Dev Diary 11 :: 2015 :: September

[Ray]

Upcoming Patch:

• The soul orb feature release is looking like a next week thing
• For the most part, pets are going to get a significant boost (beyond the last patch), with further pet arena balancing
• Card pack window will have a few additions of information to assist players
• There will be a few back-end fixes now that I have information that is starting to be logged since the last patch
• Card milestones will be receiving their boost, along with an inferno-level-based increase
• Inferno monsters are going to get an increasing boost to their max hp based on inferno tier. Major increases will occur at 10's and 25's (and 100's)
  

Big Picture
The game lost a ton of balances with Card Milestones and Pets after the inferno mode auto damage upgrade expansion. Because of this, these changes are necessary. As i've mentioned before, I can handle peoples complaining/rants if it makes them feel better. It's impossible to avoid tens of thousands of peoples differing expectations from being disappointed, so I apologize if you are one of those, but i'm focusing on improving the game for the long run, not to reduce disappointment for the short-term.

A lot of the changes right now are keeping in mind some things for the future:

• I'm thinking of capping inferno leveling at some point in preparations for the next major game mode
• Avatars, Gear, Gems, Trinkets and other features will become a major part of the game down the road
• The next game mode will likely take a slight turn in terms of game-play. I don't think we need a second alternative inferno mode here.
• Offline gains are going to change up the game a fair bit
• The game hasn't had any real push on publishing yet - the big picture is for both existing players and the future of new players on places like AG, NG, Steam, Mobile, etc.
• The Soul Orb system will add some strategical investing, but will be similar to expeditions in that diamonds/ap will not play a role. 
• Call me p2w all you want, but I'm looking at ways to reward all dedicated players progress towards support levels, regardless of spending. Likely based on active days, potentially on referrals and other things as well down the road. 
  

I had a few other points but myBB trashed the page and i'm running short on time to get things prepared for the next patch here...so until next time!

Cheers,
Ray