We Who Are About to Die cover
We Who Are About to Die screenshot
PC Steam
Genre: Role-playing (RPG), Simulator, Strategy, Tactical, Hack and slash/Beat 'em up

We Who Are About to Die

Blood & Sand OUT NOW!

[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/3bd04ec9270963c1f8b7875961e68b4ca2eb4bcb.gif"][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/df9ab8a06022c7ccfbbed006570b93ac9b41186e.gif"]

Early Access v0.8 - Blood & Sand

Full Changelog

[p]We Who Are About to Die Early Access v.0.8 is here! It's finally time to share this major update with you![/p][p]We wanted to overhaul combat, add Sandbox Mode and tackle the most common feedback by the community. There's lot to explore with the Blood & Sand update! [/p][p]For more details, check out Preview #1, Preview #2 or Preview #3, or check out this overview video, which is a complete look at all the new stuff in Blood & Sand! (I recommend watching on Youtube!)[/p]

MAJOR new content & features

[p][/p]

NEW: Sandbox Mode

  • [p]Sandbox mode allows you to customize dozens of settings in the game, changing it fundamentally, and make a Sandbox Profile to play[/p]
  • [p]Make your own flavor of the game! Make challenge runs and experiment![/p]

NEW: Sandbox Steam Workshop support

NEW: Combat - Attack Direction UI

  • [p]A new UI that shows the possible attack directions[/p]
  • [p]The new UI is context-sensitive based on the weapon type[/p]

OVERHAUL: Combat Animations & Physics

  • [p]We rebuilt the entire character physics and animation systems. No more weak hits and hit reactions. [/p]
  • [p]Every physics ‘state’ is reworked resulting in general physics stability (eg. at low or high FPS as well)[/p]
  • [p]New: Animation based Hit reactions instead of 100% pure physics impulses. Movement and hits are more realistic and fluid[/p]
  • [p]More stable and reliable tired / low stamina: new Stamina-based animation that adds a clear visual cue for a character’s stamina level. Physics will no longer completely take over the character’s body and you can see heavy breathing[/p]
  • [p]New: Pelvis turning during attack, footwork & foot planting resulting in more powerful strikes ("Heavy attacks")[/p]
  • [p]Improved Combat Stance and Idle poses[/p]
  • [p]Performance improvements, better blending and smoothing across all animations [/p]
  • [p]Improved look-at animation (eye contact) and torso bending[/p]
  • [p]Improved death ragdolls[/p]
  • [p]Improved animation reaction on knockbacks (character dynamically balance with their arms)[/p]
  • [p]Soft version of hit reactions play on shield hits too. Based on how you hit the shield, this can create openings[/p]
  • [p]Improved proportions of the characters[/p]
  • [p]Big makeover for the character in the Career Menu[/p]
  • [p]Adjustments to the character general stance and pose for 2H weapons[/p]
  • [p]Many many attack animation tweaks across all weapon types[/p]
  • [p]Countless other physics and animation tweaks[/p]

[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/9201dc7404668d301db37f146dc46e0a362f4967.gif"][TAG-180]

OVERHAUL: Polearms

  • [p]3 new attacks for Polearms! Left, Left up and Left down stabs have been added to replace the old generic knockback attack[/p]
  • [p]Blunt polearm stabs now act as knockback attack[/p]
  • [p]Polearm stabs update (more correct damage types, stats)[/p]
  • [p]Moved most polearms up the hands, meaning longer reach[/p]
  • [p]Updated tooltips to reflect stance switching and more[/p]

NEW: Weekly Report panel

  • [p]A majority of the post-battle notifications are now neatly grouped into a Weekly Report panel.[/p]
  • [p]Shows an overview of all the match bracket levels + how the player rank affects them[/p]
  • [p]Timeline panel now appears in the new weekly report panel[/p]

Betting Overhaul

  • [p]New: Smart Bets. Eliminates impossible bets[/p]
  • [p]Betting is now integrated in the match option panels[/p]
  • [p]Changed the amount of bets to three bets per match[/p]
  • [p]More user friendly: players will get a warning when switching matches or rerolling and there are active bets[/p]
  • [p]Bets now also payout patron Favor[/p]
  • [p]Increase of the minimum bet payout[/p]

Patrons System Improvements

  • [p]16 new patron events![/p]
  • [p]Added Patron "Festivals" - special events that also appear on the Calendar. Each run may only have 1 festival[/p]
  • [p]Complete redesign of the Patron UI panels and tooltips providing much more information and clarity about the system[/p]
  • [p]A general rebalance of Favor[/p]
[p] [/p]

MINOR (Content, features, balancing changes)

[p][/p]

Weapon Stance Switching

  • [p]Now players can switch between 1H or 2H stances if the weapon is a weapon hybrid (ie. spear/polearm, or 1H/2H weapons) [/p]

Career

  • [p]2 extra shop slots, 8 total [/p]
  • [p]Rearrangement of the shop layout: Shop reroll button as well as shop-discount and -refund are located the bottom of the shop to fit this change[/p]
  • [p]Upgrade of the resolution of the shop Icons, making them crisper and clearer[/p]

FX & SFX

  • [p]New: Shields now have visible damage states (wood and metal)[/p]

    [img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/8144893931d06be94f50ae626656783363a5cdad.jpg"][TAG-330]

    [p][/p]
  • [p]Shields now have new damage particle effects (wood chips, sparks)[/p]
  • [p]Better impact particle effects, that also showcase attack direction and impact location (provides gameplay clarity)[/p]
  • [p]Better combat sparks on metal armor and weapon clashes[/p]
  • [p]Better footstep particle effects and sound (dust etc)[/p]
  • [p]Hitting the environment now makes a noise (based on which material you hit)[/p]
  • [p]Much more performant particle effects across the game[/p]
  • [p]Overhaul of the audience thrown items: audience will throw items appropriate for the tier of the player from the entire pool of existing items[/p]
[p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/c07c24a7eb833d8140a99df37912d92cd8f4b1e7.png"][/p]

Items

  • [p]New Item: Bronze Lophosi War-Chaka (1H Axe)[/p]
  • [p]New Item: Rusty Spade (Polearm)[/p]
  • [p]New Item: Iron Spade (Polearm)[/p]
  • [p]New Item: Iron Voulge (Polearm)[/p]
  • [p]New item: Great War Mala (Polearm)[/p]
  • [p]New Item: Valkarion (Godly 2H Axe)[/p]
  • [p]New Item: Malathrax (Godly 2H Mace)[/p][p][/p]
  • [p]New Item: Leather Ringed Lamellar Chest[/p]
  • [p]New Item: Bronze Plated Maille Shirt[/p]
  • [p]New Item: Dormorii Scale Shirt[/p]
  • [p]New Item: Bronze Plated Chest[/p]
  • [p]New Item: Bronze Executor Helm[/p]
  • [p]New Item: Leather Bracers[/p]
  • [p]New Item: Bronze Plated Boots[/p][p][/p]

