August Dev Diary - A Campaign Revisited, Blackwater, and Beyond
Greetings House Leaders,
It’s been a busy Summer in Westeros! With War of the Three Banners now underway, we’re thrilled to see the strategies and rivalries unfolding across Alliances. As that new feature settles in, we’re shifting our focus to what’s next - better tanks, updates to Campaign, a new event, and a focused round of Champion tuning. As promised, this tuning pass is lighter: fewer changes overall, mostly buffs, and no major faction identity shifts - save for one big update to Cersei. Let’s take a look at what’s ahead...
Hold The Door! DEF Stat Rework
In our current combat system, tanks (especially those who rely on high DEF) haven’t been holding the line as well as they should. Champions like Yoren, Barristan Selmy, Meryn Trant, and even Stannis (The One True King) have felt too fragile despite their defensive roles.
We’re making a key update to how DEF works to ensure it plays a more meaningful role in mitigating damage. While the underlying formula will remain the same - DEF compared to the attacker’s ATK - the scaling will be adjusted to give high-DEF champions stronger protection where it matters most.
This won’t impact every Champion. Hard hitters like Theon Greyjoy already deal massive damage and should feel little difference. But Champions caught in the middle of the stat curve will feel a subtle improvement in survivability, and those at the bottom will no longer be instantly wiped out. Even Ramsay Bolton will stand a better chance of surviving the first blow.
A few balance tweaks will follow, including:
Ned Stark’s passive healing will be slightly reduced to account for his improved durability.
DEF Buffs: With DEF being much more valuable, some Champions with DEF buffs will have their buffs reduced. 1
We will be looking into buffing damage for some Champions that we wouldn’t want to see walled out by the new strength of tanks, as well as some Champs that are meant to be finishers or DPS carries.
Low ATK Champions who shouldn’t lose damage from this change, such as Jon Snow (King in the North), The Ice Warden, or Craster.
Champions meant to be tank-killers, but may not have high ATK values, like Yara Greyjoy, Benjen Stark, or Petyr Baelish.
Champions with limited targeting options and end up striking tanks, such as Bronn or Ygritte.
One-hit knockouts will still be possible, but you’ll need to earn them. Tanks will feel tankier, and burst damage will require more precise timing and setup.
This is just the first step toward making defense-focused Champions a stronger and more viable part of your strategy. More improvements may follow, so we look forward to you letting us know how it feels in the coming battles.
In All This Excitement, I’ve Kinda Lost Track Myself: A Defensive Team Buff/Debuff Adjustment
Some of you sharp-eyed tacticians may have noticed: some enemy team buffs and debuffs have been lasting longer than yours. That isn’t your imagination - and while the original intent made sense, it’s gotten a little out of hand.
Here’s the background: enemy Champions take their turns after you, so if they apply a 1-turn debuff to your team, it would expire before you act. To make those effects meaningful, we built in a system that extends certain enemy-applied effects by +1 turn.
However, a bug caused that +1 turn to be applied to everything, not just the effects impacted by turn order.
That means buffs like BIRTHRIGHT, and debuffs like SCOUTED, are sticking around longer than intended when used by the defending team. If it feels like defensive Greens never run out of steam… Well, they kind of don’t.
We’re working on a solution that will ensure that buffs and debuffs respect the correct timing - whether you’re attacking or defending. More details to come in an upcoming release.
New Event - Battle of Blackwater Bay
A new challenge rises from the smoke of Blackwater Bay.
Wildfire Gems ignite the battlefield in this explosive new event, introducing a dangerous twist to the gem board. These volatile gems deal damage to your Champions every turn and will spread if left unchecked - lowering your score and threatening your survival. The longer they burn, the more costly the battle becomes.
Each battle opens with a Wildfire explosion that scatters gems and strips your team of all buffs. With each new wave, more Wildfire erupts - forcing you to adapt your strategy, build resilient teams, and manage the board carefully. Champions who rely on buffs may struggle, while others will thrive under pressure.
To stand against the flames, bring our newest Champions into battle: Davos Seaworth (Hand of Stannis), Stannis Baratheon (The One True King), and Tyrion Lannister (The Half Man). These Champions receive exclusive bonuses to ATK, DEF, and Unnatural Resistance in the event - making them your best hope to control the chaos.
This new event is coming very, very soon! Keep your eyes peeled for an announcement later this week!
Campaign Changes - Revisiting our Core Game Mode
Every journey in Game of Thrones: Legends begins with the Campaign. It’s where players first meet Champions, grow their Stronghold, and take their place in the world of Westeros. But while the game has evolved in many ways since launch, the Campaign has remained unchanged - until now.
We’re beginning a long-overdue update to Campaign mode, aiming to modernize early content, introduce meaningful challenges, and make rewards more valuable and targeted. Campaign battles will be refreshed with new mechanics, tougher enemies, and updated loot drops - letting you chase Gear by slot, and even earn a chance at Legendary Gear and Champion Shards.
These changes will roll out in Chapter blocks over time, starting with updates through Chapter 7 in an upcoming DLC (TBD). As we expand this work across all 40 Chapters, we hope the Campaign becomes a satisfying core mode worth revisiting at every stage of your journey.
Watchers on the Wall - A Glimpse Beyond
The battle may rage today, but there’s always more to come. Beyond the wall of the updates above lies a host of improvements we’re eager to share in the months ahead - some big, some small, and many shaped by your feedback.
First, our work on the Campaign continues. We’re putting special focus on improving the early game experience and bringing more variety, challenge, and rewards to later Chapters. These updates will roll out over time, with each release expanding our progress.
We’re also continuing to monitor and evaluate Champions who didn’t quite land during our last major tuning pass. Some need small touch-ups, while others are waiting on new tech before we can fully realize their potential. While none of these are final, here’s a glimpse at a few of the Champions and changes currently under review:
We’re exploring usability buffs for:
Margaery Tyrell - specifically her Ally Gem to help in Lannister teams.
Khal Drogo
Talisa Stark
Godswood Defender
Beric Dondarrion
Arya Stark (Winterfell Returned)
Thoros of Myr
Viserys Targaryen III
We’re looking at power buffs for:
Yoren
Craghas Drahar
Meryn Trant
Sandor Clegane (Joffrey’s Guardian) - specifically for Lannister team comps.
Stannis Baratheon (The One True King)
We’re also looking into:
A complete rework of Cersei Lannister’s kit
A small nerf to BIRTHRIGHT
A much needed adjustment to the Legendary Assault battle against Adolescent Viserion.
We’ll share more as these changes move into testing and development. Until then, stay sharp - there’s always something stirring in the shadows.
“I have nothing more to tell you. It must be the dragon who speaks.” - Rhaenyra Targaryen
– BattleKitty, The Game of Thrones: Legends Design Director