Long before games existed as we know them now, ‘video games’ consisted of text-based adventures that demanded just as much imagination from the players as they did input. Dungeon crawlers were a popular genre at the time, one in which you guided a protagonist room by room through sprawling, confusing castles guided only by your wits and memory. Though the days of text adventures have long since passed, the Etrian Odyssey series has kept their spirit alive through its decidedly old-school gameplay, and though it may not be to everyone’s taste, Etrian Odyssey Nexus stands as the purest distillation of the series formula yet.

As far as story is concerned, Etrian Odyssey Nexus is rather unique in how its story focuses only partially on a pre-defined plot; broad strokes and story beats are laid out in a standard fashion, but much of the narrative will come from small, player-driven decision moments that occur rather frequently when exploring the labyrinths. The overarching story centres on the floating city of Maginia, to which Princess Persephone has invited all adventurers in the land to explore the mysteries of Lemuria and the Yggdrasil Tree that it houses, and you play as the leader of a new guild that has come to answer the call. Unlike some other games in the series, which dabbled in creating a more character-driven plot, Etrian Odyssey Nexus merely offers up this sort of rough framework, which is filled in by your own unique experiences.

As you crawl through the seemingly endless dungeons, you’ll occasionally come upon tiles that prompt your guild with making a series of decisions, the outcome of which can result in either positive or negative effects. For example, one memorable instance early on saw our guild come into contact with a fruit tree, and the game asked whether or not we wanted to send someone up to try picking some fruit. After choosing someone to go, we had to periodically choose whether to let them come down or keep picking more fruit; the outcome resulted in our party getting a nice boost to their health, but it could’ve just as easily ended in them being poisoned or our chosen unit falling out of the tree and mortally injuring themselves. It’s these emergent moments that make Etrian Odyssey feel rather special in its storytelling, as you develop quite a bond with your otherwise flat characters. Rather than the game itself dictating the kinds of characters that constitute your party, the character development comes from player-driven choices such as this.

As a sort of ‘greatest hits’ release for the series, Etrian Odyssey Nexus features a whopping nineteen classes to choose from when building a team, of which you can bring five at a time into the mazes. As you’d expect, this leads to a staggering, almost overwhelming amount of player choice in how a team is built, but the game is relatively lenient in allowing just about anything to fly; there aren’t really any wrong answers here regarding how a team should be built, but you’re going to have a bad time if you try running a squad of five pure medics. Things become even more granular once you boost a character past a certain level threshold, which allows you to then add any of the other eighteen classes to them as a subclass, granting them access to the skills, weapons, and armour of that class. If you’ve ever been the sort of player that doesn’t like to feel boxed-in with an RPG regarding character growth, Etrian Odyssey Nexus is the game for you; there’s next to no limit on what you can do with how you build out a squad, and the game almost begs you to find ways to ‘break’ the system.

Once you’ve arranged a squad that you’re comfortable with, you can then dive into one of the game’s labyrinths and begin exploring away from a first-person perspective. As you walk, it’s up to you to draw your own map on the bottom screen, filling in the empty grid with lines, squares, and icons to represent things like walls, doorways, and enemy locations. Those of you that don’t want to waste the time can activate a convenient auto-map feature in the settings, but there’s something to be said about the experience of slowly putting together your own maps and watching them grow in complexity; much like the player-driven storytelling, it does a great job of adding extra layers to the immersion factor. Finding that staircase that leads to the next floor, or uncovering a treasure chest tucked away in a corner; these are events that feel like much more of an accomplishment when the game isn’t simply handing over a map.

Enemy encounters are mostly handled randomly; a small meter on the screen fills up a little bit every step you take and eventually triggers a fight once it reaches the top. The battle screen retains the first-person view, tasking you with clicking through endless menus as you set up each character’s action for that turn. Both your team and the enemy team are laid out with a frontline and backline, with the backline generally being harder to attack, so finding good team synergy is critical to overcoming the hordes of monsters and animals that roam the mazes. Some classes specialize in buffs and debuffs, others are good at tanking damage, while others are good at handing damage out; it’s up to you to best discern which character abilities and attacks are suitable in any given situation. White-knuckling your way through fights with basic attacks is a passable strat early on, but later levels demand that you learn the intricacies of each class and how they can best contribute to the overall effort.

All the standard turn-based JRPG actions are available here (using items, attacks, running away, and so on), but a cool addition that helps spice things up a bit more is the usage of the force gauge. Each character has a gauge that slowly fills every turn, and once full, it lets them activate their Boost, a passive ability that significantly enhances their battle effectiveness in some way. For example, the Arcanist – a class that specializes in laying down temporary debuffs that affect the whole enemy team – has a Boost that prevents their debuffs from decaying with each turn, while also raising the chance that enemy units are affected by the debuff. Every class’s Boost is only active for three turns, after which the force gauge has to recharge, but you’re given the choice to either let it run out or activate that unit’s Break. A Break is a special, game-changing attack unique to each class, and while they can singlehandedly change the outcome of a tense boss fight, using a unit’s Break will disable their force gauge for the rest of that current run through the maze. Although the base combat system has plenty of depth and difficulty, this Boost/Break system helps to add a nice layer of extra strategy to proceedings, injecting a healthy dynamic element to the otherwise static battles.

Although the bulk of your combat experience comes from random battles, Etrian Odyssey Nexus also brings back the F.O.E. (Field-On Enemies) system, in which especially powerful, boss-like enemies appear on the map and must be manoeuvred around as you explore. Generally speaking, your team isn’t powerful enough to take on the F.O.E.s for a given floor when you first come to visit, so avoiding them is the best option, and the game helps facilitate this by showing where they are relative to your location. Every now and then, however, F.O.E.s have to be used to progress further in a dungeon, such as baiting them into breaking down walls, and this can lead to deliciously tense chases down long corridors and twisting paths. F.O.E.s only take a step when you do, but it can still be all too easy to get backed into a corner and forced into a fight. If you can take them down, there are some incredible rewards to be had, and coming back to a dungeon once you’ve levelled up more can lead to some extremely rewarding fights against enemies that once dwarfed your own combat effectiveness. A dungeon crawler such as Etrian Odyssey Nexus is always in danger of becoming a stagnant or repetitive experience, but this F.O.E. system goes a long way towards making every run through a dungeon something special by introducing some real, serious stakes to every step you take.

