I'm excited for the new Paragon map. The existing one, as EPIC brilliantly discuss in their new blog, has lots of issues. Shifting to a new, smaller map, should rememdy most of these problems. In a lengthy blog post not only have EPIC detailed the reasons for moving to a new map but they've also shown off the mini-map for the first time: boy does the jungle look like a warren of tunnels. Take a look at the post below.


Bonjour Paragon fans! And thanks so much for being here. We appreciate you being with us during some of the most exciting times we’ve had here at the studio!

Personally, I’m super thrilled to finally be able to start sharing some of the general details of our new map! We’ll be rolling it out for testing soon, but before then we have a series of blog posts to come which will help flesh out many of the questions you have.

Disclaimer:  As we start these blogs, all of the work we’re showing is Work in Progress. The goal is to be more open as we progress, showing more work more often. Many things are subject to change as we get closer to a live playable version. Art will change, we’ll favor shipping a less fully beautified map to get the core gameplay in your hands sooner.

WHY WE ARE MAKING IT

To recap, the new map is the product of all the efforts over the past few months to address the core issues that we started talking about in June. The issues we face are the same now as they were then :

  1. The Map is too big: Our first version of the map was too large, and needed trimming.
  2. Travel Mode is bad for combat: This is still true, and it’s something that was directly a result of #1.
  3. Lack of commitment: Caused by a heaping spoonful of #2, this is one that we knew we had to nail - how do we make decisions feel like they have consequences? How do we stop the game from degenerating into roving death squads? And then finally,
  4. Match Length: Ever elusive, always present - no-one wants to sit in a moba game for 90 minutes. We wanted to make sure those super long epic matches you talk about over drinks during your Thursday get together were rare stories and not everyday occurrences
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Good Job! Good Job! Good Job! Good Job! Good Job! Good Job!

It was clear we weren’t going to fix 4 without 3, and 3 without 2, and 2 without….#1. We needed a new map. It’s not as easy as just resizing our current one, for a myriad of reasons. We had to start over and make something new. And if we were going to start again from the beginning, we wanted to do it with all the new things we’ve learned from all of you, as well as the internal lessons we received as well. To that end, I give you our new map! A new battlefield has emerged on Agora in the form of Monolith. This new map stems from our current map which we will now refer to as … Legacy.

For the first glimpse, below is our work-in-progress minimap, which we will flesh out with more details in the coming weeks.

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I totally didn’t draw this.

SIZE MATTERS

The first major feature of Monolith is that it’s smaller than Legacy, roughly 30% smaller. We feel this is the right amount to make key changes.

But that isn’t all. One of the other major features of the map is, essentially, a holistic rebalance of what a better sized map means. Our commitment to you is that it’s going to be better to move around, more awesome to fight in, and have all the verticality and Jungle you expect. Our base movement speed is going to be faster than what it is now all the time - no more variable movement speed with Travel Mode.

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Bigger's not always better.

ASYMMETRICAL MAP

One of the next things you’ll notice is that, unlike Legacy, Monolith isn’t symmetrical. This is intentional. One of the things we really want to achieve is clear, awesome hero roles for all players of the game. In order to do that, we want to define places on the map that those roles would play best. We also want our lanes to be more dynamic, awesome places filled with drama, conflict, big plays, and skilled saves.

An asymmetrical map lets us do a few neat things, more of which we’ll go over in the specific blogs about those lanes. But for now, the key takeaway is - an asymmetrical map means a more defined, more dynamic experience which gives a dramatically different gameplay feel based on where you decide to play.

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Did we mention asymmetry is key?

TELL ME MORE, YOU FOOLS!

Expect to hear more from us about the following specific topics in the coming weeks. We’re not being coy, but we want to provide some simple context as we go. The core of the design is fairly locked, but we can show more every week (again work-in-progress).

Here’s what is next:

  1. The Safe Lane - What it means, why it’s there, and how it’s used. Also, what’ s a support for anyhow?
  2. The Mid Lane - What does it mean to be a lonely Mid? How can I make plays? “How did Gideon become a Pirate?” Is not a question that will be answered.
  3. The Offlane - The Safe Lane’s dark mirror. What compelled you to pick this place? How do I get money? What’s this bonus creep about?
  4. Welcome to the Jungle - What’s happening to Harvesters? What’s a Raptor? Why is this the only one with a pun?
  5. Systems Overhaul - Move speed, math, ranges, and more!
  6. Art and Visual Design - Why we put that tree there and that rock here.

I honestly can’t wait for you to play on Monolith in the future, it’s been a huge labor of love for the whole team and me. But more than that, I can’t wait for you to play it harder. More hard. Something like that.

Talk to you soon!

Cameron Winston
Lead Hero Designer


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Paragon Game Page.

Last Updated: Oct 15, 2016

About The Author

Lewis is a long standing journalist, who freelances to a variety of outlets.

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