Delvers
DELVERS is a run-based party autobattler incremental. You don't control the heroes in combat — you assemble them, upgrade them on a sprawling skill tree, then send them marching into the depths where they fight on their own. The catch: Vigor is the only resource, and it only goes down. Every enemy hit, every step deeper, drains it. When it hits zero the run is over — but the gold you hauled back is permanent, and it buys a party and upgrades that reaches further next time.
Development log
- Shadowstep finally got its shadows3 days ago
- The Constellation Update4 days ago
Comments
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Pretty good game, would love to see how things change with updates. With that being said, I do have a few criticisms about some of the perks.
1. I don't really think the dragonfire potions really do much - with all perks purchased, each one does a whopping... 28 damage. I mean, it might be useful in the early game, but I didn't get to see that, given that I typically buy the cheapest stuff first, and the fury potion seems way better.
2. Hallowed Ground seems rather niche in its usefulness - the cleric tends to sit in the back, usually with only the bard near him, and they only ever get targeted when there's an aoe ability present. Could do better with the paladin, who's on the frontline.
3. And the award for "Most Useless Perk" goes to... Caltrops. Due to the way that enemy aggro works, they have NEVER stepped into range of the aoe, usually being intercepted in melee way before they can reach that spot, even with only the knight in the party.
Still, those being the only (and relatively trivial) issues I've noticed, this game seems to be very solid!
Ha! Thank you for playing the game and providing feedback :)
In the upcoming overhaul, potions are fully removed (a new Alchemist class will be present), hallowed ground has been fully replaced with an entirely new skill, and caltrops has been dropped entirely. Stay tuned!
Am I crazy but the dragon pup is useless? From the moment I got it to the end of the game he sat in the back outside of his range and never attacked once?
Not crazy, great catch! The pup was anchored to the back of the formation while the fight line forms mid-field, so with his 5-tile range he could literally never reach anything. From purchase to end of run he fired zero bolts. Just shipped 0.2.2: he now flies along behind the frontline and actually earns his keep.
Let me know if you see anything else weird! I'm cooking a big patch, stay tuned :)
LOVE this
Thank you so much :D Glad you like it!
Firstly, the music is fantastic, and honestly a big reason I played it as long, due to it being so relaxing. On the note of issues, I agree with the previous player. If the music is what kept me zoned in and enjoying the relaxing progression, Shadow Step would be the opposite, breaking me out of that relaxed zone and quite honestly ruining the experience.
Each new Delve reached slightly deeper and brought slightly more gold, but unlocking Shadow Step suddenly took my party's efficiency backward, causing future runs to yield far less. As it stands now, the Thief gets soloed out and surrounded, thus the entire party takes damage on his behalf while trying to catch up to his position.
That said, I did truly enjoy the game. The music and art is pleasant, and the upgrade tree (although a little confusing) is nice being so expansive. As for the thief, might I suggest a temporary "invisibility" during that skill? At least long enough for the party to catch up? In any case, good game, good job.
Hoping the best for this project moving forward. 👍
Glad you enjoyed it. I'll have to take another look later. Though specifically with Shadow step, it pulls from AOE which is really annoying. Yeah Invisibility would do wonders in comparison to invincibility, but I'd rather use a cooldown or have the thief activate it to the back row away from monsters when attacked.
You have your work cut out for you, but you seem to have a clear direction, and that's admirable. I look forward to seeing where this leads. 👍
Shadowstep now grants a 3 second invisibility! Thank you so much for the kind words, really appreciate it :)
Hey, that's great! I'll have to give it another try now, thanks for the quick responses!
Haha "cloaked in shadow". Beautifully written 👍
Yes, that's a great improvement, and quick timing. Well done 👍
My pleasure! In general, I want to keep working on the skill tree: there's a lot of design choices to make. Keep me posted on anything you like or dislike :)
The skill tree has a few issues making some of the upgrades detrimental in the short term without making that known to a player, this game isn't a puzzle and does not benefit from obscuring information.
Thanks for the feedback! I'm gonna rework the skill tree more. Which nodes stood out to you in particular?
I for one can say that shadowstep does not work as adverticed since it fires immediately and makes the thief simply run ahead of the rest.
tbh the only node I noticed this with was shadowstep, and I think its not an information issue but a shadowstep issue. running ahead has several disadvantages from less time to heal to getting hit by enemies immedietely while the rest of your party runs to catch up
Shadowstep now grants invis for 3 seconds! No longer a detrimental upgrade :D
Shadowstep in particular and unlocking the barbarian wouldn't be very useful given the team setup before them. I'm sure there is more balance choices, but none should stunt certain progression choices as those two. Sorry, I only really noticed it seriously on the Shadowstep one, losing a significant amount of income made the idea of purchasing the other vague upgrades seem a lot less interesting.
I can usually finish most of these games, but that was off-putting to say the least.
Patched! Now Shadowstep grants 3 seconds of invisibility, and there are no more negative perks, Beserker no longer drains vigor on hit either.
Oh, this was lovely, thank you.
Thanks for the feedback! Big patch coming soon with a skill tree redesign :)