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Upcoming Bot Changes: January 31st [UPDATED]

edited January 2018 in General Discussion
Commanders!

Our next round of updates will be coming with our 5.1 Update on January 31st!

As you all know, we continuously make balance adjustments to our Bots and Mods in order to maintain a place where every Bot and Mod has a place in the game, and that no single Bot or Mod is the single answer to any content.

This build will see broad buffs to statistically underperforming bots like Shockwave, Ultra Magnus, Galvatron, Sideswipe, Arcee, Ramjet, and Dinobot. These buffs will be accompanied by a few smaller bug fixes to abilities as well.

Using data compiled over the last few months and anecdotal evidence provided by our fans we investigated the perceived weaknesses of almost every bot in the game. In some cases we were surprised, in others, our suspicions were confirmed.

Once we determined our underperformers we went about establishing the breadth of changes we were going to have to make to each character. Some characters required a simple re-tuning while others (well known to the community) needed larger, more disruptive changes. Even within these larger improvements we tried our utmost to maintain the feel and gameplay patterns that fans of those bots had come to understand.

We are pleased to say that most of our improvements found their way into the game in this patch. We will be further monitoring the performance of these bots and the impact they might have one the meta. Stay tuned for more improvements and give us your feedback on the changes.

Galvatron
With Galvatron we wanted to keep his playstyle feeling different but we wanted to bring his tuning in-line with the performance of other bots. To that end we quickened his charge time and made sure that players felt rewarded for going through the effort of becoming fully charged.

- Dark energy charge time reduced by 50%.
- Base Projectile Damage increased by 30%.
- Gained 20% Block Proficiency.
- Increase Dark Burn damage by 20% at all levels.
- Sp1 Stun Chance increased to 60% when fully charged.
- Dark energy charges are locked for the duration of Special 2.

Ramjet
With Ramjet we felt a lot of his perceived weakness came from the unreliability of triggering his Stuns. We relaxed all the timing and chances to trigger his abilities and also addressed the self-Stun he triggers with his Special 3.

- All Burns last 20% longer.
- Chance to Stun a burning opponent with a Heavy Attack increased to 100%
- Stun duration increased by .5 seconds on each Stun.
- Special Bonus buffs from Momentum each reduce the duration of Stuns on Ramjet by 10%.

Dinobot
Dinobot needed some light improvements to better reward playing to his strengths. Improved Block Proficiency, more potent Bleeds and finally an improved Synergy with Mixmaster should increase his usefulness outside of the Swordmasters synergy.

- Well-timed-blocks have their Block Proficiency Increased by 30%.
- Bleeds inflicted by Dinobot’s Heavy Attacks can now stack.
- Shieldmasters synergy with Mixmaster has had its Block Proficiency reduced but the synergy now inflicts Power Burn on the opponent when performing well-timed-blocks.

Sideswipe
Sideswiped lacked damage output so we went in and gave him some bursts of damage and increased the chances for him to land important hits.

- Increased Power Gain when Sidestepping Ranged Attacks by 20%.
- Increased Stun duration by .5 seconds.
- Evasion strength increased by 20% (of current).
- Special Attack 2’s Missile now inflicts Burn, dealing 60% of his Attack over 6 seconds.
- Special Attack 3’s Missile now inflicts Burn, dealing 80% of his Attack over 6 seconds.

Ultra Magnus
Ultra Magnus’s Signature ability and lack of burst potential have hampered this important bot for a while. He’s been given a new Signature Ability that does not change in strength from mode-to-mode and his special attacks have been given more burst potential.

- Hammer blows in Ultra Magnus’s Special Attacks will now remove all Armor Buffs on the opponent and convert every buff removed this way to an Armor Break.
- Ultra Magnus’s Special Attack 2 gains a 5% Melee Bonus for each active Physical Resistance Buff and a 5% Ranged Bonus Buff for each active Energy Resistance Buff on Ultra Magnus.

Signature: All for One
- If more teammates are alive than dead, Ultra Magnus gains +20% Physical Resistance. If more teammates are dead than alive or tied, Ultra Magnus gains 20~80% Attack Rating. If all teammates are dead or Ultra Magnus is alone he gains both effects.

Shockwave
Shockwave is one of the most terrifying forces in the Transformers universe, but data suggested that this was not true on New Quintessa. With our findings in hand we set forth to push Shockwave into power-control territory that would compete with the most potent controllers in the game. We also felt it was important to keep some consistency with his old playstyle but better reward players who play this way.

