Community Update - February 2024

[Majora]

Greetings Skylords!

A new month; a new Community Update! It's time to bring you up to speed with everything going on in Skylords Reborn!

• New Patch Release

Our latest patch, Revenant's Doom, has been released! This patch comes with two brand-new cards!

The new Lost Manabeast (card spotlight), in combination with our Lost Soul rework, allows players to lean more into the revenant playstyle of the faction. Meanwhile, Tectonic Shifts (card spotlight) gives Stonekin players the unique ability to bring their very buildings to the frontlines. 

This patch also sees the introduction of a new difficulty for rPvE, alongside a naming adjustment for the difficulty scale to be in line with the campaign map logic of Standard, Advanced and Expert. We have created a video to explain the changes in more detail.  
 

While the popularity of rPvE encouraged us to implement more challenges for players to enjoy, we also have been working on improvements for playing campaign maps. We have replaced the old Need/Greed, Random and Assign system for a clearer post-game screen. Players now earn rewards on a per-player basis, allowing players to pick the upgrades they would like, without feeling guilty towards their fellow players if they want the same upgrade. Meanwhile, disenchanting an upgrade now rewards the same gold regardless of the rarity of the upgrade, while also providing the player with PvE experience, depending on the level of the upgrade. For more information, check out our patch notes. 
 

 

Alongside new cards, our loot rework and the addition of a new rPvE difficulty, we have also implemented multiple balance changes, quality-of-life-fixes, and a smoother new-player experience through tutorial missions. 
 

Full Patch Notes

To celebrate the patch release, we have a small present for the community. Enter this scratch code in the marketplace to get a mini-booster: PLAY-SKYL-ORDS-RPVE, This code has expired. Please see the code at the bottom of this Community Update instead. 

 

• Where is Bedrock?

We know a lot of Skylords are looking forward to our revealed Stonekin card Bedrock. Originally planned for the current patch cycle, we sadly had to either delay the whole patch, or delay Bedrock due to technical complications while implementing the card. We are still hard at work on solving these issues, and while we feel confident we can release the card as intended, we were not able to do so before the deadline.

Our next big content patch of 2024, Echoes of the Amii, which will contain our new campaign maps, will not be released for quite a while. Because we do not want to delay Bedrock for so long, our current plan is to release a mini-patch in-between. Due to the uncertainty of the mentioned complications we are not able to share a release date yet. 

On the topic of Bedrock, many of you have voiced concerns about its card availability, noticing Bedrock will be the first Ultra Rare card released in Skylords Reborn. While the cards' rarity is decided by our rarity design philosophy, we also want to make sure enough players are able to enjoy this and other new additions from the Rebirth Edition. To do so, we are working on a new type of booster, focusing on the new Skylord Reborn cards from the Rebirth Edition. We are still fleshing out the details on how this booster will be obtainable, but rest assured that we will strive for a good balance between rarity and availability. We will share more information about this in the future. 

 

And with Stonekin getting a shiny new Ultra Rare, the Lost Souls couldn't stay behind. Now planned for a release alongside Bedrock, have a look at Gate of Akylos!

 

• New Card Reveal - Gate of Akylos

Today we have an exciting upcoming new card to reveal. At the end of 2022, we hosted a card creation contest where everyone from the community could submit a card design to our jury. Adding a new card to Skylords Reborn is a big undertaking, as has become apparent during the years (if you want to know more about everything that goes into it, be sure to check out episodes #2 and #9 from the interview series from Kapo). 

One of the winning designs of the contest was Lost Obelisk, a card aimed at supporting the Lost Souls faction's revenant gameplay. We have since been hard at work on balancing the original card design from Ult, and are happy to reveal its final iteration: Gate of Akylos!

Please note: We are still testing the card. While we are generally happy with it, numbers and effects might still change before release. 

Gate of Akylos is a powerful tier 3 shrine, making use of our hybrid orb to allow deck diversity among Lost Soul decks looking to play it. Let's break down the card! 
 

Soul Extraction
Activate to extract a revenant from a friendly Tier 3 or Tier 4 Lost Souls unit. A revenant of that unit will appear nearby, and if active, the Revenant's Doom effect will be removed from the unit. The unit cannot activate Revenant's Doom again afterward. Only one revenant can be extracted from a Lost Souls unit in this way. Has a 60 seconds cool-down after the building was built. Usable every 60 seconds.

 

Give up the Ghost
Activate to sacrifice up to 6 friendly Tier 2 Lost Souls units in a 50m radius around Gate of Akylos to extract revenants from their remains. A revenant from all sacrificed units will appear nearby. Has a 60 seconds cool-down after the building was built. Usable every 60 seconds.

 

Ethereal Anchor
Every friendly revenant in the current game will have its duration extended by 25%.

 

 

Design Notes: While we are happy with the recent changes to Lost Souls, the faction still lacks a global support card and all of its revenant effects (Lost Manabeast, Revenant's Blessing) are localized with a lot of micro and power required for upkeep. Gate of Akylos is intended to make revenants more efficient, both in terms of initial cost and overall longevity.

