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Suggestion The Instances and the Golden Key dilemma

Discussion in 'Feedback' started by Few Scars, Sep 6, 2012.

  1. Few Scars

    Few Scars Administrator Staff Member PAF Administrator Arkadia Adviser

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    Hi Dev team

    After spending some time doing the instances I have found them really good. Things I would suggest changing are follows
    1. Remove the requirement to be in a team. Many players including myself, like to test our own skills in the Instances solo and so this should be allowed.

    2. Set up an ingame tally of the top teams times and top solo times, this will be a great ongoing competition between players to see who can do an Instance the quickest. ie I did instance 6 in 1 hour...yes I am slow.

    3. I will kick myself for saying this, but the mobs are very low level. I havent tried a level 10 instance yet, but they all seem to be high HP and no kick, players can pretty much do them without armour or fapping.

    The Golden Key
    "Use the Arkadian Golden Key, or trade it for 1,000,000 Arkoins! (TT value 10,000 PED)"

    ....I see the nightmare already. The cost to craft the golden key may prevent it actually happening. I have already seen some components for sale in excess of 5000Ped. The player who loots the BP may need to have extreme financial resources to craft it and if they chose to pay 30000Ped (more than it is worth) to get the ingredients, or the loot from doing the Golden instance will need to loot a very big ATH.

    Why I talk about this is the same situation that happened on Calypso. The HUSSK required certain items to be spawned. It ended up costing one player 5000Ped to spawn it. The loot was spread amongst 150 players and the initial avatar spawning it never got anything back on his 5000Ped. The HUSSK hasnt been spawned since then.

    I would strongly suggest working out a way that the parts for the golden key are common items so affordable for the player to craft or the golden instance will fail and generate a lot of compaints and dissatisfaction amongst players. From experience in this game, I would look at how the Golden key is crafted.
    Alternatively make the ingredients for the Golden Key BP items looted from the instances like Arkoins, robot parts etc. As soon as a part is looted which indicates it is a component of the Golden key, the owner will not sell it for 101% MU, more like 1million% MU.

    Anyway, I hope the Golden key is a success for the player who loots the BP, but I do hope the Dev team hear what I am saying.

    Cheers
    Bjorn
     
  2. slither

    slither Active Member

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    Everyone knows the key is worth 10,000ped, if players want to pay more than that on hope the instance will pay more then they only have themselves to blame if things don't work out.
     
  3. KikkiJikki

    KikkiJikki Well-Known Member Pro Users

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    Bjorn, I do the instances solo. I form a team with just myself in it and that meets the requirement to get me through the door. A one person team can't loot mobs but that is not an issue for the the instance as all the loot is in the chests at the end.
     
  4. Danton

    Danton Active Member Pro Users

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    Question is: What are the instances intentionally designed for? Team or Solo? What can be seen is, that many are done solo or 2ppl only.
    Maybe it will be a good idea to make a change in the future development, one part designed for solo, one part requires team. It is very easy to prevent ppl doing high lvl instances solo or with 2 ppl only. It's a matter of position of chest boxes and time to loot them. But it will only make sense to change it, when higher lvl instances (or a new to design special "big team needed" instances) when mobs will be stronger in those instances. Doesnt make sense to go there with a team of 12 mid/high skilled ppl, they will be bored after few minutes with current level of difficulty.

    I also like to do an instance solo, but I also would like to see some instances where it is absolut impossible to do them without a decent teamsize. A balance between both designs, solo and team, will bring content to everyone, no matter which type you prefer. Just my 2pec...

    Cu
    -Ron
     
  5. Ridan

    Ridan Active Member

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    Didnt they say its the same as beacons caves? basicly team is needed as MA says it is sorta say.

    Golden Key will cost alot to craft yes but this is as it has always been everyone wanting to make a quick buck :).

    Also we have no idea what will drop behind the golden door.
     
  6. harmony

    harmony Active Member Pro Users

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    Come on Bjorn you have been around long enough to realize that people selling the components for the golden key want to make a quick buck now, hoping for a gambler or a fame-seeker to acquire the key. The prices on those parts will drop like a brick in a few weeks/months when the novelty wears off.
     
  7. KikkiJikki

    KikkiJikki Well-Known Member Pro Users

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    Ron,

    I don't understand why you would want to limit the gameplay choices by making some instances only doable in a team. There is plenty of incentive to do the existing ones in teams. It's cheaper (less defense decay, less regen cost) and takes less of your time.

