Dungeon Defenders Message Board

Those itching to cast spells, hack away at enemies and level up will be happy to learn that co-op action RPG Dungeon Defenders is free on Xbox Live for Gold subscribers through the end of the month, March 31. The Trendy Entertainment-developed tower defense game took the place of Civilization Revolution in this month's Games with Gold program offerings, first launching on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 in October 2011 and receiving four DLC packs in the time since.

Microsoft's Phil Spencer recently addressed concerns related to the Games with Gold program and the comparisons to Sony's PlayStation Plus program that it frequently receives. Spencer said the business for Microsoft's two-free-games-per-month service is "fundamentally different" from PS Plus, and stressed that players are able to keep the free games they download after their Xbox Live premium subscriptions run out.

Trendy Entertainment announced a sequel to Dungeon Defenders in March 2013, which is still scheduled to launch this spring, according to the game's website. The developer also revealed cross-platform online shooter Monster Madness Online in December. [Image: Trendy Entertainment]

Civilization Revolution and Dungeon Defenders are the March offerings from the Xbox 360 Games with Gold program. Xbox 360 owners will be able to snag these games free from March 1-15 and 16-31 respectively. Read more...

Dungeon Defenders developer Trendy Entertainment and its new indie subsidiary Nom Nom Games announced a new cross-platform, RPG-like shooter called Monster Madness Online today. The free-to-play game places combatants in the shoes of one of four minors in Suburbia City, which has been overrun by invading Martians whose powerful Monster Tokens apparently don't affect the kids of the town.

Monster Madness Online is billed as the first 3D action game to use Mozilla's asm.js technology, which enables Nom Nom Games to take advantage of a higher level of JavaScript development. This offers developers the ability to insert physics, 3D graphics, multiplayer networking, advanced animation and other beefier game elements into their browser-based projects without the use of a proprietary plugin.

Trendy Entertainment Co-Founder and CTO Jeremy Stieglitz explained the developer's use of asm.js in a separate trailer, found after the break. The game is expected to fully launch in May 2014 for PC, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS and any web browser of choice. An online, pre-alpha PvP version of Monster Madness Online is available to try out now on the game's website.

The people who run Trendy Entertainment want you to know that things are better. Or maybe they want you to think things are better. Maybe they just want you to play their game.Read more...

In a move that I suspect will seem wise in hindsight, Dungeon Defenders 2 is not going to be a MOBA, despite initial glowing neon signposts in that direction. In a big old blog post on the game’s site, Trendy’s Dave Loyd talks about what it’s actually going to be, sort of: “Originally it was being developed as a MOBA-style PVP game, but we reviewed the project and decided to turn the ship, refocusing our efforts on a true sequel. I’m happy to announce today that Dungeon Defenders II is in development!” So that’s a tower defense game with co-op run-around-fighting elements, in case you were confused. You played the original game, right? Well, more of that. Loyd explains: “We generated tons of ideas and ultimately created The Five Pillars of Dungeon Defenders II. We define these pillars as axioms, rules by which all game features are assessed, and which must be upheld at all times.” Pillars are always handy for upholding things, anyway. So that’s going to help.

Trailer in the dungeon of this particular blogpost. It shows us things.(more…)

An awful situation may be turning around for the better. Controversial Trendy Entertainment president Jeremy Stieglitz will alter his role following Kotaku's report into the company's practices yesterday, according to two people close to the situation. Yesterday, we published an investigation into conditions at Trendy, which included testimonials from nine current and former employees. They described the studio as a toxic environment with low morale and constant crunch time, and alleged that Stieglitz treated staff quite poorly. Following publication of our story yesterday, Stieglitz will change roles in a significant way, both sources said. Although Stieglitz remains with the company, he will no longer supervise staff on their next game, Dungeon Defenders II, according to both sources. One source said Stieglitz may work on a project independently. It's unclear whether Stieglitz was forced to change roles or stepped down voluntarily, but both sources told me they see positive changes coming to the studio in the near future. In addition, one person claiming to be a current employee at Trendy wrote in a Kotaku comment yesterday that our report had a major effect on the company. "Things are currently changing since the release of this article and for the first time, I sat at work yesterday and did not feel the usual hopelessness," the alleged employee wrote. "I would ask that the community try to not judge all of us on the actions of a few and to not completely abandon our game before it has been released. There are people with families here and people who really want to make a great game and it is looking like we may have a chance to do so now." At some point next week, according to one person close to the situation, representatives from the company's investors at Insight Venture Management will meet with employees to discuss morale and how to move forward.

