Svarog's Dream - Open world action RPG - Return of the Old Gods expansion coming January 9th

[KeighnMcDeath]

Hmmm.... I hope expansions and CnC get further updates. I really grow tired of the same old in games. Seeing it completed in 19 hours is a little disheartening though.

 

[BadassNonbinaryPrincess]

Damn I was so excited when I looked at the combat, but you spend most of the time running around doing lame quests and constantly hunting down herbs and shit. Why are games made by dull fucks?

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

Damn I was so excited when I looked at the combat, but you spend most of the time running around doing lame quests and constantly hunting down herbs and shit. Why are games made by dull fucks?

You can go anywhere and do anything, who forced you to pick herbs? There's an alchemist questline (with cool insider information when you finish it) and that's it. Otherwise, no reason to do that other than with an alchemist build where Alchemy skill works in tandem with your spellbook (and to make so many potions you're invincible if you want to be).

 

[BadassNonbinaryPrincess]

Damn I was so excited when I looked at the combat, but you spend most of the time running around doing lame quests and constantly hunting down herbs and shit. Why are games made by dull fucks?

You can go anywhere and do anything, who forced you to pick herbs? There's an alchemist questline (with cool insider information when you finish it) and that's it. Otherwise, no reason to do that other than with an alchemist build where Alchemy skill works in tandem with your spellbook (and to make so many potions you're invincible if you want to be).

That sounds more promising. The video on the other page said "The player must constantly scrounge food to avoid a sudden drop in combat effectiveness."

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

Damn I was so excited when I looked at the combat, but you spend most of the time running around doing lame quests and constantly hunting down herbs and shit. Why are games made by dull fucks?

You can go anywhere and do anything, who forced you to pick herbs? There's an alchemist questline (with cool insider information when you finish it) and that's it. Otherwise, no reason to do that other than with an alchemist build where Alchemy skill works in tandem with your spellbook (and to make so many potions you're invincible if you want to be).

That sounds more promising. The video on the other page said "The player must constantly scrounge food to avoid a sudden drop in combat effectiveness."

You definitely need to keep up with food consumption but it goes down relatively slowly, only missing a huge chunk if you do a far fast travel or sleep all night. I'm not a fan of such mechanics but it wasn't getting in the way of anything, food is readily available by killing animals and cooks in town have very cheap prepared food & ingredients. One of the quests I finished in early game had a fisherman give me all his fish and that chunk of food when I cooked it lasted me for 60% of the game. The video seems to exaggerate or maybe there was a patch that changed things since then.

That goes for all the mechanics I'm usually not a fan of in games. Crafting/Smelting, cooking & alchemy. None of them get in the way, you don't NEED them, but if you focus on one (or more) you'll certainly get a step ahead.

 

[BadassNonbinaryPrincess]

Cool do you like it? Is the combat fun?

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

Cool do you like it? Is the combat fun?

I liked it, and with the variety of character building, the permadeath system, and wide range of mechanics I could try out many things and cater my build/gameplay to what I enjoyed.

Can't say much about combat because I haven't played other games of the sort to compare. I will say though, I rarely had to kite once I got my character built how I wanted, even when facing my endings final boss which was 4x my level. Lots of varied active abilities, stuns, poisons, etc. so like everything else if something seems bland to you can either kill yourself and get another PC or respec and try out a different build to your liking.

Picture from my final battle

 

[BadassNonbinaryPrincess]

Sounds really good especially when you are tired of Diablo types where you mow down enemies without thinking.

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

Sounds really good especially when you are tired of Diablo types where you mow down enemies without thinking.

Main Story was ridiculously easy but that was with me doing all side quests and levelling up beforehand so I was mowing lots of things down. But you can make your own challenge, I've read it compared to a "Skyrim-like Open World" but I would call it more gothic like, no level scaling that I saw, hints/clues in dialogue and area design about which areas are more dangerous, and you can go anywhere and try basically any fight you want and get fucked up if you're not careful.

For example,

Spoiler

There was a demi god who is trapped on one hill where he is invincible. Every month he leaves for a couple of hours to visit a grave and you can catch him leaving, you get him to reveal his name (only way to get him to show himself as a demon) and slay him. You can figure this out on your own, stumble across journal entries in a library when exploring telling you this, or a world event telling you a gods servant has been spotted in a town trying to hire people for a job. There's a bunch of things like this.

 

[cyborgboy95]

Information about the upcoming expansion.
Release date:
Hello, we have some news about the expansion to the game! We've decided on the release date:
it will be on January 9th, 2025.

The expansion will bring a new path in the main quest story, a new island-like area, new mechanics, and will expand most aspects of the game with additional content.

How the main quest will work:
From the start, there will be a new main questline that leads to a fifth possible ending of the game. Players will be able to switch between the existing main quest and this new line whenever they like.
This means you can start a completely new run or simply continue on your existing save file, as long as you haven't reached one of the four endings yet.

