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Dungeon Defenders: Awakened

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Dungeon Defenders Awakened (DDA) is an action-defense roleplaying game created and developed by Chromatic Games. It was released in early access on Steam on February 21, 2020 and fully on May 28, 2020. Xbox One and Nintendo Switch ports were later released in March and August of 2021 respectively.

Awakened is based on the original Dungeon Defenders, having most of its gameplay elements at the time it fully released back in October 2011. It is a sequel to Dungeon Defenders II.

Official Description[]

Dungeon Defenders: Awakened is co-op Tower Defense combined with epic Action RPG combat. You’re able to join forces with up to four players to take on a never-ending army of orcs, demons, and dragons! Are your defenses strong enough to save the world of Etheria?

Development[]

Awakened was first revealed through a Kickstarter campaign in March 2019, coupled with a video trailer showcasing the game's visuals. The Kickstarter was a success, surpassing its funding goal of $250,000 USD. The game was built using Unreal Engine 4 which allows video game developers to work more efficiently compared to the previous generation.

The staff behind Awakened's development is considerably larger than the original Trendy team who made DD1. Portraits of every person involved in the project can be found inside the Tavern's secret room which is accessible after defeating the Ancient Dragon.

Changes from Dungeon Defenders 1[]

*According to post-Lycan's Keep updates (4 August 2021- ).

Gameplay[]

  • Nightmare
  • The Defender's Forge has been removed, since all of its functions have been repurposed elsewhere.
  • Heroes always respawn a few seconds after dying in combat, regardless of difficulty level (unless Hardcore Mode is enabled).
  • Mana is split into two types:
    • "Ability Mana" is used for the hero's activated abilities, including Heal Self. It regenerates overtime while not in use. Genie pets replenish this type of mana. It cannot be transferred to other players.
    • "Build Mana" is the traditional resource. Its purposes are the same as in DD1, outside the aforementioned ability mana. DDA brings a number of quality-of-life changes to this type of mana:
      • At the start of each Build Phase, build mana is evenly distributed to players automatically. Treasure chests no longer spawn scattered across maps. The singular chests that do spawn after the first wave only contain loot.
      • Smaller mana gems merge into larger ones of equivalent value, rather than despawn in-place of others. No mana on the ground from defeated enemies gets wasted.
      • Players can hold up to 99,999 mana, as opposed to 2,020 max.
      • It carries over to ALL of the player's heroes. They no longer have to drop the mana when switching between heroes.
      • Players always auto-drop their mana when they leave the host's game; no more accidental 'mana theft.'
  • The number of Eternia Crystals and enemy spawn points (besides Spiders) on a map can vary by difficulty level.
    • In the Lava Mines on Insane and above, there is a second crystal to the northeast which has two additional sets of Creep Doors and one Wyvern flight path leading to it.
  • Adjusting the camera zoom level keeps the game camera's third-person over-the-shoulder perspective.
    • Previously, zooming in enters a first-person perspective while zooming out sets the camera to an angled top-down view.

Maps and Missions[]

  • The 15 maps at launch are organized into three acts and "encores." Encores are optional; they are not required to progress through the game's difficulty levels.
  • Displaying the tactical map is toggled with a button/key press, rather than holding down/letting go of it. The new topographic map is dark gray and shows elevations in finer detail.
  • Enabling Hardcore raises the overall loot quality ceiling less: 15% on Easy-Insane, 25% on Nightmare and Massacre. Build timers starting on Insane are only present when playing on Hardcore.
  • Mix Mode makes some enemies spawn in greater numbers, namely Dark Elf Mages and Warriors.
  • The boss of a given map spawns on the final wave of Survival, not just Campaign.
  • Survival, Mix Mode and Pure Strategy cannot be started on the first or second wave prior to when a pet is awarded midway through the mission. In a sense, this is to prevent players from missing the reward and ensures that at least three waves must be cleared.

Phases

  • Every mission starts with a Warm-Up Phase which gives players unlimited time to study the map before they start building and any potential timers.
  • During Build Phases on all maps, all enemy pathways to each core are traced with purple flares (in DD1, only Embermount Volcano has this feature for grounded enemies).
    • Ground enemies will not deviate from these paths unless provoked by a nearby hero or defense.
    • Wyvern flight paths are also shown if the incoming wave contains them. Where Goblin Copters intend to drop off their Ogres is not indicated.
  • Transitioning from the Warm-Up Phase to the first Build Phase and then readying for each Combat Phase now requires holding down the input briefly.
    • Players can unready for combat if they readied accidentally, a saving grace for Survival Mode and its variations.
    • The host can hold Control + G for a few seconds to force-ready everyone.
  • Boss fights are titled: Boss Phase.
    • If Hardcore is enabled, enemies will not drop mana on death during this phase. All existing mana gems will despawn when the final wave's Combat Phase is finished.
  • Summary Phase is when the mission ends, whether it is a win or loss.
    • If players lose, they may still move around the map to pick up any loot.
    • Their defenses are not automatically removed; this lets them see how well they performed individually through inspection.

