Community Update - January 2025

[Majora]

Greetings Skylords!

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

• Happy New Year and Anniversary

Happy New Year Skylords! We hope you had a lovely holiday, and wish you all the best for 2025. 

December 18th marked the 4th Anniversary of Skylords Reborn, and we released a patch to celebrate the occasion. Be sure to check it out, because you can earn yourself a promo Frost Mage until February 2nd.  

We would also like to remind you that our feedback survey will close on January 5th. Because Skylords Reborn is a community project, we want to understand what our players enjoy and what could be improved. Your input is vital to helping us refine the game and expand our player base. 

We hope you’ll take a moment to answer the survey questions, as your responses will directly shape our development priorities. As a thank-you, everyone who completes the survey will receive two boosters. Your feedback will be anonymous.

In this Community Update, we are taking a look back at 2024, and share our plans for 2025. We have a lot to cover, so let's get started!

 

• Looking back at 2024

2024 was a great year for Skylords Reborn, and saw the release of new campaign maps, something players have been asking for since the start of the revival. But a lot of other things happened this year, and we'd like to take a moment to reflect upon 2024, and go over our releases. 

 

January 27th - 2024

 

Our first content patch for 2024 introduced two new cards; Tectonic Shift and Lost Mana Beast. We also added a new rPvE difficulty and made changes to the existing difficulty system to align it better with the campaign map difficulties. We combined this change with our rework of the campaign reward system with individualized upgrades, gold rewards overtime, and gold rewards on-loss. We added tutorial missions, where players receive rewards for simple missions meant to explain some of the harder to understand mechanics of BattleForge. Lastly, the anticipated Lost Soul rework was released, containing a large number of buffs to well-designed but underperforming cards.

We also released some quality-of-life features, like buttons in the Forge to pause, speed up and slowdown, made a change to the neutral unit exclusion rule, and improved responsiveness of the game. 

 

  

 

Looking back
Tectonic Shift was a successful card release, with a healthy playrate in both PvP and PvE. It created its own archetypes and is a card which you can build a deck around. Lost Manabeast was a specific failure for two reasons, one, because it accidentally released with -25% less damage than intended, and, two, because the ability restriction was too high. We buffed the card to fix both these issues, but Lost Souls in general is in an odd spot. We changed it to function as desired, but it is too high-micro for the average player, so we likely need further changes to the faction. Our changes to the rPvE difficulty system were successful in our view, providing a meaningful bridge between the old level 9 and level 10 content.

 

April 27th - 2024

 

In April, we released the highly anticipated new card Bedrock. This patch also saw the release of Map of the Day, and the introduction of the Rebirth Booster, containing only cards from the Skylords Reborn Rebirth edition, earnable through winning multiple Maps of the Day.  

We also made a few balance changes to underperforming Twilight cards, released some quality-of-life changes requested by the community, and fixed some bugs. 

  

 

Looking back
Rebirth boosters have been a success both in terms of successfully speeding up the cost reduction of new cards and in driving player engagement with Map of the Day. Bedrock is a well-designed card, but we ran into major issues with the ability not showing up when you have multiple selected. The stone turtle is a cautionary tale about the real limits we have reverse engineering the game because we have not been able to fix the problem where the game thinks Bedrock's ability is a building ability, and it is not clear when we will be able to do so. 

 

June 29th - 2024

 

We knew that our new campaign maps would take the spotlight of our next patch, so we decided to release a patch in June to give the new cards Icespike and Swarm some time to shine. We also implemented a large amount of balance changes, mostly to tier 3 cards, in preparation for the release of the new campaign maps. 

 

  

 

Looking back
Swarm and Icespike are both functioning as intended and are unlikely to see changes anytime soon. We would regard them as successful card releases filling important gaps in their respective factions. 

 

 

September 21st - 2024

 

Years in the making, September finally saw the release of two new campaign maps; Unexpected Visitors and Into the Jungle. There was a large focus on the Amii faction, and four new cards were released; Amii Sentinel, Energy Core, Skydancer and the long requested Umbabwe. Battle Arena, a PvP mode which had been in development for a long time, was also released into the Sparring Grounds with 2vs2 and 3vs3 modes.

 

We also implemented new voice lines, both for the new campaign maps and some of the new cards. To round out the patch, we added new achievements (one awarding a new Lost Souls-themed Forge), and another batch of balance changes, including a rework to Amii Monument, the topic of many discussions and heated arguments over the years. We also released the Legacy server, where players can experience BattleForge without balance changes and new cards added by the Skylords Reborn team.

