Just to note something that may relate to this discussion. This is purely speculation but dark agartha was probably in the works LONG before it’s release and by that I mean close to the start of SWLs launch. If I were a betting man I’d say that it was close to completion and the team said “Hey guys Halloween is over and we should try to keep the momentum going till Christmas”. Luckily they had an almost finished Dark Agartha tucked away that could fill that gap quite nicely.
The reason I say this is because my guess is there making do with what they have. Sure there could be some modifications made to the AP/SP requirements and accessibility but as far as the style and type of content goes it is what it is.
Regarding difficulty and AP/SP requirements I think it’s quite low on both of these elements but alas you have a story/casual focused game with content that requires some focus on mechanics and “skill” for lack of a better term. When SWL launched this would have perhaps been a bit more fitting as you had a large population of players dedicated to the “grind” but things don’t always work out as planned and honestly it was this or absolutely nothing until Christmas.
my only gripe is the ap/sp requirement for all levels, i’d love if for instance elite 1 didn’t require any sp/ap to enter, but also didn’t reward any fragments, but it did reward other things valuable for elite 1.
I am casual-non-patron-ap/sp-collector. so it is harder for us to think abiout going to DA ever again.
and that aP/SP in 15 mins is not really true, since it has a LOT of conditions (being a patron, having all 3 faction unlocks, etc…)
i love the map and i love having more things to do, that’s for sure but if it costs me to not progress in skills and abilities, which i care more about, then it’s not really an option.
Ah, yes. Lets not pretend that thread suggests something it doesn’t, okay?
Sounds like people are supporting a free daily run for everyone, and expensive extra runs for those who can/want to afford it. Like people advocating what might be a compromise that could in fact make everyone happy, actually.
For what it’s worth, I’m not opposed to a free mode. But it would defeat the purpose of an AP/SP sink. The players sitting on piles of them (myself included) would be the ones most likely to breeze through Dark Agartha without having to spend anything, ever.
I don’t think the current AP/SP cost is excessive, but I can see the appeal of scaling the cost with difficulty (and guaranteeing better rewards at higher difficulties).
I would have even added that SWL is a game that demands to be patient, to accept not to succeed all things easily. The quests are demanding if we do not take solutions on the net, decks less simple than we think if we are interested in different weapons and all the little extras (agents, gadgets, types of combat, … ).
Dark Agartha asks for AP / SP? but when we arrive at the moment when we need 4 pips objects, we are also not very far from the moment when we start not using them anymore. There is no reason for 4 pips to go kill zombies or werewolves. Do not try to get into this content immediately, patience, it may not be the right time to go there.
It s too difficult ? change skills on your deck, look for the right gadgets, get tips from the community to help you fix. Many nice people are always available on this forum, discords or the general chan to help solve a problem. And go back!
And finally, if this content does not please everyone, it does not matter, the next may be better suited to what you are looking for SWL. There are a lot of things here, for the players present everyday and for the casual players, for HL players and for beginners, for those who like quests and for those who love challenges, for those who like to play without taking the lead and for those who like to calculate every little thing. It also means that the community is very diverse and it’s hard to find something that everyone likes.
My dream would be to have lots of dungeons and raids, I know that’s not what everyone wants. So, let’s and be good to all of them.
This is why this discussion has gone absolutely nowhere - one side is saying “this is cool but it would be nice if it was available to more players” and the other is hearing “there should be no difficult content ever”.
I don’t think anyone in this thread is complaining about the fact that it’s challenging, just that it’s disappointing for a lot of people that the new content is only really aimed at a small number of players when there’s no reason we couldn’t also have a version that cost marks and didn’t give fragments or whatever.
I liked Dark Agartha alot tbh…it was something that might have drawn me back into the game,since I no longer play besides the daily login for key…
But the cost is just way too high for me…spending 30-60 minutes grinding missions I have done literally thousands of times before,just for 17 minutes of fun and challenge just isnt worth it…
But the free try was really fun,so good job I guess
Difficulty wise? It’s for everyone IMO. Getting to and doing E1 is not hard nor time consuming.