Returning Maps

Arcane Library

  • Overall difficulty has been decreased to accommodate for its earlier point in game progression.
    • Defense Units increased from 90 to 110.
    • All outdoor sections are closed off, and enemy pathways are fixated by the aforementioned flares.
    • Harbingers DO NOT spawn here (they do not even exist in DDA (at least for now)).

Heroes and Defenses[]

  • All heroes can double-jump and use most of their abilities while airborne.
  • All activated hero abilities (ex: Overcharge) can be used during Build Phases.
  • Hero Speed (now "Agility") and Casting Rate scale off of the hero's level, rather than dedicated stat numbers.
    • Agility increases the hero's base movement speed to 132% max, down from 200%. This cap is hit at hero level 50.
  • Ability 1 and Ability 2 ("Skill" and "Boost" in older versions of DDA) have been merged into a single Ability stat.
    • Numerous ability cooldowns also scale inversely with this stat.
  • Damage Resistances (physical/generic, poison, fire, etc.) are all compiled into a single "Armor" stat. Its cap is 75% damage reduction, down from 90%.
  • Physical defenses with Armor have their amount displayed when inspected. This caps at 60% damage reduction.
  • All wall-type defenses (ex: Spike Blockade) display the lifetime amount of damage they have taken when inspected.
  • Defense range decals respect elevations in map geometry and have clean cyan borders.
  • Many defenses now have hard capped attack rates. This is most commonly either 0.25 or 0.5 seconds.
    • Excess Def. Rate gets converted into more damage per hit.
  • Tower target priorities can now be customized per individual hero:
    • Air: Prioritizes aerial non-boss enemies (Djinn, Wyverns and Goblin Copters).
    • Fodder: Prioritizes common low health enemies (Goblins, Dark Elf Archers, Orcs, etc.)
    • Special: Prioritizes the more dangerous enemy types, namely the four Nightmare enemies.
    • Strong: Prioritizes enemies with high health pools (Ogres, bosses, etc.)

Apprentice

  • Magic Missile Tower
    • DU cost reduced from 3 -> 2.
    • Increased projectile speed.
    • Now has 360° range. This increases by 20% per upgrade level. At max level, its attack range is doubled.
  • Fireball Tower
    • Renamed to "Flameburst Tower," matching the defense's name in DD2.
    • Increased projectile speed.
  • Magic Blockade
    • Renamed to "Elemental Blockade" (was "Elemental Barrier in older versions of DDA)
    • Health scaling now matches the Squire's Spike Blockade.
  • Lightning Tower
    • Can no longer chain to enemies through terrain.
    • Must recharge the moment its current is cut off from the main target, such as when that enemy dies or becomes out-of-range.
    • Indirect: Cannot attract Ogres from affair.
      • In DD1, long-ranged LTs are an invaluable asset to turn the attention of non-copter Ogres away from Eternia Crystals.
  • Deadly Striker Tower
    • Increased projectile and aiming speed. The DST spends less time actively preparing for its next shot.
  • Overcharge has been reworked.
    • Instead of increasing his casting rate, the Apprentice's secondary attack (Arcane Surge) becomes fully charged at all times.
    • All defenses in range of the surge will have their attack rate boosted for a short time.
  • Mana Bomb
    • Cooldown reduced from 45 -> 20 seconds.
    • The Apprentice can move freely while casting and detonating the bomb.
    • Explosion radius is projected over map geometry during use.
    • Damage type matches that of his equipped staff.

Squire

  • Base walking speed is faster.
  • Secondary weapon action is a shield throwing attack instead of blocking.
  • Harpoon Turret
    • Renamed to "Harpoon Tower."
    • Moved to the Squire's second defense slot.
    • Increased projectile speed.
    • Projectiles ignore map collision; the tower itself still needs line-of-sight to attack.
    • Reduced footprint size.
  • Bowling Ball Turret
    • Renamed to "Bowling Ball Tower."
    • Attack range is a much wider cone than before.
    • Projectiles explode when they hit an enemy, instead of ricocheting off of them.
  • Slice N Dice Blockade
    • Mana and DU costs reduced from 140 -> 100 and 8 -> 4 respectively.
    • Base health and health scaling more closely matches that of the Spiked Blockade.
    • No longer affected by the Defense Range stat. Enemy detection radius is fixed.
  • Circular Slice
    • Base cooldown increased to 7 seconds.
    • Has increased knockback and barely any anticipation or follow-through frames.
    • The Squire can move freely while performing the spin attack.
  • Blood Rage
    • Renamed to "Blood Boil."
    • Cooldown reduced to 5 seconds.
    • Now also increases the Squire's melee knockback and damage resistance while active (caps at 95% Armor).

