LTWD Co-op Preview Is Live + Campaign & LTID Update

The latest MegaDope 2D update is live! LTWD is now playable as a two-player co-op preview directly from the main menu, alongside Campaign and LTID. This post covers the new co-op mode plus the recent legendary gear, controls, balance, sanctuary and performance updates.

LTWD Is Now Playable from the Main Menu

Leaderboards Till We Die! brings two-player co-op to MegaDope 2D. Update the game, then select LEADERBOARDS TILL WE DIE! — PREVIEW from the main menu. The mode is included in the normal live game; no Steam beta opt-in or separate download is needed.

LTWD is still in development. The PREVIEW label marks an early version that will continue to receive fixes, balancing and improvements. This release supports two players.

LTWD promotional artwork. The two-player preview is now playable; the artwork's older “No ETA” footer refers to the earlier development announcement.

How to Play Together

• Both players should update MegaDope 2D and sign into their own Steam accounts.
• Open the LTWD preview from the main menu. Choose HOST WITH A FRIEND, then INVITE FRIEND, or use FIND A PARTNER to search for an open room.
• Choose your heroes and have both players select READY. The host can then choose ENTER THE SANCTUARY.

Two Heroes, One Expedition

• All eight existing heroes are selectable. The new lobby shows animated heroes, portraits, readiness, a gameplay preview of your selected hero and six inspectable signature skills.
• Shared XP and party levels, with independent upgrade choices for each hero. Combat pauses while both players make their choices.
• Shared exploration: party map markers, shared fog-of-war, trials, formations and biome-survey objectives.
• Personal gear and supplies: owned loot, equipment, banking, merchants, three quick-item slots and nearby trades that require the other player's acceptance.
• Death does not have to be the end: a fallen hero spectates their surviving partner. The survivor can buy three revivals per teammate per run from Death, costing 100,000, 500,000 and 1,000,000 run gold. After the third return, that hero's fate is sealed. If both heroes fall, the run ends.
• Shared resurrection effects, separate co-op progression and final-run records showing both heroes' equipment and ability builds.
• Movement synchronization, dash correction, controller scrolling and Steam-request recovery improvements.

Steam Duo Leaderboards and Build Inspection

• Added LTWD — Duo Longest Survival and LTWD — Duo Most Kills, separate from solo boards.
• Duo results belong to the host's Steam entry. The in-game board can show both players' names and attached final builds; Steam's Community leaderboard lists the host account.
• Inspect both heroes' equipment and skill levels from attached results, alongside local run records.
• Added queued submissions, retry handling and personal-best matching so an older result does not replace the gear attached to a different best run.
• LTWD results are marked preview / unverified. They do not receive the solo mode's green verification badge.

Know Before Starting a Co-op Run

• Co-op progression is separate from Campaign and LTID and is stored on your device. Cross-device Steam Cloud progression is not supported for LTWD yet.
• Leave through the game's normal menus and allow saving/syncing to finish. After an interrupted session or trade, reconnect to the original host to finish syncing before changing hosts. Automatic recovery when that host is unavailable is not supported yet.
• Quitting or disconnecting in the world ends the run. There is no host migration or mid-run reconnect. Saved sanctuary parties can resume with the original host and matching party.
• Real-network reliability, long-session performance and Steam Deck host/client behavior still need more testing. Please report connection issues, missing effects or progression problems with your host/guest role and what happened.

Five New LTID Legendary Items

• The Far Harvest — periodically draws in XP from up to 800 metres away.
• Pallbearer's Pact — periodically summons three temporary undead allies to fight alongside you.
• Gravity Covenant — pulls nearby enemies inward when you use manual abilities.
• Second Sentence — adds a delayed damage echo.
• Mortuary Plate — grants a shield through kills.

These powers join the existing legendary drop pool. Legendary drop odds have not increased, and existing gear remains supported.

Abilities You Can See and Hear

• Added distinct cast and impact sound cues for the four newer LTID heroes.
• Made existing ability animations larger and more visible.
• Added clearer, hero-coloured damage numbers for manual hits and reduced overlapping ability-name labels.
• Improved fast XP attraction so magnetized pickups collect reliably as they reach you.

Better Controller Menus and Quick Supplies

• Menu navigation now follows the visible rows and columns more naturally. Shoulder buttons move between supported sections, and the right stick scrolls the focused pane.
• LTID inventory supports Y to equip, alongside double-tap A. Filters, sorting and nearby selection are preserved after equipping.
• Added three configurable quick-item slots: Q / R / T on keyboard, or D-pad Up / Down / Right on controller. D-pad Left still opens the map.
• Assign potions, buffs or Return Scrolls from inventory or pause. Your assignments are saved, and the HUD shows their icons and remaining counts.
• Improved Campaign Relic Armory focus, equipment/storage browsing and small-screen layout.
• Death's Shop now has illustrated item browsing, a larger selected-item preview and clearer controller purchase confirmation.
• Fixed pause-submenu navigation and a controller-menu startup error.

Safer Extraction and Gentler LTID Pacing

• Return Scrolls grant complete damage immunity during their five-second cast. You cannot move, dash or start attacks while channeling.
• Normal and mega bosses block extraction. If a scripted boss appears during the cast, it cancels without consuming the scroll.
• Successful extraction still consumes one scroll and uses the existing 30-minute active-world cooldown. Quitting in the world still ends the run.
• New lives use shorter biome bands, making the next region closer to reach. Existing extracted lives retain their saved layouts.
• Reduced early and mid-run enemy pressure, delayed formation attacks and first mega pressure, and increased rests between formations. Long runs still build in intensity.

Campaign Balance and Readability

• Reworked boss health across Depths 1–10. Improving your damage, gaining levels or spending longer exploring no longer inflates those bosses' baseline health. Danger, contracts and beacon weakening still matter.
• Fixed Campaign lifesteal to use the health actually removed from an enemy, preventing overkill damage from producing excessive healing.
• Added persistent DESCEND and DEATH'S SHOP signs so destinations are readable before you enter a gate.
• Added a saved 0–100% screen-shake setting in combat-visibility options for both modes.

Also Included from the Recent Sanctuary Updates

If you missed the smaller releases leading into this update, these improvements are already live too:

• Memorial of the Fallen: visit the sanctuary memorial to browse LTID leaderboards, with a marked map destination and shortcuts from pause and hero selection. Returning from the boards preserves the run you were browsing from.
• 184 additional recorded voice lines, bringing the dialogue bank to 288: more hero reactions to exploration, combat, loot and objectives, plus merchant revisit dialogue. Repeat controls help keep conversations varied.
• Death's illustrated supply shop: clearer item artwork, prices, carried counts, live gold balance and an explicit Buy One action, with selection retained after a purchase.
• Fixed oversized hover-tooltip backgrounds and improved long-description scrolling.

Combat Performance Improvements

• Reduced the overhead of Campaign death sparks during clustered kills.
• Spread XP pickup creation across frames, with overflow rewards preserved.
• Reduced repeated achievement-save work when several milestones trigger together.
• Reduced diagnostic work during reward-minion deaths.

These changes target sources of combat hitches; longer-run performance and balance feedback is still welcome.

Thank you for playing and sending feedback. If you hit a problem, please include your mode, hero, depth or biome, and what was happening at the time.

Updated September 16, 2026 — Steam build 25351445. Campaign, LTID and the in-game LTWD co-op preview are included.