Hawked Interview: Dev Discusses Class Card Balance and Custom Card Competition

Hawked, the comic book-inspired, live-service extraction shooter by MY.GAMES, recently received its first major update with Issue 2. New content includes a new enemy type as well as more firearms and artifacts, but the biggest change hitting Hawked is the game’s Class Card system. The new system grants players unique bonuses when they are equipped with specific loadouts of artifacts, Ward, and Exo gear, tailoring a Renegade’s gameplay to specific archetypes.

Game Rant recently spoke with MY.GAMES’ Dmitry Tabakov about the intent and aspirations behind the new system, as well as MY.GAMES’ future plans for Hawked. The following transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.

A Primer to Hawked Loadouts

Q: What inspired Hawked’s new Class Card system?

Tabakov: We wanted to make it easier for players to learn about our loadout system which currently allows for over 10,000 combinations of Gear and Artifacts. We wanted to provide players with easier and more engaging choices right from the get-go, and with time, players will find something to their liking.

Class Cards will help them understand the wider ecosystem of how Gears and Artifacts interact and factor into roles like support, hunter, explorer, and so on when playing on X-Isle. Additionally, for more veteran players, Class Cards add a bit of variety to the metagame, with opportunities to try out new playstyles and level up the Cards to higher rarities.

Q: How does Hawked‘s Card system vary from class systems in other extraction shooters?

Tabakov: There are some familiar building blocks of course, but arguably the biggest change is that we came from a completely customizable environment and then added this as a layer on top. It’s a bit gentler in its implementation and it exists in an ecosystem where players already have a lot of freedom.

Normally, choices between active and passive effects are not that free, and there’s also the collection element of extracting Artifacts from the island before you can use them. The Class Card system is layered on top of that with another collectible element of unlocking and leveling up Class Cards to complete the collection.

Q: How does this system change up Hawked’s core gameplay?

Tabakov: While we’re still super keen on people creating their own loadouts, Class Cards offer an easy way to try out a different playstyle than you might usually do. We’re trying to make that as smooth as possible for players. Whether you are a new player who needs a little bit of guidance getting to grips with all the possible loadout combinations, or a veteran who has mastered the meta and is looking for more of a challenge, Class Cards give you another thing to work on since they can be upgraded similarly to Artifacts and Gears.

Balanced to Taste in Hawked

Q: How many Class Cards is the system launching with?

Tabakov: We’re launching with 11 Class cards, roughly mapped to archetypes we feel are engaging. Currently, there are about 10,000 combinations players can make, so it wasn’t easy to create just 11 classes, but we wanted them to feel distinct from one another and also not overwhelm players.

Q: What kind of work went into balancing Class Cards for multiplayer? Are players incentivized to cover a variety of roles in their squad?

Tabakov: Yes, they are intended to channel certain archetypes, a mix of which we feel you’d like on your team. While the loadouts are locked in, the trade-off in return is that they offer an additional bonus that’s thematically linked to the Class Card.

That might include something like extra ranged damage when you’re in disguise. For the sake of balance, a Renegade without a Class Card still gets a bonus with increased damage from their Traverser.

Q: Are any classes particularly effective for Hawked’s PVE?

Tabakov: The Rowan Rocksteady Class Card is a very solid pick since it has some great area of effect damage, which is really helpful for clearing out groups of enemies quickly (since Disciples and other monsters tend to hunt in large packs). Another strong pick is Pietro Pop-Off, which allows players to shoot their weapons for a long time without reloading while causing additional damage. That should be helpful for both clearing packs and defeating stronger enemies.

Rewarding Legendary Renegades in Hawked

Q: Which rewards are associated with gaining Mastery over a specific Class?

Tabakov: Similar to Artifacts, players can upgrade their Class Card over four Mastery levels (Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, and Legendary). Each time you upgrade the card, you get more rewards. You can increase your Card’s Mastery level by extracting Artifacts while having it equipped, but to reach the highest Mastery you’ll have to complete a thematic Mastery Quest unique to that Class Card.

Q: Is there anything else you would like our readers to know?

Tabakov: Narratively, Class Cards represent legendary Renegades, but since we consider our players part of our narrative, we want to complete that circle. From May 27 until June 3, we ran a competition for players to create their very own Class Card, and one lucky winner will have their Class Card featured in-game and join the pantheon of legendary GRAIL Renegades in a future update.

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