Request: Please tone down PoTD Solo 181+. My experience and partial rant.

[Angelusdemonus]

I am! I know the issue isn't something that really affects any sort of gameplay and it can be completely ignored but then...why have it?

Possible fixes for this have included

• Increasing the amount of gold chests and decreasing mimic spawns in later floors
• Decreasing the damage and hp of enemies while solo
• Allowing aetherpool stats to go above 99/99
• Allowing players to reach level 70 and use level 70 abilities in there
  
• Increasing the amount of pomanders that can be held by a solo player
• Increasing the amount of time for completion on later floors
• Making a specific solo mode (perhaps with the aforementioned fixes)
• Removing the achievement

One thing that I've been racking my brain about is how do you adjust solo PoTD without ruining PoTD as a whole? Because yes, a number of what Louvain suggested are good...along the lines of what I had posted. However, some of those type of adjustments affect everything about it (light party, etc). So my big question that I wanted to find an answer for is: How do you adjust solo PoTD ONLY, without touching and adjusting the experience of PoTD 2-4 player, which much of the community will say is well balanced, and I think it is.

I've said in a few posts and in my original that I feel the scale of difficulty for enemies, all the way up to 199, is fine. I had an opportunity with one of my light party groups where my other teammates had wiped on 196 and I was left standing, so I had to raise them and open the portal solo...and granted I had Strength/Steel, I honestly did not find it impossible to solo that floor specifically. So I would hate for them to nerf the enemies and make it too easy.

So here is an idea I would like to propose: Add special solo-specific abilities and, as Louvain said above, increase our amount of pomanders held by a solo player. I think these two should be easy to implement, and I'll explain below.


Special Solo-Specific Abilities


A big issue with the other 14 jobs that aren't called RDM is that they are missing key abilities that can push them to the high levels. RDM has "almost" the full toolkit to reach 200, but there is still an enormous amount of luck required (duh). So, I would like to propose that you add in special solo-specific abilities that can be used by all jobs, and only when you run solo.

You guys have already introduced the "orders" menu option for squadron, which only show up when you do command missions, as well as the duty specific abilities like in Lakshimi, so I would like to think adding special abilities to PoTD Solo might not be too crazy.

The abilities I would propose would be (all OGCD, by the way):

- Stun (30s~ recast, close range or long range)
- Silence (30s~ recast)
- Stoneskin (short recast, but only useable outside of command)
- 50%-60% HP Cure (15-20s~ recast)
- Melee Range powerful attack (5-8s~ casting time, would do 60%+ damage to a single enemy, and can only be used in combat)

Stun

It's pure utility. There are many times as a RDM that I wish I had one useful CC option, because buying time even for one GCD makes the difference between living and dying. Also, there are a few notable enemies who have DPS checks, so having a stun handy can save you from what was suppose to be a light party DPS check, and not punishing to a solo player who will more than likely not make it to the DPS check.

Running a job like MNK, who has stuns, definitely makes getting through the floors easier, because you are buying time for CDs to come down, and you get that extra tick of Sustaining Potion.

Silence

There is really only one major use for this, and it's to stop the Wisent on 171-180 floor set from doing it's DPS check. There might be other places you can use it (like stopping the elementals from casting a GCD), but I think this has a place for the solo abilities.

Stoneskin

Bring this baby back! More specifically for floor sets 181-190, because of the Deep Worms that attack you from a distance. That attack is unavoidable and does a large amount of damage....sometimes you can get hit at the worst moment and die because of it. Stoneskin can help mitigate that a little bit, and also it can be useful as some buffer when you use Pomander of Rage in the higher floors, where enemies can 1-4 shot you easy. Important to note that you would only be able to use this outside of combat.

50%-60% HP Cure

This to me is the key, for all the other jobs that aren't called RDM. One of the specific situations that a huge cure like this is needed is against the 180 Boss Floor, Behemoth. RDM is viable because you can cap yourself off between meteors very easily, but every other jobs, except healer, will not survive multiple meteors AND do enough damage to kill the last 15% of behemoth. A "percentage" cure is important, because jobs with higher HP pools, like tanks, will benefit from this also. A PLD against behemoth would struggle to stay alive; yes, they have their own cures, but because Meteor does percentage damage, you have to cure all that HP just to be in the safe zone again to survive another meteor...and you'll also be spending all that time casting Clemency and not doing damage.

Additionally, a big cure like that should also assist in surviving floor 190 boss, because your big concern there is it's cleave combo that can potentially 3-shot you WITH steel pomander.