- While Shockwave has fewer than 3 Energy Charges he takes no damage when Blocking Basic Energy Attacks.
- Basic Ranged Attacks have a 100% chance to consume a Shock Charge to inflict Shock on the enemy.
- Shockwave Power Leaks the enemy for 1.5~2.6% of a Power Bar every second for each Shock Debuff on them.
- Shockwave’s Special Attack 1 now Generates 3 Energy Charges before firing.
- Special Attack 2 loses its ability to generate Energy Charges but now has 100% Armor Piercing.
- Shockwave’s Brain Drain synergies now increase the strength of elements of his kit like Shock duration and strength, Power Drain strength, and Energy Charge Duration.

Arcee
While we were looking for ways to improve Arcee’s damage output we found that she had some hidden abilities that, if exposed, might help Arcee players find those critical hits. We also found that many of her Bleeds had a one stack limit, this has been removed.

- Arcee’s hidden ability to gain 30~50% Crit Rating against Dashing opponents has now been exposed.
- All of Arcee’s Bleed effects can be stacked multiple times.

Swordmasters Synergy
The Swordmaster’s synergy will no longer count non-critical hits against opponent’s with active Crit Resists Buffs or while the Swordmaster bot has active Crit Rate Debuffs

BUG FIXES AND IMPROVEMENTS

Hot Rod
- Hot Rod now generates Crit Rate Buffs during his Special Attack 3.

Rhinox
- Rhinox’s Shield will no longer punish players with Boosts, Relics or Masteries that raise their bot’s Base Attack Rating.

Grindor
- Grindor now displays his 17% Passive Armor ability on his info page. This is not a new ability, but just a change to surface Grindor’s innate powerful armor.
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Comments

  • I hope you considered what this does to an already difficult Galvatron mini boss in AM
  • tekkn1kaltekkn1kal Posts: 430
    Yeah I was gonna say... a lot of these changes are great for the bot's base abilities, but now you might need to consider changes all over the place to AM mods to compensate.
  • LaprasLapras Posts: 258


    Ultra Magnus
    - Hammer blows in Ultra Magnus’s Special Attacks will now remove all Armor Buffs on the opponent and convert every buff removed this way to an Armor break.

    Does this work against mod induced armor breaks? Also, I have never been clear on the impact of multiple stacks of armor breaks. Does it take several stacks to fully remove a bot’s armor?

    Shockwave

    - Basic Ranged Attacks have a 100% chance to consume a Shock Charge to inflict Shock on the enemy.

    This sounds pretty OP especially as a mini boss whose basic range attacks are unblockable. There is a bot which is a good counter for bleeds (MV1), but we need a counter for shock and burn. I have thought this for a long time now....

    BUG FIXES AND IMPROVEMENTS

    Rhinox
    - Rhinox’s Shield will no longer punish players with Boosts, Relics or Masteries that raise their bot’s Base Attack Rating.

    Does this include the counter punch mastery?

    Grindor
    - Grindor now displays his 17% Passive Armor ability on his info page. This is not a new ability, but just a change to surface Grindor’s innate powerful armor.

    This gives no context since we still have no information about other bots passive armor. Are we to assume they all have 0% unless otherwise stated?

    Lastly, I am surprised that you did not look at synergies. Some bots have really great synergy potential while others do not. The ones that don’t tend to get left behind. Are you going to be reviewing these as well?
  • that1guythat1guy Posts: 374
    -50% charge time for galv is gonna be so badly abused by the ai on AM, and will activate his sig more often.

    While it's nice to see changes on him, would you guys atleast look at his ai, the damn thing is like a monkey side stepping any time you move an inch closer. Please look into this, many have asked for this to be reviewed.
  • Stitch626Stitch626 Posts: 286


    Arcee
    While we were looking for ways to improve Arcee’s damage output we found that she had some hidden abilities that, if exposed, might help Arcee players find those critical hits.