Updates to the core game:
We’ve also prepared nearly 30 different improvements and bug fixes for the core game. This free patch will go live in about one month.

Expansion Details:
Over the next two months, we plan to share posts detailing everything the expansion brings, so you’ll be able to read more about these new features soon.
Feel free to follow the expansion's Steam page:

 

[cyborgboy95]

Expansion: Fishing, Gardening, and Some Lore
Only Two Months Until the Expansion Release.
While you wait, we'll be sharing more about the new mechanics and content in a series of posts.
This is the first of seven posts, so stay tuned for more!

New Mechanic: Fishing
To start fishing, simply equip a fishing rod and cast it toward any water surface.
Each fishing spot has a unique loot pool, with rewards ranging from common fish to divine treasures.
There are even new exclusive items that can only be obtained by fishing.
The expansion will introduce different types of fishing rods, special rings to enhance fishing,
and a new attribute to increase your chances of finding the best loot quickly.

Our goal with mechanics like this is to further enhance the meditative exploration aspect of the game, inviting you to check every lake and river as you journey through each area.

New Mechanic: Gardening
The expansion also unlocks gardening, allowing you to cultivate your own plants.
Each time you plant, you'll harvest an alchemical herb or cooking ingredient the next day. Different houses in various regions will yield unique plants.

For those who’ve already gathered most of the plants in the world, this feature provides an endless source of herbs and ingredients, plus, once a full in-game year passes, there is a new world event which will refresh plant life across the world.

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Since you enjoyed our post sharing lore about one of the gods, we'll continue with more!
This week, we'll talk about:

Veles, the God of the Underworld
Some stories call him the protector of cattle, others say he’s the god of the underworld, and in certain places, he’s even linked to the sun or known as a trickster who looks out for musicians.
In ancient times, having a god protect your cattle was a big deal since a good herd could mean the difference between surviving winter or not.
In the game, we mention these different roles, but he’s mostly known as the god of the underworld.

In old tales, Veles and Perun, the thunder god, are famous for their clashes.
Veles would steal Perun’s cattle, his wife, or even his children just to provoke him. This would lead to fierce battles.
People believed these fights caused dry spells on Earth (when Veles stole from Perun), followed by storms and lightning (as they fought), and then rain when Perun got what was stolen back.
Perun always won, but Veles’s defeat was never permanent - he’d keep coming back from the underworld.

In the game, Veles works alongside Perun against their common foe, but there are hints about their past conflicts, and some endings might even spark a new fight between them.

Veles is one of the key characters in the game. He’s the one who pulls you out of the underworld.
And in the upcoming expansion, you’ll find out that he and Stribog have set up a whole new path for you to follow.

Soon, more lore is coming.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Seems a lot of games sure like adding fishing and gardening.

 

[toro]

Seems a lot of games sure like adding fishing and gardening.

Yeah. I don't understand the new obsession with farming mechanics.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

F&F the new table top RPG for all your Fishing & Farming needs and desires. I will say fucking gophers/rats/mice and deer are big threats and at times crows and other birds for farming. I hate rodents. Well, slugs, certain grubs and caterpillar worms are also assholes. But these games its just smash da rock boulders, chop the huge stump, dig like it is nothing, toss da seed, and use the watering can. POP your garden farm is success. Ha! Just IRL FUCKING HA! No.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

Seems a lot of games sure like adding fishing and gardening.

Yeah. I don't understand the new obsession with farming mechanics.

It's for the urbanites who never leave asphalt and will never own a home. Both might as well be contemporary fantasies.

 

[ArchAngel]

Seems a lot of games sure like adding fishing and gardening.

Yeah. I don't understand the new obsession with farming mechanics.

Well it is logical when you are adding survival mechanics into games.

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

Seems a lot of games sure like adding fishing and gardening.

Yeah. I don't understand the new obsession with farming mechanics.

Well it is logical when you are adding survival mechanics into games.

The game already had very undeveloped survival mechanics.

The addition of farming doesn't make much sense, it's adding breadth not depth.

As for fishing, I don't mind it. There was no way to get fish in this game other than a gift or in random loot on the ground around a lake.

 

[ArchAngel]

How is this game compared with Drova or Grim Dawn (since it seems to be more H&S) ?

 

[cyborgboy95]

Expansion Preview #2: Devotion, Shrines, and World Events
Welcome to the second of seven posts where we’ll be diving into all the new features coming with the expansion. In this update, we’ll explore how we’re introducing more combat opportunities and making the world feel a bit more interactive.

Devotion Shrines
Scattered across the world, you’ll now find around 30 large and 60 small Devotion Shrines. These shrines are guarded by enemies, and cleansing them offers you the chance to devote them to Order or Chaos.
Large shrines can also be dedicated to specific gods, unlocking skill upgrades as a reward.

