Solasta: Crown of the Magister

Hey there folks!

The Spring Update should now be live, with a plethora of changes and new content! With the addition of the difficulty options, side quests and background quests, your Solastan experience is getting closer and closer to the final release. Well bugs and polish aside of course, Early Access has proved quite effective at finding and squashing them so far! But enough talk, it's time to dive into the patch notes.
Old Save Files are NOT compatible

As stated in our previous articles, due to changes in existing systems save files from previous versions will NOT be compatible with the Spring Update. That said, we're adding a lot of side content in this new update, so restarting a fresh run will give a new experience where you don't have to run after the main quest!

Note that we will put the previous version of the game (January Update) on a separate Steam branch so that you can keep playing with your old saves if you want to. And although one is never safe from a bad surprise during Early Access, save compatibility should hopefully be preserved from the Spring Update onwards.
Spring Patch Sales & Price Increase

Solasta will be discounted when the Spring Update hits the store on March 25th until March 31st, after which the price of the game will increase from $35 to $40 in anticipation of the 1.0 release. This is due to the fact that Steam prevents games from discounting within 30 days of a price increase, so we unfortunately cannot increase the price when 1.0 gets released while also having a launch discount. So if you want to jump in Solasta at Early Access price, make sure you don't miss the Spring Update sales!
New Content / Feature:

    Added the Dungeon Maker (Beta). The Dungeon Maker allows you to create, share and play custom maps, and will continue to get improved over time. Check the Dungeon Maker section below for more information.
    The Main Quest now continues a little bit past the Wizard's Tower. You will be able to return to Caer Cyflen to report to the Council and will unlock your own residence (simply a resting area, not customizable), after which you will be free to continue playing instead of being booted back to the main menu.
    Added Background Quests for each of the 8 Backgrounds available in Character Creation. Background Quests are only available if one of the party member has the right - Background - for instance, the Spy Background unlocks the Spy Background Quest. You can check where to unlock them in the following article.
    Added Side Quests. Side Quests are available through the Adventuring Board found in Caer Cyflen close to Gorim's Emporium, with the first unlocking once you talked to the - Council after returning from Caer Lem. Be warned, some Side Quests may be quite difficult if you tackle them immediately after unlocking them!
    Added Difficulty Settings. Difficulty Settings can be found the in the Settings => Game tab and can be customized at any time. Note that higher difficulty modes have not yet been properly balanced yet, so playing on Cataclysm may very well make you want to eat your keyboard (please don't).
    Implemented Legendary Actions for Aksha and Razan. Legendary Actions allow certain bosses to act outside their turn, so you may have to change your tactics a bit! Added Achievements (WIP). Achievements are missing localization (FR / DE / ZH) and icons, but are otherwise functional. Note that some achievements may not be unlockable until the full 1.0 release - such as the achievement for finishing the game.
    Added new Martial Feats and rebalanced a couple of existing ones.

The Dungeon Maker is an in-game tool available directly in the main menu which allows you to create, edit and play custom maps.
How do I share the dungeons I created?

You can access your custom dungeon folder by simply clicking the in-game "Browse Files" button in the Dungeon Maker menu. The folder can also be manually found there: C:/User/YourUserName/AppData/LocalLow/Tactical Adventures/Solasta/UserContent/Locations

Whenever you create a map in the Dungeon Maker, the game will create a .json file containing all the information with the same name there.
Where do I share the dungeons I created?

You could always drop by good ol' NexusMod where many other mods are already available (reminder: mods are community driven, Tactical Adventures has no control over them and cannot guarantee that they work properly).
How do I play a dungeon I just downloaded?

Simply copy paste the .json file into you custom dungeon folder, that you can either access by clicking the in-game "Browse Files" button in the Dungeon Maker menu, or manually opening C:/User/YourUserName/AppData/LocalLow/Tactical Adventures/Solasta/UserContent/Locations

The new dungeon should then appear in-game in the Dungeon Maker list.
I have a question about the Dungeon Maker!

Make sure you read the in-depth forum guide about the Dungeon Maker, and if you still have questions feel free to swing by our Discord server and head to the #modding channel!
Will you update for the Dungeon Maker in the future?

