Please fix Endless Archive difficulty

Toxic_Hemlock

EdjeSwift wrote: »

The Tho'at Act 1 fight has only a handful of mechanics but it can get super overwhelming given the smaller arena to keep track of it all.

Tho'at has their cleave/spawn pools of silver pain, the throw the sword and spawn the orb of run away from the beam, the don't hit me or you'll kill yourself, and the big sword swing of block or die.

The biggest threat, which has been iterated multiple times here is the "Tho'at Shards" the little small blobs of silvery goo which the Mage is usually fighting, who have a channeled ability which just shreds you if they're not killed/interrupted.

These shards are often hard to find as in the smaller Act 1 arena they're usually in the pools of silver left behind by Tho'at prime. If you interrupt/kill them, the rest of the fight is just dodge and block.

EXACTLY THIS...

I have a hard enough time with the constant noise in that area, and searching for those blobs in a sea of shards all over the ground is neigh on impossible most times for me. Eventually you can spot them, but it isn't intuitive at all, and as this is arc bloody 1, it should not be that hard to even see what you need to kill to finish it.

The boss hitting less hard than the adds in there, seems counterintuitive for the "boss" fight.

edit: clarity

Lugaldu

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

i havent run into any bosses in the archive that have healing mechanics, and from what ive also seen virtually none of the bosses in the archive have any interruptible attacks themselves (some might spawn adds which are interruptible though)

For Vorenor Winterbourne it doesn't count as healing mechanics? I first met him in the EA and after he was almost dead, he suddenly started healing continuously until he was almost full life again and I couldn't figure out how to stop his recovery because I had to leave the EA due to bedtime..

Necrotech_Master

Lugaldu wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

i havent run into any bosses in the archive that have healing mechanics, and from what ive also seen virtually none of the bosses in the archive have any interruptible attacks themselves (some might spawn adds which are interruptible though)

For Vorenor Winterbourne it doesn't count as healing mechanics? I first met him in the EA and after he was almost dead, he suddenly started healing continuously until he was almost full life again and I couldn't figure out how to stop his recovery because I had to leave the EA due to bedtime..

his heal might be the vampire drain on you would be my guess, i think that is how he heals in the dungeon except he drains from those people on the posts than from you

i think you can ccbreak out of that to stop him from draining, normally that heal is pretty small though so never noticed issues outdoing it with dmg

Gunner19K

With all due respect and amicability, I have to agree with above replies that this is not on the impossible end of difficult. I am a casual/average console player with a relatively poor static rotation (35k dummy parse on a good day) and I still solo many of the base game dungeons wearing Hundings and Briarheart as a StamBlade. I made it through Maelstrom arena on my third try. I have not done trials yet nor completed all DLC dungeons. I suggest that practice does improve. Further, I maintain that one should play for fun, play to learn, play without fear and do not expect bending anything in life to the lowest common denominator. Some things are physically or mentally impossible for some and is why my paraplegic relative cannot pilot a passenger aircraft. That is not an area the disabilities act should cover. I welcome polite feedback.

SilverBride

EdjeSwift wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

I've only gotten past the Arc 1 final boss one time solo and was only able to do that because I had a verse that was a giant green eye or orb that kept aggro off me so I could do damage. Without that I spend all my time running from the boss and the constant aoe and can't stand still long enough to do any damage.

That is a lot for Arc 1.

If you're a melee character in this fight solo, it's actually not too hard to move in small increments to control their pools of damage to give you room to run from the beam of doom. I haven't really done it much on a ranged toon, but I can't imagine that being fun trying to control her pools of pain and position yourself.

I've only done this on ranged because the last thing I want is to have to stay in close range to this boss.

Necrotech_Master

SilverBride wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

I've only gotten past the Arc 1 final boss one time solo and was only able to do that because I had a verse that was a giant green eye or orb that kept aggro off me so I could do damage. Without that I spend all my time running from the boss and the constant aoe and can't stand still long enough to do any damage.

That is a lot for Arc 1.

If you're a melee character in this fight solo, it's actually not too hard to move in small increments to control their pools of damage to give you room to run from the beam of doom. I haven't really done it much on a ranged toon, but I can't imagine that being fun trying to control her pools of pain and position yourself.

