As the Mist is getting closer every Night, the update shines bright through the darkness! Have you been able to complete Gildenberg and its 7 Nights yet?
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1105670/view/3133947998942677988 Today, Robin & Victor talk you through the analysis of this major update by giving you the whys & hows! Let's dive into it!
PERKS REWORK
Reworking the perk system
Last month on the Open Beta branch, we released a major update that changed the perk tree generation system. Before that, the tree was fixed and identical for all heroes.
Each hero is now given their own tree. Perks are divided into thematic collections, presented as columns of 5 perks (1 per tier). It involves randomness, the content of each tree being determined at the time of the Hero's generation:
Some specific collections are not always present.
Main collections are always there, but behind the scenes they have several possible perks for each Tier, so the result will be different between Heroes.
But why did we choose to do this? There are mainly two observations that led us to this decision.
Firstly, the old system was not flexible enough to add content. When we tried to create more perks, we quickly got stuck. With a fixed tree common to all Heroes, we couldn't afford to increase the number of perks infinitely, or else we'd make it very difficult for the player to choose a perk each time there was up a level. This also could result in a rather cluttered interface.
Secondly, and this is related to the previous observation, we were having a hard time implementing our intention to offer as many varied builds for the Heroes.
We had multiple goals in mind while designing this new perk system:
Add more variety to enhance the rogue-like feeling.
Encourage players to experiment more.
Develop a system with more iterative potential than the previous one.
Note: When starting a new campaign, two of the columns will not be available from the get-go and need to be unlocked.
Reworking and tweaking existing perks and creating new ones
However, the system itself was not the only problem we wanted to address. We also found, and many players also pointed this out, that the quality of the perks themselves was heterogeneous, implying a content related issue.
Therefore, we did two things:
Many perks previously featured in the game have either been reworked, tweaked or removed.
New perks have been created, increasing the total from 40 to 75.
We didn't aim to make them all exciting by themselves, but we tried to increase the amount of exciting ones nonetheless. One axis we wanted to push were the potential synergies that the player could create.
Of course, with such an increased number of perks combined with a new system, the result can’t be considered perfect straight away, the idea is also to make the content more refined as we go forward, especially via balancing patches. So, your feedback matters!
Imagining new mechanics
Creating new perks was an opportunity to imagine new game mechanics. It goes along with the desire to create diversity in the way Heroes are played, not just in the choice of weapons.
Limiting randomness
In the old perk system, perks like "As Swift As the Wind" or the old "Energized" relied on a random chance to apply their effect.
Although the idea is not necessarily irrelevant, for this release we wanted to try to find more reliable alternatives for the players.
One approach we've been exploring quite a bit are counters. This principle had not been really exploited in the game before, but we believe that it is a viable way to increase the possibilities in terms of conditions.
Giving better information on perks
One thing that made the perk system unattractive was the lack of information. In the heat of the moment, it was especially easy to overlook it, beyond the most obvious effects.
In the perk tooltip, you can now view the real, dynamic value of the granted bonuses. This comes in handy if you want to have a clear idea of what a perk actually provides before and after you unlock it.
Perks providing a skill also show a preview of the one your Hero will get to add to their kit.
Adding new HUD elements
Above the skill bar, perks are now visible, which allows you to have a clear view of your Hero's build at all times. This new display also provides other features: conditional activation, highlighting when using a skill, dynamic bonus value, decremental counter, range on hover…
We also used this opportunity to display the current alterations of the selected unit. This is shown on both heroes and enemies.
NEW EARLY GAME MAPS
The Last Spell is a rather challenging game, and starting the game to immediately be given the daunting task of “finishing Lakeburg” can easily be discouraging. This is why we wanted to create intermediate maps that players would be able to complete without having to grind the Oraculum too much, giving short term goals that are attainable.
Additionally, we reworked the order and conditions of quite a lot of upgrades and unlocks. Our philosophy for upgrades is to not make them gatekeep-y, and having more maps with varying difficulties helps a lot. Veteran tactical players probably won’t need upgrades to beat the first maps, but they can really help players who are nearly there and still want to discover what’s up ahead!
Smoothing out the progress through the early stages of the game also allowed us to get a better idea of where we are headed with the general design of the maps and the storytelling of the game (keep in mind, Lakeburg was meant to be the only map at first, and last for 30 days!). Even if these maps are aimed towards new players, they let us experiment things that will help us make the next maps even more interesting.
