In this devblog we would like to talk about some new features that we decided to add during the alpha test. In order to expand the strategic layer of the game we’ve decided to include a base building to the game.
Previously, all attention was focused on the protagonist and increasing his powers as the game progressed but now you will be able to build your own “town” and decide on the type of strategic and tactical perks you wish to pursue.
Besides the familiar Iratus’s room there will be 8 buildings available for construction, each of which will provide a certain bonus. It will also be possible to improve these buildings and thus increase their productivity and abilities. But first, these buildings will need to be constructed, since only two structures will be available at the start: the Training Room, where minions can earn experience and the Morgue, where minions can heal more rapidly.
Moreover, it will be necessary to sacrifice one of your minions in order to construct or improve a building, along with an Architect’s Soul — a special resource, which can be earned in battles or through other activities on the map.
You can “dismantle” the improvement or even the building itself to regain the minion that was used in construction. However, the Architect’s Soul does not return, so you should think twice before wasting such a valuable and rare resource.
Buildings do not give their bonus by themselves and need minions to “work” there. At the initial stage, there is only one slot in any building for a minion. Improvements will open additional slots up to a maximum of four.
Minions that you have assigned to a building will not be able to take part in battles but they can be recalled back at any time.
That will be all for now. We will soon be publishing a devblog featuring all the buildings and their bonuses.
If you have any ideas or suggestions we appreciate you sharing them with us and we will try our best to include the good ones in the future!
Unfrozen Team
Devblog #9. Blood Phantasm
Blood Phantasm — a rather rare example of a naturally occurring undead. Some even theorize that they are actually blood elementals and write many an arcane thesis defending their position.
In reality these phantoms are born from a single desire: revenge. Revenge against those that killed them, which in this case is usually you. However, it is not too difficult to distort their perception of reality, simply making sure they see your form in place of your enemies and appling a few bindings to keep them from harming your minions. Then you have a splendid servant. To be constantly haunted by your face... you almost envy their existence.
This manifestation of revenge that you have brought under your control makes the Blood Phantasm a flexible minion. He is not only capable of dealing a lot of damage but also able to sustain the life of another minions. Since the main goal is to destroy the enemy, it is up to you to decide if the phantasm attempts it himself or with the help of other undead allies.
It may be said that the Blood Phantasm is a hybrid character, whose capacities can be adapted for your style of play. It’s kinda like the Paladin of the undead world. Hence, the new minion advancement system that we talked about in the previous devblog will help make decisions on what role the Blood Phantasm is going to play in your army.
We are currently finalizing the abilities of Blood Phantom and working on its animations.
Furthermore, we’ve created 2 new backgrounds. One of them you will see on the Dwarven Floor.
And another one will appear at the beginning of your journey. Here you will first meet those prisoners who are forced to fight your undead against their will.
That's about it. See you soon!
Devblog #8. The long-awaited minion advancement system.
Hello everyone!
Here's the long-awaited devblog after a long hiatus. During this time we have been able to review an enormous amount of feedback and also done a lot of work taking into account that feedback. Well, one step at a time.
Right now we are working on the level progression not only for Iratus but also his minions.
And while advancement for Iratus is simply a redesign of his Talent Tree, the level progression of minions is a brand new mechanic that we’ve been asked to add for a long time by our audience.
Players told us that our minions are too expendable and lack personification. Well... a necromancer is supposed to just make new soldiers even if he lost his whole squad in a fight. But what can we humans do without emotional attachment, right? Without that feeling you get when you devote time and energy into a minion only to see them come to the brink of death in a battle with the "force for good".
So, the minion advancement system is in the process of being developed! Minions will now earn experience points in battles, in special events on the map and also through specific artifacts. With the right amount of experience your minions will level up into a stronger, more powerful form.
After level up you will be given an opportunity to improve one ability and with it, a basic characteristics of your minion (such as Dread, Luck, etc). Also, with every new level the HP of your minion will increase no matter what.
At the moment we are working on the interface and will showcase it very soon.
So go out and prepare to improve those important characteristics, get valuable abilities and make your minions stronger! Especially when a whole new minion is scheduled to join the army of Iratus in the coming updates! We will make an announcement regarding this in our next devblog, think about it until then. ;)
We continue making new animations and fixing the ones that we already made, while closely listening to your feedback.
Here are the new animations for Geomant, Mad Mage and Lost Soul.
All right, that's all for today. Stay tuned, because the next devblog wouldn't take this long anymore. See you soon!
Unfrozen Team
Changes in release dates and future plans.
During the alpha test we received a huge amount of feedback and realised that we can make Iratus: Lord of the Dead even better, but this requires the most valuable resource – time. We regret to inform you that the release of Iratus: Lord of the Dead has been delayed and we sincerely hope for your understanding.
We seek to take into account all wishes that we received during the alpha test but polishing the game is also time-consuming.