Other changes

  • [p]Stamina nerfs damage a lot more (60% to 0% stamina scales from 1x to 0.3x instead of 0.6x)[/p]
  • [p]AI uses more stamina during attacking (because it no longer regens stamina during an attack)[/p]
  • [p]Weapon weight now scales stamina cost per attack a bit. So heavy weapons cost more stamina (on top of the weight calc on stamina regen itself) [/p]
  • [p]Weight impacts AI max stamina more[/p]
  • [p]Overhaul of weapon damage velocity calculation. Weapon velocity stat now has a larger impact[/p]
  • [p]Smoothed Attack Animations and weapon speed & damage stability (avoiding random spikes due to physics)[/p]
  • [p]Impact point velocity of a weapon now matters more (30% to 50% weight of velocity)[/p]
  • [p]You can now get disarmed (same as unwieldy) if you hit stuff under 30% stamina[/p]
  • [p]Light weapon class is now below 3 weight instead of 4[/p]
  • [p]Disabled stab on Hooked Daka's[/p]
  • [p]Nerf on Great Chaka (durability, minor range nerf)[/p]
  • [p]Buff for Seal of Approval Scollo upgrade: (Gain +2 Favor with each Patron after every battle) (before: Gain +1 Favor)[/p]
  • [p]Fundraise maximum values pulled down (300->250, 600->500)[/p]
  • [p]Item droppers will drop less lutes[/p]
  • [p]Camera: Minimum zoom is further[/p]
  • [p]Much more, and many small stat tweaks on many items[/p][p][/p]

Bugfixes

  • [p]Fixed issue of fire not being able to deal damage to multiple characters[/p]
  • [p]Resolved issue of oil patches not catching fire when characters on fire, other than the player, would walk over them[/p]
  • [p]Fixed issue of player character catching fire when not overlapping the fire[/p]
  • [p]Fixed issue where Draft was possible on veteran aspirant run after killing end boss[/p]
  • [p]Fixed issue in the victory overview panel not showing the correct fame multipliers for the equipment[/p]
  • [p]Resolved an issue where multiple trait prompt messages could go out of bounds[/p]
  • [p]Keys now update on tutorial tips after key-rebinds[/p]
  • [p]Pilums and Throwing Asc's will now correctly break after damage dealt[/p]
  • [p]Fixed a bug where the Senator's Shield would break after one hit[/p]
  • [p]Fixed issue with item spawners keeping spawning destructible items[/p]
  • [p]Fixed issue of draft bets paying out the bet amount, not the cost associated with the bet[/p]
  • [p]Fixed issue where matches would be different when saving and quitting the game in week 1[/p]
  • [p]Hitting environment makes a sound now[/p]
  • [p]Audience is more responsive (fame guage-bugfix)[/p]
  • [p]Fixed a bug where Damage Numbers and Weapon Trail settings would reverse when saving[/p]
  • [p]Fixed some Steam Deck tooltips being offset[/p]
  • [p]Countless more bug fixes![/p]
[p]Thank you Aspirants![/p][p]Want to stay up to date on the game and studio's development? [/p][p] As always, [/p][p]We who are about to die salute you! [/p][p]Jordy [/p]

[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/5575a2396d3da883412571fbd39daf3d8185efd2.png"]

[p][/p]

Blood & Sand Update: Preview #3! + Release Date for Blood & Sand!

Ave Aspirants!

[p]It's already time for Preview #3 of the Blood & Sand update! We're getting closer and closer to the update release - we'll reveal the release date for the Blood & Sand update at the end of this post![/p][p][/p][p]In this Preview, let's dive deeper into the Physics Overhaul, Optimizations and more Career changes![/p]

Combat - Physics Overhaul!

[p]Blood & Sand brings a pretty extensive Physics Overhaul. Now I want to preface this by saying, this kind of stuff will still happen:[/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/a0516bb27f46a6ae02a5cf7ca628d32f355e456a.gif"] The game is designed like that! Goofy antics intact.[/p][p]As seen in Preview #1, Blood & Sand has hit-reaction animations now, where in the past this was a pure (often crazy) physics impulse. This has been made far more subtle and that's what lead me to the physics again. [/p][p]In the end, I rebuilt the entire character-physics and physical animation systems in the game. I took some time to more properly understand the engine and implemented it this time "as it should be". [/p][p]This was really worth it - the result is more quality and stable physics in general. Everything feels more realistic and fluid.[/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/d584a383a97c7b4ecc2dcb51bb24e8f847749126.gif"][TAG-40][/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/5cc74fbef05ae452bbed161c4e7f72d7f21ccec8.gif"][/p]

FPS and system stability

[p]One major boon from these overhauled physics is that the game is more FPS stable - actually (technically) playable at something like 5 FPS for the first time. This means in general, whether you're playing at 30 FPS or 200 FPS, the physics should behave closer to how they're designed.[/p]

Better death ragdolls

[p]There are several ragdoll profiles now, which adds some cool deaths![/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/dd356b6d8e700e78599282642da8dd9dd8d3cb1b.gif"]death [/p]

Better Proportions (again!)

[p]I feel like I do an improvement every Major Update on this, but this may actually be the last time. [/p][p]The proportions and physics are oddly linked, so it only seemed right. We Who Are About To Die has evolved over the past ~10 years from a fairly cartoony game to more stylised-realistic. The biggest change was the child-like-cartoony-big-head proportions of characters, which have constantly evolved to be more realistic. [/p][p]Blood & Sand is no different! 'OLD' here is the currently live update.[/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/a49cbbe35a0c26bbcadaa7e618357e37f376df1a.png"][TAG-70][/p][p]This time, the character in the Career Menu has also gotten the same upgrade! That one was a few updates behind, and still looked especially cartoony. [/p][p]The physics are also noticeably better here and so I made them more pronounced![/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/40d3fe313bee6d4eb1ff8c5eb22fe0676d27d4c3.gif"][TAG-80][/p][p]I've also redone and adjusted some of the animation stuff, like the general stance, and posing for 2 handers:[/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/bd5529b36c474c1968dd40da466a37785c501a93.png"][/p][p]Just for fun, check out these old version of the proportions (which were already way less cartoony than start of development!) [/p][p]Image #2 is from the actual Early Access Release!! It really highlights how far we've come already to me.[/p][carousel autoadvance="true"][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/031451b32784e899d752236e34547dae3147f48f.jpg"][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/be3362c88caac526e4627be1a8c97e15c841012f.png"]