Huntress

  • Traps (General)
    • Detonation circles are more opaque, thus being more visible.
    • No longer triggerable by players.
    • A placed trap is now selected for inspection and maintenance purposes by placing the player's cursor over their health bar or the prop located at its epicenter.
    • Range buffs apply to BOTH radii: detection and blast zones.
  • Proximity Mine Trap
    • Renamed to "Explosive Trap."
    • Explosives are now the only trap that supports chained activations.
  • Gas Trap
    • Renamed to "Poison Trap."
    • Can now suspend Goblin Copters.
    • Displays lifetime number of enemies stunned when inspected.
  • Inferno Trap
    • Multiple infernos cannot damage the same enemy at any given time.
  • Poison Dart Tower from DD2 replaces the Darkness Trap.
    • A physical defense that fires volleys of 3 non-piercing darts in a fan spread.
  • Ethereal Spike Trap
    • Renamed to "Thunder Spike Trap."
    • No longer detects aerial enemies higher above it than other traps.
  • Adrenaline Rush replaces Invisibility.
    • While active, the Huntress becomes more agile, increasing her attack rate, movement speed and jump height.
  • Piercing Shot
    • Renamed to "Phoenix Shot."
    • Base cooldown is longer.

Monk

  • No longer has superior pet damage scaling.
  • Auras (General)
    • Texture opacity is constant, making them more visible at all-times. No pulses are emitted from the aura's epicenter.
    • All auras have more health, but also lose health faster, ultimately leading them to cost more build mana to maintain.
    • Identical auras excluding Enrage can be summoned overlapping each other; effects will not stack.
    • Display how they lose health every second under their info box. Strength Drains exhaust faster than all other auras, even when idle (no enemies inside).
    • A placed aura is now selected for inspection and maintenance purposes by placing the player's cursor over the stand that marks their center point or the hidden health bar above.
      • Health bar height depends on the type of aura and is unaffected by Range modifiers. The varied positions make it easier to select auras within a tight stack.
    • A thin outline appears where an aura meets terrain; this gives players a more clear idea of how far the sphere reaches.
  • Ensnare Aura
    • Now slows Djinn.
    • No longer has its potency decreased on Nightmare.
    • Inspecting the aura displays its lifetime number of enemies slowed.
  • Healing Aura
    • DU cost reduced from 4 -> 2.
    • Color changed from magenta to emerald green.
    • Players hear a sound loop while inside and a different one for when they exit the aura.
    • No longer placeable directly on top of cores.
  • Strength Drain Aura
    • On Easy-Insane, it requires far less Power/Damage than before to reach its hard-cap of -80% enemy attack damage.
    • However, it longer affects bosses and is significantly weakened on Nightmare and the new Massacre difficulty.
    • Inspecting the aura displays its lifetime number of enemies weakened.
  • Enrage Aura
    • Enrage chance caps at 65%, down from 93%.
    • Effect wears off after a specified duration, rather than the moment the enemy exits it.
    • Inspecting the aura displays its lifetime number of enemies enraged.
  • Tower Boost
    • Now deploys a stationary field to boost defenses within a small fixed-size radius for a fixed duration.
    • Does not repair affected defenses overtime by default.
    • Potency scaling has changed.
  • Hero Boost
    • Increases the movement speed of ally heroes, in addition to their damage output. However, allies receive a lesser damage boost than the Monk himself.
    • Area of effect is shown by a purple circle around the Monk, rather than pulses.
    • No longer regenerates health overtime.
    • Cooldown reduced from 22 to 5 seconds.

Series EV

  • Renamed to "Series EV-A," as in Awakened.
  • Base walking speed reduced.
  • Beam defenses show their length in meters under their info box.
  • Reflection Beam
    • Renamed to "Reflect Field."
    • Moved to EV's second defense slot.
    • Boasts a new diamond pattern look which makes it far less obtrusive.
    • Health represents the exact number of projectiles the field can send back before going down.
    • Accounts for the angle of elevation/depression of incoming projectiles (in DD1, reflected projectiles always travel horizontally, along the XY plane).
    • Description explicitly states the fact it cannot block boss projectiles. There are currently zero exceptions to this rule.
    • Inspecting the barrier displays the total number of projectiles it has reflected.
  • Heat Cannon replaces the Physical Beam.
    • Costs ? mana and ? DU.
    • A physical defense that roasts through all enemies over a short-ranged cone.
  • Plasma Defense System replaces the Shock Beam.
    • Costs 150 mana and 8 DU.
    • A 360° long-ranged physical defense with perfect accuracy and muli-targeting.
    • However, unlike a DST, the PDS requires line-of-sight and has an inner dead zone radius where it cannot target enemies.
    • Upgrades expand both the dead zone and attack range.
  • Tower Buff Beam (now "Overclock Beam")
    • A faint pulse appears around boosted defenses, instead of converging red lines.
    • Base DU cost reduced from 4 -> 3.
    • Maximum length for 5 DU beams compared to 6 DU is proportionately shorter than before.
    • No longer buffs defenses that are only touching either node. They must touch the beam itself.
    • No longer goes down if a buffed defense is sold outside of a Build Phase.
    • The scaling for stat increases have changed:
      • Values are displayed as percentages, as opposed to multipliers.
      • Buff Beams improve less per upgrade level and boost defenses less overall.
      • The Defense Range and Attack Rate boosts are weaker. Neither of them will realistically surpass 20% and 50% respectively.
    • Technical: Two Buff Beams cannot "boost" the same defense(s). In DD1, the player can place one beam to expand the size of auras and traps, place a second beam within the added range, then sell the first beam. The defenses remain buffed due to the second beam. This trick does not work in Awakened.
  • Proton Charge Blast (now "Energy Cannon") has been reworked for the new hero mana system:
    • No longer has a mana charging period; EV starts firing the beam after a brief charge up.
    • Consumes a chunk of mana to activate, then drains her mana overtime.
    • Equipping a Genie will elongate the beam's duration, as long as it is damaging enemies.
    • Attack range reaches further away.
    • Does not have a cooldown.
  • Swapping between weapons has a short cooldown.

