Release Notes for Death's Gambit: Afterlife

Patch 1.2 (11 January 2019)

Community Request

• Added a speedrun timer that can be enabled in the options menu.
• Inventory now displays UI to help compare items.

Game Balance

• You can now parry Bysurge.
• Improved hitboxes on golem enemies.
• Improved hitboxes on crystal bombs, warp bombs, and fire bombs.
• Endless Heroic Dark Phase Orb health reduced by 33%.
• Endless Heroic Dark Phase damage reduction debuff now only lasts 13 seconds. Down from 26 seconds.
• Changed the way one of the debuffs work at the top of the Amulvaro’s tower. Specifically, one debuff would punish you for not having an ability on cooldown which was too punishing for Tome player builds.
• Void Plume no longer makes the player lose intellect if he uses the plume while the buff is already active. It also now doesn’t give flat int stat. It increases all int damage by 5%.
• Improve a couple of hitboxes on the final boss.
• The curved projectile during the final boss can now be parried back.
• Hallowed knights no longer take double damage if they are hit while getting up from the ground.
• You can no longer have more than 6 lightning rotating orbs active at the same time. Down from 10.
• Improved melee collision mask for a few enemies.
• Dark Knight’s Health in normal mode has been reduced slightly
• Eldritch Council casters spells will now end if they die in the middle of creating a spell
• Bysurge’s red laser tether attack has a bit more wind up time before it goes off so players have more time to react to the attack.

Animation / UI / SFX

• Jump ground effect now happens on jump through platforms.
• New landing effect added when landing on the ground.
• All sounds in Bysurge boss fight have been evened out.
• Poison now display the correct amount of damage taken per second
• There is now a tutorial note that explains how to parry
• When an explosion hits one of grave’s during the Origa fight it will only create debris the first time they are blown up.
• The landing animation when falling a long distance now occurs more consistently.

Performance

• Improved overall game performance.
• Improved performance during the Thalamus boss.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where player could get stuck inside walls if hit by a boss right next to a wall.
• Added a fix for Soul Trigger populating your characters save slot.
• Fixed an issue with the glowy blue walls during Bysurge Heroic. They will now correctly go away when he is defeated.
• Fixed an issue where using Scythe ability “Reap” while Theurgist Aura is equipped would cause a crash.
• Fixed an issue where the crystal heart enemies that spawn in NG+ outside the first Phoenix Rider Encounter could agro you from the savepoint that can be created by the Acolyte of Death.
• Fixed an issue that caused Shade Knight essence to scale incorrectly in NG+.
• Fixed an issue where player stamina would be lower than it is supposed to be if you level up stamina right before respeccing.
• Fixed an issue where if an air attack missed Tundra Lord Kaern that same air attack could destroy one of his floating ice spikes.
• Fixed incorrect text for cooldown time on the ability menu.
• Energy shield now correctly gives 4% increased damage.
• Fixed a bug where Hitting hollow knight enemies would sometimes display the damage amount when hit.
• Fixed an issue where respeccing would make it so you can never get Soul Trigger again.
• Fixed an issue where breakable floors in Journey’s End could become invisible platforms in NG+
• Fixed the UI missing sound effects in a few places.
• Fixed an issue where some melee attacks would still deal damage to enemies after the player enters his hurt animation.
• Tome air attack now is correctly buffed by the aerial mastery talent.
• Many additional minor fixes.

Patch 1.04 (25 October 2018)

Community Requests

• D-Pad support for movement has been added. You can change to this in the keybinds option menu. Please note this will change the way your quick inventory is bound automatically.
• Improved player hit reaction.
• Removed the last two frames off the dodge roll animation. Dodging should now feel smoother and more responsive.
• Holding the interact button will now skip long cutscenes like the horseback flashback sequence, and others.
• Holding the interact button will cause you to respawn quickly after death.
• The selection square when enchanting no longer moves back to slot 1 every time you enchant an item.
• You can now reset your levels and talents twice per playthrough. This count resets on NG+.
• Controls for climbing have changed to remove the need to hold down a button while climbing. Now, pressing up near a ladder will allow you to climb. You can revert to the older controls on the configuration screen.

Quality of Life

• If you leave a save point without pressing the confirm button the game now asks you if you are sure you want to exit without leveling up.
• Can no longer move mouse out of screen on computers with two screens if on fullscreen.
• Can now map multiple buttons to use abilities 1 through ability 3.
• Pressing escape will no longer quit you out of an options submenu completely.
• Some flashback scenes are spaced out more evenly so you are not constantly getting scenes after dying.
• Getting on ladders should feel easier.
• Collision improvements for the tall creatures in Gaian's Cradle.
• All options and configurations now save correctly through play sessions.
• Jumping through platforms no longer eat up your jump button input when pressing jump quickly after landing on a platform.
• You can now access the options from the main menu.
• You can no longer pick up items if your inventory is full. The only exception are key items required to progress the main game.
• There is now more information in the level up screen.

