Playtest notes 4 Dec 2025
Internal playtest131 entries39 balance changes27 interface changes27 bug fixes16 content additions14 art updates4 wording fixes3 performance fixes1 audio update
This is a pre-release internal note from the closed playtest, quoted as it was written for testers. It describes a build that no longer exists; treat it as history, not as a description of the current game.
This week's patch is a 2-for-1 special! Since we skipped last week's patch, this one includes two weeks worth of new content and reworks, including the brand new Ancient dialogue system!
Items in this note
36 cards
Relics, potions and powers
Orichalcum
Bread
Burning Sticks
Diamond Diadem
Foul Potion
Mango
Petrified Toad
Prismatic Gem
Screaming Flagon
Spiked Gauntlets
Toasty Mittens
War Hammer
Strength
Weak
Ritual
Vulnerable
Focus
Intangible
Ringing
SlumberEnemies and events
Osty
Bygone Effigy
Ceremonial Beast
Hunter Killer
Kin Priest
Knowledge Demon
Slimed Berserker
Sludge Spinner
Soul FyshContent
General
- Deprecated Prismatic run modifier
Silent
- Reworked Murder card
Potions & Relics
- Reworked the following relics:
Enemies
- Reworked and nerfed Ceremonial Beast
Ancients
- Ancients will now talk to the player!
- Reworked and renamed Nonupeipe's Carnivorous Terrarium relic -> Diamond Diadem
- Added new Ironclad Grapple Neow bundle
- Added new Pael relic, Pael's Lamp
- Added new Neow blessing, Starter Pack
- Added new Orobas relic, Prismatic Gem
- Added new Tanx relic, Spiked Gauntlets
- Renamed Hungering Portrait -> Toasty Mittens and added to Tezcatara's relics
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Events
- Colorful Philosophers event no longer offers Prismatic Shard relic
- Reworked Crystal Sphere event
Balance
General
- Nerfed all three Adversaries: no longer give statuses
- Changed amount of Act 3 Rest Sites to 5-6 with even chance
- Increased amount of Act 1 Rest Sites to 6-7, leaning towards 7
- Increased amount of Act 2 Rest Sites to 6-7, leaning towards 6
Ironclad
- Changed Fight Me! card:
- Damage changed from 16(18) -> 5(6)x2
- Self Strength gain increased from 1(2) -> 2(3)
Silent
- Changed Infinite Blades card: upgrade changed from gains Innate -> Shiv+
Defect
- Changed Bulk Up card: type changed from Skill -> Power
- Changed Signal Boost card:
- Energy cost increased from 1 -> 2(1)
- No longer loses Exhaust on upgrade
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Necrobinder
- Nerfed Haunt card: enemy HP loss decreased from 9(11) -> 6(8)
Colorless Cards
- Changed Splash card: now only generates Attack cards
Potions & Relics
- Nerfed Fake Mango relic: Max HP gain nerfed from 5 -> 3
- Nerfed Forever Ice relic:
- Block decreased from 8 -> 7
- Rarity decreased from Uncommon -> Common
- Changed Orichalcum relic: rarity increased from Common -> Uncommon
- Changed Petrified Toad relic: rarity decreased from Rare -> Uncommon
- Changed Starter Flare relic: damage increased from 9 -> 10
Enemies
- Nerfed A6 Bygone Effigy: damage increase decreased from +3 -> +2
- Changed Egg Bowlbug: no longer spawns in the Slumber Party fight
- Nerfed Knowledge Demon: Disintegration now triggers after effects like Frost Orbs and Orichalcum
- Nerfed Slimed Berserker: nerfed moveset
- Changed Sludge Spinner:
Ancients
- Carnivorous Terrarium effect moved to Tanx - War Hammer
- Changed Ironclad's Pillage Neow bundle: Tremble -> Iron Wave
- Changed Ironclad's Vulnerable Neow bundle: Molten Fist -> Tremble
- Changed Ironclad's Rupture bundle: Rupture -> Inferno
- Neow's Safety and Toughness blessings will no longer appear at the same time
Events
- Changed Fake Merchant event:
- No longer always shows all of his relics
- No longer spawns unless the player has either 100 Gold or a Foul potion
- Changed Punch Off event: can no longer be seen before floor 6
- Changed Round Tea Party event: Pick a Fight option changed from max HP -> Lose 10 HP
- Buffed Unrest Site event: Kill the Trees option's HP cost decreased from 11 -> 8
Art
- Added art for the following events:
- Sunken Treasury
- War Historian Repy
- Waterlogged Scriptorium
- Added the following VFX:
- Dagger Spray
- Fire Burn
- Fire Burst
- Sleeping
- Gaseous Impact
- Added static icons for several bosses
- Added portrait art for the following cards:
User interface & experience
General
- Unlocking Defect now requires playing a run with the Necrobinder now (was reversed)
- Added controller support for new Ancient dialogue system
- Added controller support for Crystal Sphere minigame
- Created new Epoch slot highlight VFX to Timeline make it more clear which Epoch you need to reveal
