Game Advanced Balancing Action RPG Combat, Progression, and Economy
GCC Academy
Hello, everyone
I am Park Hyung-seon, in charge of Action RPG Balance and Game Design
Today, we will learn about balancing
action RPG combat, progression, and economy
We will start by balancing the combat in an action RPG to make it engaging
Then, we will adjust the progression balance accordingly
Following that, we will balance rewards and the in-game economy to match the progression balance
MORPG Balancing Concepts and Order
Today, we will begin the lecture on balance
First, I will explain the overall concept of balance
In games, balance refers to adjusting numerical values to maintain fairness and engagement
You can see various graphs displayed on the screen
These graphs represent such as
y = x
y = x²
y = x³
sin(x), cos(x), tan(x)
1/x, and so on
These are all the types
These people are stretching their arms outward
Some extend their arms diagonally,
while others reach upward
This is all mathematics at work
Mathematical formulas allow us to create various balance curves
So, what does this mean in game balancing?
It means we can use equations to structure game balance
If we understand the underlying equations,
we can graph balance curves to automate calculations
With balance graphs,
we can automate numerical adjustments
So manually inputting all balancing values is impossible
So instead,
we use quadratic and cubic equations
to structure balance mathematically and systematically
This allows for automated adjustments
and makes balance much easier to handle
Now, let’s get started with practical applications
These are balance equation samples
X values
y = x
y = x²
y = x³
y = sin(x)
y = cos(x), tan(x)
Various functions can generate different balance curves
For example, when x-values range from 1 to 20,
the corresponding balance values are calculated automatically
Let’s examine balance design
through a smartphone MORPG example
Play Level Design
Economic Balance
and Progression Balance, in that order
Play level design is about constructing stages,
placing monsters within the stage,
defining character stats,
and setting item attributes
Economic balance is about acquisition and
spending of in-game currency,
that of of premium currency, such as cash items,
and entry currency
for dungeons and special stages
Progression balance is about item-based growth mechanics,
EXP gains from battles and quests, and overall player advancement system
Now, why do we structure balance this way?
We focus on three aspects: play level design, economic balance, and progression balance
We use MORPG balancing principles
because RPG mechanics are fundamental to game design
Once we establish RPG balance, other genres like puzzle or simulation games
become much easier to balance
Because RPGs require combat balancing,
while games like SNGs or puzzle games do not
For those , balancing primarily focuses on economy and progression systems
However, in RPGs, combat balancing must come first
Creating an engaging combat experience requires
play level design and combat balancing
Only then, we can move on to economic and progression balancing
The first step in balancing is deciding
how to make the game fun,
in quantitative terms
This is closely tied to level design,
including how monsters are placed,
how stages and maps are structured,
and much more
Setting character attributes correctly,
along with proper item values,
is critical in terms of being fun
This is why play level design
and combat balancing come first
Next, we must determine
how much in-game currency players can earn and spend
in economic balancing
Since most games operate as a business,
monetization strategies must be integrated
So games are businesses
Because of this,
games include cash items and in-game purchases
Players must feel a sense
of progression and achievement in spending money
Thus, economic balancing involves:
How much free in-game currency,
like gold, is distributed
And within the game, it is crucial to determine
how much of these free resources players will use
Thus, we must carefully balance these values
Similarly, we need to design how premium items work
When players
charge cash into the game,
what items can they purchase?
How do these items provide benefits,
like stronger performance,
better aesthetics, or utility?
We must carefully plan the functionality,
pricing, and item composition
Now, moving on with entry resource
While infinite playtime may seem ideal,
there are limits to how much content can be produced
For example, an RPG
requires graphics,
like characters, and monsters
So it requires graphic resources
and a variety of client and server development resources
However, unlimited content creation isn't feasible
This is why,
systemic limitations are introduced
In RPGs,
entry resources are typically given in daily limits
For example, a player might receive
10 dungeon entry tickets per day
Once used up, players must either
wait for automatic regeneration, or purchase
additional attempts with premium currency
This system encourages
consistent daily play
instead of binge consumption
Without such limits,
players could play excessively, like 15+ hours per day,
consume all available content,
and quit after they are done
This is not the desirable result
To prevent this, games design entry resources
to guide player engagement over time
That's why entry resource is needed
So how much of it should be given?
