In between fights or tanning sessions on Vulkania Island, it's time to take stock of what awaits DOFUS Touch in the coming weeks!
The Future of the Lairs
Kokillette gets the ball rolling in this missive to tell you more about the lairs!
“More than 3,000 players took part in the closed beta testing for the Incarnam Lairs, available from level 1 to 50, and I would like to thank you all for playing the game and giving us plenty of feedback.
The feedback regarding this change to the celestial island after the official release has been positive on the whole. While many of you are no longer beginners, you really took a good look at things anyway. We saw you all!
I have to admit, I enjoyed prancing around in my Celestial Tofu Set, but anyhow, let's not get hung up on that…
On the whole, you liked the lair concept, and that's why we plan on expanding it in the game. You most likely read in the latest edition of Gamakna that the next phase will be the Astrub Lairs. We plan to continue adding to the Incarnam Lairs. Since the last update, Astrub hasn't been as challenging, and we want to bring that aspect back.
"It's all about the new players! (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻)"
Incarnam Lairs, Astrub Lairs, and after that… You tell us!
We've selected several mid-level and slightly higher-level areas, as you'll see in the poll below. The mid-level area and the higher-level area receiving the most votes will get new lairs.
We are very eager to see which ones you choose!"
Changes to Dungeons with Lairs
We want to use the lairs to reduce the number of rooms players need to complete before they can face a dungeon boss. Thus, the number will be reduced to 3, boss included.
As the lairs are gradually introduced, we will modify the dungeons of the areas in question.
We want to make these changes to continue adapting DOFUS Touch to the mobile format. It's not easy to spend several hours in the same dungeon when playing on a smartphone or tablet, and we think two rooms are enough to reach the boss room.
When can we expect these changes?
The next major update will be in early October and will focus on the Astrub area. We will also use it to make a few changes to Incarnam based on your feedback regarding the Incarnam Lairs update.
For the arrival of the first HL and VHL lairs, you'll have to wait till late 2017 and early 2018. Other news coming soon!
If you've been keeping up with us, you know we plan to bring you a major update every three months. Over the long term, the goal is to make a reasonable-sized update every month to gradually keep adapting to the mobile format.
Anything else?
Events
You've most likely participated in our in-game events in which we ask you to kill a number of monsters to unlock rewards. Two problems arise from this kind of event:
- It's hard to keep track of your progress as ther is no monster kill counter
- Rewards are distributed several days after the event
We do not prefer this process, what more for you! Fortunately thanks to our game designer [Yawn], a new process will revolutionize these kind of events.
Each monster that is part of the event will drop a quest object (100% drop rate) that is linked to the account. This item will serve as your event counter!
Once the required number of objects has been reached, these resources will allow you to open an in-game chest that will contain the event's rewards. Several chests maybe available depending on the event. It is not uncommon for us to offer several tiers of rewards to allow both low level and high level players to participate.
Here is an example of an event chest that offers three tiers of gifts:
With this update, you will not have to wait until the end of the event to reap the rewards of your efforts!
Feel free to tell us what you think of this new system in the comments below. You will have the opportunity to test it for the first time for our Halloween event at the latest.
New Consumables
As announced in DOFUS Touch Missive #6, we want to bring new consumables to the Shop, especially potions. We asked you for your thoughts, and below is what our team has selected so far (these consumables and their effects are not completely final).
- Magic Biscuit: this biscuit doubles the bonus obtained by a pet. For example, instead of gaining +1 vitality, it will gain 2.
- Royal Biscuit: this biscuit gives a pet the maximum bonus all at once. For example, the Pink Dragoone will receive +50 wisdom right away.
- Lair Teleportation Potion: teleports you to any previously visited lair.
- Class Change Potion: allows the player to change the class of a chosen character.
- Return Rune: allows the player to mark a spot and come back to it later.
- Anti-Attack Potion: for a certain amount of time or distance measured in number of maps, the player cannot be attacked by monsters.
The first potions should be out by the end of 2017.
Preview Feature
We know that you are fond of all kinds of previews so we've started this project with the preview of the XP before combat. We're looking at September to apply this feature.
After that we would like to tackle the preview of spell damages during combat.
