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EpicDuel PVP Game Design Notes
 | June 11, 2019 Epic Balance Update 1.7.25Surprise! To get out ahead of the ongoing security updates to the servers, which did cause some downtime earlier today, we're rolling out some significant balance changes today! Currently, Mercenaries and Tactical Mercenaries are extremely power, partially due to passive shield bonuses like Hybrid Armor. Other classes that are underperforming due to lack of damage or limited build diversity will receive signifant buffs to make them more competative.
Balance Changes
Bug Fix
Tags: Nightwraith |
| June 07, 2019 Infernal Buff and PreviewThis week in EpicDuel we're introducing a truckload of new styles, fixing bugs, and significantly buffing some of the new Infernal Gladiator skills!
Infernal Buffs
Bug Fixes
New Styles It seems like it's been ages since EpicDuel added some hairstyles that were just...hair and not some kind of weird alien helmet or grostesque mask. This week, we borrowed some styles from DragonFable and adapted them to EpicDuel's template for use on all classes and genders. Hopefully these 30+ new styles will allow for some unique new customization combinations!
Coming Attractions Although we started June strong with 2 new promotional bundles, there's still plenty in the pipeline for EpicDuel's June releases! Charfade will be getting a new makeover, along with new gear to reflect her evolution over the nearly 10 years she's been stranded on Delta V.
We've also enlisted the help of 2 new artists: Lae and Tyronius, who've already lent their talents to AQW. I think their style translates quite well to ED, and I can't wait to get their new WIPs in game!
Tags: Nightwraith |
| May 17, 2019 Infernal Gladiator Preview
Very soon it will be time to say goodbye to the current Azrael Promo and hello to a new Infernal Promo set with new armor, weapons, and cores! This upcoming week will be your last chance to grab the Azrael Promo before it's gone for the season! Also, many out-of-stock weapons and cores have been restocked!
Core BuffsTo improve the viability of some existing cores, they've been given substantial buffs to increase their utility
HairstylesIn preparation for the new Infernal Promo, we're introducing 54 new styles (9 new styles across all classes)
Remember, this week will be your last chance to acquire the Azrael's Evolution promotional gear! It will be replaced with the new Infernal Gladiator package sometime on Friday ("when it's ready o-clock")!
Tags: Nightwraith |
| May 10, 2019 Infinity Titan Gear
The MCU isn't the only place you can find a Mad Titan! Visit Titan's Peak to discover new cosmic cores, weapons, and a starship-load of home items fit for a galactic supervillain!
New Weapons Wield the power of a Mad Titan with new Infinity Titan weapons created by Yo_Lae! These cosmic weapons come pre-loaded with the new Infinity Power Strike core! These are limited rares so you'd better hurry, or they'll be gone in a SNAP!
Cores Visit Titan in Titan's Peak to try a new selection of powerful Infinity Titan cores!
Afterlife To make navigation a bit easier, the Afterlife region and the NPCs contained therein are now accessible from the main map interface to the southeast of Frysteland.
Balance After the last update, we may have overcorrected the stat boosts from the passive cores. In this update, they've been set to provide +4 stat boost to find a sweet spot where they're useful, but not overpowered.
New Home Items Check out brand new Infinity Titan home items created by Yo_Lae! Collect all the gems for display and gaze upon your collection from your new hover-throne!
Tags: Nightwraith |
| May 03, 2019 Infernal Update
EpicDuel is about to be updated with new war changes, restocked Pyro Fly, new achievements, and a new CC Pyro Fly travel form!
War Currently, the war system functions on a mostly "winner take all" binary. We've changed the system to encourage participation regardless of Alignment by adding a new prize tier. This will allow all players who perform at a high level to earn the war prize, plus a larger amount of Credits and Arcade tokens.
Balance After the last update, Tactical Mercenaries appeared to overperform in 1v1, mostly as a consequence of regaining passive armor and energy regeneration.
Cores It seems that many are using the passive stat cores to the exclusion of all others. To encourage diverity in core use, we've adjusted pricing and potency of the cores
Achievements To reward those who have gone above and beyond in the Gifting off-season to share codes with their fellow players, we've added new tiers to the Code Crafter achievement. If after launch your achievement is "stuck" at an old tier, you can either share a new code wait for an manual update to properly set your achievement.
New Items Visit Kraggor in the Mines for a restocked Pyro Fly and a new CC Pyro Fly travel form!
New Game: DungeonBorne!
