Catalyst Discussion

[Reshiram18]

The SGM Twitter page has revealed that Catalysts are going to be collectable custom Rift modifiers. There are going to be a total of 150 different Catalysts. What do you all think of what Catalysts ended up being? I, as a free to play player who has been sitting at diamond 3 for basically the entire period that Rifts have been around, am afraid that with the introduction of Catalysts the Rift Battle mode is going to become a very pay to win feature thanks to whales potentially having the easiest access to the best Catalysts. Hopefully how the Catalysts will work is that they will entirely replace the default modifiers on the node that they are placed on instead of being added to the default modifers.

Spaced out link here:
https ://twitter. com/sgmobile/status/1108176096871112704

 

[Dusty00]

Yet another brand new type of resource to manage and pay for. Instead of just going into the game to “play/fight”, now we will be spending more time to “manage” resources with a half broken filter/sort system that we can’t even do favorites.

My fear has come true, the game is just getting more bloated with ways for more micro-transactions for whales. I just don’t get it, do games make that much more money from a few super rich individuals who would drop thousands of dollars a month? Am I too naive to still think that subscription/DLC involving no RNG from every player will make them just as much money?

This game needs a serious overhaul with Qualtiy if Life improvements and go back to its original vision of providing the most unique “fighting” game for the mobile platform. Otherwise all these “new” additions are just signs of a game trying to milk as much money as they can before it dies.

 

[fanghoul]

This also fills me with trepidation. I've been jonesing for more variation in the nodes for rift battles, but I'm not sure this is the right way to go about it. I mean, players just having the right diamonds and a lot of them has already made Rift Battles really lopsided at the high end. This seems like it's going to push it even further in that direction.

Saying that makes me wonder what the rift battle experience is like for all the Silver 2, etc. players though. We know what the Gold/Diamond end is like, because that's mostly who's on the forum. Maybe things are less terrible for the majority of players, and this will be a pleasant change for them?

 

[Veeko]

Heeeey I was right
I think this could be cool... if the existing issues with rifts are fixed. As is this will just pile on the other problems. Also yeah you better have to remove one of the existing modifiers to apply these or it’ll be crazy.
I don’t like rifts. They’re a mundane grind. I’m not a pvp person, I get frustrated easily, and when it seems to always be either you get pitted against someone who you can’t possibly hope to beat or against someone who can’t possibly hope to beat you, it’s just not fun. But we’ve kinda gotta put up with it if we want to use nat diamond fighters even somewhat effectively, huh? Maybe adding some variety would help. Maybe it won’t. We’ll see, I guess.

 

[Pepperlunatic]

This is a huge mistake for hidden variable imo. First, people are not pleased with this more things to buy or grind. Second, judging how mundane their modifiers are, it would not bring much new flavor to the game and bring even more disappointment. Third, there are still so many concerns and complaints with rift battle that it is very dangerous to disappoint players who are already irritated. And as a result of these issues, there may be surge of players quitting this game thanks to the massive disappointment this news bring. If hidden variable is smart, they would scrap this idea and fix the current issues first like the matchmaking to more access to diamond keys

 

[educavalcantee]

Also yeah you better have to remove one of the existing modifiers to apply these or it’ll be crazy.

I don't think we'll be able to remove an existing modifier. The way that was said, looks like we have to complement the nodes, creating combinations. That's sad.

Edit: Either way, people will just bring back Sacrosanct in the boss node.

 

[TraiP]

This also fills me with trepidation. I've been jonesing for more variation in the nodes for rift battles, but I'm not sure this is the right way to go about it. I mean, players just having the right diamonds and a lot of them has already made Rift Battles really lopsided at the high end. This seems like it's going to push it even further in that direction.

Saying that makes me wonder what the rift battle experience is like for all the Silver 2, etc. players though. We know what the Gold/Diamond end is like, because that's mostly who's on the forum. Maybe things are less terrible for the majority of players, and this will be a pleasant change for them?

nope,not really from my experience (from gold dropped to silver-4 prior the update now to silver-1) the same things happens. also really not happy to hear they just found another way to break even more the Rifts but that's just me

 

[educavalcantee]

Just noticed that probably some of these catalysts will affect especific fighters and elements. And they will have bronze/silver/gold/(diamond?) rarity tiers.

