Hey Everyone,
A couple of weeks ago, we released an Introduction to Havoc dev blog. Similar to when we released the Introduction to Itemization dev blog over the summer, we’ve received a lot of comments and questions. For Itemization, we answered these in the form of a couple of Q&A posts, and we thought it would be a great format to use for discussing Havoc, as well. We’ll compile the most common remaining questions after this post and we’ll answer them in the patch notes when it is released on 3 December. Something that has changed since the last dev blog is the nomenclature used in this game mode. From now on we will be calling what was previously known as a Havoc Order a Havoc Assignment (aka the current mission a player is assigned), and what was previously known as your Havoc Rank will now be known as your Havoc Clearance Level (the highest Havoc Assignment you’ve cleared - whether it’s your own or through the party finder). We’d also like to say these are the answers we have NOW. Our plan is to evaluate further after release and read player feedback to the game mode. From there, we can see if anything needs to be adjusted or changed by working with the community. We see this as the start of a long journey and will keep tweaking it just like any other system in the game. Thank you for your passion for Darktide and we hope we can answer the most burning questions we’ve seen.
Question
Are FS concerned about people alt-F4ing this? For the Auric titles it was just the title but this is an entire game mode.
Answer
“Alt+F4:ing” to circumvent the system is something we’ve taken into account, there are two solutions to this issue, one which is bespoke to Havoc and the other a general solution. If a Havoc Assignment (Havoc Order) owner leaves mid-mission without reconnecting it will automatically count as a loss regardless of the result of the mission for that player. It will also mean that the player receives no rewards for the attempt, and it will use up one of the three attempts for that specific Havoc Assignment level.
However, players who remain in the Mission will still be able to complete the mission; if they do, it will count as a win for the remaining players.
ALT+F4:ing to circumvent being “downed” to complete harder penances has been an issue with the Auric penance, and to this end, we’ve introduced more checks when players reconnect.** Players will now respawn back with the health count they had upon leaving, instead of being spawned with a minimal % of hp, and players who ALT+F4 to get around being downed will now spawn back hogtied.
**This is a game wide change coming with Grim Protocols, it is not exclusive to Havoc.
Question
Do we select the 1-5 difficulty level when playing Havoc or are these missions working on a completely different system, where difficulty is fixed?
Answer
Havoc has its own difficulty structure that is loosely based on the normal difficulties. The way players can choose difficulty is by either starting their Havoc Assignment (Havoc Order) by gathering some friends or by starting a group through the party finder. Likewise if you fancy another mission configuration you can look through the party finder and join one there.
Question
If I complete my Havoc Assignment (Havoc Order) as soon as it’s available, do I have to wait a week before I’m given a new one?
Answer
You can complete as many Havoc Assignments in a row as you like. The only thing that is on a weekly cadence is the weekly reward which is based on the highest Havoc Assignment you were able to complete during the previous week.
Question
I’m confused about how the decay system works for Havoc.
Answer
Yes, let’s clarify the fluid ranking system using the new nomenclature written in the intro of this dev blog. It has changed a bit since the last dev blog after reading feedback.
A player’s Havoc Clearance Level will update on a weekly basis based on the highest Havoc Assignment they completed the previous week (whether it was their own Assignment or played through the Party Finder).
As long as a player is active within the Havoc system during any given week they will not automatically decay at the end of the week. We will however keep an eye on how this system plays out in reality and adjust the rules accordingly.
Question
Can you replay your completed Havoc Assignment levels? Like if I was at level 20 but wanted to bust down to 5, could I do that on my own? Or would I need to find someone with a level 5 Assignment to join?
Answer
You cannot replay depleted / completed missions since the missions are uniquely generated. If you’d like to take a break and play a lower-rank Assignment you can instead find a compatible team on the party finder with the Assignment you like. The same goes for the opposite: if you want to try your hands on an Assignment that is higher than the one you currently own, you can find a team that is playing a higher one and ask to join them.
Question
Is Havoc level character locked like Melk contracts (well trust level is, so…) so we’ll have to level our 4 characters at the same time each week?
Answer
Havoc is not locked to a specific character, “ergo” Havoc is account-wide. With Havoc our intent is for players to adapt to the Havoc Assignment at hand by selecting the correct character, talents, weapons, blessing and curios to best take on the challenge. However, your character still needs to be level 30 to be able to join a Havoc mission.
Question
Will new garb be also character locked then? (Level up operative to gain access to new Moebian cosmetics for that class).