    I think that, for the most part, these changes are great and will help these bots perform better when being used by the player. However, this 1 line caused me to raise an eyebrow. "Hidden Abilities"? What does that even mean? Do other bots in the game currently have "hidden abilities" as well? The implication is that this ability has been alive and active in the game for some time, but that no one knew about it...which just seems odd, and confusing and makes me think that there are other bots with other hidden abilities that players (and apparently the people running the game) are unaware of.
  • willdorfwilldorf Posts: 217
    edited January 2018
    Galvatron is one of the easier minibosses... I flat out Murder him with my Soundwave. (Soundwave's heavy isn't avoided by sidesteps) MM and Starscream are the hard ones.
  • tekkn1kaltekkn1kal Posts: 430
    edited January 2018
    willdorf wrote: »
    Galvatron is one of the easier minibosses... I flat out Murder him with my Soundwave. (Soundwave's heavy isn't avoided by sidesteps) MM and Starscream are the hard ones.

    No offense but it all depends on the level you are doing.

    At the level I'm at, SW is awful on Galvatron because you're pushing yourself in to Energon Storm so quickly, and it hurts a ton at higher levels. I'm not trying to say play higher levels otherwise your opinion isn't valid, just simply that perspective of who is hard changes a lot once certain factors start to kick in.

    It's just like how Rhinox is simple at lower levels, but once his shock starts to hurt you have to approach him differently.
  • willdorfwilldorf Posts: 217
    edited January 2018
    I though level only effected the bots' ratings, not the mods... What I'm saying is the mods on Starscream and MM are what make them the hardest, so, imo, level wouldn't have an effect. Lvl 1 MM > lvl 1 Galvatron... Lvl 25 MM > lvl 25 Galvatron. Anyways, they are making 1 miniboss from each side more powerful, so at least the two sides stay pretty much as even as they were, maybe just a bit harder. Not saying I'm against them re-evaluating the strength of those two minibosses, just saying I don't think Glavatron is anywhere near the worst of the 6.
  • willdorfwilldorf Posts: 217
    edited January 2018
    What's energon storm exactly? Is that the mod that's on him's name? Yeah, I haven't played over AM lvl 25, so I can't for sure say what a 25+ Galvatron is like, but haven't had a problem with him yet up to there.
  • willdorfwilldorf Posts: 217
    I guess I'm just happy because 4/16 of my 4* bots are on this list :)
  • As you go up in level, the AI gets harder. It’s not just the bot ratings. There are certain levels where you can tell the AI went from easy to medium or medium to hard. I’d say that’s the point where one bot with same mods can suddenly become harder than another.
    I tend to have more problems with motormaster than with galvatron, but that’s due to device lag (ever since Apple updated the IOS to 11+, game performance massively suffered). I can’t see the unstoppable procs when they happen; instead I see the buff after it’s expired, resulting in lots of unfair damage.
  • Hey Everybody,

    I want to point out that we added one more Balance change that came in pretty last minute.

    Swordmasters Synergy
    The Swordmasters synergy will no longer count non-critical hits against opponent’s with active Crit Resists Buffs or while the Swordmaster bot has active Crit Rate Debuffs

    The reason we're doing this one is because of a really bad interaction it has with bots like Optimus Primal or Grindor, where their abilities suppress Critical Hits so often, that when the bonus is applied, the Bot using the Synergy does waaaaay too much Damage.
  • KittenPrimeKittenPrime Posts: 1,144
    Hey Everybody,

    I want to point out that we added one more Balance change that came in pretty last minute.

    Swordmasters Synergy
    The Swordmasters synergy will no longer count non-critical hits against opponent’s with active Crit Resists Buffs or while the Swordmaster bot has active Crit Rate Debuffs

    The reason we're doing this one is because of a really bad interaction it has with bots like Optimus Primal or Grindor, where their abilities suppress Critical Hits so often, that when the bonus is applied, the Bot using the Synergy does waaaaay too much Damage.

    The +4 A’s say it all
  • Stitch626 wrote: »


    Arcee
    While we were looking for ways to improve Arcee’s damage output we found that she had some hidden abilities that, if exposed, might help Arcee players find those critical hits.

    I think that, for the most part, these changes are great and will help these bots perform better when being used by the player. However, this 1 line caused me to raise an eyebrow. "Hidden Abilities"? What does that even mean? Do other bots in the game currently have "hidden abilities" as well? The implication is that this ability has been alive and active in the game for some time, but that no one knew about it...which just seems odd, and confusing and makes me think that there are other bots with other hidden abilities that players (and apparently the people running the game) are unaware of.

