[h1]Greetings from the North, Kings and Queens![/h1] The long awaited third playable faction [b]is finally here[/b]! With the first snow come the northern warriors — welcome the Boreal Nomads. Also included in this update is the Community Castle Skin! [h2]The Mighty Boreals[/h2] Before we tell you about them, let us first introduce the Boreal Nomads with their very own trailer: [previewyoutube=WSDK1Zj8YHw;full][/previewyoutube] If you read our [url=https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1071140/view/3801661817154184213]gameplay devlog[/url], you might already know the basic gameplay of the Boreal Nomads. For the sake of those who might’ve missed it, let’s go over the details again and cover the new features. Boreal Nomads are a nation of two races — the humans who were nomads, and the giants called Boreals. We’ve endeavored to convey the differences and interactions between the nations through the gameplay. The giants are your main force: they guard your village and the Main Building, scout the surroundings for treasures and relics and buy gear from the Nomads. And they do all of this completely on their own! After you build their haven, the Boreals start roaming around the map, fighting threats and looking for randomly spawning treasures, prioritizing one or the other based on their archetype. [img]https://i.imgur.com/ejphBxe.gif[/img] A new mechanic not covered in previous devlogs is Runic Empowerment. The haven of each Boreal has 4 slots for rune circles, which provide the giants with unique buffs. These circles do nothing on their own, however, and a Boreal has to find a relic and slot it into the circle. The relics differ in quality and some of them boost the runic circle’s effects more than others. They spawn randomly on the map, but you can also force their spawn by playing the dedicated card. Speaking of which… [img]https://i.imgur.com/29mIdLb.gif[/img] This is where [i][b]you[/b][/i] come in! Your role is that of the Tsar, managing your villages and supporting the Boreals. Building as the Boreal Nomads is two-layered — first you have to place a tile of Nomad soil, then you can place one of the many buildings for various effects. These can range from craftsmen, making gear for the giants, to powerful holidays. The Boreals will also generate gold when buying gear or services from the craftsmen! [img]https://i.imgur.com/tApDxla.gif[/img] Holidays are a new mechanic we’ve added to the faction, to both incentivise building enclosed villages and adding an extra layer of strategy in supporting the giants. You’re able to place a holiday monument [i]only[/i] inside a fully enclosed village, but when you do, every tile inside the settlement and special buildings will boost its effects. Some of the holidays also provide a powerful initial effect when you place them on top of the passive buffs. [img]https://i.imgur.com/Riwykm5.gif[/img] There are some other assorted things about the faction worth noting, like the Boreals keeping their gear and experience throughout the campaign. You can read our [url=https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1071140/view/3801661817154184213]gameplay devlog[/url] to learn about such details, or… play the faction [b]right now[/b] and uncover everything about it! [h3][b]Boreal Nomads will be instantly accessible to everyone who plays ORX after the update, but only for a limited time![/b][/h3] [h2]Design-a-Castle Community Skin[/h2] As promised, we’ve added the winning design from our Design-a-Castle contest to the game. Marvel in all its glory! [img]https://i.imgur.com/lrAevJc.gif[/img] Right now, the skin applies to your Rune Guardians campaign with a 50% chance when starting a new run. We’ll introduce the option to select the skin or the classic castle at the start of the campaign a bit later. Be warned though, this castle doesn’t have towers protecting it! We just couldn’t bring ourselves to mar the beauty of this design by square towers, and it was also suggested by an experienced player. But to balance that out we gave it a minor voidwalker-type buff, so now this castle will buff all military units and buildings in your kingdom at the start as long as you put some runes into it. Just keep in mind that you’ll need to build some additional defences if your campaign is generated with the community skin. [h2]DISCLAIMER[/h2] This update is quite large and introduces many new mechanics and behind-the-scenes logic. While we've done our best to slay all bugs, some may still remain when the update reaches you. AS such, you may be faced with something we’ve missed due to the randomly generated nature of many of ORX's key features. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding! If you encounter any bugs or have feedback about the Boreal Nomads — please, share them on one of the platforms below! [url=https://discord.gg/jd7NK459Qj][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/34910757/dcedb6a705088023da3bc876ca14aafe789c2bb3.png[/img][/url] [url=https://steamcommunity.com/app/1071140/discussions/0/3318610798947860993/][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/34910757/6b042c67b4b714f8cfb08ca91e03c64b825e4526.png[/img][/url] We also plan to expand the arsenal of cards and mechanics for the Boreal Nomads in future updates! [h2]Patch Notes[/h2] [b]Gameplay[/b] [list] [*] Added the Boreal Nomads — the 3rd playable faction. [list] [*] Faction Cards [*] Faction Units [*] Faction Event with upgradable artifact [*] New unique gameplay mechanics [*] Universal cards [/list] [*] Changed Buff Vaults effects from being 3x3 Aura to Global [*] New Buff Vaults types [list] [*] Earth (defence) [*] Fury (defence ignore) [*] Sacred (HP and damage) [*] Aether (resurrection) [*] Darkness (thorns) [/list] [/list] [b]User Interface[/b] [list] [*] Added deck reshuffle effect [*] Adjusted the Early Access notice dimensions to be less intrusive [*] Villages targeted by ORX now have a new distinct icon above them [*] You can now click any unit (including ORX and monsters) to view their detailed stats [*] New unit selection highlight [/list] [b]Optimization[/b] [list] [*] Compiled player units textures into texture atlases [/list] [b]Bug Fixes[/b] [list] [*] Fixed attack speed not waiting for the projectile to land [*] Fixed “!” not disappearing from the Encyclopedia even if there were no new entries [*] Fixed enchantments not changing the weapon’s element [*] Fixed card getting stuck under the cursor, when played during a cutscene [*] Fixed the Advisors unlock resetting on game restart [*] Fixed the Puddle Tower DoT ticks being the same as the main damage value of the tower [*] Fixed the chain hit effect jumping to more targets than intended [/list] [b]Fixed Previously[/b] [list] [*] Fixed a rare freeze tied to ElementObserver lookup line [*] Fixed the Black Screen Issue [*] Fixed ORX Trojan proccing the Death Knight’s resurrection and spawning ORX each time [*] Fixed stat integer overflow for castles and units [/list] That's it for today. See you in the next update! Don't forget to follow us on socials and join our cozy Discord server. [url=https://discord.gg/5MRJK7HKfU][img]https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34910757/79c926634294d51f2e6c4f35fd5fd66d5cb58a56.png[/img][/url] [url=https://twitter.com/OrXgame][img]https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34910757/37f7a3962adce0ee9041650b5fd598fd4e87d1d5.png[/img][/url]