Thursday, October 29, 2020

Version 1.18



Minion Masters!

The third and final Season Pass for Nightmares is here! Stoutheart reinforcements have arrived to the fight against Mar’Dred, while the heroic Shield-Captain Avea charges into the front! 

Stay tuned to our Update Site for more information on our next Expansion, coming soon!

Nightmares - Season Pass #3

  • A new Season Pass has arrived to Minion Masters!
  • Tons of new rewards, including 3 cards, a Legendary Skin, bonus cards, and more!
  • Three new cards have been added to the game:


  • Angelic Milloween has also been added to the game!


  • The Season Pass will end on the 3rd of December.

End of Discord Support

As mentioned in previous Blog Posts, this patch marks the end of our support for the game on Discord. In recent months we've been concerned about the stability of the platform in regards to the game, with users experiencing difficulties related to the platform itself that we can't resolve. While we expected this to happen eventually as Discord had officially ended support for game distribution, they occurred a lot sooner than anticipated.

We don't want to just switch off supporting the Discord version of the game without offering any alternatives for everyone playing through the platform, however, so we’ve created a system to allow Discord players to transfer their progress to a Steam account. 

When you launch the game through Discord, you’ll be greeted with a message and a 6 digit code that’s unique to your account. When playing on Steam, you'll be able to select a "Migrate Discord User" option in the Menu where you can enter the code to start a one-way operation that replaces the account you're playing with on our server with that of the Discord account.

If you own DLC on the Steam account, but not on Discord, you'll unlock the content once you've transferred your progress. 

However, if you already own the DLC on Discord, you will not receive them a second time for your account, even if you purchase it from the Steam store. We cannot flag your account as having purchased the DLC, so the option to buy it will still be there even though you won't get anything from it.

Note that we are not responsible for any incorrect or accidental account transfers that happen as a result of you accidentally sharing your code. Don't transfer your account while streaming, and recheck your Steam credentials to make sure you're logged into the correct account before migrating. Keep your code safe!

Volco Rework

This update comes with a large overhaul to one of our oldest masters, Volco!

Basic Attack

  • Unchanged


Perk 1 - Burn the Bridges

  • Add the card Burn the Bridges to Volco’s deck.
  • Burn the Bridges
  • Both bridges get covered in flames, dealing damage to ground Minions.
  • Mana Cost: 2
  • Card Type: Spell
  • Damage: 200
  • Duration: 5 seconds


Perk 2 - Tempers Flaring

  • Summon an Ember of Flame every 15 seconds on a random bridge. When a friendly Melee Minion picks up the ember, all nearby friendly Melee Minions gain Rage
  • Rage
  • +50% Attack Damage


Ember of Flame

  • Pickup Radius: 1
  • Effect Radius: 8

Tempers Burning

  • Ember of Flame now gives Berserker’s Rage instead
  • Berserker’s Rage
  • +100% Attack Damage. Also self inflict 10% of attack damage


Developer Comments

For a while Volco has been directed a lot by his perk 1, pushing him into this Spam Master identity. This was never really the intention, as Volco's identity is supposed to be Aggressive, brutish and very much a fighting Master. The Afterburner perk was supposed to give him a tool to put some pressure on the opponent master, allowing him to be more aggressive. However, it has proven that the effect was far too strong which resulted in him being relegated to simply dominating the bridges (with help from perk 2) and spam killing his opponent from a far - Quite the opposite of what we want Volco to really be.

Veteran users will remember the days before Rage was set to 50% where Volco was all about getting to that 3rd perk and destroying your opponent with superior brawling power. This is the style we are trying to get back to with this rework.

By making the rage dependent on the bridge we are hoping to gear Volco into an aggressive track in which the minions are far stronger in offense, rather than in defense. Adding the 100% Berserkers rage should make his perk 3 quite significant again, however the 10% self damage should help make it slightly more manageable to deal with these highly explosive minions.

Ultimately we're hoping this design will help Volco return to his true Identity, as well as removing a play style that has been very frustrating to play against.


