Mecha Break’s recent update is an awkward attempt to win players back, but is it enough?

Mecha Break was promised to be the mecha sport that we’ve all been ready for and, in some ways, it delivered simply that. Sadly, its producers and builders adopted an simply telegraphed route by aggressively flooding the sport with microtransactions and consequently, the player-count for the sport fell from virtually 80,000 to a median of 20,000.

With a ‘Combined’ evaluation rating on Steam, little doubt the builders are conscious of an pressing want to trace again the injury of its launch. In defence of Mecha Break, its main points are much less to do with gameplay and core mechanics, however extra its aggressive live-service design and microtransaction creep.

A current replace to the sport on July twenty eighth aimed to win again gamers – high quality of life upgrades, weapon tuning and stability patches galore, however can this be sufficient to rescue the sport?

New content material has been added by means of the Striker Archive: Stellaris launch. This consists of Pilot 014, Lu Hui, and an unique Stellaris MK-III design. The Cygnia Union Noble set and several other July livestream cosmetics are additionally obtainable for buy.

There have additionally been fairly a couple of stability adjustments, as laid out beneath:

Hurricane builds appear to have benefited essentially the most from the newest patch, and their stun goes to wreak havoc on melee builds. In the meantime, Inferno buffs see vitality prices go down whereas Booster Kits activate immediately – one other power to be reckoned with following the replace. These balances and buffs have been well-received by gamers, and the standard of life updates have too.

Higher Mission Token rewards have additionally been extremely helpful to gamers. Payouts for Restricted Zones, boss takedowns, and profitable extractions have been considerably elevated, which alleviates a lot of the strain that grind-heavy unlocks demand. That is most helpful for unlocking new Strikers, however cosmetics profit too. This paves the way in which for a discount of the reliance on microtransactions for achievement – but it surely doesn’t eradicate it solely. As a substitute, PvE and PvPvE really feel extra rewarding.

Pre-deployment screens now show map aims and mission varieties earlier than Striker choice, which helps with creating and aligning methods. This has been a long-requested function. Upgrades to the Matrix Market have been well-received too. Although, just like the map aims, these small adjustments are minimal in respects to the general expertise.

That is nonetheless Season 0. Mecha Break continues to be in its early days, and the devs are actually taking on-board criticism and options from gamers. Had that not been the case, Mecha Break could be doomed. However the first main patch has had a divisive reception.

MashMak is likely one of the most hated sport modes within the sport. It’s, in its present state, solely pay-to-win. It acts higher as a parade of your wealth than something to do with rewarding gameplay. It’s additionally closely depending on PvP, that means that for those who’re not a giant spender, you’re going to resent this sport mode solely. A fast repair for this could be to introduce a devoted MashMak PvE mode. Gamers can peacock their cosmetics and Mods with out ruining different gamers’ experiences, whereas additionally working collectively in the direction of a standard aim.

Likewise, the underwhelming rewards served by the MashMak mode do little to undercut its sweaty gameplay design. 

Regardless of the stability patch, there’s nonetheless a couple of Strikers who stay overly spammable. Aquila, for instance, has gone from being a well-balanced, nuanced character within the beta, to a spammable deus ex machina. The simplest resolution to a lot of this can be a reversion to the beta meta, which in lots of circumstances, really labored higher than the present meta.

Lastly, Mecha Break’s largest flaw lies in its microtransaction design. It’s not essentially that ranked matches are pay-to-win in any respect – in truth, you possibly can’t purchase something that offers you a bonus in Ranked – however that any form of microtransaction is humiliatingly costly. There are some beauty packs which price virtually $50, and re-listings on the public sale home see them turning into costlier as time goes on and timers expire. In Superb Seasun’s defence, Mecha Break is solely free to play, and with out these MTXs, there could be no earnings to spend on holding the sport going.

Earlier this month, the builders stated that “the core content material of the sport is absolutely obtainable without cost … forex and merchandise rewards may be obtained by means of in-game actions and the completion of duties – there’s no requirement to spend cash to acquire them.” Whereas this can be true, there’s a sure attract to cosmetics in live-service video games like this. Regardless of the grumblings that throw shade at microtransactions, gamers love them. If the builders need the sport to grow to be profitable, the in-game store wants some critical balancing.

Mecha Break launched with heaps of potential. Fortunately, it’s not far off from being salvaged. Superb Seasun must proceed listening to the calls for of its gamers, and the sport clearly deserves somewhat extra love with regard to its MTX design. It’s essential to keep in mind that the sport continues to be very early in its lifespan, and future updates will gear it up for a extra standard launch – hopefully.