 

    

 

 

Looking back
This was arguably our biggest patch yet, and players noticed. Player numbers have gone up since its release, and reception to the maps has been very positive. While we purposefully made the new maps harder than some existing maps, we likely made UV's advanced difficulty too hard. We also noticed that some players would play UV over a dozen times and still not understand the mechanics, so it gave us a lot to think about in regards to designing new maps and how complex we are able to make them without causing issues among players, especially because we only have English voice lines. The new cards were mostly successful, with a few follow-up tweaks planned for Energy Core. 

 

October 27th - 2024

While writing this Community Update I had to double check if those dates are correct, but indeed; one month after our biggest patch yet, we released another patch containing 2 new cards and a new promo card. The new Amii card Simulacrum wasn't quite ready for release in our Echoes of the Amii patch, but we were able to release him shortly after. We also added Twilight Archers, a simple but effective addition to the Twilight faction.

But the main focus for this patch was our Halloween event. Because of the positive response to our previous events, we decided to do something special this year, and introduced a Halloween-themed promo card: Jorne, earnable by playing a special Halloween version of King of the Giants map. If you missed out on this promo, rest assured that you will have another shot next Halloween.

      

 

Looking back
Twilight Archers are working as intended as a PvP card, and will not see PvE adjustments, though they may see some indirect buffs in PvE via other upcoming changes to the Twilight faction. Simulacrum is a bit underpowered right now and it will receive some mild buffs in the future. While we try to get things right from the start, balancing a kite-unit correctly on the first attempt is rather difficult. We as a team have enjoyed the Halloween event tradition that happened organically and were glad to offer a promo this year.

 

December 22th - 2024

Closing out the year we had another holiday-themed event, covering not one, but three maps. On these Christmas-themed maps, players faced off against the Shadow faction to save the presents, elves and Santa himself. Doing so rewarded them with a promo Frost Mage.

While not exactly new maps, player feedback has been very positive on our seasonal overhauls of familiar campaign maps. 

       

Looking back
While players seem to enjoy the 2 and 4 player maps, we have received feedback that the map Christmas Fleet is too hard. While we feel a promo should warrant a challenge, especially in a community that knows the ins-and-outs of Skylords through the years, we will take this feedback into account to try and make sure future time-based rewards are available for all skill levels. The maps will also likely see minor tweaks before the event ends, as it was our first time using Shadow units and some of them were not fully complete or tested by the time we had to release the map. 

 

What else happened in 2024

 

Besides a steady stream of content releases, a lot of work went into other projects as well. 

• Our Map Designer R4bitf00t released a Map Editor tutorial, making it easier for players to get started creating their own maps. 
• We shared an interview with the map department regarding the creation of the new campaign maps. 

• We released a Deep Dive document for Twilight, sharing insight into the faction and its development going forward.

• Players started working on developing PvP bots to face off against each other, and perhaps in the future against players as a sparring partner.

• We had some major struggles with Anti-Virus programs flagging Skylords Reborn as unsafe. After a lot of hard work, most issues are now resolved.

• We worked with volunteers outside of the staff who lend their voice to implement new voice-lines into the game.

• We released our yearly Feedback survey to gather feedback about the state of the game, and what players enjoy or dislike about Skylords Reborn.

• Ultralord hosted the Seven Strategy Showdown, the biggest event series to-date, with 7 great community events for players to enjoy. 

• We spend a lot of time on our official YouTube channel, releasing trailers, card spotlights, and the how-does-it-work series. 

 

Looking back
2024 was an exciting year for us, with the milestone of releasing our first campaign maps as the absolute highlight. It was lovely to see the buzz in the community, and see many old faces return to check out the new additions. Our card output was also higher than ever before, and there was always something to do or explore in the game, be it an event, a new card, or a new game mode. 2024 proved that Skylords Reborn is alive and well, and with 2025 marking the year where this revival project will outrun the original BattleForge, we are looking ahead to a bright future. 

 

• Looking ahead at 2025

We consider 2024 largely a success for Skylords Reborn. Many players managed to find the project again, either for the first time, or to check out the new campaign maps and content we released over the years. You have also shared constructive feedback and kind words with us through the survey, and we intend to continue upon the legacy of BattleForge in 2025. While we won't go into much detail yet, here are some things you can expect in 2025. 