Every battle sees you getting a lump sum of XP that’s evenly distributed to every conscious member of your team, and when a unit levels up, their stats see a small bump and they’re granted one point to invest in a chosen ability in the skill tree. Every unit has a skill tree divided into three parts according to what level threshold they’ve reached, with the latter skills obviously being quite powerful. However, reaching the desired skill usually takes a fair bit of planning, as you have to first unlock the right to activate it by upgrading lesser skills a certain amount. You’re given full view of a skill tree right from the beginning so you can best plan out a unit’s build, and every decision you make along the way feels impactful and meaningful. Most skills can have several points invested into them to boost their effectiveness, and due to the relatively slow drip of points that you’re given, it becomes critical to find that balance between what you’re currently using and what you’re going to use several levels on from here. Much like with team composition and subclassing, this granularity gives you complete freedom in how your characters shape up, which can be either stressful or welcome, depending on what kind of player you are.

Once you’re finished with a dungeon run (usually when you’ve run out of TP to power your special attacks), you can then take the team back to Maginia to rest up and restock on items and weapons. A shop in town will buy enemy drops off you and create new armour and weapon sets to utilize them, along with offering you the opportunity to use those parts to augment already existing gear. Meanwhile, a tavern nearby gives you the chance to talk with NPCs and pick up or turn in sidequests; these mostly consist of unmemorable fetch quests, but they nonetheless help to give more purpose to each run through a dungeon. More importantly, this constantly revolving dynamic of bouncing between town and dungeon creates a satisfying and rewarding feedback loop that keeps you coming back for more; every town visit gives you the material and motivation to go a little further into the dungeon next time, while every dungeon visit sees you racking up tons of sellable items and treasures for subsequent visits to town. It all fits very nicely together, and though it isn’t anything very complicated, this simplicity of design can be quite effective in keeping you unaware of how many real-time hours are slipping by.

This being a dungeon crawler, Etrian Odyssey Nexus has an interesting graphical style that’s as much about menu navigation and design as it is about the actual graphics. For example, the town of Maginia isn’t an actual town that you can explore, it’s simply a menu that lets you select where you want to ‘go’, which then brings up background art and character portraits that fit the setting. The dungeons, on the other hand, are beautifully well-realized environments full of detail and colour, accompanied by enemy models that are basic, but well animated. Etrian Odyssey Nexus isn’t exactly a knockout in terms of its graphical style, but it certainly does deserve an extra nod for its tremendous usage of stereoscopic 3D, a foundational system feature that even Nintendo itself has been mostly ignoring as of late. Looking down a corridor and truly seeing how far down it goes, or scrolling through battle menus with four or five different layers, is an experience that adds a surprising amount to the game; that added depth gives everything it touches a distinct sort of presence that helps contribute to the immersion that’s clearly being attempted. It works well, and though Etrian Odyssey Nexus is no system showcase, it has a distinct way of drawing you into its world that few other games on the 3DS can match.

This is helped in no small way by the absolutely stellar soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro, industry legend and longtime composer for the Etrian Odyssey series. The orchestral tracks mix pianos, strings, and soft percussion to create relaxing, dreamlike tracks that call to mind some of the work from Studio Ghibli film. This music does a fantastic job of drawing you into the gameplay and instilling a sense of wonder as you traipse your way through mossy stone temples and other such locations. In battle, the music tempo picks up considerably and adds in some electric guitars to spice things up, but it still doesn’t lose that chilled sense of adventure that the rest of the soundtrack builds. Rest assured, you’re sure to find a few tracks in Etrian Odyssey Nexus that will stick with you for a while after putting the game down.

“As generative designers we have to think about the whole generative space, not just a single example from it.”

– Mike Cook explores why building procedural generators can be a tricky task.

Game designer and AI researcher Mike Cook has put together a tutorial on his website that explores some basic building blocks of procedural level generation. 

It’s the first of a multipart series on the topic, and should be of interest to developers curious about different types of procedural generation and finding the balance between the unexpected and the fun.

The tutorial explores the relationship generative space, the set of all things an algorithm can generate, and possibility space, the set of all imaginable arrangements, while providing interactive examples of four variations on a procedural level generation algorithm to illustrate those differences.

“This shows you how tricky it is to build a procedural generator. We want to think about our generators like normal game content, to imagine a player playing a specific level and enjoying it,” says Dr. Cook. “But as generative designers we have to think about the whole generative space, not just a single example from it. How big is the space? How rich with surprises is it? How often does it produce something boring, or something bad?”

The full tutorial, and any future entries in the series, can be found over on Dr. Cook’s website. 

Starting at 2:00 p.m. PST today, members of the Xbox One Preview Skip Ahead and Preview Alpha Rings will begin receiving the latest 1904 Xbox One system update (19h1_release_xbox_dev_1904.190127-1920). Read on for more about the fixes and known issues in the latest 1904 system update.   For the next few releases we will keep Alpha Skip Ahead and Alpha builds in sync to test core functionality.

 

New Features:

 

Mini Keyboard

• We are flighting a new Mini Keyboard and would love your feedback.  If you prefer or require the bigger keyboard for accessibility, it is still available in Settings -> Ease of Access -> Magnifier -> Larger Keyboard. This mini keyboard floats over the UI, so will position itself smartly around textboxes. If you see any positioning or general issues, please file bugs with as much detail as possible (app you were using, screenshot etc.) as we deliberately have minimal logging around text entry for privacy reasons.  Keep an eye out for a quest and survey!

 

Media Remote Programmable Buttons

• We are flighting a new feature that enables you to reprogram buttons on your Media Remote.  Choose your favorite app to launch when you press the OneGuide button on a media remote.
  
  • Access this via Settings>Kinect & devices>Media remote.

