Velvet Ascension v0.5 Public Release Patch Notes
v0.5 is focused on adding Dillon as the sixth playable character, introducing Permanent Card Seals, expanding the Elite and Boss roster across all three floors, adding a new Patron, improving Arousal management, and continuing to expand the game’s combat, progression, UI, and quality-of-life systems.
The update also includes new relics, potions, events, extensive character and enemy balance changes, Patron progression fixes, combat readability improvements, and a large number of fixes reported during testing.
TL/DR:
Dillon added as the sixth playable character.
Dillon’s complete card pool, artwork, Legacy Path, character relics, and True Mastery artwork added.
Permanent Card Seals added.
14 Common, Uncommon, and Rare Seals added.
Floor 1 and Floor 2 bosses now guarantee Seal rewards.
The Velvet Signet Seal event added.
Anna Claire Clouds added as a new Patron.
Anna’s five unique Patron cards added.
Dedicated Patron card visuals and Collection archive added.
9 new Elite and Boss encounters added across all three floors.
3 new Arousal-management cards added.
3 new potions added.
10 new character relics added.
5 new standard relics added.
The Duck Line event added.
Rubber Duck relic added.
Dillon’s starter deck and starter cards rebalanced.
Fan the Room buffed.
Arousal timing updated.
Ascension 3, 8, 12, and 14 updated.
Several Anna Summon and Domination cards reworked or buffed.
Multiple existing enemies and Bosses rebalanced.
Targeted damage previews improved.
New encounter-specific combat readouts added.
Enemy Arousal display improved.
Run deck viewer updated.
Traveling Merchant updated.
Potion interface updated.
Map readability improved.
SFW event-media filtering improved.
Patron Devotion progression fixed.
Multi-level Patron Devotion rewards fixed.
Legacy Path Opening Card selection fixed.
Collaboration infinite loop fixed.
Getting Creative X-cost interaction fixed.
Dillon’s Light Fingers starting Potion issue fixed.
Arousal and Bounceback timing issues fixed.
Ascension 10 enemy intent display fixed.
Potion combat flickering fixed.
Several card text, targeting, and visual issues fixed.
Main Menu, credits, desktop window, and package metadata updated for v0.5.
New Playable Character: Dillon
Dillon has been added as the sixth playable character.
Dillon includes:
60 starting HP.
130 starting Gold.
3 starting Potion slots.
Lockpick Set as her starting relic.
A 10-card starter deck.
A complete card pool across Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, and Legendary rarities.
Character-specific Flick Knife, Intangible, theft, Exhaustion, and combo mechanics.
A full Legacy Path progression framework.
Skeleton Key and Cutpurse’s Glove character relics.
Standard and True Mastery combat artwork.
Dillon is designed around fast card chains, created Flick Knives, stealing enemy resources, using Exhaustion as a trigger, and avoiding dangerous turns through Intangible.
Her full card pool includes:
18 Common cards.
14 Uncommon cards.
9 Rare cards.
6 Epic cards.
3 Legendary cards.
Her cards include Block and Strength theft, Fatal Gold, Potion generation, Flick Knife scaling, Attack-count payoffs, card cycling, Intangible, persistent enemy theft, combat-wide knife effects, and high-end combo engines.
Dillon Starter Deck
Dillon’s starter deck has been adjusted following testing.
The deck now contains 3 Quick Hands and 3 Hidden Blades while retaining its original 10-card size.
Quick Hands now draws 1 card after dealing damage if a 0-cost card has already been played that turn.
Slip Away now gains 3 additional Block if a card has been Exhausted that turn.
Dillon Card Upgrades
Dillon’s starter cards now have authored upgrades.
Quick Hands+ deals 8 damage.
Slip Away+ gains 7 Block plus 4 conditional Block.
Hidden Blade+ deals 6 damage.
Smoke Bomb+ costs 1 Energy.
Flick Knife+ deals 6 damage.
Fan the Room
Fan the Room has been buffed.
Fan the Room now creates 3 Flick Knives while making Flick Knives hit all enemies.
Fan the Room+ now creates 5 Flick Knives instead of reducing the card’s Energy cost.
Dillon Legacy Path Fixes
Several duplicated starting-card milestones in Dillon’s Legacy Path have been replaced.
Level 10 now grants 5 Max HP.
Level 60 now grants 1 additional Potion slot.
Level 70 now grants a run-start card removal.
Light Fingers has also been fixed so its random starting Potion no longer replaces the normal Healing Draught.
Permanent Card Seals
Permanent Card Seals have been added.
Seals permanently customise individual card instances and activate the first time that specific card is played each combat.
