Weekly Gauntlet

Unknown

This would be great, because if there was nothing you wanted from the pvp and/or pve, or there are none, like now, then you could farm this for iso and 2*s with maybe 50 HP and 1 3* cover at the end nodes

IamTheDanger

Actually, the break in events is timed perfectly for me. Assassin's Creed Unity and AC Rogue both come out tomorrow.

Just gives us a bit of a break to do other stuff. I, for one, knew I've been playing too much when I started seeing colored blocks everywhere.

CrookedKnight

I would love to see a standing (or constantly rotating) gauntlet or simulator event similar to a PvE version of the SHIELD PvP.

Unknown

This just popped into my head today: What about using Gauntlet to release new characters. Three subs, each one with the final progression prize as one of the new covers. It gets progressively harder. Not everybody has a strong enough team to beat them all, and you feel like you accomplished something to receive the new character. Plus it also keeps from limiting any of the new covers to a select few, since you're going to require it in the next PVE anyway. It gives players a fighting chance, and even the lower leveled/newer players have a chance at winning at least 1 of the covers. It also takes the PVP element away from the PVE, which I never understood in the first place.

Unknown

I like that idea, for all the reasons you mentioned.

MojoWild

Fievel wrote:

This just popped into my head today: What about using Gauntlet to release new characters. Three subs, each one with the final progression prize as one of the new covers. It gets progressively harder. Not everybody has a strong enough team to beat them all, and you feel like you accomplished something to receive the new character. Plus it also keeps from limiting any of the new covers to a select few, since you're going to require it in the next PVE anyway. It gives players a fighting chance, and even the lower leveled/newer players have a chance at winning at least 1 of the covers. It also takes the PVP element away from the PVE, which I never understood in the first place.

I like it. What about one of each cover for each of the three legs of the Gauntlet?

Unknown

Fievel wrote:

This just popped into my head today: What about using Gauntlet to release new characters. Three subs, each one with the final progression prize as one of the new covers. It gets progressively harder. Not everybody has a strong enough team to beat them all, and you feel like you accomplished something to receive the new character. Plus it also keeps from limiting any of the new covers to a select few, since you're going to require it in the next PVE anyway. It gives players a fighting chance, and even the lower leveled/newer players have a chance at winning at least 1 of the covers. It also takes the PVP element away from the PVE, which I never understood in the first place.

There's been a bunch of discussion about this and I personally think it shows some promise, but more than likely requires some tweaking to the gauntlet. Let's take any PvE where a new character is released. The one that just finished for example gave 15% of the player base a single cover. 2% get a second cover. 1% get a third cover. We won't get into the 4th cover for alliances, since Gauntlet doesn't (and I'm rather glad it doesn't in spite of being in an alliance that generally gets all the alliance rewards) give out alliance rewards.

To contrast that with The Gauntlet, you'd need to know how many players finished it, then change up the scaling until it's ridiculously hard for more than 1% of the player base to finish the final node of the hardest sub and hit that final plateau and grab a third cover. Then determine how to modify the reward placement so that roughly 2% can grab the 2nd cover (so maybe it's the penultimate progression reward), then throw in the 1st cover, which might be the antepenultimate progression reward so that roughly 15% can beat it.

I have no idea what portion of the player base unlocked the third sub, but I'd think it's a good amount. So if more than 15% can open it, then you've got to put the rewards all in that sub.

Could be done, but I would guess it's a long ways off still (not that I wouldn't like to see it).

mohio

yeah agree with J above - obviously we don't have the numbers, but it sure seems like D3 would have to be comfortable with giving out more new covers than they normally do in "regular" PvEs. Also there's no knowing how many MORE people could have been completing the gauntlet but just weren't trying all that hard cause the rewards haven't been all that good. Give anyone with a couple 166s enough time to beat a few 395s and they'll eventually get it done, since they only have to beat it once. As it is, they're running into (and beating) 395s at the very end, so just making a few more of them will certainly slow things down, but won't make them substantially less likely to finish (unless they just get frustrated and quit - but for a new character that seems less likely to happen).

I guess where increasing the difficulty would really affect things is in the lower tiers where scaling can't cap out somewhere, but you'd hear all kinds of complaints about how it SHOULD to be fair, etc. and then other people saying 'well i spent a lot of time/money on building my roster, why shouldn't i have an advantage'. In other words the same old tinykitty we hear all the time.

Unknown

j12601 wrote:

Fievel wrote:

This just popped into my head today: What about using Gauntlet to release new characters. Three subs, each one with the final progression prize as one of the new covers. It gets progressively harder. Not everybody has a strong enough team to beat them all, and you feel like you accomplished something to receive the new character. Plus it also keeps from limiting any of the new covers to a select few, since you're going to require it in the next PVE anyway. It gives players a fighting chance, and even the lower leveled/newer players have a chance at winning at least 1 of the covers. It also takes the PVP element away from the PVE, which I never understood in the first place.

To contrast that with The Gauntlet, you'd need to know how many players finished it, then change up the scaling until it's ridiculously hard for more than 1% of the player base to finish the final node of the hardest sub and hit that final plateau and grab a third cover. Then determine how to modify the reward placement so that roughly 2% can grab the 2nd cover (so maybe it's the penultimate progression reward), then throw in the 1st cover, which might be the antepenultimate progression reward so that roughly 15% can beat it.

I have no idea what portion of the player base unlocked the third sub, but I'd think it's a good amount. So if more than 15% can open it, then you've got to put the rewards all in that sub.

