Dawntrail expert dungeons impressions

[GokuSS400]

So I've now run all three of the dungeons of Dawntrail's expert roulette.

If you haven't yet run all three or you're not anywhere near these level 100 dungeons, please stop reading now...and go back to MSQ.


So. The first of the three took me several attempts to clear, on duty support (because it was late and the server was relatively empty).

In the Alexandria dungeon, the first boss is quite literally the make or break encounter of the dungeon. After now running it a second time...this time with real people, even knowing the mechanics ahead of time did not make it easier.

What do I mean?
well the boss has 4 different types of AoEs that it uses, split apart two (or three if you want to be technical about it) different mechanics.

The first - where the boss is "charging up" to fire a coned blast forward or to the sides

The second mechanic - the + or O symbols it creates around it as part of dispersing intruders.

So in my experience, its the second one that needs refinement or a little adjustment.

So for the second mechanic it takes little time to learn what to do (either stand inside the O or stand in the area near the + that isn't getting blasted by the AoE).

The problem is that as far as timing goes, there is probably a couple seconds of cooldown between when the previous symbol "blows" and when the next one goes off. Simply put you have to either be positioned ahead of time to be able to anticipate the next AoE, or you are about 90% certain to get the debuff. In my first couple attempts of it (I main PLD fyi), it was extremely difficult to get to get the timing down even despite knowing what to do. Even after successfully completing the dungeon once before, it was a struggle a second time (even with real people instead of NPCs for this run).

My suggestion (although clearly take with a grain of salt, as I'm just one player) would be extend the timers between AoEs by another couple seconds.

Additionally, if the boss using both mechanics simultaneously (charged frontal cone or charged sides cone in addition to the symbols) is intentional...then that is a separate concern, as that makes trying to dodge the symbol AoEs even more difficult than it already is.

[MagnificentOxen]

I hope the bosses get even harder going forward.

[Arohk]

I must give them credit for spicing up the dungeon bosses a little bit, hope they keep doing this and not revert to the boring 1 mechanic at a time bosses.

[nguyentri11]

The time given to move to safe areas isn't as unreasonable as you make it out to be when they already show you the order of which the mechanics go off. Being shown the order of mechanics before they go off one by one isn't anything new either. And there's no point in giving a long lapse of time between the mechanics going off or it defeats the purpose of showing you the order in the first place.

[Espon]

I think what throws people off are the lengthy animations, making it look like areas are safe for only a fraction of a second. Like any other attack in the game, it's safe to move into the animation as soon as the attack goes off, no need to wait for the animation to disappear or you're likely to get hit by the next AoE.

[Fellnani]

The trick for the Alexandria mechanic is to imagine the shortest movement part in your head, including the dodge of the Boss AoE. Then its no issue. The game is also designed in a way that players can make multiple mistakes and still be healed by healers and/or revived. I would consider failing a few times in a new dungeon and then succeeding to be a good experience - preferable to the boredom of everything being easily doable on first attempt.
I hope the expert dungeon difficulty becomes the new standart for all dungeons and the next expert dungeons get a difficulty between that and extreme trials.

[Amenara]

I was not ready for those dungeons, needed a break afterwards.

[SarahWoof]

Lest people only come on the forums to complain, I love these expert dungeons so much and I want them to continue this difficulty or higher going forward~ These were so much fun!

[Kaedys]

The problem is that as far as timing goes, there is probably a couple seconds of cooldown between when the previous symbol "blows" and when the next one goes off. Simply put you have to either be positioned ahead of time to be able to anticipate the next AoE, or you are about 90% certain to get the debuff. In my first couple attempts of it (I main PLD fyi), it was extremely difficult to get to get the timing down even despite knowing what to do. Even after successfully completing the dungeon once before, it was a struggle a second time (even with real people instead of NPCs for this run).

My suggestion (although clearly take with a grain of salt, as I'm just one player) would be extend the timers between AoEs by another couple seconds.

Additionally, if the boss using both mechanics simultaneously (charged frontal cone or charged sides cone in addition to the symbols) is intentional...then that is a separate concern, as that makes trying to dodge the symbol AoEs even more difficult than it already is.

YoshiP did say the expert dungeons would be rather more difficult than in the past. I for one appreciate it, and love the new dungeons this expansion, especially the 3 expert ones.

You absolutely do not need to be pre-positioned to avoid the debuff. You just need to move as soon as the prior one goes off. Even when the boss is charging their own AoE, it always goes off a few seconds after the next symbol AoE from when the telegraph appears. Dodge symbol, then dodge the boss AoE on your way to the next symbol.

The only thing I think needs tweaked on that one is to make the width of the line AoEs from the cross symbols narrower. The symbol pads are pretty close together, and the cross AoEs appear to be the same width as the pads, which makes safe zones for it somewhat complicated, especially when dodging the boss cones. Still, it's really not that bad as a mechanic.

As another poster pointed out, I think this is more a case of the game not making it clear that as soon as the telegraph for an attack, the orange circle, goes away, you're completely safe to move into the animation and still won't get hit. If you're waiting for the animation to clear before moving, the timer feels unreasonably short, but you shouldn't be waiting for it. I really wish the game made this clearer and more explicit early in the game.

[Mortex]

Learning these bosses was actually super fun and spicy but after doing them a bit they are still good. Problem is the bosses with pattern don’t have any random ones. For example the desert dungeon endboss has the same fields for the doom mech every run. Wish the fields were a bit more random same for the 2 boss in the ghost one.