Difficulty level

I don't know if there are any forums currently discussing this. If there are, I am sorry for the repitition. There is a fine line between challenging and frustrating, and I feel that it has been crossed. I ask that the difficulty please be put back to normal.

I haven't seen any discussions regarding this either ...

To be honest though, I have yet to make a definite opinion either way. Also, I haven't played my other classes at the new setting as much as I have my AM (who usually has a rough time of it).

Early on there was quite a bit of fustration; however, there are somethings I think I can safely say (or at least partial opinions):

First, map success even more will depend on the number of players on, and the mix of classes. No medic? Then any AM on is going to have a very rough time of it more so now than before. Medics are going to be more important now.

Next, you'll see very few wins without a significant number of players on - a minimum of 10 I'd guess now.

After that, those of us (and yes, to a large extent I admit I'm one of them) who rely on certain weapons (flak, rocket, link) are going to have a rougher time of it on later waves. This much I will say - it's better now than when the difficulty was Masterful; having the Krall dodge you on wave one made flaks next to useless.

I fear that newbies who show up after wave five are going to get quickly overwhelmed and probably won't give the server a second chance. To be honest, though, there has always, I think, been a timing risk when it comes to when someone first logs in. I just think the bar may have been moved a little higher (er, lower? wave) now.

Certain maps (the more open ones) certainly were easy before - now they're still not all that hard.

Summary:

Well, the change in some ways hasn't changed a whole lot - it's just brought certain things into sharper relief. I'm not all that sure how life is like for the lower levels - once an AM has Denial 3, death isn't a big deal; once a WM has LW period (particularly 5) death isn't a big deal; and once a medic can get his 10 adren and make a weapon he can heal himself with, dying may not be that big a deal either. It's just that now, getting to that point may be a lot harder than it was.

Is this bad? Is this good? I'm still withholding judgement. While I'm playing I tend to go either way. IF I had to be pinned down, right this second I'd say it'd be nice if we could either vote on the difficulty during the map voting, or if it would auto-adjust for the number of players on (say, like < 8 it's Average, otherwise Experienced).

Any ideas if there's another level between Average and Experienced? I'm too lazy to check right this second ...

BotFodder wrote:

Any ideas if there's another level between Average and Experienced? I'm too lazy to check right this second ...

nope

Hey Bot- Thanks for replying. I totally agree with the idea of a voting system or an auto-adjuster.

It is worthy to note that the difficulty level was adjusted (again) mid-day, so if you only played before it was re-adjusted, it was significantly harder at that point than it is now.

I don't have any idea what it was like before (today was move into college day), but I just played and it was a challenge... however we did finish the map with 9 players, it seems pretty good to me. Have not been able to play my medic yet, but it may take a bit to get used to it... I like the change

I played most Sunday and yes I did see a big change in game play. The monsters were dodging the flak, but that meant I had to change my style of game play. The games I played I think the amount of wins on 16 was fair.

What I have not tested is a game with less then 10 people.

With my level 48 LA player I'm experiencing a frustrating number of deaths after wave 8 or 9. With my level 102 LW player however, Im scoring as good if not better. I think maybe some people are playing less agressively with the more difficult monsters and just trying to stay alive. In addition, more lower level players are dying allowing me to take their kills. Overall this is bad news for lower level players. However I do enjoy the challenge.

shimmyNshake
shimmy-LA

I haven't tried it yet, so can't comment how difficult it is. But if the completion bonus was upped from 80 to say 300xp, it might make players team together better and still win, despite it being more difficult.

Szlat wrote:

I haven't tried it yet, so can't comment how difficult it is.

Ditto, I'll cast my vote as soon as I do.

B_B

i would like to see it change back to were it was cuz right now almost any new player cant live more then a couple of waves then right away they say this it to hard and not fun so they quit and move on to another server.

Jschill wrote:

i would like to see it change back to were it was cuz right now almost any new player cant live more then a couple of waves then right away they say this it to hard and not fun so they quit and move on to another server.

I agree I have also heard the complaints and yes if it is less then 10 players (unless everyone is above 60) the chances of getting to the end is slim to none. I also understand why they are doing this, to try to make it tougher for the 40+ players. It is a balancing act and honestly I do not know enough about the settings to say what way to set it up.

I will say this, the monsters are very good at dodging now.

I like it - it is more of a challenge. You have to think and concentrate more, and yes hide more. If you don't have to hide at times, it is too easy.

People are having to group together more and work more as a team, which is good. Perhaps the medic link chains are a little too powerful, but let's see how it goes over time.

I could see how on the wrong map, or with very few people, it could be pretty difficult.

Jschill wrote:

i would like to see it change back to were it was cuz right now almost any new player cant live more then a couple of waves then right away they say this it to hard and not fun so they quit and move on to another server.

Look at it this way, as long as lower level players keep playing, they will gain levels and experience and will do better. It doesn't work that way for higher levels. I'm excited for a bit more of a challenge. It'll make me work harder.

B_B

I want to clarify something. I feel that people think that surviving wave 16 every time is the norm. That is in fact part of the reason for the change- where is the challenge if you know that every time you will win the game?

If sometimes we don't win, I think that's good. There was a time when we didn't always survive wave 5, let alone 16. Something to keep in mind while you are voting.