"Soul Extraction" provides a way for Lost Souls units to generate revenants without having to die, and "Give up the Ghost" allows for faster and cheaper transitions of T2 units to revenants, which can combine with Banestone to act as defenders. This gives GoA both an offensive and defensive function. Additionally, all effects work on allies, meaning that players who choose to run Lost Souls together only need 1 GoA between them.

Gate of Akylos will release alongside Bedrock in a mini-patch on a later to be announced date.
Starting next month, we will also start revealing the card designs for the upcoming new Amii cards planned for the Echoes of the Amii patch.

2024 is going to be an exciting year for Skylords Reborn!

 

• Skylords Reborn Resources

Over the years we have released a lot of content, both in-game and on our Forum. From explaining our rarity system, to Deep Dives exploring various factions, there is a lot of behind the scenes information available. We have now placed all these resources into one place, so both new and current Skylords alike will have an easier time finding the information they need.
 

Skylord Reborn Resources

 

 

• New - Map Editor Tutorial

Speaking of resources; our Map Designer r4bitf00t has been working on the official map editor tutorial! Every download of Skylords Reborn comes with the Map Editor, allowing Skylords to create their own maps and creative ideas. 

Split into several parts, this tutorial will guide you on how to work with the BattleForge Map Editor. By the end, you will be able to create your own maps, script them, and publish them to the Community Maps section of the game. If your map is enjoyed by fellow Skylords, it might even earn a place among the featured community maps!

Want to work on more formal map content? Consider applying as Map Designer or Map Developer and help out the team! 

 

Map Editor Tutorial

      

• Events

To celebrate the patch release, we have a new event based around rPvE, with the chance to win the new cards!
In between our monthly Community Updates, we host various events and tournaments, so be sure to keep a close eye on the in-game event tab and the forum calendar to stay informed and not miss out on any exciting events! 

• NEW - Faction Fusion: Embrace the Shift - February 1st until February 14th 
New cards for Stonekin and Lost Souls are here! Play the newly redesigned rPvE difficulties to have a chance at receiving one of the new cards, Lost Manabeast and Tectonic Shift. More information.

 

• COMING UP - Battle of Tactics #6 - Rainbow Road - February 23rd until March 3rd
Try to conquer a modified version of a well-known campaign map in this crazy colorful contest hosted by Ultralord. 
Stay tuned for more information!

 

• FINISHED - Amii Training Camp
While we eagerly wait for new Amii cards, let's find out if you fully master the existing ones! Play rPvE with only Amii Paladins and Amii Phantoms on Tier 2 and see how fast you can get! More information.

 

 • FIRST PHASE - PvP AI programming contest
We are gathering players for a new type of event. Get ready for an AI Programming Tournament, where the submitted programs will face off in an epic showdown to find the ultimate AI strategist! Phase 2 is starting soon! More information.

 

• Host your own tournament / event
Want to host a tournament or event? Please reach out to our other Event Organizers, @Metagross31or @Minashigo Hiko. We can help you out with various topics and are glad to discuss potential ideas. We can also sponsor the prize pool for your event. If you have a cool idea for a PvE event, or want to host a PvP tournament, please don't hesitate to reach out to us, we will gladly assist you.

 

• Contribute

Skylords Reborn is a community-driven project fueled by the passion and dedication of over 50 volunteers. We are always on the lookout for like-minded individuals. If you have a passion for gaming, programming, design, or marketing, we invite you to have a look at our open positions!

 

We are currently looking for some more proofreaders (English), to read over stuff like the Community Update and Event posts before they go live. 

Don't have time to formally join the staff, but still would like to help out? Please check out this guide on how to support Skylords Reborn as a community member.

 

 

• In Conclusion

That's all for this Community Update! We appreciate you taking the time to read through it.

As is tradition, we're including a scratch code as a small token of our appreciation for your support.
The code will reward you with a General booster: LOST-SOUL-STON-EKIN

The code is valid until March 1st, when we will bring you another Community Update. 

We're always looking for ways to improve and value your feedback. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please don't hesitate to share them with us. We'll be back next month with more updates on our ongoing projects and upcoming features. You can also sign up to our e-mail newsletter here. 

Archive
• Skylords Reborn Resources (Deep Dives, Behind the Scenes, PvP Guide)  
• Overview Community Updates
• Community Update January 2024

[Hrdina_Imperia]

Welcome surprise, cannot wait for the new cards. Also, the map tutorials are super helpful, maybe we can get some more map makers into the fray 🤠

[UltDragon]

Gate of Akylos, lets go 🙌

[Metagross31]

[WatcherOfSky]

All this progress is so exciting! Love more themed shrines coming to the game!

[DDrazard]

Awesome as usual. ^^

[erkserkserks]

Great work! rPVE 9.5 is very satisfying!

Edited February 3 by erkserkserks

[JarodDempsey]

when gate says only one rev can be extracted in that way does that mean you can only have 1 without a timer at a time or 1 per cast every 60 seconds?