Mage Gauntlet - (by Rocketcat Games)

[Teh_Ninja]

Yeah 1000th post for this thread........


(Sorry I couldn't resist)


OT: You only get 2 lives for MM, that is insane.

[Nightmare13]

This is a monster, and I, by a stroke of incredible luck, 3 starred it. I found a big key here was using the IAP cloak, which gives you a bigger dashing attack.

The priority in this level is killing those jerks who spawn zombies out of the ground. Do whatever it takes to take them out first, using your dash to plow through a zombie group and stun a lot of them. Also, since many of those spawners tend to start in a vertical line, try to run north or south of them and hit them all at once with a sword charge. For taking out the mobs, keep your distance and charge at them with the sword attack when you can to stun some of them. Keep close track of how many hits the fat guys take, and be ready to dash through the blue explosions.

Chicken pet is good for faster recharges. I 3-starred this with half a heart left after using the phoenix feather, and the last enemy was a spawner who had a 6-zombie radius lump of enemies surrounding him. I cannot believe i nabbed him (with the sword!) without losing my last hit.

Death Duck is the best pet by far, but you don't get him until you get 290 stars (which is unfortunately impossible until you at least clear Crypt 3 Master). But for those of you who need to go back and get those 3 star ratings, he's amazing.

@Teh_Ninja: With Phoenix Feather you get 3. :P

[nfong]

I love the secrets in master mode; they're a great touch to the game. Just found the crystal staff, and it's awesome :D
However, can you guys help me with one of the secrets? One of the clues talk about the castle. Which place is it referring to? The tower, estate, etc?

[Ashflow]

castle=estate

Also, for the Magekiller, watch the trailer on the first page ;)

EDIT: And Teh_Ninja, you've got the 1,001st post :P

[Zathrus]

I love Crypt-3 on Master. Love the gigantic, Moria-esque pillared rooms with swarms of enemies. Lots of enemies, but also lots of room to maneuver. So good.

Yeah, those are great. But there's 4 of them and about 20 small rooms with NO room to maneuver that are filled with mana zombies and fallen warriors. Oh, and sometimes dark wraiths. I concentrate on taking out the wraiths, but meanwhile I lose a heart to the warriors and zombies. String 4 or 5 of those together with no health and you're dead. Which is how the level is structured.

Crypt 3 isn't too bad to beat. Just really hard to three star.
Once this removal of lucky happen I should be able to easily three star all maps. I seem to get "lucky" for half of the urns in any given level :(.

Yeah, Lucky is just plain worthless. And I get it far too often as well. Get it as the first spell urn on Crypt3 or Ashen3 and you may as well just start over. Even better is Silence on Crypt -- yay! You can stop skeletons from throwing. And that's it.

In any case, I'm done. I'm too frustrated trying to beat this idiotic level, and there's quite literally NOTHING I can do instead. Lexi is L74, so it's not like that last level are going to matter. I've tried numerous different combinations of equipment. I shove what few health urns there are to the next room if I'm full health. Doesn't matter -- I've used the two meager lives I have before getting to the end.

I'm sure some people are able to beat this one easily, but I've quite literally been playing it for 3 days now, and I'm not getting any closer to completing it. I'm a pretty hardcore gamer, but this is ridiculous and it long ago stopped being any fun.

[LawLessLove]

EDIT: And Teh_Ninja, you've got the 1,001st post :P

Which is the 1000th post in this thread.

[Ashflow]

So if I have 306 stars, is that proof I'm hardcore?

In any case, I'll go through Crypt 3 again (w/o the Phoenix Feather) and 3 star it, and come back to give my strategy, if you want. I have to wait until my iPod has "cooled down enough", though. (This is like my third replacement iPod from Apple. The first two had really bad battery issues and this one overheats WAY too often. Gonna go have a Genius check it out soon.)

I just wish there were more hats from the Crypt levels, as I already have all of them. It's pretty pointless for me to go through again besides helping out.

[DJMoya]

looks fun cant wait to play it

[nfong]

castle=estate

Also, for the Magekiller, watch the trailer on the first page ;)

EDIT: And Teh_Ninja, you've got the 1,001st post :P

Thanks :cool:
Where's the mountain path infested with drudges?

[Ashflow]

Just beat Crypt Gold MM with 2 hearts left, 3 spells left (Shadow Bomb and 2 Fireballs), Corruption, Demon's Ring, Pyre Garment, and *drum roll* ...Gnomey!

Making a video would be sooo much easier than explaining in words. Not sure what I should do.

[Nightmare13]

Just beat Crypt Gold MM with 2 hearts left, 3 spells left (Shadow Bomb and 2 Fireballs), Corruption, Demon's Ring, Pyre Garment, and *drum roll* ...Gnomey!

Making a video would be sooo much easier than explaining in words. Not sure what I should do.

Wish there was a way to screen capture video without jailbreaking my ipod. Would be much easier.

[SirDarkened]

I just beat Ashen Cult 3 using the Demon's Ring. Probably better than the Phoenix feather.

[NotYou]

So far, I've been finding this game to be tedious with no payoff.

I've just gotten through the first section (there are three, right?). I keep waiting for something to happen, but it's just been button mashing/dodging with the occasional conversation that seems to have no meaning. Is there anything to look forward to?

What I find odd is this is supposed to be an action RPG without the grinding, but the whole thing feels like grinding. You just kill enemies and walk through the completely linear level. Tell me I'm missing something or it gets better, or... something.

I love their other games and this one was extremely well received, so I'm assuming I just don't get it.

[Ashflow]

Am I allowed to post my own youtube vid here? Guess I'll go check the rules.
EDIT: Looks like it's OK as long as I don't post my youtube account name? Guess I'll just go ahead then...
QvHmkPrse3U

[Teh_Ninja]

Which is the 1000th post in this thread.

Hehe :P

[Quazonk]

So far, I've been finding this game to be tedious with no payoff.

I've just gotten through the first section (there are three, right?). I keep waiting for something to happen, but it's just been button mashing/dodging with the occasional conversation that seems to have no meaning. Is there anything to look forward to?

What I find odd is this is supposed to be an action RPG without the grinding, but the whole thing feels like grinding. You just kill enemies and walk through the completely linear level. Tell me I'm missing something or it gets better, or... something.

I love their other games and this one was extremely well received, so I'm assuming I just don't get it.

You are correct in your assumption ;)

[Kepa]

NotYou: What's an action RPG you think we should try to emulate for the next game, to improve it? What do you think we should add?

[NotYou]

NotYou: What's an action RPG you think we should try to emulate for the next game, to improve it? What do you think we should add?

Thanks for asking!
I don't know. I think I'm just spoiled by open world games. Even as a kid I played Zelda, which was a lot of wondering and exploring.

When i saw the video above, I suddenly got re-interested the game. I like the idea of hordes of enemies.:)

[Kepa]

Let me know if you still hate it as you get further. I see some flaws with the game that I'd like to address in future games, but it's hard to pinpoint exactly what you're talking about in your previous comments.

[Ghouls'R'us]

NotYou: What's an action RPG you think we should try to emulate for the next game, to improve it? What do you think we should add?
This question wasn't directed to me, but I thought I'd share my thoughts.

I would like to see an overhead action game with light RPG elements that introduces a wider spectrum of actions and goals, such as:

scanning with a radar-like "treasure detector" device to find hidden things;
selective offensive runs where the protagonist must avoid certain enemies while targeting others;
more differing choices which would bring variable but persistent consequences and rewards;
hunting games where the protagonist must scan the perimeter and try to trap the prey;
even more variety in the various enemies' attack patterns which would require studying and adaptation on the player's part;
objects and obstacles which would influence the strategy & gameplay, such as boulders and portals;
mini-games that use a proven and simple formula to break the rhythm and bring a touch of novelty.

Some of these would have the side-effect of diluting the "action" aspect, but games like the Zelda series are revered specifically for what different elements they bring to the formula.

[PixyJunket]

I have an odd bug (?), I've got 58 of 86 achievements in the in-game browser but only 57 of 68 in Game Center. Apparently, it did not register my "Careful Brawler" cheeve. Should I just attempt to do it again or will the game sync with GC eventually? Although I did get that a few levels prior and received a couple achievements after it that are on both lists.

NotYou: What's an action RPG you think we should try to emulate for the next game, to improve it? What do you think we should add?If you want a good action RPG to emulate, look to the recent Ys games, specifically Ark of Napishtim, Oath in Felghana and Origin. They're pretty much the genre PERFECTED. Fast action, great combos, insane bosses, perfect pacing and none of the games overstay their welcome.

[Teh_Ninja]

Regarding the *secret weapon*


I cleared "Ruin Crossing - 3" on MM, but the door is still locked?

This was never answered, Kepa care to take a crack at it?





EDIT: 777th post WOOHOO!!!

[Ziekke]

This was never answered, Kepa care to take a crack at it?





EDIT: 777th post WOOHOO!!!

The enemies that lie in secrets in MM do not count towards the level cleared. Therefore, you can (and will) get "Level Cleared" despite not killing all of the enemies.

you didn't find the secret in this level which opens the door.

[PixyJunket]

I have an odd bug (?), I've got 58 of 86 achievements in the in-game browser but only 57 of 68 in Game Center. Apparently, it did not register my "Careful Brawler" cheeve. Should I just attempt to do it again or will the game sync with GC eventually? Although I did get that a few levels prior and received a couple achievements after it that are on both lists.Disregard, it popped when I booted the game just now.

If you want a good action RPG to emulate, look to the recent Ys games, specifically Ark of Napishtim, Oath in Felghana and Origin. They're pretty much the genre PERFECTED. Fast action, great combos, insane bosses, perfect pacing and none of the games overstay their welcome.Also, I just was thinking about this, but something on the level of Ys would be pretty close to impossible on a touch-only interface, but I do think they are the GOLD STANDARD for action RPGs regardless.

Also, BIG SUGGESTION, since you seem keen on taking them, add an option on setting screen to disable cut-scenes on levels you have already cleared.

[Nightmare13]

Also, BIG SUGGESTION, since you seem keen on taking them, add an option on setting screen to disable cut-scenes on levels you have already cleared.

Quoted for emphasis.

[Teh_Ninja]

The enemies that lie in secrets in MM do not count towards the level cleared. Therefore, you can (and will) get "Level Cleared" despite not killing all of the enemies.

you didn't find the secret in this level which opens the door.

Cool thanks, I'll look harder.

(Which brings me to my next point: what the hell does "You should have looked harder" even mean, how can you look hard?)

Anyways thanks again for the help :)

[Kepa]

This was never answered, Kepa care to take a crack at it?

When you reach that locked door, just keep going west and you'll run into the secret that opens it.

[rococoman]

I originally attached an image to this, but I thought it was kind of spoiler-y.

A certain fish from another RCG game hints that there might be something else in the Crypt. Get looking!

There is nothing that a member of RCG can say to convince me otherwise.

[WooHooII]

Glowing Sword + Old Pendant: best combination ever. I just beat Hurgoth on Master Mode and only lost half a heart during the whole fight. I had a Lucky, Time Circle, and Silence and they NEVER WENT AWAY.

[Nightmare13]

Glowing Sword + Old Pendant: best combination ever. I just beat Hurgoth on Master Mode and only lost half a heart during the whole fight. I had a Lucky, Time Circle, and Silence and they NEVER WENT AWAY.

http://pic.twitter.com/2tHdk3cX

https://p.twimg.com/AdG4CDGCAAAprxu.jpg

Owned.

[Since87]

http://pic.twitter.com/2tHdk3cX

https://p.twimg.com/AdG4CDGCAAAprxu.jpg

Owned.

geez.. are you playing this on an ipod nano?

[Ziekke]

When you reach that locked door, just keep going west and you'll run into the secret that opens it.

Exactly what kepa said here is detailed in one of the secret texts, which is where I found it and why I didn't give away too much :)

[Nightmare13]

geez.. are you playing this on an ipod nano?

Lol I don't know why it came up so small. :(

I sent it directly to twitter from my iPod, so maybe it downscaled it or something?

[Harpua]

So how often does Gnomey show up? I've been chopping plants and smashing objects for what seems like two full days, and I have yet to find one of the little guys! Am I doing it wrong?

[nfong]

Cool thanks, I'll look harder.

(Which brings me to my next point: what the hell does "You should have looked harder" even mean, how can you look hard?)

Anyways thanks again for the help :)

Have you found any of the clues yet? Try to look for false walls/other various passageways, and they'll lead you to clues left by another wizard. Cool stuff :cool:


So how often does Gnomey show up? I've been chopping plants and smashing objects for what seems like two full days, and I have yet to find one of the little guys! Am I doing it wrong?


I believe it's a 1/1000 chance.

[Teh_Ninja]

Have you found any of the clues yet? Try to look for false walls/other various passageways, and they'll lead you to clues left by another wizard. Cool stuff :cool:



I found it ;)

[Kepa]

Glowing Sword + Old Pendant: best combination ever. I just beat Hurgoth on Master Mode and only lost half a heart during the whole fight. I had a Lucky, Time Circle, and Silence and they NEVER WENT AWAY.

I really liked that combo, too. The buff spells are actually pretty good when they last more or less forever.

I also personally like lich foot + lich armor + desperate edge. Off the top of my head, I think it sets your melee crit rate to 90% or so while reducing your health to 1.

[Quazonk]

Are the "remixed" Master Mode levels actually different from the normal levels? Like are the hidden areas all in the same place, or are they changed?

[masvil]

I can't get 3 stars in Orc Forest #3 (Gold). I alway get "level cleared" so I'm sure I killed all enemies. Also map is identical to the map shown in Wiki (http://magegauntlet.wikia.com/wiki/Completed_Maps).

Maybe I lose to many lives? Does lost lives affect the number of stars? If yes, how?

[Echoseven]

I can't get 3 stars in Orc Forest #3 (Gold). I alway get "level cleared" so I'm sure I killed all enemies. Also map is identical to the map shown in Wiki (http://magegauntlet.wikia.com/wiki/Completed_Maps).

Maybe I lose to many lives? Does lost lives affect the number of stars? If yes, how?

3 stars = all enemies cleared, AND no lives lost.

[sanitymops]

I can't get 3 stars in Orc Forest #3 (Gold). I alway get "level cleared" so I'm sure I killed all enemies. Also map is identical to the map shown in Wiki (http://magegauntlet.wikia.com/wiki/Completed_Maps).

Maybe I lose to many lives? Does lost lives affect the number of stars? If yes, how?
Finish the level = 1 star
Defeat all Monsters = 1 star
Don't lose any lives = 1 star

The only way around that last one is if you use the Phoenix Feather, it gives you one more life and it doesn't count towards the stars because you resurrect

[masvil]

Phoenix Feather, it gives you one more life and it doesn't count towards the stars because you resurrect
OK, I bought it right now :)

[Kepa]

Are the "remixed" Master Mode levels actually different from the normal levels? Like are the hidden areas all in the same place, or are they changed?

Master Mode removes the Story Mode secrets completely. They get replaced with a series of new secrets that all share a side storyline with each other.

[Kepa]

Does anyone like the "Corruption" sword? Might change it to have a small chance to briefly poison targets.

[Ariectus]

Hurray my TA account is finally letting me reply on the forums =D I've been lurking since before Super Quickhook lol. Anyways, I love this game and look forward to the arena update where we can all start competing on the leaderboards ;]

I got Gnomey by playing Gardens 1 about 15 times, I love how he changes color and references Hook Champ in every level, lol. I missed him since he was my favorite to play as in quickhook. I feel disloyal to my rocketcat, but the +2 to rainbows and friendship is a real life-saver on the later levels.

Anyways, just wanted to post on here since I've been dying to for months and months, I'll probably have something constructive to say later when its not 4am, lol :p

[coderkid]

Master Mode removes the Story Mode secrets completely. They get replaced with a series of new secrets that all share a side storyline with each other.
Weird, I haven't been able to find secrets...

[Ziekke]

Weird, I haven't been able to find secrets...

They are hard to find, and they stem from (i think) one main secret that's impossible to see when not in map. It's clear as day if you just look at your map. But it's only one level.

Secrets in MM are well done, and laid out more or less the way all secrets should be - they are secret, with one or two that start you off with clues to find the rest.

[SirDarkened]

The first one I found was pretty obvious.

Every other one is quite challenging.
Some of them lead to books that tell you a side storyline.

[eev]

started playing and have some comments. at first the game is great and funny, like all rocketcat games. but there are some points which are a bit off design. the haste spells acts basically like you have found a secret and now you can get faster to main direction, basically completely useless item. the map button should be definitely on the main screen. if you check for secrets it is a need. personally i found some later levels a bit too long, so fighting against the same monsters becomes repetitive. and it would be really great to have more magic, it's mage gauntlet but it's more like warrior style of the gameplay.

[Zeratulz]

Bought the game on release and haven't been able to put it down but I'm playing in moderation as I don't want to go back to having nothing to play. I have a few questions however.

1) The Inferno Blade, is the explosion proc based off of spell crit?

2) Just a general question but what gear setups are you guys using?

3) I know there's a wiki but is there a complete list of all items in the game and their location, the wiki seems a bit lacking.

4) This one's for Kepa. First off thanks for such an amazing game. I beg you please create more RPGs as the genre is dull as hell and needs reviving, Mage Gauntlet was the shock resuscitation that it needed. Would it be too much to ask to add in more sword specific attacks/abilities. Even a simple attack chain would go such a long way.

[SilverCircleCircus]

I really think silence is a good spell, shouldn't be gotten rid of altogether. But all buff spells need a longer amount of time I think. Haste jars too, even if it is only to get you back on track its cool.

[Nightmare13]

Bought the game on release and haven't been able to put it down but I'm playing in moderation as I don't want to go back to having nothing to play. I have a few questions however.

1) The Inferno Blade, is the explosion proc based off of spell crit?

2) Just a general question but what gear setups are you guys using?

3) I know there's a wiki but is there a complete list of all items in the game and their location, the wiki seems a bit lacking.

4) This one's for Kepa. First off thanks for such an amazing game. I beg you please create more RPGs as the genre is dull as hell and needs reviving, Mage Gauntlet was the shock resuscitation that it needed. Would it be too much to ask to add in more sword specific attacks/abilities. Even a simple attack chain would go such a long way.

1. Kepa has said Inferno Blade always has about a 6% chance of getting its proc. Spell Crit only affects the chance that the fireball will crit when it gets that 6%

2. Inferno Blade / Archmage Mantle / Whitebeard Hat / Phoenix Feather or
Giantslayer / Battlemage Armor / Phoenix Helm / Phoenix Feather

Only other option I've found as generally viable is Pyre Garment / Demon's Ring because Shadow Bomb and Fireball are both crazy good.

Finally, vs Master Mode Hurgoth (and other MM bosses, but mostly him because the other's are a joke):
Glowing Sword / Battlemage Armor / Phoenix Helm / Old Pendant
Refer a few pages back for info about that one.

3. Everything in the game (itemwise) is pretty linear, I've found, so you won't miss anything. The only exceptions are the Crystal Staff and Skull Pendant, which are in MM Ruins Crossing 1 (I think 1) and MM Homunculus Bunker 1, respectively.

[masvil]

2) Just a general question but what gear setups are you guys using?
Black Market stock: Phoenix Helm, Inferno Blade, Firecharge Vest, Phoenix Feather and Rocketcat.