Notifications
DOFUS Touch will soon have a notification system that you'll be able to activate and deactivate at any time. This new feature will allow us to notify you of game events even if the application is not open: an attack by a Perceptor or a prism, a game event, a promotion in the Shop, etc.
Do not hesitate to let us know which instances you would like to receive notifications on your mobile! Notifications will be available by the end of 2017.
DOFUS Pets
The three pet families from DOFUS Pets will be incorporated into the game by the end of August. Petsmounts will be arriving a few weeks later. You will find the download links and bonuses for each pet and petsmount in this article.
Certain team members have already had the chance to try out the pets on our local version!
* Not the actual size of the pet
What about the other features from DOFUS PC?
We remind everyone that DOFUS Touch will not follow the same path as the PC version. The new classes, class revamps, dimensions, treasure hunts, heroic server, Dofus quests etc. are not currently planned.
We are still considering some other new features, but we're unable to tell you any more for the time being.
We do not neglect bugs that continue to trouble you in-game. For example, Samsung S8 (among other devices) have invisible buildings. This bug will be fixed by the end August!
Our Answers to the Community
And to round out this missive, we wanted to answer some of your questions. Kokillette (project lead), Yawn (game designer), and Nyom (community manager) were happy to do so!
"For the next higher-level lairs, is it possible the bosses will give us more of a workout (invincibility, special technique, a greater challenge for any class type, etc.)?"
Yawn: The goal of the lairs, aside from being a single-player challenge, is also to teach the players the game mechanics. It's a sort of training before the dungeon.
The idea for future lairs would be for them to explain two aspects about the strategy for the boss (two lairs per dungeon). For example, the first lair of the Snowfoux Dungeon could be about the monsters' different states and the second could be about positioning – two essential strategic aspects.
If a dungeon doesn't require a particular strategy, the lair could instead show some mechanics you might find with the monsters in that area.
In any case, the goal is to present a challenge to all classes. That said, some lairs will certainly be easier for some classes, while other lairs will give them a hard time. Depending on its strategy, a monster will have a natural advantage or not against certain classes. If the results are positive, we are also planning to offer single-player OR two-player fights for the toughest lairs with stronger guardians. That would make the lairs more accessible for all players, regardless of their class.
"I noticed that all the items obtained with the Mystery Boxes (pets and sets alike) are account-bound and can't be exchanged. Do you plan to make them exchangeable (for example, through an NPC like on the PC version)? What is your position on this subject?"
Yawn: A recycling system for these bound items is planned, but it isn't ready yet, and it will take some development time to be able to test it and potentially implement it if the tests are positive.
In its current form, the system would allow you to exchange rewards you don't wish to keep for some "coupons" through an NPC. Thereafter, the coupons could be traded for a random piece of equipment.
For example, you could exchange your three Celestial Piwi rings for Celestial Piwi coupons and then exchange the coupons for a random piece of equipment from this set.
For objects obtained from the Shop, the recycling would not be limited to the same set, because sometimes there are doubles of some sets.
"Could you describe a typical workday (and reveal all of your weird habits and your secret plans of course!)?"
Kokillette: I can probably answer your question by providing some information about our team in Japan. Warning: what you're going to read will certainly surprise you!
When we go into work, we arrive rather late compared to the typical work hours in France. But we also get out of work later. The idea is to be as much in-sync with France as possible if there are issues.
Some people have breakfast or a coffee when they get to work. For my part, the first thing I do is read my emails and messages from players; all of this takes a good chunk of time because our dear community managers have tons of ideas.
For their part, the developers work on upcoming features or bug fixes.
By noon, some people have a lunch they've brought from home, while others go pick up some bento at the supermarket or somewhere close by. For my part, I impatiently wait to see what my neighbor is going to choose for his meal. I'm still learning about Japanese cuisine. He's always patient when explaining to me what it is. Some people play video games at lunch and yell really loud because they're bad players… I won't reveal any names.
France starts work around 4:00 PM Japan time; at this point, a lot of time is dedicated to communicating with the team in France, and there are plenty of meetings too. This is also when you become more active on Discord!
Near the end of the day, around 7:00 PM Japan time, we start to have a tough time concentrating and start laughing for no reason. That's the sign it's time to go home!
