EpicDuel PVP Game Design Notes

February 02, 2024

This week we say, "Goodbye!" to the Darkeater package and say, "Hello again!" to returning Battlepass items and cores. If you took 2023 off of EpicDuel, or just didn't feel like completing the Battlepass seasons, this will be a massive update for you!

Darkeater Retired

Available since 2022, the Darkeater promotional package has officially been retired. You will still be able to purchase the cores and bots from Acatriel. To allow players who don't have Varium a chance to use the cores, we've brought back new versions of select Darkeater items (tagged 2024). We did this to preserve the rarity of the promo items for those who already purchased the promotional package.

Epic Battlepass Restock

Originally, our intention was to bring back the Battlepass items from previous seasons gradually, but because of a major upcoming core rebalance, we brought back Azrael's Scorn, Botanical Knight, Cathedral Knight, and Draconic Warlord all at once. We wanted as many people to have access to as many cores as possible to test the efficacy of any balance update. Even if you don't have Varium to purchase the cores outright, you can still get many of the cores by purchasing the Battlepass items from The Challenger who resides in the Time Fortress zone of the Afterlife.

Since cores are crucial to balance and the health of PvP, we plan to offer cores in a shop alongside Battlepasses in the future, starting with the next Azrael Battlepass. This may provide less incentive to grind out the Battlepass for some, but wide availability of the cores will be useful for determining any imbalances more quickly.

New Cores

A permanent version of the Thrown Shot core as well as sidearm and auxiliary versions of the permanent War Commander core are available at Vendbots across Delta V.

Minor Cores Retired

Because they don't adequately serve the purpose they were meant to fulfill; the minor cores have been retired. It is still possible to equip and use them, but they are no longer for sale.

Widescreen Expansion

Last year one of our major goals was to expand EpicDuel to a widescreen resolution. Acatriel managed to expand all the current screens in game, and I planned to implement them over the Summer, but my surgery shattered those plans. I will resume the expansion process after Gifting obligations are wrapped. The widescreen expansion also includes adjusting every interface in game so it's not quite a simple matter of just replacing the old map screens with new ones. This change will require a lot of testing and make the game difficult to update while all the screens and interfaces are expanded so we want to be sure we have plenty to occupy players while the work is underway.

Server Migration

Next week we will be migrating EpicDuel's database to a new physical server. This will result in several hours of downtime while all the data is transferred. We will update you when we've determined the exact time we plan to do the migration so you can plan accordingly. I've been told the new server won't offer much of a performance boost aside from using SSDs instead of HDDs. Hopefully there are no hiccups and EpicDuel arrives at its new digital home safe and sound.

In the coming weeks, we will wrap up the last of our Gifter items and undertake a massive core rebalance. While this is happening, we will also be working to complete the Gifting Bonus Tier items as well as the 2024 Azrael Battlepass. Thank you for your patience! We usually have a lull in substantial updates after Gifting as we work to complete all the post-Gifting tasks, but we're moving at a much faster pace this year than ever before! 

Tags: Nightwraith