Genre: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Role-playing (RPG), Strategy, Turn-based strategy (TBS), Adventure, Indie
Minion Masters
Hotfixes & Updates
Minion Masters!
Our approach to Hotfixing
The latest hotfix we released just today regarding gameplay bug fixes and an adjustment to the balance of Legionnaires is part of a re-evaluation of how we doing patching. We're always looking for ways to improve, especially when you provide us with all the excellent feedback about the state of the game. In particular, we're examining how we maintain a smooth production with the regular updates, and whether they could be more frequent, or if smaller in-between actions like this are more appropriate.
We can't make any promises about this at the moment - But we still feel it's important to communicate with you about the internal thoughts at BetaDwarf. Thanks for all of your patience.
Changes to Ardent Aegis
In the interests of being as transparent as possible with new card reveals, we'd like to talk about some changes we've made to Ardent Aegis behind the scenes since the reveal of the card. Typically cards continue to be balance tested behind the scenes after their reveal, and we're now trying to make a conscious effort to incorporate the feedback we receive from the community when particular cards are shown off as well. As such, we've made the following adjustments to the card, which will be reflected on our Update Site with today's reveals:
Mana Cost 3 > 4
Summons 2 Crossbow Dudes instead of 1
Defensive Spell; Can only be cast in your arena
Units summoned have no Summoning Sickness
Delay 4 > 5
Have you been keeping up with our latest Expansion reveals? We've shown off six brand new cards, two awesome skins, and a new Legendary arena so far - And we're not even close to done yet. Tomorrow, we'll be revealing Smite and Shen's Shock Stick, as well as announcing the imminent return of an old friend. Make sure to check it out and get hyped for Saving Jadespark Jungle!
TCL C-Sar's Challenge 5
The fine people at The Challenger League are hosting another 2v2 Tournament this weekend! The tournament is a Double-elimination format that will be livestreamed at their twitch channel, with competitors fighting for real money. There'll be plenty of giveaways throughout the competition from the staff, so stop by for your chance to win a wide variety of prizes.
Make sure to check the tournament out for their high quality coverage. Or if you'd like something a little more relaxed, why not check out their new Podcast? The first episode of the TCL Podcast aired this Tuesday with Westlin & MrSquid, so check it out and give them some feedback! Cheers from BetaDwarf!
Version 1.9 Hotfix 13/02/2020
Masters! We're deploying a hotfix to address some gameplay issues, as well to revert the buff that Legionnaires received in Update 1.9.
We decided to revert this change as it is clear that it proved to be a far bigger buff than intended. We're looking for other changes to the card but haven't found the perfect solution yet, and we want to make sure we take our time so we don't break it again.
Here are the changes in this Hotfix:
Balance
Legionnaires
No longer has an Empyrean Army buff.
Bugs
Fixed Guardian reducing the damage of other Guardians.
Fixed Arcane Golem having more HP than it should have when duplicated via Spawn of Fury.
The version for this hotfix is 1.9.38223. For Xbox users, it's 1.9.38262.
Cheers from BetaDwarf!
Minion Masters Thursday
Expansion Release Date Changed
We've chosen to push back the release date of Version 1.10 and Saving Jadespark Jungle by one week, to the 5th of March. The in-game timers for this should be updated soon to reflect the new date. Much like before, this comes as a result of us trying to ensure we can have the optimal promotional window to attract new players to Minion Masters. For example, making the schedule work with a certain big streamer ;).
Moving forward, it's likely that future expansion dates will be changed closer to the time as well as the most valuable dates to release big updates on become more defined. In the future, we want to stay flexible with our release dates - But we will work towards confirming dates as early as we can, or at the very least sharing the newest info. We know it's a bother (Our producer has a hard time planning it too!), but we think it's worth it to give Minion Masters the best chance of growing its player base.
Behind the Scenes: Enter the Guild
Not long ago, we released our first short film, Enter the Guild! It offered a little look behind the scenes of the chaotic Minion Masters battlegrounds. Today, let's go down another layer and watch some of the footage from production!
[previewyoutube="bRUEbxfynJs;full"]
We're super happy with how the final video came out, and we're glad you enjoyed it too! What would you want us to do next? Be sure to let us know!
