- Auto-Spellcasting, QoL & New Items (Early Access Update - v0.7) - 18 December 2025
Happy holidays! 🎁 🎄🐲 ImprovementsNew! AUTOMATIC COMBAT CONTROLS (Autocast)You can already toggle Auto-Aim and Auto-Fire (Main Weapon) during a run using your hotkeys. The community requested to automate more of the combat, including the active spells.In the settings menu (press Escape / Start in-game), you can now pick one of three control styles to suit your personal play style and accessibility needs:Manual (default) - you cast spells using buttons/keys and have full tactical control.Auto (new!) - spells are cast automatically, you only need to focus on walking/flying, calling your dragon at the right time, and dashing. Spells trigger whenever their cool-down allows.Auto with manual Shield (new!) - spells are cast automatically, but you trigger your Shield spell (if equipped) using any of the spell buttons and keys (Q/E/R on keyboard or X/Y/B on controller). A blend of tactical fle…
- Update v0.6.7 - 4 New Items & Bugfixes - 7 December 2025
New Stuff ✨Added 4 new items, unlocked by default, that you can grab from loot chests during a run, all are rare or epic tier. They grant some powerful multipliers for your damage output, which you can further scale up by collecting more elemental sigils during your run.New Item: Azure CrownNew Item: Verdant CrownNew Item: Voidbeast HelmetNew Item: Wargoblin HelmetChanges ✒️Map Event Markers had a lifetime after which they disappeared. Now they stay on your map until collected, with a maximum of 7 Map Events being active at a time, to not clutter your HUD too much.Bugfixes 🐛Fixed: Map Event Chests (the ones you unlock with Gold) could sometimes run out of items when banish was used a lot in the early game, when not many items are unlocked. Or if pursued a lot in the early game. This could lead to stalling. I've made the whole system more robust for such edge cases.
- Hotfix Patch🔥 - 5 December 2025
v 0.6.5adjust difficulty / spawn intensity / mob stats for balancingv 0.6.6bugfix: fix broken achievements for gold reroll, shadow damage, lightning damage, first dragonflight after tutorial, mining, ten projectiles on main staff (thanks again to community member "I Am Spam" for the bug report!)tweak: make quest block status on quest board a bit clearer, visually
- Content Update & Bullet Heaven Fest - 4 December 2025
🎄⚔️ Bullet Heaven Fest Sale! ⚔️🎄First of all, you can get Black Dragon Mage at 33% off for Bullet Heaven Fest 3.0! Be sure to check out the bundles too. :)🎄⚔️ Black Dragon Mage - Content Update ⚔️🎄Finally, it took far longer than anticipated and you have my sincere apologies (several unexpected circumstances this year have led to significant delays) but now I'm proud to present the first update from our content roadmap!Black Dragon Mage is in Early Access and in active development.To better reflect this, I have updated the version number to v0.6.4 and added a label to the title screen - the game is still a work-in-progress, but steadily shaping up to meet the final vision!The past few months have been full of intense development, here's what I can ship to you today:Map EventsDuring your run, small circular icons will appear. These shall lead you to new challenges and rewards.Simply…
- Content Patch Preview: Spell Evolutions - 1 October 2025
Well met, adventurers! 🐉🧙🏻♂️Autumn is upon us and the next content patch is around the corner. Here's a quick preview of what to expect from the next content patch. 🔥 By the way, the game is 23% off for Steam Autumn Sale! 🔥 Preview: Spell Evolutions 📜All of the Active Spells are getting 3 new, distinct Spell Evolutions each (15 total) to bring them to the next level.A quick look at the newly evolved spells:Spell Evos make your active spells more powerful by boosting their stats and tilting the odds in your favour, additionally they can:Adjust how the spell behavesfor instance, it can make your Shield of Frost leave a powerful ice explosive behind when depleted.Your Summoned Flame Swords may drop some handy bombs, or help you collect experience gems.While the Fiery Pentagram area damage becomes an aura, following and protecting you. Some projectiles will cause additional lightning…
- Start of the Roadmap - 23 January 2025
Well met, adventurers, Firstly, I hope you're having a great start to your year (and/or lunar new year soon! By the way, the game is 20% off to celebrate this occasion!). Thanks for all the support and kind words. You may or may not know that this is my first commercial title and I appreciate your patience while I keep going on the solo indie dev marathon! Seems like a great time to start iterating on a roadmap for Black Dragon Mage, while I'm fixing bugs & fleshing out the content. Below is an initial list of topics that I am currently tackling for Content Patch 01, as well as candidates for upcoming updates (the order and content of which will surely change as the needs of the game evolve). You can also find the roadmap and its future versions on the Steam Store Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2207230/Black_Dragon_Mage/ 🐉 Driven by community feedback As stated before, I read…
- Minor Hotfix - 26 December 2024
