Ballistics Devblog: The Architect of Destruction

By the time they hear the shot, it's already too late. Their defenses crumble, their formation breaks, and the worst is yet to come! 

Introducing Ballistics: The Architect of Destruction

Adventurers, a new force emerges!

Today, we are excited to unveil the second of the two new Archetypes coming with the Treasures Below Expansion (1.1.0): Ballistics. Designed for accuracy and sheer force, this impactful Archetype dismantles even the most well-protected foes, relying on calculated destruction to breach defenses with explosive power and accuracy. 

Forged from the unlikely union of dwarven precision and goblin recklessness, every battle becomes choreographed chaos as grappling hooks are deployed, shots are fired and bombs explode all around!

Ballistics combatants bring an overwhelming display of mechanical mayhem to the battlefield, whether dual-wielding finely tuned pistols or shouldering a blunderbuss built to rattle bones. Where others hesitate, they reload. Where others plan, they pull the trigger. And if anything's still standing, they've already chambered the next round.

What makes this Archetype stand out isn't just its high damage potential, but the design philosophy behind it. Whether you prefer a tactical, methodical approach or the raw thrill of instant impact, Ballistics delivers a deeply satisfying experience, letting you watch even the toughest enemies collapse under sustained bombardment.

Instrument of War

Ballistics specialists shine when it comes to identifying and exploiting defensive weaknesses. Many of their strongest skills either bypass or directly weaken enemy defensive buffs, while others inflict status effects that compromise a target's ability to hold a solid defense.

This Archetype maintains the hallmark of ranged combat, strong single-target damage, but expands it with significant area-of-effect capabilities, enabling players to punish both isolated targets and tightly grouped enemies alike.
 

Relentless

Rather than slowly wearing opponents down through steady pressure, Ballistics excels in delivering explosive damage spikes and piercing defenses for quick eliminations. This makes it especially threatening in both PvE scenarios against heavily armored enemies and PvP encounters where swift takedowns can decide the outcome.

When paired with tanks and healers, Ballistics takes on the role of an elimination specialist, using its anti-defensive skills to quickly bring down targets and its area damage capabilities to handle multiple opponents at once.

There are healing mechanics directly tied to its offensive actions, which means players must remain constantly engaged in combat to survive, creating a more dynamic experience that rewards continuous aggression over passive positioning.

Ballistics' explosive damage skills work exceptionally well against grouped or immobilized targets, maximizing its area damage potential and ensuring enemies can't escape its firepower.
 

Signature Mechanics

When dealing damage with specific skills, this Archetype triggers healing effects that scale with the damage dealt, encouraging players to maximize their offensive potential to increase their survivability.

Some skills provide instant healing when landing critical hits or eliminating targets. Others generate sustained healing effects that scale with total damage dealt over longer engagements, promoting sustained aggression and constant battlefield presence.

Its toolkit forms another core pillar of Ballistics design not only to eliminate threats but also to prevent targets from executing effective counterattacks. A single skill might silence a caster and simultaneously reduce their damage resistance, creating multiplicative benefits that reward players who understand both the offensive and defensive uses of their skillset.

The anti-defensive capabilities that define Ballistics' identity reflect our most ambitious attempt yet to create a meaningful counterplay against protection-focused strategies, ensuring that no target can simply hide behind defenses in a fight against Ballistics. The ability to directly cancel targeted defensive buffs offers a tactical option that can instantly shift the tide of challenging battles.
 

While this isn't the full list of what's coming, we wanted to give you an early glimpse of a few standout skills. Remember, the skills below are still being fine-tuned, so we are presenting just the core mechanics so you can start imagining new builds and strategies.

Target Practice
A steady ranged attack that fires at your enemy. Every third shot weakens your target by reducing their Weapon Defense, making them more vulnerable to follow-up damage.

Double Tap
Quickly fires two consecutive shots at your target. When infused with Aether, the skill casts more rapidly, allowing for swift bursts of damage.

Scatter Shot
Unleashes a wide blast that knocks you backward while striking enemies in front of you. Both you and your foes are pushed apart, making it ideal for creating space. Consuming Aether empowers the blast with greater destructive force.

Grappling Hook
Fires a hook toward a chosen location and pulls you to it in an instant. It is used to close gaps, escape danger, or reposition strategically during combat.

Illegal Munitions
Temporarily enhances your basic attacks to cause small explosions on impact, damaging enemies around your target. The more Aether you use, the longer this volatile effect lasts.

Makeshift Grenade
Toss an improvised explosive at a target location, damaging enemies in the blast radius and setting the ground ablaze. Enemies who remain in the flames are set on fire, continuing to take damage over time.

Target Lock
Take aim and lock onto your enemy. Once charged, fires a precise shot that not only damages your target but strips away their active Weapon and Spell Defense buffs.

All skills shown are currently undergoing active testing and balance adjustments. Names, effects, and mechanics may change before the final release.
 

RavenCards

For the Ballistics Archetype, new RavenCards will be available to customize and enhance your playstyle. Just like with the skill previews, we won't be revealing all of them just yet, but here's a glimpse of what's to come.

The Asterion RavenCard enhances the Grappling Hook skill, increasing Movement Speed, Defense Power, and Spell Defense. The Embercap Mushroom RavenCard, linked to the Illegal Munitions skill, creates a magma pool below the target when hitting them with basic attacks. The magma pool deals magic damage to any targets standing on it.

Asterion (Grappling Hook) and Embercap Mushroom (Illegal Munitions)
 

Challenges & Counterplay: Understanding the Ballistics' Limits

Every well-designed Archetype should come with clear weaknesses and opportunities for counterplay, and Ballistics is no exception. These limitations aren't flaws but intentional elements that introduce tactical depth, encourage strategic diversity, and ensure no single Archetype dominates every aspect of gameplay.

Ballistics' focus on burst damage and anti-defensive capabilities comes at a cost: lower sustainability. While its damage-based healing offers excellent survivability against stationary targets, the Archetype struggles when it's unable to maintain consistent offensive pressure, particularly when disrupted by mobility-based tactics or crowd control effects.

The Archetype's most potent anti-defensive skills often demand a significant investment of resources, creating natural windows of vulnerability that skilled opponents can exploit. This encourages Ballistics players to develop strong timing and resource-control skills, while also offering clear counterplay opportunities for enemies.

Ballistics is effective at delivering explosive bursts of damage, but its combat style naturally underperforms in situations that demand sustained pressure over long periods. Battles that alternate between damage windows and extended defensive phases, or against enemies with layered defenses that must be dismantled sequentially, can test the Archetype's ability to remain a consistent threat during prolonged engagements.

While we prepare to unleash this powerful force to wreak havoc, we are especially excited to see how players will push the boundaries of what's possible with builds and combinations for the Ballistics Archetype, as we continue expanding the game world with new content, challenges, and systems!

We would love to hear from you. Join the discussion in our Tavern on Discord and share your thoughts!

Ballistics are here to reshape the battlefield. Who will dare to face it?