Hey Navigators!
Welcome to our very first blog! It's hard to believe how far we’ve come in just four months, and none of this would’ve been possible without all of you. Like any new project, we’ve encountered our share of challenges, but each one has been a valuable learning experience. Together, we’ve shaped Strinova, and we’re thrilled to share what's coming next.
The Big Picture:
Here's the big picture: going forward, we’ll be introducing more casual modes to make the game more welcoming to players from all backgrounds. For some, gaming is a venue for competitive passion, the eagerness to climb the rank and hone their skills. For others, perhaps gaming is simply a way to spend some downtime with friends. And we want Strinova to be a place where all Navigators can find joy—whether you're here for competitive play, or just to have a bit of casual fun. Thus, we will roll out more gamemodes and ways for navigators to enjoy the world of Strinova. With that, we're beyond excited to announce our newest game mode: Outbreak.
Outbreak Mode
We’re excited to unveil Outbreak Mode. Inspired by classic “infection” themes, we’re adding elements of chaos and unpredictability to each match. (Melee players, it's your time to shine!)
In Outbreak Mode, 15 players enter a casual match, with 3 players transforming into the Crystallines — a mysterious faction opposing the superstrings. When a superstring is killed, they transform into a crystalline. The goal for the Crystallines is to destroy all the superstrings within a set time, while the superstrings are focused on surviving until the round ends. When only 3 superstrings remain, their powers are enhanced substantially, making the endgame all the more thrilling.
Additionally, we've introduced a card system to add an extra layer of randomness and excitement to each game. These cards can dramatically increase player stats or power, often with a trade-off. Both the superstrings and the Crystallines have their own unique card pools. Want to discover hidden secrets? Jump into the game to experience it firsthand!
P.S. The Crystallines have more going on than meets the eye. Are they mindless brutes? Who knows, maybe playable Crystallines agents are closer than you think… Stay tuned for more details in the patch notes and upcoming updates leading to March 27th!
New Superstring Agent: Mara
We're also introducing a new superstring agent: Mara. Mara is one of the early survivors of the Crystalline Outbreak — a tragedy that rattled the world of Strinova. Inspired by the grim reaper, Mara is as dominant as she is ruthless, making her one of the deadliest agents for the Scissors faction.
Mara’s unique mechanic allows her to bypass armor, targeting an enemy’s health directly. Armed with a powerful submachine gun, she excels in close-quarters combat, racking up kills quickly. Her skills also manipulate enemy hitboxes, giving her more margin for error when aiming.
Unlike Ming and Eika — Scissors duelists with AoE abilities — Mara thrives in single-target duels. She grows stronger by harvesting her enemies, encouraging aggressive, solo play. If you're the type of player who thrives on getting up close and personal, Mara is for you. Just be sure your teammates have your back!
Look out for a more detailed breakdown of Mara’s abilities in the patch notes and the upcoming Agent Introduction.
Balance & Adjustments
As we move forward, we will be more transparent about the changes we make and the reasons behind. While the full Season Patch Notes on our website will cover all the specific updates, we want to highlight the major changes and discuss them with you here!
After several adjustments, we’ve found that combat durations are too short, which doesn’t align with our relatively long time-to-kill system. The current health and armor systems aren’t ideal, and we’ve noticed how some support class agents are struggling. We are experimenting with health and armor buffs in the test servers, and may adjust them to the main server depending on the result.
Right now, the system of temporary armor is overly complicated, making agents like Celestia difficult to play. We plan to lower the learning curve. To address this, we’re working on streamlining the temporary armor functions so that it's easier to anticipate how long the temporary armor remains active.
Additionally, we think the stringification damage reduction may have been a bit too strong. Initially, we wanted to encourage players to use the stringify mechanic. However, this has caused a lot of frustration when facing stringified enemies. After hearing the feedback from players, we’re readjusting the damage reduction and will experiment with other stat adjustments.
We've also noticed how grenades are not as balanced as we want. Right now, the detonation time is too short. With high damage, it makes counters almost impossible. We are slightly increasing the detonation time, and decreasing the damage.
As for agents, we definitely agree: Eika’s strong—perhaps too strong. We will watch her performance more closely, but we’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences. On the other hand, Baimo was hit too hard with his nerf last season, so we’re planning to buff his main weapon and mobility slightly. We also think that Galatea’s gun doesn’t quite match her agile combat style, so we’ve made adjustments to her weapon to better support a close-range playstyle. Although Leona has only just been released, her skills have really high learning curves, and it's a bit awkward in some maps. We are optimizing her skills and improving her gun's spread.
Lastly, we plan to increase the importance of range of different weapons. This will make platstyle more dynamic, and emphasize the roles each agent plays. We also heard your feedback on recoil control, and will be making it smoother to use semi-automatic rifles.
For the new season, we are also adding controller support beta for the first time. Navigators can try out their controllers! There are a couple of notes though. For one, this is a beta, and we may change it depending on feedback and enduser data. Additionally, we are adding very slight aim support. This is to make the controller experience playable but balanced. We understand the complexity around this topic, and we certainly will adjust it higher or lower depending on feedback.
Skins and Cosmetics
Going forward, we will also share the creative process behind our skins—the concepts, designs, and the stories behind them. We’ve got two legendary skins for this three months: Baimo and Kanami—both of whom are true performers in their own right.
For Baimo, we want to showcase his more playful side. His new skin and weapon set will make him the hottest streamer in Strinova. Decked out in cutting-edge electronic music gear and a sleek mask, he’ll make an entrance like never before, exploding onto the stage in style. As the head of the Urbino Business Alliance, he’s used to taking the spotlight.
Kanami’s legendary skin is the perfect reflection of her idol singer persona. It embodies her natural ability to step into the role of the star, with design elements inspired by the sky and northern lights—blending diamond shapes with musical motifs. This skin symbolizes her aspirations, as she seeks to bring hope to the world through music.
We’d also like to give a special shoutout to our new Epic skin set, Abyssal Goth. This set takes inspiration from Gothic and Alt fashion, featuring Mara, Fagrans, and Flavia. Though these characters couldn’t be more different on the surface, the Gothic theme ties them together in a way that accentuates their unique personalities—power, gentleness, and elegance. Stay tuned~
Dormitory
We are finally ready to unveil Michele's Dormitory. Going forward, we are working hard to prepare other superstrings' dormitories too, and plan on rolling them consistently. Michele's dorm will have all the functions, including a comprehensive Oath system. We are also rolling out additional interactions, including a new Figurine Cabinet system. Stay tuned for more!
Community Feedback
The adjustment we make comes from two sources: hard data from your in-game matches, and your feedback. We hope this blog is the first of many steps to create a conversation between Devs and Navigators.
So, how do you reach us? There are two ways we get feedback. One, we read the comments you left on social media like X, and community chats like Discord, Reddits, and Steam. Second, we have targeted surveys and investigations, usually in-game or through Discord. In the past three months or so, we've heard your voice, and we realized the importance of continuing to make changes and improve.
We agree, currently the ranked system needs some work. We are making matchmaking a bit more generous to alleviate some of the pressure for que. We also heard your feedback on the importance of casual game modes, and will roll them out throughout the year. (at least 6 will come out by August).
We will never say this enough: your feedback matters. They will help change the game. Please keep on sharing your thoughts!
If you got this far, check out this code for 188 Bablo Crystal: GETREADYFOROUTBREAK
*Code expires on March 24th, so grab it quick!