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Please don’t be deterred by The Hood reaction, Kabam: The buff program is amazing
ESF
Posts: 1,944 ★★★★★
I won’t go for too long or too deep, because all of us can read or have read about The Hood and the reversion of the kit.
I just wanted to say that the avalanche of criticism for this particular set of changes for The Hood and the various feedback of buffs that might not always be universally praised, my opinion is that the buff program is one of the most important things this game has ever done and I hope that people don’t lose sight of that, and most importantly, I hope Kabam doesn’t throw their hands in the air and say “screw this.”
By my count, there are still maybe 20 or so characters who desperately need some level of help. Another 15 or so could use a pass for DPS that better reflects a 6-star/Cavalier world with 240K-300K plus bosses.
The buff program, again...it has taken, what, at least a dozen characters that were basically unplayable anywhere and given them a purpose or better foundation within the game.
This game is RNG and resource-driven, and choices matter. It is crucial to the health of this game that no player pulls multiple characters that simply are not able to be used effectively — I truly do get that this stuff is hard and that not every kit is gonna be perfect initially or age well.
This game evolves. Stuff changes.
A robust program of buffs and adjustments is needed, still, despite the feedback on The Hood.
Please, keep going.
I just wanted to say that the avalanche of criticism for this particular set of changes for The Hood and the various feedback of buffs that might not always be universally praised, my opinion is that the buff program is one of the most important things this game has ever done and I hope that people don’t lose sight of that, and most importantly, I hope Kabam doesn’t throw their hands in the air and say “screw this.”
By my count, there are still maybe 20 or so characters who desperately need some level of help. Another 15 or so could use a pass for DPS that better reflects a 6-star/Cavalier world with 240K-300K plus bosses.
The buff program, again...it has taken, what, at least a dozen characters that were basically unplayable anywhere and given them a purpose or better foundation within the game.
This game is RNG and resource-driven, and choices matter. It is crucial to the health of this game that no player pulls multiple characters that simply are not able to be used effectively — I truly do get that this stuff is hard and that not every kit is gonna be perfect initially or age well.
This game evolves. Stuff changes.
A robust program of buffs and adjustments is needed, still, despite the feedback on The Hood.
Please, keep going.
52
Comments
Most of the previous buffs were actually exceptional. Magneto, Mole Man, Kingpin, Falcon, etc. These champions were almost unusable in higher content before but as their buffs focused on what they really lack, they have become some of the top options now. Still Kudos to Kabam for what they are doing. They are making the game more exciting than ever.
I think more communication is key to avoid these situations, honestly. We don't care about being surprised every month. In fact, most of us would like a heads-up I assume.
I get that might not always be reasonable, but it'd be safer even if only for champs that will have their core kit changed. Hood just happened to be a landmine, really.
The emergence of community pushback on The Hood changes may create stress. But I actually see it as a positive. It helps flesh out a dialogue channel and tone between developers and players, that helps give developers more feedback with which to guide their choices in aspects of the buff program. I really like the idea of the buff program, and also really like the general direction it is going. I think it's a good program concept and good work.
Based on the types of changes made so far, areas that I would advise caution with regards to specific areas of complexity. Notably avoiding:
1) characters that are non-intuitive and confusing to fight against; both from the first encounter, and after hundreds of matches against.
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These types of Champions already exist in the game, but they've been kept at a certain small ratio of the total Champions. Make sure to keep that ratio low. Otherwise, you are shifting the game to be a different experience, and one that triggers the "confusion" and "frustration" types of game experience at an accelerated rate (you want to tune your game experience to your net demographic groups; your game has been filtering players based on the experience that has been provided; if you change the game experience too much you are swapping in a new filter, and it will potentially drive off your playerbase of players that don't like that filter)
2) characters that are non-intuitive and confusing to use; both from the first encounter, and after hundreds of matches against.
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These types of Champions already exist in the game, but they've been kept at a certain small ratio of the total Champions. Make sure to keep that ratio low. For the same reasons as listed above: Otherwise, you are shifting the game to be a different experience, and it will potentially drive off your playerbase of players that don't like that experience.
NOTE1 : you can build a Champion that has both an intuitive playstyle and a non-intuitive playstyle: you can play it right away, and also play a more complicated version or elements as you go. This can be a healthy combination, because it offers something to different players, including those that like intuitive gameplay, those that like non-intuitive gameplay, and those that want a champion that is intuitive to use effectively, but one they can learn more things about over time (sidenote: sometimes, it's the same player, just at different points points in their player progression)
NOTE 2: "non-intuitive" and "complex" are not the same thing. "Complex" is consisting of many different and connected parts, but those parts can be coordinated in a way that is easy to understand. "Non-intuitive" is not readily learned or understood. It's a good idea to keep away of the ratio of each in the game, and how that is changing your game experience, and how players are reacting to that change.
3) bad style drift
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"Style drift" is a term that refers to how the style of something changing. One example is if a fast food restaurant changes its menu, or the recipe for one of its popular items. In MCOC, it could apply to the way it feels to play the game, or the playstyle of a specific Champion. Once a game has been around for a while, its players will have gotten used to enjoying the type of experiences it has been providing. It's important for designers to keep aware of when their game experiences are changing, keep tabs on the pros and cons, and even plan for it as they can.
Sometimes a changing experience can provide a more overall enjoyable and positive experience to the players, sometimes not. A game developer wants to (a) be able to explore potential changes it thinks will improve be good for the game, (b) work with player feedback and response to coordinate which changes to work on, keep, etc., and (c) have the budget and other flexibility not to get stuck with a choice they are stuck with rather than one they want to make.
I don't really do threads... but I considered a write up to say exactly this. Well done!
@Kabam...I consider the Champion Buff Program one of the most player friendly things we have seen. Please know you have our full support despite the occasional misstep.
In my opinion there will always be buffs that people do like and we shouldn’t expect them all to be amazing but we definitely need to continue having them.