Hey all. Hope you’re staying healthy, staying safe.
Let’s get to it.
Beta Test Information
First, all of what’s written here will be available in a Beta format via a separate Twitch channel. Follow http://twitch.tv/dxraider for go-live notifications. A post will also be made to the discord when a Beta test goes live.
Please keep in mind that no progress made during Beta playtests can be transferred to your main account. I know this makes the Beta significantly less compelling to play, but any time you do spend playing will help us identify critical issues to address before release.
Return of the infinite dog
In v96, the game will be transitioning to an ‘infinite mode’, where the game does not end until the Dog leaves. If you’ve been around for a while, you might be familiar with some of this already.
There was something special about being able to come to the game after a few hours or days (and even weeks at one point!) and see how the game has progressed. We’re going to revisit that idea. This update makes DKTD feel more like a lobby you can hang out in, grind out some skills/equipment, progress the current run, and check back later to see what has happened.
But what is life without conflict? In v96…
- Fugitives will be able to augment their skills with Onyx Equipment.
- Endlessly spawning enemies grow stronger with every Kick and Riot.
- New debuffs will torment the Dog, including Anger, Vulnerable, and… Fire.
Infinite Enemies
- Every five minutes of game time, Enemies will spawn.
- The types of enemies that spawn will change throughout the day according to a hidden schedule that changes every day. (For example: You might encounter Corruptors for a few hours, and then none for the next few.)
Enemy Power
Any Kick or Riot damage dealt will grant XP to Enemy Power. Beware – When Enemy Power increases, the Dog’s Friendship and Spirit are damaged.
Your salvation from overwhelmingly powerful enemies will be leveling up the Dog. Each Dog Level will reset Enemy Power to 1.
An important note is that Enemy Power is significantly different in v96. It will no longer reduce the damage you deal. Instead, it will exclusively make enemies stronger both in Health and Damage.
Damage Calculation
- Skill Damage is now a random roll between 1 and your Skill Power. The same goes for Enemy Power.
- Experience gain still caps out at 10 experience per action.
The Dog Is leaving in sixty seconds…
- Heart Points have been removed. When the Dog is kicked, such that it penetrates Armor, the Dog will become Angry.
- If the Dog becomes Angry, a 60-second timer will begin. If the timer reaches zero and all Anger stacks have not been cleared, the Dog will leave, ending the run.
- Anger can be removed either via PET or it can be removed by Spirit Attacks (see further below).
Loot
When the Dog levels up, a Reward Vote begins. Each vote will have a selection of options that can now include specific items rather than chests. This works the same as the Post Game Rewards vote in v95.
Currency Drop Changes
It should be noted that Reward Votes primarily drop Equipment and will only rarely drop Gems. Gold is no longer a drop from Reward Votes.
- The primary sources of Gems will now be Enemies, and DIG.
- When an Enemy is defeated, there is a chance for Gold or Gems to drop.
- Similarly, there is a chance for DIG to unearth precious Gems. Gems will drop more frequently at higher Enemy Power levels.
Gem Drops Rotate Daily
- The types of Gems that can drop from Enemies and DIG will rotate each day.
- There will be at least 3 types of Gems that can drop every day, and for one day of the week all Gem types will drop.
The gem drops for the current day will be displayed on screen, and an official list will be shared on the website by the time v96 is released.
Why change to a daily rotation of Gems? It can be frustrating to not get the Gem drops you want. A daily rotation gives some agency to plan when you want to focus on farming the Gems you want. It’s important to note that there will always be ways of obtaining the other types of Gems, such as through Reward Vote chests, or Daily Quests.
Speaking of…
Daily Quests
These are getting a tweak to accommodate the new game mode. Specifically, the game completion quests will be removed, and Gems will be added as rewards in addition to Gold.
Fugitive Items & Onyx
Players will be able to collect Hastening, Mega, and Rapid items for the Kick and Riot Skills. Onyx Chests will be rarely available during Reward Votes, though Vote A (the default option) cannot roll an Onyx item.
Other PvP Updates
Stunned on Imprisoned
When a Player is imprisoned, they are stunned for a short period of time. The effect of Stun prevents movement, and prevents firing projectiles. Stun will not cancel any active commands.
Reduced Damage to Players
Players will take 10% of normal damage to their Fugitive Health (rounded down), minimum of 1 Damage.
Other Skill Updates
Armor & Jail Level
Smith and Cop can now level up Armor and Jail Health respectively. Their level determines their maximum stack size. There is no level cap.
Spirit Attack
In v96, Spirit will play a little to the strengths of PET and COP, but also have the ability to remove dog debuffs.
Spirit will now decay slowly, based on Enemy Power. By default, Spirit provides bonus Dog XP. Spirit will additionally fire a projectile at any debuffs on the Dog to cleanse them (This includes Anger). Finally, if any enemies are active, Spirit will attack them with projectiles.
Digging
- Charms are now automatically claimed when spawning from DIG.
- DIG-type Charms no longer spawn naturally.
- Bones now drop from DIG. Claiming a stack of Bones will add points to the Dog that increases with Friendship.
- As mentioned earlier, Gems can now spawn from DIG according to the day of the week.
See You Soon
A Beta playtest should be coming online soon(tm) for v96. I’m excited to show what we do have and look forward to your thoughts and feedback.
Talk to you soon!
Raider