Right now when you run story mode you get 1-2 npcs that run with you depending on which dungeon it is. The interaction with these npcs is usually that they run in tank a mob for a little bit then flop dead on the ground. I really do not get the feeling that I am endured to any of them or that they are even really part of the team.
I would like to see these npcs reworked just a little bit to add to the story and at the same time make the game more accessible to new/unorganized players.
The first change I would like to see made is to have the NPCs provide feedback to the players on what they can do to improve. This would be especially helpful in AC where its a parties first experience many times in a dungeon. You could have logan call out the strats for the bosses in there, on the lovers for instance he would shout out to use the rocks to split them up. Even for trash mobs he could give out basic advice on which monster to kite and which to burn down (if the players didn’t mark a target then he could teaching them that this is possible). I think having the NPC take the role of a teacher would get players to feel more like they are adventuring with an experianced veteran rather than just a high health low dmg npc.
The second change I would make to story mode is to make the NPCs invulnerable but do no damage. Monsters could ignore them at this point, what I would have them do is drop combo fields and cast group support spells depending on what class the NPC is. For instance in the AC example, Logan could drop down a combo field and tell players to use it for a certain effect that would be beneficial on the boss. I have never had a group fail a story mode instance so I think it would be fair to have the NPCs rez downed players so they do not need to run back from the WP.
I know these changes would make the story mode dungeons more “easy” but I think it would be worth it to teach players how to do explorables better and improve quality of life in the game.
Thanks