Hardcore Season 10 Suggestion

[Aelonwy]

i also want to encourage more grouping and working together but i feel the only way we can do that is to actually make hardcore enough of a challenge where we need each other unfortunately most of the hardcore seasons are pretty much able to be a solo snooze.

The problem is that there are some players with such skill and game knowledge that you almost can't challenge them in any meaningful way and there are simultaneously players like me somewhere in the middle with decent game knowledge but with poor gaming skills and such bad timing (let's not talk about it) and then players like my hubby that can time anything, laughing at the AI but an awful memory for where traps are located or what door to open, or what vulnerabilities mobs have... and everything in-between those extremes.

How do you challenge the best of the best players and still leave the door open for the inexpert players? Because make no mistake SSG wants to profit from both and anything that closes the door on profits from one group (arguably the larger group) is going to be examined carefully. Look at how Hardcore was once VIP only thus preventing a vast number of players from participating (and spending) in it. No longer.

Whatever flavor of challenge you ultimately desire it will need to leave the door open for some level of participation and spending from the less skilled players.

 

[haagmaar123]

The problem is that there are some players with such skill and game knowledge that you almost can't challenge them in any meaningful way and there are simultaneously players like me somewhere in the middle with decent game knowledge but with poor gaming skills and such bad timing (let's not talk about it) and then players like my hubby that can time anything, laughing at the AI but an awful memory for where traps are located or what door to open, or what vulnerabilities mobs have... and everything in-between those extremes.

How do you challenge the best of the best players and still leave the door open for the inexpert players? Because make no mistake SSG wants to profit from both and anything that closes the door on profits from one group (arguably the larger group) is going to be examined carefully. Look at how Hardcore was once VIP only thus preventing a vast number of players from participating (and spending) in it. No longer.

Whatever flavor of challenge you ultimately desire it will need to leave the door open for some level of participation and spending from the less skilled players.

wouldnt what you just said encourage more grouping the need to help lesser players and the general population. i mean theres always the elite player that can solo pretty much no matter what so they wont be affected but if we can make enough challenge to encourage the middle ground to all need to work together i think that would be a step in the right direction. Also this is hardcore we are talking about so people should be going into it knowing its not the same as a normal server.

 

[Justfungus]

Want a twist, turn all outdoor explore areas into public areas that allow PvP during the night cycle.

 

[Lag4Ever]

Some way to decimate the toon post-HC into an xp stone

I think this is a very interesting concept - what if it were combined with a requirement (or you get a bonus multiplier to the XP stone) to be on the Favor or Reaper leaderboard at the end of the season? Would provide a further incentive for players to push their comfort zone and keep active in HCL until the end of the season. Could also result in some adverse player incentives however.

 

[Justfungus]

OK, a serious suggestion HCL 10 Strahd's Revenge
The twist is in the public areas instead of the dungeons.
Stormreach 'the city, the houses and the areas just outside the city' have been engulfed by the mists of Ravenloft.
The mood and lighten has changed to match that of Ravenloft.
All public quest givers that were outside have moved to inside the Inns for safety. (You need to see them in the Inns for quests)
Undead in dungeons during the event are resistant to turn attempts.
Public areas spawn 'level appropriate' Ravenloft creatures. Combat settings in public areas now match normal explore outdoor areas.
Prizes are Ravenloft Themed
... might want to keep that horse handy.

 

[CBDunk]

Some way to decimate the toon post-HC into an xp stone

Yes, I'd really like to see something like this as a way to encourage more people to participate in hardcore.

I have very little interest in cosmetic rewards (and nowhere to put them) and thus ignored Hardcore for a long time. I only started doing it because my guildmates wanted to try it out. As a result, I discovered that there ARE some benefits you can take back to the regular server (e.g. various once per server awards), but those still wouldn't be enough to get me to switch and 'lose the time' on my main character.

If, on the other hand, I could transfer XP or otherwise improve my main character as a result of what I did on hardcore then it would be a fun event with less or no 'lost time'.

The exact details could be very flexible. Maybe just an XP (and/or reaper XP) stone. Maybe you can 'reincarnate' the HC character and apply the past life feat to a different character. Maybe you reincarnate and all of your gear goes into the cache of another character (allowing BtC items to be transferred from the character being deleted). Maybe some combination of the above... or something else entirely. Just actual tangible benefits that apply to 'the main game' rather than HC being a separate deal with mostly just cosmetic rewards transferring over.

 

[Milburnion Du'urdie]

I like whatever encourages us to participate as friends and discourages us from participating as rivals - we can see, very clearly, from the leaderboards, who among us are the best players - you guys are truly amazing at this game -as someone who's played since beta and knows it well, I am in awe. I learn something new every season. And all of the leaderboard folks are very nice and friendly people too - I rather think encouraging that friendship fits our small community better. The scavenger hunt was a great twist to encourage players to work together. What I see running a very large guild is hundreds of players who love DDO and they speak of how they wish they had more time to play. Many are older with jobs and families, Many only play a few times a week. Whatever it is we want to keep DDO feeling like every player can be part of the experience, even if they are not able to play every day.

Although i made it into the top 10 it wasn't because i was an amazing player it was because of the amazing support of the parties i ran with and the amazing guild you run/ran Mary with little credit or thanks. It is deeply appreciated.