For instance, when used up,
regenerate 1 ticket every 10 minutes?
Or, sell additional entries as cash items?
These factors shape the decision
In fact, these are what constitutes the economic balancing
Now, moving on with progression balancing
When players spend gold or premium currency,
how much experience should they gain?
How should clearing dungeons reward experience?
For these,
how quickly can free-to-play players level up?
How much faster is paid progression?
Also, with purchases,
what is the ideal level-up timeframe?
Clear progression goals must be established
Progression balancing is often determined through comparisons
For example, if a player plays for one hour per day,
they should reach level 30 in approximately 30 days
Such baseline expectations must be set
Similarly, in economic balancing, if a player spends 300,000 won,
progression that would normally take 10 days
should be accelerated to 3 days, shortening the grind by 7 days
These clear numerical benchmarks
help define the balancing framework before fine-tuning specific values
Thus, the balancing target is first established,
and then reverse calculations adjust the numerical values accordingly
Now, let’s go over the balancing process
Total attack power of allied units
Total HP of enemy units
Total attack power of enemy units
And total HP of allied units, in that order
That's how we design the combat balancing
Again, the goal is to fine-tune
numerical values to ensure enjoyable combat
Thus, before setting the numbers,
we must first establish a combat balancing standard
Step by step, let’s use a 60-second timeframe as the basis
Total attack power of allied units
with basic attacks and skills determines the total HP of enemy units
That way, it distributes HP across bosses and regular mobs
Based on how many hits the enemy can withstand,
we get the enemy survival time
Then, we get enemy’s number of attacks within survival time
Then, enemy attack frequency,
boss attack frequency,
mob attack power,
and boss attack power can be determined
That's how we get the total enemy attack power
within this 60 seconds
Once we have the enemy attack power,
we can calculate the allied unit HP
That's the order of designing it
Once again,
total attack power of allied units
Total HP of enemy units
Total attack power of enemy units
And total HP of allied units
Each is set through comparing with other aspects
The total attack power of allied units
refers to the maximum damage that can be dealt
For example,
we calculate this based on time
Over one minute,
if a player uses basic attacks and skills optimally,
the maximum possible attack power
that they can achieve is measured
Once this number is determined,
we now have a fixed value for the allies attack power
Assuming that the player
performs optimally over one minute,
how much damage can they inflict?
This is the maximum value we're assuming
Now, what's next?
After that one minute,
after one minute has passed,
let's say we get the number 3000
Then, optimally, for three minutes, it is 9000
The total attack power of allied units is established
Now, let’s say the game must end within three minutes
Let's say this is the baseline
Three minutes is optimal for a game,
because one minute is too fast
and five, seven, or ten minutes are too long
So for the optimal game flow,
let's say we agreed that three minutes is the best
Then, in those three minutes,
based on 3000 damage within one minute,
the allies can attack 9000 damage in three minutes
Which means,
the total HP for enemy is also 9000
Let me reiterate
Let's say the allies did their best
And the game should end in three minutes
So the allies can attack 9000 damage
That means the enemy has to take that 9000 damage
And now,
excluding aspects like defense power,
attack power equates to diminishing
the enemy HP
That's the way of thinking
So within three minutes, 9000 damage
through basic attack, skills, and everything
All included, the damage adds up to 9000
Then, we have the enemy
including the boss monster,
and other little mob
And the sum of all HP's should equate to 9000 for a three-minute game
That's how it works
So the total attack power of allies
should equate to the total enemy HP
So there is comparison at work
The total attack power for allies is 9000 for three minutes,
so the total HP for enemy should also be that
This HP should equate to that attack power
But, let's say we have one ally and 30 enemies
Then, dividing 9000 by 30 will give us the HP for each enemy
That's the calculation we do
So first, understand the concept before calculating
There is the same balance between the attack and the HP
Same with the total enemy attack power
with the total allies' HP
The game lasts for three minutes
The enemies will attack the allies,
which is us
Though this isn't for all cases,
let's say that we're simulating an auto-combat
We discovered that the enemies damaged
the allies by 9000 for three minutes
Then, the balance works in the same way
We need 9000 HP to stand through three minutes
So, to have a perfect ratio,
we need to equate the total attack power
of enemies with the total HP of allies
So our total attack power equates to their total HP,
and vice versa
This relationship by comparison achieves the balance
So the order goes,
allies total attack power,
enemy total HP,
enemy total attack power,
and allies total HP, in that order
Does that makes ense?