I've only done this on ranged because the last thing I want is to have to stay in close range to this boss.

the human form tho'at is melee and will generally always be in close range, most of the attacks are not deadly as long as your kiting, the hardest hitting attack is the melee heavy with the sword, which is slow so the dodge timing is a little hard, but on arc 1-2 you should be able to block it pretty easy

Araneae6537

Elsonso wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

I was surprised the first time I ran EA how much harder the final boss of the Arc was than the rest of the mobs. I don't expect this boss to be easy but there is an enormous increase in difficulty from the other bosses of the Arc. I'd like to see the final boss adjusted to be more in line with the rest of the Arc.

Hitting that wall hurts, and is completely unexpected.

It makes sense with her taunts though, and once you know not to attack the bubble, you can use the brief pause, such as to resummon pets if you’re playing sorc (I only even try to use the twilight matriarch in that fight).

I also found Tho’at overwhelming when I first faced her, but I kept trying to kite and that won’t work as she teleports to you. I find the arc 1 fight manageable now if I step out of the aoe shards and block her attacks.

SilverBride

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

I've only gotten past the Arc 1 final boss one time solo and was only able to do that because I had a verse that was a giant green eye or orb that kept aggro off me so I could do damage. Without that I spend all my time running from the boss and the constant aoe and can't stand still long enough to do any damage.

That is a lot for Arc 1.

If you're a melee character in this fight solo, it's actually not too hard to move in small increments to control their pools of damage to give you room to run from the beam of doom. I haven't really done it much on a ranged toon, but I can't imagine that being fun trying to control her pools of pain and position yourself.

I've only done this on ranged because the last thing I want is to have to stay in close range to this boss.

the human form tho'at is melee and will generally always be in close range, most of the attacks are not deadly as long as your kiting, the hardest hitting attack is the melee heavy with the sword, which is slow so the dodge timing is a little hard, but on arc 1-2 you should be able to block it pretty easy

I can't stand still long enough to even try to block the boss because of the aoe that is constantly on me. I have to move out of it and then the second I do another appears on me.

This boss should be harder than the other bosses in the Arc but for Arc 1 this is way over the top.

Necrotech_Master

SilverBride wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

I've only gotten past the Arc 1 final boss one time solo and was only able to do that because I had a verse that was a giant green eye or orb that kept aggro off me so I could do damage. Without that I spend all my time running from the boss and the constant aoe and can't stand still long enough to do any damage.

That is a lot for Arc 1.

If you're a melee character in this fight solo, it's actually not too hard to move in small increments to control their pools of damage to give you room to run from the beam of doom. I haven't really done it much on a ranged toon, but I can't imagine that being fun trying to control her pools of pain and position yourself.

I've only done this on ranged because the last thing I want is to have to stay in close range to this boss.

the human form tho'at is melee and will generally always be in close range, most of the attacks are not deadly as long as your kiting, the hardest hitting attack is the melee heavy with the sword, which is slow so the dodge timing is a little hard, but on arc 1-2 you should be able to block it pretty easy

I can't stand still long enough to even try to block the boss because of the aoe that is constantly on me. I have to move out of it and then the second I do another appears on me.

This boss should be harder than the other bosses in the Arc but for Arc 1 this is way over the top.

the ice patches only appear on you when tho'at hits you with a melee attack, she attacks a lot slower with the sword and should apply less patches

most of the normal melee attacks shouldnt need to be blocked, just the heavy attack with the sword (she takes a solid few seconds to do the windup, in which time there shouldnt be any ice patches on you if you have kept moving)

the tho'at fight definitely need to keep moving (between the eye beams and the ice patches theres no way to stand there and just tank it unless you are on a dk running basically perma magma armor)

i usually try to burn her hp down with dots while she is doing the mirror shields, since only direct dmg causes the mirrors to break

Braffin

robwolf666 wrote: »

Soarora wrote: »

robwolf666 wrote: »

I've come to conclusion that this isn't for me - I'm not exactly a crap player, I can get past quite a few of the base/dlc WBs solo in the base game, but by the time I got to the (I think) 4th boss in this, I just couldn't figure out how to get past it and gave up, and have no desire to try again. IMO this is definitely aimed at people who want to group and/or Vets with overpowered characters. So, not for everyone I don't think, unless they make it a bit more manageable for other players. Personally, I can see myself getting too frustrated to enjoy it, so no thanks.

