Sorry this is up later than usual, but we both had Final Exams to study for (and cry after). Without further ado, here is update 0.8.0’s Deja Review! This update’s main focus was getting rid of the last bugs within the tournament mode of the game in preparation for the launch in early 2018.

The Good:



Tournaments: It seems that a lot of bugfixes were rolled out since the last tournament in June. This tournament, as a whole, ran much smoother than the last. While there are still a few changes that need to be implemented, this game feature seems to be almost finished for the monthly tournaments after launch. The UI and format both changed, and overall made tournaments much easier to understand.

Butler’s Beliefs: This tournament was much smoother than the last one. I do have my criticisms, which I will touch on in a moment, but overall, this tournament bodes well for the future. However, I feel that it should be made clearer that the lobby opens 5 minutes before a match, and that the player needs to be in the lobby to have a chance at fighting. Also, I feel that it would be really interesting to have the grand finals be a best-of-three format. The rewards seem relatively scaled well. Perhaps first place’s 5k gems is a little extreme though, if these tournaments are to happen monthly. This makes me fearful in combination with the crate changes, which you can read my thoughts on below. However, despite my criticisms (and my poor placement), I believe that this was a massive change for the better, and I rate it Squeaky Clean (6/7).

Falcon’s Feelings: I agree that some things need to be clarified, but, overall, there were much fewer bugs and unpleasantries this time around. I rate this change Falcon Fantastic (5/5).

Leaderboard Updates: The leaderboards now default to your ranking and not your league. They also became region-separated, allowing for easier understanding of where one placed within the rankings.

Butler’s Beliefs: This was my most-sought-after change. I campaigned hard for region-locked leaderboards, and here they are! I do have a minor nitpick that Top Players still defaults to where one is located instead of the Number 1 player, but all in all, this change is truly amazing. I rate it Squeaky Clean (6/7).

Falcon’s Feelings: Amazing. I agree with the nitpick above, too, but I will still rate this change as Falcon Fantastic (5/5).



The Okay:



Bugfixes: No specific bugs were mentioned this update, however, bugfixes are always good to see.

Butler’s Beliefs: Honestly, I did not notice a change (sorry guys/girls on the team). There are a couple new bugs which have been reported, but I’m sure that there were many squashed. I rate this change Servicable (4/7). (But in all honesty, it is probably good if I didn’t notice many bugs being squashed. That means that there weren’t many left to take note of)

Falcon’s Feelings: I didn’t see much either, but I haven’t run into any new ones (or old ones I used to get) yet, so… Falcon Favorable (4/5).

Equipment Balancing: A lot of equipment was reworked this update, providing more buffs, and less nerfs. Several notable pieces of gear prevalent in the Dragon meta had changes, such as Toxin Filter, which was changed to provide a projectile buff. Many pieces of gear are still next to worthless, but this update has been promised to be the first of many balance changes centered on equipment. Rarer equipment now gives more exp at the cost of gold, and for the most part, also has stronger effects.

Butler’s Beliefs: Most of the equipment changes were needed. While there are some bugs, such as bot bonus not working properly, this was a massive step in the right direction. I was hoping that rarer equipment would cost more to upgrade, just like legendary cards. It is also good to know that the devs are looking at some of the worse pieces of equipment and making them better, along with significant nerfs to some of the better equipment. I would suggest a different marking system though. Currently, several pieces of equipment with a resistance icon of melee resist both melee and projectile damage. Perhaps there would be a better way to mark these pieces of equipment. Overall, I rate this change Clean (5/7).

Falcon’s Feelings: Once again, this step is a good first step and I can’t wait to see the rest of the rebalanced equipment. I rate this change Falcon Fair (3/5) as well.



Emotes: A new Christmas emote was rolled out to all the players who participated in the tournament. Melty the Snowman is perfect to show after a crushing defeat.

Butler’s Beliefs: Poor Melty looks so sad. Maybe next year we can have a happy Christmas Emote? I mean, ’tis the season to be jolly. I rate Melty a Filthy (1/7) for making me sad, but the change gets a Serviceable (4/7) overall.

Falcon’s Feelings: Melty makes me sad, too. And it is depressing seeing how sad he looks, since tis’ the season to be jolly. I rate Melty Falcon Faltering (2/5) for making me feel bad during Christmastime.

The Bad:

Move Balancing: A lot of balances happened this update, in particular to the cards Dragon Uppercut, Mirror Kick, Scorpion Kick, Electrify, and Knockback. Dragon Uppercut had an overall damage nerf, and was changed to epic rarity. Mirror Kick was also changed to epic rarity. Scorpion Kick and Electrify were both made common, and Knockback was made rare.

Butler’s Beliefs: This opinion is going to be very controversial. I hate this change. As an older player, these rarities changing don’t affect me. That’s not why I hate it though. Dragon Uppercut did get a much needed damage nerf. That is probably the best thing to come out of the balancing. However, the other rarity changes greatly worry me. Currently, most of the common moves are pure garbage, and they just made the best one (Knockback) rare. They made some of the worst rare moves common (Scorpion Kick and Electrify), and the best common moves epic (Dragon Uppercut and Mirror Kick). I would prefer buffs and nerfs rather than rarity changes because it would still make the attainment of these cards possible. This greatly benefits older players (like myself) who have all these cards level 10, and hurts newer players by restricting access to some of the best cards in the game. It does show that the devs know which cards are good and bad, but I feel that they went about it all wrong. I rate this change Messy (2/7).

Falcon’s Feelings: A ton of changes are still to come, but I think this is a good first step. Hopefully damage and frame data gets reworked for some moves soon. I rate this balancing Falcon Fair (3/5) since it was more of an emergency fix than anything, and I am excited to see the changes to come.

Crate Changes: The Equipment crate has been renamed to the Cosmetic crate, costing 20 more gems, and providing a chance at emotes and dyes. These emotes and dyes have been removed from regular crates to make them more exclusive. The victory crate is now a Cosmetic Crate, and provides very little gold, but it gives the opportunity to receive a chance at getting the rarer dyes daily. Lastly, legendary crates give guaranteed legendary cards now.

Butler’s Beliefs: I like the new cosmetic crates and the limit on gold. I had way too much before, and now I feel that I still need to save, despite being level 10. I also like the decreased rarity of the legendary dyes, though I personally believe that it was decreased a little too much. However, I still feel that there should be some gold included within the Victory crate. It gives a little more incentive to play those matches. I also agree with a suggestion made that the Victory crate should be on a daily timer, and not a 24h one. I am not a fan of the legendary crate changes though. Do I appreciate upgrading my Mega Punch? Definitely. Would I want someone to buy 12000 gems and get 24 legendary shards? Not at all. With the way legendaries scale, they can be game-changing. I would not want someone to buy 20 of them and suddenly jump to first place on levels alone. I feel that these crates need to still have a chance of containing the card. Maybe the Incredible is a guaranteed legendary, but Legendary crates need to have nerfed drop rates. Overall, I rate this change Grimy (3/7).

Falcon’s Feelings: I don’t really like the new cosmetic crates. I don’t think rares should hold dyes and emotes, but I wish jumbos and legendaries still did. As for Legendary crates, they are a mess. I rate this change a Falcon Fail (1/5).

That’s all for this update! See you last time for the next Deja Review!