Seven-day work weeks. Sexist decisions. An office environment so toxic, employees are terrified to speak up for fear of losing their jobs. That's the atmosphere at the Florida-based game development studio Trendy Entertainment, according to current and former employees. Trendy is responsible for a popular tower defense game called Dungeon Defenders and is currently working on the sequel. Over the past few weeks, I've talked to nine different people with connections to Trendy, and obtained a number of e-mails and Skype logs that show a studio filled with fear and dysfunction. Current and former employees describe the company as dismal and unpleasant, painting a picture of Trendy president Jeremy Stieglitz as a dictatorial manager who publicly berates his staff and, according to four of the people I spoke with, allegedly makes salary decisions based on gender. I first heard about the many problems at Trendy from one whistleblower. That source quickly became two, three, and more. Employees were frustrated. They were tired of a miserable status quo at Trendy and wanted to speak out. Soon they were sending along e-mails and chat logs, conversations between each other commiserating about working at the company, snippets of communications with management. Altogether, over the last week, the picture of this studio that came into focus was ugly. Many staff at Trendy don't plan on putting up with the situation much longer: about a half-dozen developers have already left over the past two months, and according to the people I spoke with, an estimated 5-10 more junior and senior Trendy employees plan to leave once the first part of Dungeon Defenders II goes live in July. The company's higher-ups are aware of this—and Trendy has had a few meetings over the past couple of weeks in order to talk about morale—but some are unconvinced that anything will change for the staff, who currently number around 45. Long hours and tough management are not unusual in the video game industry; it's common for development studios to subject their employees to periods of "crunch," during the last few weeks of a game's production, when staff will stay late and work weekends until that game is finished. But at Trendy, according to people who work and have worked there, crunch lasts all year round. Staff describe an atmosphere where everyone must work 10 to 12 hours a day for six or seven days a week, and some people fear losing their jobs if they question this arrangement. Trendy president Stieglitz declined to address any of the specific allegations in this story, but the company sent over the following statement: Trendy is a fairly young indie videogame developer experiencing some of the unfortunate issues associated with new companies finding their footing: long hours, quick growth, and on-going challenges stemming from working in a highly creative environment. Our management is focused on continuing to grow and develop a positive workplace despite these challenges. We are excited for our upcoming release of Dungeon Defenders 2 and hope that consumers appreciate the results of our efforts. Based on what I've seen and heard over the course of reporting this story, "unfortunate issues" is one hell of an understatement. Men Vs. Women Last year, according to multiple people I spoke with, a man applied for a certain position at Trendy. After some back-and-forth, Trendy offered him the gig at a starting salary of $3,850 a month, but he turned it down. Not long afterwards, according to the people I spoke with, a woman applied for the same position. Trendy offered her $3,000 a month—non-negotiable. That's a difference of close to $10,000 a year. I've seen the e-mails detailing both job offers, and while it's possible that gender wasn't the only factor here, one person close to the situation told me that both candidates had the same amount of experience. Others have said it's a trend. "Artists have been hired (and very quickly left the studio) on the motto of, 'Hire a woman—we can pay women less than we can men,'" one person connected to Trendy told me. Last week, a departing Trendy employee sent a letter to staff at the company, which I received from two different people. Although the writer declined comment—and asked us not to print what he had written—the note corroborates what others in the company have told me. One section, for example, says that upper management at Trendy pays women less than men. Another section of the letter accuses Trendy of publicly belittling employees and forcing them to work unsustainable hours. Two different people told me that Trendy president Jeremy Stieglitz treats female employees differently than males. "He won't even look at women," one person said. "He would go [to] the room one was in and stand to the side and yell into the room... without ever going in." This uncomfortable behavior toward females doesn't seem to be limited to the workplace: A Skype log obtained by Kotaku shows Stieglitz talking about one of the female characters in Dungeon Defenders II in terms that made at least a few employees uncomfortable. "Needs to be more like [a] Brazilian beach super model if you know what I mean," he writes. ""It'd also be nice if the ass was attractive." Another person connected to Trendy told me that the team once created a seductive image of one of the characters that was meant to be an internal joke, but when Stieglitz saw it, he released it to the public. 'Flying By The Seat Of Their Pants' Employees describe Trendy as a company brimming with issues—one person started off a phone conversation with "I'm sure everything you've heard is true"—and many of those issues trace back to Stieglitz. All nine people who talked to me shared similar stories: Stieglitz, they say, is fond of threatening and screaming at employees, often in front of other people in the office. Two people told me they were afraid to request vacation or ask for weekends off, worried that Stieglitz would fire or threaten to replace them. One employee tells the story of a cousin who passed away. The employee was too terrified to ask for time off. "I was so afraid of losing my job that I didn't go to his funeral," the employee told me. "It was probably one of my lowest points." Before 2012, according to two people, the studio had some serious financial difficulties. Staff would go unpaid for long periods of time, and many worked 80-hour weeks because they felt they had no choice. Last summer, when Trendy received an $18.2 million investment from a firm in New York City, some at the company thought conditions would get better. They didn't. Today, employees say the hours are just as excruciating. Worse, people connected to Trendy say, progress on the game is constantly interrupted by Stieglitz's interference. Late last year, according to four different people, Stieglitz fired the lead designer on Dungeon Defenders II and shifted direction on the game, telling the development team to start taking ideas from the popular arena battle game League of Legends. The motto floating around the company, employees told me, is "if League does it, we do it." "He threw out design work to copy League of Legends," said one person. "Interesting, creative ideas [were] thrown by the wayside because 'we don't have time,' or 'Does League do it? No? Then it's a waste of time, we need to do what League does,' said another person. On top of that, people say the studio has been plagued with disorganization and dysfunction: work is often scrapped or drastically changed due to Stieglitz's whims, employees told me. "There's no pipeline," said one person. "Everyone's flying by the seat of their pants all the time." "Jeremy does not believe in pre-production," said another. "Choices are to be made on the fly, without any input from designers." Anonymous employee reviews on GlassDoor echo everything I've heard. "There are many very innovative individuals working for this company who suffer daily under poor working conditions, arbitrary deadlines and slimy management," one reviewer writes. "I do not understand how the artist teams deal with the uninformed decisions made by upper management. It's bad enough in our room and yet, I know they have it even worse off than we do. I have never worked for someone who is so afraid of his own employees before that he treats them like bad kids and while I may not be one of the vocal ones in the office I am secretly ashamed of working for this company by the way it treats the people it employs." Some at Trendy hope that by publicizing the company's conditions, they can help inspire some change. If things don't get better within the next few months, and people do continue to flee this studio, it sounds like there will be change either way. To contact the author of this post, write to jason@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter @jasonschreier.

