We're almost a week since the Hounds is available in all gamemodes. It is now time to look for what's coming and going back on the road map previously shared.

We're at the end of the Claws & Jaws seasons, as we already said, we are happy with the clan of the Hounds and the new wild life added to the game. After some rebalancing and while answering your remaining feedbacks, it is now time to redirect most of our energy toward the next update...

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Aimed for the end of this summer, the next free major update will include a new PVE Game mode that will makes you roam around new biomes!

While we would love to tell more about this updates, there is still a lot of work to do but be sure to follow us on our socials to get any new infos as soon as we deliver them!

If you want to prepare your friends for the new PVE modes, tell them about Northgard being on sale until the end of the day as well as the Hounds being 10% off its original price until this friday!
See you later for new updates on the game

-Shiro Community Team

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SOCIALS - DISCORD | REDDIT | X/TWITTER | FACEBOOK

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2946220/Northgard__Garm_Clan_of_the_Hounds/

v3.5.6.38277

A lot of small tweaks and rebalancing of the clans as we’re making it available for ranked games. The idea behind those changes is not only to nerf the strongest elements, but also to rebalance some elements that feel underutilized compared to other elements. For example we’re making Foxskin less strong, in order to make the Wolfskin more interesting, and we’re decreasing the heal of Bloodthirst, while making the speed of heal faster, and making the heal ability of the Boarskin stronger in exchange, to incentivize using it to compensate.

With this patch release, the clan is now available in ranked multiplayer.

[expand type=details]

• Berserkers now have a max amount of resources they can collect at once when absorbing a soul (80 max).

• When gaining Military XP, regain 40% of it as heath > 30%
  
• At a speed of 0.5 HP per second > 1 HP per second

• Attack Power 14 > 12.5
  
• Shredding Claws (Lvl 2 ability)
  
  • Each attack slows the target by -10% > -7.5%
    
  • To a maximum of -50% > -20%
• Hunter’s Mark (Lvl 3 ability)
  
  • Mark reduce target speed by -25% > -15%
    
  • Increase the damages they receive by +50% > +35%

• Blade Breaker (Lvl 2 ability)
  
  • Reduce target’s attack power by -35% > -25%
    
  • With Hord Instinct - each additional bearskin reduce it by -10% > -2.5%
• Death Deceiver (Lvl 3 ability)
  
  • Make the first unit in the zone to die invincible for 6 seconds > 3 seconds

• Mender’s Legacy (Lvl 2 ability)
  
  • While regaining health, heals wounded units by 1 HP per second > 1.5 HP per second
• Blood Sacrifice (Lvl 3 ability)
  
  • Boarskin sacrifices 75% of its health > 60%
    
  • Over 5 seconds > 4 seconds
    
  • And converts 100% of it to wounded units > 200%

• Berserkers can level up to level 7, each additional level requires 200 XP > 250 XP

Following some feedback we’ve received about the second conquest battle of the clan being too challenging in comparison to the others, we’re swapping it for another one.
[expand type=details]

• Hounds clan battle n°2 is now No Gods No Master. (Previously The Great Hunt)
  
• The clan can now play the Age of Vampires battle.
  
  • The clan can only evolve 1 berserker, which is considered the Warchief of the clan, and has the nightwalker ability.

[/expand]
[expand type = showmore]

• Bloodthirst visual signal (on health bars) has been reworked to be more clear, and cause less confusion. (with some players thinking it would work as a shield and prevent taking damage for exemple)
  
• It is now possible to remove an animal soul from the arena having to avoid players getting stuck in some cases and having to destroy the building.

[/expand][/expand]

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We’re adding a new rule to the Gate of Helheim zone, to address the issues of some clans benefiting too heavily from the Valkyrie spawn instead of being challenged by it.