The Importance of Game Balance
First, let's discuss how damage is calculated based on defense values
We will review this concept again in future lessons too
Damage Calculation Formula
For example,
Damage = (Attack Power × 100) ÷ (100 + Target Defense)
As defense increases, the damage reduction effect also increases
If defense increases
in steps of 0 → 5 → 11 → 17 → 25 → 33,
the corresponding damage values decrease accordingly
At the same time, effective HP is also affected
Since defense increases durability,
the effective HP grows as, 100 → 105 → 111 → 117 → 125 → 133,
gradually increasing
So we're seeing decrease in damage by 0.5
according to this formula
This might feel a bit complex at first,
so we will review this again later in another session
If the incoming damage is 0.5 and my original HP was 100,
then with 100 defense, I block 0.5 damage,
which effectively doubles my HP
Originally, I had 100 HP, but now it's as if I have 200 HP
This happens because I'm blocking half of the damage
If one hit would have killed me before, now it takes two hits to kill me
So, my effective HP is doubled, like from 100 to 200
We'll go over the defense formula again later,
but in general, defense percentage-based reduction
is a widely used concept in RPGs
This method converts defense values into percentage-based damage reduction
This is commonly used in RPGs
Damage Calculation Based on Defense
Let’s go over the most widely used defense formula
that converts defense into damage reduction percentage
Damage Absorption Rate = Defense / (Defense + Defense Constant)
This is one of the most commonly used formulas
It converts defense values into damage absorption values
Here, defense, the X, is the input value in the formula
For example, if a player has 3000 defense, how much damage will they absorb?
This graph can give us the answer
The defense constant is a modifiable variable
By adjusting this value, we can control how the curve behaves
We can input things like 5000, 1000, or 100
However, do not set it to 100
With the value of 100,
the damage absorption increases too rapidly,
causing an imbalance in the game
Instead, 1000 or 5000 are more balanced choices
If you set it to1000,
the formula will yield reasonable values
If you need to work with higher defense values,
like 30,000 or 40,000 defense,
Setting it to 5000 will keep the formula stable
What's important here is this
The formula is Defense / (Defense + Defense Constant)
And it should be between 1000 and 5000
for a balanced game without much trouble
So I recommend using 1000 for the game
However, with something below 1000,
like 100,
defense scaling becomes too steep, leading to imbalance
Here, we have the purple graph,
the green graph,
and the red graph
The purple is the result of entering in 100
With defense = 100,
The defense + the defense constant
makes it scale too aggressively,
like that 0.8 defense we see
It spikes too fast
0.8 for defense means
that you block 80% of the damage
But the green graph is the result of 1000
So even though the defense increases,
it is not as extreme as the purple one
The best-looking curve is the red one,
which uses 5000
5000 makes the curve not too intense
So 5000 is a nice number to go with
I say 1000 is alright as well
So here, this 0.6 means this
When the attack damage received is 1000,
60% of it will be defended
So with 1000 damage,
600 will be blocked
with the defense, and you will only get 400 damage
So it is damage absorption,
literally absorbing the damage
So we get percentages like 0.6 or 0.7
0.6 for the enemy defense
means blocking 60%,
like blocking 600 out of 1000 damage,
so getting only 400 damage in the end
Also, as I will explain later,
if we use a cubic equation
for experience point calculations,
you can freely adjust values and create graphs accordingly
For example, if you want to set up level progression
up to level 50,
manually entering each experience point value in Excel
like from 1 to 50,000
and decide to change the balance later
would be highly inefficient
Instead, by using a cubic function,
where x-values are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
the experience table is automatically generated
For example, you could use the equation: y = 1.1103x³ - 27.976x² + 223.75x - 339.89,
you can input 1 to 10,
like as you see, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, and on,
then the required experience values are automatically adjusted
However, if you change the value 1.1103
to 3.1103, the values will increase significantly
Similarly, adjusting the coefficients
in front of the second or third term
affects how steeply the graph ascends
or whether it ascends more gradually
By automating formulas in this way,