Maybe you do not enjoy it at this time, but you may later on. That’s what happened with me and PvP.

No, I severely doubt it without changes to difficulty, even with my best and strongest character I can't figure out how to get past Tho'at, and I've tried with four different ones, I don't even know what the f... is killing me. It pisses me off that they feel it's necessary to make some enemies so stupidly hard. As I say, it's targeted at groups, overpowered characters and experts, not the average player.

Did you kill/interrupt the occassionally spawning "blobs" called "Tho'at shard"?

If not, they killed you with an increasing DoT on you. The boss itself doesn't hit that hard.

SilverBride

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

I can't stand still long enough to even try to block the boss because of the aoe that is constantly on me. I have to move out of it and then the second I do another appears on me.

This boss should be harder than the other bosses in the Arc but for Arc 1 this is way over the top.

the ice patches only appear on you when tho'at hits you with a melee attack, she attacks a lot slower with the sword and should apply less patches

I've fought her numerous times on 4 different characters, solo and with a friend, and I find when I am solo the icy patches are back to back and I am constantly on the run.

EdjeSwift

SilverBride wrote: »

I've fought her numerous times on 4 different characters, solo and with a friend, and I find when I am solo the icy patches are back to back and I am constantly on the run.

Can confirm, this occurs, but only when she's unarmed, once she picks up her sword she slows down the ice patches, so it's an early burst of pain but once she summons her sword it slows down and becomes more manageable. I'm not 100% sure what causes her to grab her sword but I THINK it's a % of health so a quick furious burst at the beginning should make the rest of the fight manageable.

Also, Mighty Bash is hilariously good in this fight if your other verse options suck.

SilverBride

EdjeSwift wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

I've fought her numerous times on 4 different characters, solo and with a friend, and I find when I am solo the icy patches are back to back and I am constantly on the run.

Can confirm, this occurs, but only when she's unarmed, once she picks up her sword she slows down the ice patches, so it's an early burst of pain but once she summons her sword it slows down and becomes more manageable. I'm not 100% sure what causes her to grab her sword but I THINK it's a % of health so a quick furious burst at the beginning should make the rest of the fight manageable.

Also, Mighty Bash is hilariously good in this fight if your other verse options suck.

Well it's how it's been for me every time.

Braffin

SilverBride wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

I can't stand still long enough to even try to block the boss because of the aoe that is constantly on me. I have to move out of it and then the second I do another appears on me.

This boss should be harder than the other bosses in the Arc but for Arc 1 this is way over the top.

the ice patches only appear on you when tho'at hits you with a melee attack, she attacks a lot slower with the sword and should apply less patches

I've fought her numerous times on 4 different characters, solo and with a friend, and I find when I am solo the icy patches are back to back and I am constantly on the run.

Try the following:

When the battle starts, let the boss come to your position (optimally already near to the outer wall). As soon as Tho'at is starting her melee attacks, cycle with her along this outer wall by slowly moving backwards. This keeps you out of her small AoE, while doing dmg is still possible. Then either block the HA or dodge right through the boss and repeat cycling.

Another option is cycling around the boss by strafing (preferred if you play melee).

In both cases don't hesitate to bring distance between you and the boss if you feel the current place is overcrowded with effects. A dodge-roll backwards and a short afterwards should do the trick. Let the boss come near again and start cycling again.

2 additional things:

1) Watch Malkest during the fight. He always attacking "Tho'at shards", if any are present. These are your priority targets and should be killed asap.
2) Don't try to do dmg during shield phase, but use the break to reapply buffs and for positioning. The more dmg you do during shield phase, the more "Tho'at shards" will spawn, making the fight harder.

Necrotech_Master

Braffin wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

I can't stand still long enough to even try to block the boss because of the aoe that is constantly on me. I have to move out of it and then the second I do another appears on me.

This boss should be harder than the other bosses in the Arc but for Arc 1 this is way over the top.

the ice patches only appear on you when tho'at hits you with a melee attack, she attacks a lot slower with the sword and should apply less patches

I've fought her numerous times on 4 different characters, solo and with a friend, and I find when I am solo the icy patches are back to back and I am constantly on the run.

