Design Fireside Chat Edition

Relic Delta is an upcoming system that modifies damage based on the relic level difference between characters.
Players will progress through lower gear tiers and relic levels for new characters without needing gear or relic materials, freeing up resources for older characters.
Droid Brains and higher level Signal Data will be added as outputs from the Scavenger.
The playtest for Relic Delta is ongoing.

The Basics: Vertical Progression

Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes is primarily a vertical progression game, where power increases over time through stronger characters, higher gear/relic levels, and better mods.
New relic levels will be introduced over time, with the goal of bringing players along at the same pace.

The Problem: Scalability

Relics were introduced 6 years ago to solve the scalability issues of the gear system.
Relics have not seen a new level of progression for 4 years due to a lack of content to absorb and reward power increases, and minimal reason to pursue higher progression.
The core problem is that Relics lack a scalable system promoting and rewarding investment.
Higher relic levels, like R9, are not seen as providing significant value outside of content requirements or for Galactic Legends and tanks.
The goal is to facilitate a systemic and scalable game-wide reason for all players to pursue upward progression.

The Options: Possible Solutions (and why they weren't chosen)

Do nothing: Leads to a lack of upward progression, removing the core gameplay loop.
Change relic stats on existing relic levels: Fractures the solution, impacts characters unevenly, and doesn't address scalability or future relic levels.
Introduce R10 by itself: Would result in R10 being in the same state as R9 without new supporting content.
Add damage increase/decrease on the top few relic levels: Doesn't help players below the threshold, creates a wall, and is not scalable as new relic levels are introduced.

The Chosen Solution: Relic Delta

Relic Delta was conceived about a year ago, inspired by the game's original level delta system.
It is a scalable system that applies equally to all players across the progression curve.
For all players at all relic levels, Relic Delta will:
Speed up and/or simplify older content.
Protect newer content and investments.
Support a distinction in power level in PvP.
Reward those who have invested.
Ensure investment of time and resources is rewarded.
Relic Delta will only apply to damage, allowing individual relic level stats to remain important.
Strategy (mods, counters, theorycrafting) is intended to remain a central aspect of content.
The system is a gradual curve, not a massive boost at one level of difference.
It uses a single progression path (Relics), which are becoming more accessible.

The Variations: Alternate Versions (and why they weren't chosen)

Kick in later (e.g., at R7 or R9): Introduces inconsistency, difficult messaging, and lower invested units would not benefit from having a higher relic level than units below them.
Only increase damage, don't decrease it: Does not holistically protect the higher relic character; they remain susceptible to the same threats.
Use the average relic level of the team (or lowest level): Has unintended negative effects on undersized squads, making it feel bad to use synergistic weaker units, and could be gamified.

The Future: Where Does This Leave Us?

Relic 10 is being added to the game.
Relic 10 will use a new Signal Data, which will not be farmed with energy.
The new Signal Data will be available in the Scavenger and other game modes.
There will be a new game mode, new events, and an update to Era-related Journey Guide events to allow players to use new characters for valuable rewards.
The impact of Relic Delta in PvP modes will be monitored, and adjustments will be made as needed.

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