"In the article about the lairs in the last edition of Gamakna, we find out the god Ouginak creates lairs to have disciples. So, once the lairs are implemented throughout the World of Twelve and players have been shifted to this system, could this class appear in the game? Is that the plan?"
Kokillette: With the arrival of the lairs, many of you think this is a teaser for the Ouginak class. At present, I can't really answer this question. We plan to continue adding lairs and, who knows, perhaps the Ouginak background will take more shape, but I don't want to create any false expectations. You've noticed that it's taken us some time to add content to DOFUS Touch. Adding an additional class is not an easy task. But we aren't opposed to it!
"Might big official events like Goultarminator, or others like Clash of Guilds, come to DOFUS Touch, or is it too soon?"
Nyom: Those two events require a lot from the servers. And unfortunately, Bob, our beloved server dev, already has a lot to do! So, it'll be some time before these events can be held on DOFUS Touch. But we're hopeful; we'll be getting more support for server development.
Meanwhile, we'll continue to support events organized by the community on different servers, and the arrival of new Game Masters will also allow us to diversify the events offered in the game.
"Rumor has it that you want to do away with emulators for good. Are you going to make a decision on this? If so, what will it be and why?"
Nyom: We are always opposed to emulators, but it's a complex undertaking. Meanwhile, and for some weeks now, the moderators have already begun penalizing the ones they come across. But again, it's a complicated task that can take them a considerable amount of time.
As for why, it's because it really causes a big imbalance in the game, especially for PvP. A single-account player on a tablet is really going to struggle against a multi-character team that has a computer working for them. We're also working on limitations to PvP combat, as we already briefly mentioned in the last edition of Gamakna.
Some emulators offer certain features that make the imbalance even worse, and it's partly for this reason that we won't drop the subject.
Finally, the game is developed and conceived for the mobile format, as you can certainly see by the lairs.
"I was just on the Ankama forums, and I wondered if one day we might have a system of representatives, for example an "Area 48" like on the DOFUS forum?"
Nyom: To explain to the whole community, access to Area 48 on the DOFUS forum was made available to a handful of privileged players who could exchange ideas with the staff and occasionally get a sneak preview of content for future updates in order to discuss them with our teams.
I don't think such an area is necessary on the DOFUS Touch forum, which is a lot less active than the DOFUS forum, especially because we're on a mobile game and it's less practical. Most players prefer Discord or other social networks to exchange ideas or contact us.
Whether it's on the forum or elsewhere, all feedback is considered and discussed internally, if we find it necessary. Everyone has the right to give their opinion, and we always take it into consideration, whoever you may be! So far, we're doing just fine, and so an Area 48 isn't necessary.
"Do you plan to open Grozilla and Grasmera's dungeon on the least populated servers?"
Nyom: It is indeed planned to open the dungeon at the end of August for servers that have not managed to open it.
"Why did a wave of bans occur in early August?"
Nyom: We have warned you in this article that selling or buying of kamas is prohibited and liable to heavy sanctions! We are looking at increasing our surveillance on this matter. Bots and real money trading of kamas hinders the game to earn its potential revenue and with a fewer budget, there are less resources to improve the content of the game. In this situation, everyone loses in the end!
"When can Brutas players use kamas in purchasing Shop items?"
Flatops: To give you a background, we have a system in the Shop that determines the kama prices of items. The kama supply in the server is directly related to the kama price of the Shop items. The fewer the supply, the lower the price, alternately, the greater the supply, the higher the price.
As mentioned earlier, there is an oversupply of kamas and very few Goultines being spent in Brutas server. The amount of kamas in the server has reached its threshold thus automatically disabling kama purchase. Our Shop specialists have tried to solve the issue by intervening with the system but was not successful. The only way is to let it stabilise on its own. We ask for your patience and understanding as this process will take some time.
To expedite the balancing of the economy, we highly suggest to purchase with Goultines and to increase the spending of kamas in-game.
We also would like to remind everyone, including Grandapan and Dodge players, that buying and/or selling kamas are illegal. The Ankama accounts of both bot users and patrons will definitely be banned. To report bots and kama sellers, please do not hesitate to contact the team via @BotReport.
This is the end of this Missive #7. We hope you enjoyed reading it! Feel free to leave us your reactions and questions below in the comments section.