Although it hasn’t been too long, development is rapidly progressing for patch 0.4.0. One of the bulkiest parts of the 0.4.0 update is already working as intended, and there are plenty of things to report in on. So, I’d like to take some time today to detail what to expect for 0.4.0 and check in on where development is overall for the Full Release Roadmap.

Big Changes Coming in 0.4.0

Pieces as Items

The biggest and most obvious change to highlight is how pieces work fundamentally in the game. Up until 0.4.0, pieces were an ephemeral configuration option players could swap in and out freely within their respective elements with no concern for unlocking or customizing. Now, pieces are treated as items, which utilize both the grading system and the modifier system to change how they work in game.

Starting with 0.4.0, and occurring whenever a full economy reset is done, players will be prompted to select their starting set. This will grant you a piece chest which will contain Worn grade pieces from the core set + signature piece to play with. As you play matches, each box will contain at least one piece, with random loot rolls capable of dropping more piece singles as well as a 3 and 5 piece loot chests. Pieces can also be crafted with Dust of Arcana (more on that later). There are a few other systems being worked on to make getting pieces for your next set easier. The overall goal for moving pieces to be items is to add personalization, variety, and strategic use to pieces which wouldn’t normally be used together and give players something to build and work towards. Runes are also being adjusted in a number of ways which will help make the crafting process easier, though this will be expanded on more in the patch notes. All pieces will be able to get Basic modifiers, the total number of which depends on the grade of the piece item, ranging from 2 on Worn pieces to 6 on Regulation and higher grade pieces. Graded quality pieces will be able to roll Special modifiers, which are set specific and more powerful while causing the pieces to cost more to play. Although I wonder what kinds of modifiers will roll on Pristine grade pieces? More information will be included regarding pieces and their modifiers in the full patch notes.

Steam Deck Verified and Controller Support

Along with pieces as items, a major update is being done for controller support, specifically Steam Deck. The goal for 0.4.0 was to get as close to Steam Deck verified status as possible. There are still some wonky spots throughout the UI that need attention but overall the game is significantly more playable on controller. More testing and validation will narrow this down over time.

Achievements

Another major, new feature coming in 0.4.0 is Achievements. A number of new achievements are being added with the 0.4.0 release which players can start making progress towards. Unlike the economy and item resets, achievement progress is never reset and is an entirely separate system from stats and match metrics. There are currently 33 achievements implemented, with another 20 being targeted for release with 0.4.0, and 83 more which will slowly trickle out over time. These achievements will eventually be tied to in-game unlockable cosmetics, which will be granted retroactively for the ambitious players who unlock them before they are implemented.

UI Enhancements

Overall the user interface has been standardized and formatting across the entire client is being updated to align in all places. There are still some places which need some more work, particularly in-game with the board getting a graphical frame and the piece selector and info sections needing framing, but generally speaking the game should have a more uniform appearance.

In-Game Tutorial Hints

To ease players into the game more efficiently, a new tutorial hint system is being added to the game. These sequential info panels will provide players with a clear description of key components of the game, and provide much needed information for the first time you load into the game. There are initial hints, set-specific hints, and context aware hints that will help give players more immediate information that helps acclimate them to the game. These can be entirely disabled in-game or in Options, and can be reset at any time.

Dust of Arcana

A small note on this. Replacing Tyle Powder, Dust of Arcana is the currency resource which is generated by destroying tyles, pieces, and drops from chests and daily box rewards. Dust of Arcana can be used to craft new pieces, tyles, and runes. There were additionally some updates done to the amount dropped when destroying tyles and overall balancing how players can acquire this resource. While more plans are being worked on to use the currency in other places, it remains the baseline “recycling” currency for extra items.

