Tune in this Halloween as The Harbinger dusts off his cursed VHS collection! Join him on the October Games YouTube channel to watch the HORROR LEGENDS: HARBINGER VHS TAPE, where our horror host relives some of his favorite terrifying gameplay moments from Horror Legends!

🚨 Global Challenge Update has arrived! 🚨

Inmates, listen up. The warden thought he could keep things predictable… but we've just smuggled in a whole new way to shake up your escape plans. The Challenge Update is here, and it's all about proving you've got what it takes when the pressure's on.

Challenge Modes & Leaderboards

New challenge modes are live! Each comes with its own leaderboard, so you can finally prove who's the top digger in the block.

Fresh Achievements

Think you've seen it all? New achievements tied to the challenges are waiting to be unlocked.

Stronger Upgrades

Every mode now includes a new tier of item upgrades. Sharper shovels, better tools, faster progress.

Prison Life, Spiced Up

The canteen and the yard aren't just for passing time. We've added new mini-games to keep you sharp between escape attempts.

Rare Contraband

Keep your eyes open: rare items are hidden around the prison. Deliver them to Big Jeremie or Mr. Suit if you want to earn their favor.

Fixes & Tweaks

And of course, we've patched up a few cracks in the walls.

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone has been enjoying the release of Ys vs. Trails in the Sky! Today we bring you the third and final part of the Remaster Features Overview series, which will focus mainly on various quality of life features that have been added to the release.

We were planning to release this entry simultaneously with the game's release, but decided to wait until all features were available on all platforms, which wasn't the case until recently, as we were finally able to deliver an important patch for Nintendo Switch which brings it up to par with all versions. Otherwise, we would've been talking quite a bit about features that were missing on the Nintendo Switch version. Also, this patch will be included on the game card with the physical version, from which you will be hearing details about very soon.

If you haven't read the first or second part of the series, I highly suggest you take a look at them:

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1794880/view/512969696635520786
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1794880/view/512971598739800145

With that out of the way, let's go over the new features:

---

With the story mainly being presented the way it is, you might want to catch up a bit in certain circumstances. For this, you can press the key or button that is assigned to "Up" by default (W on keyboard/D-Pad Up on controller) during story cutscenes, and you'll be greeted with a Message Log where you can go all the way back to the beginning of the story, while being able to play the voice line for each line. With all recent Falcom titles featuring a message log, this feature feels right at home.

https://x.com/refintg/article/1983157094535622681/media/1983144000665030656[/url][img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45355802/e969136c1d79428dfc4727f8fc451b3d443babff.png"][/img][/p][h2][b]BGM Info Display[/b][/h2][p]This is another returning fan-favorite feature: You can configure a BGM Info Display pop up that appears on the corner of the screen each time a song plays, or only when it plays for the first time. With the amount of tracks this game has, it's going to be valuable for those players that want to check out the tracks later on. It'll also help you make up your mind whenever you spot a new song that you want to buy on the shop for the Material Collection afterwards.[/p][p][url="https://x.com/refintg/article/1983157094535622681/media/1983143584623685633"] [/url][img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45355802/8a3acf155e71b98ee1befd0e8cf0a9d983750d57.png"][/img][/p][h2][b]Extra Training Mode options[/b][/h2][p]We've added just a little bit more to the training mode, so that players get just a little bit more insight on how some moves behave as well as a few more toggles for players to experiment more. Pressing a button combination (Skill Combo button + Camera Toggle, which is R button + Select by default) will also reset the characters and put everyone back on their starting positions. We certainly hope these prove useful to labbing enthusiasts![/p][p][url="https://x.com/refintg/article/1983157094535622681/media/1983144855007002624"] [/url][img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45355802/2416c3e4d1cdadf3f7ac807fab61663852f2fba7.jpg"][/img][/p][h2][b]Rich Presence[/b][/h2][p][img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45355802/8d3866d77e7400d170c859a83b927c095cbe340a.png"][/img][/p][p]We've implemented basic rich presence to display your status through the game on supported platforms, as well as Steam Timeline support to annotate your game recordings through this info. On Steam, your friends will be able to see what stage and character you're playing on. If you don't prefer this, you can simply go to the Option menu and disable the feature. We're planning to introduce Discord support on an upcoming update as well as more detailed info on the gameplay status.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2][b]Other additions[/b][/h2][p]We have some more miscellaneous additions before we conclude, some apply for all platforms and some are implemented with platform-specific features:[/p][list][*][p][b]UI Scale:[/b] The UI during gameplay was quite large on PSP due to its screen size. With screens being bigger nowadays, the game now defaults to a smaller UI during gameplay to make space. You can choose to make it even smaller via the "Small" option, or use the "Large" option which corresponds to the original scale. This is only used when there's one player on the system, as additional screen space is needed to display each player's skills.[/p][/*][*][p][b]Asset compression:[/b] This isn't really apparent to end users, now that the finished product is available, but most textures are now compressed using a better and faster compression algorithm, LZ4. We're not using any fancy packaging system as it wasn't deemed necessary for now, but it still shaves around 400MB that would've otherwise be added to the installation size. The console versions provide their own compression mechanisms, which optimize the install sizes using features unique to each platform.[/p][/*][*][p][b]Achievements:[/b] Well, this might be taken for granted, but it is worth remembering that the original game just had basic achievements tracked in-game. Every one of these now maps to a respective Steam achievement. Be on the lookout for the unique artwork included within them![/p][/*][/list][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2][b]Conclusion[/b][/h2][p]This is a wrap for the Remaster Features Overview series, and I hope that it adds just a bit more of value to what is an already awesome celebration of Falcom.[/p][p]I want to take a moment to thank everyone who helped make this remaster possible. From our internal team to our team of beta testers, from the passionate community members who provide ongoing feedback to the content creators who graciously provided their coverage. The support and enthusiasm have been invaluable every step of the way.[/p][p]With all the enhancements so far, we hope we're delivering the definitive version of this title. From the moment we got the project on our hands, up until now, and hopefully for a little bit more as we add just a bit more of polish through patches, it has been a lot of fun and an absolute honor to work on this project.[/p][p][/p][p]See you next time,[/p][p]Adrian Graber - Producer & Lead Developer @ refint/games[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p][b]Ys vs. Trails in the Sky: Alternative Saga is now available on Steam![/b][/p][p] [dynamiclink href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1794880/Ys_vs_Trails_in_the_Sky_Alternative_Saga/"][/dynamiclink][/p