Additionally, additionally, a low cast big cure will be huge for clearing the floors. Lets face it, Max-Potions are a big joke and certainly doesn't keep you alive in 151+, and sustaining potions can only do so much regen (and also does not scale per job).

Jobs that don't have any significant cures (mainly a majority of the dps jobs) will gain a major benefit to just having a cure option, it should allow them to climb far higher in solo PoTD.

Melee Range powerful attack (with a long casting time)

This is more for healers and tanks, which are the job roles that can survive the best, but can clear the floors the worst.

Healers with pre-nerf Cleric Stance were viable....a lot of runners got pretty high before Stormblood because you had the best of both worlds: good damage and survivability. But check the board now, and you'll see almost every data center has no new healer floor records since Stormblood, because what they are suffering is in the damage department. I know also, running PLD, they also suffer from a lack of damage, especially on the bosses. You probably wont die on PLD, but you're not getting anywhere fast.

So I propose a special, big damage attack, as the last solo specific ability, which can help solve the DPS issue. But, the caveat is that it has a long casting time, just to balance it's usefulness. There are enemies in the higher floors that can kill you in 2-3 GCDs, so I would want such a useful attack to have a big risk in using it, where unless you prepare it properly or time it properly, you might die before the ability goes off. There is an obvious plus side to a powerful attack which would be saving time, and for jobs like healer and tank, it would be more useful to them. Also, it shouldn't be useable outside of combat, otherwise anyone can just walk up to any enemy and just farm down things, making the entire thing trivial. It should also not be useable on bosses, for obvious reasons.

I will say as a word of caution that as useful as a big attack would be, that would probably need to be more thought put into it so that it doesn't become such a broken ability that it makes soloing trivial. Of all the additional abilities I mentioned, I think this last one is a little iffy and would be to balanced really good.


Increasing Pomander Maximum Limit

The other part of the adjustments is increasing the amount of pomanders a solo player can hold. This in my opinion should also not be a hard implementation. The game already reads the fact that you are going in solo, both in the game log before you start the floors warning about the fact you are entering solo, as well as a separate solo ranking board. Also, on bosses such as Floor 50 and Floor 150, the enemies adjust to how ever many people are on the field....so with a light party the attacks will spawn 4 separate attacks, where as on solo only 1 will spawn.

Because of how that is setup, I believe it you should be able to have the game increase how many pomanders that can hold based on how many people are running PoTD. For instance, A Light Party will have the standard 3 limit, but if its a party of 3, then the limit would be +1 (so they can hold 4 max), party of 2 a limit of +2 (so they hold 5 max), and solo a limit of +3 (so you can hold 6 max).



Welcome to the conclusion of my term paper, thank you for reaching this far. I'm really, really hoping this get's adjusted somehow that all 15 jobs can clear, not just RDM. But as a few of the posters have also said, we don't want this to be destroyed and made so easy that people can obtain the title in their sleep. I think giving classes the tools they need to succeed for solo only is a way to accomplish this, AND/OR let us has more access to pomanders. If we can hold more pomanders, then you are eliminating a lot of the luck and RNG that is basically destroying everyone's attempts. If you give us more tools to survive and clear floors, then you are also removing much of the RNG on floor spawns that also destroy our runs.

SE, I want this title, and so do many of my fellow runners. Keep it challenging, but give us a chance here.

[Louvain]

One thing that I've been racking my brain about is how do you adjust solo PoTD without ruining PoTD as a whole? Because yes, a number of what Louvain suggested are good...along the lines of what I had posted. However, some of those type of adjustments affect everything about it (light party, etc). So my big question that I wanted to find an answer for is: How do you adjust solo PoTD ONLY, without touching and adjusting the experience of PoTD 2-4 player, which much of the community will say is well balanced, and I think it is.

thinking about this, it is technically balanced for light parties, yes...but would it really be such a bad thing to have it made easier at this point? The content has already been out a year. As someone who frequently runs it in a light party, even a good run can take us 6-7 hours. Many people I know have not cleared it - either because they (or their party) don't have the experience or disposition to deal with the later floors, or because its long and boring. Touching on the latter point, even with my party usually doing its best to remain upbeat, getting to 200 is still extremely tedious and draining because of how boring it can be (particularly, 140-170 because there's nothing special about those floors, its your typical aggro > kill cycle just done a lot more slowly with very little strategy involved)

And wait a second, your name is a bit familiar... were you by any chance that Kalahan fangirl from DN? (also, Mayu says hi!)

YES....THAT'S ME.....