Our team is actively working on balancing and also making a new content for the third floor. We will begin the beta tentatively in December and we expect to receive a lot more feedback to continue the polishing. The Early Access of Iratus: Lord of the Dead will begin in February 2019 so that everyone will be able to play and help us refine the project.
We apologise for the delay. Devblogs with new content and also devstreams will be organised in the near future. By the way, here's 2 new bosses that you will meet in the dungeon.
The Inventor
One of the chief sponsors of the mining complex beneath the human castle, he thus bears a great deal of responsibility for freeing Iratus from his eternal prison. Not that anyone would dare remind him of this fact, since his keen mind has been deemed invaluable by the Alchemists Guild. After all, few can actually calculate the precise amount of explosive power needed to clear a tunnel without causing a cave-in. But now that he is personally forced to try and salvage this venture, he has turned his great intellect to far more warlike pursuits.
The Pyromancer
Magic is the expression of the soul, as such most wizards practice the kind of powers to aggrandize themselves. Far fewer opt to go down the path of pyromancy, as that demands you set your soul ablaze. Having a reputation for being rather dangerous and unstable, pyromancers are usually kept far away from civilization lest you want to deal with one or two city-wide firestorms. As such they often ply their trade as mercenaries in any company brave enough to take them. Things must be getting desperate if even these fire-eyed spellwielders are called upon to join fight against Iratus.
And also new images for our text events.
You will receive further details soon.
Yours respectfully,
Unfrozen Team
Devblog #7. Preparations for the coming update.
Backers exclusive closed alpha is still ongoing. We are grateful for all the feedback that we have received and it has been a great help for us in our goal of improving the game and making it more fun for you! In addition, we recently announced a new minion on our social networks. Let’s have a look at it!
Lost Soul
A lost soul is a spirit that has been trapped on the mortal plane for so long that they have forgotten what they looked like when they were still alive. Necromancy can accelerate this process, forging these souls into agents of lies and deception. Taught to delight in lies and betrayal, these spirits take on the form of masked women that lure mortals to their doom.
Work Progress
At the moment we are actively working on the animations of previously announced characters. Here's an example of one of the Ghoul’s attacks.
Before the closed alpha launch we released an update with a numerous changes, which were described in the previous devblogs but there was one we missed. The enemy Berserker was reworked. They are battle-hardened warriors that would rather die and be turned into an undead than flee from a fight. So bear this in mind and be ready, since they will often enter a state of destructive rampage.
Right now we are preparing the new update based on the feedback received from the closed alpha test.
Insane enemies often attacks allies and sometimes this would cause them to restore sanity to themselves after landing a critical on their friends. This will no longer happen as it didn’t make much sense to us! ;)
Our Shieldmaidens need some attention too. Currently they can apply a redirect to each other or start protecting the same companion over and over. It gets a bit crazy: the shieldmaidens are certainly having a good time but the player is at a loss. At the moment we are looking to address this issue.
Minions are already a bit tired during the closed alpha but soon they will need much more rest to recover Vigor between battles. The dead need sleep too!
Vampires have proven to be good fighters but bosses have been unreasonably vulnerable to these bloodsuckers. The Vampire ability "Bloody Fury" will continue to take off 33% health from ordinary enemies but its damage will be reduced to 20% against bosses.
Iratus will need more time to examine the artifact “Book of Wisdom” and apply the new knowledge in practice. You will need to equip the book, enter a fight and if you win, the two talent points are yours but if you lose, it wasn't meant to be.
We continue to adjust balance and economy. The beginning of your journey may seem easy but the closer you get to the exit the more complicated things will become.
We will be gradually adding images to our events and we hope it will make them more readable and interesting for our players.
New backgrounds will be added with the upcoming update.
These are the main changes to date. We are happy to answer any questions you might have!
Devblog #6. How Barbaric.
Our Kickstarter campaign has finished and what a ride it has been. Now we are almost ready for the backer exclusive closed alpha! Because of this, we have some interesting news regarding this update but let us begin with the new enemy first. It is still under development and will be added later.
Barbarian
These harsh amazons of the north have fostered many grudges with other, more civilized societies. It was not too long ago that they were brazenly plundering both merchant caravans and outlying villages. Eventually however, a clever trader got the idea of simply bribing these savage fighters so they only attack his competitors rather than him. This collusion was eventually uncovered and many others decided to join in on the deal, letting the barbarians turn from brutal raiders into feared guards and mercenaries (that are also easy on the eyes).
Work Process
We decided not to deviate from the original idea of a hardcore game. By introducing an “Easy” mode we had contributed to the loss of challenge, therefore we decided to make “Normal” mode the base and rename it to “Cakewalk”. Furthermore, two other difficulty levels will be launched later. But don’t worry, we will make it possible for you to finish your previous saves in another difficulty mode. Still, there might be some bugs.
In addition, we just launched the much-awaited update that introduces the changes that we have mentioned in our previous devblogs.