BadAsAFish80's MM 1v1 #9
BadAsAFish80's Minion Masters Tournament 1v1 #9 - $100 Prize Pool - Supported by BetaDwarf
I'm really excited for this 1v1 tournament and I hope that you all can join me in this and future events to have a lot of fun, to support the community and of course win some prizes! Please reach out to me on Discord if you have any questions (BadAsAFish80 đ#0275).
Many thanks and best of luck
Fish
Cheers from BetaDwarf!
Minion Masters Friday
Minion Masters
Today's blog post releases to coincide with the latest set of reveals from our Update Site, and we have quite a bit to showcase. Let's not waste any time and get straight into the juicy details:
New Adventure, New Masters
As previously announced, Saving Jadespark Jungle comes with a brand new Adventure to help enthrall you and develop the narrative of the Empyrean invasion of the once-peaceful Zen-Chi realm. It's up to you and your new allies to defend the jungle from High Inquisitor Ardera and uncover her true motivations for the sudden attacks. You'll quickly come to realise that not all is as it seems...
Of your allies in this adventure, we have some returning favourites - Milloween in particular will be making her way through the jungle to learn more of the foreboding events she witnessed previously. But there's plenty of new Masters to play with too - You can check our Update Site to learn all about the Slitherbound Master AkĂĄal the Unbroken, and here we'll be previewing Ting, Teng & Tung, the Mu-Hou trio.
Ting, Teng & Tung are three young mischievous Mu-Hou siblings. Renowned acrobats, they are known far and wide in the jungle villages for their great acrobatic performances and trickster ways.
Normally they travel the jungle, going from village to village to show off, but now they have turned their skills against the new threat towards their beloved jungle.
Ting, Teng & Tung are all about using the powers of nature and their strong bonds with the locals to overcome any threat. The trio use their bouncing berries as their primary attack, just like the card.
Their first perk, Green Fingers, plants Growthburst Shrooms in your arena every 10 seconds. Growthburst Shrooms can be picked up by Zen-Chi minions to grant them a 25% Health and Damage buff. There's a second part to the perk, however - Whenever you cast a Spell, you convert up to two active Growthburst Shrooms into a Shi-Hou minion. This Shi-Hou minion has the same stats as Battle Shi-Hou, but without the effect that enables it to attack faster based on the surrounding amount of enemies.
The second perk, Growth Burst, grants all Minions in a 5 range radius Giant Growth whenever a Growthburst Shroom is spent - Including those from the first perk!
Their final perk, Call the Steward, has the group call upon their most powerful ally - Someone you might recognize...
Jadespark Jungle Arena
We're also revealing our second Legendary Arena - Jadespark Jungle. We love the idea of building worlds with our arenas and using them to really show off in great detail the kind of environments their respective factions come from, so check out these screenshots of the new arena our artists have been hard at work with:
With this arena, we're aiming to make you feel right at home amidst the bustling Zen-Chi forests. As you may have noticed from the screenshot above, this new arena will also serve as the backdrop for this expansion's new Adventure. We hope you'll enjoy it as much as we've had fun making it!
Upcoming TCL Tournaments
The hard workers at The Challenger League are back with exciting upcoming tournaments! Coming up this weekend is the Volco Cup 6, which promises huge rewards for players that participate in multiple TCL events in their upcoming season. Just for playing their tournament this weekend, everyone will be receiving an Exclusive TCL Avatar! Volco Cup 6 will be played live on stream this Saturday at 1400 UTC - Check out their site here for all the details on signing up, and stay tuned for more announcements on their site or on this blog.
Cheers from BetaDwarf!
Minion Masters Thursday
Minion Masters!
Last Friday, we launched our new Update Site for our upcoming expansion, Saving Jadespark Jungle! We'll have lots more to talk about it in the upcoming weeks, but for now keep your eyes tuned to the site for more reveals tomorrow.
Additionally, we're making an effort to be more active on our Twitter account - Give us a follow for more giveaways, highlighting special shop offers, and more!
PTR Tester Applications Open
We're looking for the best and brightest of Minion Masters players to join our PTR group and help us through feedback on future expansions and content!
As a PTR tester, you will test new content on the PTR and provide feedback for the Minion Masters design team through questionnaires and discuss feedback with the team directly in the Discord channel. Responses from the PTR testing group is an extremely important part of creating new content for the game.
