers
Windstorm Tower damage reduced from 400 / 1600 to 300 / 1200
Corrosion Tower damage over time reduced from 90 / 360 to 65 / 260
Polar Tower damage reduced from 700 / 2800 to 500 / 2000
Muck Tower damage reduced from 600 / 2400 to 450 / 1800
Nova Tower damage reduced from 350 / 1400 to 260 / 1040
Jinx Tower damage reduced from 750 / 3000 to 550 / 2200
Incantation Tower damage reduced from 375 / 1500 to 285 / 1140
Root Tower damage over time reduced from 50 / 200 to 35 / 1400
Triple Element Damage Towers
Money Tower ability damage multiplier increased from 20% / 40% to 25% / 50%
Money Tower max damage increased from 5280 / 26400 to 5445 / 27720
Astral Tower ability duration now scales with level from 3 to 3 / 4
Astral Tower attack damage increased from 2250 / 9000 to 2300 / 9200
Golem Tower attack damage increased from 2700 / 10800 to 2800 / 11200
Flamethrower Tower ability damage increased from 230 / 920 to 250 / 1000
Ethereal Tower damage reduced from 950 / 3800 to 900 / 3600
Ethereal Tower damage gain per kill reduced from 95 / 380 to 90 / 360
Laser Tower damage increased from 6000 / 24000 to 7000 / 28000
Laser Tower damage loss per nearby creep reduced from 750 / 3000 to 600 / 2400
Laser Tower max damage loss reduced from 3000 / 12000 to 2400 / 9600
Quad Element Towers
Singularity Tower damage reduced from 13200 to 12000
Gravity Cannon Tower damage reduced from 9000 to 8000
Archdruid Tower ability damage multiplier reduced from 7% to 5%
Archdruid Tower AoE reduced from 400 to 300
Crystal Spire Tower range reduced from 650 to 625
Crystal Spire Tower attack damage increased from 35000 from 36000
Plague Tower damage increased from 700 to 725
Rage Tower damage amplification increased from 25% from 28%
That's it for the notes! As usual, a balance updates means Score Leaderboards have been wiped; however, the current Ranked Season remains untouched. We're still working on another update, which will release in the coming months. In the meantime, enjoy the new patch!
Version 1.9.4.1 Delayed
In light of Tower Defense Fest starting today, we have decided to delay the upcoming patch until next week. While we'd like to get the bug fixes and improved balance out ASAP, it requires a reset of the leaderboards. With new players expected to try the game, it would be a bad experience for them if the leaderboards are empty. New players get a chance to learn by watching replays.
That said, I have pushed 1.9.4.1 to the alpha branch for anyone who wants to try it early. Replays won't submit but everything else will be fully working. As a reminder, no beta code is required and access is open to all.
Balance Tweaks, Bug Fixes
We will be releasing a hotfix next weekend. It will address some outstanding balance concerns. There are also a couple of bug fixes around Co-op start time and joining lobby during countdown.
The update will require a leaderboard reset (not ranked).
Leaderboard Submission Fix
Just a quick note that version 1.9.4 introduced a bug where Boss Hunt game duration submitted to the leaderboard. This has been fixed. Entries that used Boss Hunt game duration will be removed from the leaderboard.
Boss Hunt is meant to quickly practice end game setups. It is not fully accurate in terms of speed multiplier or how much gold you have. That is why it is not eligible for the leaderboard.
Version 1.9.4
What's this? A new update for Element TD 2? That's right, we're back with some significant changes! We've got performance improvements, quality of life, a bunch of balance updates, and a new difficulty to test your skills against. Read on for the full notes!
Improvements
General
Spatial Hash applied. In short, this results in major performance improvements, especially on the CPU end.
Singleplayer games no longer need to connect online to submit to leaderboard. As a result, we've removed the "online" checkbox in singleplayer entirely, because it's no longer necessary.
