Just played through the newest version of mission 8. I have to say, the change in the boss fight threw me off a little bit. It might have just been me, but the Terran boss fight got harder (the boss seems to target fire the Medic.) Still, I very much like the changes. You have to move constantly and at no point will you be safe just blasting away at the boss. Very well done.
So, macro section was fairly straight forward. Survive for 15 minutes while severely restricted on economy and tech. On hard difficulty, basic units die too quickly to really matter so you're stuck with just your heroes, doing macro almost solely for upgrades.
The 6 hero dynamic on a base-defense section is interesting. With their combined might and with the right amount of micro, it's possible to deal with entire waves with even just half of them. But then every wave comes from two different sides, requiring you to prioritize the more vulnerable side while still remembering to check back on the other. I have not played a single game of ladder, but I imagine this is what multi-pronged harass would feel like.
Just a little request but could you replace the Auir Sentries with the Sentries from multiplayer or Whispers of Oblivion? The one that still had force field (yes, I am aware that they'd make the base defense section laughably easy. Just a suggestion, not a demand)
The micro section also mixed things up. The dynamic of Kaiser/Ben/Radamantis and Kyra/Mira/Annabelle made for some fun tactical puzzles where different solutions have to be used for similar combat situations. It was the tanks, really. They're very good at zoning your units so you actually had to think really hard on how you had to take engagements.
The timer was also a nice touch, giving the entire section a greater sense of urgency.
The two identical boss fights played quite differently between the two sets of heroes. Kaiser and the Protoss were the most reliant on energy, but also had the best sustain. Terrans, on the other hand, had the highest damage output but were really squishy and lacked a good way to keep themselves alive.
The final section was kind of a let down as I pretty much steamrolled over the Void rifts like they were nothing. Unless that was the point, in which case well done on that.
Actually, well done on everything. It was a fun mission all things considered. Aside from the earlier bugs that force me to watch cutscenes if I want to finish the mission, it was overall great!
No change. Skipped the cutscene, and a good minute into the micro section one of my other units dies. Currently uploading a video. Will PM you once it's ready
Yeah, got to the micro section and was not able to finish it. I think my other units were getting attacked off screen while I was doing the micro section and they ended up dying. The mission ended with defeat shortly after that.
Hahaha
I immediately played on hard and it was pretty easy up until that huge wave of battlecruisers came. I'll give it a try and focus only on upgrades. Controlling an army with 6 heroes - each with multiple abilities with different utilities - is a little too much for me.
So just attempted this and... well, Idk what to do. I played on hard and got wrecked when the battlecruisers came. There were so many heroes that I had trouble using all of their abilities as well as using sentry guardian shield and micro-ing my marines. Am I just treating this mission too much like a macro mission by making a bunch of units? I'm already held back by the 975/975 cost total of getting all the attack upgrades How exactly is this mission supposed to be played?
If you don't use shields prior to shielding Mira for the first time, the cool down and energy regen is just right that you can shield her again. The only problem is if you use Disintegration at any point other than the very start of the boss fight which will mess with the opportunity window for using shields.
And I personally saw the pattern at around my third attempt.
But I see your point. Most players won't be able to figure out what the intended strategy for this without constant save-scumming. While I consider this one of his best boss fights, it isn't without some very big flaws.
Your suggestion would help, but it would be to the detriment of the next few boss fights where the strategy doesn't revolve around using shields at specific intervals. It makes the later missions easier because the ability has no cost and disintegration is too powerful of an ability to be the only one that costs energy.
I personally think that this boss was one of your best made ones. The problem is that the pattern isn't obvious to those who aren't the kind of people to look for said pattern. I could tell a few save-loads in that Jayborino wasn't gonna figure out the normal strategy on how to beat it.
I can see two possible solutions that won't detract from the difficulty. Neither are mutually exclusive.
Increase the boss's health so that you're fighting it for longer. To compensate, make the attacks significantly weaker and have them gradually increase in power so the first and second time it does the barrage attack it doesn't outright kill Mira Kel. Then have the heroes comment that the attacks are getting stronger after the second cycle - by then, it should be obvious that the only way to keep Mira from dying is to use the shields.