you can control the graph’s behavior
For example, using this method,
you can control enemy attack power through polynomial functions
The same applies to enemy HP scaling
The base defense can be defined using a cubic equation
Now, let’s discuss ally defense values
When it comes to ally defense,
there are multiple armor slots available for equipping gear
For example,
just as players equip weapons like swords for attacking,
defensive gear consists of multiple components
like chest armor, leg armor,
helmet, boots, and accessories
There are many components, not just one
So, what should be considered when determining these values?
If a character’s total defense is set at 10,000,
20% goes to chest armor,
15% to leg armor,
15% to helmet,
13% to boots,
and the remainder to the accessories
Determining how to allocate these values
and how to assign special stats to different gear pieces
is an important part of game balance design
When setting these values,
first, define the base values
like high HP and high defense
Then decide how much of these values for each gear
Even when a character has no equipment,
they will still have base HP and defense
So, how much base defense should be provided?
This must be decided strategically
After determining base stats,
set percentage-based distributions for different gear pieces
If a game allows
a character to reach level 120, from 1, 20, 40, 60,
80, 100, and finally 120,
The total defense per level is set
for level 1, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120
So set that first,
and then the base defense with no gear,
and then how much each gear slot contributes
This ensures effective balance adjustments
Always establish core values first,
then distribute smaller values accordingly
Moving on,
this table visualization represents the defense distributions
It displays defense percentages per level,
at level 1 and at 20
It accounts for basic stats,
meaning without any gear,
and total gear contributions per slot
By setting percentage-based distributions,
you can calculate exact defense values
Now, let’s examine other balancing factors
Base Attack Power Distribution
By tier,
base attack power varies across rarity grades
It includes normal, advanced, rare, epic, legendary, and master
For each rarity level,
there are average values and maximum with minimum attack power
Let's talk about these
When designing item stats,
attack power is adjusted based on rarity tiers,
from normal to master
So you have to design the item stat,
which requires a reference baseline
So let's talk numerically
For example, if item levels range from 1 to 20,
as in tiers, from 1 to 20,
then tier 1 items should have the lowest attack power,
while tier 20 items should have the highest values
Similarly, higher rarities should have greater scaling effects
By structuring item rarity tiers like this,
and considering level scaling,
we can determine how attack power fluctuates
in a dynamic scaling graph
to define how attack values should change over levels and tiers
Thus, for each rarity from normal to master,
we determine the average, maximum,
and minimum attack power, as well as
the overall range of fluctuation
The fundamental rule
of item balancing is this
If one attribute is strong, another must be weak
So far, we’ve discussed absolute balancing,
where as the player levels up,
monsters’ attack power scales up, and their HP increases proportionally
This is absolute balancing,
where numbers increase linearly or exponentially over time
However, there is also the concept of relative balancing
Absolute values remain the same,
but in an RPG, you have different character classes
Like warriors and tanks, the defense,
the mages and rogues, in other class
Since RPG classes vary,
you can have high-damage burst types
For example, a character may have low base attack power but have high skill multipliers,
and long cooldowns and high MP consumption
Such a character focuses on one-shot burst damage
So basic attacks,
in an RPG, use a sword,
striking repeatedly like one, two, three, and now the skill
that can do a jump attack,
for example
The usual balancing works like
basic attack 1x and skill 8x
If a character's basic attack power is low
but their skill multiplier is 40x,
let's say as an example
Their basic attack power is low,
so they will struggle against small mobs
However, when they use a high-multiplier skill,
their damage output skyrockets,
like 40x or 60x the basic attack
It takes a long time for their skill to work, but it works
That's one balancing example
Thus, balancing involves trade-offs
like lower base attack with higher skill damage
This is called relative balancing,
where one stat is weak but another is strong