Try the following:

When the battle starts, let the boss come to your position (optimally already near to the outer wall). As soon as Tho'at is starting her melee attacks, cycle with her along this outer wall by slowly moving backwards. This keeps you out of her small AoE, while doing dmg is still possible. Then either block the HA or dodge right through the boss and repeat cycling.

Another option is cycling around the boss by strafing (preferred if you play melee).

In both cases don't hesitate to bring distance between you and the boss if you feel the current place is overcrowded with effects. A dodge-roll backwards and a short afterwards should do the trick. Let the boss come near again and start cycling again.

2 additional things:

1) Watch Malkest during the fight. He always attacking "Tho'at shards", if any are present. These are your priority targets and should be killed asap.
2) Don't try to do dmg during shield phase, but use the break to reapply buffs and for positioning. The more dmg you do during shield phase, the more "Tho'at shards" will spawn, making the fight harder.

dealing dmg to the shield doesnt spawn the blobs, those just start spawning more over time the longer the fight goes on

however if you do deal direct dmg to the mirrors, it causes the mirrors to break (initially just breaking shards off that attack you, but if you destroy a mirror it spawns 4 shards all at once to hit you)

Braffin

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

Braffin wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

I can't stand still long enough to even try to block the boss because of the aoe that is constantly on me. I have to move out of it and then the second I do another appears on me.

This boss should be harder than the other bosses in the Arc but for Arc 1 this is way over the top.

the ice patches only appear on you when tho'at hits you with a melee attack, she attacks a lot slower with the sword and should apply less patches

I've fought her numerous times on 4 different characters, solo and with a friend, and I find when I am solo the icy patches are back to back and I am constantly on the run.

Try the following:

When the battle starts, let the boss come to your position (optimally already near to the outer wall). As soon as Tho'at is starting her melee attacks, cycle with her along this outer wall by slowly moving backwards. This keeps you out of her small AoE, while doing dmg is still possible. Then either block the HA or dodge right through the boss and repeat cycling.

Another option is cycling around the boss by strafing (preferred if you play melee).

In both cases don't hesitate to bring distance between you and the boss if you feel the current place is overcrowded with effects. A dodge-roll backwards and a short afterwards should do the trick. Let the boss come near again and start cycling again.

2 additional things:

1) Watch Malkest during the fight. He always attacking "Tho'at shards", if any are present. These are your priority targets and should be killed asap.
2) Don't try to do dmg during shield phase, but use the break to reapply buffs and for positioning. The more dmg you do during shield phase, the more "Tho'at shards" will spawn, making the fight harder.

dealing dmg to the shield doesnt spawn the blobs, those just start spawning more over time the longer the fight goes on

however if you do deal direct dmg to the mirrors, it causes the mirrors to break (initially just breaking shards off that attack you, but if you destroy a mirror it spawns 4 shards all at once to hit you)

Thanks, didn't know that. Seemed to me the shield were connected to the shards, but seemingly it was just the increased speed on consecutive runs.

Jaraal

SilverBride wrote: »

I've only gotten past the Arc 1 final boss one time solo and was only able to do that because I had a verse that was a giant green eye or orb that kept aggro off me so I could do damage. Without that I spend all my time running from the boss and the constant aoe and can't stand still long enough to do any damage.

That is a lot for Arc 1.

What class are you? If DK, try using Flames of Oblivion, and run multiple shields with Infernal Guardian for guided missile type damage that you can inflict while running/retreating if your DPS is low. IG is also a ranged AOE, and good for taking out those pesky range casters in the trash packs. Any class can also run Spiked Bone Shield, which gives you a 14k shield that returns 100% of melee damage to the attackers (and procs IG.)

Jorvuld's Guidance is great for extending the duration of your damage shields, as well as Major buffs. If you run Jorvuld's with Daedric Trickery, you will have 3 of the set's Major buffs up at all times overlapping. Also, certain werewolf builds are highly effective in the EA. Consider what sets might scale well with the layout of the Archive, and if you get the World skill buff verse, it's all over for the enemies.

Jaraal

Toxic_Hemlock wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

The Tho'at Act 1 fight has only a handful of mechanics but it can get super overwhelming given the smaller arena to keep track of it all.

