Chapter 285: Keyboard Spewing Milk Card (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

In the rest area of Nebula Games, Chen Xu had just stepped out of his office when he overheard a group gathered around the large screen, discussing intensely.

"They're all so amazing! This player called Guadi hasn't lost a single match yet! Orcs are just too strong!"

"I heard he's an overseas player with a ranked score as high as 2710—currently ranked number one."

"That player Ma Tongge is incredible too! He's only ever lost to Guadi. His hand speed is simply exaggerated!"

"Yeah! His triple-line operations are almost unbelievable—harassing with the Blademaster while simultaneously handling other tasks."

Qin Yi, Ruan Ningxue, Yang Xin, and Lin Tao were all gathered in the rest area, watching the giant screen.

It displayed the Golden Monthly Tournament currently being streamed live on Shark TV. It was now the third week, and the final day of the points-based group stage.

Chen Xu, walking into the rest area, overheard their conversation and couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Isn't this just standard gameplay for a high-level player? Why don't you focus on the actual tactics they're using in-game?"

Facing these four individuals whose combined ranked scores didn't even reach 2000, Chen Xu was at a loss for words.

After all, even a new character started with a default rank score of 500.

Triple-line operations were indeed difficult.

But if someone wanted to go pro, dual-line operations were considered basic. If you couldn't master that, you might as well forget about becoming a professional.

"Ahem... Mr. Chen, for every skilled player, there's a noob. For every person gaining rank points, there's someone losing them. So why can't that person losing points be me?" Qin Yi coughed lightly as he responded to Chen Xu.

"Always making excuses," Chen Xu muttered, exasperated. Just giving up, huh?

"But Mr. Chen, isn't the racial balance a bit off? Orcs seem way too dominant. I've seen tons of players complaining already!"

"Yeah! There's massive backlash on the community forum. Many players feel the Orcs are overpowered, while Night Elves and Undead are too weak."

"Exactly! Mr. Chen, online everyone's saying Orcs are too strong and Night Elves and Undead are getting crushed. Shouldn't we buff the weaker races or nerf Orcs and Humans a bit?" They all chimed in at once.

"What's going on?" Chen Xu was momentarily taken aback. He hadn't paid much attention to this issue.

As for Warcraft, Chen Xu knew full well that perfect balance was impossible.

Even in FPS games, there were always so-called 'CT maps' and 'Terrorist maps'. In MOBA games from his previous life, there were always overpowered heroes and underpowered 'sewer heroes'.

And in RPGs? Forget about balance entirely—that's why people said, "Each patch, a new god."

Still, Chen Xu had done his best to balance the numerical design across the different races in Warcraft.

At this stage, he believed the game wouldn't need significant adjustments for a long time—only minor tweaks and rectifications to certain stats.

Moreover, in his previous life:

Night Elves, Orcs, Humans, and Undead—each race had won championships in major tournaments.

Early on, Grubby, the legendary Beastmaster, elevated the Orcs—once considered weak—through his dreamlike triple-line play.

The original Human hero, Sky, the "Pagoda-wielding Heavenly King," cracked and invented countless tactics.

Moon, the master of Night Elves, played so flawlessly he was called the "Fifth Race," the Moon Mage.

Later, TED became the first Undead champion.

And after Sky, Infi took defense towers to an unprecedented level—some even said he'd become one with the tower. Then came 120, the new generation Undead king.

Chen Xu wouldn't claim absolute balance—no game designer could, not even in his previous life.

But in Chen Xu's eyes, Warcraft had already achieved relative balance.

Now players were questioning the balance?

Chen Xu opened his official Weibo account and the game's community forum.

Right now, both the forum and the comments under his post were flooded with player complaints.

"Orcs are just way too strong!"

"Undead, Night Elves, and Humans are crying in the bathroom! Half the players in the Golden Monthly Tournament are playing Orcs!"

"I've felt this in ladder matchmaking too. Orcs dominate the early game. Those Grunts (Orc footmen) are so tanky—one of them can take on two of mine!"