Having multiple maps with different durations, layouts and waves has opened up a lot of “design space” for us, since some strategies will be more effective on some maps than others, instead of having to all compete on a single map. But without further ado, let’s talk about the maps themselves:
Tutorial: Swampfurt
Swampfurt is a map that will act as a tutorial for beginners. This small town is only connected to land through two wooden bridges, making it an easy place to defend. However, the magic circle does not seem as perfected as the ones in other cities… will this turn out well ?
For this map, we wanted newer players to be able to focus on the basics of combat first, without worrying about long term planning too much, so the map only lasts for one night and one day. After a few turns of the second night, a special cutscene will take place and players will be taken to the Oraculum. Forced losses can be frustrating, but with the previous version for the game, some players would try their hardest to win their first run only to discover that they were meant to lose and unlock upgrades, and that was even more frustrating.
The playable area is similar to a big corridor, making it easy to focus on the basics of the game like movement, AP, vision and enemy behavior. This is a map layout that could only work in the tutorial, because it would be way too easy to defend with some Oraculum progress, even against very strong enemies.
Gildenberg
Gildenberg is an abandoned mine, hidden deep inside the mountains. The natural obstacles make it a great place to defend against the hordes.
For Gildenberg, the objective was to make a map that would be easier to finish than Lakeburg. However, we didn’t want to just take Lakeburg and reduce the number of enemies: The Last Spell is a game about fighting hordes of enemies!
To achieve this goal, we had to find other ways to make the map less challenging. The biggest factor is that the map lasts for only seven nights. This puts less pressure on the economy or having to keep up with the number of enemies and their scaling.
Talking about enemies, the waves in Gildenberg are way less random than in Lakeburg, and features fewer types of enemies, so players will quickly know what to expect and learn to counter it.
Finally, the general layout of the map should make it easier to defend the haven : There are only three sides to defend, and there is a greater distance between the fog and the haven, making it harder for enemies to reach your Magic Circle. Additionally, a lot of obstacles will slow enemies down without hindering the vision of your heroes.
Even if the map is easier than Lakeburg, it still has most of The Last Spell’s challenges, so even veteran players should be able to enjoy a few runs on Gildenberg - especially when playing without most of the meta upgrades, or with apocalypses on.
OTHER
Reworking Opportunistic and Isolated
A smaller but still noteworthy rework concerns the attributes formerly named "Opportunistic" and "Isolated". The problem with them was relatively simple: they were too situational compared to others.
“Opportunistic” and “Isolated” are now applied to all attacks. They have been renamed as “Opportunism” and “Isolation” respectively and are now using a base-100 value (default: 100%) just like Damage and Critical Power.
Whenever your Hero's Opportunism or Isolation value is above 100%, they get bonus damage when the conditions are met, no matter what attack they use.
The corresponding skill effects (which were previously mandatory for a skill to benefit from those damage bonuses) are now referred to as “Opportunism Multiplier” and “Isolation Multiplier” and work just as advertised: the corresponding attribute's value is multiplied for this attack.
For example, if my Hero has 110% Opportunism and their skill has an Opportunism Multiplier x2, then during the attack the Opportunism attribute will be considered to have a value of 220%.
Reworking these attributes was in line with our goal to increase the possibilities for Heroes in terms of perks.
Repairable traps
One thing you may have noticed is that, previously, traps were the only buildings built by the player that could not be "repaired".
This was initially done to create a "disposable" side to them, but it could also make them more frustrating to use compared to ballistae and catapults.
Furthermore, it was not very practical that the only way to ensure that a trap had all its charges at the beginning of a night was to destroy an already activated trap and replace it with a new one.
So we decided that traps can now be repaired in exchange for materials.
Also, traps cost a few materials more than before but do not disappear anymore when they are depleted. This way they can be repaired at a lower cost (just like other buildings) rather than having to rebuild new ones for the original cost.
And that's a wrap for today! It was a long but well detailed post and we hope it was an interesting one for you! Tell us your opinion in the comments about the new update, we always welcome new feedbacks!
We are doing our best every day to bring you fixes & updates as soon as we can, even though unfortunately sometimes it can take a little bit longer than expected.
Have a great day, but more importantly great runs on these maps!
The major update was released yesterday and since then, we have been working hard to solve any issues you may have encountered during your game time. The most important issue reported to us was the softlock on Gildenberg on Night 6, which is now fixed!
