Mecha Break concluded its most recent open beta period on Steam on Sunday, March 16 after bringing in a peak of over 300,000 players. Players weren't shy to give Chinese developer Amazing Seasun a huge amount of feedback about their experiences, and it seems like the studio is taking note.
Amazing Seasun is considering changing several elements of Mecha Break, including Break Striker availability at launch and the usability of mech modules in the competitive 3v3 and 6v6 modes. The company was hesitant to commit to anything, but understands that getting the live service model right a launch is essential for Mecha Break's future.
One of the biggest pieces of feedback that Amazing Seasun received, according to CEO Kris Kwok, is that players wanted to use every Break Striker, Mecha Break's name for its mechs, right away.
Only one Break Striker was available for players just starting out. Others were unlocked until players earned enough soft currency by grinding through dozens of multiplayer matches. It could take days of playtime to unlock all 12 available mechs.
"We do know the biggest concern and then we think that the players are right," Kwok said through an interpreter in a recent interview with PC Gamer. "We are considering that we may [give] access to all Strikers to players."
Even if Amazing Seasun decides to go this route, the developer confirmed that Mechs and other content that's released later will still need to be unlocked in some way—either through grinding or purchase—depending on how Amazing Seasun decides to classify that content. One of the primary things the studio plans to put out post-release is alternate versions of the same mechs that were available in the beta. Those will need to be purchased from the in-game store.
Mecha Break's open beta also included a modules system that let players customize their mech's attributes with individual pieces of gear. Each piece of gear gave small buffs and nerfs to a variety of abilities, including things like energy recharge rate and weapon reload times.
Those buffs and nerfs, while small, could give players significant advantages based on their playstyle. Amazing Seasun recognizes this and is considering limiting those modules to be used exclusively in its extraction mode, named Mashmak.
Amazing Seasun hosted its first ever Mecha Break tournament in Zhuhai, China last week with teams from China, Japan, and North America competing in the game's 6v6 modes. The modules were disabled for this competition, adding more validity to the claim that they could give more knowledgeable players and teams—and those with more time to grind—an advantage in competitive matches.
There are still PvP elements in Mashmak, so modules will play a part in how effective your mech will be against other players in that mode. All modules are unlocked through playing Mashmak, so it'd make sense if they could only be used in that mode going forward.
Players have been asking about these elements for more than a year as Mecha Break has hosted multiple playstests, and as all beta progress will be wiped before the official release sometime this spring, they'd probably be welcome changes for players who don't want to re-unlock all the mechs.
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