Before we begin, be sure to check out my Chapter 2 and Spellbreak Review!
Let’s dive into my thoughts on Dominion that was added with the chapter 2 update. Dominion is an objective-based 5v5 game mode that requires the players to hold points on the map in order to obtain more points from exiling other players (killing them).
What’s wrong with Dominion?
One is the amount of damage that happens from everyone casting different AoEs into the circles and everything just being ignited into one big ball of chaos. The sheer amount of damage that happens from combing toxic + fire or wind + almost anything.
Second, the boon system is odd, I’m not a fan of being able to go back to “base” to buy upgrades (RNG) and fully heal. Also, running gilded seems to be a little overpowered in the fact that you can get legendary x3 within 5 mins of almost every game.
Third, the vanguards or bots, need to be removed, they add nothing to the gameplay. A farming mechanic into a POI game mode is and will never be needed. They continue to distract from the actual gameplay and goal of the mode. They give away positions of players and add a massive amount of chaos to a game already filled with chaos.
Forth, capturing points and controlling them should be what matters, not kills. Dominion is about holding those positions, it should not be about farming NPCs, gathering scrolls, or upgrading gear. There are too many “things” that exist in this mode and need to be simplified.
What’s right with Dominion?
Dominion is a game mode that Spellbreak needed. The addition of capture the point was a great idea and can be expanded upon easily. I believe, if we play the way I think they wanted us to play, it’s most certainly fun. Farm NPC, get scrolls upgrade gear as fast as possible to legendary while trying to control 1 point and fight for a 2nd.
The mixture of classes is great, I see people playing almost every type of combo and gauntlet. I do believe toxic + fire is the most played currently. I think the boon system can be expanded on, and instead of teleporting back and upgrading, add a function into the game that forces players to capture something and bring it somewhere instead to upgrade the team’s items/armor/etc. Remove the functionality of “basing”.
To help make it more about strategy, only provide rare items, I believe, the legendary gear provides too much advantage and the TTK is the way too high endgame. The TTK early game feels more reasonable while the end game becomes more of a snooze fest one-shot or bunny jumping mayhem.
So, what’s right with Dominion? It’s really the mode itself. That’s what’s right. I believe, this mode can really become great with some modifications to the overall idea. Removal of the bots, updating the way boons work, limit item upgrades (stop at rare), decrease TTK (time to kill), and make the mode focused around capturing points.
Where to go from here?
I would love to see Proletariat bring out smaller simpler updates that have focus points. My suggestion would be to push out smaller updates that would create the bigger picture for you over time. There are tons of data points out there like Path of Exiles and League of Legends to take notes from. Don’t be afraid of reusing a system that already works!
Chapter 2 update brought a huge amount of changes to the game. Sadly, this made the game feel massively different. I would suggest that Proletariat create a better development lifecycle that handles updates every 4-8 weeks. In addition, 4-6 months for new chapters/seasons.
I want to say Thank You. I’m excited to see where Spellbreak goes and will be here for the journey. Here’s to 2021 and the new adventures to come!
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