[Teh_Ninja]

Kepa in the next big update will you be adding more IAP's?

[Ashflow]

Suggestions for new combo buff name:
Muted Time
Silent Time
Quiet Time

Decent names, imo. Haven't found one that instantly clicked yet, though.

[Nightmare13]

Suggestions for new combo buff name:
Muted Time
Silent Time
Quiet Time

Decent names, imo. Haven't found one that instantly clicked yet, though.

Tbh, the perfect new name is "Use Me With Glowing Sword and Win".

[Quazonk]

Black Market stock: Phoenix Helm, Inferno Blade, Firecharge Vest, Phoenix Feather and Rocketcat.

My setup as well, although occasionally switch Inferno Blade for the Crystal Staff and Rocketcat for Gnomey.

KEPA: A few suggestions, mostly previously mentioned, but I wanna get on board and drive the points home further. Firstly, longer buff spells and haste urns. You NEVER make it all the way back to the original quest by the time it runs out. Also, let's have a few random spells hidden in the odd barrell or breakable item, to incentivize smashing stuff aside from the achievements you can get from it. Additional IAP would be nice, but only if it serves a function. I love the current IAP and I'll happily pay for it to support you guys (even just bought the entire Hook series to show the love), but the Phoenix Helm is purely cosmetic...it's not even constantly on fire like it says in the description, it's just a hat that happens to be a killer match for the firecharge vest! Though I must admit, it looks pretty bad ass when paired with it. Def more IAP pets and weapons, so long as they stand out somewhat from the rest of the in-game weapons like how the Inferno Blade and Rocketcat do. Maybe also put together a few packs like how you did with the fan pack, paying a buck for each item might be a tough pill to swallow for some, but 8 items for $1.99? That's a little easier. Maybe have matching IAP packs, like a White or Dark Mage pack that is a full matching suit with unique abilities, and a matching pet to go with it. That's be awesome, and would probably sell like...something that sells a lot.

Who is responsible for the humour in the game? I got the Knight Visored Helm today, and when I read "Visor clamps down in middle of combat, must be constantly reopened or fastened with string.", I damn near pissed myself. I still can't believe 3 people put this game together. I remember beating old-school RPG's on SNES and the credits would roll for half an hour. Props to you, Jeremy and Brandon for pulling it off with such style. Can't F'in wait for the next installment (or update, even!).

[Quazonk]

P.S. What's the deal with time circle? I know it should be self-explanatory in that it should probably slow enemies' attacks or projectiles once entering the circle, but I really don't find it does any of that, it's just like playing normally, but uhhh....with a circle around you. Anyone?

[SirDarkened]

Time circle stops enemies from dashing.

I've finally beaten Master Mode (woo)
Power is still out, been mooching off people (boo)

More comments after 10-20 more hours of gameplay.

Hardest levels are the last three. Seriously Kepa? Like 9 Health urns?!? Not good enough lmao.

Crypt three is quite hard to three star.

I have 300/306 stars only going to get 302/306 until update hits.

Death duck is okay I use him but not really sure how he is "the best". I like Gnomey a lot.

I beat Hurgoth with all my health. Quite easy with that whole buff setup.

Ending is beast... Great job.

Seems you're going to address all the main gripes.

You need to add 3 or so more health urns to pinnacle 3 on STORY MODE. I three starred it finally but its still brutal compared to the other levels. Has enough spells not enough health for anyone without the phoenix feather.

Pinnacles on Master Mode need like 1 extra spell urn cuz I always get lame "lucky" or silence/time circle when I really needed fireball. I hate getting silence and going into a room realizing I really needed Time Circle.

Onto achievements. I cannot seem to unlock the "Crossed the streams" is it just me?
No achievement for master mode secrets. Some other secret achievement isn't working either. Does the anvil one work now? Didn't try to go back. Eventually will do rerun of whole story mode to find all books.

Only got to level 69/75 by the end of master mode. Kind of disheartening wante to be cap but I guess not. Even grinded a bit because I wanted to max my Magic stat.

I found a good grinding spot if anyone is interested. Its in master mode though.

[nfong]

Is the note in the MM bunker the last secret in the game?
Also, I forgot who Harbinger is, lol...name sounds familiar, but just can't remember...

[Nightmare13]

My setup as well, although occasionally switch Inferno Blade for the Crystal Staff and Rocketcat for Gnomey.

KEPA: A few suggestions, mostly previously mentioned, but I wanna get on board and drive the points home further. Firstly, longer buff spells and haste urns. You NEVER make it all the way back to the original quest by the time it runs out. Also, let's have a few random spells hidden in the odd barrell or breakable item, to incentivize smashing stuff aside from the achievements you can get from it. Additional IAP would be nice, but only if it serves a function. I love the current IAP and I'll happily pay for it to support you guys (even just bought the entire Hook series to show the love), but the Phoenix Helm is purely cosmetic...it's not even constantly on fire like it says in the description, it's just a hat that happens to be a killer match for the firecharge vest! Though I must admit, it looks pretty bad ass when paired with it. Def more IAP pets and weapons, so long as they stand out somewhat from the rest of the in-game weapons like how the Inferno Blade and Rocketcat do. Maybe also put together a few packs like how you did with the fan pack, paying a buck for each item might be a tough pill to swallow for some, but 8 items for $1.99? That's a little easier. Maybe have matching IAP packs, like a White or Dark Mage pack that is a full matching suit with unique abilities, and a matching pet to go with it. That's be awesome, and would probably sell like...something that sells a lot.

Haste also increases your stamina regeneration by a lot, so use those dashes while Haste is up and you'll get back to the main path 100% of the time. But I agree, a little extended duration wouldn't hurt.

I agree about the IAP, I actually had that thought when the game first came out and forgot to voice it. I like the current IAP gear, and I bought it for the sake of supporting the dev (and because Inferno Blade and Phoenix Feather are incredible anyway)... but I feel like it would have worked better as a set of gear, since they're all themed the same way anyway, for like $1.99. Maybe add a pet and make it $2.99. Then you can add additional themed sets like you suggested.

Time circle stops enemies from dashing.

I've finally beaten Master Mode (woo)
Power is still out, been mooching off people (boo)

More comments after 10-20 more hours of gameplay.

Hardest levels are the last three. Seriously Kepa? Like 9 Health urns?!? Not good enough lmao.

Crypt three is quite hard to three star.

I have 300/306 stars only going to get 302/306 until update hits.

Death duck is okay I use him but not really sure how he is "the best". I like Gnomey a lot.

I beat Hurgoth with all my health. Quite easy with that whole buff setup.

Ending is beast... Great job.

Seems you're going to address all the main gripes.

You need to add 3 or so more health urns to pinnacle 3 on STORY MODE. I three starred it finally but its still brutal compared to the other levels. Has enough spells not enough health for anyone without the phoenix feather.

Pinnacles on Master Mode need like 1 extra spell urn cuz I always get lame "lucky" or silence/time circle when I really needed fireball. I hate getting silence and going into a room realizing I really needed Time Circle.

Onto achievements. I cannot seem to unlock the "Crossed the streams" is it just me?
No achievement for master mode secrets. Some other secret achievement isn't working either. Does the anvil one work now? Didn't try to go back. Eventually will do rerun of whole story mode to find all books.

Only got to level 69/75 by the end of master mode. Kind of disheartening wante to be cap but I guess not. Even grinded a bit because I wanted to max my Magic stat.

I found a good grinding spot if anyone is interested. Its in master mode though.

Time Circle does not stop enemies from dashing. It does, however, slow down enemies that are already inside its radius by a very noticeable amount. Since dashes usually require a significant amount of charge-up, you can usually kill them before the are able to release it, with obvious exceptions to things like Red Demons. It does NOT, however, slow down projectiles, so be wary of that. Once it's combined with Silence, however, this won't matter.

The last 4 levels I got my 3rd star on were Pinnacle 2 and 3 on both story and master mode. Yea, they're hard on Story Mode, too. But that was before the update, so now I don't think they're too big of a deal. Using either the Phoenix Feather or Demon's Ring (now that there's a ton more spells) should get you through just fine. Just take it slow.

Death Duck is the best in my opinion, because the charge move is invaluable for dealing with crowds of enemies, especially since it stuns. 15% is a pretty noticeable improvement as well.

Crossing the Streams was never glitched (at least not for me). Chain Zap them after they cast, not as they're charging. Their lightning bolts should be striking down when you smite them.

Master Mode secret achievements are still broken. The anvil one, however, was never broken. All the obvious ones in story mode work now, so if you're having trouble getting it to pop up try running around the room. Sometimes it's only a particular part of the room that will actually trigger it.

I was only about level 69 or 70 by the end of master mode, but I got up to 74 before I got 306 stars. Stupid pinnacle. 75 now after grinding a few hats.

[sattinge]

down complate!!

it's goooooooooooood!~!!!

[Kepa]

Firstly, longer buff spells and haste urns. You NEVER make it all the way back to the original quest by the time it runs out. Also, let's have a few random spells hidden in the odd barrell or breakable item, to incentivize smashing stuff aside from the achievements you can get from it. Def more IAP pets and weapons, so long as they stand out somewhat from the rest of the in-game weapons like how the Inferno Blade and Rocketcat do. Maybe have matching IAP packs, like a White or Dark Mage pack that is a full matching suit with unique abilities, and a matching pet to go with it.

Who is responsible for the humour in the game? I got the Knight Visored Helm today, and when I read "Visor clamps down in middle of combat, must be constantly reopened or fastened with string.", I damn near pissed myself.).

If we made buff spells last longer, I'd have to nerf the glowing sword. And since buff spells are getting stronger in the next update anyway (time circle and silence are getting merged, sword fury is getting stronger), I may just leave them at the current duration. I could increase the hasten duration, but it was always intended to just help you get on the main path faster, not as a combat thing. I guess we could anyway, just for the hell of it.

I don't want to add spells to breakables, as doing so would make breaking things mandatory. We added the gnomes to at least kind of ease the pain of your obsessive compulsive disorders, but I don't want to make breaking everything in a level mandatory. Next game we'll probably make breaking furniture drop coins or be worth a little bit of experience or something.

I wrote all the item descriptions and such. Brandon wrote the dialog this time, he also wrote Hook Worlds. I can't remember if I wrote SQH or not, though I wrote all of Hook Champ.

New IAP: Some is planned in the next content update (not this upcoming update, which is for UNiversal support, balancing, and feature requests). Currently it's just two items: A hat that makes you look like a drudge, and a robe that makes your charge do more damage and your dashes do slight electrical damage (half a sword swing's worth) to everything you touch. If the robe is too fun, we may just make it a loot item and do a pack as suggested. Just to test if that's better than doing single items.

You need to add 3 or so more health urns to pinnacle 3 on STORY MODE. I three starred it finally but its still brutal compared to the other levels. Has enough spells not enough health for anyone without the phoenix feather.

Pinnacles on Master Mode need like 1 extra spell urn cuz I always get lame "lucky" or silence/time circle when I really needed fireball. I hate getting silence and going into a room realizing I really needed Time Circle.

No achievement for master mode secrets. Some other secret achievement isn't working either.

I know what achievements aren't working and why, will fix in this upcoming update.

I'll take a look at health urns on pinnacle 3 in story mode. As for the other thing, I don't really want to touch master mode. However, we're getting rid of "lucky" (ultralucky gets to stay), shield is getting removed from the spell rotation (you'll still get them from hitting urns when full), and silence+time circle are getting merged into one spell. The spell will probably just still be called Time Circle.

Is the note in the MM bunker the last secret in the game?

Should be.

Haste also increases your stamina regeneration by a lot, so use those dashes while Haste is up and you'll get back to the main path 100% of the time. But I agree, a little extended duration wouldn't hurt.

How much, do you think? 50% or so longer haste?

I may end up having to nerf Glowing Sword by a little bit. Maybe 1 second buff extension per kill rather than 2 seconds. Simply because it's going to become pretty easy to get all the buffs on yourself because there's only going to be a few buffs in the urn rotation. Time Circle (now with Silence), Ultralucky, Sword Fury. Add in a permanent hasten because you keep killing stuff, and it's wouldn't be hard to keep these buffs on you at all times.

------

My favorite loot loadouts:

Glowing Sword + Old Pendant + Battlemage Armor + Death Duck

Today I played Crypt 3 a bunch of times in a row with the above combo, and got all 7 buffs on myself. Then I'd kill groups as fast as I could. End result: I did the entire level with every single buff on myself, for the entire duration of the level. Hasten+Shield(most of the time)+Sword Fury+Time Circle+Silence+Lucky+Ultralucky. It's a fun trick.

Lich Foot + Lich Armor + Desperate Edge + Crab Pet

Sets your critical rates to something like 80% melee, 90% for all spells. It's fun to crit constantly, but this is mostly pretty gimmicky considering you're going to run around with 1 health.

Strange Rock + Crystal Staff + Earthen Garb

For completely and utterly destroying most bosses. Earth spike criticals with a high magic stat does a huge amount of damage. Cloth of Cold + Whitebeard Ring is the poor man's version, not quite as effective. Those icicles are crappy against groups, but actually end up doing almost as much damage as earth spike if all icicles hit a single target.

[kornalius]

Having played most of the great games on the iOS platform and have been a player since the Apple IIGS in 1986.

I can honestly say that Mage Gaunlet is one of the best executed, polished and fun game to date on the market. The controls are precise, the story is fun (not too deep but that is perfect for quick plays) and the gfx are top notch.

I am having a blast with it.

Keep up the good work.

[SirDarkened]

Went after some achievements.
Found out you cannot unlock "crossed the streams" in master mode.
Same with the eyeball one (can someone tell me how to get this, they always see me)

Is the last secret achievement glitched?
What's the one before it? The pinnacle one?

I also am confused someone said in master mode castle = estate. Kepa can you change it to reflect that because I CANNOT find any secret in the estate.

Level 70 now. Going to beat crypt 3 on master mode three stars then get all boss hats and call it a day until furture update hits. Maybe get the shadow slueth achievement if I'm up for it.

[TheClaff]

Still addicted to ths game. Any ETA on the universal update or iCloud support being in there? Can't wait to play it on iPad.

[Nightmare13]

How much, do you think? 50% or so longer haste?

I may end up having to nerf Glowing Sword by a little bit. Maybe 1 second buff extension per kill rather than 2 seconds. Simply because it's going to become pretty easy to get all the buffs on yourself because there's only going to be a few buffs in the urn rotation. Time Circle (now with Silence), Ultralucky, Sword Fury. Add in a permanent hasten because you keep killing stuff, and it's wouldn't be hard to keep these buffs on you at all times.

1 second would make it useless. Most levels don't have enough enemies that are quick to kill and packed close enough together for it to do anything even at the current duration, and many of the ones that do—like MM Gardens—are so easy already that it doesn't matter. As fun as the combo is, the only levels where it's really useful is Crypt-3, Hurgoth and Vataneba, and even that last one is suspect because she's easy anyway.

Went after some achievements.
Found out you cannot unlock "crossed the streams" in master mode.
Same with the eyeball one (can someone tell me how to get this, they always see me)

Is the last secret achievement glitched?
What's the one before it? The pinnacle one?

I also am confused someone said in master mode castle = estate. Kepa can you change it to reflect that because I CANNOT find any secret in the estate.

Level 70 now. Going to beat crypt 3 on master mode three stars then get all boss hats and call it a day until furture update hits. Maybe get the shadow slueth achievement if I'm up for it.

The eyeball one just kind of popped for me and my brother arbitrarily. Honestly, I have no idea how you're 'supposed' to get it. Maybe try the ghost pet and nail it with a targeted spell before it shoots you?

There is a secret in MM estate. But yea, it's weird that it says Castle.

@ Kepa: Are the note indicators for each level going to be in the upcoming update?

EDIT: Wait! I do actually remember how I got the eyeball one. Stand right next to it with the phoenix feather and let it kill you. It won't see you because it thinks you're 'dead', and when you erupt the achievement should pop.

[PixyJunket]

I finished Story Mode begrudgingly last night, at some point the levels just become overlong, tedious and boring, even when well populated with magic, hearts and enemies. But I stuck with it because of hearing how much better Master Mode is and because deep down, I really like the base mechanics of the game.

But yeah, I can't stress enough how much of a better game Mage Gauntlet is in Master Mode. Every aspect of it feels better. The shorter level length, the denser monster placement, the lack of CONSTANT "push the invisible wall" secret areas (and the secret areas that ARE present along with the clues to find them just feels better) and even the "plot" of master mode, both in how it's presented and the content of it, is better.

I have about half a dozen levels in Story Mode that I didn't three star and I'm kind of bummed I'll have to go back to that pacing to complete them (well I don't HAVE to but I'm THIS far, I might as well). I think I'll take a little break until the next bug fix and balance update hits.

Speaking of, any news on that? That would cover the twelfth secret achievement in Story Mode along with making one of the trinkets increase the hat drop rate, if I'm remembering my quick browse through the thread. I'll be cool taking a breather until it hits.

I'm at 76/86 achievements right now. <3

[Quazonk]

I could increase the hasten duration, but it was always intended to just help you get on the main path faster, not as a combat thing. I guess we could anyway, just for the hell of it.

I don't want to add spells to breakables, as doing so would make breaking things mandatory. We added the gnomes to at least kind of ease the pain of your obsessive compulsive disorders, but I don't want to make breaking everything in a level mandatory.

New IAP: If the robe is too fun, we may just make it a loot item and do a pack as suggested. Just to test if that's better than doing single items.


Kepa: I'm not asking to increase the hasten duration as a combat aide, I just want it a few seconds longer to actually get you back on the path, as it usually runs out when you're only part-way back, even when dashing. 2/3 seconds extra?

Adding spells to breakables would make breaking things mandatory? How do you figure? If the levels were left as-is, you wouldn't need additional spells to pass the levels, right? I don't see how the addition of 1 or maybe 2 randomly placed fireballs or acid clouds in like 1/500 barrels in a level would suddenly make breaking all items mandatory..it wouldn't! It would just make it a little more fun to smash everything! Even relegate it to just the crappy spells ("lucky" would be the suggestion if it weren't being removed) if need be, but c'mon, give us something in those things!

Lastly, about IAP: Obviously as you know, IAP is a touchy thing. I really don't think there's any testing needed to determine whether players would prefer single items to packs. Packs all the way! In fact, I think you should only release packs! No single item is worth a whole dollar, but we pay it because we love Rocketcat and love the game. I'd probably buy the new Call of Duty for $150 if that's what they MADE me pay for it, but I don't want to have to! I really don't want to pay 4 or 5 bucks for a matching suit, weapon & pet for Lexi. Of course the simple reply here is "then don't buy it", but obviously I want the items, I'm eager to support you, I just don't want to pay the same for 20 pixels as I would pay for an entire new game on the App Store. I think there should be packs only, and I think they should be $0.99/pack, personally. $1.99 at the most. The last thing you wanna do is charge too much for IAP (here's looking at you, Gameloft), even if it's optional and not at all mandatory. Reasonably priced IAP is the way to a gamer's heart.

Thanks for doing so much follow-up and putting so much effort in listening to your fans, it truly is the key to success and longevity in a market as competitive as the App Store. Keep it up!

[jasonchu]

so frustrated, i registered just to get some advice.

