DB Season 1 Roadmap + Development Philosophy

Hi everyone. In yesterday's announcement, we introduced a lot of changes as well as the design philosophy for Pre-season: Before the Storm. Today, we want to share some of our thoughts so we can discuss the upcoming changes for Season 1: DB Reforged. So without further ado, let's get into it.

Part 1: Seasonal Realm and Eternal Realm

• When S1 starts, the Eternal Realm will be available, and all your progress in Season 0 will be preserved
• At the same time, a seasonal realm will also be opened to give everyone a fresh start
• However, the vast majority of new content will only be available in the seasonal realm, and the game modes in the Eternal Realm will rotate to reduce the total amount of queues. This seasonal system is similar to common industry practices (such as Diablo and Path of Exile)
• We're also considering to plan some game modes in the middle and late stages of the season that allows characters from the Eternal Realm and the Seasonal Realm to play together

Part 2: Pet System

• You heard it right, a pet system that all classes can try out, but it's not primarily designed for combat. Your pet will have a special inventory that can hold loot. Each game, you will have an opportunity to command your pet to carry this loot and extract early! This inventory can be upgraded and expanded through investments by playing, and eventually, your loyal pet will take on the important task of extracting the most valuable loot for you
• We hope that the pet system can implement the classic "safe container" design in extraction games in a way that is more in line with DB's fantasy world, to ensure that all players have a guaranteed way to extract loot every game and "win" even if they die. We also hope that everyone will be more willing to take more risks because of this guaranteed mechanism
• It's worth mentioning that the pet system will not be an exclusive system for paying users, and all players will be able to participate in it

Part 3: Heirlooms Rework

• We're adjusting the definition of high-tier heirlooms. In Season 0, the ability to customize affixes on high-quality heirlooms proved extremely valuable in combat. For Season 1, top-tier heirlooms will be redefined as high-power equipment, becoming one of the endgame gear choices. This means they will require more resources to acquire and craft, but in return, we'll grant high-quality heirlooms even stronger capabilities than they currently possess
• Low-quality heirlooms will still serve as "free betting stakes" or cheap gear to help new players reduce gear fear
• With the introduction of new map difficulties, we've also decided to implement a popular community suggestion: the ability to craft previously unlocked heirloom qualities! Players can choose which quality of heirloom to craft based on their goals. Whether you want to create cheap, entry-level equipment or powerful endgame gear to accompany you in battle, the choice is yours

Part 4: Combat Balance Rework

Throughout Season 0, we received tons of feedback on balance and engaged in thorough discussions to realign our vision. We'd like to share our insights with you.

1.Action Interactivity

• All class skills should be able to interact with weapon attacks, defense, or player movement and positioning. This ensures that melee vs. ranged combat doesn't feel disconnected, and that all skills/spells have counterplay options. The recent rework of the Cryo's Frostbite Curse is a good starting point (although Cryo's stats are a bit low after the adjustment). We'll continue making adjustments in this direction, so stay tuned

2.Shortening Melee TTK

• Although from a dummy DPS perspective, melee classes are not inferior to ranged classes. However, as players become more proficient in defense, counter, and movement techniques, the melee TTK is currently significantly longer than the ranged burst kill TTK and much longer than common extraction PvP games
• The longer melee TTK leads to fewer surprises, amplifies differences in play skill and equipment power, and makes it more difficult to win with fewer numbers or weaker power, ultimately discouraging players from taking risks. In Season 1, we plan to shorten the melee TTK by increasing the damage of melee weapons without affecting the damage efficiency of offensive skills

3.Clarify the "Roles" of Classes (or Specific Skill Combinations)

• We will use common "roles" from RPG and MOBA games to clarify our classes, such as tanks, fighters, assassins, mages (ranged burst damage), marksmen (ranged sustained damage), etc. This will create a clear cyclical countering relationship for different roles and playstyles, encouraging the game environment to dynamically balance itself
• For example, we want the Death Knight to be a frontline initiator, but we haven't given them enough tank capabilities. On the other hand, the pre-nerf Cryomancer, through Ice Barrier healing, Frostbite Curse healing, life-on-hit healing, and the Faery of the Lake shield, had the abilities of two class roles simultaneously (ranged sustained damage + tank), causing its power to overperform and making it impossible to counter

The balance content discussed above is still under active development and internal testing. When Season 1 launches, expect a comprehensive round of adjustments and refinements based on our findings. Stay tuned for more updates!

