[Feedback] HoT: Act 4 (mild spoilers)

[Velinestra.8142]

A little background about me: I got involved with GW2 during the BWE phase in 2012. I left the game in 2015 before HoT dropped (even though I pre-ordered the game). I came back to GW2 last month (August 2017). What drew me to GW2 in 2012 was the promise of a story-based single-player game with an MMO feel. At least, that was my interpretation of what the developers were saying at the time (in 2012). I'm also an older gamer and my time is limited. Raids, PvP, and WvW are not my thing.

I went into HoT: Act 4 solo. I kept myself spoiler free so I had no idea what I was getting into. After 2.5 hours, Mordremoth was at 1/3 health and I died to a glitch (my character would not fly at the appropriate time). I was OK with this until I realized that restarting the fight meant Mordremoth was at full health again and I had to free the NPCs again (four at the time of my character's death). It is really irritating to invest that much time and get screwed in the end. By then, I had had enough and logged off.

Feedback/Suggestion:(1) Would it be possible to insert a checkpoint halfway through the fight? As in, when Mordremoth is at half health and two of the NPCs are free? It would be better than wiping someone's progress completely.(2) Regarding the freed NPCs, I would love it if they could also contribute more to the fight like an actual member of my party. If I'm forging lasting friendships through thick and thin with these NPCs via the Personal Story and Living Story, I want to feel like they've got my back.(3) I have since learned that the Mordremoth fight was not meant to be done solo. So, my last suggestion would be to make the Mordremoth fight soloable. In my mind, story means I interact with the NPCs and we go on an adventure. I make choices based on how I want the story to take shape (given the developer options of course). It is irritating to be forced to ask for help from other players and compromise my story experience for the sake of getting it done.

If a developer reads this, thank you for doing so and possibly considering my feedback.

[Electro.4173]

Its absolutely doable and intended to be done solo, not sure where you're getting the idea that its not. The only part of it that's intended as group content is the "challenge mode" / Migraine achievement.

I would have agreed with you back in the day when Braham / Canach's shield didn't actually do anything, which meant you HAD to fly to avoid that attack and one simple mistake would spell instant death. And particularly once you reach the second phase, its pretty easy to get hit by a rock or miss an air current, hit the ground, and boom, restart. I'm really not a fan of instant death mechanics, especially when they require a full restart. But now that they've fixed the shield so you can just hunker down during those instant-death phases if you so choose, I don't really see an issue.

The party members do contribute as much as NPCs ever do, but they make their contributions minimal to ensure the player is actually participating in the fight and not just hiding somewhere letting their allies do all the work, considering those allies are invincible (well, mostly... they can get briefly "knocked out" and stop attacking, but they can't die). Plus, each freed "vision" gives you a unique buff to your own abilities, because they're sharing their power with you.

[Velinestra.8142]

@Electro.4173 said:Its absolutely doable and intended to be done solo, not sure where you're getting the idea that its not. The only part of it that's intended as group content is the "challenge mode" / Migraine achievement.

Some of my guild members suggested it would be better to do the Mordremoth fight with other players.

I would have agreed with you back in the day when Braham / Canach's shield didn't actually do anything, which meant you HAD to fly to avoid that attack and one simple mistake would spell instant death. And particularly once you reach the second phase, its pretty easy to get hit by a rock or miss an air current, hit the ground, and boom, restart. I'm really not a fan of instant death mechanics, especially when they require a full restart. But now that they've fixed the shield so you can just hunker down during those instant-death phases if you so choose, I don't really see an issue.

The party members do contribute as much as NPCs ever do, but they make their contributions minimal to ensure the player is actually participating in the fight and not just hiding somewhere letting their allies do all the work, considering those allies are invincible (well, mostly... they can get briefly "knocked out" and stop attacking, but they can't die). Plus, each freed "vision" gives you a unique buff to your own abilities, because they're sharing their power with you.

Like I said, I kept myself spoiler free. So, reading your comment about using Braham's / Canach's shield during the Mordremoth fight is the first time I've heard about it as an option. If it was telegraphed during the fight, I didn't realize it. Also, having spent 2.5 hours, I wouldn't say that I was expecting the NPCs to do all the work. That said, 2.5 hours is still too much time invested IMHO for me not to be able to kill Mordremoth.

[alceste.8712]

The option to hide behind the shield is briefly mentioned right at the start of the electric ground phase. It took me a bit to realize that I could just hide in the shield area now. The fight is long but your first goal has to be to kill the summoned images because you turn them from foe to friendly. I do agree that a check point would be nice. I used a WvW roaming build on my engie and the fight took me about 25 minutes. The fight is not easy and I wish you good luck.