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EpicDuel PVP Game Design Notes
 | May 18, 2023 May the Fourth Forever
Performance improvements, bug fixes, and enough star sabers to stop an imperial army arrive with this latest update! May the Fourth ForeverWell, maybe not forever. We do have many more rare social media prize code drops to last throughout the month of May! Can you collect them all?
Animation OptimizationOptimization is rarely exciting but often a net positive and sometime necessary for sustained development. With so many custom skills and variants for different weapon types, our character timeline ballooned to nearly 10,000 frames. Over time, we've been able to trim this down to about 7,000 frames with this latest update. The biggest change was consolidating the alternative animations for the class-specific weapons when using sidearms and auxiliaries. Now, the weapons will quickly fade out and back in at the end of the animation. This streamlines the animations while drawing focus to the weapons being used. After all, what's the point of upgrading a fancy new sidearm if it's going to be hidden behind your other weapons? Optimization is an ongoing process, but this update was a major push forward in our battle against performance issues and file size!
Bug Fixes / ChangesThere has been a persistent bug impacting AOE cores such as Ultra Obliteration that would cause the client to freeze if used against 2 targets without enough energy. We tried for awhile to resolve this issue, but to keep this issue from remaining in game and freezing battles, a stopgap solution was introduced in the most recent update: All AOE skills have the same energy require when used against 2 targets as 1 target. This will affect cores and regular class skills. In a way, it makes sense to unify the cost for 1 and 2 targets since players do not have a choice weather to target 1 or 2 players with an AOE, it's an automatic increase is energy cost. This may perhaps make AOE skills more viable in 2v2 and Juggernaut battles. Tags: Nightwraith |
| May 06, 2023 Ultra Corsair Now Live
EpicDuel is live with its latest limited-time promotion: Ultra Corsair Gear!
Ultra Corsair PackageThis new 4,000 Artix Point package includes over 20 items! A great value on par with some of the 10,000 AP packages of the past. This limited-time promo includes the following items:
Cores (pre-equipped to the sidearms and auxiliary items in the package)
This package also comes with an exclusive achievement, the Ultra Corsair Crest! *Please note that this package does not include additional Varium.
Ultimate Stat Boost PackThough there are many passive cores available in EpicDuel, it can be difficult to know what to buy and where to buy it when crafting a build. Since stat-boosting cores are great for providing noticeable improvements in damage output, defense, healing, and more, we assembled many of the most common permanent stat cores into one convenient package. This new 10,000 Artix Point package contains over 40 passive stat-boosting cores to cover all the main gear categories. To provide added value, the package also includes 10,000 Varium to give players everything they need to create a highly competitive build.
Tags: Nightwraith |
| April 28, 2023 May the Fourth 2023
EpicDuel is live with 2 new 4,000 AP promo packs, new PvP drops, new styles, and new prize code star sabers for the entire month of May!
New PromosEpicDuel can be very intimidating for new players. After 15 years of development, there are so many weapons and cores that it can be difficult to know how to best spend your hard-earned credits and Varium. To provide a boost to new and returning players, we've introduced two new promotional packs for 4,000 Artix Points each: Stat Boost Pack
A quick way to optimize your build is to equip potent passive cores to boost key stats like Strength, Dexterity, Technology, and Support. Many new players don't even know such cores exist! This package includes many of the most common Passive boosts to provide tangible boosts to struggling builds.
This pack also includes 2 of each of the following limited-charge stat boost cores:
Grenade Pack
Grenades are useful Primary Active cores that can offer a quick offensive advantage in battle. This pack includes two of each limited charge grenade core.
If these packs are successful, we hope to introduce more packages bundling other useful cores and items to improve shopping convenience for new and veteran players alike.
New PvP DropIf you don't want to wait until Monday to start collecting saber swords, we've added 8 new weapons to the PvP drop pool!
As of this update the April Fools weapon drops have been removed from the PvP drop pool.
May the FourthStarting May 1st at 12 PM (EST), a new prize code will be posted to Nightwraith's Twitter for a new rare saber sword. The next code will be posted at 5 PM (EST). This will be the schedule until all codes are depleted! There should be enough quantity of each prize item to last a while, but they won't last long and there will not be any reposting. Good luck, and May the Fourth be with you!
New StylesAs an appetizer for the upcoming Ultra Corsair promotional package, we've introduced eight new styles to complement the set once it's finally released! Tags: Nightwraith |
| April 14, 2023 Botanical Battlepass Now Live!
