[2021] State of the Gear-laxy - September 2021

Hi Holotable Heroes,

We have some exciting news! There are several important changes coming to Galaxy of Heroes we want to tell you about. Some of the changes outlined below are in today’s update and others will come in the near future. Today’s update brings a new matchmaking system to Territory Wars, adds a new set of rewards, and introduces Relic 9. This also sets the stage for big changes to gear in Galaxy of Heroes. There is a ton to talk about today so let’s dive right in.

TERRITORY WAR CHANGES
Today’s Update brings a whole host of changes to Territory Wars. The main objective is to provide a better and more competitive experience in Territory Wars.

Division Changes
It’s been a while since we have updated Territory War Divisions and it is getting a bit crowded at the top end of the Divisions as we release more and more ways to increase your GP. We have expanded upper divisions with 8 new Divisions to account for the growing GP of Guilds. These higher Divisions will require more total defenses and have several new rewards.

PLEASE NOTE THE IMAGE BELOW HAS BEEN UPDATED SINCE THE ORGINAL POST. NOTE: Counts are expressed as WIN/LOSS where applicable
Rewards Changes
In addition to all the previous rewards,the new upper Divisions have added rewards that emphasize winning. The new top Divisions can earn an additional box of Gear, a Relic chest with Relic 1-7 materials, Aeromagnifiers, and the new Relic 9 Material, Droid Brains.

Matchmaking
With a greater incentive placed on victory, it is important that we address matchmaking and ensure Guilds are paired against fair opponents. Today’s Update reworks the matchmaking system in Territory Wars to more accurately calculate the amount of power a Guild is bringing to the holotable. Our goal with these changes is to create a more fair and balanced experience long term. This system better accounts for guilds that bring a smaller number of powerful players. Additionally, the system takes loss streaks into account during matchmaking. You might also notice that cross-divisional matchups can now occur to help smooth the transition between Divisions. (Note that the number of Defenses needed is determined by the lower Division’s Guild but each Guild’s prize pool is determined by its own specific Division.)

While these changes are intended to have immediate effects, we also expect this to be the starting point for a greater ability to fine tune the system in the future. We will be monitoring the impact of these changes very closely and will likely make adjustments in the future.

Relic 9
As we mentioned above, Relic 9 is coming to Galaxy of Heroes later today. Relic 9 will require 2 new materials to craft, Droid Brains and Gyrda Keypads. Droid Brains will be exclusively available from Territory Wars (for now) and Gyrda Keypads can be crafted by the Jawa Scavenger from existing Gear.

As part of these changes, we are also expanding the ability for players to get Relic 8 materials (as well as a series of upcoming changes on lower Relics and gear, more on that below). We are adjusting the Relic 8 rewards in the challenge tier of The Pit to provide more guild members with an increased supply of Aeromagnifiers.
UPDATED: Fixed total rewards for Guilds

The release of Relic 9 opens up a great opportunity to talk about Gear and some big changes coming in the future.

Multi-Phase Gear Update
It is time we talk about Gear in Galaxy of Heroes. Today we are announcing a series of changes coming to Gear over the next several months that are aimed at accomplishing the following goals:

1. Allow newer players to progress faster
2. Accelerate all player’s ability to unlock and engage with Relics
3. Ease the older Gear hurdles but still keep it valuable

Gear is a system that is at the core of Galaxy of Heroes and requires a multi-phase approach that builds up over time in order to respect the existing progress (and Gear) players have earned since the launch of the game. As gear is interwoven into almost every aspect of the game, this approach will allow us to account for knock-on effects and have confidence in each phase. As each phase rolls out, we want to ensure that ALL players experience real change in their gear flow, while also ensuring newer players experience a greater impact given they face the largest climb. Earlier phases are a bit more focused on newer Players, but again, everyone will benefit. (The TLDR being, Gear isn’t going away, but everyone should steadily receive more Stun Guns, Carbantis, etc.).

The following outlines Phase 1 of the changes, and we will be announcing more details regarding future phases as they are closer to release. Again, the plan is to release these changes over the next few months barring any major bugs or issues.

Phase 1: (Not in today’s Update unless specified)

Target: All Players

• Daily Challenges Changes
  • Salvage for Mk5 Stun Guns, Mk8 BioTech Implant, Mk3 Stun Cuffs, Mk5 Arakyd Droid Callers added to Daily Challenges
• More Core Gear added to the Shard Shop
  • Adding in a new dedicated slot in the Shard Shop that only provides Core Gear
  • This slot will be available every refresh
• Territory War Prizes expanded (via today’s Update)
  • As mentioned above, Territory War prizes have been updated to award additional:
    • Gear (all division, equal for Victory and Defeat)
    • Core Gear (divisions 8+; GP 60M+; Victory only)
    • Relic 1-7 Materials (divisions 13+; GP 170M+; Victory only)
    • Aeromagnifiers (divisions 16+; GP 240M+; Mostly Victory)
• Increased quantity of all Gear from the Daily Quest
• Approximately double drop rate of Gear on PvE Hard nodes with Character Shards
  • All PvE nodes with Character shards will have the Gear drop rate increased
  • This is intended to increase the amount of Gear earned while farming characters

Target: Catch-Up Newer/Mid-level Players

• Territory Battle Prize Changes
  • Gear Rewards from Event Stars below max will be increased. Max rewards unchanged.
    • This decreases the difference between the top and bottom gear prizes.
  • Targeted at mid-level players who are competing in Territory Battles but are unable to reach the top prize
  • Other Prizes remain the same
• Galactic Challenge Prizes Changes
  • Similarly to Territory Battles, prizes boxes below the max reward will be increased in order to boost rewards for newer and mid-level players
  • The max rewards remain approximately the same, but the ramp up of rewards to those max rewards will be less steep

This Phase 1 Update represents a starting point to begin addressing many of your core concerns around Gear. The October Road Ahead will discuss Phase 1 in more detail so stay tuned for that, and we will be announcing the next phases in the near future.

Thanks for reading and see you on the Holotables!

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