Dev Journal 29: Treasures of the Magi

Treasures of the Magi is the first DLC for Elemental: Reforged. It adds a host of new items, armor, weapons, potions, and other gear, along with a handful of new lairs, quests, and monsters.

Two of my favorite additions are the Mage Wands and the Shapeshifting Potions. But players will almost immediately notice the new items and lairs that help bring fresh life to the game, especially for those who previously played Fallen Enchantress.

While the general improvements coming with version 1.1 will probably get the most attention thanks to the major performance boost, along with broad improvements to balance, stability, AI, and overall polish, we think Treasures of the Magi will be something most players will really enjoy.

The Background

We’ve discussed the history of Elemental before, but as a quick recap: the Elemental games - War of Magic, Fallen Enchantress, and Sorcerer King, which Reforged remasters - take place during the Third Age of Elemental, shortly after the Cataclysm. The world is beginning to recover, but civilization is still only barely returning. That’s why the land is filled with thugs, bandits, and other dangers; nature abhors a vacuum.

But the First Age of Elemental took place during the Age of the Magi. Before the Shards, magic permeated the world, and some people were especially gifted in wielding it. The most powerful of these became known as the Magi, and they crafted many incredible artifacts that were lost during the Cataclysm.

When the Titans came, the Magi hid their Treasuress and placed them under the protection of their constructs: golems. Golems were something we always wanted to explore more deeply in the original games because they were such an important part of the setting’s backstory. Their role was somewhat akin to familiars in other fantasy worlds. They were a major part of Magi society and power.

As a result, this expansion introduces many new golems, most of them guarding some of the game’s more powerful Treasuress.

By the time of the Fallen Enchantress, upheaval across the world has caused some of the vaults lost during the Cataclysm to become accessible once again.

And now you get to benefit from that. If you dare.

In action

Here’s a case where I have a potion of Ogre form.

Not so tough now, eh?

Here is a case where you discover a Treasures guarded by golems. This will not end well.

Over the course of the game, you will find a lot of new loot. We put in the effort to make sure this loot wasn’t simply like what already exists but with a different stat. We wanted to make sure these items delivered interesting choices.

My particular bugaboo was that I felt like there weren’t enough interesting early game swords. It always felt weird that I would get super excited about getting a “training sword” because that was basically the only sword I was going to get that was better than the one I started with until I got late in the game.

We’re pretty excited about Treasures of the Magi. We hope you like it as much as we liked making and “Testing” it. Let us know what you think.