The Botanical Knight Battlepass is LIVE! Login now to earn the latest collection of spring/knight-themed weapons, armors, vehicles, morphs, bots, cores, and more crafted with care by Bido and Acatriel! This Battlepass will last from today to June 6, 2023. Good luck and happy dueling to reach level 60 of EpicDuel's latest Battlepass season!
Varium Sale EndAs of this latest update, the Spring Varium sale is now over in EpicDuel after over a week extension.
PvP Drop AdjustmentThe overall drop rate for PvP items was somewhat overtuned over the last few weeks, so it has been adjusted to be lower in the latest update. Tags: Nightwraith |
| March 31, 2023 Botanical Knight Battlepass Preview
The Botanical Knight Battlepass is on schedule to be released next week with new cores, styles, weapons, armors, and more! The expected release date is Friday April 7 as soon as it's ready. The release has been postponed until next week to allow enough time for thorough development and testing.
PvP Queue TimeTo encourage faster matchmaking, the queue times for PvP matches have been reduced, especially in 2v2. This means that if a human match is not found, an AI opponent will be chosen faster. While priority is given to human matches, getting into battles to get rewards feels better than waiting at a loading screen. The level range of AI matches has also been increased from 36 to 38.
Drop Rate UpdateSince the 2023 Dage drops are dropping less frequently than intended, we've updated the the drop weights to give preference to the new items while increasing the overall drop rate. In anticipation of April Fool's Day, we've added the following items back into the drop pools: Weapon Drops
Home Items
Tags: Nightwraith |
| March 21, 2023 Ancient Legion Arsenal
The Undead Legion's latest arsenal has arrived in EpicDuel! Collect over 50 new items that can be earned through PvP victories! These drops are seasonal and will leave for the season after a few months.
New PvP Drops Fight and win PvP duels for a chance to receive these new weapons!
New Home Item Drops Fight and win PvP duels for a chance to receive these new home items!
New Collection MissionsVisit Dage the Evil's avatar on Delta V to accept the new collection mission chain Dage's 2023 Arsenal! If you complete all the missions, you can earn thousands of credits, new rare weapons, and an new achievement: Dage Collector 2023! Tags: Nightwraith |
| March 10, 2023 EpicDuel Anniversary Beta Gamma Rewards
EpicDuel is continuing it's anniversary celebration with new rewards for Beta and Gamma supporters!* *Rewards only available for those who meet criteria specified below.
Beta RewardsWith this update, our Beta Supporters who owned the original Beta Brutalizer set will receive new and improved 2023 Beta Weapons!
As with the Alpha weapons last week, these new weapons will be added to inventories as additional items and will not overwrite the existing legacy gear.
Gamma RewardsGamma supporters who already own the Gamma Bot will receive the new Electro Gamma Bot, which is a damage-swapped counterpart to the coveted Gamma Bot!
Returning DropsBecause we didn't formally announce the Evolved Frostbane PvP weapon drops a few weeks ago, we're re-adding them to drop pool to allow those still wrapping up the related missions a chance to complete them. These drops will leave after a week to become seasonal drops. Additionally, to celebrate Dage the Evil's birthday, we're restoring Dage's Legion item drops. These returning drops will be reinforced soon with new items next week! When the other PvP drops were removed, the intention was to revert the drop rates back to the pre-holiday rates. With this update the overall drop rate has been reduced, but still remains higher than it was before the holiday change.
Next Week: Dage's Birthday ItemsPrepare for new weapons, home items, and maybe even a mission or two as we bring Dage the Evil's devious designs to EpicDuel! Tags: Nightwraith |
| March 03, 2023 EpicDuel Anniversary
Login for epic rewards as EpicDuel celebrates 14 years since its initial Alpha Launch!
Epic Varium BonusIf you have an EpicDuel character that has been active since January 1, 2020, you will receive 1400 free Varium on that character! Not many online games can boast that achievement, and we wanted to commemorate that milestone with an unprecedented gift to help everyone power up! Our humble little Sci-fi PvP MMORPG never would have remained live and dueling this long without you and your support! Duel on!
Spring Varium SaleToday, EpicDuel began its Spring sale, which is expected to run until Tuesday, April 4th. We are increasing the included Varium with the Darkeater Gear Package from 10,000 to 15,000 and increasing the Varium-only package value from 18,000 to 20,000! Those who purchased either of these packages 24 hours before the sale went live received the difference in Varium earlier today.