Though valiantly working to improve, MOBAs can still be quite mean. The original Dungeon Defenders, meanwhile, was the cutest, nicest, most snuggably soft action-tower-defender out there. So naturally, Trendy’s decided to mash up its two great loves, in much the same way one “naturally” leaves their squalling infant at a daycare center run by salivating rhinocobears. And yet, the original Dungeon Defenders was deceptively complex, so perhaps these seemingly incompatible puzzle pieces can snap together and form a respectable portrait of some penguins – or, I suppose, Dungeon Defenders 2 – after all. I have to admit, the first details do sound fairly promising.

(more…)

Trendy Entertainment announced Dungeon Defenders 2 today, which we've surmised through great deductive reasoning is the sequel to Dungeon Defenders - also, Trendy kinda said that on its website.

This time out the kids from the first game are all grown up and will participate in cooperative and competitive dungeon defending. The cooperative mode is a "true sequel" to the first game with more heroes, towers and obsessive loot stat comparisons. Trendy also mentions a "24-player overworld" is in the works.

The competitive mode is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) set in the Dungeon Defenders universe. Trendy describes it as a "streamlined MOBA [that] aims for a shorter learning curve and more RPG-esque take on the genre."

No consoles have been mentioned for the sequel, which is a free-to-play game currently in development for PC, Mac, iOS, Android and "web." The cooperative mode will go into beta later this year or early 2014; the competitive mode is in closed beta with sign-ups available.

In the Dungeon Defenders community, we do things a little differently. If you need a refresher, Dungeon Defenders blends the looting and leveling of action-RPGs with the strategy and objectives of tower defense. You and up to three of your friends can team up to protect the precious Eternia Crystals from an ancient evil.