This is another returning fan-favorite feature: You can configure a BGM Info Display pop up that appears on the corner of the screen each time a song plays, or only when it plays for the first time. With the amount of tracks this game has, it's going to be valuable for those players that want to check out the tracks later on. It'll also help you make up your mind whenever you spot a new song that you want to buy on the shop for the Material Collection afterwards.

https://x.com/refintg/article/1983157094535622681/media/1983143584623685633[/url][img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45355802/8a3acf155e71b98ee1befd0e8cf0a9d983750d57.png"][/img][/p][h2][b]Extra Training Mode options[/b][/h2][p]We've added just a little bit more to the training mode, so that players get just a little bit more insight on how some moves behave as well as a few more toggles for players to experiment more. Pressing a button combination (Skill Combo button + Camera Toggle, which is R button + Select by default) will also reset the characters and put everyone back on their starting positions. We certainly hope these prove useful to labbing enthusiasts![/p][p][url="https://x.com/refintg/article/1983157094535622681/media/1983144855007002624"] [/url][img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45355802/2416c3e4d1cdadf3f7ac807fab61663852f2fba7.jpg"][/img][/p][h2][b]Rich Presence[/b][/h2][p][img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45355802/8d3866d77e7400d170c859a83b927c095cbe340a.png"][/img][/p][p]We've implemented basic rich presence to display your status through the game on supported platforms, as well as Steam Timeline support to annotate your game recordings through this info. On Steam, your friends will be able to see what stage and character you're playing on. If you don't prefer this, you can simply go to the Option menu and disable the feature. We're planning to introduce Discord support on an upcoming update as well as more detailed info on the gameplay status.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2][b]Other additions[/b][/h2][p]We have some more miscellaneous additions before we conclude, some apply for all platforms and some are implemented with platform-specific features:[/p][list][*][p][b]UI Scale:[/b] The UI during gameplay was quite large on PSP due to its screen size. With screens being bigger nowadays, the game now defaults to a smaller UI during gameplay to make space. You can choose to make it even smaller via the "Small" option, or use the "Large" option which corresponds to the original scale. This is only used when there's one player on the system, as additional screen space is needed to display each player's skills.[/p][/*][*][p][b]Asset compression:[/b] This isn't really apparent to end users, now that the finished product is available, but most textures are now compressed using a better and faster compression algorithm, LZ4. We're not using any fancy packaging system as it wasn't deemed necessary for now, but it still shaves around 400MB that would've otherwise be added to the installation size. The console versions provide their own compression mechanisms, which optimize the install sizes using features unique to each platform.[/p][/*][*][p][b]Achievements:[/b] Well, this might be taken for granted, but it is worth remembering that the original game just had basic achievements tracked in-game. Every one of these now maps to a respective Steam achievement. Be on the lookout for the unique artwork included within them![/p][/*][/list][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2][b]Conclusion[/b][/h2][p]This is a wrap for the Remaster Features Overview series, and I hope that it adds just a bit more of value to what is an already awesome celebration of Falcom.[/p][p]I want to take a moment to thank everyone who helped make this remaster possible. From our internal team to our team of beta testers, from the passionate community members who provide ongoing feedback to the content creators who graciously provided their coverage. The support and enthusiasm have been invaluable every step of the way.[/p][p]With all the enhancements so far, we hope we're delivering the definitive version of this title. From the moment we got the project on our hands, up until now, and hopefully for a little bit more as we add just a bit more of polish through patches, it has been a lot of fun and an absolute honor to work on this project.[/p][p][/p][p]See you next time,[/p][p]Adrian Graber - Producer & Lead Developer @ refint/games[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p][b]Ys vs. Trails in the Sky: Alternative Saga is now available on Steam![/b][/p][p] [dynamiclink href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1794880/Ys_vs_Trails_in_the_Sky_Alternative_Saga/"][/dynamiclink][/p