Animation Canceling

• Attack animation recovery frames are now cancelable into dodge, block, and jump.
• Basically, once the hitting portion of an attack has finished, you are now free to choose your next action without waiting for the rest of the weapon's recovery animation to play. This should make combat feel more fluid and responsive overall.
• Removed the ability to cancel out of certain animations early.
• Fixed an animation cancelling bug when changing between two different weapons.

NPC and Boss Behavior

• Zuma will now react with new dialogue the first time you talk to him if you have killed him.
• Can no longer interact with Zuma while meditating.
• Vrael no longer rescues you from prison if you have previously killed him.
• Changed the parameters that determine whether Vrael and Ione appear dead in the hallway before the final boss.
• Changed the parameters that determine who appears dead or alive in the scene before the credits.
• Fink now resets when you go to NG+. This means you can see him appear in Gaian's Cradle and other areas in NG+.
• Nymeria will no longer mention Grimgaud when you rescue her if you have killed Grimgaud in his jail cell.
• Fixed an issue where Ione can appear in the Dark Knight room even after she has been killed by the player.
• Vrael health was too low in the Thalamus betrayal premonition. This has been fixed.
• Ione health was too high in the Thalamus betrayal premonition. This has been fixed.
• You will now get the Fink quiz scene if you have previously killed Fink.
• Nymeria and Grimgaud now say something when attacked in their respective jail cells
• Hitbox for Vrael improved.
• The doppleganger in Ylnoth talks less now.
• Forgotten Gaian no longer plays a specific cutscene after defeating Origa.
• Soul of the Phoenix and Amulvaro now talk less during their respective boss encounters.

Sound Fixes

• Sniper grab attack now has new sound effects.
• Some sound effects would persist if you died during the Eldritch Council encounter. The more you would attempt the boss the more they would stack. This issue has been fixed
• Voice overs in a cutscene stop playing if you press the interact button to move on to the next part of the cutscene. This used to not happen if a voice over was followed by a cutscene action.
• Bysurge sound effects go away if you die to him. They will no longer continue playing after you respawn.
• Many other minor sound effect fixes and adjustments.

Balance Changes

• Ranged archers will not agro if you are behind them.
• Improved hitbox for tome lighting 1 orb ability.
• Red matter during the Amulvaro Heroic boss fight now lasts 4 seconds instead of 1 second before fading away.
• Red matter and dark matter during the Amulvaro Heroic boss fight deals less damage.
• Tundra Lord Kaern Floats a bit lower during his final phase.
• Ability cooldowns will now go off during the damaging portion of an attack.
• Ability cooldowns will no longer trigger if knocked back after starting an ability animation.
• Shade Knights are now stunned when blocked.
• Soul of the Phoenix now drops Phoenix down the first time she is defeated.
• Getting hit while climbing a ladder now makes you fall off. Also fixes a few other bugs related to being hit while climbing a ladder.
• You can now go past shields during Sky Crash, Heroic Lunge, and two Tome Dark Orb abilities.
• Decreased HP of Bysurge Heroic by 20% and Bysurge Normal by 10%.
• Decreased HP of Eldritch Casters in Eldritch Council Heroic 15%.
• Decreased HP of Red Crystals in Eldritch Council Heroic 20%.
• Decreased HP of Eldritch Inquisitor in Eldritch Council Heroic 20%.
• Decreased HP of Red slimes in Eldritch Council Heroic 15%.
• Decreased HP of Amulvaro Heroic Jellyfish by 15%.
• Decreased damage taken when getting hit by Amulvaro Heroic jellyfish by 15%.
• Decreased HP of Dark Knight Normal by 10%.
• Increased time for darkness to coalesce for Dark Knight Normal by 25%.
• Decreased damage dealt by Dark Knight Normal attacks by 15%.
• Decreased the health of dark orbs on the dark phase for Heroic Endless by 20%.
• Decreased the health of Endless Heroic Phase 5 by 20%.
• Decreased damage dealt by the Giant Golem's light blade by roughly 25%.
• Increased XP received by most Heroic Bosses.
• Rebalanced Scaling for Heroic Boss HP and Damage for NG+ to be more forgiving. Owlking heroic, Tundra Lord Heroic, Forgotten Gaian Heroic, Soul of the Pheonix Heroic, Origa Heroic, all remain unchanged.
• You can no longer shoot at Origa at the edge of your screen if she is grappled on to a obelisk. She will shoot back.
• Bulwark no longer takes damage from damage over time effects during his ghost phase.
• Camera during the Bysurge bossfight improved.
• Light of the Gray Wanderer no longer stops working when you change room after equipping. This aura now illuminates areas better.
• Thalamus red laser beams no longer slow you down, they only deal damage.
• Thalamus spawns that create the red lasers have had their health reduced by 17%.
• Some abilities deal less damage during the Thalamus fight.
• Mythril Greaves have been reworked and are now working correctly.
• Phoenix feather healing effectiveness now scales with your vitality stat.
• You can no longer block Bysurge's ground lightning and not take any damage.
• Adjustments to Amulvaro Heroic meteor summons.
• Shaman enemies now stop attacking you when you are far away.
• Added Moisture...

