thank you sir! loving DE’s btw, they just need to be a lot more challenging for larger groups.
<3
Ok, please let me address this.
I am a GAMER. I consider myself to be the top echelon of gamer. I play every type of game, and i play them a lot. I also have my MBA, design games in my spare time, and program. I’ve been hardcore, and casual, often times in the same game.
This gives me a very different perspective on games when I look at them.
Players do not want ‘difficult’ encounters. They want ‘challenging’ and ‘engaging’ encounters.
Do not make the same mistake as Jay Wilson and D3. The fight mechanics in this game (and in most games) leaves only a bit of leeway into how challenging an encounter can become without becoming frustrating.
Watch that line carefully!
Combat difficulty is NOT the answer to making DEs more engaging. Similar to WoW raids, the difficulty should come in organization and strategic positioning. That is the entire point of a group based quest system is it not?
Thus, when seeking to increase the ‘challenge’ of DEs, you need to:
1) Split the zerg
- This can be done by having multiple objectives within the same DE.
Something like, “You can only attack the boss when these 2 points are controlled.” Where 2 nodes act as ‘shield removers,’ and are continually blasted by waves of minions that need to be killed. This splits the zerg into 3 groups, 2 at each of the nodes, and 1 killing the boss.
2) Brute force isn’t the end all be all
- Failure does not indicate the end
So maybe the DE arena is sealed off. Players run into an area and the doors close on them. You die, and youre out. Maybe there are no enemies at all and only spikes/megalasers that try and impale/toast you. Maybe the floor crumbles over a lava pit. Maybe only 1 person needs to survive for you to succeed. In circumstances like this failure is expected, but the quest goes on, just in a different way.
Give players a chance to fight back and reclaim their honor. Keep events moving. I made the suggestion for cyclical DEs…that NEEDs to be implemented. Its just good game design.
3) Hold the fort
- Increase wave difficulty until defeated
One thing that I haven’t seen is a ‘hold out’ DE. Lets say you get to the end of the quest chain and you finally take over the enemies Keep.
Well, aside from whatever bonuses we get (perhaps access to a unique karma vendor, or some unique banner buffs that you can activate), you are constantly being attacked by wave after wave of minions. Thing is, the waves get tougher and tougher, to the point that you will inevitably be kicked out, and the chain goes back to the start.
All these things increase the difficulty of DEs without making them frustrating. Increasing health pools, minion # and attack power is THE WORST idea. Unfortunately, its the EASIEST method.
Do not take the easy way out. This is your game…be proud of it, and do something thats memorable with the awesome system you created.