Combat AMA Summary, and Key Points

In today’s article we’ll be doing a summary of the recent Combat AMA which took place on May 19th - which if you’d like you can watch in full on YouTube.

Are you planning on having animations or actions take place when a Void Adventure is completed?
We’re not planning on that right this second. It’s a nice thought, but right now Combat (and Phase 2) are our first priority.

When will Phase 2 begin?
We’re looking at doing an Open Beta for Combat in either late August or early September. Our plan is to have these systems fully released by November of 2022.

Will weapon durability exist in-game?
Yes, we do plan to implement durability and it will be restorable with an in-game resource.

Will we be able to burn Training Items we don’t want for the opportunity at ones we do?
The idea has been considered, but there are no plans at this moment to implement a system like that.

Is there a decided method to implementing skills, and if so how would it work and how would a Devikin acquire them? Secondly, are skills/equipment considered NFTs?
Yes, and yes. Weapons offer base attribute scaling (ie. Physical or Magical damage), but weapons also function as a catalyst and how you trigger/equip your skills. Skills are being designed similar to Materia in FF7 with progression built in to improve their effectiveness. Weapons are also considered NFTs.

Can a low OA affinity Devikin win a fight against a high OA Devikin?
It’s not a straight ahead question considering level scaling, wherein an Eldritch Lv.1 going against an OA 5 Lv.100 would get its butt kicked, but the opposite would be true. Tactics have play, and we’re also going to implement a ‘Pauper League’ in which you’re put up against others with similar teams to yours.

Speaking of Pauper Leagues…
We plan to implement systems where similar OA teams get to fight against each other. An idea that Sergio has tentatively thrown around is an “Affinity Cap” where your team would have a maximum sum OA that could be filled by one, or many Devikin.

Will personality affect combat?
Yes. Each Devikin has what we call a ‘weapon profile,’ where they have a select few weapons they can equip based on their personality. At this moment we have fourteen types of weapons and each personality can equip roughly seven types of weapon.

Will there be an energy system to limit match spamming?
Yes, for both PvE and PvP.

Is PvP a 3v3 system, or something like that? How many Devikin would you bring to a fight?
4v4 is what we’re going for right now. A team is composed of four fighters and a pet.

Pets!?
Yes, pets will be a part of combat.

Will combat be an auto-battler or traditional turn-based?
We’re going with traditional turn-based JRPG play for combat.

Will we craft weaponry or just buy it in the shop?
With weapons being NFTs that requires more extensive planning. We’ll be releasing more information about it come the Combat Whitepaper, but right now weapons can be acquired. An idea we’re playing with is called, ‘Weapon Transcendency,’ where you can upgrade a weapon from common to uncommon and so forth. It’s a bit of a mix between acquiring the weapon and upgrading it.

Will burning to increase level-cap have requirements beyond the number of NFTs burned? Such as certain rarities requiring burning?
No. That would get messy very quickly. All that will be required is a Devikin being burned, not a specific kind.

Will Ancestry be useful in Phase 2? Say, synergies if we use the same ancestry for a team?
Sort of. Ancestries decide your resistances/weaknesses to elements similar to the Persona games. Chill, for example, is more or less effective against different Ancestries.

Are there level or stat prerequisites for equipment?
Not so far, but we’re not going to say no right out of the gate. We’re currently laying down weapon/skill design, and equipment will come next.

Will you drop a teaser for PvP, and are we still following the Whitepaper Roadmap for the Phase 2 release?
We don’t have a teaser planned at this moment as we’re currently focused on getting to our internal Alpha. Regarding the Roadmap, as previously mentioned look to late August or early September for community testing.

What are the advantages of having certain Genes in combat? Do they have any effect?
Originally it was going to be a no, but we’re thinking of having ‘Gene Sync’ or ‘Gene Unsync’ effects tied to weapons where they gain bonuses for having, or not having specific Genes. This may apply to skills, but again this is a tentative idea.

Will equipment have rarity levels?
Yes.

Do you plan to use a class/job system like in other RPGs?
No. You can theme your Devikin around certain class archetypes but there’s no defined system that restricts you.

Will there be game-modes where you fight against increasingly large teams of Devikin?
No. We have no plans to implement massive singular battles. Guild versus Guild fights are a different thing entirely and still involve 4v4 fights, but they’re fights that contribute towards a points system. UI simply doesn’t allow for having so many characters on screen when it comes to mobile devices.

