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EpicDuel PVP Game Design Notes

Behind the scenes information about EpicDuel's development and releases, a real-time PVP MMO that you can play online in your web browser.
Nightwraith

November 07, 2014

Birthday Bio War Rumble

Rumble in the BioDome!

The time has come...FOR WAR...and cake. Cake? That's right. Today, we're excited to launch a new war region, the Biological Preserve, in addition to Nightwraith's birthday stash of rare loot.

Biological Preserve War Map

The Biological Preserve is the last bastion for all that is green and growing on Delta V, and it is being used as a weapon by those occupying the region. By using Davarril's research on mind-controlling Spores, Exiles have engineered a massive tree to become a spore-launching factory, spreading spores throughout the region. 

Purifier

The Legion, under the watch of Cinderella, are attempting to stop this threat with Purifiers. These devices launch spores to counteract the Corruption Spores launched by the Corrupted Tree.

Purifier Closeup

Exiles will attempt to use this to their advantage by planting Corruption Spore on the Purifiers, infesting them and turning them into Corruption Spore factories.

Corrupted Tree

The only way to stop the spread of the spores is to cleanse the Corrupted Tree. When it is fully cleansed, the Legion will take control of the Biological Preserve. If the Exiles prevail and infest the Purifiers, the region will fall fully under Exile control. 

War in the Forest

Davarril has been moved one screen to the left of the Corrupted Tree. You'll find him next to the Ammunition Depot stocked with war drops. Davarril's mind still isn't right from the Arborgeddon event so he won't be much help to you.

Armor Hazard Husk

This war's prize is a mighty one indeed! Claws and teeth and hardened-bone armor await the conquerers of the Biological Preserve!

Close Up!

We've also added some small changes to the War balancing mechanics, specifically to prevent War Rallies from occuring when both alignments are within 1% of each other. Also, rallies will not happen when the war is nearly over. This should provide clarity to those confused by the outcome of the last war.

Now, go forth my Legion and Exile warriors! Claim the Biological Preserve for glory! But first...

 

Nightwraith's Birthday Bash

Birthday Party Time!

Happy Birthday to me! Well, it's still a bit early, but why not? Everyone loves cake! 

Nightwraith's Birthday Loot

Also, everyone loves new stuff! Remember, you'll need the OneX6 Key to access my stash in the ArmoryBot. You can either claim it from me by completing the OneX6 4 mission or just buy it from me if you're the impatient type. This year, I've stolen NegaWraith's (that IMPOSTER) armor to sell at my own shop. Haha! I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees my minions clad in his precious power armor!

Nightwraith's Terrifying Visage

Be sure to kick him in the shin if you find him in Fortune City skulking around the Battle Arena.

Also, there are new and returning missions ready to play! The Party Business mission chain has returned with a new mission, and Titan has a new chain Caffeine Crash to complement the Coffee Crusader chain. This chain will allow you to redeem Titan's Mug for a rare Achievement!

 

Titan's Trinket

Titan's Mug

Some have been asking about the Titan's Mug item from the Artix Entertainment 12th anniversary event. Here's what will happen:

  • The Coffee Crusader mission chain will go rare at the end of November.
  • Those with the Titan's Mug item can complete the Coffeine Crash chain to redeem the mug for an achievement!
  • The achievement will be rare because it will not be possible to get the mug if you missed the event, similar to previous anniversary achievements.
  • You may keep the mug if you wish, but you miss out on all those sweet, sweet rating points.

Got it? You've got until the end of November to complete these missions and claim your prize!

 

Have a safe and happy weekend everyone! Duel On!

Tags: Nightwraith RPG Browser MMORPG Flash War Legion exile Battle Duel Strategy Holiday Achievement Titan Missions Rare Collector Rares Armor


Nightwraith

February 21, 2014

War Two Point Oh

When will the Dread War End?

Boom!

We've heard your feedback about the Dread War and many players have made it clear they're ready for it to end.  Well good news!  We’ve been working hard planning exciting improvements to the current system. When we first conceived the Dread War, our goal was to implement an event that could provide perpetual engagement, but over time, a few weaknesses in the system’s design have become apparent and the war has become a bit stale. The current war is complicated, it never ends, it doesn't offer enough rewards, and there is no focal point. This post will explain how we intend to overhaul the current system, and offer up the key points of the proposed new war system. The details are subject to change so please give us your feedback so we can build the best system possible.  We believe by borrowing the best ideas from previous phases and prior wars, we can craft a system that is simple to understand, extremely engaging, perpetually rewarding and really, really fun!

War Planning Board

As you can see, our dry-erase board breeding program is progressing nicely.

 

A Sense of Urgency

 Currently, The Dread War is a global conflict without end. The lack of focus and lack of duration means there’s never any urgency. In past events like The Frysteland War and The Infernal War, there was a clear set of victory conditions. With War 2.0, we hope to recreate this sense of urgency by limiting the scope of the War to one region at a time and structuring it as a race. The War will last until a specific set of conditions are met by either alignments’ forces (we expect these regional conflicts to last roughly 1-3 weeks).

When the War in a particular region ends, the environment will visually reflect the winners, and the region will remain in control of the winning alignment until it comes up for contention again in the future. Prizes will unlock for the winners, and the top participating players and factions will be made famous (in a similar fashion to the Infernal War). After a small cooldown period, the next region will activate and the war will continue. The victory conditions in each region will vary to keep the conflicts interesting.  

 

Streamlined Gameplay

 To a new player, the current War system is baffling. Control points, cooldowns, and other obscure systems are extremely challenging to convey at a glance. As we develop War 2.0, we’ll be streamlining many of the old systems. Mechanics like Influence, Flag Captures and World Dominations will remain, but behave differently from the current system.

The gameplay mechanic will evolve from a constant grind for control, to a more focused system where both alignments are racing toward very specific goals. Each regional War will be a race to complete the given objective and whichever alignment fills their global war bar first will win the battle and take control of the region!

PvP battles will remain the main driver of conflict, however, Influence will no longer be earned at the end of battle. Instead players will earn Influence by depositing new "War Drops" on War Objectives within the region. These drops will be similar to the grenades in the Infernal War in that they will drop after winning a PvP battle. War Drops will be thematically tied to the currently contented region and can be anything from missiles to computer chips, ammo crates, bricks, cakes, plants, metal, bullets, etc. Players of all levels can obtain and use these items, maintaining a very low barrier of entry for War participation. 

 

Showoff

 If you fight hard to be the greatest champion EpicDuel has ever know, you deserve a place of honor. With War 2.0 we hope to give greater exposure to exceptional players who make the greatest contribution to the war effort. Interactive leaderboards will display the leading players and Factions for each alignment. At the end of each regional War, the bravest, most dedicated soldier will be displayed prominently until the region is contested once again.

 

War Prizes

 By defining a clear beginning and end for each regional War, we can offer real rewards for the victor. At the end of each War, players on the winning alignment will gain access to exclusive prizes. To add variety to this experience, players can select a prize from a list. These prizes could be never-before-seen weapons or currency prizes like Credits and Arcade Tokens. Each region will draw a new set of prizes to choose from, and the prize pool will continue to expand as the regional wars progress.

These rewards will only be available to those who participate on the winning alignment, and they will only be available until the next regional War begins.  We will also be adding additional levels to each regional War achievements. If you’re at level 10 or close in any of the regions, you’ll be able to battle your way to an even higher Rating Point score!

