testing-grounds

[sinful wave]

Oh hey I'm also team mystic lol

[muted tapir]

Visual Bug: Prince Hotbod's Shield was invisible on townsville destroyed

[sly sleet]

ME TO

[fathom vortex]

I also think shields are not necessarily bad at all. I think they could definitely work, but I think there should be a situation where you can choose. If you wanna play with shields and you fight people who aren’t playing with shields like I guess you can see a split between the game modes Being one V1 with shield and one V ones without them because so far I feel like they’re not bad at all. It just takes time to get used to them but also I haven’t really got a great full experience of using them but when I have used them, they seem really good. I enjoyed it a lot, but I will say to imagine that I’ve had of been overwhelmingly sweatylike I’m out of my league type sweaty or at least I have to get into another gear, but that’s just me.

[sly sleet]

its a testing thing so its gonna be wird

[sly sleet]

So the list:

THE GOOD
Makes zoners a lot easier to deal with
Makes approaching feel a lot more strategic and less committal
Adds depth to what moves are thrown out in neutral
Gives an answer to big hitboxes that are hard to deal with initially
Overall adds a new layer to the game which had somewhat lacking defense

THE BAD
Meter drains too slow
Some characters feel TOO MUCH better equipped against shields than others
Aerials feel a bit too unsafe on block. Hard to space properly and get anti-aired by shield breakers

ADJUSTMENTS
Make meter damage to shield more consistent (perhaps based off damage)
Universalize shield breaker hitbox sizes (shield breaker on its own needs some fine tuning)
Add pushback on block
Make a bit more snappy to activate shield and integrate into movement

this was a list that someone made what u thinl

also i would add there is a bug sometime where people are low sheild the the animation for it plays but not the sheild it self

if u guys have more to add to please do

[proud mason]

The only thing I have to add is please give me my cosmetics, especially Pumpkin Spice Ringout, back

[indigo raptor]

I think that for Harley and Batman's bombs, letting ppl just shield camp them (avoiding getting hit) feels bad. maybe effect / delayed damage stuff still hits during shield? otherwise they feel too easy to avoid. also ppg and nubia are extremely strong against shields

[serene frigate]

Right I can understand that also with it being the prototype they still can tweak it

[glossy lily]

You should use that pressure to run up to them and use a shield break attack

It'll also force them to respect your bombs

[sinful wave]

If you email wb video game support they should be able to help you

I got cosmetics I wasn't awarded through them

"Platinum and diamond banners for season 2"

[indigo raptor]

ig true but for batman they only need to quickly activate it right before it explodes so they can run, quickly shield and unshield, and keep going. but you're right there is advantage to it

[fathom vortex]

Honestly, I fully agree this is exactly what she was. I feel like need honestly but I also think again they could definitely be something where if you don’t want to use them there’s gotta be some sort of ultimatum for that but again I think this is a really good steppingstone, adding like the listed another layer to the gameplayis gonna be a learning curve for a little bit and an adjustment

[serene spire]

Jesus...didnt think this would be super active.

[proud mason]

I have emailed them many many times. For a while, they responded and said that there's nothing they can do. Now, however, they just ignore me completely, along with everyone at "Player First" Games

[sly sleet]

i agree, like a risk

[sinful wave]

My only other suggestion would be the support channels

[warm berry]

This is great but another small change I would also add under "adjustments" is the shield icon being removed because first of all I think it just looks unnecessary (just let us have a clean bubble shield) but also so you can see the whole character

[glossy lily]

for some reason I don't see anything other than the characters when they shield
Not the icon, not the bubble

[warm berry]

strange, I've never seen anyone else have that issue

[sly sleet]

i would agree but some characters has uniqe things with theres like rick

personally i would keep it but make it more uniqe per chacter

[fathom vortex]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone been fighting a lot of hard players or at least feel like the controllers are a little weird while using the testing ground as a whole because I’ve been getting cooked while also trying to figure out and learn how to work shields

[indigo raptor]

ppl just tryharding in the queue for no reason. had matches where they dont even try to shield the entire game, theyre just playing it as if its ranked

[sly sleet]

YES LOL

just got a crazy balck adam while im playing a charcter im not to good with

omg what is the matchmaking for this testing😭

[sullen cedar]

where can i access testing playground

[glossy lily]

I've fought a lot of the top players yeah

I guess there isn't really matchmaking for this mode and the passionate players are all coming in to test the mechanic

[indigo raptor]

just click on gamemodes. theres a 1v1 and a 2v2 queue for it.

[sly sleet]

yeah matching is making it really hard to try the new sheild when im facing crazy players rn lol

[snow tusk]

This

[clear wigeon]

what if they made so you can opt in to shields before the match, like percs worked in the beta

[glossy lily]

Honestly I think they're just gonna have to make a choice

[fathom vortex]

But again, I don’t know how everybody feels about this, but I do think shields should be kind of like a option like if you want to use them you fight people who are using shields but if you don’t, then you won’t fight anybody using them instead of everybody just having to use them but at the same time that’s just me not being used to it yet as well as also getting cooked every single chance I get

[polar rain]

no

that would just be too much

[glossy lily]

Shields are game changers (in a good way imo), I don't think they can really make some people play with shields and some play without

[clear wigeon]

would like a defensive perk slot jsut for perry and shield the likes

[fathom vortex]

Also, I cannot wait for that speed boost. Jack will be back

[polar rain]

nerf jack to the ground

[polar rain]

that wouldn’t make sense either it would be unfair

[clear wigeon]

honestly im not much for shields would like if they made perry a better mechanic, but they been hitting things on the head

[clear wigeon]

give each option different ways to play, think of it as stances or how gear works in MK

[fathom vortex]

Honestly, I agree I should’ve definitely worded it better I would like it to be more like a game mode or I guess a split between one V ones and one V ones with shields something like that for me personally

[polar rain]

leaving the way u parry is good enough cause now u would just have more binds to deal with

MK is totally different than mvs

yall asking for too much

they either gonna add shields or not

no reason to make all these queues

[sinful wave]

Have any pros made comments about shields on twitter?

[indigo raptor]

atp we're gonna be splitting the playerbase between like 6 different queues. the game has to be able to evolve, we cant seperate after every major change

[polar rain]

even smash doesn’t have this

[polar rain]

no but they have in streams

[sinful wave]

Oddly enough i haven't seen anyone on Twitter talk about it lol

[polar rain]

exactly

NAKAT streamed people who were using shields

[sinful wave]

What have they said "since I honestly feel devs will listen to them more than any of us here in their own discord"

[polar rain]

everyone he saw liked it

[glossy lily]

mirrorman likes it

Bam likes it

Haven't seen other opinions so far

Most pros are playing rivals 2 so I guess the timing wasn't the best

[polar rain]

the only reason hardcorefox hates it is because he only plays tom and tom is useless with shields

[sly sleet]

bro morty scrub on sheild is the funniest thing

it does so much

[sinful wave]

Well they should definitely do more play tests than just today

[polar rain]

they just gotta make shields a different meter and make them last shorter

[sly sleet]

its 2 days i thought

[sinful wave]

Its Thursday only

[glossy lily]

Exactly how I feel
The game gotta move forward

[glossy lily]

Also because he plays t&j in the most boring way imaginable

[sinful wave]

Unless they changed that

[polar rain]

yeah

[sly sleet]

i they said on stream it was 2 days

[glossy lily]

As a Morty main

How dare you

Say the truth

[polar rain]

it’s only 1 NAKAT said it today on stream

[sly sleet]

its not anything broken just goofy

[sly sleet]

oh man thats unfortunate

[polar rain]

fr 😭

[glossy lily]

The shield breaker move is kinda broken tbh

Instant hammer the size of canada

[sly sleet]

i had a freindly morty try it out for me

[polar rain]

he said he wants to see how people will act and stuff tomorrow so that’ll up the chances of shields being added for something along those lines

how do i even shield break

[dawn lantern]

Where’s the feedback channel

[glossy lily]

Shield + neutral attack

[glossy lily]

It's here welcome

[dawn lantern]

Oh thanks

[polar rain]

#game-feedback

[dawn lantern]

Is it for testing grounds

[polar rain]

no but this one is

[dawn lantern]

Oh

Well

I don’t like shields lol

[polar rain]

why

[glossy lily]

The one thing I really want for shields is that they spend some time making actual shield breaker attacks
That's the main thing that would really put shields on another level to me

[dawn lantern]

People are to campy and it’s kinda clunky the way it works and makes MVS lose what makes it unique a little less

[indigo raptor]

if they camp just shield break them tho

oops didnt mean to reply

[polar rain]

well, the people camping they can’t control but use shield break

also them not having shields kinda makes it worse

[sinful wave]

I will be sure to shield break Twitter, thanks

[sly sleet]

also sheild break is a combo tool for some characters for some reason

[polar rain]

they are really only unique cause they are a WB platform fighter

[sweet dove]

no defense was never what made the game a must play for me in the first place, adding that mechanic doesnt change the appeal of the game imo

[dawn lantern]

To me I think parrying worked enough as a block move since dodging is already really well done

[polar rain]

well not a lot of people know how to parry

it makes it easier even for the pros who don’t know how to parry good

[glossy lily]

I don't think parry was ever a properly implemented mechanic

Wayy too inconsistent to be reliable

[polar rain]

and dodging is good but shield can stop reads

[zealous light]

they should take away the old skills that break armor and armored attacks (like the effect), and just leave the new shield system, like choose one or the other, if not they they need to find a way that they truly work good together so it make sense

[polar rain]

and yall can still parry it’s not like it’s removed

[wanton vector]

So I'm just putting this out there. If shield breaker attack actually breaks a shield it should put them in burnout, not just return to neutral.

[indigo raptor]

shield is moreso for stuff that (even if you parry or dodge) cant be punished. ridiculous strong moves like shaggy's kick. its making it so these moves can exist without being too strong and without having to give everything stupid end lag to make them punishable. blocking helps with that a lot. its not just an alternative for dodge

[vocal pagoda]

ok i just finished testing things out and... oh no, i really dont think Shields is the future of MVS

im putting my thoughts and what i found together in a google doc for more detail but the quick word is not a fan

[polar rain]

it wouldn’t put them in burnout just stun them for a while

[dawn lantern]

I think if they updated it. It would be better instead of shields. I feel shields make matches go on a little longer to

[glossy lily]

Agreed
I've been able to punish Shaggys and Jacks more than I could have ever dreamt of

[glossy lily]

I don't really agree but I see your point, I wish parries were better too

[polar rain]

yeah parry stuns people longer but if they got your shield it also stuns them why not have both since u can still parry in air the same way u would shield on ground

[dawn lantern]

Idk to me it just felt like part of multiversus identity that it was more unique than other platform fighters since it has a lot of different mechanics. This just makes it feel more the same to me

[polar rain]

shields i think we’re gonna get added anyways

[glossy lily]

To be fair I've mostly played 2v2s, I feel like it works really really well there

[dawn lantern]

If they were it should of been at launch since adding it for season 4 just feels odd

[indigo raptor]

mvs has a ton of unique mechanics. adding shield doesnt really change that, its not like its taking anything away, just adding

[glossy lily]

There is so much uncontrollable chaos usually in 2v2s, being able to control it a little better feels amazing

[sly sleet]

is anyone has issues where the sheild isnt showing up against your opponet?

