Welcome to the Empyrean Defense Wiki

Welcome to the official wiki for Empyrean Defense! Use the links below or in the sidebar to explore the wiki or search for a specific topic.

About

Empyrean Defense is a modern warfare tower defense game where you build, upgrade, and customize defenses to hold back an enemy invasion. Learn abilities and skills, craft advanced ammunition, and gather resources on the battlefield to strengthen and expand your defense.

News

We're gearing up for an exciting 2026!

  • Official Playtest: The official playtest is LIVE! For anyone interested in testing the game prior to the demo and Early Access, please sign up here. Once your submission is accepted, you will receive an activation key and can head over to the Playtest Page to get started!
  • Public Demo: The public demo will be available the first week of April. Come try the game, share feedback, and help shape development.
  • Steam Next Fest: Check out Empyrean Defense at Steam Next Fest June 15-22, 2026.
  • Early Access Release: Empyrean Defense launches into Early Access on July 23, 2026.

Status

v0.12.2 - Performance Enhancements & Localization (April 1, 2026)

Status: 🟢 Live on Steam Playtest

New Features

  • Localization added with support for 5 languages: English, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Russian
  • Added Overdrive ability
    • Boosts the firepower of all military sites within range by 15% for a short duration
  • Added controller guides to settings and level loading screens
  • Added controller pointer icon when hovering over sites
  • Added action text to tooltips for neutral targets
  • Added soft text glow to Founder DLC titles and all Tier II and Tier III market items and abilities

Improvements

  • General performance improvements to reduce minor stuttering
  • Reduced shadow map size to improve performance
  • Updated main font and increased font sizes across the UI for better readability
  • Improved UI layout for popups and the in-game top bar
  • Updated site descriptions to sound more natural
  • Reworded all skills for improved clarity and consistency
  • Increased visibility of important UI elements such as warning text and completion labels
  • Adjusted default draw distance from 1.5 to 1.3
  • Increased render distance of rocket trails
  • Improved explosion audio intensity
  • Updated landmines to move with Gerstner wave swells
  • Increased vessel collision box sizes for better hit detection
  • Updated path shield symbol and site shield visuals
  • Updated Landmark and Boss icons and switch Boss to High Value Target
  • Increased focus and hover highlight color intensity in some of the menu pages
  • Automatically scroll to the top/bottom of the Abilities page when focusing a top/bottom row ability
  • Automatically scroll to the top of the Foundry page when focusing a top row element

Balance Changes

  • Reduced SAM Launcher health slightly (demo version)
  • Reduced Extra Credit skill bonus from 15% → 10%
  • Reduced Reduced Taxes skill bonus from 15% → 10%
  • Adjusted starting resource amounts in the Market
  • Rounded site repair values to align with credit/hitpoint ratio

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed achievements persisting incorrectly across save slots
  • Fixed new enemy encountered popups not appearing
  • Fixed controller action icon displaying mouse input in level panel
  • Fixed demo Level 3 time requirement issues
  • Fixed LNG models losing material overlays
  • Fixed settings not saving correctly from the main menu
  • Fixed visual issues with site shield upgrades
  • Fixed some explosion ghosting
  • Fixed issue with redeeming Founder DLC packages granting equipment already purchased
  • Fixed issue where ability text in game would flash briefly