    This may have been a bad choice of words, and we could have made it more clear. This was actually a bug that we discovered, but decided that this was actually a positive, and wanted to just expose it.
  • DirculesDircules Posts: 509
    edited January 2018
    Nevermind
  • I hope you considered what this does to an already difficult Galvatron mini boss in AM

    So, this might actually make Galvatron an easier Matchup. The reason that Galvatron plays so defensively right now is because he wants to Charge Up to full all of the time. This change should make him act less defensively, because he will charge faster.

    We'll be sure to keep a very close eye on that one encounter in particular, and can adjust if it's necessary.
  • ManthroManthro Posts: 2,752
    edited January 2018
    Hey Everybody,

    I want to point out that we added one more Balance change that came in pretty last minute.

    Swordmasters Synergy
    The Swordmasters synergy will no longer count non-critical hits against opponent’s with active Crit Resists Buffs or while the Swordmaster bot has active Crit Rate Debuffs

    The reason we're doing this one is because of a really bad interaction it has with bots like Optimus Primal or Grindor, where their abilities suppress Critical Hits so often, that when the bonus is applied, the Bot using the Synergy does waaaaay too much Damage.

    x2ta1xclf90v.gif


    Boooooooooooooooooooo........

    Seriously though, not surprised. The amount of damage you could generate was absolutely insane with just 3 of the swordmasters, particularly against Primal.
  • I hope you considered what this does to an already difficult Galvatron mini boss in AM

    So, this might actually make Galvatron an easier Matchup. The reason that Galvatron plays so defensively right now is because he wants to Charge Up to full all of the time. This change should make him act less defensively, because he will charge faster.

    We'll be sure to keep a very close eye on that one encounter in particular, and can adjust if it's necessary.

    Yes his charge up time is faster, but you also buffed him in many other areas. Just hoping you guys consider the flip side of buffs before pushing them through. Yes it’s nice to have more bots to play around with, but it really affects AM difficulty across the whole map, especially when boosting 2 mini bosses. These changes affect both ends of the spectrum.
  • KillMasterCKillMasterC Posts: 3,105
    evade strength--what's this?
  • ManthroManthro Posts: 2,752
    evade strength--what's this?

    The percentage at which it can trigger on each attack
  • @Kabam Miike can we see the damage that the final blow does at the end of fights?
  • KillMasterCKillMasterC Posts: 3,105
    Bobdolle wrote: »
    @Kabam Miike can we see the damage that the final blow does at the end of fights?

    Isn't it displayed as usual? What I see is once the enemy is KO'ed, all subsequent hits will be flatly calculated, without any buff/debuff. Like if IH's S2 kills the opponent with the first missile, the insane final one will look like a breeze.
  • kranderskranders Posts: 479
    Stitch626 wrote: »


    Arcee
    While we were looking for ways to improve Arcee’s damage output we found that she had some hidden abilities that, if exposed, might help Arcee players find those critical hits.

    I think that, for the most part, these changes are great and will help these bots perform better when being used by the player. However, this 1 line caused me to raise an eyebrow. "Hidden Abilities"? What does that even mean? Do other bots in the game currently have "hidden abilities" as well? The implication is that this ability has been alive and active in the game for some time, but that no one knew about it...which just seems odd, and confusing and makes me think that there are other bots with other hidden abilities that players (and apparently the people running the game) are unaware of.

    This may have been a bad choice of words, and we could have made it more clear. This was actually a bug that we discovered, but decided that this was actually a positive, and wanted to just expose it.

    Can you clarify the Arcee ability about opponents dashing in. It’s not clear to me what’s going on for the activation.
  • KillMasterCKillMasterC Posts: 3,105
    edited January 2018
    I think it means if opponents dash in and Arcee starts any attack, she has 30-50% increased chance to crit.
  • Gunz0Gunz0 Posts: 2,949
    "Dinobot
    Dinobot needed some light improvements to better reward playing to his strengths. Improved Block Proficiency, more potent Bleeds and finally an improved Synergy with Mixmaster should increase his usefulness outside of the Swordmasters synergy.

    - Well-timed-blocks have their Block Proficiency Increased by 30%.
    - Bleeds inflicted by Dinobot’s Heavy Attacks can now stack.
    - Shieldmasters synergy with Mixmaster has had its Block Proficiency reduced but the synergy now inflicts Power Burn on the opponent when performing well-timed-blocks."
    Dinobot doesn't seem any better to me. No one can always spam their heavy attacks all the time for that bleed to stack
  • Bobdolle wrote: »
    @Kabam Miike can we see the damage that the final blow does at the end of fights?