[polar rain]

well it wouldn’t be on launch since they were on the edge about even adding it since beta

[dawn lantern]

Idk I feel like it hurts some mages along with the fact characters like Wonder Woman,Steven & Jason have advantages now

[polar rain]

yeah not me but there’s been reports

[wanton vector]

I'm saying it should in the face of no grab

[indigo raptor]

saw that on twitter, its a glitch that theyre aware of

[glossy lily]

Yup, I don't see anyone's shield, just the character animation

[dawn lantern]

Yeah that’s what I mean

[sly sleet]

ok thats good to here i was so lost lol

[polar rain]

eh too much i think it should take a good amount of meter not all

[indigo raptor]

i play marvin so ik, but on stream it was brought up that characters who suffer from this could be buffed in other ways, so im not rlly concerned with that. also imo they dont have much of an advantage

[foggy wing]

I mean I don’t think it would but if doing parties and punishing parties were easier on all characters it’d probably be good

[glossy lily]

I dunno I feel like we're so lucky to have a live service fighting game that's not afraid of making big changes months into release
I think it's a little sad to say "it shouldn't change stuff in season 4 it's too late"

[dawn lantern]

So do I but I don’t want them to rework entire movesets

[polar rain]

shields is one of the best thing for this game

[indigo raptor]

not reworking, just buffing

[polar rain]

in my opinion

[indigo raptor]

its made for some of the most interesting matches once you really start to interact with them. my only real issue is some characters like ppg and nubia having ranged grabs make them really strong against shields, and some characters (like morty's though devs are aware) shield break is a bit too op

[foggy wing]

I mean they could have alternatively improved dodge as a defense mechanic and allow it to dodge multihit moves and other insanely active moves

[polar rain]

i mean look how good smash has been thriving and because it also has shields if this game was beta speed shields would be even better

[indigo raptor]

but just tweaks needed imo. the feature itself imo adds tons of depth to combat

[polar rain]

i feel like certain characters or classes should have certain affects or damage done to the shield

[indigo raptor]

doesnt help you punish moves though

[foggy wing]

It isn’t a bad idea but some characters literally can’t pressure shield at all is my annoyance with it

[wanton vector]

In any other game with a shield, getting it broken has dire consequences

That is just not the case here

[sly sleet]

thats could be intersting

[sly sleet]

bruns dodge meter, and u cant sheild without it so its limites

and there are sheild breaks

[cedar anvil]

I’ve played 2 games and can already tell shields are way too strong

[sly sleet]

play some more and try some things and certain moves, who do u play

[indigo raptor]

im convinced anyone who thinks shields are too strong just doesnt know how to shield break

[cedar anvil]

Shaggy and shields technically nerf him

[polar rain]

i mean the difference is shields work differently other games like smash the shield gets smaller and u do lots of damage the shield breaks but the main move for shields is grab which for mvs is shield break and i believe that does take meter but it also stuns them so they can get punished with a combo

[cedar anvil]

Ok but there’s basically no consequence for the shield break tho

[sly sleet]

for sure they nerf him but that lowkey good he is all over the place but he has so good moves int sheild and sheild break is avalible

[polar rain]

also i believe shields should have their own meter because it’s affecting movement aka dodges

[cedar anvil]

Like you don’t go into burnout or anything

[cedar anvil]

Yeah this is another issue

[sly sleet]

they get stunned and with shaggy can charge a full attack

[sly sleet]

thats lowkey a good thought

[polar rain]

they said that to NAKAT he agrees it should have a different meter

[sly sleet]

wait thats kinda promising

[polar rain]

and shields shouldn’t have this much hold time

[indigo raptor]

if you shield break... they get stunned or attacked. that is a consequence?

[cedar anvil]

Shields currently pretty much just reduce the amount of dodge attacks and dodge jumps you can do before going into burnout

[indigo raptor]

yeah shields should have less hold time

[raven hill]

make doge more of a movment option than a defense and make sheild the go to defense option

[cedar anvil]

Also, apparently I’ve heard that Rick has an infinite just alternating jab and shield breaker

[indigo raptor]

he has sumn like that but devs are aware of it

[polar rain]

yeah they gotta do something bout that to where u can’t jab then instantly shield

[cedar anvil]

Honestly, the shield breaker I feel should only be able to hit and break shields

Make it do no knockback like Rick small laser or T&J non-racket tennis ball

[indigo raptor]

shield is supposed to be a risk too, not just ultimate defense

[cedar anvil]

But it stuns the opponent if they’re shielding

[polar rain]

nobody really uses it because the shield breaker has long endlag

[glossy lily]

I do kinda like having to watch my meter so much more now
Shields make it easier to get burnout -> burnout is more punishing since you loose shield (and shield breakers?)

[indigo raptor]

yeah...

you're supposed to be punished if you get caught by a shield breaker while shielding

otherwise shields would be ridiculously op

[sullen cedar]

So strange they didnt put the test in lab or personalizated game

[glossy lily]

Yeah they added it as a modifier

[cedar anvil]

Yeah it would me nice to experiment with this stuff offline

[glossy lily]

Probably the easiest way to go about it

[polar rain]

wait seriously?

[cedar anvil]

Can you use that modifier in training mode?

[indigo raptor]

yeah i wish they had, would make testing way easier. apparently it was bcs they wanted to see the actual interactions in games for testing

no

[sullen cedar]

Btw in the video they posted the movement and gameplay felt definitely faster

[sly sleet]

WAIT HUH

where

[sullen cedar]

I hope that comes up next

[sly sleet]

season 4

[polar rain]

@sullen cedar we should get that next season

[sullen cedar]

Yeey

[cedar anvil]

Yeah they massively lowered jump height and sped up fast fall

[glossy lily]

No no I mean

It works as a modifier

You can see it when a game starts

But I don't think we can use it in custom games

[cedar anvil]

Idk about those changes ngl because the floaty nature of the game is what makes it different

[dusty quartz]

they oughta keep the shield mechanic as a default game mechanic

[indigo raptor]

pretty sure thats just shorthopping, not lowered jump height

[cedar anvil]

I hope it’s only short hop but we don’t have confirmation

[glossy lily]

If they add shields they better go crazy with everything after
Because once the game is actually solid with a good balance of offense and defense, that's when they can start making everything faster, stronger

[indigo raptor]

nakat kinda confirmed it on stream

[foggy wing]

Game is still floaty as hell with shields though they are another reason not to go in air.

[wanton vector]

It's never "balanced" without a universal throw

[glossy lily]

I'd argue you want to keep your opponent in the air even more than before now

[indigo raptor]

the real benefit is to start clearing up some of the moves with crazy endlag bcs it makes a lot of stuff feel sluggish. shield will help make stuff punishable without the need for lag

[foggy wing]

Wait short hopping was added?

[indigo raptor]

teased for s4 on nakat and ajax's twitter they showed clips with it

[sly sleet]

i mean there really isnt a game that has sheild without a throw so this makes it uniqe

[glossy lily]

Yeah, they added so much endlag to make up for the lack of defense, so I hope we can start seeing it be tuned down again

[foggy wing]

I meant in neutral. Cause the neutral in this game is literally grounded footsies and nothing beats it

[sly sleet]

i do think it makes the game a bit slower, BUT with new movement stuff it will be better

[glossy lily]

This + I think this unique shield breaker mechanic has mad potential if they're willing to expend on it

[foggy wing]

whereas in beta neutral was just flying all over the place

[sly sleet]

thats was so hard tp watch ngl

[glossy lily]

Yeah I agree, but that's not really shield's fault to be honest, that's mostly the lack of short hops

[ionic gulch]

i hated 1v1s in the beta, was like a dbz battle of people warping around whiffing each other

[foggy wing]

Yeah I mained lebron because the other characters were too fast. Also Lebron fun asf.

[wanton vector]

That's not a good thing. It's fundamentals of fighting games to be able to throw a blocking opponent

[glossy lily]

Yeah beta was more of a mess than people remember

[safe mountain]

marvin armor breaker so fun

but shielding kinda eghghh

[sly sleet]

i dont think sheilds is coming immedetly to season 4, i think we gonna have another testing before the midseason patch with the newmovement to see it its still good

[ionic gulch]

2v2s in beta were fun for me

[glossy lily]

I think release was a bit of an overcorrection
If they had tested shields back during beta, maybe we would have kept the crazy pace but with less dodge spamming everywhere

[glossy lily]

2v2s have always been where it's at imo

[wanton vector]

Dude.

[foggy wing]

Yeah I also feel it’s because lots of jabs are just better than aerials generally.

on top of short hops

[wanton vector]

I'm looking over some footage I just captured

Why does breaking a shield give the opponent more meter.

Make it make sense

[glossy lily]

Probably a bug

It seems inconsistent

[ionic gulch]

you can see that in the preview video they put out yesterday too

[foggy wing]

Cause testing

[ionic gulch]

they just gain meter when you break their shield with the shield breaker

[wanton vector]

That has to be addressed

[glossy lily]

If it's not a bug it's definitely a weird choice

If anything you should be the one who gains meter for breaking a shield

[foggy wing]

lol rewarding them for getting hit

[indigo raptor]

tbh i think its just the initial amount of meter that you get refunded if you quickly shield and unshield anyway

they take like a chunk for activation but refund it if you dont go through with it. thats the same amount refunded if its broken too

[lyric trout]

I don't like playing people in this mode and them not using the shield

[wanton vector]

That should alsonot be a thing

[real saffron]

There should be endlag for shielding nothing just as there is for dodging nothing

[ionic gulch]

i played for a couple of hours with a friend in the 2v2 shield queue and almost nobody shielded at all, makes it hard to gauge the mechanic when nobody is using it

but it does in general seem harder to use shields effectively in 2v2s

[zealous light]

you should be able to, if they add it there will be players that maybe wont use it and youll find your self in the same situation, the problem is the new mechanic.. if they wants us to freely try it they can add it to training mode

[fresh depot]

I think the shield is more prevalent in 1v1's
But it's not that significant to the game flow, it is just another tool.

[glossy lily]

Yeah I had a few of those as well
Good thing is they also never shield break so you can abuse shields against them

[ionic gulch]

since i play jason, i've strictly been using the shield break as a jab combo extender

havent acutally gotten to use it to break a shield yet

[zealous light]

in the past releases they wanted to encourage a more offensive play style and now they add shields xD

[ionic gulch]

jason has better options to deal with shield anyways though

[wanton vector]

Jason goes up a whole theoretical tier with the existence of shields

[ionic gulch]

he doesnt have a fast attack to punish someone hitting his shield though

[indigo raptor]

whats his shield break?

[ionic gulch]

jab 2

[glossy lily]

It doesn't punish shield hitting?

[ionic gulch]

its just as fast as jab 1 i think, which is way slower than other peoples jabs

like i could have a shaggy side kick in to my shield, and my jab cant even punish him for that because he can recover and dodge/jab before that

[glossy lily]

This while part I think is where they need to work on the most when it comes to shield
The whole "someone just hit my shield, what do I do now" part

[wanton vector]

Side special out of shield is decent I'd imagine

[glossy lily]

Because shield breakers should not be the best option out of shield, it would be like if grabs were always the best option out of shield

But right now it is on almost every character, there are pretty much no reason to go for anything else

[wanton vector]

I have to test more stuff later

[indigo raptor]

shield breakers arent grabs tho. its kinda fine if they are viable options. but theyre not better than other stuff anyway since most dont combo

[glossy lily]

They're much faster than other attacks usually though
And since they break shields too they're kind of mindless to use, you don't have to predict whether your opponent will shield after hitting your shield, or keep the offense going

Because no matter what they do, the shield breaker move will beat it

[indigo raptor]

yeah i agree theyre strong and safe but it ends there, but if you do want to go for a read and correctly guess that they wont shield then other moves will be more rewarding if you can combo off of them

[glossy lily]

I guess but I just feel like there is too little point right now

[indigo raptor]

fair

[glossy lily]

Pretty sure some armor breaker moves can combo too, but don't quote me on that

[ionic gulch]

jasons does

[indigo raptor]

theres a couple ive seen but not any ive tried. theres almost always been better options than just going with the shield break

[ionic gulch]

you cant use the shield breaker when you're out of meter right? i kept failing when i tried

[glossy lily]

As Morty I don't think there is any better option

But Morty's shield break is busted so I'm not sure it counts

[glossy lily]

I haven't managed to either

[indigo raptor]

mortys is definitely getting gutted lmao

[glossy lily]

This enormous instant shield breaker should be illegal

[soft mauve]

how about fixing these characters instead of adding shields for bandaids

[glossy lily]

I would not say shields is bandaids

I think there is a point where if you need to nerf every single tool that's slightly unique or strong on every character, then maybe you need a new mechanic

[soft mauve]

so basically bandaids

all you did was gave a few words of an opinion for what needs to happen instead of adding shields

[glossy lily]

I explained why I think it wouldn't fix anything other than remove the identity of the characters more

Adding a mechanic doesn't make it bandaid automatically

[soft mauve]

oh great im talking to a wall. can i get someone other than automated service

[glossy lily]

That's not a great way to have a discussion lmao
Why wouldn't you explain why you think shields are bandaid?

