Shadows Of Thornkeep

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• Announcements·19 Jul 2026Official

  Version 0.9.0 – Blood Tree additions

  Hello everyone!Version 0.9 has just been released, and I'm here to tell you a bit about it. First of all, I'm sorry this update took so long. Real life got in the way, and I simply wasn't able to dedicate as much time to Thornkeep each day as I usually do, which caused the delay.New Blood StonesThree new Blood Stone destinations have been added: Deep Woods, Overgrown Village, and Swamps.These greatly expand the endgame and should keep your Blood Realm runs fresh for much longer. It took some extra time to handcraft the layouts for these maps, as I didn't want to simply reuse the default map template and populate it with assets from each biome. I hope you'll notice the extra effort.Doctor ReworkThe Camp Doctor interface has been reworked to be more intuitive and finally gives you the ability to add positive perks to your heroes.Heroes can now receive one additional perk for every 10 levels, giving character levels even more meaning, just as many of you requested.Other Small TweaksAs the game moves closer to its full release, I'm focusing on quality of life improvements and visual polish, especially for the UI.The first thing you'll notice is the redesigned main menu, but there are plenty of other small changes and improvements throughout the game. To be honest, since development of this update was spread across two months, it's hard for me to remember exactly what was added when. Fortunately, that doesn't really matter as long as each change makes Thornkeep a better and more polished game. ;-)Near Future & 1.0 ReleaseI should have a bit more time to dedicate to Thornkeep now. At the same time, I want to keep my sanity and avoid burnout. Since it's also the middle of summer and I imagine most people would rather spend time at the beach than crawling through dungeons I've decided to postpone the full release from mid-summer to mid-September.This gives me some breathing room to implement more improvements, replace ai generated music with human made(this ll be tough, har...
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• Announcements·17 May 2026Official

  Version 0.8.0 – Highland Crawlers

  Hello everyone! Wishing you a wonderful Sunday — and once you’re done with your outdoor activities, let’s take a look at the new Thornkeep update.What’s New?Highlands added to the open world mapNew open world vendorNew class to compete for the frontline slotUI tweaks to make things more readable and intuitiveSwamp monster sprite reworkHighlandsThe Highlands are now part of the open world and can be accessed through the Rotfen location. Just like the Infected Village and Deep Woods, the Highlands are a side location. The main reason to visit this area is a new vendor offering hard-to-obtain Class Items that alter or completely change the abilities of your heroes.HarbingerThe Harbinger is a new hero class added to increase the variety of possible party compositions. This class focuses on stacking bleed damage while being resilient enough to stay on the front row.It can be further specialized into an Exorcist, which supports the party with additional mana regeneration, or a Reaper, which enhances bleed stacking even further, making the class especially effective during prolonged boss fights.UI TweaksThe character sheet has been greatly improved, increasing readability and making the UI easier to use overall. In addition, new mouseover popups were added to some interface elements, suggesting ideal hero placement within the party and explaining which stats are most important for each class.Swamp Monster ReworkThis is part of a long-term effort to replace older sprites and bring the game closer to the visual standard established by the first wave of reworks. Drowners and Crabmen received brand-new sprites and animations, helping the game feel more visually consistent.Future UpdatesThere’s still a lot of work ahead, although we can already see the light at the end of the tunnel — version 1.0.With update 0.9, development focus will return to endgame content. The Blood Tree talent tree will be expanded further, more Blood Stone types will be added, and smaller additions and ...
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• Announcements·29 Mar 2026Official