[Alleo]

Someone on reddit posted that they have reached 193 as a redmage solo but died to some traps. After all the time it seems they are only the third solo person to get that far and even those other two seemingly never reached beyond 194. The problem for that player was the sheer bad luck with RNG. Stepping in too many traps that they could not see and having barely any pomander anymore. They also said that you probably wont be even able to survive floor 197 without a steel pomander since all monsters there will kill you otherwise just too fast. So on one hand you need all the luck in not stepping into traps (which would still be kinda a good risk in the palace and okay) but also having all the right pomanders on certain floors..Also they nearly run out of time on boss 190.

So the time and the pomanders seems to be quite problematic but those can be changed so I hope they do that.

[MagicalLoli]

Hi! ^that would be me. It was really unfortunate! I even had a decent shot at clearing if I got some steels... if I finished clearing 193 normally, I would be able to maybe sneak around the bicephaluses on 194-196 to pick off wraiths and dragons (and hopefully in the process gain some steels) and then use rage to clear 2 out of the last 3 floors (or maybe use them earlier with fortune to try to get some poms). Having 2 rage and 3 serenity was huge! I don't know when I'll get that kind of luck again.

But, speaking of luck and the factors it plays in POTD, I share some concerns with OP.
(continued in next post due to char limit!)

[MagicalLoli]

First let's talk about mobs and poms. Starting from 187-189, most mobs simply cannot be killed without using poms. Claws and worms require Steel (and hope for no autoattack crits after tanking worm enrage, which can also crit I believe), while dragons are impossible. The only mob that can be killed without poms are the chimeras. While there are ways to get around these floors (alteration + chimera hunting comes to mind), having to use a Steel to clear a floor is asking for a lot, seeing as you need around 9 minutes of Steel for the 190 boss. On the final set of floors, you have to start avoiding the Iron Corse patrols, which can 1 shot you from range with an ability + autoattack crit combo.

(continued in next post due to character limit)

[MagicalLoli]

Past 194, Bicephaluses start to appear in rooms, which also do too much damage to handle without Steel and can be impossible to sneak around based on their positioning. This is most likely why there are other failed runs around 194 due to a lack of poms. And don't forget about 197+ where every room will be filled with Gourmands, Knights, and Corses, none of which can be killed without Steel.

(continued in next post)

[MagicalLoli]

While dependence on poms is definitely an issue, there are some other RNG factors that really should be taken into consideration. One of my biggest gripes is Critical Hits from monsters. Starting from 171+, even if your healing is on-point, certain mobs can one shot you with a crit (without Steel, of course). One of the biggest offenders is the Sasquatch (yes, unbuffed), which can hit you for around 13K with an ability that can happen at the same time as an auto. For this reason, I also try to avoid other mobs with such abilities, including Wamouracampas and Archeosaurs on 181-189, but sometimes you don't have a choice. I know dodging monster skills is a thing as well, but personally I believe both critical hits and dodging should be removed from monster skills. The overall "DPS" of the monster would effectively be the same (if not higher), except without 1-shot RNG (also, while abilities interrupting casts can be predicted, critting autoattacks interrupting casts is not cool)

[MagicalLoli]

One other huge RNG issue is the amount of kills it takes to unlock the Cairn of Passage (why is it even random?). On average it's around 6 kills without flight and 3-4 with. However, with bad luck, it can take upward of 9 kills without flight or around 6 with. On 181+, monsters take around 1 minute each to kill, so any 9 kill floors pretty much mean you HAVE to use flights or rages to speed up the remaining floors. I remember one run from OP where the first two floors on 181-189 were both 9 kill floors, taking up 18 minutes and screwing him over for the rest of the set.

[MagicalLoli]

Finally, to discuss a bit about POTD solo balancing outside the RDM world. Due to class design, I feel it would be incredibly hard to balance 200 to be clearable by all classes solo without either 1) making the feat too easy for some while just passable by others or 2) doing class-specific balancing in POTD only (which is highly unlikely). An example of #2 would be something like giving a special version of sustaining potion to melee classes that heals more, or a version that also gives a damage buff to healers. However, there would still need to be more fine-tuning as the difference between casters like BLM and RDM is night and day (BLM is easily the worst POTD class due to being immobile).

[Louvain]

@magicalLoli: thanks for the input. just for future reference you can post, and then go back to edit your post to be as long as you want. It's bizarre but yea.

Edit:
I do understand the concern about making it to easy for some jobs, and I don't think it needs to be nerfed to the point that all jobs should breeze by...but even just minor adjustments would seriously help ALL of them.