Rogue Legacy 2 update 0.2.0 patch notes enter The Far Shores

When Rogue Legacy 2 began its journey into early access, it looked similar to the original game in many ways. Players take characters and wander through a procedurally-generated castle. Those characters would die, descendants would take their place, and players would get a little farther each time. But now developer Cellar Door Games has released Rogue Legacy 2's first major content update, titled The Far Shores, and now this sequel is starting to look like a significantly different experience than its predecessor.

Rogue Legacy 2's 0.2.0 update is going beyond the game's castle setting and into the unexplored realms of Axis Mundi and the Kerguelen Plains. Each of these regions has their own distinct environments, enemies, and mysteries. There are dozens of new room layouts to explore, as well as new heirlooms to offer permanent upgrades. It's the kind of Metroidvania experience that the game's developers had indicated they were aiming for back during our interview back in April.

The new biomes would normally be enough content for an early access update, but Cellar Door is going far beyond the bare minimum for this effort. The team is also adding three new playable classes. They are:

The Valkyrie: The Valkyrie wields a Fauchard, the longest-ranged melee weapon in the game. It can be swung in multiple directions and can even destroy some projectiles.
The Duelist: The Duelist is a quick and agile character, capable of performing air-to-ground combos to help them dodge projectiles and deal damage in one fell swoop. It's both one of the fastest and strongest classes in the game, so in exchange, it also has one of the lowest health bars of all the classes.
The Chef: The Chef isn't a particularly powerful class, but its frying pan can deflect projectiles. It's also the only class in the game who can self-heal by cooking a meal at any time. Just be aware that you are vulnerable while cooking.

Existing classes are also seeing some major changes. The Talents 2.0 system grants each class their own unique ability, which recharges based on their playstyle. On top of that, Rogue Legacy 2 is now implementing Mastery XP. Each class now has its own XP bar, which can be filled to unlock permanent stat bonuses. Play with a variety of classes to earn more permanent upgrades that can be spread across all of the game's playable characters.

All of this is just scratching the surface. Rogue Legacy 2's newest update implements the Unity system for gear, adds new Antiques and Relics, balances the game's spells and character traits, adds new NPCs, adds an encumbrance system (detailed by the developers on Steam), and adds optimizations for all aspect ratios. Just be aware that with such a massive update, it means that any skill tree upgrades, equipment, and runes picked up prior to this update will be erased, so current Rogue Legacy 2 owners will have to take a few steps backward.

You can find the full 0.2.0 patch notes on the Rogue Legacy 2 website. Rogue Legacy 2 is up now on Steam Early Access. You can read our early impressions by checking out our recent hands-on preview.