Summoner

  • Renamed to "Outcast Summoner."
  • Normalized Casting Rate scaling.
  • Hovering
    • Max duration reduced from 15 -> ? seconds.
    • Increased movement speed.
  • Removed:
  • Minion Commands have been simplified:
    • From the Action Wheel in DD1, Move Defensive is the only command to effectively return.
  • Minions in general behave significantly closer to normal towers in DDA than they do in DD1.
    • All minions occupy Defense Units instead of their own independent resource.
    • Can be banished by Djinn, pushed by Sharken and distracted by Goblin Copter flares.
    • Drastically improved attack rate scaling. External rate buffs properly benefit them too.
    • Minions have entity collision active at all times and cannot pass through Eternia Crystals.
  • Spider Minion
    • Now costs 3 DU.
    • Melee attack removed.
    • Drastically improved Range scaling.
  • Siren Minion replaces the Orc Minion.
    • Costs ? mana and 4 DU.
    • Fire magical exploding projectiles at enemies.
    • Adds 15% Armor to herself and all other physical defenses around her.
  • Mage Minion
    • Now costs 4 DU.
    • "Fireballs" are purely single-target and inflict generic damage by default instead of splash fire.
  • Ogre Minion
    • Now costs ? mana and 5 DU.
    • Snot ball attack is affected by Defense Range.
  • Overlord Mode
    • Toggle moved to the Summoner's secondary (i.e. right click) action.
    • Enter and exit animations are faster.
    • Some non-damaging pets will remain functional after turning on this ability (ex: Chromatic Gemstones, DDA's version of the Guardian pets).

Enemies[]

  • All enemies are far more responsive to nearby players.
  • Dark Elf Archers now wield crossbows. It takes them less time to fire arrows.
  • Ogres
    • Club swings are faster, but the delay between each sideswipe or overhead pound is longer. The latter does not produce damaging shockwaves or ever cause the screen to shake.
    • Snot balls take a few seconds to prepare before the Ogre throws one and are more accurate against stationary targets.
    • Almost-always attack whichever physical defense or hero is blocking their path to an Eternia Crystal, regardless of any heroes or defenses attacking from behind the obstacle.
    • Does not pause to roar when HP drops below 50%. They will also never hop occasionally when hugging up against a hero or physical defense.
    • Will attack enraged enemies in close proximity.
    • Health bar is displayed on the tactical map.
  • Skeletons
    • Both animations for dying and resurrecting are faster and unaffected by slows.
    • No longer target cores.
  • Dark Elf Warriors
    • Run up to attack their target hero extremely fast, to a point that no hero can outrun them before they attempt to strike. Once they start sprinting, Ensnare Auras cannot slow them.
    • Carry a single two-handed broadsword, instead of two jagged blades.
    • Heroes do not suffer knockback when hit by a warrior.
  • Spiders
    • Gather around cores when they do not see anything to attack, despite being unable to damage them.
    • Can web themselves due to a Reflect Field bouncing back their web balls.
    • Heroes, defenses and enemies webbed by opposing Spiders take more than double damage.
  • Djinn
    • Attack heroes more frequently when targeting them.
    • Enemies buffed by Djinn have converging gold rays, whereas previously their entire body would turn golden.
    • Channel time to de-summon a defense is 8 seconds.
    • Health bar is displayed on the tactical map.
  • Sharken
    • Standard melee attacks no longer catapult heroes hit.
    • They can see physical defenses from much further away. Basically, a shark will start to wind up the moment they have a line-of-sight and straight path to their target.
  • Goblin Copter
    • All possible spawn locations are marked during Build Phases.
    • There is a limit to the number of copters allowed on the map at any given time. This limit scales with the number of players, starting at two for solo play.
    • Falls slower during death animation. A defeated copter will not explode if it doesn't crash into anything within a certain amount of time.
    • After deploying their Ogre, the copter will only bombard heroes, never defenses; their rockets travel faster.
    • Copter Ogres wear a propeller hat instead of a bomber hat with a single goggle. They always go after physical defenses before heroes, unless one of the latter gets in their way.
      • These Ogres are also distinguished from regular Ogres on the tactical map.
      • Copter Ogres never drop mana on death.
    • Health bars for Goblin Copters are displayed on the tactical map.