[expand type=details]

• Killing the Fallen Valkyries on the gate of Helheim and later summoned by the gate (when colonized) no longer give Military XP nor trigger any “on kill” effects. (Hounds Bloodthirst, Eagle Boneyard, Wolf Spoils of War, Lynx Trophies, and so on…)

[/expand]

[expand type=showmore]

• Direct gains of Lore accumulate Lore/ Faith for the Monument and the Victory. (Ruins, Ox Warcraft, Lion start-with, Hounds boarskin soul absorption, Eagle caches, and so on…)

[/expand]

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[expand type=showmore]

• Hounds - Fixed color displayed for the conquest Town Hall
  
• Hounds - Fixed animal souls from the last conquest bonus consuming wood
  
• Hounds - Fixed control group not working on Berserkers after evolving from their Brawler form
  
• Hounds - Fixed Brawler on forge not going back to No work state after finishing all forges
  
• Hounds - Fixed Berserker captured by Dragon not granting the soul of the Berserker with fame 200
  
• Hounds - Fixed Brawler not producing Fame on Pillar of Glory in conquest mission Viking’s Glory
  
• Hounds - Fixed Brawler not producing food on Healer Hut
  
• Hounds - Fixed Brawler not mining molten rocks in conquest mission Shards of Misfortune
  
• Hounds - Fixed Silo not increasing food production for Brawler
  
• Hounds - Fixed Bloothirst not working when stolen by Owl, Snake, or Mimirsbrunr
  
• Hounds - Fixed crash when two unit died during a fight in the Brawler Camp
  
• Hounds - Fixed Boarskin dying when using his lvl 3 ability while Medecine was unlocked
  
• Hounds - Fixed Foxskin slow not applicated at the good moment
  
• Hounds - Fixed Brawler or Berserker being able to be assigned to other military camp
  
• Hounds - Fixed Brawler assignation limit on production building allowing to overcap the number of workers
  
• Hounds - Fixed a crash when killing foes on the Yggdrasil zone in conquest mission Battle for Midgard
  
• Hounds - Fixed Brawler stuck in Brawler camp when loading a save
  
• Kingdom - Achievement Improvised Carpentry will not be unlocked if a woodlodge is built
  
• Fixed host that can control guest unit in conquest mission Age of Vampires

[/expand]


[expand type=showmore]

• Hound - Last conquest bonus may cause a crash when used
  
• Hound - Fox soul summoned from a dead berserker is smaller than usual in the Brawler camp
  
• Some text issues

[/expand]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2946220/Northgard__Garm_Clan_of_the_Hounds/

If you're just discovering how to play the Clan of the Hounds and want some advice on how to get the most out of it, we've got you covered!

Larsman, a Northgard member and content creator, has made a quick guide on how to play the Hounds, a good way to catch up with people more familiar with that type of clan!


You can also find him on twitch on the following link → http://twitch.tv/larsmanlive

If you don't have the clan yet, you can buy it or wishlist it by using the link below!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2946220/Northgard__Garm_Clan_of_the_Hounds/

v3.5.5.38206

• Hounds - Fixed crash when collecting souls with a brawler when no warband slot are available to transform it in berzerker (Ctrl + right click to consume all carcass in a tile)
  
• Hounds - Brawler assigned to Longship Dock can’t be attacked or attack a unit
  
• Hounds - Fixed Military Path that could be opened by clicking on Military Path notification from other players
  
• Hounds - Fixed a crash when hovering a Brawler camp in fire on an uncolonized tile with a villager
  
• Hounds - Fixed Improvised Carpentry not unlockable in multiplayer games
  
• Hounds - Fixed first conquest bonus allowing to level up a berzerker to level 7 before reaching fame 500
  
• Hounds - Fixed a crash in conquest mission Dystopia when a unit in Brawler camp was selected to be transformed in Ghost Warrior
  
• Hounds - Conquest “Age of Vampires”, “Surrounded” and “How to Train your Wyvern” will not appear in solo conquest
  
• Raven - Fixed raid sent with only the Giant from the relic
  
• Fixed Sailors and merchant counting for the same production on a same tile
  
• Fixed animation for the Guardian of the Realms in conquest mission Titanomachy when upgraded
  
