There haven't been many posts about this game in the forum recently, so let me start a conversation. I have been playing since the closed beta. I also watch KPL and LPL, and I am particularly sensitive to such competitive mobile games. After updating version 4.3 yesterday, I spent three hours in the training ground. To be honest, this wave of changes was more severe than I thought, but at the same time, I feel that the planners really wanted to make it more competitive.
Let's talk about the most intuitive thing first. The overall deformation speed of the new version of the drone has been reduced by about 15%. Don't underestimate this 0.2 second difference. In high-end games, this directly changes the logic of starting a group first. The previous mindless play style of "remotely consuming drone form, transforming into a robot and sprinting to start a fight when the opponent makes a mistake" is basically unplayable now, because the stiff time you spend transforming is enough for the opponent to react and hand over life-saving skills. This essentially filters out those players who react quickly but make poor decisions, forcing you to be more careful in judging your timing of entry. For professional competitions, the early laning of this version will be much better. It will no longer be like before, where two robots are constantly fighting each other. Instead, more emphasis will be placed on pulling and energy management in the form of drones.
Then there is the core controversial point of this update: the impact of the newly added "vehicle mode" on map resource control. Now it can be transformed into a car to quickly move around the map, which is simply tailor-made for split-zone tactics. In the past, if you used a strong duel robot to lead the lane, the biggest problem was that it was slow to return to defense. If your teammates were kicked out in four-on-five, you would not be able to get back at all. Now it's completely different. I can use the high mobility of the car to put pressure on the side lanes. Once the fight breaks out in the middle, I can turn on the car mode and move over to support, and I can get to the scene five or six seconds faster than the opponent. This directly led to the soaring strategic value of "single belt point". I played ranked all night, and the most intuitive feeling is that it will be very uncomfortable for brothers to play tank-type robots in single row, because you may be beaten around by a guy with strong mobility on the opposite side, but if your teammates' support awareness cannot keep up, they will turn into gourds to save grandpa.
Finally, let's talk about the balance issue that everyone is most concerned about. Regarding the newly released "Arc Drone" skill, I read a lot of complaints from players, saying that it hurts supermodels. But I personally feel that this is actually a version trap. The forward swing of this skill is too long. In a master duel, it is difficult for you to complete this combo in the form of a drone. Instead of trying every means to pile up damage, it is better to choose those veteran robots with stable control skills and control people first before talking about output. I think this version of the competitive environment will slowly shift from "explosion of people in seconds" to a version of "chain control and pulling". This tests the team's cooperation and the commander's on-the-spot decision-making ability, because the timing of Zhang Fei's roar may determine the direction of the team battle more than an assassin sneaking around to steal someone.
Of course, this version is not without its flaws. Nowadays, the steering feel of the car is a bit floating, and it is easy to get stuck in the wall in narrow terrain. The requirements for micro-control have become higher. I hope the planner can optimize the determination of physical collisions as soon as possible. Generally speaking, this version update is a very bold attempt. It pushes the game from a mere "fighting game" to a "tactical strategy game". This is a good time for players who like to use their brains. For players who only like mindless guns, this version is indeed not that friendly. I don't know if any of you guys have any new gameplay experience in the new version, or which robot you think is currently undervalued, so let's talk about it.