Duelling

Introduction

Duels are one-on-one fights between two players. The stakes of the duel differ based on the game mode the player chooses to join. At the beginning of each fight, players are presented with a Q-IDLE Puzzle where they must complete connections between four sets of two connectors each. The connections must not overlap nor leave the 5x5 grid. Each puzzle completion guarantees the player a new Ability they can play against their opponent. The abilities are drawn at random from the player's Stack and they go into their active hand, which can hold a maximum of three abilities. Both players can use their abilities in real time, as soon as they obtain them. However, any ability obtained after their active hand is full will be lost. The duel ends when one of the players is left without health points.

Game Modes

Currently, the game offers three types of duels, each with its own purpose and custom mechanics:

• The Casual Mode is the default game type in Syntvi. This game mode has low stakes and is meant to be a light and fun experience for players that want to be come better at the game or earn reward crates without risking their tokens.

  • Queue -> For this game mode, all players are queued in the same pool, regardless of their rank or skill level. This mechanic offers plenty of opportunities for our players to test their mettle against both green recruits and battle hardened veterans. While the queue will tend to try and bring together players of a similar skill level, this behaviour is not a priority nor a guarantee, and it depends on the individual data of all players currently in the queue.

  • Stakes -> In Casual Duels, players do not risk losing their $STYK tokens. However, they also do not have the opportunity to earn them from their opponents. The winner in these duels will receive Player Experience, Energy, and a Reward Crate if they have an open slot available.

  • Passive Damage -> Each Casual fight is meant to be short and engaging. In order to speed up the battle, each ability the players use, regardless of its type, will have an additional passive damage.

• The Competitive Duels are meant to facilitate showdowns between our best and most ambitious players. Each of these duels has high stakes for both players. There is a series of differences between the Casual and the Competitive modes:

  • Staking $STYK tokens -> When they join a duel, both players stake a part of their token stash. The higher the League the duel is taking place in, the higher the risked sum is. The player that loses the duel takes in Syntcraft damage and loses a percentage of their available $STYK tokens within the limits set up by the League.

  • Duel Duration -> Abilities no longer deal passive damage in Competitive Duels. They only apply their primary effects. This obligates players to craft strategies and improvise ability combos on the spot in order to get the upper hand on their opponent.

  • League Rankings -> As they battle for tokens and glory, players will advance through ten different leagues. Being part of a higher league is a prestigious feat, but is also carries more risk for the player. The leagues exist as communication nodes inside the Synthorizon. They separate novice or inexperienced players from true masters of the game. Advancing to the next league implies a $STYK fee that guarantees each player is capable to compete and stake at the highest possible level.

• The Friendly Duels offer the framework for a completely customizable experience. Friends can be invited to a fight either from the player's friend list, through an invite link or by sharing a simple 6-character code. The rules of engagement for the Friendly Duel are set up by the person who creates the lobby. The customization options include:

  • Duel Stakes -> The player can choose whether the duel will involve risking their $STYK tokens or not. If this option is enabled, the risk element will be similar to the one found in Competitive Duels.

  • Duel Duration -> Values like the Player's Health or the passive damage an Ability can deal are also available for customization. The player can turn the duel into a sudden death event, or a long-drawn fight between two behemoths.

  • Duel Effects -> Depending on the player's preference, the aftermath of the duel can leave a mark on the losing side. If the player chooses to enable defeat penalties, the player that loses the duel will incur damage to their Syntcraft.

  Friendly duels are meant to be custom crafted experiences to share between friends. They can be used for practice, for settling bets or in order to test out different scenarios. Friendly Duels do not add up to any statistic available on the player's profile.

The League Rankings

In order to raise the stakes even higher and group together players with similar levels of skill, Syntvi offers a total of ten groups or leagues. Based on their performance in Competitive Duels, players can advance through ten leagues based on their Ranked Score. Each league bracket increases the value of the rewards the player is able to receive, as well as the quantity of $STYK tokens they can take from their opponent when they win a duel. Higher leagues result in higher stakes.

The league system has several mechanics that help support the player-led Higher Game Economy. In order to advance from one league to another, the player must meet two requirements:

• Ranked Score Requirement -> This variable ensures that the player has enough game experience and skill to fit in the new skill bracket. Each win guarantees the player +30 Ranked Score, while a defeat will have the player incur a penalty between -15 and -30 Ranked Score depending on factors such as duel length and the remaining HP of the victorious player. Each of the ten leagues has a different Ranked Score requirement that scales with the difficulty of the league. The player can fall into an inferior league if their Ranked Score does not meet the lower barrier of their current one. In order to avoid losing score upon a competitive defeat, the player can use a consumable.

