Genre: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Role-playing (RPG), Strategy, Turn-based strategy (TBS), Adventure, Indie
Minion Masters
Arcane Golem & Haste Poll + PTR Signups!
Minion Masters!
We've got quite a lot to talk about this week - We need your input regarding some upcoming Balance Changes, and we're opening up PTR Signups again. Let's not waste any time and get into it:
Arcane Golem & Haste/Slow Public Poll
With the upcoming Balance Changes coming in Version 1.15, we've been giving heavy consideration towards changes to Milloween's Arcane Golem and the Haste mechanic in particular. While we're decently confident in our changes, we wanted to give the opportunity to get more input from you all about them which we can take into account, as they are likely to significantly affect the metagame. Here are the changes we're currently thinking of:
Arcane Golem
Mana Cost 3 -> 2
Health 300 -> 250
Damage 40 -> 30
Health Gain Per Level 40 -> 30
Damage Gain Per Level 6 -> 5
The main reason we're seeking to alter Arcane Golem is to rebalance Milloween's general gameplay. Currently Milloween is very frustrating to play against at Perk 3 due to how high its stats end up at from the Level 5 Boost. We're hoping with this change that the Arcane Golem, while still strong and forming the core of Milloween's kit, feels much less oppressive to fight against in the lategame and overall smoothes out her power curve.
Haste
Bonus 50% -> 33%
(Slow will also have its debuff changed from 25% -> 20% to match this)
Haste has been a fairly problematic buff for quite a while, as some of our veteran players can no doubt testify to. We've traditionally had to hide the explosive potential of the effect behind specific conditions, or remove them from cards that proved far too powerful with it - Examples of this would be Rabid Prowler and Woodsman. By reigning in the power of Haste we want to make it a more fair mechanic to play against, and open up more design space for us to utilise it when designing new cards.
This Haste change will also come with a buff to Ravager's perk 2 as he would be significantly impacted. This change will likely come in form of altering the threshhold required for his units to gain Haste in proportion to the change. Changes to other cards affected are also likely to be considered.
We're swiftly approaching that time again, Masters - The Season Pass #3 reveals are due to start this Friday! Join us for another round of exciting card reveals that will expand upon your Accursed collection as Mordar makes his counteroffensive, on our Update Site!
PTR Signups
We're looking for willing PTR Testers and are opening signups once again, to help us test upcoming content for Minion Masters! Things are a little different, this time - We're offering you the option to reference another user when signing up to the PTR that you'd like to partner with that is also filling in the application for membership. If the two of you are selected, we'll ensure you're in the same group, meaning there'll always be someone you're familiar with to play against, or with for 2v2 testing. Signing up with another player is not a requirement to be accepted for the PTR.
As a PTR tester, you will test new content on the PTR and provide feedback for the Minion Masters design team through questionnaires and discuss feedback with the team directly in the Discord channel. Responses from the PTR testing group is an extremely important part of creating new content for the game.
To join, you must be able to write in English, be open-minded, and have time to test and discuss new cards, masters and other content with us. It is a requirement that you are open to testing new cards/masters through rigorous playtesting. You must also have a Steam account and be able to play the game on PC (you will have the full collection of cards at your disposal).
There is a minimum expectation of activity while you are a member of the PTR. If you do not participate in several PTRs in a row without contacting a developer as to why, you will be removed from the group.
The ninth SBI is happening this weekend! Like previous SBIs, the tournament competition consists of active players that have performed exceptionally well in previous Team Mana Frenzy tournaments or are ranked at the very top of the Minion Masters Leaderboards - Meaning you can be certain there'll be some excellent quality gameplay on display! It's your traditional no-holds-barred double elimination tournament and will be livestreamed on Sinobii's Twitch channel.
100 in 10 Draft Challenge & Interview with Last_Elf
Minion Masters!