We've added just a little bit more to the training mode, so that players get just a little bit more insight on how some moves behave as well as a few more toggles for players to experiment more. Pressing a button combination (Skill Combo button + Camera Toggle, which is R button + Select by default) will also reset the characters and put everyone back on their starting positions. We certainly hope these prove useful to labbing enthusiasts!

https://x.com/refintg/article/1983157094535622681/media/1983144855007002624[/url][img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45355802/2416c3e4d1cdadf3f7ac807fab61663852f2fba7.jpg"][/img][/p][h2][b]Rich Presence[/b][/h2][p][img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45355802/8d3866d77e7400d170c859a83b927c095cbe340a.png"][/img][/p][p]We've implemented basic rich presence to display your status through the game on supported platforms, as well as Steam Timeline support to annotate your game recordings through this info. On Steam, your friends will be able to see what stage and character you're playing on. If you don't prefer this, you can simply go to the Option menu and disable the feature. We're planning to introduce Discord support on an upcoming update as well as more detailed info on the gameplay status.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2][b]Other additions[/b][/h2][p]We have some more miscellaneous additions before we conclude, some apply for all platforms and some are implemented with platform-specific features:[/p][list][*][p][b]UI Scale:[/b] The UI during gameplay was quite large on PSP due to its screen size. With screens being bigger nowadays, the game now defaults to a smaller UI during gameplay to make space. You can choose to make it even smaller via the "Small" option, or use the "Large" option which corresponds to the original scale. This is only used when there's one player on the system, as additional screen space is needed to display each player's skills.[/p][/*][*][p][b]Asset compression:[/b] This isn't really apparent to end users, now that the finished product is available, but most textures are now compressed using a better and faster compression algorithm, LZ4. We're not using any fancy packaging system as it wasn't deemed necessary for now, but it still shaves around 400MB that would've otherwise be added to the installation size. The console versions provide their own compression mechanisms, which optimize the install sizes using features unique to each platform.[/p][/*][*][p][b]Achievements:[/b] Well, this might be taken for granted, but it is worth remembering that the original game just had basic achievements tracked in-game. Every one of these now maps to a respective Steam achievement. Be on the lookout for the unique artwork included within them![/p][/*][/list][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2][b]Conclusion[/b][/h2][p]This is a wrap for the Remaster Features Overview series, and I hope that it adds just a bit more of value to what is an already awesome celebration of Falcom.[/p][p]I want to take a moment to thank everyone who helped make this remaster possible. From our internal team to our team of beta testers, from the passionate community members who provide ongoing feedback to the content creators who graciously provided their coverage. The support and enthusiasm have been invaluable every step of the way.[/p][p]With all the enhancements so far, we hope we're delivering the definitive version of this title. From the moment we got the project on our hands, up until now, and hopefully for a little bit more as we add just a bit more of polish through patches, it has been a lot of fun and an absolute honor to work on this project.[/p][p][/p][p]See you next time,[/p][p]Adrian Graber - Producer & Lead Developer @ refint/games[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p][b]Ys vs. Trails in the Sky: Alternative Saga is now available on Steam![/b][/p][p] [dynamiclink href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1794880/Ys_vs_Trails_in_the_Sky_Alternative_Saga/"][/dynamiclink][/p

We've implemented basic rich presence to display your status through the game on supported platforms, as well as Steam Timeline support to annotate your game recordings through this info. On Steam, your friends will be able to see what stage and character you're playing on. If you don't prefer this, you can simply go to the Option menu and disable the feature. We're planning to introduce Discord support on an upcoming update as well as more detailed info on the gameplay status.