Our design philosophy for these shrines was to provide optional combat challenges throughout the game. Since death carries significant consequences, we’ve been cautious about overwhelming players with overly strong encounters in the open world. With these shrines, you can face tougher enemies on your own terms.

We’ve already showcased how all 12 core game classes interact with some of these shrines during the combat update patch. Check out the gameplay video here:

Devotion to Gods
The expansion brings a new character page where you can team up with one of the gods. Picking a deity means they’ll step in to help you now and then, each in their own unique way.

These divine interventions have long cooldowns, but how often they happen depends on your relationship with the god you’ve chosen. Your bond with them changes based on what you do in the game, the gods are always watching and judging how well your actions match their ideals.

Order and Chaos Events
To make the balance between Order and Chaos more impactful, we’re adding over 60 new world events. These events will trigger based on the current state of the world:
-A world leaning toward Order will result in calmer gameplay.
-A world dominated by Chaos will bring more combat-heavy scenarios.

The idea behind the events is the same as before: to keep the world alive and interactive. We’re just doubling down on what you already enjoyed.

That’s all for this update! Stay tuned, there are five more posts coming your way as we unveil more about the expansion. See you in the next one!

 

[cyborgboy95]

Expansion Preview #3: New Items, Traders, and some Lore
Here’s a smaller update on some additional content coming in the expansion.
Among other things, the expansion will expand the item pool with over 120 new unique items.

New Items
We are introducing a new category of items known as Cursed Items.
These are weapons and gear with attributes often surpassing those of divine equipment but balanced by unique drawbacks. Over 40 Cursed Items will be unlocked with expansion.
Additionally, we are adding more than 20 new offhand items, offering offensive options for players wielding one-handed weapons instead of shields.
The expansion will also include new food and alchemy ingredients, fresh herbs, and an array of new recipes for food and potions crafted from these resources.

More Roaming Traders
We're adding more roaming traders who sell rare items and roaming attribute trainers, making the world feel more alive. These characters will travel between towns, and you may stumble upon them randomly.

Caravan Protection
When talking about traders, we’ve also added a few side quests to protect traveling trader carts or simply pay a cart driver to travel across the map.
These quests aren’t very in-depth, but we thought they’d be a cool way to travel the map quickly if you’re not a fan of fast travel.

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We will continue with our lore posts, and this week we will mention:
Mokosh, the goddess of Water and Fertility, she is also associated with the Moon, Fate, and the protection of women.
In some descriptions, she is portrayed as an ugly woman made from the bodies of dead animals, who uses her charm to make others see her as a beautiful woman, while in others, she is simply a beautiful woman. It was believed that her sacred day was Friday, and women were expected to honor her by refraining from work on that day.

In one interesting myth, Mokosh had a son with Perun named Yarilo.
Yarilo was stolen by Veles and taken to the underworld, where he spent his childhood.
Once he grew up, he traveled from the Underworld to the Sky, passing through Earth and bringing Spring in the process. Perun, angered by Yarilo's upbringing under Veles, rejected him and smote him with lightning.
However, Veles resurrected him, and the cycle repeated, bringing spring to the Earth each year.

************************************************************************

Soon, more posts are coming.
Stay tuned to hear about new classes, areas, quests, and other new mechanics.

 

[cyborgboy95]

Expansion Preview #4: Faction Wars and Other Updates
The release of our expansion is just three weeks away! This is the fourth article in our series about what the expansion brings, and this time, we will talk more about the new side content added to the game.

Faction Wars
The core game already featured faction wars as part of the main story, but they were limited in terms of which factions you could join and what territories you could conquer.
With the expansion, we’ve split the world into 16 areas, each controlled by one of six different factions.
As a player, you can now join any of these six factions and work to paint the whole world in their colors.

Conquering an area under your faction’s banner will replace the local citizens, introduce unique NPCs, and trigger related world events.

To conquer a territory, you’ll need to initiate a siege and assist your army, much like in the core game.
This content will be available as a late game side quests, which unlock either after completing the war portion of the main story or upon reaching a certain point in the expansion’s alternate main storyline.

Playable factions include House of Faith, House of Coin, Free People, Underworld Horde, Devourers (new) and Lizards (new).

A significant aspect of the game lies in the choices you make in the godly realm and the earthly realm, and how these two intertwine. With the Faction Wars update, we aim to make choices in the earthly realm more impactful.

Now, let's talk about a few other smaller updates that are related to crime and companions.

Mercenaries
You can now purchase slaves to make them companions and assign them tasks, such as following you, guarding your home, or granting them their freedom.
Companions can be equipped with any gear you provide. However, don't expect them to be very intelligent, as they function as standard followers. They are designed as a small side addition to the gameplay.