100 in 10 Challenge
It's time to put your Draft skills to the test, Masters - Today we're announcing the start of the 100 in 10 Draft Challenge! Inspired by community contests in other events, the challenge is to Stream yourself getting 100 wins over the course of 10 Draft runs - If you win and have your results verified by BetaDwarf, you'll receive the Cosmic Cleaver avatar! Here's a graphic with the full rules below:
You can find the logo mentioned in the rules at the top of this section.
All submissions must include working links to the Livestreams in which the challenge was done. All conditions described must be met in order to be eligible for the prize. Runs will be reviewed manually, so please be patient in waiting for a response and receiving your Avatar. There is currently no formal end date for this Challenge. If you have any further questions, email thatsprite@betadwarf.com.
Good luck, Masters!
Interview with Last_Elf
This week, we have a special interview with Youtube Content Creator Last_Elf!
Can you give us a brief introduction of what you do? I am doing fun Minion Masters gameplay videos. I try to come up with new ideas and strategies, something you are not facing on the ladder and mostly just crazy decks. Not tier 1, but definitely fun. I publish 3 new videos every week with more than 300 videos already on my channel.
How long have you been playing Minion Masters for? I've been playing for 2,5 years now and creating YouTube videos for 1,5 years.
What made you get into creating Minion Masters content? This might sound greedy, but I wanted to earn money. When my son was born, I've realized, that if I want to have time on games, I need to make it a living. After 2 years, I am nowhere near my goal and it's still not worth the time, I put into it. But I really enjoy it, I love the game and the community around the game.
What do you think is the best video you've made so far? My personal favourite is for sure Solo Priestesses. I managed to have 7 Priestesses on board and watching how desperately your opponent tries to kill them is just hilarious. We've recreated it on premade with 11 Priestesses on board in the video called Holy Army and in a friendly coordinated battle called Healing Hell. I think this title doesn't need an explanation :D
[previewyoutube="liQ_rI2jIP8;full"]
Where can people follow you? I have my own Discord server, Facebook page and Twitter. For my most loyal fans I even have a Patreon page, where they can support me. You can visit my website www.lastelf.net, where you can find all the links ;)
You can find Last_Elf's Youtube channel right here - He makes tons of entertaining gameplay videos featuring all kinds of oddball strategies, so he's definitely worth checking out!
Cheers from BetaDwarf!
Version 1.14
Minion Masters!
Charging Into Darkness - Season Pass #2
A new Season Pass has arrived to Minion Masters!
Tons of new rewards, including 3 cards, a Legendary Skin, bonus cards, and more!
Three new cards have been added to the game. They are as follows:
Galaxy Diona has also been added to the game!
The Season Pass will last one month and end on Thursday the 30th of July.
Balance
Ardent Aegis
Heal 200 -> 250
Bounty Sniper
New Effect: If you’re behind on XP, gain Shield
Developer Comments
Bounty Sniper was a card that was difficult to justify in most decks. While the effect is strong the mana premium made it very punishing when removed, and the risk of losing board control for the sake of maximising the XP was too high. By giving it a unique Shield condition, we want to help it have an identity of a comeback card while hopefully not impacting the “win more” element of such mechanics.
Call to Arms
Mana Cost 4 -> 5
Disruptor Puff
Teleport Cooldown 5 -> 6
Hypnotize
REWORK: Hypnotise now applies a debuff that causes enemy minions to prioritize attacking their allies. They cannot target the Master Tower, and will still target enemies if there are no valid allies to attack.
Duration 5 -> 6
Developer Comments
Hypnotize has been a fairly problematic card design wise for a while now, particularly in 2v2 game modes, and we've gone through multiple iterations of different designs to create an effect that is more fair to the opponent while retaining the core identity of the spell inflicting chaos in the middle of a fight. In particular, we took issue with it being implemented in cheese strategies such as those with Rock Rivals that offered very little interactivity from the opponent.
