Story Story Mode and replayability

[Ryouhi]

One thing i really enjoy about the game is the little extra stories we get every so often, be they story mode missions or origin stories.
But as anyone that has been playing the game for a while will have noticed, there hasn't been an update to the Story mode in a really, really long time.
I've heard one dev explain that it takes a lot of work to create for something most people would only play through once and then not touch again, so i wanted to create this thread to collect ideas on how we could make the story mode more attractive in terms of replayability. I want more story mode to happen and replayability may be a big factor in making it worth the development cost.

And with that, here are my suggestions:

1) A bounty system
Maybe there could be weekly challenges, called bounties.
The bounties will randomly spawn on certain nodes within the story mode, which players will then have to hunt down.
This could be done different ways:
a) The selected nodes are highlighted and the player just goes and plays it and is done with it
b) we have to "hunt down" the bounty.
c) hunt down the bounty over the course of multiple nodes

Now what i mean with b) is, that we get contextual clues from the bounty on where the bounty hides.
The clues can be certain characters that are on the node, the specific mods, what part of the city it takes place in or what is happening during that part of the story.

An example for the bounty hints:
- Takes place in the River King Casino
- Raiding the Medici
- Cerebella is the target

Now the node i had in mind in the "Going all in" Story, in the River King Casino area. There are multiple Cerebella targets here, so i suppose there'd need to be more tips for example.

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The other idea would be to hunt down the target over the course of multiple nodes. The hints would work similarly as mentioned above, but this time the necessary nodes could be strategically placed on top of relevant story nodes, so players would have a reason to pay attention to the story again as well.

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Players would of course be rewarded for doing these bounties to entice them to revisit the story mode regularly.

This is a bit all over the place, but i hope i was able to show one way to revitalize the story mode.

Maybe you guys have some ideas as well though and i'd love to hear them

 

[educavalcantee]

Adding a master level story mode would be nice too, so we could do our bounties with a certain amount of challenge

 

[BallotBoxer]

I like it, but now that Skullgirls is in so many languages, writing all those hints would be a lot of work (not to mention all the programming and proofing the routes to accomplish a bounty)! And a few nodes isn't enough for me! I want a whole chapter.

Story Mode: Endless Waltz
Requirement: must have 100% completion of all Story Mode
Every week a chapter from Main Story or Origins becomes "refreshed." For instance, Main Story > Who's the Boss? > Under the Bridge. All 16 nodes become as if you haven't played them yet, offering full EXP and rewards (even treasure nodes!). But there is a twist. It is always the EXPERT difficulty level, but there are random Prize Fight and Rift modifiers peppered here and there.

Spoiler: some PF and Rift modifier examples

• Slayer - 150% ATK
• Juggernaut - 150% HP
• House Advantage - While at an ELEMENTAL ADVANTAGE, gain 5% BLOCKBUSTER METER per second
• Final Curse - Upon DEATH, inflict the opponent with 3 negative COMBAT EFFECTS (excluding STUN) for 10 seconds
• Inertia - TAG-IN attacks are UNBLOCKABLE and grant UNFLINCHING for 5 seconds.
• Biofeedback - When an opponent lands a CRITICAL HIT, 50% of the damage will be reflected back.
• TRICK OR TREAT! - At the start of the match, gain 1 random permanent BUFF or DEBUFF, excluding DISABLE BLOCKBUSTERS. When a BLOCKBUSTER is used, the effect will be replaced with another permanent effect.
  
• SHE LOVES ME - When at an ELEMENTAL ADVANTAGE, 50% of damage inflicted is regained as HEALTH
• SHE LOVES ME NOT - When at an ELEMENTAL DISADVANTAGE, 50% of damage inflicted is reflected back
  
• NYCTOPHOBIA - [Dark Element Fighters]: Gain HASTE for 5 seconds when HIT. When HASTE expires, inflict a 5 second DOOM. If the opponent lands a HIT, DOOM will be removed.

Balance is easy. If RNG gives you something impossible, then replaying the node will hopefully shuffle in some modifiers you can deal with. There is plenty of time (a week) to complete it, anyway.

 

[cappatacus]

The only thing about this I don't like is the idea of searching for a special node. This game has enough grinding as it is, especially with prize fights as the are. The bounty itself sounds fun, but I might be more on board with an "Endless Waltz" on master level. Or something higher!

 

[Dusty00]

I was going to make a post about Training mode, that we could use some combo tutorials like the original console version. Now that I see your thread I think there’s potential to incorporate combo practice in story mode.

I’d love to see story mode get revamped to be a way for players to learn basic to advanced combos for that character. That way it’s not about just mindlessly grinding it for reward and never touch it again after seeing the story once. To keep it fresh, maybe something like every time there’s a combo contest then the story mode associated with combos gets an update for everyone to try and learn it?

With combos tied to story mode, I’d happily replay that content on a once a week frequency because we all know that when you don’t practice the combos then you get rusty and mess up in real fights!

 

[Cellsai]

I really like the idea of a bounty system, but I'd leave out all the clues.
Basically I'd just like a few nodes to reactivate on random story mode nodes. Those nodes would get huge mods like Sacrosanct 300% ATK/HP. They'd give rewards like elemental shards to beat them.
Minimal localization text this way!

All 16 nodes become as if you haven't played them yet, offering full EXP and rewards (even treasure nodes!).

I doubt you'll ever see story mode rewards being refreshed like that You'd be shocked by how much free stuff story mode gives you!