Hey everyone,
V0.760 is here!
This update introduces one of the most requested gladiator classes since launch, alongside new events, visual improvements, balance changes, quality of life features, performance improvements and plenty of bug fixes.
Let's jump straight into it.
The Retiarius Has Arrived
The long awaited Retiarius class has finally entered the arena.
A huge thank you once again to freelance artist Julio "JKen" for all of his incredible work bringing this class to life. I couldn't be happier with how it has turned out.
The Retiarius unlocks once a gladiator reaches 10 Charisma and offers a completely different combat style compared to every other class in the game.
Unlike traditional gladiators, the Retiarius:
Cannot wear helmets
Receives a Dodge bonus
Fights using a trident (slight reach advantage) and net
Excels at controlling opponents rather than simply overpowering them
The class introduces an entirely new combat mechanic through Net Entanglement.
With every attack, the Retiarius attempts to entangle the enemy using the net. Players using the Aggressive stance will instead throw the net immediately, giving a much higher chance of trapping the opponent.
Whether the net succeeds depends on the agility of both gladiators, making fast opponents much harder to capture.
5 New Tridents & Net Equipment
Five brand new tridents have been added to the game, along with the Retiarius' iconic combat net.
The new equipment gives the class its own distinct identity and opens the door for even more unique equipment in future updates.
New Retiarius Combat Skills
The class launches with two unique combat abilities.
Net Sweep
A powerful sweeping attack that knocks an opponent to the ground while keeping hold of the net.
Venomous Net
Entangled enemies can now be poisoned, allowing the Retiarius to slowly wear down trapped opponents while they struggle to escape.
New Dialogue & Morale Bonuses
Choosing the Retiarius class now unlocks new dialogue and morale interactions.
Like the other specialisations, gladiators will react to their chosen path, helping each class feel more unique and alive.
Equipment Improvements
Several pieces of equipment have been rebalanced and improved.
Class bonus stats have now been added to additional armour pieces.
Ornate Gold Greaves and Champion Greaves now have more distinct stat differences.
Fixed the visual issue affecting long spears.
Two New Lanista Events
Two completely new travelling Lanista events have been added.
Travelling Lanista
A Lanista may offer to purchase one of your gladiators for an enormous amount of gold.
The offer may be tempting...
...but don't be surprised if you meet that gladiator again in a future Tournament.
Shady Gladiator Merchant
Occasionally a travelling Lanista will arrive offering several high-potential gladiators.
He proudly claims none of them have any bad traits.
Strangely enough...
...he also refuses to let your Scout inspect them too closely.
Cough... cough...
Barbarian Event Improvements
Barbarian encounters have received several improvements.
Gladiators no longer lose their equipment if they die during Barbarian events.
Barbarian raiders can now originate from multiple ethnic groups rather than always being Germanic.
These events should now feel more varied and rewarding throughout a campaign.
Event Combat Improvements
Rival School and Barbarian battles now allow players to select combat stances before entering battle.
A combat speed selector has also been added, giving players the same level of control available in other major battles.
Boss Selection Improvement
Once a boss has been unlocked, the default opponent will now be the standard enemy instead of the boss.
This should help prevent accidental boss fights through misclicks.
Class Balance Changes
Several balance adjustments have been made across existing classes.
The Dimachaerus has been rebalanced after significantly outperforming every other class during the mid and late game.
A bug has also been fixed where certain non-class equipment failed to apply the intended speed penalty to the Dimachaerus.
As always, I will continue monitoring class balance based on player feedback and gameplay data.
Combat Visual Improvements
Combat presentation has continued to improve.
A new shield block visual effect has been added to make defensive combat feel more impactful.
New Gladiator Visuals
Eleven brand new gladiator heads and portraits have been added to the game.
This provides much greater visual variety throughout campaigns and helps each gladiator feel more unique.
Again, a huge thank you to Julio for the fantastic artwork.
Gladiator Names Return
Due to popular demand, gladiator names have been re-added above combat actors.
For players who prefer a cleaner interface, this can be disabled at any time through the Options menu.
Staff Hiring Improvement
Players can no longer repeatedly lowball staff offers by leaving and re-entering the hiring screen to reset negotiations.
Sometimes persistence is admirable.
This wasn't one of those times.
Performance Improvements
Additional optimisation work has been completed to improve performance, particularly on lower-end hardware.
I will continue making performance improvements wherever possible as development continues.
Bug Fixes
Numerous bugs have been resolved throughout the project, including gameplay, UI and balance fixes.
As always, thank you to everyone who continues submitting bug reports and helping improve the game.
Development News
The average playtime continues to increase every month, which is fantastic to see.
Originally, my next priority after this batch of classes was going to be animals and additional combat encounters.
However, with more and more players now reaching the end of the current content, I may instead shift focus towards expanding the end game and improving replayability before returning to those features.
I'll continue monitoring player progression before making that final decision.
What's Next?
The next major goal is to bring the Ludus to life by visually adding staff members throughout your school and It's time for another new class.
My current thinking is very simple.
BIG WEAPON + BIG SMASH = FUN.
Development now moves onto the next class, a brutal two-handed gladiator focused on delivering devastating blows with oversized weapons.
Thank You
As always, thank you all for your continued feedback, reviews, bug reports and support.
There is still a huge amount I want to build, and we're only getting started.
Let's continue building Gladiator Command together.
If you encounter any issues or have feedback, you can always reach me through the Steam Discussions or Discord.
Thanks, everyone.