• Fixed a crash when Militia would try to reach a decolonized tile
  
• Fixed some crash when loading a save
  
• Fixed some text issues

• Brawler camp - Cancel fight button should not be clickable when only a soul is in the camp
  
• Raven - Giant life from relic doesn’t scale depending on the number of mercenary sent with the raid
  
• GOG and EGS version will be released soon
  
• Cross of Vidar - Mission 4 raids may be blocked during the travel
  
• Owl - Giving Erudition before 30 relation doesn’t give free Carved Stone when you reach 30 relation
  
• AI will not play on creative map in multiplayer
  
• Missing some localisations
  
• Some text issues

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2946220/Northgard__Garm_Clan_of_the_Hounds/

Hello Warchiefs,

It is now time for you to find your savage roots and claim the Clan of the Hounds…

The Sons of Ragnarök, as they have come to be known, are indeed as destructive as the event their past leader, Hvedrung, worked so hard to unleash. Freed from the gods' restrictions, they might indeed be the nightmare Northgard feared…


This new clan is a perfect alternative to the Clan of the Wolf; a huge emphasis has been placed on aggressiveness. While it doesn't have any warchiefs of its own, you'll be able to develop units to an unprecedented level!

↓ Find out more about the clan on the store page below ↓

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2946220/Northgard__Garm_Clan_of_the_Hounds/

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This is the end of the Claws & Jaws updates. What do you think about this format? Any feedback is welcome!
This is the first time we've done a two-part release. We are quite happy with this as it gives us more time to work on both updates and ensure the best possible quality at launch.

If you’d like to stay up to date on what’s next, we have created an X account dedicated to Northgard.
There you will find our patch notes and other Northgard related content!

Follow us on X

See you all soon for the next update…

-Shiro Games

v3.5.4.38172

• The clan of the hounds is now available in-game.
  
• The clan of the Hounds will join Ranked on a later date.

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↓All details about the clan on the dedicated page↓

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2946220/Northgard__Garm_Clan_of_the_Hounds/

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• Cross of Vidar - Mission 4 fixed Mercenary from raid disappearing
  
• Cross of Vidar - Mission 10 fixed assault staying on tile instead of attacking
  
• Owl - Guardian of the Realms can’t be placed on the volcano tile
  
• Owl - Fixed Iron Wood not mining Iron golem
  
• Owl - Fixed Hypnotic Spores not preventing foes to attack
  
• Dragon - Fixed Thrall not acquired with fame 200 in conquest mission where the clan start at the center of the map
  
• Dragon - Fixed Thrall not counted in production when assigned to Longship Dock
  
• Eagle - Wolf Den, Fox Burrow and Draugr Tombs can be closed on ally territory with fame 500 (Ruins and Shipwreck are not affected with this change)
  
• Ox - Fixed Tyr Chain Pauldron not granting defense
  
• Snake - Scorched earth can’t be used on portal for conquest mission Battle for Midgard
  
• Lynx - Fixed Lynx disappearing when loading a save in conquest mission How to Train your Wyvern
  
• Raven - Fixed Mercenary from raid to be teleported at the start of the fight in conquest mission Death Match
  
• Achievement - Improvised Carpentry cannot be achieved in multiplayer
  
• Added security on map generation to avoid unit to walk under water
  
• Fixed map generation for conquest mission Fox Hole
  
• Fixed Knowledge from Beyound not working when stealed
  
• Fixed starting timer displayed not decreasing except for the host
  
• Fixed some crash when loading a save
  
• Fixed price for the Forester Town Hall skin
  
• Fixed some crash due to special letter in nicknames
  
• Fixed woodcutter cutting wood in a vacuum
  
• Fixed some UI element
  
• Fixed some text issue

• Cross of Vidar - Mission 4 raids may be blocked during the travel
  
• Owl - Giving Erudition before 30 relation doesn’t give free Carved Stone when you reach 30 relation
  
• AI will not play on creative map in multiplayer
  
• Missing some localisations
  
• Some text issues
  
• Crash - Brawlers gathering too much souls in one move whil there are no available warband will result in a crash

Hello Vikings!

