Update 1.8.0 added valuable new unlockables to the game. Now, players will be able to earn them more quickly by participating in weekly or monthly events.

Starting today, there will be 5 recurring events!

Dust Storm
Occurs every week, on a random weekday and at a random time. Lasts two hours.
1st place: 25,000 relic dust
2nd place: 20,000 relic dust
3rd place: 15,000 relic dust
4th place: 10,000 relic dust
5th place: 5,000 relic dust

Easy Money
Occurs every Friday from 9pm-10pm UTC.
Everyone who plays during the event gets 2,500 relic dust.

Templar’s Ascent
Occurs once per month. Starts Friday at 10pm UTC and ends Sunday at 10pm UTC.
1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers unlock the Templar character.

Double XP Weekend
Occurs once per month. Starts Friday at 10pm UTC and ends Sunday at 10pm UTC.
All players earn twice as much experience from every match.

Rare Wand Weekend
Occurs twice per month. Starts Friday at 10pm UTC and ends Sunday at 10pm UTC.
The top 10 finishers unlock one of the 5 new wands. The wand will change with each event.

Thank you to all the amazing players who continue to keep The Beyond worth visiting. We hope you’re excited for these new events. If you haven’t already joined the community, be sure to stop by and say hello in our friendly Discord!

Cortopia Studios – 11:00, November 3rd, 2020 PDT: VR spellcasting game Wands receives one of its biggest feature updates today with the “Wand Powers Update” (patch 1.8.0). This new update includes a feature change to all wands. We’ve also crafted five new arena-themed wands that have powers unique enough to match their marvelous designs. We are also adding a new character and a shipload of feature improvements.

With the help of player feedback, Cortopia adds the “Wand Powers” feature, changing the very nature of the wands themselves. This increases the range of choices and implications of loadout combinations. The update is now available on both Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2, Steam VR, the Oculus Rift Store, Viveport Infinity, and coming soon to PlayStation VR.

Wand Powers

Each wand will now have its own unique features to make players more powerful. This greatly boosts the significance of the wands beyond the aesthetic. Wands will have between two and three properties, some of which are a double-edged sword.

Now with a total of 15 wands to choose from and countless loadout combinations, players can choose whether they want an offensive wand such as The Inductor for an electrifying playstyle, or a more forgiving wand such as The Classic.

“The new wand powers add an extra dimension of fun and strategy to the game. Some of the wands will offer simple bonuses, and others will provide the opportunity for innovative playstyles that have never been seen in The Beyond. All players will benefit from this update, even if they never change their currently equipped wand. The five new wands that we’ve added to the game are as interesting as they are beautiful, since they possess some of the most unique powers on offer. We’ve balanced every wand so the ones you choose are a matter of preference, not an easy path to victory. With this update, we’re happy to finally make the wands a bigger part of Wands!” says Elliott, QA & Community Manager at Cortopia.

Five New Wands

In addition to adding unique powers to each wand, we are also adding five new wands to the game: Aspis Claw, Ophidian’s Vigil, Celestial Spine, Ortus Armament, and Dead Master’s Staff.  

New Playable Character: The Templar 

We are excited to introduce The Templar into The Beyond. The Templar has been long awaiting her entry to The Beyond. After failing to hide her gender from the members of the brotherhood, she finds herself banished from the knight’s order. Having been driven near madness with spite she relinquishes her god to make her way into the beyond where she can prove her worth in battle. In the spirit of the select few this elite warrior is only attainable by the top three players in an event that occurs approximately once a month. This means that the character can not be bought but has to be earned by attending this event.

