There have been a lot of complaints about drop rates. Some of the best items in the game are almost non-existent. At the same time, KI seem to be struggling with end-game content, confusing boring grinding with entertainment. Doing a super hard fight once for a badge is thrilling. Doing a super hard fight 5 to 10 times for great rewards is fun and satisfying. But doing a so-so fight 100 times with nothing to show for it just stinks. Tartarus was on the right track, but the "filler" fights are a waste of time and the drops are not that good. After doing Morganthe a few times, I'm already bored with the long animations, and have yet to see anyone get anything special.
I hope a future expansion will include a new optional instance with much better odds at the very rare and coveted items, but a higher level of difficulty. Like "zomg, you DID that?!" level. This optional content would give bored, max-level players a real challenge, bragging rights, and a chance to win the best stuff in the game based on skill and teamwork, rather than capacity for boredom. Give a badge for doing it once, and others for ten & 25 times or such - "___ survivor", "Master of ____", "Lord of ___". That would keep us busy for a while :D
Dungeons can definitely be grindy once you do them over and over again, and when people have nothing to show for it, it's a huge letdown.
Having optional dungeons with better rewards would please both people who want to challenge themselves, and, people who are looking for better gear and something to show for their efforts.
The challenge would compensate the drop rate, so I think it would work out very well. We'll have to wait and see! ;)
As a farmer of both Morganthe and Tartarus...I think that this would remedy the fact that people (including myself) are VERY sick of farming Tartarus...it is not fun, nor is it worthwhile, which is why I gave up on it loooong ago. So, sick of doing Tartarus, I rushed through KR2 getting to Morganthe! Yes! The awesome Ultra-Hard-Fight-Awesome-Gear-Better-Than-Tartarus fight!....
...only to be dissapointed as there are four simple Bosses that have no cheats and only drop good athames and rings. I haven't had much motivation to farm; therefore I cannot speal extensively on drop rates. However, when I think of farming Morganthe extensively I think of a moderator on Central, who farmed like 12 hours a day for a week before getting their Athame and Ring.
Morganthe is neither fun to do, due to it basically being the same, boring old boss fight over. and over. and over again (not to mention the repetitive animation scene-PLEASE allow us to skip that, btw) basically knowing that the gear I am farming for is most certainly not going to come anytime soon.
I think that the WaterWorks is (slightly) a good example of what most players want...a cheating boss fight that is very fun to play (though I have the gear I often post assists for Waterworks just for fun) in addition to having what I consider a perfect drop rate-you don't have to grind it, but you still have to work for it.
We aren't looking for handouts- we're looking for a challening, fun to play fight that has a moderate drop rate. After 100 times of grinding...it essentially stops being fun- and that's when you get into Skinner Boxes, which are the BANE of fun. I would love to see this maybe in a summer update or something that can be incorporated into the next arc.
Great idea! I have thought for a while that adding some content with a higher level of difficulty which was not absolutely necessary for completion of the game would be great. Aquila came along and I got very excited - along the right track, I think. It's good to have access to an area like this. My main gripe with it is the drop rate of useful items. After a while, unless you challenge yourself by trying to dual (or solo) Tartarus (and even this challenge becomes jaded fast), it becomes a real grind.
It would be awesome to be able to have varying levels of completion for a set of fights. Being challenged to overcome a serious set of enemies is a big draw.
Drop rates for good items is also a key factor in on-going enjoyment.
The decision to make the drop rates really high for one of the best pets in the game - Enchanted Armament - was wonderful. This gives everyone a shot at a pet so useful that it can be developed from low to high level wizards. Likewise, the Iron Hasta is a genius move. I think making all good gear drops this frequent would be a mistake, but these 2 drops . Credit where credit is due.
So yes, future content that has a boss fight/fights that you can choose what mode to enter at - Walk in the Park to Snowball's Chance - with a significant chance at good drops would keep max-level players busy for quite a while without having to add a whole new world.
. Credit where credit is due.