 

[Ryouhi]

I can see where they're going with this. Collectible modifiers is something i definitely expected down the line when rifts battles were first introduced - it makes sense, as they make the bases more unique, instead of being the same modifiers (and similar fighters) every time.

This could be interesting depending on how it is implemented... or it could make me want to play rifts even less.
In the best case scenario there aren't any super overpowered or useless mods, but all are of a similar difficulty.
Otherwise this is yet another factor of luck involved in this ranked game mode.

Currently,
if you are matched vs someone that is blatantly higher ranked than you - you will most likely lose
if you are matched vs someone that has twice as many diamond fighters than you - you will most likely lose
and now we may add
if you are matched vs someone that has all the overpowered meta mods and you don't - you will most likely lose (also potentially pay2win-ish?)

this is a very pessimistic view for a mechanic that has not been fully revealed yet, so i'll save my judgement for when that happens, but i am certainly cautious.

My other problem with this is that it may make rift battles even more time consuming, as you now have to pay attention to many new modifiers and can't stick to tried and true strategies, since the map layout will change every map. Of course in a way this is good, variety is the spice of life, but for a mobile game 30+ minutes of time investment per match can be a bit much, especially since we have to play 7 times a week.

---

Well, i am overly critical anyways just cause i really don't enjoy competetive game modes, so i'm no fan of rifts to begin with, so take all this with a grain of salt.

 

[evilgordo]

Nope. I'm done with Rifts. Too much of my resources go in to get very little out.
2 hours per battle for:
No chara XP earned.
No player XP earned.
A pittance of Rift coins per node win. (I have to win 4 nodes to get what I used to for just winning 1 node (and losing the battle) in the old system)
There's nothing in the rewards that you can't earn/buy else where...
Not worth my time.

 

[fanghoul]

nope,not really from my experience (from gold dropped to silver-4 prior the update now to silver-1) the same things happens. also really not happy to hear they just found another way to break even more the Rifts but that's just me

Thanks, that's good to know!

 

[Tom Kulczewski]

It's taking more time trying to get what you want than actually using it lol

I mean, that's the beauty of grinding and all, but yeah, as some of you said before, there're just way too many things to do atm. We all understand that the devs probably want us spending as much time as possible playing the game during the day, and we all like playing it, but it's starting to feel like doing homework lmao

Also yeah, it seems like for people that never liked playing Rift Battles before, it's gonna be even worse now.

 

[Am_Suitcase]

Honestly I'm more than annoyed with this. The Rift Matchmaking as if 3.1 is abysmal. And the inclusion of Catalysts probably is only going to make things worse for me. At this rate I just gave up on rifts altogether. If im playing the game, Im sticking to PF or Dailies. Maybe origin stories if they come up but I doubt it's coming up. I know i'm salty, but tbh, after being paired numerous times with diamond 2's and 1's, i'm sick of it. So yeah, Catalysts are a huge no to me.

I'd rather try to solo a whole diamond team with a bassline then I would open a catalyst relic.

 

[Xandoss]

I’m pretty sure this catalyst thing is a neat feature and will be sweet in Rifts. Just might not be good for the game. Having them cost Rift Coins is the only way I can see them not as a ploy for making players pay theonite to have better Rifts. Which of course can be purchased with real money to make it a p2w feature and frustrating to your average player base. As someone who’s sunk whale size chunks into my collection, just to say I helped keep the servers online and Devs working, I’m not thrilled at the thought of paying to have a base or the impact that would have on an already fragile Rift morale amongst the player base. So the Devs gotta make them earned through Rifting, either rift coins or relics at end of season but if they’re a pay feature like costing theonite then Rifts are screwed imo. Sweet idea, just not a good one.

 

[Shabellwoo]

Maybe I didn't play Lift battles after CATALYSTS updating.

