Alliances & Updated Random Map Generator

Greetings, Heroes!

Autumn is in full swing, and its winds of change bring you long-awaited news — and a fresh patch! Join Ana from Heroes Take Turns in our new video as she dives into all the details of the Roadmap Patch: Alliances, the Advanced Random Map Generator, and plenty of great improvements. The patch is live now!

We're covering the highlights right here too — let's go!

Steam Reviews: Every Voice Matters!

Before we get into it, we'd like to ask you for one small favour. Leave us a Steam review! We read them regularly — they're one of the most important ways for us to understand how you feel about the game. Reviews also help other players discover Olden Era. If you haven't left one yet, we'd greatly appreciate it!

Alliances — Play Together!

Let's start with the biggest and most requested addition: Alliances! Team and co-op play have finally arrived in Olden Era. Now you can team up with friends or family and conquer maps side by side — in both PvE and PvP!

We spent a long time on this feature, as it required significant changes to the UI and core game mechanics. We wanted it to be as polished as possible and incorporate as much of your feedback as we could — including always-on simultaneous turns. No more waiting for your ally to finish their move: you act in parallel and push toward victory in real time.

You'll be able to trade resources and request them from one another — a feature new to the series. Freely exchange armies between heroes and pass artifacts back and forth. All of this is also available via "Remote Footholds" and the "Pocket Dimension" spell.

And if just one of you meets the map's victory conditions — you both win! As the game grows, more scenarios, maps, and templates will support Alliances. Some existing maps will also get an option to play as allies. More advanced features may be added based on community feedback.

Setting Up an Alliance Game

To play in an Alliance with friends — whether co-op against AI or team vs. team (e.g. 2v2) — create a lobby in the Multiplayer menu and invite your friends!

If you'd like to play in an Alliance with an AI ally against other AI opponents, you can launch a game via Quick Start using one of 5 new templates pre-configured for Alliance play.

Or you can customise things further via Custom Game — choose any existing template or the "Broken Alliance" map.

Advanced Random Map Generator for PvE

Speaking of templates, let's look at our next feature: the Advanced Random Map Generator.

As we've mentioned before, our generator has been in active development for five years — essentially since the very beginning of the project. It offers a wide range of features and a great deal of flexibility, and we consider it the most advanced random map generator in the series.

Since Early Access launched, we've offered players over 50 random map templates covering a wide variety of playstyles — so everyone can find an experience that suits their preferences.

Overall, we're quite happy with the template-based system. On one hand, it still provides random generation and virtually endless replayability. On the other hand, each template introduces a certain degree of predictability through a predefined set of rules.

However, after analyzing your feedback, we found that many fans of more casual PvE gameplay prefer full unpredictability. A lot of you told us directly: "We're not interested in predictable templates. Let everything on the map be generated completely at random! For us, the fun of exploration and unpredictability is far more important than balance."

In response, we created a separate, customisable mode for the random map generator aimed specifically at players who enjoy PvE matches against AI on fully randomised maps. This mode is designed to deliver a less predictable, much more chaotic experience with a stronger emphasis on exploration, discovery, and unexpected situations.

If you love surprises and templates haven't appealed to you, you can now set up your own random map! In the Advanced Random Map Generator, you can choose:

• your win conditions,
• the size of the map,
• whether it's free-for-all or an Alliances-based map,
• how rich the map will be,
• how many heroes you'll be able to command at once,
• whether the map will be symmetrical or asymmetrical.

Once you've configured the map, you'll move to the faction and hero selection screen — then straight into the game! The map will be fully randomly generated and won't draw from the existing template pool, so be ready for plenty of surprises. The template system isn't going anywhere — it stays available for everyone who prefers more predictable, balanced generation, and for PvP.

At launch, the new generator is focused primarily on PvE and is available in Quick Start only — please leave as much feedback as you can so we can make it even better! In the future, the random map settings will be expanded.

We also heard your feedback that template information has been lacking — in both PvE and PvP. Each template now features detailed info and a short description of what to expect. We'd love to hear your thoughts and refine this further based on your input!

Hero Skills Balance

While one part of our team was working on these major new features, another was fully dedicated to fine-tuning balance — including delivering on our Q3 Roadmap promises around hero skill balancing.

Here are the highlights of what we've already done in previous patches:

• Reworked the Necromancy logic and made its UI much clearer and more user-friendly.
• Made important balance adjustments to key Schism and Grove mechanics.
• Balanced a wide range of general hero skills.

If you missed the details or want to see the exact changes, you can read about them in Patch #8 and Patch #11.

Refreshed Save & Load Menus

We took your feedback on the save & load feature to heart — many of you said the old UI was confusing and hard to navigate. Saves are now organised as follows:

• Saves are split between Single Player and Multiplayer tabs.
• Each campaign run is its own category of saves named after your campaign profile.
• Each scenario or map run is sorted into its own category of saves.
• Challenges are now saved into their own category.
• All saves made prior to this patch will be found in an "Unsorted" category, split between Single Player and Multiplayer tabs.

