Mar 25, 2022: We're almost there! Now that we've had time to take a step back post Core Set Refresh and look at overall balance, we're pretty comfortable with where Divine Order is as it stands. That being said, we know balance is a current hot button issue across the board, so we're making the call to leave it open as a "just in case" measure for a little longer. We want to ensure that balancing Core Set Refresh won't result in needing to make further changes, so with that in mind we'll aim to lock off Divine Order for good on the May 31, 2022.
Feb 23, 2022: With the Core Set Refresh on the horizon and Divine Order now having been through the balance wringer heavily, we’re starting to wind down active balancing on the set. However, we still want to have access to the cards when Core Set Refresh goes live to prevent any unforeseen broken combos, so we will also be extending the Divine Order balancing period by another month to March 28, 2022. Unlike previous months, this will likely be more of a ‘caretaker’ balancing period, where drastic changes should not be expected unless serious issues arise.
Jan 14, 2022: As we start moving into the final phases of Divine Order's balancing period we've been happy with how the set is performing on the ladder, creating a whole new metagame for the players to navigate. However the Armor mechanic has proven to create some unpleasant game states in some edge cases, and in an effort to prevent locking the set before we're completely happy to it, we have decided to extend the balancing for another 30 days to end on February 26, 2022.
During this time we'll be taking a closer look at ways to make this mechanic really shine. Expect to see some changes to Armor hitting the PTR sometime after next week's balance patch, and make sure to give us your feedback in the #balance channel on the Gods Unchained Discord!
November 14, 2021: It’s been nearly two months since the Divine Order expansion was unleashed into the wild, and my word, what a couple of months it’s been! Four new keywords, hoards of zombies and porcupines, and some truly game-changing cards were introduced, but with those introductions comes the need to ~balance~.
As mentioned in the Divine Order Buyer’s Guide, the Balancing Phase for new expansions runs for at least 60 days, with the potential to introduce additional 30-day terms if needed. This gives the Gods Unchained team time to settle the new cards in a way that ensures the entire game is still healthy after their inclusion. Whether it’s a buff here, a nerf there, an occasional reword – the aim of this is to evaluate where things sit from a game balance perspective. Right now, the team isn’t 100% sold that it’s at the stage where we can safely lock in the set’s utility for good. We’ve been sifting through your feedback, looking at the data from our most recent PTR play days, and we believe there are changes to be made that could benefit the game as a whole. As a result, the Divine Order Balancing Phase will be extended to at least the 27th of January, 2022. This is a double extension (60 days, instead of the proposed 30) as the first first extension falls in the holiday break.
The team will continue to iterate on balance patches, and aim to give you as many opportunities to test these changes in the PTR. When doing so, we’ll monitor the repercussions and lean on data to cement a point of confidence. We’ll be evaluating where things stand early in the new year, to see whether additional changes need to be made.
Thank you, as always, for playing and sharing your thoughts! If you have any suggestions, we’d love to hear them in the #balance channel in our Discord.