It will now be possible to choose the battle squad just before a fight. No more accidental battles with a barely alive squad (yeah, we know that your minions already dead, but you know what we mean), which was supposed to stay back and heal but is now going to die in the first round. This feature will look like this.
We adjusted the disc of talents and now it is a lot easier to upgrade your skills. Earlier, if you wanted to learn “Finger of Death” or ““Phylactery” you had to learn skills that were not directly connected to them first, which was a bad idea. We abandoned this design and now it is it is a lot simpler to get those high level skills!
Enemy squads have also changed. The further you go, the harder it gets to defeat your opponents. Musketeer, one of the strongest enemies, has been moved to the second floor, and together with the local elves they will be a difficult obstacle for any Dark Lord. The second floor has become a true challenge for our players, especially the last couple of fights just before the boss. Don’t say we didn’t warn you ;)
Guards have become more aggressive. If two of his allies die, he will no longer use his stance and will attack constantly instead.
And that is the end of this devblog. Look forward to the launch of the closed alpha! We're open to suggestions and we'll be happy to answer any of your question!
The Campaign is Complete! Thank You All!
Well first, we need to get all of our backers a backer-exclusive Discord title. To do this, we will create a separate announcement that’s for backers only. In the announcement, simply post with your Discord username and we will change your title to “”.
Next, we have the closed alpha that’s scheduled to begin on July 1st. Again, there will be a separate announcement that’s aimed at backers who pledged enough to get access to the alpha (early bird amount was $42. After the early bird ended, it went up to $45).
We will distribute alpha Steam keys via DM through our Discord channel. If you haven’t already joined, you can do so via this link: https://discord.gg/UzZv25Y
Once the alpha period is complete, we will work on a date for the closed beta. This will happen closer to the launch later this year. Distribution of beta keys will work the same way as they will with the closed alpha.
That’s all for now! However, we are working on a lot of cool things and as a result, we will have plenty of updates to share over the coming months.
Thanks again to everyone that supported us! We can’t wait for you to experience the complete version of Iratus: Lord of the Dead.
The Final Countdown!
Hello Everyone,
We’re very excited to announce that we’ve hit our Kickstarter goal! We are currently sitting 113% with 6 hours to go.
Shortly after the Kickstarter is complete, we will begin the closed alpha. We plan on starting the closed alpha period on July 1st. If you would like to have access to the upcoming alpha, you can do so by pledging at least $45 before the Kickstarter is ends.
After the closed alpha is complete, we will have a closed beta (we will announce the date for the beta following the closed alpha period). You can get access to the beta by pledging at least $20.
We want to thank everyone that has supported us along the way. You are all amazing and we can’t wait to launch Iratus: Lord of the Dead later this year!
If you want to stay up-to-date on all things Iratus, join our new Discord
You can also follow our social media profiles listed below:
We’re very pleased to announce that just before the end of the campaign we reached our Kickstarter goal, so we’re in the home stretch now. Iratus: Lord of the Dead is still in development but we'll keep you apprised of our progress with regular devblogs and news.
We appreciate all of your support! We can’t wait for the closed alpha and full launch later this year!
Devblog #5. Mad to the Bone.
Let’s start this week with a new devblog. We’re going to talk about the new enemy and some balance changes that will appear in the upcoming update.
Mad Mage
Even among mages there are criminals and undesirables that need to be taken care of and the nobles certainly do not allow for more than one transgression against their power. Due to their inherent magical talent it is a lot more difficult to keep them as slaves but dwarves of the alchemist’s guild made some progress in said direction. The serums they use erode free will as readily as they erode sanity, making these spellcasters particularly unstable. But as long as the profits outweigh the losses, there is no reason to worry about a bunch of miners drying to an errant spell here and there.
Bone Golem
The ferocious appearance of the Bone Golem is hiding equally ominous power, that can destroy every living thing in its path. Just look at this.
Work Process
We’re still working on balance and also changing some abilities. We would like to underline some developments that will be included in the next update.
Dark Knight won’t move anymore when using skills “Hollow Stare” and “Futile Hopes”. He will thereby be more effective in the rear via stress attacks.
Our Skeleton is a nice little fella, so we decided to increase his initiative. This change will allow you to increase the damage of your allies right at the beginning of the combat or to use skeletons control skills. It’s up to you.
We decided to nerf the Mummy’s ability “Cursing Touch”. Now the target will lose 100% luck for two actions, not until the end of combat.
We’re going to change abilities of the Lich to make him more playable as a support in the 4th position. For example, his skill “Sacrifice” will not require an action, just like Vampire’s ultimate ability.
The Head Hunter was starting to move closer and closer to the role of a “Glass Cannon”. His low durability will be offset by his high damage output that is definitely going to be a problem for your enemies. This time we will change the following abilities: “Catch’ Em” will ignore the block of the target; “Feel’ Em” will double physical damage and stress; And finally, the damage of “Contract” will be increased, but now you need 2 souls to use it.
That’s all. We will be happy to answer your questions!
