Dev Discussion Episode 31: 'Spreading Spores' duo

Hello again!

This is the thread I'll be monitoring for any feedback about the Spreading Spores duo(s). There's a single queue, which will lead to one of four instances.

The biggest differences from last year:

• Starro has invaded the Iceberg Lounge in Gotham!
• There is a 'Normal' difficulty duo on top of the 'Event' version.

Please post any feedback or issues you come across here, and provide any details such as which instance your feedback relates to, which difficulty you queued for, and anything else you think is relevant.

I hope you find the content fun and engaging!

Controlled Penguin resets if you move too far away. Including if you jump into the water to get the erm... friendly Starros off you. I do like that mechanic though. I suspect I’ll be seeing it again... in my nightmares. You just need to make sure penguin doesn’t reset unless both players go back into the entryway.

Is anybody there?

Hey! Sorry I've not replied yet. I didn't manage to get a fix in for this issue yet. But I promise it's on my radar. I looked at the data, and there isn't an obvious reason why it's happening. So the patch for it is going to take a little more effort. Sorry it happened. I believe that you can avoid it happening if both players don't jump in the pool/stay in the pool at the same time. If one player goes in, and then comes out, and the other jumps in, that should (I hope) prevent this from being a possibility.

I'm hoping some failsafes that should go out with the next hotfix will address this issue most of the time. The behavior of an NPC going back to full-health if they detect they're out of combat for long enough is hard-coded, so it's still possible the issue you described could happen if both players just jump in the pool and stay there. That said, it shouldn't happen most of the time, if players are engaging the boss. You may or may not see a note about it with the patch, but the change should be in hopefully tomorrow evening, or by Wednesday.

Here's a video showing what running the duo is like in regular most of the time. Personally, I like the challenge, but keep in mind this video was after wiping twice on adds already, and at CR 232. I had a great partner as well, who didn't forget to target the starros during the boss fight, and the rage powerset using my damage reduction mechanic (other players can use a shield for similar results).

The question is, do you intend the adds to hit this hard for normal end game players? I'm not asking for a nerf, just showing you what's happening currently so you can correctly judge the damage.



I'll upload a video later of Iceberg Lounge when I get into one, as well as the event versions of the duo.

Like with the other duos recently, can the first boss give a focusing element and a base item? Right now it doesn't give any loot. Is that intended?

Man that’s brutal! I tend to camp out at one side of the room, and weapons based dps tends to keep the add your crosshairs are on stunlocked, So I tend to do okay. If that’s the experience pffters are having, maybe it needs looking at? I’m alright either way

I personally don't really care, because the adds stay at the damage you did to them, and there's no wall blocking you from coming back. I'm legendary and have plenty of cash, so I don't care about gear repair, wiping, etc. I actually like the added challenge, keeps you on your toes. However, I know not every player is like me, and I can imagine some swearing after wipe #3, lol.

Most of the time, I will just swap to healer or tank or troll depending on my partner. But again, these duos are for people to just queue in and finish, so they might be a little overtuned.

However, I haven't seen any complaints in this thread so far, so maybe most people don't care either. Either way, I just dropped the video so the devs can see and make sure it's to their liking. I'm totally neutral about the whole thing, just showing them so they can perfect their creation, lol.. I had a brutal run on my CR 100 alt, but didn't have time to record it, so going back in later.

Well if you ever decide you want it easy like me, I suggest you camp out at the furthest door on the side of your choice, only moving away slightly to aggro any adds from the central door on that side if nothing is coming from your main side door. If nothing’s coming from either door on your side, then move to the other side and continue the same strategy there.

Wow, that’s actually sort of an elaborate battleplan seeing it in words. I really will do anything short of straight-up exploits to keep myself out of danger. Not terribly heroic really, is it?

The adds do hit hard....i actually hate the steel works one! Too much work one lil crown...lol