Better Physical Animations

[p]The physical animations -- where it blends between an "active ragdoll" and animations during combat (after hit etc) have been improved and balanced. Generally speaking, again, movement is more realistic and fluid.[/p][p]Especially during low stamina, the physics no longer completely take over the body, instead you still maintain decent control but there are more animation driven cue's that a character is out of gas. [/p][p]To rebalance this, general damage output of a low-stamina hit is lower. (as previously, it relied on floppy arms more). Here it is again from Preview #1:[/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/91c94206bc189e5e3633cc3350bda1ee7b4e89bc.gif"][TAG-110][/p][p][/p]

Optimisations

[p]The engine upgrade we did should come with general optimization improvements. On top of that, characters have seen a decent performance upgrade. [/p][p]Hand in hand with the animation upgrade, there's a pretty significant animation performance upgrade too across the board.[/p][p]We've also fixed the super-framerate-y look of distant Aspirants and Audience. Basically, the farther a character is the more animation frames we skip. But in the past, this skipping was harsh like stop motion. Now it's made fluid in 90% of cases. This has the extra effect that we can actually skip way more frames -- it looks much better AND is more performant! It's hard to see well on a GIF, but:[/p][p]Here's the old version (stop motion harsh frames at different Level-of-Detail). The numbers are how many frames are skipped.[/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/220d8a2930a0f58125b4f1ee6160bf9f69c764b7.gif"][/p][p] And new, with fluid blending.[/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/e68188f5ac5e91cee2c81705fb0d11393d386b57.gif"][/p][p][/p][p]Lastly, the many dust, fog and other particle effects in the game has gotten a pass, replacing transparency with a technique called dithering where-ever possible, and redesigning and optimizing some key effects from the ground up. [/p][p]Again a benefit here is more effects are possible as they are much cheaper, so sandy-arena battles should get way more dusty for example! And this should be a nice boost to FPS and FPS stability.[/p]

Career Menu changes

Shop Expansion!

[carousel autoadvance="true"][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/e6dedc8caeb3731ec7297cbd903fe2f36b0b32dc.jpg"][p]We've expanded the shop with two additional item slots - 8 total now - This means more items to choose from! [/p][p]To make room for the extra items, we’ve rearranged the layout slightly. You’ll now find the reroll button, as well as shop-discount and -refund info, located at the bottom of the shop.[/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/030e31cd29ec40d46beef4b44df252ec776e7ae1.png"][/p][p]We’ve also upgraded the resolution of shop icons. They’re now much crisper and clearer, making it easier on the eyes when browsing for new items.[/p]

Weekly Report

[p]This update will introduce the Weekly Report panel, a major improvement to the player's post-match experience. [/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/f914096e5ad2fde01fd8854457df462f90ee77eb.jpg"][/p][p]Previously, after a match, players were sometimes bombarded with many panels - battle reward, shop orders, repairs and more. Quite overwhelming. With this update, all of the notifications are now neatly grouped into a Weekly Report panel. [/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/231a7c80c328f79acd192b4726a64dabaed76d40.jpg"][TAG-180][/p][p] Aside from that, the panel also includes an overview of al the match bracket levels. This is an important mechanic of the game that was previously easy to overlook. [/p][p]Each match type has its own level. A player's level can be lower than a match’s bracket level, but never higher. When a player levels up, all bracket levels increase accordingly, keeping progression consistent across the board. [img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36402388/f62824f714575ffa588e5aca0b1d085f31190aa3.jpg"][/p][p]The old Timeline panel is also incorporated in the Weekly Report. It still shows upcoming matches and will highlight key events. [/p][p]The Weekly Report panel can be easily accessed via the button at the top of the Career menu. The ideal place to plan your next move![/p][p]This report menu is a first version, we're going to expand and polish it up at a later date.[/p][p][/p]

WANNA PLAY NOW?

CALL #2 FOR CLOSED TESTERS!

[p][/p][p]If you want to try Blood & Sand ahead of time:[/p][p]We are currently in the debugging and polish stage of this update and we can use your help! Thank you to the active testers already who have helped a ton and made some really cool profiles! Check out the game's Workshop![/p][p][/p][p]We're launching another round of closed testing - do you want to help out and play this update early?[/p][p]Join our Discord - write an application in the channel #closed-test-application[/p][p][/p]

RELEASE DATE! SAND & BLOOD WHEN?

[p]I'm pleased to say we're getting there and barring any disasters, want to release Sand & Blood... [/p]

[p]>> Wednesday, June 18th, along with a nice discount. [/p]

[p]Not long now! Please mark the date and help us have a great update and Sandbox/workshop launch by sharing the news with friends. <3[/p][p]That's it for preview #3 of the Blood & Sand update! [/p][p][/p][p]Want to stay up to date on the game and studio's development? [/p][p]We who are about to die salute you, [/p][p]Jordy[/p][p][/p]

Blood & Sand Update: Preview #2!

Ave Aspirants!


Lino here, co-developer on We Who Are About to Die. Like Jordy, I wear a lot of hats: coding, art, design,... The main difference? Unlike Jordy, I usually do my work with pants on!

I'll be showing some of my work in this post! For Preview #2 of the Blood & Sand update, I'm excited to share some of the latest updates to the Career management and combat visual effects, as well as a call for closed testers!

Patrons Upgrade!



From the start, we’ve always intended for Patrons to play a meaningful role during a run. I'm happy to announce that, with the new Blood & Sand update, you can now make more meaningful decisions regarding which Patron to support and see a clearer impact on your gameplay.

The Patron system has seen lots of little broad adjustments. Patron Events are more likely, Favor gain pacing is higher and there are more ways to earn Favor now too. Many of the new features allow you to lean more towards someone specific - building up favor in a strategic way really pays off over the run.

Events



Firstly, we've added 15 new Patron events, bringing more variety to each run. Each Patron now offers a balanced mix of positive and negative events that will trigger based on your Favor standing with them. For example, each patron has an event that increases the likelihood of matches being hosted by them, giving you the opportunity to further specialize as their disciple.

Other events may grant free shop orders, increase bet payouts or even reward (or burden) you with a temporary Character Trait. All this and more is waiting for you to discover!