Of course! You might have noticed the Dungeon Maker is still lacking quite a few features, and that's because the Dungeon Maker will still be in beta when we release the full 1.0 version of Solasta (we've got to make sure we wrap up the main campaign properly first). There are tons of things we want to add later - quest systems, dialogs, merchants, more environments... Make sure you tell us what you'd like to see first!
Major Changes:

    Increased max level cap from level 6 to level 8. MORE POWER!
    Adjusted Sorak Skirmishers, Sorak Warriors and Sorak Saboteurs stats to further differentiate them. Read more about it here.
    IMPORTANT: A mistake snuck in at the last moment and Sorak Saboteurs have incorrectly been granted the power to Sneak Attack (2d6), which can make them extremely dangerous in combination with their Doom Laughter Power. This change wasn't intended, so if Soraks feel even harder than before don't worry it's (unfortunately) normal for now.
    The Major Teleportation Gates are now fully functional! Cobbler found at local tavern lamenting the loss of their best customers.
    The following spells have been added: Animal Friendship (Green Mage), Entangle (Green Mage), Giant Insect (Green Mage), Freedom of Movement, Wind Wall, Banishment, Black Tentacles, Blight, Conjure Minor Elementals, Death Ward, Dimension Door, Fire Shield, Greater Invisibility, Ice Storm, Identify Creatures, Phantasmal Killer, Stoneskin, Wall of Fire.
    The following feats have been added: Ambidextrous, Discretion of Coedymwarth, Eager for Battle, Follow Up Strike, Hauler (reworked), Might of the Iron Legion (reworked), Powerful Cantrip (reworked), Raise Shield, Rush to Battle, Sturdiness of the Tundra, Take Aim, Twin Blade, Uncanny Accuracy (reworked)
    Note: For Raise Shield and Twin Blade, keep in mind that the reaction pop-up only appears if the +3 AC boost can prevent you from being hit - so don't be surprised if you don't get a reaction trigger if you have 15 AC and the enemy rolls a 19.

Tweaks / Improvements

    Preserve Random Seed has been turned off by default. If you're wondering what that does, we talked about it in detail in a previous article. Long story short, parallel worlds and time travel. El Psy Congroo.
    Removed one enemy from the first Sorak encounter in Caer Lem Caves. Poor non-tabletop players usually spend all their resources on Goblins and Flying Snakes before getting there, making them easy pickings for the Soraks.
    Removed one enemy from the Crown Room encounter in Tower of Magic. 4 vs 7 at level 3 was a little too brutal considering most Soraks are CR 1, even after a long rest.
    Fixed Fly not allowing players to reach treasure chests in some areas.
    Character Proficiency screen should now correctly display bonuses to ability checks
    Hovering items in the Crafting Screen will now display a tooltip. Because knowing what you're about to craft is somewhat important, I'd say.
    Made HP values easier to read on the initiative bar.
    Oil of Sharpness can no longer be applied during combat, as it takes one minute to do so.
    Attempting to cast a concentration spell from a scroll while already concentrating on a spell will now correctly display a warning message.
    Items are no longer automatically equipped when transferred between characters.
    Monsters will now respect the spellcasting rules just like adventurers, they've been barred from casting two spells and are now correctly restricted to spell + cantrip when using their bonus action.
    Large monsters such as Giant Spiders should no longer be able to attack much higher than their model would suggest.
    Save Files should now be smaller in size
    Spellcasters should now be able to use scrolls directly from their inventory during combat
    Feared characters will now run a bit less far so you don't have to spend multiple turns chasing after their fleeing butt
    Adjusted Minotaur AI so it's a little more agressive, its axe has your name on it.
    Refined AI spell usage to avoid spellcasters automatically unleashing all their most powerful spells at the start of the fight
    Game Over screen when caught during stealth tutorial will now correctly tell you that you got spotted instead of telling you that you died (although let's be honest, you very likely died as a result of getting spotted anyway).
    Added Steamworks and GOG Galaxy Integration - note that Steam Workshop hasn't been implemented yet, we'll try to get that done for the full 1.0 release.
    Added new visuals on the World Map
    Added clouds and stars in open levels' skybox for better lighting
    Improved the lighting in the tavern cutscenes.
    Arrows & Bolts which hit their their target now have a 50% chance to be recoverable after the fight on their body
    Optimized performance in all areas
    Added a message informing players to lower their graphic settings if the game crashed due to running out of resources
    Monsters now visually swap weapons when attacking from melee / range. Gone are the days where you got whacked for 1d6 slashing damage with a bow by a Goblin.
    Characters should now move more smoothly on the grid and stack less on top of each other
    Improved visuals in the Bestiary
    Added Brightness / Contrast calibration screen when starting the game for the first time
    Belt of Dwarvenkind now has a chance to add a beard to characters who attune to it
    Characters now only turn towards their attacker if they get hit with a melee attack that they can see
    Ranged weapon attacks which miss now properly... well... miss the target. Instead of the target going all Matrix style and dodging the arrow.
    Improved shading on haircuts and beards
    Allied NPCs behind walls now have the proper color to differentiate them from enemies.
    Characters now properly orient towards their target with ranged and thrown weapons.
    Solasta should now be less power intensive when minimized
    Added some new crafting recipe and spell scrolls
    Bestiary now includes monsters' passive abilities (like Child of Darkness)
    Made many adjustments to loot tables, chests and merchants
    Added many different poisons
    Added loot to poor ol' Adam that players do so love to kill in Dark Castle
    Added smithing tools to craft bolts and arrows
    Beefed up Razan to make him stronger than Aksha
    Defiler's "Darkness" have been replaced by "Dark Veil"