Balance

Arcane Bolt

  • Cost 4 -> 2
  • Mana Freeze 1 -> 3
  • Developer Comments
  • We’re hoping that this change will make Arcane Bolt easier to use on high-priority targets quickly, but have a Mana Freeze amount significant enough to still retain a significant mana cost to the card in practice.


Armor of Light

  • Cooldown 12 -> 14
  • Developer Comments
  • This affects Brothers of Light, Caeleth Dawnhammer, and Shieldguard of Light. We’re mainly opting to do this change as the Brothers have emerged as a powerful frontline duo recently due to the large amounts of value they can generate, between their anti-swarm capabilities and large stat pools.


Caeleth Dawnhammer

  • Mana Cost 9 -> 8
  • Developer Comments
  • This change is mainly to compensate for the increase in Armor of Light cooldown.


Empyrean Army

  • Now requires 5 Unique Empyrean cards.
  • Developer Comments
  • This is a change we've wanted to make for a while, as the intention has always been that a significant portion of your deck needs to meet the Empyrean theme for the effect to activate. The usage of Wild Cards would somewhat defeat this goal, hence the change.


Healing Fireball

  • Healing is now split among friendly Minions.
  • The spell will try to split healing as evenly as possible, but will not "overheal" units. If there are two minions with 100/200 hp, and 100/400 hp, the first Minion will heal for 100, and the second for 300.
  • Developer Comments
  • Healing Fireball simply provided too much value for its mana cost in push-oriented decks, exponentially becoming more powerful the more units it affected and rendering some spells completely ineffective as a countermeasure, or making trades far too valuable after the fact. Nerfing the numbers of the Spell would simply put it in a state where it's either dominant with how much value it provides or too bad to consider running, so we're opting for a rework to how the healing is applied.


Resonating Blast Crystal

  • AoE Radius 4.5 -> 6.5


Restless Dead

  • Mana Cost 3 -> 4
  • Developer Comments
  • We wanted to take a moment to explain why this nerf didn't come sooner. We were first made aware of how explosive Restless Dead really was just a few days before the release of Version 1.17, which ended up being dangerously close to the patch deadline and would have more than likely affected the Xbox Certification process, and delayed the patch as a whole. 
  • We weighed our options and decided against hotfixing it so we could try a new mechanic on the PTR that could hopefully be incorporated as a balancing measure in the future, but the results weren't satisfactory. We've shelved that idea for now, and while there are still interesting options for Restless Dead on the table, we're opting to go with this change for now and revisit it later.


Screaming Scrat

  • Mana Cost 2 -> 1
  • Health 100 -> 15
  • Now has Barrel Shield
  • Damage 130 -> 30


Smite

  • Damage 250 -> 200


Wreckinator

  • Max Health is now reduced when Malfunction occurs
  • Health Reduction is equal to the Malfunction Threshhold
  • Slam attack Cooldown 6 -> 4
  • Developer Comments
  • Wreckinator’s main usage was with a cheese strategy involving Glenn’s Brew, which provided a huge boost in HP at a low mana cost while bypassing the downside of the Minion disappearing at the end of its duration. While Glenn’s Brew will still be somewhat effective with this change in mind, we wanted to make it feel less frustrating to play against and enable better counterplay options. As Wreckinator wasn’t particularly powerful outside of it, however, we also wanted to buff the baseline abilities of the card, as we felt the Slam attack never saw much practical usage due to its long time requirement.


Zeppelin Bomber

  • Attack Cooldown 3 -> 2
  • Damage 100 -> 70


Bugs

  • Fixed being unable to report teammates for leaving in 2v2 matches.
  • Fixed Ravager’s Feeding Frenzy removing Haste when a unit is healed past its threshold.
  • Fixed Stormbringer’s Marksmanship removing itself from Minions if their team was changed (I.E. Ghost)
  • Fixed Bridge Shrine having a Production Time statistic.
  • Fixed some issues with Stormbringer’s targeting logic.
  • Fixed an instance where Scrat Tank takes damage with its shield up, while Hypnotised - Thanks Sinobii!
  • Fixed an instance where Log Tosser would throw his log halfway across the arena - Thanks Karlim00!
  • Fixed Haunting Hugger disappearing after possessing a unit it kills instantly - Thanks Nerzl!
  • Fixed Re-Boomer having an “activated” highlight despite not having Voidborne Wound - Thanks Ecke!
  • Fixed being unable to claim Battle Pass tiers if there’s nothing on the tier.

