Weekly Post #28: Next Update, IP Boost, DLC, Ranked Info

To celebrate the launch of Rebellion, we've been running a Double-IP event! This 100% base IP boost for games played will last until Monday, November 27 at 11:59pm IWT. The increase in IP is given for all modes except Draft. (For more about Draft and Boost events, see bottom of this post)




We have released a new DLC package, the highlight items being designer decks crafted by community player ES. These decks are designed to make the most of Rebellion cards, and be competition-viable. Please note that these decks won't get a player easy wins just for having them - new players will still need to learn how to properly play the cards to be competitive. This DLC also includes 4,375 Lp, and an exclusive alt-art Spirit of Vengeance, only available via this DLC package. I've posted a separate thread for this announcement as well, which also includes the card list for each deck.




The next ranked reset will be on the last day of November, the 30th, at 11:59pm IWT. We can confirm staff will be available at this timing in case our reset fails, so they can manually make that happen. I'll be on-hand to message players in the top 25 asking for their Infinity-Border picks as well.

The next Ranked duration will be from December 1st thru 31st, and Rebellion Wave 4 will become Ranked-legal on the 1st of December. There is one more potential balance meeting about Rebellion cards, and any possible changes that come from that are expected to be in effect by the time the December ranked ladder begins on the 1st of December.

I have called for a meeting with the team to discuss alternate reset lengths beyond the month of December, but first we will be gathering up existing player feedback and centralizing an official thread for community discussion.




This update brings new content for players, while also removing the "Beta" tag we placed on IW earlier this year. At the time of this writing, we have no plans to re-enter any sort of Beta in the forseeable future.

Two new faction campaigns will arrive, featuring the Descendants of the Dragon as well as the Sleepers of Avarrach. Like the other campaigns we have so far, DoD will be mostly IW2013-era story content, but the SoA segment of course is a bit further in the timeline, circa ~Rise roughly.

Ian and I have reviewed the script and the missions developed - Apart from a few dialogue issues, we feel this really brings out some needed lore information about the DoD in particular, while shining light on the SoA perspective of the nanobot virus outbreak. For those of you who were here when the missions accidentally got leaked early, we have addressed the difficulty of the missions so they are not so critically challenging.

In addition to the campaign, we are also bringing some much-needed fresh air to the feel of the game in regards to its menu color and texturing. While a layout change of the screens is more involving, we felt it important to bring a UI skin update that will be free for all users. The store page, deckbuilder, etc will all be getting a bit of a face-lift with a Rebellion-themed skin. Screenshots? Sure, here's a preview:

Note: Click image to open larger size on our Imgur account:







Right after the release of so many new cards, players often have a legitimate concern about card games like these. Are we as developers settling into a mindset of "card sets and DLC" as the primary focus going forward? I can safely tell you that the answer is no. I can say that we are not diving straight into another set of 100 cards. DLC will be present, but not our primary focus - it's there for people who want a way to support the game while getting something back.

From here we will continue to increase our bug-fixing efficiency, as well as core in-game features. Marketing has also been asked about, and I can say that we are making greater efforts in this field. For transparency, some of this will be done via Youtube/Twitch personalities, but also with better press releases to news websites such as MMOBomb.

We have heard the requests for things like spectator mode and a revamped layout in deckbuilder. These sorts of possibilities will be discussed in upcoming meetings, but first we will be gathering community feedback this week and next week, while looking at old requests that already exist elsewhere in community forum posts/etc. For the moment, we are working on the updates that are coming December 13th.


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Note on IP Boost events: For those of you concerned about Draft not getting some form of bonus when other modes get an IP boost, I've pitched the suggestion to the team. Whether it's reducing the draft deck base cost, increasing the cost-savings-per-win, or reducing the entry fee of 2000 IP. Something to that effect does need to be in place for Draft-focused players (including myself).