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug where the green orb spell that pulls you in during the Eldritch Council encounter would sometimes disappear if created close to the player.
• Fixed the death counter not working properly when fighting Origa, Cusith, and some Heroic Bosses.
• Fixed an issue which caused some boss journals to not appear in the boss journal page after picking them up.
• Fixed a parry bug that prevented parries against Mimics, Soul of the Pheonix, Amulvaro, and Fink.
• Fixed a bug that caused the level title UI to appear over the inventory instead of the other way around.
• Fixed a bug that would cause custom keybinds to be reset when closing the game.
• Fixed a bug that caused The Soul of the Phoenix phase marker from displaying properly.
• Fixed a bug where players could received double the amount of shards for killing Cusith if you kill him right after you die.
• Fixed a hitbox issue with the Dark Knight.
• Fixed a bug where certain ability effects were not triggering when abilities were hitting Ione, Soul of the Phoenix, and the Lizard Spearmen.
• Origa heroic will no longer float in the air if she explodes the obelisk she has grappled to.
• Fixed an issue that caused camera jitter.
• Ranged attacks no longer freeze your character and enemy. This would sometimes lead to some inputs being eaten.
• The teal orbs that slowly fall down during the Eldritch Council heroic encounter will no longer create explosions every frame if created inside a wall.
• Red bullets during the Eldritch Council fight now correctly deal damage to the player.
• Fixed an issue where you would pick up a Panacea after dying to Eldritch Council.
• Golden Gaian in the flashback cutscene has art improvements.
• Fixed a few Voice Over lines with the Soul of the Phoenix that were not properly displaying the correct subtitles.
• Fixed an issue with player art not correctly animating while blocking on a jump through platform.
• Fixed issue with not being able to use abilities on gamepad if you do not have an shield equipped.
• Fixed some sound effects that were still playing even if the game was muted.
• Fixed a very rare crash related to the tome weapon.
• Fixed a crash where you could select NG+11 in the NG+ screen. This would crash the game.
• Fixed a crash where you could attempt to buy abilities from a merchant even though you have already bought all abilities.
• Fixed an issue where If your shield gets broken while blocking and you try to throw an item immediately after, it would repeat the shield stun animation.
• Fixed a few issues where you wouldn't be able to use certain abilities on ability slot 2 and ability slot 3.
• Fixed an issue where opening menu while reading shield causes player movement to be disabled.
• Fixed a bug where Shield Reaper's Maw displayed the incorred strength requirement.
• Fixed shade knights respawning when you re-enter a room.
• Longsword ability heroic lunge now correctly resets its cooldown if you kill an enemy with it.
• Fixed a bug where the church barrel would drop more than one suicide blade item.
• Fixed a bug where the church prison cell was drawn at the incorrect depth.
• Mousing over a NPC menu button no longer overwrites your input if on gamepad.
• Fixed an issue where the game would display the wrong cape behind your character.
• Fixed a bug that caused the Soul of the Phoenix to close the back door twice.
• Fixed a rare bug that caused players to get stuck in the ceiling when crushed by blocks in Caer Siorai.
• It is much harder to get stuck inside walls after being knocked back.
• Fixed a bug with Amulvaro heroic's green buff. It now correctly increases your damage.
• Fixed a bug where the game softlocked if you dodge rolled into a destroyed acolyte save point and attempted to interact with it before your dodge roll animation ended.
• Fixed many issues related to monitor refresh rates.
• Fixed an issue where getting hit by a saw blade while shield broken would make you get stuck in place.
• Fixed a bug that prevented the cape appearing while on horseback.
• Enchanting equipped items to +10 now gives you the correct achievement.
• Shade Knights are less likely to materialize inside walls.
• Fixed an issue where dying while saving could lead to a corrupted save slot.
• Fixed a few memory leak issues that could lead to a corrupted save slot.
• Dying inside the church cell now leaves your phoenix feather outside the cell.
• Drake Knights no longer drop certain items twice.
• Light of the Phoenix resets timer if you cast it while the effect is still active.
• Death no longer takes a long time to pick up your soul in large rooms.
• Some background art will now parallax correctly when close to edges of rooms
• Spear roll attack hitbox is no longer hilariously large.
• Turtle shield no longer plays the Vados shield animation when attempting to move on gamepad.
• Theurgist Aura no longer stops working after changing rooms.
• You will no longer see some floating swords on top of Cusith when he is defeated.
• No longer have to kill all heroic bosses on same save file to obtain Chosen of Death achievement.
• Fixed a bug where you could get infinite immortalite from talking to Zuma on top of the ice giant.
• Throwing an an Abyssal Eye off screen no longer leaves you stuck until you quit the main game.

