Patch Notes:
== New Game Mode: Casual Mode ==
- This entirely new mode of play will provide new HoN players and casual gamers with a more “fun,” less punishing way to learn and play HoN. Elements in Casual Mode speed up progression and increase rewards in ways that remain true to the game's core identity, delivering a version that can be embraced by new and veteran players alike.
- Changes from Normal Mode to Casual Mode are as follows
* Exp range from 1000 to 1300
* Removed gold loss on death
* Increased hero bounty
** Hero base gold bounty: from 200 to 300
** Hero gold bounty per level: from 5 to 10
* First blood bonus: from 200 to 300
* Gold bounty per streak: from 50 to 75
* Hero assist gold totals 50% of kill amount, split between all assisters
* Radius assist gold base: from 30 to 0
* Radius assist gold per level: from 5 to 0
* Respawn time per level from 4 seconds to 3 seconds
* Denies no longer deny experience
* Uphill miss chance removed
* Creeps give 1.25x of average normal mode value, no gold fluctuation
* Buildings give 1.5x of average normal mode value, no gold fluctuation
* Towers give global experience when killed, even to dead people, (by tower level): 150,200,250,300
* Tower last hit gold bounty: from 470,520,570,620 to 300,350,400,450
* Tower Team gold bounty: from 200,240,280,320 to 300,350,400,450
* The amount of experience required to reach the next level increases as the game goes on. This means that at the beginning, players level up a lot faster than in Normal Mode, but in the mid and late game they level up at about the same rate as in Normal Mode.
* Buyback costs are at 1.75x normal mode values
* Towers' armor scales with number of players alive; Buildings have 100% of armor when all are alive, scaling to 0 armor when your entire team is dead.
GosuGamers started a thread in the General Discussions forums for community feedback on S2's efforts in bridging the gap with Casual Mode, and it seems that while it enables INT Gankers like Pyromancer to not be as surpressed eventually by carries as in Easy Mode, S2 may have taken a step too far in creating a mode where a carry, if fed hero kills becomes completely unstoppable. Here are some opinions expressed by members of the community regarding the mode.
[GM] Thysios (Game Master)
“
Carries rule in EM too. Support don't need items. I think the no gold loss on death may be a bit too much though, and the exp range increase/no exp loss on denies. Maybe just reduce them to 50% of normal mode or something.”[NPU] Proxymate (15xx PSR NM player)
“
The midgame is extended at the expense of the longer lategame one could see in EM. It makes supports and nukers stay viable for a bit longer. The gold gains are a bit out of hand though, you just get sooo much gold. ”NomesWisdom (17xx PSR NM player)
“
CM = Carry Mode. CM makes half the hero pool (actually a lot more than half) useless, since there are heroes that benefit too much from the mode. Sand Wraith is so mind-numbingly overpowered in CM it's ridiculous. Playing a support in this mode is suicide, since at 30 minutes no matter how badly the enemy carry has been feeding he still has enough money to pay for core items to be able to carry. ”Brentmeister (17xx PSR NM player)
“
I just finished my first CM game and I loved it. Decided to try and carry with Pyro because I saw some red post somewhere suggest it. End result? Pure Pwnage.”While the general consensus is that carries are tad too overpowered in Casual Mode, there are parties that beg to differ. Overall it's still a bit too early to judge what kind of players Casual Mode will breed, but I guess it is a lesser punishing Normal Mode for now, which is at the very least definitely a step in the right direction.
