Live-service games of today, particularly those that feature heroes and items and seasonal models, often swell up so much with time that new players have a hard time figuring anything out. Dota is one example, and League of Legends a worse extreme. But Arkheron has a solution.
Speaking to the developers at Bonfire Studios during an onboarding session for Arkheron, I asked them whether they took complexity into account when designing the game.
Specifically, I wanted to know if Arkheron will end up having too much content (or already does), making it a daunting task for new players to come in and learn to play the game. And what they told me was very interesting, and something I haven't heard of thus far in live-service PVP titles like this.
Bonfire Studios plans to expand Arkheron's content through a seasonal approach, adding new Eternals and Relics as time goes by. However, to avoid having too much stuff in it (as it is already quite layered and complex), Akrheron will only have 10 Eternals at any time, with particular ones taken out and swapped with new additions, meaning players at any given point will only have to learn and master 40 items total.
No matter when you decide to board the Arkheron train, you'll have just about the same level of complexity to figure out as the players who hopped on early, unlike games like League of Legends, where new champions are added every few weeks.
Swapping particular Eternals out for new ones will also bring about more interesting meta shifts and changes, the devs said. If, for example, a powerful melee Eternal is taken out, and a strong ranged one added in, the meta could very easily shift away from melee to ranged. It could even emphasize melee more, as it could be perceived as a better counter to the now-stronger ranged meta.
It's a very interesting way to balance the game out, and balance itself is another major priority the team had for the game. We've seen in League, Dota, and other similar games how balance can be thrown off, favoring one champion or playstyle through artificial adjustments in patches.
The devs told me they tried introducing 12 Eternals, or reducing the number to eight, but found that players would be overwhelmed by too many items or use too many of the same Relics, respectively.
While playing, I did feel some Eternals were better than others, but it's still early, and players are just learning the game, so I won't pass judgment on its balance yet. After all, the model above is yet to be applied, so let just wait it out.
In the meantime, I've had the pleasure to play Arkheron myself and test out just how challenging and broad its content is, and I've found it's actually quite intuitive.
With 40 Relics to learn and 10 Eternals total, it only takes a few hours to experience most of them, allowing you to quickly pick up what works for your particular playstyle, which Relics synergize well, and whether or not any particular Eternal transformation is worth forfeiting the ability to change your items.
Since these numbers are going to be persistent, I find the approach to be quite effective, but like I've said, we'll have to wait and see how it turns out. Arkheron is still running tests, so do make sure to sign up if you still haven't, and check the game out yourself.
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The post Arkheron devs have the perfect solution to a growing live-service issue appeared first on Destructoid.