Bugfixes / Others

    Fixed Defilers draining maximum HP on non-necrotic damage inflicted. Life drain is already tough enough as it is.
    Haste should now correctly inflict lethargy when the spell ends, hopefully after the fight is over or you're about to have a very bad time. It is no longer possible to ready a cantrip if you shouldn't be able to cast it due to component restrictions (Vocal, Somatic, Material)
    Fixed additional enemies sometimes not joining combat correctly and just sitting there staring at you. Bystander effect, everyone. Arcane Fury should now apply extra damage to the first Magic Missile projectile only. First one asking us to buff Magic Missile gets to meet the Adamantium Hammer of Bans +3.
    Scroll of Raise Dead can no longer be used in combat. The spell takes one entire hour to cast for heaven's sake, did everyone just go take a nap?
    Fixed some monsters in the bestiary not appearing correctly
    Creatures protected by Aura of Devotion (Paladin) are now correctly immune to Hypnotic Pattern (saving throws are still rolled, but they won't be affected even if they fail)
    Fixed the description of Mark of Fate (Oblivion Domain), which isn't supposed to be re-targatable
    Fixed Flawless Concentration allowing the spellcaster to ignore concentration rolls even when taking more than 10 damage (cheater).
    Fixed a rare case where re-ordering the inventory would freeze the game for a short amount of time
    Undead and Constructs are now correctly immune to Blight
    The game will now correctly select the most suitable character to interact with traps instead of sending the leader of the party every time, even if the party hates their leader.
    Fixed Spirit Guardians dealing damage equal to the previous AoE spell cast, which effectively turned the Cleric into a walking Fireball
    Somatic Component setting no longer prevents casting when restrained, as per RAW (Rule As Written).
    Life Domain Blessed Healer Feature no longer triggers if the Cleric only heals themself like the selfish doodoohead they are. Yea that's right, heal me earlier next time!
    Fixed Might of the Iron Legion Feat not working properly.
    Lockbreaker Feat now correctly grants expertise if the character was already proficient with Thieves Tools
    Greenmage Magic Arrow Feature no longer trigger on Firebolt
    Ghoul's Paralysis is now correctly removed after a successful saving throw. That was -pretty annoying.
    Paladins and Rangers can now use scrolls again. They took some reading lessons and all is well now
    Fixed a rare instance where unconscious characters would refuse to get up after getting healed once outside combat. Lazybones.
    Fixed Lay on Hands being able to use more points than the maximum HP of the target, effectively wasting some resources.
    Fixed some sound issues that occured when Spiritual Weapon is out on the field
    Fixed some instances where monsters would refuse to act and instead spend their turn goofing around
    Fixed AoE looting not working properly when a character was directly on top of a loot bag. We saw you dude, don't try to steal from the party.
    Fixed a rare instance where the entire screen could turn black if you paused the game right before the camera teleported
    Players are no longer able to pause the game during a fade to black screen, to avoid them from believing they're stuck in a black screen (since they paused the game at the wrong time)
    Fixed being able to run through doors if you clicked behind them before they closed
    Fixed some clothes & haircuts being able to stretch infinitely in some rare instances. As it was destroying the law of physics we had to put an end to that.
    Fixed some sound issues that would occur when controlling a proxy spell (such as Flaming Sphere)
    Fixed some armor parts sometimes turning invisible during certain cutscenes
    Fixed a rare case where characters would spawn twice when reloading a save (doppelgängers have been thoroughly exterminated)
    Made particles spawn / despawn properly when a character is invisible
    Fixed some NPCs having the wrong skin color
    Caer Cyflen citizens no longer appear through the fog of war
    Fixed time stopping when someone would strike the Minotaur with a ready action during its charge
    Fixed 3d feedback being able to "detect" invisible creatures
    Fixed clothes popping in between camera cuts during cutscenes
    Particles now fade out properly instead of popping out of existence
    Fixed flying characters animation sometimes bugging out
    Fixed a rare crash when you try to fast travel with an unconscious character
    Fixed character's hair popping out of the Plate Armor +1 helmet
    Fixed being able to trigger a certain cutscene after completing the puzzle, which made no sense at all
    Fixed being able to return to the Master's Room by using Misty Step after exiting it. Seriously there's nothing left for you to do there, just be kind and leave the place alright?
    Fixed some props not properly blocking line of sight in the caravan encounter
    Fixed a certain fight not triggering properly if Kythaela was sent alone. Shame on you if you used the NPC to scout for you.
    Fixed the resting area not appearing on the map outside the Wizard Tower
    Fixed a certain stone in Coparann's basement not being clickable
    Fixed one particular door in Dark Castle being stuck closed under certain conditions
    Fixed a quest marker incorrectly pointing towards the tavern after returning from Tower of Magic, instead of guiding you to the Council. Regardless, we all know where the party wants to go first.
    Fixed the dialogue repeating itself in the cutscene when returning to Caer Cyflen from Tower of Magic with the crown.
    Angbi's Bones should finally be removed after the quest is complete - if not, you'll now be able to remove them from your inventory.
    Fixed some backer submitted names not appearing properly in the Character Creator name pool
    Fixed being able to talk to Aksha while in stealth to "surprise" her when the fight starts. Yea no, the DM is going to call bullshit on that move.

