Hey Zoobsters,

 

We know we’re a little late, but we’re here to talk about the new item levels and the reasoning behind some changes made to some items. There was a lot of confusion, and we apologize for that. 

 

Reworked Items

 

To accommodate the new levels, we had to make changes to some of the items, otherwise, we would have problems in the future. Item scaling can be a real issue and give an unfair advantage if not balanced correctly; hence the “nerf”. 

 

We would like to provide some reasoning behind these changes to understand our thought process behind them. Our primary concern is making sure items are balanced and don’t ruin the experience for players. 

 

It’s important mentioning the way the new values were interpolated makes the nerf to be more accentuated on items with higher levels. Players that have just unlocked the item won’t suffer see any difference.


All right, enough talking, let’s get to the changes!

 

Happy Treats

Happy Treats rework is a trade-off.

Even though we increase the time a player has to stay still to trigger the item (before level 12), we have increased the healing per second on each level. So despite waiting a little longer for the regeneration to begin, it will be much faster than before once it starts.

 

Adrenaline Shot

The Adrenaline Shot’s maximum healing efficiency will remain 90%, and it was pushed to level 12. The healing efficiency should not be too close to 100% to maintain the trade-off of triggering the item instead of manually/strategically using a medkit.

 

Cluster Bomb

The maximum Relative Damage percentage will remain 90%, and it was pushed to level 12. The maximum Relative Radius will be 70% and was also pushed to level 12.

Increasing damage and radius too much might represent an unfair advantage to bomb using characters, putting other characters in a tough disadvantageous spot. 

 

Molotov Bomb

The Molotov maximum duration went from 4.5 to 6.48. This represents a 1 level nerf to maxed out players.

Molotov’s duration significantly impacts zoning, especially now that it may, more frequently, last more than the bomb cooldown.

 

Defibrillator

The defibrillator’s maximum cooldown value went from 20 to 14 seconds. 

Decreasing the cooldown further might undermine a successful team fight too much.

 

Inflatable Muscles

This item is incredibly delicate because it is already powerful. The newer levels give an overwhelming advantage, but we’re committing to the balance risk since this item is extremely rare.

Damage and Health bonus per kill maximum value went from 5.5% to 7.2%. 

 

Doctor’s Coat

The maximum healing efficiency will remain 100%, and it was pushed to level 12.

The maximum range of effect went from 12.5 to 17.4 meters, keeping the power level for this attribute approximately the same.

 

Clown Nose

The maximum range of effect will remain 20 meters, and it was pushed to level 12, which corresponds to a 2 level nerf for this attribute.

The maximum laugh duration went from 4 to 6 seconds, keeping the power level for this attribute approximately the same.

This is a rare and unused item, but the max range is as big as it can reasonably be.

 

Bandage

The Healing per second maximum value went from 3.2% to 4.8% of max health. This attribute power per level remained the same. But the maximum damage recovered will remain 50% and will be pushed to level 12, which corresponds to a 1 level nerf for this attribute.

 

Toolkit

The minimum amount of time the player takes to dismantle a barrel or crate will remain 1.5 seconds, and it was pushed to level 12, which corresponds to a 2 level nerf. 

The maximum shield granted per use went from 16.5% to 20%, which corresponds to a 1 level nerf for this attribute.

This item can be very dominant and went through some nerf in the past. We’re keeping the vulnerability aspect of the item while slightly increasing the shield contribution, which hopefully will maintain its competitive use.

 

Phew, and that’s all the changes! Please keep sharing feedback regarding the balancing of items, as it helps us work together on future changes.

 

See you at the Zoo!