Updated Emoji Wheel

The wheel has been in the game since launch, but it was hard to find and offered few options. So we gave it a thorough update: more emojis (from a simple GG to surprise and rage), now available not just on the global map but during combat as well. Let your friends and rivals know exactly what you think of their battlefield talents!

Improved Matchmaking System

We've updated the matchmaking system: calibration is now fairer, and losses carry more weight at higher ranks than lower ones. Additionally, the rating gap between two opponents now further affects how many points you earn or lose.

With these changes, we've reset the leaderboard so you can compete for the top spots again! The rank reset will also help address some matchmaking pain points you've shared with us over these months.

In the future, more significant changes will be made to matchmaking in line with the Roadmap goals.

Plans for the Near Future

PvE Maps

In our last patch we added the fan-favourite "Broken Alliance" map and the "Prisoners" scenario. We've received a lot of great feedback on both and are hard at work on new single-player adventures! We'll have more news in October!

Major Balance Patch

We'll soon be releasing a major update. In it we'll rework the Temple faction skill, rebalance percentage-based damage bonuses, and add new artifacts and skills. Before its release, we'll launch a public beta branch so you can test the changes alongside us!

New Creatures

The balance patch will also bring new inhabitants to the adventure map. One of them is a majestic classic creature that fans of the series have known for a long time.

Joining them is a brand-new, nimble and mysterious arrival to the world of Enroth — well known across many fantasy settings!

Step by Step Toward Perfection

As you can see, we're serious about keeping every promise we make. We'll always do our best, and if something gets in the way — we'll make sure to let you know. We're committed to looking after both PvE and PvP fans, even if some features take more time to deliver.

With the Q3 Roadmap goals complete, we've already begun work on the features and changes planned for the end of the year. We're also actively training AI opponents in new tricks and tactics to make PvE matches even more engaging. More details to come!

Changelog

v. 0.81.02

Bug Fixes

Combat & Creature Mechanics

• "Double attack" effects now correctly apply to the Onyx and Jasper Dancers' alternative attack.
• Traps now correctly trigger when stacks are forcibly moved onto them.
• Traps located within the area of the "Overwatch" effect now trigger correctly.
• Landing on a "Spatial Snare" trap no longer allows a stack to continue its turn when positive Morale activates.
• Applying Speed and Initiative buffs to summoned creatures now correctly recalculates turn order.
• Fixed a bug where the death of an Energy Phoenix at the end of a round could cause the first stack of the next round to skip its turn.
• Fixed two separate bugs that caused combat to freeze after an Energy Phoenix died at end of round — one involving "Reality Distortion" and one involving negative Morale triggering alongside that same effect.
• "Reality Distortion" now correctly deals damage at the end of the turn in the last round of its duration.
• Effects of the type "prevents health restoration" now block healing from all game mechanics without exception.
• The Mist Qilin is now correctly protected from Speed and Initiative reduction effects by its passive ability.
• The "Murderous Glee" passive now correctly triggers even if the stack previously killed an enemy with a counter-attack.
• "Naira's Kiss" now triggers even when a stack ends its turn after the timer expires. Its damage is also now correctly reduced by bonuses of the type "reduces all incoming damage."
• The "Buckler" artifact now correctly allows counter-attacks against enemies with "Swift Strike" if that property was gained during combat.
• A Phoenix resurrected via the "Immortal" passive can no longer use abilities before awakening.
• Stacks with the Ranged Attack property now behave correctly under the "Berserk" effect, creature passives trigger properly, and Iriyads no longer damage themselves.
• Abyssal Envoys under the "Will of the Abyss" ability no longer gain an extra turn when positive Morale triggers.
• Several game mechanics and effects that previously failed to trigger after the last enemy was killed now work correctly.

Creatures

• The Infiltrator passive ability "Sharper Blade" now works correctly.
• The Infiltrator active ability "Shadowstrike" now correctly ignores the target's Defense.
• The Hive Queen passive ability "Squash the Weak!" now works correctly.

Spells & Skills

• The "Sorcery" skill now correctly enhances traps.
• "Pocket Dimension" can no longer be cast in locations the hero cannot reach.
• Fixed a bug with hero Xirr's specialization that caused him to be susceptible to negative effects in combat.
• Uses of Global Map Spells obtained from scrolls are now correctly tracked when transferring scrolls to another hero.

Artifacts

• The "Vortex Robe" artifact no longer triggers multiple times when interacting with multi-hit spells.
• A hotkey has been added for "destroying" an artifact.

