test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
Combat is way too slow now
quotable
Member Posts: 29 Arc User
I welcomed the module 6 changes of increased combat difficulty. It's actually possible to die without trying to, and other than by falling off a cliff.
But yesterday's changes aren't about difficulty. They're about tempo. Before, you get a few big attacks and a few dodges or whatever and then the battle is over. Yeah, mobs hit hard, but so what? So do you.
Or did, at least. Now, combat degenerates into you and mobs hacking away at each other for extended periods of time until the mobs finally die. The player skill part of combat is substantially diminished as the stuff that a skilled player could have done is all on cooldown long before the battle ends.
It used to be that I'd clear mobs fast enough that I'd have to run around looking for respawns. Just now, I tried to take out two groups of mobs to clear an area and the first group respawned before you can clear the second. That doesn't break things in itself. But it does mean that gameplay has slowed to a crawl.
Now, this isn't nearly as bad as the "you can leave the room during combat and it doesn't matter" approach of Runescape or Anarchy Online. But there are far too many games where you stand there hacking away waiting for mobs to eventually die without having anything interesting to do in the meantime, and we don't need one more.
Cryptic has, unlike a lot of MMORPG studios, taken the tack that if a game is going to be mostly about combat, they should try to make combat interesting in itself, rather than merely trying to bribe players to do it with "epic" loot that doesn't exist outside of a boring game. Yesterday's change didn't destroy that entirely. But it was a serious blunder.
Combat is boring now. Not too hard, not too easy. Just boring. And boring is lethal to interesting gameplay, especially when a game is mostly about combat.
But yesterday's changes aren't about difficulty. They're about tempo. Before, you get a few big attacks and a few dodges or whatever and then the battle is over. Yeah, mobs hit hard, but so what? So do you.
Or did, at least. Now, combat degenerates into you and mobs hacking away at each other for extended periods of time until the mobs finally die. The player skill part of combat is substantially diminished as the stuff that a skilled player could have done is all on cooldown long before the battle ends.
It used to be that I'd clear mobs fast enough that I'd have to run around looking for respawns. Just now, I tried to take out two groups of mobs to clear an area and the first group respawned before you can clear the second. That doesn't break things in itself. But it does mean that gameplay has slowed to a crawl.
Now, this isn't nearly as bad as the "you can leave the room during combat and it doesn't matter" approach of Runescape or Anarchy Online. But there are far too many games where you stand there hacking away waiting for mobs to eventually die without having anything interesting to do in the meantime, and we don't need one more.
Cryptic has, unlike a lot of MMORPG studios, taken the tack that if a game is going to be mostly about combat, they should try to make combat interesting in itself, rather than merely trying to bribe players to do it with "epic" loot that doesn't exist outside of a boring game. Yesterday's change didn't destroy that entirely. But it was a serious blunder.
Combat is boring now. Not too hard, not too easy. Just boring. And boring is lethal to interesting gameplay, especially when a game is mostly about combat.
Quaternion from the previous forum
0
Comments
Encounter Matrix | Advanced Foundry Topics
Heroic encounters, and/or normal skirmishes and dungeons a little bit harder?
And shouldn't the really tough stuff be behind epic skirmishes or epic dungeon doors?
That is the common perception of what an MMO dictates.
I don't think it's necessarily "hard" -- just tedious.
They've successfully turned "the grind" into a slooooow motion grind.
People have been saying leveling is "fast and easy."
Careful what you wish for.
Encounter Matrix | Advanced Foundry Topics
I argee, the low end mobs should NOT be equal to a mini boss, nor should it take 2 mins to kill 3 of them.
Turn the clock back to Mod 4 or 5 PLEASE. Make the game fun and playable again for all. You can create a Dread ring for lower level players AND one for Epic players.... you already did this with Blackdagger/Drowned Shores. Same map, but a difference in difficultly.
People play for the fun of the game, this game is getting more and more boring with every day that passes.
Agreed...not just boring...VERY annoying.
I just replaced my LVL 70 main's equipment for the SECOND time, due to it no longer functioning as I'd intended after "fixes" to the combat system, and yet another "fix" renders it less than optimal. I'd just got back to the point where I could solo Dread Ring once more, and along comes a full day outage and my gear is no longer enough to deal with the damage I need to absorb simply to survive a trio of servitors. Not because of the huge hits they are laying on, but because I'm simply not killing them fast enough for them to be the annoying minions they are supposed to be. And you'd think struggling to stay in a fight with three measly undead would be exciting, but you would be wrong. Instead, I'm rethinking my stance against botting. If it is going to come down to mindlessly hacking away for extended periods of time, why do I need to be present?
Take note of the next statement PWE, it affects your bottom line
The recent downward spiral of playablity of Neverwinter has absolutely convinced me to STOP SPENDING MONEY ON ANYTHING!!!
Why in the world would I buy a package to gain one particular item that you might just turn around and sell as a separate item in a week or two? Why buy equipment or enhancements that will be worth less, if not worthless after the next updates to the game?
I used to spend fairly freely, across several accounts. I WILL NO LONGER, as this seems to be a waste of my gaming dollar. At this point I'm ready to shift back to subscription games, pay monthly, rather than this broken pay to win system. More like pay to be frustrated and annoyed!!
Get it together, or watch it fall to ashes.
Wishing for bug fixes since module 6 started... but not much to see in that department.
Devs: "Guys the players said the game is too hard enemies have too much damage. Lets lower the damage and give them 50% more hp that will make it better"
Players: "You just made it harder!"
Devs: "$$$$$$"
I would be glad to come out of retirement and actually test the code prior to it being release, including testing the pushes to production, which have not gone swimmingly. That is provided there is a production-like environment to test with...apparently the test server is either NOT catch release/patch issues, or the problems are being ignored when reported.
Not much point to testing if the results are not examined.
None of this is fixed by reducing the damage. They need to figure where their math is going haywire to do away with lol what just happened moments. The damage balance that they had when it was working properly wasn't super because the mobs did high damage and the aim of the game was to dodge rather than mitigate for the non tank classes and server performance often made that less reliable than it should be but it was alright.
This is how it always goes though. They large arbitrary changes and don't anticipate the consequences.
...What, no learn-to-play preacher?
But math iz hard ok?
Then start to look for the broken parts and really fix them.
And then slowly increase the damage again, just this time, keeping the whole thing at normal levels...
On the other hand, the very thing that dealing with any mob never possessed any threat and/or required the slightest effort before mod5(6) was, and sometimes still is, one of the two major holes in the whole game (zero real dungeons with real traps, puzzles and available decisions/options etc being the other one). And i for one would go even further, except that it is necessary to, again, differentiate Critter, Normal, Elite and Solo or Boss class MOB and their respective Brute subclass and the MOBs fkn damned at least slightest VI (AI).
Currently some bosses (lair bosses) are even weaker than the sorrounding Normals (or Elites eventually). Elite (Brute Elite resp.) and Brute Solo classes should be even stronger than they r now, but its required to avoid the encounter stacks (almost every foundry player hates it, yet the official content is still full of it) - thats the place for critters, which, ofc as mentioned, cant be as resilient and powerful as they are now, especially when they possess such powers like full AP drain or healing.
So overall i would go even further with some mob classes, but it needs per mob class approach. On top of it, some encounters at some maps look like they were placed by a foundry 10 y/o newbie author.
ps: just came on mind with increased difficulty and time required, the rewards (end reward chest and drops from elites+) should be approprietaly adjusted, but thats for another thread;
And yes, i mean health potions, not those healer mobs...
The Ugly Truth
Obviously the monsters spent real money for stones of health instead of potions.