I was loving my play through Story Mode until the final boss fight. I could handle the difficulty curve on the last screen, crypt 3 was no problem, etc. After a couple of tries, I was able to get through Pinnacle 2/3.

But the final boss is absolutely slaughtering me. I don't know what it is, but I'm not even denting him; I'll get the progress messages (the highest I've gotten to is when you ask Whitebeard "How much longer?" and he replies), but just can't seal the deal (pun definitely intended). Every other boss fell on the first try - I've tried all kinds of combinations of weapons/pendants*, but it's just not happening for me.

Maybe my Magic is too low? I'm 6/15/16.

Any strategies would be highly recommended. I was using Arcane Heart + Hungry Sword.

*note - when I equipped the Old Pendant, I barely got any buffing spells. Same with Whitebeard's Ring (to use in conjunction with the blue robe +55 to frost), barely got any frost. Anyone else encountering this?

[Nightmare13]

so frustrated, i registered just to get some advice.

I was loving my play through Story Mode until the final boss fight. I could handle the difficulty curve on the last screen, crypt 3 was no problem, etc. After a couple of tries, I was able to get through Pinnacle 2/3.

But the final boss is absolutely slaughtering me. I don't know what it is, but I'm not even denting him; I'll get the progress messages (the highest I've gotten to is when you ask Whitebeard "How much longer?" and he replies), but just can't seal the deal (pun definitely intended). Every other boss fell on the first try - I've tried all kinds of combinations of weapons/pendants*, but it's just not happening for me.

Maybe my Magic is too low? I'm 6/15/16.

Any strategies would be highly recommended. I was using Arcane Heart + Hungry Sword.

*note - when I equipped the Old Pendant, I barely got any buffing spells. Same with Whitebeard's Ring (to use in conjunction with the blue robe +55 to frost), barely got any frost. Anyone else encountering this?

Old Pendant doesn't increase the chance of encountering a buff spell, it only boosts the duration. Glowing Sword, however, will increase your chances of running into buff spells, so definitely use it if that's the route you're going to take. Also, if you don't get the spells you're looking for in the 4 urns at the beginning of any boss fight, just quit to the map and restart.

For story mode Hurgoth, however (as opposed to MM), I probably wouldn't use the Glowing Sword + Penant combo since he only summons 4 enemies at a time. The glowing enemies only drop targeted spells. so if your buffs run out because he's not summoning fast enough then you're out of luck, and both your sword and trinket are useless. Generally I only use that for MM Hurgoth (who summons 8 at a time) or MM Vataneba, who summons some absurd number like 12 (though most of those are basic zombies).

Giantslayer isn't available until MM, though that's probably the best general use weapon for boss fights. If you have the IAP, I'd still recommend the Phoenix Feather, because it's just that good.

If not, I'd recommend Demon's Ring + Singe Trappings + Whatever sword. Usually I use Pyre Garment, but your magic (and therefore your magic crit %) is pretty low, and you really want those Fireball crits.

With Demon's Ring you'll get a LOT of Fireballs and Shadow Bombs, which are easily the best spells in this fight (if not in general). Kepa may disagree with me here, but I digress. :P

Shadow Bomb is great because it hits two locations. So as soon as he summons, you want to dash to either the left or right, within range of both spawn points on that side, then cast Shadow Bomb over on the opposite side. If it's done right you should be able to take out all 4 summons 100% of the time, and you may be able to hit Hurgoth with one or both as well (especially if you critical).

Fireball only hits one location, so it really needs that critical to do its job properly. But with Singe Trappings you should be able to just launch it arbitrarily in the middle of the fight and take out basically everyone.

In between waves of enemies, just pound on him with whatever you have (Hungry Blade I guess would be viable if you don't have Inferno Blade), then repeat. Just watch out for his lasers—they can be difficult to notice because he doesn't make an obvious show of charging up, he just flashes white a little bit. Unfortunately, he also flashes as he takes damage while you pound on him. You'll get the hang of it without too much trouble, though. When in doubt, just dash to the side for a second and dash back.

Don't use up your spells on him too early, since you want to save them for when he has minions out. Once you get that 3rd notification, however, you can just launch whatever spells you have left at his face and he should die.

EDIT: Just cleared him in probably about a minute using that setup, for reference sake. I'd record it but I'm at school right now.

[jasonchu]

great tactics. just took hurgoth down 2x. thanks so much.

[hiwind]

Went though the game 5 times now to try and find all secrets and haven't had any luck with these:
- Sister Anvil
- Warchief Tent
- Cave Painting
- Ruined Golems
- The very last 2 achievements in the list

Could anyone point me in the right direction for those? At the very least, I could use the level+mode(story or master) for each?

Thanks!

[iVaro]

Went though the game 5 times now to try and find all secrets and haven't had any luck with these:
- Sister Anvil
- Warchief Tent
- Cave Painting
- Ruined Golems
- The very last 2 achievements in the list

Could anyone point me in the right direction for those? At the very least, I could use the level+mode(story or master) for each?

Thanks!

the achievements that you listed are secret area achievements in story mode levels. Check the 3rd levels I remember them in the levels on the first map

[Nightmare13]

Went though the game 5 times now to try and find all secrets and haven't had any luck with these:
- Sister Anvil
- Warchief Tent
- Cave Painting
- Ruined Golems
- The very last 2 achievements in the list

Could anyone point me in the right direction for those? At the very least, I could use the level+mode(story or master) for each?

Thanks!

They're all in Story Mode. Just be thorough in each level, a lot of them are through hidden walls. Some of them will be noticeably marked by things like different colors on the ground, etc, and some are trickier.

The last three of the four you listed are in Orc Forest, Boarlands and I believe the Undergardens, respectively. Don't remember where Sister Anvil is but it's pretty early. Ruins Crossing, maybe?

The last two achievements on the list are still glitched. Don't worry about them until the next update hits.

[hiwind]

Thanks. I found Sister Anvil and Ruined Golems. No luck on the other 2 yet.

Edit: Found Cave Painting.

Edit: Finally found the Warchief Tent. And the crystal staff.

Anyone know where the Cursed Skull is?

And ive found gnomey 3 times but cant select it as a pet..

[Ariectus]

I love this game so much, I'm doling it out to myself in tiny bits, because I really really don't want to beat it and have it be over, lol.

Also, I was shocked when I got on TA tonight, for the first time since it came out the Mage Gauntlet thread wasn't on the sidebar on the main page! It looks like its because of all the new releases though.

[Kepa]

I also am confused someone said in master mode castle = estate. Kepa can you change it to reflect that because I CANNOT find any secret in the estate.

Wait, what do you want me to do, exactly?

Still addicted to ths game. Any ETA on the universal update or iCloud support being in there? Can't wait to play it on iPad.

No ETA until we submit it.

1 second would make it useless. Most levels don't have enough enemies that are quick to kill and packed close enough together for it to do anything even at the current duration, and many of the ones that do—like MM Gardens—are so easy already that it doesn't matter. As fun as the combo is

@ Kepa: Are the note indicators for each level going to be in the upcoming update?

Yeah I'll see if anything should be done with the combo once the buff spell changes are in. The change is that with only a few buff spells, you'll get those buff spells constantly with Glowing Sword. That, and that'll be stronger than what they were.

Dunno yet, haven't gotten to that request. If this update gets huge, we might not be able to do the content update until the new game is nearly out.

I finished Story Mode begrudgingly last night, at some point the levels just become overlong, tedious and boring, even when well populated with magic, hearts and enemies. But I stuck with it because of hearing how much better Master Mode is and because deep down, I really like the base mechanics of the game.

But yeah, I can't stress enough how much of a better game Mage Gauntlet is in Master Mode. Every aspect of it feels better. The shorter level length, the denser monster placement, the lack of CONSTANT "push the invisible wall" secret areas (and the secret areas that ARE present along with the clues to find them just feels better) and even the "plot" of master mode, both in how it's presented and the content of it, is better.

Thanks, good feedback. I really want to shorten the Story Mode levels, but I think this is basically impossible right now due to time. What I'm doing for now is just adding more spells and trying to make sure you never get a disappointing spell (taking shield and lucky out of the rotation, merging silence and time circle into one spell, making sword fury stronger). It's a band-aid and not a total fix, but shortening the levels would be a huge amount of work.

For future games we'll design things around Master Mode's pacing.

Kepa: I'm not asking to increase the hasten duration as a combat aide, I just want it a few seconds longer to actually get you back on the path, as it usually runs out when you're only part-way back, even when dashing. 2/3 seconds extra?

Adding spells to breakables would make breaking things mandatory? How do you figure? If the levels were left as-is, you wouldn't need additional spells to pass the levels, right? I don't see how the addition of 1 or maybe 2 randomly placed fireballs or acid clouds in like 1/500 barrels in a level would suddenly make breaking all items mandatory..it wouldn't!

Lastly, about IAP: Obviously as you know, IAP is a touchy thing. I really don't think there's any testing needed to determine whether players would prefer single items to packs. Packs all the way! In fact, I think you should only release packs!

We can add a little more duration to the haste urns, sure.

It becomes mandatory because everyone will start breaking things for those extra spells. Even if they're crappy spells. If breaking things provides an advantage (however slight), then not breaking things is a comparable disadvantage. We'll do coins or something in the next game. Anyway, there's gnomes in there now.

We'll try a pack in the content update, along with the single items (the drudge costume and robe that adds a bonus damage effect to dashing and charging). The cheaper we make a pack, the less powerful the items would be, though. Maybe a pet + robe + hat pack, leaving out the trinket and sword means way less playtesting required.

Anyone know where the Cursed Skull is?

And ive found gnomey 3 times but cant select it as a pet..

Cursed Skull is in master mode, at the end of the line of secrets.

Find him 5 times.

[Ariectus]

Hey kepa, does Gnomey still show up in barrels after you've unlocked him as a pet? I'm thinking of the screenshot potential here, lol. Two Gnomeys and a Gnomey-hatted Lexi ftw!

[TotallyImba]

Is there like a 'best' set of items in this game or does it really just depend on your play style?

If so what are their names?

[SirDarkened]

Is there like a 'best' set of items in this game or does it really just depend on your play style?

If so what are their names?

Half playstyle/other half 'best'

If you like 'buff' spells there is an equipment set for you.

If you like the 'earthspike' spell there is an equipment set for you.

Phoenix Feather is a must for most levels if you plan on getting 3 stars.

The swords can be changed, some people like the inferno blade. I personally like the hungry blade.

Most armor you get in story mode is useless in a sense. All good armor (three sets imo) are all gotten in Master Mode. Unless you buy the IAP robe.

I cannot seem to unlock this stupid eyeball achievement. Sort of frustrating.
Also feel kind of dumb... how do you get WHAAM! I use the 50% damage increase sword to no avail... even crit doesn't "count". Which enemies even have "30 hp".

Kepa, go to the master mode secret that talks about the "castle" and change that to "estate" unless there is some kind of "castle" I am missing out on...?

Haven't played too much since I hit 300 stars and beat master mode. Only really going after achievements/hitting level 75 now. Crypt 3 on master mode is too hard for me to three star. Tried for like 4 hours. Going to watch that video someone posted now.

Anyway I'm really pumped for this update and feel that everything will be addressed.

Kepa I would like to request for you to add something so that when you find one of the 13 (or is it 12?) books you get a 1/13 found and then 2/13 and so on until you find all of them.

If you miss one it keeps the count going so you won't exactly know where you missed it, but you know you missed one. This should make implementation a little easier. If you can't do it, oh well. But if you can I will wait until the update to go and find them again. Obviously this update will start everyone at 0/13 found so people who have the achievement don't have to worry but everyone else can start anew. Dunno, not too sure how this will work out since people have started finding these books already.

I'm a little mad because I had the achievement in OF and it didn't transfer over. Also if you find books while using OF and switch to GC before you find all of them in OF it probably didn't register the books you found in OF. That's what I'm assuming, of course.

[Nightmare13]

Yeah I'll see if anything should be done with the combo once the buff spell changes are in. The change is that with only a few buff spells, you'll get those buff spells constantly with Glowing Sword. That, and that'll be stronger than what they were.

Dunno yet, haven't gotten to that request. If this update gets huge, we might not be able to do the content update until the new game is nearly out.

Maybe 1.5 seconds, but not 1. With a 1 second buff, maybe you're fast enough to hang onto those buffs while you clear a room, but they're generally going to disappear before you reach the next room. And if that's the case, then your buff is still strictly inferior to something like Fireball, since you still risk taking damage with the buff skill up.

Please try to get to the note tracker, since I'm holding off on Shadow Sleuth. I've got to imagine that your save data already tracks which ones you've read—there's no other way the achievement could possibly work—so it probably wouldn't be too much work to implement this. I know a lot of other players would be happy with this change, as well.

I cannot seem to unlock this stupid eyeball achievement. Sort of frustrating.
Also feel kind of dumb... how do you get WHAAM! I use the 50% damage increase sword to no avail... even crit doesn't "count". Which enemies even have "30 hp".

Kepa, go to the master mode secret that talks about the "castle" and change that to "estate" unless there is some kind of "castle" I am missing out on...?

Haven't played too much since I hit 300 stars and beat master mode. Only really going after achievements/hitting level 75 now. Crypt 3 on master mode is too hard for me to three star. Tried for like 4 hours. Going to watch that video someone posted now.

Anyway I'm really pumped for this update and feel that everything will be addressed.

Kepa I would like to request for you to add something so that when you find one of the 13 (or is it 12?) books you get a 1/13 found and then 2/13 and so on until you find all of them.

If you miss one it keeps the count going so you won't exactly know where you missed it, but you know you missed one. This should make implementation a little easier. If you can't do it, oh well. But if you can I will wait until the update to go and find them again. Obviously this update will start everyone at 0/13 found so people who have the achievement don't have to worry but everyone else can start anew. Dunno, not too sure how this will work out since people have started finding these books already.

I'm a little mad because I had the achievement in OF and it didn't transfer over. Also if you find books while using OF and switch to GC before you find all of them in OF it probably didn't register the books you found in OF. That's what I'm assuming, of course.

Forgot about "WHAAM!". I do feel like that description is completely arbitrary, since the player is given absolutely zero information about how much damage a sword swing does... so you can't even estimate which enemies have enough health to take down. Unfortunately, I don't think that's something that can really be changed easily, without adding some kind of complex beastiary.

Anyway, I think that I unlocked it on those primal slimes in Slime Temple story mode. Just use the Heavy Cleaver + Rage Talisman and smack a couple of them until you get a crit. That might even be overkill itself.

No, the castle listed in the notes is definitely the estate. I've gotten the secret in there, so it is there. But maybe correcting that note would be a good idea.

Absolutely no reason why adding a tracking feature would have to start everyone from 0, since Shadow Sleuth isn't technically "bugged." Your save data must be already tracking which ones you've read and which ones you haven't. And since that's the case, there's also no reason for it to be as simple a counter as you describe. The game has to track which ones you've found and not just the number that you've read (or else you'd be able to read the same one over and over), so the notification might as well be area-based at the very least so you have some sort of indication where to look.

[SirDarkened]

Forgot about "WHAAM!". I do feel like that description is completely arbitrary, since the player is given absolutely zero information about how much damage a sword swing does... so you can't even estimate which enemies have enough health to take down. Unfortunately, I don't think that's something that can really be changed easily, without adding some kind of complex beastiary.

Anyway, I think that I unlocked it on those primal slimes in Slime Temple story mode. Just use the Heavy Cleaver + Rage Talisman and smack a couple of them until you get a crit. That might even be overkill itself.

That didn't work. The one about the eyeball didn't work either... :(. Those are the two easy achievements I am failing to get.

[PixyJunket]

Thanks, good feedback. I really want to shorten the Story Mode levels, but I think this is basically impossible right now due to time. What I'm doing for now is just adding more spells and trying to make sure you never get a disappointing spell (taking shield and lucky out of the rotation, merging silence and time circle into one spell, making sword fury stronger). It's a band-aid and not a total fix, but shortening the levels would be a huge amount of work.

For future games we'll design things around Master Mode's pacing.You're welcome. I'm a very seasoned gamer and I think you are too for a couple of reasons. One, it seems great care was made to ensure the crisp pixel art translated well to the "retina" screen, as opposed to letting the device ruin it with softening filters. Two, it seems EXTREME care was made to the controls. I am at the point now where I refuse to buy iOS games with virtual dpads/buttons. I made a strange exception for MG for whatever reason and I was surprised, the controls are probably the best on the device. Congrats on that. You should really license out your control scheme to other iOS developers.

Hey kepa, does Gnomey still show up in barrels after you've unlocked him as a pet? I'm thinking of the screenshot potential here, lol. Two Gnomeys and a Gnomey-hatted Lexi ftw!Yes. Sad to say that I've found Gnomey somewhere between eight and ten times at this point.

[Nightmare13]

That didn't work. The one about the eyeball didn't work either... :(. Those are the two easy achievements I am failing to get.

I'm pretty sure that was how I got it. Keep in mind that you need to defeat them in one swing, not just do 30+ damage in a swing, so you need that critical the first time you actually hit the enemy and he needs to die.

If that still doesn't work, maybe Kepa can shine more light on it.

I edited my previous post about the eyeball one. The easiest way is just to use the phoenix feather and let one of the eyeballs kill you. Make sure you're close enough for the feather explosion to kill him and you should get the achievement.

[Kepa]

Hey kepa, does Gnomey still show up in barrels after you've unlocked him as a pet? I'm thinking of the screenshot potential here, lol. Two Gnomeys and a Gnomey-hatted Lexi ftw!

ya

I cannot seem to unlock this stupid eyeball achievement. Sort of frustrating. Also feel kind of dumb... how do you get WHAAM! I use the 50% damage increase sword to no avail... even crit doesn't "count". Which enemies even have "30 hp".

Kepa, go to the master mode secret that talks about the "castle" and change that to "estate" unless there is some kind of "castle" I am missing out on...?

Kepa I would like to request for you to add something so that when you find one of the 13 (or is it 12?) books you get a 1/13 found and then 2/13 and so on until you find all of them.

I remember getting the eyeball achievement from just shooting one that wasn't fully onscreen. I'll check it out and see a good strategy. The WHAAM achievement is really just pumping up your crit a lot and then fighting things that usually take 3 hits with a normal sword to take down. Orc Forest small axe orcs are a good one, or the red skeletons in Ashen.

I guess I could change that text a little.

Your achievements should have transferred over. We store achievement data in the game itself and its browser. We'll be putting in icons for each level saying if there's notes in it, and if you've already found all notes in it. I think someone else has had this problem, but eventually the achievements just popped up for him in GameCenter.

Maybe 1.5 seconds, but not 1. With a 1 second buff, maybe you're fast enough to hang onto those buffs while you clear a room, but they're generally going to disappear before you reach the next room. And if that's the case, then your buff is still strictly inferior to something like Fireball, since you still risk taking damage with the buff skill up.

Anyway, I think that I unlocked it on those primal slimes in Slime Temple story mode. Just use the Heavy Cleaver + Rage Talisman and smack a couple of them until you get a crit. That might even be overkill itself.

1.5 seconds is more likely, yeah. Or maybe just making the buff spells a little rarer? Though it may be the case that I just do nothing at all, since the buff spells needed improving, anyway. I've always just been paranoid about making the buffs too good, which is why they're so crappy right now.

