Hello everyone! Today, we're focusing on passive spells. I had set aside a few buff spells, and we're in for a treat.
Passive spells work automatically once acquired.
Since they can't be cast from specific pieces, upgrades are only available through the forge.
Are concerned:
Fire: Inferno
Air: geyser
Earth: spikes
Poison: mushroom forest
Lightning: swarm of leaves (previously earth school)
Ice: blizzard
Curse: rotten lands
Other
Sick pig removed from the game (see mushroom forest)
Cursed pillar removed from the game (see rotten lands)
Holy fire removed from the game (see inferno)
Moses: water nerfed
Destroyed machine: nanohealers fixed
Cathedral antichamber: AI fixed
I haven't had the time to test all the passive abilities in real conditions yet. But the ones I've been able to use have proven to be very enjoyable. The interest in summons is low in the current meta. The time has come to take a closer look at them.
1.8.9 - Cursed spells updated
Not many significant changes to the curse school. The spells are good, and I was even able to revise the Permafrost spell.
Spells
Permafrost
Medium
I gave it a bit more personality, so it truly lives up to its name.
An eye for an eye
Minor
Although not disastrous, the damage ratio wasn't very compelling. I revised it to make it more appealing and took the opportunity to expand on the effect of the pieces.
Chos bolt
Minor
Just a new pawn effect. It's free.
Conclave
Minor
This spell is quantum in nature. It's both too good and too bad at the same time. Making it stronger would make it too powerful. I improved its spread. I appreciate the complexity of this spell.
Harakiri
Major
This spell has two major issues: it only works if we can apply curse, and it kills a piece. To solve these, it now applies a curse, and the effects of the pieces have been significantly enhanced. The spell costs more, and I believe it's perfectly usable in all situations.
Swarm of nanites
Minor
Cost change to make it usable before the mid-game.
Desperation
Medium
It's in the same direction as the changes to Permafrost. It's the same spell, but improved.
Pact of Necrom
Medium
I appreciate that the pacts have all the effects of available pieces. I filled in the gaps with the idea that it is more effective on enemy pieces. This way, it's not only used on our king.
A significant portion of the spell review is complete. There are some spells that I intentionally left aside and are still not great (usually those that cost 0 energy and 4 mana). As mentioned before, I'm thinking about passive spells. I've already started working on this concept, and I must say it's quite enjoyable. There's also the matter of summons, but that's a different story.
Fix: Ice of Damocles costs 1 energy
Enjoy!
1.8.8 - Holy spells
The sacred spells are a complete joke. I suspected that the school was good, but not to this extent. As a result, the update is coming out very quickly. I've already looked at the curse school, and it won't be as easy.
Spells
Pact of the White
Minor
It's great that most of the pacts have effects on the pieces. I like that.
Conjuration
Major
Simplifying the spells is a priority. The game is already complex to get into, so let's avoid unnecessary walls of text. Conjuration remains unchanged at its core. It's easier to charge now, but it costs more.
Hammerang
Minor
I just added the possibility to have holy tiles.
Lay on hands
Minor
Normally, I don't like nerfs, but this time, enough is enough. Removing sacred from pieces is incredibly powerful.
Minor heal
Medium
The idea of consuming energy to increase the bonuses is good, but its implementation is not great. The spell already costs quite a lot. I varied the bonuses in the hope that when upgraded, it becomes more appealing.
Sacred nova
Minor
I don't really like this spell. I find it "soulless." Unfortunately, I haven't had any magical ideas for it. I hope to be touched by inspiration one day soon.
Regeneration
Minor
One thing that everyone noticed is that it's extremely difficult to keep the knights alive. So, I removed the constraint on the knight (which turned it into a very powerful spell for summoning).
Aura of Celerity
Minor
I'll quickly come back to this spell because it's still a spell that costs 3/10 (powerful, therefore). And I find it a bit weak compared to the others. So, I've changed the effect of the Queen.
I don't know about what to do with the Holy Fire. Perhaps it could become a passive spellor simply be improved. For now, my attempts at finding a solution have been unsuccessful.
Cathedral level is fixed.
Enjoy!
1.8.7 - Ice spells updated
Hello everyone! As I suspected, the Frost School was easy. There are 2 spells that have significant changes, and I took the opportunity to rework some that were bothering me.
My feedbacks
I didn't feel the change in mana cost for moving the pieces.
Being able to accumulate charges of electric ascension and water ascension is so cool. We can really enhance the quality of our spells during a game, and it's exhilarating.
The bypass spells still have an issue; they are weak.
