The fact is hunters can finish the bonus round thanks to their burst AoE dps mechanics, rogues even better thx to their combo PoBlades/Smoke Bomb moving AoE while evading crowd control... but anything else just can varely output the dps needed and will consume scrolls and health stones to finish an unfair bad designed solo combat. A legendary mount is something worthy but having fun is a must when i play games and this combat is just a solid example of going in the wrong direction
Switched belt and neck to more defensive stats [from Demogorgon Set]
Round 1 - relatively easy but used 1 heath stone [Boot power up - useless] Round 2 - heal power up, cruised it, not too hard at all. Round 3 - tough, used two health stones and one potion [Boot power up - useless, have I said that before?] Round 4 - relatively easy heal power up Round 5 - intense and hard, but completed it even though it was the boot power up, used 1 stone of health.
Bonus round - got the boot power up [useless] survived due to using a stone after about 30 seconds, then got smashed to pieces, surrounded, and pulverised into the dirt. Fail.
Quite enjoyable trying to work out where to run, and when to stand and fight. If you get surrounded by the big devils its more or less insta death.
If I can build enough to use my AOE attack in the last round, its doable. But I didn't have enough time to get it ready to roll.
Frankly for most players, dependent upon toon and power up, very very hard to complete.
The small AoE's (flames of hell or some such) seem to be on a 4-5 second cycle; moving every couple of seconds definitely helps to avoid some of the damage. Also the CC from enticing succubus/incubus is a killer, make killing them a priority. A good idea for barbie that works for me is to run along the outside of the arena picking off ranged and CCers while the big demons get herded in the middle. Punishing charge and mighty leap(with the feat) help to accomplish this tactic well.
The small AoE's (flames of hell or some such) seem to be on a 4-5 second cycle; moving every couple of seconds definitely helps to avoid some of the damage. Also the CC from enticing succubus/incubus is a killer, make killing them a priority. A good idea for barbie that works for me is to run along the outside of the arena picking off ranged and CCers while the big demons get herded in the middle. Punishing charge and mighty leap(with the feat) help to accomplish this tactic well.
Succubus/ Incubus was the only problematic enemy for me, too. Before I was abe to move again, my TR lost almost 300k HP. I use AoEs, keep moving and use stalethed skills, just before stealth runs out. Most enemies dont attack you, if they cant see you. If it gets harder, I might look for a ring of vanishing presence on one of my praying alts and keep running in circles.
Chars: CW, DC, GF, GWF, HR and TR.
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plasticbatMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 12,400Arc User
Switched belt and neck to more defensive stats [from Demogorgon Set]
Round 1 - relatively easy but used 1 heath stone [Boot power up - useless] Round 2 - heal power up, cruised it, not too hard at all. Round 3 - tough, used two health stones and one potion [Boot power up - useless, have I said that before?] Round 4 - relatively easy heal power up Round 5 - intense and hard, but completed it even though it was the boot power up, used 1 stone of health.
Bonus round - got the boot power up [useless] survived due to using a stone after about 30 seconds, then got smashed to pieces, surrounded, and pulverised into the dirt. Fail.
Quite enjoyable trying to work out where to run, and when to stand and fight. If you get surrounded by the big devils its more or less insta death.
If I can build enough to use my AOE attack in the last round, its doable. But I didn't have enough time to get it ready to roll.
Frankly for most players, dependent upon toon and power up, very very hard to complete.
Use your daily (Avalanche of steel) to jump above and that gives you a few seconds to think what to do (where to land).
Post edited by plasticbat on
*** The game can read your mind. If you want it, you won't get it. If you don't expect to get it, you will. ***
0
plasticbatMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 12,400Arc User
I have just done the 2nd of week 2. With the experience from last night, I did not use a health potion or Avalanche of Steel to finish 6 rounds with my 21k Barbie.
*** The game can read your mind. If you want it, you won't get it. If you don't expect to get it, you will. ***
I don't know if I am a player with a char bis or if others don't seek knowledge about the game, but so far this second phase is not yet a challenge for my GWF. I wonder if this is easy for me as for a devalued class, imagine for CW TR and HR which already has dps advantage for all the other dps classes. Hopefully Phase 3 is really a challenge that brings me excitement in this game, because so far the boredom that throws me on my main char is incredibly desperate for the ease of content I play.
