Hello!
I have played a bit of the Beta and have been a longtime (mostly D2, but some D3) hardcore player. I have a suggestion to make regarding boss fights in D4 in hardcore. After my second “locked-in” death against the same boss, I was trying to figure out why I was so frustrated with the game, as I have died plenty of times on hardcore in other versions and largely felt like “whelp, c’est la vie - that’s the price you pay!”
Both times I died I had ample of time where I knew it was coming and couldn’t prevent it because I was out of potions. I spent a good 45 seconds running around in a circle, hoping against hope a potion would drop or somehow the town portal button would suddenly work. Then it hit me last night what it reminded me of - a game of poker.
When I play poker, I like to play for money, even if it’s a nominal stake, because I play differently, and more conservatively. I’ll take it a bit more seriously as well. Playing hardcore feels like “playing for money.” Being trapped in a boss battle where you have no option to leave feels like being forced to continue playing a hand of Texas Hold 'Em long after you know you’re going to lose - imagine having to continue to call bets all the way to the bitter end, and not having an option to fold! The game would not be the same.
So, I have a proposed fix. Give people the option to TP out of the boss battle. BUT, if they do so, the boss battle should reset so they have to do it from scratch. Or they can go out, change their skill config, maybe get some more XP, and then try it again on a later day with a different weapon.
Thanks for listening!