[primal lily]

Nerf some shield breakers maybe increase shield damage and we are good to go

[primal lily]

Shield is definitely not a bandaid fix

Core mechanic that’s needed in a game with crazy big projectiles and moves that take u across the whole stage

[soft mauve]

[junior cloak]

it’s not a bandaid per say but instead of going about it by making changes to projectile characters they decided to add a shield as a so called option…which in tern makes it a small fix to a problem aka a bandaid fix in some people’s eyes

[primal lily]

Shield is a perfect mechanic for this game and now they can go crazy on movement and attacks more because instead of having to dodge an attack now u can chill and hold shield for a sec

[primal lily]

Also shield if they balance it adds a new layer to the game

[glossy lily]

The way I see it, shields are a fix to a fundamental problem with the game, that was clearly missing something

[primal lily]

Exactly

[junior cloak]

and I see your point and I agree on it to a certain extent but they seriously need to fix certain characters mechanics with how strong they are and how long they last. I personally have no issue with the shields they help with the issue 😅 just they really seem to skip by the yk

[glossy lily]

Yeah I think there is a lot of tuning and polishing to do if they want to keep shields

But I like it personally

[primal lily]

That has nothing to do with fundamental mechanics and everything to do with the trash balancing the game has

[warm berry]

Really late response but I think he's just coping hard, I main tj and I really like shields, I just need to use projectiles in a way to play around shields which is honestly more fun

[primal lily]

Hardcore fox hates anything that makes tnj balanced and makes zoning worse

[junior cloak]

but it forces certain mechanics to the game that certain people feel has no need in the game cause of the lack of tuning to characters. I personally have no issue with the shield I like it but again it’s not just you and me it’s everyone that has to agree to it and ngl majority of people would rather the game get better characters changes then a new mechanic

[glossy lily]

I've been having a lot of fun with Morty too
Zoning feels really rewarding when you play with shields and play a little more strategic

[warm berry]

Fr

[primal lily]

Personally I don’t see a correlation between character balancing and adding a core mechanic but if that’s what u think

[glossy lily]

He's been using the same loop over and over, the thought of a mechanic making it harder to cheese scares him

[junior cloak]

and funny thing with that is people who want to cheese they way into everything don’t want the shields added 😂

[glossy lily]

Exactly, because shields are so good at punishing cheese

I'm becoming shaggy's worse nightmare, seeing them realize they can't spam kick and win in real-time has been the highlight of my day

[junior cloak]

it’s so fun to watch someone spam there projectile just for it to go right thru you as they do it 😂

[glossy lily]

Yupp, super satisfying

[junior cloak]

but this wouldn’t be a big issue if yk they fixed the amount someone could spam and yk the cool down but with the game is now I don’t think they’re fixing anything no time soon

but tbh I hope they do add shields I like it 😂

[glossy lily]

Yeah but I think they realize that at some point adding cooldowns to everything remotely strong get really redundant

Characters gotta keep their strength too, or else everyone is just boring because they're not allowed to have crazy moves

[junior cloak]

exactly and I agree on that but we need a option to counter act that which is were shields come in so I don’t see a issue personally let them be mad ig

[soft mauve]

bunch of yapping

https://tenor.com/view/the-dude-abide-the-big-lebowski-stir-gif-3523187

[junior cloak]

😑

[dense glen]

Mr. Krabs?

[soft mauve]

all yall did was talked each other in circles and somebody act like they cant comprehend game mechanics

NO BANDAID SHIELDS FOR MVS

[ashen creek]

It's a bandaid

[junior cloak]

Hope it gets added just for you 😁

[glossy lily]

Not even explaining why they think shields are bandaid

[ashen creek]

This game is going to lose a lot more players thna it gains if it adds shields. It's one of the few things that makes this game unique right now

[rough mirage]

So is 2v2 for testing has a crashing issue or it's only me?

[glossy lily]

Haven't run into any

[rough mirage]

The game crashed for me twice when I tried to get a match for 2v2 testing

[junior cloak]

you crashing constantly?

[ashen creek]

Because it's a dumb mechanic supposed to fix a lot of other things instead of actually fixing those things

[rough mirage]

I just got on Multiversus and I never crashed frequently before

[glossy lily]

I played a whole lot of 2v2 testing and didn't crash a single time

[soft mauve]

dont bother. when you make a point he’s gonna pretend like he doesn’t comprehend English. he did it to X earlier

[ashen creek]

fair enough

[soft mauve]

yeah im crashing a bit.

[glossy lily]

Try verifying your game files if you can't get into a game

[glossy lily]

Brother I'm just trying to communicate with you lmao you won't explain your opinion

[soft mauve]

k

[glossy lily]

Alright great talk

[rough mirage]

Just a files issue, I got in a match

[glossy lily]

Nice, might need to verify mines too I can't see the shield model on anyone

[hushed plank]

Idk how they did it but shields feel pretty good and somehow the game feels faster now

[rough mirage]

So far Sheilds are balanced. Just stops mindless spamming and more breathing room

I feel like sheilds don't decay fast enough but otherwise they're good

[toxic snow]

I feel like it makes dissadvantage to hard to recover from. If their off ledge you can just stand there with your sheild up and instnaly pop out to take a stock. It's also really hard to land seeing as there is no way break sheild while in the air.

[hollow rose]

Shields adds MORE options and depth to MultiVersus.
It only makes the game better.
I can’t wait for it!

There should be a better indication to shield meter health by visually showing the bubble shield break or weaken somehow.
Also, make the shield icon on the bubble shield a visual option just like highlighting figures.

Shields also give way more balance to the game, and it’s evident when talking about Zoners.
Shields also brings more creative possibilities for character move sets in the future.

[tough void]

I tried this gamemode again. shields are definitely more healthy for 2v2s. It seems like a lot of the patch notes are meant specifically for 2's. I never enjoyed playing it that much, but 1v1s kinda starting to fall off

[junior cloak]

sadly most people can’t seems to comprehend that

[thin jungle]

you can’t shield ricks polymorph, you become reindog

ew

[rough mirage]

As a short summary, Sheilds are quite good and most fighters have a fast oos option so it makes combat more healthy mainly 1's. Only issue is it feels too durable and only 1 way to break sheilds

[thin jungle]

should you still be able to get flammable while inside of shield?

[rough mirage]

No. It negates all damage so it shouldn't count for debuff applications in general

When sheilds get released, I feel like there should be a perk where characters do more damage to sheilds or armor breaks ignore sheilds as a perk as well

Sheilds aren't busted but it's always neat to have perks that are meant to counter a specific mechanic (zoning and armor are the 2 examples of what perks can counter)

[sweet dove]

im liking the shield break attacks, some should be unique animations tho instead of just jab 3

[cursive plank]

Is shields only on PC?

[sweet dove]

no you click gamemodes then change it to testing grounds

[sweet dove]

1v1 or 2v2

[woeful thorn]

seems to be visual glitches. sometimes the shield graphics are invisible and you cant see if your opponent is shielding.
also faster startup on the shield would be nice. hard to react to attacks when the shield is kinda slow to come out.

might be cool to add an option to map button to shield breaker. like how you can map neutral attack to a button.

[loud cave]

Anyone know how to do a shield breaking move with these controls as garnet

[raven hill]

rb x at the same time

[cosmic plank]

Honestly, as someone who was against shielding at first, I think they put a good amount of depth into the mechanic. However, there will still need to be character changes, since, for example, a lot of medium projectiles that go on cooldown are completely ignorable due to this, such as Marvin bubble and Garnet gauntlets.

[mystic aspen]

Yeah, I this seems like it should be looked into. Or what could have been done better here?https://youtu.be/H4FS_sKKOqk?t=12028

[loud cave]

I done that 100 time and it doesn’t work 😭

[raven hill]

delay the x button

rb then x

rb then delay the x while still holding rb

[cosmic plank]

Wait wait wait. Is Morty shield breaker SERIOUSLY his jab 3??? That’s busted af!

[loud cave]

Hmm I’ll try that but I doubt that’ll work 😭

[cosmic plank]

It should have been his ground down attack, but not able to move with it. He LITERALLY holds the plumbus when he’s in shield, it would look so smooth

[wanton vector]

Are ALL the shield breaks just the characters' jab finishers?

Tom's is Jab 4

[raven hill]

no not all some chars have diffrent ones ex agent smith and d tilt

[wanton vector]

Oh okay

[loud cave]

Yep didn’t work 😭

[raven hill]

think about their jab 3 and if it dont make sense then it is prob diffrent

[loud cave]

Does garnet just got no shield breaker

[raven hill]

hold sheild and while holding click x

[raven hill]

its her upwards jab finisher

[polar rain]

everybody has one

[wanton vector]

Jason's jab 3 is a grab so they made it Jab 2 instead

[raven hill]

yup

[wanton vector]

Though honestly the way Jason plays, Jab 2 might as well be his finisher lol

[polar rain]

they could add tmnt 2007 since warner owns it

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (2007) FOR MVS

[mystic aspen]

Yeah, it is pretty wild. That Morty is showing off the power of the move to see if it can be countered by much. It seems like something that may need some looking at unless there is a good way to approach it.

[cosmic plank]

Marvin is forward air attack

[wanton vector]

That's funny

Big boot

[high jetty]

Omg I love these shields

[loud cave]

So isn’t that like

Completely terrible and the most easily punishable thing lol cuz they just hit me mid attack?

[raven hill]

ish the problem is oos options rn so yes its bad as of rn but when sheild oos isnt every move in the game it will be better (oos = out of sheild (moves you can do out of sheild))

[woeful thorn]

i dont understand how steven works with shields? sometimes he has bubble sometimes he has shield. anyone know how it works?

[raven hill]

you bubble in air then rotate to normal sheild on ground but u can click down on your left stick and that will bring bk bubble

crouch sheild is instant bubble

[sweet dove]

i think most armor breaking moves are temporary right now

[woeful thorn]

really? everytime i do it on ground i get bubble

[raven hill]

so if you do sheild in air you get bubble but you slowly fall in air and if you land while holding bubble it rotates to normal sheild

to get bubble instantly on the ground crouch and hold netural doge

[loud cave]

Welp I was never able to do shield break sadly

If their any garnet players that have can you plz send me video clip of how you do so since I gtg to sleep now :<

[icy vale]

I've now actually played a few sets with shields and I'm not sure what people see in this addition.

It's irritating to both deal with and use because as soon as I press a direction it turns into a dodge in that direction. And it just feels agravating to chase someone down, finally get to them and they pop a shield, knock me away, and proceed to run to the other side of the stage.

[raven hill]

its not good lmao its just making the game more passive and insintivising more footies in netural

[icy vale]

also is Joker's shield invisible for anyone else?

[woeful thorn]

ok so with other characters you press shield . you get shield. with steven, bubble. i want to activate shield. but i get bubble. i wasnt in the air i was on ground. still bubble.

[icy vale]

because as a ps4 player that might also be a problem I have since armor break effects are massively subdued and I didn't even know auto teching was supposed to be green since it has no color on that console

so I'm assuming Joker's shield not displaying is just another thing the ps4 just will have as a problem

[raven hill]

you might be in the wrong game mode

[icy vale]

If they go through with this I'm definitely going to drop the game. Which is a shame since I put so much time into it

but what can you do I guess

[raven hill]

bubble is stevens mechanic shield is the in game mechanic

[woeful thorn]

i see now , its weird but i figured it out

[raven hill]

ya its def weird

[woeful thorn]

as much as i like shields in smash and other games. MVS has way too many problems to introduce a shield. they have to add way more, like standard grabs and other mechanics for shields to be a good idea

[icy vale]

I agree

the movement out of shielding does not feel good because I don't expect to move when pressing buttons while blocking

so I find myself moving unintentionally or directional dodging when I want to block on the spot

and suffering the 10 frame lockout as a result

If characters like shaggy or smith were punishable on dodge then we likely wouldn't be having this test in the first place. Because that's what the problem is for defense. Some characters can just throw things out with little consequence or risk

[woeful thorn]

the game feels off in this mode, not just the shield, everything. it feels different.

did they change other things too?