"Yeah, yeah, Orcs really need a nerf!"

"Chen Xu, say something!"

"Just rename it Orc Supremacy already!"

Reading through the online comments, Chen Xu frowned slightly.

Are Orcs overpowered?

Orcs might seem like a simple race, but in reality, they weren't suitable for beginners. For example, Tier 2 units like Footmen, Wolf Riders, Spirit Breakers, and Kodo Beasts required precise operations. Without skill, they'd constantly block each other's paths.

From scanning the online discussions, Chen Xu quickly grasped the situation.

The core issue was simply that players didn't fully understand Warcraft yet.

For new players, Orcs felt durable. Forget macro—most just mass-produced units, selected all, and charged down one path.

In such cases, facing the Orcs' early-game Tauren aura and Grunt spam, many beginners couldn't hold their ground.

But for skilled players who understood the basic gameplay, Orcs' mechanics were relatively straightforward and crude—fitting their lore perfectly.

This meant that players of other races hadn't yet developed effective counter-tactics.

Add in special factors—like Chen Xu reviewing match replays and seeing that Guadi was indeed an incredibly skilled player. Though his tactics seemed underdeveloped (a matter of experience), his raw execution allowed him to hard-countered opponents.

With the #1 ladder player using Orcs, more and more players aiming to climb naturally assumed Orcs were stronger. As more people played Orcs, the race's tactical evolution accelerated.

This created a snowball effect, making Orcs appear overwhelmingly dominant compared to other races—hence the illusion of imbalance.

Of course, other factors played a role too, like internet trolls amplifying the issue. Otherwise, this perceived imbalance wouldn't have surfaced so dramatically.

But ironically, this made Chen Xu breathe easier.

"No need to adjust the numerical design. The game's balance is fine. I just overlooked this aspect a bit," Chen Xu said, shaking his head at the group.

"Control the current public opinion. Don't let the trolls keep stirring trouble. Also, have Lin Rou contact Shark TV later—just like we did with Monster Hunter: World, issue a direct clarification," Chen Xu said with a smile.

?????

Just like with Monster Hunter?

Hearing Chen Xu's words, everyone froze.

"M-Mr. Chen... how exactly do you plan to prove it?" Qin Yi asked cautiously, speculating.

"How else? As game designers, we use data. Ordinary players wouldn't understand that."

"Later, I'll play through each race myself. Won't that give players a clear understanding?" Chen Xu said matter-of-factly.

The group stared, dumbfounded.

The logic made sense—but what if he lost?

"Mr. Chen, do you mean we should hire actors? That doesn't seem right," Ruan Ningxue suggested awkwardly.

"What are you thinking? I mean arranging a demonstration match with Shark TV, playing against those professional players. And if I lose, so what? I'm a game designer, not a pro player," Chen Xu said, exasperated by their stares.

Seeing their expressions, he didn't bother explaining further. With a smile, Chen Xu turned and walked away.

His goal wasn't to actually beat the pros. He just needed a platform to show that these professional players and top-ranked individuals represented the highest skill level in Warcraft.

Using them to demonstrate that Warcraft's balance was intact was the most effective and direct method.

Besides, he'd already reviewed these pros' gameplay. Some had truly insane mechanical skill, but their understanding of tactics was clearly inferior to his at this stage.

After all, the various strategies and playstyles in Warcraft from his previous life had evolved over more than a decade.

Plus, Chen Xu's own skill was genuinely top-tier.

Under these conditions, aside from someone like Guadi, Chen Xu doubted that ordinary Warcraft veterans could hard-countered him purely through mechanics.

And more importantly—he had a special item.

Perfect timing to use it.

'Keyboard Spewing Milk Card (Self-use only): After activation, enables the user to perform astonishing in-game actions accompanied by commentary predictions. Grants massive positive attention to the game upon use. (Sometimes, milk spewing from your keyboard isn't a bad thing.)'

Looking at the item in his inventory, Chen Xu smiled faintly.

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