Also, the highest scoring player at the end of each day will receive a War Hero achievement. This achievement will have a tracker to record each time you qualify for this prestigious distinction.

 

EpicDuel Evolution

War 2.0 will herald a new phase of EpicDuel development: EpicDuel Evolution. This new phase will be unlike any before it – over the last few months we have been gradually building tools and tutorials to allow EpicDuel’s future to be directed by a force more powerful that the mighty Titan himself: our Community.

Goony's Gats

Over the years we’ve attracted some amazingly talented and ambitious players. Our player base may be much smaller than AdventureQuest Worlds, but the level of talent is no less. Our intention for EpicDuel Evolution is to allow more input and direct involvement from our players to influence things like content creation and balance. If you were shy about contributing content or ideas to EpicDuel, now is a better time than ever to express because soon we’ll be offering the resources to make them a reality!

Group Shot

We're aiming to activate the first region on Friday, March 7, but as usual this is just an estimate and could be delayed if development demands it. Stay tuned for more details as this exciting new feature evolves!

Tags: Nightwraith War Dread War Factions Legion exile Alignment Planning


Nightwraith

September 12, 2013

Going Up!

Time for the big dogs to come out to play.

Are You Ready for a Challenge?

After weeks of controlling events from behind the scenes, Administrator 10 and the mysterious Exile Leader are ready to step into the spotlight, and they’re taking matters into their own hands! Team up with a friend to challenge these foes and claim their achievements for your own! These bosses will be some of the most challenging in game, but we’re not without mercy. To make it easier to triumph over these foes, we’re raising the level cap!

 Cheevos!

 

Level Up!

At long last, we have increased the level cap to 36. It won’t be quick or easy to reach so we’re sure there will be a mad dueling dash to be the first to reach it. The first players to reach this goal will be able to upgrade their gear and skills to become the most powerful duelists on Delta V! Will you be strong enough to defeat Administrator 10 and the Exile Leader?

 

Daily Missions

In between duels, Administrator 10 and the Exile Leader will have some new tasks for you. Check back with them daily for missions and rewards.  The missions will be part of a chain so players will need to complete all of them in order to receive the best reward! To keep missions from becoming monotonous, we’ll be cycling in new chains each day to guarantee that there’s always something exciting to do on Delta V!

 

Arcade Returns!

Arcade Returns

Remember the Arcade? We haven’t forgotten, and we’re working on implementing a new and improved version next week. Under the new system players will be able to deposit Arcade Tokens for a chance to win anything from a pile of credits, to never-before-seen weapons, to previously retired rares (gasp)!

Tags: Nightwraith Missions Daily Level Cap Arcade Prizes Legion exile War Challenge Achievements


Nightwraith

July 17, 2013

Dread Domination

Prepare for Dread Domination!

Dread Domination

Are you ready?

After weeks of fighting in the Dread Plains, plans for a powerful new weapon have been captured by both sides of the War.  Now, Legion and Exile forces are prepared to unleash their power upon Delta V in the form of the Dread Domination Varium Package!

This package includes 4 unique weapons and is not available in game!

  • 2 Auxiliaries
    • o Dread Desolator P
    • o Dread Desolator E
  • 2 Sidearms
    • o Dread Disruptor P
    • o Dread Disruptor E

We've equipped the Dread Desolators (auxiliaries) with technology of unknown origin in the form of the Improbability Gate Core. This exclusive core uses technology derived from an undisclosed research facility in the Dread Plains to open holes in the fabric of the universe. These tears in reality have been weaponized to allow players to summon creatures and objects from other worlds to come to their aid and help vanquish their foes! Be warned, however, this technology is quite unstable: you never know what will come through!

 

War Objective Leaderboards

New Leaderboards

Can you rule them all?

New leaderboards on each War Objective will display the top Influence contributors in addition to showing your own contribution. With 34 War Objectives to dominate, you have 34 chances to get your name and face out there, showing Legion and Exile forces that you’re a force to be reckoned with and that either alignment should feel honored to hold your favor. Can you dominate them all? We think it’s impossible, but we also know never to underestimate a dedicated EpicDuel player with unlimited access to energy drinks!

 

Alignment Switching

Alignment Switching

Where do your loyalties really lie?

This week we are introducing the heavily requested feature of alignment switching. Our primary concern with this change is that it could irrevocably tip the balance of the alignments, as players with weak loyalties rush to whichever alignment has the upper hand. 

Ongoing War

Delicate negotiations.

To ensure that alignment switching is treated with the gravity it deserves, we are limiting the feature to Varium only. Players will only be able to switch alignments once per month. Players currently in a Faction will need to first leave the Faction in order to switch. There is still no way for Factions to switch alignments with disbanding and recreating themselves.

 

Bug Squashin’

Inevitably, when new features are released, new bugs will pop up, sometimes in old features. We try to make each release as bug free and polished as possible within a week of development time, but often bugs slip by. This update will fix several issues that have arisen since the last update (for specifics check out Rabble’s patch notes leading up to the release). To track down and fix bugs as quickly as possible, we need your help. Posting bugs on Twitter, while appreciated, isn’t always helpful since reports quickly get lost in our feeds. The best way to help us fight bugs is to post them to the official EpicDuel Bugs Forum

Please be as descriptive as possible when reporting bugs, explaining exactly what you were doing when the bug occurred. Giving us those details helps us to reproduce bugs more easily. A reproducible bug is usually an easily fixable bug. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Tags: Nightwraith Factions Dread War Alignment Legion Exiles Weapons Varium Leaderboards Bugs Reports Cores Forums


Nightwraith

July 11, 2013

A New Level of Warfare

Another week has passed in the Dread War as both alignments continually clash across Delta V. Every day, War Objectives change hands and entire regions fall as the war rages on. This week, we are expanding upon the existing War features while introducing some new ones.

ALL THE SWORDS!

Collect them all!

 

New Regional Weapons

This week, we will be introducing 6 new regional weapons. You can find them at the Dread Plains Control Array, Fortune City Battle Arena, and the Archive AI in the Biodome.

 

Dread Destroyer

Dread Destroyers - Control Array

Fortune City Slayer

Fortune City Slayers - Battle Arena


Bio Buster

Bio Busters - Archives AI

Some may be confused about how to acquire these devastating new weapons. Allow me to clarify: in order to unlock these regional weapons, your alignment must control a key War Objective in a region. For example, to unlock the Barrens Busters, your alignment must control the Bazaar in the Barrens Outpost region. This unlocks a supply of 5 of each weapon, BUT they will restock periodically. Holding the key War Objectives longer allows as many of your fellow soldiers to have a chance at the weapons as possible.

Barrens Buster

Barrens Busters - Bazaar Command Hub

Trainyard Terror

Trainyard Terrors - Train Command Hub

Overlord Overkill

Overlord Overkills - Overlord AI

Wasteland Warden

Wasteland Wardens - Minetower Suite Door

Nautical Nightmare

Nautical Nightmares - Naval Yard Shack

 

Core Confusion

Last week we introduced limited-time influence buffs. By equipping these cores onto a weapon, the owner would be granted an influence buff for a certain number of victories. Currently, if a limited-charge core is exchanged/removed, it is destroyed, even if it has a remaining balance of charges left. In the future, we would like Cores to behave more like regular items that can be equipped and unequipped to items. However, this requires a greater discussion of intense interface and programming changes so it will need to wait for a later update.

