What kind of DIFFICULTY would you like for EoD open world maps?

[AliamRationem.5172]

@The Greyhawk.9107 said:I'm less interested in the individual enemies and the like and a lot more interested in the out of control aggro range, I want to see the aggro range reduced near or at Core map levels.

For myself, HoT+ would be good, although I think that might be a bit much for a lot of players, so I'll say HoT difficulty is good. I do agree on that aggro range in PoF/LS4, however. I was playing through Istan tonight with my friend and we thought it was so funny. We were standing there just talking in voice chat and an awakened mummy walked so far to reach me that as soon as it hit me it tethered and went invuln then walked back from where it came from! Awakened, iboga, harpies, most of the enemies on this map have obnoxious aggro range.

This really seems unnecessary to me. Maybe you don't want it to be too easy to bypass combat on mounts, but is that really an issue at all? I don't know about you guys, but moving so fast, having multiple evades, stealth, skyscale, etc. this just isn't on the radar for me as an issue. The issue is that when I am not mounted I get aggro from everything within 50 square miles. Annoying and unnecessary. Please return to HoT aggro radius! Thanks!

[Oxstar.7643]

@Asum.4960 said:

@"Krzysztof.5973" said:Difficulty that would encourage people to team up while playing a multiplayer game :)

Are you proposing some sort of.. MMO? Where people have to ask for help, team up, overcome challenges, form communities and bonds and possibly play together for years to come, staying engaged with the game?Rather than some instant gratification train, walzing through the content in a week or two in "alone together" GW2 fashion and then quitting until the next content drop months down the line?Madness.

I think you should have both. Not everybody wants to team up with strangers for all the content, and some just are not the soecial butterfly who makes enough friends to always have people to rely on. Balance is hard, as it usually is, but it seems to me ANet are trying to find a middle ground. The vast majority cannot solo legendary group events for instance, and those who can are honestly skilled to the point where they've earned it.

[Cuks.8241]

I don't think Hot is more difficult than Pof. I did vote Hot because I like it more and I hope they reintroduce the champ HPs and meta events that ain't just 111 train (LS5) or can be done by 3 people (Pof, most of them). Hot meta at least require some coordination of all the participants on the map.

[sorudo.9054]

the start should always be core easiness, the rest should be PoF or easier. (without the frikin annoying over aggro enemies)

[Ashen.2907]

Depends on how the difficulty is achieved. Groups of mobs with tons of chained hard CC and extra health is not particularly interesting as a challenge to me.

[Sobx.1758]

@sorudo.9054 said:the start should always be core easiness

Why?It's not like you're starting a new game every time you go into a new expansion. Not only you know more about the game and its mechanics (well, at least you should), but also you're getting new tools at your disposal with expansions. Suddenly reverting to the initial difficulty despite all of that doesn't make sense to me. So why do you think it should always start like that?

[Asum.4960]

@Oxstar.7643 said:

@Asum.4960 said:

@"Krzysztof.5973" said:Difficulty that would encourage people to team up while playing a multiplayer game :)

Are you proposing some sort of.. MMO? Where people have to ask for help, team up, overcome challenges, form communities and bonds and possibly play together for years to come, staying engaged with the game?Rather than some instant gratification train, walzing through the content in a week or two in "alone together" GW2 fashion and then quitting until the next content drop months down the line?Madness.

I think you should have both. Not everybody wants to team up with strangers for all the content, and some just are not the soecial butterfly who makes enough friends to always have people to rely on. Balance is hard, as it usually is, but it seems to me ANet are trying to find a middle ground. The vast majority cannot solo legendary group events for instance, and those who can are honestly skilled to the point where they've earned it.

Absolutely, but I don't think GW2 is in any danger of not having >95% of it's content be doable with auto attacking solo.Plenty, if not the majority of at least OW and Story content should imo be soloable, but I do think it's equally if not more important in an MMO to have certain areas, progression and rewards at least soft-gated behind group activities.

Being the opposite of a social butterfly myself I always hated the idea of being forced to group/having to ask for help, but with more maturity, experience in game design and witnessing the effects of almost complete lack of that on a community in GW2, it really made me realise how vital those points are for an MMO especially.Always catering to that social anxiety just reinforces it and keeps players isolated, not as engaged with the game/with higher risk of burning out as well as hindering player growth through exchange and example.

