Hello Commanders,
We have some exciting balance changes on the horizon and we want to make sure you have the information you need at the earliest possible moment. That moment is now!
First, a little context. Our ongoing goal in balancing characters is to ensure that every character in your roster has a purpose. They should all have value somewhere in the game. Some characters excel in Arena mode, while others are useful in Raids. Beyond that, there should be as many viable team builds as possible for each mode. New game modes and features are in the works that will further highlight characters and team compositions that you may have overlooked before.
We feel that if you've invested in a particular character you shouldn't have your efforts invalidated arbitrarily. However, some things will occasionally end up out of bounds and will require reduction, commonly known as nerfs.
With that in mind, let's talk about speed. Currently, characters that provide hefty quantities of speed status effects (Speed Up/Slow) are dominating the top of the charts in Arena mode. In general, we would prefer to reduce effective power as a last resort, but in the interest of a healthy environment for balance Speed Up and Slow status effects need to be reined in.
Specifically, we're contemplating a reduction in the Speed Up and Slow status effects from a 50% speed adjustment to a 30% speed adjustment. We're targeting early August for this change. This won't knock every rock star off the top of the charts, but it's a structural prerequisite for a variety of future changes. We'll look at other characters like Crossbones and Yondu in subsequent balance efforts.
It's difficult to say if this change to speed will be exactly enough to provide broad viability to Arena and Blitz team builds, but it will bring characters like Quake and Black Widow into formation so we can tune the rest of the game more fairly. We're putting this information out now so that players can decide for themselves how they would prefer to continue investing in those characters well before the changes go live.
We'll also be speeding up some of our slower characters, such as Hulk, to ensure their usefulness once they lose that extra speed bump. Speed will still be incredibly valuable: even a single point of speed can break a tie, often allowing a heavy hitter to deliver massive damage before their counterpart on the enemy team has a chance to act.
As we move ahead, we'll also be updating other characters more aggressively. This means more frequent updates to underutilized characters, more tactical options, and occasional nerfs as needed. Minion teams are getting updated to work more effectively with their leaders, such as Nick Fury leading a S.H.I.E.L.D. team that can give even an Avengers team a run for its money. We want these changes to come quickly enough that you always have new options, but not so quickly that chasing a character you like feels futile. And, of course, each new character we release will expand your options.
It's an inspiration to the team when we see people theorycrafting in chat or through online forums, like they have with the recent Vision and Spider-man updates. Those discussions have been filled with great ideas and insightful strategic thinking, and help guide us when we review characters. Thoughtful debate and strategic experimentation will always be at the heart of the balance dialog.
We look forward to seeing what kind of teams you create with these upcoming adjustments.
Thanks for playing!
Jason Bender
Creative Director
MARVEL Strike Force