 

War Chests

Last week, we finally "opened" the War Chests to all those who already owned them to reveal 8 regional influence buffs. Unfortunately, those who purchased War Chests after the release found their locks still intact. This week we will be fixing that by unlocking all the remaining War Chests. However, the War Chests will no longer be available with the Legion or Exile promotional packages once we go live. All of the marketing materials will be updated to reflect this change.

War Chests

Last Chance for War Chests!

 

Achieve Greater

Have you collected all the regional War achievements yet? Really? Impressive. Now, can you level each achievement all the way to the max? It won't be easy, but each level earned represents a new tier of mastery and truly epic bragging rights. 

Achievement Party

New Achievements!

Since we're adding so many new achievements, we thought it would be helpful to give you a way to easily track your progress through the war. Through the map screen, you will be able to easily see your battle contributions for each region and how close you are to reaching the next tier! (Sorry, but we had to cut this feature due to time. It will be coming next week though!)

Regional Heat Map

Additionally, you can now determine at a glance which War Objectives are on the verge of switching alignments and need your immediate attention for defense or offense. Also, each War Objective will now show your personal Influence contribution! Can you dominate them all? 

 

Claim the Battlefield

With the update on Friday, the controlling alignment will be able to alter the appearance of many of the War Objective screens. Drape war banners over the Battle Arena, flood the Minetower with Legion guards, or move your troops to secure the Control Array. Now, when you capture a region, everyone will know it!

Dynamic War Screens

Dread Domination

Under new Management.

These changes will persist in the battle backgrounds, allowing you to duel while your Faction's banner flies high in the background!

 

Wow! That's quite a few additions for a regularly scheduled release. Stay tuned for more updates!

Tags: Nightwraith exile Legion Weapons Alignments Achievements Control Objectives War


Nightwraith

July 03, 2013

War Shops

The Dread War Continues

War Hiccup

Those of you who played over the weekend may have noticed some wonkiness on the Control bars for each War Objective. This bug tipped the balance overwhelmingly in favor of the Legion. Obviously, this was not intentional and Titan spent all day Sunday repairing this bug. Unfortunately, since the scores for irreparably skewed, they all had to be reset. We apologize for any inconvenience this caused.

 

Independence Day Rares Return

This Friday, you can celebrate freedom with the returning Independence Day rares. You can find them equipped to Naomi in Central Station. Also, the Independence Day achievement will also be available at all the VendBot Achievement shops throughout Delta V.

Bonus bikes!

Thanks to some help from Trizzzcentrino, we've managed 2 new seasonal rare bikes (to be found on Naomi)! Flavoured in Legion or Exile designs, you can show alignment pride while tearing up the battlefield. These are also the first bikes to attempt a new chrome color that's not color custom (the shiny, silvery bits on the bikes). I think it creates a neat effect that's lost on most color custom parts, but we'll see how you like it. 

 

New War Objectives

War Regions

Turret Array

To flesh out some of the less populous regions of Delta V, we have added 7 new War Objectives! You can find the in the West Naval Yard, the Barrens Outpost, and Central Station. Can you help capture them all and dominate Delta V?

 

Regional War Shops

Regional Concepts

Regional Concepts 2

By controlling key points in each region (i.e. the Battle Arena in Fortune City, the Overlord AI in the Overlord Facility, etc...), Alignments can unlock War Shops.  Since supplies are scarce during wartime, these shops only supply limited quantities of items. To allow as many players to collect these items as possible, alignments are encouraged to hold regions for as long as possible since the War Shops will restock automatically over time. These War Shops will offer distinct advantages to those who control them in the form of War Cores. These Cores come either attached to a weapon or separately.

 

New Cores

With this release, we will be introducing new core technology: consumable cores! By equipping them to a primary weapon, these cores will confer a regional Influence bonus that will last a certain amount of battles. After the core expires, a new one will need to be purchased. We have coded them to only count victories as a “use”. 

 

War Chests Revealed

War Chests Open!

Now it can be revealed! Each Legion and Exile War chest contains regional War Cores!  That means eight free cores (one for each active region)! Players with War Chests will start out with an automatic advantage in the War with the flexibility to gain a bonus in whichever region they choose. Since this bonus is alignment neutral, players who purchased the Legion pack, but decided to fight for the Exiles (and vice versa) will not be penalized.

 

Consumables Gone

For those who have been following EpicDuel since before Omega, you are probably aware that Consumables like Health Packs and Boosters no longer serve a purpose in battle. Rather than try to wedge consumables back into the game, we have decided to move toward consumable cores and, as of this release, we will be removing all consumables from the game. All players with consumables in their inventories will receive the appropriate amount of resale currency for the items removed.

Going forward, it will be possible for us to recreate Boosters, Grenades and Bombs as cores, which ultimately has more flexibility and does require the database to store excessive items entries for each player. Initially, we thought we could simply recode all the consumables back into the game, but the game has changed dramatically both code-wise and balance-wise since Omega launched so we determined that this would be the best decision for the overall health of the game.

Tags: Titan War Factions Dread War Weapons Consumables Cores Legion Exiles


Cinderella

June 28, 2013

Dread War Continues

Hey there Epic Duelists! First off, I want to thank all of you who wished me or Charfade a Happy Birthday on Twitter or Facebook (for those not in the know, we both leveled up this week). Nightwraith has already posted a step-by-step guide on how to participate in the Dread War (the post right before this), but we'll also be introducing some much needed clarifications in-game to help those who may not check the Forums or Design Notes.

War Fight

 

War Clarity

Clarified War Map

Although participating in the war is actually pretty simple, the intricacies are complex and not thoroughly explained in-game. To address this we will be adding in-game clarifications to make more obvious certain aspects of the War such as how much Influence your alignment is earning per region and globally.

Regional War Map

 

Battle Token Bye-Bye

Token Cheevo

We didn't have time last week, so we needed to cut this feature. This week we're doing it for real. The following is a quick rundown of what that means for you:

  • All players will receive 10 Credits for every remaining Battle Token they had Players will not receive Credits for Tokens spent or contributed in the past
  • To offset the loss of the Battle Tokens as a currency, all 1v1 and 2v2 battles will award extra credits (+5 for 1v1 and +10 for 2v2).
  • Any player currently in a Faction who has contributed Battle Tokens to that Faction will receive a rare Achievement.  The Achievement will display the total contribution number, meaning every instance of this Achievement will be unique.
  • Remaining Token Boost will be converted to Credit Boost
  • Missions that reward Tokens will now offer a Credit reward.
  • Buyable Achievements will now cost Credits.

 

War Balance

One major concern for we have for this War feature is one Alignment building an insurmountable lead. To prevent one Alignment from indefinitely dominating, we will be introducing Objective Reinforcements – the longer one side holds an Objective, the more control the other side will receive per win. Reinforcements will decay over time once the Objective has been taken.

