Hey everyone, Endless Legend Inferno is coming to Steam this Thursday, August 2nd! We're very proud to be collaborating with NGD Studios to bring a new life to a game that is so loved by our community. In case you've missed the big announcements, check out our previous blog posts, or better yet, read on as we will be showcasing some of the new stuff bit by bit.

DUST ECLIPSE OVERVIEW

The arrival of the Kapaku is marked by a strange new phenomenon in Auriga’s atmosphere. How are these two events connected, and what exactly are these “Dust Eclipses” that sweep the land?

Overall Rationale

Dust Eclipses are short periods of intense Dust activity over Auriga, but they are not as simple as just a new season. Instead of imposing restrictions on the players, we want to create new opportunities. New objectives are added to the map, rewarding players for being proactive, and new abilities are introduced to the existing factions, reinforcing lore and opening new strategies.

Dust Eclipses are not a new season, rather they are “breaks” during regular summers where new forces come into play. Effects that check for summer will still work during Eclipses, and likewise effects that only work during winter will remain disabled.

Dust Storms

Sub-Rationale

We have seen lots of talk among the community about adding Weather Effects on Land. However, there are so many layers of information already that adding a complex weather system like Tempest did would make the game too overwhelming. However, we want to try and meet these expectations halfway by introducing a temporary element to make “unmodified” terrain more interesting during the Eclipses.

Feature Overview

Dust Storms are mechanically similar to maritime Fog, swirling clouds of loose topsoil that hang in mid-air due to Dust saturation. They spawn with the onset of the Eclipse, and can cover any terrain that has no intrinsic map properties – That is to say, terrain that has no special Decals on the 2D Map.

Like Fog, Dust Storms block vision and grant Stealth to units standing in them. While in battle, units standing in a Dust Storm have increased Defense against ranged attacks, but also suffer an Attack reduction for melee attacks. With careful maneuvering, both sides of this effect can be used to the player’s advantage!

Map Boosts

Sub-Rationale

While trying to implement weather on land, we realized that placing static points of interest forced players to make awkward movement choices or force them to end their turn early in order to capitalize on the effects. So we decided to make a system where you can carry the effect with you.

Map boosts spawn in a pattern similar to Pearls, and provide an XP Boost and a buff to the army that picks it up. This buff stays on the units for the whole Eclipse. Rather than limiting movement, these effects reward players for moving quickly before their enemies can capture the effects for themselves.

Feature Overview

The Eclipse creates small swirls of “Dust Magic” across Auriga. At the start of an Eclipse, these “Confluxes” are selected randomly and the Boosts are spawned on the map. Armies that move over a Map Boost collect the effect for themselves, and become empowered with different abilities depending on the type of boost.

Confluxes have two effects, one that affects the army as it moves through the map and one that affects their combat prowess. There are different boosts that spawn on different types of terrain:

• Nourishing Confluxes reduce Army Upkeep, and increase Health Regeneration.
• Empowering Confluxes give Crushing, and increase Attack of units.
• Swift Confluxes give +2 Movement, and increase Initiative.

Once acquired, boosts last for the remaining duration of the Eclipse.
 Once the Eclipse ends, all effects on units, as well as boosts and spawn points on the map, are removed.

Once a conflux is picked up, the affected army carries a particle effect with them to indicate they are affected by the Boost. When splitting or merging armies, each unit is affected by the boost individually, and the Boost Effect particle will be displayed on the army pawn if at least one unit is affected by it. While in combat, the boost can be seen in each affected unit’s status.

Temple Searches

Sub-Rationale

The peculiar effects of the Eclipse seem to coalesce on the ancient Temples of Auriga. As an additional objective to pursue, Temples can be searched during Eclipses to gain bonus Bonus XP on the Army performing the search as well as a random reward from a curated droplist – again, regarding whoever gets to perform the search first.

Feature Overview

Highlighting the relationship between the Endless and the Eclipse, Temples become riddled with Dust during eclipses. During this time, players can investigate these ruins (Marked with a special effect on the map) to dispel these disturbances and collect bonus loot in the process. As each Eclipse begins, Temples become active again, allowing players to search them each time around.

