Fateless Video Recap: Horde Mode, Treasure Caves & Campfires — Campaign V2
Each week, we share a direct update from the team behind Godforge, so you can see what we’re building, what’s changing, and why we’re making the calls we are. This week, Simon is joined by lead designer Paul to talk about the next version of campaign, why the team is revisiting it after beta, and how campaign can become a stronger journey through the world of Riven.
Campaign is one of the most important parts of Godforge. It is where the main story is delivered, where players explore the world, where teams earn experience, where basic armor sets can be farmed, and where future systems like relics, tales, and side content can live.
A major goal for the new campaign direction is to make each realm feel more like a place you are exploring, not just a list of stages to clear. The team is drawing inspiration from MMO-style zone progression, where players follow a main story path while also discovering side quests, special encounters, vendors, bosses, and other optional challenges along the way.
One of the biggest beta learnings was that campaign difficulty could spike too sharply. Moving from story mode into higher difficulties often felt like too big of a jump. The new direction is focused on smoother progression, more stages per realm, better pacing, and more moments where players can overcome a challenge, progress again, and discover something new.
The team also talks about several new campaign concepts, including heroic side nodes, adventure stories, campfire vendors, treasure caves, horde mode, feature nodes, and realm mastery. These are all meant to create more variety, more discovery, and more reasons to come back to each realm over time.
Story is still a major part of campaign, but the team is also listening to feedback that narrative beats may not need to happen after every single stage. The goal is to keep the worldbuilding strong while giving players more room to play, explore, and choose what they want to do next.
This new campaign direction is still in design and prototyping, but the goal is clear: make campaign feel more dynamic, more rewarding, and more like a true journey through Godforge.
Key topics covered in this video:
- Campaign version two design goals
- Paul joining to discuss campaign changes
- Campaign as the core narrative mode
- Worldbuilding, story delivery, and realm exploration
- Beta feedback around difficulty spikes
- Smoother progression between campaign challenges
- More stages and discovery within each realm
- Side nodes, heroic nodes, and adventure stories
- Earning hero aether cores through campaign
- Campfire vendors and player choice rewards
- Horde mode as a character experience source
- Feature nodes for unlocking dungeons and game modes
- Treasure caves with premium rewards
- Realm mastery and improved star rewards
- Reducing repeated story beats while keeping narrative strong
- Making campaign feel like one forward-moving journey
