Map Changes in 2.0.4

Best idea so far: why not allowing every map to have any tier? GGG if u get a lvl 82 tropical island. Nice easy kill boss. Bad choice for a desert or pit map.
I understand the design of cards only dropping in high level maps (ex: fiend and doctor) but that can be adressed as tier or maplevel easily. You don,t like that concept? Well, players will love replayability then, im sure.

Same for league achievements: kill a core boss. Oh, just put challenge in kill a lv 15 tier boss and done. Again, think on replayability.

Also good to see performance issues. The biggest problem i see atm.

And the problem of a lv78 map dropping a lv68 still exist.

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mireklefou wrote:

Why not just add level 84-100 maps so players can run their level? That would make far more sense. Wouldn't need to have unique design nor new bosses. Simply level 100 Crypt/Grotto/Tropical Island for those special ones. I'd welcome some kind of reward for grinding til 100. Personally, I start losing interest in my character and maps at 75-80 for it just doesn't lead anywhere.

ROFLMAO!

That post made my day. It's probably one of the best ideas I've heard so far.

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Perq wrote:

Because if they were made changes for the "99%" in that regard, 1% would reach level 100 in day or two.
You don't need to get level 100. You are calling to make game easier, so people who aren't as good as top players can achieve top achievements. Which is stupid.
You are not a top player, I'm not a top player - deal with it.

We also don't need to play the game either, but we still do, so what of it? I like the game, but I hate the direction its going in as do most players.

Also, "You are calling to make the game easier", meaning what? "Time" is not "Difficulty". If you're able to kill the same monsters without any trouble, the game isn't getting harder. That means reaching level 100 isn't hard. Its tedious. Its time consuming. Its boring.

"So people who aren't as good as top players can achieve top achievements", why does getting level 100 have to be a public achievement? As I said before, if nobody cares that somebody else got to level 100, is it really an achievement then? It can only be a personal achievement at that point, cause no one else is stroking your ego if you get to 100.

"Not a Top Player" - Who cares about being a top player? Who cares about others who are "top players"? I want to enjoy the game, which is more important than "who got to level 100 first". I would enjoy the game if I felt I were making more progress in the higher levels and actually getting into the higher levels without getting incredibly bored by the grind it takes to get there.

Lack of a feeling of progress leads to a lack of interest in trying to progress. As said, the 1% will still reach level 100. Everyone else has to pay the price. One day, the 99% are going to leave and its going to be too late to fix this.

We'll see, (guarded [very]) optimism.

I was confused enough what with renaming some maps, changing lvl of others, why the change to tiers I'm not sure it is good idea but I see what they mean in the post. Players think "Oh, and now I'm lvl 81, I should run those maps!" when they are too hard for them.
I used to think that when I was a n00b too.

Apparently the number of rage quits have dropped. Must make the grind harder. The top tier players will always be top tier. They will always exploit the system. Even after all this time Chris fails to understand. There is nothing you can do to foil this type of player. Quit wasting resources on a lame cat & mouse game that cant be won. But hey what do I know? Color coded maps meh whatever. How bout an inventory sort button or would that make the game too easy?

Its amazing how some people will QQ no matter what, I guess some people always react negatively to change. I feel sorry for GGG having to read some of it when they are clearly trying to gradually improve things. Overall, potentially GREAT changes. That being said, point by point:

1) Map drop rate increase. +1000
Isn't that what everyone wanted? Will it be considerable...I doubt it, but with the exp changes to higher maps there is less reason to make them sooo rare.

2) Map difficulty. +1
Admitting (some) act 4 monsters do excessive damage and fixing it. Reducing damage spikes thus maybe making things like Acro+evasion viable again, as well as simply being a bad and unfair way of making a game difficult.

3) Map colours +1 (I guess)
Why not? Easy way to quickly distinguish maps. Not particularly needed but why not.

4) Maps as tiers -1
QQ here I feel is justified, but come on, it doesn't need to be so aggressive! It was an idea, but a bad one for the simple reason that item ilevel and monster level is relevant (easy example: as a lvl 85 toon I know that anything say below 74 is too much a loss of xp and should only be run for league specific reasons). Having to convert tier to level every time is a pain and should not be necessary! Even in the post there was a need for conversion lol.
Also, renaming something doesn't in itself solve any problems.
I don't think anyone would think less of GGG if they go back on it - Some ideas simply are not practical! Please :)

5) Ground effects +1000
One of the best parts of the manifesto and barely anyone mentioning it. Absolutely crucial QoL

6) Experience in top maps +0.5 (after careful consideration, and only if there really are more map drops)

If i'm allowed to classify players as casuals (dont or rarely reach higher maps etc), semi-casuals (get to several 85-90s toons per league) and 'pros', then these changes ONLY affect the pros.

Analysing -> leveling to 100 will now take more time overall. Essentially things have gone back to pre 2.0 but with two key differences: less pressure to invest everything in 82 maps (considering this saving in currency and more map drops may actually lead to more actual game time and less dead time trading!), but remember that max exp is now 1% and not 2%, so although even 79 maps will not be so much worse in the new system and has the added benefit of not always having to do the same maps (less repetitive grind which is relevant) it will simply take longer.
Is it too much? I'm not a 'pro' so I cant say, but in a three month league probably not. Whats the need to reach lvl 100 in a week?! Either way, what I think could make the grind more enjoyable is if 80-82s were REALLY challenging/engaging. GGG has already gone in this direction by tiering maps and mods, but I think they could go further. Not only would players really need to invest in gear etc before pushing towards lvl 100 (extending time they took to reach lvl 100 naturally) but not only would this increased challenge be more fun for them but also for anyone watching (if a streamer etc).
The only problem with really making maps difficult is that it can be a bit artificial and can basically consist of spike damage. Not cool, especially in HC. If insane spike damage could be avoided by more adequate map mods then I think this is the best way to go. (Examples of good and bad map mods: good - monster increased attack and movement. bad - monster crit chance and damage).

From a mostly solo player's perspective there is a point I would like to see adressed. In its current implementation Zana mods seem mandatory for sustaining 79+ maps. Whereas an organized group is capable of sharing these additional costs and thus chaining high level maps, a solo player can't keep up with this procedure constantly or has to spend way more time in trade chat than he would like too.

This leads to another point. Please consider that during the 1M event often times the map sustaining mods (domination and ambush) will be active. So, if your data during the 1M event indicates that map drops would be fine, I am not sure at all if this would carry over to the core game.

Lastly, I agree with Snorkle and Borgbilly. In its current state, efficient xp gaining past level 90 seems too much gated by currency rather than character viability. Thus I think the trade off more maps - less xp from 82 maps is a good change.

looks promising

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people are reaching level 100 too quickly

Check my join date.

My highest character is level 90, in Standard where I play most.

Essentially I have given up trying to progress further.

In order to meet the needs of a few players who play all day long, you are cutting off folks who only play video games an hour or two each day.

You need to be a bit more creative to resolve this issue in a way that doesn't eliminate any of your players.