Whenever I look back to memorable MMO experiences in the past 1-2 decades, it's almost exclusively those experiences of having to group up for some character or story progression moment, meeting people, forming communities etc.*, maybe a few moments of overcoming some though challenge alone, and next to non of running around alone hitting mobs which aren't remotely a threat.

GW2 for the last 2 years almost exclusively focused on providing the latter. If that doesn't change at least to a noticeable degree with EoD - with it turning out akin to PoF, I just don't see it having much longevity, at a very crucial point for the game.

Too much of something is always bad, even if it is convenience.

*having to group up and people asking/coming for help for things like Hero Points in beta/early unnerfed HoT being one of those great experiences, and imo a golden age for GW2

[Fueki.4753]

I think that map completion, including Hero Challenges and hearts, and the story should be viable to be done alone.I used WvW to complete many HoT skill challenges (and some of PoF) because people simply didn't care to join me.

But there should also be ample group content outside of that.Meta Events, smaller Group Events, a variety of instanced content - there is so much that could be done that doesn't interfere with map completion and the story.

[Asum.4960]

@Fueki.4753 said:I think that map completion, including Hero Challenges and hearts, and the story should be viable to be done alone.I used WvW to complete many HoT skill challenges (and some of PoF) because people simply didn't care to join me.

But there should also be ample group content outside of that.Meta Events, smaller Group Events, a variety of instanced content - there is so much that could be done that doesn't interfere with map completion and the story.

I do think that (people not caring to join) is largely a symptom of the current design which heavily consists of easy non-repeatable solo play, which then also leaves players often underprepared for challenges and without the infrastructure/network for grouping - rather than the problem being the semi-mandatory challenging/grouping sections themselves.

If the content (like for example Hero Challenges) was per design much more difficult, requiring much higher level play or grouping, but also much more rewarding to repeat, come back to and help out - and people also being much more used to grouping, friendlisting and having active, helpful guilds in general (due to it being a necessity much more often) - those things, rather than being a rare annoyance that the average player grew frightful of or frustrated with, would be a lot more fulfilling, engaging and memorable experiences of grouping, meeting people and helping out, rather than just players walking through the world/maps solo like a checklist.

GW2's problem, imo, is that 99% of the content is incredibly easy and soloable, making the 1% that isn't extremely frustrating or daunting for the average player.While if that was more balanced, with the game encouraging much more (gradual) skill increases in players and/or the formation and maintaining of social networks within the game, the whole experience would be a lot more engaging and memorable - and things like tough HP's or even content like Fractals, Strikes and Raids a lot more accessible for a lot more players, due to pre-existing groups and communities to play with and slimmer skill gaps.

[Cuks.8241]

@Asum.4960 said:GW2's problem, imo, is that 99% of the content is incredibly easy and soloable, making the 1% that isn't extremely frustrating or daunting for the average player.While if that was more balanced, with the game encouraging much more (gradual) skill increases in players and/or the formation and maintaining of social networks within the game, the whole experience would be a lot more engaging and memorable - and things like tough HP's or even content like Fractals, Strikes and Raids a lot more accessible for a lot more players, due to pre-existing groups and communities to play with and slimmer skill gaps.

Fully agree with this. There has to be a certain amount of content that requires grouping. And from my experience with other mmorpgs it is beneficial for the community that such content is also present in open world. This way these groups are not isolated in instances and practically unseen by the rest of the community and promote further socialising.

@Asum.4960 said:Whenever I look back to memorable MMO experiences in the past 1-2 decades, it's almost exclusively those experiences of having to group up for some character or story progression moment, meeting people, forming communities etc.*, maybe a few moments of overcoming some though challenge alone, and next to non of running around alone hitting mobs which aren't remotely a threat.

My experience also. Pretty much all my memorable experiences from multiplayer games come from group activities, community drama, socializing. It's usually not even some in-game challenge but just funny community events, conversations or tensions between different groups. The most boring grind can be fun if done with a group of people and the most interesting boss will fade away fast if it's just another solo endeavour.

[Luthan.5236]

Hero points maybe soloable (most of them) - like it was in PoF. (All of them easy to solo there - if you have a char with okay-ish gear and experience with your class. New players rushing directly to 80 always might have trouble though.)

Other open world content can be harder. To make the "exploring" more fun. For the meta events I'd love to see something like in HoT. They were great. Especially the ones where you had to help the outposts. (Verdant Brink and a bit Tangled Depths.)

