CBT2 - Update Preview - Letter from the Development Team
Author: zhaoyuhan.zyh,
published 1 year ago,
Greetings, Travelers! We're delighted to be welcoming you back again! We cordially invite you to be the first to experience our game once again!
We shared an unforgettable adventure together in Adenthia just four months ago. The heroic deeds of our Travelers have spread far and wide throughout Adenthia's denizens, and the development team alike! With this latest version, many of your suggestions and criticisms have been taken on board and we've made changes and improvements. Thanks to your help, we are making a better world, so once more we extend to you our heartfelt thanks!
Over these past four months, the development team has been blazing away, aiming to make Dragonheir even more unique, and Adenthia has changed dramatically along with it. We're aware these might be disruptive, so we wanted to share these changes and adjustments with you ahead of time.
[h3][b]1. Heroes and Combat[/b][/h3]
We've added 50 brand new heroes, but not all of them will feature in CBT2 for now. As of CBT2, we have over 110 heroes, hopefully offering our Travelers even greater freedom of choice. For the time being, our CBT2 version hero bases include: Summon, Dauntless, Rally, Wild, Poison, and Frost. "Burn" and "Electric Shock" heroes will be gradually introduced in later Seasons, so you'll not find them in CBT2.
[b]Adjustment rationale: [/b]Previously, Fire element had two bases ("Wild" and "Burn") and Lightning element as well ("Dauntless" and "Electric Shock"). Because heroes of the same element could possess two different bases, assembling teams of heroes sharing the same bases proved difficult. Thus, to make obtaining heroes with bases that synergize well together more convenient for everyone, we have condensed down the hero pool for Fire and Lightning heroes. But don't fret! The heroes cut for now will return in OBT or later Seasons.
We have also buffed some rare and epic heroes, and there are also heroes with versatile bases capable of both supporting and defensive roles. Travelers should have no trouble building a complete combat-ready team able to handle most situations!
In CBT2 Adenthia, Elemental Affinity changes radically with the influence of plane rotation: Affinities between Ice and Poison, Fire and Radiance, Necrosis and Lightning are higher than ever before! Teaming up heroes of the paired elements will lead to welcome surprises on the battlefield.
[b]Adjustment rationale:[/b] We're always striving to offer you fulfilling strategy options and a wide variety of builds. We're keen on offering you fresh experiences with each Beta, so CBT2 will feature brand new Elemental Affinity effects. Notably, the rules of Elemental Affinity will change with each new Season. It's our hope that the regular rotation of Elemental Affinities will create a richer experience for everyone, as well as justify the value of each hero.
Every hero's design has been perfected, adding their population, class, and alignment, providing them with full background stories. Should they become companions, they'll engage in chatter with you at Camp and in the sandbox, with some heroes expressing their thoughts on the journey so far (thanks to the players who made this recommendation in the last Beta).
[b]Adjustment rationale: [/b]We want the hero companions that players engage to be genuine, living denizens of Adenthia, each with their own unique histories. To give Travelers a better grasp of companions' stories and to understand the customs of Adenthia through them, we've added the aforementioned content with the intention of offering a more immersive experience.
We've added a new hero attribute called "Enlightenment". It provides a new dimension to hero development by adding bonuses to non-critical damage and to some Healing/Shield effects.
[b]Adjustment rationale: [/b]This is aimed for achieving the pursuit of hero attributes a more fruitful one, whilst also offering players varied attributes on different heroes. No more bland focus on Attack and Crit! By adding "Enlightenment", we hope to offer players new focus on hero development and a more fruitful, rewarding development experience overall.
[h3][b]2. Dungeons and gameplay[/b][/h3]
We've revamped and iterated the EXP Dungeon, something that will significantly improve Travelers' battles against Goblins! After CBT2 concludes, the EXP Dungeon won't be a Tower Defense anymore, instead being a Horde mode featuring continuously refreshing waves of monsters.
[b]Adjustment rationale:[/b] Tower Defense is classic, fun-filled gameplay, characterized by strong strategy and playability. However, considering that EXP Dungeons need to be farmed a great many times, Tower Defense gameplay would become incredibly tedious. Plus, the need for manual play and concentration would be a huge source of stress in the long term. For this reason, we've changed the EXP Dungeon gameplay into one that requires less manual effort and is easily automated.
That's not to say Tower Defense is vanishing! You'll find Tower Defense all over the place in every corner of the sandbox, in stronghold conflicts and all kinds of places Travelers won't expect! When facing these stages, adventurers must be prepared! Carefully and effectively deploy before battle, use precise actions and rational team composition to tackle every challenge.