Bosses[]

All three of the classic DD1 bosses have been redesigned. Their respective maps build anticipation as players progress to the fight. Upon clearing the 'final' wave, players have exactly 30 seconds to prepare before the boss spawns. Each boss's intro cinematic is pre-rendered. These boss monsters also have their own subtitles:

  • Demon Lord - The Conjured Calamity
    • Fire trails are less obtrusive and their DoT tick rate is slower.
    • Telegraph for fireballs is less abrupt.
    • Activating all four pylons to stun the boss inflicts a single chunk of damage, instead of continuous damage overtime.
  • The Goblin Mech - The Technological Terror
    • Its spawn point (which has not changed) is marked by a portal that begins expanding on the semi-final waves.
    • The mech has a more clean technologically advanced design.
    • Rockets have improved homing ability.
  • The Ancient Dragon - Devourer of Dreams
    • His visual design is drastically different from before.
    • The mounted ballistas used to shoot down the dragon fire instantaneously, the moment a player interacts with it. Their reloading animation is also more visually dynamic.
    • All three of his attacks while perched are telegraphed more clearly.
      • Fire breath is less obtrusive and its DoT tick rate is slower.

Equipment[]

  • Weapons and pets can only have "Hero" stats (Vitality, Attack, Ability).
  • Armor and accessories can only have "Defense" stats.
  • Any upgraded item can be "reforged," undoing all upgrades made without a gold refund.

Weapons

  • Removed elemental (secondary) damage stat.
  • Damage is the only weapon-specific stat that can be upgraded. All other attributes (excluding bonus passive effects) are baked into the weapon itself.
  • Staves
    • Magic bolts cannot be charged up. Only the primary attack button has to be held down to auto-fire.
    • The secondary attack ("Arcane Surge") does significantly more damage charged up and does not stop the user's movement.
  • Squire (Melee) Weapons
    • Have minimal anticipation and attacking frames, but long pauses after each swing before the next one.
  • Huntress Weapons (Firearms)
    • Fire rate can be under 1 shot/second.
    • Never have to reload. Secondary action is replaced with a grenade that can launch players without hurting them.
  • Monk Weapons (Polearms)
    • Melee and ranged attacks use the same base damage value. Ranged damage per projectile is exactly half the amount of melee strikes.
    • Ranged attack's projectile count scales with the user's level, starting at 1 and going up to 8.
  • No given Squire or Monk weapon varies in size.
  • Standard melee weapon attacks have a chance to land critical hits, dealing extra damage.

General

  • Mission victory rewards and Survival pets are now presented through private chests.
    • To prevent item theft, only the player with the same username displayed above the chest can open it and take its contents. The player can switch to a different hero before unboxing to decide which weapon type(s) they get.
  • Loot drops are instanced per individual player, rather than shared by everyone in the lobby.
  • Hero level requirements to equip an item are based on its "Quality" value, rather than the item's base quality tier exclusively (Legendary, Mythical, etc).
  • The amount and order of item rarity tiers have changed. The new tiers and corresponding colors from lowest to highest quality are as follows:
    • Common (Gray)
    • Uncommon (Green)
    • Rare (Blue)
    • Epic (Purple)
    • Legendary (Orange)
    • Mythical (Red)
    • Transcendent (Yellow)
    • Godly (Cyan)
    • Supreme (Lavender)
  • Items have less upgrade levels across the board, but will never roll with negative stats.
  • Gold replaces banked mana as the currency to buy, sell and upgrade equipment.
  • The default armor set bonus is 40%, regardless of item quality.
  • Damage reduction from worn armor caps out at 75% (vs. 90% in DD1).
    • The Armor stat cannot be upgraded.
    • In order to achieve the new DR cap on Nightmare, the hero needs 138% Armor total, as opposed to 164% (assuming a 40% set bonus).

Pets

  • Attack rate and all other attributes shared with weapons cannot be upgraded.
  • Most returning pets have been renamed or replaced with one that has similar effects:
  • Survival pet rewards of some returning maps have been changed:
  • Giraffe on Treadmill increases the hero's casting rate by 20%.
  • Pet Rock (now "Mista Mine") halves the hero's net movement speed, instead of setting their Speed/Agility stat to zero. It also increases casting rate by 30%.
  • Removed upgrade level restrictions as to when special pet attributes (ex: Propeller Cat boost intensity) can be increased.

Interface[]

  • All numbers over 9,999 are displayed in single-letter notation by default: 'k' for thousands, 'm' for millions, etc.
  • The camera angle when managing defenses can be toggled between top-down (DD1 style) and freeform (DD2 style) perspectives.
    • The player can also jump with either perspective set.
  • The ranges of all nearby towers can be displayed/hidden with a toggle key/button.

Inventory[]

  • The inventory screen has been completely overhauled.
  • Many more items are displayed per page in the item box, as opposed to twelve (12) at-max.
  • The player's box starts at 525 capacity, as opposed to 320.
  • Items can be sorted automatically into various categories.
  • The player has nine "bags" which serve as customizable item filters.
  • Items that are filtered out will not be locked/unlocked or sold by the actions "Lock/Unlock All" and "Sell All" respectively.
  • Skill points can be freely redistributed anytime outside a Combat or Boss Phase.