Yeah, heavy cleaver, get your crit % up, fight things that usually take 3 swings to kill.

[tops2]

Just like a few others, I just tried getting through the story mode asap..and finally got to the master mode and like it a lot more. As everyone has mentioned, the pacing, length of levels, the number of monsters and more magic makes the game much more fun. And as a few mentioned, its more fun for me to just skip looking for the secret areas.

I barely got to the third screen of levels and boy are some of the levels hard. ;) I only completed Ashen Cult 1 & 2. I really struggled on 1 & 3 (currently trying to pass it)..the beginning feels really tough especially with not as many magic urns around. I think the hardest enemies for me so far are those big cow enemies that shoot fire/ice balls and that "half-circle" area of effect spells. Heres to more practicing.

[SirDarkened]

ya



I remember getting the eyeball achievement from just shooting one that wasn't fully onscreen. I'll check it out and see a good strategy. The WHAAM achievement is really just pumping up your crit a lot and then fighting things that usually take 3 hits with a normal sword to take down. Orc Forest small axe orcs are a good one, or the red skeletons in Ashen.

Yeah, heavy cleaver, get your crit % up, fight things that usually take 3 swings to kill.

This took 10 seconds after reading this. Simply use the heavy cleaver, Lich's Foot, and Husk of the Lich. Go to Orc Forest GOLD in story mode, find the first orc that swings his axe at you and crit him. Wham achievement unlocked.

The eyeball one still is quite tough to get. :(

[Ashflow]

The eyeball one still is quite tough to get. :(

I remember when I was trying to get this achievement: I went to a place where I knew an eyeball was, but didn't go so far that I could see him (AT ALL), and used a fireball as close to the edge of the screen as I could get. Worked like a charm.

Sidenote: Kind of got lucky with WHAM, as I wasn't even trying to get it. I believe I had the axe, but I didn't have any trinkets or armor that would have helped for it...

[SirDarkened]

I remember when I was trying to get this achievement: I went to a place where I knew an eyeball was, but didn't go so far that I could see him (AT ALL), and used a fireball as close to the edge of the screen as I could get. Worked like a charm.

Going to do this tonight, know exact map/spot to do this. Going to use the thing that makes fireball pop up more. Will get back to you on this.

Then I have to find all of the books ;P.

[Guise]

Any advice on which level to play first on the 3rd screen? Was wondering if playing them in a certain order was the ideal MG experience.

Also, I know there's been discussion of a counter for books found (1/13). Would it be possible to have an indication of which stars have been earned on each sub-level and which still need doing? I've got 1 or 2 stars on a bunch of levels and would like to know which ones have secrets I still need to find and which ones I didn't kill all the enemies or died on. Don't know if that makes sense or how hard it would be to implement.

Thanks in advance for any advice/info. Keep rockin', Kepa.

[SirDarkened]

Any advice on which level to play first on the 3rd screen? Was wondering if playing them in a certain order was the ideal MG experience.

Also, I know there's been discussion of a counter for books found (1/13). Would it be possible to have an indication of which stars have been earned on each sub-level and which still need doing? I've got 1 or 2 stars on a bunch of levels and would like to know which ones have secrets I still need to find and which ones I didn't kill all the enemies or died on. Don't know if that makes sense or how hard it would be to implement.

Thanks in advance for any advice/info. Keep rockin', Kepa.

Stars work like this.

1 star = win the level
2 stars = kill all enemies
3 stars = kill all enemies and DONT DIE

there are no stars for finding secrets.

[Teh_Ninja]

I found the "King's Wager" what is so special about it?

[Ashflow]

I found the "King's Wager" what is so special about it?

I don't know, but, ironically, that was the main sword I used until I bought the Inferno Blade :P

[Quazonk]

A certain well known Toucharcade competitor just named Mage Gauntlet game of the month! Congrats team Rocketcat! Says a lot about the game since this wasn't exactly a shallow month of game releases. Way to go guys, truly deserving of the accolades.

[SirDarkened]

I found the "King's Wager" what is so special about it?

It apparently does 1x damage with a 50% chance to hit 1.5x damage. Not totally sure. Kepa can clarify.

[Guise]

Stars work like this.

1 star = win the level
2 stars = kill all enemies
3 stars = kill all enemies and DONT DIE

there are no stars for finding secrets.

Damn, I think I knew that already and know it's been asked/answered a whole bunch of times. But thanks anyway for the patient reply.

Anyone have thoughts on the best order of levels for 3rd page or doesn't it matter much? Thanks in advance.

[Ashflow]

It doesn't matter in the slightest.

I actually did the first two levels of each before really getting ready to take on each one's gold level, but it honestly doesn't matter whatsoever.

EDIT:Talking about Master Mode in that last sentence. In story mode I went Cult>Crypt>Temple

[Nightmare13]

Damn, I think I knew that already and know it's been asked/answered a whole bunch of times. But thanks anyway for the patient reply.

Anyone have thoughts on the best order of levels for 3rd page or doesn't it matter much? Thanks in advance.

It doesn't matter. Slime Temple was the easiest in my opinion on Master Mode. Crypt 1 and 2 were pretty easy as well. Ashen Cult 1 and 3, and Crypt 3 are the hardest.

[SirDarkened]

Damn, I think I knew that already and know it's been asked/answered a whole bunch of times. But thanks anyway for the patient reply.

Anyone have thoughts on the best order of levels for 3rd page or doesn't it matter much? Thanks in advance.

No problem. It doesn't "matter" but I honestly believe there is an order.

Temple, Cult, then Crypt. Won't effect the plot line, that's order of difficulty imo for story mode, and it seems the most logical order for the levels to be in.

[Kepa]

I found the "King's Wager" what is so special about it?

It does random amounts of damage between 1x (normal sword damage) and 1.5x (the same damage Heavy Cleaver does), with no downsides.

The problem is that it's really subtle and therefore sort of LAME. I'm thinking of making it do 0.8x damage (weaker than normal), but have a high chance of instantly casting a spell (like what the Inferno Blade and Crystal Staff do).

Are there any other weapons that seem underpowered right now? Since people like the Inferno Blade/Crystal Staff so much, I'm thinking of changing some other swords to be more like those. Would be easy to do.

Look at the old weapons and suggest any changes to buff them up, keeping the above in mind.

[Guise]

Thanks for the advice re: level order, y'all. Gonna go Temple, Cult, Crypt.

[crex]

Just featured on Attack of the Show. :)

[Teh_Ninja]

It does random amounts of damage between 1x (normal sword damage) and 1.5x (the same damage Heavy Cleaver does), with no downsides.

The problem is that it's really subtle and therefore sort of LAME. I'm thinking of making it do 0.8x damage (weaker than normal), but have a high chance of instantly casting a spell (like what the Inferno Blade and Crystal Staff do).

Are there any other weapons that seem underpowered right now? Since people like the Inferno Blade/Crystal Staff so much, I'm thinking of changing some other swords to be more like those. Would be easy to do.

Look at the old weapons and suggest any changes to buff them up, keeping the above in mind.

Thank you :)

[Nightmare13]

It does random amounts of damage between 1x (normal sword damage) and 1.5x (the same damage Heavy Cleaver does), with no downsides.

The problem is that it's really subtle and therefore sort of LAME. I'm thinking of making it do 0.8x damage (weaker than normal), but have a high chance of instantly casting a spell (like what the Inferno Blade and Crystal Staff do).

Are there any other weapons that seem underpowered right now? Since people like the Inferno Blade/Crystal Staff so much, I'm thinking of changing some other swords to be more like those. Would be easy to do.

Look at the old weapons and suggest any changes to buff them up, keeping the above in mind.

Everything except the Inferno Blade / Crystal Staff / Giantslayer / Glowing Sword right now is basically inferior to those 4. Bump up the odds for Hungry Blade a little bit and it might become more viable. Corruption is interesting but not quite good enough... maybe add some lingering poison style damage to it.

What exactly are the odds on Hungry Blade and Gambler's Cut anyway?

[SirDarkened]

It does random amounts of damage between 1x (normal sword damage) and 1.5x (the same damage Heavy Cleaver does), with no downsides.

The problem is that it's really subtle and therefore sort of LAME. I'm thinking of making it do 0.8x damage (weaker than normal), but have a high chance of instantly casting a spell (like what the Inferno Blade and Crystal Staff do).

Are there any other weapons that seem underpowered right now? Since people like the Inferno Blade/Crystal Staff so much, I'm thinking of changing some other swords to be more like those. Would be easy to do.

Look at the old weapons and suggest any changes to buff them up, keeping the above in mind.

Kings should be .08 or whatever, would be nice to be .05 but do 3 electric strikes 30% of the time. 50% of the time only does one? Would this be OP?

Punishment should be changed. Not sure to what but its quite lame. You need to make more combos useful (Glowing sword/old pendant). Currently almost all of the armor is garbage.

Corruption should do acid spell. It's utterly useless once you receive End of Hope.

[Kepa]

Punishment should be changed. Not sure to what but its quite lame. You need to make more combos useful (Glowing sword/old pendant). Currently almost all of the armor is garbage.

Corruption should do acid spell. It's utterly useless once you receive End of Hope.

Right now I'm thinking King's will do less physical damage than a normal sword (so most things will take an extra hit to kill), but have a rather high chance to do an 8-directional shockwave proc, with everything it touches getting hit for 1.5x damage.

I was already thinking of changing Corruption to having a chance to do a mini-acid cloud. Maybe I'd just buff the slow component of End of Hope to compensate, to make it more in line with the current BIG 4 of swords.

Gambler's Cut and Hungry Blade actually have a pretty high chance to proc, it's just that they're limited to only working a few times per level. Hungry works 6 times per level (so restores up to 3 hearts) and Gambler's works twice.

No idea what to do with Punishment. Maybe make the punishment proc also do a knockdown stun?

The armor's crap for the most part, but I can't really improve that this game. Focus on the weapons. Everyone: Tell me what weapons you'd like to see buffed or altered completely, and it just might happen.

[SirDarkened]

Right now I'm thinking King's will do less physical damage than a normal sword (so most things will take an extra hit to kill), but have a rather high chance to do an 8-directional shockwave proc, with everything it touches getting hit for 1.5x damage.

Exactly what I had in mind.

I was already thinking of changing Corruption to having a chance to do a mini-acid cloud. Maybe I'd just buff the slow component of End of Hope to compensate, to make it more in line with the current BIG 4 of swords.

Yes, do this.

As well make Gambler's Cut work 4 times a level instead of 2. Low spell count in Master Mode might make this useful, otherwise it's currently useless. The Hungry Sword is perfect, I use it all the time.


No idea what to do with Punishment. Maybe make the punishment proc also do a knockdown stun?

I suppose this will do won't be that great, but will help to compare it to the other items.

Everyone: Tell me what weapons you'd like to see buffed or altered completely, and it just might happen.

You are an incredible developer, I aspire to be like you one day.


Only other feedback I have is that some more detailed trinket descriptions would be nice. I can write them if you want. To show what the weapons ACTUALLY do. ;)

I still recall the days when a developer would push out a game and be stuck with it as the final product, even if it sucked, you had what you had and you had to be happy with it. Boy how is has changed in only 10 years...

[Ariectus]

Maybe you could make one of the crappier weapons entirely different (or just add a new one) and have it be a short solid grappling hook? That way you don't have to mess with any physics, it can act like a mace or whatever, but at least theres a hook weapon in the game ;] The description could be something along the lines of somebody trying to gold plate their cherished hook and it not turning out so well so they have to bludgeon their way out of these damn temples and such instead of easily swinging their way to freedom

[Ashflow]

In addition to all of the suggestions so far, I think the Magekiller could use a buff. The End of Hope already makes it obsolete, right? So I'd suggest switching its current ability to having a 25% chance to shoot out 3 ice shards in the direction Lexi's facing when she swings the sword. Maybe that's overpowered (the 25% chance), but I can't really test it, can I?

[Werebite870]

Maybe you could make one of the crappier weapons entirely different (or just add a new one) and have it be a short solid grappling hook? That way you don't have to mess with any physics, it can act like a mace or whatever, but at least theres a hook weapon in the game ;] The description could be something along the lines of somebody trying to gold plate their cherished hook and it not turning out so well so they have to bludgeon their way out of these damn temples and such instead of easily swinging their way to freedom

Love the idea of a gold hook as a weapon. Maybe that combined with some sort of gnome color changing costume could make an IAP set

[Ashflow]

Love the idea of a gold hook as a weapon. Maybe that combined with some sort of gnome color changing costume could make an IAP set

I too love that idea, just forgot to say before. Your addition is cool as well.

The color changing robe could let you do 100x more damage to ink wraiths! Think of the POWER! (To go along with Gnomey's completely overpowered ability, of course.)

[JackMule]

On the note about buffing weapons and things, Heavy Cleaver is arguably one of the best for me.

Hurgoth can simply be beaten with the Demon's Ring, any armour and for the most part any weapon you choose. Easiest way to beat him (works on Master Mode too) walk in, use 2~3 spells (save shadow bombs/fireballs), attack with sword. After he spawns, run around the small area around the edge killing the 1-hitters if need be, wait for him to spawn a second time (or third if you're boss), use either shadow bomb or two fireballs, attack hurgoth, then repeat. Hurgoth can easely be taken down with one life or maybe even 1 hit with this strategy.

[JackMule]

Another thing, the Husk Of Lich sucks. I'd prefer the stats and the battle armour (red one) over the Lich one even if the Lich one didn't have the -1 heart side-effect. It's fun to use with the 90% crit rate set up though (with Lich's Foot).

[Ashflow]

AWESOME:
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/164888_177257025648435_170419859665485_389332_3351 626_n.jpg

Their FB page has more concept art and really cool artwork. The mini-slimes are just pure awesome, though :D

[justbanter]

What is the "obscure secret" that was added in the recent update?

[Ashflow]

There's a 1/1000 chance that Gnomey (a gnome from the last 2 hook games) will burst out of something you break.
Find him 5 times and you'll be "rewarded" ;)

[vibliribland]

I just found a Gnome, hit him a few times and he changed colour.
Then I died before I could hit him enough I guess.

What is he for?

[jar0d]

Hi everyone,

does someone got a gnome screen for us? Would love to see him in action ;)

[BazookaTime]

Nice coverage from G4, that should boost sales.

[Nightmare13]

I was already thinking of changing Corruption to having a chance to do a mini-acid cloud. Maybe I'd just buff the slow component of End of Hope to compensate, to make it more in line with the current BIG 4 of swords.

Wait, End of Hope has a slow effect? o.O

On the note about buffing weapons and things, Heavy Cleaver is arguably one of the best for me.

Hurgoth can simply be beaten with the Demon's Ring, any armour and for the most part any weapon you choose. Easiest way to beat him (works on Master Mode too) walk in, use 2~3 spells (save shadow bombs/fireballs), attack with sword. After he spawns, run around the small area around the edge killing the 1-hitters if need be, wait for him to spawn a second time (or third if you're boss), use either shadow bomb or two fireballs, attack hurgoth, then repeat. Hurgoth can easely be taken down with one life or maybe even 1 hit with this strategy.

Heavy Cleaver is definitely not one of the best weapons in any scenario. The damage buff and lower attack rate pretty much negate each other, while other weapons like the Giantslayer actually end up much stronger while retaining a normal attack rating. To be honest, I'd rather use a normal sword than Heavy Cleaver because it gives enemies less of a chance to hit me in between swings (like in Crypt-3 when I'm basically just standing and wailing on Zombies as they approach me).

IMO if you want Heavy Cleaver to have an advantage, it needs a range and knockback bonus. Give it a wider and longer arc than other sword swings, and corruption's current effect of extra knockback. Then it really behaves like a big, massive battle axe.

King's Wager: I like the Shockwave proc idea.

End of Hope: I thought this was just Punishment + Magekiller. There's a slow also? What exactly does it do? Also I feel like maybe it's criticals should be buffed to do 3x or 4x damage, since you can't critical until they charge an attack (at which point you're promoting a reckless play style).

Corruption: Acid Cloud is clearly the best option here. Acid Cloud isn't as good as Fireball / Earth Spike though (generally), so I might even suggest keeping the cloud normal sized, or buffing the proc chance.

Punishment + Magekiller: Strictly inferior to End of Hope, no? I don't really see much of a reason to buff this, except maybe give it the same crit boost that I suggested to End of Hope. They'll still be strictly inferior, but that seems to be sort of the point.

I know you said weapons, but you could easily do the same kind of thing with armors and give them a chance to proc when hit. Something like 33%, since you get hit a lot less than you swing your sword, of course. One could cast a small Shadow Bomb and teleport you to relative safety, or one could cast the new and improved time circle, or even an Ultralucky. Just some food for thought.

[PixyJunket]

I'm starting to feel some fatigue hitting the tower levels in Master Mode, I'm going to have to change my strategy. I've been rolling most of the game with the Arcane Heart/Hungry Sword combo, but I have a feeling the next six levels are going to require something a little smarter.

Maybe Crystal Staf/Archmage Mantle? Magic does seem sparse in this area so far.

[twiegp]

The big advantage of Heavy Cleaver is that there are many enemies that can be killed in one shot rather than two by it. Especially for enemies that are knocked back by hits (and you subsequently have to chase down to hit again), this is *huge*. The only time I've swapped out from Heavy Cleaver is when dealing with enemies that will take advantage of temporary gaps in defense (basically any quick-moving enemy that spawns en masse, such as green slimes or pawns.)

Overall though I do wish that more of the weapons/armor were "viable", or at least had particular niche uses. Of course, this is a problem of not having them itemized for some to be higher-level than others through stat bonuses. Still.

[Zeratulz]

Just finished the game and I have a few questions. There are spoilers below so do not read.







Spoiler: So I pray in MM I get to kill this POS Whitebeard, omg I was so angry at the ending. I'm looking forward to getting the nice items in MM and going back and beating the hell of out the levels that gave me a very hard time. Kepa, thank you for an amazing game. I can't wait for future updates to MG and new RPG's you put out. I'm a dedicated fan now. I only ask you put more RPG (perhaps, spells are kept in a spell book and have charges and can be recharged via Urns, a combo attack for the sword, nothing fancy even if it's just different animations, etc.) Overall this is one of the best iPhone games I have ever played.

EDIT: Thanks Ashflow!

[Ashflow]

@Zeratulz
There's a spoiler tag button in the reply page that you can press to make text surrounded by a black bar. The button is black and white, with the letters "Spoi". Shouldn't be hard to find :) (Maybe edit your post when you find it...)

EX) Rocketcat Rules!

[Quazonk]

The color changing robe could let you do 100x more damage to ink wraiths! Think of the POWER! (To go along with Gnomey's completely overpowered ability, of course.)

Can I ask what Gnomey's power even is? I'm almost all the way through the game, 3 starring everything including MM, and I don't know what Gnomey does besides have text bubbles appear. I thought when it said Rainbow and Friendship, that was just a joke, and he didn't actually do much. What's he do?

[Nightmare13]

Can I ask what Gnomey's power even is? I'm almost all the way through the game, 3 starring everything including MM, and I don't know what Gnomey does besides have text bubbles appear. I thought when it said Rainbow and Friendship, that was just a joke, and he didn't actually do much. What's he do?

