randomised weapon drops

OVERVIEW

Weapon drops are random. This specification will cover a number of aspects for randomised weapon drops:

  • The chance for each weapon type to drop over a sequence of drops

  • Player level affecting the pool of weapons that can drop

  • Player level determining whether the player is able to use the weapon they have acquired

  • The number of victories required between each weapon drop

Design intent

By randomising weapon drops, we create more excitement for players as they do not know exactly what weapons they will receive or when.

This also motivates players by using discovery and completion. Players want to discover all the different types of weapons, the drops of which cannot be easily predicted, and completionist players want to collect as many as they can. Using these player motivators assists with retention.

This feature works for the product as it uses existing weapon content, but delivers it in a way that generates more interest from players.

USER FLOWS

USER FLOW

1. The player is X level, determining what weapon materials are available in their weapon pool

2. The player defeats X enemies, prompting a random weapon drop

3. The player receives a weapon from their pool of available weapons

4. The weapon appears in the player’s inventory

5. The player equips the weapon

a. OR the player cannot equip the weapon as they must reach a higher level first

6. The player reaches X level and a new material type is added to the pool

7. Steps repeat

WEAPON TYPES

Weapon type chance:

Acceptance criteria

1. See ‘Level Brackets and Victories’ table for material (steel/bronze/silver/gold) unlocks

2. See ‘Level Brackets and Victories’ table for how many enemies the player must defeat between drops based on player level

3. The weapon can be better or worse than the player’s current weapon of the same type

a. Except if it is the third drop, every third drop must be better (unless the player already has all available better weapons for that type)

b. Once a weapon type (pistol/SMG/assault rifle/shotgun/sniper rifle) is dropped, its chance to drop is reduced for the next two turns. See specific chance percentages in the ‘Weapon Drop Chance Diagram’

i. If a weapon type is dropped twice in a row it will not drop again on the next drop and have a reduced chance for the two drops after that

c. Once a specific weapon is dropped, it is removed from the pool

i. If the player exhausts all available weapons in their pool, then all weapons from the player’s unlocked material types are added back in until they unlock the next material

d. The weapon has a chance to have a perk applied

4. The weapon appears in the players inventory

5. If the player is the required level or above, they are able to equip the weapon (see level requirements in the ‘Equip Weapon Unlock Table’)

a. If the player is not the required level to use the weapon, the weapon still appears in the inventory but has a lock symbol with the required level on it

6. The player unlocks materials (steel/bronze/silver/gold) by reaching the specified levels in the ‘Level Brackets and Victories’ table below

7. The player can continue to receive weapon drops ongoing, regardless of level and how many weapons have already dropped

A diagram of the major beats of the system flow (purple) with examples (red)

There are 5 weapon types:

  • Pistol

  • SMG

  • Assault Rifle

  • Shotgun

  • Sniper Rifle

MATERIAL TYPES

There are 4 material types within each weapon type. In order of lowest to highest:

  • Steel

  • Bronze

  • Silver

  • Gold

victories required for weapon drops

WEAPON TIERs

There are 5 weapon tiers within each material type. In order of lowest to highest:

  • Basic

  • Standard

  • Enhanced

  • Advanced

  • Elite

  • All weapon types not dropped in the past two drops (double drops excepted) have an evenly split chance to drop

  • The weapon type that dropped last has a 10% chance to drop on the next drop

  • The weapon type that dropped two drops ago has a 15% chance to drop on the next drop

  • If the same weapon type drops twice in a row, it has a 0% chance to drop on the next drop

    • This then increases to 10% for the drop after, then to 15% the drop after that

WEAPON DROP CHANCE DIAGRAM

  • The number of victories required for a drop increases with player level brackets

  • Exact number of victories varies within the range for the bracket to create more excitement as the player will not be able to calculate exactly when a drop will happen

Weapon pool based on level

  • The weapon materials (steel/bronze/silver/gold) available to drop for a player will change based on player level brackets.

  • Unlocked material types will be added to the player’s weapon drop pool when reaching the specified player level brackets

    • New unlocked materials do not replace existing unlocked materials

  • The player can get weapon drops that are better or worse than their current weapon of the same type

    • Every third drop the weapon must be better than the player’s current weapon of the same type (except when the player already has the best available unlocked weapon for that type)

  • Once a weapon of a specific type, material, and tier drops it is removed from the player’s pool

  • Note the level cap is 30

Level Brackets and victories table

WeaponS PLAYERS ARE ABLE to equip based on level

  • Players are able to receive weapons that are a higher level than they are able to use

  • These weapons can be viewed in the player’s inventory, but the player cannot equip them until they reach the appropriate level

  • Weapons that are unable to be equipped have a lock symbol with the required level on them in the inventory UI

  • Once the player reaches the appropriate level the lock symbol disappears

EQUIP WEAPON unlock table

A mock up of how a locked weapon would appear in the inventory ui

risks and mitigations

considerations and limitations

  • A percentage chance for a randomised perk could be applied to weapon drops in a future update

  • The level cap is derived from the current level cap set for the game, but should the level cap increase material unlocks and equip unlocks can be spread out further

  • Additional content in the form of weapon types and weapon materials could be added in future updates to increase the available weapon pools for players