---

We have some more miscellaneous additions before we conclude, some apply for all platforms and some are implemented with platform-specific features:

• UI Scale: The UI during gameplay was quite large on PSP due to its screen size. With screens being bigger nowadays, the game now defaults to a smaller UI during gameplay to make space. You can choose to make it even smaller via the "Small" option, or use the "Large" option which corresponds to the original scale. This is only used when there's one player on the system, as additional screen space is needed to display each player's skills.

• Asset compression: This isn't really apparent to end users, now that the finished product is available, but most textures are now compressed using a better and faster compression algorithm, LZ4. We're not using any fancy packaging system as it wasn't deemed necessary for now, but it still shaves around 400MB that would've otherwise be added to the installation size. The console versions provide their own compression mechanisms, which optimize the install sizes using features unique to each platform.

• Achievements: Well, this might be taken for granted, but it is worth remembering that the original game just had basic achievements tracked in-game. Every one of these now maps to a respective Steam achievement. Be on the lookout for the unique artwork included within them!

---

This is a wrap for the Remaster Features Overview series, and I hope that it adds just a bit more of value to what is an already awesome celebration of Falcom.

I want to take a moment to thank everyone who helped make this remaster possible. From our internal team to our team of beta testers, from the passionate community members who provide ongoing feedback to the content creators who graciously provided their coverage. The support and enthusiasm have been invaluable every step of the way.

With all the enhancements so far, we hope we're delivering the definitive version of this title. From the moment we got the project on our hands, up until now, and hopefully for a little bit more as we add just a bit more of polish through patches, it has been a lot of fun and an absolute honor to work on this project.

See you next time,

Adrian Graber - Producer & Lead Developer @ refint/games

---

Ys vs. Trails in the Sky: Alternative Saga is now available on Steam!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1794880/Ys_vs_Trails_in_the_Sky_Alternative_Saga/

Dear Magicians, greetings!

The Dave the Diver Crossover DLC launches tomorrow — and it’s free for all players who own the base game!

As mentioned in Developer Log #11, we’ve spent a great deal of time on a DOTS code refactor to optimize performance and lay a stronger foundation for future content. We’re happy to share that part of this work is now complete, and it will go live together with the crossover update on October 29 at 11:00 AM.

Let’s take a look at what’s coming in this update!

While diving for fish, Dave was suddenly pulled into a powerful whirlpool—only to awaken in the middle of a mysterious forest.

After speaking with the protagonist of Magicraft, he learns that venturing deep into the Magical Forest might reveal a way home, setting off on a truly extraordinary journey.

What kind of sparks will fly when Magicraft meets Dave the Diver?

In this new adventure, players will take on the role of Dave, the new crossover character, and explore the depths of the magical world. Along the way, you’ll reunite with Dave’s old friend Bancho, obtain powerful new spells in the Sea People’s dwellings, and uncover the secrets behind this mysterious journey.

Meanwhile, three legendary bosses from the Dave the Diver are making their way into Magicraft: Giant Squid, Truck Hermit Crab, and John Watson!

Each has been reimagined with Magicraft’s signature roguelike bullet-hell flair while preserving the creative essence of Dave the Diver.

Get ready, Magicians — these battles are not to be missed!

With this update, Magicraft’s core architecture has been upgraded from MonoBehaviour to DOTS (Data-Oriented Technology Stack).

Compared to the traditional object-oriented model, DOTS is designed for high-performance, large-scale computations, making it ideal for games with complex systems and massive entities.

● Memory: By storing data in contiguous chunks by component type, DOTS significantly reduces memory fragmentation and cache misses.

● CPU: With the Job System, processes can now run in parallel, fully utilizing multi-core performance for smoother gameplay and improved simulation efficiency.

As a result, players can expect:

● A noticeable improvement in overall frame rate

● Denser summon effects that occupy less scene space

● Remastered spell visuals for enhanced performance and clarity

CPU Utilization Comparison in Complex Scenes: Mono Version (Left) vs. DOTS Version (Right)

Since DOTS is a relatively new programming architecture, its code logic differs greatly from the previous version, and the refactoring workload is massive (essentially a full rewrite of the game…).