Legendary difficulty added (250% HP, 15x Score)
Czech and Italian localization updated
When a player leaves in co-op, their towers are no longer sold and instead ownership is transferred
There is now a ready button before first wave start in all modes except Ranked
Ranked match desync detector relaxed a bit
Ranked has been adjusted from Very Hard to Insane Difficulty
Bug Fixes
Disconnected from Steam message no longer blocks the game by spamming
Fixed Tesla Tree connections broken on load checkpoint
Fixed bug with achievements for mission 7 and 9 in campaign
Fixed Corrosion and Incantation not being impacted by Diminishing Returns
Fixed a bug with Nuclear tower where % of HP damage was calculated based on each creep itself not the target creep
Balance Changes
Global
Most towers are receiving range buffs across the board, increasing their overall usability. Essence picks are indirectly buffed from Level 4 Singles being cheaper and (mostly) more powerful. You have more starting gold, and Level 3 Elementals are a little easier to kill.
On the nerf side of things, 6 Element has remained a dominant build due to the potency of stacking all their support towers (Triples & Quads), as well as Periodic being exceedingly powerful. We've made some adjustments there.
Interest rate pick bonus reduced from 0.65% to 0.6%
Diminishing Returns increased from 12% to 13%
Diminishing Returns stack cap increased from 6 to 7
The following Quads now contribute to Diminishing Returns: Phantom Zone, Rage, Nuclear, Shredder, Gravity Cannon, Singularity
Periodic and Level 4 Single Element total cost reduced from 16000 to 13750
750 range towers increased to 850 range
900 range towers increased to 1000 range
1150 range towers remain the same
1500 range towers reduced to 1450 range
Some towers that were previously 1500 range are now 1750 range. These are listed in tower notes below.
Starting gold increased from 250 to 300
Mazing bonus starting gold increased from 350 to 375
Ranked starting gold increased from 1300 to 1500
Extra Short starting gold increased from 7000 to 7500
Boss Hunt starting gold increased from 120000 to 130000
Elemental Level 3 Base HP reduced from 22500 to 20000
Elemental HP wave multiplier increased from x1.5 to x1.515
Healing creep heal rate reduced from 30% to 25%
Base Towers
Arrow tower range increased from 900 to 1150
Arrow tower damage increased from 60 to 62
Periodic tower damage reduced from 52000 to 39000
Single Element Towers
Light increased from 1500 to 1750 range
Darkness increased from 1150 to 1450 range
Level 4 Water tower damage increased from 35640 to 38880
Level 4 Fire tower damage increased from 14040 to 17280
Level 4 Fire tower bonus damage increased from 468 to 576
Level 4 Nature tower damage increased from 37620 to 47880
Level 4 Earth tower shockwave damage reduced from 17640 to 15120
Level 4 Light tower damage increased from 56160 to 70200
Level 4 Light tower consecutive bonus damage increased from 1404 to 1620
Level 4 Darkness tower damage increased from 129600 to 151200
Dual Element Towers
Geyser tower ability AoE increased from 300 to 300 / 350 / 400
Lightning tower bounce damage retained increased from 85% / 88% / 91% to 85% / 90% / 95%
Infernal tower given 75 AoE
Ice tower damage reduced from 850 / 3400 / 13600 to 700 / 2800 / 11200
Howitzer tower range increased from 1500 to 1750
Howitzer tower damage reduced from 190 / 760 / 3080 to 175 / 700 / 2800
Well, Blacksmith, and Trickery range increased from 900 to 1150
Triple Element Towers
Mostly buffs here. Except Money Tower. It no longer grants additional gold over time.
Ethereal tower damage increased from 900 / 3600 to 950 / 3800
Ethereal tower bonus damage increased from 75 / 300 to 95 / 380
Tidal tower damage increased from 750 / 3000 to 850 / 3400
Haste tower max speed increased from 5.5 / 6.5 to 6 / 7
Golem tower attack downtime reduced from 4 to 3.5 seconds
Money tower passive gold generation removed
Money tower damage multiplier increased from 20% / 40% to 25% / 50%
Runic tower damage reduced from 1125 / 4500 to 925 / 3700
Flamethrower tower Napalm damage increased from 210 / 840 to 230 / 920
Triple Element Support Towers
Many of these towers were close if not matching effectiveness in damage to the Triple Element Damage Towers. This contributed heavily to 6 Element dominance. As a result, we've severely reduced their damage.
