So why no balance pass on Halloween EBs after 2 years?

[JKCarrier]

I had only ever fought these guys with my lvl 50 Incarnate Brute. So as an experiment, I decided to try soloing them with my lvl 32 Martial Arts/Super Reflexes Scrapper (no temp powers, only common IOs except for a couple of procs in Health and Stamina, nothing but small Inspirations). I managed to fight 3 Crone Matriarchs and 1 Hollow Reaper before I got tired of door clicking (Got a boatload of costumes, though! Wish I could sell them...).

On the Crone Matriarchs, I consistently could only get them down to about 1/2 health before I ran out of Insps and had to flee.
I beat the Hollow Reaper, but just barely. We were both down to a sliver of health, I decided to take a chance, and was able to finish him.

Are they too tough? I dunno, probably not. They seem to be about on par with some of the nastier EBs in the regular game. If I had done more prep (like loading up on large insps), I probably would've been fine.

[mechahamham]

The following changes are now on the beta server:

 

https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/54189-open-beta-patch-notes-for-october-5th-2024/

 

On 10/4/2024 at 4:58 PM, The Curator said:

Events

Halloween 2022 - Trick-or-Treat Elite Bosses

• Power availability on the Arisen Mummy and Hollow Reaper enemies has been adjusted to be better balanced when they spawn at lower levels, gaining powers at Levels 30+ and 40+ to reach their current strength, rather than having full access to all powers at all levels.

 

This very reasonably addresses my concerns and is a nice middle ground between removing them for solo spawns and leaving them unaltered. Thank you for your hard work, developers!

 

[tidge]

Frankly. I'm more surprised it took this long to get the change to the way the Banner credit (for defeat badges) is handed out. Hopefully the Elite Boss changes make some folks feel better. As @JKCarrier wrote above: it can be a real mixed bag fighting some of them.

[Wageslave72]

I've done ToTing in Talos with below-30 Tanks and ALL of the Big Ones are Three-shots even with full enhancement (no sets).   Been having to *run* to Citadel (got Luminary STUCK in the Community Service Kiosk during one of the fights on Everlasting) to take them down.   

 

And even then, Luminary and Citadel *have a hard time* taking them down.

 

While player is on *tanks* who are supposed to be 'the most durable'.  

 

At -1x1.

 

Edited October 25 by Wageslave72

[Glacier Peak]

23 minutes ago, Wageslave72 said:

I've done ToTing in Talos with below-30 Tanks and ALL of the Big Ones are Three-shots even with full enhancement (no sets).   Been having to *run* to Citadel (got Luminary STUCK in the Community Service Kiosk during one of the fights on Everlasting) to take them down.   

 

And even then, Luminary and Citadel *have a hard time* taking them down.

 

While player is on *tanks* who are supposed to be 'the most durable'.  

 

At -1x1.

 

Try reading through this thread for ways to do better. Either way, they already made the Elite Bosses easier so the point is moot.

 

And the "At -1x1" at the end of your post is irrelevant to ToT Elite Boss spawn mechanics. 

[lemming]

5 hours ago, Wageslave72 said:

At -1x1.

Notoriety as far as can be told, have zero effect on ToT spawns.

 

There is a team size override in the code, but I think that has to do with how many PCs are in the area (that radius is unknown to me currently), but that is what adds to the level of the mobs spawned up to +3.   (Code check was on the SCORE code, but the tests run seem to lean that it didn't get modified in that fashion, just to add the EBs in what can be generated)

[Lunar Ronin]

38 minutes ago, lemming said:

Notoriety as far as can be told, have zero effect on ToT spawns.

 

There is a team size override in the code, but I think that has to do with how many PCs are in the area (that radius is unknown to me currently), but that is what adds to the level of the mobs spawned up to +3.   (Code check was on the SCORE code, but the tests run seem to lean that it didn't get modified in that fashion, just to add the EBs in what can be generated)

 

I learned a couple of weeks ago that some Trick-or-Treat league leaders have been advising people for years to raise their difficulty to +4x8 to spawn the maximum level mobs and spawn sizes while trick-or-treating at the Peregrine Island motel.