Patch 1.03 (27 August 2018)

Quality of Life

• Can now change languages in the in-game Options screen. (We are still working on getting the options added to the main menu)
• Can now enable “reduced screenshake” in the Options menu.
• Can now disable “stamina low” UI in the Options menu.
• Can now enable player health value displaying on the hp bar from the Options menu.
• Can now enable player stamina value displaying on the stamina bar from the Options menu.
• No longer have to re-do the red button puzzle to ride the Garde Tum elevator.
• Main menu music volume adjusted and balanced with in-game sound.

Game Balance

• Spikes in Obsidian Vale cannot combo you anymore.
• Shade Knights in NG+ in Obsidian Vale can now die to spike traps.
• Haste now affects the time it takes for your stamina to start regenerating.
• Amarog Shamans no longer block your attacks if you hit them from behind.
• Normal mode Forgotten Gaian now deals a tad bit less damage.
• Your horse can now kill Golden Drake Knights.
• Attempting to use an ability while in a knocked back state will no longer put the ability on cooldown.
• Attempting to use an ability after getting hit during the start of an attack no longer causes the ability animation to stop.
• You can now re-obtain the 11th feather by getting all the Gaian relics. Enjoy the extra 10% damage. :)

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a shield animation issue in the Obsidian Vale level where players using a controller would not animate correctly.
• Fixed a bug where the Energy Shield would lower player stats.
• Fixed a bug where the Void Plume would lower player stats.
• Forgotten Gaian Heroic no longer gives talents every time you kill him.
• Parrying an arrow of an archer that has been killed no longer crashes the game.
• Fixed a bug where Flaming Guillotine was not working on slot 2 and 3 on controllers.
• Fixed an issue where Blood Knight would not heal correctly at high health levels.
• Abyssal eyes now control correctly with custom keybinds.
• Mimic feathers no longer can drop from the Soul of the Phoenix heroic fight.
• You are no longer blocked from going left into the church after beating Origa.
• Heroic Bysurge now correctly drops 3 immortalite when killed the first time.
• Horse no longer faces left when first entering certain areas of the Aldwynn sewers.
• Heroic Forgotten Gaian items are picked up instantly as soon as you kill him. You can also no longer miss the boss talent point if you die after killing him.
• Music during the cutscene after Eldritch Council no longer continues playing over other music tracks.
• Fixed a bug that caused Amulvaro Golem to scale XP incorrectly in NG+.
• Fixed a bug where dying at the same time as Endless would skip her final cutscene.
• Fixed a bug where you could keep kicking down the ladder in Amulvaro’s tower repeatedly.
• Fixed a bug where Zuma would disappear and drop light greaves.
• Fixed a bug where Dark Knight would stop animating if he gained more than max health.
• Fixed a bug where blocking after an airdash would grant invincibility until you stopped blocking.
• Fixed a bug where Bulwark would attempt to dodge your parry attack.
• Fixed a crash caused by creating 10 rotating orbs with the fire and lightning tome spell.
• Fixed a bug where the phoenix in the first area would drop immortalite every time it was defeated.
• Blindfold item now works properly when upgraded.
• Fixed a bug where the Level Up UI text would appear over the inventory when inventory is open.
• Fixed a bug where enemies would respawn when re-entering a room if they were killed by an exploding arrow or some traps.
• Fixed a crash related to the Sigur ritual.
• Can no longer lose items dropped by Bysurge Heroic if he dies in the middle of his platform. You will now pick up the items automatically.
• Moss Knight in Gaian’s Cradle can no longer get you stuck inside a wall.
• Game will no longer run at a higher framerate in certain Garde Tum areas if you have a monitor with a high refresh rate.
• Improved overall performance and game loading time.
• Mimic feathers now correctly play a sound effect for being created.
• Caer Siorai Giant now plays sound effects correctly.
• Blink dagger now plays the correct sound effect.
• Equipping items using gamepad no longer sounds really loud
• Fire effects in the intro room now are muted properly when sound is disabled.

Patch 1.01 (27 August 2018)

• 144hz monitors and other high refresh rates should no longer increase gamespeed. (Note: Players may see a moment of speed-up while the game sets to 60fps when first starting or alt+tabbing into the game. The game should correct itself in ~1 second.)
• Soul Trigger no longer thinks it’s the best thing ever and has stopped replicating endlessly.
• Energy Shield no longer decreases stats and will work as intended.
• Unlimited Energy has been adjusted: Energy weapons require no soul energy for six seconds after using an ability.
• Death now has more things to say to you when you die.