- Made some glitter for the Timeline, disabled for now
- Toned down Epoch slot VFX when it can be revealed
- Placeholder boss map icons now utilize outlines
- Animated boss map icons update scale on hover rather than outlines
- Add hovertip unlock requirements for characters in character select screen
- After completing a run, players are now forced to reveal all Epochs before returning to Main Menu
- Crystal Sphere card icon now matches the color of the character
- Players are now disallowed from leaving the Timeline until all revealable Epochs are revealed
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General (continued)
- Drawing tools now have a BG panel so that it's easier to see in certain situations
- Fixed a couple of small issues with the character unlock animation
- Imported new dialogue-related assets
- Improved error messaging when Steam initialization fails
- Moved removed/upgrade/transformed card entries into the Rewards section of the room history hovertip
- Players can now inspect locked characters in the character select screen
- The selection screens for enchanting/transforming a card in your deck now show a "Choose a Card to Enchant/Transform" prompt to remind you of what you're doing
- Locked cards are now sorted to the end of the grid in the card library
- X star cost cards now show up when the X-cost filter is toggle on in the card library
- Localized Game Over screen button labels
- When unlocking content, the button in the Epoch inspect screen now says Unlock instead of Confirm
Ironclad
- Dominate card now glows gold if an enemy has Vulnerable
Silent
- The Hunt card now applies a power when it successfully triggers
Necrobinder
Multiplayer
- Made a small UX pass on the join friends screen
Audio
- Added gain Energy, card enchantment, and relic activation SFX
Writing
- Updated Bread relic's wording for clarity
- Changed wording of Epoch Revealed -> Discovered
- While common sense dictates that you can't high-five a dead Osty, we've nevertheless updated High Five card's wording to specify that it can only be played if Osty is alive
- When all Kin followers are killed, Kin Priest will immediately yell something
Bug fixes
General
- Confirm card bundle screen no longer blocked by the inspect card hotkey on controller
- Fixed Back button appearing prematurely
- Fixed some issues with events and instant mode
- Fixed Card Compendium search bar turning off all card pool filters
- Reduced hitch when entering character select screen
- Rest Site proceed button now animates in
- Trim floating "," from relic and card rarity counts in Run History
Ironclad
- Bombardment and Howl From Beyond cards are no longer immediately autoplayed after being exhausted by Drum of Battle card
- Fixed Pyre card missing energy hovertip
Silent
- Hovering over Hidden Daggers+ card now properly shows a preview of Shiv+
Defect
- Hovering over Compactor+ card now properly shows a preview of Fuel+
- Synchronize card now only applies Focus for this turn
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Necrobinder
- Fixed an issue where, if the player had damage-modifying powers like Strength or Weak, they modified the Osty damage values displayed in Squeeze card's description even though the damage that was actually dealt was correct
- Dredge card now properly limits the number of cards you can select if your hand is close to full
Colorless Cards
- Fixed Rolling Boulder softlock when it would kill the Doormaker
- Fixed Doubt card missing Weak hovertip
Potions & Relics
- Fixed Chain Link relic missing Block hovertip
- You can no longer see the same relic twice if it changes rarity between patches
Enemies
- Fixed Hunter Killer spray VFX never stopping if its animation gets interrupted
- Fixed Soul Fysh death animation while it's Intangible
- Fixed Kin Leader's flame still being visible in the game over screen
- Kin now only does Ritual gain move once instead of continuing to gain Ritual
Ancients
- Fixed Soot card preview overlapping with Dust Bunny text tips in Run History screen
Events
- Fixed issue with some event portraits not loading
- Jungle Maze Adventure event now deals 1 big instance of damage rather than 3 separate smaller instances of damage
Multiplayer
- Fixed not being able to leave if you readied as the only player in a lobby
- Fixed Ringing blocking other players cards in multiplayer
Performance
- Card compendium loads much faster
- SFX should play faster
- Made a small optimization to startup time
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