• $STYK Tokens Requirement -> The Syntvi Higher Game Economy is heavily decentralized, and so systems are put in place to ensure a self-sustaining player economy that uses both source and drain elements. Upon being eligible for advancing to a higher league, the player will be prompted with the amount of $STYK tokens they need to pay in order to facilitate their advancement. Once paid, these tokens enter a global pool that finances $STYK rewards in crates and compensates players who lose tokens due to system errors. This token pool can be visualised as a slanted structure, or one that is not meant to keep its contents inside. The circular element of the economy means tournaments or limited time events will be powered by the Community Token Pool, and therefore supported by our community. If they relegate to an inferior league, the player will not be subjected to the fee they have previously paid.

The Ability Stack

In order to damage one another or to defend themselves, all Syntvis are equipped with several abilities. This archive of battle moves and compressed strategies can be managed and upgraded by each player inside their Syntcraft. Each Syntvi starts off with a basic ability stack that contains two type of abilities: Heal and Damage. Players can open Reward Crates or acquire abilities from the in-game store in order to expand their stack.

A regular Stack is divided into upgradable and non-upgradable abilities. The former refers to the abilities that impact the player or the opponent's stats, such as the health points, damage inflicted or other variable aspects. The latter on the other hand affects the opponent's capacity to complete a puzzle or to react in a timely manner. In order to upgrade a compatible ability, the player must gather enough duplicates of that ability, and have enough Space Energy.

During the duel, each Syntvi can recall abilities from their stack by decompressing them. This process is visualised by the player in the form of the Q-IDLE Puzzles. The abilities drawn by the Syntvi from their stack after each puzzle completion are chosen at random, with the only modifier being the Syntvi's hardcoded, preferred ability trait.

In total, there are 7 ability types that can fit in a stack. Each of those types corresponds to a different set of effects:

• Attack Abilities -> They deal real, direct damage to the opponent's health bar. These abilities are meant for frontal attacks in order to weaken the opponent or force them on the defensive. They can be countered with a pre-emptive strike or with abilities that increase the player's defence.

• Heal Abilities -> Used in order to replenish the player's HP bar or to cancel a negative effect applied by the opponent. These support abilities increase the player's chances to outlast the enemy and win even the most challenging duels.

• Trap Abilities -> Not all fights start on equal footing, and the only chance an underdog might have at overcoming a skilled foe is to use their formidable strength against them. Trap abilities often reflect an opponent's move on themselves or otherwise thwart the enemy's ability to overwhelm the player's Syntvi.

• Sabotage Abilities -> Disabling the opponent's abilities before they manage to use them or nullifying their advantages can be just as valuable as a successful attack. Players focused on carefully crafted strategies can use sabotage abilities to effortlessly gain the upper hand in a duel.

• Overdrive Abilities -> Sometimes an ability needs to be enhanced in order to be more efficient, or perhaps the player needs to improve their hand fast. Overdrive abilities have the unique function of increasing the rate of success for the player's next move(s). They rarely have an impact on their own, but the boost they offer can change the course of a duel.

• Taunt Abilities -> Meant to test the patience of the opponent and force them into making a mistake or a rushed decision, taunt abilities can create openings for the Syntvi to exploit. If played at the right moment, a taunt ability can throw off any opponent and allow the player that used it to get back into the game.

• Special Abilities -> Thrown into the battle in order to create chaos or mayhem, these abilities can be used in order to turn the game upside down and disturb the opponent's strategy. The main trait of these abilities is unpredictability. Players must be wary that misusing these abilities can leave them more exposed than they were before.

The Ability Stack contains a device that can only be decoded by the Syntvi it was generated for. As such, when transferring a Syntvi to another user or acquiring a new one, the Ability Stack connected to that Syntvi will be moved to the player's account as well. This adds an extra layer of complexity to the Trading component. Since Syntvis are connected to their ability stack, the real value of these NFTs can also increase over time.

The Q-IDLE Interface

In order to unpack their abilities from the Stack, Syntvis must go through the Q-IDLE Interface, which is a connector-based puzzle meant to test mental acuity and reaction speed. Each ability must be unarchived separately, and the speed at which the players solve these puzzles can determine the winner of the duel.

The puzzle element of our duels has been established as the skill element of each duel. The speed at which the player can solve a Q-IDLE puzzle can only be influenced by intensive practice or an inherent knack for this type of minigame. Because we believe it is important to value talent and dedication, we chose to have the entire duel system revolve around this competitive element. Players will receive random abilities from their Stack whenever they successfully complete a puzzle. Throughout the duel, these puzzles will come up with a cooldown of a couple seconds between them in order to allow the player to use their abilities.

There are four important elements to the puzzle:

• The 5x5 Grid -> sets up the frame for the puzzles

• The Connectors -> formed up in four pairs of two each, the connectors are terminals that share information between them. They are colour coded in order to make it easier for the player to make the right pairings.

• The Connections -> they are links established between two connectors. In order to complete a puzzle, connections must be formed between each of the four connector pairs. Connections cannot overlap. In order to complete the puzzle, the player must successfully establish connections between all four pairs of connectors.