Balance Changes

With the pieces as items and modifier pass being done from a design perspective, a number of problematic pieces or thematically inconsistent designs were highlighted and corrected. A full list of changes is going to come with patch notes but every set has had at least one piece adjusted at baseline. The idea here isn’t as much focused on balance itself between element comparisons, which is something I’d like to get more data on, but rather on how cohesive each piece feels in a set. Some pieces were effectively bolted onto a set and didn’t really feel like they belonged or didn’t have strong synergies with any other pieces. The goal with the majority of the balance changes was to bring pieces in line with their anticipated power level by base cost, and pull them closer to the set’s core identity to ensure that there are more piece combinations available. One thing that pieces are struggling with currently from a design perspective is the mana curve. Some piece configurations seem almost entirely unusable because the mana curve dictates a lot of how you play. If you don’t have a 10 mana or less piece to play on turn one, you just wasted an entire turn, which may be okay if you’re using more high-end pieces that get added later on, but burning two turns waiting for that is not ideal. This issue hasn’t been really addressed yet (and possibly was exacerbated by other changes) but it’s being looked at from a design perspective.

Tyle Changes

Along with the pieces change, tyles are going to see a radical adjustment at some point in the future, possibly in 0.4.0. The primary issue with tyles is that they have too much strange behavioral interaction with the game. They were intended as both a reward and difficulty scaling mechanic which would reward you in-game and after the match while making things a bit more difficult. It doesn’t feel like they hit the mark though. To address this, tyles going to be adjusted to be more loot focused, less punishing to use, but still impact the game. The current idea for how this is accomplished is not yet clear, but expect at least a few changes in 0.4.0.

Full Release Roadmap Check-In

Looking at the full release roadmap, a surprising amount of these items are already / have already been checked off. Below is a list of the changes and their current status:

• Critical – Must Have
• High – Really Want
• Medium – Nice to Have

• Android App – Full support for play on Android devices.
  • Status: In development/testing – a number of issues still persist with the Google Play distribution process but Android app is now a part of the development deployment action workflow. Likely not releasing for a number of patch cycles.
• Asynchronous Matches – Support asynchronous (play and wait) matches.
  • Status: Fully implemented – Currently available in production environment. Still may have some bugs or issues but so far nothing outstanding.
• Set Progression – No-reset cosmetic unlocks.
  • Status: Slated for 0.5.0 – No current development progress; slated for development and release in the 0.5.0 patch cycle.
• Pieces as Items – Pieces drop as items; can be crafted for added player agency and strategy development.
  • Status: Slated for 0.4.0 – System is fully implemented in 0.4.0 development branch, no known system related defects.
• Ranked Ladders – Periodically reset ranked ladders, eventually supporting special cosmetic unlocks.
  • Status: No progress – This feature is not currently slated for a release cycle. Ranked ladders are more of a player-focused feature and require Pieces as Items for their implementation. This may come later on as attempts to build player base begin.
• Achievements – Cross-platform unlockable achievements.
  • Status: Slated for 0.4.0 – System is fully implemented in 0.4.0 development branch, no known system related defects.
• Replays – Review and rewatch past matches.
  • Status: Fully implemented – Currently available in production environment. Still may have some bugs or issue but so far nothing outstanding.
• Hardcore Mode – Add Gauntlet (PvE) and Arena (PvP) game modes.
  • Status: Slated for 0.5.0 – Design work is mostly complete; slated for development and release in the 0.5.0 patch cycle.
• Quests – Add daily/weekly/monthly objectives to complete for in-game rewards.
  • Status: Design in progress – This system is being designed and not yet implemented nor slated for a patch cycle. Likely release candidate is 0.6.0, with a possible bump to 0.5.0.
• Economy Refactor – Rebuild of the item reset system to support “seasonal” development cycles.
  • Status: Slated for 0.4.0 – System is fully implemented in 0.4.0 development branch, no known system related defects.

Wrapping Up

All in all, the 0.4.0 update is shaping up nicely to be a significant change to the game. There are a lot of items being worked on, and the majority of the full release roadmap is accounted for. There are a number of outstanding design and implementation specifics that need to be ironed out but overall progress is ahead of what was originally anticipated when the full release roadmap was first established. Development has been moving very quickly and it is highly likely that Elementyle will exit Early Access before the end of 2026.