‘Dungeon Defenders II’ Developers Detail Upcoming Changes For The Tower Defense Title In 2017

With the holiday update out and 2016 nearly over, developers of the action RPG and tower defense title Dungeon Defenders II are looking ahead to 2017. A few major changes are expected to occur to the game in the coming months including massive item changes and a completely revamped inventory system. Both of these upcoming changes are still in development and subject to change before players see them launch. Developers are simply revealing their plans for the game now while seeking player feedback on their plans for the game.

In a lengthy developer blog on the official site for Dungeon Defenders II, several developers for the game previewed potential changes to the game. The first of which focuses on major item and gear changes aimed at making the game’s hero deck more appealing. In the game, players can pick four heroes to actively switch between during matches. Players often end up with multiple of the same hero lining their four-hero deck in order to focus that hero on the “full fantasy” of the hero. One works to improve hero damage, one focuses on defense health, and one specializes in defense power.

Players end up with the same hero leveled multiple times donning 18 pieces of gear across three duplicate heroes. With the proposed item and gear changes, players could abandon this setup since gear would only affect the hero that it is equipped on. That solves the duplicate hero issue, but another step is required to improve how players gear their heroes.

To that end, heroes will no longer be able to equip relics. Instead, each of a hero’s towers can be equipped with one of five new relic types. A hero’s character sheet would include their weapon slot, a helm slot, a chest slot, a gloves slot, a boots slot, and slots for each of the hero’s four towers. This way, the hero wears gear to make the character stronger while the towers are each equipped with gear to make them stronger.

Moreover, gear generated in the game will no longer include random passive statistics. Alternatively, players will be able to loot shards that can be slotted to gear, letting players choose the passives on their items. All of these item changes mean more items to pick up, and Dungeon Defenders II developers are working to improve that aspect of the game as well.

“All players who return will get converted to the new system with the same-or-higher number of inventory slots as they previously had (rounded up to the nearest 64 slot bag). So that means a player who currently has a total of 144 slots (9 bags of 16 slots) will get rounded up to 192 slots (3 bags of 64 slots). THIS MEANS THAT IN EVERY CASE, PLAYERS WILL RECEIVE THE SAME OR GREATER NUMBER OF TOTAL INVENTORY SLOTS.”

In addition to the item changes and the revamped inventory, players can expect a new barbarian level utilizing new assets. Thick spikes, stretched leather, and fur adorn the barbarian structures. Art and assets are currently being developed for the barbarian level with world building eventually underway.

Of course, all of that content is still in development. Dungeon Defenders II players can log in now for free holiday gifts, though. The Holiday Siege update is out now featuring new decorations and presents under the Holiday Tree as noted on the official site. Not to mention, the new siege roller unit is now crushing traps and shooting players across the game’s various maps. The free gifts are only available for a limited time, but the siege roller is a permanent addition.

Tune into our Holiday Devstream today at 3 PM EST on https://t.co/D9rSgafxuR! pic.twitter.com/10lWTYnRQW

— Chromatic Games ? PAX East (@Chromatic_Games) December 9, 2016

Dungeon Defenders II is now available as a free-to-play title on Steam and is in development on the PlayStation 4. PS4 players can purchase a pack to start playing the tower defense game now; however, the title is still technically in a pre-alpha state according to the PlayStation Store. Eventually, Dungeon Defenders II will also be free-to-play on the PlayStation 4 as well. Until then, players will need to purchase an introductory pack in order to play. These packs start as low as $14.99 including real money Gem currency and exclusive cosmetic items.

Although previously announced as a cross-platform multiplayer online battle area title, Dungeon Defenders II is a completely co-operative tower defense game featuring RPG elements like character progression and loot. As the Inquisitr reported in March 2013, the game was intended to compete in the MOBA market when revealed at PAX East. According to VG247 in October 2013, Trendy Entertainment announced that Dungeon Defenders II would be a true sequel to their original tower defense game rather than a completely different genre.

[Featured Image by Trendy Entertainment]