Other measures have been take to improve the overall feel of the War and alleviate the “see-saw” effect we witnessed during the War’s first week. The balance adjustments are as follows:

  • The Dread Plains Control Array is now worth 5 points, down from 10.
  • All other Dread Plains Objectives are now worth 2 points, down from 5.
  • All remaining Objectives are now worth 2 points, down from 3.
  • Cooldown increased on all Objectives to 20 minutes, up from 15.
  • Maximum Control on all Objectives has been increased.
  • Once an Objective has been taken, Control over the point is set to 40% of the maximum, up from 20%

 

More Objectives

Suite Entrance

To broaden the scope of the War and add more weight to the various regions of Delta V, we will be adding more War Objectives -- Minetower in Wastelands, Archives in Biodome, the Battle Arena in Fortune City (formerly Legion Arena), and the AI core in Overlord Facility. A few more auxiliary War Objectives have also been added for a total of 6.

 

Achievements

To add incentive to seizing all of these fancy new War Ojectives, we will be introducing evolving regional Achievements. As you gain influence in a particular region (i.e. Fortune City), your Achievement will change in appearance, similar to the War Achievements of the Infernal and Frysteland Wars.

 

Arbor-gone-don

Say bye!

Since Summer is well underway, we're Spring cleaning by removing many of the seasonal-rare Botanical and Bunny items.  Since there are so many items involved, I will list them here.

  • Bunny Bane E
  • Bunny Bane P
  • Omega Bunny Borg
  • Bunny Staff
  • Bunny War Staff
  • Bunny Energy Axe
  • Bunny War Axe
  • Electro Bunny Jaws
  • Bunny Jaws
  • Electro Bunny Bot
  • Ballistic Bunny Bot
  • Botanical Bike
  • Infested Guard M
  • Intested Guard F
  • Infested Hazard
  • Botanical Buster E
  • Botanical Buster P
  • Dark Botanical Hazard
  • Botanical Hazard
  • Dark Botanical Nightmare
  • Botanical Nightmare
  • Dark Botanical Broadsword
  • Botanical Broadsword

 

Still to Come!

The War has just begun! All of the features are coming together, but there are still more yet to be implemented.

 

Juggernaut

We don’t want to leave Juggernauts, the toughest warriors Delta V has to offer, out of this fight! Soon anyone with a Skull card will be able to access Juggernaut mode from anywhere on the map, allowing full participation in the War.

 

War Shops

Unlock the latest and greatest arsenals for your Alignment! Soon, we will introduce War Objectives with shops that are only accessible for the Alignment that controls them. Can you keep these rare weapons out of enemy hands?

 

War Buffs:

Controlling certain War Objectives will allow you to activate influence buffs to help you capture other Objectives. For example, if you capture the turret in the Dread Plains, you can activate a buff that increases your influence earned against the Control Array.

 

Dynamic Environments

When the Legion or Exile forces claim an area, we want it the entire region to reflect that conquest. We plan to do so with dynamic elements on each map screen that change based on which alignment is controlling a given War Objective. Imagine Exile banners draped over Alydriah’s Spire or Legion soldiers invading the Exile hideout in Old Fortune City. Such changes will go a long way toward making the War an immersive experience as Delta V is transformed into a living, breathing world.

 

War Missions

Complete tasks for the various War NPCs around Delta V for big rewards. This feature is planned to come with a major overhaul of the existing mission system. We would rather hold onto our missions until the system is designed the way we want it rather than release a bunch of missions we might have to remove or change later.

 

More

Wow! Isn’t that enough? Stay tuned! This War is just getting started, and we hope you’re enjoying playing it as much as we are making it!

Tags: Cinderella Exiles Legion Dread War


Nightwraith

June 25, 2013

How Do I War?

Step 0: Register an Account

This should be obvious, but you cannot participate in this war if you do not have an EpicDuel character!

 

Step 1: Choose an Alignment

Alignment Select

If you are not already in a Faction, then you will be prompted to select an alignment. Choose carefully, because although alignment change will be offered later, it will come at a price. 

 

Step 2: Open the World Map

Map Button

Once you are in Delta V, war is all around you, and getting to the conflict zones has never been easier. Use the interface button on the lower part of your screen to open the redesigned World Map.

Score Map

This map shows the various regions of Delta V (i.e. Fortune City, Barrens Outpost, Biodome, etc...) and the Alignment in control of each region. Click a region to zoom in and see the individual War Objectives.

Regional Zoom

Most regions feature War Objectives that can be captured by your alignment. A rollover shows the War Point value of each War Objective. If your alignment captures enough War Objectives to have the Point majority in a region, your alignment will control that region. It is not necessary to control all the War Objectives in a region to get War Points. Even if you only control one War Objective, you will still earn Points toward the daily War Point total. Different War Objectives can be worth different amounts of Points.

Score Map

If you zoom out, you can see the daily War Score. Each War Objective earns the controlling alignment War Point every 15 minutes. The score resets at the end of the day.

 

Step 2: How to War

Once you have determined where you want to fight, controlling a War Objective is fairly simple. While zoomed into a region, you can click on any War Objective to jump directly to it.

Regional Zoom

While you're on the screen with the War Objective, you will notice a bar at the top of the screen with a banner displaying the controlling alignment and leading Faction. 

War Objective

You can see that on this screen the Legion controls this War Objective. A Legion player can fight to defend this Objective and reinforce the position while an Exile player can fight from this screen attempt to take it for his or her alignment. Let's try to take it for the Exiles. 

Fight!

Automatch 1v1 or 2v2 victories earn Influence which allows you to control or reinforce a War Objective. Support for Juggernaut battles is coming soon. Challenge matches do not earn Influence. You can only earn Influence if you battle from a screen that contains a War Objective.

End of Battle Influence

At the end of battle screen you will see how much Influence you earned. 1v1 battles earn 5 Influence while 2v2 battles earn 15. Influence is a versatile number that goes into a number of different places.

Personal Influence

Personal Influence

Your personal Influence, viewable from your Character Stats page, is earned through victories on War Objectives. It is not capped or taxed.

Faction Influence

Faction Influence

Faction Influence is earned through battles by all of a Faction's members. It is not capped or taxed.

Banner Influence

Objective with score

Faction Control

If you belong to a Faction, your Influence accumulates on a War Objective. The Faction with the most Influence accumulated on a War Objective will have its banner displayed over it. All Influence on a War Objective is taxed so inactive Factions can be passed by more active Factions. Banner Influence is not capped.

Control

War Bar

Control is a number that is driven by Influence earned in victories for a War Objective. This number is capped to prevent one Alignment from building an insurmountable lead. Once an Alignment has earned a certain amount of Influence on an Objective, it is considered to be captured and goes into cooldown. 

Cooldown

During cooldown, no Alignment can earn Influence while battling for this War Objective. Once the cooldown period is over, the controlling Alignment can reinforce its position and the attacking Alignment can battle to seize control, putting the Objective into cooldown again.  This is to encourage players to move to different regions and keep the war from bogging down in one region.

 

Step 3: Victory

As we have seen in the past, the Alignments truly succeed in Wars through active recruitment and organization. Although it's not necessary to join a Faction to participate, Factions have the tools and organization to rally forces to take down heavily fortified War Objectives.

Score Map

We are currently adding more clarification and balance elements streamline the War and minimize ambiguity. Stay tuned for another DN post with more update details!

Tags: Nightwraith War How-to Alignment Legion exile


Cinderella

June 21, 2013

War Begins!

The Dread War is imminent!

Legion and Exile forces, the time has come to man your battle stations! The Dread War officially begins today, June 21! Choose your alignment carefully, as you will not only be supporting that alignment for the Dread War, but the remainder of your time on Delta V.* This is a time of conflict- there can be no room for neutral parties.