That's a nice balance
Instead of maxing out everything,
it's better to make one aspect strong
and another weak for the balance
For example, basic attack-focused characters excel at regular combat
But they may have weaker skills
So regular farming is easier,
but boss fights are harder, because their skills are weaker
So this is how you add the interesting features
to make each character unique
In game design, variety is crucial
If every character has the same stats, the game becomes boring
Thus, combat balancing involves
adjusting stats
for variety and unique playstyle,
while keeping the gameplay fun
This is everything you need to think about
Class Skills and Weapon Scaling
Let's run a simulation
For example, in a basic attack duel,
B-character attacks A-character repeatedly
By tracking damage values,
with this tradeoff,
we can analyze combat fairness
through, for example, manual calculations in Excel
and other things too
Key stats include HP, Attack, Defense, Damage Per Second,
Critical Rate, and Total Damage
DPS measures damage per second,
so it calculate the amount of damage
per second
Other factors include damage absorption per hit
or per second
For example, the damage from B-character
How many hits from B will kill A?
How many seconds does it take to kill B?
Comparing these things
are required to measure the fairness,
whether A or B is more advantageous
These are possible through comparisons
That's the example
So for PVP and class balance,
comparing between A and B,
if A is better, everyone will play with A
If B is too weak,
no one will play with B
This is not what we want
So this simulates all possible fights
between all different stats of the characters
What happens if A and B fight each other?
This will give us a quantitative data
through an actual simulator
which will allow us to test based on
how the attacks will be done
Or, one could actually play the game
and do a PVP with two characters
By actually playing the game,
we can see the balance
that has been calculated through problems
and formulae in things like Excel
by testing those out
So these test out the balance that has been set
When a character is at level 1,
there are Barbarian, Assassin, Magician, and Healer,
with different strength, agility, intelligence, and endurance stats
Barbarian: Strength 30, Agility 20, Intelligence 10, Endurance 40
Assassin: Strength 20, Agility 30, Intelligence 20, Endurance 30
Magician: Strength 20, Agility 26, Intelligence 30, Endurance 24
DPS, or damage per second
is calculated
DPS 20 means that every second, the character deals 20 damage
Although individual stats differ,
DPS across different classes should remain balanced
By tweaking various attributes
we can create diverse and engaging character options
Ultimately, the goal is to balance all characters fairly
This ensures that no content is left unused,
allowing all elements to be equally utilized
This approach is called relative balancing
Even though
different elements may appear distinct,
they should ultimately maintain
equivalent strength and value with relative balancing
To do this, we convert everything into DPS
Strength is converted into attack power at 20%
Agility is converted into attack power at 10%
Intelligence and endurance are converted into attack power at 5% each
This will keep the relative power consistent
Adjusting the base values to restore equilibrium
will include many rules like such
for the equilibrium
Thus, while every class has its own unique traits,
they should all be equally powerful overall
This is the goal for your balancing decisions
If one character is too powerful, it disrupts the balance
All weapons must also be balanced equally
Axes, bows, staffs, and javelins
Now, normal attack damage, critical damage,
Fire, electric, and ice damage,
hits per second, and total damage
The goal is to ensure that DPS remains equal across all weapons
For this, we convert all damage values into DPS,
or damage per second
Here, the ultimate goal
is to even out the DPS
However, with numbers,
even with accurate calculations,
issues can arise
For example, bugs or errors often arise
in DPS values in Excel calculations that do not match actual in-game performance
with animation timing, character movement speeds,
and other unexpected factors
Even with Excel calculations, the DPS values may not match
But we still need to use Excel
And afterwards, in order to confirm,
we must do a play test
The balance between characters, monsters,
and equipment is displayed visually
to the players
but they are ultimately determined by numbers
These numerical values greatly impact
combat, progression, and gameplay
They also affect equipment crafting,
