Appo run or use the stopper? I think that if this boss is for middle-level class player do, should not be too hard In my ideal version of this kind of team-based challenge, it should be possible for a group of four to six players to complete it using only basic items like energy drinks. I think the time limit might be too short, especially for players who aren’t regulars on this server.
I feel like having only 3 shoulders drop is a mistake as that promotes people duo/trio attacking to fast track their mains while excluding new people that arent able to do that. wouldnt it be better to just give a shoulder to every survivng member upon exiting and after you reach X amount of kills you increase it to 2 shoulders? As it stands i cant see anyone wanting to do 4-6 man parties once the "new content hype" dies down.
Spoiler: R> Balrog apple run 3/6 shoulder/nx taken no reply = full doesn't sound very appealing now does it?
There are already people preparing triple dragon knights to duo/alt loot shoulders with another player for their 3 mains. Reducing mages to mg spammers (with frequent dispel and stronger and less predictable DR than Lilynouch's) who will probably have to buy shoulder service in the boss is terrible when many new players start with bishop or arch mage...
I can't agree more with folks criticizing this really arbitrary and convoluted lateral grind for a character tied to your main account. It is so antithetical to how everyone plays, and is encouraged to play, and frankly out of touch that it's hard to believe this got off paper. And it doesn't even have HP. We were theorizing why in the world royals would suddenly make an item move in the account only, bc that's a very niche feature, and nobody has multiple mains or even alts tied to the same account. I thought, the only thing they could be trying to do, is supplicate the loads of new players who horribly screw up their first chars and abandon them because of the convoluted hp meta. The mystery item must be an account only high hp item, for these folks who have sunk lots of time into their char casually, only to have their fun nostalgia experience put in cold water when they realize they can't do any content because there's nothing priming them on all that hp/washing junk they didn't know they had to do. A dreamy guess for sure, but would show a lot of thoughtfulness and character from staff, and I couldn't think of any other reason why they'd encourage multiple chars tied to the same account knowing full well how this game is played and that they encourage it to be played that way It turns out it's actually the dead ass opposite. You can't participate over 99, so if your main or alt is over that, then you have to double back, double the chars on all accounts, bpq mules, and sink an exta 40 hours+ to push a new char through cpq hell, all the manji quests, which require unique drops and then begin the really fun god roll loot game everyone loves so much on that useless alt tied to your actual char. You have to go and laterally sink time and money into a brand new char, tied to your mains, and it doesn't even have hp lol I honestly hate this concept, arbitrary, convoluted time sink and an insulting ask at that, that could be much simpler. Did anyone consider that people don't want to make chars? I think this should be reconsidered before a lot of new people waste a lot of time making a bpq mule, but I feel like I'm the one wasting time. This is all I'd like to say on this, and I don't want to derail the thread or pick it apart any more bc it sounds like I'm being very mean/critical but yeah I honestly think it's a ridiculous way to glue asses to your server (Quick edit) this is of course great for brand new chars/players and I've looked forward to bpq forever, but to most people it's a huge lateral time investment that could be much much simpler but still challenging and without the mule
I'll start with the positive. For a while I have thought the pauldron/pocket slot would be a neat addition so this was a much welcome surprise. Secondly, the boss itself looks really interesting. However... Level locking new content that provides a brand new item in a brand new slot at 75-99 when a significant demographic have not played these levels for years seems somewhat asinine. This content is essentially accessible for what equates to all of a sneeze in the cosmos with relativity to the time invested in the average character. Furthermore, forcing the requirement to make a new character we have no real desire to make or play, but now have to make & play for the sole purpose of grinding the new item for our main and but then will never play this new character again once we have a pauldron with the desired stats is beyond tedium. I see no sense in this arbitrary hoop-jumping exercise. I fully supported the measures implemented to combat RWT goods entering the market; many voiced concerns over what they perceived to be an unnecessary burden of responsibility placed upon the player but in my opinion it was required in order to deal with the issue and the logic behind it was sound and obvious. In this instance however, after some consideration, I cannot say the same. I do not see why 4th job skills could not simply be disabled and a damage debuff that scales with level e.g. you suffer a -(x)wa% penalty for every level over 99. Think like a negative Echo. This would keep all participating characters scaled to the raid and prevent end game chars from being over powered while still allowing people to play their mains. Creating an insipid pauldron mule meta seems like a waste of what could be great new content.