14 Common, Uncommon, and Rare Seals have been added.
Seal effects include:
Additional damage.
Additional Block.
Card draw.
Energy.
Healing.
Debuffs.
Temporary card upgrades.
Additional card plays.
Returning cards.
Seals remain attached when the card is upgraded.
Generated or duplicated copies do not inherit the original card’s Seal.
Each sealed card therefore becomes an individual part of that run’s deck rather than globally modifying every copy of the card.
Seal Rewards
Floor 1 and Floor 2 Bosses now guarantee a choose-then-apply Seal reward.
Floor 2 Seal rewards have improved chances of offering Uncommon and Rare Seals.
This makes Boss victories another major source of permanent deck development during a run.
Seal Visuals
Sealed cards now display an embossed wax Seal at the bottom of their card frame.
Unused Seals glow when available.
Once activated, the Seal cracks and dims for the remainder of the combat.
Hovering a Seal displays its name, rarity, full effect, and eligibility information.
Seal footer placement has also been improved so Seals no longer overlap or clip longer ownership labels.
The Velvet Signet
Added The Velvet Signet event.
The event allows the player to:
Apply a random Common Seal for free.
Purchase a choice of Common or Uncommon Seals for 75 Gold.
Leave the Signet untouched.
This provides an additional way to interact with the Seal system outside Boss rewards.
New Patron: Anna Claire Clouds
Anna Claire Clouds has joined the Patron roster.
Anna offers three different reward paths:
Seal specialisation.
Five unique setup Skills.
Devotion-scaled relic Gifts.
Her five unique Patron cards now have dedicated artwork and Target Preview media.
Anna’s unique cards have also been moved into a dedicated Patron archive within the Collection rather than being mixed into Event / Cameo cards.
Patron Card Visuals
Patron cards now have their own visual identity.
They use a dedicated rose-pink frame, filigree, glow, and Collection treatment.
They remain Event-rarity cards mechanically, but should now be immediately recognisable as Patron content.
Patron Devotion Fixes
Patron Devotion progression has received several important fixes.
Increasing a Patron’s Devotion now correctly grants newly reached tiers of every previously accepted boon from that Patron.
This includes card choices and deck-rebuild rewards.
Persistent Patron relics continue to scale from the Patron’s current Devotion when they trigger.
Multi-level Devotion increases now queue every crossed boon tier separately instead of merging their card rewards together.
Patron card choices can now be skipped.
Card additions and removals can be completed early.
Rebuild only offers cards for removal which were actually added by the reward.
Clean Cut can never remove the final card from the player’s deck.
New Elite and Boss Encounters
Nine new Elite and Boss encounters have been added across the game.
These encounters are designed around mechanics that test different deck types rather than simply increasing enemy health and damage.
Floor 1 Elite: Chainstep Pursuer
Chainstep Pursuer is a sustained attacker built around a five-turn damage cycle.
The encounter tests whether the player can survive and control repeated pressure over several turns.
Floor 1 Elite: Mirror Arbiter
Mirror Arbiter gains Block when the player commits to playing a fourth card.
A visible card counter beside its intent shows how many cards have been played during the current turn.
The encounter is intended to punish decks that repeatedly spam cards without considering when to stop.
Floor 1 Elite: Gilded Headsman
Gilded Headsman builds Verdict toward Final Sentence.
The player can interrupt this progression by dealing enough damage to meet the 15 HP Break the Verdict threshold.
The encounter displays its current Verdict and progress toward the Break threshold beside its intent.
Floor 1 Boss: Mirror Thorn
Mirror Thorn alternates between Barbed Reflection and Perfect Reflection.
Barbed Reflection punishes multi-hit Attacks.
Perfect Reflection punishes large single-hit Attacks.
Its current reflection state and retaliation value are displayed beside its intent.
The fight is intended to force players to change how they attack depending on the active reflection.
Floor 1 Boss: The Rising Idol
The Rising Idol uses Growing Ovation.
Growing Ovation accelerates whenever the player ends a turn without dealing direct HP damage.
The Boss displays whether Growing Ovation will grant 1 or 2 Strength at the end of the current turn.
The encounter rewards decks capable of maintaining offensive pressure rather than endlessly delaying behind defence.
Floor 2 Elite: Corset Engine
Corset Engine introduces independently destructible Left and Right Clasps.
The player can attack and destroy these components during the encounter.
Dedicated combat readouts have been added to track the state of both Clasps.
Floor 2 Boss: Encore Queen
Encore Queen uses Applause.
Applause causes her next damaging move to repeat.
The combat interface displays her current Applause and whether the repeat is ready.
