Minion Rumble

Hello, Summoners!

This is PD Leo!

As we were wrapping up work on version 1.9, it's been about a week since my last Developer Note. I try to reach out more often, but it turns out greeting you twice a week isn't that easy. 😭 Anyway, we've got a lot to cover today, so let's dive right in.

◆ Minion Rumble with LINE FRIENDS

Have you all joined the “Guess Who?” Silhouette Event? 

I was amazed at how many of you guessed the answers correctly!

With this LINE FRIENDS update, the new Summoners being added are none other than BROWN and CONY!

First, let me show you three illustrations!

The charm of Minion Rumble is that Summoners are always accompanied by Minions!

BROWN is with his Minion EDWARD, and CONY is with her Minion SALLY.

To make Minion Rumble even more fun, we took a few things into consideration:

1) Characters that are widely recognized around the world,

2) Characters that are cute and would fit perfectly with our game, and

3) Characters who come with friends you can bring along in place of minions.

After much thought, we found the perfect match. And when LINE FRIENDS gladly agreed to join us, we couldn't have been happier. I'd like to take this opportunity to give a big thank you to everyone at LINE FRIENDS.

So, what do you think? Do they fit well?

Personally, I think they're a perfect match, and I'm honestly really excited.

I'm sure our players are curious about what skills BROWN and CONY will have.

BROWN has a skill that sweeps up Minions with wind, making them charge at enemies. His unique passive effect increases the level of all Summoners. Let me give you a quick peek! If you look closely, you'll see EDWARD Minions getting caught up and tossed forward in a twister. Isn't that adorable? Edward, where are you off to?

As for CONY, she has a skill that generates vanilla ice cream at a set rate, which make Champions attack stronger. Her passive effect increases the level of Champions.

We've got footage of CONY as well. When she drops vanilla ice cream, if a Champion eats it, a giant ice cream crashes down, and any monsters caught in it take massive damage from Champions. The timing and manner of eating the ice cream have a big impact, so it's fun to play around with. Since CONY can only generate up to three scoops at a time and they don't stack, the key is to eat them wisely.

So, you might be wondering: just how strong are BROWN and CONY? Afraid you'll have to toss aside Kain and Zanmang Loopy?

We've gotten a lot of feedback from you since the Zanmang Loopy update, especially around the question of whether Kain or Zanmang Loopy should be stronger. We even ran a survey to hear more of your thoughts. So, as we worked on this update, we made a real effort not to simply make BROWN and CONY the strongest Summoners just because they're LE Summoners.

BROWN is designed to work best alongside Minions, while CONY works best with Champions. Depending on the situation and your personal playstyle, you can choose whichever one fits you better. As for their passive effects: 

- BROWN increases the level of all Summoners. 

- CONY increases the level of all Champions. 

So simply developing BROWN and CONY will benefit your entire roster of Summoners and Champions. 

In other words, you don't need to use BROWN and CONY exclusively. 

If you prefer to stick with Kain, Zanmang Loopy, or any other Summoner you like, you'll still see benefits in your gameplay and progression.

Of course, since BROWN and CONY are LE Summoners, they're strong. But that doesn't mean they completely outclass Kain and Zanmang Loopy or that you’re forced to use them above all else.

Meet EDWARD and SALLY in Minion Collection!

Of course our EDWARD and SALLY can't be left out of LINE FRIENDS as they're adorable icons too! 

That's why they're being added as Unique Minions. 

Be sure to check them out in the Minion Collection!

Now, I can almost hear your concerns: “Are LINE FRIENDS only obtainable through in-app purchases?

Don't worry! They'll be available as rewards!

We wanted to make this update a true celebration, so we've prepared rewards on an unprecedented scale. With just the events, you'll be able to get all the new LINE FRIENDS Summoners, their exclusive Weapons, and Minions! 

After all, if some players get them and others don't, it wouldn't feel like a festival. So we made sure there are rewards everywhere, ensuring everyone can claim at least one.

As the first example, we have a special login event lined up! 

Log in for just 3 days to get CONY and her exclusive Weapon. 

On day 7, you'll receive CONY's Pieces to promote her to 2★. 

And by day 14, you can even claim the Minion SALLY. 

With the login event alone, you'll be able to collect CONY as a Summoner, her Weapon, and her Minion!

Through the Wheel Event's cumulative rewards, you can obtain BROWN's Weapon, BROWN's Pieces, and his Minion, EDWARD. And through the Reward Exchange, you'll even be able to claim BROWN himself.

That's not it! The Reward Exchange lets you exchange for BROWN, CONY, their Weapons, and their Minions, so you can claim exactly what you want. 

And the best part? By joining the Check-In Calendar, Wheel Event, and Reward Exchange, you can collect up to six Epic Weapons, enough to craft a Legendary!

As the translation is in progress, we kindly ask for your understanding that the image has been temporarily replaced with the Korean version.

Now, here's a random tip from Leo!

What do you think is the best bang for your buck in the Reward Exchange? It's definitely Summoner Pieces.

We really want you to collect and promote BROWN and CONY, so we've set the exchange rate for their Pieces to be especially generous. 

As for the next best option, personally I’d purchase Weapons first, then go for Minions. If you don’t plan on purchasing the Weapons, I definitely recommend exchanging for them here.

