The Final Test of Dungeon Stalkers is approaching on June 25, 2025.
As we prepare for this final phase, we would like to reflect on the previous issues and concerns surrounding Dungeon Stalkers, share our internal deliberations, and explain the direction we’ve taken in development.
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1. Controversy over Genre Similarities and Lack of Originality
After the third test in August 2024, our development team redefined the game as a "light extraction" genre to enhance its competitiveness and sustainability.
Rather than launching as a fast follower of the existing genre, we prioritized adapting to the shifting market trends. Compared to when we first began development, the current gaming landscape places significantly more value on players' time and emphasizes solo-focused gameplay. One failed escape led to a more severe punishment than ever.
We've seen many excellent games strictly follow genre norms but ultimately fail to overcome these market challenges. So we knew we had to evolve.
In our efforts to survive and stand out, we adopted the term "light extraction" as a unique identity.
An example of us taking this new direction is how we simplified the game into three main modes:
- Quick Match Mode (a casual competitive mode without equipment loss)
- Ranked Mode (high risk, high reward)
- Adventure Mode (PvE-focused co-op exploration)
Each mode supports different playstyles:
Quick Match (3-player / solo)
This PvEvP mode protects equipped gear and is designed to offer a lighter, more accessible extraction experience.
There are no shrinking zones and fixed escape routes are available, reducing pressure around survival and escape. Players can focus on fast-paced, aggressive gameplay, and even if they fail to escape, it’s easy to jump into the next match.
Ranked Match (3-player)
This PvEvP mode does not protect your equipment, embracing the intense tension unique to extraction games.
It offers higher-tier rewards, but with stronger monsters, shrinking zones, and no fixed escape routes.
This mode is deliberately designed to challenge player expectations and push their resource limits.
Survival is tough, and escape failure is common—ideal for players seeking tense, high-stakes looting and decision-making.
Adventure Mode
A PvE-only mode with no hostile players.
It’s meant to offer satisfaction through combat with monsters and dungeon exploration, with rewards slowly accumulating in your stash.
Once players are familiar with the monsters, the stress level is minimal—making it perfect for those who want a relaxing end to the day, exploring dungeons with charming Stalkers and filling their bags with loot.
Most content is available through this mode, and PvP is never forced by the system or content.
2. Balance
Balance encompasses many intertwined issues.
Key problems we tackled:
- Melee characters had lower survivability compared to ranged ones.
- Random equipment options had too much impact.
- Matchmaking did not account for equipment strength, often pairing under-geared players against opponents with absurdly powerful gear, leading to unfair and frustrating losses.
Difficulty Adjustments
We rebalanced class skills and monster difficulty, and added armor repair items to improve melee character survivability.
Matchmaking Improvements
We introduced MMR (matchmaking rating) and gear score, enabling tier-based matchmaking to ensure more balanced pairings.
Future Plans
We plan to further tune Ranked Mode difficulty and add a teaming penalty system.
3. Farming and Reward Satisfaction
Previously, item variety was lacking, and there were no "jackpot" high-value items.
Low-tier treasure items were basically dead weight in your inventory.
Through improvements, we’ve added:
- Valuable items that you would want to keep in your safe bag
- High-grade crafting materials
- Rare monster collectibles
- Fixed structural issues with treasure items, enhancing their relative value
Farming Variety
More content = more item types: legendary crafting materials, rare resources, collectibles, treasures, etc.
We've focused on diversifying the decision-making around what to take in your limited inventory space.
Treasure Item System Overhaul
Treasure items now stack by rarity, allowing more efficient use of inventory slots.
Even low-rarity treasures can be collected in bulk to achieve high value.
Adventure Coins
A new universal currency earned through any form of gameplay.
They can be spent on rune systems, seasonal content rewards, and eventually to purchase Stalkers themselves.
Blueprints
Unresetting seasonal rewards called Blueprints were added as a final seasonal goal.
We’re developing content that allows players to craft legendary items with these, especially during Early Access.
A few of these crafting experiences will be available during the Final Test.
4. Server and Technical Issues
To address the technical issues reported in previous tests, we took several actions:
Anti-Cheat & Lag
We enhanced our anti-cheat solution and server-side validation to reduce both lag and cheating.
Kill Cam & Reporting
Kill cam and a connected reporting system were added to help trace and remove cheaters.
We plan to improve this with a more advanced ban/report system in the future.
5. UI/UX & New Player Accessibility
We overhauled the entire UI and made broad UX improvements.
You’ll be able to experience the updated interface in the Final Test.
Future Plans
Post-Final Test, we’ll update the lobby scene and in-game HUD.
6. Character Design Issue
We remain open-minded on how to best express the appeal of our characters and are committed to not repeating past mistakes.
We are sincerely sorry to all the users who supported us, and we understand it won’t be easy to regain your trust.
We ask that you continue to watch our new Stalkers and costumes—and keep giving us feedback and criticism to help us stay on track.
Body Shape Adjustments
Hilda has been modified, with bigger proportions to fit a bigger torso size.
Costumes
We’ve added a variety of new costumes, with more planned.
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It’s been a long time since we last showcased the game.
Looking back, Dungeon Stalkers had many flaws and failed to carve out a competitive edge in the market.
Without refining the game over time, we would have remained just a faint star among countless outstanding titles from talented studios.
Thanks to long, dedicated efforts, Dungeon Stalkers is still far from perfect, but it has finally taken shape—enough to show itself to all of you.
Through the Final Test and Early Access, the game will continue to grow in a clearer direction, shaped by your feedback.
We hope you’ll join us on that journey.
We look forward to meeting you in the dungeon.
Thank you.