JUST LAUNCHED! Get DungeonBorne, the story-based card game on the Apple and Android app stores. Grab a copy, and show it some love. Congratulations to Cysero, Oishii, Rabblefroth, and PanicPop on the release of this brand new game! It is free, with an optional one-time $1.99 expansion pack which unlocks more cards and adds variety! Tags: Nightwraith |
| April 26, 2019 Springtime Smash Part 2
EpicDuel has just been updated with the second part of its springtime release featuring new weapons, new cores, balance changes, and a new mission chain!
Balance Drastic ideas for improving balance are still being discussed and tested, but some adjustments are being made as of this release to help Tech Mages and Cyber Hunters while weakening the energy control capabilities of Blood Mages and Tactical Mercenaries.
Visit Brachylagus in the Biological Preserve Archives for a series of crucial tasks to earn bountiful credits, an adorable prize, and an epic achievement!
Visit Deuce and Xraal for new seasonal gear! The most epic gear contain new cores pre-installed cores for your convenience! The cores can be replaced if so desired.
New Cores Visit Deuce and Xraal for new seasonal cores that should heal greatly increase survivability in battle and allow for more build flexibility when assigning passives.
New Promo? Now that the Azrael Package has been around a few months, many have been asking when the next promotional package will be released. Promotional packages take a lot of work and planning, particularly the new skills the items come equipped with. There will be a new promotional package, and we will update you on the progress as soon as details are available! Tags: Nightwraith |
| April 18, 2019 Springtime Smash!
EpicDuel will be updating shortly to add part of an epic springtime release featuring new weapons, balance changes, and a new arcade game!
Balance Currently, many ideas for improving balance are being thrown around on the test server but there's not total confident in their viability. It's especially risky to push large balance changes over a holiday weekend when immediate corrective action wouldn't be possible. We're continuing to test and brainstorm ideas to revamp the skill trees to empower struggling classes and encourage build diversity.
Try your luck and spend some tokens at the Springtime Smash Arcade featuring some new weapons from Bido!
Visit Deuce for new seasonal gear! There's still more to come so don't feel too disappointed if some items from the previews, like the awesome Highlander armor, aren't present in the shop just yet!
This the first part of our springtime release, the second part of which should have even more balance changes and seasonal content. In the meantime, have a safe and happy holiday weekend! Tags: Nightwraith |
| April 12, 2019 Patch Notes - 1.7.17We just rolled a small patch with some small adjustments and preparations to make much larger changes to the skill trees next week, changes which will require some extemsive testing to evaluate their viability. We also have a glorious cache of weapons and items in the pipeline
New Features/Changes
Tags: Nightwraith |
| April 05, 2019 Passive Skills Return!
The day has finally come! It's been nearly 6 years and after hundreds of constructive and not-so-constructive comments, emails, and forum posts later Passive Skills have returned to the skill trees of EpicDuel! Party like it's 2013 and experiment with build options not possible in years, if at all!
BalancePassive skills return to replace their former active skills! If you're new to EpicDuel, you're probably wondering why this is significant. Passive Skills haven't been a part of the game since 2013 and the game has changed a lot since then. At the time, we felt that Passive Skills didn't make the battles feel dynamic enough. On the surface, Passive Skills aren't as cool as summoning a lightning bolt or activating a space laser, but because they can impact almost every round for 0 cost, they're extremely powerful and essential for most builds. We replaced them with new active skills hoping that would make energy management more valuable and diversity builds. Sound theory, but the removal of Passive Skills left a large hole in EpicDuel that the new skills never quite replaced. This reversal could have happened much sooner, but many of the Passive Skills were completely shredded in the transition with the assumption that we would never go back. While some were simple to return (Blood Lust and Reroute are still equipped to many NPCs), others had to be rebuilt. This was a big, scary change with many unknown consequences, but hopefully it will all be worth it!
Since this is such a major change to battle dynamics, and the game has changed so much in 6 years, we'll definitely need some follow up updates to balance the returning skills. This'll be an ongoing process, but a major step towards returning something dearly missed by longtime players.
Core Changes
HairstylesSince enough people liked the April Fool's armor, I've separated the head from the armor and added as a hairstyle. Now you can have whatever helm or hair you wish with the armor!
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| March 23, 2019 Bunnyzooka Bunn-anza!
Spring is finally here! Can you believe it? Can you believe there's a brand new edition of the Bunnyzookas with pre-equipped cores? Can you believe HeroMart just restocked a truckload of EpicDuel merch? Believe!
Bunnyzooka Bunn-anza!To refresh the classic Bunnyzookas, we've introduced the shiny new 2019 editions available at Brachylagus in the Biological Preserve Archives, complete with a new active core!