New Features[]

  • Massacre, a difficulty level above Nightmare.
    • Unlocked by completing The Summit on Nightmare Campaign. At least one level 83+ hero is required.
    • Enemies are colored dark gray by default.
    • If the map's boss is defeated on this difficulty level, the victory chest will contain an unique super-powerful weapon.
    • Further reduces the hero's weapon and pet damage and their projectile velocities.
    • The attack/effect rate of all defenses is reduced. Gas Trap charges last half as long.
    • All traps have even less charges than they do on Nightmare and a smaller detection radius.
    • Deadly Striker Tower range reduced by 30%.
    • Electric Aura deals more damage per tick: 75% higher than Insane, compared to 12.5% on Nightmare.
  • The Siren, a new enemy type that spawns on Massacre difficulty.
    • Classified as a "special" enemy.
    • Can grant 50% universal damage reduction to all non-boss enemies around her.
    • This witch has two different attacks:
      • Casts a magical explosion at the player's current location. This spell is telegraphed by a circular AoE decal.
      • Fires a powerful exploding projectile at a player, physical defense or Eternia Crystal. If her target is a player, she will attempt to predict their movement, aiming in front of the direction they are currently moving in.
  • The Lycan, a new enemy introduced in Act IV.
    • Classified as a "special" enemy.
    • Howls to buff enemies around it.
      • Rallied enemies take reduced damage and gain more health and attack damage.
      • Potency increases every time the Lycan is hit while howling up to a cap.
    • Has ~50% of a non-Copter Ogre's health.
    • Deadly Striker Towers have very high target priority on this enemy by default.
  • Hero Deck (ported from DD2).
    • Up to six (6) heroes can be stored in the player's deck to quick-swap between during a non-Combat Phase. The player's build mana supply carries over to ALL of their heroes.
    • All heroes in the deck gain experience points, even if they do not participate in combat. The amount each hero receives is unaffected by the number of them within the deck. The active hero will earn the same amount of experience under a full hero deck as they would alone.
    • Defenses deal 20% more damage if their builder is in the deck. They do not have to be active in combat. This builder bonus is referred to as Proficiency.
    • The deck's hero class composition influences which weapon types enemies can drop for the player, though the odds strongly favor what their currently active hero can use.
  • Rift Mode, a new gameplay toggle that is compatible with Hardcore.
    • Total number of enemies per wave is less, and the minimum overall quality of loot is increased. However, all enemies will spawn as deep dark purple "rifted" versions.
    • Rifted enemies have more health, deal more damage and have additional properties. For example: Rifted Dark Elf Mages heal enemies in a larger radius and summon explosive Skeletons. Rifted Dark Elf Warriors are invisible to ALL non-fusion towers, and their attacks sap ability mana from players.
    • "Fusion" weapons, armors and pets are exclusively obtained from this mode. Fusion is a new purple element. As a damage type, nothing is immune to it. Rifted enemies take double damage from this element. Equipping a full set of fused armor converts the element of one of the hero's defenses to fusion.
      • This set bonus only applies to heroes in the player's deck.
    • The Siren is already a rifted enemy, even when Rift Mode is disabled. She is therefore weak to fusion weapons and pets.
    • Completing a mission in Rift Mode may reward the player with one of many 'cosmetic' mask accessories of an enemy. Which fused armor piece(s) they earn guarantee depends on the map and whether or not it was cleared on Campaign or Survival/Mix Mode.
      • Ex: A Fused Primitive Hollow (helmet) is always awarded for beating Rifted Survival in The Deeper Well, Ancient Mines or Lava Mines.
  • Auto-Loot Option (adopted from DD2)
    • Players are able to automatically pickup loot after each wave that falls within customizable criteria.
  • Transmog
    • By talking to the Blacksmith in the Tavern, the player can freely customize the appearance of their heroes.
    • Once any given weapon or accessory is placed in the player's inventory for the first time, that item can be displayed on a hero permanently, regardless of what they actually have equipped. Its colors can be altered as well.
    • Accessories can be hidden on a slot-by-slot basis.

Heroes[]

Warden[]

  • The Dryad from Terraria and Dungeon Defenders II reimagined.
  • Fights with polearms instead of swords. Secondary attack tosses an exploding seed. She can pick it up afterwards to gain a short buff.
Abilities[]

Wrath Form

  • Increases all damage dealt by the Warden and alters the in-combat mechanics of both herself and her defenses.

Mushroom Circle

  • Sprouts a cluster of mushrooms that heal heroes in it.
  • Wrath turns them poisonous, damaging and slowing enemies on contact.
Defenses[]

Roots of Purity (1 DU)

  • All of the Warden's other defenses need to be built within this blockade's effect radius and depend on it in order to function.
  • Slowly heals heroes in range, based on a percentage of their max HP.
  • Enemies in range take poison damage overtime if the builder is in Wrath Form.
  • Upgrading the roots boosts its range by a flat percent.

