Developer Team Notes #8

Hey there. This is DEV ALICE, saying hello to all of you for the first time.

In the upcoming update, we intend to implement an experimental feature called “Super Jump” for Duel mode.
In this developer note, we would like to discuss its implementation as well as our thoughts on the future of Duel mode.

Super Jump is one of our experimental improvements to Duel mode. While it is also true that Duel mode has not seen any significant improvements for quite a while, adjusting the Legends’ balance in this mode has been the greatest obstacle and challenge to date. Currently, all Legend adjustments are based on the 3v3 Dominion mode. This is because, due to different attack ranges and the ability to close gaps with dashes (or lack thereof), reducing a Legend’s attack power in Duel mode was insufficient to correct the imbalances.

We have also seen Smashers adopt a defensive or passive playstyle because of the contrasting skill sets of each Legend. For example, Legends with dash abilities have an advantage in combat because they can maintain a safe distance from their opponent and avoid attacking first. Eventually, duels became less enjoyable, polarizing the selection rates for Legends.

As a result, the Dev team has experimented with a variety of solutions to this problem, and Super Jump is the very first one we wanted to introduce to our players.

Super Jump has been designed to enhance a Legend’s mobility, making it easier to approach their opponent. Super Jump is available to all Legends in Duel mode, and Super Jumping towards an opponent reduces its cooldown by up to 50%.

However, the cooldown reduction is not applied when Super Jumping away from the opponent.

Cooldown ranges from 3 to 20 seconds depending on the Legend, encouraging Smashers to engage in more intense duels.

Super Jump is one of many experimental solutions we are testing out. It could be improved further or even replaced in the future by alternative ideas. These improvements are also being tested internally on Touchdown and other modes as well. Please stay tuned for upcoming updates, as we are hoping to introduce Duel Competitive Match in the near future.

Thank you.