New CoresAvailable at Dage the Evil, these new active primary cores can make a huge different to the outcome of your duels!
Robot ChangeThe Bunny Bot has a sneaky special attack that has been underused for ages. To improve this, we've expanded the triggers for the Egg Rain attack to include regular sidearm and auxiliary attacks. Core attacks and skills are still exempt.
Classic Core UnlocksTo encourage experimentation with some classic EpicDuel items, we've unlocked the cores on the Delta Gear. This was done as an experiment to see if it was something worth doing to other rare, locked gear.
BalanceTo increase the viability of Bounty Hunter Dexterity builds without making them overpowered, we've made the following changes:
HeromartAn incredible bounty of loot is finally available from HeroMart, including new designs to complement the return of old classics!
Coming SoonSpring is officially here and Easter is right around to corner, so Bido and Deuce are hard at work crafting some awesome new sets worthy of your extensive collections!
Cut ContentNot among the new cores were a handful of new passives that were designed to give players a big advantage if their health dropped below critical levels. However, there were some problems in the battle engine that kept them from triggering properly at the health threshold, meaning they would be active the entire fight! I fought my own battle against the code for a bit but had to cut them for this update. Hopefully we can get them working as intended and in game in an upcoming update!
Status ReportOne major project I've been planning to implement is the return of Passive skills to the skill trees. I'm very close to having the logistics ironed out for this project but I will need some programming advice to make sure nothing breaks. Changing Passive skills to Active skills was a major change that took a long time to implement so it shouldn't be surprising that reverting the change is taking longer than anticipated. Some of the Passives no longer exist so they must be recreated. Plus, modifying the skill trees is a complicated process that is very unforgiving. It's possible to break every character in the game with small mistake! No pressure, right? Next week, I will be traveling to visit family so I there are no updates planned for next week. I know that's a bummer, but I haven't taken a real break since... Hmmm... I don't remember. Anyway, I should return ready to tackle this major project to restore a bit of what you loved about the old battle engine. Hopefully, we don't prove the old saying true, "Be careful what you wish for..." Now where did I put that Gamma.exe? Another issue I'd like to address is the speculation of plans for EpicDuel's future. In the near term, I've been able to secure additional help with creating art assets to make meatier releases. The increased attention EpicDuel has received also motivated HeroMart to restock old merch and create new merch. I've noted people expressing fatigue with the weapon releases, but developing new or restoring old features is mostly beyond my capabilities alone. Many of the new features you've enjoyed have been due to snagging snippets of Titan's time for consultation or development. Larger features that require days or weeks are trickier as he has regular obligations to AQ3D. It's frustrating, but Titan's new role comes with less autonomy than he enjoyed as the EpicDuel lead. That's part of the tradeoff when you sign up to work for a company rather than running your own business. What about EpicDuel 2? ED2D? EDBR? I see people demanding these new projects enter the pipeline constantly, and I agree with you! You don't have to convince *me* that EpicDuel is awesome and deserves an awesome future. I don't need convincing, but I don't have the autonomy to greenlight a project. As I understand it, the plan is to use AQ2D as a basis for converting the Flash games to Unity. Why does AQ2D get preference? AQW is much, MUCH bigger than EpicDuel. Even at EpicDuel's peak, it was orders of magnitude larger by nearly every metric. For those of you clenching your fists like the Arthur meme, note I said bigger, not better. Big is big. If that weren't the case, why on earth would EpicDuel only have one dev? That said, EpicDuel's players are some of the most enthusiastic and devoted fans of all the games, and that doesn't go unnoticed. I love our humble little PvP game, but I understand the rationale, especially when working with limited resources. I can't build the game on my lonesome as I've tragically dumped all my stats into art and charisma (obviously). What I can do is continue building on EpicDuel, creating new releases, updating balance, and adding features whenever I can. It's in my interest, and AE's interest to see EpicDuel thrive, contrary to claims of sabotage I've seen. I've lashed myself to the mast of this project for over a decade and I really don't know what I'd do beyond it -- a scary thought that's kept me up many nights, but maybe that's a nudge toward better personal development. I'm 100%, full-time EpicDuel and plan to continue for as long as you'll allow it. That's what I know at this current moment. That knowledge is always subject to change based on news I hear from on high, and I'll certainly update you all when that happens. I won't tease a project before it's 100% official. Thank you for your patience. If you're frustrated, know that it's mutual, but I aim to make the best of the present situation. Duel On! Tags: Nightwraith |
| March 15, 2019 Dage Overload!
