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 is LIVE! 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

v0.16.2 - 5 New Campaign Missions, New Skills & Achievement, Balance Changes (November 4, 2026)

Status: 🟢 Live on Steam 🟢 Live on Steam Demo

New Features

  • Added five new campaign missions: Whitewater Fjord, Pinehaven, Mirage Flats, Gadriel's Peak, Serpent Mire, bringing the currently playable campaign to 17 missions
  • New Enemy - MLRS: Heavy artillery unit capable of launching explosive rockets at range. Slow and lightly armored but deals massive damage
  • New Enemy - Fighter Jet: Fast moving strike aircraft armed with guided missiles. Hits hard and moves quickly through defenses.
  • New Skill - Compound Interest: Earn 5% interest on your unspent credits each time you complete a wave, up to 500 credits per wave. Saving up now pays off.
  • New Skill - Quartermaster: Crafting ammunition in the Foundry produces 50% more per craft. With the skill learned, the Foundry shows the boosted amount in blue
  • New Achievement - Wasn't Even Close: Use an ability to destroy an enemy at the last moment, just before it breaches your defenses

Improvements

  • Building sites now shows a holographic preview while you choose and build, and finished sites land with a stretchy bounce
  • New projectile trail distance setting: controls how far away rocket and missile trails are drawn
  • Missile Strike and Rocket Strike trails now always show, whatever the trail distance setting
  • Projectile trails are drawn a bit farther away by default
  • Smarter targeting: when a site's preferred enemy type isn't in range, it now picks its next target in a sensible order instead of treating everything else the same:
    • Prefer Naval: Naval → Air → Ground
    • Prefer Air: Air → Naval → Ground
    • Prefer Ground: Ground → Air → Naval
  • Rockets and Missiles from sites now reliably hit long, narrow targets such as LCVP and Submarines
  • The Lightning Storm tooltip now shoes its real total damage
  • The Tropical biome is now called Jungle
  • Updated terrain and vegetation in Rolling Hills and Dusthorn Canyon
  • Removed "Not available in Early Access" labels from achievements that are now obtainable

Balance Changes

  • Sites
    • Ion Cannon: Damage increased from 1,000 → 3,000
    • Core Reactor: Power increased from 2,000 → 3,000, Cost decreased from 2,000 → 1,800
    • Field Tent: Upgrades bonus decreased from 15% → 10%
  • Abilities
    • Ion Beam: Damage increased per hit from 500 → 900
  • Skills
    • Cash Flow: Economy sites output bonus increased from 15% → 30%
  • Market and Foundry
    • Rotary Cannon Blueprint: Cost reduced from 10,000 → 5,000
    • Advanced Rounds: Amount crafted increased from 200 → 400
    • Plasma: Decreased Energy Cell component requirement from 5 → 1

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed site upgrades being reset when a support site was sold or destroyed
  • Fixed the crit chance upgrade bonus not applying correctly
  • Fixed enemy missiles sometimes doing no damage
  • Fixed upgraded rocket, missile, and plasma colors showing on shots from sites that weren't upgraded
  • Fixed an issue with the Power Generator's force shields
  • Fixed the Attack Vessel's Armory tooltip showing the wrong damage value
  • Fixed small UI issue with Foundry components

Developer Roadmap

As development has progressed, I have refined the scope of the base campaign. Earlier descriptions referenced 27 playable regions. The 1.0 campaign is now planned to feature 19 playable missions across the Empyrean Realm.

Eight additional territories will remain visible on the campaign map in a reserved state and may be used for potential post-launch expansions. This revised campaign structure will allow me to focus the remaining development time on the final two missions, balance adjustments, testing, stability, and polish.

Following this update, work will continue on those final missions and preparations for the full 1.0 release. More information about the launch will be shared once the remaining content is ready.