Just did fractal 97, the new Thaumanova and I wanted to give feedback.
Short summary: Some good changes, some not-so-good ones and some issues you might want to address relatively quickly.
The Good
1) The final boss has a breakbar. Nice addition.
2) The addition of the action key that allows you to protect a platform from dropping is good,but could be better (but see “The Not-so-Good” below).
3) The “free the trapped workers” event is nicely streamlined. Nice change.
4) The Heat Room seems to work nicely provided you bring cooling rods. I have always hated this room, and if I am honest, I do not truly like it now, but it I find the changes “tolerable” if I can say it this way (an improvement).
The Not-so-Good
1) Subject Six: this fight is yet another example of too much reliance on the dodge mechanic. I am getting a bit tired of it, to be honest. I have been quietly hoping that you would come up with some more variety. I do not understand (yet) the difference between the different types of oozes, but this fight was painful for our group (4x condi reaper + druid almost-meta). I know a thing or 2 now that will help to adjust in the future, but the fight is slower and messier than before.
2) Unkillable golems in the laser room. Try it, you will understand without further explanation from me. It seemed quick, but I had a routine for this puzzle, and it is now just very different. I actually liked killing the golems in the old version.
3) Rather a lot of clutter as you enter the fractal. You say it should be overall faster at the high levels. I found this to be incorrect.
The “please fix this asap”
1) Way too many platforms during the final boss fight are disappearing. The action key is of limited use because of the long cooldown. IMHO it should reset for every “platform drop” phase. This would go a long way towards addressing my issues with “too many platforms dropping” feature.
2) Reviving allies is forced at the “in combat” rate and is very slow, even when you are not in combat. Seems to be a slight flaw in the AI and/or the crazy number of mobs in the fractal.
So overall, a mixed review from my first run. Overall I did not have the impression that it was faster or streamlined. It seemed to be the opposite, actually.
2 cents respectfully submitted.