Test Discussion Episode 46: Town Square Theater - Solo

You also need to accept that the game cannot cater to your specific builds. There are multiple different ways to complete these two fights. You are also allowed to change your rotation for the instance, the same rotation that is used in alerts and raids may not necessarily apply to a solo. You can't compare this to the SOBA Elite solo when you had that 1st boss just sit and do nothing while he went that that little treasure chest phase lol.

I can't? It's a solo. It's elite. How can I not? You laugh as if it was a joke, but there were more than one boss in there and the final boss did have some tough mechanics to it, but it still was a solo.

So you want to emphasize that a player can run everything with various builds, but they have to make a very specific build that caters to one type of content? I reject that assertion. This is a game that is supposed to promote diversity of play, but it seems that the concept of elite requires it to be done a specific way. How is that diverse? Not talking about difficulty at this point. How can something require you to be built only one way to complete it? Wouldn't that require you to follow a specific meta that really just breeds 1 way is the only way.

This is not an elite raid, it's a solo.

But I get it, I shouldn't voice my opinions.

This is a game that is supposed to promote character progression as well, which is why we have Event>Regular>Elite>Elite Plus content progression. If you aren't good enough of a player to survive a solo instance fight, then yes you are going to have to change to a specific build that caters to one type of content.

It's not an "elite" raid but it is an "elite" solo, one that takes 5-6min and was even completed at cr405 which is below the suggested.

• default test toon with 410sp and avatar gear
• low agus
• no art swapping
• no supercharge
• no shield
• munitions which is "PFTT" Channel based

still a 2min fight while having to roll and cancel plenty of abilities. Was I overwhelmed with crowd control nope because a handy mod called empowered channeling exists

Edit: It's not worth it.

I agree with BumblingB on this one, although I aesthetically like this solo and in some ways it's fun it's also not fun.

Elite Feedback

Again, I agree with BumblingB, Wonder Girl is not a fun experience as a boss, she cc's you a lot and overall does too much damage which is at times even unavoidable. Her focus blast can be interrupted, but it also cc's you making you have to break out first, then lunge and by the time you've done that you've taken significant damage and it happens too frequently.

The fact it happens so frequently pushes you into a scenario where you're kiting around a lot, using everything, like soda's, supplies and trinkets or you're including a shield in your build to increase your survival. Even at CR419, which is what I was when I ran this solo just now, it feels like the experience drags on forever and I am honestly not looking forward to this being a daily task in its current form.

I think the bosses have too much HP and the last 20% of each boss fight feels like a real drain on the player, by the time the boss has about 20% health left there's a good chance you've used your soda once, used your trinkets, used a super and the boss still isn't dead yet and it's sucked the fun out of it for what is ideally supposed to be a fun daily solo instance even in the elite format.

I understand elite should offer some level of challenge, but I think this exceeds what is reasonable for an elite solo and I think players will become frustrated and disengage from this piece of content as a result. I know once I have enough marks in the content this would be one of the first pieces of content I'd drop off my daily schedule if I wasn't feeling like running something, because of the frustrations involved and the fact it only rewards 2 marks.

In my opinion there's a few options here to alleviate the frustration. Wonder Girl should have her damage reduced a little, especially on that focus blast and in addition to that the health on both Wonder Girl and Zatanna should be reduced by 10-20%, to avoid the fight unnecessarily dragging on, which I personally felt ruined the fun for me, which I wouldn't have experienced if they had less health.

You would literally be turning this solo into a 3-4min instance. How can you say the fight drags on when both encounters even with low damage would be less than 3min unless you are wiping on multiple attempts. [Elite] content isn't meant to hold a players hand like a child. There is a reason there is a loot locked on both [Regular] and [Elite], you don't get to run both instances you pick and choose which one you run and it locks you from the other.

What would the purpose be of content that is specifically designed for you not to need to use even the most basic of tools at your disposable? So it isn't "Fun" if you have to use your soder, supply and orbital? We should just cater and design instances where a player can just stumble their way to pass an instance without needing to use anything outside of 12345 on their loadout? Never mind about counters either, should just disregard those and cater instances to players who don't want to counter or dodge damage right?

