Inside the Design: Faction-Specific Items in Malediction

Heyo Seekers, Malediction Game Designer Nicky here!

As many of you may have already noticed, the new items that were spoiled in our Reinforcement Packs are now all faction-specific, meaning they can only be added to specific decks depending on what Seeker you’ve chosen. Since this is a first in Maledicition, I wanted to drop in and give you all a quick look into our thought process.

First off, having items belonging to a faction allows for these items to have a much clearer visual identity, lore tie-in, and even perform better mechanically on the battlefield. Also, designing them specifically for a faction lets us lean heavily into each faction’s unique flavor and vibe, which is the way we want players to connect with the world of Selejia.

Second, it lets us push for more specialized, impactful card effects that support what each faction already does best. When an item is available to every single Seeker, we have to be cautious so it doesn’t inadvertently overlap with a faction’s core design. What ends up happening is that previous items ended up being rather generic.

Our final reasoning came from your feedback! We noticed many players felt compelled to buy faction boxes and seeker decks they did not primarily want, just to have access to certain item cards! This was never our intent, and we did try boxing the right item cards to their “best match” Seeker-wise, but despite our attempts, players were still interested in options. With this change of keeping items tied directly to specific factions, we can ensure players only need to pick up the products relevant to the factions they actually play.

Thank you once more for all your incredible support and passion for the game. In the wake of the release of the first reinforcement packs, Malediction has grown so much, and I can’t wait for the next time to share more news.

Nicky out!