Origin Season 2: What players are expecting for the next season?
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Origin Season 2: What players are expecting for the next season?
Explore the outcomes of the most important expectations and concerns
While the new season has not yet begun, we decided to find out what a sample of our players are expecting for Origin season 2 and what they thought of the previous season. Do you want to know what's going to happen next? In this post, we'll share the results of a poll with our top players, as well as helpful tips about team changes, nerfs, buffs, and supply requirements for the upcoming season. Keep reading to learn about the new possibilities!
A poll with our best players
As the previous season ended a few weeks ago and the new one did not fully begin, we took advantage of the off-season to speak with some of our players and get feedback on their thoughts on gaming strategy, builds, best learnings, disappointments, and engagement. We spoke with nearly 50 players individually and received helpful tips for both the previous and upcoming seasons.
Fewer players but more engaged
The first result of the query was that we had more engaged players during S1 - 100% of the respondents completed the entire season without stopping. Even with a smaller base, the AXS prize system appears to have increased Origin engagement, keeping players active throughout the season and a significant percentage of our best players were already Challengers by the end of the season.
For 68%, the AXS rewards have increased the desire to climb the leaderboard for both fun and earning purposes. Meantime, earning SLP & AXS keeps being important for 24% of the respondents.
Constantly changing teams while the season progress
Team adaptation was clearly the best strategy for finishing the season in a good ranking position for 35% of the respondents. A second option among players was buying runes and charms as a necessary mechanism to keep builds competitive (much more than runes and charms sell - 27%) and SLP for crafting as important as runes and charms buying for 24%.
More than half of our players (54%) preferred Aggro teams and will continue to do so in the coming season while the second option was poison teams (27%). AOE was almost never used during season 1, but they are willing to consider it for season 2.
The majority of players spent 3 to 6 hours per day playing:
84% of players playing with 31+ stamina
65% of players playing with 41+ stamina
Players want access to more meta team options
The most frustrating aspect of season 1 was the lack of supply for meta teams and by the end of the season, there was a large concentration of similar teams in the top 1000. 32% agreed that “My favorite team was always too expensive or was not available” and 22% said mentioned “Lack of variety of teams. Always playing against the same opponents”. It's worth noting that overall, players were pleased with the game mechanics. During season 1, 19% had no concerns at all.
The off-season is the time to prepare for the upcoming season
100% of the respondents completed the entire season without stopping and more than 80% of the top players are currently playing in the off-season. For a small portion of players (5%), this is a moment to relax by playing with just a couple of energy every day the majority believe it is a moment of warming up and getting prepared for the next season, not a time to relax. This is the time to study the meta and craft runes and charms in order to arrive at the start of the season with more advantages.
What to expect for the next season?
The road to S2 began on November 23rd, and to ensure that the user experience is not harmed by the update, Sky Mavis announced that it would be rolled out in stages. It will be released in four stages, according to a recent Twitter announcement.
Stage 1: Updates to core gameplay mechanics like Keep, Energy Burst, and Bloodmoon Tweaks
Stage 2: Cards, and Runes & Charms update
Stage 3: Game balance changes based on data from community testing and overall feedback
Stage 4: Final S2 launch after the implementation of these changes
The patch with all of the changes is expected to go live on December 14th, with the official launch of Season 2.
Players have high expectations for the upcoming season, particularly in terms of meta changes (60%) despite the fact that a large portion believes changes will be centered on gameplay mechanics. The most significant expected change is the nerf of rage teams.
Climbing the leaderboards will continue to be important and everyone intends to return for the coming season.
Beast Runes and Charms Updates
Actually, the data gathered from the previous season, as well as community feedback, inspired the balancing and game improvements, as stated in the recently published Lunacian newsletter.
After runes & charms updates, card changes will be revealed soon.
Nerfs and Buffs
The most significant expected change is the nerf of rage teams due to aggressive behavior during season 1 (87%). With the bloodmoon*, it is also expected that healing and shielding teams will be nerfed (14%).
For 46% of the respondents, Aggro teams will be buffed and 32% believe it will happen for Poison teams. AOE teams have a tendency to be buffed and are the first choice for players in the upcoming season. Despite the trend of nerfing, rage teams are still preferred by 14% of players for the new season.
* In-game mechanism that starts from round 14 creating damage in all axies with the intent of creating competitiveness between shielding and healing teams.
Team preference for season 2
The first option for starting the season is AOE (43%), followed by Aggro (27%) and players intend to use the same "constant team change" strategy in season 2. For some players, we will see the AOE dominance as the season progress.
When asked about the importance of Runes & Charms for Season 2, there are no expectations of mechanics change and, 97% believe it will keep being essential.
The most common expectation among players is that more options for meta teams will become more affordable (38%). A relevant proportion of people are hoping that mystic runes and charms will become more affordable (27%) and the third guess is for the AOE and rage beast axies (30%).
Finally, the average desired time spent playing tends to decrease from the previous season, particularly at the start. 46% are willing to play up to 3 hours per day, while one-third are willing to play 1 hour or less per day.
We hope you find the information useful and will apply some of the suggestions to manage your expectations as an NFT owner. S2 will be implemented in stages, and you can use the off-season to encourage players to invest in a crafting strategy. Once the moonshards are reset at the start of the season, players can craft runes and charms now and disenchant when it begins to recover some moonshards.
1 Tip a Day
(for the next 15 days)
S1 seems to have built a smaller but more engaged group of players;
68% wanna play both for fun and earning purposes;
Constant team change was the main strategy to be successful during S1 for 35%;
54% preferred to play with Aggro teams and will continue to do so in the coming season;
AOE teams were almost never used during season 1, but will be considered for season 2;
The majority of players spent 3 to 6 hours per day playing during S1;
The most frustrating aspect of season 1 was the lack of supply for meta teams;
19% had no concerns at all and were pleased with the game mechanics;
81% of the top players are currently playing in the off-season;
The next season is being implemented in four stages, giving the opportunity to improve strategy before it is fully implemented;
87% believe Rage teams will be nerfed;
46% believe Aggro teams will be buffed and 32% for Poison teams;
There are no expectations of mechanics change in runes & charms for 97%;
The most common expectation is that meta teams will become more affordable (38%);
30% are hoping that mystic runes and charms will become more affordable.