Darkest greetings Underlord,

Patch 1.5 draws ever closer but there’s still more to share before it goes live. Come take your metaphorical seat and let us regale you with a deeper look into the mechanics of Mendechaus’ vicious Crucible.

But first, if you missed last week’s pair of updates be sure to read up on the fundamentals of Crucible mode, as well as the insight we gave into the new community translation tools which are on their way.

Throwing you a Lifeline

Looking at all the horrors that are set to beset you in the Crucible you might think that we’re throwing you in with nothing but a prayer. Well that’s certainly true, but at least we’re throwing you in with a prayer that can be answered – three in fact!

Apocalypse will obliterate enemies that come within a hair’s breadth of your Dungeon Core!

Lifelines are a new mechanic that we developed especially for Crucible mode. Each of these three incredibly powerful spells will no doubt be pivotal in saving your bacon from that other, angry bacon that will soon be rampaging through your dungeon. You see, each Lifeline has the power to destroy or delay your enemy, giving you more breathing room.

Goldstones taking a pummelling? Safeguard will make them immortal for a short while.

However, powerful as these spells may be we can’t just let you use them without a care in the world. Each time you unleash one of these devastating abilities you’ll find the gold cost to unleash it again has increased. Use one without forethought and you’ll find yourself paying through the nose to unleash it again.

It’s difficult to capture the fact that Respite delays the next wave, so here’s a picture of our art director, Pat, and a clock instead.

Lifelines ultimately won’t save you from a fate worse than death, but at least they’ll delay the inevitable long enough for you to get a new high score! Speaking of which…

The Leading of the Boards

Ever since the original Survival Prototype made its way into the game we’ve seen regular requests for a leaderboard to be added so that the most competitive Underlords can compare their scores. Well at long last we’re pleased to announce that the Crucible will include fully-functional leaderboards in the Steam version of the game!

There’s some serious board leading occurring here.

What else is there to say on the topic of leaderboards that you don’t already know we wonder. Well at the very least we can say that each map and challenge combination has its own leaderboard, so if you’re not so savvy in one combination then perhaps another will see you rising through the ranks.

A Challenge for All

But what are these challenges we mentioned? Well to put it simply they are collections of changes and mutators that adjust your experience in Crucible mode. This could be anything from making gold incredibly scarce, to making it so that every enemy you see is a Chunder!

Although we’ll only be launching Crucible mode with two challenges – the standard mode and a “master” mode – you can rest assured that there are plenty more in the works.

So you think yourself a master? Mendechaus would like to put that theory to the test.

Crucible Unit Preview: Hearts of Gold

What do we have here? Some of Kasita’s pet treasures gone wandering? I suppose nobody told them that gold isn’t the strongest metal in Kairos, and rather unfit for combat.

Golden soldiers – be bewitched at your peril.

That about wraps us up for this preview, but we’ve still got one more on the way this Friday. Mendechaus is almost ready to put you through his Crucible. Are you ready for your impending trial?

Cheers!

– Brightrock Games Team

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