    If someone is sufficiently skilled to complete the toughest instances solo then that should be an available choice for them.

    Regards,
    KikkiJikki
     
  8. Danton

    Danton Active Member Pro Users

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    You got me wrong I think. Intention was not to change current, intention was to *add* some that will be impossible without a team. Maybe that was not clear enough written by me, sorry. So everyone has the choice which one he/she will prefer. The current ones are -in my opnion- not tough enough for a bigger team of mid/high skilled ppl.

    Cu
    -Ron
     
  9. Xandra

    Xandra Active Member Pro Users

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    Hi,

    I'd suggest to make the instances in a way where only the difficulty decides if they are for solo or for team. Did 1 yet solo (not this much time these days), and found it quite entertaining. I'd like to check how high I can go, without failing. For this I'd like to see:

    • No time constraints, or very, very loose ones if necessary.
    • No Team needed.
    • Loot not only at the last boss, but after every boss - for sure, the main loot after the main boss, but a smaller part in between maybe? So that a failed (timed out) run would at least give partial loot?
    My instance, even if only L1, gave me a sense of challenge, something I'm missing for so long in EU. I'd like to keep it. I want more of this. I want to try how high I can do it, I want to try them w/o armor, I want to invite bloody nOObs to accompany me for a low level instance, for the fun.

    I'd not mind at all the higher instances being this difficult that I'd never succeed - but there's people much more skilled than me, and maybe they'd love to have a challenge, too?

    So, this one is strongly opposed by me:
    This is, IMHO, plainly unnecessary, and only adds another restriction for no benefit. Guess some Ubers still could do it all alone, with two bloody nOObs following, with the only task to loot a designated chest ...
    With all risks that such a setting offers.

    Make the mobs hard and numerous, make the bosses god-like, use this to make it suitable for a team. But don't bring artificial constraints, they just don't make sense, and spoil this great new feature.

    My 2 PECs. Have fun!
     
  10. Neil

    Neil Adviser Pro Users Arkadia Adviser

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    It's been said many times... you can do the instances solo. You have to make a team in order to enter, but you don't need to have another player in your team. The system allows creating instances that don't require teams (instances intended to be run solo), but these have not been created on Arkadia yet.

    The way the instances are currently set up means you can do them solo or in team, depending on your skill level and if you can complete it in the time allotted.

    Regarding timers, 3 hours is the maximum that MA wants to allow. Maybe in the future that will change, but it looks like we're stuck with that for now.
     
  11. KikkiJikki

    KikkiJikki Well-Known Member Pro Users

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    I'm enjoying doing them solo. Tonight I finished a lvl 7 with 30 minutes to spare. I will say they are not as tough as I would have expected. I'm no uber and I still have capacity to step up my armour and dps to do higher levels.
     
  12. RexDameon

    RexDameon Active Member Pro Users

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    I'm with you on this. I think it be super cool if you had to even split up. Like two go one path two go another and they have to each kill a boss to unlock another path. I'd like to see some sort of puzzles put in them too. Like stuff you'd have to activate maybe from different sides. Maybe something you have to repair with the repair tool to get it working so that you can unlock a door and that you'd have to find that thing to repair following. SO much more could be done to make these fun and entertaining and require fun interactive work between players.
     
  13. Few Scars

    Few Scars Administrator Staff Member PAF Administrator Arkadia Adviser

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    I know that you can enter solo as long as you are in a team with someone on your FL, but my question to the Dev team was why make it a requirement to be in a team. Just allow solo or teams.
     
  14. KMax

    KMax Well-Known Member Pro Users

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    Bjorn I am pretty sure it is the instance/beacon engine requirement to be in team. Arkadia team has no control over this they use the engine supplied by MA. Besides it is only a couple clicks to do so not much of a big deal really, you don't actually have to invite a member into the team you just need to make a team.
     
  15. rick_janson

    rick_janson Well-Known Member Pro Users

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    What KMax said... Fishface has tried it, several members of my society have tried it... Create a team, don't invite anyone else... Go into the instance, disband team, and run through.
     
  16. Jeffe

    Jeffe Member

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    EDIT: I see Rick just posted same thing before me but will leave this up also.

