Dear community,

The past few weeks have been quite busy. We’ve added a lot of content to Deathgarden, including a cosmetic vendor, the Hunt with a Friend mode, a new map, and our brand-new hunter, The Veteran.

As the game evolves, we strive to enhance the gaming experience for all our players. The community feedback we gathered during the Hunt with a Friend public playtests allowed us to tune and balance the game mode. It also allowed us to develop and test new features, such as the new matchmaking flow. Thanks to your help, we’re able to offer a distinctive gaming experience with the Hunt with a Friend mode.

Since we’re building the game future together with you, our players, we’d like to take this opportunity to introduce a new iteration of the Hunt with a Friend feature. This one differs from the past events as we’re looking into a new way to add variety and complexity into both the scavenger’s and hunter’s playstyles. The main change is in the game objectives: while the hunter goal is unchanged (i.e., kill everything that moves), scavengers must work more actively together to activate exits before the timer ends.

We call it Harvest your Exit*.

To escape the garden, scavengers must fill the Blood Banks with enough blood to transform them into exits. Instead of a global blood delivery goal, each Bank is counted separately. Delivering 55 blood at a Bank turns it into an exit when the timer expires. In the meantime, hunters must do everything in their power to kill the scavengers and to prevent them from filling Blood Banks. The dominations have been removed from the game and the Blood Mode only activates when the 8-minute timer ends

When the timer ends, scavengers are revealed as they try to escape the garden through the now open exits. If they find themselves without an exit, they still can continue to deliver blood, at their own risk as they are nonetheless revealed. During our internal playtest sessions, scavengers were able to open 2 exits per game, on average.

Our design goal is to offer players with a wider range of strategies for both scavengers and hunters while making matches feel more competitive. 

You will have the possibility to try this mode this Thursday, September 12th, from 2:30PM to 6:30PM EST (11:30AM to 3:30PM PST and 8:30PM to 12:30AM CEST), before its release in the Hunt with a Friend event on Sunday, September 15th. Your feedback matters to us: please join us, dive in and let us know how you feel about the feature.



While the feature is live on Thursday, we’ll hold a Ask Me Anything session with Matt Jackson, Deathgarden’s Design Director. From 3PM to 3:30PM EST (12PM to 12:30PM PST and 9PM to 9:30PM CEST), you will have the opportunity to ask your questions directly to Matt on Twitch and Youtube. We will then host a Play with the Dev live stream to go deeper into the Harvest your Exit feature. We’re already taking in questions; you can start sending them our way on Twitter with the hashtag #DGAMA.

We will see you in the garden!


*Name subject to change

Hotfix September 5th:

Global

Matchmaking in the Hunt with a Friend mode:
- A new option allows hunters to leave a party.

Garden

Gold Rush:
- Fixed ambience and environment.

Fire in the Sky:
- Fixed the missing trees.

Hunter

The Stalker:
- Fixed the reveal effect vanishing when aiming down sight with the sniper.

The Veteran:
- “Orbital Strike” damage has been reviewed.

• Maximum damage, from (100) → (90).
  
• Minimum damage, from (50) → (30).

- “Orbital Strike” maximum damage distance has been reduced.

• The maximum damage distance is reduced from (3.5)m → (3.0)m.

- Fixed an issue that prevented scavengers from shooting bolts after being hit by The Veteran.

Hello community,

Hunt with a Friend is back as a rotating game mode.  Coming back on Sunday, it will include the matchmaking flow, where hunters are active matchmakers.

You can play from 10:00 AM EST on Sunday until 09:59 AM EST on Monday


Following the feedback received from previous playtests, we decided to implement a new matchmaking flow, combining the Hunt with a Friend and the classic 1v5 features. This change allows both modes to be live at the same time.

It works as follows: the queue type is decided by the hunters. As the guardians of the Enclave, they decide this specific garden rule.

When two hunters decide to hunt together, a Hunt with a Friend match is created. Hunters must be in the same lobby for the HWF match to start. If the hunter is alone, a classic Deathgarden match is created instead. Hunters queuing alone will not be paired with another hunter: they will always queue in the 1v5 mode.

Scavengers are drawn from one big pool of players: they will either join the first or the latter to ensure every hunter has the right number of preys.




Gameplay: Quantity of Drones

• The quantity of drones on the map is 15.