 

Fixes:

My Games and Apps

• Fixed an issue where Borderlands 2 DLC is not recognized.
• Fixed an issue where players would get an incorrect version error when playing Borderlands 2 online

 

System

• Pseudo-localization fixes.

 

Known Issues:

Disney Adventures

• We are tracking an issue where this title may not launch.

 

Profile Color

• Sometimes users may encounter the incorrect Profile color when powering on the console.

Skype

• We are aware of an issue with skype that when a user clicks on a conversation and/or pressing X to start a video call seem to freeze and eventually crash skype.

7.21:
===

GENERAL

* Melee creeps average gold bounty reduced by 3
* Range creeps upgrade cycle gold bounty increased from +3 to +6

* Replaced the primary jungles’ ancient camps with big camps

* Heroes no longer gain 25% more benefit from their primary attributes (affects attributes from both items and the hero)
* All heroes’ primary attribute growth values increased by 15%
* Health per strength increased from 18 to 20

* XP required to reach level 7->12 changed from 640/660/680/800/820/840 to 720/750/780/810/840/870 (the difference is +80/90/100/10/20/30 XP)

* The following melee heroes now have +5 movement speed: Naga Siren, Underlord, Monkey King, Nyx Assassin, Bloodseeker, Riki
* The following melee heroes now have +10 movement speed: Alchemist, Dragon Knight, Meepo
* The following melee heroes now have +15 movement speed: Legion Commander, Lifestealer, Lycan, Sven, Ursa, Wraith King
* Ranged heroes with 295 movement speed and above now have 5 less movement speed

* Tier 2 tower armor increased from 14 to 15
* Tier 3 tower armor increased from 14 to 16
* Melee Barracks armor increased from 13 to 15

* Tower Protection armor bonus for Tier 2/3/4 increased from 3 to 4

ITEMS

* Animal Courier: Flying movement speed increased from 460 to 470

* Aeon Disk: Active status resistance increased from 50% to 75%
* Aeon Disk: Recipe cost reduced from 1350 to 1250

* Battle Fury: Percentage damage bonus against non-hero units changed to be a fixed amount matching Quelling Blade

* Bloodstone: Bloodpact changed from 60% of current mana to 30% of max mana

* Bloodthorn: Cooldown reduced from 18 to 15

* Boots of Travel: Level 2 movement speed increased from +32% to +35%

* Buckler: Activated armor bonus duration on heroes reduced from 25 to 15 (carries through to Mek)

* Crimson Guard: Recipe cost increased from 600 to 750

* Drum of Endurance: Passive changed from a 6% movement speed aura to +20 movement speed to yourself only

* Ethereal Blade: Enemy debuff duration increased from 3 to 4 (matching duration when cast on allies)

* Eul’s Scepter of Divinity: Movement speed bonus changed from +6% percentage to +20 flat

* Holy Locket: Now uses Energy Booster instead of a Void Stone (provides +325 Mana)

* Iron Branch: Cast range increased from 200 to 400

* Manta Style: Movement speed bonus reduced from +25 to +20

* Mask of Madness: Lifesteal increased from 15% to 20%

* Mekansm: Stack limit is now tied to cooldown on cast (like Greaves and Crimson stack mechanics)

* Meteor Hammer: Radius increased from 300 to 315

* Necronomicon: Last Will damage increased from 550/675/800 to 600/700/800

* Nullifier: Duration increased from 5 to 6

* Phase Boots: Recipe changed from Gloves of Haste to Blades of Attack
* Phase Boots: Armor bonus increased from 5 to 6
* Phase Boots: Now gives +18 damage on melee (and +12 on range) instead of +20 attack speed
* Phase Boots: Melee active speed increased from 20% to 22%

* Power Treads: Recipe changed from Blades of Attack to Gloves of Haste
* Power Treads: Attribute bonus reduced from 14 to 10
* Power Treads: Now gives +20 attack speed instead of +12 damage

* Sange and Yasha: Movement speed bonus reduced from +35 to +30

* Solar Crest: Movement speed bonus changed from +6% percentage to +20 flat

* Spirit Vessel: Damage as a percentage of current health increased from 4.5% to 5%
* Spirit Vessel: Movement speed bonus changed from +6% percentage to +20 flat

* Tranquil Boots: Active form movement speed increased from 24% to 26%
* Tranquil Boots: Disabled form movement speed reduced from 20% to 18%

* Vladmir’s Offering: No longer uses Headdress nor provides its hp regen/stats
* Vladmir’s Offering: Now requires a 525 gold recipe

* Wind Lace: Movement speed bonus changed from +6% percentage to +20 flat

* Yasha: Movement speed bonus reduced from +25 to +20
* Yasha and Kaya: Movement speed bonus reduced from +35 to +30

HEROES

* Abaddon: Curse of Avernus curse duration increased from 4 to 4.5
* Abaddon: Aphotic Shield manacost reduced from 115 to 100/105/110/115

* Alchemist: Base movement speed increased by 10
* Alchemist: Base agility increased from 16 to 22
* Alchemist: Chemical Rage base attack time improved from 1.3/1.15/1.0 to 1.2/1.1/1.0
* Alchemist: Level 10 Talent reduced from -8s Unstable Concoction to -7s
* Alchemist: Level 20 Talent Concoction talent now adds the damage to the max instead of the base

* Ancient Apparition: Chilling Touch damage increased from 50/85/120/155 to 50/90/130/170
* Ancient Apparition: Ice Vortex manacost reduced from 65/80/95/110 to 50/70/90/110
* Ancient Apparition: Level 25 Talent reduced from 900 AoE Cold Feet to 700
* Ancient Apparition: Level 25 Talent increased from +4% Ice Blast Kill Threshold to +5%

* Anti-Mage: Fixed Counterspell providing double magic resistance when the shield is active

* Arc Warden: Spark Wraith damage increased from 100/160/220/280 to 100/170/240/310
* Arc Warden: Tempest Double duration increased from 14/16/18 to 16/18/20
* Arc Warden: Level 10 Talent increased from +25 Attack Speed to +30

