Ideas so far (will be added or edited as they are posted)
Some of these are paraphrased from other people. Please forgive me for not listing names, but feel free to claim ideas or whatever if you like. Not all the ideas will be winners, but we need to brainstorm so I’m listing them anyway!
- Correct the ranking glitches
Some platforms are seeing a glitch where everyone is promoted. This is leading to players being promoted to tiers where they can’t compete. Brought to my attention by Risa.
- Base opponents on your current team’s cost.
In a nutshell, your team is set FIRST. Then, opponents are offered based on your team score. The score should remain fairly close (within 1500 points) to yours in points in order to keep things fair. Idea by Pyriel.
- Rebalance how PvP handles points
Things like hero level and guild masteries are currently counted in, but aren’t a real reflection of what your team can do. You can have a fully maxed guild and a high level hero but a newbie team. Things like hero class, weapon, and other things that actually make a team more dangerous should weigh in heavier, not hero level and guild mastery. Idea by Pyriel.
- Have non-PvP options for Glory
There are quests and Campaign steps that require Glory. Glory seems to only come from PvP. All other sources don’t count! If people could avoid PvP, they wouldn’t be so upset about it. Perhaps Glory could be earned in Adventure, Dungeon or Arena? The first two are limited and random. The latter is also PvP, but it’s a lot more balanced due to it’s randomized limited troop pool and lack of heroes.
- Hero Classes should have to follow Colors / Troop Type / Areas Rules
If an area is restricted to a specific color, race, or home location, only hero classes that have that should be allowed. Example: Blackhawk, Rogue, or Blue would allow Corsair but not Archer. If a class has not reached level 20 yet (unlocks color and hero species), it can not be used. If no classes match, then that area does not allow hero classes at all. Idea by Marbles and LittleWombat
- Your defense is NOT your last attack
Your defense team and defense team behavior should not be the same as your attacking team. This may reduce some of the damage-heavy teams people are seeing. Idea by Sylwani
- Random no-Hero NPC defenders
Sprinkle in random but fair no-hero defender teams that count as “low level”. This used to be a thing… Idea by AMT
- Make some areas hero-free zones
Give players the option to not use or face heroes. Sometimes Blood Frenzy should appear in Hero-Free zones. Potentially, even limit Heros to higher-danger areas like the Spire. Idea by Tresk and Rob17
Casual mode is more limited to prevent teams made of endgame items and bosses. The weekly rewards remain the same, but you can’t go past 6500 VP there. You won’t gain rankings and can’t get the top 3 player bonus reward in Casual. Gnomes will still appear as usual. Dust_Angel and Darklord1 with some additions by Marbles.
- Bring back version 7.3’s restrictions
People miss it and had less complaints. There were troop and weapon restrictions in pvp and also 2 class experience per battle. Prior to 7.3, people could use pvp to grind class experience while perhaps hunting for pet gnomes. Sometimes limits are a good thing. When you have everything unlocked, that can cause problems. Idea by Tresk and ZuulGoth
- Be able to save favorite teams
You should be able to save and use teams, like in the main game or the older version of PvP. Having to manually edit your team every time you fight is annoying and time consuming. rbchaffe
- PvP Buffs only work for attack, not defense
Right now tokens and Monolith buffs count when defending and don’t run out. This is not fair to the attackers. If you lose a defense it does nothing to you, but an attacker is losing time and resources they can not get back without winning. It’s a lot harder to win when your opponent has boosted stats and you don’t. Eventually attackers can’t afford tokens/sigils and won’t be able to compete.
- Tokens also aren’t consumed if you lose
Addendum to above: if you lose, the token doesn’t go away. Personally I see this as not the best idea as if you are boosted and the defender isn’t, then you already are at an advantage. Losing that advantage just puts you on even footing. Listing this idea for completion sake.
You can choose to make your own list of troops to “ban”. These banned troops can not be used by you. You also will never face anyone else using these troops. Idea by Risa. Note from marbles: I’m not sure this is feasible due to server strain or how matchmaking works, but it is an interesting idea!
- Overall enemy scaling based on VP level
Kind of like how enemies get bigger in other modes. While low on VP everything is capped to level 10 stats, but as you win, the cap gets higher. At the 6500 VP mark, you should be seeing level 20 enemies and a hero your size. By 10k VP the cap is gone so hardcore players can hardcore.
- Scale enemies down past a threshold
Bosses, Mythicals, and other Endgame stuff should be scaled back in PvP to be more inline with other troops. Nothing else is scaled. This IMHO seems less fair and will probably lead to more “nerf” anxiety, but I saw it pop up so I thought I’d list it. We are collecting mode ideas, not nerf lists, so please don’t argue about this idea or nerfs here. It’s only listed for completion.
- Nerfs only happen in PvP areas
Related to the scaling idea above. If the problem is in PvP only, might as well make the fix in PvP only! Basically, PvP will work differently than other modes. This will allow troops, classes, weapons and other things to be tweaked to be more fair to players.
- Make extra turns harder to get in PvP
The weapons/troops/classes aren’t the problem. The fact that combining them allows a player to take tons of free turns and instakill you is the problem. In PvP only make it take either a special ability (ex: Goblins) or 5+ gem matches to get an extra turn. Also, limit the number of free turns from gems that players get before letting the opponent go. Idea from Wolfchadren.
- Have a mode or a few maps that restrict troops by rarity or overall stat points
Sometimes it’s fun to play in a limited fashion! This option bans anything past a certain threshold of rarity/power. Everyone will be using more common troops and weapons! If it was just a couple of maps or a mode choice, then people could go there to play without fear of being stonewalled by things they don’t have yet.
- Or have only one or two maps where anything goes
The same as above but inverse. Basically the default is that the especially nasty troops like bosses and Endgame stuff are overall banned except in certain “titan level” maps where the big boys roam. This may seem extreme, but remember that you can always use your big thumpa among the other big thumpas. This way not everyone needs the big thumpa to be able to get to 6500 VP.
More ideas and ways to improve these ideas welcome!
I know the ones there for completion sake aren’t great, so please don’t get into big arguments about them. Constructive posts only, please.
