Originally published at: http://gemsofwar.com/kingdom-preview-drifting-sands/ Here’s a quick peek inside the Drifting Sands, coming in 1.0.9. We’ve included a little teaser about 2 of the new troops you’ll meet there!
To the South of the Wild Plains and the Divinion Fields, over the Horned Peaks, the clouds have parted, and intrepid adventurers will soon be able to travel to the Drifting Sands.
Few humans live in this brutal and wild place, save for a few nomadic tribes, remnants of the once-great civilization who lived here before some great cataclysm reclaimed their kingdom.
These days, the Drifting Sands are mostly inhabited by monsters, beasts & magical spirits, ready to devour or enslave unwary travelers and treasure hunters.
Beware The Great Maw
The Great Maw is the most dangerous creature roaming the Drifting Sands.
This enormous ancient ancestor of the Rock Worm is the last of its kind known to exist. It can burrow beneath the sand and appear suddenly beneath travellers, swallowing them whole.
The Great Maw introduces a new mechanic to Gems of War. Its spell is very powerful - the highest mana-cost spell in the game; so powerful in fact, that it can only be cast once in a battle (yes, once, even if you have more than one Great Maw on your team… once TOTAL).
New Troop: Dust Devil
Dust Devils are ancient evil spirits who have shrouded themselves in cloaks made entirely of sand.
Difficult to see until they rise up from the dunes in front of you, these creatures have an interesting and unique power.
By controlling the wind and sand, Dust Devils can not only damage the entire enemy team, but they knock the first enemy opponent into last position!
The 1.0.9 update is currently for mobile & PC only.
And, as we know from all the past ninja histories, the Last of its Kind is usually a synonym for Death Incarnate… Especially if it also gets to use “ancient” as adjective!
I know you must come up with new things, but aren’t you afraid that the balance of skills will be totally out of control? The skills you mention are powerful, but perhaps a bit too powerful? That’s my first impression. It can change offcourse after knowing their real mana costs
I always look at it this way… If an ability is completely OP at say 5 Mana, but completely useless at 40 Mana… there is likely a value in between at which it is reasonably balanced.
We play dozens of games with a new ability, and we try out lots of values to get one we think feels right to us.
There’s always a risk with this, that we get it wrong. Sometimes we definitely DO get wrong! But we’ll be standing by to adjust things if they’re not right.
I happen to know what that one-time-only ability does. I was very alarmed at the implications until I learned more context. Its probably fine balance-wise?
I am so looking forward to that line-up manipulation on Dust Devil though. Didn’t know about that one. The fact its on an AOE ability as well makes it particularly efficient - shifting troops that get hit by skulls so that AOE continues to be most cost-efficient. Very cool.
If there were 2 troops left, one in the 1st position and one in the 3rd, would the position shift move them to 2nd and 4th or the 1st slot to 4th?
Similarly, if troops were in 2nd and 3rd, would it shift to 1st and 2nd, 3rd and 4th, or 2nd and 4th?
or 