🐛 bugfix: temporary move speed debuff (e.g. from walking through fog) had incorrect duration, now back at 4s 🐛 bugfix: the perk "Molten Golem" undesirably disabled your dash ability, now it works correctly (thanks Ser_Destroyer!) 🐛 bugfix: when using a gem attraction scroll, there was a small delay and potential unwanted overlap with multiple triggers - now they should be quicker to process in all scenarios ✨ upgrade algorithm improvement: perks with debuff tradeoffs ("spicy perks") won't be offered if you're already permanently debuffed through stacking to a degree where they would immobilize you
- Patch Notes: Merry Christmas Edition! 🐉✨ - 24 December 2024
Hey adventurers, first of all: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all! I have taken some extra time before the next content update and the upcoming roadmap (more on that soon) to squash some more bugs, and rework some of the systems that were causing frustrating experiences. It's important to get the critical issues out of the way before the new spells, enemies, and characters are added to the game. Exciting stuff is coming! 🎄⚔️ Black Dragon Mage Xmas Bugfix Update ⚔️🎄 Version Highlights: Completely replaced input system to resolve gamepad-related freezes or scenarios where the controller stopped responding. Reworked boss AI for more reliable and fair boss fights. Reworked upgrade picker algorithm so you get more relevant and fun options. Reduced some of the upgrade restrictions so you see more upgrades regardless of choices. Adjusted XP gain curve for faster level-ups, so you…
- Minor Hotfix - 14 December 2024
Bugfix: Gamepad UI navigation was overriding spell button #3 during gameplay (thanks, GM!)
- 🧙♂️ Early Access - Patch 3 - 14 December 2024
Fellow Adventurers, Another update has landed, focused on squashing bugs. Here’s what’s new: 🔧 Tweaks and Adjustments Improved environment culling interval to take into account your performance, resulting in less environment pop-in. Improved cleanup routines when exiting the main game loop. ✨ Improvements Enhanced Steam Overlay UI support—now the game pauses properly when the overlay is invoked. This was critical for Steam Deck certification! Black Dragon Mage is now Steam Deck Verified. Addressed player movement issues when framerate was low or artificially limited. Now you can use the Steam Deck frame limiter (or other frame limiters on e.g. laptops, when trying to save on battery) without additional slowdowns. 🐞 Bug Fixes Area text now hides faster during menu interactions and other transitions, as well as showing more reliably upon map enter. Resolved a bug causing the autofire bu…
- 🧙♂️ Early Access - Patch 2 - 9 December 2024
Fellow Adventurers, Thank you for sticking with me and sharing your feedback, bug reports, and even your frustrations. I hear you, and I’ve been working to make your experience smoother and more rewarding. Here’s what’s new in this update: 💰 Loot and Spell Improvements Reapers now drop better loot, making them even more worth the fight! Added new stat upgrades for the Pentagram spell. More serious upgrades for the spells coming soon. 🎮 Controller Updates and Fixes Fully reworked the UI system for much more reliable controller gameplay. - Big thanks to vashTstampede for the log files Improved controller UI detection: - You can now leave a controller plugged in while playing with keyboard and mouse. This one’s for you, Moczan! Secondary mappings have been added to the controls list in the pause menu for easier reference. More accurate controller detection overall for a smoother experien…
- 🧙♂️ Early Access - Patch 1 is out! - 7 December 2024
Fellow Adventurers, thank you for your letters filled with feedback, praise, and concerns. I've read every single one of them! 📜 This first Early Access patch brings a collection of fixes and tweaks to make your next dragon ride even smoother. ✨ Improvements Based on Player Feedback Base walk speed has been significantly increased for all player characters. Dashing in the Hall of Relics is now faster and snappier. Rerolls are now much more player-friendly: - Costs reset upon leveling up (!) - Adjusted formula for better scaling. Arcane Mutators that previously cost gold to equip during a run are now free! - Since you already paid for unlocking them in the Hall of Relics, this double charge felt unfair. I agreed, so it’s been changed. Reworked the Quest Reward UI for better clarity, making it easier to see where you can redeem rewards (auto-redeem is coming in a future update). Expanded…
- Early Access Update 1 - Feedback & Fixes - 6 December 2024
Hi everyone, We’re just over a day into Early Access for Black Dragon Mage, and I’m grateful for all the feedback you’ve shared so far. Thank you for taking the time to play and help shape the game’s future. I know some players have encountered frustrating issues, and I’m working hard to address them. Early Access is about expanding and refining a game together. Your input helps guide these improvements as I add more content and tweak the foundation. Here’s what I’m focusing on right now: 🚀 Initial movement speed: Starting mobility on maps will be improved. 🪄 Overall spell and staff scaling will be increased in pace. 🐉 Dragon mode feeling more impactful: I’m adding the main weapon mastery effect to dragon mode to make attacks feel more impactful. 🐲 Mana pickups in flight: You’ll soon be able to sustain your dragon’s flight by gathering mana while airborne. 🔥 Pentagram spell vs. nor…
- Hotfix - 4 December 2024
fixes an issue where the Quest and Achievement for unlocking Schmiedrun, the second mage character, would not show up correctly and prevent some progress - you should now be able to unlock her from the quest grid if you have completed the respective task.
