Sortie Reward Overhaul Suggestion

[Kuwabaraone]

Now that Sortie has been a rousing success, it's time to reconsider certain aspects of this part of the game. Here are my thoughts:

• Increase the amount of Gallimaufry received (AFTER conditions are met)
  

  What this is for is to incentivize return play and to allow for faster accumulation of Gallimaufry. This should only apply to the amount of Gallimaufry you receive, and not to the requirements for upgrading Prime Weapons. The requirements for upgrades are correct and should not be adjusted at this time (i.e., Stage 2 to Stage 3, requiring 2.5 Million Gallimaufry, 5 Voracious Psyche, and 2 Octahedrite, is balanced). This increase also applies to Chest/Coffers that are dropped from completing objectives and are increased based on Floor and Basement difficulty.

• Increase the Voracious Psyche from 5 to 15 (after certain conditions are me, keep monthly lock)
  

  Rather than the standard 5 Psyche every month, it should be increased to 15, so it allows you to create more Weapons OR further complete an existing one. The monthly limit should remain in play, as that is balanced.

• Provide list of completed Objectives in Sortie and offer additional bonus Gallimaufry (akin to RoE rewards)
  

  While this DOES run the risk of Spoilers, we have reached the point in the game that most objectives are now known, so further means of acquiring Gallimaufry should be made available by completing those objectives, in a similar vein as Records of Eminence (RoE) allows for certain actions to be rewarded.

• Create a weekly bonus system for Sortie (akin to Vagary) using RoEs.
  

  Similar to defeating the bosses of Vagary each week, a similar option can be done for Sortie as well, providing bonus Gallimaufry. Bonus drop rates for upgrade items will be addressed separately.

• Increase drop rate of items with a "Treasure Hunter" effect applied after completing certain requirements in Sortie (i.e. clearing floor bosses, etc.)
  

  As stated earlier, in the same vein as Vagary, clearing these bosses once a week should offer a bonus in the types of regular drops you receive from bosses that roam the floors and basements, and the likelihood of receiving that reward should increase with more participation into Sortie via a Treasure Hunter system, aka increased drop rate Key Item which increases the likelihood of drops needed for upgrades.

• Remove the Accumulated Damage Reduction of certain bosses and replace with Accumulated Damage Boost if not nullified.
  

  While this will affect how certain bosses respond, it is clear that this is more a hindrance than a unique challenge, and should instead make it so that not preventing certain types of damage from happening makes the boss stronger, not harder to hit. With the time being so limited, it builds frustration to bring said bosses down when time is so limited, and when members are undergeared (unless you have a recommendation to go into Sortie with specified level or equivalent armor/weapons in mind before entry.

• Allow for time extensions, but at a maximum of 3 hours (time extension will make the Ruspix plate take longer to recharge)
  

  From my previous point, time is far too limited and should be extended, but not indefinitely. Similar to Dynamis-Divergence, there should be ways to extend one's time inside, but not without consequence. While you get the bonus of extending time on the inside, the Ruspix plate is affected in that it takes longer to charge to full than before. Furthermore, this should remain optional, and the party leader will decide to use said extensions if time permits (naturally, if you are going in with just Trusts, the same rules apply).

• Reduce time to complete a new Sortie from 20 hours to 10 hours (AFTER certain conditions are met)
  

  This goes without saying, once a day is acceptable, but having the ability to come in more often is also a bonus in and of itself, as 20 hours can be taxing. That said, there must be certain conditions to get this restriction down to 10 hours first.

Throughout most of this, I stated there must be "Certain conditions that must be met." Those conditions are quite simple:

First, complete Voracious Resurgance and all potential Epilogue Cutscenes for the Gallimaufry bonus (granted after getting one critical Key Item back).

Second, having done one full completion of Peculiar Foes (all fifteen of them and then returning to both Elijah for a cutscene and then to Castle Zvhal Keep and the Valhallan Rift for the final cutscene and the "Treasure Hunter" boost Key Item. We can also add a bonus to each major HNM for each of the expansions to further increase the bonus given. Example: Defeating Absolute Virtue (non-cheese methods) would allow for further boosting of drop rates in Sortie.

Third, for the extensions, have them available when defeating the Floor/Basement NMs. This excludes the Four Floor Bosses and Four Basement Bosses. Each NM grants a flat 15-minute bonus, bringing the total up to 2 hours extended from the 1, thereby maxing out at 3 hours. This also works in reducing time to return to Sortie as well; by completing the Floor Bosses, you reduce the time by 5 hours, followed by completing the Basement Bosses, reducing it to an additional 5 hours. There still needs to be a gap between entries, but 20 hours can be a bit long.

Fourth, the Floor Bosses/Basement Bosses INSTEAD provide 1 of the Octahedrites if at that stage, or 1 of the Hexahedrites if at that stage, as well as provide an ADDITIONAL one of those types of upgrade items (along with bonus Gallimaufry) upon defeat of those Bosses, akin to how you are rewarded in Vagary Weekly RoE quests.

NOTE: This also applies to the Final Boss as well, but in that case, the Final Boss increases the amount of Gallimaufry received by 1000% in Normal Difficulty (permanent KI in that regard), and 2 of the Final Upgrade items in Hard Difficulty.

