Hey everyone,

it's Patch Friday! I already gave a preview about it in the last devlog, now the new mini map and camera controls are available on the Steam open alpha playtest. If that does not rock your socks, maybe the latest entry in the environmental effect series will: There are arcane environments now!

You could already freeze rivers and burn flammable objects like trees or bushes. Now you can activate sites of arcane power: Places like graves and defiled churches are triggered by arcane damage. I love how things are really coming together now, because so many objects in our world that were just decoration before now can be interacted with in cool ways.

When an arcane area is activated, a Hell Skull spawns and follows you until its lifespan runs out or until it hits you.

You can maneuver the skull into enemies so they take the damage that was meant for you. Also, the skull occasionally spawns arcane crystals that stay on the ground after its demise and can also be utilized in combat.

Defiled churches is where the real fun starts, because cultists are immune to arcane damage and their ranged attacks happen to do arcane damage, so they tend to bring Hell Skulls about quite often. A Hell Skull exploding in an arcane environment can itself produce a new skull, which can can result in fun chain reactions.

That's all for now, have a great weekend!

Alain