This system is critical point for Win.
Fasten winner When before battles? I never enjoy to battle.
I didn't want a work.

 

[TesChingando]

I’m pretty sure this catalyst thing is a neat feature and will be sweet in Rifts. Just might not be good for the game. Having them cost Rift Coins is the only way I can see them not as a ploy for making players pay theonite to have better Rifts. Which of course can be purchased with real money to make it a p2w feature and frustrating to your average player base. As someone who’s sunk whale size chunks into my collection, just to say I helped keep the servers online and Devs working, I’m not thrilled at the thought of paying to have a base or the impact that would have on an already fragile Rift morale amongst the player base. So the Devs gotta make them earned through Rifting, either rift coins or relics at end of season but if they’re a pay feature like costing theonite then Rifts are screwed imo. Sweet idea, just not a good one.

Most likely be a mix of both buyable through grinding and theo. I'm fairly sure theo will be the most reliably way to obtain them because otherwise the cost and work for making them would be a waste for the devs.

From what is seen on the tweet image, those mods will have tiers (gold, silver and bronze), I'm a bit worried about it, yes.
But I think they can make it work, heck, they already have a fully gacha based game which incredibly to the mobile gaming market, actually works pretty well with both paying and f2p players.
Given that, I have faith that the devs can do this.

 

[BallotBoxer]

When they first teased Catalysts, before revealing they are Rift modifiers, I was hyped thinking they were experience points packages you could feed to your fighters. "Wow, that would be so convenient!"

this is a very pessimistic view for a mechanic that has not been fully revealed yet, so i'll save my judgement for when that happens, but i am certainly cautious.

This is my stance on the matter: wait and see how it really is. I don't see it being that bad.

WORST CASE SCENARIO
Coming soon to Skullgirls Mobile:
Rift Battles: Nightmare Mode

With three easy payments of $99.99, all your Rift nodes can have Sancrosanct, Inertia, Doom, and Reactive Armor! Plus, when the attacker loses a Rift battle, the character(s) they picked are permanently forfeited to your collection!

BEST CASE SCENARIO
Player, with best infomercial smile: "With more creative control of my defense, I'm winning more battles! Plus, fighting my opponents now offer more variety. The fresh challenge makes it interesting!"

PROBABLE CASE SCENARIO
Player: "I uh, put an extra bleed modifier on the bleed node. Still losing, but I like decorating my Rift with these random, mostly-inconsequential, modifiers. Eventually I'll find a good combo or imitate what is meta."

 

[Fel]

To drop my two cents, I think the issue with rifts is the game mode itself. Not only the broken matchmaking system but the whole premise. No matter how fair the matches are, a game mode where one mistake costs you 2 hours of waiting is going to be stressful. Also with the limited playerbase the mode can only be so fair.

Catalysts aren't going to fix this problem but more variety to the nodes is a welcome feature.
If they're going to fix matchmaking they probably should've put that news before or with the catalyst news tbh.
People are saying the game is becoming more P2W but the rewards at high gold/low diamond are quite juicy still.

I've also read an article about how it is the top x percent of players that provide 90 percent of the income from microtransactions? I don't know how accurate that is but I think pandering a bit for the future of the game is understandable. I definitely feel like people are overestimating how "P2W" this game is.

 

[pigpigpigwwf]

Ok, who thought Armor Rating (10% chance to gain 11 secs of Armor and void the damage) will fix the Rift stress issue ?

 

[TonyPartridge30]

Armor Rating should be less potent across the board. It's already popping up as a meta for rift battles. And with the limited number of anti-armor characters and the limits on how many times you can use each fighter, it's just too difficult to deal with multiple nodes with armor rating on them. Armor Rating catalysts should have a 5% chance to proc armor when hit, maximum. Otherwise, you're able to make multiple nodes that are as tough or tougher than the Reactive Armor node. I thought catalysts were supposed to represent a lateral shift in difficulty, not a vertical one.

At the very least, there should be some incentive to diversify catalyst usage so that you don't just put an Armor Rating on every node in your defense.