Known Issues

    In some rare occasions, confirmation pop-ups may no longer appear - meaning you'll be stuck in a location, since you won't get a confirmation message asking you if you want to leave the area when stepping on Exit Areas or when interacting with a door. To fix it, quit the game completely and relaunch it (simply loading a save doesn't fix it)
    After talking to the Council on your return from Wizard's Tower, you must go to the residence immediately. If you don't (for instance, you long rest at the tavern before going to the residence), you will be stuck inside the residence and won't be able to leave, effectively ending your run. To fix it, load a previous save and go directly to the residence after talking to the council.
    In the Lawkeeper Background Quest, clicking "No" when asked to travel to the sewers will permanently block you from accessing the sewers, thus blocking the quest. To fix it, reload a previous save.
    In Tower of Magic, if you do the "Research the Crown" side quest before the "Magister's Amulet" side quest, the puzzle of "Magister's Amulet" side quest won't work. To fix it, simply leave Tower of Magic and return there later.
    If you click end turn exactly when "Victory" appears, you will trigger a game over. Don't ask me why, I have no idea. But I did find that funny when QA told me about it.
    Do not go to back to "Caravan" on the World Map if you don't have "The Collector" side quest active - without that side quest in your journal you will be stuck once you arrive there.
    In Tower of Magic, the "Magister's Amulet" side quest will spawn 2 elementals very far from you which unfortunately won't do anything so you'll have to hunt them down by running to them. Which is very tedious and we totally hate it too, so don't worry it's not intended.
    Characters are able to walk in the air in certain places in the broken fort in Caer Lem.
    Monsters may also sometimes decide to run back and forth instead of attacking a character. Which is of course not intended, as all monsters are ordered to violently maul any adventurer they encounter by their DM overlord.
    In the Dungeon Maker, the "Mood" parameter isn't saved properly and will always revert to "Crypt".
    Paladins can't use scroll of Raise Dead
    Characters who drop to 0 max HP due to Defilers' Vampiric Touch can't be resurrected, forcing a game over.
    Scroll of Freedom of Movement casts Fire Shield instead
    Amulet of Health currently doesn't require attunement (it should)
    Poisonous Bolt recipes are missing their correct name
    Captain Verissa Ironshell is missing lip sync
    Warhammer +1 currently requires attunement (it shouldn't)
    Rolling 20 on a death saving throw skips the character's turn instead of letting them play
    Reading a recipe book when you already know the recipe still consumes the book

Next Update?

Aside from hotfixes, we've got our sight now locked onto the final 1.0 release. Keep an eye out for more information about our official launch date!

Article by Tactical Myzzrym