[icy vale]

Maybe? I dunno

[snow tusk]

Marvin’s moves being really slow doesn’t help

The reliance on projectiles going away is a good thing but it’s just showing how slow Marvin is compared to the other cast

[raven hill]

movment speed increase

[sweet dove]

I think you should be able to use shield break move even without dodge meter

I get no shielding without meter but I should still be able to use the dodge break attack

[dense sequoia]

don’t input a direction lmfao

[icy vale]

I'm trying to approach someone throwing projectiles out and prepping a jab to punish. It's how the game so far has conditioned me to play in the learning process

[small fern]

One thing I would like improved for the shields is being able to quickly act after letting go of the shield.

Right now when I let go of shield then quickly tap jump into sair.
I get a side dodge instead.

If I hold shield and press jump and U/F. That also makes me side dodge.

I LOVE the new spot dodge option with shield then press down. If we could attack quicker after that too that would be sweet!

[dense sequoia]

it’s a whole new mechanic

[dense sequoia]

i think this would be a little too strong

which is why they specifically made uptilt fast out of shield

[small fern]

Ah so uptilt came out quick for you? I couldn’t find any quick option out of shield beside the actual shield break attack

I guess cuz I was mainly testing with jack. Jack uptilt is not quick in the first place

[halcyon crow]

i play joker, and i think my issue might be a little more character specific. It really feels like there is no out of shield options that are good. IK the character isn't good but hoenstly it just makes it so another character shielding is better then joker shielding

[small fern]

I felt this with Jack and stripe for sure

[halcyon crow]

yeaaa im about to try it with bugs and i 100% expect it to not be an issue with him haha

[small fern]

With banana I was able to press jump into nair very fast during shield. Which was great for him atleast

[small fern]

lol

[dense sequoia]

yea some characters have better options than others

is this the feedback channel? or is there a different one

[small fern]

This is the feedback one

I was directed here from Twitter

[sage walrus]

i really dont like shields very much i hope they dont get added 😭

[jaunty lantern]

shields are amazing! shoutout ajax and nakat for coming by stream today to hear some of my inputs! the only changes i would make would be some visual affects to tell if a shield is weak/ about to break! other than that every single interaction (for the most part) has felt SOOOO smooth!

this is def a step in the right direction for the longterm lifespan of the game!

[snow tusk]

Shields are good, but it’s exposing that some characters that depended on projectiles need some buffing, like Marvin, Velma, and Gizmo. And some characters like Shaggy and Agent Smith are too strong with them

[gusty crescent]

Shields are great btw 🫶🫶

[pallid inlet]

Make the stun from a shield break increased so theres a bigger reward for getting a break off and a bigger risk to just constantly using it against any pressure

[dense sequoia]

i love everything about shields so far. getting to shield some moves that were impossible to punish with dodge/parry is everything i could’ve wanted from this testing grounds. everything looks great. i’m thinking maybe there’s should be some frames after pressing the shield bhtton where you’re locked into the shield option just to make it a bit less safe to mash. i’d also love to see the shield visual get smaller as our meter drains that’s legit all. i also think there’s maybe not enough meter usage for holding shield for a long time

besides that, i’ve loved shields

[vapid lion]

So from doing a couple of games in testing grounds, I can say so far that I do like shielding atm.
It's nice to be able to just straight up block a lot of stuff without having to dance around with dodge constantly.
I didn't have many problems with burn out so it doesn't seem to bad being attached to the same meter, but that could just be because everyone is getting used to it so don't know If it's more of an issue than I thought.
While the shield itself feels good though, I really don't like the shield break attacks. I get why they were chosen over giving everyone a grab in other platform fighters (Smash, Rivals 2, NASB, etc) since it saves time to use the existing assets. But the fact they keep the same properties of the move isn't good imo.
You just throw out the shield break while doing your normal jab combo for no drawback. If the opponent shields, you break it. If they don't, you still get the full affect of the normal attack.
I would honestly prefer trying to do a universal grab and throw mechanic because the game doesn't need to avoid using core mechanics to stand out. Characters, stages, perks, rifts, and cosmetics already do that. But I know that would take a lot of time, so I think the main adjustment could be to make shield breakers not have the same properties as the normal attack they're based on. If you get hit by a shield breaker when shielding, it should leave you very vulnerable. But if your getting hit by it normally, it shouldn't really do much since the whole point is in the name. It's supposed to just break your shield, so you need to use it carefully and not just as a standard move.
Maybe my opinion on it will change through more playing but that's my first impressions atm. Shields are great. The shield break attack needs some adjustment if that is going to be the main counter to shields since there's not really any drawback to just treating it as a standard attack from what I can tell

[solid coral]

I have mixed thoughts on shields so far. It's been hard to test them properly since most players that are queuing the mode are not using them or using them very poorly.

Negatives:
-They feel clunky. When using the standard dodge button it's very easy to accidentally buffer a dodge when shielding by accident. When using the neutral dodge button it feels too restrictive like you are stuck in shield.
-I do feel in the game's current slower state they promote staying grounded a bit too much. Jumping and not being able to get back to the ground quickly to deal with a shielder in a decent manner is a bit problematic and will be abused if speed changes aren't also implemented.
-Shield break attacks in their current state are very unbalanced. Some have awful ones others are completely broken. I hope when they update them there is more thought put into their balance.

Mixed/unsure:
-I don't feel like they are designed much for 2s play, much more for 1s. In my mind I feel like there could be some super degenerate strategies involving them in 2s.
-I also feel like shield at ledge when ledgeguarding is a bit too strong at the moment.
-They don't feel quite like they belong in the game yet but thats my personal feeling.

Positives:
-Shield dropping is a much needed and welcome addition. Platforms have been notoriously sticky and hard to maneuver through in the release(they were much less obnoxious in beta but still not perfect) and this is a great help with that.
-Shield break attacks are a fun idea that add to characters movesets. If balanced and thought out well they could really add to the game.
-Shields help a lot with the people who brainlessly mash attacks out of whiff, really changes the dynamic there in a good way.
-Shields are a very good option for dealing with those multi hit moves that somehow still hit you through dodge.
-Generally, I like the design around it using meter for the most part. Could maybe have some minor changes the shield drain/on hit drain.

Overall probably a step in the right direction, just needs some work and characters could use more movement/tools to help with them. Personally wish it was something a "bit" more unique that fit more with the old idea of the game but it is what it is. A solid interpretation of shields. Need to playtest more to see how bad/good some situations can be.

[toxic wind]

Yall please do testing for more than one day, at least a week

Itd be way better for proper feedback imo

[solid coral]

I agree. I've not been able to get a fair enough impression of them from a single day

[vapid lion]

Same
But I did want to leave my first impression of how it felt.
If stuff feels massively different than you can always state it. Your not limited to leaving just your initial response and then never following up with another message

[reef pivot]

to add to the clunkiness point I don't get why the shield break attack input has to be what it is now, it's not clear that it would be something people could do and would be far better suited as just a dedicated button, the tutorial would probably need adjusting but that's what the dedicated rifts are for, parrying on the ground also feels really unintuitive, I really don't get why they can't just have it be where if you shield at the right time it does a parry instead of making it set to spotdodge

[fallow idol]

Shield break is the same input as grab in other plat fighters

[woeful bison]

I feel that and I’m with you. Been playing and loving this game since the launch of the beta I was fine with the changes they made from beta to full launch but I cannot get on board with this. Why they would add such a polarizing and divisive mechanic when there is still so many other things to fix is beyond me because now people will be pissed either way. Damned if they do, damned if they don’t

[toxic wind]

A visual cue like the shield cracking would be very cool/original and feels needed also imo

[hollow rose]

I wonder if it’s possible to customize your shield 🛡️

[woeful thorn]

like a cosmetic thing like ringouts?

[soft mauve]

Fix characters hitboxes and other issues that fans ask to be addressed THEN MAYBE add shields. We been asking for stuff to get fixed not some new thing to force us to overlook the real issues

[fossil dome]

Because shields are being added please look at other ways characters already can avoid projectiles and maybe take some of that away, or buffing projectiles. Considering there is already a perk that help protect against projectiles, characters have things in their kits that literally block them/reflect, shields, and getting out of the way. Those are 4 ways that you can avoid projectiles, 4 ways is plenty of ways to avoid projectiles. I'm not saying get rid of shields but there will be serious repercussions to characters that rely mainly on projectiles (velma is a prime example and she already struggles VERY hard) and shielding makes it 10x easier to fight her in particular.

Seriously tho really look at some of the characters that rely on projectiles and see how this shielding change effects their playstyle, along with if characters already have a reflect or something to stop projectiles already in their kit and then ask yourself "Do they REALLY need it now that shielding is a thing?" and plan accordingly before you drop this into a patch to make it a standard 👍

[dusk steppe]

To the developers: Just because a few people were crying for shields because they lack dodge/perry skill, doesn't mean the entire player-base wants them. If the game wants to attract more players they just need to remove the over-monetized character/perk unlock systems. We already have to grind for events/skins/passes so no noob wants to grind just for a character/perk on top of that too. Adding shields this late in the game is sure to lose more players than gain them, because everyone was used to how the game was played, and now some may quit when things change this broadly, but nobody is going to see a new ad for the game and say 'oh they have SHIELDS now so i guess i will try the game now' it just doesn't happen like that. Armor breaking moves not breaking a shield is also silly, and adding a new 'shield breaker' move to everyone just overcomplicates things, why does everyone get a shield break but not an armor break? Should have just given every character an armor breaking move from the start then you wouldn't have those characters without them crying for a shield now.

[orchid socket]

Hi

[glossy lily]

What I'll say is that I have several friends who said they'd come back when they heard shields were getting added, also saw a a lot of similar comments on twitter

[stone condor]

alright how do you play with shields rn

[icy vale]

But will they stay?

[icy vale]

You also did not refute any of the points mentioned or provide counter arguments

[glossy lily]

Who's to say 🤷

[glossy lily]

Well no I didn't really want to, to each their opinion
I was just offering a different perspective

[icy vale]

Fair to provide a different perspective.

[calm pebble]

Is testing queue closed now?

[icy vale]

I'm just of the opinion that the game isn't in a state to be adding shields, or other controversial gameplay mechanics

The base game needs to be fixed and balanced first

[stone condor]

i dont even know where tf it is

[glossy lily]

I'm really liking shields, but I do see your point
There are so many bugs and stuff already in the game, I'm sure adding shields would lead to many more bugs and issues
I personally think it also adds a lot to the gameplay though

[toxic wind]

My testing queue is gone now sadly on console.

[icy vale]

I can see it leading to people complaining about edge guarding being ridiculous to deal with

[calm pebble]

It was in the Game Mode menu, in the left-hand list. Gone now on my end.

I actually still have the mode selected, but it’s not finding matches anymore. I think that means it’s done lol.

[icy vale]

Especially with the shield break moves not having arial variants and characters like Morty having an abject busted one

[stone condor]

boring, i couldn't even try it

[glossy lily]

Apparently they said the shield break moves are placeholders, obviously they weren't going to make a whole new move and animation to every character for a mechanic that might not stay
But I'm wondering what it'd look like if they decide to keep it

Would be interesting to see shield break moves be usable in the air

[twin maple]

This is true but also balancing the game without shields is a lot harder because it forces certain moves to be tuned in an unhealthy way. Quick killing burst options become a nightmare especially when delay varies, with shields it acts as a bandage. While before you could indeed get out of the way, you would get a less rewarding punish. Shields you simply shield the move and you can get a big punish.

As well as this, if shields are in the game it allows more expressive gameplay in terms of pressuring shields, mixing it up with command grabs or shieldbreakers. This way, moves that would typically feel useless or overtuned in one direction can serve as a counter to shields

[sinful tusk]

why is the testing queue gone after one day

[velvet quarry]

@sinful tusk Not even a full day which makes it worse

[glossy lily]

It's already gone?

[icy vale]

I've already spent about 1k hours learning this game.