Answer
The cosmetics from Havoc are account-wide. (The same as any other cosmetic in the game.)
Question
What determines the max difficulty that I can currently play?
Answer
As long as a player is level 30 and can find a group that is willing to take them along, a player could in theory play any Assignment level at any time.
Question
Do I get access to a difficulty, based on my current highest completed? Can I access all difficulties <= my current max, or only 1 diff at a time?
Answer
At all times you have access to your own Assignment. If you feel like playing a lower Assignment level the way to do so would be to find a party with a lower Assignment level in the party finder and vice versa if you are looking for a higher Assignment level than what you currently own.
Question
Does my max available mission difficulty get reset every week?
Answer
Your maximum available mission difficulty will move forward with you into the next week. Each week players will get a new Havoc Assignment based on the highest Assignment they completed the previous week.
Question
Do i need to play from diff 1-40 within a single week in order to get to rank 40, unless i just join someone else's high diff mission?
Answer
No, you will continue the next week at the same level that you left off the previous week. The only thing that is weekly dependent is the weekly reward that is based on the highest-ranked mission you completed during the week.
Question
What happens when my rank drops? Do I lose access to the higher difficulty missions?
Answer
You will always be able to play any Assignment Level that you want to play and are able to find a group that will play with you. Your own Havoc Assignment only dictates which mission you can start yourself. But if you can find a group that is playing a higher-ranked mission that you can join you will be able to do so. Your weekly reward will be based on the highest-ranked mission you have completed. Next week your Havoc Assignment will be set to the highest mission you have completed the previous week.
Question
To clarify, I’m pretty sure the modifiers at levels 1-40 are fixed for all players (possibly forever?). The only thing different for each player at the same level is the mission and mutators?
Answer
Havoc Assignment’s difficulty is composed of two components, one is the static negative modifiers we apply per Level basis and are additive so each Assignment will include everything from the previous one, the other part is generated per Assignment basis and includes the Mission, Theme, and mutators.
Over time we’ll continue adding more mutators into the pool, but more on that at a later time…
Question
I don’t understand how matchmaking is going to work with this. There is no quickplay, but you can just queue into it? What does that mean for matchmaking? will it try to find 3 other players who are close to your ‘level’?
Answer
Due to the vast amount of permutations in the mode, there will not be any matchmaking in this game mode. Also the difficulty is so significant that you will want to tailor the group more specifically than a matchmaking service could do effectively. This is one of the reasons we created the Group Finder, which we hope will see a significant increase in use with the release of this feature.
Question
Does this mean that it will take at least 40 weeks for the first players to reach Hacoc Clearence Level 40?
Assuming the answer to the previous question is no, (ie, that when you gain or lose an Assigment Level you can immediately attempt your new Assignment Level), if you are demoted from Clearance Level 20 to 19, but then beat Level 19 and move back up to Level 20, will your new Havoc Assignemnt 20 still be the same as it was the first time?
Answer
You will be able to reach Havoc Clearance Level 40 as fast as you and your team can complete the Assignments required to do so. There is no time gating happening when it comes to the number of assignments possible to complete in a given week. When you complete a Havoc Assignment, a new one will be designated to you by Darinda Duakane as soon as you report back to her. The new Assignment will not be the same as the previous one if you go up or down in Assignment level.
Question
I would like to ask what happens to a player’s Havoc rating if they quit before the match completes?
Answer
Leaving before a Havoc mission ends will result in a loss for the player. It will also lock you out of starting another Havoc (only Havoc mission) until the mission has ended. If you are the Assignment holder, you will lose one of the attempts at the Havoc Assignment level.
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Question
Does this mean your Havoc Clearance Level (“Rank”) will never go down, but that your access to Havoc Assignments will?
Answer
The Havoc Rank will display the highest Clearance Level a player has completed and is not directly linked to the current level of that player's Havoc Assignment.
Question
Will there be a way to see what the current havoc rank of a player is? With rewards on the line for mission completion, I just get the feeling that people not ready for the latter half of havoc ranks will just try and join as many high ranking parties they can, looking to get carried through it.
Answer
You will be able to see the Clearance Levels of all prospective applicants to your group to be able to make the best informed decision.
OK, that is our Q&A! Thank you to everyone who wrote questions on our previous dev blog. As mentioned above, we’ll compile any of the common remaining questions after this post and we’ll include them in the patch notes for Grim Protocols on 3 December.
Thank you for your passion and we look forward to everyone getting their hands on Havoc and the rest of the update.
– The Darktide Team