Sword of the New World ’s Multi-Character Control (MCC) system sets it apart from other massively multiplayer online games in a number of ways: firstly, a player must learn how to use his or her characters as a single unit, forgoing solo levelling in order to develop each family member’s individual skill set. This reliance on multiple characters allows for a unique approach to level design resulting in a complex and rewarding gaming experience. The Nocturnal Sonata patch (currently in its third stage) sought to add a whole new dimension to the game with new maps, a handful of unique player characters, and a host of new monsters.

advertisement One of the most important aspects of the online game is maintaining game balance, a concept concerned with eliminating overpowered players and opponents, and ensuring that the game is fair and accessible to everybody. The Nocturnal Sonata patch generated a great deal of controversy regarding several changes to the game's mechanics, not the least of which was an increased difficulty level in the low-level areas. It is these issues and their prescribed solutions that I intend to cover in this article:

Prior to the Nocturnal Sonata patch, elite monsters provided the player with an occasional, but ultimately winnable, situation that rewarded their efforts with additional drops and a handful of extra experience points. These larger, more powerful mobs spawn in much the same way as ordinary opponents, but their increased aggression and hit points were enough to take even the strongest players by surprise. Fortunately, any pioneer worth his salt was unlikely to be swayed from his cause by an elite Box Octopus or Brown Buffalo.

The decision to even out the ratio of standard to elite mobs in the low-level areas (Al Quelt Moreza, Tetra Ruins, and Porto Bello) was met with a degree of concern by the active community. Players who had once breezed through the hordes of Phobitans in the Tetra Ruins found themselves fighting for their lives against gangs of elite monsters. Many players felt that the increased difficulty in these areas was detrimental to the balance of the game as a whole and sought to have the feature removed. For a number of weeks after the release of Nocturnal Sonata, the main forum was inundated with petitions and complaints from disgruntled players unable to survive in their favourite areas. A solution was forthcoming however, as the Sword of the New World Vis development team had already engineered a novel solution to the problem: Ancestral Equipment.