Festivals



We are also introducing Patron hosted Festivals! These are special positive events, that can occur once per run. There's the Festival of Wine, Festival of Blood, Festival of Masks and the Festival of Fortune!

Each Festival has special effects for the entire week it takes place. After a few weeks of preparation, the city of Terantia will come alive with celebration, decorations, and bonuses tied to the Patron!


I won't spoil all 4, but for the Festival of Fortune for example, Valerius will make sure that gold spills from fallen Aspirants. Even more, Valerius will distribute pouches of coin to the crowd, who will eagerly hurl them toward the Aspirants they hope will succeed!

Betting Overhaul




One major goal of the Blood & Sand update is to address community feedback and to strengthen the weaker systems. Next to other systems that will talk about in upcoming previews, betting has received a complete rework.
Instead of 4 betting options in total (shoved in a menu on the side), I've integrated the betting panel directly into the match option panel, meaning there are now 3 bets per match, and making it much easier to see which bets are possible on which match.

We are also introducing smart bets! Eliminating impossible or nonsensical choices.
Next to an increase of the minimum payout, bets will now also pay out Favor with the Patron hosting the match, which circles around to the Patron Expansion.


I've also redesigned the Patron UI panels and tooltips to show all related benefits and information at a glance. For example, some players might not have been aware that your Patron standing influences match payouts and fundraising. After a victorious fight, it is also clearer how your favor with each Patron changed.



Combat - FX Upgrades and more!


With the new anim & physics updates, it was the perfect time for us to also enhance the current visual effects for combat.
Since shields play such a crucial role in combat, I've added visual damage on the shield itself, which directly indicates its remaining durability.

Above you see the first damage state which indicates a shield durability range of 50%-35%, the second damaged state shows a 35%-10% range and the last one 10% or lower.
A cool side effect of this system is that it also shows on the inside of the shield, so as a player you will also have a visual clue of your shield's durability and know when it's time to search for another shield to pick up!

In addition to drastically optimizing existing FX like environmental dust, we’ve added a upgrade to all combat-related FX - better shield splinters and metal sparks on impact, along with impact effects to clearly show the exact point of your strike on enemies. There is more dust scattered up due to combat, better and clearer footstep FX and SFX and more.


Audience Items


Another noticeable thing is I've overhauled the way the audience throws in items. Before, the items they can throw in were taken from a limited pool of 3 items (low, mid and high tier).
Now, it's fully dynamic - they can throw any weapon or shield in the game (that is buyable) -they just throw stuff that is appropriate for the tier of the player. This effectively means more variety in combat with looted items, and buffed looting via Spoils to the Victor and Luck of the Draw.


WANNA PLAY NOW?


CALL FOR CLOSED TESTERS!



If you want to try Blood & Sand ahead of time:
We are currently in the debugging and polish stage of this update and we can use your help!
We're launching a round of closed testing - do you want to help out and play this update early?

Join our Discord and write an application in the channel #closed-test-application

That's it for preview #2 of the Blood & Sand update! I can’t wait for you to dive in and explore these changes. Let us know what you think!

Want to stay up to date on the game and studio's development?


We who are about to die salute you,
Lino

Blood & Sand Update: Preview #1!

Ave Aspirants!



Since the last update, we've been working non-stop - there's a lot to update you on, so let's jump right in.

We're now Aegic Entertainment!

I'm very proud to be introducing you to our studio. It has been 10 years in the making. It's been a crazy journey, from solo dev in my underpants to game studio (in our underpants).
I'm glad to finally have a name now too. https://aegicentertainment.com/ (We're also hiring!)
Want to keep up to date, join our discord here and subscribe to our newsletter (No spam, only big announcements and giveaways etc!)

The next Major Update: Blood & Sand!



Some amazing news I can share first is we've designed most of game all the way to 1.0 now. We're very much in the end-game now. Sandbox Mode is part of a larger plan related to 1.0 as well. We've also brought WWAATD up to the last viable engine version which should provide stability.
The next update, v0.8 is Blood & Sand, introduces many overhauls across both combat and career, and brings the long awaited Sandbox Mode! We've been cooking with this one. Aside from generally polishing things, these are the goals we had for this update:

  • Big focus on Combat + add Sandbox mode (Blood & Sand!)
  • Design the rest of the game till 1.0 so it all fits in a larger plan
  • Address common feedback + tackle all weaker features/aspects (unify the game's quality)
  • >>> For Career that is: Patrons, Betting, Notifications (Redesigns, reworks and overhauls)
  • >>> For Combat: Hit impacts and reactions, physics stability, Polearm design (Redesigns, reworks and overhauls)
  • >>> Fix big gaps in the equipment arsenal and content
  • >>> Fix visually jarring elements and optimization issues (Low framerate characters, expensive FX etc)

Sandbox Mode




What is Sandbox Mode?


I've been looking forward to making Sandbox Mode for about 6-7 years. Personally super excited it's almost ready.

My vision as a game designer is that games are ultimately a toy - the magic is interaction. So I had the idea to let players mess with the game on a much deeper level. Why not expose all the endless variables in the code? What if the player could adjust things the game to their liking? A bit like modding, but made super convenient - so anyone can do it. AAA studios might freak out about how players could easily break the game, but well, in this case it's on you! The settings are ultra flexible including all the hazards that come with that.

Sandbox will allow people to make their own flavor of the game, make challenge runs, tweak things they don't like and generally experiment.

How does Sandbox Mode work?



In short, you can create Sandbox Profiles with your own custom settings.
Settings go from 50+ base variables in the game (Max HP, stamina, costs, match frequencies, pacing, difficulty pacing, ...) to toggling traits and items, to starting gear, toggling backstories and more.


Open this image to get a sense for some of the options.

Infinite Runs!


Want a 1HP run? More Stamina? Go for it. Dislike Peg-leg, hate 2 handers? Disable them. Want a duels only, high item cost, negative traits only, no heals run? Go nuts.

The amount of possible runs is infinite.
I've done the rudimentary math: 10^233. There are more builds than atoms in the universe. In fact, if you build a new Profile every nanosecond for every atom since the dawn of time, you wouldn't make a dent in this number.

Workshop Support!


You can then even share your Profile with other players on the Steam Workshop . Or of course, browse and test other people's crazy run designs. More on that and a much more in-depth look at all the options, in a later Preview!

Sandbox mode is a scary feature to make. It was a huge and very complicated amount of work, diving deep into the game's core, and we're hoping for people to experiment and share cool challenges on the Workshop or via our Discord. Fingers crossed it was worth it! As usual, if people love it, we intend to expand it and listen to the community about how they want it expanded. Your feedback shapes this game.