Part 5: Monsters Rework

• Currently, regular monsters in the game provide a fairly basic and one-dimensional combat experience. Players essentially trade time or health to acquire resources. In Season 1, we aim to introduce more engaging and varied mechanics that go beyond simple combat

• To enhance the core combat experience, we plan to allow certain monsters to use character class skills and even boss abilities. This will give new players a chance to gradually learn and adapt to skill-based counterplay during PvE, preparing them for the challenges of PvP combat and boss fights
• Elite monsters and bosses currently present a high-risk, high-learning curve challenge, but once mastered, they can feel repetitive and lack compelling reasons to re-engage. Moreover, their design often fails to properly account for ranged DPS characters, leading to significant disparity in clear times and difficulty between melee and ranged classes. This, in turn, results in a more conservative, drawn-out, and boring bossing experience
• Drawing inspiration from games like Monster Hunter, we intend to address these shortcomings through better stage design and mechanics that equalize the damage windows for melee and ranged characters. Players will be able to capitalize on these damage windows and potentially extend them by employing skillful and action-oriented counterplay. The goal is to create a more dynamic, comfortable TTK and an overall more engaging, progressive combat experience that encourages mastery and replayability
• These adjustments and refinements will be an ongoing process throughout Season 1 as we gather data and player feedback

Part 6: Thoughts on Solo and Team Play

●First and foremost, we want to assure our players that DB will not abandon solo play. We have carefully considered the relationship between solo and team play from various angles, and we'd like to share our insights with you in a transparent manner:

• If we were to completely separate solo and team play environments, it would require entirely different designs for both sides, including class balance, combat design, map structure and routes, map mechanics, boss mechanics, and economy. Our class balance adjustments based on solo balance would inevitably fail to ensure a satisfying team play experience, and the introduction of collaborative map mechanisms would not translate well to solo play
• Take class design as an example. DB's class skills are largely inspired by League and WoW, where combat balance has always been designed around team play. Neither of these games offer solo play as their official or main game mode
• However, when we look at successful extraction games in the industry, they usually allow solo and trio players to share the same stage, and solo players can still find enjoyment. DB experimented with mixed-team matchmaking during the early playtests, but the experience was not good at all. So, what exactly is DB missing, or where did we go wrong, that caused our mixed-team matchmaking to be unfriendly to solo players?

1.PvP TTK and Combat Range

• DB's TTK (especially for melee) is significantly longer than in shooter games, making it extremely difficult to fight against multiple opponents. Melee characters also have short range and are in danger once engaged in combat

2.PvE TTK, Number of Mobs, and Mob Positioning

• In Hunt: Showdown, for example, there are fewer mobs, and the kill time is within 2 seconds. Players spend more time scouting, planning routes, and avoiding environmental creatures like crows that could expose their position. Compared to DB's current state, this significantly reduces the difference in advancement speed between solo and trio teams

3.Environmental Complexity and Ease of Information Gathering

• The core resource areas in shooter extraction games are often designed as buildings with more complex terrain, making it harder to gather information. However, DB's level design makes it easier to obtain information, and the abundance of monster corpses can expose a player's previous route

4.Poison Circle and Random Portal Extraction

• The poison circle forces solo and trio players to confront each other directly, rather than allowing solo players to choose whether to challenge teams with more players

5.Lack of Guaranteed Profit Measures

• In DB, not only is it difficult to fight against multiple opponents as a solo player, but losing means a complete loss. Even if you acquire valuable items, you may not be able to escape in the end

6.Additional Solo Play Compensation

• In Hunt: Showdown, some talents are significantly enhanced when playing solo. For example, a certain talent allows solo players to revive once

●As you might have noticed, many of the changes we introduced in Pre-season or confirmed for S1 align with the above summary, such as map structure and route changes, monster placement changes, and the pet system (safe container). We want to fundamentally make solo and team experiences compatible from the ground up, eliminating the difficulty of solo-trio balance and pre-teaming issues, and ensuring that new mechanics or gameplay can serve all players
●Based on numerous successful extraction games, we believe this is an achievable goal. In addition to the announced content, more bold, fundamental changes are being designed and developed as we speak. Once they pass internal testing, we will share them with you as soon as possible
●We appreciate the patience of our persistent players, and we sincerely invite all solo users to continue providing feedback until you can truly achieve 1v3 and wipe out a team

Part 7: Closing Words

Lastly, we want to take a moment to thank all our players who have supported us and believed in our vision for DB. Your feedback, both positive and negative, has been invaluable to shaping the game's direction. We're committed to creating a unique and thrilling experience that stays true to the core of extraction gameplay. DB is more than just a game to us; it's a passion project that we're pouring our hearts into.

As we move forward with Pre-season, Season 1, and beyond, we're excited to bring you new content, features, overhauls, and improvements. We firmly believe in the potential of DB and the community that has formed around it. Your support means a lot to us, and we will continue to push boundaries and deliver a game that captivates and challenges you.

Thank you for being a part of this journey. We can't wait to see you in the dungeons tomorrow!