Delvers
DELVERS is a run-based party autobattler incremental. You don't control the heroes in combat — you assemble them, upgrade them on a sprawling skill tree, then send them marching into the depths where they fight on their own. The catch: Vigor is the only resource, and it only goes down. Every enemy hit, every step deeper, drains it. When it hits zero the run is over — but the gold you hauled back is permanent, and it buys a party and upgrades that reaches further next time.
Development log
- Shadowstep finally got its shadows1 day ago
- The Constellation Update1 day ago
Comments
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LOVE this
Thank you so much :D Glad you like it!
Firstly, the music is fantastic, and honestly a big reason I played it as long, due to it being so relaxing. On the note of issues, I agree with the previous player. If the music is what kept me zoned in and enjoying the relaxing progression, Shadow Step would be the opposite, breaking me out of that relaxed zone and quite honestly ruining the experience.
Each new Delve reached slightly deeper and brought slightly more gold, but unlocking Shadow Step suddenly took my party's efficiency backward, causing future runs to yield far less. As it stands now, the Thief gets soloed out and surrounded, thus the entire party takes damage on his behalf while trying to catch up to his position.
That said, I did truly enjoy the game. The music and art is pleasant, and the upgrade tree (although a little confusing) is nice being so expansive. As for the thief, might I suggest a temporary "invisibility" during that skill? At least long enough for the party to catch up? In any case, good game, good job.
Hoping the best for this project moving forward. 👍
Glad you enjoyed it. I'll have to take another look later. Though specifically with Shadow step, it pulls from AOE which is really annoying. Yeah Invisibility would do wonders in comparison to invincibility, but I'd rather use a cooldown or have the thief activate it to the back row away from monsters when attacked.
You have your work cut out for you, but you seem to have a clear direction, and that's admirable. I look forward to seeing where this leads. 👍
Shadowstep now grants a 3 second invisibility! Thank you so much for the kind words, really appreciate it :)
Hey, that's great! I'll have to give it another try now, thanks for the quick responses!
Haha "cloaked in shadow". Beautifully written 👍
Yes, that's a great improvement, and quick timing. Well done 👍
My pleasure! In general, I want to keep working on the skill tree: there's a lot of design choices to make. Keep me posted on anything you like or dislike :)
The skill tree has a few issues making some of the upgrades detrimental in the short term without making that known to a player, this game isn't a puzzle and does not benefit from obscuring information.
Thanks for the feedback! I'm gonna rework the skill tree more. Which nodes stood out to you in particular?
I for one can say that shadowstep does not work as adverticed since it fires immediately and makes the thief simply run ahead of the rest.
tbh the only node I noticed this with was shadowstep, and I think its not an information issue but a shadowstep issue. running ahead has several disadvantages from less time to heal to getting hit by enemies immedietely while the rest of your party runs to catch up
Shadowstep now grants invis for 3 seconds! No longer a detrimental upgrade :D
Shadowstep in particular and unlocking the barbarian wouldn't be very useful given the team setup before them. I'm sure there is more balance choices, but none should stunt certain progression choices as those two. Sorry, I only really noticed it seriously on the Shadowstep one, losing a significant amount of income made the idea of purchasing the other vague upgrades seem a lot less interesting.
I can usually finish most of these games, but that was off-putting to say the least.
Patched! Now Shadowstep grants 3 seconds of invisibility, and there are no more negative perks, Beserker no longer drains vigor on hit either.
Oh, this was lovely, thank you.
Thanks for the feedback! Big patch coming soon with a skill tree redesign :)