At Paragon, Epic Games reveals first details about Monolith and explains why a new map is needed.
Lead hero designer Cameron Winston talks about the decision to work on a new map and why current changes are important.
Problems seldom come alone
The atmosphere between players and developers of the currently open beta MOBA Paragon is still somewhat tense, but slowly the waves of outrage over the recent changes seem to be smoothing out and players are coming to terms with the current game version.
In pursuit of more open communication, Epic Games lead hero designer Cameron Winston has now provided a first insight into the new map “Monolith,” which will replace the current map, henceforth called “Legacy.”
He mentioned four core issues that have been raised repeatedly since June. These include the size of the map, the travel mode, the lack of engagement, and ultimately the duration of a match.
It was noted that match length is directly related to the lack of engagement, or rather, the players’ excessive ability to react to events. The often-mentioned “high risk – high reward” by Epic was hardly felt.
This ability to quickly leave your lane to assist another player without having to worry too much about any negative consequences for yourself is related to the travel mode and its speed. This, however, was necessary due to the size of the current map. A chain of problems ultimately triggered by a single reason: a map that’s too large.
Since it was not possible to simply shrink the existing map, they took all previous insights gained from both players and internal tests and began working on a completely new map.
Smaller, faster, and more dynamic
In an initial concept drawing, “Monolith” looks quite dark and threatening, and bears little resemblance to the lush nature present in “Legacy” with all its trees, plants, and waterfalls. One gets the impression of being in the “Lord of the Rings” universe.
However, not only visually will many things change. While there will still be height differences between jungle and lane, they aim to improve gameplay through an asymmetric arrangement of the map. Individual roles are expected to become more important and the match itself significantly more dynamic.
Furthermore, it was announced that “Monolith” will be approximately 30% smaller overall. Additionally, the travel mode will be completely abolished, but the base movement speed will be increased accordingly.
The upcoming map is expected to be released for testing purposes soon. However, no specific date has been provided for this yet. In the meantime, more information and insights into the ongoing development process will be shared in the coming weeks. So stay tuned.