*You will be able to change alignment later, but at a steep cost with time-based limitations. 

War Map

You are somewhere...around here.

I also want to mention that the war system coming todayis a major change to the overall gameplay experience of EpicDuel, not just a temporary event for the next month or so. We will change the dynamics periodically and add features to keep the war fresh, but the system itself is going to be part of the core gameplay. We don't want to keep ANYONE from the clash!

Battle for regional control

Use the regional map to jump to contested Objectives!

With this release, we will be introducing 21 War Objectives to claim. Do you have what it takes to claim them all and shape the future of Delta V?


War Objectives

Battle Token Contribution

As previously announced, Flags will be converted to War Objectives, which will require more active control over an area rather than simply dumping in tokens, which will be removed next week. Since I didn't have specifics last week about credit/token conversion, here is RabbleFroth's word on the subject:

1) Credits per battle will be increased. The base amount for 1v1 was 32 per win, it will increase to 37 per win, and about 2 more credits for a 1v1 loss. This bonus is appropriately increased for 2v2 and Juggernaut. 

2) Token -> Credit conversion. You will receive 10 Credits per Token you still have when the change rolls live (it will NOT be in this week's update). This will cap out at 250 thousand credits so as to not give unlimited currency to the small percentage of players that have hoarded a huge number of tokens over time. Thus, if you have more than 25k tokens, I HIGHLY recommend you spend them now

3) We will award an achievement for anyone that is currently in a faction and has contributed any amount of Tokens to a flag. This achievement will use a new system we're working on that can display the actual number of Tokens you contributed. So your actual contribution at the time of the update (again, not this week) will be immortalized by this achievement. 

4) Regarding Flag Captures: I've answered this a few times throughout the thread, but I'll re-iterate here for clarity. Your Flag Captures will not be reset, removed, or decreased in any way. They will be renamed to Objective Captures to match the new system's terminology. You will be able to continue getting Objective Captures in the new system. We'll explain in more detail how this will work soon, but they will likely be harder to obtain. This essentially means that factions that currently have Flag Captures will have a very nice head start in the new system. 

5) Achievement costs will be converted to Credits at an amount close to the Token -> Credit conversion (10). Can't say it will be exactly 10, but it won't be far off if not. 

6) All missions rewarding Tokens will be looked at individually, and we'll change the reward to what it would have been if the mission had awarded Credits in the first place. Pro Rabble Hint: It will probably be worth your while to do these Token missions now if you haven't already. 

The current flags will be converted to War Objectives with this release, with more areas under dispute released in the future! Next week we hope to upgrade Objectives to impart buffs to the controlling alignment in the area, and actually make it possible for the Objectives to upgrade and evolve with effort.

War Objectives Abound!

A new War Objective outside of Ulysses' workshop.

 

Coming Soon...

This is going to be a gigantic update with a major change to EpicDuel's primary gameplay, but we are far from done. Other features which should (hopefully) be implemented next week include:

  • War shops
  • War Objective Buffs
  • Upgradable War Objectives
  • More War Objectives
  • Participation-based evolving achievements
  • More!

With so many features coming tomorrow, and even more on the horizon, this is going to be a Summer to remember for EpicDuel!

Tags: Titan Legion War PvP


Cinderella

June 13, 2013

Daring Design Notes

The battle lines are drawn.

The Dread War is coming!  Tensions between Legion and Forces are at an all-time high, and Delta V is poised to explode into all-out war June 21st.  Will you fight for Freedom with the Exiles or battle in the name of Order alongside the Legion?  This Friday, we will be launching the complete Dread Plains area, along with a new map / navigation system. Travelling the entirety of Delta V has never been quicker or easier!

 

Choose Your Destiny!

Starting this Friday, all EpicDuelists will be called upon to select an alignment to participate in the upcoming war.  For those of you just joining us, this means you must choose to fight for the Exiles or Legion. I have taken the liberty of describing the corresponding alignments thusly:

Exile

Exile

The Exiles seek to overthrow Baelius and liberate Delta V from his tyrannical regime.  To cast off this oppressive yoke and ensure a future free of terror and corruption, The Exiles must first defeat Baelius’ fiercely loyal minions: The Legion. 

Legion

Legion

The Legion believe that obedience and order are the keys to Delta V’s salvation.  However, this dream cannot be achieved without first destroying the world’s greatest threat to peace and stability: The Exiles.

Choosing an alignment is not as simple as “good” and “evil” – both alignments have similar goals, but drastically different means of achieving them.  Choose carefully – you will be able to change alignment later, however, to encourage loyalty, the price will be steep!

 

Bye-Bye Battle Tokens*

After much deliberation, as of next week’s update (June 21) Battle Tokens are being discontinued. Initially, Battle Tokens were intended as a currency based entirely on a player’s effort alone, since they could not be purchased with Varium packages and could only be earned through battle victories. However, since we no longer offer credits with packages, making credits an effort currency, it no longer makes sense to keep Tokens. They will be replaced by credits at a fixed rate, so you'll see a nice little windfall based on how many tokens you currently have. Token Boost will also be removed, and achievements will cost credits rather than Tokens. Missions awarding battle tokens will be altered to award credits rather than tokens at a fixed rate.

 

War Banners*

As we phase out Battle Tokens, War Flags will be transitioned into War Objectives, which will be captured and controlled by Faction and alignment battles, not donations. For the time being, however, the top contributor of each War Flag will own the War Objective for that Faction's alignment. So, if the Legion Faction “The Sparkling Vampires” holds the War Flag in “The Land of Terrible Fiction,” then they would be the first to claim the War Objective for the Legion in that area. But we are making these Objectives more challenging than simply dumping Battle Tokens into a flag. Also, there will be a control cap on each Objective, meaning that an alignment cannot build and insurmountable lead on an Objective.

Control Array

These new War Objectives will come in the form of radar stations, turrets, shield generators, propaganda towers, and many other tactically valuable assets. Many regions of Delta V will have one or more of these Objectives ripe for the capturing. Some Objectives will even grant you bonuses toward defending or attacking other objectives, creating an interesting hierarchy of Objectives and adding new strategies to the global war.

*These features are still in development and the details may change by June 21st. We will keep you informed of any changes.

 

Delta V World Tour 2013

Map of the World

Travelling has never been easier. In order to allow players to jump quickly to each War Objective, we added multiple jump points on each region. You will be able to see at a glance which areas are contested, and which are firmly under Legion or Exile control.

 

Bike Night

Our special guest artist, the great Nulgath, has been gracious enough to lend his skills to EpicDuel for the construction of an epic new bike!  Strike fear in the hearts of your enemies as you tear across the battlefields in this demonic creation!

 

Insect Facts Yay!

