Dev Discussion Episode 35: Scarlet Speedster Solo Feedback

Discussion in 'Concluded' started by TLantern, Sep 12, 2019.

  1. TLantern Developer

    Hello everyone! Welcome to the official feedback page for the Metal Part I Solo! Please note that this solo is also an operation.

    There is an Event version in addition to a Normal version of the solo. It would be fantastic to get feedback for both! So please, as usual, leave any notes, critiques, bugs, or general feedback you have while playing.

    Thanks! Keep your head on a swivel out there!
  2. recoil2 Dedicated Player

    need to do a HARD bug pass on this solo instance, especially of the mirror master first mini boss. everything lags; the health barrel, the mirrors/portals (which pop out of nowhere), using canine form is a MAJOR no-no, etc. the whole fight glitches/lags throughout making an otherwise moderately difficult and fun fight that would otherwise be enjoyable a complete and impossible nightmare to do just cause the fight environment doesn't track/register your damage given or damage received or really much of anything else.
  3. 9001BPM Steadfast Player

    Initial thoughts after running with four characters, using different Rogue tech each time:

    First, I really enjoy the open world like portion. I know some people regard it as mundane busywork, but I feel it really gets into the meat and potatoes of being a vigilante/criminal. I’m less keen on randomly taking 20k from the environment, especially since the adds actually hit pretty hard at recommended CR.

    When Mirror Master is standing outside the museum as you approach him, I think he should be marked as a friendly in the villain version, as he isn’t “metallised” until you get close enough for the cutscene. Just a little immersion detail. As for the fight itself, it’s basically fine. It’s a bit of a drag if you’re weapons specced, because that AOE constantly spawning under your feet makes finishing a combo rather difficult.

    The museum part is honestly a bit tedious. There are absolutely tons of adds and getting through them all is a bit of a slog. The speed force vortices put a considerable speed bump on the extensive backtracking. I get that they’re there to stop you running part the adds. Perhaps have them despawn in rooms where all the enemies have been defeated?

    The Red Death battle. Ew. It’s a good there’s a feat for using each piece of Rogue tech because otherwise there would be zero reason to use anything other than the Pied Piper tech. The bombs are the most significant threat. There’s no timers on them without the Piper tech, and even if there was, there’s no way to reliably avoid being hit by at least one because they cover the whole room. 17k isn’t a lot, but combined with everything else it all adds up.

    Maybe the other tech would be useful if you could keep close to Red Death, but you can’t because not only is the AOE from the Mirror Master fight back (albeit significantly weaker), but Red Death seems to have a nasty tendency to just hit you for 20k without warning, and the frequency seems to increase when you’re close to him.

    It all comes together to make a fight where you seemingly have to juggle your soda and HL shield. Goodness knows how the Hard Knocks feat is supposed to be achieved.
    • Like x 1
  4. myandria Item Storage

    Well...

    I have noticed that when you are finished with the solo and you use the Watchtower portal you are taken to the War Room instead of the area in front of the Metal 1 portal. Even when you do this, you still have to leave the mission via the On Alert tab. This is new, since solo's usually do not require you to use the On-Alert tab to leave the mission.

    I tested this out by leaving the solo when it was half finished when I ran it a second time. I teleported to my base instead. I joined another group to do a JLD mission and I could not see anyone from my group on my mini map. I also could not see the list for my group members, either. I quickly discovered that I STILL had to use the On-Alert tab to leave that mission (the timer was still running for it). When I did that, everything worked normally again.

    The only time you can fully leave the solo mission is if you log out completely from the game during/after the mission.

    Would it be possible to reconsider having players to use the On-Alert to leave a solo mission? I do not see why it would be necessary to do so and it would make a smoother transition if you finish a solo and then join a group.


    Ok.. now onto the mission itself:

    When you first get the intro message from Oracle, the mission objective have numbers behind them; for example, rescue (4) citizens, help (8) police officers. When you start doing so, those numbers go away and doesn't seem to matter which objective you concentrate on, the metalization happens after you do a certain amount of *helping out*.

    Would it be possible to get rid of the objective count when Oracle speaks to you? It is confusing to see because you think you have to complete a certain amount for those objectives and the game mechanics do not require them.

    Mirror Master is a bit of a pain, but not impossible. The area in which you fight him is a bit tight and it can be hard to roll/dodge out of the way of the red lightning vortexes. I find that I lag quite a bit when I am trying to roll out of the way only to almost collide with a summoned mirror or the shield wall.

    I like the *puzzle* that you have to solve in the Flash Museum; it's not too hard and the fact that the fire poster changes position each time you do it keeps it interesting.

    The Red Death fight is challenging, but ok. I agree with 9001BPM; aside from the feat there is little reason to want to take him out over and over. The bombs do take a nice chunk of health from you, especially if you are using a toon below level 30 in the event version and/ or your loadout/utility belt doesn't have a shield power/device in it.

