Welcome to Year 7
Greetings Champions, welcome to Year 7 of Paladins! This is a change from our usual Season terminology, but there’s a good reason. We have a LOT coming this update, from the return of Trials to some significant Item Shop changes and the beginnings of a new meta. It's with that all in mind that we are planning to wait to start Season 7 of Ranked until 7.2 in February. This is not a choice we made lightly, but it made sense both to allow us to watch the changes before Season 7, as well as allow Season 6 a full year run. That means the last month of Split 4 of Season 6 will have quite a different experience, but we feel we should let people experiment and test Items without worrying about their brand-new Season rank. So: Year 7 starts with this update, and Season 7 will start with next update, 7.2. With that explanation out of the way, let's hop right into Year 7's first update: Wild Hoard!
Trials of the Realm
Trials has returned after a year on hiatus, now reworked and improved! We appreciate players' patience as the team dug in and pushed to truly define what a modern version of Trials could look like. Let’s get right into the changes:
UI
We’ve revisited the Trials UI to simplify and improve how it interacts with other systems in our game. It will look familiar to many players, but with a lot of new bells and whistles and a few changes.
- Quests are now listed within Trials. This allows our two challenge systems to have one consistent space & visual language. Also, this helps you track both Quests and Trials at once.
- We’ve redone the EOML and Hubs view to more clearly convey all the challenges and rewards available to you, including your progress through each and every match.
Hubs & Progression
- Trials has a total of 8 Hubs, 1 Completionist and 7 Challenge.
- The Completionist Hub is unlocked by completing all the various Challenge Hubs.
- This Hub rewards unique rewards for those willing to tackle every Trial each refresh.
- Challenge Hubs are sets of challenges players can complete for rewards that unlock weekly.
- For the first 2 weeks of a Trials update, two Hubs unlock each week.
- Challenge Hubs contain 9 challenges for players to complete.
- Tickets have been removed & Trials hubs now unlock for all players when the Hub opens!
- You can progress any and all open Trials while you play, no picking and choosing.
Rewards
- Completionist Hub
- 3 rewards based on what percentage of Trials you have completed in the active set.
- Challenge Hubs
- 3 rewards in each Hub, split in groups of 3 challenges.
- These challenges are much more freeform than the older set, allowing mostly any Champion or Class to complete them!
- Challenger’s Spoils Chest
- All new cosmetics for the current set of Trials will now be in an exclusive chest.
- This chest will be available throughout the Hubs, with the number matching the new items available.
- Every Trials set, you can earn every new item through unlocking these chests.
Development Insight: The original Trials ran off of a system of unique activity goals and loot tables that relied heavily on weekly work in a scheduler. It essentially turns things on and off and sets prices, which is how we controlled the rewards and timers of old Trials. Each schedule had to be entered manually, and anytime something is entered manually there's a chance for human error. The number of schedules Trials required was so intense, it was septuple the amount we did for the rest of a given update combined. This is partially why we’ve shifted to a chest format for Trials rewards, to allow for a more flexible system for us but also you all. Now, you can decide which challenges to do and still have a chance at the cosmetic you want without being forced into a specific challenge set.
- Crystals
- Trials will now contain 175 Crystals throughout the Hubs! Combined with changes being made to Event Passes & Daily Login, this’ll be the most earnable Crystals we’ve had in a long time!
Event Pass Changes
We’re making some changes to the Event Pass to address player concerns, while also aligning it with Trials to have a consistent stream of earnable content. Here are the highlights:
- Event Passes now have 36 levels & rewards per pass, up from 24/30
- The price of the Event Pass is staying 400 Crystals.
- Progression through the Event Pass is now on a new XP curve.
- Early EP levels will be slightly easier to progress than later levels.
- The goal of this change is to keep a similar amount of grind with levels that feel more equivalent to their rewards.
- Eventful Chests
- Instead of having cosmetics in a specific order, we're introducing Eventful Chests of each cosmetic type. These chests will contain the new cosmetics added to an Event Pass, but now which you unlock when is up to the rolls.
