New Feature: Unit Mastery

In this article, we’ll be discussing upcoming features that will arrive in the new Season. However, the content only details the thoughts during the development stage. Please refer to the live version when available for specific details. 

With over 100 Units released to date in Conqueror’s Blade, more strategies are readily available for players than ever before, but this also makes some Units unviable in the current meta.

We've rolled out plenty of balance changes in the past year, and this has brought the underused Halberdier Sergeants and Dagger-Axe Lancers into an overall more comfortable place. Naturally, this is but a drop in the ocean as there are still plenty of underused Units that gather dust in their respective barracks.

We've therefore been looking for a new way to resolve this. Hopefully, this new feature will give you all something new to work toward.

Unit Mastery

We'll be releasing the Unit Mastery system in a June update. Now, let's delve deeper into what Mastery brings, how to unlock it and how it becomes available.

What is Mastery?

Unit Mastery is a brand-new Unit growth system. A Unit's Mastery gradually unlocks as you level it up, enabling you to increase its attributes and alter its skills or mechanics. This system will bring new possibilities for all Units. Who knows, maybe Silver Era Units with high Mastery might even be able to stand their own against Units of the Heroic Era!

Unlocking Mastery

First, if you select a Unit you've unlocked for which Mastery is available, you'll be met with a menu like this.

A Unit's Mastery unlocks in stages based on its level. The items you need to unlock Mastery can be found daily in specific PVE content and the Honor Shop (we'll describe this feature in greater detail at a later time). There are daily and monthly caps in place for each of the two acquisition methods. By completing this PVE content daily, you'll be able to unlock Mastery for up to three Units a month based on the level of that Unit. Choose to train your favourite Units further and empower them so that currently underperforming Units can stand on their own in battle.

How Mastery Becomes Available

Initially, Mastery will be available for 2-Star, 3-Star, and 4-Star Units, and we'll be adding Mastery for around five Units each month. We'll most likely spread Mastery evenly among the three Unit tiers. We'll be announcing which Units will be the first to get Mastery in a few days!

What's more, to reduce the attribute difference between older Units and newer and Seasonal Units, we'll be raising the level cap of 2-Star and 3-Star Units in the Unit Tree and Season Challenges to level 18, and that of 4-Star Units to level 24.

Promotions

With Promotions, we enabled some Units to be promoted into new Units. However, based on feedback from the Legacy of Fire and Scourge of Winter Seasons, as well as our own observations, the Promotion system is difficult to understand and just doesn't feel great overall. And so, we'll discontinue adding new Promotions.

We've kept an eye on Promotions throughout the Seasons, and have come to the conclusion that they don't fit Conqueror's Blade. We'll therefore be removing Promotions within June, and simultaneously changing how promoted Units are acquired.

Units affected by this:

• Symmachean Stalwarts
• Symmachean Paladins
• Landsknechts
• Armiger Lancers
• Liao's Rangers

We'll be making the following changes to the affected Units:

• You will now be able to create these Units directly without relying on the base Unit.
• As for their Season challenges, the first Stage reward which allows you to create the base Unit remains unchanged. Later rewards to promote said Unit will be replaced with rewards that enable you to unlock the other Unit too. So, by completing the quests you won't have to promote the Unit, but get it directly. For example, Yeomen which could be promoted into Armigier Lancers will now give Yeomen in the first Stage Reward and the later reward that originally promoted them to Armiger Lancers will now grant Armiger Lancers directly.
• Promoted Units and their original version can be used together.

With the removal of Unit Promotions, these Units must now be created individually and will therefore not gain any of the original Unit's levels or Veterancy points. If you're planning on promoting a max-level base Unit to get a high-level promoted Unit, we advise you to do that before the update launches.

We'll continue to explore further possibilities for Units. If you have any feedback regarding Units or Mastery, tell us on Discord.