Head Hunt Quests
These optional side quests allow you to take contracts from bounty boards in villages. The more difficult the target, the higher the reward.
Some contracts might lead to crime-related troubles with villages, which ties into the last new mechanic we will discuss today.

Serving Crime Sentences
Previously, committing a crime (eg. stealing) meant you either paid your bounty or fought back, often escalating your troubles. Now, you can choose to serve your sentence to clear your record and regain your freedom.
We’re considering adding this feature to the core game in the future, as it feels like a natural fit.

 

[cyborgboy95]

Expansion Preview #5: Two New Classes and some Lore
Hello! There are less than two weeks until the expansion's release.
In today's article, we will introduce two new classes debuting with the expansion.

Beastbane
The Beastbane is a melee, order-oriented class that scales with the number of beasts you've hunted.
This class unlocks the ability to wield two melee weapons, a feature that has been highly requested by players in the past.
Dual-wielding weapons simultaneously applies the buffs of both, making the class as strong as the quality of gear you can find. This ability is balanced by the significant number of points required to fully unlock it.
If you enjoy investing heavily in passive skills and tearing through enemies with auto-attacks rather than relying on active abilities, this class is perfect for you.

Doombringer
The Doombringer is a chaos-oriented support class that is not dependent on any specific weapon.
Designed to be chaotic and counterintuitive, it’s a unique choice for those looking to experiment with something different. Its skills scale with the number of negative talents you possess, as well as with the newly introduced cursed gear.
Notable abilities include an AOE skill that charms enemies, turning them against one another and cursed eyes that grow stronger with time.
The class also offers a range of supportive skills, such as the ability to summon a container on demand to store loot, etc.

Both classes are showcased in this video:


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As the year turns and the cold deepens, we look to Morana, the goddess of winter and death.

In the actual mythology, Morana was not well-loved by worshippers, leaving few preserved stories about her. In some regions, her tales were even conflated with those of Mokosh, blurring the lines between them.
One ritual tied to Morana has survived: a doll of straw, made in her image, is beaten, drowned, and burned to drive her away and shorten winter's hold.

The Game’s Lore:
In Svarog's Dream, Morana plays a central role, guiding souls to Veles in the underworld.

One tale tells of a village built around her shrine, where a powerful magician-priest rose to the status of a demigod, turned to other gods, and even dared to challenge Morana to a duel.
The battle ended in devastation, Morana obliterated the village and froze an entire region in eternal winter. The priest survived, though his body was shattered, forcing him to craft a mask and robe to conceal his ruined form.
You can find this priest in the southeastern parts of the map, where he is known as the Priest Guardian.

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That’s all for this preview article.
Happy New Year, happy holidays, and we’ll see you next year!

 

[cyborgboy95]

Expansion Preview #6: New Story and Celestial Battles
We invested four years of work into the core game, which features four endings.
Symbolically, our fifth year of development brings an expansion, and with it, a fifth ending.

Expansion Story
In the original game, the old gods remained fractured, without a unified path. The expansion seeks to change that. Our main goal was to create a narrative where the old gods stand united, and we've built an entirely new questline to make it happen.

At the heart of this story is Stribog, the god of wind. His mission is monumental: to unite the old gods, rebuild the shattered Pantheon of Oak, and mount a true challenge against the new one-God.
Will he succeed? That’s up to you.

Expansion Celestial Battles
To reflect the expansion’s bold themes, we’ve reimagined the boss fights.
Players will now face celestial foes: actual angels.

Prepare to battle three epic bosses inspired by biblical lore: Seraphim, Thrones, and Cherubim.

Developer side note: We understand that introducing biblical beings into our stories may not resonate with everyone. However, we want to emphasize that this is a fantasy game. Borrowing themes from religious mythology allows us to explore deeper ideas within the narrative, something we've done since the beginning of Svarog's Dream.

With that being said, let's return to gameplay.
As with the core game, our boss fights aim to deliver epic, unforgettable moments.
Each major enemy features a unique musical theme, with their actions synchronized to the audio theme. Here's a sneak peek:

In addition to the main story bosses, the expansion includes optional side bosses, demigods waiting to challenge you. Their stories and battles are left for you to discover.

Becoming a Demigod
In a recent preview, a player asked if it was possible to become a demigod. Initially, we hadn't planned for it, but the idea struck a chord with us. So, we made it happen.
Yes, you can now ascend to become a demigod, though exactly how remains for you to uncover.

This expansion is not just our creation, it’s a product of the incredible ideas, feedback, and support from you, the players. Many of the features you’ll experience came directly from your suggestions.

Thank you for being part of this journey and for helping us bring this world to life. We can’t wait for you to explore what we’ve built.

The expansion launches in just 2 days, on January 9th!
To celebrate, we’ve prepared a special event. See you in two days when we reveal it!