Wisp Den (4 DU)

  • Contains wisps that fly out to swarm enemies that come near, even if they are behind cover.
  • Shares DST target priority.
  • Wrath increases damage and attack rate.
  • Upgrading the den boosts its range by a flat percentage.

Beaming Blossom (5 DU)

  • Channels a solar beam in bursts, dealing continuous fire damage to a single target.
  • Wrath makes the beam pierce through enemies.

Shroomy Geyser (? DU)

  • Shroomies, short mushroom-headed beings, are launched out to self-destruct on enemies and inflict ensnaring poison damage.
  • Wrath causes the explosions to leave behind lingering clouds which deal damage overtime.

Sludge Launcher (? DU)

  • A slow-firing cannon that deals high splash poison damage on-hit, then again over a larger AoE after a delay.
  • Wrath makes the sludge also briefly stun the splattered enemy.

Rogue[]

  • A stealthy agile fighter who wields two weapons at once: one melee, one ranged.
  • Rather than summoning defenses, he implants devices on his prey after marking them with his attacks. Up to 8 targets can be marked at a time by default.
Abilities[]

Umbral Form

  • Renders the Rogue invisible to almost all enemies, increases his movement speed and damage, adds health regeneration and enhances all non-Device abilities.
  • Lasts for 5-10 seconds.

Carnage

  • A deadly spin attack of countless short-ranged kunais. Quickly depletes ability mana overtime until cancelled.
  • Radius is 50% larger in Umbral Form.

Swift Assault

  • Lunges forward before striking.
  • In Umbral Form, a single deadly kunai is thrown instead.

Disengage

  • Damages enemies in front while backflipping away.
  • In Umbral Form, this attack also roots the enemy in place for a short time.
Devices[]

Arching

  • Deals one instance of lightning damage and stuns the target(s).

Noxious

  • Deals poison damage overtime and slows targets for the device's duration.

Napalm

  • Deals fire damage overtime and reduces the targets' damage resistances.
Guardian[]
  • ??
  • Defenses are Egyptian/Arabic themed.
Abilities[]
Defenses[]

Holy Bulwark

  • Costs ? mana and 2 DU.
  • A blockade that redirects all damage taken by other nearby defenses to itself. Redirected damage is further reduced by the bulwark's Armor stat(s).

Empowering Shrine

  • Costs ? mana and 3 DU.
  • Heroes in range deal more damage and regenerate +5 ability mana every second.
  • Upgrading the shrine increases its range by a flat percentage.

Owl Perch

  • Costs ? mana and 3 DU.
  • The owl flies between enemies, hitting each one exactly once before returning to rest.
  • Has 360° range, but requires line-of-sight.

Holy Cannon

  • Shots apply a stackable fire DoT to enemies.

The Obelisk

  • Channels an electric beam at enemies to damage and curse (ensnaring) them.


Runes[]

Maps and Challenges[]

Ancient Mines

  • A relatively simple map set above a ravine.
  • While Goblin Copters are not introduced here on Nightmare Campaign, they will spawn in Survival and Mix Modes.

Lava Mines

  • A large map with a second section that opens up when played on Insane difficulty or higher.
    • On Easy-Hard, 60 DU is provided to defend a single crystal.
    • On Insane and above, 90 DU is given to defend an additional crystal in the northeastern half.
  • Wyverns are introduced here on all difficulty levels and copters on Nightmare.

Tornado Valley

  • ...

Tornado Highlands

  • ...

The Promenade

  • The new semifinal map of the classic campaign.

The Mill

The Outpost

  • An autumn reimagining of the DD2 map Drakenfrost Resort.
  • Supplies 140 DU to defend two crystals separated by a poisonous river.

The Keep

  • The "Finale" of Act IV. Three crystals have to be defended with 145 DU available.
  • Hardest map introduced in Episode 1.
  • The Lycan King boss is fought here.

Tests[]

  • One-on-one boss rematches in which players use one of two preset heroes provided.
  • Defenses cannot be summoned, and there are no Eternia Crystals to defend.
  • The boss must be defeated within the time limit and limited supply of lives.
  • Passing these tests only yield cosmetic items which are equipable via Transmog.

Pets[]

Chromatic Gemstones

  • Replace the hero guardians. They boost a single stat of the nearest 1-4 applicable defenses to the hero and are obtainable by clearing The Summit.

Misc.[]

  • Ragdoll physics are simulated when enemies die, especially to hefty knockback.
  • Most of the music from DD1 has been remixed.

Reception[]

Dungeon Defenders: Awakened received generally positive reviews from critics at launch. The game was praised for its visuals, gameplay and return to the series' roots. Criticism was aimed towards a lack of original content and a problematic online matchmaking system.

The PC version initially received mixed user reviews on Steam, due to broken promises on Chromatic's behalf. Players who bought Awakened in early-access were also told that their save data would not be transferable to the full release. Chromatic later released a transfer tool, allowing them to continue playing without restarting from scratch. Awakened remains a highly decisive installment to this day by series fans, similar to its prequel. Some DD1 PC players argue that Redux is what this newest game should have been.