1.8.0 Patch Notes:

New Features

• Wand Powers: Wands have new and unique properties that make you more powerful
• New Wands: 5 brand new wands have been added to the game
• New Character: The Templar has entered The Beyond

Improved Features

• New AI difficulty: An “impossible” difficulty setting has been added
• The Crystal Wand is now unlockable
• New titles have been added for reaching skill ratings of 2600, 2700, 2800, and 2900
• Each loadout can have a different set of wands
• Current HP and Mana are now shown on your HUD
• Notification icon appears on blackboard when you have unclaimed rewards
• Event points can not be earned in friendly duels or against the AI
• Level text is displayed in Lobby
• All locked wands are shown at the Wand Station
• Seasonal match count is displayed in-game (will become visible next season)
• Teleport beacons at Relic Bench and Wand Station are shorter to make interaction easier
• Snap turning delay has been increased, making accidental double turns less likely
• AI matches cannot occur on Sanctum, preventing gas and sandstorm deaths

Game Balancing

• Dual Wielding pickup collection time reduced to 3s (down from 3.5s)
• 6DoF mana regen rate increased to 13/s (up from 12/s)
• Flaming Phoenix – cooldown increased from 0.75s to 1.5s
• Chilling Clutch – cooldown increased from 0.5s to 1s
• Skull Specter – cooldown increased from 0.0s to 1.5s
• Skull Specter – height raised to prevent firing into the ground
• Armor of the Sun – cast cost increased from 50 to 75
• Curse of the Undead – cast cost increased from 40 to 50

Bug Fixes

• Summons’ projectiles no longer pass through the Warden’s arm on Aspis Prison
• DPS damage does not immediately disappear from HUD
• Electric Fist no longer causes significant framerate issues
• Tile-based spells cannot be cast through the trains’ flat cars on Ortus Station
• Haptic feedback on one hand is not interrupted by haptic feedback on the other hand
• Opponent’s voice is no longer audible when they’re muted
• Casting Chaos Leap while teleporting no longer prevents further teleporting
• AI does not glitch on bottom tile of Aspis Prison
• Devil’s Spit can no longer be fired from your previous location
• Titles for Season 17 and up have been added
• English text for Season 16 titles has been fixed
• Teleport no longer fails when it’s the first spell selected when using the Point control scheme

It is tremendously exciting to be able to add this much new content in one update, being over 58 updates in. We spent a lot of time figuring out what we could do to allow for more competitive gameplay without breaking the balance. Considering the feedback from our beta testers, we think we did right by our players.

See you in The Beyond!

Wands Update – Version 1.7.0

After listening to lots of useful community feedback, we at Cortopia Studios have enhanced certain gameplay aspects of Wands, aiming to increase the game’s accessibility, pace, and depth.

(1) Player Movement

Aside from various bug fixes and spell balancing changes, we improved the inverse kinematics, which means your opponent will appear to move more naturally. We also enlarged the playable space to VR’s room scale standard. This creates a more immersive experience since you can move more freely without going out of bounds. All levels have been reworked to accommodate the larger tiles, and the tile locations have been optimized.

(2) Dual Wielding

The main feature we are introducing with Version 1.7.0, is dual wielding. This addition will allow players to wield a Wand in each hand! The community has made it clear that they want the off-hand to be more useful, and we are thrilled to finally make it happen. Being able to do different things with two hands independently from each other is a big change. It allows for new ways to mix and match spells, and it paves the way for new tactics and strategies to emerge and evolve.

(3) Controls

The new mechanics also make it easier to cast spells, and the controls have been simplified for all dual wielding controllers. We have spent the last couple months working on the patch and refining the new controls with the help of beta testers. Previously, players had to select and use their spells with different buttons, which many new players found cumbersome. The new system allows for more instantaneous gameplay. Now, you can unleash havoc at the press of a button, rather than using analogue inputs.

The patch goes live on all supported platforms July 9th, 2020. The dual wielding feature will be available for Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Cosmos, Valve Index, and Windows Mixed Reality.

Unfortunately, we have to discontinue updates for Gear VR, as the Oculus SDK Wands uses is not supported. The final update for Gear VR will be Version 1.6.3.1. Gear VR players who purchased the game prior to this announcement can request a free copy of the game on any other supported platform (within one month of this announcement).

