Hello Everyone!
Today we are proud to announce the 3rd expansion for Age of Wonders: Planetfall! Star Kings follows the new race, the Oathbound, on their quest to regain the Grail Configuration from the heart of Star Union space in order to create a new Galactic Empire. Star Kings will be released on all platforms on November 10th, along with a massive patch that we’re calling Triceratops!
The Oathbound
The Oathbound are noble champions, chosen from amongst the common people, to pilot mighty battlesuits named Paladins in defense of humanity.
The Champion is the tier 3 Paladin, and is one of the only flying tier 3 units in the game. It specializes in charging into the thick of enemy formations to cause maximum disruption. It can use Storm Discharge to leap into the middle of a group, doing arc damage in an area around itself, and then follow up with its defense mode. When in defense mode, the Champion is Tireless, allowing it to trigger overwatch multiple times per turn (though never more than once per target). This combined with Swooping Overwatch (which allows a flying unit to trigger melee overwatch on ground units that move underneath it) and Against all Odds (+5% evasion for every enemy unit within a 2 hex radius) make the Champion a threat to every nearby enemy.
The Oathbound are guided by the mysterious Seers, who use hyper-advanced data processing systems to predict the future.
The Watcher is the tier 2 flier unit, and its job is to manipulate the flow of fate in battle to guarantee victory. Gift of Providence is a buff that guarantees every attack the targeted unit makes will be a critical hit (if it hits). Lash of Adversity is a debuff that jumps to up to 3 enemies, and guarantees every attack they make will be a fumble.
Like all Seers, the Watcher uses ranged Entropic weapons (though without the Energy Drain mechanics used by the Heritors), and the Oathbound have a new line of weapon techs to boost entropic weapons even further. Seers also have Record Keeper, giving a 25% experience gain boost to all non-Seer units in the stack by carefully logging the heroic deeds of their allies.
Grail Configurations
These ancient devices are hidden, scattered across the galaxy, and are said to channel the very essence of order. Grail Configurations are of tremendous value to the fledgling empires of the galaxy, granting powerful bonuses that all but guarantee victory if used correctly. These Grails are not simply waiting on the surface to be discovered however, you will need to dedicate time and effort to unravel the mystery of their location.
New Wildlife
The DLC contains a host of new wildlife units, such as the Mycelians. The Mycelians are the result of an attempt to create a new type of fungus based meat replacement. The research was cut short once the modified (and delicious) mushrooms became sentient and began to infest the nearby agricultural equipment, resulting in terrifying fungus-cyborg monstrosities.
The planter is the mid-tier Mycelian, and was once a device employed to replant fields and woodland. It’s seed dispersal system has been infested by the mycelian and now sprays corrosive seedballs, while it’s tree planter now launches a sapling that infests targets in an area with a fungal growth that immobilizes the target and causes them to explode on death. Mycelians become even stronger in groups due to Mycelian Connections, granting them bonus shields and damage to enemies with Fungal Infestation.
Galactic Empire System
This feature is actually free as part of the Triceratops Patch, but it’s so big we’re going to talk about it here anyways.
This is a new meta-layer where each planet you complete gets added to your own Galactic Empire. When you add a planet to your empire it becomes more powerful, unlocking more bonuses and special options which you can take with you to help conquer the next planet.
The planets you conquer in Galactic Empire Mode have special traits, such as having the oceans replaced with impassable void, or being covered in nuclear fallout. These traits are paired with extra secondary objectives for you to clear in order to earn more XP for your empire. Some secondary objectives even grant you the victory upon completion, allowing you to claim planets for your Galactic Empire faster than regular planetary domination! With nearly 60 traits in the update and up to 4 traits per planet, each planet you conquer feels like a new and unique challenge!
More is to come!
In the coming weeks we’ll be releasing more dev diaries that go into more detail about the features in the upcoming expansion and free patch, and I will be streaming the game from next Monday (the 19th) to show off what we’ve made!
Both the expansion and patch will be released on the 10th of November, but we’ll have plenty more to show you between now and then!
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