- Eventful Skins will contain 4 new skins, 2 versions with 2 color schemes as you’ve come accustomed to!
- Eventful Avatars will contain all the new EP Avatars
- Eventful Sprays will contain all the new EP Sprays
- Eventful Screens will contain all the new EP Loading Screens & Loading Frames
- This change makes the way you earn new content in Paladins consistent (Chests), helps us manage to add contents in the future, as well as allow more flexibility in how our Event Pass rewards players.
- Updated Reward Offerings
- We’ve added more of each type of offering beyond new cosmetics to the Event Pass, including Crystals and other important currencies.
- Crystals from 50 ➡️ 100
- Gold from 100,000 ➡️ 160,000
- Boosters from 3 ➡️ 5 per unlock
- Additional chests to new levels
Daily Login
While Trials was gone, we temporarily increased the amount of Crystals provided by Daily Login. With Trials returning & our changes to the Event Pass, we want to make Daily Login less essential for players looking to optimize their earnings. As such, we’ve reduced the Crystals rewarded back down to the values from September 2022. (50% reduction)
Item Shop
The in-game Item Shop has a polarizing history throughout Paladins, from Burn Card roots to Beyond experiments. As we moved through each of those moments, we received feedback that helped steer us in the next evolution of Item meta and philosophy. We spent most of 2023 away from the Item Shop, listening to player feedback and experimenting with how to both bring back beloved aspects of older Item Shops while making this next era fresh and enjoyable for all players. That journey led us to where we are now, as we’re making the largest Item Shop change since A Tigron’s Tale, by adding 4 additional Item options to the Shop. Players will still be able to purchase up to 4 Items, so this change introduces more decisions and build options while keeping the familiar format players are accustomed to. We also took this opportunity to revisit earlier Item philosophy and engage with new concepts that feel right at home in Paladins. We’ve also made adjustments to existing Items that we will detail in the Balance section, but want to highlight the biggest changes here:
- Item Shop selections increased from 16 ➡️ 20
- 1 per each of the Item types
Defense
- Haven is split into two damage reduction Items
- Armor Plating: Reduce the Damage you take from In-hand weapons by 8|8%
- Arcane Warding: Reduce the Damage you take from Abilities by 12|12%
- Veteran players will remember the Haven/Blast Shields era well, and we wanted to reintroduce that level of counterplay while changing it to be a more consistent expectation. Any primary weapon (e.g Tyra Auto Rifle) will be reduced by Armor Plating while any ability damage (e.g. Tyra Nade Launcher, Fire Bomb) is reduced by Arcane Warding.
- Resilience is split into two crowd control reduction Items
- Sentinel: Gain a {150} health Shield for 5s on Elimination. Reduce the effectiveness of Slows, Knockups, and Knockbacks by 25|25%.
- Unbound: Reduce the duration of Crowd Control effects by 25|25%. Does not include Slows, Knockups, and Knockbacks.
- Resilience has been one of the strongest buys in Paladins for a long while now, as CC is both a frustrating effect to be under and the roster has expanded to include more varieties of it. We want to still allow players to counter these moments, but also saw an opportunity to allow for more nuance and counterplay based on team compositions.
Utility
- New Item: Hoard
- Gain 10 Credits every {15|-5}s. Gain {5} Credits on getting an Elimination.
- The Utility category is filled with staples of “thing happen faster”, so we felt the only fitting Item was one that makes Items go faster! On paper this may seem simple, but this was by far the hardest Item to test as it has a lot of complexity to it. It takes up an Item slot so it falls off harshly in the late game when others hit their 4th Item, but if bought the right moment, it can help swing the economy in your favor. It also can be a solid catchup mechanic if bought early in a losing battle. We’re excited to see players experiment and find the best scenarios for this Item!
Healing
- New Item: Meditation
- Heal for an additional 2.5|2.5% of your max health every 0.25s when out of combat.
- This Item is a call back to an older version of Veteran but puts a new spin on it that makes it a bit more compelling than its predecessor. You gain health a lot quicker than you did prior, with smaller ticks that add up to a greater amount so every millisecond can count as you briefly exit combat to prepare for the next threat. We’re excited to see how this Item plays out, as it's also the cheapest option in the Healing category.