Floor 3 Elite: Archive Widow
Archive Widow visibly removes cards from the player’s draw pile.
Those cards remain archived until the Widow’s Glass Case is broken.
The combat interface shows the names of currently archived cards and the remaining Glass Case Block.
Floor 3 Boss: The Tribunal
The Tribunal introduces player-selected Blood or Burden Clauses.
Clause choices show their full costs before the player selects them.
The Tribunal builds Authority and uses it to transition into a second combat phase.
Dedicated interface elements display Authority, the APPEAL DENIED transition, and Sentence scaling.
The encounter is designed to force the player to make meaningful trade-offs while adapting to a changing Boss fight.
New Arousal-Management Cards
Three new cards have been added specifically to give players additional ways to manage Arousal.
Regain Focus
Neutral Uncommon.
Retain and Exhaust.
Provides an Arousal cleanse while setting up Energy for the following turn.
Cooling Routine
Neutral Rare Power.
Removes Arousal at the end of every turn.
Shake It Loose
Dillon Uncommon.
Allows Dillon to discard a card in exchange for a zero-cost Arousal reduction.
These cards were added alongside the wider Arousal balance changes to provide more tools for decks struggling against the mechanic.
New Potions
Three new generic Potions have been added.
Cooling Tonic removes all Arousal.
Purging Salts removes all Weak, Vulnerable, and Frail.
Spite Extract grants 5 Thorns for the current combat.
New Character Relics
10 new character-specific relics have been added.
Lena:
Shameless Compact.
Impact Pendant.
Riley:
Scandal Sheet.
Borrowed Spotlight.
Eva:
Contact Sheet.
Spare Shutter.
Anna:
Empty Leash.
Broken Collar.
Mia:
Metronome Charm.
Safety Net.
New Standard Relics
Five new standard relics have been added.
Glass Fang.
Copper Thimble.
Red Thread Spool.
Third Bell Token.
Velvet Shears.
The Duck Line
The Duck Line event can now appear on Floors 1 and 2.
Adopting its suspicious bath toy grants the unique Rubber Duck relic and adds Drenched to the player’s deck.
Rubber Duck rewards the player for ending a turn with exactly three cards costing 0, 1, and 2 Energy.
Arousal Timing
Player Arousal timing has received an important balance change.
Arousal newly applied during the enemy turn no longer immediately deals damage at the start of the following player turn.
Instead, the player receives one complete turn to respond to that newly applied Arousal.
Existing Arousal continues to tick normally.
Arousal applied by the player to enemies retains its existing timing.
The goal is to make enemy-applied Arousal more interactive and reduce situations where Arousal is applied and immediately deals unavoidable damage before the player can respond.
Ascension Changes
Several Ascension modifiers have been adjusted.
Ascension 3: Weight Of Fame
Weight Of Fame is now Eternal as well as Unplayable.
Permanent deck-removal effects can no longer select or remove it.
Ascension 8: Going In Dry
Ascension 8 now removes the starting Healing Draught.
Ascension 12: Pigeon Holed
Pigeon Holed now causes the player to draw 2 fewer cards only on turn 1 of each combat.
Previously, it reduced draw by 1 every turn.
Ascension 14: Nympho
Nympho now adds 3 starting Arousal per combat instead of 4.
Character Card Balance
Several existing cards have received significant balance changes and reworks.
Possessive Echo
Possessive Echo now summons a Lingering Echo and immediately triggers every summon’s end-of-turn effects without reducing their duration.
Possessive Echo+ triggers those effects twice.
Power Surge
Power Surge and Power Surge+ now grant 1 Max Energy for the current combat.
They no longer permanently increase Max Energy for the remainder of the run.
True Power
True Power now deals 5 damage per summon.
True Power+ deals 6 damage per summon.
Unleash
Unleash now deals 8 damage per summon.
Unleash+ deals 10 damage per summon.
Bolt On
Bolt On now gains 14 Block plus 2 Block per active summon without removing those summons.
Bolt On+ gains 16 Block plus 2 Block per active summon.
Consume Form
Consume Form has been completely reworked.
It is now a 3-cost Power.
Direct HP damage dealt by cards applies an equal amount of Domination.
Summon damage, passive status damage, triggered damage, and damage absorbed by Block do not contribute.
Consume Form+ costs 2 Energy.
Overwhelming Presence
Overwhelming Presence has been completely reworked.
It is now a 3-cost Attack.
It deals damage to every enemy equal to that enemy’s current Domination and then Exhausts.
Overwhelming Presence+ also gains Retain.
Hidden Secret
Hidden Secret+ now draws 5 cards instead of 3.