To join, you must be able to write in English, be open-minded, and have time to test and discuss new cards, masters and other content with us. It is a requirement that you are open to testing new cards/masters through rigorous playtesting. You must also have a Steam account and be able to play the game on PC (you will have the full collection of cards at your disposal).
I'm really excited for this 2v2 tournament and I hope that you all can join me in this and future events to have a lot of fun, to support the community and of course win some prizes! Please reach out to me on Discord if you have any questions.
Many thanks and best of luck
Fish
Sinobii's Xbox Tournament
To support our XBOX friends in the community, TEAM MANA FRENZY is proud to offer the next Tournament in the XBOX SHOWDOWN Series!
XBOX Showdown #5 will feature a $200 Prize Pool, and be held this Sunday, January 26th, starting at 12 noon EST!
Tweak your decks and hone your skills, then join the battle to become the reigning XBOX Champion!
Space is limited, so don't delay! To register for this event and learn more, visit:
Itâs the first BetaDwarf update of the decade! In this patch weâre releasing the new Community-voted MalâShar Shadowfork, as well as introducing a healthy dose of balance changes. This patch also includes a fix to the annoying Conquest bug that prevented glory contributions from being calculated correctly. With this update your Guild should have the correct amount of total Glory and the tiers you should have earned as a result. Weâre deeply sorry for this issue and thank you for all the patience youâve displayed.
MalâShar Shadowfork
Voted by our users in the Tri-Team Tourneys, this new 6 mana SharsâRakk Assassin has honed his stealthy craft to perfection, and heâs more than willing to share his talents with his fellow demons. Every time MalâShar kills an enemy, he grants a friendly Voidborne minion the Stealth ability (But doesnât give them the triple damage bonus).
MalâShar is available from Power Tokens or can be crafted for 2000 Shards. There will also be a special MalâShar Pack Shop Offer available once the shop offers rotate, so keep an eye out for that!
Balance
Arcane Bolt
Mana Cost 5 > 3
Gains Mana Freeze (2)
No longer has mana gain upon stunning a unit
Developer Comments
Arcane Bolt was still struggling in performance after the buffs. With the introduction of the new Mana Freeze mechanic we wanted to tweak the card to implement it, as well as significantly improve the usability of the card.
Bats Bats Bats
Duration 5 > 6
Developer Comments
Bats Bats Bats as a standalone card has been somewhat underperforming lately, so we wanted to give it a small buff through opening the window in which you can gain value from it.
Border Patrol
Gains Mana Freeze (1)
Developer Comments
Border Patrolâs high value combined with the ease of keeping a steady stream of Crystal Elf minions coming through repeated use of the card often made its pushes feel somewhat insurmountable to answer. By giving it Mana Freeze we hope to slow the deck down significantly without overnerfing the card itself.
Brothers of Light / Caeleth Dawnhammer
Damage 140 > 150
Gamblerâs Ball
Chance to cast both spells 20% > 30%
Haunting Hugger
Damage 40 > 50
Legionnaires
Empyrean Army: Gains one extra Legionnaire
Developer Comments
Legionnaires is a card thatâs felt somewhat overshadowed by its competition at the mana cost lately, and we wanted to reinforce the Empyrean Army mechanic while retaining its identity as a bulky group of midrange melee minions.
Milloween
Damage 8 > 9
Developer Comments
Following the changes to Arcane Golem, Milloween has been struggling somewhat, so we feel a small damage increase should help her for the time being.
Nyrvirâs Breath
Damage 300 > 325
Misc
Stealth is now treated as a keyword and is separate from the Triple Damage bonus that Assassin, Shadow Whelp and MalâShar have. The descriptions of the existing Stealth cards have been updated to reflect this.
The Frostival Event has ended, and the decorations have been packed away. Thanks to everyone that participated!
Various updates to the lighting system.
Added a ToS agreement for the first time the game is launched.
Added the ability to purchase Adventure chapters without completing Chapter 1.