* Bane: Enfeeble attack speed slow increased from 40/60/80/100 to 50/75/100/125
* Bane: Enfeeble manacost reduced from 70/90/110/130 to 50/75/100/125
* Bane: Level 10 Talent increased from +6 Armor to +7
* Bane: Fiend’s Grip duration increased from 5 to 6

* Batrider: Firefly now grants a 4/7/10/13% movement speed bonus
* Batrider: Firefly duration reduced from 18 to 15
* Batrider: Firefly cooldown reduced from 40 to 34

* Beastmaster: Inner Beast attack speed reduced from 15/25/35/45 to 10/20/30/40
* Beastmaster: Hawk health reduced from 300/450/600/750 to 150/200/250/300
* Beastmaster: Level 15 Talent changed from +40 Boar Damage to +65 Wild Axes Damage
* Beastmaster: Level 20 Talent changed from +80 Wild Axes Damage to +50 Boar Damage
* Beastmaster: Level 25 Talent increased from -15s Hawks Cooldown to -20s
* Beastmaster: Level 25 Talent reduced from +30 Inner Beast Attack Speed to +25

* Bloodseeker: Base movement speed increased by 5

* Bounty Hunter: Shuriken Toss cooldown reduced from 10 to 9
* Bounty Hunter: Jinada gold steal increased from 12/18/24/30 to 12/20/28/36
* Bounty Hunter: Track critical strike damage increased from 140/160/180% to 140/170/200%

* Brewmaster: Drunken Brawler critical strike reduced from 170/200/230/260% to 140/180/220/260%
* Brewmaster: Cinder Brew duration reduced from 7 to 5
* Brewmaster: Cinder Brew duration is refreshed on ignition
* Brewmaster: Cinder Brew ignite DPS increased from 20/25/30/35 to 20/30/40/50
* Brewmaster: Level 10 Talent reduced from +20 Damage to +15

* Bristleback: Viscous Nasal Goo manacost reduced from 25 to 12/16/20/24

* Broodmother: Level 10 Talent increased from +75 Spawn Spiderlings Damage to +125
* Broodmother: Level 15 Talent changed from +35% XP Gain to +15 Agility
* Broodmother: Level 20 Talent increased from +20 Spiders Attack Damage to +30
* Broodmother: Level 25 Talent increased from +350 Spiders Health to +450

* Centaur Warrunner: Retaliate no longer gains charges while it is active

* Chaos Knight: Chaos Strike cooldown reduced from 7/6/5/4 to 4
* Chaos Knight: Chaos Strike lifesteal reduced from 50/55/60/65% to 40/50/60/70%
* Chaos Knight: Chaos Strike max damage increased from 160/190/220/250% to 160/195/230/265%
* Chaos Knight: Reality Rift slow duration increased from 2 to 3
* Chaos Knight: Reality Rift slow reduced from 15/25/35/45% to 10/20/30/40%

* Chen: Divine Favor bonus damage reduced from 10/20/40/80 to 12/24/36/48
* Chen: Divine Favor now provides double bonus damage on non-hero units
* Chen: Divine Favor duration increased from 12 to 14
* Chen: Divine Favor manacost reduced from 110 to 70/80/90/100
* Chen: Hand of God heal increased from 250/400/550 to 300/450/600
* Chen: Level 15 Talent reduced from -10s Divine Favor Cooldown to -7s
* Chen: Level 25 Talent reduced from +400 Hand of God Heal to +350
* Chen: Level 25 Talent increased from +4 Holy Persuasion Max Units to +5

* Clinkz: Level 15 Talent changed from +20% Evasion to +15 Strength

* Clockwerk: Battery Assault cast point removed
* Clockwerk: Rocket Flare manacost reduced from 50 to 35/40/45/50
* Clockwerk: Level 20 Talent changed from +20% Magic Resistance to Rocket Flare True Sight
* Clockwerk: Level 25 Talent changed from Rocket Flare True Sight to +50% Magic Resistance

* Crystal Maiden: Freezing Field now grants you 10 bonus armor while channeling
* Crystal Maiden: Arcane Aura allied mana regen reduced from 1.2/1.7/2.2/2.7 to 1/1.5/2/2.5
* Crystal Maiden: Arcane Aura self mana regen increased from 2.4/4.4/6.4/8.4 to 2.5/4.5/6.5/8.5

* Dark Willow: Bramble Maze manacost reduced from 140/150/160/170 to 100/120/140/160
* Dark Willow: Bramble Maze cooldown reduced from 34/31/28/25 to 25

* Dazzle: Poison Touch mancost increased from 95/110/125/140 to 110/120/130/140
* Dazzle: Shadow Wave cast range reduced from 900 to 800

* Death Prophet: Base damage increased by 3

* Disruptor: Base armor increased by 1

* Doom: Scorched Earth cooldown reduced from 55/50/45/40 to 50/45/40/35
* Doom: Devour health regen from 4/8/13/18 to 3/8/13/18

* Dragon Knight: Base movement speed increased by 10
* Dragon Knight: Dragon Blood health regen increased from 4/7/10/13 to 4/8/12/16
* Dragon Knight: Elder Dragon Form frost attack slow increased from -20 to -30
* Dragon Knight: Level 20 Talent changed from 2x Dragon Blood to +25 Strength
* Dragon Knight: Level 25 Talent changed from +40 Strength to 2x Dragon Blood

* Drow Ranger: Level 15 Talent changed from +25 Attack Speed to +10 Agility

* Earthshaker: Fissure manacost reduced from 125/140/155/170 to 110/130/150/170

* Earth Spirit: Rolling Boulder damage reduced from 100 to 70/80/90/100
* Earth Spirit: Boulder Smash slow reduced from 80% to 60%
* Earth Spirit: Level 15 Talent reduced from +200 Rolling Boulder Damage to +150

* Elder Titan: Level 10 Talent reduced from +25 Movement Speed to +20

* Ember Spirit: Sleight of Fist cooldown reduced from 30/22/14/6 to 18/14/10/6
* Ember Spirit: Base damage increased by 3

