Warhaven is a free-to-play PvP medieval fantasy warfare game that is developed by Nexon. You fight in 16 vs 16 battles in which you take and push territory to conquer or defend all of the enemy’s zones. Players can select from six different characters, ranging from combat sword warriors to ranged archers and magicians. Each character has a distinct assortment of weapons, attacks, and powers.
Warhaven’s game director Eunseok Yi “Paparang” had an interview about the game’s changes. Here’s what the director had to say about Warhaven.
Warhaven Game Improvements
Can you Tell us briefly about the changes in the UI?
Warhaven’s winning condition has changed. It will no longer be based on deducting the opponents’ team score to 0% but on accumulating a 100% ally score. Also, we have displayed the relationship between the foothold and the team score on the HUD. The camera angle has also been adjusted so that the character is placed in the center. There are many more changes, but these were the first ones that came to my mind.
There was also some feedback on the difficulty of understanding combat status, has this changed?
We have included various features to counter those issues and I think the answers to the last question are part of those.
I heard that the terms used in-game are also being simplified, is this true?
Yes, gamers will not have any issues understanding them. For example, the term “Rendezvous Foothold” used previously is now called “Respawn Foothold” We do use some terms that do not match well, but characters will never say them out loud.
The game’s tempo seemed to be very slow, will this change?
We have fastened Warhaven’s tempo based on the last beta’s feedback. Your attacks will have faster recovery time after successfully striking an enemy or blocking an incoming attack. Overall, the tempo of the game will be approximately 50~60% faster than what it used to be.
Warhaven wasn’t so friendly to the new players, what’s changed?
We have made every effort to eliminate oddities and make Warhaven more akin to games that the majority of players are accustomed to. Nevertheless, there are still some aspects that are special to Warhaven, therefore we do want to offer assistance to users in becoming acquainted with the game, including a tutorial and an AI combat experience.
The attack range isn’t so intuitive, have you improved this?
You must be skilled in three areas to succeed in this game: strategic planning, mind games, and micromanagement. Micro is made up of components like timing, aim, and appropriate distance control. Although we want to ensure that novice players do not find this section very challenging, we believe it is an essential aspect of the game that requires repetition to become proficient.
It is difficult to try different viable strategies, what’s new?
We are approaching this very carefully because combat alone is a lot for the players to cover as it is a 16 vs 16 game with lots of battles taking place simultaneously. However, I do believe there needs to be room for advanced tactics that can deepen the gameplay for highly competitive players. We plan to achieve this through systems such as Relics which were present during the last beta.
I realized it was easier to land my attacks. Was this just my imagination?
No, you are not wrong here. We have adjusted the camera angle to minimize point-of-view distortion and significantly increased the difficulty in landing horizontal attacks. For vertical attacks, however, that’s something that you should get a feel of to do well because the game is in third-person. Regardless, we plan to provide players with various options to customize the camera angles to help with the gameplay.
Warhaven’s New Contents
In the last video, a preview of the new map was seen. Could you briefly introduce the map to us?
We are currently preparing a new map called ‘Sihan’ which will be a new skirmish mode map following ‘Podden’ It is a cursed wasteland, filled with volcanic ash. Like Podden, there are 3 footholds: one for a cannon, one for respawning, and the main A foothold. The unique aspect of this mode is that the A foothold collapses once it gets hit by a few cannon shots and the battlefield moves to the ground beneath. Also, there is a bit of a gap between the cannon foothold. And the capture-the-flag system now only exists in small footholds.
Can you tell us about the new lobby?
Previously, the lobby and barracks simply had a character standing in front of a black background. Now the background will be more ‘war-like’ Soldiers will be marching in the background and you will also see wagons carrying soldiers and dragons flying around. Warhaven’s theme song was also remade with a chorus in it creating a grandiose atmosphere.
Players were all saying they wanted different game modes. Do you have any plans in particular?
We received lots of feedback on how the onslaught was quite different and confusing. This is why we’ve gotten rid of Onslaught altogether. These battles will simply be Dominion modes from now on.
Balance Adjustments
Raven got weaker than the last beta, do you have anything personal against her?
No, I like her a lot, but we gave a few tweaks to Raven because long-ranged characters were too powerful. The previous AOE basic attack will now be a single-target guided missile. Also, players will be notified with a symbol indicating that they are currently being targeted by Raven.
Arch isn’t in the game anymore. What happened to him?
Raven is an Immortal at least, so her powerful abilities make sense. But Arch being a regular soldier was too strong with his long-ranged attacks. We had a hard time balancing him so he’s now undergoing some major reworks. He will not be coming back to the game for a good while.
Smoke also had her abilities reworked?
Additionally, Smoke was overpowered since she could deactivate the enemy’s cannon and repeatedly respawn allies. Overall, she required some modifications because she was a little OP. We offered her a nice new talent in exchange.
Players would mostly pick certain Classes and Immortals. What do you think about this?
Blade is the most basic soldier of all, and we designed him as a class that can be widely picked on any map. So, it is not surprising that his pick rate is the highest. We are adjusting the balance of other soldiers as well, so the pick rate would be evenly distributed. Among the Immortals, Martyr is very similar to Blade. We are also making some balance adjustments here.
Game Philosophy & Designs
On a scale of 1 to 10, how proficient are you at Warhaven?
I’d say 5. That’s why I can understand how new players feel about the game.
What’s your favorite soundtrack in Warhaven?
Our theme that’s played in the lobby is amazing. It’s from Inon Zur, a famous composer within the gaming/movie industry.
A large-scale, close-ranged PvP genre is not so trendy, I’d say. What’s the reason you started a game based on these concepts? And did NEXON allow this?
Small-scale PvP games are fun to play indeed, but they are stressful at the same time. I pondered a way of lowering this stress and landed on the large-scale PvP genre. Shooting games are a cliche in my opinion but then I realized that sword fight games are the blue ocean here. NEXON probably thought my idea was not so bad, and that might be the reason why they approved it. I never pushed them on anything.
It’s sometimes difficult to find any strategy or motivation to play with the team because the game consists of a succession of rough-and-tumble clashes. What are your thoughts on this?
I expect coordinated teamwork in a ranked match, one-made parties, or event matches. I also don’t think it’s impossible in a normal 16 vs 16 match but I don’t want it to be something that becomes a chore in the game.
Warhaven is very quirky and has a peculiar setting. Is there any you would like to collaborate with?
Well, I really hadn’t thought about it.
We would like to hear from other devs as well. Would that be possible as well?
Of course! I can’t be the only one to answer all the questions. If there’s any developer you’d like to see, please let me know. I’ll have them here.
Any promises for the Early Access?
A: I personally don’t like making promises, if Warhaven can be ranked within Top 10 of the Steam Wishlist.
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