In today’s Sneak Peek, Art Director “Emak” lifts the curtain on how we design each clan with a unique identity in mind

Hello everyone, I'm Emak. I've been managing Northgard's art production for a few years now.
I started working in the video game industry 20 years ago, first as a 3D artist, then as an art director. I joined the Shiro Games team at the beginning, so I'm part of the "four old men" that created Evoland. I was in charge of the 3D part of the game.
I'm now the Art Director for Northgard, designing the characters, setting the mood for the clans and drawing most of the illustrations. I also do some animation and even some special effects.

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The main difference between the upcoming Clan of the Hounds and previous clans is that it doesn’t have a warchief or traditional combat units (warrior, axe-wielder, shield-bearer). Much of the work revolved around the five special units - the Brawler, an unarmed fighter and shaman who can evolve into one of the four warrior classes (the Berserker). We took a lot of time and care to design l these units in order to maintain a graphical consistency between them all.

I started designing the Brawler as a Shaolin monk, because to me it captured the essence of a spiritually adept martial fighter. For the martial aspect, it was obvious to make him shirtless with lots of scars. His wristband designs are based on pads that boxers use to spar.

For the 'spirituality' part, it's a mix of many religious items: he wears a strong rope as a belt, like a medieval occidental monk. This belt is decorated with rosary beads. His head is covered with a scarf, like the spiritual leaders of many different religions.
To make his design more viking-like (this is Northgard afterall!), I added Celtic patterns to the scarf and belt buckle.

It's a very simple design because it has to represent an early version of the shamanic warrior he's going to become, something neutral where we could add elements of equipment to turn him into a unique unit.

[expand type=showmore][/expand]

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Each berzerker is defined by the spirit of an animal that gives it its specificity. We have :

For each design, it was important that the connection with each individual animal was easily noticeable. I also wanted to avoid a "cliché" design with the bear's head as a helmet.
That's why each unit has some elements that refer to the animal it's associated with:

The Wolfskin’s design is more fluid. Long braided hair and long cuffs give him a more sophisticated look. He is the "DPS" type, but not the more robust one, so it was important to me to have these two aspects: the strong shirtless warrior, but with some more elaborate details that make him less primitive than the Boarskins.

The Boarskin hair is reminiscent of the animal's crest, the tusks he wears like a necklace and his tattered clothes give his look a perfect blend of savage and rough. Even in the animations, the fighting style is more "primitive".

The Foxskin's hair is reminiscent of a fox's tail and moves in the same way. Their design is more elegant than the other warriors, and the fact that they wear more clothing makes them look weaker than their peers.

As the defender of the group, the Bearskin should be as imposing as his animal. That's why he was designed with a very tufted cape and full leather armour to emphasise the defensive aspect. In my opinion , the shape of the character and his posture in the different animations have to work together. So the Bearskin's poses are more massive, more grounded.

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As I said earlier, animations are very important.
The Berserkers are the most important part of the clan. It's a "small pop" clan and all your attention will be focused on these units. So it made sense to spend more time giving them a great look, attitude and pose. Each of the five units have unique idle and winning animations that give them more personality: some are more proud, some more rogue, etc.


It's always a challenge to create a new visual identity for a clan. For the Owl, the fact that the warchiefs were three priestesses and the mysticism of the clan led us to the Slavic design. Inspired by the spirituality of Bulgarian voices and the beauty of traditional Balkan dress, we created floral and colourful outfits for these ladies.
For the Clan of the Hounds we had to create a huge contrast to the previous one. The outfits are a declination of browns, we have leather, metal, furs... everything should be tougher and harder and make you think that "Hound" is a fighting clan.