Offense
- New Item: Trigger Scent
- Increase your damage dealt by 5|5% for 5s after getting an Elimination.
- This item revisits the concept of an increased damage Item by allowing Killstreaks to be charged with an effect designed to punish teams that aren't careful about positioning & gives the owner a set amount of time to capitalize on the effect. Damage amps are always a bit controversial, but we feel this one fits the niche of the Offense category and adds more interesting options to Champions with brutal breakpoints in DPS.
Map Restoration: Primal Court
One of our most chaotic maps has recently laid back on their pruning, as Primal Court sees all of its trees regrow onto the map! Enjoy an enhanced ambiance as the skybox is filled to remind you of the jungles surrounding this secluded battleground.
Loadout Decks
Some may have noticed us making changes to the Loadout screens over the past few updates, and now you get to know one of the reasons why! Paladins is all about its customization and for a long while we had heard players wanted to be able to bring more builds into games, so while this isn't a long patch note, it's impactful.
- Increased the number of Card Loadouts per Champion from 6 ➡️ 9
Wild Hoard Event Pass
The Dragrin rise from the unknown and enter the Realm! Explore the new Trials as Grovos Grover, a young yet passionate adventurer looking to learn as much as he can, or plunder bounties as Flameborne Jace, a mercenary with an attitude but a kind heart. Both these skins, their recolors, and tons of additional cosmetics are available in this 36-level Event Pass!
Mode Rotations
Core Rotation
In Rotation: Siege, Onslaught, Payload
Out of Rotation: King of the Hill, Team Deathmatch
Due to the return of Trials, we want to ensure that you're always able to complete your challenges while still offering a variety of modes to our players. All Trials that progress for certain non-Siege modes will be in pairs of Onslaught & King of the Hill or Payload & Team Deathmatch. This means we have to always keep 2 of these modes in at a time, so for this update we'll be bringing back Payload and TDM will sit out. Our goal is to rotate monthly, so in February Onslaught will leave for King of The Hill, then in March TDM will return and Payload will leave. We'll stay tuned to community feedback as we continue to rotate modes more frequently and ensure there's always something fresh to play!
Limited Time Modes
New
Beyond | January 26th - 29th
History has become kinder to Season 5's Siege: Beyond, and we felt it about time to revisit the mode in a manner players may enjoy. Instead of being an experimental Siege, it now will live as an LTM of its own!In order to help it with the transition, we’ve renamed it to simply Beyond and made some changes to accommodate:
- Many old & new Items have entered the Beyond shop to bring it up to speed with the times.
- Long time players may recognize new versions of old Items like Gather joining the fray!
- Descriptions & the Shop UI have been made more compact and quicker to parse.
- Both Schisms 1 & 2 are active within the LTM version. Having both a unique Shop & Cart makes Beyond feel distinctly its own experience.
We hope players give it another chance as we continue to embrace all of Paladins' history & improve older modes!
Old School | February 2nd - 5th
Abyss has always felt like a map out of an older shooter, so let’s embrace that! This LTM places powerups all along the TDM map Abyss & allows players to harness powerful effects that make for a truly classic arena shooter experience.
- Powerup Types
- Credits
- Jump Height
- Movement Speed
- Cooldown Reduction
- Damage Reduction
- Double Weapon Damage
- Infinite Ammo
- Ultimate (we've updated the visuals of this powerup game wide as well!)
Bizarre Bazaar | February 9th - 12th
Earlier in Paladins history, we had a tendency to port older maps to newer modes with varying success. It's been a long while and we've heard players want more map variety, specifically within Onslaught. So, this LTM serves to try something new out! Play Bazaar as an Onslaught map in this test LTM & let us know what you think!