We have updated and upgraded most of the Elemental Ascension Dungeons and Equipment Dungeons. Everything in the Dungeons, from the Boss appearance to the gameplay mechanics, has been comprehensively overhauled. We hope the upgraded audio-visual effects and gameplay mechanics will breathe new life into your Dungeons! Since Elemental Dungeons are equipped with mechanics that buff and resist one element, Travelers will need to be diligent! Ensure you develop diverse teams ready to handle stages of different elements.
[b]Adjustment rationale: [/b]We want Dragonheir to offer a richly rewarding environment for trial and error that encourages Travelers to place emphasis on horizontal character development, focusing on the characteristics of hero skills, Elemental Affinities, and bases.
Changes to the Elemental Ascension Dungeons are intended to improve the current Dungeon experience. They'll also help prepare for richer gameplay and test environments to come in future!
Furthermore, adjustments to Equipment Dungeons and Rune Dungeons, as well as tweaks to Dungeon Boss skill mechanics, are in place to ensure all our Travelers understand: Each Dragonheir hero has their own unique value against different opponents. The fun of synergizing skills, Elemental Affinities and bases is what we truly aim to offer to all Travelers. Adventure and Strategy are Dragonheir's only tags. In the upcoming CBT2 Season, there is neither a sole answer to strength or weakness, nor will there be for each upcoming Season.
All of us on the development team have been extremely hands on, playing Dragonheir ourselves and testing whether our design is delivering the fun we expect it to. I'll take this chance to drop a sneaky hint! There are a few epic heroes (not legendary!) that are key to overcoming tough nuts like the Blood Prince and Deadly Harpy! As for who, you can find out for yourself, and tell us all about it, in CBT2!
[h3][b]3. Rewards & Seasons[/b][/h3]
We've added our new Season gameplay to CBT2, the rules for which will be posted separately in official communities.
Compared with CBT1's 30-day duration, this Season will last approximately three months. Accordingly, the pace of in-game reward distribution will also be [b]drastically altered:[/b]
[b]The probability of summoning legendary heroes with Heliolite Dice (Advanced Hero Summoning item) will be increased to 3%. Additionally, a legendary hero will be guaranteed in 35 draws. As a result, Heliolite Dice will become more valuable, and thus much rarer.[/b]
Heliolite Dice offered by Main Quests and the Book of Adventure will be markedly reduced. Only a small quantity will be available from Main Quests. However, Travelers can obtain a wealth of Wyrmarrow from various quests and dailies! Wyrmarrow can be used to purchase Heliolite Dice in the Shop.
Once the Season concludes, you will receive a veritable bounty of rewards in accordance with your performance. All those goodies will make next Season even more enjoyable!
The quantity of Starlight Dice (Basic Hero Summoning item) available has been significantly increased. Through using Starlight Dice to summon many epic heroes, Travelers will be well-positioned to handle most Dungeons.
We have [b]removed the Day-7 and Day-14[/b] legendary hero login rewards. Instead, Travelers will now receive epic heroes on Day 3.
[b]To ensure a better experience for our CBT2 players[/b], we will issue these website pre-registration rewards in advance: Gold, Dice, legendary heroes, etc. can be obtained by fulfilling certain criteria.
[b]Adjustment rationale:[/b]
CBT2 is a Season beta whose data will not be erased. All heroes acquired will be permanently retained. Compared to the CBT1 impermanent test, we've cut down on the rewards a little to ensure greater longevity and enjoyment of the game.
Of course, we hope that players will take full advantage of the longer three-month test duration to really sink your teeth into the build experience! We don't want login rewards to influence players' choices (during the CBT1 test, almost all players mainly developed the rewarded legendary heroes). Rather, we want players to enjoy varied, creative team composition strategies.
In replacing many rewards with the common Wyrmarrow currency, we hope to give Travelers more freedom of choice — They can choose whether to use them to purchase Skill Scrolls and enhance existing heroes or exchange them for summoning items to acquire more heroes.
We've significantly increased the quantity of Starlight Dice. With this, we hope you'll acquire more epic heroes and strive for more complete, versatile elemental builds and team compositions to provide an engaging, fruitful experience. (When compared to CBT1, in which many teams were heavily dependent on legendary heroes, making the experience threshold too high).
[b]In addition to the aforementioned content, we've added a host of other features:[/b]
We have reset and optimized the game's opening chapters: The overall Chaos Universum experience and the staging of subsequent chapters: The storyline and gameplay in the Forest and Plains regions have been totally overhauled.
We've also added plenty of new gameplay features: Added 2 NPC-related systems (Challenge and Relationship), new team PVE mode (two Travelers fight alongside each other), new time-limited real-time PVP mode, friendly sparring, Alliance, Alliance war, Seasons, and more! Stay tuned to community news for more details!
Travelers, we look forward to joining you in Adenthia once again for CBT2!