Ten heroes, teams of four
A Paladin, Wizard, Rogue, Ranger, Cleric, Barbarian, Druid, Warlock, Monk and Bard, each with three skills. Heroes from the same faction give team bonuses.
Forge your legend
Classic tabletop fantasy classes meet hero-collector depth: gear sets, rarities, elements and a long climb through the dungeons.
Turn-based elemental battles
Faster heroes act more often. Fire beats Nature, Nature beats Water, Water beats Fire, and Light and Shadow beat each other. Burn, Stun, Shields, Regen, buffs and debuffs.
6 gear slots + 3 accessories
Weapon, Helmet, Shield, Bracers, Chest Plate and Boots, plus a Ring, Amulet and Banner. Wear 2 pieces of a set for its bonus; 4 doubles it and 6 triples it.
BasicStrongRareEpicLegendaryMythical
Six rarity tiers
From Basic to Mythical. Higher rarities roll more sub-stats (up to four), and gold upgrades a main stat to +10 and each sub-stat to +5.
6 dungeons × 30 floors × 3 stages
Every floor is a fight against Minions, then an Elite, then a Boss. Beat a floor's boss to open the next floor; beat Floor 30 to open the next dungeon. Replay any floor you have reached.
Runeforge Vault & Glyphs
A special dungeon that opens after Goblin Warrens floor 10. Its rune constructs drop Glyphs that boost a gear sub-stat. Its 30 floors get steadily harder.
Starfall Mine & Star Dust
Opens after Goblin Warrens floor 20. Crystal kobolds hoard Star Dust, which pushes a gear main stat past +10 up to +15.
Ascension to level 100
Heroes cap at level 60, then ascend with gold and Ascension Stones from bosses. Five stars, each adding +8 to the level cap and +5% ATK, DEF and HP.
Auto battle & auto-advance
Switch on Auto and a floor plays Minions → Elite → Boss in one go, with one combined victory screen. Repeat farms a floor, or Auto-advance climbs floor after floor until your team falls.
Hero Power & Account Power
One number sums up each hero, with a full breakdown of levels, ascension, gear, sets and skills. Floors show a recommended power in green, yellow or red so you know when you are ready.
The Armory
Grow your bag from 400 to 1,400 slots, auto-sell loot by rarity (Mythical is never auto-sold), and multi-select gear to sell in bulk. Hover loot on the victory screen to inspect it, or click to see the full item.
Your progress is safe
Game updates install in place and keep your heroes, gear and gold, and the first upgrade keeps a backup copy of your old save.
The Defenders
Ten heroes from five factions. Pick four and find the team that works for you.
LightSir Aldric Dawnshield
Order of the Dawn
A paladin whose shield has never broken. He stands in front so others may live.
Signature skill: Shield of Dawn
FireLyra Emberwyn
Ember Clans
A prodigy of the Ember Academy who once set a dragon's beard on fire. On purpose.
Signature skill: Meteor Storm
ShadowVex Shadowstep
Night Covenant
Nobody sees Vex coming. Most people never see Vex leaving, either.
Signature skill: Shadow Strike
NatureThorne Greenarrow
Wildkin
A forest warden who can split an arrow with an arrow at three hundred paces.
Signature skill: Volley
LightSister Maelis
Order of the Dawn
Her prayers mend bone and steel alike. Her glare mends bad manners.
Signature skill: Healing Light
FireGrak Ironhide
Ember Clans
A half-orc who settles every argument by hitting it with a very large axe.
Signature skill: Earthshatter
NatureWillow Mossheart
Wildkin
She speaks to oaks and owls. The oaks are better listeners.
Signature skill: Entangling Roots
ShadowMorvane the Hollow
Night Covenant
He traded his name to a shadow for power. He kept the good cape.
Signature skill: Soul Drain
WaterKai Tidefist
Deepborn
Trained beneath a waterfall for ten years. Still hates cold showers.
Signature skill: Tidal Wave
WaterFinnick Brightlute
Deepborn
A gnome bard whose songs inspire heroes and annoy goblins in equal measure.
Signature skill: Song of Valor
Into the dungeons
Six story dungeons, each with 30 floors and its own boss, plus two special dungeons for upgrade materials.
Story dungeon 1 of 6
Goblin Warrens
Tunnels crawling with goblins. A good place for new Defenders to learn the Way.
Boss: Goblin Warlord
Story dungeon 2 of 6
Sunken Temple
A flooded temple where fishfolk guard the sleeping Leviathan.
Boss: Leviathan
Story dungeon 3 of 6
Ember Forge
A volcano forge of salamanders and golems, ruled by a Magma Dragon.
Boss: Magma Dragon
Story dungeon 4 of 6
Elderwood
An ancient forest twisted by a corrupted heart-tree.
Boss: Corrupted Treant
Story dungeon 5 of 6
Shadowfen Crypt
A cursed crypt in the swamp where the Lich King gathers souls.
Boss: Lich King
Story dungeon 6 of 6
Celestial Citadel
A fortress above the clouds, held by the Fallen Seraph. The final trial.
Boss: Fallen Seraph
Special · Glyphs · opens after Goblin Warrens floor 10
Runeforge Vault
A sealed dwarven vault where rune constructs guard the forge that carves Glyphs.
Boss: The Runelord
Special · Star Dust · opens after Goblin Warrens floor 20
Starfall Mine
A mine dug into a fallen star. Its crystal kobolds hoard glittering Star Dust.
Boss: Starfall Wyrm
Screenshots
Real in-game captures. Click any image to enlarge.
About the game
Steve designed Defenders of the Way: the heroes, the six dungeons, the gear and set rules, the rarities and how upgrades work. An AI assistant wrote the program code, tuned the difficulty by simulating thousands of battles, and put the art and sounds together following Steve's design.
The game is built in Godot 4 and made for Windows 11 PCs.
Coming soon to Windows 11 The download isn't available yet. Check back here for the release.