Lord Fanriel the Stormcharger
Damage 100 -> 120
Magma Storm
Damage per Rock 200 -> 170
Mordar
Tombstones can now only resurrect minions belonging to Mordar
Tombstone Activation Time 10 -> 8 seconds
Morellia
Number of Skeletons from Book of the Dead 4/8 -> 3/6
Netherstep
Cast Delay 0.5 -> 0 seconds
Poison (Mechanic)
Ticks per Second 1 -> 2
Damage per Tick 20 -> 10
Developer Comments
This solves an issue we had with Poison where we could only make units deal Poison damage in units of 20. By increasing the ticks it allows us to hit much more specific ranges, and also has the side effect of having better visual feedback and being more effective against Shield.
Poison Strike
Duration 6 -> 6.5 seconds
Total Poison Damage 120 -> 130
Resonating Blast Crystal
Damage 120 -> 130
Scratillery
Damage per Rocket 40 -> 50
Shielded Crossbow Dudes
New Effect: If you control no bridges, summon an extra Crossbow Dude.
Skeleton Horde
Skeleton Count 8 -> 9
Styxi
Health 90 -> 140
Swarmer Totem
Production Speed 6 -> 7 Seconds
Troubadour
New: Highland Revelry: Give nearby enemy minions Slow
Misc
Blue Golem has received a big visual rework. Red Golem will stay with its old model for now, but we intend to give it a new look as well in the future.
New Card art has been added for Scrat Pack, Bridge Buddies, Tranquil Shi-Hou and Blue Golem.
Improved the error message that appears when starting a game that isn’t on the same version as the server.
Everyone who completed the Charging Into Darkness Adventure will receive 3 copies of a Supreme card as an apology for the error with the rewards in the near future.
Bugs
Fixed Illusory Cleaver not activating Voidborne Wound.
Fixed being able to use skins you don’t own.
Fixed Arcane Ring hitting Masters and Buildings.
Fixed Jade Flingers having a small freeze at the end of their attack animations.
Fixed Battlepass references not working on “Available in the current Battlepass” buttons.
Fixed Season Pass Premium still referring to itself as Battle Pass.
Fixed More Dakka not hitting Werewolves.
Fixed a minor visual bug with Galaxy Morellia.
Fixed an animation bug where Warrior would attempt to swing her sword even though she was out of range.
Fixed some inconsistencies with Call to Arms transforming Dormant Defenders.
Fixed a visual bug with Ratbo’s Minigun still spinning at max speed after using More Dakka.
Fixed Jungle Jumble using the wrong card buff tooltip.
Fixed the Charging Into Darkness Adventure granting the wrong rewards. Anyone who completed the Adventure will receive 3 copies of a Supreme card in the near future.
Fixed the Italian Translation for Squire Puff and Arcane Bolt not being displayed.
Fixed the “Puff Sorry” emote having lost its localization.
Fixed Master Skins not having the Master Tips - Thanks LordJulius!
Cheers from BetaDwarf!
Balance Changes, New Art, $1000 Minion Masters Tournament
Minion Masters!
Season Pass #2 Inbound!
If you've been keeping up with out Charging Into Darkness reveals, then that means you're aware that the second Season Pass of this Expansion is right around the corner!
Next week on the 25th of June, Version 1.14 will be releasing with a whole host of brand new content, including new cards Sugilite Shield, Lady Infray the Spire Warden, and Skeleton Crew!
Today we've got a preview of some of the balance changes coming with Version 1.14! As always, these aren't all of them, but should highlight some of the larger changes we're planning to make:
Hypnotize Rework
NEW EFFECT: Enemy minions within the AoE will start attacking, and prioritise, friendly units for the duration. Cannot attack the Master Tower.
Duration 5 -> 6
Call Slitherbound Count 1 -> 2
Dev Comments: Hypnotize has been a fairly problematic card design wise for a while now, particularly in 2v2 game modes, and we've gone through multiple iterations of different designs to create an effect that is more fair to the opponent while retaining the core identity of the spell inflicting chaos in the middle of a fight. In particular, we took issue with it being implemented in cheese strategies such as those with Rock Rivals that offered very little interactivity from the opponent.