Combat Changes



The update is named Blood & Sand - Sand for Sandbox, Blood for the vast combat related overhauls. Check it out:

New attack dir widget



We've completely remade and drastically improved the combat UI. It's also context-sensitive based on the weapon type. This UI is way more intuitive and I hope it primarily helps new players figure out the attack dragging mechanic.



Animation Overhaul



The animation systems in the game have seen major changes:

One common feedback we got a lot was that hits feel weak - sometimes it feels like "punching in a dream". I tackled this problem from both sides: hits and hit reactions.

Animation Overhaul - Pelvis turning, footwork & foot planting



First, because of an ignorant technical mistake ~10 years ago when I was a clueless whippersnapper, it was very hard to add decent pelvis and foot rotation to attacks. I've tried to patch this a few times over the years, but I've finally managed to crack it by using a few clever tricks together to circumvent the problem.

Now characters rotate on their attack-readying and then turn into a strike - including pelvis, knees and foot-work! Bonus of this approach is its completely dynamic, so it even changes per weapon type etc.

Here's 2H swings, notice the legs especially:

Here's it is on 1H swings:


You have to play to properly understand the huge impact (ha!) on the game - the game-feel and power of a hit - is through the roof.

This has gameplay implication: WWAATD's damage model is physics-based, so the added rotation actually adds velocity aka damage to an attack.
It also gets more or less intense based on weapon/attack type and current speed. It's maxed out if you stand still - now you have a reason to plant your feet, because you'll do a much more powerful attack. Essentially, this feature adds emergent "Heavy Attacks".

Animation Overhaul - Hit Reactions



Hits also felt bad - in large part due to a lack of proper hit reactions. So far, they were a simple physics-impulse (did that because of solo dev - limited time).
Now we've added actual animation-based hit reactions, but as usual, in a very dynamic way.

Characters will turn and respond in several ways based on the attack impact location. They also use their arms dynamically to balance when they got knockback (in any direction). Even shield impacts get this effect, hitting a shield barely did anything in the past. This is all layered together to get satisfying reactions.



Here's some longer, higher quality video previews on the new combat feel, OLD vs NEW:

[TAG-110]

https://youtu.be/dF7aOQ1lX1E


Animation Overhaul - Stamina



Stamina was another common point of feedback. There's no clear visual cue for the character's stamina level, and on low stamina, you get very floppy and unwieldy. Decent in theory but not fun in practice. Now, low stamina is a more animation-based state relying much less on pure physics, and there's a dynamic breathing layer added to the animation on top of the sound.



Animation Overhaul- Many more tweaks



The entire animation system has seen performance improvements, vastly better blending and smoothing, I've improved a huge amount of the attacks, fixed look-at animation (so character keep eye contact much better - does more than you think!) and so on.
It's really just too much to tell.

And that's not all for Combat changes, there's a lot more. There's new & improved FX, a complete Phyiscs rework, a Polearm Overhaul, Weapon Stance Switching, and so on. I'll expand on those in the next Previews!

Patrons, Career & more!



It's not just Sandbox + Combat, we also worked on the Career side - including expansions on the Patrons and Shop, overhauls on things like Betting, Post-Battle Notifications and more.



Blood & Sand, as every major update, will also have new content, performance improvements and general improvements here and there across the entire game. It's a big boy.

Join us on the next Previews when we dive into these topics!

Please let us know in the comments what you think. Which feature are you most excited for? What sandbox profile do you want to make? Are you interested in testing this update ahead of release?
Your reactions are extremely motivating - let us know!




Want to stay up to date on the game and studio's development?


As always,
We who are about to die salute you!
Jordy

CONTENT UPDATE: WWAATD EA v0.73 OUT NOW! +30% discount

Ave Aspirants!



For the holidays, here's our last present of the year to you - a new update: new content, general game-improvements and bug-fixes!. The game is also 30% off for the Winter Sale!

Before we get into it, I want to take a moment to reflect on 2024 and thank everyone for standing by the game and by us: thank you. It has been an incredible year of massive updates and I feel like the game has been absolutely transformed this year. I'm really happy with the our progress and how far it has come, and that we've still been making bold choices and overhauls in development. It's been a long year with many all-nighters!

The Animation Overhaul and the Character Traits system are my personal highlights, both from a player and developer POV. The Spectacles Update in particular was record breaking and it has been so satisfying & assuring to see that the work we put into this game is absolutely rewarded - the reception continues to be beyond my wildest dreams.

I'm coming up on year 10 of development (might have already passed it, not 100% sure!) personally and still not tired of it at all. If you told me I'd go from a no-programming-skills, solo dev, no-big-hopes situation to thousands of players & a full time career with a team 10 years later, I'd never believe you! I'm very grateful to be given this chance.
I can't wait for 2025 and to show you what we have in store for the game! Best wishes to all of you!

New Arena!



A new arena has emerged in the heart of Terantia. Located at the base of the stairs leading to the great temple, combatants are forced to face off on the city terraces.


New map variation



In this new variant, the Grand Plaza is scattered with oil patches and fire pots. Use the terrain to your advantage by igniting your enemies.


The fire system in the game has been upgraded to go with this new variation!


Throwing a fire pot ignites a fire upon impact, spreading flames to any connected oil patches nearby. When the fire pot lands, it leaves ashes on the ground, while ignited oil patches create fading ashes. These fire pots can now also be thrown into any map by the audience.


Additionally, here's a new interactive trap that players can kick over.


Floating damage numbers and weapon trails!



We've added a weapon trail to the player swings, trails will be default on from now on:


We've also added floating damage numbers, this is default off. You can turn it on in the Game Options.


Destructible Objects mini-Overhaul


Destructible objects like barrels and boxes' mass now plays a role. Characters and players can now be pushed back by physics objects. (before, they were massless and would fly off if you ran into them with zero resistence.)
Sound effects have also been improved. On-hit sounds and floor-based sound effects have been added, so interactions like a barrel bouncing in mud now sound like a wood impact combined with mud. Particle effects have been introduced for hits and destruction, enhancing the visual feedback when props are broken.

Here's a Before and After:


Kick Improvement


Previously, when it comes to the destructible objects, kicking was handled purely by leg physics, but it now uses a curated forward impulse for more consistent behavior.
Objects moving at high velocity (after a kick for example) now explode on contact and knock back and stun characters on impact.

New Hanian Infantry Armor (Classic Roman legionary set!)!



Fitting with the last update, a classic Roman "Lorica Segmentata" armor was added. About time!

These armors have been added to many Hanian units as well.


