Design Diary: War Zones Check-In #2

Sep.19.2019 BY KIXEYE_Chris

In this brief dev diary installment, senior designer Dogman returns to provide an update on the ongoing War Zones Refresh project. Enjoy!

FROM THE DESK OF THE DOGMAN #2

The first steps in any game system have to be introducing the rules. So we’ve decided that the changes to the World Map will start with CP’s, where the most rules live and breathe. The Zone Areas that are contestable won’t change, but we’re going to remove Control Points and implement a new ruleset for taking these contestable Zone Areas.

How does that work Dogman?

I’m getting there, sheesh! It works like this:

• First, we’re putting in true ‘King of the Hill’-style gameplay; the last alliance standing wins the Zone Area. While you no longer need to hit a Control Point to trigger a War or go through confusing sudden death rules, it does mean you need to clear every other player alliance from the area.
• We’re reducing the 5 stages of Control play (Open, Under Attack, War, Sudden Death, Secured) to 4.
  • 1) Open State; no opposing players are in the Zone Area. 
  • 2) Contested State; alliances are fighting over the Zone Area. 
  • 3) Securing State; one alliance has beaten out others and has become the only internal alliance for a time. 
  • 4) Protected State; the entire Zone Area becomes bubbled and can’t be taken for a period of time.
• Buffs will stay the same for now. We’ve got a lot of work to do revamping buffs and it’s not ready yet, so we’re keeping the current buffs as they are for the time being.
• However, you won’t have to stay in the Zone Area to get the buff anymore. Once your alliance has conquered the Zone Area, all alliance members get the Buff, no matter where you are on the map. We’re still debating whether or not to keep the bubble rules in place, though we know that eventually the bubble rules for buffs will be removed completely.

These are our first steps, and the Rogue Assault engineers are already hard at work. We’re hopeful that, while these changes may take some time to adjust to, they’ll provide more vibrant and dynamic gameplay between alliances in the War Zones.

Stay tuned to the newsfeed for the next update on the project. Good luck out there!