Advantages
This feature will make the game super interesting and much more enjoyable. It should be added as a new game mode rather than an overhaul of the game as it requires some accommodations. This is a long-term update which will eventually have a large positive effect on the main game once the game mode has run its course.
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Cheaper running costs for supercell, as the game mode can be used to gauge game balance rather than a balance team.
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No more complaints about game balance.
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Attracts users back who quit due to being fed up of repetitive decks and being too casual to learn how to counter annoying cards.
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Interesting and dynamic game mode will keep users engaged as each day presents different card balances.
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Previously unimaginable changes to cards, such as large elixir cost changes, can be attempted and tested within the game mode as the dynamic balances would automatically make them balanced.
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If there are any disadvantages, users can just avoid playing the game mode.
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There are many more advantages depending on how this feature is utilised and implemented, such as the ability to implement a final balance change to the main game once the dynamic balance changes have settled. This means users can freely upgrade their cards without fear of them becoming useless.
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This will in turn increase the number of purchases made by users as they can be sure their money will go towards something useful in the game → more money for Supercell without them having to use predatory and unattractive strategies which push users away.
Dynamic Balancing
The principle is that each card’s health and damage stats are automatically changed regularly within the game mode based on the card’s use rate in the game mode. A formula depending on use rate and the card type can be used to determine a score for each card. Then, every day, each card should be buffed or nerfed within the game mode depending on the score. If in the long term, the state of the game mode has settled and is enjoyable, then the card stats could be copied across to the main game as a final balance change. From then on, no changes will be made to existing cards, and new cards must be balanced to fit in, which could be done automatically with this game mode (eg by locking the balance of all existing cards and only allowing dynamic changes to new cards).
Dependence on Card Type
Cards should be dynamically balanced with the aim of them reaching their ideal / balanced use rate. Spells, win-conditions, and buildings should be treated separately to other cards as their ideal use rates would be higher due to there being fewer options in each category. Evolutions should continue to have the same base stats as the card itself so can be ignored here. The formula to calculate “balanced” use rate could be:
Ideal average uses of this card type per deck ÷ Number of cards of this card type in the game
Below is a rough suggestion for average ideal use of each card type per deck. Note that they don’t have to add up to 8 as a card can be multiple of the below card types.
Card Type | Avg Ideal Use per Deck |
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Spells | 2 |
Buildings | 0.6 |
Champions | 0.4* |
Winconditions | 1.1 |
Other cards | 4 |
*Assumed that, ideally, 40% of decks should contain a champion
For cards whose damage and health are finely tuned, such as those which die or just about survive certain spells, different stats can be changed, such as first hit time, attack speed, or stats unique to the card. If evolutions cause issues, their unique stats can be dynamically balanced but not their base stats as those should be the same as the base card.
Easy to use cards, such as Megaknight & Firecracker, are more attractive to the majority of players. Therefore, they would be expected to naturally have a <50% win rate once they reach their balanced use rates as their initially bloated use rates would cause lots of nerfs. Contrarily, tricky cards, such as Magic Archer & Xbow, are only attractive to a minority of players. Therefore, they would be expected to naturally have a >50% win rate once they reach their balanced use rates as their initially low use rates would cause lots of buffs. This could be considered balanced overall, but may cause imbalance in certain areas of the skill spectrum, such as pro play or mid ladder. But there is a solution:
For these cards which are particularly easy or tricky to use, alternative balance measures can be implemented in an attempt to distribute the use rates more evenly across the skill spectrum. For example, their elixir costs could be lowered along with stat nerfs. This would make the cards less annoying as they would be easier to deal with, but still better overall due to good value for elixir. These drastic changes can be more freely attempted in this new game mode, as the dynamic balancing allows for 5 elixir Megaknights, 2 elixir Firecrackers, and even 7 elixir 3 Musketeers to be automatically balanced to perfection, all while making them much less frustrating to deal with due to their worse stats!
Accomodations for this Game Mode
- Preferably, card levels should all be set to 11 in this game mode to enable perfect balancing.
- Otherwise, if Supercell really needs card levels in this game mode despite it potentially disrupting the dynamic balancing, slots should be upgradable rather than cards, as the cards will change very often.
- This could be done by automatically upgrading the slots based on XP level.
- The game mode could be a limited time one, but still quite long term. The game mode should only expire once dynamic balancing has settled and users are happy with the state of the card stats.
LICENSE AGREEMENT:
The author of this suggestion requires a negotiable compensation from Supercell if the idea is added. The compensation would be negligible to Supercell but meaningful to the author.