7 randoms ran the new Cavern of Transcendence. It got ugly.

[Faultline]

23 hours ago, Akisan said:

Definitely going to have to try to visit the ambush madness while it lasts.  Meanwhile, could we transform the ambush chance to be self-correcting for stronger/speedrunning groups vs. weaker/unfamiliar groups with a -(t) component to the chance:

 

Chance% = (80m-time elapsed)/75m * obelisks hit * players in trial (or leader's difficulty setting, minimum 4.  This is still a Trial, after all).

 

I would make a modificaton to the above to use time since the first obelisk is hit, rather than time elapsed in the mission. Otherwise you can zone in, watch an episode of something on TV, and come back to do the trial with vastly reduced ambushes.

[TheZag]

6 hours ago, Faultline said:

 

I would make a modificaton to the above to use time since the first obelisk is hit, rather than time elapsed in the mission. Otherwise you can zone in, watch an episode of something on TV, and come back to do the trial with vastly reduced ambushes.

 

Make it more so.  Increased ambushes as you click obelisks and then decreasing over time sounds like its just what the trial needs. 

 

Now all we need to do is get the monsters giant cousin to rampage in the hollows once in awhile.

[Myrmidon]

On 11/29/2021 at 6:55 PM, Faultline said:

 

Well the ambush chance is dropping to 1/4 of current on the next patch, so if you want a crazy ambush fest, do it now. The current chance is 1% * obelisks * players, every 30 seconds, on 16 spawns -- that ended up being waaay too much. It's being dropped to 0.25% * obelisks * players.

Is there any chance that we could have a difficulty option for this?

[Akisan]

7 hours ago, Faultline said:

I would make a modificaton to the above to use time since the first obelisk is hit, rather than time elapsed in the mission. Otherwise you can zone in, watch an episode of something on TV, and come back to do the trial with vastly reduced ambushes.

 

Definitely a good point there, hadn't really considered people just waiting for the difficulty to drop before beginning.  My thought was that if it's taking a while just to fight to that first obelisk, then they might be better off with fewer ambushes anyways.  Also, if that 80 minute timer doesn't start until after they hit that first obelisk, there's a very real chance that there's still a crazy number of ambushes even at the 70 minute mark. 

 

Chance% = ( (Time remaining when 1st obelisk hit - 10m) - (time elapsed since 1st obelisk) / (Time remaining when 1st obelisk it - 15m) * players (min 4) * obelisks hit

 

Still allows for the ambushes to fall off entirely by the end of the trial (at 10m remaining), though how quickly the difficulty drops is now dependent on how quickly the first obelisk is tagged.

 

Edited December 2, 2021 by Akisan
Forgot to add edited formula, clarified reasons

[Dr. Voltage]

The premise of endless ambushes does sounds appealing. 

 

Blueside, it really conveys a "Hold the Line!" kind of situation, I remember the old days on Live before the aggro cap, and watching some tanker in PP run past me, and then seeing the horde of thugs coming up behind them. It was really wowing, and having a mission where the challenge is sheer numbers could really give that hero vibe. It's done alright in the defend the vanguard base mission, and defending PPD HQ in Apex, but trying to hold ground against seemingly hopeless odds sounds like a blast. 

 

Redside, you could turn the tables and have the "Break them!" kind of situation. A seemingly impenetrable wall of defenders you have to wreck your way through.  

[Vanden]

Gathering a team of unwitting lowbies to hit the debt cap in the Cavern of Transcendence Trial is a CoH institution, so I hope the upcoming changes to the trial don't indicate that Homecoming Team is losing sight of this storied tradition.

 

Edited December 4, 2021 by Vanden

[Akisan]

Now that's just not true!

 

... lowbie blasters used to already be at that cap.

[Acroyear]

Last night myself and six of my online buddies made a run of the Cavern of Transcendence Trial with its ridiculous amounts of ambushes. Had two team wipes, but we kept at it, fighting through the hordes of monsters and lots of frustration. We activated one obelisk at a time, dealing with the ambushes as they came. With five minutes left to go we activated the last one, and fought our way to the main hallway to fight the final boss and free Sam Wincott. It looked as though all was lost, as even though we defeated the final boss and all the minions around Sam, we missed one, who then blended in with the newly arrived ambush. Cosmic Ray Man, in a desperate gambit, rezed (we were all defeated again at this time), and made a full run into the mass of rock monsters and blasted the final minion, freeing Sam and successfully completed the Trial.

We had only 27 seconds left on the clock! 🙂

The win was satisfying because it was so difficult to obtain, but we all agreed that the ambushes were insanely over the top. That needs repeating: INSANELY over the top. We are all very glad to hear a fix to this issue is coming down the line as we will not be trying this Trial again until after it is fixed.

[Herah]

@TheZag You can't say that you haven't run it by now.

 

I like to run this one for fun and to farm for the Volcanic badge for folks. Before you'd have to run it at least 4 times to get them all so I am more than happy with everyone being able to get the badge on one run.

 

Not sure if or when this alteration to the mob spawns changed but when I did a few runs on Monday we did eventually exhaust the spawns at some point. And then the last kill gave most folks that last one for the badge. 

 

And yeah, I know, I'm terrible at reading patch notes. I like it to be a surprise, like the weather. But I LUV the mini map now being available. Did Zag tell ya? I told him to. 😁

[TheZag]

54 minutes ago, Herah said:

@TheZag You can't say that you haven't run it by now.

 

I like to run this one for fun and to farm for the Volcanic badge for folks. Before you'd have to run it at least 4 times to get them all so I am more than happy with everyone being able to get the badge on one run.

 

Not sure if or when this alteration to the mob spawns changed but when I did a few runs on Monday we did eventually exhaust the spawns at some point. And then the last kill gave most folks that last one for the badge. 

 

And yeah, I know, I'm terrible at reading patch notes. I like it to be a surprise, like the weather. But I LUV the mini map now being available. Did Zag tell ya? I told him to. 😁

 

The spawn was changed this last patch and i hadnt ran it this page till that run with you 2 days ago.  And i got the badge about 2/3 through the run.  There were plenty of bosses.