Hello everyone! This update introduces something I've wanted for a while now: a new arena with unique enemies and hazards. Halfway through the run, a portal will teleport you to this new arena. It's more difficult that the first so I've made quite a few balance changes but I'm sure it'll need more tweaking.

Also, Neophyte is coming to steam this Spring! You can wishlist it here:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1409530/Neophyte/

After it's released on Steam, I'll continue to update the Itch version as well.

I hope you enjoy the new changes and content. Please continue giving me your feedback via the feedback form or my Discord server (both are accessible from the ingame pause menu).

- Max (Regal Pigeon)

NEW

Spells

• Earth Wall (defensive): Causes a wall of earth to erupt from the ground at target position, slowing the movement and attack speeds of nearby enemies by 60% for 3 seconds. The wall lasts for 5 seconds, obstructing movement and blocking enemy projectiles.
• Electric Field (expert): Summon a field of electricity at target position for 6 seconds, dealing 100% of your power as lightning damage each second to enemies within 6 tiles.
• Invigorate (expert): Restore 100% of your maximum mana. Gain 50% of any excess mana as bonus attack speed for 4 seconds.
• Shooting Star (expert): Spend all of your mana to summon a shooting star that crashes down on target position after a 1 second delay, dealing 75% of your power as arcane damage for every 10 mana spent to enemies within 2 tiles.

Emblems

• Blade Blitz: Whenever you cast a spell, a projectile is launched towards your cursor that deals 180% of your power as arcane damage to the first enemy hit.
• Efficiency: 25% of any mana you spend is instantly recovered.
• Enlightened: While your mana is at 80% or higher, you have +25% critical hit chance and +20% evasion.
• Malaise: Arcane damage you deal to enemies reduces their power and movement speed by 20% for 7 seconds.
• Overachiever: Your expert spells deal +20% damage.
• Time Leak: Enemies have a chance to drop clocks upon death that reduce the cooldown timers for all equipped spells by 5 seconds when collected.

Challenge Levels

• Added challenge level 2: More enemies.

Other

• After clearing level 6, a portal appears that teleports the player to a new sewers arena with unique enemies for the remainder of the run.
• The game starts in a new hub room which contains a portal to the first arena. The challenge level is now set here before starting a run.
• Certain enemies and hazards apply poison to the player, dealing damage equal to 15% of their maximum life over 5 seconds. This stacks up to 4 times and each stack has its own timer.
• Keybindings can now be customized in the settings menu.
• There is now a brief delay between collecting a reward from an altar and the altars restocking.

CHANGES

Spells

• Error sound now plays when trying to equip a spell to a locked spell slot.
• Burst: Damage increased from 80% of power to 85%. Explosion delay reduced from 0.67 seconds to 0.5.
  
• Black Hole: Cooldown increased from 16 seconds to 18.
• Crackle: Damage reduced from 155% of power to 145%. Jump range reduced from 7 tiles to 4. Maximum jumps reduced from 7 to 6.
• Fireball: Damage radius increased from 1.5 tiles to 2.
• Ghost Form: Cooldown increased from 12 seconds to 16. Description now notes that casting other spells interrupts the effects of Ghost Form.
  
• Grasping Vines: No longer costs mana, now summons 3 parallel lines of vines.
• Lava Chakram: Duration reduced from 6.5 seconds to 6. Mana cost increased from 24 to 28. Orbit speed is no longer affected by attack speed.
• Solar Beam: Mana cost reduced from 48 per second to 38. Damage increased from 350% of power to 400%. Damage instances per second increased from 4 to 5. Range increased from 11 tiles to 12.5. Turn rate increased from 60 degrees per second to 90. Description changed to show mana cost in terms of mana per second.
• Static Discharge: Mana cost changed to 50 and is only applied once upon cast instead of draining while channeling. Full charge time reduced from 2 seconds to 1.5. Cooldown increased from 10 to 14. Floating text appears to indicate when the spell is fully charged.
• Stone Skin: Cooldown increased from 10 seconds to 18.
• Teleport: Cooldown increased from 6 seconds to 12.
• Whirling Death: Damage increased from 250% of power to 300%.