Gameplay: Amount of Blood Required

• The amount of blood required for a ‘’Blood Domination“ is 250.

Edit:
Resource multiplier

• A 2X resource multiplier will be in effect during HWF.

See you in the garden!

Hotfix August 23rd:

Global:
- Replaced “Aim Down Sights” Challenge with “Down Scavengers” Challenge

Veteran:

Rattler RX35 Grenade Launcher:
- Lowered damage by ~12.5% at maximum distance from projectile explosion. No change to maximum damage

Design Goal: damage falloff was not aggressive enough, and allowed for too easy kills without testing player aim enough.

Secondary fire now fires 3 shots in a short time period, instead of 3 all at once.

Cerberus 3BC Triple Carbine:
- Base rounds per magazine reduced (45) -> (15)
- Reserve ammo increased (45) -> (75)

- Fixed: level up not providing anything. Now provides +(3) rounds per magazine, per level
- Fixed: Veteran’s Jasper 67V Auto Shotgun level 2 “Spend Ammo” challenge
- Fixed: Veteran’s Rattler RX35 Grenade Launcher level 6 “Shoot” challenge

Many Veteran challenges had far too easy completion criteria. The have been updated to reflect proper game conditions. Congrats if you got to finish them already.

Known Issue: text for Cerberus level up reads +5, it should say +3

Hello Deathgarden community,

The patch arrives with its load of new content, and to celebrate The Veteran’s arrival, Deathgarden: BLOODHARVEST will enjoy a Steam sale and a free weekend*!

You can find all the details below.


Hailing from Paris, France, Leila “The Veteran” Boudet has seen her fair share of blood. A renowned soldier of Unity, she won’t hesitate to strike down whoever’s foolish enough to enter the Deathgarden.

Her main weapons are a grenade launcher and a triple barrel carbine. Among other things, The Veteran is the only hunter that can hack blood piles.



“This ain’t a god damn game. Get in, make the kill, and get out.”— Leila “The Veteran” Boudet

You can read more about her story here.

The Veteran will replace The Inquisitor as the starting hunter for newly created accounts; other players will receive 1,000 iron, claimable during the week following the release of the patch, to buy the new hunter.




GENERAL

Onboarding: Character Rating
o Each character now has a gameplay difficulty rating tag in the Locker Room’s Character station; they are rated as Easy, Medium or Hard.

Design Goal: The intent is to give new players a better insight at the characters’ gameplay difficulty.

UI: New In-Game Notification Widget
o When spawning in the Locker Room, a notification widget informs players when there is an active in-game event.

GARDEN

Audio: Scavenger Executed
o A new sound and voice line play when a scavenger is executed.

HUNTER

Gameplay: “Shock” Stagger Adjustment
o The “shock” ability no longer staggers scavengers. The scavenger’s upper body keeps its staggered animation as a visual cue for the on-hit effect.
o The “shock” ability no longer interrupts climbing interactions.

Design Goal: The intent is to reduce the ability’s effects while retaining its value.

Gameplay: The Stalker’s “Power Shock” Perk Damage Reduced
o The “Power Shock” perk damage has been reduced by 50% at all levels.

• Level 1 (10)% → (5)%.
  
• Level 2 (20)% → (10)%.
  
• Level 3 (30)% → (15)%.
  
• Level 4 (40)% → (20)%.
  
• Level 5 (50)% → (25)%.
  
• Level 6 (60)% → (30)%.
  
• Level 7 (70)% → (35)%.
  
• Level 8 (80)% → (40)%.
  
• Level 9 (90)% → (45)%.
  
• Level 10 (100)% → (50)%.

Design Goal: Reducing the damage by 50% brings this perk in line with the others. It also balances hunters.

SCAVENGER

Game Experience: Challenges Removed
o The challenges “Climb” from tiers 7 to 9 are removed from the challenge pool. The challenges still occur from tiers 3 to 5.

NOTE: These challenges remain on already purchased characters. The challenges won’t appear for perks and powers over level 5, on newly purchased characters or those who have prestige since the launch of The Veteran Patch.

Progression: Scavenger XP Gain Reviewed

o XP rewards for specific actions have been reviewed as follow:

• Friendly Effect: (50)XP → (60)XP.
  
• Danger Close: (50)XP → (60)XP.
  