Note: currently the names for these and everything else new in this update that has text will be english only. We'll update the translations later!

New 2H swords


We've added the long awaited Godly 2 Handed Sword - Clavadir and a Unique 2 Handed sword for the Elite Legate Dividus !


Audience item drops overhaul!



We revamped the system behind the items thrown into the arena by the audience during fights. Weapon throws will now be more varied, as the selection is drawn from all weapons & shields available in the shop. The throws will also be more randomly aimed and better balanced for the player rank.

And more!




  • Improvements to the training section. Decimal points have been removed and we added some QOL-fixes, making it easier and more straightforward to track progress when training specific skills.
  • Characters and players now turn their head towards their target, making them look less stiff. They did this once upon a time but it was lost during the locomotion overhaul, added back in now.




Full Changelog



  • New items: Hanian Infantry Armor (Chest & Arm armor)
  • New item: Clavadir (Godly 2H)
  • New item: Legate Dividus' Daaka
  • New Arena: City Terraces
  • New Arena Variation: Grand Plaza oil/fire variation
  • New weapon trails
  • New floating damage numbers (enable in game options)
  • Added rain scenario to Grand Plaza maps
  • Fire pot & Fire system improvements
  • Destructibles now have mass & better physics
  • Kicking destructibles into character stuns them now
  • Audience item dropper mini-overhaul
  • Training system improvements and tweaks
  • Bribing system improvements and tweaks
  • Knockbacks in general have been slightly increased
  • Starting weapons for Veteran Aspirant have been given balancing tweaks, they are all now Sturdy
    tier.


Bugfixes



  • Fixed some issues with character damage physics, things should work a bit better hopefully.
  • Fixed characters T-posing on death where they are cut in half.
  • Added translations for the repair notification window.
  • Fixed skinning issue on the head
  • Fixed incorrect weight on backstory character selection screen
  • Fixed armor overview displaying wrong items sometimes
  • Fixed accidental double stamina buff on Slave
  • Heirloom now mentions Unique tier items too
  • Fixed an issue where the death screen always displayed "sewerrat" incorrectly next to the rank.
  • Fixed an issue on the graphics options screen where some text would go out of bounds.
  • Fixed an issue where the pegleg trait incorrectly triggered during the intro sequence when using a gamepad.
  • Fixed an issue where focus was lost when re-entering the pause menu after visiting the game options when using a gamepad.
  • Fixed an issue on the loading screen that prevented entering the match when changing the game options during loading.
  • Possible fix for AI that stops working (Not 100% sure, it's hard to replicate)
  • Fixed an UI-scaling issue on the Victory Screen for the Chinese language.
  • Fixed noticeable UI scaling issues when entering the main menu.
  • Fixed an issue where weapons with the fragile item trait would not break when thrown on the ground.
  • Fixed an issue where training sometimes did not work correctly for a new character.
  • Fixed an issue where no items were thrown in the Stadium Ballista variant when the Brawler trait was active.
  • Fixed an issue in the Ambush event where the ambushers would appear partially inside the ground.
  • Fixed an issue where bribing certain Patrons did not work as expected.
  • Fixed an issue where certain events incorrectly granted patron favor to certain patron(s).
  • Fixed an issue where the Farerdaka could not be picked up in combination with a shield in third-person mode.
  • Players no longer need to exit and re-enter the game to see their Battle log preference applied


Happy Holidays everyone!
We who are about to die salute you,
Jordy

WWAATD EA v0.71 small patch/hotfix

Gladiator's Revenge v0.71 changelog



Ave Aspirants,

0.71 is here: a small bug-fixing patch!


Bugfixes



  • Fixed an issue where players saw a debug backstory
  • Fixed an issue where passing Baegar as Veteran Aspirant without defeating him would trigger victory condition
  • Fixed an issue where you could roll Condemned and switch to a lower difficulty mode
  • Fixed an issue where item rank-up rewards could fail
  • Fixed incorrect sounds on bronze scale arms & leg armor
  • Fixed an issue where windows would jump when navigating from options to start in the main menu.
  • Resolved an issue allowing the pause menu to open during loading tips and the game to continue.
  • Corrected a problem where the HUD did not automatically set gamepad icon keys.
  • Adjusted the loading screen to prevent showing the key-formatting when using a gamepad.
  • Fixed an issue where the music from credits would continue playing when closing it rapidly after opening
  • Disabled trap movements during intro sequences to avoid navigation issues. Should be a step closer to fixing the issue of enemies waiting at their gates
  • Fixed the "Hold loading screen until key pressed" option automatically re-checking itself
  • Resolved the issue of being able to skip the loading screen before the continued message appeared
  • Fixed the issue where ballistae did not deal damage anymore
  • Probably missed a few!


We who are about to die salute you,
Jordy

MAJOR UPDATE: Gladiator's Revenge Update OUT NOW! + 40% discount

Early Access v0.7 - Gladiator's Revenge



Full Changelog


This update celebrates the 2 year anniversary and doubles down on the gladiator theme of the game by introducing new backstories as well as many new items (50!) and unit types that fit this theme. In addition to that, the game has also finally been translated to 11 languages and we've overhauled the loading screen to provide tips as you play!

MAJOR new content & features




  • NEW Backstory: Veteran Aspirant
    An accomplished gladiator coming back to the arena to finally take revenge and claim his place as Grand Champion of Terantia! This backstory comes with 3 subclasses, each hailing from a different culture and trained in a different style of combat.

    • The Dormorian
    • The Terrantian
    • The Myrodonian


  • NEW Backstory: Condemned
    Sentenced to fight in the arena until death, the Condemned starts without earthly possessions and only has bad luck and negative starting conditions. This backstory is now the ultimate challenge in the game! The Condemned has to be unlocked by winning a run in Lionslayer difficulty and is only available to play in that difficulty!

NEW: Localization


Added support for 11 languages. You can select your language in the Game Options via dropdown. Added languages:
  • French
  • Italian
  • German
  • Spanish
  • Brazilian Portuguese
  • Polish, Russian
  • Simplified Chinese
  • Traditional Chinese
  • Japanese
  • Korean
(Note: localisation will be refined more and more over time!)

MINOR (Content, features, balancing changes)



    NEW: Loading Screen Tips


  • Reworked all loading screen tips
  • Combat tips are shown before combat and career tips before career management
  • Removed now redundant info from tutorial
  • Removed Combat Tips section on the battle menu

    NEW: Item Properties


  • Items can now have multiple properties that identify them as from a culture or a weapon subtype
  • Item properties can be requirements for effects from backstories and character traits
  • Item properties have been applied to both new and existing items

    NEW: Unit Types


  • 15+ New unit types added to increase enemy variety at each bracket level
  • Many of these units are linked to the 3 new gladiatorial styles from the Veteran Aspirant backstory, and give a more classic gladiator feel throughout the game at all difficulties.