    Isn't it displayed as usual? What I see is once the enemy is KO'ed, all subsequent hits will be flatly calculated, without any buff/debuff. Like if IH's S2 kills the opponent with the first missile, the insane final one will look like a breeze.

    Im saying you can't see the killing blow anymore. So if I land a huge crit and it kills off the bot I won't know how much damage it does. Got changed when they fixed the bug that projectiles that landed on you after you knocked out a bot still did damage.
  • SynthwaveSynthwave Posts: 1,012
    Ultra Magnus
    Ultra Magnus’s Signature ability and lack of burst potential have hampered this important bot for a while. He’s been given a new Signature Ability that does not change in strength from mode-to-mode and his special attacks have been given more burst potential.

    - Hammer blows in Ultra Magnus’s Special Attacks will now remove all Armor Buffs on the opponent and convert every buff removed this way to an Armor Break.
    - Ultra Magnus’s Special Attack 2 gains a 5% Melee Bonus for each active Physical Resistance Buff and a 5% Ranged Bonus Buff for each active Energy Resistance Buff on Ultra Magnus.

    Signature: All for One
    - If more teammates are alive than dead, Ultra Magnus gains +20% Physical Resistance. If more teammates are dead than alive or tied, Ultra Magnus gains 20~80% Attack Rating. If all teammates are dead or Ultra Magnus is alone he gains both effects.

    Can you clarify on this @Kabam Miike ?

    Three questions.

    1. Do the melee and ranged buffs cancel out the particular resistance when using sp2 or do they stick around after you use the sp2?
    2. Are these melee and ranged bonuses permanent buffs or do they alternate with sp2's (meaning, Let's say I have 10 physical resistance buffs that I've converted to 50% melee attack and then I build up power to sp2 again, this time with 10 energy resistances. Will I get both 50% melee and ranged attack or just one or the other?)
    3. Finally, do either buffs stack beyond 10 stacks?

    Thanks!
  • KillMasterCKillMasterC Posts: 3,105
    I think it only buffs the SP2 itself (one melee hammer and one ranged shoulder cannon shot). Otherwise, a permanent 50% attack buff can be insane.
  • kranderskranders Posts: 479
    Synthwave wrote: »
    Ultra Magnus
    Ultra Magnus’s Signature ability and lack of burst potential have hampered this important bot for a while. He’s been given a new Signature Ability that does not change in strength from mode-to-mode and his special attacks have been given more burst potential.

    - Hammer blows in Ultra Magnus’s Special Attacks will now remove all Armor Buffs on the opponent and convert every buff removed this way to an Armor Break.
    - Ultra Magnus’s Special Attack 2 gains a 5% Melee Bonus for each active Physical Resistance Buff and a 5% Ranged Bonus Buff for each active Energy Resistance Buff on Ultra Magnus.

    Signature: All for One
    - If more teammates are alive than dead, Ultra Magnus gains +20% Physical Resistance. If more teammates are dead than alive or tied, Ultra Magnus gains 20~80% Attack Rating. If all teammates are dead or Ultra Magnus is alone he gains both effects.

    Can you clarify on this @Kabam Miike ?

    Three questions.

    1. Do the melee and ranged buffs cancel out the particular resistance when using sp2 or do they stick around after you use the sp2?
    2. Are these melee and ranged bonuses permanent buffs or do they alternate with sp2's (meaning, Let's say I have 10 physical resistance buffs that I've converted to 50% melee attack and then I build up power to sp2 again, this time with 10 energy resistances. Will I get both 50% melee and ranged attack or just one or the other?)
    3. Finally, do either buffs stack beyond 10 stacks?

    Thanks!

    1 doesn’t say convert so I see no reason why you would lose them
    2 I assume it only applies to that s2 each time would be a new bonus
    3 doubtful.

    I like the changes. Even though people totally misunderstood the original sig the new one greatly improves AM usage especially if both teammates are dead and the attack % increasing with sig level. Overall great improvements to UM.

    @Kabam Miike along with other concerns about bot Opponents what will UMs sig be when facing him? How will it calculate?
  • Drake6401Drake6401 Posts: 321
    Finally a Shockwave buff and it's a cool one! I guess I'll be getting motivation back into the game again. ^^
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