A (PASSIVE) isn't just a (PASSIVE)

Akoni

Passives add a nice dynamic to the game. On one hand, they allow players to focus on playing one aspect of the game: match making. On the other hand, they allow devs to program that which would be difficult/impossible to program or utilize by players. Ignoring the obvious variance from character to character, not all passive abilities are the same. There are two types of passive abilities in the game so far. 

Conditional Passive Ability
These abilities require that a condition be met before they exist or are triggered. An example of this is Daken's Purple power, Pheromone Rage, which creates a Red Strike tile whenever a Green match is made. Here, Pheromone Rage remains dormant until a Green match triggers its activation causing the creation of the Red Strike tile.

Unconditional Passive Ability
These abilities exist regardless of almost any game state. They are always active unless another power or condition forbids them from being so (e.g. character is airborne, stunned, or downed). An example of this is Black Bolt's Black power, Energy Channeling, which "...creates 1 Charged tile in the color most present on the board." Though this power has more than one ability, the Charged tile creation is the specific ability focused on here. This ability creates a charged tile regardless of the number of Charged tiles present. The Charged tile does not require a player to perform an action or create a specific game state.

*So that we are all on the same page, a game state is defined as the condition of a match brought about by circumstances by either random or purposeful action. Specific characters, character position, health status, AP status, as well as the type of tiles present, and so on, all create the game state.

Abilities versus Powers
Notice that it was stated that there are two types of passive "abilities" and not "powers." This is because more than one ability can exist within a single power. For example, Okoye's Black power, Wakanda Forever! reads:

"(PASSIVE) Okoye fights to protect Wakanda at all costs. Damage from friendly powers is increased by X for each Team-Up AP you have. Okoye's base Team-Up match damage is increased by X%. At the start of the turn, if Okoye is not in front, destroy 1 friendly Team-Up AP."

This power is made up of 3 abilities. 

1. Increase damage by friendly powers for each Team-Up AP you have,
2. Increase Okoye's base Team-Up match damage, and
3. Destroy 1 friendly Team-Up AP if Okoye is not in front.

The first ability is unconditional. Yes, it is limited in scope in that it only increases damage dealt by powers and only by the amount of Team-Up AP present, but it does so unconditionally. It does not need to be triggered by a player action or game state. For example, Polaris' Green passive power, Particle Accelerator, would receive a bonus from the first ability in Wakanda Forever! just as would any fired power that would deal damage.

The second ability is unconditional as it increases Okoye's Team-Up match damage. It does not need to be triggered by a player action or game state. The third ability is conditional as it decreases Team-Up AP, but only if Okoye is not in the lead. This ability is triggered by the position of Okoye on the team. This position can be altered by player action or other circumstances.

Why This Is Important
Due to their reliance on the game state, conditional abilities can be countered or managed. Sticking with Okoye, if I want to stop the enemy Okoye from racking up Team-Up AP to boost damage, I can select another enemy and put them in the lead to be the target of my attacks and abilities. If I want to prevent my Okoye from decreasing Team-Up AP, I will match tiles that will cause Okoye to remain in the lead position. I can manipulate the game state and, therefore, to some extent deal with that particular ability. On the other hand, Okoye's other Wakanda Forever! abilities cannot be altered by the game state (except by stun, airborne, or downing). These abilities have the potential to wreak havoc without anyone being able to do anything about them.

In short... how players feel about a particular character or power comes down to control. In a game where players can manipulate practically everything, unconditional powers give players the sense of having no or little control. This can be a good thing. The feeling that one gets when they defeat a powerful foe is great for players. The feeling that one gets when repeatedly losing or rarely (and barely) winning against a powerful foe is demoralizing. Unconditional powers, if too great, can destroy a player's drive as time goes on, because they get the sense that this particular character is broken. "No matter what I do, I can't win" is the sentiment they are left with.

Conditions for the Unconditional
The good news is there are no unconditional abilities among 1 to 3-star characters. For the most part, these abilities are introduced minimally among 4-star characters and are only somewhat prevalent among 5-star characters. With that said, MPQ developers have done a decent job, to date, with keeping unconditional abilities under control. To keep unconditional abilities from becoming an issue in the future, a few things can be done.

