EpicDuel PVP Game Design Notes

October 04, 2013

Valestra's Arcade is getting brand new game with some shiny new prizes!

What could the prizes be? Something nice? Something...hazardous?

Maybe.

As with all the other games, there will be a new 5-tier evolving achievement for Hazard Havoc! When we roll the update, hurry up and be the first to Valestra's Arcade to claim your spot on the newest leaderboard!

Also, for the first time, we will be offering home items as prizes. "What if I don't have a home?" you might ask. Well, follow me down below for the next paragraph for some great news!

Home Again

In this update, everyone is getting access to a Fortune City Efficiency. This single-room living space is designed to give everyone a chance to experience EpicDuel's home feature. Before this update, if you didn't own a home, you had know way to know what items were even available for decoration!

To get this new home, simple click the Home button on the main HUD and click the big black "Claim Home" button.

You might also notice that all the homes now have Credit OR Varium options. There are no more mixed currency options. This should make it easier to acquire a home buy either buying Varium outright or saving credits to buy one. We have carried this partially through to the home items. Now, any home item that was previously Varium and Credits will now be just Varium (with a slightly increased price).

Tags: Titan Arcade tokens Hazard Bio Hazard Prizes Home Items Homes

September 27, 2013

The Arcade is nearly here, but before Valestra officially has her Grand-Grand Reopening for her Arcade, I'll walk you through the newly renovated Arcade.

You know Valestra's, right? Fortune City's premiere hangout -- at least before Baelius banished most of the population to an interdimensional prison. If you're new to the game or just never explored much beyond Central Station, you can find Valestra's in Fortune City tucked behind Alydriah's Spire. Don't worry, there's a sign.

Token Time!

Once you're in Valestra's you can activate one of many ArcadeBots. You can't miss them -- there's a least one on every screen. An Arcade interface will immediately appear, displaying a game title, prize, list, leaderboard, and buttons for playing / purchasing more Arcade Tokens.

One Arcade Token gets you one press of the "GO" button. That's one chance to hit the Jackpot. Even if you miss, you'll leave with something nice. Arcade Tokens are easy enough to come by -- Daily Missions reward one Arcade Token as a reward for completion of the mission chain.

Maybe you don't want to play once. Maybe you want to mash the "GO" button until it shakes the whole Arcade, and all the players around you give you the old shifty eyes look and back away slowly. If that's they case, we appreciate and accommodate your enthusiasm. Each ArcadeBot features an option to buy one Arcade Token or a bundle of ten. Since they don't take up space in your inventory, you can buy as many as you want. 

Just be mindful of your Varium balance -- once you hit a winning streak, it might be difficult to stop!

Game Changer

Snork's Stash not exciting you? Choose from 3 other games/prize pools buy using the navigational arrows. Each game offers a different assortment of prizes. We look forward to offering many new prize pools in the future with truly unique rewards!

Prizes aren't the only different aspect of each game. Every time you deposit an Arcade Token, you earn a score based on your prize -- the higher the tier (Bronze, Silver, or Gold), the better! All the different games store an individual score based on your success. This score comes with a unique achievement that evolves as your score grows! Currently, we are offering 5 tiers per achievement. Can you level them all?

Each game also features an all-time leaderboard displaying the top scoring players with your current score displayed alongside them. 

What are you waiting for? Grab your Arcade Tokens and head over to Valestra's Arcade! You can't win if you don't play!

Tags: Arcade Nightwraith Credits Prizes tokens Achievements evolution Games

September 19, 2013

*Note: Due to events out of our control, we are unexpectedly short-staffed this week. Still, Titan and I will work as hard as we can to release this on Friday. However, if we feel the feature is too lacking in polish or excitement, we will hold it until next week. Thank you for your patience!

You asked for it, and it's back! After a long hiatus, Valestra's Arcade is back in business and eagerly awaiting a flood of players both new and experience! For those of you who don't recall or weren't around, the Arcade used to be a battle mode in which you could deposit Battle Tokens (5 at a time) to join an Arcade Battle. This battle was just like an duel except it offered the chance to earn a prize if you won. The downside was that it was possible to win the duel and not win a prize.

This time, you will win a prize for every play. The prize may not be a jackpot every time, but you'll still never walk away empty-handed!

Excited yet? Read on to learn more about this revamped feature!

How Do I Arcade?

To participate in the Arcade, you must have at least one Arcade Token. This is not a new currency, but is a miscellaneous inventory item. You can acquire them by completing certain Daily Missions or by purchasing them from the ArcadeBots in Valestra's Arcade in Fortune City.

If you're having trouble finding Valestra's Arcade, there will be a link in the What's New page. If you're still lost, then the EpicDuel Wiki has you covered.

Once you're in the Arcade you can click on an ArcadeBot to bring up the Arcade interface. From there, you can play, view your current balance of Arcade Token, or buy more Arcade Tokens. Hitting the "Go" button will cycle through a list of possible prizes. You'll win something each time: it could be credits, a weapon, armor, or even a house! However, to keep the game's Credit economy from exploding, sellback on items won in the Arcade may be reduced from the normal values. 

Expansion

We're building this feature with expansion in mind. For this release, we will only have one prize pool, but in the future, we plan to include selectable prize pools, allowing you to choose which set of prizes you wish to play for.

Another feature that may not be ready for Friday, is an Arcade Leaderboard featuring the all-time winners, complete with an evolving Arcade achievement. This achievement will track the value of your prizes so each time you play, you're basically earning Arcade experience! Even if it's not in-game Friday, we will still be tracking the data!

Our goal with this system is to never make an Arcade play feel wasted, and we believe this additions will make for a truly epic Arcade experience!

Rare Clarification

In last week's Design Notes, I mentioned that the Arcade would give you a chance to win retired rares. There was a bit of an outcry from those who were concerned that their own rares would be devalued. I'm happy to say, that you need not worry -- your hard-earned rares will remain rares. We've decided on a happy compromise to introduce Arcade exclusives -- items that can only be won in the Arcade. Some of these items will be revamped or reimaged versions of retired items. This preserved the value of the older rares while giving new players a reason to play! However, items like seasonal rares, limited quantity items, or prize-code items are still up for grabs! Also, legacy items like Founder Armor or Alpha Gear will be excluded for obvious reasons. I hope that addresses your concerns about rares in the Arcade!

Tags: Arcade Titan Achievements Missions tokens Leaderboards Prizes Rares Exclusives Varium Valestra