Thou shalt love the Tentacle
The depths of the Umbral Abyss are yours to conquer in the Age of Wonders 4: Eldritch Realms expansion. Terrify your foes as an Eldritch Sovereign, wield mighty new tomes of magic, survive world-altering global events and lead your people against the darkness before it spreads across the realms. Return to Athla with new Forms based on classic races and come to its defense in an epic clash that will determine the fate of the world. [previewyoutube=BxAPqBCeGao;full][/previewyoutube] Revealed within the Astral currents is the Mystic Update. This Free Update, available to all owners of Age of Wonders 4, brings a rework of the Mystic Culture which introduces three Subcultures as School of Magic. Venture into Unknown Realms, with the support of your improved armies, and earn more Pantheon Points with rebalanced and new actions that reward Pantheon XP. Check below for all the details on the Eldritch Realms Expansion and the Mystic Update. Game Version: 1.007.001.94582 https://store.steampowered.com/app/2401860/Age_of_Wonders_4_Eldritch_Realms/Eldritch Realms Expansion
New Forms: Insectoid & Syron
Two Classic forms come forth from the Shadows with reimagined looks. The Syron and Insectoid have a deep history in Age of Wonders, having been at the center of the conflict with the Umbral Abyss. The Syron have been reimagined with aquatic details and astral body patterns, keeping some of their original elvish visuals while introducing a flair of beauty and alien. The Insectoid, originally imaged as Shadow Demons, have been a long-running feature in Age of Wonders. With this new Insectoid form you can define what they were like before and after Urrath’s Corruption.
New Godir Origin: Eldritch Sovereign
Ancient beings of terrible power, the Eldritch Sovereigns have been corrupted by the Umbral Abyss and possess a unique Thrall spell casting mechanic. Choose your path as an Eldritch Sovereign ruler and decide between Dominating your foes, Manipulating the flesh or Wild, chaotic magic.
- Gain access to a new Thrall Resource and cast unique Ritual Spells & handle Events using their Eldritch might.
- Gain access to a powerful Sovereign Skill Tree that replaces the Warfare Skill Tree. Unique Minor & Major Specialization allow you to tap into the experience of being an Eldritch Ruler.
- Gain a unique piece of Equipment called a Relic, a base upkeep of 5 Mana and cannot equip Leg or Mount Items. They are considered Magic Origin Units with Floating World Map Movement and Slow Movement in Combat.
New Tomes
Tap into the dark corners of Magic with two new Eldritch Tomes. Begin your journey with the Tome of the Tentacle, introducing you to the various ways Tentacles can offer a solution. Fully embrace your fascination with the Gloomstrider Transformation found in the Tome of Corruption. This Tome turns your enemy’s strength against them, transforms buffs into debuffs, or steals them for your own units. For those strong enough to reject these dark temptations we introduce the Tome of Cleansing Flame. A tome for the forces of light to strike back against the darkness of the abyss! Summon Cleansing Flames into battle to burn Heretics whilst protecting the Faithful.
New Layer: Umbral Abyss
A dark domain of Corruption and Fear threatens to consume the realms of mortals. It includes new tactical combat maps, a dozen unique locations to explore and exploit and new Umbral Dwellings inhabited by Umbral demons. These denizens of the abyss are corrupt creatures dedicated to the destruction of the light and invasion of the realms. The abyss will harm units who venture in it, but immunity can be gained by forging an Eldritch Pact.
New Content: Cosmic Happenings
A classic feature returns with the reimagined Cosmic Happenings. This brand new class of global events are designed to bring exciting and unpredictable effects. The happenings include 4 mini crises events, called the Toll of Seasons, featuring unique tactical maps, units and mechanics.
New Story: Shadows & Torches
The Story in Age of Wonders 4 reaches new highs in this epic conclusion. In the furthest corners of the Astral Sea the war between the forces of light and dark wages ever on. This eternal conflict sends waves across the realms that awakens a slumbering corruption within. As the light struggles against the overwhelming darkness, twisted tendrils spread and latch onto forests and mountains, hearts and minds, twisting everything they touch.
Even More Content
While we’re sure the above has your mouths watering, there’s even more that you can enjoy. Further included in the Eldritch Realms Expansion are:
- 8 Achievements
- 6 New Music Tracks
- 5 New Premade Rulers
- New Realm Templates & Realm Traits
- Beetle & Death Beetle Mounts
- New Eldritch Interface Skin & Banner Emblems
Mystic Update
Mystic Schools of Magic
The Mystic Culture has been reworked and now supports three different Mystic Schools that specialize in particular aspects of spellcasting. The School of Attunement is the default Mystic subculture and is closest in function to the pre-existing Mystic Culture. The School of Potential specializes in experimentation and heavily favors spellcasting over conventional combat, while the School of Summoning instead relies on immensely powerful Astral Origin units to deliver them victory.
Unit Viability Update
We’ve done a review of Unit pacing and Culture Presence throughout the game and made several changes to improve Unit Viability and Culture Relevance. In its current iteration, there exists a pretty rigid tier system, which results in higher tier versions of a unit role always outclassing those of a lower tier. The changes we made aim to let Tier 1-2 (and to a slightly lesser extent T3) units be viable options for their roles in the mid/late game with the right investment.
Combat Takeover
This brand new feature offers exciting ways for you or your friends to be more engaged during Combat. With the Control AI Allies option enabled, you will automatically take over the units of any AI Allied forces/reinforcements during Manual Combat. When Multiplayer Takeover is enabled in multiplayer games, players are able to step in and take over AI controlled units in manual combat against other players.
Unknown Realms
When starting a new Game you can now choose to venture to an Unknown Realm. At the start of the game all Realm Traits are hidden and are gradually revealed throughout the session. Unknown Realm Traits can also be added to Custom Realms, these traits are automatically replaced with a random trait in-game and hidden until revealed.
Quality of Life and more
For each Major Update we don’t just work on new Content, Balance Changes or Fixes. We always try to dedicate some time to improvements that make the game easier or more accessible to use. With the Mystic Update we have a brand new set of Quality of Life Improvements for you to enjoy.
Developed a vast library of Custom & Pantheon Heroes and struggling to find who you want to play with next? Ruler Filters allow you to find exactly the Ruler you want by offering a wide variety of Filter Options. Item Forge Blueprints make forging items easier than ever, Animation Speeds Settings have been reworked so you can select a Default Animation Speed individually for the World Map and Combat ranging from Off to Very Fast.
Read the Full Patch Notes here
All You Need to Know About Eldritch Realms:
Watch the Feature Highlight videos:- What can kill you in Umbral Abyss? Eldritch Realms overview pt.1 by Fableheim
- Eldritch Sovereigns, new forms & tomes! Eldritch Realms Overview by Fableheim
- Eldritch Realms First Look: Syrons, Insects, New Ruler and Map Layer!
- Eldritch Realms First Look: What's in the Umbral Abyss? | Dev Stream
- Tome of Cleansing Flame & Story realm Sneak peek! | Eldritch Realms Dev Stream | Age of Wonders 4