Call to Arms
Mana Cost 4 -> 5
Swarmer Totem
Production Speed 6 seconds -> 7 seconds
Troubadour
NEW: Highland Revelry: Give Slow to nearby enemy Minions
Shielded Crossbow Dudes
NEW: If you don't control any bridges, summon an extra Crossbow Dude.
New Card Art
Some of you have noticed, and admired, a lot of visual reworks that have been coming to Minion Masters recently, be it card art updates, or entirely new models (as seen with Dragon Nest). We're just as excited to see what the Art team comes up with as you are, so we're going to be making more of an effort to feature their creations in the blog going forward.
Most of the time when art or models get updated, it's to fit with an updated or revised visual identity we have for their faction. Alternatively, it could be that the models are too old to properly work with going forward or don't meet the level of quality we'd like for the game - Some of the models in the game are still dating back to our very first game, after all!
This Update will be bringing some relatively simple changes - Brand new Card Art for the Scrat Pack and Bridge Buddies cards. Bridge Buddies' art was starting to look fairly unfitting when lined up with the other Scrat cards in its visual style, particularly due to the extensive referencing of the 3d model when creating it. So we've given it an entirely new card art! For Scrat Pack, we're still fond of the original identity of the card art, but wanted to give it a fresh coat of paint to reflect the updated Scrat designs. Check them out below:
We also have a brand new model for Blue Golem coming in this update, too - Stay tuned to our Twitter and Facebook pages for an exclusive reveal on Monday!
$1000 ShadowGaming Tournament
This weekend, Shadow Gaming TV are hosting their Minion Masters Summer International Tournament, where the winner receives a massive prize of $1000!
The 1v1 event will be taking place this Sunday the 21st at 11 AM PST on their Twitch Channel, with signups closing shortly before the event starts. It's promising to be an exciting event with a ton of players already signed up!
Starting this Friday, we'll begin showcasing our Season Pass spoilers for new cards and content that'll be coming in Version 1.14! Make sure to stop on by our Update Site to check it out and take a look at the awesome new content coming soon!
Emote Contest
It's been a while, but we're back with another Minion Masters Emote Contest! The Emote Contest is a community competition that allows your custom Minion Masters emotes to be immortalized on the Minion Masters Discord Server! Here's how to enter:
Make a cool Minion Masters emote! They don't have to be just puffs, but the general guideline for an emote is a 1:1 ratio emoticon, like the ones you'd see in-game. Make sure that it looks nice as a downscaled emote, too, as that may affect your chances.
Head over to the official Minion Masters discord at http://discord.gg/minionmasters and post your entry in the #emote-contest-3 channel.
Once the Contest ends on the 18th of June, 5 candidates and their emotes will be presented to the community for voting. The three emotes that receive the most votes will be declared the winners!
The winners will have their emotes added to the Minion Masters Discord for everyone to use, as well as a special credit in the FAQ!
Emotes must be Minion Masters related and not use copyrighted material that isn't from BetaDwarf.
Entries must be your own original works. Any medium can be used to create them.
Entries must be new. Emotes from the previous contests are not eligible.
Entries must not violate the server rules.
Entries will close on the 18th of June at 0800 UTC. Good luck, Masters!
Twitch Drops Boost Incoming
There's a big boost to Twitch Drops coming to compensate for the issues we had during 1.12. From June 11th to June 18th, you can get triple value from your Twitch Drops, making them worth 300 Gold each! Make sure to stop on by your favourite Twitch Stream while the event is ongoing and get your rewards!
Or, if you want to start streaming during this event and share the love, make sure to connect your Minion Masters account to Twitch to earn rewards while streaming - Learn more here!
Cheers from BetaDwarf!
100% off DLC and new expansion - Charging Into Darkness!
100% OFF - WEEKEND DEAL
Get the new $15 Charging Into Darkness DLC 100% off this weekend!
With Ardera's true agenda revealed, High-Mage Leiliel races to the Whispering Woods to find an old friend. Without his help they stand no chance against the evil that is coming in Jadespark Jungle - But the Elven armies are locked in battle with the accursed legions of Mordar the Mad. Can Leiliel secure Fanriel the Stormchargers aid?