* Enchantress: Enchant cooldown reduced from 55/40/25/10 to 22/18/14/10
* Enchantress: Enchant creep duration reduced from 50/60/70/80 to 26/44/62/80
* Enchantress: Enchant manacost reduced from 65 to 40/50/60/70

* Enigma: Midnight Pulse manacost rescaled from 75/95/115/135 to 50/80/110/140

* Faceless Void: Time Dilation AoE increased from 725 to 775
* Faceless Void: Level 10 Talent increased from +8 Strength to +10
* Faceless Void: Level 15 Talent changed from +300 Health to -1s Time Walk Cooldown

* Grimstroke: Phantom’s Embrace rend damage reduced from 120/200/280/360 to 75/150/225/300
* Grimstroke: Ink Swell manacost increased from 90/100/110/120 to 120/130/140/150
* Grimstroke: Ink Swell movement speed reduced from 18% to 12/14/16/18%

* Gyrocopter: Base strength increased from 19 to 22

* Huskar: Attack point reduced from 0.4 to 0.3
* Huskar: Berserker’s Blood max attack speed reduced from 220/260/300/340 to 160/220/280/340
* Huskar: Life Break damage and cost reduced from 34/39/44% to 32/38/44%
* Huskar: Level 15 Talent reduced from +15 Burning Spears DPS to +10

* Invoker: Base damage increased by 3
* Invoker: Exort bonus damage reduced from 4->28 to 3->27 per instance
* Invoker: Level 10 Talent changed from +1.25s Tornado Lift Time to -30s Ghost Walk Cooldown

* Io: Temporarily removed from Captains Mode
* Io: Tether now transfers health and mana even when Io is at max hp/mp
* Io: Overcharge now has an 18 second cooldown and an 8 second duration. No longer has a 2 second toggle.
* Io: Overcharge now costs 40/60/80/100 mana to cast. No longer cost 6% of health and mana per second.
* Io: Overcharge attack speed bonus increased from 40/50/60/70 to 50/80/110/140
* Io: Overcharge damage reduction increased from 5/10/15/20% to 15/20/25/30%
* Io: Relocate delay increased from 2.7/2.35/2 to 3.5/3.25/3
* Io: Relocate cooldown reduced from 130/110/90 to 90/75/60
* Io: Relocate is now cast delay again instead of channeling (being interrupted, silenced, rooted, etc will cancel the ability)
* Io: Level 25 Talent changed from -60s Relocate Cooldown to -30s

* Jakiro: Level 10 Talent changed from +30% XP Gain to +300 Attack Range
* Jakiro: Level 15 Talent changed from +300 Attack Range to +40% XP Gain

* Juggernaut: Base armor reduced by 1
* Juggernaut: Omnislash no longer allows you to teleport while using it
* Juggernaut: Healing Ward movement speed reduced from 420 to 400
* Juggernaut: Omnislash cooldown increased from 130/120/110 to 130
* Juggernaut: Level 15 Talent changed from +1s Blade Fury to +50 Blade Fury Movement Speed

* Keeper of the Light: Level 10 Talent changed from 8% Spell Lifesteal to +30% XP Gain
* Keeper of the Light: Level 15 Talent changed from +30% XP Gain to +1 Will-O-Wisp Health Count

* Kunkka: Level 25 Talent changed from -1.5s Tidebringer Cooldown to +60% Tidebringer Cleave

* Legion Commander: Base movement speed increased by 15
* Legion Commander: Level 20 Talent reduced from +40 Movement Speed to +35
* Legion Commander: Level 25 Talent changed from -10s Press The Attack Cooldown to 350 AoE Press The Attack

* Leshrac: Diabolic Edict increased from 9/18/27/36 to 11/22/33/44
* Leshrac: Level 25 Talent reduced from +50 Diabolic Edict Explosions to +40

* Lich: Frost Shield slow reduced from 35% to 20/25/30/35%
* Lich: Chain Frost damage reduced from 300/400/500 to 250/375/500
* Lich: Level 25 Talent increased from +40% slow to +50%

* Lifestealer: Base movement speed increased by 15
* Lifestealer: Base armor increased by 2
* Lifestealer: Level 15 Talent reduced from +30 Movement Speed to +25

* Lina: Base damage increased by 3

* Lion: Level 10 Talent increased from +75 Cast Range to +100
* Lion: Level 15 Talent increased from +120 Gold/Min to +150

* Lone Druid: Spirit Bear movement speed increased from 340/355/370/385 to 340/360/380/400
* Lone Druid: Spirit Bear attack damage increased from 35/50/65/80 to 35/55/75/95
* Lone Druid: Level 20 Talent changed from -0.3 Spirit Bear Attack Time to 0 Entangle Cooldown
* Lone Druid: Level 25 Talent changed from 0 Entangle Cooldown to -0.5s Spirit Bear Attack Time

* Luna: Level 10 Talent increased from +200 Cast Range to +300

* Lycan: Base movement speed increased by 15
* Lycan: Wolves armor reduced from 1 to 0
* Lycan: Wolves magic resistance reduced from 80% to 70%
* Lycan: Wolves health increased from 230/260/290/320 to 300/350/400/450
* Lycan: Howl health regen increased from 4/6/8/10 to 4/8/12/16

* Medusa: Fixed Mystic Snake bouncing to Spell Immune enemies
* Medusa: Level 10 Talent reduced from +20 Damage to +15
* Medusa: Level 15 Talent reduced from +35% Mystic Snake Mana Steal to +30%
* Medusa: Level 20 Talent changed from +700 Mana to -4s Mystic Snake Cooldown
* Medusa: Level 25 Talent changed from +7 Split Shot Targets to +1000 Mana

* Meepo: Base movement speed increased by 10

* Mirana: Sacred Arrow movement speed increased from 857 to 950

* Monkey King: Base movement speed increased by 5
* Monkey King: Wukong’s Command attack rate improved from 1.3 to 1.2

* Morphling: Strength gain increased from 2.3 to 2.6
* Morphling: Level 15 Talent increased from +15s Morph Duration to +20s

