Elemental Exiles

Elemental Exiles is a deck-building roguelike in which you guide a character across a changing world, build a deck of abilities and pursue their personal quest. Each of the 12 characters starts in a different place with a unique starting deck and story. Four are available from the start; the other eight are hidden across the world.

Characters and quests

Choose from four starting characters: a naïve Elven warrior still determined to protect the village that exiled them, an old Dwarven researcher seeking a specific piece of hidden knowledge, a bitter bounty hunter pursuing her treacherous former partners, or an abandoned young water mage searching for the master who betrayed her. Each character has a personal quest to pursue, with the chance to find glory or closure.

Explore the world

As you travel, the landscape is revealed on a map with over 200 unique locations. Most encounters change between playthroughs, while knowledge of traversable routes and certain key boss locations carries over. The map persists between runs, so you can revisit places, take a new approach to unfinished business or choose a different route.

Build your deck

Battles and events can give you opportunities to add cards to your changing deck. When you play a card can matter as much as which card you choose: some cards gain extra effects under specific conditions, such as being the first card played on your turn or following a card of a particular element. You can build synergies around these effects, while adapting to the challenges of each run.

Most cards are attuned to Fire, Water or Nature, with strengths and weaknesses between the elements. Fire actions, for example, are strong against Nature and weak against Water. Enemies and bosses also favor particular elements, so a deck suited to one encounter may struggle in another. You can specialize in an element for greater synergy or take a more balanced approach to limit weaknesses.

Battles and encounters

The world contains over 300 battle scenarios, each combining enemies and tactics in different ways. Narrative events call for careful choices and can affect your deck positively or negatively. They may grant blessings that reduce the cost of certain card types for several battles, or curses that increase those costs.

You can carry up to four potions or bombs and use them at any time during a battle. Cards lose durability with each use and are eventually lost permanently, so you must keep changing your deck and tactics. Across the world, 14 unique inns let you spend gold on cards, items and blessings.