[Redfeather.6401]

In order for it to be both fun and fair if the trash mobs...

1. ... have knockdown skills then I would like a skill warm up bar for them.
2. ... have immunity/evasion phases then I would like a way to interrupt them.

[Asum.4960]

@Redfeather.6401 said:In order for it to be both fun and fair if the trash mobs...

1. ... have knockdown skills then I would like a skill warm up bar for them.
2. ... have immunity/evasion phases then I would like a way to interrupt them.

Difficulty definitely can't just be numerical (high health and damage) or be cheap/annoying (oneshots, instant CC's).I just wish Anet would make greater use of all the already existing mechanics and with greater creativity.

Have mobs that run around wildly and are hard to damage while having Swiftness, but bring some boon strip and they become snared and vulnerable.Give mobs big AoE CC's/nukes, dangerous buffs in PvE like Retaliation or invuln/evade phases, but telegraph them properly with Breakbars which can be used to interrupt them, making them more vulnerable instead.Give some mobs really dangerous opening attacks that need to be dodged, other's enrage at low health values with Might, Fury and Quickness and need to be bursted/kited.Give some mobs heavy projectile barrages akin to Bristleback's in HoT.Have some mobs briefly stun themselves when their attacks are blocked, but otherwise are really dangerous.

Just give different professions opportunities to shine and struggle. Create rewarding difficulty by allowing players to learn tells and patterns. Teach and reward use of game mechanics and ability to adapt. Reward game knowledge.

Nobody wants to get oneshot, roleplay a ping pong ball, make some tea while a Mob dances around evading for a minute or aggro half the map walking somewhere. That's not what (imo good difficulty) has to be though.Running always the same (often lacklustre) build, not knowing when and how to use half of the game mechanics such as CC, dodges, projectile denial, boon strip etc. and just pressing buttons at random/off cooldown just should not cut it in max level, especially expansion, content though in my opinion.

[Poormany.4507]

As long as every other enemy does not have instant knockdowns/stuns (PoF), I'm fine with anything from PoF to HoT levels of difficulty.

[Astyrah.4015]

@Redfeather.6401 said:In order for it to be both fun and fair if the trash mobs...

1. ... have knockdown skills then I would like a skill warm up bar for them.
2. ... have immunity/evasion phases then I would like a way to interrupt them.

this. i also prefer HoT openworld difficulty for the new expansion and would like interesting trash mob abilities but only if they are well telegraphed/indicated/etc.

[otto.5684]

I am not looking for unfair, but I want to be entertained.

[Pacificterror.7805]

I voted PoF difficulty, although I have not yet experienced it (I've only ventured into HoT maps at this stage). Reason being that people say it is between core and HoT.

I am not the most elite/capable player and if I'm not careful when walking around HoT areas, I tend to get my pants handed to me immediately. I am really hoping the new open world areas do not damage you on the same level.

[notebene.3190]

Because I think they were each challenging and sometimes not for different reasons at different times. What makes them great is they aren't each other. I hope EoD is a third thing.

[Black Storm.6974]

I just do not want to see ever again mobs with an absurd amount of Health like in Drizzlewood Coast North

[lare.5129]

I choose Lower than PoF-difficulty, but the optimal it Tyria 20-30lv common map for me

[lezbefriends.7516]

I like easy mode — I get to feel powerful one-shorting everything.

[Shadowmoon.7986]

Compare hot maps vs pof maps a year after launch. No matter what the vocal minority on this forum and in game journalism say, people want challenging content. Abandoning this content has been a mistake.

[Fractured.3928]

The only thing I want, is clear paths around the maps. I'm so sick of high level maps just being ABSOLUTELY COVERED IN BADDIES ALL THE TIME FOREVER. Just getting from Point A to B can be extremely frustrating sometimes, when I feel like it shouldn't be.

It is a difficulty in the game I've always felt was unnecessary.

[arielwind.8921]

I'm fine with more than HoT difficulty. We have already 2 elite specs (possibly will have 3?), power creep, build diversity and playing experiences. People still help each other and keep playing on HoT content, but not much in PoF content.I hope that the EoD enemies have intelligence and coordination as we do.

[kharmin.7683]

@arielwind.8921 said:People still help each other and keep playing on HoT content, but not much in PoF content.Probably due to the rewards structure more than anything else.