Hello, Defiers! We hope you’re looking forward to Sisters of the Deep, our first major update coming next month! If you’re anxious to know more about what’s coming in June, beyond what we’ve discussed in our DevTalks and the April news video, we’re here to bring you another short glimpse at our progress. Minor content spoilers ahead. We’ll keep it brief, as we don’t want to give too much away (and we’re also really busy).  Let’s start with discussing map changes!

Story and Map Changes

You’ll notice a couple name changes on the map art. With this update making some sweeping narrative revisions, including new copy for most objectives that will reframe the storyline and the player’s role on Aegea, we’re changing the “Isle of Arrival” to the more immersive, “Veilpoint.” Alongside this, Aeacus will be stepping aside for a new quest giver, but don’t worry, you’ll still be defying the Gods. That’s priority #1. You’ll also see the Dark Forest has expanded! The biome has grown to accommodate the new shrine experience and the challenges to unlock the Temple of Athena! Not shown on the updated map art are the new points of interest within the Dark Forest. You’ll have to discover those yourself.
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Disclaimer: The significant changes coming to quest objectives, from the tutorial to the raid, will cause conflicts with existing saves, as it will alter all of your character data. Which means, unfortunately, it is unlikely you will be able to launch and revisit old builds. This is something we hope to avoid in the future, but for this update, in order to rework these initial quests, this was our only option with our team’s time and bandwidth. Of course, we think these changes are worth your restart and contribute to the overall benefit of the game in early access!

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Weapon Highlight

On our roadmap, we promised Sisters of the Deep would come with more awesome weapons, and we’re excited to put three new legendary items and three new unique items in your hands (plus new armor)! Now what’s the difference between the two types? Unique gear will be added to your options at the Armorer, but legendary gear will be crafted separately and each bring special combat abilities. To give you a better idea, may I present to you: Athena’s Solarium.

The Solarium is a legendary shield, sister to the Athena’s Aegis. The Solarium allows Athena to weaken foes by simply raising her shield. When raised, any gorgon magic is completely nullified. The Solarium’s primary ability is Solarwind: After 5 successful blocks, the next block creates a burst of golden light, inflicting Parry on all enemies in a 8M Radius.

You’ll only be able to craft the Solarium and the other impressive weapons coming to Sisters of the Deep after you’ve completed the Temple of Athena raid and proven you’re worthy of carrying such divine relics.

New Lesser Fauna

Have we mentioned that Aegea will now be home to even more fauna!? Of the lesser variety, the Defier’s first foe will be the terrible, dangerous Rooster. You’ll find them across the Mediterranean, alongside their chicken counterparts. They are definitively aggressive, but I beg any Defier who dies at the hands of a Rooster to please alert the entire community immediately, so we can laugh at you. Together.

Boss Sneak Peak

Lastly, as you know, the highlight of our update will be the major boss fights. This is the best glimpse I can give you of what you’ll be up against! We continue to withhold the full reveals of these intimidating Sisters, but I’ve heard tales of their powerful gaze, so perhaps that is for the best. The boss fights will include mini puzzles and multiple rounds of combat. Each sister possesses special abilities and mechanics you must adapt to and overcome in order to progress through the raid. And just to confirm to everyone, single-players will be able to take on the raids by themselves! The difficulty will adjust for up to four players.

We’re not far from the update now! We’re working on the new content trailer while playtesting, and I cannot guarantee I will have another sneak preview before then! Thank you so much for supporting Dawn of Defiance so far. Please remember to take a picture of your current builds and share them with us in Discord for posterity! And we’ll see you all in June!