I completed all 5 rounds and did the bonus round, but received no additional reward. Was there a chest or something I was supposed to loot after the bonus round???
0
plasticbatMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 12,400Arc User
I completed all 5 rounds and did the bonus round, but received no additional reward. Was there a chest or something I was supposed to loot after the bonus round???
After you finish the bonus round, you get a token of brimstone. You will also get another token of brimstone from the quest giver. If you read the text when you go to hell pit, it tells you what you would get from the bonus round.
*** The game can read your mind. If you want it, you won't get it. If you don't expect to get it, you will. ***
Attempt 1 - killed by lag basically is the short story.
[Got through to Round 4 okish but then just couldn't pop heal stones/powerups in time to save me. Powerups were mostly useless]
Attempt 2 - Powered up with 8 major jewels, and 2 overloads.
Completed all 5 rounds and bonus round.
Tactics are essential, as is not panicking when things look bleak. A lot of running/sprinting out of trouble, pick where and when you fight if you are a melee toon. If you get trapped your dead. Try to kill the mobs using your AOE if you can, mount heals are very useful also.
Used a total of 8 health stones altogether.
Quite entertaining/nerve-wracking at times.
Did I enjoy it?
Yes a very warm sense of satisfaction - bonus round probably the best, useless power up meant I had to run/snipe/heal/fight/think/plan and generally play to the best of my [poor] ability.
Today I made all 5 rounds and for the first time I finished even the bonus one (even with poor power up). I am not sure about the whole design. I made no changes in my built nor gear or tactics. It looks like whole thing is heavily rng based what combination of mobs you get (and what power up). The most difficult was the round 4 (again). The bonus round was even with poor power up easier than round 5 (which was easier than round 4). And probably another important factor was far lower lag than other days (I did my run not in the prime time).
1
plasticbatMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 12,400Arc User
edited November 2019
I noticed many issues other mentioned did not apply to my Barbarian. Hence, I wanted to figure out why. I more or less doing the same skill/routine/muscle memory for years.
My routine used to be Daring Shout, Dagger and IBS. Sure Strike and WMS, Sprint and Unstoppable. I needed life steal.
Since the Power/feat change, it is Punishing charge, Dagger and IBS. Sure strike and Relentless Slash (new WMS), Sprint and Battle Rage (new Unstoppable). I have been equipped insignia to do 'life steal'.
In this battle, my main attack is Relentless Slash, a kind of AOE. Also, my 'life steal'. BattleRage gives Control Immunity. That was why I did not have the CC problem people talked about. I use Punishing Charge, Dagger and Sprint to move out of Red. Avalanche of Steel could be used for a big escape but I only used it on the first day of second tier of difficulty.
I believe the demon overload enchantments could help a lot in this battle for both offense and defense. I do not need to use them though. I did not need to use health potion for day 9 and day 10. I did not need to use Daily or Artifact (this Barbie has Wheel).
I think the Battle Rage is the key for Barbarian.
*** The game can read your mind. If you want it, you won't get it. If you don't expect to get it, you will. ***
I'am a "new" player. Have been playing for 3 months... 19K il. I gave up on this event. Passed first 7 days (without healing potion) with my fighter but 2nd week was "frustration". Specially when I was "charmed", when I can't move and they, well, destroyed me. Good luck with 3rd week. This is some end game event/content. For me, it's a waste of time.
Warlock healer was what I finally was able to use and even did bonus the first 2 days. I did notice something today that I had a lot of the demons you face in the demon encounters and wiped in the 5th round. when I came back in it gave me a much easier set of mobs to deal with. So you can kind of just play roulette with wiping and get some that will be a little easier. It was more like round 3 than 4/5 have been. Round 4 has seemed to always been the hardest.
For folks playing outside the USA, the very short ramp-up time between some of the enemies' AoEs (I'm looking at you, riders) flagging and firing off is made worse by physics (i.e. the time it takes for traffic to flow between the server and the player). I'm interested in hearing how folks in Europe and especially here in Australia are finding the event.
And, oh gods, I've asked this before but can we PLEASE get an option to change the AoE warning colours? This game is NOT user-friendly for colour-blind folks.
(I'm feeling particularly bitter right now as in my last run, twice my Greater Stone of Healing go on a brief - only a couple of secs - cooldown without actually healing my character. I gave up on my next round attempt when it did the same thing. And, to top it off, the bug-reporting system didn't want to work for me when I tried logging that.)