Full 1.7.0 patch notes:

New Feature

• Added Dual Wand control scheme for Quest, Rift, Vive, Index, Cosmos, and WMR. Players can now use a wand in each hand

Improved Features

• Tile size increased to room scale

• Improved IK (your opponent’s character moves more naturally)

• Improved AI animations

• Acid Cloud now gives a clear visual warning before inflicting damage

• Petrifying Prison’s base has been removed for improved visibility

• Petrifying Prison now animates

• 6DoF opponent’s wands point in the exact directions they’re aiming

Game Balancing

• Hail of Death – Fire rate increased 50%

• Blood Bolt – Projectile speed increased 65%

• Chilling Clutch – Projectile speed increased 35%

• Magic Missile – Cost per charged missile increased from 10 to 12

• Electric Fist – Projectile count reduced from 8 to 7

• Pickups take an additional 1.5s to collect for dual wielding players

• Mana regen for 3DoF players is now 2/s faster (17/s total)

Bug Fixes

• Newly unlocked relics do not lay down on the shelf

• Relic icon does not pop out of relic when it’s being unlocked

• Warden’s arm no longer rests on the Aspis elevator tile

• The Aspis elevator tile’s hitbox is now the correct size

• Hours and minutes are now correctly spaced on the events board

• In-game menu is no longer tilted downward

• Player’s feet no longer drag after recentering

• And many more!

We hope you will enjoy these changes, and we are looking forward to hearing more of your feedback for future improvements!

We’re excited to announce a new Wands patch!

This update is loaded with improvements based on player feedback. For example, some people thought the AI was too easy, but other people thought it was too hard … so we built a super easy AI, a ridiculously hard AI, and added a few more options in between! There are plenty more improvements and bug fixes to be found in this patch, but its main purpose is to build a solid foundation for the bigger and better updates that are coming later this year! We’re very excited about the future of Wands, and we hope you are too. See you in the Beyond!

New Features
-Added multiple AI difficulty levels that the player can choose from
-Added support for Windows Mixed Reality controllers

Improved Features
-New tiles added to Halls, Ortus, and Sanctum
-Tile location tweaks on Aspis, Halls, Ortus, Vale, and Sanctum for improved LOS
-Reduced 6DoF recentering time from 1s to 0.5s
-Tile boundary is always visible on your current tile for 6DoF platforms
-Tutorial won’t automatically restart after reinstalling the game
-Added additional connection messages for the Workshop portal
-The AI now defends itself more effectively against several spells
-The AI is now less proficient with Shield and Dome at low difficulty levels
-Improved controls for Valve Index controllers
-Electric Fist’s VFX were changed on Quest to reduce framerate issues

Game Balancing
-Curse of the Undead – Reduced duration from 15s to 10s
-Disc of Antioch – Increased cost from 35 to 40, increased cooldown to 0.5s between shots
-Cerberus Collars – Are now limited to 1 active at a time for each player

Bug Fixes
-Fixed issue where Prison could lock a summon in place if cast on another tile in quick succession
-Fixed issue where casting Twins could block further spell casting
-Teleport beacons no longer stay active when releasing the Teleport button outside your boundary
-6DoF players can no longer cast spells before the match starts by pausing/unpausing the game or by stepping out and into their play area
-Fixed issue where Disc could sometimes get inside Dome
-Fixed incorrect hints on the Monolith
-Mana now properly regenerates faster during the last minute of the match
-Fixed lighting issue behind the Workshop Portal that created weird shadows
-Fixed issue that prevented Teleporting to distant tiles on Sanctum
-6DoF players can no longer cast spells through the floor
-Gamepad is no longer recognized as valid input on Quest
-Fixed issue where the AI could grab pickups while casting spells
-Fixed issue where Lightning sometimes failed to deal damage on Ortus
-Fixed issue where two walls were invisible from certain tiles on Temple
-Fixed issue where player’s position dropped when standing on Aspis elevator as match ended
-Fixed issue where Assassin’s picture was briefly visible when unlocking any other character