Suggestion: Add a 'Party Grinding' Map to Neo Tokyo

TL ; DR:
The idea is to add a new map revolving around grinding in parties for those who do not like bossing (like me) which is accessible after reaching a certain point in the Neo Tokyo questline (i.e. after defeating Dunas V2) and reaching a certain level (i.e. 185+ only) which has the same features as in the "Lion Heart Castle" maps when they were first introduced to GMS, which are mobs with high HP and high EXP (i.e. Imperial Guards) and a unique EXP Party Bonus system in which the EXP bonus is determined by the party's size - the bigger the party the bigger the party exp bonus given.

Long Version:
I think everyone who has reached level 180+ has realized that bossing is the only good way to efficiently level up. The idea is to make grinding at higher levels a viable option and an alternative way to level up besides bossing. The idea came to me after killing some Imperial Guards at the Dunas V2 map. I've noticed they had quiet a lot of HP and gave somewhat decent amount of EXP so I was thinking why shouldn't there be a map filled with these mobs for grinding purposes? And then I immediately remembered the Lion Heart Castle mobs and thought that the same concept could be implemented here as well.
(That's how an Imperial Guard looks like btw: )


So the idea is as follows:
After reaching a certain level and a certain point in the Neo Tokyo questline you get an access to a map filled with Imperial Guards (tweaks to HP\EXP ratio can be made) which has a unique EXP bonus system to encourage forming big grinding parties (The original system gave 50% additional exp bonus for each party member so in overall a player could get a 250% EXP bonus with a party of 6).

pros:
1. Creates an alternative way to level up besides bossing for those who prefer grinding.
2. Adds new content for high levels.
3. Encourages forming parties.
4. Should be hard to be abused by hackers since it's accessible only after reaching a certain point in the questline and reaching a certain level.

cons:
1. Might make leveling at higher levels drastically easier (a lot of tweaking might be needed)
2. New EXP system to implement.

Additional Points:
*) To avoid people abusing the EXP system a party member must be active in order to get the additional EXP bonus.
*) Should Holy Symbol work alongside the said EXP system?
*) Why Neo Tokyo specifically? Because it is already heavily customized in MapleRoyals and the needed mob already exists there.

About the EXP system
Since implementing such a system is not a trivial task whatsoever the suggested map can be added without the EXP system at the beginning and can be implemented later (Maybe that system is not even needed at all with the correct HP\EXP tweaking).

 

We already have a EXP system where each active member in the party gives you 5% exp boost for your kill, but not many people know about it or use it
The mavericks at the nibergen map are pretty good if you enjoy grinding. I certainly had fun over there

 

I actually didn't know we have such a system and that is actually very encouraging since it eliminates the tricky part of my suggestion.
I'd argue that not many people know about it because there is basically zero encouragement to form big grinding parties in the game in general, and in particular at higher levels since there's not a single map in the entire game that encourages that (Besides maybe ToT maps but people still usually train in duo there as well).
As you said the Mavericks map outside Nibergen is really great and I too grind there from time to time (around 10% per hour at level 186 which is really decent) but at most I train there in a duo as the map is way too small for big parties.

 

you can just already do this in the d2 map. get hs and however many attackers you prefer. you don't even have to kill d2, you can ignore her. they give great exp, and can be stunned so they pose no threat. (imo they should a few particular status immunities but possibly that's another topic)

 

True, but it is too problematic to find a party this way since you have to find a party first and only then enter the Boss map. Not to mention you can only enter this map twice since this is a boss map so sudden DC's are a huge problem and you can't recharge\npc\buy pots etc. It would be way easier if there were a regular map similar to the d2 map you mentioned.

 

To be fair if it was so accessible, everyone would party grind there inbetween boss runs. Even in 19xs they provide noticable exp. I think if people realized how good it could be, it wouldn't be so difficult to find parties. Yes NT has lots of gates locking it, but d2 isn't a very desirable boss fight anyway, so it being a grind alternative map still stands at the moment, even with the timer

 

It shouldn't be easily accessible, that's why I wrote this map should be accessible only after a certain level and after completing a certain portion of the questline (185+ or 190+ sounds quiet reasonable) and of course tweaks for the HP\EXP ratios should be made to make this a balanced grinding alternative to bossing.

 

Bossing alternatives are warmly welcomed in my opinion, I just think staff is really fearful of something like that for a lot of reasons that I don't fully understand (no grinding portals work here), but I think they're mostly worried about filthy casuals having comparable alternatives is the long and short, and how to properly balance it, because replayability in end game is super important. It could also just be that they never thought it was really necessary since bossing is so alluring and rewarding and great exp already. Even coin farming eruwaters at 197 solo was decent exp.
The new party bonus is actually nice if you get a party going like in ToT like with other 12x folks, but it's like a white whale thing, nobody party grinds anymore

 

The grinding portals are somewhat problematic since hackers can enter these and basically no one can see and report their activities there.

Since my suggestion is for really high level players at the very worst adding this map would make the last 10-15 levels a little bit easier which would have little to none impact on the server.

 

Lion King's castle soon(tm)?

 

probably never gonna happen here, unless level cap is raised

 

I just noticed that in the recent patch the EXP system got buffed and there's now a RoyalTip that explains that system and introduces it to the players. I'm not sure if it's due to my suggestion but in any case I wanna thank you for listening and bringing up this topic up.

There's still a lack of incentive to form big grinding parties at higher levels since there are no maps that encourages that, but I'd say buffing the EXP system is a really good start towards that ^^

 

I have yet to see anyone post meaningful data on how much EXP per hour one could gain in an active grinding party in popular high level maps (Neo Tokyo, ToT). Prior to discussions on potential incentives or further changes, I'd like to see some practical numbers and how they compare to activities like bossing. Unlike many things the community gives feedback on, this is the one area in which we have access to obtain the data ourselves, very easily.

I say high level maps as that is what affects me the most, but I would like to also include anything level 100+.

If anyone is down to do some testing, let me know.

 

*shrug* idk I didn't have anything in mind. LHC just feels like 200+ content. If it was anywhere else it would be too easy to get to 200

 

I guess @Cooler 's point is that LHC in a lot of ways made the 200 grind relatively easy compared to what came before it. However, I fail to see why we're even assuming, if implemented in Royals, that it would be close to what it was in official MS. The level cap comment makes no sense, as any future content can just be balanced and fit in certain gaps, a precedent being Ellin Forest (although not as 'problematic' an area in terms of EXP).

 

I had that idea in mind but it's kinda problematic. In Neo Tokyo the only map (in my opinion) that really fits grinding is the one just outside Nibergan. The problem with testing there is that the map is too small (only two rows of platforms) so any party bigger than a duo means that there gonna be more than 1 player on the same row which means that these players get to kill less monster thus curving out any benefit fron the EXP system (you only get the bonus for your own kill). Now imagine a 4+ party there - it's just not practical. The map layout just encourages grinding there in a duo.

 

I wonder how dunas V2 map gonna work out? Or the map after dunas v1. I would love to see some numbers too!