Hello again.

In the first dev diary I talked about the basic loop of Lootlands and why an idle ARPG makes sense in the first place. This time we zoom in on three systems that quietly run the whole game: storage, shops, and itemization.

These are the parts that decide whether loot is something you think about, or something you fight against.

Storage in Lootlands is quite simple.

You start with a simple, readable stash. From there you can upgrade it in two ways:

• Add more tabs

• Add more rows inside existing tabs

So if you like tidy, themed tabs, you can just keep buying new ones. If you like one giant dump tab that grows with you, you can just keep stretching a few tabs vertically. Both upgrades cost gold, which gives you a steady money sink that is always useful but never mandatory.

A few key points:

• Storage is shared between all characters

• You never need mule characters

• Moving gear between builds is trivial

Storage panel on the left side. Please ignore the temporary UI.

Towns are where you stop, breathe, and make choices. Shops are being designed to be one of the first places you visit.

Once again, please ignore the temporary UI.

Each shop has a clear identity:

• Weapon vendor sells weapons

• Armor vendor sells armor

• Magic or oddity shops sell things like orbs, scrolls, special consumables

What they offer is affected by your character level. A level 30 character will not see level 5 trash clogging the store. The item level range scales with you, so that shops can always stay relevant.

Refresh logic:

• Shops refresh on a real time timer, even while you are offline

• You can pay gold to force an instant refresh if you are hunting for upgrades or specific bases

On top of standard stock, shops can sell:

• Identified items, where you see exactly what you get

• Unidentified items, cheaper but risky

• Consumables and crafting materials

The unidentified items are there for players who enjoy a small gamble. Buy something that only shows the base, rarity, and level, then pray that the affixes do not roll complete garbage.

We are also working on a more gambly system similar in spirit to the blood shard style mechanic from Diablo 3: RoS. The idea is:

• You pay a specific currency

• You pick a slot or category, for example one handed weapon or ring

• You get a random item of that type, tuned around your level

You know the slot, not the outcome. Sometimes you get a sidegrade, sometimes you hit something that completely changes your build plan. It is a controlled way to target farm without killing the randomness that makes loot exciting.

Itemization is where most of the long term depth lives, so this will definitely get its own dev diary later. For now, here is the spine of the system.

Lootlands uses several rarity tiers:

• Common

• Uncommon

• Rare

• Epic

• Legendary

Rarity controls how many affixes an item can roll but not the ceiling those affixes can reach. A common item might have one meaningful line. A legendary can have a full set of affixes plus something special that warps how you use it.

The idea is simple: higher rarity means more lines to play with, more chances for synergies, and more risk of bricking a roll.

Affixes are split into prefix and suffix groups. Behind the scenes they sit in pools with weights and rules, so we can steer what appears where without making it feel scripted.

Some examples of rules we use:

• Mutual exclusivity: only one main attribute prefix on an item, so you do not get Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence slapped on the same piece

• Slot multipliers: the same affix can have different strength depending on where it appears, for example attributes rolling hardest on jewelry, lower on armor, different again on weapons

• Offensive and defensive pools: so your chest armor does not roll like a wand, and your wand does not roll like a shield

These rules keep items focused. When you see a roll, you get a sense of what the item wants to do.

Items and affixes both use tags. Things like:

• Melee

• Projectile

• Caster

• Fire, Cold, Lightning

• Weapon class tags, like Bow, Dagger, Staff

Tags do a lot of work:

• They control which affixes are allowed to appear on which bases

• They influence weights, so a bow is more likely to roll projectile damage, and a staff is more likely to roll spell damage

• They allow specialized affixes, like extra projectiles only appearing on tagged bases

On top of that, tiers scale with item level. A level 50 bow can roll higher damage tiers than a level 10 bow, even if the affix name is the same. This keeps drops relevant as you climb, without forcing you into legendaries only.

Every base item has implicits. These are the always on stats that tell you what the item is good at before you even read the affixes.

• Daggers lean toward crit chance

• Shields lean toward block and defenses

• Armor pieces lean toward armor, evasion, or other core defenses

Affixes then layer on top of that. This keeps item identity clear. A dagger that rolled badly still feels like a crit focused weapon. A shield with bad affixes still feels like a defensive piece.

The guiding rule is:

• Complexity goes into how items are generated and scaled

• Clarity goes into what the player sees

We use things like weighted pools, mutual exclusions, per slot scaling, and tag driven rules behind the scenes, so we can support weird builds and niche synergies. But what you read on the item should stay understandable at a glance, not a wall of ten micro bonuses that require a calculator.

There are still rare, spicy affix combinations that feel broken in the good way. That is the point.