 

[Malkmus]

The Reaper invasion

A special hardcore where everything runs in R1 mode at first. When placed on R1, another level is added (R1+1), R2+1, R3+1,...

"Reapers" scores only initially when selecting the R1 option (being R1+1) and so on.

 

[Brakkart]

Monster Hunter Season

Instead of (or as well as, either works) favor goals, have a season where the goal is to kill as many different types of monster as possible. Similar to how the Monster Hunter deeds in the Monster Manual work, only have a single combined total. This would get people to do optionals, seek out rares in the explorer zones, do alternate endings (such as those in some of the Shavarath quests) and go to places that they've never ventured before (like the Deep Tunnels of the Sub-T) in the hunt for new types of critter to add to their score.

I think it would be a lot of fun and get people to really explore this game.

 

[Owlbear]

To be honest I don't really care about the leaderboard in it's current state. I think it could add a lot more to the community experience of the Hardcore League. Just some examples:
- Player of the week (most kills, quests and favor or other objectives completed)
- How are all classes doing compared to each other?
- Highest level Guild
- Most deadly monster of the week (and in the week after give players reward/points for killing that monster)
- Best death clip (community can submit clips and a voting for the best one)

 

[Positive thinking]

Yeah, a leaderboard for most heroic favor, most heroic reaper xp would be nice.

And of course although it would not be supported by the game as it is all about profit. A reaper xp leaderboard for those with zero xp potions purchased for ddo points. Pay for advantage does exist in hardcore and it is unfortunate but such is life.

 

[Contessor]

Agreed the reaper leaderboard in HCL is hardly much of an achievement, as much as who is willing to spend the most time running low level reapers at cap. Earning rXP seems counter-intuitive in this game. The lower level quests 1-9 are far harder to earn rXP, but they return the lowest amount. Maybe if there was a mechanic that was opposite of the current way of earning rXP. Now favor leaderboard is a challenge, but they should exclude all raids. I also feel like favor (or at least a bonus) should be only earned after conquest is achieved.

 

[Positive thinking]

Agreed the reaper leaderboard in HCL is hardly much of an achievement, as much as who is willing to spend the most time running low level reapers at cap. Earning rXP seems counter-intuitive in this game. The lower level quests 1-9 are far harder to earn rXP, but they return the lowest amount. Maybe if there was a mechanic that was opposite of the current way of earning rXP. Now favor leaderboard is a challenge, but they should exclude all raids. I also feel like favor (or at least a bonus) should be only earned after conquest is achieved.

Or shutdown legendary repeats for reaper xp in hardcore. On the other hand I am impressed by those that run as many raids as possible during hardcore, there is an elite group of folks that do it every hardcore and it definitely separates them from the rest of the players in the game.

 

[Guntango]

Or shutdown legendary repeats for reaper xp in hardcore. On the other hand I am impressed by those that run as many raids as possible during hardcore, there is an elite group of folks that do it every hardcore and it definitely separates them from the rest of the players in the game.

Did you see those two crazy people who duo'd heroic abbot last HCL? Nuts.

 

[Weaponalpha]

I assume they are assessing what player spending has been with them skipping a season compared to what they spent last HC season and will act accordingly. To some, spending hundreds of dollars on tomes, pots, gold seal hires, etc. over 3 months to have fun is no big deal. To others it seems insane. I am in full support of them spending as much money as they can to keep DDO up and running. I'll keep paying my VIP sub and buying top tier expansions while buying the random 30% striding augment during HC and let the whales feed. I see it as pay to fun not pay to win.

 

[Positive thinking]

Did you see those two crazy people who duo'd heroic abbot last HCL? Nuts.

Yeah i think my boyfriend said that one of those two was Dom and that he is one of, if not the greatest player in the game. I know my boyfriend has said he would love to play in a hardcore with him but my boyfriend refuses to play with anyone in Death Smiles or for that matter the other big streamer guild.

 

[Contessor]

Or shutdown legendary repeats for reaper xp in hardcore. On the other hand I am impressed by those that run as many raids as possible during hardcore, there is an elite group of folks that do it every hardcore and it definitely separates them from the rest of the players in the game.

Raids should be a separate accomplishment. There were a few doing HCL raids, including Abbot duo before, going back 4 seasons or so. People box certain builds just to do them. Seems to me that this kind of defeats the purpose of the challenge for doing favor. But maybe I am wrong. I think raids should be done as intended, and duo or solo is not intended.

 

[Guntango]

Yeah i think my boyfriend said that one of those two was Dom and that he is one of, if not the greatest player in the game. I know my boyfriend has said he would love to play in a hardcore with him but my boyfriend refuses to play with anyone in Death Smiles or for that matter the other big streamer guild.

I don't know Dom, but I heard the other guy is a champion among men.

 

[Vox]

Have the champ mutations modeled on the devs personalities

 

[Positive thinking]

I don't know Dom, but I heard the other guy is a champion among men.

I remember watching the video with my boyfriend of the duo, my boyfriend was saying the guy that was doing the actual fighting against the abbot was the really talented one and the other guy doing the healing was just a tagalong, i think the tagalong had to also share his screen with the good guy during the goggles phase because he wasnt good enough to explain it. But the fact they did it was an accomplishment, my boyfriend runs quite a few raids in hardcore but not that one for sure.