Balancing the Triangle: Rethinking Gods’ Strengths and Weaknesses
Game Feedback: Balancing and Design Considerations
- Symptoms vs. Root Cause:
- A symptom serves as a sign of an underlying issue but isn’t the cause itself.
- In the game context, free beads are a symptom, not the root cause of gameplay dynamics.
- Players’ safety improvements in Smite 1 stem from design choices, but the fundamental cause lies elsewhere.
- Design Triangle: Damage, Mobility, and Ease of Use:
- Gods’ balance hinges on three factors: damage, mobility, and ease of use.
- Currently, gods exhibit excessive strength with minimal weaknesses.
- This imbalance leads to a race toward overpowering abilities and power creep.
- Practical Implementation: Example with Zeus:
- Zeus, lacking mobility, should excel in high damage output.
- His sole crowd control (CC) would be a short stun.
- Design flexibility could allow abilities to adapt based on the player’s role.
- Trade-offs and Weaker Corners:
- Gods shouldn’t excel in all three corners of the triangle.
- As power increases, trade-offs should emerge (e.g., harder-to-use abilities or lower damage).
- Super Mobile Gods and Crowd Control:
- Highly mobile gods should naturally lack immunity to CC or hard lockdown abilities.
- Difficulty in Dodging Abilities:
- The game currently lacks the feel of a fighting game due to reduced skill shots.
- Setup options are prevalent, making it easier to land abilities.
- Power Curve and Kit Weaknesses:
- The overall power curve needs adjustment.
- Some kits require more weaknesses and less strength.