Tho'at has their cleave/spawn pools of silver pain, the throw the sword and spawn the orb of run away from the beam, the don't hit me or you'll kill yourself, and the big sword swing of block or die.

The biggest threat, which has been iterated multiple times here is the "Tho'at Shards" the little small blobs of silvery goo which the Mage is usually fighting, who have a channeled ability which just shreds you if they're not killed/interrupted.

These shards are often hard to find as in the smaller Act 1 arena they're usually in the pools of silver left behind by Tho'at prime. If you interrupt/kill them, the rest of the fight is just dodge and block.

EXACTLY THIS...

I have a hard enough time with the constant noise in that area, and searching for those blobs in a sea of shards all over the ground is neigh on impossible most times for me. Eventually you can spot them, but it isn't intuitive at all, and as this is arc bloody 1, it should not be that hard to even see what you need to kill to finish it.

The boss hitting less hard than the adds in there, seems counterintuitive for the "boss" fight.

edit: clarity

They try to teach you a form of this mechanic with the duelist mini-game. And if you talk to her after the duel, she tells you that you need to focus the crystal instead of her to avoid getting one shotted. And that mechanic is replicated with the Tho'at shards in the arc final battles.

Many of us have the death recap toggled off by default. But there's a lot of good information to be gleaned from these recaps. Be sure and press T (on PC) after you die and take a look at what killed you, and the tip section of the recap sometimes has helpful info for these EA fights.

SilverBride

Jaraal wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

I've only gotten past the Arc 1 final boss one time solo and was only able to do that because I had a verse that was a giant green eye or orb that kept aggro off me so I could do damage. Without that I spend all my time running from the boss and the constant aoe and can't stand still long enough to do any damage.

That is a lot for Arc 1.

What class are you? If DK, try using Flames of Oblivion, and run multiple shields with Infernal Guardian for guided missile type damage that you can inflict while running/retreating if your DPS is low. IG is also a ranged AOE, and good for taking out those pesky range casters in the trash packs. Any class can also run Spiked Bone Shield, which gives you a 14k shield that returns 100% of melee damage to the attackers (and procs IG.)

Jorvuld's Guidance is great for extending the duration of your damage shields, as well as Major buffs. If you run Jorvuld's with Daedric Trickery, you will have 3 of the set's Major buffs up at all times overlapping. Also, certain werewolf builds are highly effective in the EA. Consider what sets might scale well with the layout of the Archive, and if you get the World skill buff verse, it's all over for the enemies.

I appreciate the advice, but if I have to micromanage as though I am going into a veteran trial for an Arc 1 boss then I give up trying to solo it.

And I still say this boss is disproportionately difficulty for Arc 1.

Necrotech_Master

SilverBride wrote: »

Jaraal wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

I've only gotten past the Arc 1 final boss one time solo and was only able to do that because I had a verse that was a giant green eye or orb that kept aggro off me so I could do damage. Without that I spend all my time running from the boss and the constant aoe and can't stand still long enough to do any damage.

That is a lot for Arc 1.

What class are you? If DK, try using Flames of Oblivion, and run multiple shields with Infernal Guardian for guided missile type damage that you can inflict while running/retreating if your DPS is low. IG is also a ranged AOE, and good for taking out those pesky range casters in the trash packs. Any class can also run Spiked Bone Shield, which gives you a 14k shield that returns 100% of melee damage to the attackers (and procs IG.)

Jorvuld's Guidance is great for extending the duration of your damage shields, as well as Major buffs. If you run Jorvuld's with Daedric Trickery, you will have 3 of the set's Major buffs up at all times overlapping. Also, certain werewolf builds are highly effective in the EA. Consider what sets might scale well with the layout of the Archive, and if you get the World skill buff verse, it's all over for the enemies.

If I have to micromanage as though I am going into a veteran trial for an Arc 1 boss then I give up trying to solo it.