It is a joke... he doesn't do anything. No, that's a lie. He motivates you! "Look Out!" "It's Hurgoth!"... :D

[Ashflow]

Can I ask what Gnomey's power even is? I'm almost all the way through the game, 3 starring everything including MM, and I don't know what Gnomey does besides have text bubbles appear. I thought when it said Rainbow and Friendship, that was just a joke, and he didn't actually do much. What's he do?

Like Nightmare13 said, it is a joke. As was my description of the color-changing robe. 100x damage to ink wraiths would be only slightly more powerful (because it actually does something :P) than Gnomey's "Rainbows and Friendship" buff. Ink wraiths are just the tutorial enemies.

P.S. There should totally be a giant ink wraith as an optional boss in the next game called the Monochrome Menace.

[Kepa]

Nice coverage from G4, that should boost sales.

Where can I watch this?

Heavy Cleaver is definitely not one of the best weapons in any scenario. The damage buff and lower attack rate pretty much negate each other, while other weapons like the Giantslayer actually end up much stronger while retaining a normal attack rating.

End of Hope: I thought this was just Punishment + Magekiller. There's a slow also? What exactly does it do?

Corruption: Acid Cloud is clearly the best option here. Acid Cloud isn't as good as Fireball / Earth Spike though (generally), so I might even suggest keeping the cloud normal sized, or buffing the proc chance.

Punishment + Magekiller: Strictly inferior to End of Hope, no?

I know you said weapons, but you could easily do the same kind of thing with armors and give them a chance to proc when hit.

I like Heavy Cleaver, personally. Giantslayer doesn't catch up unless you're fighting an enemy that takes more than 5 hits to down. You can also dash-cancel the slow recovery time of Heavy Cleaver to kill something fast that would otherwise take three hits. Though yeah, in the sequel we'll differentiate it more so it feels like an axe. Though increasing the knockback would actually be a bad thing, as it means you have to run to hit them again which means less damage over time.

End of Hope additionally does the same extra pain effect that Corruption does, maybe slightly weaker. If you wail on an enemy with it, they'll take longer to attack due to the extra delay. I'll probably buff the effect so it's more noticeable, but in beta I was worried the former power would have been too strong (as long as you were willing to be reckless, you could prevent most enemies from getting more than one or two attacks off).

The idea that it would be a really weak version of acid cloud, but it would happen fairly often. A little over double the frequency of Inferno Blade/Crystal staff, in exchange for a weaker effect. Also, you'd still get normal physical crits.

Punishment and Magekiller still get physical critical hits, unlike End of Hope. End of Hope is also faster than Punishment. I'm going to add a knockdown effect to Punishment's proc to make it a little more appealing. Though I probably won't add the same effect to End of Hope, instead buffing its pain effect.

Saw that the robes were sort of lame, but couldn't change them in development without changing the spell system. Certainly can't change them now. In the sequel they'll be revamped completely, and maybe we can do something with them in the upcoming spinoff so they suck less.

Zeratulz: Yeah, future games will have us concentrate on the RPG part now that all the basic combat systems are pretty well done. Spells in the sequel will work like you said (in the traditional way for most spells, with a submenu and mana and you have to find and unlock spells), and we can do more sword animations.

[BazookaTime]

@Kepa

I am not sure where or what time it will air again. Maybe some one tapes G4 and can post it or maybe it will show up on YouTube?

It was on G4 this morning and they loved the game comparing it to the classics of the 16bit age. I would guess the review was about two minutes long,showed gameplay in full screen and voiced over their love for your game.

Congrats, that is a pretty big deal, I hope someone can find a copy for you. It was on XPlay if that helps.

[PixyJunket]

http://i39.tinypic.com/9vfqrq.png

So I guess it's just time to wait for the next patch to finish up these achievements.

[Ashflow]

Kepa, I don't think you ever officially confirmed the slight-luck-buff trinket switching to a hat drop trinket... Is that a sure thing?

Your answer will determine whether I try to get hats in this game or in HW ;)

[SirDarkened]

Kepa, I don't think you ever officially confirmed the slight-luck-buff trinket switching to a hat drop trinket... Is that a sure thing?

Your answer will determine whether I try to get hats in this game or in HW ;)

I think it's going to happen. It kind of has too, if Kepa wants there to be no "grind". I still haven't gotten all the boss hats. Going to wait for this trinket to do it. Pointless now because bosses don't give me exp!

[Kepa]

Kepa, I don't think you ever officially confirmed the slight-luck-buff trinket switching to a hat drop trinket... Is that a sure thing?

Your answer will determine whether I try to get hats in this game or in HW ;)

Oh, the hats are pretty much a grind. They're not a required part of the main game or anything, though. I just thought completionists would like grinding for hats.

However, yeah, we'll do the luck trinket buffs hat drops thing.

[justbanter]

I found an obscure bug:

http://i.imgur.com/CZxU9l.png

At half a heart an enemy hit me right as I was opening a dropped chest. To my surprise I didn't fall or lose a life. The next hit I received did in fact kill me, but it was kind of cool to be a zombie for a minute or two. :P

[JackMule]

Heavy Cleaver is definitely not one of the best weapons in any scenario. The damage buff and lower attack rate pretty much negate each other, while other weapons like the Giantslayer actually end up much stronger while retaining a normal attack rating. To be honest, I'd rather use a normal sword than Heavy Cleaver because it gives enemies less of a chance to hit me in between swings (like in Crypt-3 when I'm basically just standing and wailing on Zombies as they approach me).

IMO if you want Heavy Cleaver to have an advantage, it needs a range and knockback bonus. Give it a wider and longer arc than other sword swings, and corruption's current effect of extra knockback. Then it really behaves like a big, massive battle axe.


If it had a knockback bonus I probobaly wouldn't use it. It easier to either one hit enemies or two hit them close to you rather than walking the extra step or to in the midst of a group. Besides, while it's true it takes 1.5x the time, combined with charge and a group makes it deadly and if you're standing there slicing you're going to have to slice less with the Cleaver.Besides, if you're going to get hit you just dash back anyways.

Combine the cleaver with a lucky/ultra lucky you're 1 hitting every regular monster and taking the bigger guys out in only a couple of hits.

A sword that does sword fury does (with much worse damage) would be cool. Maybe make it shoot iceballs rather than flames? I dunno.

[JackMule]

A sword that does what sword fury does*.

[Teh_Ninja]

Just bought the Phoenix Feather and Firecharge Vest, these things are awesome!

[SirDarkened]

I am now kind of weaning off the game. Still going to get boss hats first, then I think I might finish up that stupid book achievement that isn't done. Is there a book in Pinnacle?

Anyway I'm only going to be posting in here with ideas and such. I don't really have much more to say until this update is released. Thanks for the couple hundred hours of gaming I got in.

[Ashflow]

Oh, the hats are pretty much a grind. They're not a required part of the main game or anything, though. I just thought completionists would like grinding for hats.

However, yeah, we'll do the luck trinket buffs hat drops thing.Oh, I know that the hats are optional. I was just saying that if you were planning on doing the hat drop trinket thing, then I would wait until that happened to grind for hats, and I'd start getting hats in HW while I waited.
At half a heart an enemy hit me right as I was opening a dropped chest. To my surprise I didn't fall or lose a life. The next hit I received did in fact kill me, but it was kind of cool to be a zombie for a minute or two. :PThis has already been reported, but thanks anyways! :)
(And that hat fits having no hearts but still being alive perfectly :p)
A sword that does what sword fury does*.For future reference, you can edit your posts. ;)

[Teh_Ninja]

Hey Kepa any word as to when the "Arena Mode" update is coming out?

[SirDarkened]

Hey Kepa any word as to when the "Arena Mode" update is coming out?

After this huge rehaul update. So expect it a long time from now.

[JackMule]

For future reference, you can edit your posts. ;)

Ah, never looked at that before. Thanks!

[Kepa]

Hey Kepa any word as to when the "Arena Mode" update is coming out?

Here's my thought process IN ITS ENTIRETY:

Later than we thought, as this universal/tweak update is getting pretty big. To be honest, I'm not sure exactly when.

If the universal version brings in a lot more iPad sales, we could probably focus on the Arena Mode update, then use stuff we do in Arena Mode to test out the spin-off game.

If it doesn't really bring in more sales, we'd probably go straight to spin-off game work. In that case, the content update for Mage Gauntlet would probably be timed to come out at around the same time as the spin-off trailer is ready, for maximum next-game promotion.

Depending on how much people like Drudge Arena Mode, we could probably do another arena mode after that. Once again, probably timed to come out at the same time as another game, for maximum exposure. Though that depends on how well the spin-off does... if it's a massive hit, all updates would probably go towards that game, due to being built for easier updating.

[Teh_Ninja]

Awesome thanks!

[Brokendemo]

You may have already answered this somewhere in the other 114 pages, but will the universal update bring iCade compatibility as well? I like the game a lot but feel the best play experience will be with physical controls. Excellent work!

[SirDarkened]

You may have already answered this somewhere in the other 114 pages, but will the universal update bring iCade compatibility as well? I like the game a lot but feel the best play experience will be with physical controls. Excellent work!

This has never been asked before and I feel that with all of the new additions/changes coming there might not be time for this in the next update.

You never know though.

[Bertman]

Kepa are you happy with the way the game is selling? One of my favorite games this year just wondering if it did well for you.

[Ashflow]

This has never been asked before and I feel that with all of the new additions/changes coming there might not be time for this in the next update.

You never know though.
Actually, I think it was asked before. Might have been on Twitter, though. Let me try to find it...
Took FOREVER:
Demand's awfully small, yeah. If we do joypad or icade or etc support, it will be if I get bored enough to buy one.This quote is from Twitter, just so you know.

[SirDarkened]

Actually, I think it was asked before. Might have been on Twitter, though. Let me try to find it...
Took FOREVER:
This quote is from Twitter, just so you know.

Lmao. I don't follow their twitter. I like this better. Less scrolling and much more information. Not enough information in that stupid 160 (or is it more now?) character count.

[Ashflow]

Lmao. I don't follow their twitter. I like this better. Less scrolling and much more information. Not enough information in that stupid 160 (or is it more now?) character count.

lol, yeah. The search didn't show anything up, so I was forced to scroll through days of tweets (and Kepa's really active...). I only use it to follow devs and Hodapp :P

What exactly is the Drudge Arena? Is it like the boss area (confined space) with endless drudges? I don't even know what it is and I'm excited for it :P

Last thing: the spin-off shouldn't take too long to finish, right? Like a month, maybe? (And will there be a bard named Jepp Starcloak in it? Maybe a dwarven bellydancer, an elven janitor, or a screaming gnome?)

[SirDarkened]

Want it to be based off the adventurer and his team. (Some will get this)

[Kepa]

What exactly is the Drudge Arena? Is it like the boss area (confined space) with endless drudges? I don't even know what it is and I'm excited for it :P

Last thing: the spin-off shouldn't take too long to finish, right? Like a month, maybe? (And will there be a bard named Jepp Starcloak in it? Maybe a dwarven bellydancer, an elven janitor, or a screaming gnome?)

Drudge Arena is a confined space with endless waves of drudges. As you get further in the waves, the harder drudges appear and in greater numbers. We'll also make some new nightmare variants for later waves. Random waves will be rest waves that spawn spell urns and a health urn, and there will be a leaderboard for how many points people get before dying. Finally, there will be new loot items for reaching certain waves.

Spin-off will take at least a couple months, probably more. The BIG DEAL with the spinoff is, even though we're reusing a lot of content, it's going to be our first game with true random content generation. Plus, we want to make it fancy.. multiple player classes to balance, changing a lot of the monster AI so everything's different, making sure Jepp Starcloak makes an appearance, etc.

Kepa are you happy with the way the game is selling? One of my favorite games this year just wondering if it did well for you.

It did (and is doing) fairly well. I'm still really disappointed by how it ended up being 20.4 MB (over the cellular download limit) after the review process recompressed it. After the first update was approved, it instantly shot down to 15.6 or whatever it is now. As soon as that happened, the download numbers shot up to double due to people finally able to download it over cellular.

I imagine if it was like that in the first place, we really could have benefited from it shooting up (somehow) to the top 25 near release, plus all the positive coverage we got would have most likely gone even further.

[Ashflow]

That's a lot longer than I guessed, but it makes sense if you're creating a truly random dungeon generator in addition to all the other improvements. Everything else sounds good to me!

Could you tell us how many journals/books there are altogether in Story Mode? (Possibly even per area...?) I'd like to be able to keep track of how many I get when I go back through the game to find whatever I missed.

Edit: Just thought of one more thing- Is the random generator thing something you'll be able to reuse in games even if they aren't RPGs (e.g. Would you be able to use the random generator for a game like Hook Worlds?) Seems like a lot of extra work if that's not the case.

[bastband]

I have been playing this on my iPod touch and purchased all iap's (4). I purchased an iPhone 4s an the game is now asking me to start from the beginning and I have lost all my iap's. Have I done something wrong?

[Ashflow]

To get the IAPs back (or to "restore" them), just buy them again. After you put in your password it'll say something about you already having it, and then it'll ask if you want to download it again for free. Contact Apple if that for some reason doesn't happen and you are forced to pay a second time.

[nfong]

To get the IAPs back (or to "restore" them), just buy them again. After you put in your password it'll say something about you already having it, and then it'll ask if you want to download it again for free. Contact Apple if that for some reason doesn't happen and you are forced to pay a second time.
Anyone know if this still works if you got the Rocketcat Pack from buying the game early?

[iVaro]

Will the controls be the same as the first? I'd love if it would be a dual stick shooter

[C.C]

Quick question. I bought the game during the weekend it came out but just started playing it today. Did the free IAPs require you to go into the black market and get them before the weekend was up? Or am I still able to get them somehow? Besides the obvious choice of buying them.

[SirDarkened]

Quick question. I bought the game during the weekend it came out but just started playing it today. Did the free IAPs require you to go into the black market and get them before the weekend was up? Or am I still able to get them somehow? Besides the obvious choice of buying them.

Email, twitter, or PM Kepa.

According to him you should get them when you play as long as you played on that first weekend before Sunday at 12PM.

Since you didn't play you won't have them (they unlocked automatically).

So, your best bet is to pm him with some kind of proof and he will be able to give you the items.

[Kepa]

Anyone know if this still works if you got the Rocketcat Pack from buying the game early?

It doesn't work. If you changed devices, just email me your UDID and I can flip it on for the new device.

Will the controls be the same as the first? I'd love if it would be a dual stick shooter

Controls the same as the first, though we're experimenting to see if we can add one more button without cluttering the screen up. I'd like to do a dual stick shooter down the line, though, but one that's really RPG element heavy.

Quick question. I bought the game during the weekend it came out but just started playing it today. Did the free IAPs require you to go into the black market and get them before the weekend was up? Or am I still able to get them somehow? Besides the obvious choice of buying them.

Mail me your UDID and I can flip it on.

[Harpgliss]

Hi,

My son is enjoying this game so much that it has kept him from playing Pocket God, and that is pretty amazing.

When He first played it and realized this was from the "Hook" game developers, he just refuses to play anything else.

I did have a question though, would it be possible to have more than one profile within the game?

I know it uses Game Center and Open Feint for achievements but would be nice for those who share a device to have separate profiles, for progress within the game.

I only make the request because I may want to give this game a try after all the great things posted here and the fun my son has had playing.

David

[abattle]

looks very nice, china people model style ? :D

[Kepa]

I did have a question though, would it be possible to have more than one profile within the game?

I know it uses Game Center and Open Feint for achievements but would be nice for those who share a device to have separate profiles, for progress within the game.

I don't know if that would be possible at this point, or even that necessary since if you pick an old level, you replay it as if you've never gone through it before. Could do it for the sequel if there's demand for it, where it would be more necessary due to added permanence. Just need to figure out a slick way to do it, that doesn't involve having to click through an extra menu each time you want to play if you're the only person playing.

[Harpgliss]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply, Kepa.

It was just something I thought of and was wondering about.

David

[SilverCircleCircus]

Havin a heck of a time gettin the Golem King hat, I've probly smashed him 20 times today in master mode. It does give a hat right?

[Kepa]

Havin a heck of a time gettin the Golem King hat, I've probly smashed him 20 times today in master mode. It does give a hat right?

It should. We're making the lucky charm trinket make hat drops 5x more common, in the update. If you can wait.

[SilverCircleCircus]

It should. We're making the lucky charm trinket make hat drops 5x more common, in the update. If you can wait.

Well I'm gonna keep grinding at it, that bucket of bolts is fun to beat up on.
A couple other questions I have.

How many hats are in Whitebeards tower? I just have 2 (ink mask and ink dome) are there more?

And where's the last secret on story mode? I have heart of the faceless, is the last one in the sealed tower or pinnacle?

thanks. Best game I've ever played.... Well since hook worlds

[WooHooII]

How many hats are in Whitebeards tower? I just have 2 (ink mask and ink dome) are there more?

And where's the last secret on story mode? I have heart of the faceless, is the last one in the sealed tower or pinnacle?
There are also Inky Shades, which I believe are dropped by the large miniboss inkwraiths.

The last story mode secret is in Sealed Tower, but it's a bit unusual in that it has no unique art like the others. It's also bugged at the moment, but that's being fixed in the update.

[Ashflow]

Hats are based on who you kill, not where you kill them. There are three wraith hats.

There aren't any Pinnacle secrets, so the last one is in the Sealed Tower.

Edit: What WooHooII said :P

[SilverCircleCircus]

The last story mode secret is in Sealed Tower, but it's a bit unusual in that it has no unique art like the others. It's also bugged at the moment, but that's being fixed in the update.[/QUOTE]


Ok cool thx. So then theoretically I may have already found the last secret and it's just not registering. Is the shadow sleuth achievement bugged?

[Quazonk]

Hey guys, little strategy help needed. On Master Mode Tower Pinnacle 3 (Right before Hurgoth), what are your guys' best gear loadouts/strategies? I can't seem to 3-star it (I'm currently using the all-IAP loadout).

I've got 3 stars everywhere except here, I can't get stuck now!!

[Quazonk]

Double Gnomey (+Rocketcat) FTW!

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z185/gravity_blast/photo.png

[nfong]

What setup did you guys use to finish the Tower Pinnacle levels in master mode? Can't even manage to finish the level, lol.

[PixyJunket]

What setup did you guys use to finish the Tower Pinnacle levels in master mode? Can't even manage to finish the level, lol.I think I used Hungry Sword/Arcane Heart to beat 1 and 2 and Glowing Sword/Old Pendant to beat 3. Master Mode Tower Pinnacle 2 and 3 are the only two levels I don't have three stars in and I'm just about ready to call it quits.

[Kepa]

I think I used Hungry Sword/Arcane Heart to beat 1 and 2 and Glowing Sword/Old Pendant to beat 3. Master Mode Tower Pinnacle 2 and 3 are the only two levels I don't have three stars in and I'm just about ready to call it quits.

I don't think I'll be tweaking master mode with this upcoming update, though I'll be buffing certain loot items and making the buffs better so you never get a disappointing spell (merging silence and time circle, buffing sword fury, removing shield and lucky from the rotation). Hopefully that will help some.

I could maybe take a look at master pinnacle, since off the top my head it's a really long chapter compared to the rest of master mode. But in general, I don't think I'll be tweaking master mode.