• Activated Drone Kill: (40)XP → (45)XP.
  
• Friendly Effect Assist: (100)XP → (115) XP.
  
• Escape Chase: (250)XP → (300)XP.
  
• Escape Chase Assist: (150)XP → (175)XP.
  
• Scavenger Revive: (400)XP → (460)XP.
  
• Golden Crate: (50)XP → (60)XP.
  
• Scavenger Domination Bonus: (500)XP → (575)XP.
  
• Escape the Garden: (1000)XP → (1150)XP.

Design Goal: Increase the XP scavengers receive at the end of each match to reduce the gap between scavengers’ and hunter’s gains.

*Deathgarden: BLOODHARVEST will be free this weekend on Steam, from August 22nd to August 26th. At the same time, Deathgarden will be at a 50% discount price until September 4th.

Name: Leila Boudet
Age: 62
Location: Paris

It wasn’t guns and bombs that won the Thousand Day War for Unity. It was blood. The blood of soldiers who fought for a new golden age of humanity. And Leila gave her share.

She was in her early twenties when she first put on the battle suit. What started as a bulky, cumbersome uniform became a skin she was more familiar with than her own. She had found her calling. Trudging through mud and smoke, she could drag an injured colleague to safety while unloading a mag straight into an enemy’s skull. No compromise, no corners cut.

Leila was a decorated war hero by the time Unity launched their final attack on The Divided. She had dreams of marching into Brisbane and stomping any attempts at resistance—but it wasn’t meant to be. A lucky shot of cannon fire rained down on her position, cutting hot shrapnel through her armor. With her battle suit painted red, she rose to her feet, only to be held back by her commanding officer. She was ordered to retreat while the rest of her unit moved forward.

With the war in its final hours, she was to be flown back to France to recuperate. As her plane took off, a blinding light erupted from behind. The Divided had launched a final nuclear barrage that killed 90% of the troops in Australia on both sides.

Leila returned a reluctant hero, thirsting to avenge her allies, but without any means to do so. As peace broke out, her usefulness was at its end, and she retreated from public life to brood in silence.

It wasn’t until The Bloodharvest that she’d emerge once more. The notion of scavengers earning a place in The Enclave sickened her. She knew amongst them were the remnants of her enemies, their sons and daughters, and the civilians who were too cowardly to fight for Unity. It had been so long since the nuclear attack, but the time for punishment had finally arrived.

“This ain’t a god damn game. Get in, make the kill, and get out.”— Leila “The Veteran” Boudet

Default hunter power: Orbital Strike—Calls in a strike from Unity satellites, barraging a designated area with laser-guided explosives.

Default loadout: Grenade launcher and carbine.

The Veteran’s deep knowledge of her environment makes her a dreadful opponent. She will make sure to find every scavenger in the garden, even those who mastered the art of hiding. Not a single scavenger will be able to make a better life for themselves, especially not on Leila’s watch.

The Veteran will be released to all players this Thursday to kick off our free weekend and 50% off Steam sale!

See you in the garden!

Dear Community,

We'd like to apologize about the issues during today’s playtest.

We encountered some unexpected issues with the matchmaking flow. It did not perform as expected, resulting in matchmaking being non-functional.

Servers are now going back to the classic 1v5 mode as planned and we will update you on any future schedule.

Thank you for participating in today's playtest,

The Deathgarden Dev Team

Hello Deathgardeners,

This week’s Hunt with a Friend playtest features a new matchmaking flow and addresses some balance changes. As we’re working on improving the general balance of the game, we made a few changes that applies to both the new and classic games modes.

Today’s playtest is a ‘’2 hunters versus 10 scavengers“ mode. The playtest is from 6PM to 9PM EST.

Following the feedback received from previous playtests, we decided to try a new matchmaking flow, combining the Hunt with a Friend and the classic 1v5 features. This change allows both modes to be live at the same time.

It works as follows: the queue type is decided by the hunters. As the guardians of the Enclave, they decide this specific garden rule.

When two hunters decide to hunt together, a Hunt with a Friend match is created. Hunters must be in the same lobby for the HWF match to start. If the hunter is alone, a classic Deathgarden match is created instead. Hunters queuing alone will not be paired with another hunter: they will always queue in the 1v5 mode.