To ensure version stability, we’ll be carrying out optimizations and updates step by step to maintain a smooth experience for all players.

In tomorrow’s update, the core framework of the game will be switched to the DOTS version. However, some older resources, such as High-pressure Stream and Giant Troll, have not yet been fully migrated and will be temporarily removed from the game. They’ll be reintroduced later through patches once testing and validation are complete.

To help Magicians compare the differences between the DOTS and MonoBehaviour versions, and to preserve memories for those who wish to revisit the old days, we've created a special testing branch that retains the MonoBehaviour-era version of Magicraft.

This branch will no longer receive future updates and is not compatible with new content.

Save files that include Dave or other new version content will not work on this branch, so please back up your saves in advance!

Branch code: MagicraftMonoEdition

Save file location: C:\\Users\\administrator\\AppData\\LocalLow\\bolang\\Magicraft

That’s all for today’s update preview!

More details will be revealed together with the new version on October 29.

See you tomorrow, Magicians!

What's that sound? It's the Pack Lunch Halloween Event!

So expect lots of sweets, pumpkins, and more sweets!

New features in Update 1.4:

• New Bonus Stage, raising the total levels to 120!;

• New Trick-or-Treat Basket design to fill with lots of tasty treats;

• New Chocolate Bars to join the chewy sweets and caramel apples;

• New Pumpkin Patch stage art;

• 2 new Eyeball block designs and 6 new Purple, Green and Black level backgrounds; each featuring a different Halloween icon (including one feline you might recognise from a future game release of mine); and,

• 2 new Achievements.

This is the fourth FREE Bonus Stage added to Pack Lunch since launch and it serves as the first overall Bonus Stage in the game. You can access this new Bonus Stage from the Bonus Stages menu once you have completed Stage 1.

Other changes in Update 1.4:

• Mysterious new button on the Home Menu; and,

• Updated store page assets.

Other Important News:

This update also marks one month until the release of my new game: The Kintsugi Cat; a pottery themed jigsaw puzzle game with jagged triangle based pieces. You can check it out here. Please don't forget to Wishlist it and follow me here for more details on future and upcoming releases.

Thank you for your support!

Tycoons!

We have just delivered Railway Empire 2’s Update 1.8 to Steam, Microsoft Store, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 4|5, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One consoles (supported through Smart Delivery). This update includes an option to easily switch factory productions and several display options as well as a handful of fixes.   
 

Please find the full Changelog below. 

 

 

Additions 

• Added a feature to easily switch a factory’s production.  

• Added a feature that makes it possible to reserve industry slots in cities.  

• Added an option to decide if directional arrows are displayed when selecting a rail line in the rail line menu.  

• Adjusted the display of train signals; they now point away from the track. 

• (PC only) The limit of buildable track segments was doubled to prevent old segments from disappearing when new segments are being built in very large save games. 

 

 

Bug-Fixes 

• Fixed an issue where goods got stuck in manual warehouses when the source industry was deleted. 

• Fixed an error in chapter 2 that rendered the purchase of a concession impossible in some cases, even when a task demanded it. 

• Fixed a display issue where the American flag has been displayed in the Southern Ontario region. 

• Fixed an icon display error on a Refrigerator Car displaying beer in 1910. 

• Fixed a display issue in multiplayer where goods on a train were not displayed properly. 

• Fixed a rare issue where some scenario and campaign saves could not be loaded with a „Missing Content“ error being displayed. 

• Fixed an issue where the display of the “Missing Content” indicator for unowned DLC content did not include the DLC name. 

• Fixed a rare issue which sometimes made it impossible to deselect and remove goods completely from the warehouse. 

• (PC only) Removed check mark without functionality in engine shed when recolouring engines. 

• (PC only) Fixed an issue that led to ”F2” opening an empty task list in sandbox games. 

• (Controller only) Fixed an issue where a textbox in the warehouse was blocking the UI in large UI mode. 

 

 

DLC-specific Changes 

• (Bella Italia) Fixed a rare issue that led to a display of too many overhead lines on tracks. 

• (Industrial Wonders) Fixed an error where the Hoover Dam was getting registered as a city for tasks in Custom Game. 

• (India) Fixed a minor visual glitch. 

1. Fixed an issue where the pendant [Power of Orange] displayed an incorrect count.
   
   
2. Fixed an incorrect Chinese localization text for [Grandpa Mushroom].
   
   
3. Fixed a bug in Foresee Mode where the disaster year [Complete Exhaustion] could cause an automatic draw leading directly to an explosion.
   
