For anyone unaware, EPIC are working on a brand new map for Paragon that is set to replace Agora. Travel Mode has caused so many issues, that aren't easily fixed with the existing map, that they think it's best to effectively start with something smaller but more vertical. When they made this announcement there was a lot of confusion so they've answered some questions from the community. Take a look below. 


We recently made an announcement regarding a new map we are working on, as well as the recent changes we have been making to Agora. News of the new map has generated some discussion, let’s get to answering some of the questions you had this week.

  • MasterSkills420 asked, Is the new map going to replace Agora, or is the playerbase going to be split?

Our current plan is a two-step process. First, we will introduce the new map alongside the existing Agora map as an opt-in experience for those who want to try it out. The goal is to replace Agora with the new map over time; we're focused on making this big change as early as we can. That said, while that is our goal, the new map does actually have to lead to a better experience before that happens.

  • When can it be played?

An early form of the map will be available to play before the end of 2016. The initial rollout will likely happen over small intervals, like weekends, to start. This will allow us to collect valuable feedback from you as we continue to optimize the map before finishing.

  • To clarify for TraegusPearze, if there are two maps at the same time, will they be balanced the same?

No, they will not. The goals of the new map are to deliver more strategic options (team fights, objectives), with more intense action (more intimate as well), and more overall player impact (clearer role benefits, learnings from all the changes on Agora to date).

This does not mean that Agora work development stops, quite the opposite. Our Design Team is going to continue developing both maps during the ramp up process. This makes for a lot (and we mean a lot) of extra work, but that is our commitment to you.

  • Tristeza_de_verao wants to know when we will be showing the first screenshots and images of the map?

Soon!  Moving forward, we hope to have weekly updates on the map’s progress as we head towards its release.

  • PersistentWorld asked, “Isn’t poor player awareness/need for tutorials also part of why matches are taking so long?”

Our goal of achieving a player friendly match length is not going to be solved with only one approach. While the new map will help greatly, we are also working on an in-game tutorial to help new players learn the game quickly. Interestingly, new player matches are not significantly longer than higher MMR games.

  • How many lanes in the map, same lanes?

The new map will have the same number of lanes as Agora (3 lanes).

  • TRF_Online wrote, “Why did you guys feel like this needed to be kept secret for so long?”

More than anything, we wanted to  make sure we could actually deliver this on a pretty predictable schedule.

Back in June we wrote the blog post Committing to Change: The Future of our Meta, where we went into why we would be removing travel mode and what we’d do next. The primary changes proposed there (global teleport mechanic) did not fare well in testing, so we moved into map change exploration. We’ve been refining it over the last two months, getting ready to tell you about it. Those efforts have finally brought us to a state where we can speak definitively to how that new map will look and feel.


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

Last Updated: Oct 08, 2016

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

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