The difficulty curve in this arena-based io game is incredibly nice. The game becomes increasingly chaotic as the player expands their control over more ground.
Basic Information
To completely control the arena is the goal of the game. You control a little square that moves about constantly and has a tiny beginning area that matches its color.
Other players have the same objective and begin in the same way.
You are secure within your own boundaries. As you go, a trail is left behind that invites people to the arena. You take possession of the area you just passed through if you return to your own territory.
You die, your territory is lost, and you have to start over if someone else follows your route.
The way you move in Paper.io 2 differs significantly from the first version. Initially, there were only 4 possible ways to move: up, down, left, and right.
Sport Flow
Your current character and your top score, which is shown as a percentage of the highest area you have conquered, are presented on the game’s opening screen.
The game can then be started by choosing any of the characters you have unlocked.
Until you pass away, you seize territory and murder other players. The choice to view an advertisement to receive an additional life or reject the offer to return to the main screen is then given to you.
Playing the game
First of all, other people are not used to play this game. You are competing with robots. This entails a fight to the death between you and a group of AI.
You are placed into a game that is already in progress, thus some bots may already have taken over part of the arena.
The game also includes new bot additions. In other words, they won’t stop coming no matter how many bots you kill. You can only count on one feature of their spawning: they will never spawn in your own region.
The amount of bots in relation to the amount of land you have conquered directly related to how challenging the game is.
You start the game with 0.66% of the available playfield. There is 99.34% available room if there are ten additional bots. If there are still 10 bots in the arena after you have taken 50% of it, they are in the remaining 50%, which is a much more condensed region. As a result, it is more difficult to leave your zone without running into someone else.
One of the ways the game get harder is through this. same number of bots in the same amount of space. The scenario became chaotic at the end of the game when any available place was used to spawn another bot.
The bots just need to attack you more frequently when you leave the security of your own zone in order to up the difficulty.
A new hostile bot simply spawns in its place after you kill one in the game. One bot’s life doesn’t really matter all that much.
I may be overthinking this, and I don’t actually have any evidence to support that assertion. It’s the only other significant means by which the game’s difficulty might be scaled.
The journey to 20% or even 40% hasn’t been that challenging. However, given the difficulty curve, I believe it would take a very long time to get 100%. You would at the very least have to be extremely cautious when claiming land, which would
Strategy
Consequently, we can develop some ways to obtain the biggest area possible given what we know about the AI.
- Take the walls
Since there are no enemies there, the arena’s edge is the safest location. As opposed to being surrounded by bots, you lean against a wall. Additionally, striking the walls won’t cause you to pass away (unlike Paper.io 1).
- Wait until you know you can kill someone
The AI will inevitably make mistakes. It’s not difficult to sit back in your region and wait for a bot to saunter out of it. After that, you can kill them with great certainty by striking them while they are further away from their own region than you are from their path.
- Take enemies space directly after killing them
The territory of a killed bot vanishes. The time to take a chance and claim the space is now. This is because you are aware that there won’t likely be any other bots there. Just watch out for a new bot that might spawn in.
- Don’t venture out too far
It may seem apparent, but I always end up dying because I pushed myself too far. The moment someone enters my line of sight, I realize there is no chance of me turning around.
This game is challenging because of the constrained field of view. Winning would be much simpler if you could always see the complete playing field.
Monetization
The game has one IAP and three advertisements:
1. A constant banner advertisement at the bottom of the screen.
2. A post-death interstitial advertisement.
3. A paid advertisement that, once while you’re playing, revives you.
4. A single IAP for ad removal.
Game Juice
Here, I want to draw attention to elements of the game that don’t directly effect gameplay but significantly contribute to its positive “feel.”
1. After each successful territorial capture, the game displays the percentage you earned.
2. When you enter someone else’s territory, particles shoot up. (See above)
3. The player with the greatest percentage receives a crown in the game. or the king.
Bugs
Although it’s not something I’d generally write about, this bug absolutely breaks the game. I’ve owned 40% or more of the arena on numerous occasions, and then all of a sudden I only have 1%. It’s like someone seized a small portion of my land, but the game took the larger area instead. The reasoning behind choosing which region to remove is erroneous in some way.
Final Thought
The competitive gameplay of the original Paper.io is taken and sufficiently improved in the sequel.
The AI and difficulty curve are, in my opinion, the two most intriguing features.
You inevitably make the game harder for yourself as you capture more space. Really, it’s rather elegant.
It’s still unclear how much bot AI and spawning have been modified. Who knows, maybe I might see a shift if I was able to reach higher percentages.