And/Or, put target markers on the targeted unit before the boss does the barrage attack. Maybe have the target marker be on Mira Kel slightly earlier than with Kyra Han
Said solutions make the boss a little less unfair. It still punishes players who don't figure out that you have to save your shield ability for Mira Kel but the punishment isn't as severe anymore
I have no idea what changed in mission 5. I played through it and it played basically the same way and nothing was different - easier in a way, actually.
I just played the updated version of Paradise Lost
You somehow managed to make this the best pure-micro mission in this campaign to me. It's now shorter with less down time where you're just moving across the map with nothing to fight, the boss now has/uses more attacks and varies them up a bit more - an overall significant increase in quality imo. I'd probably bump my score up to somewhere between a strong 7 to a light 8 for the boss fight and a medium to strong 8 for the stage.
I played on normal and it was moderately difficult. I've yet to reach the boss on hard. Once I finish on hard, I'll try to record and have a video up. Probably tomorrow (today, technically) or Sunday, you'll see it
Edit
Due to internet troubles, the video won't be up until late this Monday.
I retract my previous statements. On hard mode, using exclusively Kaiser makes the mission laughably easy, as well as incredibly boring to both play and watch. When not cheesing it on hard, it's very difficult. Not impossible like before, but tedious and time consuming.
When cheesing with Kaiser, I recommend playing on the hardest difficulty. It's the only possible way there'd be anything at stake and even then it's still pretty easy.
When playing with a regular strategy, I'd recommend casual or normal. The difference in respawn rates make just enough difference between normal and hard that the latter is less fun to me than the former.
Good call on making Kaiser's Void Form consume life instead of energy. Their energy regen was just too slow for it to be really useful without being incredibly time consuming. Now it has much more utility
The boss fight was up to par with your other boss fights. The only thing I might suggest is changing the color of the purple markers on the ground when it shoots the stun. They're very hard to see through the red void fog. Unless that's intentional, in which case that was a clever way of increasing difficulty - still a dick move, but clever.
Just played through the newest version of mission 8. I have to say, the change in the boss fight threw me off a little bit. It might have just been me, but the Terran boss fight got harder (the boss seems to target fire the Medic.) Still, I very much like the changes. You have to move constantly and at no point will you be safe just blasting away at the boss. Very well done.
@EDHRIANO: Go
So, macro section was fairly straight forward. Survive for 15 minutes while severely restricted on economy and tech. On hard difficulty, basic units die too quickly to really matter so you're stuck with just your heroes, doing macro almost solely for upgrades.
The 6 hero dynamic on a base-defense section is interesting. With their combined might and with the right amount of micro, it's possible to deal with entire waves with even just half of them. But then every wave comes from two different sides, requiring you to prioritize the more vulnerable side while still remembering to check back on the other. I have not played a single game of ladder, but I imagine this is what multi-pronged harass would feel like.
Just a little request but could you replace the Auir Sentries with the Sentries from multiplayer or Whispers of Oblivion? The one that still had force field (yes, I am aware that they'd make the base defense section laughably easy. Just a suggestion, not a demand)
The micro section also mixed things up. The dynamic of Kaiser/Ben/Radamantis and Kyra/Mira/Annabelle made for some fun tactical puzzles where different solutions have to be used for similar combat situations. It was the tanks, really. They're very good at zoning your units so you actually had to think really hard on how you had to take engagements.
The timer was also a nice touch, giving the entire section a greater sense of urgency.
The two identical boss fights played quite differently between the two sets of heroes. Kaiser and the Protoss were the most reliant on energy, but also had the best sustain. Terrans, on the other hand, had the highest damage output but were really squishy and lacked a good way to keep themselves alive.
The final section was kind of a let down as I pretty much steamrolled over the Void rifts like they were nothing. Unless that was the point, in which case well done on that.
Actually, well done on everything. It was a fun mission all things considered. Aside from the earlier bugs that force me to watch cutscenes if I want to finish the mission, it was overall great!
No change. Skipped the cutscene, and a good minute into the micro section one of my other units dies. Currently uploading a video. Will PM you once it's ready
Yeah, got to the micro section and was not able to finish it. I think my other units were getting attacked off screen while I was doing the micro section and they ended up dying. The mission ended with defeat shortly after that.
@EDHRIANO: Go
Hahaha I immediately played on hard and it was pretty easy up until that huge wave of battlecruisers came. I'll give it a try and focus only on upgrades. Controlling an army with 6 heroes - each with multiple abilities with different utilities - is a little too much for me.
