Family-friendly MMORPG Wizard101 is currently undergoing a game-wide spell balance audit to correct game mechanic problems that have been building up since its 2008 launch. During the audit, new content, equipment, and spells will be added, along with increased level caps, to help set the game up for years of future growth.

Wizard101 began casting spells in 2008 as the flagship game of developer and publisher KingsIsle Entertainment, operating out of Austin and Dallas, Texas. In Wizard101, you become a student wizard at the Ravenwood School of Magical Arts, able to train in and master one of seven different schools of magic (Fire, Ice, Myth, Storm, Life, Death, and Balance). Wizard101 was voted #1 Best Family Game of 2009 by MMORPG.com, Best MMO of 2010 by Beckett Massive Online Gamer Magazine, and Best Family MMO of the Decade by Massively.com.

In the Wizard101 Developer Diary Spell Balance Audit posted July 16th, the Wizard101 team detailed their arcane plan for overhauling and rebalancing the spell mechanics. The original design for spells appointed each school of magic a “damage per pip” (DPP) factor. Schools with a higher DPP were balanced with accuracy and health reductions. Schools with a lower DPP had their accuracy and health increased.

Over time, the devs have added new equipment and spells to also help compensate the DPP for each school of magic. As these DPP bonuses have increased, players have noticed that new gear and spells really haven’t been improving their character’s spell powers over their previous levels. This flattening of the spell power curve made players feel as if their characters had become no better or no worse than all other players, no matter their spell selection, equipped gear, or school of magic.

Over on the Test Realm, the Wizard101 team has implemented an exhaustive investigation into the spell design guidelines, updating the outdated ones, and establishing and enforcing an entirely new set. They are going through the last 12 years of spells to document and update their spell ‘recipe’ (how spells are created and progressed) so that they are precisely balanced against each other for Wizard101’s next decade and beyond.

Click over to the Wizard101 Developer Diary Spell Balance Audit to read the details in full, including how the team is addressing Shadow Pips, Mob Health, and Treasure Cards during the audit. For more game info, check out the Wizard101 website and Twitter channel.

Source: Wizard101 Developer Diary Spell Balance Audit