Clarity Suggestion for Labyrinth of Fog

[Projector]

With talk around the difficult of leading Labyrinths, clarity and confusion around what to do and when, and the confusion around people trying to find the motes while also running the labyrinth, etc. I wanted to propose two, hopefully straightforward changes that would give league leaders something UI-based to lean on when giving instructions and instructing players on the ideal times to look for motes/badges.

I propose three potential options. These could both be implemented or it could be an either/or thing:

1. When the Minotaur is defeated and the hour countdown starts for respawn, could the nav bar also read, "Find 7 Hidden Motes of Power while the Minotaur is down! Then visit the Gate of Darkness" wherever you are in the zone? The level shifts are basically meaningless during that time anyway. Having this show up as subtext in the navbar could be something concrete leaders can point to as another "phase."

2. A itrial-style (fun words to say out loud back to back) pop-up window that opens once you access the core that has a progress bar for the seven motes. So, now once players enter the Core, there is a clear signal to everyone that there's something specific to do as well as a progress bar that tells you how close you are. That pop-up would then stay with you no matter where you go in the zone until you leave or log-out. Alternatively, its appearance doesn't have to be tied to the Core, but instead could be just be tied to the Mino defeat, so no matter where you are in the zone, if the Minotaur has been defeated, the pop-up will be active until he respawns!

3. Make a league pop-up window the entire time you're in the zone that contains all the info currently in the nav bar, but also shows how many Malfos are spawned in zone at any given time, and then, once you access the core or the Minotaur is defeated, the progress bar for the motes shows up until you leave the zone, log out, or the Minotaur respawns. Having the pop-up window trigger once the Mino is defeated would also discourage new players from leaving the zone immediately like I did the first couple of times I fought the Minotaur, thinking that was all there was.

Bonus points if the pop-up also shows which weapon the Minotaur is carrying, though this feels like a double-edged sword of people coming, seeing it's not the one they need, and leaving immediately before helping lol.

If the game detects you have all seven motes, the nav bar or popup windows could still say to hunt for them, but it could also just not show that part of the instruction anymore. I don't know what's possible or not possible.

I could easily picture introductory macros being written around the expectation of the UI prompting players these directions:

"Welcome to the Labyrinth of Fog! Our aim is to gain access to the Core of the Labyrinth by defeating the Minotaur that's hunting us down! To We will need to acquire 10 level shifts before challenging the Minotaur, here's how we will do it"

*insert normal instruction macros here*

"Once the Minotaur is defeated, we will enter the core and begin hunting for the Motes of Power! If you happen to find one sooner, make sure not to leave the zone until we find them all!"

I should also point out that these macros can exist on their own, and probably do, without any of my proposed changes. What my proposed changes aim to do is give those leaders more credibility in their instructions by giving an in-game prompt that encourages players to begin seeking out the motes intentionally at that point.

It also gives a distinct purpose of what to do when the respawn timer is counting down, rather than showing up to zone, seeing the Mino is down, and thinking there's nothing to do until it's back.

I know other raid zones don't give these kinds of hints regarding what to do and when, but this zone is entirely different in its mechanics, expectations, depth, and the way it's led. So, I feel that giving players some sense of direction at these key junctures could be helpful.

Potential downsides:

1. May not be room on the nav bar.
2.Players may not like having pop-up windows and may hate having them take up screen real estate during iTrials and zone events like the Prison Break in Bricks.
3. Favors one specific approach to the labyrinth, which is Level Shifts>Mino>Core>Motes. I would argue that the zone design actually favors this approach anyway because the orange area isn't even accessible until you can get to the core (or if you happen to have the Mino aether costume). 

I decided to make this a new thread since it's a very specific suggestion, but I'm happy to delete this and make it a reply in another, if needed.

[Laucianna]

I 100% get the idea you are going for here, but to me personally it is simple enough for the League leader to give out these instructions ❤️ Yes there is a bit of confusion since leaders are still getting to grips with it, but in time it will become incredibly simple to lead as it consists of 2 main phases and an optional one:

Phase 1 - Gain level shifts through either scouting or killing EBs

Phase 2 - Find the Minotaur and kill him

Phase 3 (Optional) - Discover the seven motes for the costume and hunt Gladiators

[Projector]

1 minute ago, Laucianna said:

Yes there is a bit of confusion since leaders are still getting to grips with it, but in time it will become incredibly simple to lead as it consists of 2 main phases and an optional one:

Even so, I think there's value beyond the instructional aspect for leaders for the idea for two reasons:

1. If there's not an active league in the zone while the Mino is on cooldown, people entering the zone would get a popup giving them a hint as to what they can be doing in the meantime. So, in the absence of said leaders, players can still get instructions. That alone is reason enough for me, tbh.

2. A progress bar on the motes would also tell you how many you have left to find, or if it simply said "Find all 7 motes" so that you can tell how many you still need to look for without just straight telling you which ones you need to find.

[Glacier Peak]

7 hours ago, Projector said:

Even so, I think there's value beyond the instructional aspect for leaders for the idea for two reasons:

1. If there's not an active league in the zone while the Mino is on cooldown, people entering the zone would get a popup giving them a hint as to what they can be doing in the meantime. So, in the absence of said leaders, players can still get instructions. That alone is reason enough for me, tbh.

2. A progress bar on the motes would also tell you how many you have left to find, or if it simply said "Find all 7 motes" so that you can tell how many you still need to look for without just straight telling you which ones you need to find.

I feel like that's what the Timebound Artificer does. Standing at the door to the Labyrinth in the Midnight Squad room. He tells players the whole deal, maybe that's not enough detail for some or they go past him not realizing that's what it's for. 

[Tidbit]

On Excel I don't find it too difficult.  Quite few people already have this down, and it doesn't seem to take long to get new players up to speed with some basic info.  On quieter servers, I'd imagine it would be more difficult as I think people who are exclusive to those servers aren't as familiar.  Running a new event like this with a lot of new people can be taxing.  But I find if you script out your instructions, and perhaps announce them in the request channel, it might help.

 

I don't know that I'd be up for changes to the current mechanics if that time can be spent on fleshing out the zone more.  Maybe new secret rooms, more maps, and so forth.

[Ukase]

16 hours ago, Projector said:

itrial-style (fun words to say out loud back to back)

You're right! The barista looked at me funny, but I didn't care!

I have no significant feedback to provide beyond my initial feedback in the beta discussion. Now, insignificant feedback - just ask me. Lots of that. But I don't want to type all morning. My arthritis isn't bugging me too bad, so I'm gonna go row 10k while the servers are getting maintained.

 

[Seed22]

19 hours ago, Projector said:

Bonus points if the pop-up also shows which weapon the Minotaur is carrying, though this feels like a double-edged sword of people coming, seeing it's not the one they need, and leaving immediately before helping lol.

Thats actually a good thing sort of.

 

Mino scaling w/league size means if they don’t like the version present it should in theory be easier as people leave and a few stick around to smack em up. Less shifts needed, faster time for mino to be downed, meaning there’s a higher chance for the one you DO want.

 

I kinda see it as a win-win