Bugs
<*>Fixed an issue with Guild Conquest where total contribution was not being calculated correctly. All Guilds should now have the correct amount of Glory that was earned. <*>Fixed a bug where GorâRakk Brutes could be activated by any spell that cost 3 or more mana - Thanks LordJulius! <*>Fixed an instance where stealthed units could become completely invisible to their owners. <*>General grammar and phrasing fixes for Adventures. <*>Fixed an issue with Boom Buggyâs damage projection causing minions to think a unit was dead a significant amount of time before it would actually be hit. <*>Fixed Rage not correctly applying to Wreckinator. <*>Fixed Nyrvir becoming untargetable after being hit by Wizard Puffâs death ability. <*>Fixed Werewolves being able to inherit Marksmanship despite being Melee. <*>Fixed Fergus Flagon Fighterâs attack not being refreshed by Glennâs Brew - Thanks SoSiskoDemon! <*>Fixed stealthed units appearing to be stealthed when Hypnotise expires, even if they arenât. <*>Fixed Skin Descriptions displaying ERROR_. <*>Fixed Win Streak bonuses not starting until the fourth win (instead of the intended third).
Cheers from BetaDwarf!
Minion Masters Thursday
Minion Masters!
It's a new year, and there's lots of exciting Minion Masters content to come, starting with Version 1.9!
Conquest Contribution Bug
Over the Winter period there was a major bug with Guild Conquest that caused incorrect (or no) amounts of Glory to be added to the Guild's overall score. We thank everyone for their patience with the issue during this time and for reporting the matter thoroughly. With the release of Version 1.9, the bug should be fixed, and Contributions should be calculated as expected. In the near future we will be deploying compensation for the problem, which we will be communicating about in the coming days. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience this bug has caused.
Mal'Shar Shadowfork
Coming with Version 1.9 is the release of the Community-voted Legendary Card, Mal'Shar!
This new 6 mana Shars'Rakk Assassin has honed his stealthy craft to perfection, and he's more than willing to share his talents with the rest of your minions. Every time Mal'Shar kills an enemy, he grants a friendly Voidborne minion the Stealth buff (Does not include the triple damage hit).
Mal'Shar will be available for crafting at the usual price of 2000 Shards, or from Power Token spins, with the release of Version 1.9 on the 16th of January. What Voidborne minions will you try to combo him with? What do you think is the best minion to receive his Stealth buff?
Frostival Fanart Contest Results
Did you take part in the Frostival Fanart Contest? We received a lot of awesome entries during the December period, and it was hard for us to decide who we even wanted as finalists. We had our Discord Users vote on seven different finalists, and here's who they elected as the winners:
3rd Place - KamiDaHobo
2nd Place - MissCritHit
1st Place - Garnet
Thanks to everyone that participated, and to those that supported the entrants. We'll aim to run another contest in the future, so stay tuned!
Free Accursed Army DLC via Twitch Prime
Do you have Twitch Prime? Do you enjoy the prospect of free DLC?
Right now we have an ongoing promotion with Twitch Prime where you can receive a FREE copy of the Accursed Army DLC, usually worth $15. You can claim it even if you already own the DLC!
The Accursed Army Faction Box gives you the perfect starter kit for the Accursed Ascension mechanic and includes powerful cards such as the Legendary Bahra the Witchwolf, as well as two exclusive Accursed cosmetics. Don't miss out - Get your free DLC before the promotion ends!
Cheers from BetaDwarf!
Version 1.8 - Frostival 2019
Minion Masters!
This yearâs Frostival will feature a special mayhem as well as seasonal shop offers. Itâs been a great year with tons of new players joining us, and weâre even more excited about the future of Minion Masters in the coming years!
And donât forget to claim your calendar gifts from the shop :)
Frostival Event
The arenas have been decorated as everyone is getting into the holiday spirit!
A special Skin and Emote will appear in the shop during the event!
New Mayhem: Giftpocalypse - Gifts appear randomly in the Arena every 15 seconds. Better open it before your opponent does!
Balance
Placement Auras
Mordarâs Tombstone now has a placement aura.
Apepâs Totem now has a placement aura.
Arcane Ring
No longer has a limited duration.
Cannon Roller
Attack speed increased from 2 to 1.8.
High-Mage Leiliel
Attack speed increased from 2 to 1.7.
Ravenous Swarmers
Cost increased from 2 to 3 mana, unit count increased from 2 to 4.
Shars'Rakk Twins
Trigger requirement changed from a 5 mana spell to a 5 or greater mana spell.