  Version 0.7.5 – Deep Woods

  Version 0.75 – The Deep WoodsI’m back! And I’m back with another update. As usual, plans shifted a bit during development to better reflect game priorities and player feedback, but what matters most is that we keep moving forward at a steady pace, getting closer to version 1.0 and to the vision of dungeon crawler I’ve always wanted to play since my childhood ;-)Additions & FixesSecond pass on grammar improvementsHighlands biome retouched and partially reworked - it now looks much better and feels like a truly unique place in the world of ThornkeepBlack Woods sprite rework completed, and werewolves added to better reflect the Werewolf Forest sublocationDeep Woods side location added, featuring a new horrifying enemy the Forest HulkOverworld side locations (Overgrown Village and Deep Woods) now have a reason to visit, thanks to its unique vendorsWorld automap added (gave me a serious headache, but it’s finally working)5 more hero avatars added (3 male, 2 female)Preacher significantly buffed to better compete with other classes (now gains skill power from both INT and WIS attributes) Near FutureFor now, I’m steering away from endgame development and will be focusing on the open world and UI improvements all the way to version 1.0, as there’s still a lot of work to be done.The next update will focus on adding the Highlands as a side location in the open world (connected to the swamps), along with a swamp enemy set sprite rework, continuing to replace older assets to match the new visual standard established in recent updates.In addition, I’ll be revisiting most UI elements, especially character sheets and inventory. Right now, it’s not always clear what each stat does or which classes benefit from what. I’ll work on making this more intuitive with mouseovers and other improvements.I would also like to finally introduce a new hero class to add more variety. Currently, there are a couple of dominant party compositions, and I feel a game like Thornkeep should offer more op...
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• Patch Notes·22 Feb 2026Official

  Step Beyond the Camp – Open World Update 0.7

  Version 0.7 – Open World UpdateHello everyone! I’m back with another update for Shadows of Thornkeep!Version 0.7 is now live, and I have to say development of this one was pretty wild. Priorities shifted middevelopment while I was playtesting the new Highlands biome. I hope you will be as excited about this unexpected addition as I am.OPEN WORLDThe biggest addition in this update is the introduction of an open world.While playtesting with a fresh party and running through the beginner tutorial, I kept thinking: “Why can’t I just walk out of the camp and explore the world on my own?” Randomized expeditions are cool — but what if the island itself could be explored freely, uncovering its mysteries step by step?That’s how it started. The idea grew to the point where I had to abandon most of the originally planned 0.7 features and focus entirely on building this system instead. Why such a radical addition?My focus had been on developing endgame content. However, Steam statistics show that only a fraction of players reach that stage. The game clearly needed something stronger for the early experience - something that captures attention and teaches the basics naturally.The open world begins almost like an extended tutorial and should be easy to get into. After the first real boss fight, difficulty ramps up, and players will still need to run expeditions to gear up and progress further.Is it possible to progress without expeditions? Yes it is, but it would require unnecessary grind. The expedition system still plays an important role in progression and there is no reason to avoid it completely, even you can if you really want to.CAMP CHANGESThe central teleporter pad now serves as a waypoint map for the open world. When approached, the world map opens and allows you to select discovered waypoints. Waypoints work both ways — you can teleport back to camp from the world as well.Expeditions have been moved to the Stagecoach NPC. Just a few tiles west of the teleporter stands ...
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• Patch Notes·11 Jan 2026Official

  Wait is over, update 0.6 is live!

  Hello everyone! I’m back with another update. Sure, this one took me a bit more time than expected, but the wait is finally over. Version 0.6 was probably the toughest so far, as it’s content packed and brings new game functions and mechanics, including endgame content.Tree of BloodAfter you defeat the Warden, its blood will trigger the growth of the Blood Tree in the second area of your base camp. The tree itself is a gateway to another dimension when used with a Waystone (more about those later). In addition, each adventure run through the Blood Tree portal fuels the tree with more EXP, and when the tree levels up, you are awarded a talent point that can be spent on one of the enhancements for future runs.At the moment, the talent tree is about 60% complete, but it is already enough to have fun with, and it will be expanded in future updates. For now, respeccing talents is free to allow faster testing and easier bug hunting.WaystonesWaystones can be acquired either as loot drops (from dungeons and Blood Realm runs) or purchased from the Blood Priest standing next to the tree. Waystones are inserted into the Blood Tree socket and, after clicking the Departure button, your party is teleported to the Waystone’s destination.Right now, the only possible destination is the Blood Thicket, but don’t worry, each upcoming update will bring a new type of Waystone with a new destination as well.Endgame runs are time limited. If you manage to finish the run within the time limit, the Waystone you used is not consumed and, in addition, it levels up, allowing another run that will be tougher and offer the chance for even better loot. If you fail to finish within the time limit, nothing terrible happens, you can still finish the run and gain EXP for the Blood Tree, however, the Waystone is consumed.Weapon reforgingWeapon reforging is the first facility that serves as an endgame currency sink. Its usage is very simple: insert a weapon, pick a stat, and roll the dice. The number of...
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