Ahead of the game’s launch of August 22nd, the developers of Mages of Mystralia has brought in a brand new mode called Archmage Mode.
This new mode aims to challenge players as they progress through the game’s campaign, and is considered the team’s biggest challenge in implementing the difficulty curve that comes with it. In a recent blog post, they outlined finding the balance between too easy and too hard: “Ideally, you always want the game to be challenging but not too difficult. At the beginning, the game should be easy enough while the player develops the skills that are unique to the game. Over time, as the player has mastered those skills, the game should test them more and more. If the game is too difficult, it produces anxiety and frustration. Too easy, and the game is boring.”
Archmage Mode brings four new enemy types, each representing an element, and will be exclusive to this particular mode. What sets them apart is that they deal more damage than common enemies, and have a different methodology in approaching the player, bringing in attacks based on the elements that they represent, plus the ability to anticipate your attacks more effectively.
There is also a number of optional puzzles dotted around, which will offer a complex challenge to players. There are two different puzzle types, with door puzzles seeing players encountering a magical seal to be unlocked from rearranging and connecting nodes. The other puzzle type sets to test your spellcrafting skills, which will require you to design a spell to complete the task.
Mages of Mystralia is set for launch next week on August 22nd.
