1.0.8 Notes

COMING SOON: APP UPDATE 1.0.8

MAY 06, 2014

We’re closing in on the next app update. Here’s a quick sneak peek at what’s to come …

MATCHMAKING IMPROVEMENTS ARRIVE!

We’ll go in-depth on this topic when 1.08 is live. For now, let’s just say we’re deeply committed to making sure you have worthy allies and opponents every match possible. We’re also hopeful that you’ll see substantially fewer mid-match AFKs through playing with experienced players more often. Plus, newcomers will more frequently get placed with other newcomers, which is a win for everyone.

This is a process. Our work is far from done. But you should feel this impact in 1.08. Thanks so much for your patience as our small team works its butts off to improve all sorts of things, matchmaking among the items at the top of that list.

ITEM TWEAK PREVIEWS

• The beloved Flare Gun has been restored to a “global reveal.” Let the forums rejoice!

• Reflex Block better lives up to its twitchy name: It can be activated to prevent more damage, making it the ultimate defense against enemy ultimates. I just said “ultimates” a lot.

• Additional item adjustments to be revealed in the main 1.08 update post.

PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENTS

• Some players reported getting stuck at “Choose Your Hero” or other states after 1.07 released. We pushed two hotfixes to address this. Definitely let us know if you’re still experiencing this issue.

• Misc. performance improvements

UPDATE 1.0.8: MAKING SMARTER MATCHES

MAY 08, 2014

Okay, folks. It begins …

Update 1.08 marks the start of a series of Matchmaker updates to address your most vocal requests regarding competitive team balance and mid-match AFKs. Our work doesn’t end here by any stretch, but you should see and feel a very real difference from matchmaking to date.

One request of you all: Let us know what your matchmaking experience is like post-update in this forums thread.

• Are your matches more fierce, with allies and enemies closer to your skill level?

• Are you seeing fewer “guest” players in matches, and much more importantly, are there fewer mid-match AFKs as a result of more down-to-the-wire games?

• How are the match wait times now? (Please include what time of day it was.) It’s not worth finding you the absolute perfect match if you feel you could make a sandwich, get a haircut, adopt a baby mouse-deer … and still be waiting for your match to kick off.

Let’s get into a little more detail:

SMARTER & SAVVIER MATCHMAKING

The Matchmaker will do its best to place you in matches with other players at your experience level, whenever possible. This means it will wait longer to kick off a match to find worthy allies and opponents. To be frank, we might not get this timing right the first time around. Let us know if you’re waiting too long for matches to start (or if you would have preferred to wait even longer for better competition). We can always tweak the math, but we need your feedback to know how well this is working.

The Matchmaker will lean toward placing newbies in matches with other newbies whenever possible. We believe it’s better to separate those just “learning the ropes” from those pulling off pro moves. There’s one big drawback here, which is players want to play with friends who are new to the game. We really appreciate when you introduce new players to Vainglory, and we know we need to make team queueing happen. It just takes time to build a feature that intricate.

If there’s one key takeaway from what’s above, it’s that the more you play with a profile/player name, the more likely you are to get matched with experienced allies and enemies. So if you’re a diehard, think twice about dividing your play between different player names because the Matchmaker won’t see your stats for the “other” profile.

PUBLIC MATCH QUEUE CHANGES

• No more “matching 5/6”: We’re moving to elapsed matchmaking time and removing any unneeded queue notifications.

• Farewell to “Play Now”: Since the Matchmaker is considering more players and more factors, it’s not possible to surface the “Play Now” button anymore. There’s simply no direct line to a player on the other end to kick off 1v1 and 2v2 matches. This likely isn’t gone forever, but if it returns, it will be in the form of a reliable custom game experience.

LATEST GAMEPLAY & GAME BALANCE TWEAKS

You have been heard! Thanks to all the screams, cries, begs and threats in the forums, Flare Gun (a.k.a. Glare Gun, lol) has been restored to a global reveal. There’s more …

Hero updates:

• Increased the delay in Koshka’s Yummy Catnip Frenzy ultimate, making it more “Reflex Blockable.”

Item updates:

• Reflex Block can now be activated to block 280 damage (changed from 180 damage). Cooldown increased to 45 seconds (from 30 secs).

• Stormguard Banner deals +35 damage per second with 12 health regen (changed from 50 DPS with 10 health regen).

• Flare Gun restored to prior “global reveal” based on player feedback. Cost reduced to 50 gold (from 75g).

• Scout Traps now have a 4-second cooldown.

• ‘Ace’ buff duration reduced from 35 seconds to 25 seconds.

PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENTS

• Two hotfixes deployed to address players getting stuck at “Choose Your Hero” or other states after the previous update released.

• Misc. performance improvements