Finally, to reiterate, the amount required to upgrade Prime Weapon stages MUST NOT BE ADJUSTED for any reason. Those amounts are acceptable and justify the grind necessary to make these powerful weapons. It is the amount received from defeating enemies inside that needs adjustments.

Thank you all for reading this lengthy post and I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments!

[Alhanelem]

What this is for is to incentivize return play and to allow for faster accumulation of Gallimaufry.

Not sure how someone can say "the amount we need is fine, the amount we get is not." These two values are intertwined; there's little difference between changing needed quantities and changing how much you recieve- both modify the time required. I think the main issue most people have with Sortie is how you have to do it CONSTANTLY if you want a shot at those weapons- I've seen a lot of feedback on these forums that they would like to feel less pressured to do it every single day.

You make a big point about ajdusting one value over the other but they both do the same thing. I'm not sure why you're defending one while asking the other to be changed.

That said- I would certainly not mind unlockable features to dial back the grind for players. I'm just confused why you're so adamant about defending the scale of resources needed to complete weapons, something that hasn't really even been discussed that much. People have said a lot that they desire the content respect their time available to play better. This would mean making Sortie less of a daily content while making the times you do it more impactful. The way they do so isn't really important, as long as SE shows it respects the player's time.

[Dragoy]

To be able to make the Prime weapons, one also needs to be able to beat, or have someone beat Aminon for them I think, and at that point Gallimaufry probably isn't a problem really.

Personally I see Prime weapons like Mythics were about 15 years ago, and imagine I will never be able to make one (fully upgraded).

I have a Mythic now, fully upgraded since some years ago, so maybe in about 11 years I can make a Prime weapon, too!

[Alhanelem]

To be able to make the Prime weapons, one also needs to be able to beat, or have someone beat Aminon for them I think, and at that point Gallimaufry probably isn't a problem really.

Personally I see Prime weapons like Mythics were about 15 years ago, and imagine I will never be able to make one (fully upgraded).

I have a Mythic now, fully upgraded since some years ago, so maybe in about 11 years I can make a Prime weapon, too!

It took me a comparable amount of time for me starting a relic in Original Dynamis (in some part due to how we allocated currency) to getting it to the stage where the weaponskill was usable outside of dynamis. Then it took until just earlier this year for me to get it to the truly complete and fully augmented state.

[Kuwabaraone]

Not sure how someone can say "the amount we need is fine, the amount we get is not." These two values are intertwined; there's little difference between changing needed quantities and changing how much you recieve- both modify the time required. I think the main issue most people have with Sortie is how you have to do it CONSTANTLY if you want a shot at those weapons- I've seen a lot of feedback on these forums that they would like to feel less pressured to do it every single day.

The same can be said of any Relic, Empyrean, Mythic, and Aeonic Weapon. The difference being that these weapons can be done quicker than the Primes, even though the Primes are Story-required. Also, if you happen to build up your Prime via solo attempts, the amount you get will take nearly a decade to just get to stage 3; even after clearing Voracious Resurgence.

You make a big point about adjusting one value over the other, but they both do the same thing. I'm not sure why you're defending one while asking the other to be changed.

Because the one (amount of Gallimaufry you receive) is obsolete after you clear Voracious Resurgence, but the other (weapon stage requirements) is not, as that is akin to Old School weapon upgrading, so the spirit of the grind is still intact. It does not make sense to only receive (at max) 98 Gallimaufry per standard appropriate mob. That amount should be the new baseline at worst, AFTER clearing Voracious Resurgence, but even that is insufficient. After clearing VR, the minimum amount received (starting with A Floor mobs) should be no less than 1000 Gallimaufry per mob and adjusted accordingly.

That said- I would certainly not mind unlockable features to dial back the grind for players. I'm just confused why you're so adamant about defending the scale of resources needed to complete weapons, something that hasn't really even been discussed that much. People have said a lot that they desire the content to respect their time available to play better. This would mean making Sortie less of a daily content while making the times you do it more impactful. The way they do so isn't really important, as long as SE shows it respects the player's time.

Be honest, if it were an issue of respecting the player's time, the restrictions AND requirements would be drastically reduced (almost to Ambuscade levels in terms of better weaponry/gear), but in doing so, the players do not respect the content or items/currency attained due to how low effort to effortless it would be.

The reason I remain adamant on weapon upgrade requirements is entirely in line with the spirit of both delayed gratification and also keeping it in line with how powerful the other Ultimate Weapons are.

[Kuwabaraone]

To be able to make the Prime weapons, one also needs to be able to beat, or have someone beat Aminon for them I think, and at that point Gallimaufry probably isn't a problem really.

While you DO need someone to help with Beating Aminon, most stop at Stage 4, since you can take the Weaponskill from that Prime Weapon out of Sortie; also, by that point, the weapon is already overpowered. Stage 5 is Goddess-like in its destructive power.

Personally I see Prime weapons like Mythics were about 15 years ago, and imagine I will never be able to make one (fully upgraded).

I have a Mythic now, fully upgraded since some years ago, so maybe in about 11 years I can make a Prime weapon, too![/QUOTE]