   
4. To prevent issues such as unusable cards or incorrect card layer ordering, shortcut keys for selling or discarding have been disabled while dragging cards.
   
   
5. Fixed an issue where having the pendant [Thorn Staff] caused [Orange Rain], [Iron Rod], [Golden Needle], or [Ritual of Rebirth] to miscalculate HP loss and result in unintended death.
   
   
6. Fixed an issue in the Blood Magic disaster year where certain cards could still be played even if they would result in death.
   
   
7. Fixed a problem where some text boxes in the Year-End Bonus income summary would overflow.

• Adjusted bridge colliders in "Alter Ego".

• Improved VFX for laser and fisherman’s mops.

• Fixed an issue where French text appeared in the German localization.

• Updated Czech localization and font (no more randomly bolded letters).

• Restored proper values to certain stealable items in "Alter Ego".

Hello everyone!

This patch celebrates the spooky season with a new miniboss, enemies, items and a limited time only skin. The halloween event will be live for around 2 weeks!

This patch also contains some other major changes we've wanted to do for a while.

Unique keyword

We've decided to make all rare/heroic items (blue/purple rarity dot) into unique by default, meaning if you already own a copy of an item, you can not find a duplicate of that item. We've overtime had to make more and more rare/heroics into unique for balance, this change makes it easier to keep track of which items you can get duplicates of and which you can't. With all items above common being unique, no exceptions, we've also removed the tag visually. We've taken the chance to buff many of the underperforming rare/heroics that were previously not unqiue and we've reworded the few common items that were unique so that they can be upgraded into gold/diamond by the golem. However we're not doing this solely for balance, we think this will improve build diversity and make players consider to use items they've not used before. Previously, if you had an armor build with 40 base armor and the "Chainmail Armor" item that regains all your base armor as your best item, the next best in slot item you'd look for is of course another "Chainmail Armor", no other item can compete with that. This meant that the next best item for most builds would always be another copy of their current best item.

Of course it's fun to win, and the point of the game is to find synergies that make you feel powerful and stomp the competition, we don't want to get away from that or water down the experience, but we think the play pattern of looking for what other items can fit your build instead of rerolling merchants and hoping for good RNG for a duplicate will be more enjoyable in the long run.

"Trigger twice"

Items that said "Bomb items trigger trice" or "Ring items trigger twice" etc was not able to multiply together how players expected them to. We've changed that so that all such items say "Your bomb items trigger 1 additional time" etc to make them more easily understandable and now they all add their additional triggers independently, making them stack together.

Hall of Fame

When a champion collects 10 wins they will be retired and enter the "Hall of Fame".

Getting a champion into the hall of fame will grant you an additional reward, they will be saved under their own tab in your list of champions and they will also be show to other players in a global hall of fame list. The reason we're doing this, other than giving kingmaker players a goal to aim towards, is for balance purposes.

There was previously no cap to how many wins a build could get which meant that some builds that got the perfect setup and got 50+ or even 100+ wins, greatly accelerating the speed of which meta on new patches got stale. The 100 people that lost against a supercharged version of build X would feel that the meta was full of build X even though it was in some cases just a few instances of that build that got a huge amounts of wins and overstayed their welcome in the pool. This change will self-regulate to take overperformers out of the pool and speed up the rotation of builds going in and out, which we hope increases diversity of opponents you'll face.

Without the cap players were also more incentivized to go for the same highroll build again and again, since uploading even one of those champions would yield many more crowns that trying to be flexible and get up more but weaker champions. That is fine if that's how some players find their fun, but it's not a playstyle we want to reward mechanically.


Patch #08 Changelog

• Added halloween event

• All rare/heroic items are now unique by default

• Added the Hall of Fame

• Moved the eggs to their own event (disabled in Kingmaker until next patch)

• Changed Junksmith from copying an item to allow 2 edges on a weapon

• Removed Beekeeper event from kingmaker

• Choosing to fight a champion gives no crowns by default, you only earn crowns for wins your champion gathers

• Added new biomes for rare events in kingmaker

• Fixed swampland starting on last chosen difficulty instead of normal

Items changes:

• Featherweight Greaves - Changed effect: Whenever you lose speed, restore that much health

• Briar Greaves - Changed effect -> Whenever you lose armor, gain 1 thorn

• Iron Shrapnel - Buffed -> Battle start: Deal 4 damage to the enemy, if they don't have armor, tripple the damage dealt

• Vampire's Tooth - Changed effect -> If you have exactly 1 sanguine item, it triggers 1 additional time

• Fungal Cloak - Heroic -> Rare

• Mushroom Soup - Changed effect - > Turn Start: Gain 1 poison and restore 2 health

