I was pondering some end-game ideas recently and since the direction is towards Souls rather than Diablo, I was immediately reminded of one specific and underrated feature ever used once in the series: World Tendencies. Now what I am envisioning is how would it be if this kind of approach would feel if it was implemented as a Hardcore mode? I’ve always felt bored with the idea of how hardcore mode is implemented as a carbon copy from the days of Diablo I among other aRPGs — very lazy and shallow ‘mechanic’.
I’d urge the devs to undertake a more thought-out difficult approach on the Hardcore mode, (e.g. much more varied and unexpected attack/defence AI patterns) providing a full-fledged challenge experience for the player starting from the beginning of the game. Where I am getting at is that challenge should not be present only at the end game and instead should be available for those challenge-seeking players who want to feel challenged at every and any level.
So instead of following the Souls’ difficulty formula by artificially pumping up the numbers as ng+ goes, the above suggestion might spark some ideas for the devs to consider implementing such a dynamic world feature maybe.
I second this, I’m not even a souls-like seasoned player, just started getting into them actually so I still suck.
However, it’d be cool to see what gnarly ideas the devs could come up with for a “nightmare/hardcore mode”, when they’ve already created something pretty unique.
I was always amazed about ppls approach while asking about hardcore mode.
If you are THAT challanger then discipline yourself and after one death just delete character and start over, ppls do this all the time, Monster Hunter World runs ppls do for example.
That’s the case, i bring the example only so you can explain me why its not ideal for you cause i see ppls always asking for that mode but have the solutions, i never understand why?
With users making their own “world” that others can join in, maybe there could be an option for permanent death for players who join the world? Perhaps take this thought a bit further and add additional modifiers to the “hardcore” server. I could see stuff like limiting resources, adding cooldowns to crafting, or vendors. Or heck, even allowing the killing of NPC’s which have permanent death, or have a lengthy respawn timer.
Demon’s souls world tendency was really a great system, once you know how it works. It made going back to levels you’ve beaten feel a lot different. I think this system could be adapted to work in an ARPG, but what would trigger the world tendency shift towards negative (black) or positive (white)?
I only played HC in diablo 2 and d2r, so my experience is limited in terms of hardcore / permanent death, but this could have some interesting options to add a challenge for a group of folks.
I am actually one of the best Diablo hardcore players, joker. Stick to the topic. RPG without hardcore is a joke. You die = you have to be punished. To get better! Period.
World Tendencies stood out as a massive dynamic element, possibly the largest in any video game, yet it had its advantages; however, players were often left in the dark about the effects and influences of the tendencies they encountered. Unexplained mechanics are bad; these mechanics should effectively communicate the subject matter through well-crafted lore, ensuring that their significant impact is clearly understood.
It is highly logical for me to connect the system with a quest. For instance, it could revolve around a sacred shrine or an altar that requires veneration (using the appropriate emote), and a collection of offerings: innocent or guilty souls’ organs to influence their alignment towards either black or white tendencies. Additionally, this quest could have its own preliminary task to initiate its activation.
But before I brainstorm further I first want to have a crack at EA and get a feel of the Alive system to foster my suggestions.
