Balance Superpowered?

Welcome, mortal! I'm JFA, promoter of GU Masters, and today I bring some important news for any fan of Gods Unchained. The Immutable team has announced a partnership called to revolutionize the balance of the metagame and offer, if all goes according to plan, a better experience for players like you.

Superpower x Gods Unchained? Let's take a look.

Our starting point

Balance the metagame of a trading card game is never simple and, in addition, Gods unchained has the particularity of having an "always current" expansion (for more details I recommend this article: "Genesis is a special expansion, do you know why?" ). Veterans know that there have been periods of dissatisfaction with the meta's state over time, and we recognize that improving in this area is paramount for Gods Unchained to continue to grow. Therefore, it is essential that the Gods Unchained team has additional resources for this.

What would be the ideal scenario? From my point of view, the best option would be for the Gods Unchained team to add a group of Betatesters dedicated exclusively and full-time to testing the game and providing feedback to the design managers. Obviously, this is not easy since it requires finding suitable profiles and assuming a considerable investment in personnel.

The Gods Unchained team has opted for an alternative: outsourcing this service. And that's where Enter Superpower .

What is Superpower?

Superpower It's a Specialized Consultant in providing support for the balancing of the metagame of Web3 games. It is made up of experienced players and content creators linked to the well-known team of e-Sports Infinite Mana (8M), as well as by people outside of it.

There is no doubt that offering optimal performance in a role like this is necessary to start with having high-level players who know the game in depth in question. It is evident that the members of Superpower meet these requirements... names like Clutch, FakeMews or VilliBesti need no introduction and their involvement in Gods Unchained is unquestionable. But this is not all.

Having advanced players is necessary, but not enough. Superpower also has the appropriate resources to provide not only qualitative but also quantitative information thanks to the Data Engineering , through rigorous and systematized processes. From my point of view, this is decisive and that is where Superpower has to make a difference with other alternatives.

It is therefore to be hoped that their efforts will be based on evidence and will contribute significantly to the overall improvement of the metagame , but without ever losing sight of the fact that Superpower will limit itself to providing advice and feedback based on potential scenarios. Nothing else. The decision-making will always fall to the Gods Unchained team .

Are you wondering how Superpower is going to work ? Your members will have access to the beta realm and will be testing upcoming content, including the upcoming expansion (working name "A1"). Your responsibilities will include running specific tests on that content, such as testing different domains against each other's best decks and recording win percentages. In addition, they will provide general opinions and comments on said content.

According to the Immutable team, the balance tests will have an initial period of two months for onboarding and support, and, if the results are as expected, the contract could be extended. They will dedicate 10 hours a week to the Playtesting , with a weekly meeting and regular feedback loops. The team will consist of 4-6 testers and 1-2 leaders who will add most of the feedback. To ensure transparency and accountability, Superpower will also add quantitative and technical information to your comments. This Structured approach It will help ensure that the game stays fine-tuned and engaging for all players.

Challenges

I think it makes sense to divide this heading into two sections.

1.- Challenges of a technical nature

On the one hand, there are the challenges of a technical nature , typical of this activity (for more details I recommend the article "Game Balance as a challenge for the growth of Gods Unchained" ):

• The balance of the metagame It's an ongoing process that requires continuous response to changes in the game and player base. In addition, the difficulty in designing new mechanics and card types increases when they are analyzed without context , which makes it more difficult to judge new ones.
• A card can significantly improve or become much weaker than initially anticipated when it reaches the players' hands, especially in the case of open cards that offer many possibilities. As if the above were not enough, we must not overlook that The power level of a card will mutate over time , since each new change is likely to cause a wave that moves cards up or down. Thus, the power level of each card varies depending on the context, such as the game format in which it will be used. For example, a card may appear weak in the initial stages of design, and yet be extremely strong once you start building your deck around it.

Now let's go to the second block of challenges.

2.- Implementation challenges

On the other hand, we have the challenges inherent in implementing This focus on an area of enormous importance for the future of the game:

The first question that comes to mind is... Ten hours per week is enough to achieve the intended objectives? In any case, this will always be modifiable, if necessary.

The second question is how to guarantee that no inappropriate use of sensitive information will be made? Avoid any suspicion of Inside trading is essential and, as explained by the Gods Unchained team, Superpower members will be subject to a code of good practice similar to the one that Immutable employees must comply with. In particular, they must not take any action using non-public information to trade, directly or indirectly, Gods Unchained assets. To be exact:

1. Buy or sell any NFT on Immutable X for more than $1,000;
2. The trading volume (buy plus sell) or trading rewards earned on a specific ERC20 token developed by Immutable or one of its partners exceeds a multiple of $10,000 (i.e., $10,000, $20,000, $30,000); or
3. The trading volume (buy plus sell) of a collection on Immutable X exceeds a multiple of $10,000

In any case, the Superpower team has already clarified that it will disclose its operations even if they do not exceed the specified thresholds .

The third question is What about the competitive scene? There's no doubt that having access to new cards gives you an advantage in terms of meta knowledge, which can translate into better tournament results. With this in mind, Superpower members will be subject to a two-week "embargo" from the launch of a new collection in order to participate in any tournaments sponsored by Immutable.

Are these Sufficient guarantees ? I leave you to judge for yourself.

Could you contribute to improving the balance of the game?

If you want contribute your knowledge and experiences visit This website , you have the opportunity to apply. As we have mentioned, membership in Superpower is not exclusive to Infinite Mana members.

What do you think of all this?

Considering both the involvement of these community members (such as competitive gamers, collectors, content creators, etc.) and their interest in Gods Unchained's success, as well as the deterrent effect of the measures envisaged to ensure exemplary behaviour, it seems reasonable to expect that Superpower's activity will have an impact on the Positive influence as far as the balance of the meta is concerned. And this sounds like great news, right?

Thank you very much for joining me here, I trust that this article has piqued your interest. I want to take this opportunity to remind you that you can support GU Masters by purchasing your cards through the TokenTrove referral link (which has no cost for you) and invite you to join all the players who already receive the GU Masters newsletter to stay on top of what's new in the Gods Unchained universe: The Herald .

Images courtesy of Gods Unchained Pty Ltd.