Haven’t played Dungeon Defenders before? Now is a great time to start! It’s currently free for PlayStation Plus subscribers, and next week, we’re hosting another fantastic Community XP Event for our PS3 community. Click here to register, or read on to learn more.

Our community team has one primary goal: to give Dungeon Defenders fans new and old the tools to make our game their own. From hosting their own events, to dictating the rules of ours, our fans know the game is just the beginning of the experience.

Click here to learn more about the PS3 Dungeon Defenders Community XP Event!

This is your event. You choose the map. You choose the modifier. We provide the possibilities. Team up with the community team and your fellow defenders to earn a staggering 50 million XP on a game mode you won’t find anywhere else. Want to turn off the gravity and fly away into the sunset? Then Low Gravity is the choice for you. Want enemy Ogres to rain from the sky, Kazaam-style? Vote for Raining Ogres. You can also ramp up the game speed, beef up the enemies or try your luck with a one-hit-kill crystal. The choice is up to you.

The event takes place next Thursday, February 21st from 12:00pm to 8:00pm EST. You must sign up for the event to participate. To sign up, post on this thread (link to be provided later) with your PSN ID and the time of day you’ll be available to join us. Sign-ups end February 19th at 11:59am EST. We’ll post a final list of participants in our Console Event Google Doc. We can’t guarantee that we’ll get to everyone, but we’ll try our hardest.

If you’re new to the game, our forum community is always willing to help new players learn the ropes. While you’re there, stop by the Trading section to barter gear, pets and weapons. If you need help with a map, our Guides section has a wide variety of map builds to choose from.

I take great pride in our community team’s effort to cultivate a positive community atmosphere. Since our launch in October 2011, people have made new friends, discovered significant others and opened their minds to new experiences, all within the realm of Dungeon Defenders. But a community team is nothing without great community members. If you’ve been a fan for a day or a year, thank you for making this job easy. If you’re thinking about joining the family, stop on by our forums and introduce yourself. Oh and because we love you so much, click the images below to grab some ultra sweet Dungeon Defenders wallpapers. See you in the dungeons!

Click on the images above to grab these Dungeon Defenders wallpaper for your Desktop

Chat with fellow PS gamers in our Forums! There’s plenty to talk about, with different sections including:

PlayStation Plus
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Whatever you want (aka Off-Topic area)

Win PlayStation games and products every Wednesday on Twitter!

Follow @HeyPlayStation on Twitter to be eligible to win tons of great prizes from PlayStation.

Friday, February 15th

Battle Bowl I – Qualifying Event
Urgent Fury Aftermath Black Ops 2 League

Saturday, February 16th

Battle Bowl I – Qualifying Event
Dark Souls: Guerilla Warfare
Gran Turismo: Saturday Racing
PlayStation All Stars Saturday Smackdown
Uncharted 3: Naughty Paws
PSASBR/SuperCon 1v1 Tournament

Sunday, February 17th

Battle Bowl I – Qualifying Event
PSASBR/SuperCon 1v1 Tournament
Dark Souls: Guerilla Warfare

Monday, February 18th

Battle Bowl I – Qualifying Event
Gran Turismo: Monday Night Racing
Urgent Fury Aftermath Black Ops 2 League

Co-op tower defense action-RPG (phew) Dungeon Defenders is celebrating its first year of existence with some party favors and a sale. For the next two weeks, the "Dungeon Defenders Anniversary Pack DLC" is free. It finds our pint-sized heroes wearing party hats and defending a newly decorated tavern homebase from wave after wave of monsters trying to destroy the birthday cake crystal core.

Dungeon Defenders is also 75 percent off as part of Steam's midweek madness sale, making the core game a mere $3.74. Want to be a big spender and receive all of Dungeon Defenders' content? Well, better cancel that trip to The Olive Garden tonight, because that's going to cost $12.49.

