Subject: Elite mode first described in their thread http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/83402
At this time on the test server besides battle spirites, the major content update is something called difficulty modes with Elite mode being Three Rings answer to bored end game players. (The changes to reviving, crafting costs, equip limits and loot distribution can be considered as massive alteration to game mechanics not content)
If elite mode is just about making the same monsters and floors more laborious it doesn't change the fact that it is the same floors and monsters. It is still a wolver den, or the same decon zone, the same FSC and the same four Shadow Lair. Elite mode isn't a new experience and will not draw back players.
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Please think for a moment about the p2p, 1-player steam game Rogue Legacy. Beat the game, it allows you to continue on in "New Game+" with increased difficulty, beat the game again, continue on as "New Game++" etc... monster hp, bullet hell difficulty and gold drop climb in each "New Game+." There is a final difficulty setting something like New Game+9. However it is the same game, same dungeon floors, same bosses. If the Rogue Legacy developers decided to release a higher difficulty say +10, would it really attract more players or old players back. Someone could play for pride or have the goal of completing the games highest difficulty but it doesn't change the fact that it is the same game over and over.
A "new game +10 could be described as rehashing content.
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If a gun pup spews out 8 bullets or a kat dashes farther bites faster or a demo gremlin drops a few extra bombs or an alpha wolver bites 4x or bites 20x even, it is still the same thing. Would a retired SK gamer care if a rocket pup fired two missiles instead of one or if a cube jelly wiggled around a little faster?
If you were a Spiral Knight designer and one of the top complaints of your longtime players (such as in this locked post http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/78188) is Rehashing and Reskinning content, why fall into the same pitfall patch after patch.
Having higher difficulty higher reward might sound like a nice thing but elite mode is a halfhearted attempt to release the same old content jazzed up a bit. Elite mode is already being described as tedious and time consuming. Regardless of anything that happens players will always use cost benefit analysis to see if the increased crown drop is worth the increased time it would take to do the same exact floor on regular mode.
Players might end up saying, "thanks for the effort designers, not really worth my time, I still have crippling lag anyway, oh well I'll move on."
Does Three Rings really think that their best players will be satisfied and take the few extra crowns to look the other way and grind the same content they've been doing for the past two years? "Playing on increased difficulty will reward you with more loot" said a Three Rings developer, this is a bribe attempt. The past and present great players of Spiral Knights are not King Krogmo and do not have to accept this bribe.
I think this is one of the differences between calling it "elite mode" vs saying "hello knights this month's patches will open Tier 4." Tier 4 implies new content, new clockworks floors, new monsters/bosses/traps/puzzles/teamwork opportunities and strategy, maybe even new materials and weapon upgrades. Something like Tier 4 would be expected to have greater difficulty and reward but there would be more too it. The players would get the experience the greater depth, greater vision of the game designers, something that just might bring more life into the game and haven. Elite mode is a shallow idea and for Three Rings to use its limited manpower and resources on it might not prove to be very productive.
The design teams should be looking at the vitality and growth of Spiral knights with these questions aimed at the past, present and future: what are the reasons our players quit, what would entertain our end game players and what would attract new players to our game.
In terms of content, the player base wants something like Tier 4 or even expansion of tier 3 content, not to be bribed into more grinding of the same stuff under a different label.
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As a side note I also agree with some of the feedback in the test forum that it isn't worth investing time in a pet which can do a couple abilities per minute, the pet becomes just a novelty and afterthought. When a party of four chaos set wearing knights blast down clockwork/boss floors in 1-4 minutes per level, I doubt people like that need a pet to do their fighting.
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Thank you for your time and I wish you the absolute best in all aspects of life.
Edit: Please keep discussion about features on the preview server in the testing feedback forum. Thank you.
Completely agree.
Since missions, the game has been getting much more repetive and boring.
You don't find people searching for stratums with arenas, you don't have people going through the 19-22 for that FSC run, it's just king of ashes over and over and over.
If OOO pushed out a T4, then the arena would have a meaning again.
Perhaps, the game would be fun again.
Also, battle sprites do seem very vain..you could spend what, 1000 of each mineral so that it'll do 100 damage every 20 seconds while you're spewing out brandish charge attacks every 3 seconds that do 700 damage + 225 damage from each explosion.