Research Balancing Update

Attention Generals!

After several weeks of testing, we are releasing a major research balancing update to Call of War! Thanks to all our Frontline Pioneers for their extremely helpful feedback during the testing phase.

Note: All of the following changes are now available in all newly started game rounds!

The research balancing update is the first step of a general balancing review in Call of War. At later stages we will also review other aspects of the game (e.g. units and constructions). Today’s update will implement an overhaul of the research tree. It will increase game pacing and open up a wider variety of strategies for you to work with.

We want players to experience more units in Call of War, including those which are available in the later stages of a game round. The updated research tree will also give you better options to counter enemy attacks.

Here is how we are going to achieve all of that:

Research is available earlier

We want all players to be able to take advantage of as many units as possible. At the moment many iconic units can only be researched in the later stages of a game round. To give more players access to these units we are moving the day on which they are available for research to an earlier stage of the game. On average research time is being cut in half. Currently certain units can’t be researched until day 44. With the new changes you will be able to start researching those units on day 22 or even earlier.

Adjustment of research time

We are also adjusting the pacing of research in Call of War. This means that early research levels can be completed much faster, while later research levels will take much longer to complete. This adjustment will allow you to adapt your strategy much faster in case your opponents catch you off guard. Overall research will be more flexible than ever before.

Costs reflect research pacing

We are also adjusting the resource costs of research. With the new update costs will reflect research pacing. The more time it takes to finalize research on a technology, the higher the costs. While costs for early stages of research are cheaper than before, the more sophisticated technologies will need more time and therefore more resources to complete.

Goods are replaced by food

In tandem with the pacing adjustments we are also replacing all goods needed by research with food. We are doing this to better reflect the effort it takes to conduct research with gameplay mechanics. While food became important in later stages of a game round, players experienced a large surplus of food during earlier stages of the game. This change will give players means to invest the food they otherwise do not use.

Reduced construction time

Last but not least we reduced early construction times to support the increased research speed! For Infrastructure level 1 you will now only need 4 hours to complete construction, instead of the previous 24h. Air Bases level 1 will be completed within 8h instead of the previous 18h.To make the fast construction speed balanced we reduced the hitpoints of Infrastructure, Air Base, Barracks and Naval Base to 5, and reduced their economic ranking factors to 5 as well. We also changed the minimum condition at which Airbases and Infrastructures on level 1 become functioning to 5 out of 5 hitpoints.

General Balancing Changes:

  • We increased Nuclear Rocket costs: Rare Material from 10,000 to 15,000 and Money from 30,000 to 35,000.
  • We normalized province resource consumption: Lowered Food consumption and raised Goods consumption.
  • We increased damage scaling per level of Anti Air. Old air damage levels: 5/6/7/8/10/12. New air damage levels: 5/6.5/8/9.5/11.5/14.
  • We increased damage scaling per level of Motorized Anti Air. Old air damage levels: 6/7.5/9/11/13. New air damage levels: 6.5/8/9.5/12/14.5.
  • We increased Research speed-up cost for 12h from 1,700 to 2,500 gold.
  • We increased Paratrooper range levels: Old range levels: 250/275/300/325. New range levels: 275/300/350/400.
  • We decreased Paratrooper production costs: Food from 1,000 to 500, Goods from 2,000 to 1,750, Manpower from 1,500 to 1,300.
  • We decreased production time of Paratrooper from 48h to 32h.
  • We decreased attacking damage of Mechanized Infantry against unarmored units from 7.5/8/8.5/8.75/9/9.5 to 6/7/8/8.5/9/9.5. Defending values are 50% higher.
  • We decreased attacked damage of Mechanized Infantry against armored units from 3.5/3.75/4/4.25/4.5/4.75 to 2/2.5/3/3.5/4/4.5. Defending values are 50% higher.
Again, all these changes are only available in all newly started game rounds!

Apart from the research balancing update we fix some bugs, too. For details see the complete list of changes below:

Bug fixes:

  • We resolved an issue that led to unknown armies being unselectable near the fog of war border.
  • We resolved an issue that prevented users from deleting their account when using a browser.
  • We resolved an issue that caused the diplomacy trade window to be cut off on some mobile devices.
  • We resolved an issue that caused a glaring sunlight effect in the top left corner of the map.
We hope you like our research balancing update and wish you good luck on the battlefield!

