NZGDC 2016 Developer Presentation: Labyrinth Design

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ChuckPC wrote:

You can say "skip Labyrinth" all you want but if you want to take your build to it obvious conclusion you HAVE to do it.

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shogunngt wrote:

I love the lab and think it's a great addition to the game, along with the ascendancy classes/nodes. I'd MUCH rather run the lab than maps.

I get so sick of rolling and running maps. Always the same maps (only want the linear ones that can cleared with minimal effort,no intersections or side areas that need to be explored, and weak-sister bosses). And always the same mods - oops, this one doesn't have packsize, reroll; this one has tc or reflect, reroll, etc.

Then you spend all of five minutes flasking around killing trash mobs that any build lvl 60+ could with little effort, another 2 mins to pick up decent loot and do it again, and again, and again, and again. If I wanted that, I'd just play one of those awful clicker games that seem to be so popular now.

Lab's a great change to the above flash-and-dash garbage that everyone seems to think is the core of this game. Now you've got to think, react, and actually watch what's going on on the screen, not just spam your attack skill and/or flasks.

Yes, some builds have a tougher time than others in the lab, and yes, you can die to an unfortunate lag spike. I've died to both, many, many times - sometimes it's a double crit from Izaro that I didn't flask in time for, sometimes a string of traps that I didn't dodge well or got caught by a slow field or a pack of mobs that prevented me from moving out quickly enough.

But I keep going back, because to me, it's just way more enjoyable. And the current rewards seem right with the silver chests, hidden coffers, and treasure chests and enchantment if you manage to defeat the final Izaro. That way I don't feel I've lost too much in terms of drops as opposed to running 10 or so maps that the lab takes.

Maybe there's a way to help out those builds who seems to suffer most when running the lab, but please do not remove the lab or it's rewards.

And for heaven's sake, please don't just gift ascendancy points at level intervals as one poster suggested. Not saying those have to be earned from running lab like it is now, but please don't cave to the "Gimme Uber Nao" generation. Make 'em earn it, somehow.

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The_Reporter wrote:

Today I give it one final try. Just to see if it's still crap.

It is.

Gold door needs a gold key right at the start.

The solution? Quit POE and find something fun to do.

Get rid of that gold door gold key BS. It's lame.

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johhha wrote:

I dont get all the hate on lab, i guess its only cause people think its hard and scary and that people cant show their metabuild exploding all mobs within 1.5 screens in a second.

kinda unbalanced how much easier lab is as ES build though, maybe make it similar on lifebuilds. And add ALOT of monsters and ambushes while going through it!

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CarlosMarcos wrote:

You've stopped just short of the optimal solution--get rid of the fucking lab altogether. Nobody likes that shit. Timing-based movement in a point and click game with tiny safe areas is the most aids thing to happen to video games since QTEs.

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The_Reporter wrote:

If the layout can be (and is probably expected to be) looked up online to bypass the 'challenge' of navigating it, then why not just display the correct route in the mini map?

And if you intend to make navigating the labyrinth a true challenge, why is each unique instance not completely randomized?

It seems that for people who hang out in reddit and other 3rd party websites, the main 'challenge' involved with navigating the lab is actually not a challenge at all.

Why is there no randomization?