some initial thoughts/reactions: 0. i haven't done this boss yet. (and, due to other in-game goals taking priority, as well as speculation that the true best-in-slot shoulder accessory will come from pink bean, probably won't for some time) 1. introducing an expedition-style boss restricted to 3rd job is quite interesting and automatically adds some diversity to the current class meta. class tiering for end-game bosses revolves around 4th job skills, except possibly for things like survivability (i.e. meso guard) 2. tweaking the level requirement to exclude most traditionally end-game weapons puts a dent in the advantage of veterans over actual first-time 3rd job players. but, it's not *that* good for this purpose, since cgs is always a huge factor, and certain weapons are still usable (e.g. sky ski) 3. introducing the shoulder accessory slot, and having balrog drop the only (current) shoulder accessory, is an unfortunate way to get players to interact with this otherwise out-of-the-way content; it's pretty much mandatory for anyone that plays somewhat seriously 4. the shoulder pad is the only reason to do this boss; once players get a good one, they'll stop running it. (in fact, because of its trading mechanics, players are encouraged to create a mule to farm the shoulder pad, which they will then conceivably delete, making this literally throw-away content.) the other rewards (a few 1k nx cards) just aren't motivating enough 5. if a better shoulder accessory ends up coming from pink bean, a huge number of (mostly veteran) players will likely abandon this content altogether 6. again, i haven't run the boss yet, but i think something like this has potential to be content players will return to if the player incentive is addressed Spoiler: for Pokemon fans this kind of reminds me of the Little Cup (LC) Smogon tier, which is a really cute (though not terribly deep) alternative meta concept
The Balrog shoulder does not have 'godroll stats'. It can vary a 'normal' amount. There's no godly drop rate. The same concept has been used in games before, in Maplestory as well for various 'upgrades'. Once again there is no 'godroll' for this reward. Regarding future content with the release of the shoulder slot: of course we consider this new slot as something to potentially fill in future high level content as an 'upgrade' to the release of the lvl 70 shoulder we brought out with Balrog, however we don't plan on adding more shoulders any time soon so it will be 'best in slot' for a while even though it's not that many stats. I'm not sure where you're getting your facts from, but the shoulder does not have a 'godroll'. The shoulder cannot go up to 8 stats, you should find a suitable one from normal variations much earlier than 360 attempts. We wanted to present the opportunity to veterans to start a new character on their main account geared closer to what a newer player would use, and feel like the veteran and the newer player would have a more equal part in the fight rather than have a veteran 'leech' others on their main character. You can choose to make new characters on all your accounts, or you can decide that you only want this shoulder on one or two of your main characters as that little extra bonus and perhaps wait for future shoulder releases on your other accounts. This content release is geared towards bringing veterans that 'don't have much to do' and newer players together in a bossing experience unlike the other bosses, where you will have to only use third job skills to make it work. For the veterans it will progress their main character with a new equipment piece that will give them a slight boost, something that's hard to come by as they have nearly perfected the rest of their equipment already and it's hard to make progression until new high level content arises. Making the shoulder tradable defeats all purpose of the content as it would just become a money making opportunity for a handful of players that have no problems with money making already. You're assuming the shoulder has the opportunity to become 8 stats godly which it doesn't. we did not make the 'mistake' you mentioned on your point 3. You will likely need more experience with this boss and its mechanics to improve your survivability on mages. You can keep track of DR timers and don't attack during those times etc. I encourage you to get familiar with such a bossing skillset if you want to face Pink Bean some day. I'm glad you had fun! we tried to balance it to not be too easy of course, but doable with a party that knows what they are doing and that brought proper equipment and atk potions. We're not forcing you to play this content and the reward isn't balanced as: 'you NEED this or you're missing out big time!' Veteran players can choose to challenge themselves with a new character on their main account and escape the mundane feeling of the same 4th job bosses that they are used to on a new character they may have wanted to try out the third job of, but never did as they felt leeching those levels was more convenient. If you haven't played those levels for years and consider it asinine, I would recommend you to take another perspective and consider it a fresh breath of air to a bossing experience away from your main, yet contributing to your main's gear!
