Devblog: Changes to Battlefields 18/08/2021 - 16:00
Retornar à listaCurrently, Battlefields have very low participation rates, making them less relevant and putting them in a vicious cycle: The less often players participate in them, the less appealing they are, and then players participate in them less! In Update 1.73, the frequency of Battlefields will change in order to bring players together, thereby boosting participation.
We've set three main goals:
- Increase participation for each Battlefield
- Reduce cheating issues (deals among certain players)
- Raise the stakes and consequences in Battlefields
Frequency
On each server, there are currently 10 Battlefields a day. For version 1.73, we've decided to significantly reduce this frequency; now there will be two Battlefields a week:
- Pandora server: every Saturday at 10:00 AM., then at 10:00 PM (Paris time)
- Rubilax server: every Saturday at 4:00 AM, then at 4:00 PM (Paris time)
These time slots were chosen on the basis of server population statistics.
Our goal is to have two massive encounters every week. We'd like to make these Battlefields more like an event so they'll become "rare" and important. These changes should make it much easier for players to group up.
Deterministic Selection of Levels
Currently, Battlefield levels are selected randomly. They are going to be selected in a deterministic and cyclical fashion (80 → 110 → 140 → 170 → 200 → 215) to ensure that all level brackets are equally included and to give players an easier time planning for Battlefields.
After 1.73 goes live, we'll look at participation rates for each level bracket to see whether all brackets are represented.
Number of Participants
To allow for massive battles, the maximum number of participants in a Battlefield will go from 40 versus 40 to 120 versus 120.
Our goal is to increase participation in Battlefields enough so that deals can no longer be made between opposing teams.
Heroes
We've decided to allow Heroes to participate in Battlefields to increase the number of characters participating in battles.
We believe there will be, proportionately, an equal amount of Heroes played in each Nation.
The maximum amount of a Battlefields participants will take Heroes into consideration.
Maximum Team Size
The maximum size of teams in Battlefields will go from 3 to 4 characters to allow for battles that are potentially more balanced.
We'd also like to make sure players controlling 3 characters (using Heroes) will be encouraged to find allies to create a group of optimal strength.
Battlefield Types
The "permadeath" type (if defeated, you can't participate in the Battlefield again) has been removed.
We think it causes too much frustration, and that being unable to participate after defeat isn't an appropriate penalty for players who want to be fully engaged in a Battlefield.
Duration
Battlefields will now last for 60 minutes instead of 40.
It will of course still be possible to join a Battlefield that's already started or leave one before it ends.
We're open to the idea of further extending the duration of Battlefields, but we want to be careful as an overlong duration could "dilute" participation (with fewer players participating in Battlefields at the same time).
Territory Conquest
Battlefields' reduced frequency will increase the stakes of these battles as they will have significant repercussions in determining who will control territories for extended periods of time (several months, potentially!).
Our aim is to make the stakes very high; victory or defeat in a Battlefield should have lasting consequences.
We are aware that assigning a territory to a Nation for a very long period will significantly alter the dynamic of territory conquest: This is an aspect of the game we'll be watching attentively.
Rewards
To compensate for the reduced frequency of Battlefields, you'll earn 4 times more Glory Orbs and Merit Points.
Characters' Merit will be reset when Update 1.73 is released. The current amounts are no longer representative due to numerous deals made between players.