Fix softlock happening during later nights in Gildenberg
Fix softlock when using the "Repel Fog" ability on the seer
Fix the fog progression in Lakeburg and Glenwald that was going too fast
Fix texts for Wildling (except for a run already started) and Demonic Blood traits
Fix item bonuses not appearing in Chinese
Fix the upload of mods on the steam workshop
Thank you for your patience, and thank you for building The Last Spell with us! See you on Discord and may your Nights be short & safe!
Over the Mist and Far Away Update OUT NOW
Heroes of the night, the new major update is now OUT! Two new early maps, Perks & Traps reworks and a few more things: all details are available below!
TL;DR:
Perks system rework: 40 -> 75 Perks
New early maps: Swampfurt (Tutorial) & Gildenberg
New ending scenes & magic circles
UI Improvements for Perks
New features
Balancing
[previewyoutube="1mkEhfVWos0;full"]
Thank you again to all the players of the open Beta: your feedbacks were extremely helpful! We hope all of you will enjoy this update, and we invite you to join our Discord to chat with us!
PERK SYSTEM REWORK
Each Hero will be given a different perk tree, increasing the diversity in builds.
Perks are now divided into thematic collections, presented as columns of 5 perks (1 for each Tier). The content of these columns is determined during the Hero’s generation, involving randomness:
Some specific collections are not always present.
Main collections are always there, but behind the scenes they have several possible perks for each Tier, so the result will be different between Heroes.
However, as before, the only condition for being able to unlock a perk is to have access to its tier. It is not at all mandatory to unlock the previous perk of a column to get access to the next one. We actually wish for the opposite, resulting in a broader experience with many fun combinations!
NEW AND REWORKED PERKS
Many perks previously featured in the game have either been reworked, tweaked or removed. Feel free to revisit the perks you think you already know!
This update also marks the creation of a lot of new perks, there currently are 75 perks in the game while there used to be 40.
New mechanics have been created for this occasion, we will let you discover them on your own...
NEW MAP: SWAMPFURT (TUTORIAL)
This map will act as the tutorial to The Last Spell. It can only be played when starting a new campaign. All other maps will have to be unlocked by new players (current players will still have access to all the maps they had unlocked up until now).
NEW MAP: GILDENBERG
This map is unlocked by finishing the tutorial. It lasts for 7 nights, and has a very specific layout with only 3 sides for the enemies to come from. Winning a run unlocks access to Lakeburg.
NEW ENDING SCENE & MAGIC CIRCLES
We slightly revised the story of the game, and the victory animation was changed accordingly. Additionally, all maps now have a different magic seal.
UI IMPROVEMENTS FOR PERKS
Better information on perks
In the perk tooltip, you can now view the real, dynamic value of the granted bonuses. This comes in handy if you want to have a clear idea of what a perk actually provides before and after you unlock it.
Perks providing a skill also show a preview of the one your Hero will get to add to their kit.
New HUD elements
Above the skill bar, perks are now visible, which allows you to have a clear view of your hero's build at all times. This new display also provides other features: conditional activation, highlighting when using a skill, dynamic bonus value, decremental counter, range on hover...
We also used this opportunity to display the current statuses of the selected unit. This is shown on both heroes and enemies.
Opportunistic and Isolated rework
“Opportunistic” and “Isolated” are now applied on all attacks. They have been renamed as “Opportunism” and “Isolation” respectively and are now using a base-100 value (default: 100%) just like Damage and Critical Power.
Whenever your Hero's Opportunism or Isolation value is above 100%, they get bonus damage when the conditions are met, no matter what attack they use.
The corresponding skill effects (which were previously mandatory for a skill to benefit from those damage bonuses) are now referred to as “Opportunism Multiplier” and “Isolation Multiplier” and work just as advertised: the corresponding attribute's value is multiplied for this attack.
For example, if my Hero has 110% Opportunism and their skill has an Opportunism Multiplier x2, then during the attack the Opportunism attribute will be considered to have a value of 220%.
Traps Rework
Traps can now be repaired in exchange for materials.
Also, traps cost a few materials more than before but do not disappear anymore when they are depleted. This way they can be repaired at a lower cost rather than having to rebuild new ones.
Modding rework
We’ve also updated the modding in The Last Spell. All mods will become incompatible because of an improvement we made on the code.
So, if you want your mod to work with the new version you will have to make some changes on it. The change concerns the config.xml file, and we made a small tutorial to update your mods to make them work with the new version.
You can read it here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1105670/discussions/0/3183487594856484201/
New Features
Perks
The Perk system has been completely reworked (more details above)
Rework of many perks and addition of new ones : there currently are 75 perks in the game instead of 40.
