Tier difficulty.
Mon, 08/15/2011 - 12:55
This is not some evaluation of Tiers as you may have thought, or some complaint about them, it's a discussion on this idea of what can be done about Tier difficulty (Can be changed to be put into Suggestions, if needed).
Honestly, I think the way you have the Tiers set up is unforgiving to any player who has never done the Tier they're going to, sure they can just practice till they get better there but, using a lot of energy in the process, and it's unintended to use energy solely for training when going to a new Tier, right?
The jump in difficulty level between the Tiers is a bit too much, in my opinion, you don't need to lower the difficulty but perhaps try something like what I say below.
So here's what I think can be done, opinions can be said and other idea's can be discussed:
Instead of 3 Tiers, why not 5 Tiers?
That way, every time you become fully one type of star (Like, fully 2*, 3*, 4*, 5*) you'll be eligible to go to a new Tier. The difficulty for each Tier would be increased from the last, but not a huge jump like Tier 1 to Tier 2, or the even bigger jump, Tier 2 to Tier 3. You wouldn't have to become suddenly much better all of a sudden, but increasingly better as you become higher in Tiers, I think this way you'll sort of know what to expect in difficulty level from going one Tier to the next.
And to keep the Tier difficulty of the already existing Tiers, why not (If you make 5 Tiers), give Tier 1 the current Tier 1's difficulty, Tier 3 the current Tier 2's difficulty, and Tier 5 the current Tier 3's difficulty. Also, seeing as how if you were only 0* you wouldn't be able to do any Tiers, you would probably want to make Tier 1 accessed from 0* and 1* items.
So, any thoughts on this idea? I admit this idea may not be completely ready to be taken out of the oven yet, but it's just a start.
Mon, 08/15/2011 - 13:08
#2
This game may look like a
This game may look like a casual game at first, but it's a hardcore game through and through. Your suggestion is therefore imo stupid and I would never support any sort of casualization to this game. Your practice is tier 1 and the advanced training hall. If you want to get better, then that's all you should try to do. Get better. The whole process where in you spend the energy is just part of it as it only encourages you more to get better. Basically you try to get better and spend some money for some gears. If that doesn't work out, this game's not made for you.
There are alot of franchises games that dumb down the difficulty to make it more accesable. Since the game had launched, all the updates have thankfylly not given any sign of that ever happening, actually the contrary.
Mon, 08/15/2011 - 13:30
#3
@DrLequackAh yes, that does
@DrLequack
Ah yes, that does make sense since there are 6 stratums, so 6 Tiers would make more sense than 5, but, would Tier 6 be harder than Tier 3 currently? Or would Tier 5 if this was made be easier than Tier 3? However, probably doesn't matter how many Strata there are since all Tiers would have Stata, right? This would make the number of Strata if there were only 5, 10 and 6, 12. This idea may not be the best, but it's something to start with for making Tiers more manageable early on.
@Jaouad
The Advance Training Hall isn't very viable for a place to train, as it only offers the basics despite "Advanced" in its name, because you can only train against one type of enemy that isn't even in the Clockworks. Oh and another thing, Tier 1 isn't really training either because monsters usually get a new type of move to use in later Tiers.
Mon, 08/15/2011 - 13:09
#4
What you are suggesting is
What you are suggesting is already in place in the form of strata, as DrLequak already indirectly pointed out.
The jump between tiers isn't too hard, know your limits and stop before you've gotten too deep for your skill level/gear.
Mon, 08/15/2011 - 13:12
#5
The difficulty jump can
The difficulty jump can indeed be intimidating, but I think that's a part of this game's charm. That being said, it's not obvious at first how much the difficulty of the game will change until you experience it first-hand.
Mon, 08/15/2011 - 13:34
#6
@BluestarfishNot necessarily
@Bluestarfish
Not necessarily in the form of Strata, with Strata you can go on ahead of your free will but with Tiers it restricts you so you know that with your current equipment you couldn't handle it. Also, seeing as each Tier has 2 Strata, saying that the 6 current Strata are basically like 6 Tiers is wrong because Tiers restrict you from going further because your current equipment level couldn't handle the difficulty of that Tier, Strata let you go further without restriction, sure you may know things may be getting too hard for you, but you may also be thinking the next Strata is only slightly harder.
Mon, 08/15/2011 - 13:44
#7
And what you are suggesting
And what you are suggesting is absolutely silly!
Why in the world would you want to build in extra restrictions? It isn't just about equipment, but also skill level, and growth. Giving the player some level of choice is important, and taking it away entirely in a game that is based on exploration is well...against the spirit of the game, and completely and utterly unnecessary. How can you expect anyone to learn anything if you don't even allow them to move forward and gain experience within reason(which yes I suppose may seem arbitrary, but I believe OOO has found a good balance with what they have right now) The current tier/strata structure does that, what you are suggesting does not.
Also there are already ways to inform the player of their relative danger in relation to their gear, you ever notice the colorful little orb? Yeah, it's there for a reason!
Mon, 08/15/2011 - 14:07
#8
If anything I want to core to
If anything I want to core to open up so we have a Tier 4!
It was thrilling running through a T3 graveyard, or barely making it past only a portion of a T3 arena the first time. Now most of us power through them start to finish since we are more experienced. The tougher the game, the greater the reward (you know, that one T3 trip that you take and get all of the 5* materials. Feels so good!).
I find it fun starting a party and encouraging people to accompany me to the core for the first time. If you're having difficulty, join a party. More then likely they'll help you out.
-Blueflood
Mon, 08/15/2011 - 17:50
#9
I would like a 4th tier as
I would like a 4th tier as well. Keep the stats of equips from 3rd tier, or maybe scale it up a bit, while doubling the power of monsters. It would be a nice challenge.
As for tier difficulty, I never had much of a problem with new tiers. When my friend and I first played tier 2, we got all the way to the top right room of Red Carpet Runaround with our 2 star gear (although we died there and decided jelly palace was waaaay too slow with 2* equips and went back to Haven). First time we went to tier 3 we both got the achievement for clearing without dying. Danger indicator was a purple eye for the last 3 levels.
Really, it's just that some methods of play get you killed when you encounter new things. This is the same REGARDLESS of what game you play.
wouldn't there be 6 teirs? you gotta include the teir you'd start in. And there are currently six "stratums" that you can play in, each are different parts of a teir, separate by the clockwork terminal. Stratum one is the first half of teir 1, uses 0 star gear, then stratum 2 uses 1 star gear, then you need 2 star gear to get into teir 2, that starts with stratum 3, that uses 2 star gear. Things like damage, monster type, and health thange between each stratum. You can check it on the mineral deposits.