    Teams are not needed. I tested one a Key1 last night and all went fine and regular. You simply make a team, but dont invite any other people, it will say you cant loot in team alone etc. Enter the instance, then close team. You don't need to add another person as I originally thought. Doing this seems to work fine and the chests still looted. Again I can't confirm anything but a key 1 but would assume all of them work similar. I don't view this as an exploit and if it is a bug I would say leave it as it has no negative effect on the game, planet, or loot and decay.
    -Jeffe
     
  17. w d roberts

    w d roberts Member

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    You don't even have to close the team. You can still open the chests at the end and get the loot even if you are in a team by yourself. I tried this on a level 1 instance without issues.
     
  18. Art Jennifer

    Art Jennifer Member

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    - I agree I have done a few as a team and am no looking to try some solo.


    - I also agree, only problem i see here is that it will be more to do with gear not skill, which for a competition is just yawn. So Do not think that would work/be a lame comp.

    True, not sure if this is a good or bad thing right now =)


    - From what I have seen so far, I have always gotten my Ped back on ammo/decay. The only thing we seem to be paying for is the key. 20/60/80ped loss at each key level.
    - Got a few more tomorrow so we shall see if this changes.
    - It does feel like/ from what most events/things in EU, that the 10k Key will be a let down as always :p And from what I have seen, probably a 10k loss :p
     
  19. AlexSolo

    AlexSolo Member

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    Hi,

    probably the price of the key to craft will regulate itself by community as always.
    The current competition encourages ofc for setting high prices on the components as some speculate that someone is around who urgently wants to be the winner of the competition or the first one to enter the door.

    As time goes by more components will be available.

    I want it now = price
    I can wait = lower price but time spend

    I personally would not hand the key for Arkoins anyways but setup a team with 11 guests and do the 11th doooooooor :D

    For the instances I would do it a compelte different way.

    1. Make the current instances more difficult so they cant be done alone and require that 1 person in a team cant get access.

    2. For the future consider to create new instances at another place designed for 1 Player.

    It will be a great addition to the story line if further digsites are discovered in the future which sends the player on a Archaeologist journey comlete optimized for 1 Player.

    That is what I was thinking about when I heared that Instances come in.
    I miss a little Archeologist feeling inside the current Instances like temporary set up equiptment and NPC of them around like in the cave you travel through when you climb down the stairs at the arrival lounge.

    Laptops, shelfs, researching Archaeologists around, temporarily setup light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, the rooms not completely digged out yet, all more darker, the more far you go into the instance the less you see anything of the equiptment and persons.

    You discover places where no Archaeologist has been yet.

    I miss also more of the Ancient Arkadians.
    How did they live? How far was their knowledge and developement to survive at all? Where are some ancient documents type diaries to spawn to pickup and read personal stories of them. What did they do down there? Why did they create such tunnel system under the planet?

    All instances no matter if teamplay or solo should always be designed in a different way.
    This would leave great room for future story developement.

    Like a VU comming in which adds a NPC in team instance 05 suddenly without any announcement in the release notes.

    Players step over him while doing a instance and get confronted with something completely new out of the sudden.

    A mission chain is discovered and noone knows where it leads to but the reward at the end is something special Arkadian. The mission sends you on a journey around the planet. can be a redoable mission but not a must.

    The word spreads around that there is something new suddenly and it encourages players who cant do the team instance 5 alone to groupplay again to master the way down to the new NPC to go on the mission chain.

    In a VU far far away suddenly a NPC appears in solo instance 01 is telling you that you should meet with the one in team instance 05 again cause he wants to meet again and asked for you :D

    Teams will need to split up to go into instance 01 each to get a new mission start and then group again after to go into team instance 05 again. :D The guy in team instance 05 hands you some relict of the ancient times and sends you to a archaeologist in solo instance 02 :D

    The Archaeologists are to discover alot this way. In the end they are Archaeologists. High minded intelligent persons. They sometimes got some issues with their own communications :D

    All in all
    - the supply depot npcs are really needed asap
    - akbal loot is a topic in the longterm to change. Mindark must work on this matter to match their expectations of a Planet Partner.
    - If theres is really a Arkoins maximum to be handed out this must change cause it leaves to much room for market manipulations by people horting them until the supply is dry and resell for a too high MU. They should be tradeable and unlimited to drop. The market sorts it out. As always in the RCE.

    The current instances now are still a approach.

    Items looted need always to be random and rare. If it wasnt alot of markets would crash ingame.
    Specially Armor crafters would be taken out if everyone can loot armor on every second run.

    We as players want to have healthy economies but also loot everything UL and now :D

    Not possible. The items looted should not loot excessively at the start ofc.
     
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