 

 

 

[tidge]

10 hours ago, Lunar Ronin said:

 

I learned a couple of weeks ago that some Trick-or-Treat league leaders have been advising people for years to raise their difficulty to +4x8 to spawn the maximum level mobs and spawn sizes while trick-or-treating at the Peregrine Island motel.

 

 

I'm firmly against raising the (personal player) difficulty rating during ToT leagues in PI, on principle, for the following reasons:

 

1) If the goal is XP, faster defeats is probably better than slower defeats.

 

The spawns show up from door clicks, so not having a bunch of players not able to easily hit/damage critters isn't IMO on the right side of the XP/Time curve.

 

2) If the goal is badges, faster defeats is obviously quicker to get badges

 

3) If the goal is drops, the doors are more reliable than defeats (on a team), and slower times to defeat will obviously diminish drops, even with increased spawn sizes.

 

Keep in mind, it is rare that the PI ToT league is all level 50+. ToTing isn't the same as a level 50 instanced radio mission.

[Lunar Ronin]

5 minutes ago, tidge said:

 

I'm firmly against raising the (personal player) difficulty rating during ToT leagues in PI, on principle, for the following reasons:

 

1) If the goal is XP, faster defeats is probably better than slower defeats.

 

The spawns show up from door clicks, so not having a bunch of players not able to easily hit/damage critters isn't IMO on the right side of the XP/Time curve.

 

2) If the goal is badges, faster defeats is obviously quicker to get badges

 

3) If the goal is drops, the doors are more reliable than defeats (on a team), and slower times to defeat will obviously diminish drops, even with increased spawn sizes.

 

Keep in mind, it is rare that the PI ToT league is all level 50+. ToTing isn't the same as a level 50 instanced radio mission.

 

As said before in this thread, raising the player difficulty for Trick-or-Treating doesn't do anything anyhoo.  It's all about the actual player character level, and the actual number of people on the team.  So, sure, raise the difficulty to +4x8, but it won't do anything.

[tidge]

52 minutes ago, Lunar Ronin said:

 

As said before in this thread, raising the player difficulty for Trick-or-Treating doesn't do anything anyhoo.  It's all about the actual player character level, and the actual number of people on the team.  So, sure, raise the difficulty to +4x8, but it won't do anything.

 

I gotcha, but even if it did increase the level of spawns, I think it would have been a bad idea.

[Shin Magmus]

13 hours ago, Lunar Ronin said:

 

I learned a couple of weeks ago that some Trick-or-Treat league leaders have been advising people for years to raise their difficulty to +4x8 to spawn the maximum level mobs and spawn sizes while trick-or-treating at the Peregrine Island motel.

 

 

 

     It's a perfect summation of the intelligence of the average CoH player.  They will parrot a lie thousands of times, when their eyes can immediately disprove it.  If +4 actually did anything, then why do the mobs coming out of the doors cap out at lv53 even when there are lv50s knocking on the doors?

[Rudra]

The only complaints I have come across in game for the EBs are the frequency with which they appear. For instance, one of my friends is running around with me doing ToT'ing, just the 2 of us, and every 3rd or 4th door we don't get an EB. Which leaves her frustrated at the number of EBs we are fighting.

 

(Edit: We're in Kallisti Wharf and I don't see anyone in the area. So it isn't others nearby triggering it.)

 

Edited October 26 by Rudra

[Ukase]

I felt I should be transparent. 

I took a new level 32 ice/MA corruptor to ToT in Croatoa, solo. And the EBs were not a cake walk like they were with my 50s. A lot more difficult. Not impossible, but a challenge. One of them did defeat me - the crone, because I didn't have any yellows and I was debuffed like crazy. But, once I returned to battle, took care of it without too much trouble - which just tells you if you have the proper inspirations, they are not that bad. 

Yes, it can be a little tougher when you're not 50 and decked out. But shouldn't they pose a challenge? That is why they give prismatics after you beat 10 of them. 
EBs are a bit streaky for me anecdotally. 10 doors without, than 3 doors in a row with. 

I wouldn't want to pursue the EB badges without a team/league. It would seem like it was taking too long to suit me.