Emblems

• Emblems with downsides (i.e. Ambush and Heavy Hitter) can no longer appear in chests.
• Adrenaline: Movement speed, attack speed, and damage resistance bonuses per stack reduced from 4% to 3%.
• Ambush: Overall crit chance penalty reduced from -50% to -30%. Effect now applies when dealing spell damage to an enemy for the first time. (Previously only applied to enemies at full life, meaning minor damage from an emblem such as Trail Blazer would trigger the effect.)
• Arc Flash: Changed how damage bonus is applied so it no longer stacks multiplicatively.
  
• Blur: Evasion bonus reduced from 20% to 18%.
• Brawler: Damage resistance reduced from 20% to 18%.
• Close Combat: Damage bonus reduced from 30% to 25%.
• Conduit: Damage increased from 100% of power to 140%. Range increased from 5 tiles to 6.
• Crippling Aura: Movement speed penalty reduced from 40% to 30%. Effect indicator transparency increased slightly.
• Dynamo: Damage bonus reduced from 100% to 80%. Distance threshold reduced from 15 tiles to 13.
• Entangling Dash: Only 1 instance of Grasping Vines created by this emblem can be active at a time. (This change is necessary for balance following the Grasping Vines buff).
• Essence Shift: Heal per mana spent reduced from 30% to 20%.
• Heavy Hitter: Damage bonus reduced from 30% to 25%.
• High Voltage: Chance to stun reduced from 25% to 20%. Stun duration reduced from 2 seconds to 1.5.
• Mana Shield: Damage resistance per stack reduced from 3% to 2%. Maximum stacks increased from 7 to 9.
• Psychic Scream: Effect radius reduced from 5 tiles to 4. Changed description to better communicate that the damage detection is cumulative. (Some players thought that they have to take X% of their life as damage in a single instance to trigger the effect).
• Photosynthesis: Maximum damage bonus reduced from 80% to 50%. Maximum turn rate bonus increased from 80% to 150%.
• Reflect: Changed description to better communicate that the damage dealt is based on raw incoming damage before evasion or damage resistance are applied.
• Sharpshooter: Maximum damage bonus reduced from 20% to 18%.
• Simplicity: Damage bonus reduced from 50% to 35%.

Player

• Base movement speed increased from 4.8 tiles per second to 5.1.

Enemies

• Life scaling per level reduced from +15.5% to +14.5%.
• Power scaling per level reduced from +10% to +8.5%.
• Construct: Move speed increased from 2.85 tiles per second to 3.6. Self-destruct delay reduced from 2 seconds to 1.5.
• Skeleton: Move speed reduced from 1.92 tiles per second to 1.8.

Tomes

• Attack speed bonus from tomes increased from 4% to 5%.
• Cooldown reduction bonus from tomes increased from 10% to 12%.
• Critical hit chance bonus from tomes increased from 4% to 5%.
• Critical hit damage bonus from tomes increased from 8% to 10%.
• Damage resistance bonus from tomes increased from 4% to 5%.
• Evasion bonus from tomes increased from 4% to 5%.

Challenge Levels

• Angry elite (red) attack speed bonus reduced from +100% to +80%.
• Gembound elite (purple) homing projectile speed reduced from 2.55 tiles per second to 2.25, turn rate reduced from 72 degrees per second to 66, duration reduced from 8 seconds to 7.5 seconds.
• Tough elites (green) are now toxic elites that leave a poison trail as they move.

Other

• Healing Potions: Now expire after 25 seconds instead of 300*. Changed how the drop rate is calculated to reduce instances of multiple potions dropping in quick succession. (*Originally intended to last 30 seconds but an extra zero was accidentally added in code so they were lasting.)
• Hotkey icons have been updated.
• Main theme music changed.
  

BUG FIXES

• Fixed bug where music volume would be halved when opening the settings menu.
• Fixed bug where using Solar Beam while next to a wall could freeze the game.
• Fixed bug where Static Discharge damage was not calculated correctly. (Previously, casting the spell and immediately interrupting the channel would deal zero damage.)