Development Spotlight: March Q&A
Welcome to a Q&A with the developers of War Robots: Frontiers! We’ve gathered your questions about the current state of the game and future development plans and put them to our devs, and here are the answers!
Q: How will microtransactions impact gameplay and player ability?
In-app purchases in War Robots: Frontiers will help unlock everything the game has to offer faster, but all players will be able to unlock everything eventually even if they don't pay.
Upgrading your Robots will be an integral part of player progression, but we want to ensure that the game plays smoothly whether or not you're a paying player. Level 1 Robots will have the ability to beat a maxed-out enemy through smart and strategic play. Our goal is to ensure there are no matches where you feel completely hopeless or on the back foot.
We have plenty of testing ahead of us before we enter Open Beta. Throughout Early Access, we will be testing several progression mechanics, gathering your feedback on them, and adjusting their functionality accordingly.
Q: When will AI bots get nerfed? Will they be removed after the conclusion of the CBT?
We use AI bots to introduce new players to the basics of the game and to fill in teams when there aren’t enough players in matchmaking. For these two purposes, we plan on always keeping AI bots. Their balance, however, will be revamped in future updates, and their “skill” will be divided into grades. We’ll have weaker bots for newer players and much tougher bots for experienced players.
Q: Will any progress be wiped ahead of future releases of the game?
Currently, there is at least one planned full progress wipe. We’ll reset all Hangars right after the conclusion of Closed Beta (Early Access), but the contents of the Pioneer Packs will not be wiped. Everyone who purchased a Pioneer Pack during Early Access will be able to claim all the bonus items once more in the Inventory section of their profile on our official website.
We will begin introducing free-to-play economy elements closer to the end of Early Access. With the launch of Open Beta, the game will become free-to-play and features like the Season Pass will give players additional goals to work towards, ensuring more activity during the Open Beta stage.
Q: Will Competitive game modes be limited to 5v5? Competitive lobbies with 6v6 will be much laggier and less entertaining.
We are considering additional game modes with fewer players in a match. However, the 6v6 format is our signature solution for the entire War Robots series. We believe that teams of six ensure the optimal match scale. More players are fun, but six players seem to be the maximum number where you can still easily see what’s going on on the map. Battles would probably become too chaotic and a player’s decision-making would become muddied.
We design maps so there’s always a way to break away from a spawn camping scenario. In addition to that, we recently introduced a deployment protection mechanic that gives you a temporary bonus to stats when you deploy in your home area. In Beacon Rush, it’s additional defense and damage. In Elimination, it’s defense and movement speed.
As for the server side, we are confident that 6v6 matches don’t necessarily entail lag issues. We optimize our server code with this format in mind and we pay very close attention to it.
Q: Do you feel the full release of War Robots: Frontiers alone will produce its own hype, or will you need to invest in Content Creators to get it started once it is released?
We hope for the hype of course, but we’re totally open to collaborations as well. We are also preparing to launch a creator support program for War Robots: Frontiers that will include in-game rewards after the Early Access. If you make videos about the game, feel free to sign up here!
Q: When will War Robots: Frontiers become available on consoles? Also, will it be free-to-play?
War Robots: Frontiers will have the same free-to-play model on all platforms. The console release will happen after the PC launch.
Q: Will we be able to change the parts on a Titan like we can on the Robots?
Titans will have their own customization options. They won't include robot parts like the torso and shoulders, but the potential to alter the gameplay via the build will be just as huge. At the very least you will be able to choose from a variety of Titan weapons and modules. Also, customization options will differ from Titan to Titan.
Q: Will there be a way to upgrade items in the future?
Yes, the next update will introduce the basic version of item upgrades. We’ll explain this feature in more detail in the upcoming update overview on our YouTube channel.
Q: What has been the most difficult Robot to make?
Raven. For the War Robots: Frontiers incarnation of this Robot, it was important to replicate the whole upper half of the build. However, in Frontiers that means three separate parts: torso and two shoulders—but we’ve managed. Raven hasn’t lost its identity and some of us like this version even more. Then there were Raven’s time-bomb feathers, but that’s a story for a separate Q&A.
The ‘Alpha’ Titan gave us a headache too. It was a long journey before we were able to find the right balance between "Alpha is interesting to play" and "it is interesting to play against Alpha."
Q: What consoles will be able to play the game at full release?
PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
Q: Will there be more Titans?
Definitely. We are already working on several new Titans, each with very different gameplay mechanics.
Q: How often will the game receive updates?
During the Early Access stage, we try to stick to the schedule with a minor update each month and major updates every two to three months. After the global release, we will move to bigger updates every three months, each of them linked to a new Battle Pass season.
Q: Are there any plans for rebalancing energy values on the chassis of Robots like Fury? Right now it feels too low to produce good builds.
The limited energy is a part of the balance solution for that Robot. We balance the chassis so that there is always a tradeoff. In the case of Fury, you get the ability to carry the heaviest of weapons, and the moderate energy capacity offsets that obvious advantage. Of course, we will be trying different balance setups further down the road to find the numbers that make playing Fury builds as fun as possible.
Q: What are the benefits of adding Titans to the game? I would like to know what the thought process was here.
As we see them, Titans are units that can change the tactics of an entire team the moment they get deployed. When you notice an Alpha on the enemy side, you know that it’s better not to group close together, because there will be a lot of AoE. When a Matriarch deploys on your side, you instantly get a support champion to rally to. So, unlike ordinary Robots, a Titan deployment is much more likely to become a turning point in battle. It’s like a second phase of a fight when the stakes get higher and new threats and opportunities emerge that weren’t there before. You can prepare for that turning point by customizing your Titan in a way that best fits your play style.
Q: Is there a plan to implement a dynamic horizontal row of dots within the game window to show the number of players in the game at any given time?
We already have a somewhat similar HUD solution in the Elimination game mode, because for that mode it’s crucial to keep track of how many Robots are still standing. We will consider adding this element to other game modes as well.
Q: Will there be any Frontiers-only Robots (that didn’t already appear in War Robots)?
Absolutely. We already have some pretty neat ideas.
Q: Do you plan to add flying or spider Robots?
We do not plan on adding flying Robots to the game. The unlimited flight would not fit well with War Robots: Frontiers' gameplay patterns and level design. However, we are already thinking about modules that would allow you to keep hovering a few seconds longer. There will also be Robots that can take off and hover in place using their ability. We also have plans for a spider chassis. Those would be a whole new level animation-wise.
Q: Will there be PvE content in the game?
We don’t have any plans on PvE for now. It sounds like a great idea, but it's too far away to actually promise anything here. For the rest of Early Access and then the OBT we will fully focus on the PvP side of the game, which we believe is the core of War Robots: Frontiers. However, we will keep expanding the universe of the game through various lore installments like the Tales From The Wild Ten series on our website.
Q: Will you add every single Robot to this game from the original War Robots?
We plan on adding some robots from War Robots. However, we'll soon switch to original War Robots: Frontiers designs. There are a lot of Robots in War Robots that wouldn't fit with the gameplay of Frontiers, and redesigning them would probably mean that we get a completely different Robot in the end. We think it's best to start focusing on new ideas at some point, and we have a lot of those!
Do you have any burning questions for our devs? Let your thoughts be known via Discord!