Spells
Ice breaker (now Ice of Damocles)
Major
A spell that can only be used on frozen targets is too restrictive. Since the ice school didn't have a control spell, I modified it to be unique in its usage: it will burst on frozen targets but act as an immobilization spell otherwise.
Song of the Archdeacon
Major
I hesitated to remove it, but I'm not objective. I love the spell. The problem is that chance makes the spell uninteresting. So, I ensured that the Archdeacon spawns after a certain time, and I improved the effects on pieces in such a way that it can become a "core-spell."
Subconsciously (or not), I've been using categories for the spells based on their cost. Spells that cost "2 energy / 6 mana" are too few to form a category on their own. So, I reworked them to fit into the "1 energy / 7 mana" spells category. In the process, I adjusted them accordingly.
Tsunami: actually, I went back and reverted the changes for this one.
Thunder strike: I found something really cool, I'm very happy with the change.
Ice wave: I think I found the missing piece to make this spell appealing.
Fixes
Rotten mushroom
Rubix
Golden fortress: catapult targeting
Enjoy!
1.8.6 - Lightning spells updated
As expected, the school of lightning needed a revision. I didn't anticipate it going so well. In fact, the good spells are really good, and the bad spells are truly terrible. Thankfully, the ideas came to me.
Spells
Bypass spells (all)
Add more flat air
Contamination
Contaminates 1 piece only
New pawn effect: cancel the propagation
Pact of Odmund
Minor
Contaminates 1 piece only
Bishop effect turns tile into lightning tile
Spells with propagation are particularly challenging to use, especially on small chessboards. I'll provide some tools to make it easier for you to use them.
Aura of celerity
Medium
The concept of this spell is excellent, but the bonus effects don't do justice to such a costly spell. Therefore, I have expanded the basic idea with additional elements to give it better viability.
Attractive vortex (now repulsive vortex)
Major
This spell was too complicated to use, ineffective, and redundant with the blitz swap. I have drastically modified it to create a powerful repulsion effect, giving it a unique identity among control spells.
Blitz swap
Medium
This version of the spell is more flexible.
Charged bolts
Major
The spell is fun, but its flexibility is poor. I have adjusted it to make it interesting in all circumstances, and with some success!
Lightning bolt
Medium
By combining the ideas of the fire wave, poisoned stinger, and the new charged bots, this spell (which was already great) is now even better.
Spuerconductivity
Minor
Queen effect added to improve placement.
Like the lightning nova, this spell is underestimated.
Thunder of Odmund
Minor
I followed the same procedure as with the charged bolts, which makes it easier to use.
General
Odmund now starts with the burning Bypass instead of the water elemental, and blitz swap instead of attractive vortex. I'm still not entirely sure about this starting set. I would really love for the class to be able to play lightning tiles, but I haven't found a suitable spammable spell for that. It's possible that it may change again.
Fixed the lightning ascension on AI. It now generates 2 mana (it no longer depends on the amount of water).
From now on, pieces with 100 water only cost 3 mana to move. This change is made on a whim. As I write this sentence, I have not yet tested its impact (positive or negative) on the game. But I feel that the late game is becoming too challenging due to the astronomical cost of moving pieces. Alea iacta est.
Enjoy!
1.8.5 - Poison spells updated
The Poison school did not require a significant amount of work. I took the opportunity to revisit some items and the lightning tile, which was previously unusable and completely buggy.
Spells
Contamination
Major
The contamination offered an interesting gameplay element for certain levels, but it was too violent to be used by the player as a spell. Therefore, I drastically modified it to make it more engaging for the player.
The gameplay of the cemetery level has been particularly updated.
Poisoned arrow
Medium
The bishop's effect was ineffective. It was too expensive and not efficient enough. It has been modified into something more interesting.
I added an effect to the Queen that synergizes well with the King and the Rook.
Poisoned dagger
Major
Dealing direct damage with this spell doesn't make sense since the poison explosion already does the job. I came up with a unique idea to enhance the applied poison.
Knock back is now on the pawn.
Poisoned stinger
Medium
The Queen's effect changes tiles into poison tiles.
The Knight's effect, just like the fire wave, increases the difficulty of using the spell, but also its power. Positioning is the key!
Poison meteor
Medium
The effects of the pieces have been revised to be more in line with the spirit of poison spells.
King effect does not target friendly pieces anymore.
Snake Venom
Major
The idea is great, but the spell is too restrictive. Therefore, I revised it to make it usable in all circumstances, with the main concept being that it no longer disappears from one turn to another.