dungeons, PVP, and rewards
They greatly affect the game aspects,
as well as the entertainment
Here are some examples of numerical values used in the game
Looking at the UI/UX, you can see:
HP, attack power, attack speed, critical hit rate,
critical damage, defense, and more
The number of fragments required to level up
The experience points needed for character leveling
Combat stats that affect battles
Stats that increase as the character grows
The number of skills available
Each character has numerous stats that are displayed through text
The way these stats are structured
directly affects the character’s performance
Balancing these stats significantly impacts gameplay enjoyment
Players should feel entertained,
while ensuring the game world does not collapse due to imbalance
Maintaining this balance is the job of game balance designers
While balance is often thought of
as adjusting numbers and formulas,
it also involves modifying fundamental game rules
Sometimes, balance adjustments require changing system rules
If the numerical values are set incorrectly,
for example, if Class A is significantly weaker than Class B,
the balance between jobs collapses,
causing player dissatisfaction
Players may switch to a different job
That’s why these must be handled carefully
Balance designers must monitor this closely
The goal is to ensure that all players are satisfied
So there needs to be a balance,
a fair competition among players
For example, matching players with similar skill levels
using Elo rating systems or matchmaking formulas ensures fair battles
Additionally, paying players should have faster progression
than non-paying players
Next, balance between the system and players
As players progress through the game,
they receive rewards and growth opportunities
This balance determines progression speed
If progression is too fast, players consume content too quickly and get bored
If it’s too slow, the game feels tedious and frustrating
The goal is to keep the game engaging
without being overwhelming or sluggish
Now, balancing various game systems
requires balancing between system aspects,
including class balance and content balance
If system balance is not maintained,
certain game elements become useless or irrelevant to players
Developers must ensure
every system has meaningful value
so players find all content useful
The game balance has a big impact
Whether balance is maintained or not
directly affects the player’s enjoyment
This also determines the lifespan of the game
As balance gradually collapses,
the game itself comes to an end
If the balance is off, players will become dissatisfied
The fun factor decreases
This class is way too strong,
let's just quit the game
This is no fun
This leads to player churn
To prevent player loss, balance adjustments are made, but by then, it's often too late
Class A gets buffed → Class B players complain
Class A gets nerfed → Class A players complain
The game starts breaking down
That’s why getting the balance right from the initial development stage is crucial
There is no such thing as perfect balance
No matter what, someone will always feel things are unfair
Rather than aiming for a perfectly equal balance,
it’s better to continuously monitor the game
and adjust the balance flexibly
A balance designer must always check
both the in-game economy and combat balance
Check if the game is fun, if the economy is stable,
and ensure that no single element dominates excessively
The goal is to adjust everything to remain as balanced as possible
The order should be combat balance → growth balance → reward & economy balance
For action MORPG game balance planning, key steps include:
Setting criteria for defeating monsters
Establishing combat formulas that align with these criteria
Placing monsters appropriately in various content areas
First, define the criteria for defeating monsters,
then set up combat formulas accordingly,
and continue refining these aspects iteratively
Now, let’s discuss the allies and enemies
The player’s team consists of a single character,
who performs flashy sword-swinging actions
to defeat multiple monsters
After all the monsters are defeated, a powerful boss appears for the final battle
Once the boss is defeated, the stage is cleared
The player attacks by swinging a sword,
executing attack commands via button inputs
Situation: The player character is fighting multiple enemies
by swinging their sword
After defeating all monsters, the boss appears
The player fights and defeats the boss in battle
To balance combat,
we need to establish key criteria
When a player encounters an enemy,
how many hits should it take to defeat the monster
for the combat to feel enjoyable?