    Speaking of the Event Version, it is definitely more forgiving and I think that more players should consider doing this version first, even if their character is already at or above the required level for the Normal Version. Red Death doesn't spawn as many bombs and they don't hit as hard, and Mirror Master is the same way; not as many mirrors or vortexes spawn and hits for less damage.

    In my opinion, I feel that the Event content for Metal 1 should have had a required CR of 30, since for both versions you need access to ALL of your powers to create the best loadout for your character, and some of the better shields/powers are not available for certain power until CR 28.
    • Like x 2
  5. TLantern Developer

    The idea of the mechanic was to keep players moving. A single boss is a little too easy if we allow people to fully unload unhindered.

    There are some safe spots along the edges of the room where the bombs won't hit you if you don't have the Pied Piper Tech.

    That sounds like his Super Speed Multi-Punch attack. The Heatwave Tech will protect you from it. The Heatwave tech will also knock down and damage enemies when you are hit. Additionally it puts a short duration absorption shield on you.


    Some info on the other Tech:
    Weather Wizard's Tech will protect you from his Explosive Batarang attack, it also creates an absorption shield on you when you take damage. Once it wears off it'll be ready again after 5 seconds.

    Captain Cold's Tech will root him (as well as the other enemies) and do damage over time. It will also prevent him from doing his invincible charge around the room.
    • Like x 4
  6. TLantern Developer

    Sounds like a bug. I did remove the objective counts for this exact reason. I'll look into it.


    Thanks! That was my intended goal for the puzzle.


    Thanks for all the feedback. I'm nerfing the damage in the Event mode as we speak.
    • Like x 4
  7. Colonel Sentinel New Player

    The fight with Mirror Master has just got me to ragequit. I don't know if I can even play this episode if this is the first boss fight, it's not like I can level up higher to come back and take it on again since I'm already boosted just to be there.

    I shouted in frustration and anger at about the 6th time getting killed by him, never getting him below about half in the process.

    Those vortexes appearing right on top of you, hindering your movement, doing huge damage before you can get out of them is insane. That makes this pretty much impossible. I tried moving constantly and blasting him. . .doing little damage and getting worn down with him doing more damage to me than I was to him. . .and if I get right up on him to attack, one of those red vortexes appears. . .I'm taking damage so I can't fly out of the way at normal speed, and by the time I can get out of it I'm at half health.
    • Like x 1
  8. MsTickle Fate Devoted Player

    Roll.

    Immediate rolling is the solution to many situations and effects, whether it's something coming towards you or the ground suddenly changing color and effect.

    The Metal alert is a bit profligate with stuns getting in the way of rolling, but it's still perfectly doable, so long as the team is ready to do pick-ups.

    My first try at the new Metal alert was by random queuing, and the three people I was with THREE TIMES didn't pick me up when I died in the first boss fight when they were STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO ME. I suggested after each time to be sure to do pick-ups, but each time, no, they completely ignored my dying. And I was the healer. So when I died, they wiped.

    After the third wipe, I quit, and found a new group via LFG and it went just fine. We all died once or twice, but did pick-ups and it was relatively easy-peasy. (Meaning that at this stage of the episode release, you do have to be on your toes -- and that's GREAT, that's what makes the game fun: having a challenge, but not a frustratingly super-difficult challenge.)
  9. recoil2 Dedicated Player

    just going to say it, good job on the instances for this DLC, in the very least the event versions are a a blast to run through, not too hard IF everybody knows what they're doing and yet not a complete pushover either. i most definitely recommend fire/ice for red death though ;). ice allows for the least usage of his dash abilities and will help wear him down with aoe damage and fire will nullify most of the dash attack damage.
    • Like x 2
  10. ALB Dedicated Player

    Worse solo ever. Making a solo a challenge is the worse idea anyone can have if you want players to actually run it everyday. Even the event is to much. The dev team need to start looking at who gives feedback. Whoever convinced you all to buff a solo, that's 1 mark, gave bad advice.
    • Like x 1
  11. 9001BPM Steadfast Player

    Well like I said, initial thoughts. I’ve since discovered the small blind spots for the bombs for myself but the spawning vortex severely hinders your ability to stay in those blind spots. You could theoretically coordinate the vortex spawning under you with the bombs’ timers, but of course you can’t see the timers.

    Ironically you kinda have less need of the timer with the Piper tech because you just defuse a couple nearby and then you just ignore the rest. In my opinion we definitely need the timers back. I saw there was worry about confusing people on test, so maybe have a different icon when you don’t have the piper tech? I believe there’s a clock icon that often gets used for timed events that the player doesn’t directly interact with. Unless you’re using it for the timers with the piper tech already, I can’t remember.