Featuring new cards, a new Adventure, a reworked Battle Pass System, and more!
Our latest expansion, Charging into Darkness, starts now! With Ardera's true agenda revealed, High-Mage Leiliel races to the Whispering Woods to find an old friend. Without his help they stand no chance against the evil that is coming in Jadespark Jungle - But the Elven armies are locked in battle with the accursed legions of Mordar the Mad. Can Leiliel secure Fanriel the Stormchargers aid?
Revised Battle Pass System
With this Expansion, we’re doing big changes to how we release new content, and how the Battle Pass system functions. We have a big write-up of the changes and our reasoning on our blog here. Here’s what’s being changed:
Battle Passes are now known as Season Passes
Season Passes last 1 month
Season Passes are 50 Tiers
3 new cards are added to the game with each Season Pass
Also includes 1 Legendary Skin, 3 Avatars, and 1 Emote
Still includes heaps of XP, Shards, Rubies and Gold
Includes lots of copies of other cards and 35 Power Tokens
Season Tokens have been removed - You now unlock new cards directly through specific Season Pass Tiers. There’s no longer any randomness in accessing new content.
All new cards can be earned in the free pass. They will also appear earlier in the premium pass.
Cards introduced in the season cannot be crafted until the next season starts.
If you complete the Season Pass, you will receive glory for the new Cards, both for the Free and Premium paths.
XP Requirements for Season Pass tiers now scale - It’s easier to get started with a new Season Pass. It now starts at 25k Glory for the first tier, compared to 42k as before.
Overall XP requirement to complete a Season Pass is the same as finishing 50 tiers of the old Battle Pass system.
Season Pass price will be 1500 Rubies
Expansions will last 3 Season Passes - Each Pass brings new content related to the Expansion.
New Cards
New Adventure
Aid High-Mage Leiliel as she races through the raging battlefield in the Whispering Woods to find her old friend, Lord Fanriel. She needs his help to overcome the evil emerging from Jadespark Jungle - Can she secure his aid?
Brand New Story - Venture through the woods and fight off maddened denizens and cursed Undead.
Play as the new High-Mage Leiliel Master, exclusive to Adventures - Or play as returning favourites Jolo and Fergus as bonus content!
This 1 Chapter Adventure is free!
Completing the Chapter will get you some cool rewards, and will take you to a story introducing an upcoming Master!
Balance
Accursed Ascension
Reworked: To obtain Accursed Ascension, spend 60 Mana on Accursed cards.
Spectral Essence removed from the game
Arcane Bolt
NEW: If the unit drops below 500 HP during the stun duration, destroy it.
Stun Duration 9 > 5
Mana Cost 3 > 4
Mana Freeze 2 > 1
Developer Comments
Arcane Bolt has been difficult to find a good spot for due to the hard threshold in the card’s mechanic. By changing the requirement to allow for greater leniency we aim to make the card much more practical to use in regular gameplay.
Arcane Ring
Radius 5 > 4
Developer Comments
It was unfortunately common for units to be missed by the Arcane Ring’s projectiles due to the circle radius, where they could simply walk through it and ultimately mean the majority of the spell’s damage was wasted.
ATG Drone x8
Projectiles 6 > 7
Blastmancer/Spiritmancer
Effect Radius 10 > 14
Blood Imps
Attack Cooldown 1.1 > 0.9
Bridge Shrine
Total XP 15 > 18
Crystal Construct
Now gives Mana on Death, instead of on Play
Developer Comments
This change also applies to the new card Dormant Defenders.
Cursebearer
Mana Cost 3 > 4
Curse Aura Duration 4 > 8
Developer Comments
Cursebearer’s effect ultimately made it too efficient for its mana slot.