Most people while visiting the plant store would be outraged to find a late-instar caterpillar on one of the store's plants for sale. Most people however, are not me. Papilo polyxenes or the Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterfly lays its eggs on members of the Apiaceae or carrot family. I discovered my new friend happily nomming on some curly parsley, but females will oviposit on carrots, dill, Queen Anne's Lace, and fennel but will also accept rue as a more novel host. The early instar caterpillars resemble bird droppings in shape and coloration, but after molting are characterized by black bands and yellow spots. Short-photoperiod (fall) caterpillars that will overwinter as pupae are brown and long-photoperiod (summer) caterpillars who do not pupate so long are green. One pretty cool thing about these guys is that the caterpillars have a gland held behind the head capsule called the osmenterium. It's an orange, forked gland that resembles horns or a snake's tongue (swallowtail caterpillars tend to have characteristics that are snakelike to fool predators) and smells pretty terrible. After the caterpillar has eaten all he or she can possibly eat, it will pupate within a suspended chrysalis, which can be either green or brown depending on the environment. Upon eclosion (emergence from the pupal casing) the butterfly's gender can be determined by wing markings. Wings of both sexes are mainly black with a conspicuous orange spot, but males have a yellow band at the bottom of the hindwing and females have an iridescent blue band. This species is common throughout the North American continent and is the state butterfly of Oklahoma.

Tags: War Cinderella Legion exile PvP Flags Alignment Nulgath Bike


Nightwraith

June 07, 2013

Worldbuilding

Greetings EpicDuelists! Unfortunately there is no release today, but I have emerged from the nest of dry erase boards to give you more details about the upcoming war and talk a little about the planning process. It's sometimes challenging to pick what to say and what to hold onto when certain points are still uncertain, but I shall do my best.

Control them all

Before The Dread War officially begins, Delta V will be receiving a much-needed facelift. From the Barrens to the Bio Dome, Delta V will be reshaped with the most advanced satellite imaging technology (i.e. drawn better.) with the ability to zoom in on any known region. This will allow quick jumping to individual areas of interest within each region, making navigation much quicker. This quick jumping with be essential for reaching contested areas in the War.

The main focus of the Dread War will be this objective, as seen in the background of the first of many areas of the Dread Plains. This apparatus is the top of a massive control array. What does it control?

Control Array

The Legion or Exile forces that gain and hold control of this structure will find out. Capturing this array will not be quite so simple, however. In order to have the best chance of taking it, you will need to capture surrounding support structures: turrets, shield generators, propaganda speakers, etc...  These structures will confer great benefits to those who hold them and will be essential for turning the tide of the Dread War.

Dread War

How do you capture these objectives? Battle. You will need to visit the physical location of the objective and queue for battle. Battle victories will award influence, but this time the influence will apply toward the objective's capture bar. Unlike the old Flag system that allows Factions to collect, store, and dump a massive amount of Battle Tokens to secure a flag, these points can only be captured by the collective efforts of all Factions of an alignment. Top Factions will still be honored, but the emphasis will be more on the alignment vs. alignment struggle rather than Faction vs. Faction.

Similar to the Infernal War, everyone will soon be required to choose an alignment. To discourage people from piling on the "winning" team, switching alignment will not be easy so we recommend deciding in advance. 

 

Why Plan?

We want to be very careful with the upcoming Faction War. We have always believed that Factions would be the driving purpose for playing EpicDuel. We've added some features to cultivate conflict among Factions, but it never felt connected. Depositing tokens or firing a cannon at an arbitrary target, while novel at first, never really captured the feeling of all-out war that we wanted to convey. Wars are exciting, but require a tremendous amount of upkeep and preparation.

Our goal with the new war system is to provide ongoing entertainment and excitement for EpicDuelists of all levels and classes, Varium and non-Varium. We want to provide recognition and incentives at the personal, Faction, and alignment levels to motivate everyone to participate. These are lofty goals, but with enough planning, we can deliver a system that meets our criteria and surpasses expectations.

That's a lot of dry erase boards

The boards are full and our heads or packed with ideas. Now all that remains is execution. This will be a War to remember -- Delta V will never be the same!

Tags: War The Dread War Factions Control Legion exile Planning Delta V Map Nightwraith


Cinderella

May 30, 2013

Dread War Developments

Hey there, EpicDuelists! It's time once again for some delicious design notes from your friendly neighborhood Cinderella.

The Dread War

The Dread War itself is still in development, and will likely remain so for a bit more time.  Our planned rollout for the War is in mid-June, but expect rapid-fire updates as development is underway. However, I can confirm that the War will coincide with improvements to the Faction system, and will involve territorial control on a much greater scale than the current flag system. This conflict is fairly large -- the biggest players have ever faced -- and could expand beyond the Dread Plains to consume all of Delta V!

 

MAIL TIME!

The new mail system is getting some nice improvements. You'll be able to manually choose search criteria (eg. Subject, Sender, Message) instead of searching through all three simultaneously. In addition, you'll now get a confirmation message when deleting mail, so it's at least less likely that you'll delete something important...like a message from a Delta III prince who needs your bank account information.

 

Balancing Act

The conversion of passive skills to active skills is still underway. Since this is a massive change and we want to cover all the classes in one release, we are allowing as much time for testing as possible. This means that the changes will probably go live next week, thoroughly tested. It's very important that class balance is in a good place for the War so we are taking these upcoming changes very seriously.

 

The Long Arm of the Law

A special message from the Lawman:

Howdy y'all, 

As some of you may already know, I have been around to help here for a long while now, but now it's time for me to part ways and concentrate on leading the Exile forces! 
From now on, please do not try to contact me via the forums as I will likely not be able to deal with your issues. However there are a team of awesome Moderators who will now be dealing with all issues in-game. Within the last two month major changes were made to the in-game system which means that your reports will now be directed directly to Moderators who will deal with each manually. This means that you no longer need to take any screenshots and take the hassle of PM'ing in here on the forums! 

So please do make use of this new system, as I will now be retiring from this line of work to allow for more time in my main line of work! 

With the new and improved reporting system, there is no reason to take screenshots and send them to the AEF Lawman account. Do not send messages to the Lawman -- he's not going to answer them. Having said that, we would like to thank all those who took the time to compose reports to the Lawman under the old system. However, that system required a great deal of time investment, both from the Moderator staff and the players making the reports, and it have been made almost entirely obsolete by the new system. If you need to report a player, please use the in-game report system!

 

Celtic and April Fools Weapons Leaving

The April Fools and Celtic weapons have hung on long enough, being as it's nearly June. If you still need a giant spoon, now's your last chance!  Also, the Bunny Weapons from last year are leaving as well.  However, the 2013 Bunny weapons will stick around for another week because of a bug with Brachylagus' shop that has been fixed for the new release.

 

Calissa and Oz

Many of you were curious about Calissa, and her relationship with Oz and the Exiles. I've actually read the story suggestions. Here's my own take on their story.

 

            Oz couldn't move. Couldn't protest. He thought he should scream, but that couldn't save her. Helplessly he watched as his bride -- the only woman he loved, fell backwards lifelessly. He dropped to his knees, seemingly freed from the spell, and tried to reach out for her.

            “My name's Calissa.” Sixteen-year old cadet Lorenzo Ozimus ignored the voice in front of him, keeping his head down in the Shadow Guard manual.

            “Hellooooooo!” The little girl grabbed his head and forced him to look up. “I SAID my name is Calissa.” Lorenzo looked up at the eleven year old girl in front of him- her dark hair was done up in braids, and her white skin was tinged with blue; silver under the skin. Lorenzo noticed her ears were pointed.

            “Hi,” he grunted and looked down.

            “My daddy's your commander.” That got Lorenzo's attention. “You're in Wright Jarek's unit.”

            “Yeah.” Jarek was born on Delta VI. That explained the little bit of silver under her skin.

            “What's your name?”

