Update · Version 1.18.0

The Runic Nexus, the Runic Forge and the Gold King

Version 1.18.0 gives your forge a new long-term goal. A fourth daily dungeon pays Runic Tomes, the Runic Forge turns them into permanent upgrades, and the Gold Vault finally has someone guarding the gold. 1.18.0 is on its way to the App Store and Google Play; the new dungeon, the research tree and the Gold King open in the game once the update is out on both stores.

The Gold Vault: the hero faces the Gold King in front of the vault door, with 38 seconds left, the boss health bar in phase 1 and 1,697 of 1,832 gold collected — The Gold King, phase 1

The Runic Nexus, a fourth daily dungeon

The Runic Nexus opens at Forge Level 8 and pays Runic Tomes. Like the other dungeons it has two free keys a day and a long ladder of stages, 120 in all, each one unlocked by clearing the one before. Every stage carries a rune (Stone, Blood, Storm, Ward or Bulwark) that is weak to some hero stats and resists others; every tenth stage is a boss with two runes. Damage and Health always count in full, so a crit build is never useless, but a build that matches the rune goes further. The entry screen shows how your equipped loadout matches the rune before you go in.

The Runic Nexus entry window for Stage 12, Blood Rune: weak to Crit Damage, resists Lifesteal, the equipped build compared with the rune, a reward of 213 Runic Tomes, 2 of 2 keys, and the Enter and Claim Last buttons — Stage 12, the Blood Rune: what it is weak to and what it resists

The Runic Forge

Runic Tomes go into the Runic Forge, a research tree that also opens at Forge Level 8. It has three tabs, Forge, Stats and Arsenal, with seven tiers each: two minor nodes of five ranks and a major node that needs both. That is 63 nodes, and you never have to give one up for another. One research runs at a time, from ten minutes for the first ranks to about two days for the deepest.

Forge: more passive coins, cheaper forge upgrades, up to two extra hours of offline income, free crafts, more rack places, and items up to level 120.
Stats: higher rolls on new equipment and new souls, with the hero's stat caps rising to match.
Arsenal: bigger rewards in the Gold Vault, the Arcane Sanctum and the Ember Crypt, a chance to keep your key there, and cheaper, faster soul summons.

The Runic Forge, Forge tab: Spark of Fortune I researching with 5 minutes left, Deep Coffers I waiting in the Study Queue, and the Forge Research tree with its ranks — The Forge tab, with a second research waiting in the Study Queue

Three optional items in the shop go with it. The Study Queue is a one-time purchase that lets you line up a second research, which starts by itself when the first one finishes. In the shop's new Weekly section, Scholar's Week makes every research you start in the next seven days 20% shorter, and the Runic Cache gives you three times your Runic Nexus Claim Last in Tomes. Each weekly item can be bought once a week.

The shop's Weekly section: Scholar's Week, every Runic Forge research started in the next 7 days is 20% shorter, and the Runic Cache, three times your Runic Nexus Claim Last, each marked Once a week — Scholar's Week and the Runic Cache, once a week

Runic Day on Sundays

Sunday becomes Runic Day in your clan's week: every Runic Forge research you finish earns 50% more Forge Marks, and finishing one with a gem skip counts the same as waiting. Runic Nexus runs count as dungeon runs, so they get the bonus on the Dungeon Days, Wednesday and Saturday.

Clan Featured on Sunday, Runic Day: plus 50% Marks from Runic Forge nodes, the week calendar from Monday to Sunday, and Your Actions led by the best action now — Clan Featured on Runic Day

The Gold King

The Gold Vault is now a boss fight. You have 45 seconds against the Gold King, who rises again twice, each time healing harder and fighting back. Break his first phase to clear the level and unlock the next. The further you push him, the closer your reward gets to the level's maximum, and you never get less than Claim Last.

Keys are only used when you claim

In every daily dungeon, your key is now used only when you tap Claim. Leave a run or lose it, and the key is still yours. Every key you spend still counts for contracts, the Weekly Ladder and Forge Marks.

Also in 1.18.0

Switch loadouts even when your rack is full.
A free craft or summon shows a FREE stamp, and a saved key flies back to its counter.
Dungeon rewards fly from the Claim button to their counter.
Passive income now rises at every forge level instead of in steps.
The one-time milestone banners are gone; the Ascension celebration stays.

Play Idle Forge

Idle Forge is a free blacksmith idle RPG for iOS and Android. Read about 1.16 and 1.17, browse the other devlogs or the full changelog.