Scavengers are drawn from one big pool of players: they will either join the first or the latter to ensure every hunter has the right number of preys.




Gameplay: Healing Bolt Trails Last Longer

• The healing bolt trail lasts from (2)s → (3)s.

Gameplay: Quantity of Drones Reduces

• The quantity of drones is reduced from (20) → (15).

Gameplay: Amount of Blood Required Reviewed

• The amount of blood required for a ‘’Blood Domination“ is now 250.

See you in the garden!

[Freeze][Garden][Gold Rush] Rare occurrences of game freezing for 15 seconds when Blood Mode is activated in Gold Rush.

[Garden][Gold Rush] The watery effects in the tunnels are appearing incorrectly due to lightning.

[Scavenger] Scavengers' vambrace shakes erratically while aiming down sight.
[Scavenger] While aiming down sights, scavengers are able to run when they don't have arrows or bolts.
[Hunter][Poacher] From another player’s perspective, The Poacher’s LMG’s belt feed is animated when he is idle.

[Locker Room][Scavenger] There's an invisible platform above the Cosmetic Vendor in the scavengers' Ready Room.
[Garden][Blowout][Scavenger] Scavengers are unable to land on the top of a large chimney due to a collision issue.
[Garden][Gold Rush] Some water towers miss projectile collision.

[HUD][Hunter] Upon initiating a recycle on a scavenger who has not been recycled yet, the execution text briefly states that execution is enabled.
[Locker Room] When looking at a vendor while aiming down sight, an extra yellow exclamation mark will appear behind the character.
[Locker Room] Vendors’ signs over the vendors' stations aren't displayed in the same way.
[Weekly Challenge] The ''completed'' banner on the weekly challenge overlaps with its countdown timer.
[Text] When the players switch the language, the scavenger rank doesn't update until they have entered a match or a menu.

[Spectate][Controller] Spectate mode displays two button prompts with “Y” when using a controller.
[Character Select][Controller] In the Character Select screen during matchmaking, “LB” and “RB” button icons are displayed.
[Settings] When in the Settings menu, the “enter” key doesn't work after players select a drop-down option using arrow keys.

[Execution][Recycle] Placeholder sounds can be heard when a hunter recycles or executes.

[Scavenger][UI] The scavengers' waiting time display doesn't show the real waiting time.
[Game mode] When the game mode changes, players who are in the middle of a match are kicked out automatically.
[Scavenger] Scavengers searching for a match have to cancel and search again if the match was created by the hunter after their initial search.

[Garden][Golden Rush] The Gold Rush map doesn't appear in the map selection for private matches.
[Locker Room] After a match and when the private match's host is the hunter, scavengers will turn into hunters and vice versa, and new hunters will fall out of the world if they attempt to move in the Locker Room.

[Cosmetic Vendor] The "Cosmetic Vendor" name is not localized.
[Cosmetic][Ghost][RU][DE][CH] Ghost’s “The Coming Revolution“ vambrace cosmetic name shows a placeholder text.
[Cosmetic][Dash] Dash’s “Lie in Wait“ lower body cosmetic description is not localized.

[Fixed][Crash][Locker Room] Crash occasionally occurs when returning to the Locker Room after completing a match.
[Fixed][Garden][Blowout][VFX] Lightning issue occurring in Blowout.
[Fixed][Garden][Fire in the Sky] Sometimes, Blood Piles spawn really close to each other in Fire in the Sky.
[Fixed][Cosmetic Vendor][Stalker] The Stalker’s arm bends unnaturally in Character Select and Cosmetic Vendor screens.
[Fixed][Cosmetic Vendor][Controller] Crash may occur when switching rapidly between the Character Select and the Cosmetics menu when using a controller.
[Fixed][Scavenger][Garden][Dust and Blood] Crawling scavengers cannot move over the last step of the Dust and Blood’s landmark stairs.
[Fixed][Perk] Perks are displayed in the incorrect order.
[Fixed][Character Select][Controller] Players are able to switch between roles while in the View Info menu when using a controller.
[Scavengers][Perk] Dash's 'Code Optimization' and Switch's 'Toil Together' perks stacked at maximum level while they should not.

We pushed a hotfix August 12th:

- Fixed a bug where the player would spawn under the map after being recycled on Fire in the Sky

Fire in the Sky is back in the regular map rotation.