In this post, we want to share some exciting new features coming to IdleMMO very soon!
This update is taking a little longer than we originally planned - but for a good reason. As we were working on it, the scope kept growing. We kept adding more and more things we’re really excited about, and we think you will be too.
Right now, we're deep in development, so I’ll skip the small talk and get straight to it. There’s a lot to cover!
Disclaimer: Any images in this blog post use placeholder data only. The numbers shown are not final and won't reflect the actual live values. If any displayed numbers happen to match the real game, it's purely coincidental. And, as usual, everything here is subject to change before release.
Dungeon Rework
Our current dungeon system has some significant issues that we're addressing. Drop rates are extremely low, and while dungeons include a "difficulty" factor that considers player stats, it only affects loot chances rather than actual dungeon completion. This creates misleading "% chance of success" labels. The difficulty threshold is so low that players can easily reach 100% loot chance with basic gear. Beyond loot chances, equipment doesn't really impact the outcome.
The EXP scaling is also inconsistent and doesn't match the game's exponential progression curve. It also leads to unbalanced situations where players can rush through combat levels by spending gold without much effort, creating high combat levels but very low core stat levels.
We're happy to share more details about our upcoming dungeon system rework. Our goal was to buff dungeons and make them more rewarding rather than doing a complete overhaul. Here's what's changing.
General Improvements
The most noticeable change is that dungeons can be chained together, up to your maximum idle time. We will standardize the baseline duration for all dungeons to 2 hours, including starter dungeons, and adjust the EXP to match this new timing.
You'll also see pretty large buffs to rare item drops across the board. The exact numbers are still being finalised, but we're talking about increases beyond 100%.
EXP and Level Requirements
Dungeons will require a dungeoneering level instead of a combat level to access them. When you complete a dungeon, you'll earn both dungeoneering EXP and combat EXP (plus pet EXP based on your combat gains). However, combat EXP will be reduced since it will be considered a secondary reward. Dungeoneering EXP will be your primary gain and will be roughly equal to what players earn in combat EXP pre-update.
There will be a 90-day grace period (increased from the originally planned 60 days) where players can use either their combat level or dungeoneering level to access dungeons. This gives everyone plenty of time to catch up and adjust.
After the grace period ends, only your dungeoneering level will be used to determine dungeon access.
Dungeon Shards and Shop
Every dungeon beyond level 70 will give you Dungeon Shards. These shards can be exchanged for useful items like Dragon Soul Stones, Essence Crystals, and Potions (though, expect Dragon Soul Stones to be expensive!).
This simply lays out the foundation for future additions. We're open to expanding the dungeon shop beyond that by possibly introducing unique skins, backgrounds, dungeon keys, and even pets.
Dungeon Completion System
Dungeons will be able to be completed by running them a set number of times. Once you fully complete a dungeon, you'll earn a permanent magic find bonus that stacks across all completed dungeons.
For instance, if each completed dungeon gives you 1% magic find, and you complete 15 different dungeons, you could gain a total of +15% permanent magic find (the exact percentage per dungeon is still being worked out).
Difficulty and Requirements
Every dungeon will have a clear difficulty rating that represents the total combat stats your character needs to enter. You'll need to be within 30% of the dungeon's difficulty rating to run it. For instance, if a dungeon has a difficulty of 1,500, you'd need at least 1,050 total combat stats to enter (which is 70% of 1,500). Your combat stats include your attack power, protection, agility, and accuracy combined. These are all stats obtained via your primary skills.
When you finish a dungeon, you'll lose health based on how your combat stats compare to the dungeon's difficulty. The stronger you are relative to the dungeon, the less health you'll lose. If your stats are significantly higher than required, you'll even gain bonus magic find.
Don't worry about the complexity - we've built a simple visual scale in-game that clearly shows where your stats stand for each dungeon.
Because of this change, if you’re someone who mainly runs dungeons but has low stats or weak equipment, now’s the time to start leveling up and improving your gear.
Balancing Potions
The new system naturally addresses potential potion balance issues. Since dungeons will be limited by your maximum idle time and have longer baseline durations, players won't be able to spam short dungeon runs back-to-back. The health loss system also prevents weaker characters from endlessly chaining dungeons. This encourages players to get stronger while keeping potions powerful and effective without being overpowered.
