'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
This October, Magic: The Gathering Online will be transferring over to the Daybreak Online servers. This will require a bit of downtime, however, and the developers have announced their plans.
The developers of the game haven't discussed all of their plans, although some of what was revealed has been quite controversial among MTGO players. However, some of the plans will be a blessing for the game and could attract more players to the ancient, obtuse online Magic: The Gathering system.
What is being planned, though? Here’s what the developers at Daybreak Games discussed.
What do the developers want to improve in Magic: The Gathering Online?
The developers of Magic: The Gathering Online talked about a number of features they want to add to the classic online gameplay app. This is where Magic Online really began, after all. However, one of the downsides is that it is an incredibly clunky, hard-to-understand app for newcomers.
It isn’t always clear what newcomers to the app should be doing, so some form of onboarding would do the game a significant amount of good. The developers want to improve the user experience, specifically for new MTGO players.
This will require some hand-holding and direction pointing, but will certainly help keep players around, once they’ve started the game. On that note, they also want to add some more Play Rewards to the game. Magic Online is fun, but winning prizes like card packs, tickets, and other items makes winning feel even sweeter. However, they were not especially clear on what this meant.
But not everything is positive. Battlefield Automation is something that has fans worried. What this means is that they want to add Auto-Tapping and Auto-Passing through phases/turns to Magic: The Gathering Online.
They also want to add some improvements to the overall gameplay experience of Magic Online. What’s the problem here? Auto-Tapping and Auto-Passing can ruin turns for players.
Now, it isn't like most players are saying “Please don’t add this to the game”. What the majority of worried fans want is the ability to turn these Auto Features off. That way, they don’t have to deal with it every single match. Some players don’t run decks where this is a problem. But when it comes to complex Modern and Legacy decks? Having 100% control over your deck and every facet of your turn is important in Magic: The Gathering Online.
One thing that is important, though, is Multi-Factor Authentication. A lot of money can be sunk into a Magic Online account, so having extra security is certainly a positive. You can trade cards and other objects in the game, so there is always the threat of having an account stolen.
However, the biggest part of this is the Commander Update. The goal is to make Magic Online the “Commander destination”, so there are many factors that need to be addressed. One being that the overall multiplayer experience needs improvements. This is a key feature that Daybreak Games will need to be working on over the next few years to try and make it a reality.
While this isn’t the complete list of what the Magic: The Gathering Online developers are planning, it does bode well for the game, just in general. More content, of course, is coming to MTGO over the rest of the year, but these are changes that are planned for the distant future.