[SirDarkened]

I don't think I'll be tweaking master mode with this upcoming update, though I'll be buffing certain loot items and making the buffs better so you never get a disappointing spell (merging silence and time circle, buffing sword fury, removing shield and lucky from the rotation). Hopefully that will help some.

I could maybe take a look at master pinnacle, since off the top my head it's a really long chapter compared to the rest of master mode. But in general, I don't think I'll be tweaking master mode.

Look at pinnacle keep rest the same just ad few more spells to pinnacle and it will be doable by a larger amount of people. Not health just spells.

[Kepa]

Look at pinnacle keep rest the same just ad few more spells to pinnacle and it will be doable by a larger amount of people. Not health just spells.

Seems reasonable.

IDEA that I'm probably going to do: Change Zealot Ring so it's like a slightly weaker Phoenix Feather. If you die with it equipped, you'll come back up with 2 hearts and a Sword Fury buff applied to you.

[justbanter]

@nfong

I used Heavy Cleaver, Battlemage Armor, Phoenix Feather and the Chicken pet. I 2-starred the first two levels and 3-starred the third.

[PixyJunket]

I don't think I'll be tweaking master mode with this upcoming update, though I'll be buffing certain loot items and making the buffs better so you never get a disappointing spell (merging silence and time circle, buffing sword fury, removing shield and lucky from the rotation). Hopefully that will help some.

I could maybe take a look at master pinnacle, since off the top my head it's a really long chapter compared to the rest of master mode. But in general, I don't think I'll be tweaking master mode.Hmm, personally I don't know if those will help with MM Pinnacle 2 and 3, but I'd be glad to give them some extra runs once the update hits. Maybe the combined Time Circle/Silence with the Glowing Sword/Old Pendant combo would do it. Actually, I only completed Pinnacle 3 by getting both of those individually and getting lucky that I was able to keep them running for over half the level. You really need to make an almost perfect run through over twenty rooms of the toughest monsters for each of those, they're pretty taxing levels.

Of course, this is all without the Phoenix Feather. I could probably grab that and finish the levels off with three stars pretty easily. Also, I'm not really calling for any changes if you don't want to make them. They're the only levels I couldn't three star, but I'm sure others have, so props to them.

[SirDarkened]

@nfong

I used Heavy Cleaver, Battlemage Armor, Phoenix Feather and the Chicken pet. I 2-starred the first two levels and 3-starred the third.

Why not use Death Duck, does same thing as chicken but way better.

[justbanter]

I don't have the Death Duck yet. You get him at 290 stars, I think?

[SirDarkened]

I don't have the Death Duck yet. You get him at 290 stars, I think?

Indeed. 290 stars. Nothing for getting 300 though ;P.

[Ashflow]

Finally got Shadow Sleuth!!! (And its hat.) Got it from one of the two books in Tetramont's Estate Gold. I compiled a list of the levels' books/notes/anything-you-can-read up to that level, so it includes the whole 1st page of Story Mode. I'll post it if requested... (Might even do the rest of story mode if asked by a couple people. Don't really feel like doing it for fun, though... ;))

Now I've just got the three broken achievements and the Hat Hoarder achievement, which will be much easier when the updated trinket arrives.

[jar0d]

Finally got Shadow Sleuth!!! (And its hat.) Got it from one of the two books in Tetramont's Estate Gold. I compiled a list of the levels' books/notes/anything-you-can-read up to that level, so it includes the whole 1st page of Story Mode. I'll post it if requested... (Might even do the rest of story mode if asked by a couple people. Don't really feel like doing it for fun, though... ;))

Now I've just got the three broken achievements and the Hat Hoarder achievement, which will be much easier when the updated trinket arrives.

Good job! Would love to get some help for this level. Would be nice if you could post that. Thank you!!

[PixyJunket]

Now I've just got the three broken achievements and the Hat Hoarder achievement, which will be much easier when the updated trinket arrives.Did you need Phoenix Feather to get all three stars?

I'm sitting at 304 right now.

[SirDarkened]

Finally got Shadow Sleuth!!! (And its hat.) Got it from one of the two books in Tetramont's Estate Gold. I compiled a list of the levels' books/notes/anything-you-can-read up to that level, so it includes the whole 1st page of Story Mode. I'll post it if requested... (Might even do the rest of story mode if asked by a couple people. Don't really feel like doing it for fun, though... ;))

Now I've just got the three broken achievements and the Hat Hoarder achievement, which will be much easier when the updated trinket arrives.

I suppose I will replay to find these, eventually. Still haven't found that one Master Mode trinket, I've been playing Zombieville 2 a lot.

I pretty much think I've only missed one book, ash if you can post how many books are on the first page that would be nice.

[Ashflow]

Good job! Would love to get some help for this level. Would be nice if you could post that. Thank you!!
You'd love to get help with what level? The list is below.
Did you need Phoenix Feather to get all three stars?

I'm sitting at 304 right now. Well, I used it to get all 3 stars on most of the master mode levels... Not sure if I need it... What levels don't you have 3 starred?

I suppose I will replay to find these, eventually. Still haven't found that one Master Mode trinket, I've been playing Zombieville 2 a lot.

I pretty much think I've only missed one book, ash if you can post how many books are on the first page that would be nice.

Zombieville USA 2 is awesome, I'm going to go upgrade all the skills now that I'm temporarily done with MG. The list is hopefully completely accurate, but it's pretty hard to know for sure if you've really read everything. I included anything you can read, even if it was mandatory to read or out in the open:

2 in Bronze Whitebeard's Tower
2 in Silver Whitebeard's Tower
1 in Gold Whitebeard's Tower

2 in Bronze Gardens
3 in Silver Gardens

3 in Bronze Ruins Crossing
1 in Silver Ruins Crossing
3 in Gold Ruins Crossing

1 in Bronze Orc Forest
1 in Silver Orc Forest
2 in Gold Orc Forest

1 in Bronze Boarlands
1 in Silver Boarlands
1 in Gold Boarlands

2 in Bronze Slime Cave
2 in Silver Slime Cave
2 in Gold Slime Cave

1 in Bronze Tetramont's Estate
2 in Silver Tetramont's Estate
2 in Gold Tetramont's Estate

35 in total on the 1st page of Story Mode. (Is that right, Kepa?)

P.S. When I went to preview this post, a lot of the spaces in between words in the list were replaced with little poop symbols, like you sometimes see in reviews on the app store... What gives? Is it like early April Fools or something? Never had anything like that happen before. EDIT: Just so you know, I'm being completely serious. The poop-symbol thing really happened.

[PixyJunket]

Well, I used it to get all 3 stars on most of the master mode levels... Not sure if I need it... What levels don't you have 3 starred?Just Tower Pinnacle 2 and 3 Master.

[Kepa]

35 in total on the 1st page of Story Mode. (Is that right, Kepa?)

P.S. When I went to preview this post, a lot of the spaces in between words in the list were replaced with little poop symbols, like you sometimes see in reviews on the app store... What gives? Is it like early April Fools or something? Never had anything like that happen before. EDIT: Just so you know, I'm being completely serious. The poop-symbol thing really happened.

That list seems right. We really need to add an icon that says whether or not you've found the books in a level.

Did you copy and paste your text for the post from someplace else? Can break formatting sometimes.

[SirDarkened]

Hey Kepa how's the update coming along? Pretty excited for it. After playing Crypt 3 on master mode for an hour or two I've realized that if you remove the doors from that map it will be much more viable.

Any plans on removing doors from master mode as well?

[Kepa]

Hey Kepa how's the update coming along? Pretty excited for it. After playing Crypt 3 on master mode for an hour or two I've realized that if you remove the doors from that map it will be much more viable.

Any plans on removing doors from master mode as well?

Could take a glance at it, but I don't think I'd do a complete removal of backtracking doors in Master Mode. I'd just take a look at problem levels.

[SirDarkened]

Could take a glance at it, but I don't think I'd do a complete removal of backtracking doors in Master Mode. I'd just take a look at problem levels.

Remove them from that level and everyone should be able to beat it will little issue. Only reason I cannot is because I get swarmed by the blue guys in the little rooms ;S.

Finally beat Pinnacle 1 master mode 3 stars. Pinnacle 2 is still hard for me (shield is disheartening). Going to keep at crypt 3 and if I continue to fail by level 75 I am going to give up (currently level 72).

[iLands]

Kepa:

I've been playing this game since the launch and I have read the last 60 pages of this thread. I've gotten the IAP since because I thought you guys were pretty rad and could use the cash. I've poured a lot of time into the game, trying to three-star maps and collecting most of the boss hats. I've avoided all the spoilers I could from this site and the net at large regarding item placement (until I have the item, then I research it) and the rest of the story. I have not yet completed Master Mode, saving all the Tower stuff as a little treat for later. My feedback may be influenced by this.

First off:

All my hats are off to you. I've played an extensive selection of titles on iOS for both iPhone and iPad and this ranks among the best.

I feel you guys aren't trying to be among the best though, but simply the best. This trilogy has the potential to redefine iOS gaming and sets an unbelievable bar for your peers. As such, here are some minor things I'd like to discuss.

The story was quite enchanting. Many RPGs, even those with good game play, have poor writing or execution. For the most part, the story of Mage Gauntlet didn't suffer from this but had a succinct plot that went layers deeper if the player so wished to. The game was often actually funny at times instead of wince-inducing and one could actually feel for Lexi.

Nevertheless, I can point out something that really struck me as paradoxical.

Worse, it cut to the core of this gorgeous game and the world you built.

In one of the most memorable scenes in the early game, the "great" wizard Whitebeard tries to teleport you away. You aren't effected by the spell. Now, unless you want us to believe that Whitebeard intended to use a fake teleport spell on Lexi to trick her (which could be in the story later[but I haven't finished Master Mode])Lexi's whole deal is that she is unaffected by magic. You can't cast spells because of your condition. You need the gauntlet because of your condition. You can touch enchanted doors destroying them because of your condition. Whitebeard can't even teleport you away if he wishes...

When I encountered the first spellcasting enemy in the game, I actually stood there defiantly. I took the shot in the chest and to my amazement, I was down a heart.

So the whole of the magic world you've developed doesn't effect Lexi but that crappy Orc "fireball" spell damaged me?

It was just really jarring. To my knowledge, it wasn't explained to me why a character who was shunned because her whole deal is magic resistance isn't resistant to magic when it matters...except sometimes? Still confused. I hadn't hear anyone say this so I thought I'd be the first to ask.

To say it again though, the story and the world you guys built is pretty awesome. Nevertheless, you force your players to get annoyed at it. Why? You can't skip cut scenes after first encounters. How does it make you feel to know people are frustrated by the story during boss grinds? It's a shame to ever be annoyed at such a lovely world. Allow players the chance to end cutscenes by choice on additional encounters.

Something else that was odd was that the game didn't have support when one would turn the iPhone upside down. Different people have different preferences for holding the device. The end. It isn't symmetrical.

I've heard people complaining about the feather, but I hope it isn't nerfed or whatever. It was the first IAP I bought because I heard it was worth it. Here's the deal though: I don't hear anyone complaining about the IAP Sword.
This confuses me and here is why.

No other weapon can kill enemies through walls. The Crystal Staff just does knockdowns to my knowledge (I'll get to how I know about this if I avoided spoilers in good time =]) I repeat, no other weapon kills through walls. This one does. Walls, barriers, doors, whatever. I'm just going to yam on this attack button and after a while you'll just die. I don't find reason for me to carry any other weapon except for specific boss fights. It feels like the Feather in that the only time you aren't using it is if you are using the dedicated Glowing Sword combination. I can tell you that it isn't surprising that in a game like this, killing enemies through walls is pretty much the tits.

I feel like the only justification for the level cap is so you can only sink twenty-five points into any given stat. What's the justification for both? Though I can kinda understand that you don't want people to go nuts on vigor or magic or even luck (all crits all the time =D), I think that you missed on your best opportunity to diversify character builds and allow people to make commitments to doing fun things like that. Every Lexi at the maxed level (since she has a cap that, in my opinion feels arbitrary and hurts replayability) is the same and all the player's agency in prioritizing (again, since you can only prioritize when a stat is buffed) is then removed. If I had all the hats and achievements, it could still be cool to just grind and have a better Lexi. You could even eventually list it on the leader boards just like you plan to list Arena stats.

I feel like luck is awesome and undervalued. I obviously prioritized on Vigor because I love to dash, but I actually ended up liking luck. Until I bought the IAP Sword and I stumbled upon the Crystal Staff, luck had real utility outside of the tiny magic bonus. After either of those events, you make players really regret any stat point in luck. The Staff is like the Sword in that Luck doesn't affect the spell cast/whether it crits or am I incorrect? Twenty-five points of luck are rendered as useful as ten of Magic. Bummer.

With that said, I wish Luck actually did affect things like the sword explosion (but give it a way lower base of trigger % and the same with the Staff if that's the case) or you could even just give things like a sword the ability to just regularly critical. I'm unsure of the solution, but it definitely shouldn't be giving big buyer's remorse to people who actually want to invest stats in luck.

On a side note, I think it's pretty ridiculous that the Rabbit's Foot trinket boosts luck but not the stat luck :-/ Confusing.

I think if you overhaul the buff spells as you have discussed lately, you will regret it and suffer the problem that you initially feared by overly powerful buffs. Increasing their duration while merging them seems like too much, too fast. Have you thought about just applying regular critical bonuses to them and treating them like the rest of the spells in the game instead of an aberration? Maybe a critical Silence/Time Circle give you the merged copy? Ultra and Sword Fury could have their own crits. I have some ideas for shield I'll elaborate on as well later. Simply put, I think you have a good system already and you should apply the system to ALL the spells, including the buffs. It would vastly improve their performance, lend to a more seamless experience, and you'd be less likely to need to go back and nerf the buffs again. Just an idea.

Have you though about having a single inventory slot? It feels grindy to push health/spell urns around and shield is just bad unless you're running glowing sword or friends. It would be awesome to pick up an urn (even Haste) and having the ability to go to your inventory that is currently entirely spells and use it. It adds a bit of ease to the game for the earlier player and can act as an additional heart or spell in levels where you feel it is appropriate for the player to have it. It was an idea I'd been kicking around. You could maybe even carry a spell urn or an item from one level to the next. A cool tension would be that you'd always know what a heart would do but that a spell urn would obviously have its own sense of unpredictability. I'm sure you thought about an inventory and clearly went against it. I think holding a single urn wouldn't be too cumbersome though. At worst, I think the ability could make for a cool suit of armor or item in general.


I wish there was a way to check if I had used any lives or a Phoenix feather while in a dungeon. It's really annoying to stop playing the game mid-dungeon and come back with no idea about my progress. The doors are really annoying when I'm trying to three star a level and there is an enemy in a pocket I missed. I can understand their purpose in Master Mode, but in Story Mode they are just annoying.

Shield clearly needs some work. Someone had said that they thought shield was better than a heart. Bull. Sure, it stuns but it doesn't stun if you are pro and don't get hit. Worse is when you are hit but you don't get invincibility frames like with normal damage and you lose your shield and life as well. I really don't see why it needs to disappear over time. I don't think it would be broken if it was persistent until you were hit. Heck, that could simply be its crit ;)


Funnily enough, someone had said it was pretty much impossible to stumble on the staff. I did, looking for texts and stuff. It was more appealing because I needed to get the Achievement for killing 5 mini-bosses with a lightning spell. I died, but got the achievement and was very curious. The second time, I made it. Just saying, it is very possible to just find that item when grinding. I was really excited when I saw that there was a chest until I opened it and realized I had found the staff without following the clues. Then I was kinda sad.

Hope you can get back to me. Kudos. You deserve every dollar you get.

EDIT: Letting you know I registered for this post. Oh, and hit the character cap. On to post #2.

[iLands]

Sorry for the double post. Hit the character limit.

A few more things. Stellar control system. Stellar.

The only possible improvement I can think of would be if you had the option to move the dash/attack buttons.

Please give me EXP from boss kills. I understand why you don't for boss battles due to endlessly spawning enemies. Still, some exp for killing the boss or breaking the crystal would be very appreciated, especially when one is on the hat grind.

Wish you would have fleshed out the Summoner class as well as you fleshed out the Enchanter (glowing sword and etc class). A robe/weapon that increased duration would be appreciated, as would the possibility of crits. More duration, damage, a bigger summon, whatever. =]

Thanks again, Rocketcat. Hope you guys get a chance to see this. Great game. I hope this feedback is helpful.

EDIT: My IAP Helm isn't actually on fire and I wish it was.

[Teh_Ninja]

Wooooaaahhhh.....how long did it take to type all that?



(OT I agree with most of what you said, and yea Kepa will see you're post don't worry ;) )

[Kepa]

Sorry for the double post. Hit the character limit.

A few more things. Stellar control system. Stellar.

The only possible improvement I can think of would be if you had the option to move the dash/attack buttons.

Please give me EXP from boss kills.

Wish you would have fleshed out the Summoner class as well as you fleshed out the Enchanter (glowing sword and etc class). A robe/weapon that increased duration would be appreciated, as would the possibility of crits. More duration, damage, a bigger summon, whatever. =]

EDIT: My IAP Helm isn't actually on fire and I wish it was.

Yeah, it should be on fire. Maybe we can sneak that in.

It SHOULD give XP from boss kills already. Maybe it doesn't give enough? Or maybe it's bugged...

We're differentiating the loot better in the future. In spinoff/sequels, anyway. I'd like to make the summons better, they seem to underperform to me.

We're adding ONE MORE BUTTON next game, hope it doesn't mess with the controls. We'd like to do drag-buttons-around in settings, like many games have, though it's kind of a big feature. Not sure when it will go in...

Reading the bigger post now.

[Pteros]

So the whole of the magic world you've developed doesn't effect Lexi but that crappy Orc "fireball" spell damaged me?

It was just really jarring. To my knowledge, it wasn't explained to me why a character who was shunned because her whole deal is magic resistance isn't resistant to magic when it matters...except sometimes? Still confused. I hadn't hear anyone say this so I thought I'd be the first to ask.


Lexi was given a special gauntlet (and I mean special, it can't be magical otherwise it would have shattered like everything else) in Whitebeard's Tower area 3. With the gauntlet bound to her, she's able to interact and absorb passive magic in the environment, in addition to getting a hefty strength boost for her swinging arm to hit jerks with. The "mage gauntlet" is doing all of the complicated casting and augmenting while at the same time making her vulnerable to huge fireballs being flung in her general direction.

Without the gauntlet, Lexi is utterly anti-magical and is just as frail as any girl with little combat training. In gameplay terms, a gauntlet-less Lexi would have one heart and hit for about a quarter of her normal strikes. I know the first two areas shows otherwise with the hearts, but it's a minor flavor thing, as Lexi can't even get hurt until the Garden. That and she would be immune to all magic and unable to use spells or healing urns. It wouldn't be very fun.

That said, there is a very good reason why Lexi is naturally magic immune and it has everything to do with what's going on in Mage Gauntlet and its future sequels. For the time being, Lexi is just venting and enjoying what she's been denied from in her entire life.

[Ashflow]

Seems like you've had a lot on your mind :p
Maybe I can clear a couple things up for you:
The gauntlet, according to Whitebeard, "merely treated her symptoms", meaning that she was normal while attached to the gauntlet (normal as in can use and be affected by magic ;)). Kind of subtle, but there it is.

IDK about the screen flip, I think it was brought up before, but I don't remember Kepa's response...