* Naga Siren: Base movement speed increased by 5
* Naga Siren: Mirror Image duration from 24 to 26
* Naga Siren: Mirror Image damage taken reduced from 475/450/425/400% to 400%
* Naga Siren: Level 20 Talent increased from -5s Ensnare Cooldown to -7s

* Nature’s Prophet: Using tango on a sprout tree will 2x regen (like eating a branch tree)
* Nature’s Prophet: Level 20 Talent changed from -4s Sprout Cooldown to +25% Cooldown Reduction

* Necrophos: Death Pulse damage increased from 100/140/180/220 to 100/150/200/250
* Necrophos: Level 15 Talent increased from +20% Ghost Shroud Slow to +30%

* Night Stalker: Hunter in the Night movement speed bonus increased from 20/25/30/35 to 22/28/34/40%
* Night Stalker: Removed Scepter
* Night Stalker: Dark Ascension now provides full unobstructed vision, instead of only 900 range
* Night Stalker: Level 15 Talent changed from +150 Cast Range to +15% Lifesteal

* Nyx Assassin: Base movement speed increased by 5
* Nyx Assassin: Strength gain increased from 2.3 to 2.5
* Nyx Assassin: Level 10 Talent increased from +60 GPM to +90
* Nyx Assassin: Level 10 Talent increased from +6% Spell Amp to +8%

* Ogre Magi: Fireblast cooldown reduced from 12/11/10/9 to 11/10/9/8
* Ogre Magi: Multicast 2x chance increased from 60% to 70%

* Omniknight: Heavenly Grace status resistance reduced from 50/60/70/80% to 50%
* Omniknight: Heavenly Grace duration increased from 8 to 10
* Omniknight: Heavenly Grace now provides 7/14/21/28 bonus strength
* Omniknight: Heavenly Grace manacost increased from 75 to 80/90/100/110

* Outworld Devourer: Sanity’s Eclipse multiplier from 9/10/11 to 8/9/10
* Outworld Devourer: Level 15 Talent reduced from +30 Movement Speed to +25

* Pangolier: Base damage increased by 4
* Pangolier: Level 10 Talent changed from +20 Movement Speed to +300 Swashbuckle Slash Range

* Phantom Assassin: Rearranged Level 15 Talents – +25% Cleave vs +15% Lifesteal
* Phantom Assassin: Rearranged Level 20 Talents – +20% Blur Evasion vs -4 Armor Corruption
* Phantom Assassin: Rearranged Level 25 Talents – +5% Coup de Grace vs Triple Strike Stifling Dagger

* Phantom Lancer: Level 10 Talent increased from +10% Evasion to +15%
* Phantom Lancer: Level 20 Talent increased from +4 Max Juxtapose Illusions to +5

* Phoenix: Sunray can no longer move forward while rooted

* Pudge: Base damage increased by 6

* Queen of Pain: Scream of Pain manacost reduced from 95/110/125/140 to 80/100/120/140
* Queen of Pain: Shadow Strike damage per tick increased from 30/45/60/75 to 30/50/70/90

* Razor: Attack backswing reduced from 0.7 to 0.4
* Razor: Level 10 Talent increased from +200 Health to +225

* Riki: Base damage increased by 4
* Riki: Base movement speed increased by 5
* Riki: Level 20 Talent increased from +0.2 Backstab Multiplier to +0.3

* Rubick: Telekinesis lift duration reduced from 1/1.4/1.8/2.2 to 0.8/1.2/1.6/2.0
* Rubick: Level 15 Talent increased from -45 Fade Bolt Hero Attack to -60

* Sand King: Burrowstrike damage increased from 85/150/215/280 to 100/160/220/280
* Sand King: Sand Storm AoE increased from 350/450/550/650 to 425/500/575/650

* Shadow Demon: Soul Catcher manacost reduced from 110 to 50/70/90/110
* Shadow Demon: Shadow Poison manacost reduced from 50 to 35/40/45/50

* Shadow Fiend: Presence of the Dark Lord armor reduction increased from 3/4/5/6 to 4/5/6/7

* Shadow Shaman: Level 20 Talent reduced from +3s Shackles Duration to +2.5s

* Silencer: Last Word cooldown reduced from 28/22/16/10 to 22/18/14/10
* Silencer: Level 10 Talent increased from +5 Armor to +6

* Skywrath Mage: Mystic Flare deals damage to creeps if no heroes are around

* Slardar: Level 25 Talent reduced from +1.5s Slithereen Crush Stun to 1.25s

* Slark: Pounce no longer does 30/60/90/120 damage

* Sniper: Headshot now has a back knockback of 10
* Sniper: Level 15 Talent changed from +35 Shrapnel DPS to +15% Shrapnel Slow

* Spectre: Strength gain increased from 2.3 to 2.5
* Spectre: Spectral Dagger movement speed increased from 8/12/16/20% to 10/14/18/22%
* Spectre: Level 20 Talent reduced from +20% Spectral Dagger to +18%

* Storm Spirit: Electric Vortex manacost reduced from 85 to 60/70/80/90
* Storm Spirit: Level 10 Talent changed from +20 Damage to +30 Overload Damage

* Sven: Base movement speed increased by 15
* Sven: Warcry shield health changed from 110/220/330/440 to 80/110/140/170 + 1/1.5/2/2.5x your strength
* Sven: Storm Hammer cooldown increased from 13 to 16/15/14/13
* Sven: Storm Hammer damage reduced from 100/175/250/325 to 80/160/240/320

* Techies: Remote Mines manacost reduced from 200/240/300 to 120/180/240

* Templar Assassin: Meld debuff is now applied before the attack damage is reduced by armor
* Templar Assassin: Fixed meld bonus damage being increased by Spell Amplification
* Templar Assassin: Level 10 Talent changed from +3 Psionic Traps to +15% Evasion
* Templar Assassin: Level 15 Talent changed from +7 Armor to +25 Movement Speed

