Super Vicious

We have a treat for anybody seeking a game-wide difficulty spike: the new Vicious Token is out and about and hidden within the Kingdom somewhere, allowing suitably experienced adventurers to sally forth and make their own lives much more difficult for some reason or another.

We took a while with this one, mainly because other difficulty elements are always up in the air, but we have to admit that stepping into a Purist Den run has suddenly become a lot more interesting than it was before …

Classes and certain game features have also been hit with the nerf bat again. In fact, the list of changes is reasonably chunky. This probably makes it the wrong time to introduce our massively more difficult game mode, but one can never underestimate the creativity and tenacity of the Desktop Dungeons player base. We’re sure the veterans will manage. Somehow.

This week provides lots of small tweaks alongside the big ones. Check the changelog below for all the details:

Fixes:

Added Vicious Token prep as quest reward. (doesn’t invalidate purist runs)
Added Vicious Token badge.
Added “A New Dungeon!” reward item display to quests that unlock new dungeons.
Fixed a bug where the dungeon layout would flash for a frame before being hidden.
Absolution now has a mounting cost.
Bloodpower no longer gives extra mana point. (still minimum of 1)
Bloodmage mana reduced by 3.
Fighter Gold boss made easier.
Cursed Oasis quest victory bug fixed.
Reflex potion strike order has universally top priority.
Slow and First Strike cancel properly.
Balanced Dagger XP prediction fixed.
Unstoppable badge now considers non-combat enemies.
Teleporting a boss who has not spoken yet, into revealed terrain, will make it speak.
Extra altars in Gaan-Telet now follow Naga City rules.
Fixed a bug where status effects were being predicted alongside dodge prediction.
Fixed a bug with fight prediction on enemy knockback.
God-o-Tron altar graphics cleaned up
Steel golem hue shifts slightly more exaggerated
Smacklefunky’s Monster Shoppe no longer spams messages while fighting
Villager sprites in Bloodmage Bronze changed
Wizard damage nerfed in “Positioning” puzzle
Fine sword graphic changed
Naga City reward item set to Naga Cauldron.
Avatar Symbol replaced with Mage Fist, renamed to Avatar’s Codex.