So far from the Delves gameplay I have seen on the Alpha, it seems as though the developers are getting mired in the weeds of ‘what is the maximum difficulty of this system’ or ‘complexity through ramping/stacking mechanics as you increase’. I implore you to step back from those things and look at what will make Delves an intrinsic success.
From the discussion I have seen online and from the announcement of the system itself, it seems as though the desire is to create a new pillar of endgame progression for the casual/semi-casual solo player. This is incredible, and identifying this as a need is the perfect response and development choice for the game. However, to create a new pillar for this player successfully (in the same way that Mythic Plus is successful) you must start with a simple win:
Make delves repeatable and make each one of them unique, fun and rewarding to do for the target audience.
The loot, as was announced, could be approximately Heroic Raid level from a maximum delve. Great, in fact from my point of view that is very generous! But what is not perfect is the acquisition thus far. Locking a chance at loot behind a limited key obtained from anything other than delves is a colossal mistake, one which must not be understated.
So, as someone who is part of that target audience, I beg you to reconsider this current focus back to a fun and simple rewarding gameplay structure that allows you to gear out a character by yourself. I personally don’t even care about the item level they will drop, Normal/LFR Raid equivalents are totally fine! But please let them be repeatable just like mythic plus in that YOU the player determines how much time you want to spend on that style of character progression.
As a final note, PLEASE let me be able to walk away from them when not in combat nor a trap. This is a HUGE aspect that I LOVED about the original implementation of Torghast!! (original in particular because the score update ruined Torghast for me, something that I was engaging with for fun and not even reward) This system has a chance to be the perfect answer to the timer/score based system of mythic plus that I despise.
Thank you for your time,
Bone
P.S. I cannot stress enough that this comes from a place of passion that I have not felt for the game since I was a teenager. Delves have the chance to, as Metzen said, literally bring me HOME! The entire purpose of this post is because I want them to be PERFECT for the many players that I have met that are just like me; on the brink of quitting due to feeling so out of place in the endgame today.
P.P.S. The companion and customizable mount progression systems are both amazing ways to make it feel rewarding as well! So thanks for those in advance!
The precise acquisition of the keys has not been formally implemented, I’d just like to get ahead of the design and give my thoughts as to why I think they would be a huge mistake. As stated above, I believe the perfect solo system would mimic Mythic Plus in its endless grindability, but without the pressure, timers, score or other players! (While of course rewarding lower level gear no where near maximum due to the ease of access, normal raid or (even heroic if they’d like) would be phenomenal!)
If Delve keys can come from over world activities and such I’d be down with that but if they only drop from Mythic+ dungeons or raids that would sentence Delves to being a catch-up mechanic for raiders and useless for the more casual or solo-oriented player.
If it rewards gear equivalent to other content that are challenging, I expect it to be challenging, to a point. As long as we respect risk=reward, all good to me.
I see where you are coming from, and I suggest them coming from both outdoor activities AND delves themselves if they HAVE to exist. This is coming from someone who felt okay about most activities, but it is imperative to me that they are unlimited and easily obtainable (i.e. not on a 30min, 1hr, or daily/weekly cooldown/lockout)
Agreed! I’d just hate to see them put a cap or limit on obtaining it as this will be the primarily gearing pillar for many players like me as I no longer do Mythic Plus nor Raids. And the purpose of them seems to be allowing for solo players to do so.
I actually think that getting keys from doing world content is great.
It keeps the world relevant.
It would be a shame if delves made world activities redundant.
YES! I love this idea. I suggested this before that the lower levels drop keys for the higher ones! Love it! (if of course we are forced to have a key system).
I understand, however, if this is to be a new endgame pillar for solo players to gear their characters; I’d just recommend allowing us to have endless fun like the mythic plus players can and still have a chance at gear every time (of course not to the same heights as a team SHOULD reward higher level gear).
@Snozex
Did you really think you were going to get heoric level gear from easy world quest level content?
Not at all! I actually don’t care to what extent the difficulty is or what the rewards are, I just NEED them to be endless in the same way mythic plus is! AND to have NO timers, score or pressure outside of combat and traps (as I need to be able to walk away from them when I have a moment to do so - this is singleplayer after all).
All I know is if they make getting the keys too annoying for the open world casual, well guess what. We’ll just go back to doing what we usually do. AFK’ing through LFR for currency once every couple months.
I think this is my precise fear for the implementation of them. This is a new pillar OUTSIDE of raid and mythic plus for solo players. Thus, I don’t see why there should be any limit as to how much gear can be accumulated and how quickly, I only see the need for a low cap on ilvl due to the ease of access.