Torch of Shadows Devlog #5 – Level Up, Power-Ups, and Fifteen-Minute Fury

Highlights

  • Level-Up, then Choices: On level gain, the game flashes a “Level Up!” banner first, then opens the in-game upgrade popup. Clear moment → cleaner decision.
  • Curated Rarities: Static upgrades now have hand-tuned rarity tiers. No more weird pulls; the pool respects design intent.
  • Run Pacing Revamp: A run now lasts 15 minutes. Boss #1 at 10:00, Boss #2 at 15:00. Tight loop, no filler.
  • Missiles Mean It: Dark Missile and Light Missile damage doubled. Glass cannons? More like glass railguns.
  • Spawn Pressure Up: Normal enemy spawns changed from 4 every 3s (~1.33/sec) to 2 every 1s (2/sec). Denser waves, cleaner cadence.

New Power-Ups (Yes, plural)

  • Health Regen: a small, steady “don’t panic” drip.
  • Damage Up: straight to the point.
  • Attack Speed Up: faster swings, faster things.
  • XP Multiplier: level faster, choose more, snowball smarter.
  • Immune Shield: brief invulnerability to bail you out (or in).
  • And no, the magnet won’t vacuum power-ups anymore. You’ve got to walk to greatness.

Skills & Abilities

  • Sphere & Aura Radius increased. Reads better, feels better, hits better.
  • Aura Cooldowns now tick on hit (per damage tick) instead of pure real-time, scales predictably with attack cadence.

UX, Audio, and Clarity

  • Audio Navigation has been added across menus, with subtle blips that make the UI feel alive.
  • Demo Skill Placeholders are in, so newcomers get the full picture even inside the demo scope.
  • ESC Behavior after win/lose takes you back cleanly (no accidental pause screen detours).
  • Main vs Demo Saves are separate. Profiles don’t contaminate each other.

TL;DR Patch Notes (one breath)

Level banner → upgrade popup • Manual rarity for static upgrades • 15-minute runs • Boss at 10:00 and 15:00 • Dark/Light Missile ×2 dmg • Spawns 2/sec (was ~1.33/sec) • Health Regen / Damage Up / Attack Speed Up / XP Multiplier / Immune Shield power-ups • Magnet ignores power-ups • Aura radius & sphere radius ↑ • Aura CDs tick on hit • Audio navigation sounds • Demo skill placeholders • ESC exits end screens cleanly • Main/Demo saves separated • % formatting unified • Tooltips refresh on language change • Dash CD UI fix • Reroll & gamepad placeholders

That’s the drop. Level up, enjoy the shiny new knobs, and tell us where the curve bites too hard (or not hard enough).

Guard the light. Bend the shadow. 

Important Announcement

Based on the feedback we’ve received from our players, we are beginning a major overhaul aimed at improving the overall player experience and strengthening the long-term sustainability of the game.

This includes significant changes to core mechanics, world structure, and the loot system.

Because of this ongoing work, we may not release new patches for a while. But don’t worry, it’s for a very good reason.

We’re working on big surprises behind the scenes, and we can’t wait to show you what’s coming next for Torch of Shadows.

Stay tuned.