TBH, The only person I've seen complaining about the feather is Kepa :p He dislikes that it's too useful for an IAP. The Inferno Blade should be balanced out more when the lightning sword comes, though the "getting enemies through walls" is a very good point.

The rest of my giant post got deleted when Safari crashed (on my ipod) :(. As Kepa's about to address your post, I don't think I'm going to rewrite the rest of my giant reply... (Except for one part, which I'll put in a different post.) Took forever to write all of it, which is why it took so long to respond, and now it's just gone...

Unrelated: I'll try doing the Pinnacles w/o PF tonight.

[Kepa]

1. Lexi's whole deal is that she is unaffected by magic. You can't cast spells because of your condition. You need the gauntlet because of your condition. You can touch enchanted doors destroying them because of your condition.

When I encountered the first spellcasting enemy in the game, I actually stood there defiantly. I took the shot in the chest and to my amazement, I was down a heart.

2. How does it make you feel to know people are frustrated by the story during boss grinds? [Skip option]

3. Something else that was odd was that the game didn't have support when one would turn the iPhone upside down.

4. I've heard people complaining about the feather, but I hope it isn't nerfed or whatever.

5. IAP sword being best, but partially defeats the purpose of luck

6. I feel like the only justification for the level cap is so you can only sink twenty-five points into any given stat. What's the justification for both?

7. On a side note, I think it's pretty ridiculous that the Rabbit's Foot trinket boosts luck but not the stat luck :-/ Confusing.

8. I think if you overhaul the buff spells as you have discussed lately, you will regret it and suffer the problem that you initially feared by overly powerful buffs. Increasing their duration while merging them seems like too much, too fast. Have you thought about just applying regular critical bonuses to them and treating them like the rest of the spells in the game instead of an aberration?

9. Have you though about having a single inventory slot? It feels grindy to push health/spell urns around and shield is just bad unless you're running glowing sword or friends.

10.
Shield clearly needs some work. Someone had said that they thought shield was better than a heart. Bull. Sure, it stuns but it doesn't stun if you are pro and don't get hit. Worse is when you are hit but you don't get invincibility frames like with normal damage and you lose your shield and life as well.

I may have missed some of the points, but those are the ones that caught my eye the most.

1. The gauntlet is supposed to neutralize her anti-magic condition. Otherwise all the trinkets and magical swords she'd touch would just explode. Originally we explained this better, but had to cut it because the tutorial was already too wordy. For example, there was a segment where she picked up some really powerful seeming magical swords, but they'd just instantly explode instead of being equipped. Now I think there's just one quick line from Whitebeard saying that the gauntlet will let her safely do things she couldn't before.

The flipside of this is that enemy magic affects her, post gauntlet.

2. It's supposed to skip the boss dialog if you retry a level... is that not working?

3. We had that in previous games, too, it just slipped past us this time. That'll be in soon.

4. We decided not to nerf the feather, just add some similar items. LIke the Ring of the Zealot is going to be changed to "ressurect you at half health (maybe two hearts?) with a Sword Fury buff" extra life that you get really early on. Though in future games we're definitely removing any sort of PAY FOR EXTRA LIVES idea.

5. Making it not do physical crit was a balancing thing to make it in line with other swords, if you ignore the using it through walls thing you're doing. We're adding more swords like it, though. They're going to be weaker in spell effect, but they'll still crit physically.

6. The level cap is just due to the stat cap. The stat cap is so you couldn't just pump every single point you got into vigor, for endless chain charging. We'll be scrapping the leveling system as it is now in the next game, though.

7. WOOPS. We're just changing the Rabbit's Foot so it greatly increases the hat drop rate. Also it does increase luck stat already, it's just not shown. And due to the random nature of things, it's really too subtle.

8. We're merging them, but not buffing any durations or anything. Buffs actually used to crit, but the crits just doubled the duration for that buff. We removed that because it wasn't very clear what was going on, and we didn't have time at that point to do a better system.

9. Sequel will have a small inventory, along with randomized loot and in-level equipment swapping. Spells will also become more traditional, in that you'll find sources to power up your gauntlet. After that you can select what spell you want to use, consuming a general mana pool. This will open up a lot of RPG stuff and action-adventure stuff.

10. Yeah, it needs to give invincibility frames like getting hit does. Otherwise I like shield fine, really.

Oh and more support for summoners would be cool.

[iLands]

Thanks so much, kepa!

On #2, I guess I should be more nuanced. Let's say I'm trying to get a hat for a boss fight or whatever.

I enter. Cutscene. Win. No success to objective.

Retry.

Enter. Cutscene. Win.

Enter. Cutscene. Win.

Or replaying some of the Drudgor levels for three stars. Dialogue.

Or the end of the Golem King on Terramount.

Just need a way to skip the cutscenes on replay.

I understand that if I die in a boss fight, I won't get the cut scene.

What if I win though but want to keep trying it?

Hope that clarifies the question.

Also, I can't speak for anyone else but I don't get exp on boss fights. I wouldn't expect to on minions since you could just milk them for exp but I figured the boss would. My copy of the game doesn't seem bugged in any way. Anyone else having trouble with this?

Thanks for the prompt reply to my wall of text.

Edit: Seriously though. Thanks. You don't get this kind of quality support from developers to fans in most other mediums. Mage Gauntlet was the first Rocketcat game I've purchased but it won't be the last. Again, great game all around. It's bittersweet tot finish it but I'm excited for sequels.

[Ashflow]

Last thing before so fall asleep:
Do spawned enemies drop hats?

[Kepa]

Thanks so much, kepa!

On #2, I guess I should be more nuanced. Let's say I'm trying to get a hat for a boss fight or whatever.


Oh, ok. Can see. I'll check the boss XP again, it should be working, but might be bugged?

Last thing before so fall asleep:
Do spawned enemies drop hats?

They shouldn't.

[Teh_Ninja]

Yeah I think it is bugged, I don't get any XP from grinding bosses.

[SirDarkened]

It SHOULD give XP from boss kills already. Maybe it doesn't give enough? Or maybe it's bugged...

The bosses have not given EXP from the get go. I posted this earlier and you told me you would look into it. Just rehashing so your aware that ALL bosses fail to give exp.

As well you mentioned something about boss text being skipped after retrying. That doesn't work either. Only on Master Mode will there be no text as you go right into the boss battle.

[Lazykw]

hi,

can anyone help me? i bought mage gauntlet on the day of its release and got the rocketcat fan pack which was included. recently i changed my phone to iphone 4s and re downloaded the game but the pack was not included. how to i get it back? i tried connecting to news and update for a couple a times but still no use.

[Teh_Ninja]

hi,

can anyone help me? i bought mage gauntlet on the day of its release and got the rocketcat fan pack which was included. recently i changed my phone to iphone 4s and re downloaded the game but the pack was not included. how to i get it back? i tried connecting to news and update for a couple a times but still no use.

PM Kepa about it, he should be able to fix it for ya ;)

[coderkid]

The "Lexi is affected by magic thing" made sense to me because up until the Demon levels, all the spellcasters use elemental magic, which is different. Think about it - if one of the enemies pulled out a flamethrower, decided it was Barbeque time and attacked Lexi with it, she'd get hurt, or if she got struck by lighting, she'd be hurt. That was until the Demon levels - they do those weird circle thingies that hurt Lexi, didn't make sense to me. Plus I hate the demons in general, the little bastards.

Anyway, just saying but I haven't been able to beat the Master Mode 2nd Demon level, or the first Crypt level. I've kinda been ignoring Mage Gauntlet until I logged into TouchArcade today and decided to mention it.

[Ashflow]

So what all is coming in the "mini" update?
-buffs changed
-a few trinkets' abilities changed
-new swords with different effects
-removing red walls (the ones that close behind you) from story mode
-a few difficulty "fixes" on harder story mode levels
-achievement bug fixes
-universal! (which I currently don't really care about :P)
-New IAP?

Is that it? Did I add one or forget one? Seems like a lot for a "mini-update" :p

[twiegp]

I finally made it to MM Hurgoth and it seems pretty insane, the enemies spawn faster than I can kill them. So here's my question: Do you actually have to damage Hurgoth to defeat him? I was never really clear about this, since in story mode the dialogue implies that you merely have to wait out the battle and that damaging him is optional. If I could focus 100% of my energies on killing the adds, then maybe the fight is doable.

[SirDarkened]

I finally made it to MM Hurgoth and it seems pretty insane, the enemies spawn faster than I can kill them. So here's my question: Do you actually have to damage Hurgoth to defeat him? I was never really clear about this, since in story mode the dialogue implies that you merely have to wait out the battle and that damaging him is optional. If I could focus 100% of my energies on killing the adds, then maybe the fight is doable.

This is an interesting question. Simply use the glowing sword + 50% buff increase duration and make sure you get both silence and time circle and you should be fine. To be completely honest I think for story mode it's what you posted but for master mode it's not like that.

Don't know for sure because I only beat him on story mode once.

[twiegp]

Ah, okay. Well, I realized that the main thing I was missing about that strategy is that the glowing sword only extends buff duration if you use it to kill enemies. ie. If you're using spells on the adds, your buffs will expire.

So now the game is complete. Huzzah. Definitely one of my favorites on the iPad. Most constructive criticism I'd have of it has already been covered, I believe:

- RPG elements could use improvement. More equipment slots, more sense of improvement, etc.

- I really like the world-building that was done, but I wish there was more lore available for those who like that sort of thing. Like you'd find these interesting secret rooms and the achievements kinda described them, but for the most part they were a mystery. A bit too tantalizing.

- Story-wise, how is one supposed to make sense of Master Mode? At first I thought it's supposed to portray a weird post-game where Lexi is going through the "Dark Realm" version of various locales. The hidden messages corroborate this interpretation. But then the Master Mode ending is a simple extension of the Story Mode ending that contradicts this. Is the Master Mode story some weird non-canonical thing?

- What's the deal with the middle section of the world map? Seems like there should be more levels here. Add-ons maybe? :P

- Levels towards the end were too linear.

- Not much variation in boss strategies.

Probably some other stuff I'm not remembering since I cleared everything over a period of weeks. I think all of this has been taken to heart though and it's awesome to have developers actively soliciting and incorporating feedback. Really looking forward to the sequel/spinoffs.

[Kepa]

You need to damage Hurgoth to kill him. There were some pretty great tips in this thread for beating him, though I can't quite find it.

So what all is coming in the "mini" update?
-buffs changed
-a few trinkets' abilities changed
-new swords with different effects
-removing red walls (the ones that close behind you) from story mode
-a few difficulty "fixes" on harder story mode levels
-achievement bug fixes
-universal! (which I currently don't really care about :P)
-New IAP?

- Time Circle and Silence Merged
- Sword Fury made stronger and (slightly) more common.
- Shield and Lucky removed from the spell rotation, which will remove Lucky completely.
- Some trinket ability changes
- No new swords, but some of the crappier old swords will have new effects. Like Corruption and King's Wager will become chance-to-shoot-spell swords like Inferno Blade.
- No new IAP planned for this update. Maybe I can throw a pet in or something.
- Univeral, screen flip, cloud saving, lots of other stuff I'm forgetting right now.

Also I'm still attempting to shorten the really long levels. It's a really big patch.

The downside is that the content patch (Drudge Arena) won't happen until the spinoff is about to come out. Though that's better anyway, since Drudge Arena is based on new systems we're doing for the spinoff. We'll now make arena levels in the spinoff dungeon crawler, then port it to Mage Gauntlet, rather than the other way around.

[Trysis3]

You need to damage Hurgoth to kill him. There were some pretty great tips in this thread for beating him, though I can't quite find it.



- Time Circle and Silence Merged
- Sword Fury made stronger and (slightly) more common.
- Shield and Lucky removed from the spell rotation, which will remove Lucky completely.
- Some trinket ability changes
- No new swords, but some of the crappier old swords will have new effects. Like Corruption and King's Wager will become chance-to-shoot-spell swords like Inferno Blade.
- No new IAP planned for this update. Maybe I can throw a pet in or something.
- Univeral, screen flip, cloud saving, lots of other stuff I'm forgetting right now.

Also I'm still attempting to shorten the really long levels. It's a really big patch.

The downside is that the content patch (Drudge Arena) won't happen until the spinoff is about to come out. Though that's better anyway, since Drudge Arena is based on new systems we're doing for the spinoff. We'll now make arena levels in the spinoff dungeon crawler, then port it to Mage Gauntlet, rather than the other way around.

@kepa please make the game icon look like the one from the store ,at least for retina devices. Since it looks a lot better than the current one !!?

[SirDarkened]

You need to damage Hurgoth to kill him. There were some pretty great tips in this thread for beating him, though I can't quite find it.



- Time Circle and Silence Merged
- Sword Fury made stronger and (slightly) more common.
- Shield and Lucky removed from the spell rotation, which will remove Lucky completely.
- Some trinket ability changes
- No new swords, but some of the crappier old swords will have new effects. Like Corruption and King's Wager will become chance-to-shoot-spell swords like Inferno Blade.
- No new IAP planned for this update. Maybe I can throw a pet in or something.
- Univeral, screen flip, cloud saving, lots of other stuff I'm forgetting right now.

Also I'm still attempting to shorten the really long levels. It's a really big patch.

The downside is that the content patch (Drudge Arena) won't happen until the spinoff is about to come out. Though that's better anyway, since Drudge Arena is based on new systems we're doing for the spinoff. We'll now make arena levels in the spinoff dungeon crawler, then port it to Mage Gauntlet, rather than the other way around.

Any ETA on this. If you say few weeks I will take that as before 2012.

[Pteros]

Master Mode

Master Mode is streamlined for gameplay reasons; I imagine everyone didn't want to trudge through the same story stuff again and it would be weird if everything was rewritten and re-scripted to accommodate it (canonically, Lexi just makes one journey: the one in story mode).

The master mode book secrets and the extended ending are all part of the canon story, though, as they lead directly into Mage Gauntlet 2. Just assume it all occurred in story mode.

What's the deal with the middle section of the world map? Seems like there should be more levels here. Add-ons maybe? :P

That was where the endless dungeon mode was going to go, but it got too big for just one game. The large structure in the middle of the mountain is a portion of the free spinoff game that's coming up next.

It actually extends both above and below of what's shown on the map. Right now, it just serves as a teaser of what's to come.

[swarmster]

- Univeral...cloud saving...


Sweet! I've been playing a lot of Zombieville 2, Scribblenauts, and ShadowGun lately, and all other games just feel broken in comparison. Universal+iCloud is fantastic.

[Ashflow]

Sweet! I've been playing a lot of Zombieville 2, Scribblenauts, and ShadowGun lately, and all other games just feel broken in comparison. Universal+iCloud is fantastic.
lol, Shadowgun makes other games feel broken? I guess it would be fun if it wasn't such a crashfest... (though Scribblenauts also crashes far more than it should...)

Universal updates usually increase size dramatically because all the art assets are basically doubled, right? But since new graphics aren't being added for the most part, MG will probably stay below 20mb, correct? Just curious.

Edit: Oh yeah, the Rook's drop rate is getting fixed too, right?

[SilverCircleCircus]

Y'know there are still nights where I wake up in a cold sweat dreaming about that hat-filled metroidvania spoken of in legend.

And what's this I hear about a rocketcat turn based rpg? Like FF3 with hats I'd hope?

[Shankopotamus]

So when is will the Universal update hit the app store? I've been waiting to buy this until the update comes so I can play on my iPad.

[Lance_TA]

Been playing this for a while, and its not really an RPG, dont know where i got the idea that this was an RPG, and this game lacks most of RPG components, in fact this game isnt an RPG at all, no quests, no leveling system, no shops or taberns, no NPCs, only attack and attack.... im playing The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim and it remebered me what an RPG is.... not Mage Gauntlet, a hack-and-slash game by all means.... waste of time and money, 1 star from me:mad:

Now flame me, but its the truth and what I think :)

[0-FeliX-0]

Now flame me, but its the truth and what I think :)

Actually, it's an opinion. Anyways, it can be boring for some, but I enjoy it. And if all you're focusing on is RPG components, you're missing the graphics, the music, the humor, and so on. While I understand you don't really enjoy it, maybe you should rethink your rating a little bit. I find it weird how randomly ratings are thrown around by people nowadays. Because a lot of people just play through a game and either rate it 5 stars or 1 star. Or minus a full star because they didn't like some small feature or because they believed that it was missing something important. Anyway, congrats to the developers of this game. Haven't even made it to the second map (will get there soon), and it's a very fun game.

[touchchamp]

I like this game. It's a bit tedious at times, but that's because I'm searching every wall for hidden rooms. I like that, because secret areas are old school. It's a long game as well. Great job.

[Quazonk]

but its the truth and what I think :)

Well you're half right, it's what you think. That's why we all have our opinions, and we're entitled to them. I, for example, would give it ten stars if I could. I love the game, probably the best 3 bucks I ever spent :) See? Just an opinion, no need for flaming.

[Quazonk]

I just got my 306th star!!! One of the most rewarding feelings in my entire life as a gamer, and that speaks incredible volumes, as I've probably played thousands of games in my life, spanning all platforms.

MM Tower Pinnacle 3 and MM Hurgoth were incredibly difficult to 3-star, but if anyone needs strategies/tips on how to beat (or 3-star) a level, I'll do what I can to help :)

[Guise]

Finally made it to Master Mode and have played the first 3 levels/areas (Whitebeard's Tower, Gardens, Ruin Crossing). I know that book secrets were mentioned for MM but I haven't found any secret areas in those levels.

So I'm wondering if I'm missing something or if the secrets are in the later levels. Any advice? Thanks in advance.

EDIT:
Disregard. I found the book in Orc Forest, which led me to the Gardens and Ruin Crossing secrets.

[SirDarkened]

I just got my 306th star!!! One of the most rewarding feelings in my entire life as a gamer, and that speaks incredible volumes, as I've probably played thousands of games in my life, spanning all platforms.

MM Tower Pinnacle 3 and MM Hurgoth were incredibly difficult to 3-star, but if anyone needs strategies/tips on how to beat (or 3-star) a level, I'll do what I can to help :)

Believe it or not Hurgoth MM took me 3 tries. I only restarted to get the spells I needed.

Pinnacle 2 & 3 are rediculously hard. Pinnacle 1 took me 3 or 4 tries, pinnacle 2 took me around 40, and pinnacle 3 I made it a little more than halfway on my 5th try.

I have 304 stars (only 1 starred pinnacle 3)
I might not be able to beat it until after this update hits.
I failed pinnacle 2 so much because I constantly get shield in the spell urns.

Pinnacle 2 needs 2 heart potions, I know exact spots for em too and it wouldn't be half as bad.

Pinnacle 3 is just an odd asortment of enemies. I'll beat it eventually.
Only missing two boss hats!

[Quazonk]

Believe it or not Hurgoth MM took me 3 tries. I only restarted to get the spells I needed.

Pinnacle 2 & 3 are rediculously hard. Pinnacle 1 took me 3 or 4 tries, pinnacle 2 took me around 40, and pinnacle 3 I made it a little more than halfway on my 5th try.

I have 304 stars (only 1 starred pinnacle 3)
I might not be able to beat it until after this update hits.
I failed pinnacle 2 so much because I constantly get shield in the spell urns.

Pinnacle 2 needs 2 heart potions, I know exact spots for em too and it wouldn't be half as bad.