Spawn of Fury
Now reduces the health and damage of both copies by 25% instead of only health by 50%.
Werewolves
Damage reduced from 45 to 40.
This affects all sources of werewolves, including Once Bitten, Lone Wolf, Wolf Among Sheep and Howling Moon.
Woodsman
Now gains Rage instead of Haste. (still applies Slow to enemy minions)
Zeppelin Bomber - Rework
Speed reduced from 7 to 5.
Damage reduced from 250 to 100.
Now drops a bomb every 3 seconds damaging all ground units and buildings in the affected area.
No longer has a basic attack but still flies towards buildings.
Misc
Fergus no longer spins for longer than expected when his revelry is triggered.
Stunning a Guardian under the effect of Glenn's Brew no longer makes its shield permanent.
Prowler will no longer jump at an Assasin spawned inside its range.
Gor'rakk's Sacrifice works again. Thanks Excaliber80!
Conquest contribution now gets counted in total contribution even if you donât place in the top 15 in your guild for a cycle.
Scott and the Troubadour now don highlander appropriate attire.
Happy Frostival from BetaDwarf!
Minion Masters Thursday
Minion Masters!
How have you been enjoying The Quest for Mountainshaper so far? Have you tried out our new mode Adventures? How far have you been able to get to, and have you beat Hard Mode? We'd love to hear from you about them, so make sure to take part in our discussions on Steam, Discord and Xbox Clubs.
In the meantime, we have one last Update we'd like to do before we sign off for the year.
Version 1.8
Version 1.8 is planned to be released on the 18th of December. It'll contain a new Mayhem, some exciting balance changes, and a Frostival makeover for some of your favorite arenas for the holiday period.
Frostival Arenas
Our special Frostival arenas bring all that holiday spirit to Minion Masters, with trees, presents and lights. Here's a look at some of them:
Which arena are you looking forward to most? Let us know!
Mayhem
We've also got a brand new Mayhem coming in this update! Giftpocalypse is a chaotic Frostival themed game mode where gifts will drop in the arenas randomly every 15 seconds. This interval decreases every minute by 2 seconds until we truly reach the Giftpocalypse! There's a whole host of crazy Minions, Spells and Buffs inside them. It's been a ton of fun to test internally and we can't wait for you to try it out!
Balance Changes
Next, let's take a look at one of those balance changes:
Zeppelin Bomber - Rework
No longer has a basic attack (Will still target Buildings, meaning it flies towards them)
Now drops a bomb beneath itself every 3 seconds that damages Ground minions
Damage 250 > 100
Speed 7 > 5
Developer Comments
Zeppelin Bomber was a card that very rarely saw use outside of cheese strategies due to its highly volatile nature of being an excellent burst damage card... If it ever reached its target. With this rework we want to reinvent the identity of Zeppelin Bomber to fulfill a new role of a difficult to use but highly rewarding AoE damage dealer that can still be easily dispatched to make up for its potential.
Candy Cane Milloween
Coming to the Shop for this Holiday period only is the brand new Legendary Candy Cane Milloween skin! She's getting in the Frostival mood, bringing her special festive cheer to the arenas with gratuitous magical violence. You can get her in the Shop from the 18th to the 21st of December, so don't miss out!
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Due to vacations and the new Update releasing next week, this will be the last Blog Post for the year. It's been a wild ride, with our release, a new office, and tons of exciting opportunities for expansion within the Minion Masters community. We want to extend our personal thanks to all of you for supporting us, and we hope 2020 can be just as awesome for Minion Masters!
Happy Holidays from all of BetaDwarf!
FREE Crystal Conquest DLC & The Quest For Mountainshaper out now!
Biggest Minion Masters expansion to date, including arrival of Adventures and the new faction Stouthearts!
Go on a daring journey in the new single-player rogue-like mode! Choose among unique Masters, gather Minions and find unique Relics to fight a multitude of bosses in the Minion Masters world. Every run is a unique experience with new bosses to beat and rewards to reap! Play, collect and experience the new Stoutheart faction in both the new adventures and online matches. Stouthearts introduce many new mechanics like Revelry, Slow, Spin Attacks, Caber and more!
You can read all about the new Expansion on the update site or just jump right into the game! :)