Throughout the production of Northgard, we strive to improve the quality of the graphics: sometimes textures are reworked, renders are improved... For this clan, the 3D models of the five new units are based on the latest Warchiefs models, allowing us to add more detail. I hope you'll enjoy playing them as much as we enjoyed making them!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2946220/Northgard__Garm_Clan_of_the_Hounds/?utm_source=news&utm_medium=news&utm_campaign=wishlist&utm_content=sneakpeek2_art_design

Thank you so much for reading our second and final sneak peek of the Clan of the Hounds!
We're really happy you enjoyed them!

If you want to see more of Emak creation, here is a link to his Artstation!

We read the first feedback and it seems like the content in that form of "Dev insight" has been mostly appreciated. We know some of you are still waiting for patch notes detailing the incoming changes outside of the clan, but don't worry, it'll be here on release!

See you on Thursday for the release of the Hounds!

-Shiro Games Community Team

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SOCIALS - DISCORD | REDDIT | X/TWITTER | FACEBOOK

Hello vikings!

In case you missed it, we revealed the latest clan that will join Northgard next week.
In order to give you an idea of the clan’s gameplay and concept, we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to let Maaz tell you about his work regarding the Hounds!

Hi, I’m Maaz! I’m Northgard’s game designer;
You might have seen me on the Discord server or during some of our livestreams on Twitch. I’ve been on the Northgard team for the past three years. I have mainly worked on the clans of the Rat, Eagle, Lion, as well as the various free updates and balancing patches!

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Various factors led to the direction we took for the clan.
The two previous clans were focused on base-building and economy, so we were looking for a clan that would go in the opposite direction. We had been throwing around the idea of a clan that would get military units out of its kills for some time. Additionally, a large part of those of you who participated in the yearly survey wanted a more aggressive clan, we knew that this new addition would focus on “clearing” the wild creatures on the map.

After some research to find a good concept, the focus of the clan would revolve around berserkers, military units that would get specialized warriors out of the skins of the animals they eliminated. With this in mind, we started to work on the clan!

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After the Claws & Jaws update, the addition of foxes and boars increased the amount of berserkers from 2 to 4. We often had clans with one or two unique units, but with so many different options, we knew we wanted each type of berserker to fill a specific role in your warband with unique abilities and stats. Relying on each unit's position and the timing of their abilities to maximize the clan's military capacities.

We knew this wouldn't work with the average number of units most of you have in your warbands. as it would have increased the amount of micromanagement required to make the most of these new units. So we needed the clan to be playable with only half the number of units, or even less. This meant reducing the pressure on the clan's economic management and making berserkers strong enough to face an army twice their size. That's why berserkers can collect different types of resources to support the clan's development.

• Wolf gives you food
  
• Fox gives you Krowns
  
• Bear gives you wood
  
• Boar gives you lore

Because of the berserkers' individual strength, the clan didn't need one strong unit at the head of its warband, so we decided they wouldn't have a warchief. Additionally they only have access to one non-upgradeable military camp.

Due to the lack of a warchief and military camps, the only viable military path for the clan was Guardian, which is all about defense and not what we wanted for the clan. This led us to drop the usual military path completely in a similar way to the Lynx and its hunters’ path. This opened up the possibility for another use of military XP for the clan and for each unit to level up individually. That decision naturally reinforced the idea of making them strong enough to face bigger armies and to give them unique abilities to unlock.

The final piece of the puzzle was to design the berserkers’ various abilities, creating different roles and interesting synergies between the new units. With the help of our beta team, we kept iterating from there…

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There was a lot of iteration on the clan’s knowledge, the berserker’s abilities, and the relic. One of the major difficulty we faced was making sure all units were equally interesting and useful, balancing their price, stats, abilities, and a lot of variables that easily tended to favor one unit over the others.

The best example of this is probably the brawler, the clan’s base unit as they are weaker than berserkers and quickly evolve into one. For a while brawlers were nothing more than a stepping stone toward getting a berserker. Thanks to the beta testers’ feedback, as well as what we said earlier about having less economic pressure on the clan, we decided to make them a more versatile unit. The brawlers are intended to both fight and support the clan's military power, as well as work in specialized buildings to help the clan's economy.