Corrosion tower damage reduced from 140 / 560 to 90 / 360
Incantation tower damage reduced from 475 / 1900 to 375 / 1500
Jinx tower damage reduced from 1100 / 4400 to 750 / 3000
Muck tower damage reduced from 900 / 3600 to 600 / 2400
Nova tower damage reduced from 500 / 2000 to 350 / 1400
Nova tower slow duration increased from 3 to 5 seconds
Polar tower damage reduced from 1000 / 4000 to 700 / 2800
Root tower damage reduced from 90 / 360 to 50 / 200
Root tower AoE increased from 200 to 300
Windstorm tower damage reduced from 725 / 2900 to 400 / 1600
Windstorm tower slow duration increased from 3 to 5 seconds
Quad Element Towers
As mentioned earlier, numerous Support Quads now contribute to Diminishing Returns. Some have received buffs; others nerfs. On the whole, Damage Quads are buffed. This should result in 6 Element no longer being overwhelmingly powerful while retaining their usability in 4 Element and 5 Element builds.
Archdruid tower AoE increased from 300 to 400
Archdruid damage multiplier increased from 5% to 7%
Crystal Spire spirit range increased from 600 to 650
Crystal Spire spirit count increased from 9 to 10
Doom max damage increased from 25200 to 27000 damage
Gravity Cannon slow down duration increased from 0.5 seconds to 0.75 seconds
Gravity Cannon damage reduced from 12400 to 9000
Life Altar damage reduced from 8500 to 8000
Life Altar duration reduced from 15 seconds to 12 seconds
Life altar no longer affects illusions
Nuclear tower damage reduced from 10000 to 8000
Nuclear tower % of HP damage increased from 0.25% to 0.3% per second
Nuclear tower base damage per second reduced from 6000 to 3000
Obelisk base explosion damage fixed (was incorrectly set to 0 but should be 4000)
Obelisk tower damage reduced from 4500 to 4000
Phantom Zone damage reduced from 16000 to 14000
Plague tower stack damage increased from 675 to 700
Rage damage multiplier increased from 20% to 25%
Railgun ability damage increased from 62500 to 70000
Railgun passive charge increased from 25 to 40
Tesla now receives an additional 1000 damage per tower in the chain
Nuclear tower slow increased from 30% to 35%
Shredder damage reduced from 13000 to 10000
Shredder tower creep HP after split reduced from 60% to 55%
As per usual, with a balance update, Leaderboards have been reset. Additionally, Ranked Season 7 has begun!
We hope you enjoy this latest update to the game. Try out all kinds of new strategies, and see how much better the game performs (especially in Co-op). Let us know what you think of the update on our Discord!
After this update, we have one more major update planned, which will cover long-term server support. You can read about those details here. Lastly, Element TD 2 is on sale for the Steam Summer Sale 2024! Let your friends (and enemies) know they can pick up both the base game and the Mazing DLC for 50%!
Another Major Update
It turns out that there will be another major update after version 1.9.4!
Our backend developer has decided to rewrite the game server code. This will improve the performance allowing for a smoother multiplayer experience. But more exciting is that we'll be making the game server portable as well.
As a result, peer to peer networking will be added to the game! You'll be able to host a lobby with you being the game server that everyone connects to. Playing with friends? Skip connecting to a regional server and keep it local. At a LAN? Even better, say goodbye to latency.
The game server will be shipped alongside the main game so the experience will be seamless.
Just to be clear, the regional game servers are not going anywhere. We will be supporting the standard multiplayer experience for at least a decade.
Version 1.9.5 will be coming by the end of the summer.
