Devlog #2: Weapon and Synaptic Enhancements Balancing
Dear Agents!
Today's Minor Hotfix Patch includes a bugfix on the synaptic enhancements "Bloodshot" and "One Way", which are two of the strongest and most commonly-used in the current build.
For "One Way", there were some instances where it was triggering improperly, without its conditions being properly met. This has been fixed.
For "Bloodshot", we noticed players were incorrectly losing their boost stack under certain conditions. This has been fixed, so "Bloodshot" will actually be a bit stronger now.
Our plan for patches isn't just limited to bugfixes, but also includes adjusting overall balancing between weapons, perks, and synaptic enhancements. To share some of our current to-do items and the thinking behind them...
[h3]#1: Firearm Builds are Outperforming Others[/h3]
We've noticed that the current balance between weapon types and synaptic enhancements tends to create a preference for Firearm builds over others, which isn't our intent.
To address this, we’re planning to adjust the balance of Bionics and R&D weapons, and add some new synaptic enhancement for these types.
Since "One Way" gives a DPS boost based on having two weapons of the same type, adding more options for other weapon types should also make that particular enhancement a little more versatile.
[h3]#2: Psionic Weapons[/h3]
Psionic weapons and enhancements don't seem to have quite the same extent of issues as Bionics and R&D. But right now, Firearms are simply more efficient, so there's not much reason to use Psionics.
Therefore, after we adjust issues mentioned in the first point, we'll be focusing on re-tuning Psionic weapons to make them a little more competitive.
We'll also be monitoring synaptic enhancements for all weapon types on an ongoing basis, and adjusting low performers as needed to keep the meta generally balanced.
As we shared in our first Devlog, our current priority is adding a dedicated single-player mode, and development for that is already underway. But we're also looking at a wide range of improvements, of which weapons balance is just one example, which is why we wanted to share this update today.
Making these sorts of changes to a co-op multiplayer game inevitably requires some testing, so it's difficult to share an exact timeline for release. But rest assured, we're working as fast as we can to ensure that players who are enjoying the game already will soon enjoy it even more, and hopefully we can bring a few others into the fold.
As always, our door is open for your thoughts, feedback, and ideas.
Thank you,
Creative Director, Dongsoo Oh
PS — I mentioned in a previous post that part of the reason we chose an SCP-like setting was that it gave us some creative wiggle-room when it comes to what kinds of weapons make sense for this world. Since we're already looking at adding new toys, if you have any fun ideas, you're welcome to share them with us. We've opened a post on the discussion board for this topic, so please feel free to drop by!
DISCORD | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | TWITCH
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2111870/Blackout_Protocol/
Today's Minor Hotfix Patch includes a bugfix on the synaptic enhancements "Bloodshot" and "One Way", which are two of the strongest and most commonly-used in the current build.
For "One Way", there were some instances where it was triggering improperly, without its conditions being properly met. This has been fixed.
For "Bloodshot", we noticed players were incorrectly losing their boost stack under certain conditions. This has been fixed, so "Bloodshot" will actually be a bit stronger now.
Our plan for patches isn't just limited to bugfixes, but also includes adjusting overall balancing between weapons, perks, and synaptic enhancements. To share some of our current to-do items and the thinking behind them...
[h3]#1: Firearm Builds are Outperforming Others[/h3]
We've noticed that the current balance between weapon types and synaptic enhancements tends to create a preference for Firearm builds over others, which isn't our intent.
To address this, we’re planning to adjust the balance of Bionics and R&D weapons, and add some new synaptic enhancement for these types.
Since "One Way" gives a DPS boost based on having two weapons of the same type, adding more options for other weapon types should also make that particular enhancement a little more versatile.
[h3]#2: Psionic Weapons[/h3]
Psionic weapons and enhancements don't seem to have quite the same extent of issues as Bionics and R&D. But right now, Firearms are simply more efficient, so there's not much reason to use Psionics.
Therefore, after we adjust issues mentioned in the first point, we'll be focusing on re-tuning Psionic weapons to make them a little more competitive.
We'll also be monitoring synaptic enhancements for all weapon types on an ongoing basis, and adjusting low performers as needed to keep the meta generally balanced.
As we shared in our first Devlog, our current priority is adding a dedicated single-player mode, and development for that is already underway. But we're also looking at a wide range of improvements, of which weapons balance is just one example, which is why we wanted to share this update today.
Making these sorts of changes to a co-op multiplayer game inevitably requires some testing, so it's difficult to share an exact timeline for release. But rest assured, we're working as fast as we can to ensure that players who are enjoying the game already will soon enjoy it even more, and hopefully we can bring a few others into the fold.
As always, our door is open for your thoughts, feedback, and ideas.
Thank you,
Creative Director, Dongsoo Oh
PS — I mentioned in a previous post that part of the reason we chose an SCP-like setting was that it gave us some creative wiggle-room when it comes to what kinds of weapons make sense for this world. Since we're already looking at adding new toys, if you have any fun ideas, you're welcome to share them with us. We've opened a post on the discussion board for this topic, so please feel free to drop by!
DISCORD | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | TWITCH
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2111870/Blackout_Protocol/