Perks tooltips are now more precise with more informations
Perks are now displayed in HUD's
New Map: Swampfurt
Only playable at the beginning of a new campaign (can't be selected on the world map)
Designed to be a tutorial with a special ending at night 2
There are only 2 sides
New Map: Gildenberg
Unlocked when finishing the tutorial (if you already have a save you will unlock it when launching the game)
Last 7 days
There are only 3 sides
Heroes
Rework of the opportunistic and isolated attributes : they are now applied on all attacks
Addition of 61 new traits
Skills
Changed how the opportunistic and isolated skill effects work
Alterations from heroes' skill can now affect other heroes
Buildings
Traps don't disappear anymore when depleted
Traps can now be repaired in exchange for materials
Story
The ending cinematic has been changed to match our new direction for the story
Each haven now has a different magic circle with a different seal to break
Meta
Tweaked a lot of meta upgrades to match the new campaign progression (souls price and activation conditions)
Misc
4 new musics pack
Addition of the elite guardian
The apocalypse system is now unlocked when finishing a run in Lakeburg
Graphic assets for the world map have been reworked
QoL
Improvement on the game lexicon displayed in tooltips (examples can be seen in the health tooltip, poison damage tooltip )
Alterations are now displayed in units HUD
More ability effects are displayed when casting a skill (the little text popping above an unit)
Added some information about the ongoing run in the main menu (elapsed time, city, apocalypse level)
Optimization of the game
Balancing
Enemies
Added 15% Stun Resistance to these enemies : Winged, Splitter, Archer, Hopper, Hunter
Lakeburg
Increased a little bit the waves difficulty at the very beginning of the map
Attributes
Increased bonuses of healing received in level ups and items
Changed all bonuses of Isolation and Opportunism in level ups and items
Changed some attributes' boundaries (mostly some "max" going up)
Heroes
Changed most traits' values
Misc
Tweaked some night trophies
Dev Livestream: Over The Mist And Far Away
Heroes of the Night!
As we announced last week, a new major update is coming on March 14! And to celebrate the release, we will be hosting a livestream on Twitch & Steam.
On Tuesday, March 15 at 16:00 CET, Thomas & Robin, Game Designers on the game, will be playing The Last Spell on the new update. You'll get to see Gildenberg, an early map of 7 Nights!
In the meantime, feel free to join the community on Discord!
New Major Update on March 14
Hello everyone, a new major update is coming to The Last Spell on your PC:
Over The Mist And Far Away update will release on March 14!
This major update includes:
Two early maps: Tutorial + Gildenberg
Perks rework (40 -> 75 Perks)
Trap rework
TWO EARLY MAPS
The two new maps are named Swampfurt and Gildenberg. Swampfurt is a tutorial map only visible to new players, and here to help them learn the game. Gildenberg is a 7 Nights map right after the tutorial, and placed before Lakeburg (12 Nights map). We advise players to take a look at Gildenberg starting March 14, especially if you started on Lakeburg recently!
The Maps order being: Swampfurt -> Gildenberg -> Lakeburg -> Glenwald.
With this two maps addition we intend to make it more user friendly for new players coming to The Last Spell and its dreadful Nights, but we are absolutely keeping the hard game aspect we cherish so much.
PERKS & TRAPS REWORKS
This major update is also adding the Perks (40 -> 75 Perks) and Traps reworks, which have been tested for weeks by the players on the Beta branch. With the Traps rework, you won't need to craft a new trap each time it's used now, a little repair with your Materials and you'll be good to go!
Do not hesitate to join our Discord to chat with other players about your new tactics!
The music of The Last Spell (w/ The Algorithm)
Warriors and music enjoyers!
You've had the pleasure to hear the music composed by Rémi "The Algorithm" Gallego while playing The Last Spell, electrifying your heart at Night and leaving you space to breathe at Day.
Today, meet our composer in this exclusive interview by The Arcade Crew, and learn more about the music of your (we hope!) favourite tactical-RPG:
[previewyoutube="7djmEaCKjxM;full"] We are honoured and extremely happy to have Remi Gallego as composer on The Last Spell. And according to your feedback, it is a shared feeling!
English subtitles are available on the video, have a good watch!
May your Nights be short and your mana bar be full.