I had to use so many scrolls of life this run. The lag was complete BS. Many times I was pounding the key for the health stone for SECONDS at a time before it would kick in. Several times it simply refused to work and I wound up having to burn up another life scroll.
One mechanic I absolutely hate happens when you're out of stamina. The game just says "stamina required" when you try to dodge. Instead of just moving at normal speed then, the game stupidly makes you stand in place until you release the movement key entirely and try again without trying to sprint. It's just adding insult to injury.
EDIT
THIS IS SUCH HORSE S***. I used up half a dozen life scrolls fighting I don't know 20 enemies at a time. EVERY TIME I SO MUCH AS STOOD UP someone knocked me halfway across the arena. Forget about popping a daily -- you're flying through the air 20 feet up before you can even hit the key. It's not a "bonus round", IT'S F****** IMIPOSSIBLE. The only reason I managed to get through it was they knocked me so hard and so often it glitched me halfway into the wall and I was able to fight without being attacked.
See below. THIS IS TOTAL BS. You can't even see the ground there are so damned many.
Note to players: if it gives you the demons we see in other maps (Zythars, Barlguras, Shadow Demons, etc.), just quit. Don't even bother. In the bonus round they'll swarm you with Balors who knock you halfway across the map with just a stare (really -- it doesn't matter how far away you are -- one look and you're sent flying!) and a whole slew of enemies who slam into you and knock you flying the instant they spawn. It's that bad. You stand up, they knock you flying. You stand up again, they knock you flying. Before you know it, you're pinned against the wall totally unable to move because of the crush of enemies against you. They all have collision and you can't run through them.
I'm starting to think this is an unscrupulous effort to get people to either use up their life scrolls or buy the event buyout out of frustration.
Post edited by hustin1 on
Harper Chronicles: Cap Snatchers (RELEASED) - NW-DPUTABC6X Blood Magic (RELEASED) - NW-DUU2P7HCO Children of the Fey (RELEASED) - NW-DKSSAPFPF Buried Under Blacklake (WIP) - NW-DEDV2PAEP The Redcap Rebels (WIP) - NW-DO23AFHFH
My Foundry playthrough channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Ruskaga/featured
Day 10, getting through the 5 rounds was a pain in the rear today, thanks to the spawning of several poisonous Slaads within every single round, but it got even better in the bonus round, where my character was kicked around like a football from one corner of the arena to the other and then being pinned down and beaten into blood pudding by dozens of demons...
Not to forget the fun part, where a whole pack of demons decided to stand right on the spot of a boost and by doing that making it impossible for my character to reach it in time.
Anyway, whoever designed this event should be forced to play through it on a 18k IL character and stream it every day.
I already have several legendary mounts in storage. I don't really need the one from this event, and I'm tempted to just say to Hell with it because I don't need the stress and frustration. About the only thing that gives me pause is that I'm not sure I want to give the devs the satisfaction. The more I think about it, the more I think the difficulty is *designed* to get people to quit early. I know players who have already decided to give up on it.
Harper Chronicles: Cap Snatchers (RELEASED) - NW-DPUTABC6X Blood Magic (RELEASED) - NW-DUU2P7HCO Children of the Fey (RELEASED) - NW-DKSSAPFPF Buried Under Blacklake (WIP) - NW-DEDV2PAEP The Redcap Rebels (WIP) - NW-DO23AFHFH
My Foundry playthrough channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Ruskaga/featured
Yes, today's bonus round was a bit twisted kind of fun - pulled by mobs through Battlerage, Avalanche of Steel cancelled by CC as well. As barb has a problem to start a sprint to get that feeble frame of immunity, I had to rely on Mighty Leap to get out of the pile of angry mass of almighty CC. (actually, I managed to pull that trick twice! - with a shield you can watch the show for a whole minute) I think this CC thing went too far - really, there is even no place for using your premium stuff: stones of health or scrolls of life, as those are not tools that can give the player a window in which he can actually attack.
My strategies have been, for my Blademaster Barbie: 1. Use the Envenomed Journal whenever available, and use Avalanche of Steel to kill lots of mobs at once. 2. The real enemy here is all the control effects. So slot Roar use it against a lot of mobs, that fills the Rage bar, and then go Unstoppable (immune to control) and kill lots of mobs with Relentless Slash. By time Unstoppable is done, then Roar is off cooldown, repeat. 3. Save the Shield powerup for the bonus round, for the first minute of the bonus round, run around and stay alive, then for the last minute, use the Shield powerup and kill everything 4. Watch the time - don't kill the last mob with only 5 seconds to go in a round, you will get a whole new wave before the end of the round. So drag it out a bit if you can. 5. Whenever the horses appear - kill them first, and quickly.