^ This is exactly my thought as well. I love the fact that we get new permanent content and this boss looks freaking awesome to me. Unfortunately, it is locked behind a level cap. I would have loved to see it without the level cap, on the Olaf questline and still being able to get the shoulder pad. Just remove 4th job spells and cap the damage done or something similiar. There is just no way in hell I'm making a new mule on my main characters account with the soul purpose of doing this PQ. Just no. Furthermore, this is probably a good way to make mesos for someone. Making two-three DKs and selling shoulder pad service to someone washing their character. EDIT: Yes Tim, I know that no one is forcing me to do the content. But I guess that if you put the staffs time and effort into releasing new, good content, you also want as many as possible to take part of it, am I right?
Dispell is really awful game design for mages with magic guard. I literally have to magic guard within 1 second of getting dispelled or I get 1shot. Even then sometimes the dmg registers before magic guard. I have yet to see a mage clear this pq. Either remove dispell, make magic guard unaffected by dispell, or make magic guard a passive instead of a buff.
I really like this approach and some of you people already have alot and are already bored. Playing an Attacker in a PQ wont be too bad either. Boost the rate of the shoulder a bit maybe of their godly roll and everything should be gucci. Removing the OP Goby Leech before this is diabolic lmao
I started making a new char yesterday because of the new event and I had already finished my main character “all upgrades done no eq left to focus on” and am having fun at lv45 so thanks for the game update. i was logging into royals the past 4-5months just sitting around because there was nothing else to do. value wise a 2 stat shoulder for my main is a 20b if not more upgrade in itself too.
I could understand the notion that having an account-wide shoulder essentially pushes all players to now make new characters and level them, bringing some life back into the 1-99 range and theoretically revitalizing PQs and group content. However, and I'm sure this has already been considered both by staff and other players, most players with existing high level characters will still just leech to level these new characters, either because they already have the mesos to do so, or because they have existing characters they can use to self-leech. If this was somehow guaranteed to really bring life back to low-level group content (perhaps if this released alongside a PQ exp buff or something similar), I'd say it's an overall clear success. I don't think another shoulder (as an alternative to not have to level a new character) should have been introduced alongside this one as the staff needed some kind of carrot to catch people's attention, but at the same time I do understand why people with attackers on multiple accounts aren't thrilled when most people are going to be leeching to enter Balrog, get their shoulder and leave. --- Overall, not the end of the world (as it has already been confirmed that these shoulders cannot roll godly). I do like more low-mid level content although, while the shoulder will incentivize people to make new characters and participate in Balrog itself, I don't think it'll do much for the low-mid level PQ and group mobbing scene.
Thank you for clarifying. Words were spreading like wildfire since your reply in discord 'Stats can vary, it's not static' and everyone was asking if godroll was possible. Thank you for the new content Tim and staffs! I can only be disappointed that I am unable to play it through my main characters but still, a new content is still a new content. When I do find time to eventually make a character to get that shoulder, I would
2b might not be a lot to many people, but it's a lot to most players, and the time it takes to get to 75 and collect a +6 is more than 2b imo, which must be factored, so not worth if for 90% or more of folks If this item can be upgraded after it's given to your main via other boss items, such as zak/pap/pianus certificates or a new item, and if it had hp, I would reconsider. And if those things are being considered, staff should mention it now before the content flashes out of favor
its 20b* and its only valued at 20b when you reach 70 cgs/auf helm etc, otherwise 2 stat would be worth like 200-300m to most players. if its not worth your time then don't do it? I do not see any message or indicators on the new update thread that this pq is compulsory before you can play the game.
Not trying to argue with you but that was what your statements suggested. "so not worth if for 90% or more of folks" & "if this item can be upgraded... and if it had hp, I would reconsider" & replying to my comment about whether making a char to get the shoulderpad for my main is worth it or not.
This content won't benefit new players as much as it does on paper due to the boss design heavily favoring warriors (specifically Dragon Knight, I feel like the only ones making Crusader mules are those who already have a scrolled sword/don't want to buy inflated pyrope spear/sky ski) and outright excluding mages. Ironically the demographic this content benefits the most are the people who already have 2-3 sets of CGS to solo NT/BGA/Toad etc. since they have half their work done for them already. You can see how many people are trying to trade BFC for PGC since BFC can't be worn in BPQ. In a month or two you'll start seeing BPQMule1/BPQfor____/____BPQ smegaing S> BPQ VIP 500m. Also this is one mule per account for every character a player takes seriously... that takes it from cute sidequest to utter chore.
