Our future battle sprites update will introduce a host of new features, including powerful combat skills that all sprites can execute on your command. The three starter sprites; the drakon, seraphynx and maskeraith, each represent a different playstyle.

Outlined below are the three combat skills that each of these battle sprites will ultimately learn as they level up. But that's not all! Each of these skills also can become an 'ultimate skill' if the sprite achieves a very high level. We'll be detailing ultimate skills and other new sprite features in a future update.

Greetings knights!

We’ve noticed a lot of you revving your engines in anticipation of Battle Sprites, so we wanted to give you a clearer idea of when they are coming to Spiral Knights. Way back in January, we announced Battle Sprites, estimating that they would be released in the first half of this year. We were close! Battle Sprites will be released in the second half of July.

Bugfixes
- Fixed: Various incorrect item icons
- Fixed: Modifier keys (ie: SHIFT, CTRL, ALT, etc) from causing actions while chatting
- Toggling the weapon selection wheel on/off will now take effect immediately
- Bash and Dash will not work when a knight cannot move
- Unequipping a shield will no longer break a knight's animation

To celebrate the release of the combat update introducing the lightning quick evasive dash and the thunderous shield bash, the Haven treasury is giving away unique prizes!

From now through June 2nd, 2013, we're giving away free Stormy Prize Boxes with select energy purchases!

Each Stormy Prize Box has special prizes inside. Possible prizes include unique Storm Helmets and radiant Eyes of Fury. Not only that, but a lucky few players may find the rare Wings of Fury!

Dash and Bash through the Clockworks!
In order to help combat the ever-growing threat within the Clockworks, all Knights can now use two powerful abilities: the evasive dash and the stunning shield bash! Both abilities have default mappings in each control scheme or can be set in Custom Controls.

Dash

Great Gluttonous Gorgos!
A new fiend has been summoned from the Underworld to swell the ranks of the devilite workforce: the gluttonous gorgo!

Gorgos are bulbous fiends who are constantly on the lookout for their next meal. Within the Underworld they are among the lowest in the fiendish pecking order and are used as a twisted form of motivation for white collar devilites. For those that don't work hard every day will eventually become a terrible gorgo; their bodies bloating and their two eyes forming into one, because why waste all that extra energy blinking both?

Hail Knights!

I'd like to announce two exciting new features that will be released in a future update: dashing and shield bashing. Both of these features will be available to all knights as part of their core set of actions.

*There is currently no ETA for these features, though they will soon be available to test on the Test Server*

Dash
The dash is used to evade enemy attacks quickly, providing a burst of speed and limited invulnerability. It provides a great 'escape' from monster attacks or from being surrounded by more agile monsters.

Guild Halls
- Zoom now works in Guild Halls

UI
- The energy panel will pop out to display changes in energy
- The party leader is indicated with a crown

Art
- Lift Barriers now have a unique barrier effect to set them apart from Force Fields. Remember, Lift Barriers do not block monsters!

Levels
- Tutorial: Minis have been added as an appropriately "easy" monster in some early missions
- Compounds: Various improvements and tweaks to many rooms

Bugfixes

Mini Monsters
A new class of monsters known as 'minis' now roams the Clockworks. Experienced knights shouldn't have much of a problem dealing with them, but beware, minis are prone to swarm in packs dozens strong.

- Dust bunnies: These beast-family minis are a hopping mad mess of fangs and fur. They are always hungry.
- Glop drops: The newest member of the slime family will slowly ooze their way toward their prey as a nasty blanket of spikes.
- Grave scarabs: These undead insects are always on the lookout for fresh corpses. Their limited flight signals their attacks.

Bugfixes
- Fixed listing "None" keys during the tutorial
- Fixed health display for some monsters
- Various UI-related, translation and text fixes
- Updated some conversation images
- Corrected name color issues
- Fixed some issues with gremlin thwacker hammer attacks in the Firestorm Citadel
- Revive UI positioning adjusted
- "???" Displayed for random floor names in the level clear interface
- Fixed issue with help tips displaying incorrectly when poisoned