  • New Item: Rusty Tridi (Trident)
  • New Item: Hooked Tridi (Trident)
  • New Item: Dormorian Tridi (Trident)
  • New Item: Maelstrom (Godly Trident)
  • New Item: Terantian Carver (Claw)
  • New Item: Terantian Cutter (Claw)
  • New Item: Terantian Slasher (Claw)
  • New Item: Eagle's Talons (Godly Claw)
  • New Item: Rusty Flagga (Flail)
  • New Item: Flaggorath (Godly Flail)

  • New Item: Hooked Daka (Bronze, Iron)
  • New Item: Hooked Pukku


  • New Item: Old Small Shield
  • New Item: Dormorian Short Shield
  • New Item: Dormorian Reinforced Shield
  • New Item: Curved Terantian Shield (Exalted, Ornate)
  • New Item: Leather Curved Terantian Armguard
  • New Item: Small Myrodonian Shield
  • New Item: Myrodonian Copper Sunguard
  • New Item: Myrodonian Sunguard


  • New Item: Dormorian Finned Helm
  • New Item: Terantian Helm
  • New Item: Terantian Aspirant's Helm
  • New Item: Feathered Myrodonian Helm
  • New Item: Hanian Guard Helm
  • New Item: Dormorian Fishnet Shirt
  • New Item: Leather Cuirass
  • New Item: Scale Armplate (Padded, Leather, Bronze, Iron, Exalted)
  • New Item: Scale Legplate (Padded, Leather, Bronze, Iron, Exalted)
  • New Item: Padded Armplate
  • New Item: Padded Legplate



Other changes



  • Armor Balancing: Together with all the new items, a bunch of adjustments have been made to existing armor. This should provide a more equal distribution of items across rarities and more options to choose from at each stage of the game!
  • Former Soldier

    • Starting weapons have higher durability
    • Has more Drafts planned in his Calendar
    • Match re-rolls are now a bit cheaper


Bugfixes



  • Hit reactions are now also affected, include armor damage taken. Hitting well-protected enemies should feel more impactful!
  • Fixed another cause of NPCs not entering the arena on the Grand Plaza
  • Fixed and tweaked countless small UI issues (primarily to fit longer Localisations)
  • Many, many more!


If you like what we're doing, please consider sharing this update and the game with your friends: we still rely on word of mouth more than anything.



And as always -we who are about to die salute you,
Jordy

The last preview before the Gladiator's Revenge update releases!

Dear Aspirants!



Time for the final preview on Gladiator's Revenge before releasing it tomorrow, November 23rd, along with a Daily Deal discount!



Gladiators Revenge: Preview 4


Loading screen Tips



The loading screen has been overhauled. You now have to press a key to continue, and a Tip will show. We have many tips written out that we sorted in two categories, Combat and Career Management Tips. (and they also all come in 11 languages now!)



The tips are more or less in order starting from simple mechanics and gameplay tips to more complex concepts. Every loading screen you automatically see the next tip, or you can cycle back and forth manually. When you enter battle, a combat tip appears and when you go back to the Career menu you get a management tip!
The tips in the battle screen have been removed and a bunch of unnecessary info in the tutorial has been cut. This is a major first step in streamlining the tutorial of the game so it's less front-heavy!



The Condemned



Last time we introduced the second backstory, Condemned. It has seen some more updates (making it even harder!) which you'll have to find out the hard way, and we have some custom art:


Since the Condemned is specific and late late game content (unlocked after a Lionslayer win, only in Lionslayer) we went a little crazy with it to give a distinct flavor!

Items & various!



We've added many small tweaks, improvements, balancing changes and UI improvements.

Better Hit Reactions
A "small" but very impactful change is that we discovered damage absorbed by armor also negated the physics hit effects. This was an accidental/unforeseen result of the physics/damage system. So in the late game with extremely strong armor, units would basically stop reacting to hits, which just feels bad to play. This has been changed so now if you do 5 damage to a character but 45 damage to their armor, they will still react closer to as if they took 50 damage. It's extremely noticeable and the game feels way better throughout, but especially against high tier opponents.

UI adjustments
We have some larger things like a backstory screen cleanup to small things like item tooltips now having a tier colour border!


Items now have a Properties section where we can list additional properties some Character traits need (bouncing board for more potential features later!)

Items galore!
Some more items have been finalised and we've also expanded the Veteran Aspirant subclasses to use these - same for the many new unit types.

Check out this Leather Cuirass and new Padded Armplate!




Would you say you're hooked?

All told, this update adds 50 new items, all of which are more classic gladiator gear, transforming the overall feeling of the game for sure.

Update on Steam Deck support



We've also quietly been working towards Steam Deck support. We had hoped to get full support in on this update as an extra surprise but that didn't work out.
Status now is, the game has gone from totally unplayable (maps didn't load, game freezes etc) to what should be fully playable now.
We still have a lot of QoL and UI problems to fix, which should be next, but in theory the game is playable on SD officially and we're hoping to get this verified by Steam so we go from "Unsupported" to "Playable"! The next and last step ("Verified") is our goal ASAP after that, but there are still some tricky technical challenges involved to get to proper support, so I can't give an ETA just yet. Just wanted to give an update on the status and plan!

---

Want to stay up to date on the game and studio's development?


Thank you for your support these past 2 years, from the bottom of my heart! <3<3

As always,
We who are about to die salute you!

Jordy

WWAATD Anniversary + Gladiator's Revenge: Preview #3 + release date!

Dear Aspirants!



Time for another preview on Gladiator's Revenge as well as a release date reveal! Hint: it's very soon!

Today marks the anniversary of We Who Are About To Die! 2 years ago today I released my 7-year-solo-dev project. It was an absolutely life-changing experience. Since then, we're now a game studio -- over 15 people have worked on the project by now, and we've added countless features and refinements to the game.
Special thanks to the core teammembers: Lino & Yosha who have now been working hard on the game full time for over a year and a half now. Show some love in the comments everyone! <3
Here's a (very condensed) list of highlights from the EA development so far:

* Content Update v0.16: Desperate Politician, Blacksmith's apprentice, map variations, new gear, new weapons
* Content Update v0.17: Godly gear, many items, combat and physics refinements
* Combat Controls Update: Third Person Mode, Controller Support, Throwing Overhaul, Lionslayer difficulty, Smart Shop, Items
* Anniversary Update: Godly tier items Map variations, updated blocking system, combat tweaks
* The Spectacles Update: Animation overhaul, AI overhaul, Audio overhaul, Survival, Bosses, Tournaments, Field battles ..., New map, new gear
* Content Update v0.45: Field battle update, new faction, new gear
* Champion's Journey: 50+ Random Character Traits, Timeline, Weight overhaul, Skill overhaul, New maps...
* Gladiator's Revenge: Veteran Aspirant, Condemned, Localisation into 11 languages, overhauled tutorial tips (loading screen), new items and units, ...
* ???

