Matchmaking, Deck Flow, and Ability Deep Dive
Hey everyone
This week’s post comes alongside a new gameplay video that gives a raw, uncut look at where the game stands as we move toward beta. It’s not a polished trailer — just a transparent look behind the curtain at live multiplayer, card mechanics, and some of the systems that make RankBreaker tick.
Matchmaking in Motion
The video kicks off with matchmaking — two clients running side by side on my machine. The system automatically creates a host if no match is found, allowing a second player to connect and join the session.
It’s a small detail, but seeing the logic actually work in real time is one of those satisfying milestones that make all the backend setup worth it. Seamless client sync, host assignment, and game initialization — all functioning together without manual setup.
Drafting Your Opening Hand
Once matchmaking completes, we dive straight into the deck selection and mulligan phase — internally we call this “drafting.”
Each player begins with a random hand drawn from their deck and can choose to keep or swap up to three cards before the match begins. This small decision point gives players an early sense of strategy — are you keeping strong openers or gambling for synergy later?
Round Flow and Phase Transitions
The match flow is designed to mirror the natural rhythm of competitive card play:
- Location Reveal – The board unveils one of three unique battlegrounds, each with its own modifier.
- Round 1 Draw – Both players draw a card.
- Play Phase – Players simultaneously select their cards for the turn.
It’s quick, readable, and keeps momentum high — especially important for a 1v1 format where each choice counts.
Wager System (Temporarily Disabled)
The wager system is the foundation of ranked play in RankBreaker. It connects your wins and losses to leaderboard progression, offering risk, reward, and bragging rights.
For this test, wagers were turned off so we could focus purely on gameplay stability and sync. But once active again, every round will have real weight — climb too high, and you might have more to lose than gain.
Card Parity and Energy Flow
One of the biggest successes in this build: perfect card parity. Every play and score update mirrors instantly across both clients. No lag, no mismatched states — just clean, server-authoritative replication.
The energy system (which limits the number of plays per round) is currently disabled to allow free experimentation. Expect it to return for beta testing, where real balance and pacing come into play.
Ability Highlights
Two standout abilities got special attention in this build:
Bloodthirst – This brutal card destroys its allies for +2 power each. It’s a high-risk, high-reward play that can flip an entire location’s outcome.
Here’s where I need your thoughts: should destroyed-card gaps automatically repack, or should empty slots remain — preserving tactical positioning and future disruption potential?
Ironjaw – This one targets and destroys the weakest opposing card. In earlier builds, we ran into a flip-order bug (cards resolving in the wrong order), but that’s been fully fixed. Ironjaw now performs consistently across both clients.
Game Wrap-Up and Endgame Preview
The match concludes with two decisive final plays and the reveal of the endgame panels — Victor vs. Rival.
Right now, this UI is still in-progress, but the structure is there: a clear visual breakdown of who dominated which locations, and by how much. It’s going to evolve into a more cinematic finish, but even in its rough state, the flow feels great.
Deck Structure for Testing
For this test session, I ran a short 6-card deck for speed and clarity. The final version of RankBreaker uses:
- 12 main cards
- 1 disruptor
- All drafted from a 16-card pool
This keeps the drafting phase quick but strategically deep — you’ll have to balance synergy, counters, and power curves from the start.
Final Thoughts and Feedback
This build was a big step toward stable multiplayer and mechanical polish. Seeing matchmaking, sync, and ability logic all work together feels like we’ve crossed into the “real game” stage.
That said — I’d love your input on a few things:
- Should cards automatically repack into open slots after destruction?
- Do you prefer tactical slot-locking for deeper strategy?
- Any other mechanics you’d like to see refined before beta?
Your feedback genuinely helps shape how RankBreaker evolves.
Watch the video below, drop a comment, and let me know what you think — the beta’s getting close, and I can’t wait to see these systems in players’ hands.
