Dice are pretty important in Diceheart. You’ve already learnt how to attack and block with them and what the elements do, but there’s a few more unique properties that a die can have that you’ll need to be aware of as you progress deeper into the Quantum Realm.
Quality #
A die’s quality is the amount of faces it has. In other words, it’s its size, or the maximum number it can roll. You can have a die with a number of faces equal to every even number from 4 up to 20. When referring to a specific quality die, we’ll append ‘D’ to its number of faces; so a die with 6 quality is a D6.
You’ll be able to upgrade a die’s quality at the forge in exchange for gems, but you may run into other means of improving them, whether temporarily or permanently. The higher a die’s quality, the more gems it’ll cost to upgrade.
Types #
Types of dice are distinct from its element or its quality. There are 3 types of dice, and each refers to its longevity, or how long it will last before disappearing.
Stable #
Stable dice are ones you’ll be most familiar with; these are just the regular dice that you’ll start with, buy from the shop, or acquire after beating a boss, and will follow you throughout your adventure. Treat your stable dice right, and you’ll go far.
Quantum #
Quantum dice represent a step up in a die’s instability. These dice usually get generated by certain tricks, and won’t last forever; all quantum dice disappear at the end of a battle. As such, you won’t find these in your inventory. Aside from that, they’re identical to stable dice in how you actually use them.
The relative instability of quantum dice means they’re able to be modified much more readily than stable ones. Many tricks that strengthen quantum dice specifically will grant a much more powerful buff than ones that only affect stable dice. There may even be a way to convert a quantum die into a stable one, but such technology is extremely hard to come by.
Transient #
Transient dice are completely unstable. These flickering dice barely hold onto their corporeal forms, and will only last until you use them in some way. Like quantum dice, transient dice are usually generated via tricks, and they’re often able to be buffed to even stronger degrees. Additionally, most means of generating them will create a higher-quality die than their quantum counterparts.
One particular quirk of your transient dice is that freezing them will make them stick around into your next turn, as their molecules lose energy and become more stable. Due to the way freeze works, this is quite a rare phenomenon, though certain tricks might allow you to reproduce it somewhat reliably.
Modifiers #
Modifiers are numerical bonuses or penalties that can be applied to your dice as well as enemies’. Some of these may last a single round, others will last an entire battle, and a few may even be permanent. An overwhelming majority of them will add or subtract a number from your die, but a few rare ones will even multiply or divide them.
The most common way to get a modifier on one of your dice is to use the neutral option at an altar. This provides it with a +1 modifier that’s permanent, stackable, and completely free. It’s a great way to make your rolls just that little bit more consistent.
Besides altars, you’ll often get modifiers from specific tricks, or optionally when you get offered a die after defeating a boss. You can hover over a die to see what modifiers, if any, are currently affecting it.
Not all modifiers are numeric. When it comes to tricks that give your dice particular effects, you’ll often be able to keep track of what’s affecting a die by hovering over it, which will show an explanation.
As enemy dice can also have modifiers, whether they be ones of their own or ones you’ve inflicted on them, you can also hover over them to get a run-down on what’s affecting it.
Result vs. value #
When factoring in modifiers to your dice, it’s important to distinguish the die’s result and its value. The result is the raw number it rolled, before applying any numerical modifiers. Its value is the total of its result plus any modifiers it may have. Certain tricks will refer specifically to a die’s result, but for the most part, value is what will matter most to you – gambits, for instance, use a die’s value for their slot requirements, and its value will of course determine how much damage it deals or block it provides.
You can toggle between displaying value or result on your dice by clicking the small button depicting an eye with the letter V or R that’s to the left of the auto attack button. When displaying values (V), dice with a red number have been modified to lower than their result, dice with green numbers have been modified above their result, and blue ones are equal to their result. With results toggled on (R), you’ll only see unmodified blue numbers – a die’s natural roll – and will have to hover over a die to check its value.
Enemy dice will always display their value, but you can hover over them to see the original result if you need.