Storage, shops, and itemization are not flashy features, but they decide how sticky an ARPG feels after the first hour. In Lootlands, storage is a shared, upgradable tool. Shops are level aware and optionally gambly, not clutter. Itemization is deep in the backend, readable on the surface.

There is still plenty to tweak, especially high tier affix balance and shop economy, but the core shape is there and it feels good to play around with.

If you have feedback, build ideas, or you think the stash should be twice as expensive, drop a comment. I read everything.

Join the discussion on Discord -> https://discord.gg/Y4jYx36Qs4

Hello hello!

This is our first Steam post and our first dev diary. I’ll try to keep these coming regularly and give you insight into what we’re working on. I’ll keep the tone casual so anyone can read it without falling asleep. Alright, here goes nothing.

As you probably know by now, Lootlands is an idle ARPG. Making an idle game out of a genre that literally has the word action in it is a strange challenge, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made.

Like a lot of people, my ARPG journey started with Diablo. I am also a big Path of Exile fan. I discovered PoE during a hectic period of life and have been busy ever since, so my playtime sits at just above 600 hours. Every season I pushed to reach that moment when my build could one-shot things, or at least idle through some league mechanics. That contrast between the exhausting grind and the sweet idling moment sparked a tiny idea in my head.

What if we skip to the idle part? What if busy people can enjoy the loot, builds, and powerful moments without the constant active grind? That idea became Lootlands.

I started the project by making the character stand still while skills auto-cast and enemies spawn from the sides. It was intentionally simple. Add an inventory and loot and suddenly the screen looked like a coin tornado.

After a quick break I came back to find the ground flooded with items. I could have simply cut drop rates, but that would make active play boring for people who want to mess with the game. So I implemented a ground loot limit: only a set amount of items and coins can exist on the ground at once. You can upgrade that limit through perks later on.

I also added a tiny cooldown reduction every time you click. It gives players something to do in harder zones while still keeping the idle core. Click spam feels satisfying and actually helps your build push through a tough wave.

Now that we have items, we need to make them interesting. In many ARPGs, that's where the affixes come in.

Designing an affix system is easy to get lost in. We wanted something deep and surprising, but also readable and fun. Path of Exile is an inspiration, but PoE’s systems are massive and intimidating. We kept the good parts and trimmed the fat.

Here’s what we did:

• Keep complexity in the backend, not on the surface. Items can have layered affixes, but the UI shows the meaningful ones first.
• Rarity controls affix count. Higher rarity means more affixes and more potential for weird combos.
• Affix tiers scale with item level. That gives a satisfying progression as you find higher level loot.
• Implicits are lean. Important, always-on stats like evasion or armor are handled as implicits on base items so players understand what an item fundamentally does.
• Procedural flavor text and simple icons make each item feel unique without forcing you to read a wall of numbers.

We had to cut corners in some places to keep the game approachable. No insane micro-affixes that only mathematicians can parse. Instead the system is tuned for cool emergent builds you can iterate on without needing a spreadsheet. That said, there are still rare, spicy rolls that make you want to jump up and yell.

Professions are our way of giving players meaningful activity between checks. Mining, herb gathering, and similar mini-systems pop up as small distractions while your character fights. They are not busywork. They are bite-sized progression loops that feed into crafting, perks, and gear upgrades.

• Random nodes spawn while you idle. Click to harvest and get materials.
• Level the profession to unlock perks, like increased node spawn chance or better material yields.
• Materials feed into crafting and short-term upgrades, letting you improve your build without needing perfect drops.
• Professions create decisions: do you save materials for a big craft, or spend them on immediate upgrades to push one more floor?

I stole some inspiration from older MMO life skills, because it works and it adds another layer to the idle loop. It keeps things interesting while still respecting the core idle design.

The visuals took a lot of iteration. I wanted a semi-realistic look that still feels stylized and readable at low FPS animation speeds. Think pre-rendered Diablo 2 vibes, but updated and a bit sharper.

• Low frame animations to get that slightly jerky, old-school charm.
• Models are semi-real and textured but optimized for performance.
• UI is still a work in progress. I am aiming for clarity and a little bit of attitude. Big, readable numbers, clear rarity indicators, and a quick inspect turntable for items so the loot moment looks and feels good.
• Lighting and particle effects are used sparingly to highlight important moments, like rare drops or boss entrances.

The goal is a look that feels familiar to ARPG fans yet distinct enough to stand on its own.

Lootlands grew from a little experiment into something that feels like it can be both deep and chill. There is a lot to polish, especially in the UI and affix clarity, but the core loop is working and it is fun to tune.

If you have thoughts, weird ideas, or just want to tell me I am insane, drop a comment. I read everything.

Join the discussion on Discord -> https://discord.gg/Y4jYx36Qs4