Unless it's perfect. And I mean perfect, I'm not going to put another significant portion of time relearning the game. And I do not have faith in these devs making a fundamental change to the core gameplay smoothly when they have just been doing bandaid fixes instead of solving the actual problems

It just feels like I've wasted my time

[twin maple]

Probably didn't feel the need to keep it, it's only a test after all and matches were being found within seconds. There was a large amount of players sampling the new shields and as such a lot of feedback, so they might not have felt the need to have it open for long when they already gathered enough information

[twin maple]

You are not relearning the game by learning to press one button for shield. You are merely learning an additional fraction of the game. Everything else remains the same but shields are in, that is all. Auto teching was added, did you relearn the game for that? I do not mean to sound rude here but 1k isn't a whole lot of time for learning a competitive plat fighter...

[lost flare]

Less than 24 hours too

[sinful tusk]

kind of weird for the playerbase though, a lot of people didnt get to play it and gauge their thoughts on it cus it was on a random thursday

[twin maple]

I agree with you that they need to fix fundamental issues but fundamental issues cannot be solved without fundamentally changing the game, so you would have to relearn the game anyways

[glossy lily]

After you spent 1k hours in the game aren't you a little excited to be able to learn something new with it?
I feel like you hit a point where you don't have much left to learn in this game extremely quickly compared to any other fighting game ever

This is why it's got the reputation of "baby's first fighting game"
I think a new mechanic would be pretty cool to learn

[icy vale]

The mental stack of trying to guess if I'll be blocked, have to read a dodge, or have an attack thrown out at me is me relearning how to play neutral.
It's a further complication that I'm not keen on when it was simple baiting, dodging, and punishing

[lost flare]

This applies to characters too. After balance changes sometimes characters get chamged so hard they're like completely different characters

[twin maple]

Me opening the game and seeing Iron Giant removed for 10 days

[lost flare]

Remove him for a 100 days next time pls pfg 👅👅👅

[icy vale]

I don't want new mechanics to grasp, I want a functioning game that feels fun to play

[twin maple]

Listen like I wasn't a hater b4 but iron giant with a shield lowkey kinda evil...

[lost flare]

I never liked the run away dodge jab gameplay

[twin maple]

Maybe they're cooking...

[sinful tusk]

from what ive seen shields look very clunkily added in, especially with those shield break moves

[lost flare]

It felt pretty braindead

[lost flare]

Fair

[icy vale]

Make characters punishable if they miss and that won't be a problem.

[lost flare]

Some shield break moves like bj's shield break are poorly thought out

[lost flare]

Yeah some moves are almost unpunishable without shield

[twin maple]

Mental stacks are not typically in neutral unless its a "scary" character. In neutral you shouldn't be trying to process all of these things, that's how you easily run out of stamina. Shielding is just another form of the opponent dashing away, parrying or dodging away from your attack and punishing you. The only difference is now you can more easily punish bad options.

[sinful tusk]

shield break moves just seem like an overly complicated workaround to not giving all characters a grab

[glossy lily]

That's what they tried to do but it never really worked
Some characters have way too much endlag to make them punishable, and some moves are fundamentally impossible to punish (like sweeping moves))

[twin maple]

Naturally, if someone throws out a disjointed well safe move then it will be inherently difficult to punish out of shield, but if you land on their teeth with an attack, it'll be just as if you got parried

[lost flare]

They're being lazy and not adding a new animation. They decided to cheap out on recycling an already existing animation for each character

[twin maple]

Big agree on this, especially since some characters shieldbreaker move is significantly better than others.

Just give a standardised grab, even if it is a set forward knockback rather than being able to choose from cardinal directions

[lost flare]

With similar frame data too

[icy vale]

You know they can just give shaggy's jab more frames to cancel on wiff and countering him won't be a problem.

They have refused to do that

[sinful tusk]

especially with the set of inputs required to do a shield break move jesus just add a new button to grab at that point

[twin maple]

I'm not against the Shield + Neutral attack input tbh

[glossy lily]

They'd most likely change that if they're moving forward with shields

[twin maple]

It doesn't feel that bad

[lost flare]

Its pretty simple though right?

I think most other games input grab that way

[icy vale]

Characters like Garnet miss their jab and they are stuck for a good second and a half to get punished

[lost flare]

If they decide to add grab L2/LT would be a good option

[sinful tusk]

i hope shielding becomes better but i dont think its this instant "save multiversus" feature like everyone claims it to be, its gonna make things way more complicated

[twin maple]

That's the same input as a grab in other games considering the macro for grab is attack+shield, and when you're shielding you can't reshield so it autos to attack and your previous shield input which becomes a grab

[lost flare]

The pickup and throw button is kind of a dead button

[twin maple]

Isn't garnets jab a rapid strike?

[lost flare]

I hope you arent using the face buttons to input grab

R2/RT + attack is pretty simple to input

[glossy lily]

I think making things more complicated is pretty important with how braindead the game is right now

[twin maple]

It's not just a singular punch, naturally it will have a longer whiff window because it's a more active and larger move than shaggys

[lost flare]

A multi hitflurry

[icy vale]

Listen pfg can do what they want. I'll likely keep playing if they can shields. If they do go through with them. I'll just move on to Bayonetta or Yakuza

[lost flare]

Yakuza is peak

[sinful tusk]

you are right considering new players can get pretty far by just spamming jab over and over, but i mean in the sense that the community needs to adapt to it becoming more complex

[icy vale]

It sticks her in place for a while, she has to go through the entire animation, hit or not

[lost flare]

At masters its also a lot of fishing for jab with annoying characters like shaggy and smith

[icy vale]

Not to mention start up

[stone condor]

Cant wait to play against projectile users with the shield, that is still the most unfun gameplay in this game lmao

[glossy lily]

Yeah that's true, I don't really see it as a negative though

[twin maple]

Yes because she has to complete the animation, Shaggy doing jab 1 which does less damage as a move and has less to the animation will naturally have less total time to it

[glossy lily]

I hope that if they don't go through with shields, they'll keep experimenting with some other defensive options though
Maybe a parry rework or whatever

[lost flare]

Whats your idea of a parry rework

[glossy lily]

No clue! Just threw that in there

[twin maple]

There's no anticipation, long winded anjmation or flourish to the animation for shaggy because it's just a simple punch, while Gwrnets is a flurry of punches

[lost flare]

Lol. I cant think of a parry rework either without increasing the window but that might break the game

Still though we do need a better defensive option if they decide to not add shielding

[glossy lily]

I'd start a parry rework by maybe making it more similar to Rivals 1, longer window but tied to a small (or maybe long) cooldown
Could show that by darkening the dodge meter a bit to show that you're in cooldown

That'd probably break the game in some way but it's kind of what we need, a reliable defensive option that isn't dodging

[lost flare]

Cool idea. Might be a little busted offstage though while recovering

[lost flare]

Agreed

[glossy lily]

Yeah it's a bit crazy that parries can be used in the air at all

Maybe it'll lead to crazy outplays, maybe it'd be mad broken
No way to truly know right now I guess

[lost flare]

I always felt 1v1 runaway meta was too annoying

[glossy lily]

2v2 meta is not much better don't worry

[lost flare]

Is it that bad? I like playing 2s but im low rank on it because i can never find a match coz i have no teammate

[twin maple]

I think parrying should either be on a cool down or reflective of your current dodge meter, so your window for punish is higher if you haven't wasted your dodge or done a ton of boosted aerials / jumps

[lost flare]

Cool idea

[glossy lily]

That sounds pretty cool honestly

[twin maple]

I'm kinda against adding more cool downs cuz tbh the game has enough as is and it can be difficult for newer players to understand what all the symbols mean, especially if they're playing a character with a lot of them like marvin

I think the games base and fundamental mechanics should be accessible while character specific tech and variables should be more nuanced

[glossy lily]

It's pretty bad
The meta is worst than 1s because some characters can just decide not to play the game (like black adam or wonder woman)
And when a team is on their last stocks it's pretty common for the guy with highest percent to just start running away and not engage at all until the end of the match

[glossy lily]

Yeah that's why I think a parry cooldown should be displayed differently
Like I said above I could see the dodge meter being a bit darker while your parry is on cooldown, to signify the cooldown in a cleaner way

[true sedge]

Shields are dope. Put them in. Please. Lol

[honest wind]

My impression or review about shield

Shield gameplay

1. Performance : I think it feels nice when do shielding, I felt satisfied when I blocked oppt’s multi attack. Not really often, because my oppt can do shield break if I shielding too passively or I’ll get burnout for worst scenario.

2. **Design ** : I think the design from shield needs improvement. Shield logo (at the center from shield bubble) need to removed and at least make it smaller or little transparent. The shield bubble I think it need more little bit additional color, make the shield’s design more cooler

3. Bug issues : From my exp, sometimes when my oppt do the shield, the shield doesn’t pops off

---

Shield counterplay

1. Shield Break : Overall, I think shield break need its own input that at least easy to memorized and pressed. Because with my keyboard + mouse exp, first I have to click mouse scroll (shield) + click left (jab) to shield break, that was complicated and difficult to do. Then I change it into Shift + Jab, that’s a bit easier but still complicated because sometimes I was always forgot to shield break, so much thing to do.

2. Command Grab : No comment, I think command grab is a good choice for counter shield. But some people said that we need Command Grab for all chars. I think it’s kinda complicated, so I’m kinda disagree with that right now.

3)** Armor Breaking Moves** : No comment, I think Armor Breaking Moves are just fine from certain chars from my exp

4. Meter Drain : I can’t say further because in my exp, I wasn’t really use shield a lot because sometimes my oppts were difficult to predicted. I think overall it’s fine, maybe need adjustment in case if people want it.

5. Perks : I think this is probably the main issue because I had tried ran anti armor perk set like 2 fast 2 block and armor killer. they all can break the shield, worst scenario is when oppt got shield break debuff, oppt won’t be able to shielding. Armor Killer could make Shield useless and almost can’t used. That’s why I suggest to do the adjustment the interaction between shield and armor killer.

---

Conclusion : Overall, i think shield is an interesting feature and good additional for the game. If PFG have plan to add it into the game, I wish they can make it in day 1 next season. Because we need to test the combination between shield and speed up (fast fall and short hopping) asap imo.

I forgot one thing, all this was from my 1s perspective

[snow tusk]

I agree with most of this, especially stuff like Shield break and command grabs

[undone solstice]

I know it's with Harley but pressuring shields is good and fun and I think people just need to get use to playing around it I'm general

[serene spire]

This should be highlighted and pinned for importance, an actual organized critique here.

[elder sentinel]

Did testing end

[snow tusk]

I think so

[honest wind]

Yes

[elder sentinel]

I got 2 battles in

And i think its good

[fallow kraken]

Wait it ended, is going to come back

[honest wind]

Really, i dunno about that

[glossy lily]

IT SHOULD

Bring it back pfg I can't play without shields anymore

[honest wind]

we dunno if they gonna to bring it back again or not for now

[fallow kraken]

Wow I couldn't even try it out which is a shame cause I wanted to try it out so bad

[honest wind]

Understandable

[sage walrus]

i hope i never see those shields again 😭

[polar rain]

the shields are so good

[polar rain]

word

[twin maple]

Same

[magic flax]

Have a grapple mechanism when getting back on the stage

[sly sleet]

is it closed

[mighty shore]

Why they took it out

Tbh

I like it

It is situational

So 99% of the time

Ur only gonna use it against spammers

And thats a good thing

[sly sleet]

it needs some tweckingg tho but its nice

[mighty shore]

Yeah

This HAS

To be added

Finally we will have an anti spam system/mechanic

No more braindead easy characters

[dense sequoia]

shields were really really helping with hard matchups

nubia felt amazing last night

jason seemed to thrive

[empty wigeon]

Is testing grounds over?

[dense sequoia]

i think so

[molten crown]

Its really bad they already removed it. Did not even had the time to test it

[dense sequoia]

yea one day for a testing grounds is very shorty

short *

[fallow kraken]

It also kinda stupid like how is not even a full day supposed to have players develop their overall thoughts and feelings for the new mechanics

[icy vale]

at least everyone can agree on something

Yet another example of PFG showing why I can't trust their decision making

[mighty shore]

As a jason main i agree

Hes no longer spammer food having shields

[fading valve]

Way too short a window, but I think shields would be a net positive for the game. I feel less inclined to play without them.

