The Bramble Beatdown! Version 1.2 is live!

Howdy Folks!

Today we’re proud to announce the release of Drake Hollow version 1.2, an update we’re calling Bramble Beatdown! This represents part 2 of our roadmap : Combat improvements. We’ve been listening to your feedback, and one thing we heard loud and clear is that combat wasn’t interesting enough. The bulk of what we’ve done has been to address that, and build the combat system into a more robust experience. We hope you like it!

Take a look at many of the new features here:

New Combat Features Parry: A well-timed block will now parry an incoming attack, and stagger the attacker or reflect back projectiles. Charged Attack: Holding attack will now charge up a powerful area of effect attack that does heavy damage and knocks back opponents. Lock-On: By popular demand, you can now lock on to an opponent so you don’t need to steer while fighting. Unblockable Attacks: Specific attacks are now unblockable, so be careful! Raid Targeting: Enemies in raids used to use a very simple targeting strategy: attack the nearest improvement. We’ve changed that system so they now target improvements based on a mix of pathability and priority. What that means: you can be much more tactical about how you build your defenses. Create kill boxes, or force enemies through mazes where you can easily take them down. Exploding Grunts: A new breed of Grunt has emerged, and they’re volatile! Look out during raids as these menaces will explode when damaged. New Vines: Exploding Vines: Like the volatile Grunts, these vines explode when damaged. Angry Vines: These vines fight back, clubbing anything that gets too close, friend or foe. Soothing Vines: When these appear on an island, any enemy that spawns will regenerate, and will repopulate when killed until the Soothing Vine is found and eliminated. Aether Vines: Similar to Soothing Vines, they buff enemies, but with an aether shield that will slow you down if they get too close.

Here’s the complete list of of changes:

Pulled the camera out further from character and set to default

Added charge up melee attacks

Updated GDK save system and platform feature changes

Wolf tuning - removed wolf dodge Added parrying

Added enemy unblockable hits Added exploding grunts

Added taunts for wolves, grunts, and stalkers

Fixed lore socket issue in winter biome

Fixed issue with feral nest closing up too soon in specific circumstances

Added 4 vine types: the whomping vine, the soothing vine, the cursed vine, and the exploding vine

Fixed a Loc issue in the journal in Russian

Updated the priority for attack magnetism

Fixed convert to multiplayer check failure

Updated the shield block UI (animation touch-up, and added a broken icon)

Slowed down player 2-handed combo speed, but increased the base damage by 2

iFrames added

Nerfed the vampiric buff at higher levels

Terminer spawn projectile can now spawn exploding vines

Reduced frequency of terminer default projectile spawning

Added a UI alert when an improvement is damaged outside of a raid with no player in camp

Fixed issue where Terminer could appear shielded when not summoning

Candy canes no longer drop from chests

Added lock-on capability

Added tutorial for new combat mechanics

Returned hot torches to the magpie shop in winter

Turned off default santa hat as unlocked initially

Updated enemy raid target prioritization

Changed Terminer behavior around targeting and moving to improvements

Fixed issue with Xbox players' talking gems not showing up when utilizing crossplay

Added garage drippings for Magpie Shop

Profile saves can now be marked for later processing so that multiple save attempts aren't made within the same 1 second window (led to achievement sync issues)

Added and surfaced error code to modal dialog

Disabled cold open

Switched campaign and sandbox order in the main menu and added descriptive text for both

Added logic to add all tutorials to inbox on sandbox start

Removed warning for entering sandbox without save data

Added a block timer to prevent impulse spamming of block/attack

Fixed issue with processing invites on Windows 10

Fixed issue where player was sent back to loader instead of main menu upon multiplayer lobby exit

Added Curve Digital logo to splash screen on game start

Fixed issues with "Campfire" and "Titan of Industry" achievements that caused delays in awarding achievements

Fixed issue with Untouchable achievement being given in error

As always, we hope you enjoy, and please let us know if you have any issues or feedback! You can reach us via twitter , our discord , or comment below.