I don’t mean exactly like Mad King Thorn, I mean in the sense that this encounter perfectly meshes GW2 gameplay mechanics with the feelings of an epic encounter.
My guild members, a couple hundred people, are all in agreement: the Mad King Thorn fight is the best dungeon encounter we’ve ever experienced in any game.
The encounter is the perfect balance of gameplay mechanics. First, he has large, well telegraphed attacks that can 1 shot you, but can be avoided/mitigated by good group coordination and situational awareness (Scarecrows fearing you off the edge of the island).
Second, he has unique attacks not seen elsewhere (Spawning exploding pumpkins, creating scarecrows.).
Third, he has a very memorable arena that his fight takes place in (Giant floating islands.).
Fourth, immersion! The Mad King yells at you during the fight, he breaks out cackling occasionally, he fits perfectly into his surrounding and really looks like the ruler of his realm. The only thing that possibly could have made this better would be if he told a corny joke right before one of his big attacks (Feel free to use this next time, you’re welcome).
Finally, the encounter starts off with a perfect example of gameplay that requires attention, can be completed by the average player, punishes you for mistakes, and gets easier with repitition (Mad King Says… At least it would be when it’s not bugged and nobody has to actually do the skills. Also, it should be random, not Cower – Salute – Dance every time.).
Having said all of that, the Mad King is incredibly simple for anyone to kill. That’s to be expected, he was designed to be completed by people as low as level 2, and there are people reporting that they’ve soloed him. But with a few tweaks to his damage numbers, and removing a couple of the fences/rocks in the zone would ramp his difficulty up to end-game levels, so I’m ignoring how difficult the fight itself is.
Dungeon team – Please get in contact with holiday event team!