• Melon Bomb - Changed effect -> Battle Start: Deal 1 damage to the enemy 2 times. Whenever you deal 1 damage, decrease a random status effect by 1

• Liferoot Hammer - Changed effect -> Turn Start: If you have regeneration, gain 1 additional strike

• Marbled Stonefish - Changed effect -> Exposed: Give the enemy 2 riptide and gain 3 armor for each riptide the enemy has

• Honey Mead - Buffed -> Wounded: Restore health to full

• Mineral Water - Changed effect -> Battle Start: Decrease all your status effects by 1 and gain 3 armor for each removed status effect

• Boiled Ham - Changed effect -> Battle Start, Exposed & Wounded: Decrease a random status effect by 2

• Frostbite Greaves - Changed effect -> Battle Start: Give the enemy freeze equal to your speed

• Frostbite Greaves - Rare -> Heroic

• Frostbite Claw - Buffed -> If the enemy has freeze, temporarily gain 3 attack

• Iceblock Shield - Common -> Rare

• Swiftstrike Cloak - Buffed -> Battle Start: Gain 1 additional strike

• Chainmail Armor - Buffed -> Removed -1 base attack

• Royal Helmet - Buffed -> Exposed: If you have more than 20 gold, gain 20 armor

• Royal Helmet - Nerfed -> Removed 1 base armor

• Frostbite Armor - Buffed -> The enemy's first strike deals double damage, afterwards give the enemy 5 freeze

• Frostbite Armor - Nerfed -> Removed 2 base armor

• Bramble Vest - Changed effect -> The first time each turn you gain thorns, restore that much health

• Cracked Bouldershield - Buffed -> Exposed: Gain 10 armor

• Explosive Surprise - Buffed -> Exposed: Deal 8 damage

• Firecracker Belt - Buffed -> Exposed: Deal 1 damage 5 times

• Double Explosion - Changed effect -> The first time the enemy takes damage from a bomb, double it

• Basilisk Scale - Buffed -> Battle Start: Gain 6 armor and 6 poison

• Royal Horn - Changed effect -> Battle Start: Gain 1 gold. Symphony

• Royal Horn - Common -> Rare

• Serpent Lyre - Nerfed -> Exposed: Give the enemy 2 poison. Symphony

• Serpent lyre - Removed unique

• Arcane bell - Removed unique

• Explosive Arrow - Nerfed - > Turn Start: If the enemy doesn't have any armor, deal 2 damage

• Explosive Arrow - Heroic -> Rare

• Marshlight Lantern - Buffed -> Exposed: Lose 5 health and gain 15 armor

• Purelake Armor - Buffed -> Exposed: Remove 1 purity to gain 8 armor

• Forge Gauntlet - Buffed - > 2 base attack

• Forge Gauntlet - Nerfed -> Battle Start: Give the enemy 6 armor

• Arcane Shield - Nerfed -> Whenever a countdown effect triggers, gain 2 armor

• Purelake Tome - Buffed -> Countdown 2: If you have purity, remove 1 purity. Otherwise, gain 1 purity. Reset countdown

• Silverscale Greaves - Buffed -> Battle Start: If you have more speed than the enemy, give them 3 riptide

• Silverscale Greaves - Nerfed -> Removed 1 base speed

• Friendship Bracelet - Buffed -> Battle Start: The enemy loses 2 attack

• Friendship Bracelet - Nerfed -> -2 base attack

• Featherweight Armor - Changed effect -> Turn Start: If you have more speed than the enemy, spend 1 speed to temporarily gain 3 attack until the end of the turn

• Acid Mutation - Nerfed -> While you have acid, temporarily gain attack equal to acid

• Echo Rune - Rewording: Wounded: Trigger a random battle start item

• Blacksmith Bond - Rewording: You can activate Exposed 1 additional time per battle

• Kindling Bomb - Rewording: Battle Start: Deal 1 damage to the enemy and increase the damage of your next bomb that triggers by 3

• Twinfuse Knot - Rewording: Your bomb items trigger 1 additional time

• Chainlink Medallion - Rewording: Your On Hit effects trigger 1 additional time

• Hero's Crossguard - Rewording: First Turn: Your On Hit effects trigger 1 additional time

• Stillwater Pearl - Rewording: Riptide can activate 1 additional time per turn

• Iron Rune - Rewording: If you have exactly 1 item with exposed, it triggers 1 additional time

• Arcane Lens - Rewording: If you have exactly 1 tome equipped, it triggers 1 additional time

