Funesta
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Posted - 2010.11.30 20:21:00 -
[1]
Edited by: Funesta on 30/11/2010 20:23:46
I think the difficulty range of level 2 missions needs to be re-examined.
I'm a relatively new player, in a destroyer (the minmatar destroyer, if it matters) and working on getting a cruiser. All my equipment is very basic, T1 stuff without a meta level, so you have an idea of where I'm coming from.
Level 1 missions are trivial in the destroyer, so I moved on to level 2 missions.
I would say many of the level 2 combat missions are just fine - this isn't an endemic problem with level 2 missions.
They occasionally dip into the "trivial" end of the pool, where I can one-shot the opposing ships as fast as I can target them and kill them before they get within range of me. These missions could use more difficulty, as they seem much more appropriate for level 1 combat missions.
However, the bane of my existence is the very hard level 2 combat missions. A handful of the level 2 combat missions involve overwhelming numbers of enemies, to the point where I can get one shot off before warping, repairing my entire armor and shield and sometimes hull, and then returning to try to get one more shot off on the same NPC. Damsel in Distress is the worst one I've run into so far, but there are are a couple other missions like this - all have 6 hour bonus-completion-times. Two friends of mine, who ran level 2 missions for a little bit after getting cruisers, had exactly the same problems, so I don't think it's necessarily my destroyer (or me) that's at fault.
I assume that, since level 1 missions are completely trivial, I should be working on level 2 missions. If that's the intention, it would be nice for the level 2 mission difficulties to be reviewed and brought to a more consistent level. The too-easy missions could stand to be beefed up a lot, and the 6-hour missions could benefit from being tweaked down significantly. I like a challenge, but warping in and out of a mission area to fire only one shot before my ship is destroyed is tedious, not challenging. I have been able to complete every one of these with a lot of effort and a second account, but it's so unprofitable and time consuming to do these really hard couple of missions that they aren't worth attempting at all - even the courier missions look more appealing.
The biggest specific problem with these missions is the large number of ships. Having fewer, bigger ships might be one alternative. Having the same number (or greater number) of ships, but some appear from far off and take a while to get to the player, might be another easy improvement option. Sometimes I wonder if it's just the mission triggers that are a little off - I'll be halfway through killing one wave when the next one spawns on top of my head.
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