7.40 Update Notes:
* Added new Jester Hero DLC, along with Fool Costume, and "The King's Game" mission & associated loot
* Improved Mac performance, and added & optimized support for Macbook Pro Retina display (and any native Mac display resolution).
* The 'Dungeon Defenders Development Kit' has been moved to the Steam Tools section, rather than being a Dungeon Defenders DLC. Any previous owner of that DLC should re-download it as a Tool.
* Spider Minions can no longer be webbed, and Enemy Ogres can now be webbed
* Reduced Goblin Copter floating height by 33%, enabling melee characters to more easily hit them
* Further reduced Goblin Copter flight speed by 20%
* Made Copter Ogres lose 70% of HP if they are dropped from a destroyed Copter
* Mod Maps no longer become deselected in the Mission Setup UI when someone enters or leaves your Tavern
* Sky City ninja Djinn/Wyverns should really be fixed now. Promise.
* Dungeon Defenders Development Kit Updated to contain all Dungeon Defenders content! (Eternia Shards, New Heroes, etc)

The fourth and final installment of Dungeon Defenders' DLC saga Quest for the Lost Eternia Shards -- "Sky City" -- is now available on Steam for $3.99. As seen in the trailer above, the DLC appears chock full of biplanes, ogres with impractical jet packs, and jewel-encrusted troll dolls from the depths of monstrous terror.

It also includes two new campaign missions (with two accompanying bosses), six new cinematics, a "Catarang" pet, a Boss Rush challenge mission, eight legendary hero costumes, a Sky Captain Initiate costume, 20-plus new weapons/accessories and "even more secrets for the true, Ultimate Defenders," according to the announcement. Those who prefer defending dungeons on their PS3 or 360 will have to be patient, however, as console versions of the DLC are still listed as "coming soon."

#pixeljunkmonsters I'm not particularly good at any video game genre, unless Tetris can be considered a genre all on its own. Naturally I have my shining moments, but these tend to occur at times when there is no one around to respond positively when I shout, "Did you see that?" except for, of course, my cat, who never pays attention anyway and doesn't like it when I shout. More »

Dungeon Defenders has expanded its perspective on PC and Mac gameplay (and probably life and love and stuff) with the new Summoner character, who can conduct battle from on high as if in an RTS. Overlord Mode allows the Summoner to supervise entire armies from a top-down perspective, altering the game entirely.
Along with omniscient battle control, the Summoner gets two pets, can levitate for 15 seconds, build an army from sentient crystal and basically wreak havoc on the battlefield, as the above video shows. The Summoner DLC pack is available via Steam for $4.

Indie Royale has broken out a brand new bundle for the month of May, with five big games for a tiny price. This time around, the great MOBA/RPG mashup Dungeon Defenders is included in the bunch, along with Containment: The Zombie Puzzler (which is of course a zombie puzzler), abstract arcade racer Data Jammers: FastForward, trippy falling game Brainpipe, and the indie space sim sequel Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space.

All of these can currently be had for the minimum price of $5.28, but as always that price will fall if anyone comes along and pays above it. There are also a few extras already unlocked, including a couple of original soundtracks, extra tracks for Data Jammers, and two extra games: Dr. Blob's Organism and Soup du Jour. Anyone paying over $7 also gets an album from chiptune band Starscream. In short, that's more games than you have time to play, all for less than you'll pay to see The Avengers this weekend. The bundle's up for sale for the next week.

Rather good fantasy multiplayer tower defence thing, Dungeon Defenders (Wot I Think), is at the heart of the May Indie Royale bundle. The minimum at the time of writing is £3.26, and for that you get Dungeon Defenders, Containment: The Zombie Puzzler, Data Jammers: FastForward, Brainpipe – A Plunge to Unhumanity, and Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space. Paying over $7 worth of cash gets you the musical bonus of this chiptune album.

Right. That’s all the bundle news for now. Unless anyone wants to launch one by surprise in the next few minutes? No? Another cup of tea then, I think.

Dungeon Defenders' "Aquanos" expansion, the third droplet in the Quest for the Lost Eternia Shards series, is available now through Steam. The $4 pack will also be available May 15 on the PlayStation Network, but is currently lost at sea for XBLA, with no word on when it'll wash ashore. [Okay, that's enough! - Ed.]

The wet 'n' wild new area releases the Kraken as a new boss, includes 10 new items, a new pet and a mermaid outfit for the Countess. It also adds the new Sharken enemy and an eight-player co-op challenge called the "Shipwreck Graveyard Uber Monster Fest."

The developers at Trendy are still on the lookout for folks who can design better Dungeon Defender maps than even they can ... and they'll pay.