One hit?
Four hits?
Thirty hits?
One hundred hits?
These four cases lead to different experiences
If we analyze existing commercial action RPGs,
we find that three to ten hits is typically the sweet spot
If a monster dies in one hit,
the game ends too abruptly
If the game ends too quickly, does it still feel like a fun action RPG?
If every monster dies in one hit,
the entire game becomes one-shot kills
There’s no challenge, no tension, no engagement
Players get bored and quit
Ultimately, the game is uninstalled
Of course, once a player levels up significantly,
they should be able to one-shot weaker enemies
However, if all monsters die instantly from the start,
instead of an exciting power fantasy,
the game becomes too easy and ultimately dull
What if it takes too long to defeat a monster
in an action RPG, not a boss raid one?
If it takes 100 hits,
players spend an hour fighting a single monster
This isn’t even a raid
Again, players lose interest and quit
Of course, some hunting-based games
feature long fights with one single monster,
where battles take time but feel rewarding
But that’s because the game is designed for it
Spending too much time on ordinary monsters makes the game boring
Three to ten hits is usually ideal
for the attack number for a monster
This becomes a key balance standard
How many hits to kill?
How many minutes in a game?
These are very important in combat balance
Please remember this
If a monster dies within 30 hits,
it feels manageable
It’s neither too easy nor too difficult
I can keep playing this game
How many hits should it take?
How long should a battle last?
Remember these two balance principles
These must be fine-tuned based on monster type, player level, and stats
to determine the optimal number of attack
so that the player can remain engaged
First and foremost, combat must be fun
The reason we’ve been discussing all of this is that
when setting balance, deciding on the key criteria is crucial
There are multiple elements that can be used as balance criteria,
but first and foremost, gameplay
Ensuring combat is fun,
and then, growth mechanics and rewards
A game consists of many elements
Growth, combat, economy, and rewards
Even if the growth, economy, and reward systems are well-designed,
if combat isn’t fun, players will leave
Even if the growth system and rewards are great,
it's not fun,
then that's the end of it
So, let’s set the combat balance criteria
For example, let’s say a player attacks a monster
If the monster dies after four hits,
and this feels natural,
then let’s use this as a base combat balance standard
Of course, this standard can change later
It can be adjusted as needed
So, don’t be afraid to set an initial standard
In most released action MORPGs,
the three to ten-hit range is most common
If, as a developer, you think,
four hits feels like a natural amount for a monster to die,
then set four hits as the standard
From there, adjust combat formulas and balance accordingly
That concludes today's lecture
Great job, everyone
Thank you
MORPG Balancing Concepts and Order Play Level Design: Stage composition, monster placement, character stats, item values
Economic Balancing: Acquisition and spending of game money, cash currency, and entry resource Growth Balancing: EXP gained from item purchases
Balancing Order Ally Total Attack Power → Enemy Total HP → Enemy Total Attack Power → Ally Total HP
Enemy total HP determines survival time and total hit count From this, calculate the hit count and attack power of regular mobs and bosses
Once the enemy’s total attack power is set, the ally’s total HP can be determined
The Importance of Game Balance Balance planning: Adjusting game statistics that significantly impact fun,
ensuring the game world remains stable Modifying rules and individual mechanics to maintain balance
Types of Game Balance: Player vs. Player Balance System vs. Player Balance System vs. System Balance
Action MORPG Balance Planning Combat Balance: Define standards for defeating monsters, establish combat formulas, distribute monsters
Growth Balance: EXP and time required for character leveling, Stats gained per level-up
Rewards & Economic Balance: Rewards acquired per stage, adjusting reward distribution and value to items