* Terrorblade: Strength reduced from 16 + 1.7 to 15 + 1.5

* Tidehunter: Anchor Smash damage reduction from -45/50/55/60 to -30/40/50/60%

* Timbersaw: Reactive Armor bonus armor reduced from 1.3/1.4/1.5/1.6 to 1/1.1/1.2/1.3
* Timbersaw: Reactive Armor bonus health regen reduced from 1/1.2/1.4/1.6 to 1/1.1/1.2/1.3
* Timbersaw: Reactive Armor max stacks increased from 5/10/15/20 to 6/12/18/24
* Timbersaw: Whirling Death tree bonus damage increased from 10/15/20/25 to 12/18/24/30
* Timbersaw: Level 20 Talent increased from +10% Cooldown Reduction to +15%

* Tiny: Avalanche AoE reduced from 400 to 325/350/375/400
* Tiny: Avalanche cooldown increased from 23/20/17/14 to 26/22/18/14
* Tiny: Level 15 Talent reduced from +125 Avalanche Damage to +100
* Tiny: Level 15 Talent increased from +350 Health to +400

* Treant Protector: Living Armor damage block increased from 20/40/60/80 to 25/50/75/100
* Treant Protector: Scepter now causes Treant’s Overgrowth to deal damage instead of only Enchanted Trees
* Treant Protector: Overgrowth duration increased from 3/3.75/4.5 to 3.25/4/4.75
* Treant Protector: Level 20 Talent increased from +40 Leech Seed Damage/Heal to +50

* Troll Warlord: Level 15 Talent increased from +75 Whirling Axes Damage to +90
* Troll Warlord: Level 20 Talent increased from +20% Evasion to +25%

* Tusk: Tag Team slow duration reduced from 0.5 to 0.4
* Tusk: Tag Team manacost increased from 40/50/60/70 to 70
* Tusk: Tag Team cooldown increased from 15 to 24/21/18/15

* Underlord: Base movement speed increased by 5

* Undying: Level 15 Talent changed from Tombstone On Death to +30 Tombstone Zombie Damage
* Undying: Level 20 Talent changed from +30 Tombstone Zombie Damage to Tombstone On Death

* Ursa: Base movement speed increased by 15
* Ursa: Fury Swipes damage reduced from 10/16/22/28 to 7/14/21/28

* Vengeful Spirit: Level 20 Talent increased from -5s Magic Missle Cooldown to -6s

* Venomancer: Strength gain increased from 1.9 to 2.1

* Viper: Nethertoxin AoE increased from 350 to 380
* Viper: Nethertoxin damage increased from 20/35/50/65 to 30/45/60/75

* Visage: Level 10 Talent reduced from +125 Cast Range to +100
* Visage: Level 20 Talent reduced from +60 Familiars Movement Speed to +50
* Visage: Level 20 Talent increased from +15 Soul Assumption Damage Per Charge to +20

* Warlock: Base strength increased by 2
* Warlock: Chaotic Offering attack damage increased from 75/125/175 to 100/150/200
* Warlock: Golem attack backswing reduced from 0.74 to 0.57

* Weaver: Level 10 Talent changed from +7 Strength to +75 Shukuchi Damage
* Weaver: Level 15 Talent changed from +75 Shukuchi Damage to +14 Strength

* Windranger: Level 15 Talent increased from +100 Attack Range to +125
* Windranger: Level 15 Talent increased from +100 Powershot Damage to +125

* Winter Wyvern: Cold Embrace base health regen increased from 15 to 14/18/22/26
* Winter Wyvern: Cold Embrace manacost changed from 75 to 50/60/70/80

* Witch Doctor: Maledict cooldown reduced from 50/40/30/20 to 30/26/22/18
* Witch Doctor: Level 10 Talent increased from +5 Armor to +6

* Wraith King: Base movement speed increased by 15

* Zeus: Reworked Static Field. Now affects enemies directly affected by your abilities. No longer has a range.

Peter Molyneux’s name may stir conflicting emotions for some players, but you can’t deny the fact that he’s been involved with some groundbreaking video games, including Populous, Black & White and Fable. He’s currently plying his trade at 22cans, the studio he formed after leaving Microsoft, and has already released Godus and The Trail, the latter of which made it to Switch last year.

Molyneux is currently working on a game known only as Legacy, and has remained tight-lipped about it over the past few years. We were lucky enough to sit down with him recently to discuss his career and his future projects; the former feature was published at the weekend and we’ll be running the second piece later this week.

However, in the meantime, we thought it was worth highlighting that Molyneux seems keen to bring his new game to Switch:

Legacy is certainly a big departure from what I’ve done before. And more so than ever before, you need to think a little bit more agnostically about platforms. I would absolutely say that there is a really strong chance of it going onto Switch, but there are two gates that can stop that happening. The first is you have to get permission from Nintendo, that’s one gate. And the other gate is, are we, as a company, passionate about putting it on Switch? I would absolutely say yes to that, because Nintendo – of all three consoles – it appeals to the audience that I find most fascinating. Those are the people that perhaps haven’t been gaming for decades – although I love those people as well – they’re people who would love to play computer games but find them inaccessible, and I find that absolutely fascinating. So yes, absolutely.

It’s hard to get too excited about a project which, so far, hasn’t been properly revealed, but Molyneux’s assurance that this is going to be a ‘big departure’ is interesting, as is the fact that he really seems to be a fan of Switch.

The board game version of Legends of Andor has been around for a number of years. It was designed by Michael Menzel, who is better known for his wonderful and prolific work as a board game illustrator, rather than as a game designer. Andor is a cooperative fantasy game in which a band of heroes work together to complete quests and defend the realm.

The thirteen scenarios follow a linked narrative. Cleverly, as you progress through the quests new features are introduced, which means that you can start playing the initial quest with hardly any rules to worry about. A large part of Andor’s charm is the way that the story develops allowing you to constantly discover new stuff. With this in mind, I will do my best to ensure that no spoilers pass my lips, although this may mean glossing over some of the game’s more advanced elements.