7.30
Additions:
* Added Premium DLC: Quest for the Lost Eternia Shards Part 3: Aquanos
* Raised Level Cap to 83, and added hyper-rare 'Supreme' item quality categorization
* Added support for four slots of Accessory-type Items & Masks, and added 62 Accessory/Mask loot drops, of varying degrees of rarity and difficulty to achieve
* Added Transcendent Survivalist Achievement + Jetpacking Bounty Hunter Costume
* Raised Bank soft cap / maximum shop sale amount to 600,000,000 Mana
* Added 40 more Item Box spaces, 50 more Player Shop Item spaces, and 20 more Items allowed on Tavern Floor
* Added Halloween and Battle Royale loot drops to general drops (can drop on any mission), once you've beaten Halloween and Battle Royale respectively (on any difficulty)
* Added Option to disable targeting cursor for Melee Heroes

Modifications:
* Made Shock Beam able to trigger on Flying Enemies, and thus Shock them
* Barbarian Lightning Stance and Shock Beam now shock Djinn and cancel their spells
* Barbarian Hawk Stance self-stun time cut by 50%, Hawk Stance damage increased by 25%, Lightning Stacne Self-Damage reduced by 25% and Stun Time increased by 15%
* Spiders can now be shock-stunned (also causing them to cancel web attack) by Lightning Stance and Shock Beams
* Enemies within Strength Drain Auras lose their own Elemental Damage and their Elemental Invulnerability when within the Aura, Strength Drain Aura in-game description updated accordingly
* Rebalanced all Nightmare Campaign & UMF Missions to contain Sharken
* Reduced the number of enemies on Survival Waves to about Mistymire Forest levels on ALL maps
* Buffed Monk Electric Aura by 50% in Nightmare
* Pets are now hidden if you hide your weapon in FPV
* Series Ev Proton Charge Blast now immediately consumes Mana that you drop
* Spaces and Brackets are now allowed in Hero names from all menus (main menu and renaming)
* 10% Linear and 8% Exponential-Ramp Damage Buff to Apprentice Lightning Tower
* ALL Mythical+ Pets now incorporate Hero Damage into their Damage calculation -- Donkey and a few others previously weren't
*Added message to Player Shop UI to help make it clear that AFK Shop Mode is required to have a permanently accessible Player Shop: "Note: Your shop will be inaccessible after 15 Minutes unless you enable AFK Shop Mode."
* Sitting in the Tavern for 1 hour now automatically converts your game to AFK Shop Mode (changes back to a non-AFKShop game if you enter any mission)
* Enemies lose their invincibility from immunity circles after 10 seconds, and Ogres de-spawn after 6 minutes

Fixes:
* Fixed a Trade Failure bug
* Fixed extra Guardian-type stats appearing on Guardians.
* Fixed bug that would cause UI input to lock up in Tavern (and on other UI's potentially) if you pressed Escape key very quickly as the Mission Setup Menu was opening
* Added Summoner functionality hooks
* Fixed THE Return To Tavern / Restart Level Crash!!
* Fixed Djinn Spawn timings on Tree of Life MonsterFest, now they won't wait so long to arrive
* Fixed an invincible Skeleton case

Trendy Entertainment, the dev behind Dungeon Defenders, is looking to beef up the offerings from that game's free development kit. It's holding a contest, in which it's giving away some real money and prize packs for the best maps made for the game.

To enter, all you have to do is put a map together for the tower defense RPG (here's a guide.) Submit your map to Trendy by June 21, and if it wins both a public vote and a judges' vote, you can walk away with $1000, and even get your map included in the game.

The full rules and requirements are over on Trendy's forums. Those of us without any design skills at all will just sit here quietly waiting to see what you put together. Don't mind us.

Dungeon Defenders gets into the PAX East spirit this Friday with a Penny Arcade-themed character skin pack. The DLC will be available for free during PAX East at the Reverb Publishing booth (808) or online for $1.99.

That character skin pack includes (pictured, left to right) Tycho for the Squire class, Annarchy as a Huntress, Cardboard Tube Samurai as the Monk and Jim Darkmagic in place of the Apprentice.

Attendees to PAX East will also have a chance to play Aquanos, part three of four in the Quest for the Lost Eternia Shards DLC. Stop by the Reverb Publishing booth early, as supplies of free PA skins are limited.