Demon Warrior
Attack Cooldown 2.2 > 2.0
Dragon Whelp
Attack Cooldown 1.0 > 1.1
Also affects Flightless Dragons and Shadow Whelp
Ghost Turret
Health 350 > 250
Now grants an allied minion Spirit on death
Grasping Thorns
Total Damage 160 > 170
Enemy Speed 3 > 2
Jungle Jumble
No longer grants a mana Discount
Cards obtained now have Growthburst Shroom
Leiliel’s Vortex
Pull Strength 7 > 10
Ratbo
Attack Damage 6 > 5
Snake Druid
Attack Cooldown 1.0 > 2.0
Damage 25 > 50
Attack Delay 0.4 > 1.4
Developer Comments
Snake Druid’s ability to deal with swarm fairly efficiently was an area we felt he needed a weakness in order to enable more counterplay.
Squire Puff
Now a Minion
New Effect: While on the bridge, give 3 random friendly ground Minions Shield every 10 seconds.
Empyrean Army: Give 5 shields instead.
Mana Cost 2 > 1
Ting, Teng & Tung
Bug Fix: Rage and Growthburst Shroom now grant damage bonuses properly
Health 360 > 300
Wall
Duration 20 > 30
Zeppelin Bomber
Mana Cost 2 > 3
Misc
Dragon Nest and Priestess have received visual overhauls, including new Card Art and Models.
Combustion and Black Hole have received updated card art.
Bugs
Fixed Blue Golems summoned by the Red Golem card doing 300 damage instead of 200 - Thanks KcToby101!
Fixed minions in Chapter 2 of the Saving Jadespark Jungle adventure being permanently invisible.
Fixed inconsistencies regarding Mana Surge and Stealth.
Fixed Puffs being able to wander off the bridge and get hit by effects such as Mordar’s attack.
Fixed a slight error with the Buffed HP indication - Thanks SoSiskodemon!
Fixed Black Hole occasionally causing games to hang, making them unplayable.
Fixed Haunting Hugger becoming Untargetable.
Fixed Hypnotize still being able to permanently steal minions.
Fixed Sun Burn’s size indication being too small.
Fixed units granted Stealth by Mal’Shar not visually regaining Stealth.
Fixed Twitch Drops not working.
Potential fix for Twitch VIPs and Moderators not receiving Twitch Drops.
Cheers from BetaDwarf!
Accursed Ascension Rework & Wild Cards Response
Minion Masters!
A quick note before we begin; there was a minor error on the Charging Into Darkness Update Site where it listed the available masters for the new Adventure as 6. This was incorrect, and has been altered to the correct amount of 3. We apologize for the miscommunication.
Accursed Ascension Rework
This week, we've got news of a rework to the Accursed Ascension mechanic coming in Version 1.13. A frequent issue we found with the mechanic was that, particularly as a new player, the condition you needed to fulfill wasn't always intuitive, and at times could feel somewhat clumsy.
The requirement of obtaining Spectral Essence was especially confusing in this perspective - It wasn't clear what Spectral Essence actually was at first glance and where it could be found, and could also cause confusion when a player obtained it without knowing what the mechanic was. This was doubly so for cards that had Spectral Essence but not Accursed Ascension - You'd receive a ghost particle from your Skeleton card that would go to your Master tower, but you had no idea what that actually meant, or if it even did anything.
As such, we're changing Accursed Ascension to be the following;
Spend 60 Mana on Accursed faction cards to gain Accursed Ascension.
Our hope with this change is to make the mechanic easier to understand at a glance, and also encourage greater freedom when creating Accursed Ascension decks. Previously when building a deck centered on Accursed Ascension, you would simply look for the most efficient Spectral Essence cards to include, which had the potential issue of some Accursed cards being completely disregarded in those decks. While it'll clearly be the most ideal option to load your Ascension deck with a ton of Accursed cards, we're fairly confident that this isn't much of a difference compared to how you would build such a deck before.
Wild Cards Feedback
Over the last few weeks during our Wild Cards test, we've been collecting a ton of feedback from community, leaderboards and in-game sources to gauge the effectiveness of the rework. Overall we've received positive reception to the changes compared to before the tests began, but we've also identified that there are various areas that require improvement going forward, and certain elements that were not impacted enough by the change.
