Don't Lose Aggro news & patch notes

Hi tanks!

This month was focused on polishing the existing experience, tackling onboarding processes and also designing new abilities, shields and builds.

I hope to get this into a playtest version and share the latest build with you soon.

Work started to increase the party size

• The new design will contain a primary and secondary companion, for a total team size of 3.

• The primary companion will keep their active ability, but the secondary one will only have passives

UX improvements are at works

Carrying out the vision to make tanking more accessible is no easy feat, another iteration of tutorial polish and improvements to the explanations is required.

In this example, examining what reads best for color contrast and positioning of the UI elements for best readability.

A new dungeon is being built

I don't have visuals to share yet, the new dungeon will focus on decision making throughout with less linear pathing, more player agency and freedom while exploring.

New shields are being designed

What corresponding effects should they have?

Implementing new abilities and builds

• Blood strike will be a new ability for the utility slot that heals for the damage dealt, with a new build path revolving around self heal

• Adding new status effects like Slow & Root and various upgrades across all abilities that build off it

• Adding a Damage over Time effect and build to abilities

• Adding upgrades to the effect of Toughness and how it plays

That's it for this month, and as always, let me know your thoughts on the forums or the Discord!

Hey everyone,

Don’t Lose Aggro will be part of the Insider Gaming Showcase, and I wanted to take a moment to say thank you.

This game started from something very personal to me.

I grew up spending countless hours tanking in games like World of Warcraft and other MMOs.

I loved the pressure of protecting the team, interrupting enemies at the right moment and being a massive pain for my healers to heal because I always pulled too much.

Over time, I realized there were not many games built entirely around that feeling, so I decided to build one myself.

Seeing Don’t Lose Aggro reach Very Positive reviews on Steam has meant a lot.

I read every review, comment, watch every stream, notice every wishlist.

These help keep the project moving, and makes the long solo dev days feel a little less insane.

I'm also committed to fixing every bug, improving performance and polishing the experience.

Being part of the Insider Gaming Showcase is a big moment for a small indie game like this.

There are so many games fighting for attention every day, and any support during the showcase genuinely helps.

The roadmap is already out, and I’m going to keep building, improving, and expanding Don’t Lose Aggro from here.

If you enjoy the game and want to support it, leaving a review, sharing it with a friend, or watching for it during the showcase would mean a lot.

Thank you for helping this little tanking game keep moving forward.

Don't Lose Aggro will also be 20% off starting tomorrow.

Oren

Hey Tanks!

It's been a month since Early Access released!

I have been trying to smooth out the experience and fix as many bugs as I can in the first few weeks of release, but now it's time to hunker down and focus on adding more content.

I will try to write up a devlog every month with a recap and show some progress on the game.

As always, if you want more frequent updates and join the discord!

So, how did it go??

With the dust mostly settled around the EA launch, I'm very happy with the attention Don't Lose Aggro received, it was truly humbling to see the game resonate so much with former and current tank mains.

However, there is still much work to be done, and while I am happy the game is doing well in its niche, I'm hoping it can grow and attract a wider audience as time goes on and more content gets added.

Keep posting videos, reviews, bug reports and feedback anywhere you see fit, rest assured I see & read them all!

Monthly Development Recap

The Focus was on digesting feedback, addressing issues and writing up the development roadmap

This month's patches included:

• Quality of life features such as Cloud Save support, extended keybindings, faster traversal

• Ongoing work to explain mechanics better and address friction and difficulty spikes

• Added a new way to use abilities by holding the action button and aiming

• NPC pathfinding polish and overall dungeon crawl experience adjustments

• Various bug fixes

Moving Forward

I'm currently busy designing the Summoner, with these abilities in mind (subject to change):

• Passive “Summon” : Summons skeletal minions every x seconds (cast) that orbit around you in formation and attack enemies targeting you (up to 5 minions)

• Active - Sacrifice a minion to heal yourself

• Minions have pathfinding but don’t have health and cannot be targeted, they can only die via Sacrifice

• Summon casts reset/interrupted if Summoner is hit

• Minions prefer hitting Taunted targets

Also started designing new enemy races, each will contain various classes (like the current Goblin race)

I also intend to introduce Toughness System Changes where each shield does something else with Toughness:

• Toughness (the shield resource) will go up to 4 stacks (previously 3)

• Crusader provides Damage Reduction per stack (current effect)

• Disc will change and provide Block Value per stack

• Vice Grip will provide Movement Speed per stack, really diving into the kiting build with this one.