7.25 Update Notes
Additions:
* Added New Hero: Series Ev (DLC)
* Added New Challenge: Karathiki Competitive Tower Defense (Part of DLC Karathiki Jungle Pack)

Modifications:
* Apprentice Mana Bomb damage exponential ramp buffed, on the high-end can do about 10x damage than previously
* Added Respawning Treasure Chests to Frostdale PvP Maps
* Reduced "Rumble in the Jungle" to 12 waves
* Healing-plus-Damaging Pets (such as Monkey and Goblin Cupid) will favor Healing if a Heal-Target is below 50% Health
* 10% Buff to Trap Damage in Nightmare
* When multiple Guardians of the same type are buffing a Defense, the stronger buff will now always take effect. (previously, it was whichever Guardian got there first)

Fixes:
* Karathiki Pure Strategy now supports 6 players
* Friendly Djinn can no longer be gas-stunned
* VDay enemies much more likely to follow the player
* Improved player networked movement quality in PvP game
* Join-Requirement Minimum Level Setting is now controller-friendly, as is the Show Shops/Show Games button
* Griffon Pet projectile now deals splash damage
* Fixed Wyvern pathfinding on Karathiki, Fixed spawn locations on Karathiki, Fixed inappropriate build locations on Karathiki, Fixed Bowling Balls breaking on the floor of parts of Karathiki
* Fixed a case where players would get "Failed to Create Game" message when attempting to Host an Online game
* Pets no longer can roll-over to "1 mana" resale value
----

Dungeon Defenders on Steam will have a new character, Series EV, available this week. EV is a defense-based protector of dungeons, using adjustable nodes that have unit costs tied to the length of the beam.

EV can also build projectile reflection walls to bounce back long-range attacks and plant tower buffs to enhance other defenders' structures.

Pick up the automaton tomorrow, March 29, for $3 -- if you dilly-dally on grabbing the latest dungeon defender, EV's services will require an investment of $4 next week.

Dungeon Defenders, which launched its Mac version and latest expansion today, will be free to play on Steam until Sunday at 1PM Pacific. The game itself will also go on sale this weekend for 50 percent off ($7.50) until Monday, March 19, at 10AM Pacific.

If you've yet to check out this addictive tower defense action game, now's the time! All you need is some motivation and a computer that connects to the internet, and we just took care of the first part for you.

7.20 Update Notes
Additions:
* Added Premium Content: Eternia Shards 2 Pack + Hero Outfits
* Cross-platform Steamplay with new Mac version!
* 5 new Achievements + Trophies
* Added a super-secret awesome reward for those who earn "Transcendent Challenge Champion" Achievement
* Level cap raised to 78, along with new Items and Item Quality Category

Modifications:
* Hardcore Mode is now accessible on all Challenges, and gives better reward items (on Campaign and Challenges) than non-Hardcore
* Added "Pro" Item Upgrade Mode, where you can simply click an item stat directly to immediately invest all needed funds and upgrade the item rapidly.
* Buffed Apprentice Exponential Damage Ramps on Lightning Tower and Magic Missile Tower by ~20%
* "Hardcore" mode now yields a 30% XP wave-completion earnings boost, regardless of difficulty setting
* Spike Blockade width increased by 15%
* Increased NM Crystal HP by 40%
* Harpoon Turrets now incorporate target leading into their aiming, making them much more effective against Wyverns and also fast-moving enemies
* Buffed Nightmare Damage Pets by 12%

Fixes:
* Clients can now see the Host's selected mission name of a mission they don't own
* Fixed issue where Traps would become weaker in various ways if you died in Hardcore mode and your player character disappeared. Also fixes Upgrade Detonation Count decreasing issue with Traps after the player was destroyed (where Upgrading could result in a Det Count decrease).
* Controller users can now press "Y" to export data to Local/Open mode
* You can now browse into and out-of Item Box/Player Shop folders properly with Gamepad control (though you can not create them with Gamepad control, yet)
* Editbox for specifying the Item Costs in the Player Shop now displays numerical commas
* Binding chat key to alphanumeric button no longer interferes with EditBox inputs
* Fixed issue where alphabetical keybinding for Chat would result in inability to use that key in edit boxes
* Nightmare Challenges now also give Insane Achievements

Dungeon Defenders for Mac has been slightly delayed, arriving the same date as the second Eternia Shards expansion next week, on March 15. Dungeon Defenders was also showcased at a GDC 2012 press briefing by Epic Games for Unreal Engine 3 in Flash over browsers. Epic VP and co-founder Mark Rein made a statement -- and then immediately retracted -- that DD would be free-to-play at launch.