[mighty shore]

Yeah

They definitely are

[dense sequoia]

that and probably some of the best command grabs rn

up b is fire

IAD neutral air special loses to armor break only

[alpine flicker]

oh what is it gone already?!?!

i just logged on 😦

[toxic snow]

If they decide to add shields they should definitely add the option to set a keybind for the armor break move

[sly kayak]

So how we feeling about Shields? I gotta test it tonight with Nu- I mean Whobia

[toxic snow]

You missed your chance sadly. They already pulled it!

But they overall feel good. Maybe a little to powerful at ledge when edge guarding

[sly kayak]

One day testing?

[toxic snow]

Not even! I think it was only 20 hours

[sly kayak]

XDDD

[vapid lion]

Shields felt good and make a lot of stuff easier to deal with.
Shield break attacks (imo obviously. I can only get so much from a day of playing) need to be reworked because there didn't seem to be much drawback to just throwing them out because they kept the normal move properties on them. You hit shield you get the break as intended. You don't hit shield, still as effective as whatever move they used for it. Im not a fan of that.

[thin jungle]

they didn’t even give us a full 24 hours we literally had to wait for downtime

next time put a timer cause i went to sleep thinking i could play early morning but nooooo

[ashen creek]

I feel shields ruin the aesthetics of the game.

Tom and Jerry and Jason and Harley Quinn aren't really known for "pulling out a large transparent bubble out of nowhere and using it to defend themselves". All other moves in the game were carefully designed to feel and look like things the characters would actually do in their source material. This bubble mechanic feels extremely out of place, it feels "video gamey". It feels like a mechanic that was designed because "that's what everyone else are doing" rather than because it fits the style of the game.

This game used to be one of the games with movesets the most faithful to the source material, and not having shields made this game stand out and feel fresh compared to similar platform fighters.

[quartz oracle]

They can make shields have an aesthetic later

[ashen creek]

As long as it looks like a video game mechanic rather than something the characters would actually do to block attacks in their respective shows I am vehemently opposed to it being added.

[light solstice]

If Wonder Woman or her teammate has armor active from her down special then shielding should remove her armor immediately @violet elk @lilac leaf just a suggestion

[serene spire]

Thank you for making that lol I was just bout to open up clip and make my own lol

[serene spire]

yeah, its just a concept. Function is what's important before actually putting money towards making it a little bit more appealing to look at.

[light solstice]

Yeah I’m sure after shields are fully added they will change some things around even the shield break attacks will probably be unique animations

[split wagon]

It has probably been said already, but bugs with the dia de los muertos skin did not have the shield visual yesterday. Bugs was sitting in the parry animation without the circle

[serene spire]

All I know Shaggy's shield breaker animation better be him flicking it. xD

or one inch punch

[glossy lily]

That's a really unique take on shields, haven't really thought about that

[dense sequoia]

this has to be a joke

[brisk compass]

its not and i agree with it

it's pretty unfortunate the game's otherwise beautiful animations now include the big glowy smash bros bubble on screen frequently

[dense sequoia]

respectfully you’re the exact mfs that should not be in a testing grounds for a game mechanic 😂

[brisk compass]

???

[dense sequoia]

gameplay shouldn’t be compromised for “muh aesthetic”

[ashen creek]

Why not, we're players just as much as you are

[ashen creek]

Why not, I think it's a legitimate concern if a new mechanic ruins the immersion and style of the game.

[foggy wing]

Yeah I doesn’t feel natural but non the less I still like the mechanic

[brisk compass]

well if the gameplay felt good id maybe feel differently but my experience with shields has been purely negative

so the fact they mess with the visuals so much is just more on top

[foggy wing]

Yeah they don’t feel super great. They halt your movement. The visuals for hitting them show nothing the bubble doesn’t even crack or shrink if you dmg it.

I mean the halting movement thing isn’t the biggest deal cause of rolling but still

[glossy lily]

I feel like everyone should be able to give their opinion, regardless of if you agree or not

[dense sequoia]

but the thing is, it doesn’t ruin anything lmfao it makes gameplay better at the cost of nothing

they legit reuse the parry animation

[dense sequoia]

the point of testing grounds is to test a mechanic, not critique the pretty colors

respectfully

[glossy lily]

The game is the game, people interact with it in different ways and that's why getting feedback from everyone is great

[icy vale]

Toxic positivity is very much a thing

[ashen creek]

I don't want characters carrying a bigass transparent bubble like in smash. That looks dumb, that makes this game look and feel more like Smash and I don't want that because that's more reason to play Smash not Mvs.

I also don't want more defensive options in the game, I very specifically want defensive options in the game to be less useful than offensive options because this game is already way too defensive.

[glossy lily]

And by the way, I personally couldn't care less about how the shields look and I think it's a great mechanic
But I just don't think any feedback should be disregarded

Gatekeeping is the most annoying part of most discord communities so I'd say we should try to avoid that

[icy vale]

to add onto this. I believe Nakat said in the video going over shields that they are supposed to be rewarding for aggression. However that makes no sense for a defensive option like shields to be making offensive play better.

[glossy lily]

I'd say the reason the game is already too defensive is probably because it lacks active defensive options

[foggy wing]

I feel it is less defensive and more passive in the sense that you are rewarded for camping and waiting for the enemy to act first. The actual defensive options in this game aren’t that great like dodges losing to multihits outright or parrying just being unreliable.

[icy vale]

Passive definitely sounds more accurate to the problem

[dense sequoia]

problem? we can dodge attack the shield break lol if they’re holding it they’re wasting meter

it adds a layer to the game

[foggy wing]

I think he means with stronger defense it allows you to more freely approach without being punished. Like for example you can approach to bait an attack then shield it and counter attack instead of throwing safe options waiting for them to approach

[dense sequoia]

a much needed layer

[ashen creek]

Then at the very least I would want more thematically fitting things than giant Smash bubbles. That's just blatant copying. Make flashy looking block moves or something, something I could actually imagine the characters doing. I don't want this game to look like Smash/Rivals

[dense sequoia]

lol.

[icy vale]

a shaggy running back and forth on the opposite side of the stage waiting me to try and tag them on a read from one of their many fast and hard hitting attacks is infuriating because even if they do miss they can just dip out immediately before I can hit them

[brisk compass]

why are you being so dismissive

its really rude

[dense sequoia]

😿

[brisk compass]

why is there hate in your heart

[dense sequoia]

there isn’t!

[glossy lily]

That sounds fair enough to me

[serene spire]

https://tenor.com/view/kenan-thompson-kenan-thompson-snl-mmhmm-gif-704775788876592410

[dense sequoia]

shields added a way to deal with problematic moves some characters have that are flat out unpunishable with dodge.

frankly they could make it look like a giant piece of dog sht and i would be elated at the release of the mechanic

having active defense options also allows characters to receive buffs and allows FASTER gameplay

[foggy wing]

Yeah that makes sense they would have to find a way then to make all blocks look similar in the sense that anyone bouncing around between characters can recognize that is a block. The reason they went the big bubble route was so everyone can identify that the character is blocking.

[serene spire]

I rather have something to give me a better fighting chance against Bugs players.

[dense sequoia]

if they include shields, we will likely be seeing kits tweaked for shields too the same way they’ve adjusted characters for auto tech

[glossy lily]

Yeah that's the biggest thing for me

Adding shields open the gate for more crazy stuff

[dense sequoia]

yea

matchups that felt awful as nubia were actually really fun and interesting in the TG

[glossy lily]

The game currently doesn't have the legs to have characters be strong and crazy
So either they keep tuning everyone down, or they add those legs
That's how I see it

[foggy wing]

Yeah nubia has a grab right? That’s makes here really good in the shield meta

[glossy lily]

A super long range grab too

[dense sequoia]

she has a grab but it’s pretty reactable

[serene spire]

I hope they don't stop just at shields, I hope they make us test out new signature perks for characters. Not one but maybe 2-3 for each character. to be honest I was hoping it would be a thing since relaunch to keep things interesting.

[glossy lily]

It's pretty cool to play against honestly, having some matchup checks feel good, so when I shield against a Nubia and get punished for it I know it was my fault

[foggy wing]

Still though you can bait shield to then grab at far ranges

[foggy wing]

Yeah I think my favorite thing with shields is I can deal with all of Tazs multi hit BS. Makes the matchup way more manageable

[glossy lily]

I was having the time of my life against shaggy and samurai Jack, I never thought I'd see the day where I can say that

[honest wind]

i forgot about this, this case could make shield op, if we really2 can't escape from it when we're at the edge

[light solstice]

What do you guys think is more fair? Making it so WW and her teammate instantly lose armor when they shield, or they can’t shield at all while the armor is active?

[glossy lily]

I feel like a lot of problems like this and platform camping could be fixed by making it so you can use shield break moves in the air

I don't really see a reason why not, the game has a big focus on aerial gameplay already

[dense sequoia]

and they can dodge it lol

[dense sequoia]

i’m thinking they should give every character one aerial armor break for a safe on block option to help recovery in this scenario

[toxic snow]

Yeah, we just need some way to challenge it below ledge, at least in 1s. In 2s your teammate can help you out. But in 1s it’s hard to challenge

[glossy lily]

There should be more safe on block options in general imo
It's way too easy to punish out of shield right now

[toxic snow]

Yeah, even if it only breaks armor when used off wall it would prevent abusing shields at ledge

[toxic snow]

Agreed. I feel like the way shields are now, it’s almost better to attack second. Shield breaks are good if they’re just holding shield. But you can act out of shield so quickly I feel like that rarely happens. Hard to tell with how short the test was though…

[cedar reef]

Gonna sound a little dumb but

Armor breaking moves work good against the shield too yeah?

[toxic snow]

Nope

Well kinda… they have less end lag. But don’t break shields

[cedar reef]

Ah

Would it be charged attacks?

[foggy wing]

Yep mix ups

[toxic snow]

Command grabs or special shield breaking moves

[cedar reef]

Noted

[toxic snow]

It doesn’t feel intuitive to have both shields and armor in the same game tbh

[foggy wing]

The shield even looks like an armor kind of mechanic because shields are visually shown for both

I feel like at least armor breaking moves should deal way more meter dmg to shields than normal attacks instead of just less endlag lol

[serene spire]

Lebron and Morty has the best Shield breakers.

[foggy wing]

Morty’s is evil bruh.

[serene spire]

it really is...I've seen some clips lol

[toxic snow]

Yeah, I think that would feel better. You should be rewarded for landing an armor break on a shield. It just makes sense

[light solstice]

If shields bring players back and starts generating money, the shield breakers we are seeing now will be a thing of the past

[foggy wing]

I was like 5 ft behind him and man still hit me with it

[serene spire]

I think that and the speed increase will do that for sure.

[foggy wing]

At least lebrons has a reasonable hitbox

It’s also only good if he has ball

[serene spire]

HOPEFULLY they will stop putting characters behind a battle pass or a 3 day delay to play.

Bars

[light solstice]

These moves weren’t created to be shield breakers that’s why some suck and some are good. They will eventually create moves that are literally created for that purpose.

[light solstice]

All they were trying to do is throw something together real quick so we can see how shields function.

[foggy wing]

Yeah like in smash the grabs were roughly the same range for a lot of characters. Except for tethers which has greater end lag. Point is the shield counter felt the same for a majority of the cast so hopefully they take that approach if this mechanic gets added

[serene spire]

honestly I can deal with gameplay changes, I have a problem with how they're trying to make money more.

[light solstice]

Most definitely! They had to just throw something together real fast to let us see how shields function.

[serene spire]

Though I do miss snatching souls with supes upspec...

[foggy wing]

Game is f2p and backed by greedy WB so I’m not shocked. I just play and neglect the store all together

[serene spire]

thats my goal too, play as free as I can. But ill probably kneel if they bring out the sound effects of shows like Ed, Edd and Eddy or Tom and Jerry.

[light solstice]

Would you guys be ok with another testing ground that tests the characters new shield breaker animations before they are completely implemented? Or is that overkill?

[foggy wing]

I’m fine with that

[serene spire]

I honestly don't care, im already interested in active defense.

