News
The Latest News in AradGreetings Dungeon Fighters!
Lady Arad here. There are some significant updates that will be entering the world of Arad within the coming weeks. We've put up an article with more details in the "Magazine" section of the Web site, but I wanted to give you some more details about the good things coming soon.
Open Beta Status
Dungeon Fighter Online's "Open Beta" process is proceeding quite well. The good news is that the overall feedback from you has been really positive. You've told us you really like the gameplay, the art style and the content that's available in the game. We love the game internally and knew DFO's classic arcade gameplay would win people over once they gave it a try. You've told us we were right and we're thrilled that so many people really like the game!
Of course that doesn't mean all is well within the world of Arad. While your diligent work and great feedback have helped us to overcome more than a few technical and gameplay hurdles, that doesn't mean our work is done. We've been sifting through the feedback and forum comments and we've identified a few trouble spots that the team is working hard to address.
Softening the Grind
MMOs have a tough job maintaining the delicate balance between "challenging enough to be fun" and "painful." That's why the High Council has been paying close attention to the experience point curve and the amount of time it takes for players to get from level 1 to level 40. After analyzing a ton of player data and reading through your forum feedback we've come to the conclusion that, yes, the experience point curve in DFO is a bit sharp and there are some segments of the 1 to 40 climb that are worse than others. That's why we're currently in the process of smoothing the curve in general and addressing the particularly rough sections.
Softening the experience curve will not only help you get one character to 40 faster, it'll also free up time to experiment with new characters and alternate subclasses. One of the things we're really proud of in Dungeon Fighter Online is the way the game brings depth and strategy to a kind of classic arcade gameplay. We want players to experience the game in different ways. If you're a Gunner and you really enjoy your role as a ranged damage-dealer, why not try getting up close and personal as a Fighter? You might find that melee combat give you a whole new way to enjoy DFO!
Dungeon Difficulty
We expect cries of pain and anguish to come from our dungeons, but some of the yelling in the last few weeks has been entirely the wrong type. After extensive testing and analyzing player performance in the Lorien and Grand Flores areas we've come to the conclusion that many of the dungeons in this area need a balance pass. We're currently examining the lower level dungeons and evaluating the best way to lower their difficulty while retaining a good level of challenge for our players. This will help new players learn the game faster and help them prepare for more challenging dungeons later on.
Gameplay Variety
Dungeon Fighter Online offers a lot of different ways to play. If you enjoy soloing, there's lots for you to do. Party-based adventurers can hook up with up to three other players to explore a dungeon. PvP fans can go one-on-one or in team-based brawls. The thing is, lots of players sometimes miss out on aspects of the game that they're not normally drawn to. That's why we'd love to see our players take the next few weeks and try something different. If you're a solo Dungeon Fighter, try some team-based PvP. If you're a PvP person – why not take your team into some of our epic dungeons and talk about it on the forums? Your fresh perspective will really help the team as we move toward launch!
The Future...
In addition to our work on the current version of the game, the High Council also has its eyes on the future. Our initial selection of content was determined by the need to provide a solid launch for the game. Plans are currently in place for post-launch content additions that will make the game in every way the equal of the versions that serve other regions. We're already running holiday events (such as our recent Halloween event) and we're planning on lots more including introducing new Avatar Items players can wear. There are much larger updates further out though, that we're really excited about bringing to the game. These include a higher level cap, new dungeons, new characters, new game mechanics and much, much more.
We're really excited about what's coming up in Dungeon Fighter Online. We hope you are too!