Stances
Similar to the battle system, you will be able to choose a stance when running dungeons. This lets you earn primary stat EXP (like strength) from your dungeon runs. This system will fix the disconnect that players experienced when focusing solely on dungeons for character progression.
It has always felt strange that a character could reach combat level 100 while staying at level 1 for their primary stats, and this change addresses that imbalance.
Recent Drops
For both world bosses and dungeons, you'll be able to see the recent drops that players have received. This feature will give you visibility into what other players are finding and adds excitement when you see rare items being discovered.
What This Means for You
Overall, these changes will bring sizable base drop rate increases, ways to permanently boost your dungeon magic find, longer uninterrupted dungeon sessions, guaranteed shard rewards, and additional utility for your stats and equipment. Dungeon potions and other time-limited effects will get indirect buffs since they can now affect multiple runs.
While combat EXP rates will be reduced, and by extension, equipped pets, the new dungeoneering system provides a smoother progression path, and the reliance on alt characters for dungeon running is reduced due to the higher requirements needed to perform dungeons.
Shooting Star
A shooting star will be a special event that will occur randomly in the game. When one appears, all active players will be notified and can begin searching for it. The goal is to find the shooting star so you can claim the time-limited boosts it offers, which typically last around 30 to 60 minutes while the star remains active.
To activate a shooting star, you will need to be at the exact location where it appears. Once you're there, you'll need to press the "Nearby" button and select the Shooting Star. You will only be able to activate it from this specific location, but once applied, the boosts work at all locations throughout the game.
The boosts provided will depend on the day the shooting star appears - each day offers different benefits. For example, Friday distributes magic find buffs while Monday offers Primary Skill EXP buffs. Keep this in mind when deciding whether it's worth searching for the star.
Mailing System
You will be able to send and receive mail from other players in IdleMMO. This will be a great way to communicate with friends, guild-mates, or other players throughout the game. Sending mail won't be free - the cost will depend on how far away the recipient is from you. The further the distance, the more expensive it becomes. However, if you will be in the same location as the recipient, sending mail is completely free.
Profile Commenting System
(Design still in-progress)
We will be introducing a profile commenting system to improve community interaction within the game. You'll be able to comment on other players' profiles - whether you like their gear, want to compliment their achievements, or just say hello. If you won't want comments on your profile, you will be able to disable them in the settings.
Player Blocking
With the introduction of profile commenting, we're also adding the ability to block other characters. If someone is bothering you, simply block them. When blocked, they will not be able to interact with you in any way - they won't be able to message you, wave at you, or even view your profile.
Larger Bio
To allow players more creative expression, we're expanding the profile bio area. The bio will take up a larger portion of the profile, and you will be able to put anything you want there (as long as it follows our Code of Conduct). It will even support markdown formatting.
Vendor Improvements
We will be making adjustments to the vendor page to make it easier to navigate. This will include more prominent skins and displaying the vendor item name underneath every listing for better clarity.
Market Orders
The market order system has had long-standing issues that were open to abuse. These included PO bumping (players using multiple accounts to push their orders to the top within seconds), PO spamming (flooding the market with multiple orders to drown out others), and market listing advantages for those with the highest quantities, making it difficult for newer players to compete.
To address these problems, we will be completely removing the ability to fulfill individual market orders. Instead, the game will handle everything automatically. All you will need to do is list your item on the market, and it will automatically fulfill orders on your behalf. This change eliminates all the previous abuse methods since players can no longer interact with individual purchase orders.
Additional Improvements
You'll be able to sort your bank just like your inventory, making organization much easier.
Additionally, you will be able to see recent and top shrine contributors, giving recognition to players who support community shrines.
Closing Thoughts
This is a pretty big update. Actually, it's even bigger than v0.38.0-PB, which we previously said was our biggest update ever across all our games. In terms of code, this one has even more going on (but a lot of that is behind-the-scenes).
The good news is that this update includes improvements that almost everyone will benefit from. Because of how large it is, we're taking our time to make sure everything is polished and working properly. Most of the systems are already built - we’re now in the final phase, just fixing small things and making it smoother.
Originally, we planned to release it today, because we wanted it to go out alongside the conquest rewards update, before the middle of the season. But since we already released the conquest rewards earlier, we're no longer tied to that deadline. That gives us a bit more breathing room to get everything just right.
We don’t want to give a specific date just yet - but we’re very close. Only a few final tweaks and a bit more polish remain before we’re ready to release it.