1. Reserve unconditional abilities for specific powers or characters that need that sense of real power and authority. Giving Odin an unconditional ability feels much better than giving Hindsight Lad an unconditional ability, for example.
2. Limit the scope and intensity of the unconditional ability. An ability, for example, that converts all Basic tiles to Strike tiles feels less good to play against compared to an ability that only converts all Red tiles to Strike tiles. The desire is for players to view it as "game-changing" rather than "game-ending." 
3. Similar to limiting scope, conditional thematic tie-ins are a good way to introduce a powerful ability without it "breaking the game." For example, Wakanda Forever! could boost damage by 2 to 3 times more than it does currently and still be considered only decent if it was limited to boosting Wakandan allies (i.e. Black Panther, Shuri, or Killmonger).
4. Add drawbacks to any power that contains an unconditional ability. Returning to a previous example, Black Bolt's Energy Channeling power contains an ability that creates Charged tiles every turn. However, it also contains a conditional ability that creates a stop gap for the number of Charged tiles created, and at lower levels deals damage to Black Bolt.

To be clear, the use of any aforementioned characters as examples is not advocation for change. Instead, I hope this explanation helps others understand what it is about a character or power they may have issues with. Being able to pinpoint the cause of angst goes a long way when offering feedback and suggestions.

helix72

Very nice and thoughtful write up. I might argue a little with your statement about there being no 3*s with unconditional abilities, as the only "condition" for 3* Iron Fist's Attack tile, 3* Luke Cage's Protect tile, and 3* Scarlet Witch's CD tile is that there isn't already one out, but I could see how you could argue that is still a condition. Either way, it's picking nits and the point remains that they are few, far between, and easy to deal with (hello Kitty!). Again, very nice write up.

Akoni

Thank you.
Those three are right on the line as there is technically a condition, albeit a weak one. If the 3* versions of Iron Fist, Luke Cage and Scarlet Witch were scaled up to 4* or 5*, we would likely see the removal of that "if there isn't one" condition. to make them even remotely playable. For this reason, I would probably argue that they are unconditional abilities, but limited to keep them under control. 

LavaManLee

Great write up!  Nice to see well thought out analysis and appreciate the time it took to post.

McPosterson

Would you say it’s passive aggressive?

helix72

I wanted to amend the title to read: A (PASSIVE) just isn't a (PASSIVE)...without Miracle Whip from Kraft

Akoni

@McPosterson
@helix72

LOL! I wish I had thought of either one of those. Missed opportunity.

Seph1roth5

Ummm I think you left out part of the "why this is important" section, such as why any of this is important.

Ptahhotep

There is an unconditional 3* power. The second element of Deadpool’s black. Yes, it’s limited to when he jumps in front but there is no condition governing the placement of his countdown tile.

helix72

It's very conditional:

1) Someone other than DP has to take at least a certain amount of damage
2) That someone has to heave less health than DP
3) The CD has to survive 1 turn

Ptahhotep

helix72 said:

It's very conditional:

1) Someone other than DP has to take at least a certain amount of damage
2) That someone has to heave less health than DP
3) The CD has to survive 1 turn

1 & 2 are conditions for jumping in front not placing the countdown (see Okoye above). For 3 yard you really suggesting that the countdown won’t be placed if it is going to be matched away? 

HoundofShadow

3* DP's CD is placed on black tile. If there isn't any black tile, will he convert other coloured tile to black CD?

ZootSax

3* Wolverine's yellow passive is unconditional, but searching for a 1-3* exception is really splitting hairs.   Very good writeup.

HoundofShadow

If one wants to nitpick, 3* Patch yellow is conditional because you need it to be at 5 covers before it becomes unconditional. 

Akoni

@Seph1roth5 The point I was trying to make was summed up in the first sentence of paragraph 2: "In short... how players feel about a particular character or power comes down to control." Often, players go off of how they feel about a character and often tie that feeling to something that may or may not be the issue. The goal here was to shine a light on what the subtle differences are between conditional and unconditional powers and how they can impact the game/player. Maybe I should have lead with that instead.

@Ptahhotep @helix72 @HoundofShadow DP's black countdown tile is conditional. the word "then" indicates that it is a continuation of the first effect. To keep sentences simple and easy to absorb in a game, we end up with multiple sentences that rely on the same condition.

@ZootSax Good catch. I forgot about that one.