Console Ports[]

DDA was originally going to launch on Nintendo Switch first under a six-month exclusivity period, before the game could release on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. This plan was later changed to prioritize the Xbox version before the other two consoles.

Post-Launch Updates and DLC[]

The first major update to Awakened after launch, 1.1, reintroduced Series EV as "Series EV-A," added Survival Mode to the new Massacre difficulty, customizable inventory filters, and more.

Update 1.2 - Corruption of the Rift was released on December 9, 2020 which added a new Rift Mode toggle, similar to Hardcore Mode. The Transmog feature allows players to further customize the appearance of their heroes. This update also nerfed the Squire's (at the time existing) Block ability by adding a stamina meter to it, due to players creating "an unhealthy meta" by replacing some wall-type defenses with Squires blocking indefinitely while their pet attacks surrounding enemies (thus saving Defense Units). Chromatic explains that this nerf (tying a resource to Block) was necessary to not lessen the amount of DU on future maps added to the game.

Update 1.3 was a smaller update that made Mix Mode playable on Massacre. Given that there is no exact Survival loot quality modifier shared across all maps, the quality ceiling will always be higher than any other Survival variant.

Episodic Content[]

On April 9, 2021, Chromatic announced episodic content and its structure. Each episode released will contain three throwback maps to previous Dungeon Defenders games, a new, never-before seen enemy type, a brand new map coupled with an original boss fight and two heroes: one throwback and one entirely new. They later introduced a public test realm (PTR) where PC players can test and give feedback on upcoming features. Any progress made in the PTR will not transfer over to the update's full release.

Episode 1 - The Lycian's Keep[]

Episode 1 released on August 4, 2021 for PC and Xbox versions. The four maps it added are grouped into Act IV: The Mill, The Outpost, The Keep and Foundries and Forges. Act IV introduces the Lycan, a werewolf that howls to buff all enemies around it, as opposed to one ally a time like a Djinn. The Warden is the Dryad's spiritual successor, while the Rogue is brand new to the Dungeon Defenders franchise. The latter is a "DPS only" hero, similar to the Barbarian; instead of defenses, his attacks mark enemies which allow him to then implant devices on them.

The first episode also brought with it massive changes to the inventory screen, equipment and stats. Upon updating to Episode 1 or later, all pre-existing equipment is rerolled and the player is refunded approximately all of the gold they originally spent on upgrade levels. One of the most controversial changes enforced was hard defense rate caps. Many damage-dealing towers can no longer attack faster than 2-4 times per second; any excess speed increases get converted into more damage per hit. One PC player posted a negative Steam review on Episode 1's launch date expressing disgust at Chromatic for not only committing to this change under intense backlash, but overall mechanically downgrading "an already released PC game to become a Switch game instead of making two version(s), or figuring out another way."

Episode 2[]

The

Hinted and Mentioned Features[]

Heroes

Like its two predecessors, more heroes are planned to be added to Awakened overtime. According to Chromatic Games' feedback website, the Summoner from DD1 was the most requested hero, beating out the Jester and Barbarian by a wide margin.

On the same day Dungeon Defenders: Going Rogue was released into early access, the Outcast was revealed to be the Summoner reimagined for Episode 2 of DDA. His defenses do not use Minion Units.

"Otherwise it (the Outcast) just becomes a forced hero that you have to use and rebalance the game around." - @Philip#7873 on Discord.

Splitscreen Co-Op

Trivia[]

  • The new Siren enemy first appeared in an early cinematic trailer for Dungeon Defenders II.
  • Foundries and Forges can be seen in an early trailer for DDA, long before its proper debut in Episode 1.
  • There was data found inside the game for an unused Ultimate quality item tier and the classic campaign maps from DD1 that did not make it into DDA at launch (Foundries and Forges, Servants Quarters, Castle Armory and Hall of Court). These four maps were all marked with "DLC."
  • Rift Mode shares some similarities to DD1 Redux's Ruthless Mode:
    • Both are additional difficulty toggles that improve loot drops and map rewards overall.
    • There are less enemies per wave (but are generally more bulky), allowing for faster wave and map completion times.
  • The four young heroes' redesigns have visual elements that resemble their respective mother/father:
  • Prior to the Warden's official reveal the same week, her silhouette led many DD fans to believe she was either the Jester or Dryad.
  • Awakened has several cosmetic items that reference DD1, such as the Summoner's Hood and paper masks of the Apprentice, Squire, Huntress and Monk's original designs.

PC System requirements[]

*Taken from the Steam Store Page.

Minimum[]

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 10 (64-bit Only)
  • Processor: Intel Core i3-3210 or AMD FX-4350
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 or AMD Radeon HD 7750
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Network: Broadband Internet connection
  • Storage: 30 GB available space
  • Additional Notes: Shader Model 5 GPU Required

Recommended[]

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 10 (64-bit Only)
  • Processor: Intel Core i7-4770K or AMD Ryzen 5 1500X
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 or AMD RX 470
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Network: Broadband Internet connection
  • Storage: 30 GB available space
  • Additional Notes: Shader Model 5 GPU Required


Screenshots[]

Videos[]

External links[]

References[]

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