And I still say this boss is disproportionately difficulty for Arc 1.

arc 1 tho'at isnt too much to manage, theres only like 4 mechanics you have to deal with

kite ice patches, dont do direct dmg to the mirror shield, kite the eye beam after she throws the sword, and block the heavy attack

in later tho'at fights you have to also deal with the additional bosses showing up in the fights, and managing to focus them down 1 at a time so your not dealing with more than 2 bosses at once

SilverBride

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

arc 1 tho'at isnt too much to manage, theres only like 4 mechanics you have to deal with

It is for me. I can't do much damage at all if I am constantly on the run.

And I still stand behind my opinion that this boss is way too difficulty for Arc 1. That's comparable to introducing calculus in kindergarten.

If the Arcs are supposed to get progressively more difficult and this is how they start then what chance does an average player have of progressing solo?

Jaraal

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Jaraal wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

I've only gotten past the Arc 1 final boss one time solo and was only able to do that because I had a verse that was a giant green eye or orb that kept aggro off me so I could do damage. Without that I spend all my time running from the boss and the constant aoe and can't stand still long enough to do any damage.

That is a lot for Arc 1.

What class are you? If DK, try using Flames of Oblivion, and run multiple shields with Infernal Guardian for guided missile type damage that you can inflict while running/retreating if your DPS is low. IG is also a ranged AOE, and good for taking out those pesky range casters in the trash packs. Any class can also run Spiked Bone Shield, which gives you a 14k shield that returns 100% of melee damage to the attackers (and procs IG.)

Jorvuld's Guidance is great for extending the duration of your damage shields, as well as Major buffs. If you run Jorvuld's with Daedric Trickery, you will have 3 of the set's Major buffs up at all times overlapping. Also, certain werewolf builds are highly effective in the EA. Consider what sets might scale well with the layout of the Archive, and if you get the World skill buff verse, it's all over for the enemies.

If I have to micromanage as though I am going into a veteran trial for an Arc 1 boss then I give up trying to solo it.

And I still say this boss is disproportionately difficulty for Arc 1.

arc 1 tho'at isnt too much to manage, theres only like 4 mechanics you have to deal with

kite ice patches, dont do direct dmg to the mirror shield, kite the eye beam after she throws the sword, and block the heavy attack

in later tho'at fights you have to also deal with the additional bosses showing up in the fights, and managing to focus them down 1 at a time so your not dealing with more than 2 bosses at once

I honestly breathe a sigh of relief when I get to the Tho'ats, because the fights are pretty straightforward, and they give you plenty of room to work with... unlike the platforms. Just last night I pulled High Kinlord Rilis, which is usually a cakewalk, but at one point he put me in a blue bubble and literally chucked me off the platform to my death.

I'm not a fan of situations over which I have no control. The Tho'at fight is easy to control, once you understand exactly what is happening, and how to prioritize what's going on.

Necrotech_Master

SilverBride wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

arc 1 tho'at isnt too much to manage, theres only like 4 mechanics you have to deal with

It is for me. I can't do much damage at all if I am constantly on the run.

And I still stand behind my opinion that this boss is way too difficulty for Arc 1. That's comparable to introducing calculus in kindergarten.

If the Arcs are supposed to get progressively more difficult and this is how they start then what chance does an average player have of progressing solo?

i just back up while im facing the boss so i can be dealing dmg while the boss is moving, that and sticky dots + any offense verse/visions usually help a lot

ive had some luck and gotten good rolls on my offense verses and killed tho'at in arc 1 in under 30 seconds, other times its a little more of a slog because i got mostly defensive or utility visions/verses

the boss doesnt heal so as long as you interrupt the blobs and keep some dots on the boss it will eventually go down even if you have no high dmg offense verses

jaws343

SilverBride wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

arc 1 tho'at isnt too much to manage, theres only like 4 mechanics you have to deal with

It is for me. I can't do much damage at all if I am constantly on the run.

And I still stand behind my opinion that this boss is way too difficulty for Arc 1. That's comparable to introducing calculus in kindergarten.

If the Arcs are supposed to get progressively more difficult and this is how they start then what chance does an average player have of progressing solo?

I ran through on my normal 2 bar build and I found managing resources was tough while trying to kite and the fight was a bit of a slog.

However, if you take on that fight with a lightning staff, even outside of a traditional heavy attack setup, the kiting and dealing constant damage to the boss is soo much more manageable.