So just attempted this and... well, Idk what to do. I played on hard and got wrecked when the battlecruisers came. There were so many heroes that I had trouble using all of their abilities as well as using sentry guardian shield and micro-ing my marines. Am I just treating this mission too much like a macro mission by making a bunch of units? I'm already held back by the 975/975 cost total of getting all the attack upgrades How exactly is this mission supposed to be played?
You've sort of made mission 3 completely unplayable now. Mira Kel is bugged. You can't control her unit anymore.
@JayborinoPlays: Go
If you don't use shields prior to shielding Mira for the first time, the cool down and energy regen is just right that you can shield her again. The only problem is if you use Disintegration at any point other than the very start of the boss fight which will mess with the opportunity window for using shields.
And I personally saw the pattern at around my third attempt.
But I see your point. Most players won't be able to figure out what the intended strategy for this without constant save-scumming. While I consider this one of his best boss fights, it isn't without some very big flaws.
Your suggestion would help, but it would be to the detriment of the next few boss fights where the strategy doesn't revolve around using shields at specific intervals. It makes the later missions easier because the ability has no cost and disintegration is too powerful of an ability to be the only one that costs energy.
@JayborinoPlays: Go
@EDHRIANO: Go
I personally think that this boss was one of your best made ones. The problem is that the pattern isn't obvious to those who aren't the kind of people to look for said pattern. I could tell a few save-loads in that Jayborino wasn't gonna figure out the normal strategy on how to beat it.
I can see two possible solutions that won't detract from the difficulty. Neither are mutually exclusive.
Increase the boss's health so that you're fighting it for longer. To compensate, make the attacks significantly weaker and have them gradually increase in power so the first and second time it does the barrage attack it doesn't outright kill Mira Kel. Then have the heroes comment that the attacks are getting stronger after the second cycle - by then, it should be obvious that the only way to keep Mira from dying is to use the shields.
And/Or, put target markers on the targeted unit before the boss does the barrage attack. Maybe have the target marker be on Mira Kel slightly earlier than with Kyra Han
Said solutions make the boss a little less unfair. It still punishes players who don't figure out that you have to save your shield ability for Mira Kel but the punishment isn't as severe anymore
@EDHRIANO: Go
I noticed the cinematics but none of that other stuff. Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough?
Edit
Ah, I guess I noticed that. Small stuff. Okay that's cool.
I have no idea what changed in mission 5. I played through it and it played basically the same way and nothing was different - easier in a way, actually.
I just played the updated version of Paradise Lost
You somehow managed to make this the best pure-micro mission in this campaign to me. It's now shorter with less down time where you're just moving across the map with nothing to fight, the boss now has/uses more attacks and varies them up a bit more - an overall significant increase in quality imo. I'd probably bump my score up to somewhere between a strong 7 to a light 8 for the boss fight and a medium to strong 8 for the stage.
It's been 2 days so I might as well bump. Here's the video for mission 7. I've yet to record a successful attempt at it playing normally.
@EDHRIANO: Go
I played on normal and it was moderately difficult. I've yet to reach the boss on hard. Once I finish on hard, I'll try to record and have a video up. Probably tomorrow (today, technically) or Sunday, you'll see it
Edit
Due to internet troubles, the video won't be up until late this Monday.
I retract my previous statements. On hard mode, using exclusively Kaiser makes the mission laughably easy, as well as incredibly boring to both play and watch. When not cheesing it on hard, it's very difficult. Not impossible like before, but tedious and time consuming.
When cheesing with Kaiser, I recommend playing on the hardest difficulty. It's the only possible way there'd be anything at stake and even then it's still pretty easy.
When playing with a regular strategy, I'd recommend casual or normal. The difference in respawn rates make just enough difference between normal and hard that the latter is less fun to me than the former.
@EDHRIANO: Go
Good call on making Kaiser's Void Form consume life instead of energy. Their energy regen was just too slow for it to be really useful without being incredibly time consuming. Now it has much more utility
The boss fight was up to par with your other boss fights. The only thing I might suggest is changing the color of the purple markers on the ground when it shoots the stun. They're very hard to see through the red void fog. Unless that's intentional, in which case that was a clever way of increasing difficulty - still a dick move, but clever.