For now, we're going to keep the Rework in the game while we investigate what directions we want to pursue for the future. In the meantime, we're going to continue to try and address the currently problematic Wild Cards in future balance patches. We want to thank everyone that helped us out by participating in the tests and answering our in-game surveys.
Dwarf Stream Incoming!
We've got a developer stream coming up for the release of Charging Into Darkness! We'll be doing a full showcase of the card Resonating Blast Crystal, as well as a full preview of all of the new contents arriving with the update. Join Community Manager That Sprite on the official BetaDwarf Developer Stream on the 25th of May, at 1900 UTC+2! Cheers from BetaDwarf!
Stormcharging & PTR Signups
Minion Masters!
Charging into Darkness - Lord Fanriel the Stormcharger
Last week, we launched our new Expansion Site for Charging into Darkness. The story of this new expansion follows High-Mage Leiliel searching for her old friend, Lord Fanriel. Fanriel himself is a bulky but slow-attacking leader who charges into the fray via his Stormcharge ability, and we're opting to showcase his signature ability:
Please note that the animations are not finalised yet, so things may look slightly different when the card is actually released. Tomorrow is the reveal of Dormant Defenders, so look forward to that!
We're looking for PTR signups!
We're opening our doors for PTR testers again to help us test upcoming content and balance changes!
As a PTR tester, you will test new content on the PTR and provide feedback for the Minion Masters design team through questionnaires and discuss feedback with the team directly in the Discord channel. Responses from the PTR testing group is an extremely important part of creating new content for the game.
To join, you must be able to write in English, be open-minded, and have time to test and discuss new cards, masters and other content with us. It is a requirement that you are open to testing new cards/masters through rigorous playtesting. You must also have a Steam account and be able to play the game on PC (you will have the full collection of cards at your disposal).
To sign up, answer this questionnaire here and we'll contact you via your Discord account if you're accepted:
Make sure your voice is heard on the Wild Cards Rework!
We just finished up the Week #1 Survey on the Wild Cards Rework Test. Did you respond to it while it was in the news? Next Monday we'll start the second survey and we want to make sure everyone from the community has their say as the meta develops. If you still want to submit a response to the week 1 survey, you can find it right here.
Cheers from BetaDwarf!
Version 1.12
Minion Masters!
Wild Cards Rework
For the duration of Version 1.12, we’re testing a Wild Cards rework that attempts to put the power level of the mechanic in line with decks that do not use the feature. We have a full, in-detail write up of what we felt needed improving, and the reasoning behind the solution we chose, here.
Here’s the change we’re going with:
Wild Cards are now added as the 11th and 12th cards in your deck.
You must have 10 unique cards in your deck to start a match.
We’ll regularly be doing surveys throughout this patch, featured in the in-game news. Make sure your opinion is heard and express your honest opinions as the meta around this rework develops!
Balance
Note: Attack Speed is now being referred to as “Attack Cooldown”. Attack Speed usually has a connotation that would indicate - the higher a unit’s Attack Speed is, the faster an attack is. However, in our game it is the opposite. As such, we have decided to rename it to Attack Cooldown to better reflect what is actually going on.
Ardent Aegis
Duration 5 > 4
Developer Comments
Ardent Aegis was proving a little too difficult to use due to the lengthy timer.
Caber Tosser
Caber Attack Range 4 > 6
Caber Width 3 > 4
Developer Comments
Caber Tosser often ended up missing large parts of a horde of minions you attempted to counter with him due to the narrow size of his Caber, making him feel frustrating to play in those circumstances.
Disruptor Puff
First Teleport Cooldown 2 > 5 seconds
Teleport Cooldown 6 > 5 seconds
Developer Comments
”Teleport Cooldown” refers to how long it takes for the Disruptor Puff’s teleport to occur. We felt the shorter initial teleport wait was too strong for its job, being able to quickly take both bridges before your opponent could respond, but subsequent teleport times left it a little too vulnerable to pose much of a threat.
