This is Weekly Challenge Report #6, and first off, we want thank you for all your feedback these past weeks. While we sort through them, we’re back on track with our Weekly Challenge Reports, with more fun stuff coming later this month!

Welcome to Forest Awakens.

This week, the forest isn’t just awake, it’s judging you. Its champions (the bushes) wait in ambush, its roots slow your every step, and the thorns? They’ve been blessed by the holy light and are using it against you.

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✨ Sacred Thorns – Thorns deal Holy damage instead of Piercing. That’s right, instead of being pointy, it's blessing you to death.

⚔️ More Champions – The forest is hosting its own tournament arc just for you! Expect more champions on the map to punch through.

🐢 Slow Heroes – Heroes start with Speed -1. Hope you like going last.

🎲 Unlucky – Event rolls are harder. I don't have a joke for this one. Life is hard.

💰 Wealthy Heroes – Each hero starts with +300 gold/shards. Congratulations, you’re rich and cursed.

🪨 Reinforced Monsters – +10% resistance to Slashing /Blunt/ and Piercing damage. They weren’t even squishy before. Now? Bring a chisel and other types of damage.

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📖 Reginald – Healer, light-bringer, and the only one who thinks glowing thorns are normal.

🔥 Cornelius – Pyromaniac grandpa. Fire is still a solution to things that grow out of the ground.

🏹 Andrin – Hunter slowed by the woods, but those arrows still find their mark.

🐺 Magnus – Shield, taunt, and sheer stubbornness. Basically a tree trunk that barks back. Get it?

This crew isn’t here to light the way through. They’re here to outlive the dark, molded by it.

💡 Tip of the Week:

Honestly? Sacred Thorns makes everything you do hurt, all the champions are scary, and Unlucky makes RNG a nightmare. If you want real answers, go ask your fellow adventurers in the comments or on Discord. I'm not awake enough for this and they probably have better advice than we do right now.

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Survive to Floor 3 and unlock:

🌿 A card back grown from bark and bloom

🐉 A card back depicting a dragon crowned in festival colors

Both proof you lived long enough to stop being mulch.

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• 🌲 How many champions did you end up beating?
  

• 🔥 Did Cornelius solve theology with fire?

• 🎲 Do you think “Unlucky” ruined your one good streak?

Stuck in the thorns? Not sure which build works best or how to out-heal all the damage you're taking in? Ask in the comments or hop into our Discord[discord.gg] where our best adventurers are always ready to share tips.

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The forest woke up in a bad mood.

It’s holy, it’s thorny, and this week, it's itching to go back to sleep and so are we.

—The ATO Team ⚔️