Quote Originally Posted by Valence View Post
This was a jab at SE's design, not at your point.
The lack of checkpoints in a conscious design choice they do to artificially increase lifespan of progression and the time people invest into running the content (this was the obvious answer).
I'm really not a fan of the way that people attach the word "artificial" to words when they want to turn something that isn't inherently negative into a negative. "Artificial difficulty" usually translates to "difficult in a way that I don't like and can't explain", yet people throw the term around as if it's some kind of objective standard.

"Artificial difficulty" is the mating call of the scrub. It reminds me of the people who get filtered in fighting games because lows and throws are "cheap".

Games aren't a naturally occurring phenomenon. They're intentionally designed experiences. Game design in its entirety is contrived. That's why it's called game design. All difficulty is artificial. Ultimate raids requiring the party to build enough consistency to make it through the whole gauntlet in a single attempt is the design philosophy of the content.