Birds chirping. Breeze blowing. Leaves growing. Springtime is here!

At least, that’s what we’ve heard. For us, this Spring means staying indoors and getting Dungeon Defenders II ready to leave Early Access (which we’ll talk about in more detail in the near future). We’re tying up loose ends, fixing the biggest issues, squashing the biggest bugs, and polishing the most visible areas. The Spring Forward Update is the beginning of this process, and you’ll see more improvements in our regular patches after the update lands.

So when will the Spring Forward Update come out? How about next Tuesday, April 18th? Does that work for you? Cool. We’ll put that down in our calendars then – April 18th: Make Great Spring for Glorious Playerbase Nation. Done!

Here’s what’s in the update:

Two New Chaos Tiers

We told you the next Chaos tiers would happen soon! This update adds Chaos VI and VII, and with it comes two new enemies, better loot, and most of the Shards that were disabled in Patch 19.5.

So what fearsome new enemies are we adding now?



Hex Throwers
With their mighty javelins, Hex Throwers curse your defenses from long range! You’ll first encounter these Olympic rejects in Chaos VI.



Kobolts
Keep your eyes on the skies! These flying EMP Kobolds disable your defenses when they explode! You’ll first encounter what is sure to be everyone’s favorite enemy in Chaos VII.

Beyond these new Chaos tiers, we’re continuing to investigate changes to our loot system, difficulty balance and economy. Look for improvements in the coming weeks!

Tower Skins Are Here

Finally! This was by far the biggest system we needed before our Early Access exit since many of you purchased a certain Collector’s Pack a long time ago and have been patiently waiting on certain Tower Skins. This update includes 8 sets of Tower Skins available for purchase and the Collector’s Pack Tower Skins given to owners of the pack and to our Defense Council members.



Tower Skins
Tower Skins come in Sets, and each Set includes 4 Tower Skins – one for every defense in a hero’s kit! The first sets are for the Squire, Monk, Huntress and Apprentice, and Tower Skins for the other heroes are coming soon!

We've added a new Cosmetics tab in the Inventory, and this is where you'll equip Tower Skins (and eventually Costumes). In this tab, you can individually select which skin you want on which defense – so if you want the Corrupted Poison Dart Tower Skin and the Defense Council Blaze Balloon on the same Huntress, go for it!



Defense Council/Collector’s Pack Tower Skins
On the Store Page, we said we were going to make 4 Tower Skins for the Collector’s Pack – one tower skin apiece for the four original heroes. Well, we’re giving you 16 Tower Skins – that’s a skin for every Squire, Monk, Huntress and Apprentice defense! If you own the Collector’s Pack or if you’re a Defense Council member, you’ll find these Tower Skins when you login after the update comes out. Thanks for the support!

PC Controller Support

Speaking of support, in this update, we’re adding near-total PC controller support! Controllers will natively work for every command and every in-game menu except for the Options menu, which we’re hoping to get setup very soon!

Bag Auto Sorting

In this update, we’re adding an Auto Sort option to bags! When you select Auto Sort, items in the bag will re-organize by type (Weapons, Armor, Consumables, etc.), and within that type sorting, items will organize by rarity (for example: Legendary Weapons, Mythical Weapons, Legendary Armor, Mythical Armor, Consumables, etc.) While this option is on, items will automatically sort based on these rules. If you wish to move items around in the bag, you’ll need to turn off the Auto Sort function.

Breaking the Assassin Cycle of Silence

Let me speak! In this update, we’re adding a 5-second protection between Assassin attacks while playing and a 10-second protection from Assassins after respawning. No more permanent chain-silencing!

Open Trials Matches on the Game Browser

Now you can view every open public Trials match on the Game Browser! This is perfect for finding the map to begin your win streak.

New Town Marketplace

Our world artists really went to town on the marketplace! *badumtish* But seriously, it’s amazing. New out-of-bounds scenery. New buildings. New skybox. It’s just one of those polish areas our world artists wanted to get in before we left Early Access!

The Emporium

Another feature we’ve been putting off is a unified shop, and as we’re approaching our exit from Early Access, now is the time to add it in! From this one single shop, you can find almost all of our in-game purchases. The Emporium is also available anywhere via the Pause Menu.

Crit Update

After Patch 19.5 came out, a lot of you told us that crits were OPOP. We believe you! We’re looking into it, and we think we’re zeroing in on the reasons why. We should have some changes for this in the update. Thanks for the feedback!

Bug Fixes

No update would be complete without bug fixes! This update fixes, among other things, a long-standing firing issue with the Skyguard that made itself more visible in Patch 19.5. The Skyguard was firing at 60% of its expected fire rate, but now this baby is singing. We also hear Slime Pits are affected by Defense Speed now! The full bug fix list will be available next Tuesday.