[Flame's Thread] Legion of Almire: Difficulty feedback
Do, 06/21/2012 - 17:24
I really do like the themes of the danger missions and how they're set up. I enjoy a good challenge, however a few things just don't seem right about them.
Risk vs Reward
The Risk vs Reward of these missions is pretty weighted toward the risk side. I did both Tier 2 and Tier 3 danger missions and only had to revive once, maybe twice during the Tier 2 Legion of Almire. A second run through in tier 2 provided me with little to no damage. However, Tier 3 brutally murdered me and I saw myself reviving myself up to 15~20 times during a single run while solo with only a 3k profit in the end for two(? I can't remember how many it was) depths.
The difficulty seems a bit TOO harsh in my opinion. Easy to die by getting swarmed by enemies. I tried using the proposed shield bumping tactic but that proved little effectiveness. Again, I am doing this solo.
There appears to be little to no hope with someone soloing these Danger missions. Especially in Tier 3. They should be completable even when solo. Perhaps making them similar to danger rooms you find in the general clockworks would be a good change.
Enemies
Kamizombies: I am not a fan of these, not one bit. Especially when these guys swarm me around a totem that I'm trying to move out of the way. This is coming from a non-bomber. When these Kamizombies are about to explode, they run up to you and explode a bit too quickly before you can even react to them. Especially if you are taking care of another group of zomies/single zombie or trying to move a totem away. I found these guys difficult to fight in these scenarios.
I would suggest slowing down their explode time, walking speed upon being spotted, or perhaps not have so much spawn in that last room at once. I would also like it if these types of Zombies didn't respawn after exploding, or make them respawn as regular zombies! Assuming their explosion mechanism would be blown to smithereens, it would only make sense. :O
I would definitely perfer a lot less of these Kamizombies in the last room however.
Miniknights: I LOVE these guys, to DEATH. And that's not a clever pun. I would like to see a health buff from these guys. The damage they deal seems to be average and balanced. However, I would like some Miniknights to spawn without being hit from their statues, and some having to be hit. This would bring an element of surprise to these enemies.
Additionally, I would love to see something where I fight one Miniknight after another in succession. Spawning X amount of times before you can progress. Occasionally fighting two Miniknights at once. Much like The Swarm in the Unknown Passage except with ONLY Miniknights. This would make for an interesting challenge. <3
Dreadnaughts: I like these Dreadnaughts. It provides a challenge to lure it, or the zombies away from it. Or to kill it first and then the zombies next. It has an interesting strategy to it. I agree with a neighboring thread though that maybe Dreadnaughts should give neighboring zombies a buff. Not an attack buff but moreso a defense buff to increase diversity between Trojans and Dreadnaughts. Otherwise I found these guys to be solid all around.
An off topic recommendation, the respawning circles while fighting Vanaduke can get bothersome to look at. Would it be possible to turn them off only during the Vanaduke fight?
Level Feedback:
EDIT: See next post
Di, 06/26/2012 - 19:26
#2
Why does everyone need their own thread?
I actually had no trouble dodging the kamikaze zombies. The trick is to note that they become motionless when their countdown starts. Dart close enough to trigger their countdown, then jump back and let them detonate harmlessly.
Also, I really have to question the assumption that a mission *should* be soloable. For danger missions in particular, I think there's a place for teamwork in a social game.
Mi, 06/27/2012 - 03:38
#3
I agree
I agree that it is difficult to handle the kamikaze zombies in the final room. You can get into a situation where you pick up the totem, the kamikaze zombies explode as you are picking it up, then they respawn, explode, and do this over and over until you are dead. The only solution is to run away from the totem and try to get the kamikaze zombies to follow you.
I also agree about the difficulty being understated. In parties of 3 or 4 I was able to do the T3 mission dying only 2 or 3 times, but some of my party members were using many, many energy revives. A lot of people were hitting 1000 CE per revive. In the normal server, people will expect you to revive them, which drains your health and causes you to die more frequently.
An Update.
I got to play the Legion of Almire, both Tier 2 and Tier 3.
The Health buffs to the Mini-knights seem reasonably fair. However what is still unfair is the Kamizombies, the exploding Zombies.
Like I mentioned in my initial post, I would like to do these Danger Missions solo. As it is right now, it is not possible to do it solo without reviving continuously. Most of my deaths come from Kamizombies alone and it annoys me how they keep managing to kill me while I'm able to kill everything else. In the last room of the second Legion of Almire depth, can we have less Kamizombies? There seems to be too many that spawn, swarm and block your movement with regard to how fast they run.
Additionally, I do appreciate what the developers have done with regard to the respawning Mini-knights. It definitely got me smiling. However what I requested was a separate room similar to what the swarm had with only Mini-Knights that respawn. The final room in the second depth is a bit TOO challenging now.
LEVELS
Legion of Almire: First Depth
Not much to say about this depth, I definitely had the feeling that I was in an extended graveyard level with a few twists and turns. I was pleased to find out the length of the level was shortened significantly and acceptable to the point where I would replay it again.
Legion of Almire: Second Depth
I like the varying options you can take whether to go left or right. However this depth, when I tested it before and now, seemed to drag on much like the first depth prior to it being modified. The gripes I have about this depth involve the level length, the final room, the top left room, and the amount of Kamizombies in this depth.
I had already stated what I think about the final room. I constantly get swarmed by Kamizombies as well as the Standard Zombies in the room. Survivability in this room is slim and challenging. Death mainly occurs from me being swarmed by enemies.
The top left room, where the party button is also suffers from this swarming that could potentially happen, however survivability is considerably better in this room. Swarming mainly happens from regular zombies in this case.
Would it be possible to have an Enemies Spawned to Players in Party Ratio? As in, if you are soloing the Danger Mission, can we have the minimum amount of enemies spawned so it doesn't seem like overkill? Perhaps the Maximum amount if there are four players within a party? A simple idea perhaps.
How many times did I say swarm in this post? It's a point I'm trying to emphasize. :P