Hello there you fine folks!
The free demo is right around the corner, just a few days left! Soon, hordes of adventurers will land upon the shores of Neokos, blackening the beaches as they start slaying the local fauna for loot and XP… Wait, I'm being told we’re not developing an MMORPG - Neokos is safe, it will only be a party of four!
Yea Neokos may be safe but you won’t if you don’t stop scratching me while I’m trying to nap.
Before we start, don't forget to wishlist Solasta II on Steam - it helps us a ton!
But I don’t know how to play D&D…
You know what? That’s fine! We all had to learn one day, and we’re here to make sure you can enjoy Solasta II whether you’re a hardcore veteran or a brand new adventurer. Even though we’re releasing a demo, it will feature illustrated tutorials when you come across new features or actions. And if you missed them or want to read them again, you can find them by pressing Escape!
To be fair, D&D isn't really light on rules so having a compendium of tutorials can't hurt!
Also, just like in Solasta I we have enabled “Helpful Dice” by default for all new players to lessen the chances of getting long streaks of bad RNG (which we know can be veeeery frustrating). Feel free to disable them in the gameplay options if you want to go with some pure undiluted RNG - just make sure you’re prepared for the inevitable moment of when you’ll feel the gods have cursed your dice!
RNG! Destroy my enemies and my life is yours!
There's quite a lot of options to play around already so make sure you take a look at the settings menu!
Meet our heroes
As we’re still cooking up the Character Creator, this upcoming demo will have you play as a party of four premade level 3 characters (just like in our Solasta I Ruins of Telema demo, oooh how nostalgic). The adventure should last you around 2h to 3h unless you’re rushing to the end - but you’ll probably miss quite a bit of content by doing so! And like we said previously, you can jump in without fear of getting spoiled as this is a standalone adventure that won’t be available in the final game - so don’t miss it!
One day this demo will be no more, vanishing into nothingness like a bag of holding into a portable hole (probably less violently though)
Quick reminder: this demo will only be playable solo and you also won’t be able to level up for now - but starting at level 3 should allow you to get access to interesting combat options already with subclass features and level 2 spells already being available. With that said, are you ready? Time for you to meet the crew!
Look at them fresh and doe-eyed, about to tackle their first adventure!
Knut, the Dwarven Paladin
If you follow our news articles, chances are you’ve already met Knut through the concept art we’ve shared! Frontliner of the party, this Dwarven Paladin has sworn the Oath of Liberation - a brand new subclass available in Solasta II aimed at those who would see all slaves freed from the shackles of their oppressors.
Don't make me waste a smite on you, buddy. Keep those pincers away from my legs.
As a level 3 Paladin, Knut will already have access to Channel Divinity. True to his oath his powers will help him in rescue others and shake away would-be pursuers, with Blinding Castigation allowing him to blind an enemy from afar for up to 1 minute.
And now for my next trick, I will take away your sight! Daisy, feel free to proceed with the stabbing now.
Be sure to make good use of him to protect the other party members, as Knut both has a large HP pool and Armor Class to prevent him from getting damaged by conventional attacks. He can also offer some heals in a pinch with his Lay on Hands, or dish out heavy damage with the Paladin’s signature Divine Smite!
Neyra, the Human Fighter/Cleric
We promised it, Neyra is the proof of it - Multiclassing will be a part of Solasta II! Now, we know this is no Sorcadin or Coffeelock, but we needed to start with something simple!
Does somebody need a pick-me-up? First one who says "Healer adjust" gets a mace to the face.
Neyra has a fairly simple level 2 Fighter / level 1 Life Cleric build, getting access to both Action Surge and Second Wind from her Fighter levels, and Disciple of Life passive and divine spells from her Life Cleric ones. For those who aren’t too familiar with D&D Life Clerics, they have a decent health pool and access to heavy armor - and with the fact that she’s part fighter, Neyra is also a frontliner that can stand her ground next to Knut in combat.
En garde, crab! You are about to get pounded into fine dust!