The cooperative nature of Andor means that you can enjoy a pass-and-play game with each person controlling their own character, or you can play solo, taking control of multiple adventurers. There are four characters and they fall into the usual fantasy stereotypes. There’s a frenzied dwarf, a fighter, a sneaky archer and a mage; pleasingly, you can also choose the sex of each adventurer. Your heroes only have two characteristics; willpower is a measure of health and also helps determine the number of combat dice rolled (as you get weaker you roll less dice) and combat strength increases the power of your attacks. Each character has their own unique special ability; the wizard can flip combat dice whilst the dwarf can sacrifice willpower to enhance attacks. Characters can also improve their abilities by purchasing extra equipment from a merchant.

Although the landscapes are often littered with monsters, the biggest threat to your party’s success turns out to be the tight time constraints. Each day, your party members will each have only have seven hours in which to perform their actions. Moving to a neighbouring area of the map costs an hour, as does a round of combat (I guess our heroes must fight in super slo-mo). When needs must you can squeeze out a few more actions, but this will cause a drop in willpower and should be avoided whenever possible. Progress in the game is measured by an event track; this marks the deadlines for completing sub-quests and the overall objective. Once all of your characters have completed their actions for the day or you defeat a monster, a marker will progress along the track, giving you less and less time to complete your mission.

Combat is straightforward; each hero rolls their six-sided combat dice, chooses the best result and then adds their combat strength. The party’s total combat value is then compared to their opponent’s and the difference in values is the amount of damage applied. A bow will allow a hero to attack a monster in an adjacent territory, whilst a helmet increases the combat strength of dice rolls that show doubles. It is a fast and simple system that is easy to understand but can be quite ruthless. It might not be the stuff of legends but most of the monsters are tough and the best strategy is usually to go into combat mob-handed.

If you are used to playing games where the aim is to rush in and defeat as many monsters as quickly as possible, then you really will need to realign your thinking. Fighting burns up an entire day so often discretion is the better part of valour. Sometimes your objective means that you will have to fight and at other times you will need to battle in order to stop your home city from being sacked. The added perk of defeating a monster is that you will earn extra gold or willpower.

The graphics, being the work of Michael Menzel, are excellent and for me, the app worked smoothly, perfectly capturing the feel of the board game. This is especially true when you zoom in from the overhead view and switch the angle, revealing all of the 2D standee models in their full glory. The major issue is that at the time of writing Andor does not work on all devices. I have had no problems whatsoever playing on my iPad Pro and I know that the developers are hard at work fixing the issues.

However, it’s hardly a satisfactory situation and must be very frustrating for many customers. Other issues are relatively minor. The tutorial feels a little long-winded and once you have reached the story’s end there isn’t really that much incentive to play through again. Also, the way that the game works means that the heroes do not develop as the story progresses. Each new quest will see all statistics and equipment resetting, which may leave some players feeling hard done by.

Initially, Andor appears to be all about rolling dice and beating up monsters, but you will soon realise that the game is actually much more puzzle-based than that. You are forced to manage your precious time and coordinate the actions of your individual heroes, which often climaxes in a tense showdown. One massive advantage of the digital version is that you can start playing straight away. Setting up the board game is time-consuming and involves scanning the map for specific locations and then placing the relevant monsters and other objects.

Legends of Andor may be an older game but its appearance on touchscreen makes perfect sense. There is a generous amount of content (the original game only had five quests) and it plays brilliantly solo. The slow drip-feed of new ideas shows a designer at the top of his game.

Please refer to the comments section for the latest information regarding the technical state of the game.

If you ask some people, they’ll tell you that blockchain technology — an entirely reimagined approach to records, ledgers, and authentication that is helping to protect trust in transactions — is as dramatic as the creation of the Internet. Countless organizations across industries are aligning around it and there is huge demand for training and certification focused on the tools and building blocks that drive the blockchain ecosystem.

The Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger Project has created many of these key tools and is providing leadership around these complex technologies. All of which is why it’s worth noting that the Linux Foundation is now offering 30 percent off all of its Hyperledger training and certification offerings.

At top business schools ranging from Berkeley to Wharton, students are flocking to classes on blockchain and cryptocurrency. Additionally, job postings related to blockchain and Hyperledger are taking off, with knowledge in these areas translating into opportunity.

“In the span of only a year or two, blockchain has gone from something seen only as related to cryptocurrencies to a necessity for businesses across a wide variety of industries,” said The Linux Foundation’s Clyde Seepersad, General Manager, Training & Certification, in introducing the course Blockchain: Understanding its Uses and Implications. “Providing a free introductory course designed not only for technical staff but business professionals will help improve understanding of this important technology, while offering a certificate program through edX will enable professionals from all over the world to clearly demonstrate their expertise.”

Hyperledger offers numerous other training and certification options, and its certifications are respected across industries. The project has just introduced a new certification for Hyperledger Fabric and also offers certification for Hyperledger Sawtooth—with both platforms playing central roles in the blockchain ecosystem.

The following courses are key to building your blockchain and Hyperledger skills:

Blockchain: Understanding Its Uses and Implications (LFS170) — Understand exactly what a blockchain is, its impact and potential for change around the world, and analyze use cases in technology, business, and enterprise products and institutions.

Blockchain for Business – An Introduction to Hyperledger Technologies (LFS171) — This course offers a primer to blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. Learn how to start building blockchain applications with Hyperledger frameworks.

Hyperledger Fabric Fundamentals (LFD271) — Teaches the fundamental concepts of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies.

Hyperledger Fabric Administration (LFS272) — This course will provide a deeper understanding of the Hyperledger Fabric network and how to administer and interact with chaincode, manage peers, operate basic CA-level functions, and much more. Here is how you can get trained to pass the Certified Hyperledger Fabric Administrator (CHFA) exam.

Hyperledger Sawtooth Administration (LFS273) — This course offers insight into the installation, configuration, component lifecycle, and permissioning-related information of a Hyperledger Sawtooth network. Here is how you can get trained to pass the Hyperledger Sawtooth Administration exam.

Note that Hyperledger offers bundle prices if you are interested in both an exam preparation course and certification. These courses are also well worth looking into and available at the discounted rates through February 11, 2019.

Now is a great time to learn about Hyperledger and blockchain technology. Take advantage of these training discounts and start learning from the blockchain leaders now.