[2023] Y8S2 DESIGNER'S NOTES

In this latest edition of Designer's Notes, we'll go into detail about the balancing changes that'll come with the Y8S2 Season Test Server and give you some insight into the reasons behind them.

BALANCING MATRIX AND TOP OPERATOR BANS WIN DELTA VS. PRESENCE




Please note that we are using presence to gauge the popularity of an Operator. This notion had to be introduced to reflect the implementation of the pick & ban.

Presence definition: pick rate of an Operator when not banned. Win Delta: The Win Delta is aggregated from Operator's Win Deltas per Bomb Site.

OPERATOR BAN RATE




GADGET BALANCING OBSERVATION BLOCKER

BASE STATS

• Amount: 3 per operator
  
• Barrier maximum width: 5 meters
  
• Barrier height: 2.2 meters
  
• Type: Electronic
  
• Health: 1hp
  
• Vulnerabilities: Bullets, laser, melee, explosives

The Observation Blocker is the new Secondary Gadget available for Defenders. Once deployed, it creates a digital barrier that blocks vision from any Observation Tool, such as drones, Iana's Gemini Replicator, or Brava's Kludge Drone, so operators or gadgets cannot be spotted through it. This barrier is only visible from Observation Tools, so it won't affect operators in any way. The arms of the device will adapt to the space available, so the projection won't go through walls.

Currently, the only way to deny Attacker droning is by playing Mute, Mozzie, or Solis. The Observation Blocker will now also fulfill this role to a lesser degree, as drones can travel through the barrier with zero penalty. This gadget won't replace those operators, but it will reinforce the gameplay around denying information and allow for more flexibility when a dedicated operator is not required.

During the Preparation Phase, the device can be used to hide information regarding the operators selected or the actual defensive setup. Attackers will need to take more risks with drones to use Attacker Repick at its full potential as they won't know if a Defender is watching from behind the wall. It can also be used to force Attackers to be more accurate when gathering information, as any corner covered by an Observation Blocker can hide a threat.

OPERATORS

The Observation Blocker is added as a 3rd secondary gadget option unless it is specified in the Operator Balancing section below.

• Ela
  
• Rook
  
• Warden
  
• Caveira
  
• Kaid
  
• Maestro
  
• Pulse
  
• Alibi
  
• Jäger

OPERATOR BALANCING
ALIBI LOADOUT

• Removed Deployable Shield
  
• Removed Impact Grenades.
  
• Added Observation Blocker
  
• Added Proximity Alarm.

Alibi's Prisma blocks line of sight, gathers intel, and tricks attackers. We want to double down on this fantasy by changing all her secondary gadgets to focus on those aspects.

The Observation Blocker will contribute to the mind games around the Prismas allowing you to hide them from drones to be more effective against Attackers. Proximity Alarms as an alternative, will gather intel and contribute to map control.

The removal of Impact Grenades will also help slow her down, as she will have to rely on the Baliff 410 to make all rotations.

CLASH LOADOUT

• Added Deployable Shield.

To compensate for her limited fire power Clash will now be able to contribute more to the site setup. Similarly, to what was done with the Super Shorty, we wanted to give her more options.

GOYO LOADOUT

• Removed Nitro Cell.
  
• Added Bulletproof Camera.
  
• Added Impact Grenades.

Goyo already has a lot of area denial with the Volcan Canisters, having access to the Nitro Cell fulfills a similar the similar gameplay intention of plant denial. We will replace it with a Bulletproof Camera, so he has an alternative to gather intel and protect his gadgets from being spotted or destroyed by various drones.

We will also give him Impact Grenades as a 3rd option to again encourage flexibility, so you can trigger a couple of Volcan Canisters without needing to have direct line of sight with them.

GRIM KAWAN HIVE LAUNCHER

• Equip time: Reduced to 1 second (from 1.1).
  
• Rate of fire: Increased to 70 rpm (from 40).

KAWAN HIVE

• Activation: Time reduced to 0.4 seconds (from 1).
  
• Vulnerabilities: It is also vulnerable to bullets, laser, and melee damage.

HIVE

• Duration: Increased to 16 seconds (from 8).
  
• Size: Radius increased to 4.6 meters (from 3.6).
  
• Detection system: Now detects any part of the body, not only the head.
  
• Decay: Duration reduced to 4 seconds (from 9). The time between pings is normalized to 1 second (from 1/3/9).

LOADOUT

• Added Baliff 410 as a secondary weapon option.
  
• Added Hard Breach Charge as a secondary gadget option.

To make Grim's gadget more impactful, we will tweak some values with the objective of increasing the chances of applying the effect to a Defender.

First, we are making the Kawan Hive Launcher more responsive by reducing the equipping time and increasing the rate of fire, so you can fill up an area much faster. Secondly, the Kawan Hive will release its charge faster, so a well-placed projectile will easily catch defenders nearby. But take note a quick enough defender can still destroy it before this happens as the Kawan Hive is now vulnerable to more damage types. Finally, we are increasing the Hive's radius and duration, so it can better limit the Defender's movements, as a result the effect's decay will be reduced to make it less punishing to touch the area by accident.

We will also improve his loadout to increase its flexibility and allow for more creative ways to use the launcher.

We believe these changes will help him, but other options are being explored as these changes may not be enough to put him in line with other attackers, so more adjustments will come.

JÄGER LOADOUT

• Removed Barbed Wire.
  
• Added Observation Blocker.

The Observation Blocker has great synergy with operators like Jäger that need to hide their utility from unwanted eyes.

PULSE LOADOUT

• Removed Barbed Wire.
  
• Added Deployable Shield
  
• Added Observation Blocker.

It's difficult to compete with the Nitro Cell paired with Pulse's ability, but the Deployable Shield and Observation Blocker can be interesting if you want to play more passively, as they can provide you with some protection while feeding information to your teammates.

SMOKE LOADOUT

• Removed Deployable Shield.
  
• Added Proximity Alarm.

Smoke is the one to go to when somebody asks for area denial. Even if he's not the optimal option in every situation, his loadout makes him consistently viable and useful. Without the deployable shield, we expect the decision won't be as easy and will leave some space for other area denial defenders.

TACHANKA LOADOUT

• Added Proximity Alarm.

The Proximity Alarms will give Tachanka precise information about where to shoot his Incendiary Grenades and help him use resources more effectively.

THUNDERBIRD LOADOUT

• Removed Impact Grenades
  
• Removed Nitro Cell
  
• Added Barbed Wire
  
• Added Bulletproof Camera

KONA STATION

• Cooldown: Reduced to 15 seconds (from 35).
  
• Healing: Reduced to 20 hp (from 30).

We want to make playing on top of a Kona Station fairer. On Consoles, where headshots are less likely, you may end up fighting against a defender that has +30hp because the automatic heal will trigger on the first tick of damage received. However, we are reducing the cooldown to get heals, so the Kona Station will be available more often when a Defender needs it and will reward staying there to fully heal, as the healing potential over time is higher than before.

Additionally, Thunderbird was released with a very strong loadout that encourages very aggressive play. We want to reduce her killing potential by removing the Nitro Cell and make the shotgun a meaningful option by removing her Impact Grenades. We will replace them with support focused gadgets that we believe fit her role better.


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