    The 20k bursts are indeed the result of both the batarang and the multi-punch. It wasn’t immediately obvious on my first runs that those attacks were being blocked by the other tech because of all the perceived chaos. If it’s intentional that this fight has a bit of a learning curve to it, then all of this is obviously fine. Except the bomb timers. Please give us timers. :p

    The reason I mentioned the weapons thing with Mirror Master is because actually, most might users can absolutely just unload on him unhindered as you said if they know how to jump cancel. Munitions, Fire and Ice don’t need to do even that. They can just circle strafe. I’m not really sure what can be done about this though now I think about it, I think it’s just a cross I’ll have to bear. :D At least the combo power users will have to bear it with me. ;)

    One more thing. I actually really like this solo. I like it a lot. Don’t let my complaints and nitpicks make you think otherwise. :)
    • Like x 3
  12. UnbreakableII Well-Known Player



    Okay, I understand that the idea is not to leave the char fixed at a single point disrupting power and damage, but, I have to say, as it is, with the speed that vortices form, combo-based powers have a big disadvantage. It is almost impossible atomic to do the aura, it doesn't work, Light then barely does anything and no, as it is, it is not possible to do the combo and walk, the vortice ends up with 35-40% of the life of the character.

    Now if you allow me, it has nothing to do with this solo exactly, but it has to do with that "intention" when doing any task:
    Why do all the powers that need COMBO, like Light, Celestial, Atomic and anyone who needs a few button hits to do anything get so many stunned and get interrupted so often?
    This happens in all instances, all the times, if you have a combo, you will receive an interrupt.
    These powers (especially Celes and Light) already have low damage, need to be updated to stats close to Munitions, Earth, and even with noticeably lower base damage and being very difficult to extract damage from, they still suffer from the problem of relying on a combo that the game, programming, cancels from the start.
    I know here it was just to talk about solo but I approved to ask.
    I'll thank you if you at least read.

    Keep up the good work.
    • Like x 2
  13. L T Devoted Player

    I recently dusted off my atomic alt, and had exactly the same experience. After breezing through the fight as electric, quantum, and Earth, doing this as atomic was dramatically harder.

    I have yet to experience any problems with the red death fight on any of my toons. His immune-to-damage laughter is really the only thing that inconveniences me. The buff from cold powers seems less useful than heat or wind. Haven't tried the fourth yet.

    The really ugly, annoying aspect of the solo is all the adds and grounding effects. urgh.
    • Like x 3
  14. Krossmark Level 30

    I've run this solo every day since Metal Part 1 and I'm just going to gush for a second

    • I really like the opening villain-side; I mentioned this in a discussion thread, but the moment, fleeting as it is, to partake in some good 'ol fashioned villainy was good, no immediate "let's figure out what's up with these storms" just simply "grab as much as you can while the gettin' is good!"
    • Mirror master was fun, figuring how to get the mirrors feat was fun, and although he's a cakewalk now, it's still fun to see how fast I can burn him down
    • I like the way Calculator (and I'm assuming Oracle for hero side, haven't run hero yet) was written in this solo; from his quips regarding Flash, to his mentioning of Red Death likely being unfamiliar with fighting Rogue-tech, it made me feel like he was less of a dispatcher and more of a evil genius guiding me to advantages I would need to figure out how to use - I legitimately would not have thought of the Rogue-tech thing, but he also doesn't spell out exactly how to use each tech. Genius guidance, but allowing you to do your own thing: great.
    • The Red Death fight itself was really fun, I'm liking managing these phases in solo content even if it is a little frustrating to not cake-walk it the first time through. It's been a long time since I've been proud of myself for any particular feat in this game than when I got the Hard Knocks feat for this fight.
    I know a lot of people don't like it for the length or other issues, not saying it's perfect, but man I think this is a really good content addition to DCUO.
    • Like x 3
  15. Qadir879 New Player

    Having trouble with the collections. Runo have itning 4 tons and have yet to see a Damaged truck lapel flower any where except the broker. I've talked to other players and it's the same story with them. This collection isnt dropping like it should.
  16. Heliotropix Well-Known Player

    i can't get past mirror master, i'm animation locked and the swirlys pop on top of me and kill me while i can't move....if i try to clip the animation it kills my dps and he kicks my ***....279 with 150 sp and it just sucks bad.....
  17. recoil2 Dedicated Player

    the key is to move around, the mirror master boss fight is a test of endurance and tactical planning, not brute force. if your powerset has any AOES (area of effect) abilities i suggest those for the mirrors. bear in mind that the mirrors roving around are what's generating his damage absorbing shield.
  18. Quistar New Player

    I have a problem with the feats for Scarlet Speedster. For some reason a number of them are not registering when I complete them. The villain tech feat, the puzzle, a few others I have completed...yet the game does not recognize it to give me the feat completion. For helping citizens it gave me one point and the others I help after aren't adding to my total. Thanks in advance.
  19. Hellclown127! Well-Known Player

    My problem with the solo is that I used 600 replay badges and got none of the collections to drop. Still haven't gotten any after running everyday since the episode dropped.
  20. RunfromDanger Man Dedicated Player

    I assume you have been running the regular version and not event? Because if so that sucks, I had that same problem with the JLD update.