Anniversary GearVisit Nightwraith for new rare Anniversary weapons!
Legacy RewardsStarting this week, we will be equipping new legacy rare gear to players from different development phases who meet certain criteria. This week, we will reward players with the original Alpha gear with new variants of their ultra rare gear!
Next week, we will distribute new gear for Beta players with the original Beta weapons and Gamma players who already own the original Gamma Bot!
Bug Fixes/Changes
Tags: Nightwraith |
| February 24, 2023 Flesh Demigod Returns
The Flesh Demigod Gear has returned to Azrael! Jump to his haunting lair to browse his loot and complete your collection of Seasonal gear and potent cores!
Fourteen Year AlphaA new achievement representing EpicDuel's 14th anniversary is available from the Ultra-Rare section of the Achievement shop. There is also a limited wall home item available to mount the achievement within your home(s). More anniversary gear will be available next week, including new gear celebrating EpicDuel's earlier development phases!
Anniversary BonusFor next week's update, as a reward for loyal EpicDuel players, we will be rewarding all characters who have been active since 2020 1,400 Varium! This will be a great opportunity to revisit the game if you've been away for awhile or just want to try the game for the first time with a nice boost of currency!
Balance Changes
Fixes / ChangesThe following achievements have moved from the Ultra-Rare category into the Events category:
Additionally, war-themed General and Ultra-Rare achievements have been moved into the War category:
The Epic Supporter 2022 achievement has been removed from the 10,000 AP Varium packages.
In-Progress
So far over 150 screens have been adjusted for the upcoming resolution update! Progress is rapid, but there is still much to do. In addition to modernizing the aspect ratio and appearance of the game, this massive update will add much needed-breathing room for the many crowded and complex interfaces. The last time something like this was done, EpicDuel had only recently joined the AE family (2009-2010-ish) so it's a change that was long overdue! Tags: Nightwraith |
| February 17, 2023 Azrael Ongoing
Azrael's Scorn is here! So far 14 diligent duelists have achieved level 50 and beyond! If you're far from that benchmark, you have plenty of time to earn EXP and claim the numerous rewards! This update, we're focusing on balance changes, QoL, and rating point increases while we prepare for larger updates later.
Balance ChangesWe've made the following balance changes to tweak the current duel dynamics, with Tech Mages and Mercenaries receiving substantial buffs to improve their performance.
Achievement BoostsAs a precursor to EpicDuel's 14th Anniversary, we're boosting the rating points of the following phase-based achievements!
*"Omega Founder" was listed as being changed but this achievement was a placeholder and never actually offered in-game.
Inventory CleanupThe following gear is now able to be sold to free up inventory space. Please be careful to not accidentally sell any of these items as they are rare. Notable exceptions are the cores included in these packages and passes which are still unsellable as they do not take up inventory space.
Power WeekendSince this is a relatively light update, we've activated Power Weekend until Monday evening!
Bug FixWe fixed a bug that was causing Frost Slayer to display the graphics for one of the new Battlepass weapons.
Ongoing DevelopmentOur main ongoing task is expanding, revamping, and optimization of all of EpicDuel's world screens and UI for a new resolution. We're making good progress, and we thank you for your patience as we complete and implement this task which should make EpicDuel more visually appealing and easier to port to other platforms in the future. Tags: Nightwraith |
| February 11, 2023 Azrael's Scorn Battlepass Now LIVE!
Azrael's Scorn Battlepass is LIVE! Login now to collect the latest collection of Azrael-themed weapons, armors, vehicles, morphs, bots, cores, and more crafted with care by Bido and Acatriel! This latest Battlepass is scheduled to last from today to March 19th! This new season introduces some changes to ease the rate of progression through the Battlepass' prize levels:
Good luck and happy dueling to reach level 60 of EpicDuel's latest Battlepass season!
Golden Omega TicketFor consistency, we've awarded a Golden Omega Ticket achievement to all qualifying players. Since the original ticket was a sellable item, we can't track strictly by the item. We've had to broaden the criteria to include anyone who purchased a 10,000 AP package between 12/20/2012 and 2/5/2013. These criteria may include characters attached to accounts that made the purchase, but wouldn't normally qualify for the ticket since Varium purchases are character based. In this case, it was the only option to award the achievement based on the data available.
Achievement ExpansionTo declutter the achievement interface a bit, we added a new category of Achievements: Events. This will include limited-time events such as Battlepasses, Tournaments, and Gifting. While you're browsing the new Achievement interface, you might want to note that the Big Game LVII achievement is available from the Seasonal section!
