"Injustice 2" will be introducing a new gear system, in which players can equip different kinds of armor and accessories to their characters to enhance abilities like speed or strength. While this allows better customization, it will cause some level of imbalance, and NetherRealm Studios has addressed this issue.
Speaking to Eurogamer, NetherRealm's marketing manager Brian Goodman admits that the new gear system can fundamentally cause imbalances. Some players may have dedicated hundreds of hours and may have some of the best stat-boosting gear, while their opponent may not have the type of gear that would even let them stand a chance.
In order to address this, Goodman reveals there will be two different competitive modes.
"We're creating modes where it's an even playing field and you can gear up for aesthetic reasons but your character stats are on an even plane. We also have modes where gear actually impacts your strength, which is a whole new level of strategy," he explained.
This would mirror the Iron Banner mode and Crucible mode in "Destiny," a first-person shooter title by Bungie. In one mode, players can still wear the gear they got but only for aesthetic purposes, while in the latter, the gear's stat boosts take effect.
Goodman also explained that there might be the option in the game to ensure that players fighting with gear stats enabled will be paired with others that are at a similar level. This will prevent a player with numerous gear fighting someone without anything equipped.
The gear system also had fans speculating that NetherRealm may include micro-transactions so that casual gamers can still get the high-level gear without having to play dozens or hundreds of hours. Goodman did not directly address the question, and he simply stated that micro-transactions are not in their plans as of the moment.
"Injustice 2" is scheduled to be released on consoles in 2017.
