Krosmic Commentary 16-05-2025 - What’s the Latest?

Core Issue:

There is a growing frustration that certain classes are either too strong in PvP or PvM, but not both, and that the current game design doesn’t adequately separate balancing between the two modes. Players are becoming frustrated that their classes are underperforming in PvM, and are purposefully kept weak due to their oppression in PvP.

Let’s take Osamodas, for example. At level two hundred, they have the ability to summon multiple monsters to the field, each with around six hundred hp (averaged).

How is it possible to balance these summons, when in PvP you’ve just summoned an eighteen hundred health meatbag, which puts a whole lot of pressure on your opponents. Ignoring these summons inevitably makes the Osamodas have the upper hand, able to dish out severe damage, increased for each summon they have alive. Killing these summons instead is of course an option, but more often than not you’re forced to expend more AP than the summon’s cost to kill them.

In PvM, this is much less apparent, where monsters and particularly dungeon bosses are capable of hitting multiple targets without line of sight in huge Area of Effects, often instantly killing all summons with relatively little (or zero) costs.

The conundrum is, therefore, how on earth do you balance this class to be able to function in both game modes?

The answer can only be to separately balance between these game modes.

This was just one nuanced example with one class - Each class has their own individual issues, from the immense strength of MP reduction in PvM and its lacklustre usage in PvP, or the total opposite for classes that can reduce AP, to Range abusing and Resistance stacking, the game is so complex that any balancing would be building from the ground up.

Discussions Raised:

Some classes are clearly stronger in one mode than the other (e.g. Sacrier being dominant in PvP but underwhelming in PvM, or Enutrof being the opposite). This creates imbalance in certain areas of the game and frustration among players depending on their preferred content and chosen class.
Desire for Separation:
Many players expressed a desire for distinct balancing between PvP and PvM. The idea is that a class could be adjusted independently in each mode so that it's viable or fun in both, without overpowering one or being left behind in the other.
Class Identity vs. Utility:
There's a tension between maintaining a class's fantasy/identity and making sure it serves a practical role in each game mode. For instance, some classes are destined to be tanks or supports, but end up not being invited to PvM content because they don’t contribute enough to damage or speed. Is it fair to punish players for playing certain classes?
Perception of “Meta Slaves”:
Some of the discussion included frustration with the idea that players gravitate toward whatever class is “meta” in PvP or PvM, reinforcing imbalance issues. Players are only interested in the very fastest and safest options when it comes to clearing content. Whilst it’s a long-standing belief that every class can clear the game to 100%, it’s no secret that some classes are far easier than others to achieve this. Whilst natural differences in difficulty is great for the game, more complex classes should be rewarded with higher damage or more utility if they’re successful in pulling off multiple-turn combos and complex rotations. It wouldn’t be fair to make the easiest class also do the most damage.
Implementation Challenges:
While the idea of PvP/PvM separation is popular, there’s recognition that it could be a large technical and design challenge. Players speculate on how feasible this would be for Ankama to implement, as well as how confusing it would be for players to understand. Not only do we have a whole heap of spells to learn in terms of damage, range, and hidden effects, but creating separate balances for PvP and PvM would mean that players would have to learn new ranges, damages, costs etc. for a different game mode. Whilst this is Ankama’s thought, in reality, is there a large percentage of players playing both PvP and PvM together? Anecdotally, the player base seems to choose one game mode or the other.

Final Words:

This topic is a complicated one, and digging only just below the surface has unearthed huge issues in terms of initial implementation of classes, their design, and how the game works. The impact of balancing would affect all areas of the game including economics, dungeon design, map design, and even deeper aspects such as Line of Sight and overall Player Health. It’s an impossible ask to write such a detailed topic in only a few words, but the long and short of it is, I wouldn’t be expecting balance separation anytime soon, and if we do receive it, I wouldn’t expect it to be remotely successful as a first pass.

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