            “Ozimus. Lorenzo Ozimus. Mostly they call me Oz.”

            “Ozimus...” she stared at him with large emerald-green eyes. “I'm a little bit psychic, I don't know if you know that. But I know you're destined for great things.” She stared at him a bit more with those green eyes before running off.

            It was those eyes that the adult Lorenzo stared into now. Those eyes that were once full of life now stared at him unblinking, unseeing. She'd died before she hit the ground, and her lips stained red as her head lolled to the side.

            Lorenzo and Calissa's lips parted. The War was over, and life goes on. Eleven years had passed since their first meeting, and the minute he saw her again, Oz was taken by Calissa's beauty. Their courtship had been brief, and they married that summer. But their bliss was short-lived, as already there were stirrings of rebellion against Baelius's regime. Calissa was in training to become a master Mage under one of her father's friends, a powerful man named Caden.

            “Is your Master sympathetic to our cause?”

            Calissa nodded. “There is no love for Baelius in Caden's heart.” She paused. “You should lead this, Lorenzo. I do not dare bringing up a request like this to my Master.” Oz agreed.

            Caden.

            It had been Caden's idea to bring the Uprising straight to Baelius's gates. It was Caden who had organized the charge.

            It was Caden who stood over Calissa's body, removing the sharpened end of his stave from her neck. Caden tracked the blood across the floor of the throne room -- the apex of Oz's failed assault. Caden smirked, lifted his foot, and all Oz saw was blackness.

            Oz stared in the mirror. He splashed cool water on his scarred face, and raked his fingers through his rapidly-graying hair. A new battle faced him- one that would force him to return from obscurity and take his place at the front of the Uprising. He looked at his communicator, and noticed the date. He smiled bitterly. The first charge was scheduled for his eleventh wedding anniversary. He held her ring, “This is for you, Calissa.”

Tags: Cinderella Dread War Factions Legion exile Rares Reports Lawman Oz Caden


Cinderella

May 23, 2013

The Dread War

Hey there, EpicDuelists! Ready for your heaping helping of Design Notes, served just the way mama likes 'em? Whose mama I'm not really sure. It's not my mama. But apparently she likes the way I write Design Notes. So, let's get started, shall we?

 

New Package

Exile Battlegear

Legion Battlegear

To commemorate the upcoming war, we'll be offering special packages with Legion and Exile goodies for your dueling pleasure. Each pack comes with a Physical Mutating weapon and an Energy Mutating Weapon, which come equipped with the Exile Strike Core (for Exiles), or the Legion Strike Core (for Legionnaires) that call in reinforcements against the opposing alignment. 

Call in reinforcements to destroy your enemies!

 

Balance Changes

To make battles a bit more engaging, passive skills are being converted into active skills. With so many points to distribute at the level cap, very little is sacrificed by investing in passives, to the point that they become requirements for most viable builds. Although not all passives will be converted to active skills this release, eventually we would like them all to become active.

Another long-overlooked area has been energy regain for mercenaries, so that class will now be given an energy regain skill. Since many of the changes are still in the testing phase, look for more specific balance changes in tomorrow's patch notes!

 

The Dread Plains

Dread Plains

East of the Barrens lays the plains of Kiirdosh. At least, that's what they were called long ago. After the Kiirdosh Mountains were leveled for Varium mining, the plains were not suitable for human life, and the mountain lizard-goats and dire wolves took over the abandoned mining outposts. However, below the rich volcanic soil and pure groundwater are lodes and lodes of precious gems, and fuel sources, so Legion and Exile forces alike venture into the Dread Plains for the economic resources it contains.

The Plains are currently held by the Legion and overseen by the terrifying Administrator 10. There is a name he uses for official records, but like many coming from the Syndicate, it is not the name he was given at birth.  During the Uprising, many of Delta V's criminal element aligned themselves with Oz and the Exiles, and seeing his opportunity to forge a new life for himself, he traded his criminal allies for a cushy spot in the Administration. However, excepting all of her bad qualities Alydriah values loyalty and trustworthiness. This dishonorable man could not be trusted with the health and welfare of Delta V's populace, so although he is technically the administrator of Fortune City's 10th District, his talent for underhanded tactics is much better suited for a post far, far away from the seat of the Administration. But his hold on the area is tenuous, and after feeling the sting of defeat at the hands of John St. Alban last year, Administrator Descarl isn't taking any chances and is personally supporting the Administrator in this endeavor.


            The miner grasped onto her holdfast and watched the pebbles crumble beneath her foot. The foothold was apparently not as sturdy as she'd hoped. Moreso than falling, she feared awakening the dire wolves who might attack the rest of the expedition. Finally, she got to the pit, attached her holdfast and lowered herself down into the infinite blackness.

 

            “Oi! Neris!” a male voice echoed up the shaft. “What took you so long?”

            “Your fat feet crushed up all the good footholds, ain't my fault.” She unhooked herself, landed, and turned on her helmet light to illuminate her partner's face. “Why's your helmet off?”

            The man's skin was blue from the silver deposited just below the surface, as is traditional for those from Delta VI, and his weathered face scrunched up. “You kiddin'? This feels just like home.” The surface of Delta VI is uninhabitable, so the people live in subterranean cities, illuminated by the bioluminescent fungi. Neris nodded, this was exactly like Taryn's homeworld.

            “Come on, we've got glass to harvest. The first sunrise is in 6 hours, so we ain't got long.” They ventured further, chiseling out a path along the way. After about an hour, she spotted a sparkle in the rocks. Varium. She waved Taryn over.

            “Man, this is better than glass.” Taryn shone his spectrophotometer on the crystal. “150 units for this rock. Ain't much, but there might be more.” Neris prepared the extractor, and cracked open the vein, revealing the beautiful gleaming varium.

            “A whole lot more than 150, Taryn. This is gonna change our lives” Overjoyed at their fortune, they gathered the precious crystal, losing track of time. Before they knew it, the time limit had passed. Panic fell over the two of them as light streamed through an opening in the wall. When they heard the growls, they knew the worst had happened. The wolves had awakened, and they were hungry.

            Taryn pointed toward the shaft. “We can take our chances with the mountain. Come on.” The two ran back through the cavern, the growls of the dire wolves echoing throughout. They reached the shaft, seeing two of their colleagues. Neris shouted for them to send down a cable, and began to scramble up. Neris reached the top first, while Taryn lagged. Neris pointed a gun straight down.

            “What are you doing?”

            “Don't move.”

            “What?”

            “You don't think I'm going to let you take this with you. I have better uses for this varium.”

            “Neris, what do you mean?”

            “I know you've been turning in Exile sympathizers. It took far too long to get close enough to do this.”

            “You're one of THEM?”

            “Don't act so innocent. I know you'd do the same. No, worse. I'll only kill you. You'd have handed me over to Baelius's goons. See you on the other side.” She shot- it went cleanly through his forehead and the body fell into the pit. One of Neris's companions shot a flare, causing the shaft to fall in on itself. The second sun rose, and the three Exiles traveled back to camp, the only witnesses to the murder a pack of wolves.

            Neris removed her helmet, revealing long black hair. Her companion who was not driving removed her helmet as well, displaying the pointed ears and delicate features of a Tech Mage.

            “My husband will give you a new name, and a new occupation as thanks for this.”

            Neris shrugged. “Anything for the cause, Calissa.” She took a knife out of her boot and started sawing at her hair. “Who am I now?”