Cheers from BetaDwarf!

Thursday, October 22, 2020

Volco Rework & Upcoming Balance Changes

Minion Masters!

Volco Rework coming in Version 1.18



We've got a large overhaul to one of our oldest masters, Volco, coming in Version 1.18. Here's a sneak peak at the new Volco:

Basic Attack
Unchanged

Perk 1 - Burn the Bridges
Add the card Burn the Bridges to Volco's deck.

Burn the Bridges
Both bridges get covered in flames, dealing damage to ground Minions.
Mana Cost: 2
Card Type: Spell
Damage: 200
Duration: 5 seconds

(Functionally the same as the current Burn the Bridges, but now costing 2 mana, up from 0)

Perk 2 - Tempers Flaring
Summon an Ember of Flame every 15 seconds on a random bridge. When a friendly Melee Minion picks up the ember, all nearby friendly Melee Minions gain Rage

Rage
+50% Attack Damage

Ember of Flame
Pickup Radius: 1
Effect Radius: 8

(Embers spawn on your side of the bridge)

Perk 3 - Tempers Burning
Ember of Flame now gives Berserker's Rage instead

Berserker's Rage
+100% Attack Damage. Also self inflict 10% of attack damage

Developer Comments:

For a while Volco has been directed a lot by his perk 1, pushing him into this Spam Master identity. This was never really the intention, as Volco's identity is supposed to be Aggressive, brutish and very much a fighting Master. The Afterburner perk was supposed to give him a tool to put some pressure on the opponent master, allowing him to be more aggressive. However, it has proven that the effect was far too strong which resulted in him being relegated to simply dominating the bridges (with help from perk 2) and spam killing his opponent from a far - Quite the opposite of what we want Volco to really be.

Veteran users will remember the days before Rage was set to 50% where Volco was all about getting to that 3rd perk and destroying your opponent with superior brawling power. This is the style we are trying to get back to with this rework.

By making the rage dependent on the bridge we are hoping to gear Volco into an aggressive track in which he minions are far stronger in offense, rather than in defense. Adding the 100% Berserkers rage should make his perk 3 quite significant again, however the 10% self damage should help make it slightly more manageable to deal with these highly explosive minions.

Ultimately we're hoping this design will help Volco return to his true Identity, as well as removing a play style that has been very frustrating to play against.

It's been a blast playtesting the new Volco behind the scenes, and we can't wait for him to hit the Live servers next week. Let us know what you think!

Other Balance Changes coming soon!

We've also got a selection of other card balance changes coming in version 1.18;

Healing Fireball
  • Healing is now split among friendly Minions.
    • The spell will try to split healing as evenly as possible, but will not "overheal" units. If there are two minions with 100/200 hp, and 100/400 hp, the first Minion will heal for 100, and the second for 300.
  • Developer Comments
  • Healing Fireball simply provided too much value for its mana cost in push-oriented decks, exponentially becoming more powerful the more units it affected and rendering some spells completely ineffective as a countermeasure, or making trades far too valuable after the fact. Nerfing the numbers of the Spell would simply put it in a state where it's either dominant with how much value it provides or too bad to consider running, so we're opting for a rework to how the healing is applied.

Restless Dead
  • Mana Cost 3 -> 4
  • Developer Comments
  • We wanted to take a moment to explain why this nerf didn't come sooner. We were first made aware of how explosive Restless Dead really was just a few days before the release of Version 1.17, which ended up being dangerously close to the patch deadline and would have more than likely affected the Xbox Certification process, and delayed the patch as a whole. 
  • We weighed our options and decided against hotfixing it so we could try a new mechanic on the PTR that could hopefully be incorporated as a balancing measure in the future, but the results weren't satisfactory. We've shelved that idea for now, and while there are still interesting options for Restless Dead on the table, we're opting to go with this change for now and revisit it later.

