FEEDBACK, REFLECTED

For a while now, we’ve been hearing from Slayers that weeklies are … well … weak. They require too much repetition. The timing feels bad. They force you to spend time with weapons you hate (or weapons that make the rest of your team hate you). In short: Weekly challenges aren’t fun. With the Bounty system, we’re looking to change that.

With the introduction of the Bounty system, we’re tossing out everything bad about weeklies and giving you a choice about how you want to slay. Even better: We’re building this system in a way that lets you take on Hunt Pass challenges at your own pace, whether that means tackling tons of bounties at once, or taking them one-by-one over time.

THE BOUNTY SYSTEM

First off, let’s be clear: weeklies are gone. Bounties are in. We’ve even updated the Quest Log with a new name: Quests & Bounties. Open it up to find the Quests tab, where all of your story quests (like “City on the Verge”) live, and the Bounties tab, where you’ll choose, track, and claim rewards for your new bounties.

The Bounty system relies on two basic units: Bounty Cards and Bounty Tokens. Spending a token lets you draw three random Bounty Cards. Choose one to add it to your active bounties.

You can have up to four bounties active at a time. Once you complete a bounty and claim your rewards, you can immediately spend another token to draw a new set of cards. Keep the cycle going, keep the bounties flowing, and you’ll be on your way to Hunt Pass level 50.

EARNING TOKENS

“But how do I get more Bounty Tokens?” you’re probably wondering. Good question. With the launch of the Bounty system, you’ll have four ways to acquire the tokens you need.

Daily Tokens

All Slayers will automatically get 10 Bounty Tokens at the start of each Hunt Pass, plus two Bounty Tokens every day, regardless of whether or not they log in. That means that in a typical 35-day Hunt Pass cycle, you’d get 80 regular tokens for free. And because there’s no limit to the number of tokens you can carry, you don’t have to worry about hitting a cap. You could log in on the last week of a Hunt Pass and still get them all.

Looted Tokens

Once the Bounty system launches, all T2 (Threat Level 2) and higher hunts will have a chance to drop a Bounty Token. That chance increases with the difficulty level, so be sure to choose higher-threat hunts if you’re looking to amass more tokens.

Hunt Pass Tokens

Starting with the Aether Unbound season, you’ll find Bounty Tokens (both regular and premium) scattered across the Hunt Pass reward tracks. Use them and complete your bounties to work your way toward the season’s best loot.

Premium Tokens

If you don’t want to wait for your daily tokens, there will also be an option to buy them in the store. These premium tokens work just like regular tokens, except that they can carry over from Hunt Pass to Hunt Pass. This way, even if you end up with more tokens than you need, you can still make use of them in the next season.

Does that mean that regular tokens do expire? Yep. But only at the very end of a Hunt Pass. Use them any time before that and you’re good to go. (We’ve also set this system up so that regular tokens are spent first!)

DEAL ME IN

Once you have a token or two, you’re ready to draw your first Bounty Card! It costs one token to draw a Bounty Card.

Drafting Cards

Each time you spend a token, you’ll draw three random Bounty Cards. Choose your favorite card to add it to your active bounties. The other two cards will be discarded. (Note: You’ll continue to see the same cards until you choose one of the three. If you want to re-roll, you’ll need to select a bounty, abandon it, and then spend another token to draw your new cards.)

Choose wisely.

Playing the Game

Once a card is in your active bounties, you can start working toward completing its tasks. In the case of the card below, you would need to slay four Behemoths using chain blades or war pikes in order to earn the listed reward: 20 Immortal Flames. Easy, right?

Closing Out

Once you’ve knocked out your bounty’s objectives, you’ll see a pop-up alerting you to your accomplishment. But you’re not done just yet. In order to close out your bounty, you’ll need to open the Bounties screen and claim your reward. This will remove the card from your active bounties and free up the card slot it used to occupy. You’re now free to spend a token and draw a new bounty.

Ready to claim.

‘I Fold’

If a bounty you’ve chosen proves too difficult or you simply don’t feel like completing its challenge, you can abandon it by selecting the Abandon Bounty button. This will remove the card from your active bounties and free up its slot. Be cautious, though: Abandoning a bounty does not refund your Bounty Token.

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITIES

While you’re always guaranteed to draw three Bounty Cards, what you draw from the deck can vary. The cards we’ve shown so far have all been bronze cards – the most common type of Bounty Card. But you’ll also find rarer cards hidden in the stack. Silver cards offer slightly better rewards than bronze, while gold cards (the rarest of the rare) ramp up both challenge and rewards.

Gold, silver, and bronze Bounty Cards.

We’ve also built our Bounty system to ensure that all Slayers get the same number of gold, silver, and bronze cards across a certain number of draws. Let us know how this balance feels once you start playing with the new system.

Three of a Kind

Worried about having to choose between bronze, silver, and gold? Don’t. We’ve built the draft system so that you’ll always draw three cards of the same rarity.

SWITCHING SOURCES

With the Bounty system on its way, we’ll be saying goodbye not only to weekly challenges, but to Hunt Pass break parts. That’s right: No more smashing Behemoth shins in search of Gleaming Pearls. Like our decision to move to bounties, this shift comes after reviewing a lot of player feedback about the grind and repetition associated with Hunt Pass break parts.

As for the city collectibles? They’re staying. Look forward to visiting some relaxing Meditation Pools when the next Hunt Pass floats in to Ramsgate.