Your Bytro Team

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72 Replies

Its worst than you think actually, all the strategy for what units to research and when, has gone out the window. Before researching units took a much longer time compared to now, so you had to plan very carefully to ensure you do not fall behind the curve for certain critical units.

Now you can focus on a couple of units and leave the rest of your tech tree blank and research them when you need them as you can catch up quickly. Lets say I focus on on ground units and ignore my airforce and suddenly realize I need fighters no problem I can have lvl2 in 10h and lvl3 fighters research in about a day and half. Before it would have taking me 4 days for lvl3 fighters (~triple the time) so there is no way I would allow myself to fall behind as it could literally cost me the game.

So the game was dumbed down as it no longer rewards good planning and worst it doesn't punish bad planning as it did and as it should.

Kanaris wrote:

Its worst than you think actually, all the strategy for what units to research and when, has gone out the window. Before researching units took a much longer time compared to now, so you had to plan very carefully to ensure you do not fall behind the curve for certain critical units.
Its not worse, just different. A lot of counters are available much earlier to.

Kanaris wrote:

Now you can focus on a couple of units and leave the rest of your tech tree blank and research them when you need them as you can catch up quickly. Lets say I focus on on ground units and ignore my airforce and suddenly realize I need fighters no problem I can have lvl2 in 10h and lvl3 fighters research in about a day and half. Before it would have taking me 4 days for lvl3 fighters (~triple the time) so there is no way I would allow myself to fall behind as it could literally cost me the game.

So the game was dumbed down as it no longer rewards good planning and worst it doesn't punish bad planning as it did and as it should.

You still get dealt a major blow if you are a day and a half behind on your plane research compared to a heavy plane user.

Aloriel wrote:

This update has quite certainly given those who play the game all day a significant advantage in the early game, since one can start research after research, leaving those with lesser time on their hands in the dust by outclassing them with better units,
This I find to be very true. Since the game allows for a broader spectrum of units to be used earlier on, higly active players can take their time figuring out exactly how to counter each enemy and take advantage of this by doing the appropriate research.

It seems to me that activity has become more and more of an issue for differences to arise among players. I'd say that activity combined with knowledge of how the game works are actually the 2 most deciding factors in who wins a map.

I do not know whether all the changes made it so or that I'm only after all these years seeying how much activity truly matters, but it sure matters a lot. Its not really what I had hoped the game would turn into. I like the idea of a game where strategy matters more than time investment does a whole lot more.

Dear Bytro,

Despite all your best efforts to assure us that this research "balance" would not completely wreck game balance as I feared from the get go well its official now its two games in a row that all I see is tac spam as in 50+ per nation by day 20 all with their tech levels maxed and the cherry on the Sunday its raining nukes by day 25.

Yes you read correctly there are nation deploying several nukes by day 25 enough to make the game unplayable and it happened 2 games in a row now.

Thanks for turning what used to be a wonderful strategically deep thinking and planning game into pressing the "I WIN" button.

I mentioned the nukes issue already in the Beta page. They upped a bit the cost. This is indeed peanuts.

Cost means nothing at this game, in big maps, and with big empires. The beta testing was I believe completely superficial not to spot that. I certainly am not going to play any map larger than the 22, because I have a rule:

Any war game where nukes are the super-weapon is not worth my time. It is a shoot-em-up game.

As for the planes, that might be cured IF THEY REALIZE the problem. But they are not seeing they have completely destroyed the balance of the game.

Unfortunately all "improvements" are made only to increase payments :(

war-play wrote:

Unfortunately all improvements are made only to increase payments :(
That is not necessarily bad, but I doubt that this change will be successful even in that area.

atreas1 wrote:

war-play wrote:

Unfortunately all improvements are made only to increase payments :(
That is not necessarily bad, but I doubt that this change will be successful even in that area.
Why not?

If you want to create a small nuclear apocalypse, then there is nothing easier - pay and play :D

And another (in my humble opinion) TERRIBLE aspect of the new research tree.

