In the open beta Moba Paragon, there was a divide in the community with the last patch from last Tuesday. Now, the developer is discussing the measures taken and providing a glimpse into the future.
Surveys and Data
The outcry from the player base of the open beta Moba Paragon was clearly heard in its own forum, as well as on social media, after patch v.32. They removed an exciting game element that had not been found in this form in any other Moba.
The reactions were outrage and disbelief. A statement from the developer was demanded. This statement came just 4 days later after they had some time to evaluate data.
In the statement itself, the team behind Paragon not only detailed how the implemented changes affected gameplay, but also admitted to possible communication errors. They had repeatedly cited a goal of reducing playtime, but acknowledged that they “did not do a good job communicating the reasons to you.”
Surveys among players found that the most common complaint was the excessive match length. Therefore, Epic aims for an average party duration of 31.5 minutes, emphasizing multiple times that they want faster games, but not at the expense of fun.
Perception and Reality
Critics of the recent changes increasingly pointed out that the competition is no longer present, that it is easy to predict which team will emerge as the winner, leading to one-sided matches with virtually no chance for a comeback. Players cited personal experiences where this would result in more tasks for the losing team, detracting from the fun of the game.
However, Epic Games can counter the fear of increased surrender rates until the statement was made. They noted that due to the current changes, the fluctuations in match duration had actually resulted in fewer tasks than before.
Reasons and Solutions
The previous focus on reducing average playtime was justified by the fact that many players found it nearly impossible to predict how long a match would last. In other words, there was too wide a range, which was due both to average match duration and too many matches at the extreme end of the distribution, specifically the endlessly long battles.
The reasons for such fluctuations have been identified. These involve the map size, the travel mode required due to long paths, and the dunk and defense mechanics introduced with the Orb Prime.
To enable players to better estimate whether there is still time for a second or third match before returning to other activities, adjustments have been made in various areas. For instance, they adjusted the speed and HP of minions, the damage of towers, and removed the Orb Prime along with its associated system.
Through all changes up to and including patch v31.0, an average party duration of 38 minutes was achieved, which is considered a step in the right direction, but still too far from their declared goal. With patch v.32, the party duration of statistical outliers even decreased by 20 minutes. Additionally, they noted less fluctuation in the length of completed matches.
Although Epic Games has currently decided to remove the Prime Orb and its mechanics, they emphasize that this does not necessarily mean that it is entirely obsolete. However, they also note that the latest findings would need to be reconsidered before it is re-implemented.
A Glimpse into the Future
To maintain transparency towards its players, they also announced that with the upcoming patch, which arrives on October 4th and will not only bring the newest hero Kwang, there will also be changes to T2 towers and inhibitors that should lead to shorter matches in the late game phases.
After that, they want to concentrate more on hero gameplay, which will also involve the distribution of map power and the earning of XP in the early game phase. They are aware of the current issues associated with reducing playtime.
As long as they have approached the topic satisfactorily, they will focus on core gameplay and its “feeling.” After all, they still want a fun and exciting game where every hero gets playtime and feels good.
The upcoming removal of the travel mode is also a concern for some players. Regarding this, developer Epic Games expressed and apologized for not mentioning earlier that with its removal, a new map would also be introduced.
Since they identified the size of the map as one of the problems, they have been working on a new one since June, which has been in internal testing since August. They will address when and how this will ultimately make its way into the game in the coming weeks.
In conclusion, they confirmed the work on a new, provisional mode and a single-path map, which clever data miners had already uncovered. However, they did not announce when one could expect this.
Pascal’s Assessment:
I have personally been involved in Paragon since day one of the closed beta and have thus witnessed several changes. The removal of the Orb Prime mechanic was probably the most significant and controversially discussed in the community.
Therefore, it is also positive that the developer Epic Games speaks up after a reasonable time, gathers enough data, and documents the impacts, clearly explaining why they acted that way and what is forthcoming (in the near future) for the players.
Perhaps they made errors in communication with the player base that not all reasons for decisions were directly explained. Although Epic Games has often been very open about current developments and frequently illustrated this with diagrams and hard data.
Perhaps the loss of the Orb Prime and the associated tactical plays led to a minor collapse of the previous world for some. After all, they had learned to know and love the system and could still rely on it in the final phase to turn the match in their favor.
What should be clear to every single Paragon enthusiast is that the Moba has only been in open beta since mid-August and that we are still a good way from a concrete final version. Changes, whether small and hardly noticeable or game-altering, are part of daily business.
Whether one wants to stay on top of things consistently or take a break for a few weeks and take another look at the ongoing development is something everyone must decide for themselves. It is not always possible to please everyone, and players will be lost as well as gained over time.
But Epic Games is an old hand with a lot of experience in the gaming industry, having some more well-known and successful titles to show. And even though players never have a full outside perspective, they can trust that everything usually results in a rounded overall picture in the end. I am optimistic regarding Paragon and Epic Games.