A new shield is work in progress that will be built around dodging:

I've also started working on improving the tutorial, addressing difficulty spikes, planning changes to the Ranger (random teleport needs work)

That's it for this month, stay tuned for more updates.

Tanks a lot!

Hi Tanks!

It's been 2 weeks since the Early Access launch!

Thank you all for playing, enjoying and giving feedback on Don't Lose Aggro - this is what drives the success of this project.

I spent a lot of time digesting feedback, watching you play, and contemplating where the game should go next accordingly, especially around increased party sizes, player customization, loot and gear.

I'm happy to present the early access development roadmap, and I'm already hard at work on Phase 1 and sharing progress actively on the Discord server!

As always, I encourage you to voice opinions and feedback in the steam forums as well, let me know what you think:

Here's What's Coming

Phase 1

• Endless Mode (how long can you last??)

• Summoner Companion

• New shields, abilities and enemies

Phase 2

• Increased party size

• Shield progression system

• Shield based Ultimate abilities

• Consumables and vendors

• Achievement wall

Phase 3

• Loot and gear system

• Player Customization

• New companions

• Companion levels & companion progression system

• Leaderboards

Hi Tanks!

Don't Lose Aggro is now avaialble in Early Access!

Please note, the game is still in early stages. Expect unfinished features and bugs, but please communicate them to me so the game can fulfill it's potential.

It has been a long and meaningful journey for me, making this game as a solo developer for 2.5 years, so I really hope the tanking fantasy I envisioned will resonate.

Your feedback will decide how Don't Lose Aggro grows, so make sure you Join the Discord!

hope you will have fun with Don't Lose Aggro!

It's Tanking Time.

The moment has finally arrived Tanks!

Don't Lose Aggro is releasing into Early Access on April 15 for Windows PC and Steam Deck!

The game will launch at a price of 10$ with a 20% launch discount.

Thank you everyone who participated in playtests, played the demo or reported bugs and provided feedback, it helped shape this release a lot.

Especially during Early Access, your feedback and reviews will be the deciding factor of the game's future!

What to expect in the Early Access version

Game modes and Player Ranking

Based on player feedback I wanted to introduce more aspects of tanking into the game, these are now invoked by the different modes the game has to offer.

Each mode has a ranking criteria which awards medals based on performance: Gold medal rewards x3 EXP, silver X2 exp and bronze X1.

Dungeon Crawl Mode

You will rank based on how fast you complete the dungeon. Dungeons are meant to test your ability to plan routes, manage your cooldowns and strategize your run for best time possible.

Wave Defense Mode

You will rank based on how much damage your companion takes. Wave defense is meant to test your ability to act under pressure with growing threats, carefully plan your positioning, and make split-second combat decisions..

Boss Rush Mode

You will start at level 10 and be ranked based on how fast you defeat the boss. Boss Rush is meant to test your spatial awareness, keeping track of boss abilities and your companion at all times.

The City Hub

The city is the hub where you upgrade, unlock new stuff and maybe chill to cool music.

Explore different talent builds, companions, equipment, upgrades and craft your ultimate tanking build.

Your feedback and reviews will determine the game's future

While I have a roadmap of where I want to take the game, I want to prioritize player requested features, bug fixing, polish and overall better game experience in the upcoming future.

Post reviews, discussions, join the Discord and help shape the game's future!

Thank you!

Oren

Hi Tanks!

I'm proud to announce the second companion of Don't Lose Aggro - The Ranger!

Along with many changes to improve game feel, this demo patch includes:

• Gameplay tips

• Numerous bug fixes

• Changes to visuals for shields

• Changes to descriptions and overall reading level of the game, making split-second decisions easier to make

• A complete overhaul of ingame UI

• Better leveling experience when multiple levels are rolled

• Chosen upgrades appear as a buff bar at the top of the screen so you don't have to remember what you picked anymore

• Showing the relevant ability tooltip when hovering over upgrades

• Nerfed Nova's knock back to better synergize with Holy Ground

• Nerfed companion heal upgrade to apply once instead of per impact (this trivialized the game, unintended)

• New upgrade: Dodge triggers auto attack. Go build dodge!

And much more!

Waiting for your feedback in the Discord.

Hi Tanks,

I improved the tutorial so it now highlights what keybind is relevant for each step.

Also:

• Fixed visual bugs for ultrawide screens

• Highlighted enemies further for better visibility

• Fixed a bug in the tutorial where the instruction popup would disappear

Waiting for your feedback in the Discord as always!

