Improving Dragon's End without making it less engaging

[Tempest.8479]

Before I get into any potential feedback, I thought I'd open by saying that I think The Battle for the Jade Sea is easily one of the most engaging, if not the best, meta in the whole game. Everything from the music, art direction, mechanical complexity, scale, and plenty of other moving parts that tie it to the current story and help tie together the last 10 years is truly incredible. That being said, the event is not without its flaws, and these have been creating an increasing frustration and even division in the community (at least the part that's active outside of the game). Having played it for the first time last night after observing the conversation for the better part of the week, I feel that I can now recognize the pain points that a lot of the community has issue with. I've included a list of the different ways I feel that things could be improved without making the event feel less than one of the most engaging and cinematic meta events that I think it is right now.

 

Take The Battle for the Jade Sea off of a set timer

This is one of the pain points that I feel not as many people are discussing, but one that I think could make a big difference in alleviating the frustration organized groups and more casual players have with the event. On my first run, we were able to get the boss down to ~15% health before failing. After the map reset, having just played through a challenging meta event and knowing that I wouldn't be able to try again until the next interval, I found myself demoralized to try again. I can only imagine this can get worse the closer one gets to success knowing that they can't immediately try again. By the same token, I also felt that I couldn't take a break to enjoy the downtime because I didn't want to feel like I was being a drag to those looking to push the prep events to be ready for the next timed run. If the map functioned more like Drizzlewood or Dragonfall, however, this wouldn't be an issue. 

Because this is a map that consists of "regular" map objectives and events while also being a heavily meta-driven experience, Dragon's End should work much like the aforementioned maps/metas do. The Battle for the Jade Sea should only trigger once all regions on the map have hit high preparation level. This would allow all players to take in the map at their own pace. Organized groups who want to get back into it as quickly as possible after a failure could use the opportunity to speedrun though the prep events and give themselves the least amount of downtime possible. Players who just want to take in the sights, do story and collections, or enjoy the prep events at a slower pace could also enjoy themselves at any time without feeling the pressure to get everything done as quickly as possible or abandon their goals altogether because the meta starts soon. It would also create a more organic ramp from casual exploration to a dedicated meta run, as squads would tend to form and fill up naturally as the prep levels get higher.

I understand the benefits of organizing around set meta timers, but for a meta this challenging (and long), I feel that most players would find themselves enjoying the map more if they didn't ever feel rushed or like if they were forced to choose between the more difficult and more relaxing content that coexist on the same map.

 

Reduce/eliminate as much rng as possible

This is a point that has been discussed ad nauseum, and I think the latest patch helps to eliminate bugged behavior that can cause random patterns that will derail a run. All boss behaviors should be predictable if not in their frequency, then in their behavior (e.g. same number of breakbar/movement phases every run or variable amounts of movement with a predictable, smaller breakbar after each one).

 

Reduce the amount of individual responsibility, especially on wisp phases

This has also been widely discussed, but if there was a way to finish this phase with 3-5 less players getting back to the top most runs would feel smoother, even if they still result in failure. The more this event can reduce the perception that it failed because of a few or even 1 player, the better.

 

Consider slowly increasing the map population cap or softening the enrage timer

Rather than direct nerfs like reducing the strength of breakbars, intensity of mechanics, or boss health, I think most of the issues with difficulty can and should be tuned indirectly, at least initially. Implementing measures like increasing the map population cap by 5 to 10 or creating an "overtime" mechanic with the enrage timer that would keep the fight going for a few minutes with all players receiving the exposed debuff seen in the Harvest Temple strike would allow the fight to maintain its level of challenge while reducing some of the biggest challenges with organizing large groups of variable skill levels, hardware, and physical abilities.

 

Rewards

This is the area I feel lest qualified to speak on since I've yet to beat the event, but I think there should be 2 unique event chests that trigger once the event to break the barrier succeeds and after the final fight is won. The first chest should have a chance at skins, rare items, and maybe even a unique infusion, as well as containing anywhere from 50s-1g. The second chest should be a vastly improved version of the first, with a better drop rates and maybe even a set of unique ascended weapons/armor, as well as containing anywhere from 1-5g. That way players who don't get to finish the meta or fail the final fight still get a chance at the rewards and a small amount of liquid gold, albeit significantly less than those who can beat it. If the rewards compensate players for their effort and significantly reward those who succeed, the challenge of the fight becomes less of a burden for groups while incentivizing those who might not give it a try to actually look to make progress towards succeeding.

 

What do you guys think? I know there's a lot of vocal people who want to see the fight nerfed, but I think that there are ways to keep it as mechanically complex and challenging as it is while creating a smoother experience for all players that could satisfy everyone.

 

[Caitybee.3614]

Honestly, if the timer stopped during the mini boss phases, it just might be enough to get more successful runs. She also phased quite slowly during the last fight I was in, so they need to get the transition a little quicker.

[Stelawrat.6589]

From what I understand, this meta is raid material, which requires 50 players, fully geared, boons, food, preferably divided into teams, all coordinated in advance, with an experienced commander calling the shots, preferably using voice comms; all of whom should be prepared to spend ~ 2 to 3 hours from start to finish.

And even then, they may very well fail, through no fault of their own. 

I feel for the experienced raiders who are loving this meta & don't want to see it destroyed & I don't blame these players for not wanting to raid in a pug, which would guarantee failure, with the loss of 2+ hours down the drain. 

And yet the players in any map of a brand new expac are going to be dominated by a mixed bag of what is essentially, pug material. Pug material that is currently being coaxed out of the map, with gold in some cases, harrassed in others. 

None of this jives with Anet's promotional material, which highlights the Turtle, including the banner on GW2's home page & the text which practically directs new players to use the booster, to begin their EoD journey. 

Personally, I don't even want the turtle, but lots of people do. More importantly, when they find out that achievements are locked behind this meta... lore too & that they only have ~10 minutes to get those if they're lucky enough to complete it... or else they have to do it over again... & there's a mastery line... what then?

I really feel for the players who have been trying so hard, for hours on end, only to lose out time & time again, especially because many of them are obviously not your run of the mill pug material. These are knowledgeable players who understand what's required & they deserve a lot better than this unforgiving, godforsaken meta.

If only ArenaNet had listened to me & resurrected the Brotherhood of the Dragon. What an expansion this could have been! *cries

But keep those suggestions coming because I suspect the devs can use some of them!