Table of Contents
Hi everyone! It's been over a month since we launched the season update. Throughout this period, we've been closely monitoring your feedback and suggestions on social media. Thank you all for your input!
Based on your feedback, we'd like to share with you our future plans and new thoughts regarding content schedules, events, and burnout.
1. Lack of Transparency Regarding Seasonal Content
Many of you are uncertain about what's coming to the game in the long run, making it challenging to plan resources and set expectations. To address this, we'll explain our ideas for improvements in three areas: upcoming heroes, seasonal content, and the Pioneer Server plans.
Hero Schedules
Each season will last for 4 months and feature 7-8 heroes from the four factions and 2-3 heroes from the Celestial and Hypogean factions. The Song of Strife season will have a total of 7 heroes from the four factions and 2 heroes from the Celestial and Hypogean factions. The exact release dates for each hero will be subsequently announced on all platforms.
After the current Rate Up Recruitment period ends, Rate Up heroes can be selected in the Wish List in All-Hero Recruitment and selected in Epic Recruitment. Additionally, there's a chance to obtain them through S-Level and A-Level Soulstones, and they will be available in the Emporium in future seasons. Please stay tuned!
Seasonal Content
Before each new season begins, details and info for the next season will be shared through our official channels. These include game content, gameplay events, and approximate timelines. This should help offer a clearer understanding of what to expect throughout the season.
Here is an overview of the upcoming Song of Strife season updates. We will provide a more detailed overview of the next season before it begins.
Pioneer Server
Before the next season begins, we are also planning to release a "Pioneer Server." We would like to invite enthusiastic players like yourself to participate in this data-wipe testing for the new season. Testers will be able to experience parts of the new season early. By understanding the season's core aspects in advance, the team can make adjustments based on your feedback and ensure a better experience when the season officially launches. Seats might be limited though, so stay tuned for the announcement!
2. Astral Fair Event: How to Improve
Increasing Event Frequency & Not Requiring Timed Logins
Initially, our goal was to ensure players from different countries and regions were able to participate (remember time zone differences), but we overlooked that having players log in at specific times could actually be unconducive. In future versions of Astral Fair, we plan to significantly increase the frequency of the event to allow everyone to participate at their convenience.
Consolidated Rewards for Easier Reward Collection
In future versions of Astral Fair, Astral Vouchers will be obtainable from Daily Quest rewards. Participating in Astral Fair once a day for several days will earn you most of the rewards. We will also extend the event duration, making it less time-constraining for all players.
More Visible Reward Conditions
Players who only want to collect rewards won't need to play for the full 15 minutes each time. The rewards page will be improved to clearly show the conditions for receiving rewards. Once you meet those conditions, you can exit. Of course, players aiming for high rankings can continue playing.
3. Preventing Burnout by Reducing Effort Early Season
We have heard your feedback regarding the intense efforts required at the beginning of the season, and have carefully considered the issue. Under the current design, if you don't claim various gameplay rewards and progress through stages prompty, you'll fall behind, affecting other aspects of the game.
Adding to this, many players worry that falling behind in levels might mean that they would always play at a disadvantage throughout the season. In fact, a Baseline Level system is adopted in multiplayer game modes throughout the season to manage the actual gaps between players of different levels. As Season Resonance Levels increase, the disparities caused by levels will be minimized further. For instance, in competitive modes like Supreme Arena and Season Dream Realm, the impact of Season Resonance Levels above 560 will be significantly reduced.
To ensure fairness, we plan to make the following adjustments:
Current Season
We will introduce an auto-progression feature in version 16, which will allow players to continue advancing stages automatically in the background while simultaneously enjoying other game content and features.
Future Seasons
1）The next season will begin in mid-to-late September. Season AFK Rewards will be calculated from the moment the server transitions into the new server (please refer to in-game details for specifics). Additionally, the XP Essence amount produced will be balanced in the early stages. These measures will help control the gap between players, allowing you to participate at your own pace without worrying about falling too far behind.
2）The world chapter areas will unlock daily. The current plan is to unlock two areas on the first day, followed by one new area each day. Please check in-game updates for the exact schedule.
3）A new max AFK progress design will be introduced for AFK season progression. This design will limit the maximum AFK XP gain per day for all players in the same district, reducing disparities caused by differences in AFK progress. Other AFK progress benefits, such as acquiring higher level equipment, will remain unaffected.
For example: On day X of the new season in a specific district, the maximum AFK progress is set to Stage 500 (the exact value will be based on the official in-game version).
a.Player A has reached AFK Stage 625, so their XP gain is calculated based on Stage 500.
b.Player B has reached AFK Stage 575, so their XP gain is calculated based on Stage 500.
c.Player C has reached AFK Stage 495, so their XP gain is calculated based on Stage 495.
4）Beginning from the next season, all floors in Dura's Trials will no longer require AFK progress to unlock, but will still unlock daily.
Final Remarks
We value your feedback on these changes and will carefully assess your ideas before finalizing any updates. We are committed to continuously striving to make the game enjoyable for all of you.
So, if you have any further suggestions or questions, please reach out to us through any feedback channel. We watch YouTube, we read Reddit, and we actually spy on Discord too!!
See you around.
AFK Journey Team
