Available 30% off through the Steam Winter Sale, December 22 – January 5th

December 23, 2020 | HypeTrain Digital presents the next large Equipment Update II to Ink Stains Games’ Steam 2020 Top Seller RPG Stoneshard. This update will bring two brand new ability trees (Two-Handed Maces and Axes), a throwing system, a new skinning mechanic and new traps, a hearing system, new consumables, NPCs and enemies to the game. While the Equipment Update will be available starting Friday, December 25th, players will be able to pick up Stoneshard 30% off through the Steam Winter Sale, running from December 22nd till January 5th.

Here is some information on what awaits players in the update:

• Two-Handed Maces. One of the new ability trees — it has 10 abilities: 5 Actives and 5 Passives. Their overall theme is controlling the battlefield with Stuns, Dazes, Knockbacks, Debuffs while dealing large amounts of damage with powerful, but slow strikes.

• Two-Handed Axes. The second new ability tree of the update. This ability tree consists of 5 Actives and 5 Passives, focused around the same thing as one-handed axes — damage, Bleeding, and Injuries.

• Throwing System. Throwing is a new mechanic used for dealing extra damage to enemies from a distance.

  • Throwing items. Any item in the game can be thrown. The resulting distance, the amount and type of damage depend on a thrown item’s weight and material. Additionally, certain items have unique properties — for instance, clay and glass items shatter into pieces and deal piercing damage.

  • Weapon-throwing. Instead of weight and material, it takes a different factor into account – a weapon balance, which combines item weight and its aerodynamic properties. The better the balance, the further and more precise a throw will be, and the more damage it will deal upon connecting.

• Skinning mechanic. Killing an animal is now just a first step: in order to get pelts, meat, antlers etc, you’ll need to harvest them. To do so, you’ll need something sharp in your inventory: a dagger, an axe, or at least a sword. The way an animal is killed affects the quality of its pelt and meat.

• New Traps. There are new Fire and Poison traps that you can fall into. However, certain traps will be now available to players as well, such as Claw traps, Nets and Smoke bombs.

• Hearing System. The noise system will now work not just for your enemies, but your character as well, allowing you to better plan out your actions. As you explore the surface or dungeons, you’ll be able to hear enemy activity, which will mark their location on your screen.

• Berry Bushes. Berry bushes will come in handy if your character is starving. Depending on the biome, you’ll be able to encounter six berry types: bilberry, raspberry, blueberry, lingonberry, gooseberry, and barberry.

• New NPCs. Two new characters will be added to the game: Bran the Trapper and Unar the Scribe. The first one will be offering you some hunting gear, including the new traps, while the second one will be selling treatises in the Mannshire castle.

• New Consumables. A number of new narcotic substances were added to the game. Consuming them provides powerful buffs for a short period of time, however, you’ll have to pay for them with long and painful aftermath.

• New Enemies. This update adds 15 new brigand enemies, armed with two-handed maces and axes, and a few new minibosses, including the skeleton ones — eliminating the latter will be a part of a new contract.

• Balance adjustments, bug fixes and more! 

If you want to find out more about these new features, feel free to check out the corresponding devlogs on Steam: Two-Handed Maces, Two-Handed Axes, Throwing System, Skinning & New Traps and Other.

Stoneshard puts you in the shoes of a medieval mercenary in a dark and dangerous fantasy open-world. Craft your dream character with more than 100 abilities and 200 pieces of equipment. Take on contracts, fight dangerous monsters, and reap rewards, balancing the moving parts of a deep character development system that demands you manage your physical and mental health. In Stoneshard, there is no reward without risk, and you’ll risk it all with this unique blend of tactical, turn-based RPG and roguelike.

Steam page: LINk

Social Media: Site / Facebook / YouTube / Twitter / Discord

About HypeTrain Digital

HypeTrain Digital is the indie game publisher for PC and consoles. Their mission is to help young developers deliver their games to worldwide audiences, regardless of genre or platform. Working with a diverse team of industry professionals, they’ve led numerous games to success across the world, including Stoneshard, The Wild Eight, and Police Stories.

About Ink Stains Games

Ink Stains Games is an indie game development studio based in Saint-Petersburg. They are a team of like-minded people, united by their love for video games. Their previous project, a top-down shooter called 12 Is Better Than 6, was successfully crowdfunded on Kickstarter and came out in 2015.