History

This article provides a curated history of Spiral Knights. Most of the entries are releases that introduce new content or features. A few other entries describe changes to the business or community of the game.

Purely cosmetic releases are not included. Recurring events are not included after their first occurrence. Releases before the official 2011-04-04 launch are not included, because they are too numerous.

For a more detailed record of all releases, see the Announcements forum and Release/all. Note well that Release/all has not been updated since 2016-05-18.

2017

2017-11-04: Style kits are introduced. They help you manage appearance modifiers (personal color, eyes, height).

2017-09-08: Shard bombs and tortofist handguns are buffed, so that more shards can inflict damage on enemies.

2017-05-11: Starlight Cradle levels are introduced. New armor, swords, and bombs are added, themed around sleep and slimes.

2017-04-25: Spiral Knights is removed from the Kongregate and ArmorGames platforms.

2017-01-20: The Hardcore Mode Activated event occurs for the first time. During this event, there is no auto-targeting in Lockdown.

2016

2016-05-24: Golden Slime Casinos are introduced. During certain time periods, in certain Clockwork Tunnels levels, knights can play games of chance to obtain crowns and other prizes.

2016-04-06: Ownership of Spiral Knights is transferred from Sega to Grey Havens. Support for the German and French languages ends.

2015

2015-05-13: Rank 10-2 missions are introduced. They include Dreams and Nightmares, where Radiant Fire Crystals can be farmed.

2015-02-11: Rank 10-1 missions are introduced. They extend the rank missions past the original final boss, Lord Vanaduke.

2014

2014-12-03: The much-delayed gunner update arrives. It includes new gunner armor, tweaks to guns, and new versions of guns.

2014-09-17: Several armor suits are added, themed around kats, in the fourth Kataclysmic Confrontation event. (Kat helmets were added in the first event.)

2014-07-16: Tortofist guns are introduced in the second March of the Tortodrones event. (Tortodrone shields were introduced in the first event.)

2014-05-21: Several missions are tweaked to enhance the game's plot.

2014-04-02: A statue of Nick is installed in Haven's Town Square. Accessory recovery tickets are introduced. A new user interface lets players toggle a map overlay.

2014-02-26: An error causes the price of Prismatic Bolted Vees to plummet to zero. Sega scolds players who exploit the error.

2014-02-26: The March of the Tortodrones event occurs for the first time. Tortodrone shields are introduced.

2014-02-26: The drop rate for Radiant Fire Crystals is increased. (Sometime during the preceding months it was severely decreased without any announcement, leading to some player discontent.)

2014-01-16: Nick Popovich, the principal creator of Spiral Knights, leaves the development team.

2013

2013-12-11: Attack, defense, and speed boosters (temporary bonuses dropped by monsters) are introduced.

2013-10-23: The Shroud of the Apocrea event occurs for the first time. A new sword, handgun, and bomb are added. Acheron is buffed.

2013-10-16: This update is called Arcade Redux Phase 1. Minerals are no longer deposited into Arcade gates to affect gate construction. Instead, gates are generated randomly. There are tweaks to the user interface, including ways to help knights find materials. New pickups are added, including barriers, artillery strikes, ranger signal flares, and auto turret kits. Guild and knight names can now be changed.

2013-09-25: Operation: Crimson Hammer can now be purchased using energy rather than just real-world money.

2013-07-30: This is the largest update in Spiral Knights history. Battle sprites and three difficulty levels are introduced. The game economy is overhauled. Mist energy no longer exists, and elevators cost no energy. Crafting now occurs through Orbs of Alchemy and heating now occurs through the Forge. The Lab section of Haven and new scenario rooms are added. New materials are added, and recipes and mission rewards are altered. Sparks of Life replace the old reviving system, and each party member must pick up his or her own loot. Finally, the user interface is tweaked.

2013-05-22: The dash and shield bash actions are introduced, adding variety to the tactics of the game.

2013-05-01: Gorgo monsters are introduced, and greavers are buffed.

2013-04-10: Compound levels are introduced. They pair multiple themes with swarms of small monsters.

2013-04-03: The user interface is revamped. Devilites are nerfed.

2013-01-30: The Kataclysmic Confrontation event occurs for the first time. The Moorcroft Manor level is changed accordingly. New helmets are added, themed around kats. (Interestingly, the release notes only hint at the Book of Dark Rituals and Black Kat Cowl. And kat suits are not added until a later event.) Chaos armor is buffed. Guild hall themes and environments are introduced.