This week EpicDuel is overloaded with new Dage the Evil weapons available in class-specific varieties to let you craft a truly killer build! Also, production is still underway for EpicDuel's HeroMart bounty. The proof is in the proofs (printing humor) as the new posters arrive hot off the presses!
Balance:To help Focus builds, some changes were made to the following skills:
Weapons -- Located on Dage the EvilDage wasn't done sharing his bounty with some glorious class-specific weapons for EpicDuel! Some of these are very low quantity, so the collectors will want to hurry to get them before they run out!
HeroMart
Coming SoonAs I write this Bido and Deuce are hard at work on more Spring/Celtic/Easter content that should be hitting the game soon! Be sure to follow them on Twitter for updates! Tags: Nightwraith |
| March 08, 2019 Epic Merchandise!
Greetings! This week we have some very exciting news for those who have been hankering for a piece of EpicDuel merch, which have been out of stock for ages: HeroMart will soon be restocking sold out EpicDuel merchandise and selling brand new merch, which will include items in EpicDuel AND AQW! This should be great news for those of you who wanted another chance to get a piece of EpicDuel you can hold in your hand, hang on your wall, or cover your body! Be sure to follow HeroMart for the latest updates when these new products hit the shelves! We don't know how many they're producing, but we wouldn't sleep on it very long!
Balance
Bug Fixes/ Changes
Hairstyle
These achievements will be available with codes from the upcoming new Heromart items!
Weapons These weapons will be available with codes from the upcoming new Heromart items!
Home Items These items will be available with codes from the upcoming new Heromart items!
New Artist Arrives We'd like to formally welcome Junny Osan to the EpicDuel Team. He'll be working with us, joining Bido and Deuce for some much-needed art assistance! Tags: Nightwraith |
| March 01, 2019 EpicDuel and Dage's Birthday!
Today Dage the Evil and EpicDuel are both celebrating birthdays! Visit Dage the Evil in the Wasteland for an amazing armory of epic new undead wares! Also, today marks the 10th Anniversary of EpicDuel's Alpha Launch! WeaponsMeet Dage the Evil at the base of the Wasteland Minetower to inspect his amazing inventory of new weapons. This is already an impressive arsenal, but there are many more weapons on the way (next week)!
Travel FormsDage can gift you with the ability to warp your form into a new twisted abomination. Want to run throw Central Station as an undead horse? Now you can!
ArmorsDage's Paragon armor has a new coat of bling. Those with heaps of Credits to spend couldn't ask for a more imposing way to show off their post-gifting wealth!
Styles
BossTake on the ultimate challenge with a trusted ally. Regular Dage the Evil was already on of the most challenging bosses in the game. Will you be the first to defeat his Legendary form?
AchievementsBoost your rating score with 3 new achievements! That Legendary Dage Achievement is going to be tough to get!
HomesBuy an underworld dwelling of your very own!
Home ItemsWhat would an underworld home be without plenty of Dage/Undead-themed decorations? If there's one thing all Dage fans can agree on, it's that you can never have too many skulls, bones, or blue fire!
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| February 22, 2019 Azrael's Buff
A voice cries out from the Void. It screams "BUFF ME!" We answer, "Oh...Ok." This update sees a substantial buff to the skills of Azrael's Evolution promo pack in addition to a huge blast from the past you probably thought you'd never see again in EpicDuel!
BalanceIn response to player feedback, we've buffed the damage from the promotional cores to make them worth the sacrifice of precious HP for the boost to damage output. We've also made some adjustments to class skills, including an change that could make Intimidate a much saucier skill for Mercenaries and Blood Mages!
BossStep into the Afterlife with a partner and challenge the Legendary Void King for the battle of your life (or unlife)!
CoresIn desperate need of energy? Temporarily sacrifice some armor for a full tank with this potent new active armor core available from Endless M4tr1x.
As a blast from the past, the Health and Energy Packs and Boosters have returned to Vendbots and Valestra! The Health Packs and Boosters are affected by Heal modifiers like Critical Heal and the Medical Mastery Legendary Skill.
AchievementsNeed a boost to your Rating Points and have a few credits to spare...or a few million? Give yourself a belated Valentine by with the new upgradeable Tiny Heart Achievement! Tags: Nightwraith |
| February 15, 2019 Patch Notes - 1.7.10We just rolled a small patch with some skill adjustments and a major bug fix for the Azrael's Artillery auxiliaries. New Features/Changes
Tags: Nightwraith |