AP/SP wise? I would say it cuts off people who are still in the process of filling out their active and passive abilities (like I am). I will not run DA until I’m done with all passives and all capstones. And that is a long way into the future. We’re talking a year or two with my speed.
I’m almost maxed out and it’s really not for me either.
E10 is not challenging at max gear. I’m not sure it’s challenging at any level as long as you have an impair, a cleanse and some self-healing. 17 minutes is a lot of time. Unless you’re so hardcore you’re racing with your friends, you can be very meticulous.
Can’t farm it, limited to 1 success every day.
Glyph soft caps remain, so the primary incentive to get 4-pip glyphs is to possibly experiment with a different setup other than the usual 1/5/2. Like removing a crit or crit power glyph in Stonehenge.
The game is still SWL with all it’s deficiencies, like too-rigorous mobile game like daily tasks and atrocious gear system. Therefore, if there were no rewards, I rather doubt anyone would actually run that version of DA.
A imbuer shard free version that is a small ‘solo dungeon’ for SWL intents and purposes (i.e. counts as a main mission, has a distillate-dropping chest at the end), on the other hand, would probably be quite popular.
I came back to SWL after a 12-month break to see what was up with DA. I’ve successfully run E1 a couple of times now using an assault rifle/fist setup @450 or so IP. I usually make it to the last boss without dying, but he usually knocks me out once or twice… As a casual player, I found the encounter was challenging enough to keep me entertained, and sufficiently rewarding to keep coming back. As I get more familiar with it, I hope to increase the difficulty level, so I can get better rewards. I’m still maxing capstones and such, so doubt I will do it every day, but certainly will do it now and again.
What I like about Dark Agartha is the interplay of all the random elements requiring you to actually change things up and be creative. I really appreciate having difficulty in single player content that doesn’t simply mean ‘exponentially more monster HP and damage.’ It is nice to have fights that are difficult rather than simply boring.
On the other hand, I can completely understand people being frustrated, especially since the folks who will have the most difficulty(and therefore could best benefit from opportunity to learn the fights) would probably also be the folks who are least able to afford to do so.
Really, having challenging(rather than ‘bullet sponge’) boss fights would make a lot of existing missions a lot more fun, I think.
I think that having a version that doesn’t cost AP or give shards would be good both for people who want to learn and practice(to GET good) and for people who simply want more to do with themselves after they finish their dailies.
Perhaps they could actually get a lot of mileage using the same map and randomized boss fights but with some thin veneer of a story; even ‘Jeronimo shows up on a platform and shouts at you like Zuberi in Agartha Defiled’ would be plenty. I am sure they could find someone with a Spanish accent and fifteen minutes free to record six variations of ‘You must reach the next platform!’ and ‘Good job!’
…actually, that makes me wonder how hard it would be to make an addon to add some voice acting to the existing mission cues in there. Might be a fun fan project…
Overall the only thing that really interferes with me getting on with business at this point (after idk, 4 elaborate glyphs? so 80 ish successful clears)
falling off the shattered room (still very unclear where its edges are and jump distance while fighting is hard to gauge)
purging gatekeeper (it cancels all active heal/defensives that can fit in my build, before they heal or prevent damage)
I’m not sure how other people compensate for the purging guy but I just up my hp/prot with AA and take up a bit more of the timer, fingers crossed cruel delight can proc often enough.
I have reconstitution shells (with passiv but that gets purged when the enemy has purge), sanctuary and runic hex on top of my shotgun healing passiv and the occassional green shell when it happens. Most times I don’t have to touch the sanctuary or only really sparse to stay capped out.
I do not have cruel delight else I would be able to drop probably the passiv or sanctuary completly, not that I have an idea what else to put there. AA is I believe 25%ish and for the gatekeeper I go 40%ish since he loves to hit harder and I have the time (today I ended with 6 minutes still on the clock on the highest I can). That’s about it.
There are some combinations like purging, selfcleansing and exposing that are bothersome in combination but the amount of defensive options lets me soak up damage. Especially since I than have also kneecapper for some extra beefiness.
but if it costs me to not progress in skills and abilities, which i care more about, then it’s not really an option.