Faction Effects

Sub-Rationale

We wanted to give each faction something new and unique to them, and using the influence of the Dust Eclipse allows us to dive further into their lore and gameplay options. Whether something new or an improvement to an existing ability, the Dust Eclipse brings new possibilities to all factions!

Feature Overview

For each existing faction in Endless Legend, we are adding a new power that becomes available only during the Dust Eclipse. Again, our intention is to force all factions out of passive play patterns and out into the map, so as much as possible we want to give Eclipse Effects that reward proactive gameplay.

Eclipse Effects are bound to the Faction Affinity, and as such are available to custom factions created with that faction’s affinity.

Wild Walkers have their senses heightened by the Eclipse, enhancing their bonds to Auriga to such extent that they have Global Sharing and reduced Movement Cost on Forests. This allows them to anticipate their enemy’s movements, and gives them the added mobility to react swiftly and meet them head on.

Broken Lords, uniquely attuned to shifting of Dust in Auriga, are able to harness the Eclipse’s power to increase the power of their armies, but at a great cost. Their units and heroes gain a new army action, similar to the Allayi Forced Shift, granting them a new capacity for a turn. This Consuming Fire increases the Damage of units by 30%, but causes the unit to take 10% of its maximum health as damage at the start of each combat turn.

Vaulters / Mezari can harness the power of the Eclipse to increase the accuracy of their Teleport. While the Holy Resource Boost is active During an Eclipse, units can be transported directly to a Vaulter or Mezari Hero’s Army – anywhere on the map. Instant reinforcements!

Necrophages will notice something some of the components of their Recycled Stockpiles are not as dead as they seem, receiving bonus Battleborns from Stockpiles. These not-so-fresh recruits receive all the applicable bonuses from buildings on the city, and make excellent last-minute defenses while the main army is away from the colony.

Ardent Mages, already uniquely attuned to Dust Magic, discover new depths to the power given to them through Ardent Fire. During an Eclipse, Ardent Fire provides bonus Damage as well as Attack, making their units even more dangerous while on low life.

Roving Clans may not be as fond of battle as other factions, but that doesn’t mean they are unable to take advantage of the unique opportunities of the Eclipse. Their Setsekes find the Dust-rich atmosphere invigorating, gaining massive stat boosts to Speed, Attack and Damage when packed up and on the move. Even while unpacked, their good spirits are infectious, providing cities a life regeneration area around them, similar to the effect found on Watchtowers.

Drakken Diplomats are able to take advantage of the general confusion and bouts of arcane mysticism the Eclipses bring to the other factions, and as such there are able to lean on others more easily, having Reduced Influence Cost for all Diplomatic Actions – Even Forced Truces and Alliances.

Cultists, on the other hand, spur the feelings of zealousness and fanaticisms that the Eclipses instill in Minor Factions as a sign from the Queen, giving all Minor Faction Units a Stat Boost based on City Level. This effect is similar to Unleash Potential, but multiplied by the City Center level of their Capital.

Forgotten can leverage the liquidity of Dust during an Eclipse to perform a unique Infiltration Action, Dust Opportunist steals directly from the coffers of the infiltrated faction. This action steals a small flat amount of Dust and a small Percentage amount of Dust from the target, meaning that it can bankrupt poor factions or produce large amounts of Dust by stealing from rich ones.

Allayi see this unnatural turn of events as a clear sign of Auriga’s last dying throes, and in this Time of Need they move swiftly to save her. All armies under their control gain increased Movement during an Eclipse, as well as an additional action point.

Morgawr are the only faction able to take advantage of the rough seas created by the Eclipse’s influence. As Riders of Wild Winds, they gain massive Embarked movement during an Eclipse.

The Kapaku, although strangers to Auriga, have a very keen sense of earthen energies. During Eclipses, they are able to sense the locations of Map Boosts in their settled regions and their neighbors', and they receive increased effects from the Boosts they collect.

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We hope you have enjoyed this first look at the Dust Eclipse. Tomorrow, we'll look at the new Volcanic Terrain!