There is a reason why running [Elite] content is a choice, not a mandatory one for a player to run the episode's content. There are definitely some players who have no business whatsoever running or attempting [Elite] content.

I mean this isn't even about "gatekeeping" difficulty, the solo is literally the only piece of content that is in a position to be released on live, outside of the feats. I feel like this is the definition of "can't have nice things" because of repeated attempts to dumb down the game so much that to the point where you could just AFK an instance and complete it.

I have made an effort to separate my subjective views about difficulty from other objective views I believe might exist from the wider player base while also not letting the sense of difficulty distract me from other genuine frustrations that I felt existed within the instance.

I did not at any point complain about the difficulty of the instance per se, that essentially wasn't what made me dissatisfied with the instance.

The elite solo was easily overcome, if the player pays attention to the mechanics and where necessary adapts their playstyle to the requirements of the instance, but that doesn't prevent the frustrations I highlighted in my feedback.

I was at no point suggesting that players should not have to use the tools they have been provided and I would encourage you to read my feedback again. The point I have made is that having even done so, the fight can often still continue and that itself causes the unnecessary frustration through the simple fact of the boss having more HP than is really necessary for the fight to be satisfying.

Having the extra 10-20% HP on the boss doesn't add to the difficulty, because again adopting the right strategy allows for an easy path forward, all it does is create frustration borne through an unnecessary extension to the fights duration, it's not a justifiable skill check, even in the elite context and all it achieves is frustration, similar to how clamped content isn't particularly more difficult, it's frustrated by the fact it's more time consuming than is really reasonable.

Regarding the cc and damage of the focus blast, that too probably is a bit over the top within the context of a solo, even if it is elite, it does quite a bit of damage even following a reasonable amount of progression post the contents entry point, which is also frustrating because you'd expect to see a bit more discernible progress and that isn't particularly evident in this instance in its current form.

I did read your feedback You agreed:

• that crowd control element should be toned down considerably
• overall does too much damage which is at times even unavoidable
• not looking forward to this being a daily task in its current form
• bosses have too much HP
• exceeds what is reasonable for an elite solo
• damage reduced a little
• health on both Wonder Girl and Zatanna should be reduced by 10-20%

Yet after saying all you say that you didn't complain about the difficulty of the instance "per se" I am having trouble grasping the context of "per se" in this regard as reading that above feedback there can only be one single conclusion drawn as implementing anyof that above feedback would have large adverse effects on the instance difficulty.

Also Solar Flare is a completely avoidable attack CC and damage. You simply dodge roll it, without that then there wouldn't have been a single tank that would have completed any Survival Mode round with Lex Luthor or any other handblaster npc. It's an easily telegraphed attack.

From your feedback "fun solo" can only be surmised that you want an [Elite] solo instance to be easy enough that you can complete it without having the "frustration" of using your utility belt. Spending 5-7min daily running this instance would apparently be too draining.

There is also a utility belt item called a "Sidekick" https://dcuniverseonline.fandom.com/wiki/Sidekicks_and_Accomplices
they will taunt and even give you a little shield and health return. I suggest players use this to alleviate some frustration.

When I used the word fun, it should not have been interpreted to mean easy, it should be interpreted to mean, content that possesses the appropriate level of challenge while being as free from frustration and unnecessary annoyances as possible.

Even if you were to leave Wonder Girls focus blast alone, which is actually the lesser of my two issues, you're still stuck with the issue of these bosses having a bit too much health.

You're blindly equating this additional health with added challenge, while missing my point that the challenge of the fight has already been had and instead of ending it there and leaving the player satisfied, you're slapping a bit more health on the boss to drag the fight out seemingly for the sake of it under the claim that the content must meet your own subjective requirements of what defines elite.

Even if I'd blown through all my trinkets, supers, sodas and other tricks, I can easily overcome that last 25% health by putting 1 shield on my build or simply tac swapping on a clarion for the last part of the fight.

That isn't challenging though, its simply annoying and so is insisting a player routinely swap out their max damage hand mod for empowered channelling every day or be forced to run a rank 200 solar amplifier to avoid cc's that are realistically just a bit excessive.