Pinnacle 3 is just an odd asortment of enemies. I'll beat it eventually.
Only missing two boss hats!

Hats off to you (no pun intended) for beating MM Hurgoth so easily, probably took me 10+ tries. You MUST have shadow bombs galore to do it, I just don't see any other way. 3-starring tower pinnacle 3 is probably the single most difficult thing I've ever succeeded in doing in video games. You just have to have the right spells (shadow bombs, lightning, inferno and silence proved most useful to me), cast them very wisely and conservatively, always kill zombie-spawning ghosts quickly, and be very nimble with your dash/strike combos. It probably took me 30 attempts, and by the time I succeeded, I had most of my strategy for the level mapped out in memory.

Btw sirdarkened, I'm really enjoying Battleheart! Thanks for selling me on it. I have a new obsession (aside from grinding for hats) until the MG sequel comes out. Cheers!

[Kepa]

Universal updates usually increase size dramatically because all the art assets are basically doubled, right? But since new graphics aren't being added for the most part, MG will probably stay below 20mb, correct? Just curious.

Edit: Oh yeah, the Rook's drop rate is getting fixed too, right?

No new graphics are being added, it's just being tuned for the iPad screen. The black bars on the sides are removed, so iPad users see a little further. The pixels just get doubled, but it's a pixel art game art style so...

Rook hat drop rate should be fine now. It's currently the same as a boss hat drop rate. Unless that didn't make it in the last update, I can't remember. If it's not fine now, it'll be fixed next update since it's already tweaked on our end.

So when is will the Universal update hit the app store? I've been waiting to buy this until the update comes so I can play on my iPad.

Not sure yet. We have a lot of feature requests and tweaks to work on alongside the Universal update. I haven't been responding to forums/emails as much because I'm busy with tweaking the levels and testing the new stuff for balance.

I'll let everyone know when it's submitted and as we complete major tasks, but until then I'm trying not to make guesses.

I just got my 306th star!!! One of the most rewarding feelings in my entire life as a gamer, and that speaks incredible volumes, as I've probably played thousands of games in my life, spanning all platforms.

Hel ya
Now you got the big hat.

[Penkanuin]

I just wanted to say that this game has been absolutely fantastic! It's kept me absorbed for the past few days and I've finally gotten all the stars. I was really happy (as I was so scared and saw there was no map online) when I managed to get three stars on pinnacle 3 on my first try. I've gotten all boss hats and I'm working on getting myself up to level 75 (ended at only 66) and getting all enemy hats.

This game is definitely one of the absolute best out right now, even comparable to console games! Best money I've ever spent on an application.

I just wanted to confirm...the last two secret achievements can't be acquired as of yet, right? And is the Seeker Guise from finding all the secrets (like the Spy Shroud)?

[SirDarkened]

Hats off to you (no pun intended) for beating MM Hurgoth so easily, probably took me 10+ tries. You MUST have shadow bombs galore to do it, I just don't see any other way. 3-starring tower pinnacle 3 is probably the single most difficult thing I've ever succeeded in doing in video games. You just have to have the right spells (shadow bombs, lightning, inferno and silence proved most useful to me), cast them very wisely and conservatively, always kill zombie-spawning ghosts quickly, and be very nimble with your dash/strike combos. It probably took me 30 attempts, and by the time I succeeded, I had most of my strategy for the level mapped out in memory.

Btw sirdarkened, I'm really enjoying Battleheart! Thanks for selling me on it. I have a new obsession (aside from grinding for hats) until the MG sequel comes out. Cheers!

To beat hurgoth you simply use glowing sword + old pendant.
Make sure you get lucky, time circle, and silence.
Peace of cake, didn't lose 1 heart when I did it.

Getting boss hats is kind of tedious, oh well.
Vanetaba and hurgoth left.

Finally got 306 stars.
Pinnacle 2 was much more difficult than pinnacle 3. Only challenge was the slime men, freggin spawn so many slimes and stuff. Quite obnxious. Had to play 10 times until I got strategy to beat it.

Training on pinnacle 2 helped lots.
Pinnacle 2 is sheer luck based upon what spells you get.
In pinnacle 3 i had 3 spells by the end.

[Quazonk]

Pinnacle 2 was much more difficult than pinnacle 3. Training on pinnacle 2 helped lots.
Pinnacle 2 is sheer luck based upon what spells you get.
In pinnacle 3 i had 3 spells by the end.

Really, you found 2 to be more difficult than 3? Wow, we must have very different approaches to playing, I don't remember pinnacle 2 challenging me nearly as much as 3. I think I 3-starred pinnacle 2 in my first few tries.

As far as boss hats go, how does that work? Just beat them again and again until once in a blue moon they drop a hat chest? If that's the approach, it's sure not working too well for me! Does it matter if it's normal mode or MM??

[chickdigger802]

screen flipping... when will that be implemented?

[SirDarkened]

As far as boss hats go, how does that work? Just beat them again and again until once in a blue moon they drop a hat chest? If that's the approach, it's sure not working too well for me! Does it matter if it's normal mode or MM??

Go to MM use pheonix feather, IAP sword, and yellow battlemage armor.

Kill bosses over and over and over again.

I got the Blorpx one on my first try.

All other hats took between 5-40 tries. So far I had to kill Vanateba or however you spell it 6 times and no hat yet. Hurgoth is the longest battle and thus the hardest boss hat to acquire.

MM increases drop rate.

[Coulbe]

Heya, I pretty much signed up because I'm getting bored of getting my ass wiped with MM Pinnacle 2. :P

Any tips? I have IAPs, and I'm wondering if I should attempt it with a mage build or a fighter build. Alternatively, I could just wait until the update comes through, because at that point, I'll be able to smash the last three levels.

I've 3-starred everything UP to there, and I went back and got all the boss hats when I wanted to vent my fury of getting 3 luckys in a row, or a lucky-shield, or basically shield anything, or lucky-non attack magic combos. Just wondering what I should do in the meantime while I wait. I bought the hookgames from Rocketcat to pass the time as well, but it's just not the same sort of game. Pretty though.

Anyway, aside from going off and playing Final Fantasy or something, is there anything I can do? I only have one non story related achievement remaining aside from beating MM and 3-starring, but I'm not even sure if being able to kill an eyeball without noticing is possible at this point. I've used every spell I could think of, long range light beams, lightning on another enemy who's on the edge of my screen to combo hit one... It doesn't register. Is it bugged? I noticed no one on the forum has mentioned that so far, and the wiki is a tad lackluster in the anything other than basic info department.

ANYWAY. The point I'm trying to make, any help for MM Pinnacle 2 before I rage quit and play Skyrim till sometime in early December (I hope) when the update comes out?

[Penkanuin]

For the eyeball achievement, there's a room in Pinnacle 2 (I think) near the end where it's a room full of eyeballs. I managed to get the achievement there with an Earth Spike. I'm sure a similar spell would have the same result. Just make sure you cast the spell almost as soon as you step into the room.

Any word on whether the Seeker Guise is acquired through finding all the secrets?

[PixyJunket]

Heh, a lot of people are having trouble with MM Pinnacle 2 and 3. There is some spell balancing being released in the next update that may help a little bit, so you might want to wait a little bit.

My personal best on those levels was using the Glowing Sword/Old Pendant combo, but you have to get a little lucky to get both Silence and Time Circle and then you have to be ON MARK to keep them active as long as possible. The combo platter version of those spells in the update is my beacon for a possible complete of these two levels.

[Quazonk]

Heya, I pretty much signed up because I'm getting bored of getting my ass wiped with MM Pinnacle 2. :P

Any tips?

Definitely equip all of your IAP items, and the key to winning this level is proper use of your magic. Don't use any magic on anything you don't absolutely need to. I use magic only when there are 2 or more large blue/red devils, when there are large groups of baton-zombies, large groups of the yellow fast-moving slime-spawning guys,or when there are 2 or more zombie-casting ghosts. If you have a silence buff, use it only when large groups of projectile-tossing enemies are nearby. A very good strategy for any part of the level that allows you to backtrack, is to inch your way forward just enough that you can see the next enemy and "get their attention", and when they approach you, strike and run backwards, and repeat until dead. The "stick and move" strategy. If you are in a closed room, circle the room and time your strikes to immediately follow theirs, and keep moving. Remember that if you get hit, you have about 5 seconds of invulnerability, so use it to go slash-crazy while you can.

That said, this level is still very difficult, so if you get your ass kicked again and again, don't think you're doing anything wrong, the level is just that difficult. Good luck :D

[Kepa]

As far as boss hats go, how does that work? Just beat them again and again until once in a blue moon they drop a hat chest? If that's the approach, it's sure not working too well for me! Does it matter if it's normal mode or MM??

In the next update, the rabbit's foot will increase hat drop rates by 5x. Just so you know.

screen flipping... when will that be implemented?

Next update.

Heh, a lot of people are having trouble with MM Pinnacle 2 and 3. There is some spell balancing being released in the next update that may help a little bit, so you might want to wait a little bit.

Yeah, we're merging silence with time circle, and removing lucky and shield from the rotation (though you can still get shield from smashing urns when full). Should remove (or at least severely diminish) having your runs ruined by getting spells inappropriate to the situation.

Making progress on the update, right now taking a break from levels to tweak the new weapon changes more.

[SirDarkened]

Definitely equip all of your IAP items, and the key to winning this level is proper use of your magic. Don't use any magic on anything you don't absolutely need to. I use magic only when there are 2 or more large blue/red devils, when there are large groups of baton-zombies, large groups of the yellow fast-moving slime-spawning guys,or when there are 2 or more zombie-casting ghosts. If you have a silence buff, use it only when large groups of projectile-tossing enemies are nearby. A very good strategy for any part of the level that allows you to backtrack, is to inch your way forward just enough that you can see the next enemy and "get their attention", and when they approach you, strike and run backwards, and repeat until dead. The "stick and move" strategy. If you are in a closed room, circle the room and time your strikes to immediately follow theirs, and keep moving. Remember that if you get hit, you have about 5 seconds of invulnerability, so use it to go slash-crazy while you can.

That said, this level is still very difficult, so if you get your ass kicked again and again, don't think you're doing anything wrong, the level is just that difficult. Good luck :D

I didn't use any IAP items. They're actually not good once you get the yellow archmage and bluish? battlemage armor.

Also I use Giant Slayer, best weapon in the game imo.

[Quazonk]

I didn't use any IAP items. They're actually not good once you get the yellow archmage and bluish? battlemage armor.

Also I use Giant Slayer, best weapon in the game imo.

Diff'rent strokes, worked awesome for me! I like the Giant Slayer too, as well as the Heavy Cleaver, if you're slick with your strikes and dashes.

P.S. not even Phoenix Feather? Damn!

[vernalequinox]

Heya, I pretty much signed up because I'm getting bored of getting my ass wiped with MM Pinnacle 2. :P

Any tips? I have IAPs, and I'm wondering if I should attempt it with a mage build or a fighter build. Alternatively, I could just wait until the update comes through, because at that point, I'll be able to smash the last three levels.

I've 3-starred everything UP to there, and I went back and got all the boss hats when I wanted to vent my fury of getting 3 luckys in a row, or a lucky-shield, or basically shield anything, or lucky-non attack magic combos. Just wondering what I should do in the meantime while I wait. I bought the hookgames from Rocketcat to pass the time as well, but it's just not the same sort of game. Pretty though.

Anyway, aside from going off and playing Final Fantasy or something, is there anything I can do? I only have one non story related achievement remaining aside from beating MM and 3-starring, but I'm not even sure if being able to kill an eyeball without noticing is possible at this point. I've used every spell I could think of, long range light beams, lightning on another enemy who's on the edge of my screen to combo hit one... It doesn't register. Is it bugged? I noticed no one on the forum has mentioned that so far, and the wiki is a tad lackluster in the anything other than basic info department.

ANYWAY. The point I'm trying to make, any help for MM Pinnacle 2 before I rage quit and play Skyrim till sometime in early December (I hope) when the update comes out?

So for Pinnacle 2 and 3. I think the best things to equip are King's Wager, Shady Duds and Demon's ring. For pet I used Death Duck. I guess if you can 3 star Pinnacle 3, 2 is pretty much the same.

With the above wardrobe I get either Shadow Bomb or Fireball pretty much 90% of the time. Use them on pesky enemies that can divide into more enemies like those slimy yellow or silver enemies that explode when killed only to create two more slimy stuffs. I usually also spam my spells on those giant blue enemies that cast really strong ice spells that explodes when they hit the ground.

Other than that, I pretty much exploit the Death Duck ability to charge at lower energy level. I think it gives me an edge in dodging enemy spells with that advantage. Also be patient! Don't try to rush through a level or kill an enemy quickly because we are trying to conserve our health to obtain that elusive 3-star. Good LUCK!

[Penkanuin]

Quick question:

Can you get all the hats of a series (by area) from the nightmare enemies? Or are there specific hats assigned? I was surprised when I got the rook hat from a nightmare bishop, but I'm also trying to get the steel bishop hat and wondered if I could only get them from regular/nightmare bishops or if I could get it from a nightmare knight as well.

[the9quad]

Is this update the universal update? Bought it day one, seeing as how it was said it would be universal in the 1st patch, been waiting to play it.

and I quote:

"But first, next mini-update will add:
- Universal support
- Looking into iCloud stuff (no promises yet)
- Story mode level pacing tweaks. Either shortening some levels or adding more spell urns.
- More based on feedback!"

"OK

First update it'll be universal, I didn't have an iPad until recently."

I mean you obviously made it a selling point, by putting it out as the 1st feature you would add, evening adding it to the top of the list of what you promised would be in it, so here's hoping it will be universal in this patch.

[Quazonk]

here's hoping it will be universal in this patch.

It will be.

[Kepa]

Quick question:

Can you get all the hats of a series (by area) from the nightmare enemies? Or are there specific hats assigned? I was surprised when I got the rook hat from a nightmare bishop, but I'm also trying to get the steel bishop hat and wondered if I could only get them from regular/nightmare bishops or if I could get it from a nightmare knight as well.

They're assigned hats specifically. Generally each nightmare enemy is assigned half the hat drops for that chapter.

Is this update the universal update? Bought it day one, seeing as how it was said it would be universal in the 1st patch, been waiting to play it.

and I quote:

[Content Update Planned]
"But first, next mini-update will add:
- Universal support.

Yeah, it's in this coming update. I'm not buying the bolded stuff, though. Four reasons:

1. "First" in that quote used in the adverb/"before that" sense.
2. "next mini-update"
3. That initial patch took us like a day to make, if that.
4. I keep copies of the ad text I write for each game on release day. Here's what was up there day one:

*********
First update plans! Follow us on Twitter @rocketcatgames to send us suggestions!
- New Mode: Drudge Arena
- Scoreboard for the above mode
- New unlockable pet
- More, based on your feedback![/B]

Simply yelling at us to hurry up would probably be more effective than saying I lied to you.

[Coulbe]

*yells "Hurry Up" at Kepa* :P

Thanks so much for the advice guys, although I have a few concerns. I tried demon's ring a couple of times, but to be honest, I only really got fireball or shadow bomb maybe once or twice in quite a few playthroughs. So I think I'll stick with phoenix feather, if only because I don't think the amount of spell and urns I find is equal to the six plus the extra fireball that you cast when you die, which seems to crit pretty often.

Also, seeing how the IAP armour isn't really the best for me, and even though armour in general aren't the best, which should I go with Archmage and hope for some good urns with black cat equipped? Or should I use Battlemage with murder dog/death duck and not worry about trying to get the most out of my magic?

Finally, I wanted to ask this the first time around, but I forgot. The main enemies which seem to screw my chances over are at the very start of pinnacle 2. The explody red drudges that don't even die when they detonate. If you charge them, they chain detonate, if you let them touch the floor, they detonate, and the first room you go into that has the door close behind you has about 10 of them in there. Now if I'm lucky, I get through there with about one and a half hearts remaining, which really hurts my chances for 3-starring when I'm getting close to using phoenix feather before I'm even a quarter of the way through.

[the9quad]

They're assigned hats specifically. Generally each nightmare enemy is assigned half the hat drops for that chapter.



Yeah, it's in this coming update. I'm not buying the bolded stuff, though. Four reasons:

1. "First" in that quote used in the adverb/"before that" sense.
2. "next mini-update"
3. That initial patch took us like a day to make, if that.
4. I keep copies of the ad text I write for each game on release day. Here's what was up there day one:

*********
First update plans! Follow us on Twitter @rocketcatgames to send us suggestions!
- New Mode: Drudge Arena
- Scoreboard for the above mode
- New unlockable pet
- More, based on your feedback![/B]

Simply yelling at us to hurry up would probably be more effective than saying I lied to you.


First off I didn't know you had an update already, so I only bolded it, because the last page you mentioned an upcoming update (IE I assumed it was your first update),but I didn't see universal mentioned. I bolded it to bring attention to the fact that it was promised on the first page. So maybe chill and realize I like your games, but I didnt know you had already had an update I thought you were just now putting out the first one, so I wasn't accusing you of anything. Geez.


Simply saying its coming is probably better than belittling someone who buys your games on a forum.

[Penkanuin]

*yells "Hurry Up" at Kepa* :P

Thanks so much for the advice guys, although I have a few concerns. I tried demon's ring a couple of times, but to be honest, I only really got fireball or shadow bomb maybe once or twice in quite a few playthroughs. So I think I'll stick with phoenix feather, if only because I don't think the amount of spell and urns I find is equal to the six plus the extra fireball that you cast when you die, which seems to crit pretty often.

Also, seeing how the IAP armour isn't really the best for me, and even though armour in general aren't the best, which should I go with Archmage and hope for some good urns with black cat equipped? Or should I use Battlemage with murder dog/death duck and not worry about trying to get the most out of my magic?

Finally, I wanted to ask this the first time around, but I forgot. The main enemies which seem to screw my chances over are at the very start of pinnacle 2. The explody red drudges that don't even die when they detonate. If you charge them, they chain detonate, if you let them touch the floor, they detonate, and the first room you go into that has the door close behind you has about 10 of them in there. Now if I'm lucky, I get through there with about one and a half hearts remaining, which really hurts my chances for 3-starring when I'm getting close to using phoenix feather before I'm even a quarter of the way through.

An easy way to rid yourself of those drudges in the room is to run around and dash in a circle. Their explosions hurt each other. It takes some time for them to pick each other off but it keeps you safe. Also, the way I've best found to kill them is to lure them to jump at you - dash away - then dash back immediately after the explosion. That gets you one hit in and they only need two to die.

[Kepa]

First off I didn't know you had an update already, so I only bolded it, because the last page you mentioned an upcoming update (IE I assumed it was your first update),but I didn't see universal mentioned. I bolded it to bring attention to the fact that it was promised on the first page. So maybe chill and realize I like your games, but I didnt know you had already had an update I thought you were just now putting out the first one, so I wasn't accusing you of anything. Geez.

Simply saying its coming is probably better than belittling someone who buys your games on a forum.

It's coming out in this next update. It's actually in now, we just have to fix menus one by one and test to make sure the button placement is decent for the iPad.

The bolding made it look like you were saying we lied due to not including universal in that patch we did on NZ release day. I'm sorry for belittling you unjustly. One of the few things that irritate me is jumping on technicalities.