That said her Armor Class will be lower than her paladin friend due to her wearing scale armor and not plate armor - but with both healing spells and Second Wind at the ready, she won’t go down easily!
Joralas, the Elven Sorcerer
Wait wait wait, not a Wizard but a Sorcerer? That’s correct, we wanted to change a little from the usual suspects of Rogue, Fighter, Cleric, Wizard - which is why we’re having a Paladin and a Sorcerer this time!
Freeze, criminal scum! You shall shuffle no further!
As a level 3 Mana Painter Sorcerer (subclass from Solasta I), Joralas will be your primary source of AoE damage, with access to spells such as Burning Hands or Shatter to quickly dispatch your foes when they are grouped up. And while spells are powerful on their own, don’t forget his ability to use Metamagic! That’s right, Sorcerers may have access to fewer spells than Wizards, but they can empower their magic through Metamagic.
Make sure you toggle on Metamagic on your action bar for those options to appear when you cast a spell!
Now, normally Joralas should only have access to two Metamagic options, but in this demo we implemented the full spectrum:
- Careful Spell, which allows allies to roll their saving throw with advantage when they are “unfortunately” next to enemies and you’re casting an AoE spell.
- Distant Spell, to cast spells from even further away by doubling their range like a cowar- I mean tactical genius.
- Empowered Spell, to make sure you don’t low roll your damage by re-rolling 1s & 2s (that’s a lie you know you’ll still low roll)
- Extended Spell, to double the duration of a spell if you thought putting your enemies to sleep for a full minute wasn’t enough.
- Heightened Spell, for when you really don’t want your enemies to succeed on their saving throw by forcing them to roll with disadvantage.
- Quickened Spell, to cast even more spells on your turn by making it a Bonus Action instead of an action (note: even though it is not intended, in this demo it is possible to cast multiple level 1+ spell on your turn with Quickened Spell)
- Twinned Spell, to target two foes instead of one for when you are indecisive of who should receive a Firebolt to the face.
Get away from me or I'll blast you to smithereens.
Make sure Joralas is well defended because he does go down faster than the rest of the crew, even if he has access to the Shield spell to increase his armor class in a pinch! If you run out of spell slots, remember that Sorcerers can turn extra Sorcery Points into more spell slots - and Mana Painters can Mana Drain an enemy to regain Sorcery Points as well.
Daisy, the Halfling Rogue
Let’s round up the team with a classic - a good old Halfling Rogue. Daisy is a level 3 Scavenger Rogue - a new subclass in Solasta II inspired, of course, by the Scavenger faction of the first opus. Note that it is quite possible that we will change the name of this archetype in the final game as Scavengers are not present in Neokos! (although there is a group that will share a similar function, so don’t worry you won’t have to carry every rusty weapon you can find).
Hello good sir, you're about to get stabbed.
As a Scavenger Rogue, Daisy loves to tinker with her gear. Thanks to Serrated Edge, she will inflict an additional 1d6 slashing damage to the first creature she hits every turn, making her even more of a menace on top of her Sneak Attack. Just make sure you target someone that’s next to one of your buddies! Her role in combat is one of a damage dealer, both melee or range depending on the situation as she can quickly adapt, switching from shortbow to twin daggers. We have removed the limitation when it comes to swapping already-equipped weapon loadout on your turn for now, so go nuts!
Little sneak peek of our revamped character screen, which has a bit more personality than in Solasta I!
While Daisy is slightly more durable than Joralas, thanks to a higher health pool and armor class, she is still not the best when it comes to tanking blows. Make sure you use Cunning Action to disengage with your Bonus Action if too many enemies are starting to crowd around her!
Community Stream #06 Friday 21st
Guess who can finally show you some gameplay? That’s right, at last yours truly has been permitted to stream the demo! Come and join me on Twitch as we uncover the first half of the demo in this session filled with fun facts and anecdotes about the development of this adventure.
Article by Tactical Myzzrym
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