Returning
Cards to the Max | February 16th - 19th
Balance
General
Item Shop
- Removed
- Haven
- Illuminate
- Resilience
- Kill to Heal
- Added
- Arcane Warding
- Reduces damage taken from abilities by 12|24|36%
- Price: 250
- Armor Plating
- Reduces damage taken from weapons by 8|16|24%
- Price: 275
- Blood Bath
- Kills heal you and Eliminations heal you and the ally who got the kill for 300|600|900
- Price: 300
- Hoard
- Gain 10 Credits every 15|10|5s
- Gain 5|10|15 Credits on Elimination
- Price: 150
- Meditation
- Heal for 2.5|5|7.5% of your max health every 0.25s when out of combat
- Price: 175
- Sentinel
- Reduces effectiveness of Slows, Knockups, and Knockbacks by 25|50|75%. On Elimination, gain a 150|300|450 health Shield for 5s, stacks up to 3 times.
- Price: 225
- Trigger Scent
- Increases damage dealt by 5|10|15% for 5s after getting an Elimination.
- Price: 250
- Unbound
- Reduces the duration of all Crowd Control except for Slows, Knockups, and Knockbacks by 25%.
- Price: 200
- Adjusted
- Deft Hands
- Guardian
- Increased scaling from 10|20|30% ➡️ 15|30|45%
- Price decreased from 300 ➡️ 250
- Now effects all Shields
- Lethality
- Life Rip
- Heal increased from 10|20|30% ➡️ 20|40|60% of damage dealt
- Price increased from 200 ➡️ 225
- Master Riding
- Price reduced from 250 ➡️ 225
- Nimble
- Price reduced from 150 ➡️ 125
- Rejuvenate
- Veteran
- Bonus health increased from 5.5% ➡️ 7%
- Price decreased from 300 ➡️ 275
- Wrecker
One of the driving philosophies for this update has been to give players more choice in their itemization during a match. Specific Champions, certain maps, team compositions, and even game modes influence what you should purchase with every match being unique. With every category getting a fifth item, and almost all items getting updated, you’ll have more choice than ever before to impact your game. Are you greedy and seek out the most damage output possible, more reserved and focused on holding down the choke, or sneaky and vicious - striking from the shadows before quickly retreating back to the darkness? Items have a massive impact on your play style, activating certain Champion rotations and strengths or letting you shutdown an oppressive enemy. With new items though and more choices comes more consequences, as Credits aren’t the only cost to Items. Space in your loadout is just as if not more costly. Purchasing your comfort Items may lead to disaster if an enemy itemizes for optimizing their Shields and none one on your team bought Wrecker. Counter items are just as important as items, and figuring out who on your team should buy what is just another step in making sure your team is working efficiently and optimizing into each Champion's specific role. There is a lot to cover about these items, more than we have space for in this dev comment block, but we wanted to share some thoughts on it to showcase our thought process. With these changes you’ll be able to really showcase and focus on how you like to play. What you buy can greatly impact a match, and the choice is yours on how you want to shake up the game. Look at what the enemy is purchasing and respond appropriately - become what they fear and look for around corners near the point. You have control over how you play and that matters to us at Evil Mojo. Talents and Cards are just one part of that equation - Items are making a more impactful splash than ever with this update and will influence every match you have. Go and experiment, but most importantly have fun! Itemize and terrorize!
All Modes
- Starting Credit amount increased from 400 ➡️ 500
Developer Commentary: With the addition of new Items, we wanted to encourage players to really think about what to buy in any given match by giving you all more money! With this increased starting values, new round start combinations of Items are possible and experimentation with the new Items is encouraged. Go out there and theorycraft, Champions!
Gameplay
- Increased Range you see targets in Stealth from 15 ➡️ 40
We’ve removed Illuminate and, as compensation, increased the base Stealth detection range. This is the equivalent of slightly above Illuminate level 1 across the board - making detecting Stealth champions easier, but not a full counter like with level 3 Illuminate. There were a few reasons for this, but some of the main one was the difficulty of keeping Stealth Champions in a healthy state due to the independent variable Illuminate was. With the removal of Illuminate we’re normalizing Stealth detection, and from this new baseline we can balance Stealth more efficiently and without an extreme number of edge cases throwing wrenches into the plan.
For full update notes including Champion balance changes and bug fixes, visit our website here