The catch though, is that you don't necessarily get the new cover for beating the final node. You get it for beating ALL of the nodes. It would take the place of the final progression award, which means you'd have to defeat the Essential branches as well. This means that even in the first, or "easier" sub, it's possible to advance to the next sub without actually obtaining the new cover.

It would be, like mohio said, the same old tiny kitty complaints of "It sucks that I can't get the prize if I don't have the essential character," but if you're going to get that complaint anyway, why not try something new and see if you can at least make the other people happier? This would also have the advantage of limiting the number of people who can obtain the reward, since not everybody is going to have the essential character, and those that do, aren't necessarily going to have them upgraded to a competitive level, especially for the Gauntlet.

Like I said, it just popped into my head today, so it's not like it's a well-thought out idea. Just an idea. A way to make new characters more accessible, while also make obtaining them a challenge that people enjoy, instead of "Headbutt, headbutt symbiote snare, lather rinse repeat."

Unknown

I think if they're going to release a new character in the Gauntlet,they should test it out with a 2* first to see how people react - put two or three covers on each leg of the Gauntlet, so that the new character can be 2/2/2 or 3/3/3 if it's finished. If it works out well, they can try it with a new 3* (and presumably one cover per sub).

Unknown

An ideal gauntlet (as envisioned inside my head)
Make it a permanent feature but have it like the world's slowest moving side scrolling game, Each day open up new nodes, that stay active for 7 days having the map move along each day scrolling sideways. Each day would have its new challenges, remove the point structure and move the rewards all to the nodes. Making the really good rewards require completion of all previous nodes to unlock the bonus reward nodes.

For extra awesomeness add some plot. Tell a story as it scrolls along like flipping through the pages of a comic. Add holiday nodes, add joke nodes, add insane challenge nodes, or puzzle nodes Just a few a day nothing too much. Have it be a place to always see something different.

Heck if they made it like this and and provided a excellent month long story with all the gameplay and rewards THAT would be something worth putting a subscription price on, and give them room to tell whatever story they wanted that month. Though if putting a price tag on it the nodes really shouldn't ever expire.

FaustianDeal

Fievel wrote:

This just popped into my head today: What about using Gauntlet to release new characters. Three subs, each one with the final progression prize as one of the new covers. It gets progressively harder. Not everybody has a strong enough team to beat them all, and you feel like you accomplished something to receive the new character. Plus it also keeps from limiting any of the new covers to a select few, since you're going to require it in the next PVE anyway. It gives players a fighting chance, and even the lower leveled/newer players have a chance at winning at least 1 of the covers. It also takes the PVP element away from the PVE, which I never understood in the first place.

I think this is way more likely to happen if we are launching a new 2 rather than 3 but either way would be awesome. Would it enhance or detract if you were required to either use or defeat the character with the power you are trying to win. Examples:
1 - quest: chapter 1 must be beaten to earn the 1st cover, new character with 1 cover is required to play chapter 2 and win 2nd cover, and so on.
2 - conquest: chapter 1 requires you to defeat the character with 1 power to earn a copy with that power, chapter 2 defeat a 2-powered character to get 2nd cover, and so on

Another cool mechanic would be to allow replays of chapters at elevated difficulties to earn additional copies. (requiring you to defeat all 3 chapters in order to restart at chapter 1 with heightened difficulty is optional)
* beat chapter 1 to earn 1 cover of power 1. when chapter 1 is unlocked again you can try to defeat it again with all of the enemies 50% stronger than last time. Unlock a 3rd time to get enemies with an additional 50% boost.

can be capped at as many iterations as desired. but 3 seems like plenty for a 'launch'. escalating difficulty can be tweaked as needed.

Unknown

A few people are skeptical about the idea of giving new characters' covers in Gauntlet. I think giving at least one of each color would earn them more money than relying purely on people gambling with random token purchases. Because I think more people would buy covers for them directly. But that's only my guess. Maybe I'm wrong.

Unknown

Seems it might be worth the experiment to see if it affects spending habits. I know I am not going to exert myself any more than necessary for that OP Black Panther Blue cover. But if the reward was actually something really nice? ...

Unknown

If you make the essential character for Gauntlet leg #1 a 2*, it takes some of the pressure off of people complaining about it being unfair. Especially if you make it a progression reward for the 2nd leg. Leg 2's essential should be a 3* who's the 3rd-from-the-end reward from Gauntlet leg #3 - the one you can earn if you finish all the non-essential nodes - so you create a system whereby you both reward Roster diversity and foster it where it currently doesn't exist. The essential for the 3rd Gauntlet would be the new release character who's already boosted to all bejaysus and for which you have 2 covers now after completing the first 2 gauntlets. Everyone can compete and complete, with talent, perseverance and time being the only limiting factors but with P2W still an option - whether it's boosts, health packs or covers for your new characters.

I think what rankled, especially with the first Gauntlet, was that you could only earn some of the 3* covers - which were essential for certain nodes - if you already had at least one cover for them (to allow you to do the essential nodes for points in the first place) which defeats the purpose of giving the cover away. A bit more joined up thinking could make what is already a great event an absolute cracker.

As for spending, you'd need to run the Gauntlet with truly valuable prizes to see how it's going to affect how people pay while they play. The last 2 runs had prizes that were less than glittering - while that GSBW Green cover made my week, far as I remember we're talking about GSBW Green, BP Blue, BP Yellow and Captain Marvel Black? None of these are mission critical covers. Stick a new character in there or a 4-* as the final reward, then let's see how many health packs people will chew up to complete the last couple of nodes.