Dragon Ball
Activation Mana Cost 6+ > 5+
Developer Comments
Dragon Ball has been seeing very little use due to the high requirement of mana expenditure in order to get value from the card. We feel this buff will make it much easier to fit into decks, but not as powerful as it was during its dominant era.
High-Inquisitor Ardera
Damage 25 > 27
Jade Flingers
Damage 16 > 20
Attack Cooldown 1.8 > 2
Jahun, Keeper of Jadespark
Sunder Mana Cost 1 > 0
Now has Mythic
Developer Comments
Jahun was underperforming at higher levels, yet we felt the unit itself was for the most part at a decent power level. As such we’ve opted to improve his utility via Sunder, as well as letting him live with a small portion of health when targeted with a card such as Lightning Bolt.
Living Statue
No longer has Call Slitherbound
Developer Comments
Living Statue was proving to be a strong card in Call Slitherbound decks, able to help generate an exceptional amount of value with the extra Slitherbound that we felt was ultimately unnecessary.
Morgrul the Swarmer King
Mana Cost 4 >5
Swarmer Count 2 > 3
Developer Comments
The Swarmer Count will affect both his on-play and on-death roars. Morgrul has been a very powerful Legendary card ever since his changes in Update 60. While we recently touched the card to align his stats better with Elite Swarmer, he still performs exceptionally well in all ranks, across all modes, providing a ton of value for the 4 Mana Cost slot that often enables a free trade with lower cost cards while putting a decent threat on the board.
We felt that efficiency was too much for the 4 Mana Slot, and at the same time we saw an opportunity to reinforce the characteristic of being the Swarmer King. He should still be sufficiently useful at the 5 Mana slot, and the extra swarmers should help to keep him as a relevant threat with the strong DPS if left unanswered.
Snake Druid
Speed 2 > 3
Developer Comments
Snake Druid often seemed to have stayed on your side of the field far too long for your opponent to effectively deal with him due to his low speed. By giving him a speed increase in this way, we want to maintain his current strengths but allow your opponent to simply wait him out, or push other lanes, more effectively.
Soul Stealer
Speed 5 > 6
Developer Comments
Soul Stealer was able to hide behind defensive walls such as Living Statue a little too effectively, often making him difficult to answer with direct Minion combat.
Stormy
Attack Delay 1.5 > 2.0
Attack Cooldown 3.5 > 4.0
Developer Comments
Stormy was proving to still be too large of a threat in the context of 2v2 gameplay, being able to get out attacks a bit too quickly we felt. By increasing his overall Attack Cooldown, we hope that it’ll become easier to put damage onto it before it can attack again.
Sun Burn
Radius 3 > 4
Ting Teng & Tung
Damage 99 > 90
[FIX]Projectiles cannot bounce off of dead minions
Developer Comments
Projectiles bouncing off of minions that were already dead was somewhat of an unintended behaviour, so half of this change can be classified as a bug fix, but we're listing it here as it's a significant change to the balance of the card.
Troubadour
Health 1700 > 1800
Zealots of the Burning Fist
Mana Cost 7 > 6
Developer Comments
Despite being able to output some serious damage in the right circumstances, the mana cost for Zealots of the Burning Fist was too high to justify playing it in most scenarios. Hopefully a simple mana reduction can help out the card a lot.
Zeppelin Bomber
Attack Delay 2.0 > 3.0
Attack Cooldown 3.5 > 4.0
Misc
Expeditions have been retired for the time being. A new Weekly Quest to earn tokens by playing Premade 2v2 has been added to compensate.
Attack Speed has been renamed to Attack Cooldown.
Stormbringer has received new animations.
Guardian, Dragon Ball and Shen’s Storm Staff have been removed from the Random Card pool.
Minor improvements to the new way buffs are applied to the Healthbar.
Defensive Spells are now categorised as such in the card view.
