Version 1.3 Bosses, a royal makeover and a map to scroll
Highlights
- Five bosses on Veteran and Warlord, each with a dramatic entrance.
- A new Royal Campaign look, with a new logo.
- Fewer but stronger units, and reworked turrets.
- A campaign map you can open and scroll at any time.
- 2x speed, and a feedback form right inside the game.
New
- Bosses. On Veteran and Warlord, the last base of every age and the capital are guarded. When the enemy base drops to half health, it seals itself, the ground rumbles and a boss makes its entrance: the Bull King, Jarl Stormhammer, the Oni General, the Iron Behemoth and Titan Prime. Beat the boss to take the base.
- Read the signs. Every big boss move is telegraphed with a red marker on the ground, and a well-timed special can interrupt the scariest ones. On Warlord, each boss changes at half health and learns a new move.
- Jarl's Stormcall. The Jarl raises his hammer, storm clouds gather and lightning strikes your biggest groups. Hit him with a special during the raise to stop it.
- The Oni's underworld army. Oni Ashigaru claw their way up out of glowing rifts, and on Warlord an Oni Brute with a giant club bursts from the ground.
- Boss teasers. Veteran and Warlord show five dark silhouettes, and the campaign map marks every boss base with a medallion that stays a mystery until you meet its boss.
- Six boss achievements, one per boss and one for beating them all, also in Google Play Games (Google Play version).
- The Royal Campaign look. A new logo and app icon, painted buttons, ribbons and wax seals, parchment panels and new Victory and Defeat screens.
- Scrollable campaign map. Tap Map on the Conquest Tree or in the pause menu to see the whole road, the bosses ahead and the bases you've taken.
- 2x speed. A speed button under the pause button. Boss entrances and your first tutorial fight always play at normal speed.
- Feedback form. Tell us what you think from the main menu or the pause menu, without leaving the game. The Google Play version sends it straight to us; the itch.io version opens your email app with the message filled in.
- Unlock a next-age unit (Google Play version). In the Conquest Tree, watch an optional ad to unlock one unit from the next age for the rest of the run, at its normal price. Once per age.
- Cloud save (Google Play version). Signed in to Google Play Games? Your progress is kept in your Play Games account, so a reinstall or a new phone picks up where you left off.
- Reset game data. Start completely fresh from Settings (hold the button to confirm). This also clears your cloud save; achievements already in Google Play Games stay there.
- What's new popup. After an update, the game shows what changed and links to these notes. A newly unlocked difficulty now gets a proper reveal, with a NEW ribbon in the difficulty picker.
- Run progress. Each fight starts with a "Base X / 15" chip next to your difficulty tier.
Changes
- Fewer but stronger units. Units on both sides cost twice as much, have twice the health and hit twice as hard, and take a little longer to train, so the battlefield is less crowded and every unit counts. Specials hit harder to match.
- Turrets reworked. Turrets now support your army instead of replacing it. Each line has a job: rapid turrets shred infantry, siege turrets reach across the whole lane and hit heavies hard, and area turrets break up crowds. Turret kills hold off the War Drums for a moment, but drummed-up enemies shrug off more turret fire. Refit an older turret to the new age for the price difference, and turret research is cheaper.
- Enemy assaults. The enemy now gathers its troops and sends them in waves, so keep something back.
- Smoother tutorial. The interactive tutorial from v1.2.1 now waits for your tap, the spotlight glides between steps, and prompts you ignore stop after two fights.
- Easier to read. A contrast pass over unit cards, the War Drums meter and disabled buttons, and clearer Conquest Tree states: owned, ready to buy, too expensive and locked. The XP counter in the tree is bigger.
- New animated ninjas for the Ninja Smoke special.
- New backgrounds. Painterly, billowing smoke in every age, and a repainted Atomic Age with more depth and a glowing skyline.
- The Moonbreaker crouches to walk through its gate.
- The Conquest Tree says "Research lasts the whole run" once, instead of on every upgrade.
- Achievements: Endless Ranks now asks for 500 units, and Overkill for 5 enemies with one special.
- War Chest retune. Royal patron now pays 50% more XP when you open a new age (it was double). Moonbreaker plans now need three unit lines at the Atomic Age and cost half the XP and half the gold, one Moonbreaker per fight. Soldier is a little easier while your War Chest is still small, and the Bull King has a bit less health on Veteran.
- Every difficulty tier was rebalanced for the new units, turrets and bosses.
Fixes
- On some phones, the Conquest Tree could show up black or off-centre.
- Mortar shells, dynamite, rockets and javelins now deal their damage when they land, and heavy turret shots have an impact sound.
- Save safety. Your profile from every earlier version carries over (medals, War Chest, achievements, difficulty tiers). Because the rules changed so much, a run in progress from an older version ends with the update and pays the medals it had earned. Saves are written safely so closing the app mid-save can't wipe them, and a damaged save is kept instead of overwritten.