Screaming Scrat
  • Mana Cost 2 -> 1
  • Health 100 -> 15
  • Add Barrel Shield (Includes the reduced movement speed effect)
  • Damage 130 -> 30

Zeppelin Bomber
  • Attack Cooldown 3 -> 2
  • Damage 100 -> 70

Empyrean Army
  • Requires 5 Unique (non-Wild Carded) Empyrean Cards in your deck to activate
  • Developer Comments
  • This is a change we've wanted to make for a while, as the intention has always been that a significant portion of your deck needs to meet the Empyrean theme for the effect to activate. The usage of Wild Cards would somewhat defeat this goal, hence the change.
These are just a small selection of changes coming in Version 1.18. As always, let us know what you think!

BadAsAFish80's Minion Masters Tournament 2v2 #11


BadAsAFish has signups for another 2v2 tournament open right now! Signups are closing on the 26th for this Double Elimination multi-day event, so if you're looking for competitive Minion Masters action with a friend, this'll be the tournament for you!

This is a global Minion Masters 2v2, Double Elimination, Best of 3 (Finals are Best of 5), Multi-Day event. The tournament will start on the 28th of September, and you will be given 3 days to play each round at your convenience. Please note that this is a global tournament, open to players of all time zones.

1st: $50.00 ($25 each) + 3 Big Dwarf Packs Each (900 Rubies + 45 Power Tokens)
2nd: $25.00 ($12.50 each) + 2 Big Dwarf Packs Each (600 Rubies + 30 Power Tokens)
3rd: $15.00 ($7.50 each) + 1 Big Dwarf Pack Each (300 Rubies + 15 Power Tokens)
4th: $10.00 ($5.00 each) + 1 Big Dwarf Pack Each (300 Rubies + 15 Power Tokens)
5th - 8th: 1 Dwarf Pack each (1500 Gold + 3 Power Tokens)


Cheers from BetaDwarf!

Thursday, October 15, 2020

More Discord Migration Details & Mountain Gale Demonstration!

Minion Masters!

Discord Account Migration


We're able to share some more about the process of Account migration we'll be offering with Version 1.18 for Discord users. 

(Previously we discussed that support for the Discord version of Minion Masters will be ending with the new update due to concerns about the game's stability - Check out the post here if you'd like to read more.)

With the patch, when you launch the game through Discord you'll be given a 6 digit code that's unique to your account. When playing on Steam, you'll be able to select a "Migrate Discord User" option in the Menu where you can enter the code to start a one-way operation that replaces the account you're playing with on our server with that of the Discord account.

If you own DLC on the Steam account, but not on Discord, you'll unlock the content once you've transferred your progress. 

However, if you already own the DLC on Discord, you will not receive them a second time for your account, even if you purchase it from the Steam store. We cannot flag your account as having purchased the DLC, so the option to buy it will still be there even though you won't get anything from it.

Note that we are not responsible for any incorrect or accidental account transfers that happen as a result of you accidentally sharing your code. Don't transfer your account while streaming, and recheck your Steam credentials to make sure you're logged into the correct account before migrating. Keep your code safe!

Version 1.18 will be releasing on the 29th of October. If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to us at the usual places, or via support@betadwarf.com.

Halloween decorations are live today!



The arenas are getting spooky with today's mini-Update! As detailed in last week's blog, all your favourite arenas have a facelift - Have fun with the haunted festivities and let us know which modified arena is your favourite! And get ready for a huge DLC sale on the 27th, and that special free shop offer on Halloween itself!

If you're on Xbox, we're aiming to have the update out as soon as possible tomorrow!

Mountain Gale in action!

Last Friday, we showcased the new Mountain Gale card on our Update Site. This week we figured we'd showcase a sneak peek of it in action:


(We'll start including GIFs of the new cards in our weekly Newsletters. If you haven't already signed up, make sure to do so and be the first to see previews like this!)