            “Your name,” Calissa said “is Anya.”

Tags: Legion exile Varium Promotion War balance Cores balance Cinderella


Cinderella

August 07, 2012

This Is The End, Beautiful Friend

War is Ending

The Infernal Infiltration War is winding down, and while the Exiles have a significant lead, the Legion can’t be ruled out just yet!  Remember to use those grenades -- you can resell them for credits after the War is over, but it isn’t worth stockpiling them, and grenades are happiest when thrown.

When the War ends, the bombs will no longer be available, nor will the missions to get bombs.

In addition, the Alignment-specific cruisers will go rare.  However, neutral mechachillid cruisers will still be available.

 

Winner Takes All

As mentioned before, the alignment to power through this final Vault door first will win the Infernal War, as well as control over the Infernal Mines.  Not enough for you? How about a new bot?

The Infernal Android will be available first to the winning alignment, and its special attack is related to its origin in the Vaults; the longer a battle lasts, the more damage the special attack does!  As mentioned just up there, the winning alignment will have first stab at using it, and the Infernal Android comes in both varium and credit-only flavors.

Secret Imperial Transmission

Also, the first alignment to breach the Delta Vault will receive the Infernal Conqueror achievement worth 2500 rating points!  The other alignment will still receive the Break On Through achievement worth 950 rating points!  I would show the artwork for the achievements, but they're a bit...spoilery.

 

New Boost System

As we wrap up the war we are turning our attention to systems that could be improved, such as boosting.  The revamped boost system will allow you to boost based on duration or number of rounds, and we will be introducing a new credit boost, which many of you may have figured out from the new end battle screens.  

There is a lot of build with this new system so it may not go live this week, but it will definitely be available next week. 

 

Did You Know?

Did you know that following battles, you now see a new screen that includes facts about EpicDuel? This new screen should be more helpful and informative than previous. Do you have an idea for an EpicDuel tip? Then post it here: http://forums2.battleon.com/f/tm.asp?m=20164694

Why didn’t I announce this in the last design notes? Well, I’m remote staff, so I find out for sure what’s going to be in the update on Monday or Tuesday, and write the design notes based on that. Occasionally, Titan and Rabble look at each other and decide yes... we can fit more into this update. They then add a feature that I don’t find out about until testing.

 

Happy Birthday Titan!

Our favorite cheeseburger-loving Physical God is turning another year older this week! He hasn’t asked for any missions, but it’s possible that Titan has forged in his mighty foundry an item of such power and inanity that it cannot be comprehended.

OM NOM NOM!

 

Where u go? ;-;

I’m likely not going to be writing the DNs or have much to do with the game or development next week, as I will be doing field work at another university across the country from where I live. Maybe I’ll post pictures on my Twitter!

 

Thrippy Thrips

Have you ever seen scars on fruit or flowers? Or seen a tiny insect crawling inside your LCD screen? Then chances are, you have encountered a thrips. Thrips are tiny insects (as small as 1/25 of an inch) with fringed wings belonging to the order Thysanoptera. They typically feed on plants by puncturing the plant with their mouthparts and sucking out the delicious juices. Because they serve as a vector for several plant viruses including Tobacco mosaic virus, thrips are considered pests by farmers.

Tags: Cinderella Infernal Infiltration Droid Bot Missions Grenades Legion exile Boost Did You Know? Titan Birthday


Cinderella

July 17, 2012

Break on Through to the Other Side

Go, Exiles, Go...#RandyNewman

Congratulations, Exiles, for felling the second Vault door. With things as they stand right now, it’s anyone’s game and the Exiles and Legion will both have to work hard to punch through the remaining doors.

Before going on, I want to clear up some rumors that have been floating around. No, the Administration is not playing favorites with alignment. Both Exiles and Legion had equal chance to get the Vault Breaker II Achievement, and yes, Legion had to wait 2 extra hours to unlock level 35. There was also no help from the Administration for the Exiles- we did not orchestrate the Exiles winning one Vault.  We want this war to be fun and fair and we will not do anything, nor have we done anything, to artificially alter the course of the War. This is all you, guys!

That said, let’s get into the meat of it!

 

Vaulting Vaults

This Vault Door will be the final Vault Door before the Big One. The Alignment that breaks down this door will have exclusive access to the Vault Breaker III achievement, as well as the powerful Magma Grenade, which weakens the Vault’s shields and makes subsequent attacks more damaging!

Magma Grenade

Both sides will have access to new Auxiliary weapons in both credit-only and varium flavors: The Mecha Disintegrator and Mecha Launcher, Super Mecha Destroyer and Super Mecha Launcher. These weapons will have the special ability Infernal Spirit, combining with the sidearms and Mechachillid armors for maximum damage and defense against the Vault!

Mechachillid Bazookas!

In addition, you’ll have access to the Mechachillid Cruiser! Vroom Vroom!

Vroooooom *scuttle scuttle scuttle*

We will also be adding TWO additional tier to the Vault Cracker achievement to reward players who are really, REALLY punishing those Vault doors!

Vault Cracker 2 and 3

 

New Missions

Having trouble getting bombs to drop? Well, Players should report to their Lieutenants (Valestra for the Legion and Ulysses for the Exiles) for mission chains that will award all kinds of grenades, as well as some insights into some of the characters’ motivations. I had great fun thinking about Habuki and his character, his past, etc. This chain will unlock another short arc about the St. Alban family and their issues, including some answers about why Cinderella supports the Legion, while her father and sister support the Exiles. This chain will also award more war grenades.

 

Security Awareness Art Contest Winners!

Thank you to each and every one of you who entered the Art Contest! We’ve gone through every submission; we saw a lot of great art, and a lot of... interesting art and finally narrowed it down to the winners! So, without any further ado, congratulations to the following players!

First, the Honorable Mentions. These players will be awarded an achievement reflecting their excellence!

 

Wind: “EpicDuel Moderator Squidlings, Working Hard to protect you”

EpicDuel Moderator Squidlings, Working Hard to Protect You

 

Ddog 81: “The BAN-HAMMER!”

The BAN-HAMMER

 

Shadow2221: “Free Varium... are you kidding me?”

Free Varium...Are You Kidding Me?

 

Blocky Bounty: “Nothing in life is free”

Nothing in Life Is Free

 

luminitos: “EpicDuel’s Ten Most Wanted List”

EpicDuel's Ten Most Wanted List

 

The First Place Winners will be awarded an achievement plus an exclusive home item and 1500 Varium!

 

2046808: “Authority!”

Authority

 

mieteor: “My Precious”

My Precious

 

Battle Elf: “Don’t let evil trick you!”

Don't Let Evil Trick You

 

And finally, the Grand Prize Winner, who gets the cheevo, home item, and 10K varium package is...

Be Smart, Play Safe!

..trizzzcentrino.. for the entry “be smart, play safe”!

 

Congratulations to all of the winners, and thanks again to all who participated. Also, if you didn’t win, don’t get discouraged- it doesn’t mean that your artwork was bad or sub-par, only that it wasn’t what we were looking for at this time. Thank you for participating!

*Achievements and in-game home items won't be awarded until the release on Friday.

Tags: Cinderella Grenades Infernal Infiltration War Auxiliary Bike Exiles Legion

 

 EpicDuel Game Design Notes Archive