Hello, I’m Chaos, the system and balance designer of ChaosBringer. In our previous article, Pencil shared the background and memories that inspired ChaosBringer’s creation.
In this article, I’ll offer a closer look at the core of ChaosBringer’s gameplay: how we brought the thrilling raid experience of MMORPGs to solo play with our unique combat system.
MMORPG-Style Raid
Our game’s raid bosses come with intricate and diverse patterns that go beyond typical designs. Each boss expects the cooperation of a tank, DPS, and healer, each fulfilling their role to the fullest. The challenge of adapting strategies to counter these patterns captures the spirit of raiding with friends. But here’s the twist—you control every character yourself!
And as any MMORPG player knows, managing even one character can be tough. So, how does it work?
RTwP System with Skill Reservations
To address this, we developed the RTwP system with skill reservations.
ChaosBringer’s combat is rooted in an RTwP (real-time with pause) system. Players can jump into real-time action but can also pause anytime to assign actions to each character. However, too much pausing can disrupt the gameplay flow, and controlling multiple characters without pauses can lead to chaotic, less strategic play.
To bridge this, ChaosBringer takes it a step further with skill reservations.
In our system, players can queue skills for each character in the timeline, creating a longer, seamless playback phase. Master each role’s skill rotation, line up the actions, and press the space bar! When you hit play, your characters deliver a coordinated, strategic performance that brings the depth of MMORPG combat to solo play. And in emergencies, you can pause anytime to adjust your plan before resuming the action.
Damage and Threat Meters
As mentioned, our bosses call for well-coordinated strategies involving a tank, DPS, and healer. ChaosBringer incorporates a complete threat system with both damage and threat meters for players to track. Tanks can hold threat, while DPS and healers maximize their roles without drawing unwanted attention. Even in a single-player setting, you’ll feel the depth of true party dynamics. And since it’s a solo game, there’s no need to worry about low damage, low heals, or misplaced threat drawing criticism from teammates.
Coming Soon
If you’d like to dive deeper into our RTwP system or learn how ChaosBringer created such a distinct combat experience, stay tuned for the next article!