Durumu and LFR - Blue Tracker

#1 - April 2, 2013, 10:51 p.m.

Look. Let me begin by saying that Kips loves a great challenge. Let me say secondly that Kips does not raid on Kips.... he has an alter ego.

The next thing I'd like to say is this: While I LOVE a challenge. While I have been praying for a boss fight with REAL, complex mechanics and my prayers have been answered... it's too hard.

Who is too hard for? --- It's not too hard for your seasoned and experienced raiders. But LFR was not created for seasoned, experienced raiders. LFR was created for the more casual raider who doesn't have time, the will nor want to spend 6 hours wiping on boss progression. It was so the casual player could see the content and enjoy a fight.

Now here is why the Durumu encounter is too difficult. The beams aren't too difficult.. it's simple. Move the beams around until you uncover an add, keep the beam on the add - kill the adds. Tank swapping isn't hard either. Void puddles aren't a big issue either. The damage from the cones is scaled on par for LFR.

This is where Durumu is TOO difficult for LFR encounters.

I -AM- a seasoned, experienced raider. I have world first kills under my belt back in ICC. And not even I knew where the hell to go or to stand. (I like to figure out new boss fights on my own. let's me relive my 'glory days' coming up with strats with my old guild.)

I couldn't even figure out where to go for 4 wipes. The entire raid died within seconds. Even other vet raiders were going "Wow....what the heck?" (Except much more vulgar.)

It takes you putting your camera angled down to see the path more easily. You also only have FIVE SECONDS... five..whole..seconds to move from where you are on the platform.. to in front of his eye... and then to the correct side where there is an opening.

If your camera isn't panned down trying to see that opening on the floor is a joke. I know that I have a disability. I had a massive stroke two years ago that left me mostly blind for the first two years. My left eye is still sightless and a quarter of my right eye is still shot as well. BUT:

No one in the raid could figure out where to stay - or how to tell which side the very small path was going to be on. To the right of the eye beam or on the left side?

I think the problem is more with the graphics on the fight than it is the mechanic itself. Having to follow a path that slowly reveals itself is one thing. But when you're playing one of the smaller races (Goblin, gnome, Dwarf.) The shadow flames from the 'eye sores' are taller than you are making it LITERALLY... impossible to see without your camera panned down. The flames sway side to side in a wave pattern making it VERY hard to make out where the path is going to move. (Or even when the next 'eye sore' is going to dissolve to clear the path for you.)

This mechanic is complex for even the veteran raider. Some of the best guilds in the world struggled with the mechanic for several attempts. If the best guilds in the world struggled with the mechanic to get it down - how long do you think it would take 25 LFR ...er... people, to figure it out?

The graphics either need to be toned down to just a 'defile' like graphic on the floor (A giant swirly mass of darkness... or purple.) so that the path can be EASILY seen by players in LFR.

The mechanic is great. The complexity of the fight is awesome.

Is it too awesome for LFR? I think so. Please tone it down for folks. Not everyone enjoys wiping to raid progression for hours on end like I used to love to do.

Bashiok

Community Manager

#75 - April 3, 2013, 5:40 p.m.

I'm personally ok with it if I'm not able to roll over every fight the first day it's available on the LFR. I personally think a sense of progression can be had, even in a group of 25 strangers. There have been some hotfixes already for the fight in LFR, I'm not sure if it needs more, but I'm sure if the designers feel it does they will make them.

Personally I appreciate that some fights require more knowledge and coordination, and aren't surefire gimmies. The fight has been available for 1 day to most of the people attempting it. I'm not sure that's enough information to claim that it's too hard for LFR. My group last night wiped a good number of times and then got it down with about 15 people that did understand the mechanics and were able to pull it off. That felt good to overcome the challenge finally, even if I was one of the dead.

There were a group of people in my guild back in the day that just could not do the Naxxramas Safety Dance on Heigan no matter what. Ever. No matter where you go people will make mistakes, or lack the coordination to overcome some mechanics. Considering the fight was able to done by 15 people in my LFR group last night though, I feel like it's a surmountable challenge even if a large portion of the raid is laying there. And hey, I can get better and maybe won't die next time, right?

Bashiok

Community Manager

#82 - April 3, 2013, 5:52 p.m.

One thing to keep in mind was "how many stacks of determination" did you have before you were able to kill the boss. Was the increased dps/health/healing help in determining that only 15 people were needed to kill him?

Maybe? But that's what that mechanic is there for. It helps make up for low damage, or healing, or coordination, or understanding/ability to overcome a fight. The intent was to not make LFR completely different, but help give people boosters when they need them. It's still more efficient to not wipe, and so logically that's what people should still be striving to do.

Bashiok

Community Manager

#206 - April 3, 2013, 8:03 p.m.

No offense, but you're not really engaging the substance of his post, which is that the "maze" mechanic is incredibly difficult to distinguish. You have a dark floor with a dark purple overlay, with a dark purple fog over that overlay. I had to TURN DOWN my settings to distinguish the maze in normal.

The problem isn't the cones or the other mechanics. The problem is the maze portion of the fight which is difficult to see and distinguish. I think when you have a mechanic where you have to DECREASE your settings to be able to play. You ought to reconsider or fix those settings.

Quite right, most are not saying it's too hard as a mechanic, just that visual effect needs alteration to make it more... attemptable even. I don't think that's something we'd disagree with. The effect went through a number of changes on the PTR, including very late in the testing cycle to try to resolve some performance issues it was causing. It's certainly a doable fight, but I think it's safe to say we don't think it's perfect as-is.