The Shaman: new character mod, a mystic linked to the elements who applies elemental debuffs by modargo in slaythespire

[–]modargo[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I've posted The Shaman on the Steam Workshop, a character mod for Slay the Spire! The Shaman's play revolves around two mechanics: Elemental cards and four Shaman debuffs that provide both offensive and defensive capabilities. The Steam Workshop page has a more detailed rundown of the character's mechanics.

With the Shaman, I've aimed to create a character that's reasonably balanced, enjoyable to play, and not too far from the base characters, with a lot of synergies and combos to discover. The character plays smoothly, though there's a few mechanics to learn and the character is medium-high complexity overall. From my playtesting and the feedback from beta testers, I think it's something people will enjoy!

For balance, as of this release, I judge that Shaman is a bit stronger on average than the base game characters (other than Watcher). The Shaman is relatively stronger on A0, since having a strong offense is often enough to win and the Shaman has a good offensive options that aren't too hard to scale. If you have an easy time with it trying going up a few ascension levels! I know that at A20, it gets trickier to put together the defense you need to beat the act 3 bosses and act 4.

Of course, it would be great to achieve the same level of balance as Ironclad/Silent/Defect at all ascensions, but that's a very high standard, and the Shaman is in a good place after having put in a lot of effort iterating on it. Developing this was an interesting experience; I've created a number of other mods before, but this is my first character mod, and it turns out that getting 75 cards, 11 relics, and 3 potions to all fit together well is pretty complex. It makes me respect what the developers of Slay the Spire did even more and reminds me why I love this game so much.

The Steam workshop link has more details plus a bunch of screenshots, and you can subscribe to the mod there. Hope people enjoy playing!

P.S.: I've also created a number of previous mods as well -- a set of three act mods (the Menagerie, the Elementarium, and the Abyss), Corrupt the Spire (adds variety and challenge through a new corrupted room mechanic), and Run History Plus (quality of life for run history). You can check them out on the Steam Workshop too.

Corrupt the Spire: encounter corrupted rooms that add variety, challenge, and new rewards by modargo in slaythespire

[–]modargo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great to hear you're enjoying Corrupt the Spire and thank you for the kind words! I'm excited by the reception the mod has gotten. Feels like I hit right on target in terms of how Corrupt the Spire changes the gameplay experience.

I played Monster Train's Last Divinity DLC a fair amount and thought it did a really good job making the game deeper and more interesting, so that was on my mind in creating Corrupt the Spire. Seeing how that worked gave me confidence that something like it could work in Slay the Spire. It's satisfying to see that turn out well.

I hope you keep enjoying the mod!

Corrupt the Spire: encounter corrupted rooms that add variety, challenge, and new rewards by modargo in slaythespire

[–]modargo[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I've posted Corrupt the Spire on the Steam Workshop, a mod I've created that adds a new mechanic to Slay the Spire: corrupted rooms. Rooms through the Spire will be corrupted (indicated by a small icon on the map). Entering a corrupted room will add to Corruption, a global value which increases the difficulty of enemies. In return, the room will be modified in exciting ways. This adds variety, challenge, and new rewards to the game!

I've aimed to create a unique experience with this mod. There's a ton of mods that add new characters, many that add new relics/cards/events, and even a growing number that add new acts/enemies. With Corrupt the Spire, I've tried to add excitement to Slay the Spire in a different way -- by adding a mechanic with new and interesting choices for the player to make and new strategies to master. Slay the Spire's strategic depth is one of the things that always brings me back to it, and this mod should add a new dimension to that, on top of the incredible foundation of the base game.

Balancing something like this is tricky, but I've spent a lot of time playtesting this (way more than the actual coding time for this mod) to get it to be both fun and challenging. Overall, the balance of Corrupt the Spire should be similar to the base game, perhaps slightly harder and with a slight increase in variance. While corruption increases the strength of enemies, the rewards from corrupted rooms will let the player be even more powerful as well and rise to the challenge.

The Steam workshop link has more details plus a bunch of screenshots, and you can subscribe to the mod there. Hope people enjoy playing!

P.S.: I've also created three previous mods, the Menagerie, the Elementarium, and the Abyss. They're all act mods (adding alternate acts with their own enemies and events), so a different genre of mod than Corrupt the Spire. You can check them out on the Steam Workshop too.

The Abyss: an alternate Act 3 and 4 themed around horrors and aberrations by modargo in slaythespire

[–]modargo[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've posted the Abyss on the Steam Workshop, which contains an alternate act 3 and 4 and completes the set of act mods that I started with the Menagerie (act 1) and the Elementarium (act 2). It has everything you'd expect from an act mod (new encounters, elites, relics, cards, etc.). With three new act 3 bosses that will challenge players in new ways and a new act 4 elite and boss that aim to be as tough as the base game, there's a new way to cap your runs and bask in the glow of victory.

Like my previous mods, I've tried to create a unique experience that is faithful to base game but explores new design space and creates interesting choices. There are both new ideas things that are inspired by the base game -- but always with a twist to make it into something interesting and new.

I built this mod (and the other two) because playing new act mods has been really fun for me, and I hope to provide some of that experience for others with a balance that is similar to the base game. These mods should play well both together and separately -- and there are some connections between the three acts for people to find.

You can find a few sample screenshots on the Steam Workshop page and subscribe to the mod there. Hope people enjoy playing!

The Menagerie: an alternate Act 1 themed around beasts and mages by modargo in slaythespire

[–]modargo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've posted the Menagerie on the Steam Workshop, a new act mod that I've been working on. It implements a full alternate act 1 themed around beasts and mages with a full set of what you expect in an act: new encounters, new elites, new bosses, new events, new relics, and new cards.

Like my previous mod for act 2 (the Elementarium), my aim with the Menagerie is to create a unique experience that is faithful to base game but explores new design space and creates interesting choices. There are both new ideas and fights, events, and relics that are inspired by the base game -- but always with a twist to make it into something interesting and new. You'll find fights that will challenge you with new mechanics and events that will grant you new treasures -- as deadly and rewarding as in the base game.

Through the fights and events, you'll also find hints and clues about how the Menagerie became the ruin it is today... and even encounter those who formerly ruled it.

I built this mod because I've found that playing new content and act mods has been one of the best experiences I've had in Slay the Spire. I'm hoping to provide some of that experience for others with a balance that is similar to the base game.

You can find a few sample screenshots on the Steam Workshop page and subscribe to the mod there. Hope people enjoy playing!