After all the iterating, testing, and balancing, we can’t wait to see you experience the clan yourselves. When that will be the case, tell us how it feels gameplay-wise!
Your feedback is important for us, not only it helps us better understand what you expect, but it will also help us prepare for the arrival of the Hounds in ranked mode!
Overall, we're happy with how the clan has developed and improved over the past months, and we hope you'll have a lot of fun playing it!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2946220/Northgard__Garm_Clan_of_the_Hounds/?utm_source=news&utm_medium=news&utm_campaign=wishlist&utm_content=sneakpeek1_core_design

Thanks for reading our first sneak peek of the Clan of the Hounds!
Did you like it? Have you learned something new that you never realized when playing the game?

This is the first time we’ve done this type of content, so please let us know what you think of it! Just like for the game itself, your feedback will impact future content.
Let us know what you’d like to see / read about in the future, but stay tuned for the next article about the clan’s art direction which will be posted Tuesday!

-Shiro Games Community Team

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SOCIALS - DISCORD | REDDIT | X/TWITTER | FACEBOOK

Ohoï Warchiefs!

Last month the Claws & Jaws update added new wildlife to the lands of Northgard, now it is time to introduce a predator for this prey.
We’re proud to reveal Garm, the Clan of the Hounds, releasing on May 30th!

Lost clansmen of the Clan of the Boar, the followers of Garm are few, but what they lack in numbers, they make up for in raw strength. Thanks to mystical rituals, their brawlers are able to transcend their state to become dangerous animalistic berserkers.

For the first time since Northgard’s release we will be lifting the curtain and giving you a behind the scenes look at how we design a clan. Game Designer 'Maaz' and Art Director 'Emak' will share insights on the clan’s game design and art direction in Steam articles. The former will be posted on Saturday and the latter on Tuesday.

↓Wishlist now on the page below↓

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2946220/Northgard__Garm_Clan_of_the_Hounds/?utm_source=steamnews&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=wishlist&utm_content=post1

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SOCIALS - DISCORD | REDDIT | X/TWITTER | FACEBOOK

v3.4.38.37793

• Sheep - Sheep spawn odds have been reduced (from 60% to 40%).
  
• Conquest Titanomachy - Added AOE attack to the Titan once lvl 5
  
• Map generation - 2 zones will always be left without foes around TownHalls

• Fixed map generation for conquest mission Far from the Eyes
  
• Fixed map generation for conquest mission Left Behind
  
• Fixed loading Titanomachy save granting an upgrade to AI Titan
  
• Fixed winter assault in conquest mission Lands of Oblivion
  
• Fixed Militia/Sentry not entering ally territory if other tile was crossed by the units
  
• Fixed a crash when loading a save with Vedrfolnir scouting but the owner was dead
  
• Rig’s saga - Mission 4 fixed first objective validated after building the Longship dock
  
• Cross of Vidar - Mission 3 fixed crash when overing lore info
  
• Snake - Fixed Scorched on enemy tile before 803
  
• Snake - Fixed Scorched earth for kröwn building
  
• Snake - Fixed Scorched earth amount displayed for kröwn reward
  
• Snake/Raven - Fixed kröwn reward on tile with port for Scorched earth and raid
  
• Raven - Fixed recruited mercenary vanishing after a raid leaves a tile
  
• Dragon - Fixed Thrall not increasing sailor production
  
• Horse - Fixed Great tower upgrade without the lore unlocked
  
• Owl - Fixed UI displayed when Iron wood mine on neutral tile

• Crash may occurs when searching a ranked lobby
  
• Visuals - Sometime unit and building can walk/be placed in the water
  
• Dragon - Thrall are not counted in the world info on Longship Dock
  
• Translation - Missing some localisations
  
• UI - Some text issues