Dev Update #27: Whispers of Darkness

A lil somethin somethin: You can find the details for this event on the announcement page here.

Greetings, creatures of the night!

We hope you’re enjoying the fall season. After all, it has everything a Vampire could ask for. The spirits are active, the dead are rising, and with the coming cold and darkening skies, it is becoming more and more tempting to take a seat in your most extravagant armchair by the fireplace flame with a nice glass of blood-red wine. Allow us to give you one more reason to settle in with a little something to read while you get comfortable.

Today, we bring you a dev update. It’s been some time since the full release of V Rising, followed shortly by its launch on the PlayStation 5 just a month later. During this time, we've reviewed the outcomes of 1.0, addressed bugs, and are now well underway in preparing for our next major update.

That’s right, the dark summoning of patch 1.1 has begun! We’re sure you have questions, of course. What does an update look like after 1.0? What are we building for the future of V Rising, and why? Well, we aren’t going to be giving away all of our secrets, but you’ve been patient and have certainly earned a good glimpse of what is to come. Keep in mind that everything you read here is subject to change.

Let’s get into it!



The Painting Is Never Complete

There’s this saying among artists that the painting will never be complete. You can always keep adding brush strokes, adjusting it, and polishing your artwork in pursuit of perfection. You decide when it is finished when you stop painting. In the same sense, we're not ready to put down the brush just yet. There’s still more we want to create and share with you, whether you’re a longtime supporter from Early Access or a newly awakened Vampire joining the adventure.




You’re fangtastic.


V Rising has been a true labor of love for us, allowing us to indulge all our dark desires and craft a Vampire journey that fully embraces the power fantasy of seizing control of your wicked destiny. With careful thought and your invaluable feedback, we believe we've found the path to enhance the experience without losing sight of what makes V Rising unique. Version 1.1 will focus more on expanding rather than altering the core experience, giving you more of what you already enjoy, along with a few exciting surprises.



Taking Control

Overall, we've received plenty of positive feedback on the progression from start to finish. While there are always minor issues we could spend endless hours refining, we'd rather focus on the results of something we first experimented with in the Secrets of Gloomrot patch and expanded upon in the 1.0 update. That is to say, random drops.

When we initially introduced random drops, the idea was to add an extra layer of excitement to the loot you’d earn from slaying mobs. Mixing up what you could get from enemies and chests was meant to inject more variety into each playthrough, creating unique moments from player to player and save to save. This is something that players were asking for after having a little taste with book formulas and the unique scythe recipe that Kriig (a.k.a. The Undead General, who wasn’t a V Blood at the time) had a chance of dropping.




+6 spell power, my beloved.


We first introduced this mechanic with legendary weapons and spell jewels, then expanded on it with the unique artifact weapons available in Mortium. While this added exciting new layers to gameplay, it also led to some frustration among more experienced Vampires who know exactly what they're after. Instead of feeling excited when receiving a weapon or spell jewel, there's some disappointment when it’s not what they need. We totally understand, and it makes sense to feel that way!

This brings us back to something we touched on earlier in the blog: how do you improve V Rising for everyone? Some players have suggested removing the randomness entirely, but while that would simplify things, the randomness also brings benefits. It creates new possibilities that push you to play adaptively and strategize your next move. The solution might lie in adding a new feature we're tentatively calling the “Fusion Forge”.

The idea for the Fusion Forge is to give you a crafting station later on in your playthrough that allows you to combine different items together and take the best parts of each of them. For us, this is the best of both worlds between getting to pick what you want and still having to get the ability or stat in the first place. You won’t have to land the weapon with all the exact perfect stats or get the jewel with exactly the spell modifications you need. All you need is a few jewels with the mods you're after, allowing you to fuse them into the ultimate jewel of your dreams.




Very rough placeholder UI! Building our perfect axes.


But that’s not all we’re considering based on your feedback! We’re also looking to give these endgame weapons more unique appearances, giving those weapons a more specific artifact feel. Following are a few examples of potential concepts for the new looks of weapons.







Some concepts for potential new looks!



Risk-Free Murder!

One thing many players have been asking for is a consequence-free method of engaging in Player vs. Player combat. V Rising gives you countless spell loadouts and weapon combos, each with unique abilities, but testing these endless combinations has always been tricky without a controlled environment. If you wanted to test out a build, you would have to go out in the world and try it out in the field, where you might not get to try it in the conditions you’re looking for. There’s also the manner of weapon and gear durability. Dying repeatedly in PvP can end up getting very costly very quickly, which is a big risk to take if you’re not looking to grind to pay for your experimentation.

