Datamined content: Mining Base Defense 4, Challenge Quest 2, and more

[Kondibon]

OK, I am really sorry for pointing this out. I just found it too funny to pass up ;w;

LOL Ok, I walked into that one. That's what I get for trying to snark while I'm distracted.

[zeltrax19]

if there would be a new item rarity they should atleast update the excube shop since it will be pouring down 10* if they implement it. Only few items are worth spending in the cube shop they should add more.

[Maninbluejumpsuit]

if there would be a new item rarity they should atleast update the excube shop since it will be pouring down 10* if they implement it. Only few items are worth spending in the cube shop they should add more.

Many items are worth spending cubes on... units, mag devices, 250% boosts, fun tickets, affix boosts, grind boosts, craft machines...

[Renvalt]

I was going to make fun of the idea that Vardha was ever seriously intimidating. But then I remembered Magatsu isn't either besides being more of a damage sponge. So technically you're right...

Remember back all the way in Episode 1, when Tunnels had first come out (and we were still calling it Mines for some reason)? I remember plenty of people actually feeling intimidated by the size of this dude. People would actually rush to fight Vardha in the one EQ he had that was essentially a nooby version of Elder.

Heck, I still remember when people saw Elder for the first time and thought that he'd be the final boss of EP1. Then Quna happened and... you oughta know the rest.

What?

From my perspective at least. They do less cutting and slashing and more of sending shiny bits of photon shrapnel. At least with Jet Boots you can still take pride in giving Darkers a boot to the face.

[Kondibon]

Remember back all the way in Episode 1, when Tunnels had first come out (and we were still calling it Mines for some reason)? I remember plenty of people actually feeling intimidated by the size of this dude. People would actually rush to fight Vardha in the one EQ he had that was essentially a nooby version of Elder.

All I remember from when it first came out, was people saying "This boss is cool and fun to fight, but not that hard compared to banthers and vol dragon". Unless you mean physically intimidating. In which case, what does that have to do with difficulty?

[Renvalt]

All I remember from when it first came out was people saying "This boss is cool and fun to fight, but not that hard compared to banthers and vol dragon". Unless you mean physically intimidating. In which case what does that have to do with difficulty?

Yeah, maybe not hard, but definitely intimidating. And I actually DON'T miss Vol being infuriatingly difficult. That early into the game shouldn't be throwing you a curve ball that nukes you into oblivion every fifteen seconds.

However, I AM still upset over the lack of bosses that are actually challenging in this episode. Nepto BARELY qualifies, and Gigur's the same as his manager - just an atrociously large loot pinata.

They really need to make linear progression a thing again - the way EP3 pretty much allows people to speed to the cap helps perpetuate the creation of high leveled, yet unprepared players. Though maybe that's just me, and I'm the only one that likes to take my time leveling up because I feel like it means I EARNED my level through skill, rather than simply cheesing off a handful of capped bastards with nothing to do but let others leech off their epicness.

[Shinamori]

I find Nepto hard, actually.

[LonelyGaruga]

Nepto and Rheo aren't even actual bosses, they're mid-bosses. Complete jokes. Bal Rodos 2.0 is the proper Facility boss, but even then it's pretty easy outside of Ocean Menace.

And as far as linear progression goes, keep in mind that the different planets and areas actually don't follow that. For example, Coast, despite being the 10th free field area, is one of the earliest areas unlocked by new players. Same deal with Shironia. That's how first maps of planets go. Though that gives no excuse for Nepto + Rheo, but Wopal in general is pretty easy.

And Vol Dragon, hard? Maybe when you're new. I certainly remember Vol Dragon being a pain when I was completely new, but after a couple tries it was actually really easy...if you still had trouble with Vol Dragon after that there's something wrong. Of course, there's the problem with any game. Once you get the hang of it, nothing's actually difficult.

[Kondibon]

I don't find Nepto or Rheo hard on their own. Only if they're together, and only if they spawn on the field where there's like no space to avoid them both. >_>

EDIT: Oh and, as far as I can tell Bals difficulty is directly proportional to whether or not you can kill him in one knockdown and what adds spawn.

And Vol Dragon, hard? Maybe when you're new. I certainly remember Vol Dragon being a pain when I was completely new, but after a couple tries it was actually really easy...if you still had trouble with Vol Dragon after that there's something wrong. Of course, there's the problem with any game. Once you get the hang of it, nothing's actually difficult.

I was specifically talking about first impressions. Vol was the first REAL boss besides Ragne, so he was a huge jump up from rockbear and gwanha. Likewise a lot of people had (and still have) problems with banther and quartz dragon, where as, it was kinda unanimously agreed that Vardha was super easy when compared to vol and banthers even in a first time fight.

This is why I said it actually makes sense to compare Magatsu to Vardha. He's cool, and huge, but the actual fight is just a DPS check on paper.

[LonelyGaruga]

Oh, I'm sorry, I meant to reply specifically to Renvalt's comment about Vol being infuriatingly difficult. I didn't think to quote him though. Comparatively speaking, yeah, I would put Vardha as the single easiest boss. At least for tech users, and especially if infected. You can just park yourself in a spot where no projectiles can hit and kill it with zero threat. Vardha doesn't even deserve the honor of being called a DPS check, you can literally just subclass a tech class, even at level 1, park yourself somewhere safe, break all the parts, and all you'd have to do is break the cannon after that for a free win.

Vardha is the most exploitable boss, and it makes me sad, because he's one of the coolest bosses too. He's a humongous mecha with one of the most varied attack sets of the bosses, he's got great music, he gets an EQ all to himself, he's canonically a super weapon, the most lethal of the mechs, and...he's an incredibly easy fight. It's sad that by the end of the fight, Big Vardha can be reduced to a single method of attack that can't even hit players attacking his weak point. Bosses should get harder as the fight goes on, but because of how Vardha can have its attack set reduced by breaking its parts, you can disable everything it even does at low health before it gets there.

Big Vardha is one of my favorite bosses, and also the boss I see as having the most wasted potential of all of them. And then Vardha Soma goes and pulls almost the exact same thing on a smaller scale. Zeta Granz at least looks like a promising fight, and one I hope redeems the Vardha mechs in general, because these are the coolest mechs. Mechs also happen to be my favorite enemy category, but that's another thing entirely.

Anyway, about Rodos, I don't count adds because the difficulty then comes from the adds, not the boss. Except the adds it can spawn itself, but those are those stupid stunning shell guys that die in a couple hits. I guess they're a step up from the Torbons in Coast, but Dominus spawned the electric chameleons, and shock is way more debilitating than stun.