The following was posted on the Killer Instinct Forums
Hello, Killer Instinct community!
The combat team has been testing some big changes internally. We are always looking for ways to improve the balance and fun of KI’s combat system, and we have a idea we’d like to get your opinions on.
We know it can be frustrating when you earn an opening and your opponent breaks your combo. In Season 1, a breaker caused a hard knockdown, leaving you very vulnerable. In Season 2, a breaker caused a soft knockdown, allowing you to quickrise and leaving you less vulnerable. In Season 3, breakers cause a flipout, putting you right back in the action. As I’m sure you’ll agree, each season has made getting your combo broken a bit less punishing.
As we all know, a successful breaker from your opponent restores 100% of their potential damage. What if it didn’t? What if we took another step in the direction we were already heading (that of reducing the reward for a successful breaker) and made it so that breaking only restored 50% of their potential damage? And what if the delay before potential damage started healing back was a second or two longer? Some of the reward you’d earned from hitting your opponent would be still be left on the table for you to claim. Longer combos would leave more pressure on the opponent, even if broken, because more potential damage would be around for you to take.
We’ve tested this internally and we really like it. With this change, if you are dominating in neutral you should win a bit faster. And of course, a bunch of potential-damage-related balance changes would come along with this. Characters that inflict a lot of PD (Cinder, Mira, RAAM, etc) would see reductions in the amount they inflict because it affects the game more. Omen would still be able to use Demonic Despair to inflict 100% PD, but the move would lose all of its invulnerability, making it as hard to land as it was in Season 2.
We are eager to hear your opinions and read your thoughtful discussions about this potential balance change. The future of KI is in your hands. Let us know how you feel. If you have any questions about the specifics of how this works, tag me in this thread and I’ll be happy to answer them to keep the discussion as informed as possible.
-Keits, Lead Combat Designer
This is an amazing idea. The developers are actively engaging the fans who support the game and getting their opinion on how best to keep the game fresh, balanced and fun. This method of consulting with the players before a proposed patch is one that I like and I would like to see other developers do. This shows that the developers are serious about the game’s future and wanting to keep it going.