• Powder Keg - Rewording: If you have exactly 1 bomb item, it triggers 1 additional time

• Grand Tome - Rewording: Countdown 10: Trigger all your other tomes

• Highborn - Rewording: Your Ring items trigger 1 additional time

• Twin Blade - Rewording: Turn Start: Gain 1 additional strike

• Citrine Ring - Rewording: Battle Start: Spend 5 speed to gain 1 additional strike at turn start for the rest of the battle

• Swiftstrike Stag - Rewording: Turn Start: Swiftstrike Stag gains 2 additional strikes

• Bloodlord's Axe - Rewording: Battle Start: Steal 5 health from the enemy

• Lightspeed Potion - Rewording: Battle Start: Restore 1 health for each speed you have

• Lightspeed Potion - Removed unique

• Lightspeed Elixir - Rewording: Battle Start: Gain 1 max health for each speed that you have then restore that much health

• Lightspeed Elixir - Removed unique

• Lifeblood Helmet - Rewording: First Turn: Restore 1 health for each damage dealt by your strikes

• Lifeblood Helmet - Removed unique

• Silver Anchor - Name change: Silverscale Anchor

• Frostbite Claw - Name change -> Frostbite Shard

• Lifeblood Burst - Name change - > Lifeblood Bomb

• Hydra's Eyeball - New item

• Leshen's Shovel - New item

• Bomb Bag - Removed item

• Ironstone Bracelet - Removed item

• Plated Greaves - Removed item

• Druids Cloak - Removed item

• Flameburst tome - Added bomb tag

Hey everyone!


As we discussed in our previous update, Patch 5 sees two big changes to our ranking system: League Demotions and the Dynamic Ranking system. These are aimed at making sure that your Rank actually matters and represents your real skill level. If you're curious about the latest Patch Notes, you can read them here!

LEAGUE DEMOTIONS

• After reaching 0 RP at the bottom of a league (Division 3), players will enter a “Risk of Demotion” state and lose their first “Shield”
  
  
• Players will have two total “Shields” protecting them from a demotion
  
  
• After each loss at 0 RP, the player will lose a Shield
  
  
• After losing all “Shields”, players will enter “Last Chance” and their next loss will result in a demotion to the lower league
  
  
• A win while in “Risk of Demotion” state will take the player out that state, give them the win’s RP, and restore 1 shield

We want to add more stakes to the Ranked system, but also want to take some of the tension off the demotion experience. Having multiple chances to stay in the current league should allow players to avoid suffering too much from the natural variance of game results.


DYNAMIC RANKING

• On top of their normal RP gains and losses at the end of a game, a player’s RP will be slightly adjusted according to their MMR and the expected MMR of their current Rank
  
  
• This adjustment does NOT depend on the MMR or Rank of the other players in the game
  
  
• The MMR system we use allows to estimate your skill level and create balanced matches, and our data shows that it is efficient at doing so in sufficiently populated regions
  
  
• Dynamic Ranking will adjust your Rank at the end of games, to place you over time in a league and division that more closely represents your actual skill level
  
  
• These adjustments will be small to begin with, 3 points maximum per game. We will be closely observing the impact of this system to determine if these adjustments should be bigger in the future.
  
  
• For example: if I am in the Platinum Division, but my hidden MMR value is closer to the average of Elite players’ MMR, I will gain more RP after wins and lose less after losses.
  
  
• The Dynamic Ranking system is a part of our ranking system that we wanted to have at launch but had to push back to focus on the more pressing issues of stability and performance. It is very similar in logic to the systems in other games like League of Legends for example.
  
  
• Its absence meant that some players could exploit the ranking system to get to higher Ranks than they should be, but also meant that some players had a very hard time reaching their real rank. We expect it to have a significant impact on player distribution across rank and should, over time, ensure that Ranks are a much better representation of player skill.

RANKING AND MATCHMAKING NEXT STEPS
This update should deeply change the Ranking experience for all players, and we will give it a bit of time to settle. We do already have next steps in mind to make it feel more fair and rewarding, and are looking at the subject of “Solo queue vs Premade” issues specifically.

Allowing Premades in ranked, whatever the difference in skill between players, is better for the player and social experience in general, by reducing friction to play with your friends, but it does have a big impact on the disparity of skill levels you will see in games.For the moment, our data surprisingly doesn’t show a huge impact on win rate when playing as a premade rather than a solo player, and we are working on improving our data tracking tools to have better insight into the subject and make the right decisions going forward.

Once again, thank you all for playing Rematch, and see you next time!