OPEN BETA BRANCH - 0.95.1.7
BUG FIXES
Fix Flexibility perk that was not working as intended
Fix the perk Overload and Runic Gift that were giving no bonuses if the hero had 0 trinket slot or bag slot
Fix the perk Overload and Runic Gift that were causing some issue on save's reload
Contagion cannot be transfered on a unit who already have the Contagion alteration
The resistance reduction from magic damage attacks doesn't apply anymore if the target has a negative resistance
BALANCING
BOOM!
Range 1 -> 3
ORGANIC ARMOR
Conversion 100% -> 75%
DUELIST
Bonus per kill if melee +4% -> +6% ; Bonus per kill if else +4% ; maximum bonus 60%
BLOOD MAGIC
Conversion 100% -> 50%
AVID LEARNER
+15% XP Gain -> +25% XP Gain
QUICK RELOAD
Tier 4 -> 1
MANA SHIELD
Tier 1 -> 4
Conversion 50% -> 100%
Buff duration 2 -> 3
SPRINT
Health cost 6 -> 10
BLINK
Mana cost 2 -> 3
OPEN BETA BRANCH- Patch 0.95.1.6
Hello warriors!
We have updated the Open Beta with a new patch to fix the issues you've been reporting to us. Thank you again for your continued support & help!
Do not forget to update your game to get this patch.
BUG FIXES
Uses from the skill "Quick Reload" are now restored every day
Blink skill can now be used on tile with a trap
Fix of a regen in health/mana that was happening when loading a save
Fix the heroes generation in the inn: some attributes were generated with values too high
Poisonous perk cannot affect enemies inside the fog anymore
Fix highlight of duelist perk that would not be triggered if targeting a tile with a trap
Fix BOOM! perk that was not triggered on tile with a trap
The display of catapults uses is now also displayed on hover even with a hero selected
Fix of blue tinted enemies caused by misty elite enemies
Poisons duration of the perk Poisonous is now affected by the perk Potent Toxin
Fix of thrifty and explosive atoms perk that were still highlighted when blood magic was active
Fix of production gauge from destroyed building appearing when the boss spawns
BALANCING
HARVESTER
Daily Mana Regen bonus: +1 every 6 enemies killed -> +2 every 8 enemies killed.
EXPLOSIVE ATOMS
Tier: 2 -> 4.
Critical bonus: +10% -> None.
Critical Power bonus: None -> +50%.
THRIFTY
Action Points to spend: 10 -> 8.
CRITICAL RUNES
Tier: 4 -> 2.
Critical Power bonus: +15% for each 10% of missing Mana. -> None.
Critical bonus: None -> +4% for each 10% of missing Mana.
THIRD EYE
Condition: every 4 enemies killed -> every 2 enemies hit.
SEPTIC SHOCK
Stun Chance: 40% -> 35%.
TOXIC LEECH
Range: 6 -> 5.
CONTAMINATION (REWORK)
“When targeting an enemy with a single-target skill, the attack gets: Contagion (1 Turn)” -> “When applying Debuff to a unit: Also apply Contagion (1 Turn)”.
CONTAGION STATUS
Contagion cannot apply its effect to a unit already affected by Contagion anymore.
HEALTH RESTORATION
Restoration modified value (because of Healing Received) is now rounded down.
How to play the Beta Branch
This thread is a tutorial on how to switch branch to access different/older versions of the game. This can be useful if you want to give a try to the beta or if an update makes your save obsolete and you want to finish your run before going on the new update. To access the open beta, you need to change the branch on Steam. However, before you change branch, we VERY STRONGLY advise you to put your saves somewhere safe! Even though they’ll be in different folders, you’re never too careful with saves! So, before you do anything, you should get your save folders %Appdata%/../LocalLow/Ishtar Games/The Last Spell/Save and copy them on your desktop if you want!
Go to your game library on Steam
Right click on The Last Spell
Click on “Properties”
Go to the “Betas” tab
Now you can select the update you want to go with the dropdown
Select “open_beta"
If you want to switch back to the latest version, you have to click on “None” in the dropdown
OPEN BETA BRANCH - Patch 0.95.1.3 (Open Beta Branch)
Hello warriors! We've updated the "Open Beta" branch of the game with fixes for the bugs that were reported to us!
Fix softlock on the respawn of mist censers at the end of the night
Fix softlock caused by the bulky self-stun and poison
Fix the NaN display on the perk critical runes
The perk relentless doesn't work with the skill "Jump Over" anymore
Fix the perk specialist that was giving +2 uses instead of +1
Fix of a localiszation bug on usable items' tooltip
The use per night number is now displayed in the skill's tooltip in the perk tree (can be seen on Quick reload or Resupply)