Will there be set-bonuses or tier set bonuses similar to those in other games when it comes to equipment?
Yes. Devikin have four equipment slots, and not the standard helm, chest, bracers etc. We have undies, socks, piercings, and bracelets. Any piece of equipment can be part of a set and when you equip that set you get bonuses. It’s a bit funny, but we decided to use this goofy system for the fun of it, and it makes more sense with costumes. You can equip your Eldritch Undies and then put your costume on top of it all.

Speaking of costumes…
Yes, we do plan to implement costumes and other cosmetics to the game.

Do you plan to design traditional JRPG style dungeons that require potions and item foraging? Also, what is beyond the Void?
No. We don’t plan to have battle items like potions, instead one will just use skills. If we add dungeons they wouldn’t be part of the story mode, think more random dungeons as side-content. In terms of the Void, the Void is the game world and is the name for the world’s universe- and it’s a collection of individual islands and zones that are disparate from one another with their own unique theming, enemies, and plot points.

Will there be opportunities for outplaying others or will Devikins be a purely numbers game? Also, are affinities relevant or will attributes be the main deciding factor in combat?
Starting with the second half of the question, affinities and attributes are tied together, and affinity affects attribute growth. Attributes are what are actually used in combat, but their growth is dependent on the previous. For outplay opportunities you have skills, weapons, equipment, and lots of different ways to play. Combat is a strategy game like other JRPGs.

Do you plan to implement Guild Bosses/World Bosses, or maybe Endless Tower style gameplay?
We love ideas like that and we do want to play around with it, but right now we’re focused on the actual combat systems first and foremost. In future, possibly.

How are weapons designed? Do they have dedicated skills and damage types?
Weapons are catalysts as mentioned previously, and the skill damage element is given to you by your equipped weapon. So, they affect your damage type, amount of damage done, healing done, etc.

Will we have a market or some sort of trading system when it comes to equipment? Secondly, how often will balance patches occur?
Yes, in one form or another. In regards to balance patches, as often as we need them to keep combat smooth, or shake up the meta if it gets stale. We always want to make sure that Devikins is fun to play.

Will there be restrictions in combat like there are in Void Adventures?
Not for the currently developed PvE Story-mode, but maybe for a different PvE mode where you have to win a battle with certain restrictions, like a challenge mode.

Can a Dummykin be used in PvE and PvP?
Yes. You can use a Dummykin in the same way you would any other NFT. You simply cannot trade or sell it, as well as earn with that Dummykin. They’re blockchain restricted but not gameplay restricted.

Will companions or pets be a part of combat?
Yes! Pets are a part of combat. They’re meant to be support that you can trigger a few times in battle.

Is there a lot of RNG involved in combat?
There is some RNG with crits and evasion, but they’re just the standard systems that are implemented in other JRPGs.

Can Goat be a pet in-game?
Of course! We already made the art.

Is a scholarship system planned?
Not right this second. It doesn’t make sense within the context of our game and economy design right now, but if we found a good way to implement it, we would.

Will there be PvP chores?
It doesn’t make any sense for us to not do it. It would be less prohibitive than other games, no ‘Win Ten Games’ style chores. Think more, ‘Compete in X Matches.’

Will the marketplace be accessible in-game?
Not at this moment. It would be awesome but it’s not on our task-list right this second.

Does a Devikin die or do you lose your Devikin if you lose a match?
No.

Is Devikins planning on moving to the Klever Chain?
Yes.

Are there plans to implement leagues? Such as Wood League to Gold League etc.?
Definitely! Flexing is a huge part of PvP.

Will I be penalized for losing a match?
You simply don’t win anything if you lose, or have lesser rewards. There are no other consequences of losing a match. We have no intention of punishing players for losses.

How long does a typical PvP match last?
We don’t have any specific combat timeframes at this second. It’s something we have to work out as our design progresses.

Do Devikin earn EXP from combat?
Sort of? Consumable items drop from combat that you can use to level up.

What’s your biggest goal for Devikins?
A worldwide championship similar to Pokemon. A proper Devikins League taking place on the stage would be incredible.

A big thanks to Prodiejhay for their extensive work already committed to summarizing this AMA, and past ones.