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08-02-2023, 08:47 AM
Let's Talk about the Maelstrom
Greetings, Captains. We’d like to share our thinking about where the Maelstrom is at, the follow-up changes it’s getting, and how we’re making these decisions.
For context, the Maelstrom Quantum Torpedo is an experimental new type of weapon we introduced with the Legendary Akira earlier this year. Our hope was it would open a new style of deliberate torpedo usage that felt more like Star Trek. For our first Maelstrom, we aimed high, seeking to learn just how long players were willing to defer gratification – a full 90 seconds for the Maelstrom Quantum Torpedo.
By and large, these efforts succeeded. We knew these torps would have an outsized impact on PVP and require careful tuning there, but the bigger issue was the torpedo’s boss-splatting in pub queues. While powerful ships melting bosses is not a new issue, one-shotting makes it much worse. These issues made it harder for others to enjoy the game. The torpedo starts charged so it excelled in organized play designed to complete TFOs extremely quickly, but we saw this as a harmless upside. Lastly, the decision of when to fire the Maelstrom has been mostly about target availability and internal cooldowns, making the high moments a bit same-y – not bad, could be better.
We set out to build a changelist that would target the bossing case and nudge PVP tuning in a healthier direction. We had two main options here – first, a very simple change to recharge time with a broader impact, and second, a more complex change that added mechanics to the weapon but was more precisely targeted.
We made the simple change since we believed the torpedo simply didn’t need to store so much power to do its job. The results were spicy. First, players enjoyed the longer charge paradigm more than the faster one unto itself, irrespective of damage. That was a huge surprise, and hints that this torp, far from being at the extreme upper end of recharge time, might be closer to a sweet spot for it. Second, the torpedo’s performance suffered unacceptably in common cases – in particular, torpedo builds. The way torpedo builds juggle the global cooldown and select specific torpedoes for specific jobs is far too perfect for the Maelstrom. If the Maelstrom isn’t viable there, it’s lost its essence.
That brings us to the current changelist, which we’ll be shipping live soon-ish. (Seriously, no ETA - Kael) We’re still playing with it internally, but what we have now restores the damage of the Maelstrom against targets conditionally. Against cruisers and smaller, it always deals its old damage. Against battleships, it’s when the shield facing is at or near zero. Against bosses and players, it’s when they’re below half hull. Recharge time is now a bit faster than 90s since the torp should get some power back for its old damage becoming conditional.
The idea here is to try to narrow the impact of the changes while emphasizing healthier gameplay patterns generally. The Maelstrom’s premise makes it a natural fit for torpedo and mixed armament builds. We needed to stop it one-shotting bosses, but we also insist it be good in its role.
That strategy applies to more than just the Maelstrom. When a fix to a problem harms the core viability of the power, we intend to use these kinds of follow-up changes. The Maelstrom is currently getting that treatment, but it wasn’t the first to apply the new plan. Buffs to a couple of other familiar powers will have made their way live by this posting, with the Maelstrom changes following in a subsequent patch.
Jolan tru.
Jonathan Herlache
Systems Designer
/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11550263-let%27s-talk-about-the-maelstrom
Greetings, Captains. We’d like to share our thinking about where the Maelstrom is at, the follow-up changes it’s getting, and how we’re making these decisions.
For context, the Maelstrom Quantum Torpedo is an experimental new type of weapon we introduced with the Legendary Akira earlier this year. Our hope was it would open a new style of deliberate torpedo usage that felt more like Star Trek. For our first Maelstrom, we aimed high, seeking to learn just how long players were willing to defer gratification – a full 90 seconds for the Maelstrom Quantum Torpedo.
By and large, these efforts succeeded. We knew these torps would have an outsized impact on PVP and require careful tuning there, but the bigger issue was the torpedo’s boss-splatting in pub queues. While powerful ships melting bosses is not a new issue, one-shotting makes it much worse. These issues made it harder for others to enjoy the game. The torpedo starts charged so it excelled in organized play designed to complete TFOs extremely quickly, but we saw this as a harmless upside. Lastly, the decision of when to fire the Maelstrom has been mostly about target availability and internal cooldowns, making the high moments a bit same-y – not bad, could be better.
We set out to build a changelist that would target the bossing case and nudge PVP tuning in a healthier direction. We had two main options here – first, a very simple change to recharge time with a broader impact, and second, a more complex change that added mechanics to the weapon but was more precisely targeted.
We made the simple change since we believed the torpedo simply didn’t need to store so much power to do its job. The results were spicy. First, players enjoyed the longer charge paradigm more than the faster one unto itself, irrespective of damage. That was a huge surprise, and hints that this torp, far from being at the extreme upper end of recharge time, might be closer to a sweet spot for it. Second, the torpedo’s performance suffered unacceptably in common cases – in particular, torpedo builds. The way torpedo builds juggle the global cooldown and select specific torpedoes for specific jobs is far too perfect for the Maelstrom. If the Maelstrom isn’t viable there, it’s lost its essence.
That brings us to the current changelist, which we’ll be shipping live soon-ish. (Seriously, no ETA - Kael) We’re still playing with it internally, but what we have now restores the damage of the Maelstrom against targets conditionally. Against cruisers and smaller, it always deals its old damage. Against battleships, it’s when the shield facing is at or near zero. Against bosses and players, it’s when they’re below half hull. Recharge time is now a bit faster than 90s since the torp should get some power back for its old damage becoming conditional.
The idea here is to try to narrow the impact of the changes while emphasizing healthier gameplay patterns generally. The Maelstrom’s premise makes it a natural fit for torpedo and mixed armament builds. We needed to stop it one-shotting bosses, but we also insist it be good in its role.
That strategy applies to more than just the Maelstrom. When a fix to a problem harms the core viability of the power, we intend to use these kinds of follow-up changes. The Maelstrom is currently getting that treatment, but it wasn’t the first to apply the new plan. Buffs to a couple of other familiar powers will have made their way live by this posting, with the Maelstrom changes following in a subsequent patch.
Jolan tru.
Jonathan Herlache
Systems Designer
/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11550263-let%27s-talk-about-the-maelstrom