Without the extra health, the fight would still be challenging and it would be far less frustrating.

Oddly enough, I agree with Obsidian (in general we have a different approach to the game, the challenge is not important to me), an elite solo should at least be at the minimum available CR, but offer players at least a minimum challenge and an incentive to develop further... for the first time I I completed this solo as a battle tank... and I'll be honest, I even doubted that I was in an elite solo... after that I completed this solo many times, with different builds, I even completed it without difficulties on an experimental random build (new artifact, BOP, Amulet)... of course I understand that for an experienced player it should not offer difficulties, but at the same time I am sure that an elite solo should at least a little stimulate the desire to improve something in the character for a less experienced player (change build ..., upgrade artifacts or an ally... perhaps increase the CR...).

I agree it's a solo, and the fact lots of people or the community run it as a support role. I mean like you said it's a Solo not an alert or Raid.

All of this ^^^^

The thing is, ease of skill doesn't equate to the ease of gear. I've been testing it with CR410 gear, which gives an idea of what coming into this is like. The content isn't difficult, it's annoying. The fights are a burn check, that all your damage doesn't equate to what she does to you.

She juggles the hell out of you. And her pulse beam takes 1/3 of your health at the moment you break out to lunge. So you are in the part of kiting around the room on low health waiting for your whatever healing option is to come off cool down. I've built something to help me get through this instance. It's not hard, it's not fun either. To want to run this every day would make me want to not run it ever again.

Could I build something and beat it? Yes. Will I be frustrated beyond end because of the constant juggle? Yes.

This isn't a skill issue and gear always makes the run smoother. So you still have that sense of progression.

The [Regular] version exists.... why would we balance elite difficulty with players in mind that will purposefully run support roles and expect to be able to clear it easily

So run it to complete the feats and then never que the [Elite] version again. That is always an option and why there are [Event] and [Regular]. So just because you feel that its not fun because you can't mindlessly complete it using 12345 it needs to be changed for the entire community?

Right back at you. Why does it have to follow what you view as a challenge be the way? Seriously, if you think my comments aren't worth it, why are you replying to them?

This is exactly the point, This isn't about trying to make the instance easier because others perceive we don't possess the skill to pass it or that we just need to "get good", we don't need to improve our play, we can already pass the instance, it isn't a skill issue.

This is about eliminating frustration points from the instance to improve its long term engagement and overall quality. It doesn't lead to a satisfactory player experience to simply add challenge to content through simply prolonging the battle duration past what is really a reasonable period.

It just makes the player frustrated, annoyed and they'll eventually just stop running the content because they just simply do not enjoy it because it has elements that just annoy or feel like they take too long to bother.

I don't have an issue with Elite , I don't get why your going so hard about a SOLO, like Chill lol , I would totally understand a raid or alert, but a solo or or if it was elite plus.

I just wanted to add what Bumbling said being constantly pulse beamed isn't mechanics to me, not sure if it's meant to do that.

So that no one gets the wrong idea and adjusts the solo.

I never said I viewed it as a challenge, I completed it at less than the recommended CR, I've done it as a pet dps, i've done it as multiple different might powersets. It is an engaging solo where you cannot just stand in 1 spot and go through your rotation until you get loot and proceed onwards. Where is the enjoyment of standing in the same spot to dps because the boss has been stripped of any meaning for you to move? Let's just chunk off their health pools by 25% so they die quicker, thus reduces their amount of mechanics because they only get to use a few of the combos? Breaking out is too taxing on a player apparently so I guess then we just have to remove all that so that you can once again stand in the same spot and dps just like the SOBA elite solo.

It is all completely unnecessary, the point is not to bring down this [Elite] instance so that its just [Regular] 2.0. That is what you are going, it would be pointless to refer to this solo besides Regular 2.0 with that feedback.

It's not even hard to tell players what to do and how to complete that instance, there is no hidden mechanics.

Telling someone to complete the feats in the instance and never run it again is somewhat of an admission to bad content design. You should never feel that way nor should you have to encourage others to behave in such a manner, that is a clear signal that something isn't ideal.

If anyone feels they have to play that way, then it's a bad thing.