 

New Campaign maps

While players had to wait years to see Unexpected Visitors and Into the Jungle, the waiting time wont be as long for our next batch of new maps. We have multiple new maps in development, and hope to release two of them in the first half of 2025. We will take the feedback and lessons we learned to provide great content to enjoy for players from all skill levels. 

 

 

New Cards

 

We have multiple new cards in various stages of development, and it won't be long before you get to experience them first hand. We currently expect the number of new card releases to be similar to 2024, and have some exciting cards on the way. 

 

 

 

Balance Changes

 

In 2024 we made the controversial decision to change Amii monument. While we do not enjoy nerfing cards players like, we do so because we think it is the best choice for the game as a whole. As mentioned in our explanation of change, we think that the time of major nerfs is now at an end, and we as a team commit to no further nerfs on the scale of Amii Monument or the previous Batariel nerf from 2 years ago to existing cards going forward.

Instead, we intend to continue our work on making lesser played cards viable, and we have our eyes set on the Twilight faction. With changes focused on making more interesting use of the faction "Transform" ability, we hope to give players more incentives to play faction cards, instead of merely combining the best cards Nature and Fire have to offer. 

 

 

Map Modifiers

 

Originally intended for 2024 (to the point of even being mentioned in the looking ahead of that year), map modifiers are still in the works. Modifiers add unique twists and challenges for players to explore. We are currently finalizing a beta roll-out of the feature, intended on gathering important feedback from our players. For starters, random maps will get infected with an elemental modifier for a week.

 

We see tremendous potential in map modifiers in regards to replayability of the game.

 

And more!

 

As always, we will use the monthly community update to keep you informed about our work behind the scenes, with some nice surprises along the way. Be sure to check in every 1st of the month for the latest news about Skylords Reborn, and we hope you will enjoy what we have in store for 2025!

 

 

• New Card Reveal - Power Shrine

Now for something more concrete! To start out the year we have an exciting card reveal for you. We will save you the technical details, but after a lot of trial and error, we have finally figured out how to make Amii buildings happen. For our first Amii building, we decided to create a new Shrine card. Lets take a look at Power Shrine!

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

Grasp the Void
Activate to reverse the flow of power in the world temporarily. The next 3 cards each friendly player uses, and the next card each enemy player uses, will use void power to fulfill the card's power cost. Lasts for 30 seconds. Has a 60 seconds cool-down after the building was built. Reusable every 60 seconds.

This ability prioritizes void power, but if there is not sufficient void power to meet the card's power cost it will take the remainder from the normal power pool. If there is not enough combined power in the void and normal power pools to fulfill the card's power cost, it will be unable to be used as normal.

Design notes:
Every since we nerfed Shrine of War to require 2 Fire orbs, we have been looking to add a new void return option for rainbow decks. With Amii buildings now possible, that option became available via an interesting discovery that we could let the player use void power as if it were normal power. Power Shrine is an interesting twist on the normal void shrine because it allows the player to play 3 cards from their void power every 60 seconds. This means that it scales as the player's tier increases because cards generally cost more the higher their tier. This built-in scaling also allowed us to move Power Shrine down into T2, as three T2 cards every 60 seconds is not necessarily efficient given the high bound power cost, but it could be in a focused enough deck where players carefully determine their next 3 card choices given the unique power stipulation Power Shrine offers, especially in a team environment. 

Power Shrine is scheduled to release alongside our next content patch, date to be announced. 

 

• Clarification and modifications to the Global Rules

We have made some adjustments to our Global Rules, which apply both in-game and on our Discord and Forum. While it is commonly known that Skylords Reborn has a strict no-multiaccounting policy, there has been some confusion about our rules in regards to uneven trading and gifting. We have added some elaboration on these topics to the rules. We have also changed or removed some sections that were no longer relevant (for example, in regards to reputation on the Forum), and expanded upon communication and privacy-handling. You can read the full rules here. 

Should you have any questions regarding these rules, please don't hesitate to contact our moderators. 

 

• Team changes and Contribute to Skylords Reborn

We had a bunch of lovely people joining as volunteers this year! The following Skylords joined in 2024:

ElementG as Tech-artist
Bergerb as Map Designer
Vrizz as Testing Coordinator
Chibiterasu as Card Implementor (rejoined)
TwilightPrincess as Card Implementor
Prof_Amezy as Discord Moderator (trial)

But it would be unfair to not also give a shout-out to the members who left the team during 2024: 
Minashigo Hiko left as Event manager.
Volin left as Map Tester Coordinator
Vrizz Left as Testing Coordinator
Noah left as Audio Editor

Thank you all for your work for the project! 