2012

2012-11-14: Guild halls are now customizable. The Homecoming Celebration event occurs. All players receive a free sword, shield, and piece of furniture. The Garrison section of Haven is added.

2012-09-12: The Ghosts in the Machine danger mission is added. Spectator mode for player-vs-player battles is introduced.

2012-09-05: The length of piercing swords is decreased without any announcement. The change is possibly an accident, but it is never reverted.

2012-08-08: Shard bombs are completely redesigned, with several new versions added. Other bombs are tweaked.

2012-08-01: The Heart of Ice danger mission is added.

2012-06-19: The Compound 42 danger mission is added.

2012-06-28: Danger missions are introduced, starting with just the Legion of Almire mission.

2012-06-19: The Party Finder is introduced, to help knights connect to each other.

2012-05-09: New early-game missions are added. All handguns and bombs have their damage buffed. Swords, handguns, bombs, and some armor are tweaked. Monsters, payouts, levels, and lighting are tweaked.

2012-04-25: The process for creating new knights has been enhanced. Unique variants can now be locked at Punch, altering the economics of unique variants.

2012-04-18: Height and eye modifiers are introduced. The software enjoys several graphical optimizations.

2012-04-10: Prestige badges are introduced, giving some concrete (if only cosmetic) benefit to knights with high prestige.

2012-04-04: The Caketastrophe anniversary event is introduced.

2012-03-22: Many armors are buffed. (Earlier in the same month, Volcanic Demo Suit is buffed.) Sword attacks are tweaked.

2012-03-07: New rank missions are added, though Vanguard rank. Bombs in the Dark Retribution line are nerfed. The Operation: Crimson Hammer mission is tweaked.

2012-02-29: The Operation: Crimson Hammer mission is added. With it come a new sword, bomb, and armor.

2012-02-22: Missions and the Supply Depot are introduced. Gremlin Grounds levels and little gremlin monsters are added. Several handguns are changed; in particular, Antigua-line guns change from split to pure damage.

2012-01-04: Wolvers, zombies, and retrodes are nerfed.

2011

2011-12-19: Drone monsters (wisps and shankles) are introduced.

2011-12-12: The Winterfest event, Event Hub user interface, European servers, and craftable heart pendant trinkets are added. Scenario rooms are added to the list of rooms that can form randomly generated levels.

2011-11-30: Featured Auctions, Auction House item preview, and personal color changes are introduced.

2011-11-17: Three Rings is acquired by Sega.

2011-11-16: Arsenal stations are introduced, so that knights can change equipment at the start of each level, rather than just at the start of each stratum.

2011-10-21: The Divine Avenger charge attack is changed, so that it fails when the knight's back is against a wall.

2011-10-19: Shadow Lairs are introduced. With them come new armor sets. The Royal Jelly fight is nerfed. The Dark Harvest Festival event is added.

2011-10-05: Accessories, lockboxes, and the Prize Wheel are introduced.

2011-09-14: The second player-vs-player game, Lockdown, is added. Loadouts are introduced to help knights switch their equipment rapidly.

2011-09-02: Candlestick Keep levels are added. Danger rooms are redesigned.

2011-08-22: Polyp and howlitzer monsters are added.

2011-08-02: Player-vs-player competition is introduced with its first game, Blast Network. New swords, handguns, bombs, and trinkets are added as rewards for player-vs-player. Recipes are tweaked.

2011-07-20: Punch (unique variants) and Vise (unbinding) merchants are added. Crafting can now endow up to three unique variants. Some levels are tweaked.

2011-07-06: The Ironclaw Munitions Factory levels are introduced. With them come new armor, handguns, and bombs. Swords, handguns, and bombs are tweaked.

2011-06-14: Spiral Knights becomes available through the Steam platform. (The exact date is hard to pin down, but 2011-06-14 is the first mention of Steam in the release notes and the Announcements forum.) There is a huge influx of new players.

2011-06-09: The game enjoys miscellaneous tweaks, including the canonization of which damage types are inflicted by which monster families. The Blackened Crest shield is now available from Brinks.

2011-06-02: The Gloaming Wildwoods levels are introduced. With them come a new sword, bomb, and shield.

2011-05-26: Achievements are introduced.

2011-05-17: The Auction House and Advanced Training Hall are added to Haven. Crafting costs are increased and recipe costs are decreased. Upgrading a bound item now produces a bound item, altering the economy for pre-crafted items.

2011-04-27: Piercing swords and high-star Brandishes are introduced.

2011-04-04: Spiral Knights officially launches.