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Windows Central

Technology

Samuel Tolbert

Xbox Game Studios' Towerborne is getting a new boss fight, new legendary gear, and one amazing, must-have feature

Xbox Game Studios Stoic (Organization)

What you need to know

Towerborne, a co-op action-RPG from Stoic and Xbox Game Studios, is currently available through Steam Early Access.
Towerborne's next update is adding an early version of a Group Finder feature, letting players more easily find a companion to adventure with.
This update is also expanding the map, raising the level cap, adding a new boss fight, and more.
Towerborne is slated to arrive in Xbox Game Preview at some point next year before the game's full release.

There's a few more bats in the Belfry.

Stoic and Xbox Game Studios' co-op action-RPG Towerborne is getting a massive update, significantly increasing the amount of playable content in the early access experience, as well as adding some big quality-of-life features.

Update 2 is introducing a Group Finder feature for Towerborne, letting players more easily join up and play together. The developers emphasize that this is an early version of the Group Finder, with improvements already being planned, but that the team wanted to get something in players' hands to improve the experience right now.

As for new content, players can look forward to checking out Danger Level 5, which includes raising the level cap to 50. There's also four new legendary weapons and 12 new pieces of legendary gear. You'll need these new perks, as the world map is expanding with four dangerous new missions, as well as a new boss fight against the mysterious Mystweavers.

Below, you can find the full patch notes for Towerborne Update 2. Buckle up, they're not short!

Gameplay and Exploration

Danger Level 5 is now available!
- A new Danger License Trial is available
- The map has been expanded.
- New Quests have been added.
- New Discovery encounters, layouts, and missions have been added across all danger levels.
- 2 new Umbra Shrines are now available.
- Class Level Caps increased from 40 to 50!
- 4 new Venture missions are now available. (Numbers Ironworks; Numbers Garrison; Silver-Gold Gates; The Heart of Numbers)
New rare Legendary Weapon and Gear items to discover!
- 4 new Legendary Weapons (1 for each class)
- 12 new Legendary Gear items
- Each Legendary item has a unique perk
- You can equip 1 Legendary Weapon and up to 2 Legendary Gear items at once
- These will first begin appearing in Danger Level 5
- Many of them have a chance to be looted anywhere, while others have more specific criteria
- In general a Legendary item will have bespoke stat distribution, but the values of each of those stats will often still be variable
Additional new Weapon and Gear items
- 3 new Gear Sets with Set Bonuses
- 2 new Gears Sets without Set Bonuses
- 6 new Venture Weapons
Aspect Perk Updates
- 4 new Aspect perks that can be found on Tier 5 Aspects
- Several Aspect perks that grant a damage reduction while the player has a specific affliction have been consolidated into a single perk.
- Several Aspect perks that grant a damage bonus while the player has a specific affliction have been consolidated into a single perk.
- Several Aspect perks that grant a damage bonus while the enemy has a specific affliction have been consolidated into a single perk.
- The Aspect perk that reduces damage taken while reviving allies is now a Legacy perk and will no longer roll on newly acquired Aspects.
- The Aspect perk that reduces damage taken while airborne is now a Legacy perk and will no longer roll on newly acquired Aspects.
- Increased the Boon Duration for several Aspect perks that grant Boons (Might, Protection, etc.)

Balancing and Bug Fixes

Item Naming Updates
- Weapons, Gear, and Aspects will no longer have their item name modified by the random attributes that the item rolled (Weapons and Gear this will just result in shorter, cleaner names; Aspects will instead have their name modified based on the random perk that was assigned to the Aspect. Each perk has a unique name).
Item Balance
- Reduced roll values of the “ATK” and “DEF” item suffix substats by 20%.
Loot Adjustments
- Gear items with set bonuses will also have a small chance to drop anywhere in the world, rather than only in Venture end chests.
- Weapons that are unique to each Venture now each have a static substat, rather than all substats being fully random. This should give different weapons more flavor, and allow players to have more agency in targeting specific stats on their weapons.
- When looting a weapon, it is now weighted to be more significantly more likely to be a weapon equippable by your current class. Sentinels are more likely to loot swords, Shadowstrikers are more likely to loot daggers, etc.
Gear Score Adjustments
- Tweaked most recommended gear score values on missions. In general, recommended gear score values have been slightly increased, particularly at higher danger levels.

