Zygote Hello Weavers, today I would like to share with you a different type of post, in which I will go over the things that will come to Skyweaver in 2024. While doing so, I will share some personal opinions about them on what to expect. Also, I will go over some rumors and share my estimations about what may come to Skyweaver in 2024 and when. If you are new and don’t know me. Hi, I am Zygoye, I have been playing Skyweaver since 2019 and creating content since 2021. I think in these 5 years, I had enough observations about the game and can provide some opinions about what to expect this year.
Draft Mode
Perhaps the most exciting and biggest upcoming feature that we will have in Sky is the Draft Mode. The new mode means a lot for Skyweaver’s future, it can be a determining factor of Skyweaver’s future success. In my opinion, the biggest impact of the Draft Mode will be on player retention. Currently, new players start with starter decks and try to grind the remaining cards to be competitive in Constructed mode. One of the ways to grind is by playing Discovery mode. Discovery is a unique mode that can be very fun sometimes, however, the biggest issue about the discovery that makes players always complain is total randomness. Players don’t have any control over their decks and for some players, it is a huge drawback.
The Draft Mode comes at this point. It is a mode that players are familiar with other card games and gives control to players for building their decks. As a result, the Draft mode will possibly allow players to grind their cards in time while enjoying a well-structured mode. I also know from the other card games that I played that there are many players who enjoy just playing draft and nothing else, so this new addition to Skyweaver will potentially attract more players to the game and also allow us to experience the pack opening feeling again.
Now that we know what this mode may bring to Skyweaver, let’s check what we know about it. First of all, there is no official release date for the mode, but we know that it is arriving in quarter 1 of 2024. This is good news, we don’t have to wait long to enjoy the new mode. Another information we have about the draft mode is, that there will be 8 elemental Dragon Heroes to choose to construct our deck. So we will not be playing as current heroes that we use in constructed mode, but there will be new heroes in Draft mode. The official article about Draft mode states that the new heroes will have an elemental focus and the elements will have their own synergies.
In addition to new heroes, there will be also Boons. Boons seem like ongoing permanent effects that can power up your hero or your cards. Also, from what we see on the official post, they look like having elemental synergies as well, which can power up your existing elemental deck. I will not go through every detail about the draft mode but will leave the link here for the official post if you like to learn more about it.
Tournaments
Another new feature that is coming to Sky in early 2024 is Tournaments. As a previous tournament organizer and current player, I love tournaments and I know that it is not always easy to access community-organized events, mostly due to player caps, and regional time differences. Also, community tournaments are not always available. At this point, it is a great feature that Skyweaver is bringing in-game tournaments.
Firstly, it is a new way to play and enjoy the game, which can potentially be a rewarding experience. Good for bringing more players and also for player retention. Secondly, it makes it easier for everyone to access tournaments and can be a new way for content creators to engage with their communities. Oh also, who doesn’t want to be Skyweaver 2024 World Champion? The tournaments will be organized as Daily, Weekly, Seasonal, and the World Championship. They will be also accessible as both Constructed and Draft tournaments. Again I will not go into detail about the format and will leave the link here of the official post. I am very excited about this feature and I believe it will make the game more competitive and provide players with more goals for playing the game.
New Expansion: Song of Scales
It is confirmed that the new modes are coming and they are bringing also a new expansion. We can’t just have a draft mode without new cards Right? Song of Scales is the name of the new expansion. Currently, we don’t know any of the cards that are coming with this expansion but I guess it will be a large one and focusing on elemental cards. Elements and elemental decks are already important parts of Skyweaver and we know that the Draft mode will focus on this aspect. So, we can guess that this expansion will bring us many elemental cards that synergize with each other. I also think this expansion will provide elements with better roles and we will have a clear playstyle for each element. For example, fire focuses more on dealing fast damage and earth is a defensive element.
New Currencies: Spark and Weave
In 2024 we expect to see a big economy update and this update will likely introduce two new currencies; Spark and Weave. So far, we know what Spark will be used for purchasing off-chain items such as base cards and will be used for entering free events such as tournaments. One of the ways to acquire spark will be leveling up in Free Skypass. The second currency is called Weave, which will be used for purchasing on-chain items such as Silver and Gold cards and also it will allow users to join premium events. We also know that this currency will be acquired by leveling up in Premium Skypass.