[foggy wing]

Hopefully they do so they can refine the feature

[light solstice]

The more testing grounds the better! I’m for it!

[foggy wing]

Or just nerf morty shield break at least

[light solstice]

Testing grounds was an amazing feature Brawlhalla had and I’m glad Multiversus is doing it

[safe mountain]

lowkey i wish i got to test out more becuase marvins shield breaker is fun and it gives him a way to ACTUALLY PUNISH people not approaching him and it links into jab3

[serene spire]

oh darn, thats what I forgot to test out. Can you even spawn to shots of jab3?

[light solstice]

Yeah, I think three days is more acceptable. One day of testing grounds isn’t really enough for people to form a opinion, especially on a weekday.

Testing grounds should be on weekends

Moving forward

Your average adult works during the week

[safe mountain]

depending on the shield breaker you can link into it from other moves even on shield hit or whiff

since marvins is jab 2

he can input jab after hitting the move to do jab 3

in a way it gave marvin ways to combat against shields in the test

because marvin already lacks horizontal projectiles that move fast

[sinful wave]

I feel like there should be a pinned comment of all the pros, cons

And adjustments everyone feel should be made

[fallow kraken]

I'm really sad I didn't get to try out shields, because I wanted to see how Beetlejuice and Jason would feel with better defensive options

[ionic gulch]

jason definitely benefits from the shields from my testing yesterday

the shield breaker is also just his jab 2, so he can combo the breaker to extend his jab combo

[fallow kraken]

So Jason can combo into any move that combos into jab 2

[ionic gulch]

yeah jab jab shield breaker teleport worked, you just get an extra jab in the string

unless you dont have meter, then you kind of dodge in place like an idiot and get punished

[serene spire]

I'm sorry I got too excited when I knew I can do that with Jason!

[viral sequoia]

Testing grounds up yet?

Nvm, I see.

[bleak sable]

https://tenor.com/view/get-real-meme-get-real-meme-family-guy-go-long-gif-25817006

[foggy wing]

Nah it was never there

[craggy flint]

Lol

[light solstice]

Am I the only person who can’t play anymore without shields😂

[dense glen]

How do I access the Testing Ground queue?

[thin jungle]

make testing ground a full week

[fresh depot]

Looks like the testing was... Grounded

😎

[viral sequoia]

It was so clean using shields

I miss it

🥺

They just gotta clean up the shield animation

And it's gold.

[honest vector]

i miss it too bruh

[quartz oracle]

Shield animations and i hope they just give us grabs eventually

When they can find animators

[cedar anvil]

I’m just hoping they can better balance shields against projectiles a bit more

Velma looks like she’s gonna become even worse with shields

And her shield breaker is awful

[quartz oracle]

Velma is forever awful by design in 1s

[cedar anvil]

She was at least playable in 1v1 in beta

She’s just miserable in current MVS

But regardless, I don’t think you should be able to shield something like Bugs rocket and only take like 1 dodge bar worth of shield damage

[dawn coral]

Bring back shields!

[cedar anvil]

I get they want to reduce the effectiveness of projectile spam from certain characters and give an option to counter mashers

[dawn coral]

[cedar anvil]

But like it definitely needs some balancing

[short mountain]

Shields were a good addition.

[wheat glacier]

Shields would go crazy if rick prime's eyebags were removed

[vocal pagoda]

@lilac leaf @violet elk

Thank you for your patience, here I've linked a google document outlining my own analysis and thoughts regarding the first of many Testing Grounds, this time with new universal Shields.

It is welcome for anyone else who wishes to read it, and if there are problems with it opening, please let me know so I can fix the issue.

I also want to thank PFG for implimenting the Testing Grounds and giving us this chance to experiment with potential features for this game.

I hope this finds you well, and that the details and depth can promote a stronger game going forward 👍

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JofrkfnErpGzhnE44i4q6hHEc68R02C8W-rdolUcu8I/edit?usp=sharing

I made the google doc cuz I thought itd be easier to keep all the information together than over several Twitter posts or one long messy Discord message

[woeful bison]

Well done

[vocal pagoda]

Thank you so much!

[viral sequoia]

Where are you

And I'm so sorry.

🥺

(Testing ground senpai comeback)

My fault. 🫠

[thin jungle]

gap gap wap wap

[woeful bison]

Very thorough, well thought out and articulated. I personally don’t like shields but I like your suggestions to alter them if implemented. I definitely agree with your closing thoughts. I like that MVS encourages offensive gameplay with dodges and parries. Yesterday while I was testing shields I had multiple 1v1 matches run out of time because my opponent was being extremely passive/defensive and it slowed down the game so much. Instead of shields they should definitely look into buffing or reworking parries somehow and/or adding some sort of combo break mechanic to help get out of those infinites (which shields wouldn’t even really help with anyway)

[vocal pagoda]

I feel if these new Shields get implemented or not, the changes to Parries and dodging should still be included, in my opinion. Theyve been somethings that Ive seen many players complain about or just dont see them often in gameplay (mainly Parries) because the window is so tight its not a reliable option.

Plus increasing the Parry window can promote a healthier Perk economy as Clear the Air would be more viable to equip into perk sets.

As for a combo break mechanic, I had a brief thought of Parrying out of a combo being an option, or being able to Parry out of multiple hits just as easily as if it were a single attack. I left it out of here however, to keep the focus towards the Shields but also cuz my own thoughts on that wasnt fully fleshed out as id like them to be on Parrying out of combos.

[woeful bison]

💯

[spring vale]

Shield in a way is an indirect buff to parries. Be able to activate parry out of shield basically allows to have a safety net to save you from being "too late" with parry timing. When trying to activate parry as late as possible before being hit, failing just means you'll block instead of eating the attack fully and getting blown up.

[honest wind]

@glossy lily Focus on aerial gameplay, eh. I'm still playing with keyboard, so i'm bit worry. But hopefully i'm wrong
@dense sequoia "give every character one aerial armor break", that's a good idea, but imo don't give them multi attack break shield
@toxic snow sadly, i haven't try 2s mode with shield yet, it's interesting, when you shielding to cover your partner

[honest wind]

I agree especially about parry

[spring vale]

I didn't try it, but can anyone confirm rather or not if you shield the first of a multi-hitting move (Taz's spin and likewise) you could cancel into a parry to basically getting for free parry against said attacks' 2nd and onwards hits?

[snow tusk]

I just want Marvin buffed before shields get fully added

[honest wind]

I'm sure they'll do big balance change at the same when they gonna release shield officially

[snow tusk]

They haven’t really given Marvin any buffs at all

That’s what worries me

We only got something in the start of Season 3, and that was just to get button combos back

Marvin still struggles with killing and having slow moves

[hexed hare]

how do i access the testing grounds unless it over ?

[foggy trout]

Honestly, I always struggle against marvin. His projectiles being slow is actually an advantage, IMO.

[snow tusk]

Not his projectiles, his melee moves

Now with shields, it makes predicting Marvin much easier

But Marvin’s moves come out so slow

[glossy lily]

At least you still have that busted dtilt

[honest wind]

i think we should think more about Jake

[foggy wing]

I mean I tried jake and well he basically feels the same. Actually all the bite nerfs work against him because it is way harder to kill with bite in general. And while his sair is safe on shield people can always just dodge and hit you

[tender token]

Shields are great and should definitely be implemented. Some suggestions I have are: Shields should take more damage and shouldn't be as safe, Attack should cause slight pushback on shielded opponents depending on the strength of the attack (Would also help with spacing and having attacks be safe on shield), A different visual fx instead of a shield bubble would be nice, Shield break attacks feel a bit difficult to pull off for some reason, It might be better to have parries still occur on neutral dodge rather than having to hold down and dodge (almost like a perfect shield but still parry. might not be fair tho so maybe not). Maybe a 3 second time limit for how long you can hold the shield to prevent excessive turtling.

On a side note I'm suprised how shielding actually makes 2v2 more fun. Now that we have an active defense tool to block some of the chaotic attacks thrown out during 2v2 it feels more strategic and not as chaotic.

[waxen quarry]

The only thing I can say about shields right now since, we weren't allowed to test it out in training mode, would probably be to make Shields kind of like smash where has its own separate bar, instead of using the Dodge meter.

Mostly because I feel like it just makes Shields kind of useless for most situations except for the obvious, dealing with zoners or blocking some multi-hitting moves like Finn or Harley.

Oh and I almost forgot plz for the love of God nerf some of these damn Shield breaks, cuz damn there is no reason why Morty should be able to throw a giant ass hammer like that.

Imo I would make it where every character has the same type of Shield break like, same range and same frame data etc.

[honest wind]

Speaking of "Testing Ground" mode
I think it's great mode for the game
But for the next Testing Ground #2, i wish we can test it in training mode as well

[waxen quarry]

Facts

[honest wind]

And for the next testing ground #2
i wish it'll be more longer than first one
i think it'll be great is 3-7 days

17 hours iirc, was too short imo

[foggy wing]

Yeah many people didn’t even have time to test

[bleak sable]

https://tenor.com/view/ksi-im-in-the-thick-of-it-gif-8763936100754199228

[foggy wing]

Some changes that I think would be interesting for shields would be

1. Have armor breaking attacks have a X times mult to shield dmg or in this case dodge meter
2. Increase all shield dmg of all attacks and projectiles as well to this so shield pressure can be more relevant and the enemy can’t just sit in shield.
3. Make charging attacks take more dodge meter depending on how much they are charged.
4. If the enemy hits burnout while holding shield the shield will be broken and be put in a knockout state (similar to breaking shields in smash)
5. Make shield break moves have similar hitboxes that attack in front and can combo off of shield break.

[toxic snow]

One thing I noticed is that it kinda rewarded zoners running away even more. Before shields you could dodge a projectile, close the gap and punish.

But with shield you throw projectiles, they miss, but before your opponent can close the gap to punish; you just throw up your shield.

So the punish window is actually smaller in some instances

[foggy wing]

Which is arguably why parries aren’t super good also

[toxic snow]

In certain instances I really like shields. But in others they kinda reward you for camping/waiting for your opponent to make the first move.

Overall it felt like a major nerf to Rushdown/ grounded combo characters.

And a slight buff for more passive zoners or characters that rely on aerial combos since shield don’t effect them.

[foggy wing]

I mean to a degree it does nerf them though like being able to block their massive zoning tools that would otherwise force you elsewhere allows you to punish their reliance on them, but despite that I still see your point that you can’t just always rush down on them with shield until you get them in the air

[toxic snow]

I mean, it’s a mixed bag… it does nerf their projectiles. Giving you an option to just block them out right.

But it’s not like any of the zoners are bad at close range either. Bugs, gizmo etc. can wreck you day without projectiles anyway

If anything I’d say it makes characters with disjoints a little easier to manage.

[foggy wing]

Yeah I mean if they contest with their attacks they will probably lose cause disjoints always win but the lack of shield pressure makes it hard to exactly know how to punish their shield other than commit to a shield break that might not reward much value depending on the character

[toxic snow]

Yeah, I feel like shields CAN work but fundamentally the game and the characters aren’t really designed with that in mind.

it might take a total rework of every characters move set to get it right. But fear its a little to late to make such a big change

[foggy wing]

Yeah that would take years especially with how terrible current game balance is. Jake and Velma never once touching anything above low tier.

[zinc sable]

how do u test

[copper tree]

Testing queue is gone now, it’s only every Thursday I think

[waxen quarry]

Yeah LeBron can just throw his ball at Shields and can kind of just get away with it.

[woeful bison]

💯

[foggy wing]

I mean you can just dodge ball and then he loses it. If shielding destroyed ball lebron would be soooo much worse. Because lebron weak without ball.

And while he can hit shield for ball back his nb moves are so slow that he’d be punished for hitting shield with any of them

[dense sequoia]

if they do that tho you can shield break…

layers

[toxic snow]

Not really…. The shield breaks are grounded moves, If you IAD, jump over the projectile, or use a dash attack you can’t shield break.

By the time you can close the gap and throw out a shield breaks, they can just throw out a jab to beat it.