One mechanic I absolutely hate happens when you're out of stamina. The game just says "stamina required" when you try to dodge. Instead of just moving at normal speed then, the game stupidly makes you stand in place until you release the movement key entirely and try again without trying to sprint. It's just adding insult to injury.
Just press w to run, then press shift to dodge. That way you are already running and will keep running of dodge fails to fire because of low stamina.
It would be nice if this thread would be read by any of devs.
Its the weekend, combine that with Thanksgiving here and the devs have probably been running a skeleton crew since wednesday. Don't expect a reply from them until at least tommorrow.
Well, the event is just showing rather cleary what is oh so wrong with the game... it's either a cake walk or a horror show with no real middle ground in between thanks to the randomness of what boosts and/or enemies a player can get within every round.
And i even could understand the yanked up into insanity level difficulty in the bonus round to keep those "one-percenters" thrilled, but the regular 5 rounds should remain doable with a 18k IL character.
Anyway, whoever designed this event should be forced to play through it on a 18k IL character and stream it every day.
What makes you think it is intended for an 18k IL to get through?
Why place a IL restriction on content, when a player with that IL can't get through it?
I mean, we all know this whole bloody "event" is only about pushing players towards buying one of those crappy legendary mount from the ZEN shop directly, or getting the players to go for the buyout option.
Anyway, i'm still wondering why the persons in charge around here can not understand that this kind of HAMSTER will cost them more and more players in the long run...
Comments
Switched belt and neck to more defensive stats [from Demogorgon Set]
Round 1 - relatively easy but used 1 heath stone [Boot power up - useless]
Round 2 - heal power up, cruised it, not too hard at all.
Round 3 - tough, used two health stones and one potion [Boot power up - useless, have I said that before?]
Round 4 - relatively easy heal power up
Round 5 - intense and hard, but completed it even though it was the boot power up, used 1 stone of health.
Bonus round - got the boot power up [useless] survived due to using a stone after about 30 seconds, then got smashed to pieces, surrounded, and pulverised into the dirt. Fail.
Quite enjoyable trying to work out where to run, and when to stand and fight. If you get surrounded by the big devils its more or less insta death.
If I can build enough to use my AOE attack in the last round, its doable. But I didn't have enough time to get it ready to roll.
Frankly for most players, dependent upon toon and power up, very very hard to complete.
Attempt 1 - killed by lag basically is the short story.
[Got through to Round 4 okish but then just couldn't pop heal stones/powerups in time to save me. Powerups were mostly useless]
Attempt 2 - Powered up with 8 major jewels, and 2 overloads.
Completed all 5 rounds and bonus round.
Tactics are essential, as is not panicking when things look bleak. A lot of running/sprinting out of trouble, pick where and when you fight if you are a melee toon. If you get trapped your dead. Try to kill the mobs using your AOE if you can, mount heals are very useful also.
Used a total of 8 health stones altogether.
Quite entertaining/nerve-wracking at times.
Did I enjoy it?
Yes a very warm sense of satisfaction - bonus round probably the best, useless power up meant I had to run/snipe/heal/fight/think/plan and generally play to the best of my [poor] ability.
I more or less doing the same skill/routine/muscle memory for years.
My routine used to be Daring Shout, Dagger and IBS. Sure Strike and WMS, Sprint and Unstoppable. I needed life steal.
Since the Power/feat change, it is Punishing charge, Dagger and IBS. Sure strike and Relentless Slash (new WMS), Sprint and Battle Rage (new Unstoppable). I have been equipped insignia to do 'life steal'.
In this battle, my main attack is Relentless Slash, a kind of AOE. Also, my 'life steal'.
BattleRage gives Control Immunity. That was why I did not have the CC problem people talked about.
I use Punishing Charge, Dagger and Sprint to move out of Red.
Avalanche of Steel could be used for a big escape but I only used it on the first day of second tier of difficulty.
I believe the demon overload enchantments could help a lot in this battle for both offense and defense. I do not need to use them though. I did not need to use health potion for day 9 and day 10. I did not need to use Daily or Artifact (this Barbie has Wheel).
