Creating Bosses With Just The Right Amount Of Challenge

Team Ninja is making more of the looter action RPGs that fans love so much, with Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember launching in 2027. DualShockers had the chance to speak to the game’s producers at a special preview event, learning just what went into making this return to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms era.

The original Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty was a surprise hit in 2023, but there was no indication that it would blossom into a full series. Wo Long was praised for its epic boss fights, tight combat system, and rewarding gameplay loop, but it wasn’t focused on being a rich narrative experience. Despite this, Wo Long 2 is continuing the story, with a sequel that doesn’t require the player to experience the first game, but it helps.

During a recent preview event for Wo Long 2, DualShockers had the chance to speak to producers Masakazu Hirayama and Masaaki Yamagiwa about how the sequel came about, and the significant upgrades made to the combat system, thanks to the game shifting from a linear to an open-field design.

Speaking With The Wo Long 2 Producers About The Birth Of Wings Of Ember

Image Via Team Ninja

So what prompted the team to return to the romance of the Three Kingdoms era and make a second Wo Long game, rather than making a different project?

Yes, creating the second title of the Wo Long series was not the initial plan.

However, when we finished the development of Wo Long 1, it presented itself as one of the options we had going forward. As we recently announced, we have 8 million players worldwide who enjoy this game, and so we wanted to provide experiences that were not available through Wo Long 2.

So what were the biggest changes to the combat system in Wo Long 2 from the first game?

In Wo Long 1, deflection was the main action of the game, and this was well appreciated by the players, but for certain players who didn’t quite like deflection, the game was not as accessible for them. Therefore, in the second title, we wanted to keep the exhilarating element of deflection, but also provide other options.

How have enemies and bosses been changed to accommodate the new combat options available to players?

The greatest change and newest element in the Wo Long 2 is the Insight Skills, a newly added function that allows the player to overcome whatever situation he or she faces by taking proactive actions.

For example, if they are surrounded by numerous opponents, they can take an offensive move and blow all the enemies away in one go, or in aerial combat, stumble the opponent and let them fall on the ground to create an opportunity. In some situations, certain actions were not possible in the previous title, but now it has become possible. When it comes to the bosses, they are the same character of bosses that still exist from the first title, but the attacks and the tactics against them have changed.

So the first Wo Long game received criticism because some of the early bosses were extremely difficult, and they acted as a roadblock for players that couldn’t get past them. Did that criticism influence the feedback for Wo Long 2?

Yes, we were aware of the different opinions and feedback we received regarding the boss in question that you were talking about, and we dealt with it by releasing patches. But in Wo Long 2, there are certain bosses that appear in the alpha version, the test version, with different kinds of difficulty level or complexity level.

And we have received feedback through the questionnaire and also through the social media, etc., about various opinions about the difficulty level. And what we are aiming for is just the right amount of challenge without being unreasonably challenging.

The shift from a more linear design to a more open design also happened in another Team Ninja game from the past year: Nioh 3. How much did that game’s design and production influence Wo Long 2?

When we started the development of Wo Long 2, the Nioh 3 development had already started. At that time, we had a discussion of different options for Wo Long 2, whether to keep the linear staging or to move to a more open field. One concept that we wanted to stick to and keep from the first title is the possibility of changing and influencing the battlefield from the player’s perspective.

Image Via Team Ninja

But for Wo Long 1, there were certain limitations because certain fields and actions were quite fixed and limited. In moving to an open field, we wanted to open up more freedom and options, and also to depict the world of the Three Kingdoms in a more faithful manner, and to allow and enable influence on the battlefield with greater freedom.

With respect to the new open field system, how has the Morale system been changed to accommodate it?

So, regarding the Morale ranking, in the previous title, it was possible to increase your strength level by adding flags, collecting flags. But now, in Wo Long 2, we consolidated the two different systems of Morale ranking and the level-up, level increase system. By controlling different areas of the open field, it is possible to add strength and also to gain an additional Morale ranking in this new title. So, there are different ways to increase your strength by increasing your level. You can increase the Morale level as well.

That adds more options for how to add strength. One major difference is that when you collect the flags, it increases the Morale ranking in one level in the previous title. But when you go up to another level, then your Morale ranking becomes zero again. But in this new title, it is now possible to aim for mid to long-term growth of the character because the Morale ranking is maintained even if you move up the level.

Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember launches on Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on March 4, 2027.

Released

2027

Multiplayer

Online Co-Op