[foggy wing]

Yeah or they could mix up with a roll and punish

[runic reef]

Give money to youtubers and streamers to play the game and make it popular

[foggy wing]

What?

game isn’t ready for that imo

When balance is good and mechanically things are all good and everything feels nice and casual modes are fun and maybe grinding characters is less of a pain for newer players then yeah sure they can

well casual modes are fun but where is that one mode where you can gradually grow bigger and cover the entire map? Like that mode fun and stupid asf

[golden magnet]

Do NOT add this feture

[foggy wing]

Why?

[light solstice]

Should armor moves have armor if used out of shield? 🤔

[bleak sable]

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/890279644669034546/1228347258383110164/ShitpostGate_-_1778655961059639571.gif

[loud cave]

Feature*

[honest wind]

future

[lost flare]

he didnt feel worse with shields though

[honest wind]

we shall see

[golden magnet]

True

[real goblet]

I didn't see this chat so i'll tell you my thoughts after trying it out a bit more.

1: Armor Breaking moves should RAPIDLY decrease the shield rather than or on top of having faster recovery.

2: I still firmly believe that you guys should bring back the class differences and apply them to the shields too (if implemented)

here's a few ideas i had for class specific shields. Obviously not very ideal

[ Tanks - Burns more stamina on use but slightly bigger bubble

Assassins - Smaller bubble in exchange for further dash distances when moving out of the bubble (Think of Arya's roll move but make it for all)

Bruisers - Default Bubble.

]

3: Future Testing Grounds should be added into customs as game modes for future testing. This includes the "whacky Weekend" game modes

[mighty shore]

i want this to be added

please

this will help with spammers

tbh i dont see it any use in competitive

but this is peak against spammers

[foggy wing]

Wdym bigger bubble? A bigger bubble is worse than a smaller one cause then it means bigger hurtbox or whatnot.

[real goblet]

Tanks are beefy as is, if you give them a standard bubble while not changing their status, it makes them inherently stronger.

So yes. Bigger and worse

Shields as a defensive mechanic is fine but Multiversus has a class system that they seemingly stopped caring about.

This would be a cool and interesting take on it

[foggy wing]

You said bigger bubble like it benefited them which was why I was confused

[real goblet]

I mean, technically the positive of having a bigger bubble would be the spacing between them and the opponent

But yes, excuse my phrasing

[plucky pumice]

^^^^

[velvet field]

Will they hear us

[scenic cipher]

just make all shield breaking moves have the same range so i dont see beetlejuice spamming a sheild break from across the map and hitting me

[violet elk]

Thank you everyone for the amazing feedback so far. We have taken notes on shields, shields breaker attacks, the strengths it has and some of the tougher to beat scenarios. Please continue to leave as much feedback as possible as you test this and other things in the future.

(Sorry about Morty hammer 🔨 😅)

[peak comet]

big

@violet elk please add an option for shields in training mode

[violet elk]

🤔

[peak comet]

please

would be big for learning the game

[foggy wing]

I mean there is a possibility they just don’t add shields lol

that probably won’t be the case though there seems to be a lot of positive feedback towards it.

[icy vale]

Listen I'm going to be relieved if shields get in cause I'll be able to fully move on

[honest wind]

Don't rush for it
it'll be great if we get another testing ground #1.2 about shield next season
Make it more longer around 3-7 days and also allow us to try it in training mode
because we need to test shield with fast fall and short hopping, because this combination will probably make the game experience pretty different imo

[gaunt merlin]

I think the real question is why did testing grounds not even last a full day? At the very least we should have had it available for an entire weekend. Gives even more players a chance to try out future testing grounds alongside gathering proper feedback outside of quick first impressions based on only a few matches

[inland current]

Alright, so I had mentioned on day one that shields was very good all-around, maybe could use a few tweaks here and there when it comes to meter drainage, or frame data on hit against shields. But the one thing that stood out above all is the inability to use shields while in the air. I've seen so many occasions already where just dodging in the air just isn't enough. I believe if we can somehow make an extra bind on the controller/PC for shields, then we may be able to just use them with ease at any point in time. And, on top of that, give shields an aerial cooldown. And here's how we can do it. 1. Get rid of the interact button and just make it how it was in the beta as one with neutral attack. We never needed a separate button for it in Beta when we binded our neutral attacks. 2. After reverting that bind, we can then make a bind specific to shields, no longer making shields and dodges on the same bind. And then 3. We will finally have a balanced game, my friends

Oh, and as for aerial cooldowns on shields like I was mentioning, anytime shields get hit in the air with say a number of hits/light projectiles, or even say a heavy projectile while having enough meter to block it, your shield will instead go on cooldown for the air. I think it would be something to look into. Just a thought

[foggy wing]

I mean aerial shields sound too busted. What’s the point of getting them in the air if they can also block and then land and avoid the entirety of disadvantage? Even with a cooldown it is too powerful and unbalanced. The point of being in the air is you are in a bad position so adding shields to the air negates that and there is no such thing as a bad position. Also aerial shields would give leeway to baiting and farming reversals which would lead to players not even engaging in the air.

[inland current]

Give it a count specific to how many times hit in the air. Then have it be reset after a set time instead of farming constantly by just fast falling to the ground every time by being hit. Say 3, maybe 5. Then a 12 to 15 second cooldown if the shield doesn't break, or your stamina doesn't run out, then go back to being able go block in air. There's a way we can get this balanced, we just gotta discuss it out, you know what I mean?

[inland current]

And, the heavy projectiles would actually be able to have an advantage still against shields in the air because they would be able to take down a shield if they were to make the shield to a count of 3 in the air. So I think it would be rather balanced 🤷‍♂️

[foggy wing]

Just because 2 characters would be able to deal with aerial shields doesn’t make it balanced. Also having shields be an additional option on top of dodge as I said totally removes the idea of disadvantage cause even if you set the shield durability to number of hits it makes characters who don’t have multihits struggle to counter play. Like imagine shaggy reads BOTH of your dodges and keeps you in the air. Since he exhausted your resources he gonna go for the killing blow but guess what? You block his up special and kill him for it. Balanced game am I right?

[inland current]

@foggy wing guess what? If blocking is going to be in the game, then the strategy is going to change. Obviously, we can't just keep dodging anymore. It's changing to more the block game in the top 100 seed. So since you said that, it technically is still a balanced game. It's just changing you clown 🤡😉🤣

[dense rover]

The second you start dropping clown emojis @ feedback I disregard any ideas you have

[inland current]

Eh, I just had beef with that guy. And tbh, you may not respect what I had to say just then, and I know I have my problems, and I do try to keep them to myself, but I honestly don't like when people try to turn it into an argument. Yes, I was understanding where he was coming from, but I don't know why he had to pull out his emoji like a doucher

[dense rover]

You dropped an emoji first tbf (although I think going tit for tat like that is stupid)

[cedar anvil]

Ngl Tokin, I agree with Domilink. Air shields would be completely overpowered no matter what and would be actively detrimental to the game by essentially removing the disadvantage state of the game. There’s a reason the only character with an air shield currently is Steven and it has a 20 frame startup before he gets armor

I think your issue with dodging not being enough is more of an issue with dodges losing their invincibility prematurely

And you really didn’t need to be so toxic. Domilink was putting in a legitimate critique as reasoning as to why they don’t think air shields are a good idea

Just because someone disagrees with your opinion doesn’t mean they’re a clown

[foggy wing]

It’s not so much that blocking changes the game that is concerning. It’s more that adding aerial shields destroys the point of having shields imo. I believe the point of having shields is to have a more reliable defensive option in neutral to help counter crazy multihits, active moves, and burst options. Adding something like blocking in the air when you’re in disadvantage would kinda ruin the idea of you wanting to stay on the ground.

[icy vale]

I'd much prefer future testing grounds be used to test balance patches so you can get feedback on those

and also search for bugs

imo that's a more pressing issue

[foggy wing]

True I can’t count the number of times they said they’d make a balance change of sorts and it wasn’t added actually lol

[iron nest]

I dont know if this feedback was already said but either way I think that shields have 3 problems:
1 - this is more personal, but I think many players will agree that ground parries are high skill expression and fun to try to land and removing ground parries or essential making them redundant is a shame
2 - In my games shields promoted players to be even more than they were before, understandably making the game drag on and lose fun
3 - edge camping with shields was really frustrating and with certain characters it seem impossible to outplay

[foggy wing]

Yeah if shield pressure and bigger parry window were added I think that would solve this. Idk about edge shield camping though lol

[foggy quarry]

If we get a testing grounds this week let it be the short hops, fast fall, and speed 🫡

[foggy wing]

Yeah maybe even include some revamped shield mechanic if they could

[quartz oracle]

Ground parries are still in the game

[foggy wing]

He meant they are essentially useless because of shields

[icy vale]

yeah like why would you ever go for them with how shields currently work?

I'd also be fine with a stationary dodge

instead of dodging past a shaggy side special spamming and not being able to reach him on his wiff I can just let him sail past me and land just beside me for me to punish him

you can have the window be a little bit after the parry window and it would serve a similar function to shielding

[inland current]

@foggy wing after rethinking a bit, and yeah, you're probably right. It would be counterintuitive towards being at disadvantage. So I apologize for my clown comment, and I will refrain from further comments like that. And, I've been thinking. Why not add shields to aerial options instead? I mean if you think about it, we already have 2 dodges, 2 jumps, 2 specials, and infinite attacks in the air. If we add shields to the mix, but if we do it in terms of if we have to choose between either dodge, shield, or parry. Parry obviously being the strongest and taking the most amount of meter will be able to use half, shields being next on activation whether on ground or air, and even will have a drawback in the air when taking a hit from projectiles or air attacks, and then dodges. This is probably the next best idea I would have in terms of aerial shields, especially with the new system in place that they have with shields, and since it is all based upon options to keep us at disadvantage

And I don't mean add 2 more options, I just mean shields needs to be the same as dodges in terms of options, if that makes sense

[foggy wing]

So you mean like an improved dodge in the air to avoid things like multihits?

and other attacks

Or like maybe improved options out of shield like a input for a Instant Aerial Out Of Shield (IAOOS)

[inland current]

@foggy wing Yeah, something like that, so that way every player will be able to have an option to transition from blocking stance, to an instant aerial option to get to the air rather than using a lot of resources to transition from the ground to the air, like how we do in every day games. We typically input dodge, jump, attack, or special of whichever direction our opponent is facing, which takes a lot of resource. What if we can somehow transition from a block stance into an aerial option? I mentioned that we needed a bind for shields specific to itself, and if we do get that, then there's the idea of what if we could dodge from the ground to the air from our shield stance? Then there begs the question of what are options then from the transition from the shield to the air? Well I feel just about anything your attacks and specials have to give, just gotta pick one. Unless you feel it's not safe, then just jump out of it, I suppose, I think you know where I'm going with it. It's just a matter of, would it work really?

[tidal oyster]

Are we getting another testing grounds tomorrow

[loud cave]

Yep it out now I believe

[toxic snow]

Sheilds are back. Did we get any changes? hard to tell when eveyone is trying to punch you in the face

[woeful thorn]

lol yeah. i kinda wish they added it to training so i can test it more thoroughly

[novel fern]

whata the new testing grounds?

shields or movement speed?

[toxic snow]

Just shield again. But I I only had time for a few rounds

[novel fern]

yea its just shields

i still dont know if shields work in this game, they feel clunky

[toxic snow]

It’s a mixed bag for me. Sometimes they feel good. But a lot of the time they don’t feel like they fit the game

[novel fern]

maybe with the goodwill/great value beta movement speed in s4 it will feel better

[foggy wing]

Did they add shield pressure now?

[toxic snow]

I feel like shields will be a movement nerf. Both because it will reward standing still and because shields cost stamina if you use shield it pulls
From your dodges

[toxic snow]

Not from what I can tell

[foggy wing]

bruh

are shield breakers balanced now?

[toxic snow]

I haven’t seen them all but so far… no change m. But I could be wrong.

[foggy wing]

What is the point of new grounds when no changes were made like why?

[toxic snow]

Maybe they did change something. But if they did it was small enough not to notice. Patch notes would have been nice

[snow tusk]

Ngl, 1 day last time wasn’t enough time to really nail down what was needed to tune shields better