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Events are the most engaging part of the game for most if not all players. But they can also seem pretty similar, from one to the next. I want to tease out what has made some events more fun than others and try to figure out some of the details that could be varied from one event to another to keep them interesting.
So, what have some of the best events been:
1. The Four Horsemen featured Death, War, Pestilence and Famine. Three of these are strong, playable cards (poor Famine). And significantly, both of the 6* cards have combinations that are well integrated with the other cards in the game.
2. Golden City had all three of the Righteous Knights dropping as exploration prizes from Hard. This gave many early to mid level players a new option for a tank team, and you still see this team occasionally in 5* arenas.
3. The Golden Galzra event (Golden Cave?) had Galzra as a rare drop. While Galzra doesn't feature in the absolute top combinations, at 1.3M hp Unstoppable Force is a very solid team.
4. The Gwar/Godfrey event gave us a new aggro team with War. Significantly, both bosses were available as drops so it was possible to actually play this new team. And for players who were lucky enough to already have Drust this was the first event where reflection was possible if you got Gwar to drop.
5. The Ice Overlord/Icemaw and Valrakk events both gave us strong, playable cards (especially Ice Overlord). Significantly, Valrakk also combo'ed with existing cards (Megion and Crimson Dragonaire) to give us a new playable team.
6. Another event, I forget which one, had tokens dropping from exploring Easy. These then were usable in future arenas and to buy new summon packs. This was the only event where exporing on Easy was actually a good idea. Unfortunately, no one knew what these tokens were for at the time so people were left guessing whether it was worthwhile to collect them.
7. While it was a minor detail, the most recent event featured Balzathor as a boss. This is a nice option for players who haven't already accumulated enough of him from arenas and the occasional chest.
And then the least engaging events look largely the same.
- The new boss is completely unplayable without another, unreleased card
- This unreleased card is only available by spending money
- Even if you spend a good bit of money you may not get this new card
- Significantly, there is nothing else of interest about this event
Additionally, the event chests are uniformly a let down. I have ranked in the top 10 in every event on my server for months and months now. I have never gotten a playable card from an event chest, nor more than a very few summon stones. In fact, I'm not sure anyone in my guild (#1 on our server) has ever gotten a playable card from an event chest.
So here are hallmarks of engaging events.
1. The boss card is playable and is integrated into the existing pool of cards via its combinations. Over time the boss becomes more integrated via additional combinations, e.g. Death & War.
2. There are interesting drops for either beating the boss, or simply as exploration drops.
And then here are some features that I think will make upcoming events more engaging.
- A new, immediately playable boss card is always the most exciting
- A new 5* card dropping either from the boss or from exploring
- An additional 5* card as a boss, particularly from among the better old cards: Gaznar, Khafra, Violet Knight, Headless Horseman. This boss should never be one that is in the summon pool. In fact, why not replace the Easy boss with one of these cards sometimes?
- Tokens are great, particularly if they drop in larger quantities and more frequently from exploring Easy or from beating the Easy boss. The point here is to give players a choice of where to put their time. The event description should then at least give a useful hint about how these tokens will be used so that players can weigh their options.
- If the main boss card is not immediately playable, either because it is powerful enough on its own (Ice Overlord, Valrakk) or via combination with existing cards (Gwar & Godfrey), then give players a real shot at getting at least one of the unsummonable cards that combos with it. For example, top 20 in the Young Morgana event could have included 1 Young Arther, possibly with higher ranks giving more.
- Greatly improve the rewards for event chests. If the most active players will get 15-20 chests per event then a 2.5% or 3% drop rate for a 6* card other than the main boss would yield one such card every two events. For events where you don't want to give out more 6* cards, maybe because one is available as a rank reward, include one or more new 5* cards and make these a common drop. Or significantly increase the number of summon stones that may drop.
Cheers,
Rosen
So, what have some of the best events been:
1. The Four Horsemen featured Death, War, Pestilence and Famine. Three of these are strong, playable cards (poor Famine). And significantly, both of the 6* cards have combinations that are well integrated with the other cards in the game.
2. Golden City had all three of the Righteous Knights dropping as exploration prizes from Hard. This gave many early to mid level players a new option for a tank team, and you still see this team occasionally in 5* arenas.
3. The Golden Galzra event (Golden Cave?) had Galzra as a rare drop. While Galzra doesn't feature in the absolute top combinations, at 1.3M hp Unstoppable Force is a very solid team.
4. The Gwar/Godfrey event gave us a new aggro team with War. Significantly, both bosses were available as drops so it was possible to actually play this new team. And for players who were lucky enough to already have Drust this was the first event where reflection was possible if you got Gwar to drop.
5. The Ice Overlord/Icemaw and Valrakk events both gave us strong, playable cards (especially Ice Overlord). Significantly, Valrakk also combo'ed with existing cards (Megion and Crimson Dragonaire) to give us a new playable team.
6. Another event, I forget which one, had tokens dropping from exploring Easy. These then were usable in future arenas and to buy new summon packs. This was the only event where exporing on Easy was actually a good idea. Unfortunately, no one knew what these tokens were for at the time so people were left guessing whether it was worthwhile to collect them.
7. While it was a minor detail, the most recent event featured Balzathor as a boss. This is a nice option for players who haven't already accumulated enough of him from arenas and the occasional chest.
And then the least engaging events look largely the same.
- The new boss is completely unplayable without another, unreleased card
- This unreleased card is only available by spending money
- Even if you spend a good bit of money you may not get this new card
- Significantly, there is nothing else of interest about this event
Additionally, the event chests are uniformly a let down. I have ranked in the top 10 in every event on my server for months and months now. I have never gotten a playable card from an event chest, nor more than a very few summon stones. In fact, I'm not sure anyone in my guild (#1 on our server) has ever gotten a playable card from an event chest.
So here are hallmarks of engaging events.
1. The boss card is playable and is integrated into the existing pool of cards via its combinations. Over time the boss becomes more integrated via additional combinations, e.g. Death & War.
2. There are interesting drops for either beating the boss, or simply as exploration drops.
And then here are some features that I think will make upcoming events more engaging.
- A new, immediately playable boss card is always the most exciting
- A new 5* card dropping either from the boss or from exploring
- An additional 5* card as a boss, particularly from among the better old cards: Gaznar, Khafra, Violet Knight, Headless Horseman. This boss should never be one that is in the summon pool. In fact, why not replace the Easy boss with one of these cards sometimes?
- Tokens are great, particularly if they drop in larger quantities and more frequently from exploring Easy or from beating the Easy boss. The point here is to give players a choice of where to put their time. The event description should then at least give a useful hint about how these tokens will be used so that players can weigh their options.
- If the main boss card is not immediately playable, either because it is powerful enough on its own (Ice Overlord, Valrakk) or via combination with existing cards (Gwar & Godfrey), then give players a real shot at getting at least one of the unsummonable cards that combos with it. For example, top 20 in the Young Morgana event could have included 1 Young Arther, possibly with higher ranks giving more.
- Greatly improve the rewards for event chests. If the most active players will get 15-20 chests per event then a 2.5% or 3% drop rate for a 6* card other than the main boss would yield one such card every two events. For events where you don't want to give out more 6* cards, maybe because one is available as a rank reward, include one or more new 5* cards and make these a common drop. Or significantly increase the number of summon stones that may drop.
Cheers,
Rosen
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