Hello again Botmasters! As we continue to work on Botworld Odyssey, we are listening to and taking into account all of your feedback and have the following improvements to share with you.

Economy Changes:

We’ve greatly reduced the amount of scrap that is required to upgrade your bots once they hit Level 20. You will still need to seek and out defeat an Alpha Bot to acquire an Epic Essence for that bot each level, but the number of other materials required has been reduced. Additionally, we have reduced the cost of Essences in the Shop from 5000 coins each to 3000 coins each.

For players who are having trouble obtaining Rare upgrade materials like Chaser Cores and Brawler Batteries, we’d like to let you know that Alpha Bots will be guaranteed to drop a Rare material if you already have an Epic Essence for that bot, but have not yet used it in an upgrade.

Matchmaking Changes:

We’ve done some work to narrow the allowable level range of opponents you may be placed against when fighting in the Solo League. In some situations, players were seeing opponents that were 2 to 3 levels higher than them; this should happen less from this point on. However, we’d like to offer some insight into how matchmaking actually works, as there has been some misconception that it is entirely based upon your Upgrade Level.

Firstly, what is your Upgrade Level? This is the number that you see next to your character in menus, or on the minimap. It is calculated by getting the average of your 6 highest level bots. This number remains the same even if you equip a team of lower level bots; it will never go down. When fighting in the Solo League, it is intended for you to use your highest level bots.

However, your Upgrade Level isn’t actually the most important value when matchmaking in the Solo League. The number you want to pay attention to is your Arena Rank. Your Arena Rank is the number shown at the bottom of the Solo League, and also seen increasing or decreasing after you win or lose each Arena battle.

The matchmaking system attempts to find an opponent whose Arena Rank is similar to yours. In this part of the process, your Upgrade Level, and their Upgrade Level, is irrelevant. Once opponents at a similar Arena Rank have been found, only then will the matchmaking attempt to narrow its selection to an opponent with a closer Upgrade Level.

As you start climbing the Arena Ranks, you may find that you keep facing opponents who are slightly higher level than you. This is intentional, and this means you have advanced into a part of the Solo League where you need to continue exploring the open world, completing quests, and upgrading your bots so that you can come back and keep attempting matches at a new level of power yourself. In order to earn every reward from the Solo League and reach an Arena Rank of 6000, it is expected that you will eventually need a team of 6 bots in the range of Level 25 - Level 30.

Other Fixes:

• Fixed an issue where the Raider Wargear outfit wasn't correctly awarded after a quest
  
• Fixed some item pickup text not fitting to the screen
  
• Alpha bots will now drop their loot if defeated by a Recruit, even without the Pirate Lord Hat equipped
  
• Fixed various situations in which Heroic Danger Zone loot would not refresh after completing Contracts
  
• Fixed an issue when the Shop would not refresh when at maximum Boat level
  
• Fixed an issue where the shop would not refresh when earning tokens in a multi-battle
  
• Prevented the Shop's offerings from refreshing when closing and opening the game - you must now correctly complete Contracts for it to refresh
  
• Fixed the timing of the player's jetpack effects when they are defeated
  
• Fixed an issue that caused your follower bot to disappear after an Arena match
  
• Fixed the glowing effects on Botpacks not displaying properly
  
• The maximum Boat level contracts rewards screen is now properly closeable with a controller
  
• Increased the spawn rate of certain collectable objects required for some achievements
  
• Fixed an issue where the 1, 2, 3 and 4 number keys would not activate abilities in Steam
  
• Lower level enemies will now take slightly longer to detect and pursue the player
  
• The Solo League loading screen now displays both yours and your opponent's Arena Rank
  

Thank you, and we hope you continue to enjoy your time competing in the Arena and discovering the secrets of Botworld!