Dance of the Throne is the name the game's store and menu text give to its arcade add-on. In the game files the same content is called Arcade everywhere (ArcadeHero, ArcadeMonsterProperty, FS_Arcade, IapData.DLC_ARCADE), and the English name appears only in the downloadable-content text, the Arcade difficulty intro text and the Arcade achievement tab. The name is confirmed in the game text, so this is not a guess: the DLC entry dlcarcade is titled Dance of the Throne.
The add-on's blurb, in short: an arcade challenge in which the Obsession of all the Demiurges has been called back to Solas to take revenge, with the Demiurge leader Elena as a new playable hero who fights with a pair of blades.
What belongs to the add-on#
| Content | Where it shows up | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Arcade mode | Lobby entry; checks IapData.GetEnterArcade() | Full run, stage select, three difficulties, scores and online rankings. See Arcade mode. |
| Elena (hero 10007) | Selectable only in Arcade mode | Level 30 preset, dual-blade and single-blade forms, seven achievement talents. See Elena and Elena talent tree. |
| Arcade preset heroes | Terrence, Viola, Benita, Norwood, Jerold | Same five heroes as the base game, with fixed attributes and no trophies. |
| Seven "Nightmare" opponents | One per chapter stage | Player-hero or boss-like Obsessed Ones that grant Elena's special talents. |
| Four extra boss stages | Stage select only | Terror Obsession (2001), Guderian the Guardian (2002), Treasure Thieves (2003), The First Fallen: Handel (2004). |
| 15 achievements | Achievement tab 6 | See below. |
| Outfit "Enigma" | Separate item hero11007 | A cosmetic outfit for Elena. Its description says it can be used in Dance of the Throne. Buying it sets the flag IapData.DLC_ELENA, but no Lua code reads that flag (GetElenaOutfit has no caller), so what it unlocks is decided outside the Lua files (see Skins#hm-flag-always-on-in-this-build-in-this). |
The three other add-on outfits in the same shop list, Herald Outfit (Terrence, hero11001), Initiation Rite (Viola, hero11002) and Sleeping Beauty (Benita, hero11003), are cosmetic items for the base heroes and are not part of this add-on.
How the game gates it#
- Main menu: the lobby checks
IapData.GetEnterArcade()when you try to enter the mode. If it is false, pressing Arcade opens the add-on (DLC) panel instead, and on the very first launch without the add-on the game opens that panel by itself. A text saying the add-on must be bought and activated (UI_ARCADE_IS_NOT_PURCHASED) exists in the language file, but no Lua code that uses it was found. - Cross-add-on stages: the stage select blocks stage 2001 (Terror Obsession) without the Dark Mist add-on and stages 2002 to 2004 without the Tides add-on. The messages say the other add-on is required (Arcade mode#Extra boss stages (stage select only)).
- Elena's logo: the lobby shows an Elena banner for the add-on when the build constant
DLC_Elenais true (it is, inxdefine.lua), and the banner is only active if the add-on is owned. The Tides logo is the fallback when that constant is false. - Flags in this build: in the Lua files we have,
DLC_ARCADE,DLC_ELENA,DLC_MAZE_1andDLC_TIDE_1start astrue, so every gate is open. The payment callback insdkhelper.luaalso sets each flag to true when the matching product (dlcarcade,hero11007, ...) is confirmed paid, and nothing in the Lua sets them to false. Debug overrides (DebugEnterArcadeand the like) can force them on too. Whether the native Steam layer changes the values at run time cannot be seen in the Lua code (inferred).
Achievements (tab 6)#
The 15 achievements and their goals are listed in Achievements#Dance of the Throne; what the code checks is in Arcade mode#Achievements. In short: four are about clearing the mode or maxing Elena's talents (Legacy, Demiurge Dancer, First Awakening, Endless Nightmare), seven are the Nightmare kills Shadow Moon to Path of Truth (60005 to 60011), and four are Empress of the Eternal Night (overall S on Hard), Return to Sender, Deadly Elegance and Lost in a Dream.
The seven kills double as Elena's seven special talents, see Arcade mode#Elena's talents in the mode. The achievement list is also where the English talent names come from (the talent table itself only has Chinese names).
Hidden mechanics#
- Only Elena's clears unlock. Expert and stage select in Arcade mode need a full clear by Elena herself, see Arcade mode#Difficulty.
- Elena's stamina-cost talents from this add-on have no effect because of a condition quirk, see Arcade mode#hm-elena-s-stamina-cost-talents-do-nothing-fleeting. The code settles it.
Sources#
luascript/sdk/iapdata.lua:4-7, 445-480(flags);luascript/sdk/sdkhelper.lua:660-675(purchase sets flags);gamedata/xdefine.lua:88-93(DLC_Elena,DLC_Maze);luascript/controller/controllerlobby.lua:1128-1137;luascript/ui/controller/lobbymainctrl.lua:2228-2240, 4835-4856;luascript/ui/controller/arcadectrl.lua:104-120, 470-495.- GameText keys
UI_DLC_ITEM_NAME_dlcarcade,UI_DLC_ITEM_DETAIL_TITLE_dlcarcade,UI_DLC_ITEM_DETAIL_INTRO_dlcarcade,UI_DLC_MSG_dlcarcade,UI_ARCADE_IS_NOT_PURCHASED,UI_ARCADE_NEED_MAZE,UI_ARCADE_NEED_TIDE,UI_ARCADE_GAMEMODE_INTRO_NORMAL,UI_ACHIEVEMENT_LIST6,UI_DLC_ITEM_DETAIL_INTRO_hero11007,UI_ARCADE_HERO_INTRO_10007. ES_AchievementAchievementId 60001 to 60015 (tab 6);ES_ArcadeHerorow 6;ES_HeroTalentrows with talent ids 17401 to 17407 (kit rows 205 to 211).