In ProgressSince the Battlepass is now live, we are moving full speed ahead on converting ED's interface and myriad backgrounds to the new expanded resolution!
Going Soon!This Tuesday we will reset all seasonal rares to their normal restock times. Additionally, we will be removing the Bido, Dage, and Nulgath drops from the PvP and NPC drop pools. Tags: Nightwraith |
| January 20, 2023 Balance and Battleplan
Balance and bug fixes are on the menu for today's update, but a much more savory, sumptuous feast awaits in the new year! Check out the brief list of upcoming features EpicDuel is preparing in the game dev kitchen for a festive and flavorful 2023!
BalanceWe've been hitting balance hard these last few months, and the results have generally been positive in terms of build diversity and class performance. It can be frustrating to experience so many changes so quickly, but we thank you for your patience as we finally break through some of the stagnant balance trends of 2022.
Bug Fixes and Changes
2023 BattleplanThe following are a few major updates planned for the near and mid-term of 2023. This list is not all-inclusive, but meant to highlight topics that have not been mentioned before. As game development is unpredictable, these items are subject to change as priorities shift over time.
Azrael's Scorn BattlepassWith the current Battlepass set to end at the end of the day January 31, we're already looking forward to the next collection: Azrael's Scorn. This Battlepass will be loaded with new weapons and rewards with (hopefully) easier methods for earning EXP. Expect this new Battlepass to launch in February.
OptimizationThis area is probably the least exciting for players, but it's desperately needed. The Flash files the game relies on to function have become bloated and unwieldy after years of accumulated technical debt. The main focus in the near-term will be ongoing improvements to the character timeline, which was creating all sorts of errors and crashes around when the first Battlepass launched. We were able to cut many animations to recover functionality, but there's still work to be done. Fortunately, this in an ongoing process that can be tackled gradually without diverting too much attention from regular release content. Optimization is also essential to allow us to deliver the next feature on this list.
EpicDuel WidescreenA massive undertaking, we are in the process of expanding existing maps and interfaces to accommodate a larger game resolution (1280 x 720). In addition to adding more screen real-estate for crowded UI, this change will make the game easier to port to other platforms. It's nowhere near 4K, but the updated aspect ratio will be essential for modernizing EpicDuel. I think 4K Flash assets might be a fire hazard for mortal CPUs anyway.
Limited ShopA proposal from Spider, we're developing a new shop in EpicDuel to allow players to acquire promotional gear piecemeal from an in-game shop. This is similar to the Night Market feature in popular online games like Valorant. Every day, a new list of seasonal and promotional gear would appear in the shop, allowing anyone to have a chance to acquire out-of-season gear or shop-exclusive promotional items. Of course, the best value would be to purchase the complete package from the Varium shop, but this option would be beneficial to someone who only wishes to own a single piece of a set like an armor or core, rather than the entire set. This would only impact promotional items released after this feature appears in-game.
Chronos' Cataclysm and The ChallengerNumerous new bosses and storylines are in development to provide a feast for those who have been craving more PvE content.
EpicDuel's AnniversaryIn a few months EpicDuel will celebrate 14 years of operation! Hopefully, we'll have some epic surprises for those who have been loyal duelists after all this time! Tags: Nightwraith |
| January 13, 2023 Friday the 13th 2023
Balance improvements, styles, and new seasonal rare PvP drops await in the first Friday the 13th update of 2023!
Friday the 13th PvP Drops14 new weapons crafted by Acatriel are available as seasonal PvP drops! Can you complete the Necrotek set?
New AchievementsTwo new seasonal achievements are available from the Seasonal section of the Achievement shop.
New HairstylesVisit the style change shop for 4 new styles combining the new Necrotek weapon theme.
Class Balance Changes
Core Changes
Bug Fix:
Tags: Nightwraith |
| January 06, 2023 New Year New Cores
Check out EpicDuel's first update of 2023 with dozens of new cores and balance changes!
New CoresThe following unlimited charge cores are available at VendBots throughout Delta V.
The following limited charge cores are available at VendBots throughout Delta V.
Balance ChangesThese are just a few of the changes planned over the course of this month. More significant class skill and core changes are underway.
Next week, in addition to more balance changes, we plan to release new rare PvP drops in celebration of the first Friday the 13th of 2023! Tags: Nightwraith |
| December 24, 2022 Frost Revenant Showcase Live! |
