Can we make world bosses scale in difficulty?

[EremiteAngel.9765]

Can we make world bosses scale in difficulty according to the number of players on the map?

 

I recently took 3 tries to defeat the branded shatterer largely because there were not many players attempting it at the times that I was on.

 

It would be nice if they could scale it according to numbers so we can also do world bosses even if our time zone of playing has fewer of us.

[mindcircus.1506]

Plus if they scaled them in the other direction better as well, the encounters at Fire Elemental, Jungle Wurm, Ulgoth and a few others might become fun experiences.

 

Right now they just aren't.

[joneirikb.7506]

They do scale, just not very well. And also there is a minimum "point" where it won't scale under. Because world bosses are considered group events.

 

And also, how epic would it feel to beat a world boss that is scaled down so you can defeat it alone ?

 

But scaling in this game largely scales poorly the higher number of players you get, and I suspect this is done on purpose. While I personally would love to see this changed, I suspect it would be poorly received by the majority.

[Ayakaru.6583]

I think they shouldn't down scale to much because they're world bosses, not common champions.

Rather the lowest they should be scaled to is 50 people. And should then properly upscale to a full map. Maybe get additional skills or buffs when dealing with many more players due to the excess of CC and conditions available.

 

Some bosses have literally become a joke and are less off a threat than a skritt who saw you put a shiny ring in your pocket. (Bad example, that skritt may be very dangerous)

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

> @"joneirikb.7506" said:

> They do scale, just not very well. And also there is a minimum "point" where it won't scale under. Because world bosses are considered group events.

 

This. They scale, based on the number of players around, but there's a minimum and maximum for that scaling.

 

Most world bosses are expecting there to be a minimum of 15 players or so (low level ones being closer to 5).

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

> @"EremiteAngel.9765" said:

> Can we make world bosses scale in difficulty according to the number of players on the map?

They scale according to the numbers of player present within "seeing" distance of the boss. Tests done some years ago show that dead/downed continue to contribute, which is partly why some people get angry when defeated (aka double-down, aka dead) characters don't waypoint.

 

> I recently took 3 tries to defeat the branded shatterer largely because there were not many players attempting it at the times that I was on.

Then that's on the players who were present. Like most metas, this one doesn't really require a lot of people. It's far more important that a core of people understand the mechanics (and if necessary, help those who are present to also understand them).

 

There are really very few events or metas that require that many people. As @"Konig Des Todes.2086" implies above: 15 people is more than enough. Top DPS isn't as important as the mechanics.

 

****

 

If you find yourself playing at times with fewer people, it becomes more important to learn the mechanics and take the lead. Those who play during prime time have the luxury of leeching off those who are more experienced (and some will learn and join the experienced... and, of course, human nature being what it is, some won't).

 

There are plenty of threads (mostly on reddit) describing the Branded Shatterer chain, how the pre-events make it easier, where to focus attention and when, how to make use of the special action skill, and so on. I've definitely been present with fewer than 25 participating and I think once it was around 10-15, but I spent a lot of time typing, so wasn't able to count.

 

[Cyninja.2954]

IWN gave a good explanation of how scaling works.

 

I will only add, since this is about scaling, World Bosses scale according to following rules:

- there is a minimum downward scaling under which the boss will not scale. This can range anywhere from 5 to 15 players, depending on boss. Simply put: the boss is scaled to 10 players always, thus the first 10 players will not scale it up, but having less than 10 will also not scale it down

- once the minimum scaling is reached, additional players will scale the boss up according to amount of players present until the upward cap is reached, at which point the boss stops scaling and players can simply over overrun the boss (see Fire Elemental in Metrica Province)

 

This is very easy to observe when say 10 organized players go at a world boss alone (for example during Chack Gerent or the Mordrem Vinewarth). They can obliterate a boss within a very short time frame, while sometimes groups of 20-30 disorganized players take multiple phases.

 

The problem with Branded Shatterer specifically is: many players so not understand the fight or how to use the tools given. The scaling on breakbars, which often becomes an issue since a big part of this player base does not understand breakbars, makes part of this fight hard to properly complete.

[Strider Pj.2193]

> @"Cyninja.2954" said:

>

>

> The problem with Branded Shatterer specifically is: many players so not understand the fight or how to use the tools given. The scaling on breakbars, which often becomes an issue since a **big part of this player base does not understand breakbars,** makes part of this fight hard to properly complete.

 

Break bars, dodging, CCs etc. mostly because the bulk of the population that does each section doesn’t have to do those things.

 

Bah... I’ll avoid the soapbox about making content continuously easier so even the basics are forgotten.

[Aaralyna.3104]

Downscaling it to low population would be bad coz then they end up like a regular champion one could solo. Rather do worldbosses by using LFG (so you all get in same map version) and to play on the more peek times.

[Dagre.2185]

> @"joneirikb.7506" said:

> They do scale, just not very well. And also there is a minimum "point" where it won't scale under. Because world bosses are considered group events.

>

> And also, how epic would it feel to beat a world boss that is scaled down so you can defeat it alone ?

>

> But scaling in this game largely scales poorly the higher number of players you get, and I suspect this is done on purpose. While I personally would love to see this changed, I suspect it would be poorly received by the majority.

 

about as epic as doing it with 80 people. actually, i'd probably feel far more satisfied solo'ing a scaled down version than zerging it.

 

that said, with populations slowly dwindling like always happens when a game has been out for years, it would be nice to lower that minimum a bit at this point. not everyone plays at peak server times and there's a very noticeable difference in populations/activity at those times.

[Linken.6345]

> @"Dagre.2185" said:

> > @"joneirikb.7506" said:

> > They do scale, just not very well. And also there is a minimum "point" where it won't scale under. Because world bosses are considered group events.

> >

> > And also, how epic would it feel to beat a world boss that is scaled down so you can defeat it alone ?

> >

> > But scaling in this game largely scales poorly the higher number of players you get, and I suspect this is done on purpose. While I personally would love to see this changed, I suspect it would be poorly received by the majority.

>

> about as epic as doing it with 80 people. actually, i'd probably feel far more satisfied solo'ing a scaled down version than zerging it.

>

> that said, with populations slowly dwindling like always happens when a game has been out for years, it would be nice to lower that minimum a bit at this point. not everyone plays at peak server times and there's a very noticeable difference in populations/activity at those times.

 

So what world bosses are we talking about?

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

> @"Dagre.2185" said:

> everyone plays at peak server times and there's a very noticeable difference in populations/activity at those times.

Since (as noted above) the minimum scale is 5-15 people, any difference in population (imagined or real) won't prevent these metas from succeeding. The only that changes is that a higher fraction need to be responsible for the mechanics. With 50 in the meta, 80% can ignore the details; with 15, nearly everyone has to pull their weight.