Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXVII Digest (02/10/2016)

[Cherzy]

0:18:42
The Feast
The new PvP content we'd been calling "The Wolves' Den 2" has been officially named "The Feast."

0:18:58
Rules Part I



For both 4 vs 4 and 8 vs 8 matches, you'll need to have melee DPS and ranged DPS in your party composition. It won’t be possible to queue up if you have a different composition, such as all melee DPS or all ranged DPS.

0:19:45
Rules Part II



The 8 vs 8 version of The Feast is geared towards those that are not as familiar with PvP and just want to have fun playing. This mode does not feature any ratings that show your PvP skill.

The 4 vs 4 solo mode will include your win/loss rate and this can only be queued for solo. It will match you with other players and form parties that are close to your rating, and your opponents will be around the same rating as well.

The 4v4 light party mode also includes a win/loss rate, and you’ll be able to queue up as a pre-formed party consisting of a tank, a melee DPS, a ranged DPS, and a healer.

These modes feature ratings that fluctuate. There are different ratings for each type (solo mode/light-party mode), so your rating will change based on which type of rated matches you participate in.

We'll also have a 4 vs 4 mode where the win/loss rate does not apply which you can use to practice.

0:21:47
Deciding the Victor



Unlike the Wolves' Den, where you win by completely eliminating the opposing party, the objective of The Feast is to defeat opponents and collect medals.

0:22:17
Medals



At the start of the battle, each player on both sides will begin with 100 medals. Upon defeating an opponent, the medals that they hold will drop to the ground. You can obtain the dropped medals by interacting with them, and once you collect a certain amount of medals your team will be the victor.

I'm sure there are those of you worried about being defeated over and over and weighing your team down, but the more you are defeated the less medals you will drop, so there is really no benefit for continuously defeating the same person.

There will be different graphics depending on the number of medals that have been dropped on the ground making them easily discernible. However, you won't be able to pick up medals that your own team has dropped.

0:24:41
Elements that Sway the Conditions of Battle



0:25:01
Supply Boxes



Upon the start of The Feast, supply boxes will be placed on the battlefield and will continue to appear after a certain amount of time. By destroying these boxes, a Supply Kit will appear. There are different kinds which have various effects:

• Offense Kit: Increases attack potency
• Defense Kit: Increases defense
• Medical Kit: Heals
• Adrenaline Kit: Increases the adrenaline rush gauge

This is an element that introduces strategy such as deciding whether you want to prioritize destroying supply boxes to obtain supply kits, or focus your attacks on the opposing team that is attacking supply boxes.

0:26:03
Culling Time



If a certain amount of time passes and no one has been defeated, culling time will begin, changing the background and in-game sounds. A stacking debuff will be applied to all players that will only be removed when an ally or enemy has been defeated. Think of it as a situation in a competition where both sides are deadlocked and the crowd starts jeering.

0:27:47
Heavy Medal



I'm sure a lot of you are thinking it would be advantageous for someone good at PvP to be the one to collect all the medals. For example, having someone with high defense, such as a tank, pick up the dropped medals is a basic strategy. However, if you are holding a lot of medals, a debuff will be applied that causes you to take increased damage, so you'll need to be careful.

0:28:34
Result Screen



Simply put, if you can understand the usefulness of breaking boxes, that you'll be in danger when the scenery and music change, and that you’ll become easier to defeat if you have too many medals, then you get the gist of The Feast. The result screen shows numbers categorized as "K," "D," and "A." They refer to the number of players defeated, the number of times you've been defeated and the number of times you've assisted in defeating an enemy respectively. You can earn assists by healing or via buffing, so try to get a lot of them.

0:29:48
Ranks



There are ranks you can reach by increasing the rating that I mentioned earlier, and there are six different ranks for both solo mode and light party mode: no rank, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and diamond. There are promotion battles for each rank, so for example, if you increase your rating from 500 to 1000, you'll begin promotion battles, and winning 3 of the 5 promotion battles will earn you a promotion. However, if after being promoted you continuously lose and your rating falls, you will be demoted.

0:31:05
Ranking



We'll be adding a special ranking section for The Feast on the Lodestone. There will be ranking for each of the aforementioned ranks, so I recommend trying to do your best in a rank that suits your skill level.

0:31:54
Rank and Rating Resets



When it comes to rankings, it often becomes difficult to catch up with those at the top, so we'll be resetting the rankings and ranks every three and a half months, and after we make job adjustments and implement additional elements we will begin a new season.

Upon the conclusion of a season, we'll have special rewards that can only be earned by players who are above a certain ranking in diamond. There will also be special rewards for the player ranked number one in diamond.

Additionally, there will be rewards for the top players in each of the other ranks, and those at the top can also receive the rewards available to the lower ranking players. We'd love it if you aim for the top in the rank that fits your skill level.

* The video shows off an illustration of the reward item the top PvP players can earn.
The number one player in diamond can earn the full set of equipment and will also earn a title and a trophy that can be placed in housing that signifies them as the champion for the season.

0:35:21
Season Schedule (Planned)



When we released Lord of Verminion in patch 3.1, we received feedback saying a staggered release would have been better than a simultaneous release, and so we've decided to do that here with The Feast. At the launch of Patch 3.2 we'd like players to enjoy the main scenario, Alexander: Midas, and all of the new additions to the game first, then in Patch 3.21 we will release The Feast.

While Patch 3.21 will be the pre-season of The Feast, ratings will still fluctuate and promotion battles will occur. However, we'll be looking at everyone’s feedback regarding balance in the pre-season, and make adjustments based on this before starting Season 1 in Patch 3.25. Both ranks and ratings from pre-season will be reset, so everyone will be starting fresh for Season 1. Depending on the feedback from the pre-season, we'll be focusing a lot on balance adjustments, so there is a chance that Season 1 may be slightly delayed, so please keep this in mind.

Season 1 will run approximately three and a half months, and 1-2 weeks prior to its conclusion, rankings will no longer apply. Once rankings have been locked, we will perform balance adjustments, and then kick off Season 2.