Because I didn't want another [INSERT NAME]'s Testing Feedback thread
I only played through the Legion of Almire twice, but these are my thoughts:
To start off, I'm not sure why people keep saying that the Danger Mission is easy. The only thing easy is the first floor, but I'll get to that later. On my first run through, I hit 1000 CE rev multiple times while solo, albeit most were caused by the last floor/room and stupidity on my part. On my second run through, I equipped some Almirian Armor as a fun costume and did a little roleplaying, once again, solo. Only had to do a 320 CE rev, but that was because I was solo. There were a few cheap deaths from Kats and Almirian Zombies, but not anything that was unavoidable. Most of them were caused by me trying to focus on Dreadnoughts/Slag Guards and inadvertently walking into a lance.
The difficulty curve is really weird. It's like... exponential. It starts off easy enough, where I can practically play the first part blindfolded. Graveyard... hurrah... *yawn*. The final rooms of the first floor was when it started actually feeling like a Danger Mission. At the same time, the only waves that gave me trouble were the ones with both Kats and Howitzers, and the one with the Dreadnought + Zombie Horde. At the same time, I do like how the Almirian Zombies and Kamikaze Zombies were introduced... sometimes. On my first run through, I met the Kamikaze Zombies at a party button. The gate dropped and BAM, 6 Kamikazes were charging at me. That was a fun way to introduce them. But the second time I did the mission, they were crawling out of spawners, which didn't have the same shock and awe of a sudden wave charging at you. I first met the Almirians in a relatively open space. There were a few normal zombies, but no problem. I was free to look at one, get up close and personal to it's ashen statue version, and spend a little while looking at it. When I broke my first one, I loved how it was a 1v1 duel setting. I could hang back, shield, sidestep, and riposte with ease, slowly getting used to their attack pattern. The second time I ran through, the mire Almirians were surrounded by enemies, and a Kamikaze woke the first Almirian. It was a lot more hectic, but I liked the more controlled duelist style of my first run through.
The second floor really threw me off. I did not expect to be as difficult, especially in comparison to the previous floor. The first room was good, and definitely on par with some Danger Rooms.
The left passage was a bit... ehh. I never had a problem with it. I could just outrun most of the zombies. As long as I didn't stay still, it was easy to dodge the kats and respawning Kamikazes. It would be better if there were either more spawners or they were spawning at a faster rate. The room in the top left had a bit of potential. However, the Kamikazes would often spawn, and then stand on their spawn pad, ignoring my presence. Still felt like a Danger Room, and was on par with the difficulty I was hoping for. Not quite Shadow Lair, but clearly a step above FSC.
The passage on the right was fun. Not really difficult though. It reminded me of the beginning of the Snarbolax Shadow Lair. Definitely a bit more difficult than average, but still pretty easy. The room in the top right, with the huge amount of Almirian Zombies had a good premise, but to me, was ruined by the Kats and Howitzers. On my first run, I charged in and got myself pinned down by Howitzers and Kats, while the Almirians chopped apart my shield and eventually life bar. On my second run, I just used my AP to waken each Almirian one at a time, killed them in single combat, and then walked into the room to deal with a few Kats and Howitzers. I think it would be more fun to have a Slag Guard in there with a ton of Almirians, while dropping the Howitzers and Kats. It would definitely be more thematic. 6-ish Almirians are already tough enough to deal with solo.
Now the last room... The last room is on par with the last room of UFSC's first floor (UFSC wins out slightly due to the respawning Howitzers, but the Legion of Almire gets the bonus of Zombies + Dreadnought spam). I wouldn't touch it at all TBH. People wanted hard, and that room is HARD.
One thing I really want is the Recon Knights from the ready room making more appearances. I forget what they are called, but they look FREAKIN AWESOME! Their leader... I want his shield, his armor, his helm... and maybe an awesome battleaxe to go with it. He looks EPIC! However... he makes ONE appearance before the mission, and then never again! As a Recon in Lockdown, I felt rather let down. I wanted to see some elite recons in action, leaping around and doing ninja assassinations like the Ninja Gremlins on OCH. Even if they were just standing around the crypt, I would be far more satisfied. The first pep talk the guy gives at the start makes it sound like your are not alone, but the gameplay feels like you've just been kicked onto the front lines while they just watch with some popcorn and soda.
In general, the Kats and Lumbers felt really out of place. Kats had always been a bit comical with their cute mews yet terrifying visage while they charge around, and are more of a distraction than a threat. They really are out of place when compared to the Skeletal enemies around them. It would be much more thematic to have most of the Kats replaced by the Phantoms you see in normal Graveyards. They aren't as annoying, but they are persistent. As long as they leave you alone after you clear a room, they would be a much better replacement. The Lumbers have always felt more like a part of Nature, like a tree that just decided to start walking randomly one day. While I did like the fights with Lumbers and Dreadnoughts, they feel like they were thrown in there for the challenge, and ruin the atmosphere a bit. I would kinda like to see some Trojans in their place. Of course not at a 1 to 1 ration of every Lumber being replaced by a Trojan, but I think a few Trojans here and there would definitely feel more at home than the mechanical walking behemoths.
The pay actually seems rather good. Its right now at about 3000 crowns for 2 floors. FSC gives about 15000 crowns for 100 mist anyways (3000 crowns per run, 5 runs for every 100 mist is about 15000 crowns too). It would be better if the Legion of Almire gave like 3750, so it had a significant boost over FSC, to compensate for the increased difficulty.
Yeah, that last room was HARD. When the deadnaughts spawned, I didnt think much of it thinking they were just slag guards, then I died to curse. That room must NOT be touched, it's perfect.