Toxic Aura
Minor
The auras follow the same process as the Bypass spells. They are position-based, and they should favor the Queen.
General
QAL: using the numeric keypad allows you to view the elements and the health points of the pieces. For those who already have the game, it is possible that you may need to rebind them in the options. This feature has been requested a lot, and here it is.
As the saying goes, "sounds good, doesn't work." I have reworked the lightning tile, which functions similarly to the water tile. It triggers a "Tesla Conduction" that damages the pieces around the tile. Since the next school is the Lightning school (a school that I don't particularly appreciate), I deemed it important to rework the lightningtile, which will provide me with a solid gameplay foundation for this school.
Others
Promotion's mana regeneration nerfed
Water ascension charges and Lightning ascension charges have their own icon and stack from one turn to another if they are not used
7 league boots+ (reworked): adds 1 attack to your lightning spells
Topaz+ (reworked - the effect was the same as the broom+): your pieces are immune to the Tesla conduction
Amulet of Solar+ (reworked): lightning tiles are twice as efficient
Silver trophy (same but better): another way to trigger the Edison Conduction
Crow claw+ (reworked - the effect was the same as the Musashie+): pieces also gain lightning
Enjoy!
1.8.4 - Earth spells
Hello everyone! Today, it's the turn of earth spells. Since I have ChatGPT at hand, I'll take the opportunity to delve a little deeper into my thoughts. So, it's a bit of an update and a bit of a diary.
Earth spells are really cool. There aren't many major changes. However, I did find some nice little things.
Spells
Castling
Major
This spell was either too powerful if you had the right spell or useless and never chosen. Its usage has become much more versatile: it allows the king to easily cast powerful spells and effectively sustain their life. However, its mana cost has been doubled.
Catapult
Minor
I just slightly changed the effect of the queen.
Double saw
Minor
This spell is good, the pawn and the queen help to play with different schools.
Earth breaker
Minor
It's strangely complicated to put earth on the pieces. I'm terrified at the thought of earth ascension being too easily accessible. Since it's not a spell that we spam, I added the effect of the pawn that allows you to gain a large heap of earth.
Earthquake
Medium
The spell itself is not bad, but it was too expensive to use. I preferred to reduce the damage and its mana cost. The effects are now more in line with the spell.
Fortification
Minor
In line with the spell's concept, it can also protect against harmful elements.
Rock
Minor
The spell applies more earth. The idea is that the reward is greater if you use it to replenish your own pieces. It also allows you to place earth tiles.
Root
Minor
This spell is already challenging to use, but I know we haven't fully exploited its potential. However, I have still modified the effect of the knight to inflict damage instead of poison.
General
The following spells have not been changed, as I find them to be good as they are:
Barricade
Earth gift
Explosive Bypass
For now, I won't make many changes to the summoning spells. I plan to come back to them later as I have a few ideas, but it involves the summoning aspect as a whole.
"Spikes" and "Swarm of leaves" remain unchanged as well. They are good as they are, but I had the idea of creating "passive" spells. There are several spells that can fit into this category, but that will be for later. First, I want to finish the magic schools, especially the lightning , which I find poorly designed.
Others
Geyser now spawn in an area
Duplication: summoning sickness has been reduced from 10 to 1.
Enjoy!
1.8.3 - Air spells updated
It is the turn of air spells.
Spells with huge rework(s)
Pact of Lassalle
Duplication
Dimensional tower
Spells with medium rework(s)
Toxic Bypass (moved into poison school)
Blessed Bypass (moved into holy school)
Explosive Bypass (moved into earth school)
Feather
Geyser
Pickpocket
Spells with minor rework(s)
Air elemental (toxic bypass uses king effect)
Clairvoyance
Promotion (really cool now)
Wings
Others
Teleporter spell: removed from the game (was redundant with air tiles)
Water explosion: does not remove the tile if it is not a water tile
Pact of Eaman: fixed mana regen / mana max
Ballroom: bishops & rooks have 5 HP less
French castle: upgrading a tower is free / Mordangar version nerfed
Spectral armor: air value fixed
Bell of the church: cooldown fixed
1.8.2 - Water spells updated
It is the turn of water spells. Enjoy!
Spells with huge rework(s)
Water explosion
Waterfall
Weakness
Spells with medium rework(s)
Epuration
Tsunami
Moses
Berserk
Spells with minor rework(s)
Flood
Water bolt
1.8.1 - Fire spells updated
Instead of doing a big update every 2 months, I prefer to do smaller, more frequent updates. This one focuses on fire spells. The idea is to make playing the tiles easier and to make unused spells more appealing.