"We definitely know we want to use that technology for a next product, but it's too early to say what that next product will be," Marketing Director Philip Asher of Dungeon Defenders developer Trendy Entertainment told us. "For all intents and purposes, it's just the mobile version in Flash."

Asher told us the demo was a port of the iOS version, Dungeon Defenders: Second Wave, with some graphical improvements, insisting that it was just a tech demo the team got together in four weeks.

"It could be a new game, it could be the PC version [of Dungeon Defenders] adapted to Flash," Asher elaborated. "The whole idea of that technology which really excites us is that it's a whole new way to play Unreal games. ... It'd be a little larger initial download, but it'll stream the rest of the game as you play."

Dungeon Defenders will protect new digital realms when the indie hit makes its way to Mac on March 8. Those seeking to help the process along and revel in the squashing of bugs may rejoice, as beta testing for the Mac version begins today. Those seeking adventure on the new platform should email betatesters@trendyent.com with their name, computer specs and play history with Dungeon Defenders.

Also available sometime today for free on the Steam version of the game is the "Presidents Day Battle Royale" DLC. The content includes the Presidents Day Battle Royale Challenge Mission, punching gloves for the Squire and Monk, along with Democrat Donkey and Republican Elephant pets. There are also four unlockable character skins: President Obama Monk, Michelle Obama Huntress, Mitt Romney Squire and George Washington Apprentice.

The beta and DLC will be available sometime today, we'll update as soon as it goes live.

Amazon is holding a Valentine's Day sale until the 20th for "Games to Play with Friends You Love." The titles cover major "core" titles at deep discounts and over 200 casual titles for $2.99, all on PC.

Highlights in the core section include Dungeon Defenders for $3, Borderlands Game of the Year for $7 and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 and Ghost Recon 2 for $2.50 apiece.

More? Okay. How about Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 for $5 apiece. Yeah, see, Amazon loves you, baby. Now, don't get jealous when you find out this isn't a monogamous deal between you and the retailer.

I guess a life of pillaging has its downsides.

7.16 Update Notes
* Added "Assault Mission Pack" premium content, free for owners of the 'Lost Eternia Shards Complete DLC'
* Added "Barbarian Hero Class" premium content
* Added "Hardcore Mythical Defender", "Dungeon Raider", and "Mythical Dungeon Raider" Accomplishments & Steam Achievements
* Added one-button "Sync All Items to DefenderStore.com", and no longer pops up Steam Overlay after you login to the site!

* Added 'Mythical Defender' reward! 'Outlander' costume with special ability
* Added Item-Box/Hero-Shop "Folder" support (& subfolders too), and Item Drag-&-Drop support
* Added "Q" key to toggle "Front View" mode where you can view the front of your character and rotate around them for tasty pics
* Added "H" key to Toggle HUD visibility
* Added UI Option to disable controller rumble feedback

* Made Hardcore mode available in all Difficulty settings
* Hardcore mission completions now save and are visible in your completion stats
* Fix for network bandwidth issue involving high-attack-rate projectile towers: tower projectiles are now locally spawned and locally-calculated client-side, completely elminating their bandwidth cost.
* Spider Webbing no longer stacks on players, you can only be webbed once-at-a-time
* 'Group Hug' Achievement can now optionally be earned using the corresponding Gender-Swapped Heroes
* Fixed bug where Squire's Blood Rage damage resistance calculation was inverted, erroneously making him take MORE damage as the Blood Rage stat was level updated. This is resolved, and now e.g. 1800 point Blood Rage will cut incoming damage by about 50%, enabling better Squire tanking especially on the high-end.
* Reduced Healing Ramp Cost by 20% (less Healing Cost per HP increase), and reduced Healing Cost by a straight 40% in NM
* Darkness Trap now strips mobs of elemental immunity, and reduced DU cost to 5
* Player Shop Maximum Item Sale Cost is now correctly 200,000,000 (the UI was previously erroneously limiting the number to 8 digits, preventing reaching this maximum)
* Fixed the cost of upgrading "Halloween Spooktacular!" items, now is the same as other equivalent items
* Fixed another kind of 'Return-To-Tavern-Crash' (perhaps the last)
* Buffed Squire Circular Slice damage ramp by 15%, Reduced its cooldown by 1 second, and increased its animation speed by 25%
* All Squire Towers HP buffed by 60% in NM, Harpoon Turret rotate speed increased by 40%
* Eliminated Speed Boosts in NM Assaults