Hey,
I am a developer editor, mainly for novels – so don’t know much about games, but kind of play this one as I am chewing over ideas and plot structures and stuff of novels and just had a few ideas you might be able to springboard off and develop into something workable. It could also be a huge unprofitable slog… Haven’t dedicated time to them or anything – just happened as a consequence of my own process so they are rough and would need refinement and stuff.
PVE challenge/survival mode
I’ve seen three audiences this mode could kind of cater for on the forum. Firstly, those that miss the longer style gauntlet/repayable prologue and want a PVE season. Secondly, those that miss heroics and want a more tactical challenge. And thirdly, those people at end game who have loads of iso but nothing to spend it – who feel like they are stagnant – no longer progressing.
Basically, it's a self-contained game – like the prologue. The players all are given the same basic roster to reduce everyone to the same level and starting point and are not allowed to access your own main game roster. You have to build again. You have to progress using only the resources you win in the challenge mode.
It just gives older players that have an extensive roster that tactical element that kind diminished as you progress – you know do you level up one character – save resources – kick someone from the roster kind of thing. Levelling up the characters in this section could provide champ style rewards to use in the main game as well as meeting challenges or progression points. Maybe instead of iso, you get plain levels or something as you’d have to give out a lot of iso in this smaller game otherwise. Unlike normal PVE you could base it around teams too – fantastic four, spider-verse, Avengers, x-men villains, whatever – but it’d be cool to have teams interact across star levels for once. It allows for a wider range of challenges too other than defeating the enemy. Need to match so many web tiles to meet a requirement, need to match the special citizen tiles to save them a score extra points or win in mode items or something.
Could be a competitive element to it too alliance and player wise - like normal PVE.
As it’s a challenge mode, I’d restrict the number of heals you and have them separate from your main healing bank. You know, kinda like a survival mode thing.
There are many advantages to this: -
· a more engaging and challenging mode for those that just don’t want to auto-pilot nodes four times a day.
· Would give newer players a chance to experience and play with characters they haven’t rostered yet.
· The universal playing field is something you don’t do in other modes.
· Gives people the heroic PVE they ask for
· Gives people along PVE mode that beyond quicker clears seven times a day
· And allows people to access that building a competitive roster challenge again.
It’s not perfect but there are some interesting ideas to kick around and chew over in this.
Expand Alliances Roles
Alliances are totally under-developed in this game compared to others – like gems of war – where there are loads of customisable options and even alliance wars. I’d look to expanding them and the role they have in the game.
I thought a neat way to do this would be a variant on the alliance wars system. The game has so many unused factions with iconic bases and homes – X-men, Villains, Avengers, Fantastic Four to mention a few. Why not randomly assign an alliance one of these factions every week and change their alliance into Xavier’s school for the gifts, or The Baxter Building? They have to set up defences, their own teams to defend their school. Everyone chips in their character from their roster to boost it or level it – may be so many different variants allow you to customise powers – like a mixture or 2 Storm with 3 Storm. Allow them so many goons to position to – kind of making their own nodes for other alliances to challenge. Obviously, faction related characters are boosted. Could even offer special supports or something for the rooms in the alliance to boost defence – offence etc.
There are a lot of options to play around with here with the pay-out reward system that could get messy. Belonging to the top faction – score in the faction – top score overall ect. I wouldn’t even know where to being with that.
As for how the mode would play too – that’d depend on what you are going for in it. You’d obviously need to be able to lessen the damage for their attacks somehow or prevent them. I suppose the supports would help with that or boost system for your defence. Attack wise, think you need a limited number of nodes that ends in a boss style node the whole alliance helps with.
You could even have it raid style. Locked in roots/teams to do a specific task before facing the big final boss. One route to weaken the boss’s offence by matching attack tiles, another team to strengthen your offence – generate and protect attack tiles – same for defence, team for ap boost/lowering ap gain through charge tiles, weakening support they receive in the boss node by defeating enemies etc. So, you’d not only need to beat the route but build a team to meet the criteria to give yourself an advantage in the boss node. Would be cool and need a lot of coordination and interaction and stuff.
I’d lock people into the alliance – have it run for five days – 2 days free from looking and stuff for buy clubs. I think there is a lot you could play around with here.
Extremely rough but a lot of cool ideas to kick about and play with but don’t know if it will be too much work to make it profitable.