Well, what do you know! Two days after we complete our review of the awesome Gauntlet inspired dungeon crawler Hammerwatch, Crackshell drops a fresh update making the game even better. Not as if the game needed additional content to be worth playing.
Starting today, Hammerwatch has its six hero class, the Priest. I haven’t played far enough in yet to see all of his capabilities, but after powering through a couple floors I’m liking the new play style the Priest brings. His main attack is a short-ranged smite spell which does splash damage to multiple enemies when they’re bunched together, and his beginning magic ability is a powerful beam of holy light. While I have only sampled the Priest in solo play, I’ve read his attacks work both ways, dealing damage to enemies while healing allies. Another interesting dynamic is the Priest’s magic shield. Each time the Priest is hit the damage is mitigated at the cost of mana points, so he takes longer to drop than the other spellcaster types.
Of even greater significance, today’s update finally integrates the game with Steam Workshop, allowing players to share and download new user-created maps and stories built in the level editor far more accessible and intuitive. The lack of Workshop support is something I called out in our review, so it’s great to see such a crucial feature added to the game.
Unfortunately the map system hasn’t been improved yet, but the latest Hammerwatch patch does include many other class adjustments and miscellaneous balances. The full patch notes are listed below. Good stuff, Crackshell. Keep it coming!
Misc:
•Added priest class
•Added workshop support
•Added auto fire
•Added double lives crutch
•Added directional marker to minimap to see where other players are
•Bosses now drop upgrades
•Certain enemies in act 2 and 4 now drop banners that buff or heal enemies, or drain player mana
•Replaced glare with bloom
•Added new particle effects for when enemies die
•Added timer to statistics screen
•Fixed crash at the end of hero defense
•Fixed crash when refreshing server list
Balance:
•The beginning of the game is now slightly easier
•Ranger now slowed 50% while shooting
•Lowered the range of the ranger
•Paladins heal now only heal players within a small range
•Increased thief attack speed
•Increased thief starting health
•Improved paladin starting shield
•Increased wizard starting health
Editor features:
•Added Checkpoint script node for setting spawn points and saving the game
•Added PlayGibs script node for displaying particle effects
•AnnounceText script can now show pickup texts
•Editor can now take large screenshots of an entire level
•HUD elements can now be shown and hidden from level scripts via the GlobalFlag system
•DangerAreas can now heal if they have negative damage
Source: Patch Notes for 1.23 (July 2014) [Hammerwatch]
Matt Litten is the full-time editor and owner of VGBlogger.com. He is responsible for maintaining the day to day operation of the site, editing all staff content before it is published, and contributing regular news, reviews, previews and other articles.
Matt landed his first gig in the video game review business writing for the now-defunct website BonusStage.com. After the sad and untimely close of BonusStage, the former staff went on to found VGBlogger.com. After a short stint as US Site Manager for AceGamez, Matt assumed full ownership over VGBlogger, and to this day he is dedicated to making it one of the top video game blogs in all the blogosphere.
Matt is a fair-minded reviewer and lover of games of all platforms and types, big or small, hyped or niche, big-budget or indie. But that doesn't mean he will let poor games slide without a good thrashing when necessary! 
