Let Players Speed Run Again

[SpookyGhost]

words

Sastasha NM is a lvl 15 dungeon. Sorry for thinking things might get a bit better at lvl 50. My complaint isn't that they don't drop "a key" (literally said that nowhere, you're talking pure conjecture, don't even know why I'm responding this tbqh), my complaint is that it's 2 mobs that do literally nothing in front of a door that doesn't let you proceed until you beat those 2 mobs. It's really horrible dungeon design and I really don't understand why everyone is excusing it.

If you had the choice between:

1.) 2 mobs that did literally nothing but auto attacks, are squishy as hell, in front of a door that blocks you from proceeding or
2.) 2 mobs that had mechanics you had to deal with that required some semblance of coordination that blocked the path to the next area

which would you rather have? Would you really feel like those 2 mobs held any merit if they did nothing but auto attacks? Why are they special? Why are they the only ones guarding this door? And if they were in charge of it, they should at least do something more than auto attack you. Surely, even the First Mate that is summoned after you kill all the trash in the next room is better fit for guarding this door, if not something more powerful. Am I wrong? Do people feel fine with having a wall guarded by 2 trash enemies that do literally nothing? Does no one want to at least have some challenge in these dungeons if we're not meant to speedrun them? And I'm not talking about even Coil1 level mechanics here, just some sort of "mini boss" guarding the stop signs, something that felt WORTH the time you have to sit there for.

more words

I'm complaining about 2 mobs that serve no purpose but to slow down the time it takes to get from boss B to boss C. While I think trash in general is just as the name implies, some of them actually have mechanics you have to adhere to (Tonberry Stalkers in WP, most of the trash in Lost City, most of the trash in Pharos Sirius, pre-nerf wasps in Qarn NORMAL MODE, etc. etc.). I would actually like it, if I'm forced to stop, to have a little bit of challenge or at least a slight bit of difficulty. Call me insane, but being forced to stop, kill 2 trash mobs who do absolutely nothing lest we forget, and then proceed onward just feels like horrible pacing by the dungeon designers. The next room is fine, but this room just seems... completely pointless. It's not really much of an improvement, but as a counter example there's a room in Snowcloak where it's literally (I believe) 2 dogs and 1 ice bomb. The bomb can explode and do large damage if stood inside of. The fact that that is better than this kind of speaks volumes.

Anyway, "missing the trees for the forest" isn't how that idiom goes but I do understand what you're saying. However, I'm not saying that "THIS IS BAD THEREFORE EVERYTHING IS BAD". I'm saying this thing is bad and is one of the examples where they put absolutely no effort into the trash before the wall. They have put work into other trash, such as the deathdancers or whatever they are that get healed by the spumes as you said. Those are great, they aren't exactly what I'd want but they serve a purpose and make you feel like you've overcame a small obstacle and can now move onto the next one. If that was consistent, I wouldn't be complaining. I don't really care about speedrunning dungeons, Snowcloak as-is is quick enough for me, and while I don't think suicidal tanks should result in SE putting up walls in the dungeon - I can understand why that would be the easiest choice to deal with that issue. Basically, if I can't go fast, I'd at least like to have some fun along the way - that a bad thing or something? Does no one want fun now? Kinda confusing when people are just fine with 2 random trash mobs that do nothing, but are so against speedrunning.