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!

 

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.

 

• Events

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!
 

Current events:

• NEW - Save Christmas - Until February 2nd
While Christmas is over, our event is not. Complete the 3 Christmas-themed community maps to earn yourself a promo Frost Mage. Be sure to do so before the 2nd of February, or you will have to wait till the holidays of 2025 to have another shot.  

 

 • CLOSING SOON - PvP AI programming contest - Until January 5th
Players have until Sunday, 5 January 2025 at 23:59 to work on their bots. By then, please send the version of your bot, which you want to participate with, to @Metagross31. either via DM in the forums or via Discord. More information.

 

 • NEW - PvP AI programming contest - Final Showdown
Get ready for the AI Programming Tournament, where the submitted programs will face off in an epic showdown to find the ultimate AI strategist! More information.

 

• Host your own tournament / event
Want to host a tournament or event? Please reach out to our Event Organizer @Metagross31. 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.

 

• 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: HAPP-YNEW-YEAR-2025
Please note: Filling out the feedback survey also rewards you with 2 boosters. The survey will close after January 5th. 

The code is valid until February 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 Documents (Deep Dives, Behind the Scenes, PvP Guide)  
• Overview Community Updates
• Community Update December 2024

[Vultagx]

Happy new year to everyone and thanks a lot for the past year 2024.

[This Is Halloween_2]

Happy new year everyone. Thanks the team for your amazing work. Keep making this community live guys.

PS : for power shrine, when you mean using power from the void, you mean I have 100 power, 70 void power, I cast plague, and now I got 0 power & 163 void power ? Or the void power consummed for the spell is lost ?

PSS : Right now most rainbow decks, often using batariel, have successfully replaced SoW with either SoM, or by using enlightment to cast infernal chain (P) on their batariel.

Edited January 1 by This Is Halloween_2

[Hrdina_Imperia]

Amazing how much work was done last year. And hype, looking forward to all the new stuff!

[Metagross31]

4 hours ago, This Is Halloween_2 said:

PS : for power shrine, when you mean using power from the void, you mean I have 100 power, 70 void power, I cast plague, and now I got 0 power & 163 void power ? Or the void power consummed for the spell is lost ?

PSS : Right now most rainbow decks, often using batariel, have successfully replaced SoW with either SoM, or by using enlightment to cast infernal chain (P) on their batariel.

Regarding the first question: You would be left with 90%*170=153 void power and 0 power in the power pool.

Regarding the second, Rainbow Deck referrs to a deck where you play with one orb of each colour, i.e. .

[WatcherOfSky]

Loving all the work you all are doing for the game as usual! 

 

And Power Shrine looks like a very exciting card! Both in terms of ingenuity and how it moght play out! Definitely feels very Amii, in terms of how the Amii play with duality!

[JH24]

Happy New Year everyone. Many thanks to the entire Skylords Reborn team for all your amazing work. This has been an amazing year and I love all the new additions in 2024.

Thank you for this fantastic update and for giving us a glimpse in 2025. I'm excited to see what you all have in store for us. Thanks again!

 

Edited January 1 by JH24

[WindHunter]

There is a known issue with the Save Christmas achievement event. Map progress is currently not being tracked or awarded. We are looking into the issue and will fix it as soon as possible. 

[Bkingn]

Amazing Work! btw the feedback code says its reached its maximum use! i cannot redeem it!

Also i would love to see some Demon or Undead unit in the Amii line because it could synegize with niche shadow cards!

Edited January 2 by Bkingn

[Majora]

1 hour ago, Bkingn said:

Amazing Work! btw the feedback code says its reached its maximum use! i cannot redeem it!

Also i would love to see some Demon or Undead unit in the Amii line because it could synegize with niche shadow cards!

You sure you didnt accidently use the code already? Its limit is the same as previous codes.

[ItzBlaze]

Happy New Year all!

Huge congratulations and thanks to the Skylords Reborn team, excited to see what's to come in 2025.

I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous new year. 

[Majora]

We have deployed a hotfix, dealing with the bugged Christmas Achievement and tuning down some of the shadow NPC's: https://forum.skylords.eu/index.php?/topic/12413-patch-400050-22-december-2024/#comment-109514

[Majora]

The survey has now been closed. A big thank you to everyone who took the time to fill it in ❤️ 

[Hrdina_Imperia]

Hope I filled it and didn't just forgot to do it 🤔