Snakespeare
09-08-2010, 12:04 PM
This is meant to be for level 4 characters, but I wonder if any of the devs has played level 4 character in there. It's a challenge, and that is good, but it needs some kind of tweak.
The respawn rate is probably too high. With a level 4 character you simply can't keep them down long enough to fight Meathead. In fact, by your lonesome, at level 4, you can't even get to Meathead.
So you need to work together, of course, with some other new player. Problem is, because of the respawn rate, if the other player's character dies, he can't get back to you. And that usually means you have to either die and respawn to get back to him, or quit and re-enter.
Teamwork and skill use needs to be encouraged. Along the way, various questgiving NPCs have explained things (What are stats? Who is the Elf Queen? etc). Klutch could do this regarding teamwork and skill use. At the moment all he does, other than quest you to kill Meathead for him, is complain that he's tired and say that he hopes you have a lot of heal and mana pots. I think a [Tell me about teamwork] and [Tell me about skill use] button would be better. Believe it or not, I actually see bears who don't Stomp, birds who don't Focus, and mages who don't Heal. All he has to tell them is that they can make a party with a common purpose. He can tell a bear, specifically, to watch out that he doesn't get swarmed, and to Stomp them back if he does. He can remind the mage, specifically, that Heal restores the health of his teammates as well as his own. And he can remind the archer to Focus and target the same opponents as his teammates to reduce the number of attackers.
Meathead has to be targetable. When his mob surrounds him as he chases you around the room, there is no way to target him. You can try tapping on him, but you will undoubtedly just target one of his little zombies. And with them respawning so quickly, you will burn through all 16 heal pots that you saved up, and he will still kill you. The thing is, his move rate, I think, is exactly the same as a blue haired zombie elite. With the current respawn rate, if you run out into the hallway that you just cleared, it is full again. If you bring him down to the treasure room that has no zombies, they will all follow and you will be swarmed. So, obviously, you have to take out his pals in his own room. This could be the chance for a new player to learn how to pull a boss, but they can't because the hallway has been completely respawned. So, instead of learning to clear space, pull, combine skills, and get a reward, they are running around like crazy hoping not to die and falling back on luck.
In Summary, I think that Forest Haven IV could be the place to transition from haphazard solo play to beginning to form teams, but it needs a little tweak or two for that to happen. Perhaps lower the respawn rate, perhaps add some dialog from Klutch, or both.
The respawn rate is probably too high. With a level 4 character you simply can't keep them down long enough to fight Meathead. In fact, by your lonesome, at level 4, you can't even get to Meathead.
So you need to work together, of course, with some other new player. Problem is, because of the respawn rate, if the other player's character dies, he can't get back to you. And that usually means you have to either die and respawn to get back to him, or quit and re-enter.
Teamwork and skill use needs to be encouraged. Along the way, various questgiving NPCs have explained things (What are stats? Who is the Elf Queen? etc). Klutch could do this regarding teamwork and skill use. At the moment all he does, other than quest you to kill Meathead for him, is complain that he's tired and say that he hopes you have a lot of heal and mana pots. I think a [Tell me about teamwork] and [Tell me about skill use] button would be better. Believe it or not, I actually see bears who don't Stomp, birds who don't Focus, and mages who don't Heal. All he has to tell them is that they can make a party with a common purpose. He can tell a bear, specifically, to watch out that he doesn't get swarmed, and to Stomp them back if he does. He can remind the mage, specifically, that Heal restores the health of his teammates as well as his own. And he can remind the archer to Focus and target the same opponents as his teammates to reduce the number of attackers.
Meathead has to be targetable. When his mob surrounds him as he chases you around the room, there is no way to target him. You can try tapping on him, but you will undoubtedly just target one of his little zombies. And with them respawning so quickly, you will burn through all 16 heal pots that you saved up, and he will still kill you. The thing is, his move rate, I think, is exactly the same as a blue haired zombie elite. With the current respawn rate, if you run out into the hallway that you just cleared, it is full again. If you bring him down to the treasure room that has no zombies, they will all follow and you will be swarmed. So, obviously, you have to take out his pals in his own room. This could be the chance for a new player to learn how to pull a boss, but they can't because the hallway has been completely respawned. So, instead of learning to clear space, pull, combine skills, and get a reward, they are running around like crazy hoping not to die and falling back on luck.
In Summary, I think that Forest Haven IV could be the place to transition from haphazard solo play to beginning to form teams, but it needs a little tweak or two for that to happen. Perhaps lower the respawn rate, perhaps add some dialog from Klutch, or both.