Do Balance Patches Do More Than Just Balancing A Game?

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Balance Patches are definitely desired by players to make the game feel more fair. But is there more that a Balance Patch does than just making all characters feel viable? The hungry fanbase might get more out of it than just that...
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• Do Balance Patches Do ...
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James Chen
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[@whoman03]

I think capcom doing more balance patches is a mistake. Look at tekken and MK constantly and frantically trying to tune their game to the whims of the players who just want what they want and dont fully understand what those changes can mean for the game in the long run. Look how much sf6's meta has changed over the year with the minimal changes it has had.

[@666slateran666]

Tokido and the others are only reverting to ken because of tournaments. If they had time to master the character im sure they would play him more. Hes nutty, they gave him every option in the book. I personally think they should have given him normal health because hes such a beefcake model wise but they think itll be too broken. Yet the health is whats keeping him from being higher tier. Food for thought 🤔

[@UltraChenTV]

There’s a recent image going around of Tokido saying in his stream that he thinks Ken may be the strongest character in the game. So no, unless Tokido is playing a really long con, he actually believe in Ken a lot.

[@666slateran666]

@@UltraChenTV I'm in the camp that thinks hes the worst shoto. Ryu and Akuma are strong as hell in season 2. Ken is still annoying but not nearly as bad.

[@AceBadguy]

This is the content I'm here for, James.

[@littleakibagames]

I think there's a whole broader conversation that could be had about players baselessly judging balance patches not as balance patches, but as content. It's something I've seen a lot of in recent years and it's kind of unsettling, the degree of hype that people will expect out of the most miniscule thing. Also, I think long-term wakeup DR will be huge for people like you and I (as a Kimberly main and a Honda main respectively). It's like Capcom wanted to give us what we wanted but very specifically not how we wanted it. At the end of the day, I now have a wakeup option that covers throws and most meaties, and even puts me back in the neutral where I'm at my strongest. I'm pretty happy with that.

[@UltraChenTV]

It's great for wake-up, but I want an OD Reversal for things like gaps in Drive Rush Cancels and breaking out of Jinrai mixups and such. Being able to OD DP non-true Block String DRCs and such is so valuable to have as a defensive option that I swear the characters without OD DPs are playing a different game. It's like in SFV between the characters that had 3f normals and those who only had 4f normals. You just get to bully the 4f crowd so much more like you can bully the no OD DP crowd.

[@littleakibagames]

@@UltraChenTV That's a good point, I didn't even think of that. In that situation I have EX Headbutt on deck, but now that I really put it under a microscope Kimberly is just screwed in those same cases.

[@666slateran666]

​@@UltraChenTVwould Lilly have won combo breaker if it was not for wake up drive reversal? I don't think lilly really got buffed much outside of system changes. I still struggle with her compared to say honda. I'm almost positive there is someone on the dev team who has a disgusting Lilly which is why they're afraid to give her better stuff.

[@666slateran666]

I just think that the 1 big patch a a year is archaic in 2024. Fighting games were the OGs in terms of a live service imo, and you have to update to keep interest. Saying all that I think the season 2 changes were nothing short of genius. Gief is real James!

[@vaguefgc]

im fully convinced the tekken devs intentionally juiced the system mechanics with the intention of weakening them over time to try and find the right power level. i mean back in the first beta you could do 2 heat dashes per heat mode! and then every revision since then has nerfed the heat system. tbh im not mad at it considering where they've landed now, maybe it was a good tactic. and also it was kinda fun experiencing that kind of overtuned vanilla tekken for a bit. better way too good for a few months than subtly too good for a whole year i guess

[@666slateran666]

Tekken usually has a arcade version they can balance out. This was the first tekken to launch console first. This is what arcade player had to deal with every time lmao

[@UltraChenTV]

Yeah. It’s really starting to feel that way. Like there’s no way they didn’t realize that you cannot stop a round start Heat Burst at all. LOL! That bugged me so much. Hahaha.

[@captainmega6310]

Is james sick?

[@UltraChenTV]

My voice is always scratchy.

[@jadedbreadncircus9159]

2-3 patches a year would be perfect.

[@Hoarseplay]

Honestly, I'm a little upset that Capcom backpedaled on having 1 balance patch per season. SF6 was so much more meticulously balanced than any other SF game, and to let the game sit for a year showed so much confidence in that.

[@666slateran666]

Good thing this isn't the common opinion. It's 2024 not 1994

[@Pretzels722]

Yearly balance patches are great. People have zero attention or patience. They’d rather cry about balance. Look at the random ass tekken patches - do u want that?

[@666slateran666]

@@Pretzels722 yes. Tekken is in a good spot right now after 1.05. Street fighter had a stale unbalanced meta for a entire year.

[@Pretzels722]

@@666slateran666 sf6 season 1 had unprecedented character representation at tournament level play lmao ‘unbalanced’. Tech was still being discovered such as blanks by the end

[@UltraChenTV]

I don’t think they intend to toss out balance patches like candy at Halloween. If they mean literally like 2 to 3 patches, that’s fine. I’m perfectly okay with 2 patches a year. The problem as I said in the video is that the lack of patches also feels like a lack of communication and a potential to drive players away from feeling like the game is “stale”. While it might not actually NEED a patch, updates invigorate a player base, oftentimes. It makes the game feel a bit fresher. And can spark interest. It’s just a good way to maintain players.

[@AdversaryOne]

First!

[@synwei13]

Second!