We’re currently looking at adding two potential ways to engage in consequence-free PvP! One major benefit is that it will let you play around and experiment more without risking your gear, only your pride.

The first method is a free-form method: Dueling.

With Dueling, you can initiate a fight with another Vampire by challenging them anywhere in the world (with the potential exception of POIs to discourage players from dueling on top of enemy bosses where things could get a little silly). The two Vampires battle one another, and at the end of the conflict, when one player’s health drops to 0, the Duel is over. Both players' health reset to where they were before the match began, undoing all the damage that resulted from the conflict. The Duel system even recognizes damage you took from outside participants and lets it stick, so sorry in advance to those of you who were already planning to use Duel Flags to achieve immortality.




Will you?


How do you avoid people interfering? Uh, duel somewhere safe!

Speaking of safe duels, let’s talk about our second concept…



Arenas

“Arenas” offers a more robust and controlled PvP experience. The concept is to designate a specific area within your castle in which organized bouts can take place. This would involve an Arena Station, a new type of structure you can build in your castle to define the boundaries of your arena. You'd also have flags to let Vampires assign themselves to different teams, creating a structured and competitive environment for epic duels and team fights.




The current effects, assets, and UI are placeholders. Define your arena.


You can then set up the parameters of the contest on the Arena Board then begin the contest. Dropping to 0 HP temporarily puts you in a downed state, which you can step out of by removing yourself from the contest. Once all combatants but one team are downed or removed from the contest, the winner is declared, and everyone is reset back to the HP they were at when the battle began.




The current effects, assets, and UI are placeholders. Team overview at the Arena Station.



The current effects, assets, and UI are placeholders. 2v2v2v2 in an arena playtest!



The current effects, assets, and UI are placeholders. Vampires preparing for the match to begin.



The current effects, assets, and UI are placeholders. Edvard won’t let me back in from the death circle.


Overall, Arenas allows much more casual, structured PvP, even in PvE realms. Many players have told us they’d love to engage in friendly bouts with their clanmates just to test things out, and we believe this system will not only make that possible but also make PvP more accessible to everyone. Our data shows that less than 1 in 5 players have ever died in PvP, meaning a huge portion of the community has yet to experience the thrill of it! Some players have said they’d jump in if it were less risky, so this could be the perfect way for more of you to get hooked on PvP. May the Vampire gods protect your Vampire souls once that happens!

Our goal in V Rising is often to put the tools in your hands to make your own fun, and we think this helps serve that purpose!

Speaking of fun, there’s even more to look forward to!



A New Land Awaits!

If you thought the map of Vardoran was complete, you’re sorely mistaken! We’re going to be filling out the land with another region to explore with its own faction and theme to immerse yourself and get lost in. We want to give you somewhere new with space to build your castle and indulge in a unique style.

The theme of this mysterious zone? We’re going to hold onto that juicy little tidbit for now. Feel free to speculate.




What new land beckons just north of Silverlight?


This new biome will introduce an invading faction of enemies! Just like in the last two major updates, there will be a fresh breed of foe unique to any other that’s come before them, with different methods of combat and lore. The time will come to rise against this new threat, and you will be able to claim their dark secrets for yourself!




Concept art for a potential new faction unit.


Expect a deadly new gauntlet of V Bloods, each guarding ancient technologies and techniques, some so powerful, we can’t reveal them just yet. Face off against a fearsome Shardbearer, a foe truly worthy of the title. If you can endure the ultimate battle, you’ll claim a new devastating shard and unlock a legendary item recipe, securing your place as the undisputed Vampire Lord of Vardoran.



And that won’t be all!

It’s too early to share everything we’re working on, but rest assured that we’ll have even more to share as we continue development. As always, we’re incredibly grateful for your patience and unwavering support as we work to bring you exciting new content. For a bunch of blood-sucking predators, you are, as ever, some of the most kind and wonderful people.




Peace out for now!


Speaking of which, last call to our amazing artists! Don’t forget to enter the Slashers of Vardoran Art Competition before submissions close tonight! Get them in before 11:59PM GMT! We want to see you unleash your creativity, as every year is an absolute treat during a season rife with tricks!






The Haunted Nights Castle Pack is also available on Steam and the PlayStation 5 until November 16th! Grab them while you can!






To keep in contact and remain ever watchful, follow us on our socials below! While you’re at it, if you have any pressing questions about V Rising, its future, or its development, drop by an “Ask Me Anything” interview with our Community Manager, Jeremy! You can find it on the Exputer Forums[forums.exputer.com] starting November 11th at 14.00 CEST!


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Lots of love and a pint of blood,



/The Marketing Team