The idea of having more ways to unlock cards and in-game experiences sounds interesting to me, however at the same time the new currencies bring one important question to my mind. Is this going to be too much? We already have USDC right now adding two more currencies on top may feel too much. I think this will depend on how clear will be the usage of these new currencies and how smooth will be the transaction process of the game to this new economy system.
Card Rarities
Another upcoming feature that will possibly arrive with the economy update is card rarities. Don’t confuse this with base, silver, and gold cards. A standard, good old-fashioned rarity system is expected to arrive. It’s something that most of us are very familiar with from other card games and it’s something missing in Skyweaver. At least to me I always felt like that. I mean how can Tiamat and Royal Mummy have the same rarity?
With the introduction of card rarities, the economy will become more flexible, and cards at different rarities will have different costs. In my opinion, it can be a nice feature to have. It can create more goals and players can have more excitement when they acquire certain cards. Of course, when rarities and currencies come into place the question of Pay-to-Win appears. So far Horizon team has done a good job keeping the game Free-to-Play and also Play-to-Own at the same time, and I believe they will continue with this mindset. So I have no worries regarding this.
More Language Support
Your best friend is not able to play Skyweaver because of the language barrier? No worries, the game already received Brazilian Portuguese support, and most likely more languages such as French and Chinese will arrive this year. So good news for everyone who prefers to play in their local language or wants to invite a friend.
Rumors, Guesses and Wishes
Now that we completed the official news, let’s talk about some of the rumors, my personal guesses of what may come, and some wishes for Skyweaver.
Full Release
As you may know, currently Skyweaver is in Open Beta and the question is when will be full release? Will it be in 2024? I don’t think so, but I believe we will receive the news of a solid date probably around Q3-Q4 of 2024. Why is that? I think the new draft mode and the economy update are two main pillars of Skyweaver’s future and the development team will prefer to ensure that the new mode and the new economy work smoothly and the player integration is non-problematic. After these are assured I believe they will feel more confident about releasing the full game. So far that was the approach for moving from closed beta to soft launch and soft launch to open beta. So I believe the same mentality will carry on.
Guilds
In the earlier days of Skyweaver, especially around 2021, the idea of guilds was gaining traction. Players were creating their own guilds over Discord, mainly Fox Fang and Dog Pound and there were some other smaller servers. We even had some tournaments between those two big guilds but the official guilds function has never arrived to the game, even though it was mentioned in the 2022 Roadmap. I think over time priorities change and the flame of guilds in the community is not as bright as it used to be. Guilds function may arrive one day but I don’t think it will be in 2024.
6th Prism
One of the rumors that appears from time to time and which was confirmed by devs a couple of times before is the 6th prism. We know it exists or at least is planned to arrive one day. Is that date in 2024? I don’t think so. They are already releasing many new stuff and a new prism would be too much. I think the 6th prism may come after the game is fully released. Possibly even 6 months or a year after the game is released if it is going to happen. Currently, each prism already has large amounts of cards and it will not be easy to create a prism that can match them.
A Small and A Large Expansion
My first guess is, that probably around the end of spring or the beginning of summer, we may receive a small expansion that targets the draft mode. More elemental cards and cards that can be useful in the Draft mode may be released to enhance the mode.
After this expansion I expect a larger expansion to arrive around late Autumn or early winter that targets both constructed and draft together, possibly introducing new mechanics to the game.
Card Packs
I know this is a very low probability, I know Skyweaver never had this feature before but why not? The draft will introduce card packs and we are also receiving rarities. On top of that new currencies are coming, so even though it is a low chance it may happen. We know that players will be able to purchase cards with the new currencies, there might be an option to purchase card packs with these currencies that may come with a good price and reward the players. Maybe they can focus on new expansions making grinding them easier and players may focus their individual card purchases on old expansions. These are all just theories coming to my mind, let me know in the comments what you think about this feature!
Sound Effects For Units
Currently, my biggest wish is to have sound effects for each unit in the game. I love hearing the unique sound effects of cards in other card games and I wish Skyweaver would receive this feature too. Oh, imagine unique dialogues happening between the cards, when Kha Meht faces the mighty Undragon or hearing Fox Familiar asking for some Bacon!
I think I summarized all the news we have and some of the rumors. I really hope Skyweaver will receive all these new features soon and we can enjoy them. If you enjoyed this post you can let me know in the comments for which feature you are most excited or if you have any wishes for Skyweaver. Enjoy your 2024 everyone!