Its 0 Energy cost and 6 Arousal remain unchanged.
Relic Balance
Chained Heart
Chained Heart has been reworked.
It now grants 3 Energy and 10 Block at the start of turn 2 each combat.
Previously, it granted 1 additional Energy every turn.
Dawnfire Diadem
Dawnfire Diadem has been reworked.
It now grants 2 Energy at the start of combat.
Previously, it granted 1 Energy at the start of every turn.
The goal is to separate its identity from Phoenix Crest’s persistent Max Energy and Chained Heart’s delayed second-turn power spike.
Enemy Balance
Several existing enemies have been adjusted following testing.
Saint of Thorns
Thorn Prayer now grants 30 Block and 5 temporary Thorns while applying 2 Frail.
The temporary Thorns remain active throughout the following player turn.
They expire at the beginning of Saint of Thorns’ next turn.
Crucible Sovereign
Max HP reduced from 365 to 345.
Crucible Cut now deals 14 damage twice instead of three times.
Iron Sovereign
Max HP reduced from 400 to 370.
Velvet Vizier
Max HP reduced from 200 to 180.
Ninefold Punishment
Base damage reduced from 3 damage nine times to 2 damage nine times.
Shared Fortress
Block granted to all enemies reduced from 40 to 35.
War Counsel
Strength granted to all enemies reduced from 2 to 1.
Restoration
Healing reduced from 20 HP to 15 HP for all enemies.
Targeted Damage Previews
Targeted damage cards now show their calculated pre-Block damage while hovering over an enemy.
The preview accounts for current card, player, and target modifiers.
This includes:
Eva’s Marked.
Prepared.
Retained-turn scaling.
X-cost repeats.
Arousal and Doom damage continue to use their existing status displays.
Workout has also received a Target Preview when selecting its target.
Encounter Combat Readouts
Several encounters now include dedicated interface elements for their unique mechanics.
These include:
Corset Engine’s attached Clasps.
Encore Queen’s Applause and readiness.
Archive Widow’s archived cards.
Archive Widow’s Glass Case Block.
The Tribunal’s Authority.
The Tribunal’s APPEAL DENIED transition.
The Tribunal’s Sentence scaling.
Tribunal Clause choices also display their complete costs before selection.
Enemy Arousal Display
Enemy HP bars have been updated.
They no longer receive a full-width pink player-Arousal forecast.
The “-0” display that could appear when no forecast existed has also been removed.
Normal enemy HP colouring has been restored.
Actual Arousal applied to an enemy now appears as a proportional labelled pink section of the HP bar.
Run Deck Viewer
The run deck interface has received a major update.
It now opens as a full visual card archive rather than displaying only card names and costs.
The new view includes:
Card filters.
Deck composition information.
Consistently formatted card faces.
A focused card-detail panel.
Upgrade previews.
Players can preview the authored upgrade of a card without actually changing the card in their deck.
Traveling Merchant
The Traveling Merchant has received a major interface and stock update.
The Merchant is now separated into dedicated sections for:
Cards.
Relics.
Potions.
Card removal.
Prices, affordability states, Potion capacity, and purchase actions should now be clearer.
Traveling Merchants now stock:
6 class-pool cards.
3 Neutral cards.
3 Relics.
3 Potions.
Event-unlocked performer pools and their weighting modifiers continue to affect class-card selection.
Potion Interface
Potion capacity is now displayed as filled slots against total available slots throughout a run.
Combat Potion controls have been substantially enlarged.
Potions are now numbered and labelled more clearly.
The controls have also been improved for both 1080p and 4K displays.
Map Readability
Map presentation has received additional improvements.
Static, unexplored, and previously travelled connections now use stronger contrast and slightly heavier lines.
Currently available routes retain their animated gold appearance.
The expedition map also now expands to the available desktop viewport height rather than stopping at a fixed height and leaving unused space on 1080p and 4K displays.
SFW Mode
SFW Mode now hides event artwork and animated event media in every event-choice state.
This includes GIF, WebM, and MP4 media.
Arousal and Bounceback Fixes
Several interactions between Arousal and Bounceback have been corrected.
Player Arousal damage now resolves before unused Bounceback is halved.
This allows Mia to store the Arousal damage using the full remaining Bounceback from the previous turn.
The player’s HP forecast also now resolves Arousal before queued Bounceback recovery.
This means the forecast can correctly warn when Arousal will kill the player before Bounceback has an opportunity to heal them.
Ascension 10 Intent Fix
Fixed Ascension 10’s Heavy Units modifier.
Enemy intents now correctly display the 20% increased damage caused by Heavy Units.
