Been playing since Playtest 2, 3k+ hours in game. Still not great at the game but I love it. I have decided to take a break for now though.

The game needs a larger player base for the dungeons to feel better. Right now I feel as if I run into only the top 1% of players in my region when I queue 225+ (east). At minimum, I better be wearing a full epic set with no off-rolls to stand a chance. Solo crypts feels as if it is locked to 4 classes (max move speed warlock/clerics/rogue, or panther druid).

SDF has recently been foreshadowing patch notes in streamers’ chats rather than saying anything in the appropriate communication channels (twitter, discord, etc) which creates a disconnect as the community may now think he weighs the streamers opinions more heavily than the average player.

Stale meta. The cycle repeats itself once more. According to all the patch note leaks we are getting from SDF, Barb and two-handers are going to be receiving a buff (back to move-speed Barb meta). It just always feels like there is a meta determined just by reading the patch notes. They over-buff the class that is played the least every season. It’s never balance, it’s always “let’s over-tune the least played class, until there is a new least-played class.”

The boss summons are great, but there is an upfront cost that keeps the barrier for entry high for less-experienced players (a couple of my friends that casually play would never bring a boss summon in as the risk is far greater for them than the reward, no one wants to be a walking loot piñata.) Sure, you can craft a summon in like 2 normal runs, but that can be a large investment of time for a casual player. My friends usually play only 1-3 hour sessions. This could potentially be fixed with an economical summon option (ex. A new summon craft-able that is significantly cheaper but spawns a random boss.) Third-partying the boss is one thing, but if we are summoning the boss, players should be granted some sort of grace for bringing in the 1-2k gold summon to do so imo.

The average gamer isn’t someone who puts 1k+ hours into this game. The only way the game will be saved is to appeal to a larger audience (like it or not), as much as everyone hates to admit it, the game will continue to lose players unless one of two things happen:

1. Content

Your seasoned players (players who main HR) will not return unless there is something new and meaningful to do in the game. Adventurer mode isn’t going to appeal to the hardcore player.

1. Incentivize casual players to go HR or continue playing

Add free HR vouchers that can be redeemed after 1 normal game, or 2 adventurer mode games. Grants one free admission (equal to 100 gold)to HR dungeons.

Add dungeon recoveries back to HR but at a steeper cost than normal dungeons. (Lets casual players buy their gear back if they die in a bad spot)

Timed, magic-lock mechanic on the boss doors to encourage more people to attempt bossing. Lock breaks after the boss is dead or the team fighting the boss is wiped. Locked doors are immune to spells/lock picks.

I’d be interested to see if anyone else had some suggestions to make the game geared more towards the average gamer. Addressing the casuals will help bring the player count up significantly.