It's been an incredible journey, and we're deeply grateful to everyone who has contributed to shaping the game into what it is today (because you really, really have), and what it will become in the future!


Gladiators Revenge: Preview 3






New Backstory: The Condemned



On top of the Veteran Aspirant, Gladiator's Revenge has a second new Backstory! The Condemned. The condemned is a challenge backstory which you must first unlock.
To unlock it, you have to first win a backstory to unlock Lionslayer difficulty, and then win a backstory on Lionslayer.



The Condemned is simple: you start with no equipment, no skills, no gold or fame, no perks whatsoever. On top of that, legacies don't work, patron's dislike you from the start, negative events are more likely and you get only neutral and negative traits. Lastly, you can only play it on Lionslayer difficulty.
The win condition is to simply survive for a certain amount of weeks. Good luck!

For the fans out there, this is partially inspired by Soulslike "Wretch"/"Deprived" type characters!

New Equipment!



The Gladiator's Revenge Update brings an array of new content, featuring items inspired by classic gladiators. Expect to see more variations of flails, tridents, and claws, along with a wide selection of new shields.





New Unit Types!




Of course with all this new gear and lore we added unit types to the game as well!
The 3 Veteran Aspirant subclasses, Myrodonian, Dormorian and Terantian now also show up throughout the entire game as enemies.



In the game so far we had a generic "Worthy Aspirant', 'Professional Aspirant", the old "Myrodonian", and other gladiators like the 'Aspired'. These are now replaced & expanded, so "Worthy Aspirant" is split up into the 3 new classes, each having a Worthy variant. We also have a Professional, Champion and Aspired variant, totalling 12 units. On top of that, we have added a new unit called a Bonecrusher. (mid-late game iron armor, heavy mace)





NOTE: some of this equipment is work in progress.

Gladiator's Revenge When?!



I'm glad to announce Gladiator's Revenge is going live November 23rd, along with a Daily Deal and discount of 2 weeks following it!

Closed testing and Language testing LIVE NOW!



Thank you for all the Testers who responded last time to the call for testers!
A first closed test is going live today on the Closed Test branch

Want to help? We can use any kind of tester - we are still missing some testers especially for Chinese (traditional and simplified), Korean and Japanese. If you can help out and want earlier access to this update, please consider joining the closed test!

If you speak any of the new languages fluently or have a good eye for bugs & balance (playing in English) please join our Discord (http://discord.gg/8PEutcdwf5).
Language testing applications can go in the channel #loc-test-application write that you want to help & on which language(s). Regular closed testers can apply in #closed-test-application


Here are the languages again:

French, Italian, German, Spanish, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Japanese

Thank you!!
---

Want to stay up to date on the game and studio's development?


Thank you for your support these past 2 years, from the bottom of my heart! <3<3

As always,
We who are about to die salute you!

Jordy

Gladiator's Revenge: Preview #2!

Dear Aspirants!



Time for Preview 2 and more details on the new backstory: Veteran Aspirant!



In this backstory you are a Veteran fighter with an already established career as an Aspirant. You are hellbent on revenge after an Aspirant called Baegar was the only one to defeat you, knocking you off your throne and becoming Aspired before you. Your only purpose in life is to defeat Baegar the Aspired.

When you roll the backstory you also roll one of the 3 subclasses at random and the associated backstory's traits, the equipment loadout and starting skills will adjust based on the subclass. 3-in-1!



The Dormorian

The Dormorian is a trident-wielding class originating from Dormorum. To facilitate progress in this class we've added a full set of Tridents and Helms across all tiers of the game specifically tailored to the Dormorian, on some of some unique chest armor.


Notice the new Character Trait Dormorii Training, which we also have for the other cultures -- more on that later!

The Myrodonian

The Myrodonian is an overhaul/expansion of an already existing unit in the late game. This is a Myrodon-inspired class of Aspirant, known for their majestic Myrodonian Helm, trusty flail and armguard. Again, we've added Flails to the game across all tiers so you can enjoy your unique Flail damage bonus as the Myrodonian the entire playthrough, if that's what you want.

The Terantian



A local Aspirant class, the Terantian is a more standard roman-inspired class with equipment more reminiscent of the military - save for the "Claw" or glove type weapon he wields, of course. And you guessed it, we've added claws to the game across all tiers!

As mentioned in Preview 1, the general direction of this update was also to add more classic gladiator gear, so we've added a lot of items in this direction. Here's a selection of new stuff (note not everything is pictured here at all! We'll dissect the new item roster a bit more in a future post.)



Armor balancing overhaul



Along with the new items, and in order to design all the new gear, we ended up doing a mini-balancing overhaul on armor. Especially arms & legs have had fairly large changes.
We've used a more data-oriented approach for this this time, and found out the armor in the mid-game was fairly thin and we had a lot of conflicts (items with nearly identical stats) overall. The armor in the game now all occupies a more unique space and there's a much more even spread stat-wise.

Check out these graphs which shows Durability / Armor mapped out per item on arm-armor for example:


Language Testers needed!





Thank you for all the Testers who responded last time to the call for testers!
The upcoming translations are well underway, I wanted to ask one more time for testers as we gear up for a closed test of these translations!

We need testers who are native speakers/readers in these languages so we can ensure we get the best possible localisations of the game out right away!

If you speak any of these languages fluently and want earlier access to the update, please join our Discord (http://discord.gg/8PEutcdwf5) in the channel #Loc-test-application write that you want to help & on which language(s).
Especially the bolded languages with their own alphabet will need extra testing (and may be harder to find) so if you speak any of those languages please consider helping out! Thank you!


  • French
  • Italian
  • German
  • Spanish
  • Polish
  • Brazilian Portuguese
  • Russian
  • Traditional Chinese
  • Simplified Chinese
  • Korean
  • Japanese



Want to stay up to date on the game and studio's development?


As always,
We who are about to die salute you!

Jordy Lakiere
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