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[thecatinspector]

Hey guys!
I haven’t played Duelyst for a loooong time (stopped after it came out on Steam). What did I miss?
Can you please tell me about the most major changes of the game? Would appreciate that.

Thank you.

[longshot405]

Welcome back!

I don’t know when the game was released on Steam, but I imagine you’ve missed a lot.
Three expansions have been added to the game:

• Denizens of Shim’zar
• Rise of the Bloodborn
• Ancient Bonds (just released yesterday)
• Also, there are cards that were added monthly, but this has since stopped.

Many card balance changes have happened. It’s probably easiest for you to see all changes in steam’s Duelyst news page: http://store.steampowered.com/news/?appids=291410

There are also the occasional boss battles now. For a limited time, this unique game mode allows you to challenge an AI controlled unique general with hybrid faction decks, unique board setup and rules special to that boss. If you beat the boss, you get a “boss crate” which requires $5 to unlock but earns you 3 Shim’zar orbs, a Gauntlet ticket and some other small things (I forget the others).

There’s an IOS beta ongoing. You can find details for it in the topic on these forums. Registration might be close, but the link to apply still funtions. If you’re interested, give it a shot: Announcing Duelyst iOS BETA – Duelyst

I’m sure there’s more that’s changed, but I don’t know what else there is off the top of my head.

[thecatinspector]

Thanks! How about additional generals? There are more of them than I used to see.

Also, what are those crates that require keys to open? New emotes or something more?

[akurane]

In a short summary (I don’t exactly know when the Steam release was; I’m going to assume it was before the Shimzar expansion and after the 7 sisters release):

Major Events

• Denizen of Shimzar expansion released
  New Tribe: Battle Pets These overstatted minions come with the downside of having a mind of their own, aka you can’t control them. However, it is because of their AI that they are usually easy to play around and abuse.

• Rise of the Bloodborne expansion released
  New Keyword: Bloodsurge Effect activates whenever your general uses your Bloodborne Spell (commonly referred to as BBS)

• (most recently, like two days ago) Ancient Bonds expansion released
  New Keyword: Bond Similar to opening gambit, yet only works when a member of the same tribe is on the field. However, bond effects can also be activated when not summoned from the hand, such as by rebirth or resurrection effects.

Card changes/nerfs

• Siphon Energy, Mana Vortex, and (recently) Inner Focus were all nerfed

• Slo, Zen’rui, Inquisitor Kron, Saberspine Seal, Earth Sister Taygete, Spirit of the Wild, Grandmaster Variax, and Entropic Gaze all recieved nerfs (their may be others that have been nerfed, but these are the ones I can think of off the top of my head)

• The Vanar general Kara has recieved 2 changes, with the most recent one allowing you to use it easier. Also Diamond Golem recieved 1 extra attack.

I can’t really give you any thoughts regarding the meta, as the new expansion just hit. However, Magmar does look really strong currently. All generals were playable/viable before the Ancient Bonds expansion hit, and so far it looks like this will hold true when the meta settles as well.

[longshot405]

Ah, I didn’t know they were added after the Steam release.

Each faction’s second general is unlocked when you reach level 11 in that faction. They have the same stats but a different Bloodborn Spell (1 cost spell you can cast without a card).

Lyonar: Zir’an Sunforge = Restore 3 Health to any minion.
Songhai: Reva Eventide = Summon a Heartseeker nearby your general (1/1 ranged, you pick the tile it is summoned on)
Vetruvian: Scioness Sajj = Your general deals double damage to minions this turn.
Abyssian: Cassyva Soulreaper = Deal 1 damage to a minion, if it dies this turn, the space turns into Shadow Creep.
Magmar: Starhorn the Seeker = Both players draw a card
Vanar: Kara Winterblade = Friendly minions summoned this turn gain +1/+1

You should note that Shadow Creep has been reworked (I assume it was different back when you stopped playing?). It used to deal damage based on the number of Shadow Creep tiles you had (4 tiles would deal 4 damage to anything on them). They now only deal a flat 1 damage at end of turn, but there are more ways to create it and there are more cards that interact with them.

[nwardezir]

Ah, I didn’t know they were added after the Steam release.

I also doubt, I started before Steam release and there was already 2 General/faction.

[akurane]

The crates contain cosmetics, ranging from MKII (alternate) general skins, prismatic cards, emotes, and profile icons. The keys to open the crates costs real money (about $1.99, $4.99, and $9.99 for common, rare, and epic crates respectively), as well as the cosmetics in the armory. HOWEVER, you can craft cosmetics in the armory using spirit.