And the big question: BROWN first or CONY first? Hmm... Tough call. 

Since you'll get CONY for free after 3 days through the Check-In Calendar, maybe you should go for BROWN first? 

But then again, if you develop CONY to 6★, she boosts all Champions' levels by 15, so maybe CONY first? 

In the end, I'll leave that choice up to you.

Some of you might be wondering, “Why isn't there a Summoner Exchange for BROWN and CONY?

In the past, during the Zanmang Loopy event, we designed it so you couldn't summon using Pieces because we wanted players to aim for the full Summoner directly. 

But this time, we listened to a lot of feedback from our players. Now, you'll be able to summon BROWN and CONY using Summoner Pieces as well. 

This means you won't feel the pressure to purchase the full Summoner outright, and it won't take forever to exchange for one either. 

Also, if you already own a Summoner and happen to obtain them again, any duplicates you claim from your Mailbox will automatically convert into Summoner Pieces, which you can then use to promote them.

There's so much more I'd love to share, but I don't want to spoil everything before the update goes live. So I'll wrap things up here by giving you a sneak peek at just one of the bosses!

* I secretly snagged the artwork of the coolest-looking boss. This guy's got serious style, haha. (I'll probably get scolded by AD tomorrow for showing it off early...)

◆ Minion Crush Event! 

Get ready for our latest minigame! Jump in and crush it with Minion Crush!

As the translation is in progress, we kindly ask for your understanding that the image has been temporarily replaced with the Korean version.

Do you all remember the old days of Anipang? I was “born in 2005” (I wish), so I can't say I know it well myself, but I'm sure many of you have played it at least once.

To bring back that nostalgia, we designed this new minigame to stay true to the basics. We've also made sure it won't be stressful to play. The cumulative rewards are based on participation count, so even if you're not great at the gameplay, you'll still be able to earn plenty of rewards. That way, score differences won't cause huge gaps in what you get.

◆ Feedback Roundup

We've received a lot of feedback over the past couple of weeks.

As mentioned in the last Developer Note, we're adding a feature that lets you select multiple rewards at once when using multiple Selection Chests!

In the example below, pressing the plus button will bring up a slider, allowing you to quickly and easily choose the number of rewards you want.

As the translation is in progress, we kindly ask for your understanding that the image has been temporarily replaced with the Korean version.

We've also received lots of skin ideas, and yes, we saw your requests for Halloween! After all, the end of October is a global festival, and nothing says Halloween like spooky fun. Our AD has already started working on Halloween-themed skins after reading your comments. We'll be sharing more details, along with some work-in-progress previews, in the next Developer's Note.

Now, let's get into the actual suggestions:

1) Please make Magic Essence (Summoner material) purchasable with Gold once per day, just like Training Tokens (Champion material).

Magic Essence is already set as a core reward from Quick Camping, so even if you're short on Gold, you can still earn it. It's also a major reward from Solo Raids, and we distribute a large amount through Co-op Raids. With the LINE FRIENDS event bringing two new Summoners, we've also ensured plenty of Magic Essence is given through the Login Events, Wheel rewards, cumulative rewards, and more. 

While it's possible to add it to the Shop for Gold, we believe it's better to continue distributing it through various content for now. 

That said, we're closely monitoring both the supply and usage of Magic Essence, and we'll adjust in the future if needed.

2) For players who purchase Premium Monthly Subscription (Unlimited), please make sure Ad Buffs don't expire.

Currently, Ad Buffs expire at certain Ad Buff level-up stages, which encourages players to level them up. However, we understand that having to press the button repeatedly to maintain buffs after fully upgrading can feel inconvenient. We agree this could be improved, and the development team will review this positively.

3) Please add content to use surplus Minions after reaching max level!

This feature is currently in development for the 1.10 patch (scheduled for late October). With this update, any Minions you have beyond max level can be fused into Minion Pieces, which can then be used to obtain higher-grade Minions. At the moment, Legendary Minions can only be obtained through events or in-app purchases. But with the new Minion Piece Fusion system, you'll also have another way to acquire Legendary Minions!

4) Can you add a Codex feature? 

We've also been exploring ways to provide more detailed information so you can easily check skills, Champion levels, and grade effects to set your goals accordingly.

As a first step, in battle, tapping an icon will now display the Champion effects from 1★ to 3★, along with Evolution. This feature will be added in the next update (version 1.9, coming next week). 

(This was first suggested during Leo's Q&A session, so we made sure to implement it as quickly as possible.)

As the translation is in progress, we kindly ask for your understanding that the image has been temporarily replaced with the Korean version.

When it comes to showing Champion levels and Promotion effects in greater detail, we're still working on the best way to present this information in a clear and intuitive way. We're reviewing this positively and will continue to refine it, so please bear with us a little longer! We'll make sure to deliver a solid solution.

We still have a few more suggestions to cover, but we'll save those for the next Developer Note.

Since the 1.9 update includes so much new content, there's a lot I wanted to share today, which made this note a bit longer than usual. The whole dev team has worked hard to prepare it, and we truly hope many of you will enjoy it.

And because this update is being held in collaboration with LINE FRIENDS, we'd love for you to spread the word and invite your friends to join in so that everyone can have fun together in Minion Rumble.

Thank you for reading through this long update. I'll see you again next time!