Anyone who has played Stream Defense long enough knows that frostmages have been causing balance issues since the game’s inception. You can hardly get a highscore anymore without stacking frostmages with aquamarines. There are a few reasons for this, and this change is an attempt at fixing the issue.
The old system
Before the change, frostmage slows work by setting the enemy’s movement speed to a specific number (instead of multiplying it by a percentage). There were some reasons for doing it this way, early on, but the game has changed a lot, and it no longer makes sense.
In the old system, frostmages started very weak (only slowing by about 20% at level 1), but they only became much stronger as they leveled. Making for some ridiculous scenarios at high-level
Disclaimer
Please keep in mind – ALL these numbers are subject to change, and will be adjusted until the new system feels balanced. Try not to get too attached or upset by the changes until I’ve finished making adjustments.
There will also probably be bugs. Please let me know when you find them, and be patient as I fix them. Thank you!
The new system
Slows are now based on a percentage instead of a set number. This percentage is altered by 2 new stats: “CC Power” and “CC Resist”. You character’s CC Power is equal to 110% of their level (including bard levels) plus 2.5 . An enemy’s CC Resist is equal to the wave number (with a few exceptions, explained later). Here’s a chart showing the actual math, based on the difference between CC Power and CC Resist.
The same math is applied to the duration of stuns, charms, and knockbacks.
More on CC Resist
Enemies’ CC Resist starts equal to the current wave number. However, it increases slightly each time they are slowed, stunned, charmed, or knocked-back. This is a safe-guard, to insure players can’t keep an enemy on the map permanently.
Most stuns and charms also cause the enemy to become immune for a short period of time (to either stuns or charms, respectively). This has not been changed.
Exceptions
- Goblins start with 15 less CC Resist (to make them weaker against frostmages). Example: A goblin on wave 10 would start with -5 instead of 10 CC resist.
- The enemies from the challenge altar on Dune Gauntlet start with an additional 20 CC Resist to prevent frostmages and mimics from being overpowered compared to other classes.
What this means
This change has a few big implications, and likely some others than I haven’t anticipated yet. Here is what I’m trying to accomplish:
- Frostmages will now start much stronger, but are less likely to become overpowered late game
- Although the system will take some time to balance, it will be much easier to fix balance issues around frostmages from now on
Class-Specific Changes
Frostmage
- The frostmage’s slow now starts at 50%.
- The aquamarine will now increase how long an enemy stays slowed, instead of increasing the amount they are slowed by
Trickster
- Since the trickster’s charm duration is affected by CC Power, enemies will be charmed longer by higher level tricksters
- The trickster’s initial charm chance has been doubled (from 12% to
25%30%), however, it will no longer increase with level. - The aquamarine will now increase the trickster’s charm chance instead of increasing charm duration
Stormmage
- The radius of the storm will no longer increase from leveling up.
- The aquamarine will now increase the radius of the storm, instead of increasing the amount it slows enemies
Overall
I know this might feel like a nerf to frostmages (or at least to the aquamarine), and it probably is. However, it was a necessary change given the state of the game. Moving forward, I believe frostmages will still be a critical part of any team composition, and hopefully other classes will feel more valuable by comparison.
It is likely I’ll do a highscore reset soon, as many of the highscores relied on stacking frostmages.