- 🐉 The Dragons are taking flight! 🐉 Now out in Early Access! - 4 December 2024
Are you ready, Adventurers?! 🧙♂️ Black Dragon Mage officially launches on December 4, 2024, for PC and Steam Deck! It’s time to saddle up for an unforgettable ride. Over 13,000 players experienced the chaos and charm of this occult and colorful dark-fantasy world in the demo, now it's time to enter Early Access. Join the community shaping the future of this title. 52 achievements are waiting for you in the Hall of Relics! Celebrate launch week with a 20% discount today! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2207230/Black_Dragon_Mage/ New Mage Character "Schmiedrun" unveiled! Schmiedrun - She's a fierce dwarven engineer-mage with a flair for Arcane Automata! In her workshop, she can fix anything. Outside, she can break anything. She brings her creations to life with arcane runes and commands them to fight at her side. Her weapon of choice? A sentient hammer with deadly precision—smart-tar…
- Release Date Announcement - 23 November 2024
Greetings, adventurers! Long have you awaited this message. It is time to unroll your calendar scrolls and mark a magical date: Black Dragon Mage is launching on... December 4th, 2024 What will be new, compared to the current demo experience? Spell evolutions: Use your elemental mana points to charge up your spells and bring them to the next level! A mysterious new character! Her identity is secret for now, she brings her own hand-forged arsenal. More shall be revealed soon. A mysterious new dragon! While he arrives as her companion, you may also equip the new dragon with your classic mage. More shall be revealed soon. 59+ new items! Explore new synergies with ancient tomes, magic armor, enchanted rings and a chicken, amongst other new additions. Metaprogression: Build your legacy of arcane power between runs, with the option to refund your investments and try different paths. Steam Ach…
- Additional Refreshments - 15 November 2024
💍New loot: 4 new rings to unlock in the Hall of Relics. 💀 Improvement: Reaper can now be fully defeated and drops a reward. 💖 Improvement: Health bars for mobs, elites and mineable rocks. 🪄 Improvement: Spells are now categorized into: Area / Projectile / Shield / Orbs. 🔬 Tech: Reworked custom culling solution. 🐛 Bugfixes: Various small fixes under the hood, including an edge case broken shield check.
- Magical Monday: Roll for Gold - 10 November 2024
🎲 Improvement: Try your luck and roll for 3 different upgrades (refresh) using your gold! 🔬 Improvement: Various performance tweaks under the hood. 🌟 Preparing for Launch: Added steam achievements to the full version (for now, these are not in the demo or playtest).
- Magical Monday: Latest bugfixes & improvements - 4 November 2024
Here are some recently fixed bugs and added tweaks in the latest demo update: 🐛 Bugfix: Luminor, the Boss Pyramid, would sometimes take a vacation in the Bermuda Triangle and disappear indefinitely. 🐛 Bugfix: Void projectiles from e.g. the Shadow Staff had their visual lurking around after despawn sometimes, now they disappear correctly. Into the void. 🐛 Bugfix: Reaper would sometimes not respect the player's shield. He apologized. ⚔️ Improvement: Adjusted Luminor's move set & battle sequence. ✨ Improvement: Pentagram ability icon & visual. Should be easier to make the visual link between the icon and the spell now. 🎯 Improvement: Player projectile origin adjusted for better visibility and less overlap. Thanks for the community bug reports & feedback! 🧙♂️ Play the updated demo: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2207230/Black_Dragon_Mage/
- Hotfixes and Tweaks! 👻 - 2 November 2024
Here are some recently fixed bugs and added tweaks in the latest demo update: 💎 XP Gem absorption scroll is now faster, snappier, and hopefully won't permanently slow down your run or session — even if you absorb thousands of XP at once! 🏛️ Pyramid Boss Luminor won't stall during final phase, or fly off to vacation in the Bermuda Triangle 🎮 Improved controller D-pad handling, particularly in UI ⚙️ Made settings menu selections easier to see when using a controller with a yellow highlight 🕹️ Improved controller detection (you can also adjust button glyphs in the settings) 🖱️ Fix: cursor was sometimes missing when it shouldn't, such as in the Hall of Relics (Shop), now you can click to buy 🕰️ Fixed timescaling during heart steal event (Reaper) 🔧 Various other small fixes Thanks for the bug reports & feedback! 🧙♂️ Play the updated demo: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2207230/B…