Hi Tanks, new demo update with really cool stuff:

• New environment graphics

• Performance optimizations

• Targeting will prefer close enemies more often

• Added a cycle target feature on Tab or LT that targets the closest enemy without aggro

• Added a section to the tutorial to teach about cycling targets

Additional bug fixes:

• Fixed spellbook not making UI sounds

• Fixed spellbook UI icon borders

• Fixed typos in various upgrade options

• Fixed mini boss charging sometimes appear stuck inside the healer

• Fixed overall exp bar not being accurate to your current level

Hi Tanks!

More tweaks/bug fixes/polish!

• Nova now does significantly less damage (60 down from 500) but knocks back enemies

• Vice Grip now unlocks after completing Tanking 201 instead of playing for an hour

• Talent Menu UI: added a visual cue to emphasize connected talents

• Goblins now make a sound when knocked hard enough with Shield Throw

• Visual changes to the level

• Graphic quality settings "Low" "Medium" and "High" selectable from the settings menu

• Fixed some UI bugs around the spellbook menu

• Fixed UI spacing issues, font mismatches and alignments across menus

Bug fixes:

• Fixed a bug where consecration would overlap on the terrain

• Fixed a bug where enemy healthbars would appear to teleport around

Hi Tanks!

Watching you play the demo I realize it was taking a bit too long to unlock those tier 2 talents preciously needed to pass tanking 201.

I also saw some frustration when the offensive ability (whirlwind/retribution) wasn't in the cards for the first few levels, so:

Hi Tanks!

More nerfs to Tanking 101, added tab targeting support

• mobs amount reduced by half

• exp gained per mob is therefore doubled

• Tanking 201 will also see a 50% exp bonus per mob killed.

• Traditional targeting system is available for keyboard & mouse users, under settings -> gameplay. left click to target, hold right click to rotate, use tab to cycle targets!

Come join the discord, its fun!

Hi Tanks!

I'm taking a crack at improving the targeting system, it should be easier to target enemies you're running towards now, let me know if its an improvement!

Additionally:

• New Upgrade: Shield Throw prioritizes enemeis without aggro.

• New Upgrade: Dodges increase the next whirlwind damage, stacking effect.

Fixes/Tweaks:

• Buffed the underwhelming Healer upgrades at level 10

• Healer health will now flash when she gets healed for more clarity and battlefield awareness

• Buffed Shield Throw's search radius

• Dodge combat text is white to contrast from all the damage going on

See you in the Discord!

Hi Tanks!

Watching you play I realize Taunt and Pull were too weak, and needed a buff, also realized only a fraction of players managed to clear the first level without giving up, so nerfing that one a little!

• Pull redesign: Now targets in an area around you (up to 20 enemies) and roots in place for 3 seconds

• New possible Taunt upgrade that heals you for every enemy taunted

• Disabled the mini boss in Tanking 101, this inverse mob that rages on your healer only comes at Tanking 201 now.

Let me know how it plays, Discord is open!

Added Movement keys rebinding as well as companion ability rebinding

Hi Tanks!

TL;DR:

• Green health bars (aggro'd) are now hidden by default but can be brought back via settings

• Added indication for cooldown remaining on "Holy Nova" talent

• Changed ability descriptions, hopefully they are clearer now

• Changed the shield unlocked conditions so Disc gets played with first ideally

Thanks a lot for the feedback on the demo so far!

Implementing your thoughts, I have added a feature that hides health bars of already aggro'd enemies.

This is on by default but can be turned off in the settings, for those who want to still see them.

This is not a change I'm taking light headed as this takes away some of the control over the battlefield, not knowing the exact health of all present enemies can backfire, so please let me know what you think of this change!

Additionally, I added another cast bar for the healer that displays the remaining CD of "Holy Nova" for those who spec into it, should help maneuver your CDs around.

As always waiting for your feedback both on the demo page and the Discord feedback channel!

Tanks!

Excited to share that after almost 2 years of development, the demo for the first ever MMO-like tanking is live!

Try it out, leave a review and if you liked it, wishlist the full game because I have massive plans for it, including:

• Dungeon crawl mode with plenty of difficulty levels, timers, affixes and modifiers.

• Multi companion feature where you will protect a whole party and not just one!

• Boss-only modes with various bosses

• Wide variety of companions like healers, rogues and necromancers.

• Much more!

As always waiting for your feedback on Discord, come chat!