Approaching it with lightning heavies means the only thing I am really doing is back pedaling in a circle while heavy attacking and watching out for the blobs, and casting an occasional heal. Throw in a pause for block on the charged hit here and there. If you keep moving, you almost never have to deal with the ice circles and the beam is pretty much a non factor. Now, I am running a pet heavy attack build, so there is passive damage, but the mechanic of the fight is the same, just a bit longer.

Also, always take the heavy attack bleed damage vision if it pops up. That thing is a monster for damage.

Interestingly, the second ARC fight isn't really more difficult than the first since the Atro basically just leaves you alone unless you get close to it. Can pretty much ignore it until the first boss is dead. So, once you can complete ARC 1 boss, ARC 2 is almost a given once you get to it.

boi_anachronism_

Something that is really interesting to me is that this content is obviously balanced around a team of two with a solo option being the much harder one. Even in the preview showcase the devs specifically touched on the fact that they had had countless requests for duo content since maelstrom came out and that this was the first time they had been able to explore 2 person content. This was the sept 14th stream so its not like they reworked the concept. The discussion seems to almost exclusively revolve around the difficulty for solo players.

spartaxoxo

What arc do you get the undaunted bust?

Edit: The vet one?

Edit 2: nevermind it's Arc 4.

SilverBride

boi_anachronism_ wrote: »

Something that is really interesting to me is that this content is obviously balanced around a team of two with a solo option being the much harder one.

What I find interesting is that if you summon a companion when you are in the Index it gives a warning that it will now be considered a duo. But we all know a Companion isn't nearly as good as a real player, yet if we use one that game counts then as one. I wonder how this affects the difficulty.

Braffin

SilverBride wrote: »

boi_anachronism_ wrote: »

Something that is really interesting to me is that this content is obviously balanced around a team of two with a solo option being the much harder one.

What I find interesting is that if you summon a companion when you are in the Index it gives a warning that it will now be considered a duo. But we all know a Companion isn't nearly as good as a real player, yet if we use one that game counts then as one. I wonder how this affects the difficulty.

I didn't notice any differences regarding difficulty yet between solo and duo runs.

It's most probably a notification about leaderboards. I don't think, that runs with a companion count for solo. I'm not sure tho, as I never use them.

Btw, I wonder anyways why there isn't a seperate leaderboard for runs with companions. Seems a bit inconsequent for me.

VampiricByNature

I am a console player who typically plays in trial content. For me, the archive takes a lot of irl time before the difficulty ramps up enough to really start struggling. Note, I have only been doing this as a duo. My partner and I have been waiting for duo content for a long time.

I would love the chance to just keep going after all the vitality is lost- just to keep pushing for personal fun. I'm not much of a score chaser. The archive is fun for us but our initial runs have been around 2 hrs and we haven't even built for the content. We watched our first tutorial today and had some aha moments that are definitely going to extend our runs even longer and that part is unappealing for sure. We won't just be able to squeeze a run in on work nights or anything like that.

I wish there was some way to start at a later arc. Maybe an achievement called "arc perfectionist" and if you no death arcs enough you can choose to start there?

We have been having fun with the content and honestly that's the only thing we have really wished for in these early stages of the content.

Nebs

I think the Endless Archive is excellently designed and adding a Veteran mode would would be really dull and pointlessly complicate the content. It literally does not need a Veteran mode.

We have people on the leaderboard getting up to Arc 15, you think they noticed the first 1 or 2 "normal" Arcs in their journey?

What are Veteran modes anyway than just adding incoming damage and turning enemies into sponges? That sounds dull. They're not going to further complicate the boss fights to add actual new mechanics to all those bosses they freshened up for the archive. That would be a colossal waste of time.

I don't think the Archive is perfect, but I hate the idea of introducing a Veteran mode. There's actually something I'd like to see done to make the Archive easier: some actual feedback from Tho'at's Shard blobs in her fight. I hate that if you don't have line of sight on them and they're hiding in the mess of effects on that battlefield, you have absolutely no feedback for telling you that you're being attacked by something.
I think the imps Heavy Attacks are also very poorly broadcasted.
I think the poison injection from archers is poor broadcasted
I also think the bleed effect from the flaming marauder is poorly communicated. How about putting an effect on me I can see so I don't have to use an add-on to learn why I'm suddenly dying.