BadAsAFish80's Minion Masters Tournament 1v1 #16


BadAsAFish is back at it again with another multi-day tournament, with a $100 prize pool and an invitation to the Sinobii Battleground Invitational up for grabs!

It'll be starting on October 19th, so you've still got time to sign up if you want in. Earn some experience playing competitive Minion Masters games, and engage with our awesome e-sports community!


Cheers from BetaDwarf!

Thursday, October 8, 2020

Hallowed Arenas return to Minion Masters this October!

Minion Masters!

Halloween returns to Minion Masters!



It's that time of year again, Masters, which means it's time for us to bring out the pumpkins and douse the Arenas in those spooky lights - We're bringing back the Halloween decorations from last year!
  • ALL your favourite arenas have been given a special seasonal look! 
  • The elusive Pumpking Puff will be available in the store.
  • Free Halloween-exclusive shop offer on October 31st, packed with goodies!
We'll also be having big discounts on select Minion Masters DLCs from the 29th of October to the 2nd of November, so it'll be the perfect opportunity to pick them up if you hadn't already!

Have a sneak look at Jadespark Jungle's makeover! Which arenas are you most excited to play in with the seasonal decorations?




The decorated arenas will be landing next week on the 15th!

New reveals coming soon!



The time for the third and final Season Pass of the Nightmares expansion is coming soon, and so are its reveals! We'll be revealing the first card this Friday on our Update Site, so don't forget to stop by, check it out, and enjoy a cool Stoutheart breeze!

Cheers from BetaDwarf!

Thursday, October 1, 2020

Important Update for Minion Masters on Discord + Fanart Contest Winners

Minion Masters!

Minion Masters on Discord


We have some important news to share about the status of the game on Discord. In recent months we've been concerned about the stability of the platform in regards to the game, with users experiencing difficulties related to the platform itself that we can't resolve. While we expected this to happen eventually as Discord had officially ended support for game distribution, they occurred a lot sooner than anticipated. As such, we're making the call that starting with Version 1.18, we will no longer support the Discord version of Minion Masters.

We don't want to just switch off supporting the Discord version of the game without offering any alternatives for everyone playing through the platform, however, so we're working on a system to allow you to migrate your account progress from Discord to Steam. We'll have more news on how this will exactly work in the coming weeks, but the basic concept is that it will be a one-time ability to replace your existing Steam account's progress with that of your Discord's. This can be any steam account of your choosing, so if you want to keep your Steam account's progress as well, you'll be able to do so by simply making another account. We currently cannot offer merging the two accounts together due to technical limitations.

None of this will affect our Discord Server - Just the ability to play the game through Discord. We'll still aim to be as active as ever on there. By slimming down on our available platforms, it also enables us to free resources to focus on the core game itself with more features and fixes than we could have done before. Thanks to everyone that's joined us through the Discord version of Minion Masters, and we're hoping you'll continue to join us for the future of the game.

Please note that we cannot offer this to users on the Xbox or Steam platforms at this point in time that wish to move their accounts to another platform, this service is only for Discord players at this time.

Nightmares Fan Art Contest Winners!

We had an absolutely phenomenal turnout for the Nightmares Fanart Contest! In fact, there were so many incredible entries, we had no choice but to increase the total amount of winners to Five, and the prizes accordingly! Take a gander at the victors of the contest, voted by our users:

Click on an image to see it in full resolution!

5th - SpiritAlpha#8801

4th - NyraPetreski#5907


Joint 2nd - Noranatori#1548


Joint 2nd - chilienka#8822


1st - Chloette#1127

A huge thanks to everyone that entered - We hope to see you at our next contest!

Treasure Vault in the Shop on October 3rd

Don't forget - You'll be able to pick up the Treasure Vault in the in-game shop with a special 20% Discount due to a recent error where it was priced at 100,000 Rubies by mistake. If you haven't bought it before and you've got a pile of gold laying around, now's the perfect opportunity to show it off!

Cheers from BetaDwarf!