Previously, enemies dealt the increased damage correctly but their displayed intent did not include the modifier.
Collaboration Fix
Collaboration can no longer copy another Collaboration.
This prevents Collaboration+ copies from creating an infinite zero-cost loop.
Getting Creative Fix
Getting Creative now explicitly excludes X-cost Attacks.
This prevents it from generating zero-value Attacks when the player has no Energy remaining after playing Getting Creative.
Dress Clear Fix
Dress Clear now correctly targets an enemy and resolves its damage and Frail before summoning a Whispering Form.
Its card text now correctly matches its effects.
Dress Clear deals 8 damage and applies 1 Frail.
Dress Clear+ deals 10 damage and applies 2 Frail.
Flash Fix
Flash and Flash+ now correctly display their existing 5 damage.
Previously, the card text incorrectly stated 4 damage.
Proof Destroyer Fix
Proof Destroyer and Proof Destroyer+ now correctly state that they Exhaust after use.
Their existing behaviour has not changed.
Potion Flickering
Using Potions no longer mounts Target Preview media or triggers unnecessary timed combat-interface rebuilds.
This removes the remaining double flicker that could occur when Potions were used.
Legacy Path Fixes
The Opening Card panel in Velvet Legacy has received several fixes.
The selected Opening Card now sits correctly inside its preview frame.
A stray coloured strip that could appear along the top or side of the preview has been removed.
The panel now prioritises the starting-card milestone currently being configured rather than older saved choices.
Selecting an Uncommon starting-card perk now correctly displays Uncommon cards and saves the selected card to the correct perk.
Fixes and Polish
Added Permanent Card Seals.
Added 14 Seal effects.
Added guaranteed Boss Seal rewards.
Added Dillon as the sixth playable character.
Added Dillon’s complete card pool and upgrades.
Added Anna Claire Clouds as a Patron.
Added dedicated Patron card visuals and Collection archive.
Added 9 new Elite and Boss encounters.
Added 3 Arousal-management cards.
Added 3 Potions.
Added 15 Relics.
Added The Velvet Signet.
Added The Duck Line.
Updated Arousal timing.
Updated several Ascension modifiers.
Rebalanced Dillon’s starter deck.
Buffed Fan the Room.
Reworked several Anna cards.
Reworked Chained Heart.
Reworked Dawnfire Diadem.
Rebalanced several existing enemies and Bosses.
Improved targeted damage previews.
Improved encounter mechanic readouts.
Improved enemy Arousal display.
Updated the run deck viewer.
Updated the Traveling Merchant.
Updated Potion controls.
Improved map readability.
Improved SFW event-media filtering.
Fixed Patron Devotion reward progression.
Fixed multi-level Patron Devotion rewards.
Fixed Legacy Path Opening Card selection.
Fixed Collaboration recursion.
Fixed Getting Creative X-cost interactions.
Fixed Dillon’s Light Fingers Potion behaviour.
Fixed Arousal and Bounceback ordering.
Fixed player HP forecasting around Arousal.
Fixed Ascension 10 intent damage.
Fixed Potion combat flickering.
Fixed Dress Clear.
Fixed Flash card text.
Fixed Proof Destroyer card text.
General UI, balance, encounter, card, and release polish.
Balance Notes
Dillon is a completely new playable character and may receive further balancing based on player feedback.
Her early game has already received adjustments during development, particularly around her starting deck, Flick Knife generation, and access to Arousal management.
Permanent Card Seals are also a completely new progression system. Their rarity, availability, individual effects, and interactions with specific cards may receive further tuning as more runs are completed.
The new Arousal timing is intended to give players a meaningful opportunity to respond when enemies apply Arousal during their turn. Additional Arousal-management cards have also been introduced, but both the damage pressure and available counters may continue to be adjusted.
Anna’s Summon and Domination cards have received several substantial changes. Their new interactions may receive further tuning as more decks are tested.
The nine new Elite and Boss encounters are intended to test different deck strengths and weaknesses. Individual health values, damage, mechanic thresholds, and encounter frequency may be adjusted based on player performance and feedback.
Ascension modifiers will continue to be monitored, particularly Weight Of Fame, Going In Dry, Pigeon Holed, and Nympho.
Known Notes
Velvet Ascension is still in active development.
Balance will continue to change based on player feedback.
Dillon is newly added and may require further balancing.
Permanent Card Seals are newly added and may require further balancing.
The new Elite and Boss encounters may receive difficulty adjustments.
Arousal management and enemy-applied Arousal may receive further tuning.
Some visual assets and interface elements may continue to receive polish in later updates.
Please report bugs with the game version, what happened, and the steps required to reproduce the issue.