I can see that now the research time is depending on the day. This is completely unbalanced. It cannot be needing the same time to research (for example) arty Lvl3, SP arty Lvl1, tac bombers Lvl3, MT Lvl2 and Rockets Lvl2.

In the next days the situation becomes even more tragic: Nuclear Power Lvl1 has the same research time as Infantry Lvl5. This is of course a complete nonsense. No wonder the games will become nuclear playground for kids.

It is imperative that the infantry branch has smaller research times than armor, which has smaller research times than air, which has smaller research times than the Secret branch.

Fun fact: In the old balancing both Infantry Lvl1 and Nuclear Power level 1 had the same research time, both 24h.

freezy wrote:

Fun fact: In the old balancing both Infantry Lvl1 and Nuclear Power level 1 had the same research time, both 24h.
Fun fact: I can bet that Infantry Lvl1 didnt have 24h research time (but I can also bet the Lvl1 is a typo).

freezy wrote:

Fun fact: In the old balancing both Infantry Lvl1 and Nuclear Power level 1 had the same research time, both 24h.
Then how comes that we could start producing infantry lvl1 a few minutes after we joined a day 1 match?

lvl1 inf to my knowledge was 5m pre update and at least you did not have nuclear ICBMs before day 42ish which is still complete bull and ahistorical; but a hell of alot better than day 25 raining nukes galore all over the place making the game unplayable

atreas1 wrote:

Fun fact: I can bet that Infantry Lvl1 didnt have 24h research time (but I can also bet the Lvl1 is a typo).

nemuritor98 wrote:

freezy wrote:

Fun fact: In the old balancing both Infantry Lvl1 and Nuclear Power level 1 had the same research time, both 24h.
Then how comes that we could start producing infantry lvl1 a few minutes after we joined a day 1 match?
My bad, indeed a typo. I meant level 2, the first "real" level that you research, not the one everyone researches by default.

My point was though that nuclear power now takes longer to research compared to Inf than before the update, while the statement in this thread suggested otherwise. Just some clarification.

I would be happy to provide visual proof from the World Herald of several nuclear explosions starting day 25 if you don't want to take my word for it, let me know if its the case and I will reactivate my photobucket account...

Cheers

freezy wrote:

My point was though that nuclear power now takes longer to research compared to Inf than before the update, while the statement in this thread suggested otherwise. Just some clarification.
Yeah, could be longer, but not because the nuclear power takes longer than before, but because you reduced both things.

What exactly is the argument? That the previous research system was perfect? Obviously it was not.

The point is that the new one has some huge loopholes. Of which, the extremely early availability of nuclear weapons so early is the most noticeable.

atreas1 wrote:

What exactly is the argument? That the previous research system was perfect? Obviously it was not.

The point is that the new one has some huge loopholes. Of which, the extremely early availability of nuclear weapons so early is the most noticeable.

dont forget max level tacs by day 20! I can go on but you get the idea...

Perhaps, if instead of 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20

it was 1, 2, 4, 8, 14, 22, 30

It would make much more sense.

I like the way at the start the game escalates faster now. I hate the fact that already by Day 8 there are maximum 4 types of units around.

Why doesn't a certain level (lvl 6) in the "normal" Naval research tree need to be investigated to produce Nuclear BS, Nuclear subs and Nuclear Carriers? now I can produce nuclear carriers without knowing the construction of at least level 1 normal carrier ...?!

For Nuclear Rockets this condition (rocket lvl 4) remained.

That's not very logical ...

I would suggest the need for basic research.

Mr. Bridger wrote:

Why doesn't a certain level (lvl 6) in the "normal" Naval research tree need to be investigated to produce Nuclear BS, Nuclear subs and Nuclear Carriers? now I can produce nuclear carriers without knowing the construction of at least level 1 normal carrier ...?!

For Nuclear Rockets this condition (rocket lvl 4) remained.

That's not very logical ...

I would suggest the need for basic research.

The new research tree is FULL of such things. For example, as it is now, although you need Infantry Lvl1 to research normal arty, AT, and AA, you can theoretically research Mechanized Infantry, SP arty, and SP AA without having researched anything in the Infantry tab (a complete mistake obviously).

Or, you can research SP Arty without even knowing how to build AC.

The whole research tree was made SO HASTILY and without any serious consideration that is amazing.

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