Combat and Classes

Combat
- Universally improved the feel of Dodge Roll. It is now possible to cancel the recovery frames of Dodge Rolls into attacks.
- Improved the responsiveness and feel of Ground Recovery techniques when knocked down.
- Fixed an issue that prevented Evade cancels if you were holding down the Focus Skill modifier button.
- Changed the VFX of Might, Weakness, Protection, and Vulnerability to alleviate visual loudness when those effects are active.
Classes
- Sentinel
  - Dashing Stab now hits more reliably
  - Allowing Jump Cancels to occur after all Launcher attacks
  - Radiant Guard: Performing this Focus Skill now grants Protection for 8s
- Pyroclast
  - All Heavy Focus Skills now add 5s of Burn instead of 2s.
  - Mountain Splitter: It is now possible to flip directions during specific frames of Mountain Splitter.
  - It is now possible to Jump Cancel the hold Light Launcher attack and the follow up blast.
  - Increased the distance of the second hit in the Heavy to Light combo chain.
  - Improved responsiveness of canceling attacks when using the Class Mechanic button to reduce recovery frames.
- Rockbreaker
  - Powderkeg Punch
    - Increased the default charge speed of Powderkeg Punch by about 20%
    - It’s worth noting that you can increase the charge time of this ability using Aspects that affect the Class Mechanic meter
    - Increased the duration of a held Level 3 charge to 10 seconds (was 5)
    - Fixed an issue that prevented players from Evade canceling Powderkeg Punch on hit
    - Improved the juggle-ability of all levels of Powderkeg Punch to unlock some new combo opportunities
    - It is now possible to combo enemies after landing a Full Charge Powderkeg Punch
    - It is now possible to cancel the recovery frames of Dodge Roll with a Powderkeg Punch
  - Skyward Swing
    - A small vortex now juggles enemies after the final hit, allowing for extended combo opportunities
  - Dual Eclipse and Relentless Barrage
    - It is now possible to flip directions during specific frames of these Focus Skills
  - Spinning Backfist now juggles enemies for extended combo opportunities
    - To perform this attack, Evade cancel any attack and then press Light Attack
  - It is now possible to move the Ace during the Double Axe attack
    - To perform this attack, Evade cancel any attack and then press Heavy Attack. Alternatively, perform the Light to Heavy combo chain Finisher.
  - Fixed an issue that caused an additional Evade to occur if you pressed Evade too quickly while Dodge Rolling
  - Fixed an issue that prevented Dropkick from being canceled properly during recovery frames
- Shadowstriker
  - Sunrise Shrapnel
    - Adjusted Sunrise Shrapnel hitboxes so that it better reflects the visuals of the attack. This should make the attack hit more consistently.
  - Lightning Step
    - It is now possible to move around a bit during Lightning Step. This should help alleviate frustration when dealing with enemies that were just out of reach.
  - Shooting Stars
    - It is now possible to flip directions during Shooting Stars before the last hit.
    - Shooting Stars now Poisons enemies.
  - Smoke Veil
    - The Ace is now guaranteed to perform a critical hit while Stealth is active. This was previously only a 20% chance.

Umbra

Picus
- Scorched Earth
  - A ring of fire erupts from Picus that inflicts Burn on all enemies hit by its radius. The Ability also Block Breaks!
  - Equipped with 2 Charges
Grimel
- Beckoning Pyres
  - Grimel spawns a long-rage tremor that travels across the ground and explodes on hit. This ability inflicts Stun for 0.4s, deals damage and launches the enemy towards your direction. This Ability also Block Breaks!
  - Equipped with 3 Charges
McKraken
- Adjusted startup frames of Atoll Oasis so that it feels snappier and more in line with other Umbra Abilities
- Activating Atoll Oasis now pushes away smaller enemies that are nearby
Goji
- Activating Harmony Draught now pushes away smaller enemies that are nearby
General Umbra Improvements:
- Umbra Charges are now consumed when the Ability becomes active. This should prevent scenarios where getting interrupted before a Cast was complete would cause you to lose your Charge unexpectedly.

Enemies

General
- Fixed an issue that caused many enemies to Evade more frequently than desired.
- Fixed an issue that caused enemy Evades to have longer invulnerability windows than desired.
- Alleviated some frustrating moments where it’s possible for multiple enemies to juggle an airborne Ace. There is still work to be done, but it’s now less likely to get juggled repeatedly.
- Fixed an issue that allowed many enemies to cancel their Break moment when hitting specific Health Thresholds. This will allow you to continue beating up enemies without interruption after a Break.
Madpole Pouncer/Bouncer/Trouncer
- Fixed an issue that caused the Ace to get pushed unexpectedly during the enemy’s Flip Kick attack.
- The stats for all three Madpoles are now identical.
The Seamstress
- Fixed an issue that caused debug visuals to appear when the Break Bar activation hits the Ace
Gobo Impaletail
- Adjusted damage values to be more in line with other Lieutenants. It was way too high for certain attacks. This is normalized now.
Pangor
- It is now possible to properly interrupt the Charge Attack with a Parry
- Adjusted attacks so that hitting airborne Ace’s provides a less frustrating experience
The Stonecutter
- Adjusted Spinning Death attack so that it’s more reflective of the attack's visuals.
Yxil
- Ground Stab attack no longer tracks airborne Aces.

Art, UI, and UX

Fixed a clipping issue with Goji’s rope
Fixed skinning issues with new legendary gear
Fixed skinning issues with the Ebon Warden cape
Fixed an LOD issue with the Spectre Sten Umbra
Fixed an issue on the Tower where shadows near the training room were popping in and out
Fixed a texture seam issue in the Heart of Numbers Venture Mission
Fixed a visual issue with water near the cliff asset in the Snaggleshire Venture
Fixed an issue with floating grass in the Snaggleshire Venture
Fixed an issue with a texture seam on the ground near Wolfram on the Tower
Fixed a Facewright issue where helmets would cause certain hairstyles to become darker
Fixed an issue with Blundt where his textures were flickering
Fixed an issue where the Ace’s hand was not aligning properly with Shield handles
Rewards screen now sorts items based on their item rarity, from highest to lowest.
Legendary Items will show a celebration when you obtain them
Legendary Items have special icon highlights
Combat HUD will have a semi-circle health bar for each player in your party, including you

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Expanding early access before launch

Towerborne is headed to Xbox Game Preview before its full launch in 2025. (Image credit: Microsoft | Stoic Games)

Towerborne's latest update massively fleshes the game out, but there's still a wait before launch.

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While Towerborne is currently only available via Steam Early Access, the game is also coming to Xbox Game Preview at some point in the future. This will allow Xbox console players to check out the experience and provide feedback ahead of Towerborne's full launch, which is currently planned for some point in 2025.

Towerborne will be launching as a free-to-play experience when it arrives in full, though given how it's an Xbox first-party game, it seems fairly safe to expect subscriber benefits through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

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