AI & Stability

• The AI in combat no longer ignores restrictions on hero ability usage.
• Fixed an AI freeze when attempting to capture a neutral city previously owned by a player who left or was defeated.
• Fixed an AI freeze when one of its heroes interacted with a portal whose exit point was occupied by another hero.
• In rare situations, the turn no longer freezes after a player is defeated.
• Fixed a rare bug where a game save would fail to load.

Major New Features

1. Alliance System

The Alliance system has been added, allowing players to team up and fight together against opponents. As part of an Alliance, players have access to the following:

• Simultaneous turns with no restrictions in online play. Allied players meeting on the map do not switch to sequential turns — they continue acting simultaneously.
• A temporary lock system for players and objects has been added to support this mechanic. For example, while a player is in combat, their ally cannot interact with their heroes. The lock is lifted immediately after combat ends.
• Allies share the fog of war and can see each other's planned movement paths.
• Allied heroes can freely interact with one another through the standard exchange window, where both players can give and take artifacts and armies.
• Players can send and request resources through a dedicated interface. The player list panel has been updated to display more notifications for easier trading.
• Via "Remote Footholds" and "Pocket Dimension", allies gain access to a shared Alliance storage for remote transfer of artifacts and armies.
• Several new templates specifically designed for Alliance play have been added to the game.

2. Save & Load UI Update

The save and load interface and file structure have been completely overhauled.

• Each match now has its own profile that stores its saves.
• Saves can be sorted by date, name, and in-game time.
• A save can now be loaded directly from this window without going through the lobby.
• Save information has been significantly expanded: the window now shows a minimap screenshot, hero roster, and other details.
• Saves are split into Single Player and Multiplayer tabs.
• Filters by save type have been added: Campaign, Template, Scenario, Map, Tutorial, Challenge, Other. The Multiplayer tab also includes a filter by connection type: All, Hotseat, Online.
• Bulk deletion of saves is now available.

3. Quick Start Update

The Quick Start interface has been significantly reworked:

• Templates and scenarios now display much more detailed information.
• Sorting for templates and scenarios has been added.
• Tags have been added to help find templates and scenarios suited to your playstyle.

4. Fully Random Map Generator

Since Early Access launch, the game has featured a random map generator — but it only worked based on pre-made templates. This update adds a fully random map generator that creates a unique map from scratch based on your chosen settings. The feature is available in single-player Quick Start mode. First, choose the map's base settings:

• Game mode: multi-hero or single hero.
• Map size.
• Number of players.
• Alliances: if enabled, players are randomly assigned to teams (when possible).
• Overall zone richness and content density.
• Overall map difficulty.
• Symmetry: if enabled, the map will have a symmetrical structure. An asymmetrical map may be completely unpredictable.
• Win conditions.

Then, just like in regular Quick Start, you choose your faction, hero, and difficulty level — and begin the game.

5. Emoji Wheel & Notification System Update

The Emoji Wheel has been fully updated, along with improvements to the companion notification system:

• The Emoji Wheel is now available not only on the global map, but also in combat and in towns.
• Customization of the wheel's content has been significantly improved.
• New emojies have been added.
• The player list now displays notifications sent by other players, both in expanded and collapsed view.

6. Matchmaking System Update

Alongside the rating reset, we are introducing a number of important changes to the matchmaking system:

• An automated cheater detection algorithm and a low-priority system have been added.
• All players now start with a rating of 1000 regardless of the skill level chosen before calibration matches.
• The calibration process has been adjusted: wins during calibration now grant additional points independent of the base gain.
• The number of points gained and lost per match now depends on the player's current rank. The higher the rank, the fewer points earned for a win and the more lost for a defeat. For example, at the lowest rank a win grants 40 points and a loss costs 10. At the highest rank it's reversed: 10 for a win and 40 for a loss.
• The influence of rating difference between players on the final point totals has been significantly increased.

Minor Gameplay Changes

• The selected alternative camera position in combat is now saved between battles and applied immediately, not from the next battle onwards.
• Traps automatically created during a siege now take priority over other traps and cannot be destroyed by them.
• Bonuses that increase maximum HP no longer reduce the number of Fire Larvae summoned to the battlefield.
• The "Emerald Resonance Controller" artifact now also protects temporary creatures from banishment.
• The Temple law "Sacred Lands" has been replaced by "Sacred Protection," making friendly heroes immune to negative effects in combat and on the adventure map.

Official Wiki

New to the series or a returning veteran? We have an Official Community Wiki to help you master the art of war! Thanks to active community members, it has detailed breakdowns of unit stats, spell tiers, and other data for those who want to dig deeper. You, our community, are the gift that keeps on giving!

Join the Community

Stay informed and share your victories with the community! Follow us on Discord, Steam and Facebook for the latest patch notes, community discussions, and chats with our team! We'd also like to give a shoutout to the unofficial community subreddit, where you're also welcome to share your thoughts! And of course, don't forget to leave a review — it means a lot to us!

With love, Unfrozen Team