I think the Battle Rage is the key for Barbarian.
And, oh gods, I've asked this before but can we PLEASE get an option to change the AoE warning colours? This game is NOT user-friendly for colour-blind folks.
(I'm feeling particularly bitter right now as in my last run, twice my Greater Stone of Healing go on a brief - only a couple of secs - cooldown without actually healing my character. I gave up on my next round attempt when it did the same thing. And, to top it off, the bug-reporting system didn't want to work for me when I tried logging that.)
One mechanic I absolutely hate happens when you're out of stamina. The game just says "stamina required" when you try to dodge. Instead of just moving at normal speed then, the game stupidly makes you stand in place until you release the movement key entirely and try again without trying to sprint. It's just adding insult to injury.
EDIT
THIS IS SUCH HORSE S***. I used up half a dozen life scrolls fighting I don't know 20 enemies at a time. EVERY TIME I SO MUCH AS STOOD UP someone knocked me halfway across the arena. Forget about popping a daily -- you're flying through the air 20 feet up before you can even hit the key. It's not a "bonus round", IT'S F****** IMIPOSSIBLE. The only reason I managed to get through it was they knocked me so hard and so often it glitched me halfway into the wall and I was able to fight without being attacked.
See below. THIS IS TOTAL BS. You can't even see the ground there are so damned many.
Note to players: if it gives you the demons we see in other maps (Zythars, Barlguras, Shadow Demons, etc.), just quit. Don't even bother. In the bonus round they'll swarm you with Balors who knock you halfway across the map with just a stare (really -- it doesn't matter how far away you are -- one look and you're sent flying!) and a whole slew of enemies who slam into you and knock you flying the instant they spawn. It's that bad. You stand up, they knock you flying. You stand up again, they knock you flying. Before you know it, you're pinned against the wall totally unable to move because of the crush of enemies against you. They all have collision and you can't run through them.
I'm starting to think this is an unscrupulous effort to get people to either use up their life scrolls or buy the event buyout out of frustration.
Blood Magic (RELEASED) - NW-DUU2P7HCO
Children of the Fey (RELEASED) - NW-DKSSAPFPF
Buried Under Blacklake (WIP) - NW-DEDV2PAEP
The Redcap Rebels (WIP) - NW-DO23AFHFH
My Foundry playthrough channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Ruskaga/featured
Not to forget the fun part, where a whole pack of demons decided to stand right on the spot of a boost and by doing that making it impossible for my character to reach it in time.
Anyway, whoever designed this event should be forced to play through it on a 18k IL character and stream it every day.
Blood Magic (RELEASED) - NW-DUU2P7HCO
Children of the Fey (RELEASED) - NW-DKSSAPFPF
Buried Under Blacklake (WIP) - NW-DEDV2PAEP
The Redcap Rebels (WIP) - NW-DO23AFHFH
My Foundry playthrough channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Ruskaga/featured
I think this CC thing went too far - really, there is even no place for using your premium stuff: stones of health or scrolls of life, as those are not tools that can give the player a window in which he can actually attack.
1. Use the Envenomed Journal whenever available, and use Avalanche of Steel to kill lots of mobs at once.
2. The real enemy here is all the control effects. So slot Roar use it against a lot of mobs, that fills the Rage bar, and then go Unstoppable (immune to control) and kill lots of mobs with Relentless Slash. By time Unstoppable is done, then Roar is off cooldown, repeat.
3. Save the Shield powerup for the bonus round, for the first minute of the bonus round, run around and stay alive, then for the last minute, use the Shield powerup and kill everything
4. Watch the time - don't kill the last mob with only 5 seconds to go in a round, you will get a whole new wave before the end of the round. So drag it out a bit if you can.
5. Whenever the horses appear - kill them first, and quickly.
And i even could understand the yanked up into insanity level difficulty in the bonus round to keep those "one-percenters" thrilled, but the regular 5 rounds should remain doable with a 18k IL character. Why place a IL restriction on content, when a player with that IL can't get through it?
I mean, we all know this whole bloody "event" is only about pushing players towards buying one of those crappy legendary mount from the ZEN shop directly, or getting the players to go for the buyout option.
Anyway, i'm still wondering why the persons in charge around here can not understand that this kind of HAMSTER will cost them more and more players in the long run...