Descend

Overview

Descend is an enthralling 2D rogue-like dungeon crawler that challenges players to put their skills and perseverance to the test. Each playthrough presents a completely distinct and randomly generated dungeon, brimming with treacherous mobs to conquer and precious treasures to attain. This browser-based, single-player game employs a turn-based, server-side system to guarantee an equitable and delightful encounter for all.

Combat Mechanics

In order to climb the leaderboard in Descend, players must focus on leveling up the right skills and utilizing the appropriate attack styles against specific mobs. Fortunately, skill progression is retained between playthroughs even in the event of player death.

Skills are increased by earning experience points (XP) through attacking mobs, with each combat style dedicating XP to a specific skill. Health skill boosts player vitality and allows for longer fights. Strength skill amplifies offensive power and increases maximum damage output. Attack skill sharpens accuracy in combat. Defence skill enhances player defense against enemy attacks.

Combat styles refer to the various methods of fighting against monsters in combat, with each weapon type having its own unique set of combat styles. Each combat style is characterized by an attack style and weapon style. The hit chance is determined by comparing the player's attack level to the mob's defence level.

There are four combat styles in Descend: Precise, Aggressive, Balanced, and Block. Precise combat style earns Attack XP for every point of damage dealt, while Aggressive earns Strength XP for each point of damage dealt. Balanced combat style earns equal parts of Attack, Strength, and Defence XP for every point of damage dealt. Finally, Block combat style earns Defense XP for every point of damage taken.

Items and Energy

In Descend, players must carefully manage their energy and score to succeed. Each turn taken in the game will result in a depletion of 1 point from the player's score. As a result, players must devise effective strategies to ensure that they can maintain a high score without wasting energy unnecessarily. To achieve a high score, players must focus on defeating mobs and collecting loot while using as few turns as possible.

Items in Descend come in two types: Ethereal and Tethered. Ethereal items will never be lost, even if the player dies, and can be bridged to Level 1 as NFTs. In contrast, Tethered items are lost upon death and cannot be bridged out as NFTs. Players can purchase Tethered items from the $TEAR store, but they will be lost if the player dies. Players can store their items in their inventory and equip certain items to their character for additional benefits.

Pets 

Pets were recently introduced in Descend, unlike typical game companions, these pets evolve with distinctive behaviors and personalities, responding dynamically to players' actions. They're not just in-game cosmetics, these creatures offer valuable perks and stats that enhance exploration and combat abilities, essential for optimizing builds and conquering late-game challenges. The process of acquiring pets ranges from casual encounters in the world to elaborate capture methods involving food, traps, magic relics, or sacred instruments. With their rarity tiers from Common to Ascended, pets also serve as coveted status symbols due to their scarcity and the effort required to obtain them. 

How to Get Started

To access Descend, players are required to have either $TEAR or a Dungeon Pass. One $TEAR is needed to enter the dungeon, while a Dungeon Pass allows for unlimited entries without the need for $TEAR.

To begin, players can navigate to the official website of Descend, descend.gg, and connect their MetaMask wallet to the site. By clicking the Play button, players can enter the dungeon. If players do not possess a Dungeon Pass, they will be prompted to purchase $TEAR for their entry. Alternatively, if they have a Dungeon Pass, they can proceed directly to character selection.

Upon successful entry to the dungeon, players will be presented with a character selection screen where they can choose their preferred character to play as. It's important to note that characters in Descend are purely aesthetic and do not affect damage or skills. After selecting a character, players will embark on a tutorial to familiarize themselves with the gameplay of Descend. With these steps completed, players can enjoy the exciting gameplay of Descend and embark on their thrilling dungeon adventures.