To start, I want to emphasize that I engage in most of the game’s content, not limited to PvE. However, since the recent update, I’ve encountered some significant issues that continue to bother me:
1, Earning New World Coins: I’m not a part of a large PvP company, but I’m finding myself compelled to engage in PvP activities just to keep my head above water. Prior to the patch, players like myself could profit from PvE content by selling runs to PvP players for Umbral Shards or obtaining valuable BiS gear in Expeditions to sell on the market. However, with the reduction to only three Mutator difficulties, most gear being bound to the player without ever being equipped, and the excessive difficulty of M3 Expeditions, it’s become challenging to make a decent income from the demanding PvE content I used to enjoy.
2, Acquiring Artifacts: The developers have significantly disadvantaged PvE players in this patch by locking most of the Artifacts behind a prolonged and demanding PvP journey. While I’ve casually participated in PvP through OPR and 3v3 matches, grinding for Serenity from Track 22 to Track 49 has left me fatigued, with the desired Artifacts still eluding me. Today, I invested several hours to climb up to Track 60 without a single Artifact appearing on the track. I enjoy PvE content, don’t mind PvP, but I’m not thrilled about being compelled to invest more effort into acquiring PvP-exclusive Artifacts when PvP players can run M1 Expeditions and obtain their Artifacts in fewer than 35 runs. If Artifacts are to be exclusive, make them truly exclusive. One suggestion is to have Artifacts drop exclusively in M3 Expeditions, requiring PvP players to exert the same effort as PvE players. Another idea is to remove the level cap on the PvP track for all Artifacts, while increasing the drop chance to one per 10 tracks. This way, players know when a new Artifact will drop, and they have a goal for each set of 10 tracks.
3, Damage Counter: While this is primarily a concern for Expeditions, I believe that for the sake of Mutations, there should be a counter at the end displaying how much healing, damage, and damage taken each player has encountered, similar to what we have in 3v3 matches. This data can be invaluable for helping players understand the gear they should be using. Since we already have this feature for 3v3 matches and OPR, it would be a logical addition to PvE. It could be integrated into the lobby setup menu, allowing the host to activate options like ‘Damage Tracker’ or ‘Expedition Assessment’ so that players can choose to participate in runs with or without these features. For those running Expeditions beyond M1, it’s usually in the pursuit of improvement, and having these options available would enhance PvE content rather than diminish it.
4, Chromatic Seals: I don’t mind the daily limit on purchasing them from the vendor, but I’ve accumulated more gypsum orbs than I typically do. In fact, I’ve spent 150 of them today crafting gypsum cases, hoping to scrap them for some coin (which amounts to 450 coin for those less familiar). Referring back to my first point, these Chromatic Seals come at a significant cost, and considering you need three to upgrade a named item, that’s 15,000 coins and 60,000 tokens. I have an additional 200 gypsum orbs in my inventory, all acquired since this update, and I have no use for them. Offering one or two Chromatic Seals a week that cost 25 gypsum orbs could make gathering resources and running Expeditions, OPR, and more worthwhile. This would not only provide more crafting opportunities but also keep gypsum orbs relevant.
I believe this list outlines reasonable concerns, and I’m sure more will come to mind as I continue playing. I’d prefer not to dwell on PvP or different builds, as those topics tend to dominate the conversation. I’m curious to hear if there are other aspects I might have overlooked or any additional suggestions from fellow players.