Seven Sons of Sin wrote:
I just get put off because I don't know what the "standard" is supposed to be - is this an ideal dungeon?
a) moderate difficulty, if well-prepared (if you're window'd and unengaged, expect to a strong likelihood to great pwned?)
b) you should average 20xp for a kill, higher for those "uber" spawns, and maybe around 150xp for a boss kill?
c) 2-3 chests per dungeon
d) gold returns that should be considerably in the "profit" margin
e) thematically interesting, varied, and doesn't require a whole lot of backtracking when completed
I'm not sure we'll ever be able to come up with "ideal", but this sounds like at least a step in the right direction, with the following considerations:
A party of 4-6 should be able to make profit, not just solo/duo adventurers.
20-25 XP/kill pre ECL adjustment for a challenging dungeon that requires preparation, or closer to 20ish provided the spawns are large. At one point, the Malar temple fit really nicely in this range. Most stuff if you tackled it at about 14-15 would give 16-25 XP, and the spawns would usually be 5+ creatures. If you went in prepared and were careful, you almost always made it through fine. If you went in unprepared, ran through everything, and played the game badly, you almost certainly either TPKed, or abandoned the idiots to respawn.
I'd also suggest that there are two other kinds of ideal that should be in the mix:
a)Pretty Easy, but not cake; a well-prepared solo, a duo, or a pretty haphazard/unskilled/ poorly built party can take it, and really only run the risk of death if they do stupid junk.
b)12-18ish XP per kill, bosses at about 100 XP.
c) 2-3 chests per dungeon
d) gold returns that should be slightly in the profit margin, or reasonable profit for duo/solo
e) thematically interesting, varied, and doesn't require a whole lot of backtracking when completed
This represents stuff that you can go do if you have to solo, or you've got a faction based party that's missing key roles, or is heavy on really flimsy builds. It should pose enough challenge to be fun and rewarding for those circumstances, while sufficiently underperforming the returns a solid party would get going somewhere more challenging. 12-18 XP isn't great, but it's also not agonizing.
a)Actively challenging. Should require at least two people with excellent builds, or ideally a balanced and solidly built party of 3-4+. Even playing well, there should be some risk that things just don't work out for you, or eliminating that risk requires extensive preparation and/or excellent, not just non-stupid play.
b) 25-30, possibly more XP/kill, bosses at 200. Spawns occasionally run fairly dense.
c) 4+ chests per dungeon
d) gold returns should be pleasingly lucrative even if split 4-6 ways.
e) thematically interesting, varied, and doesn't require a whole lot of backtracking when completed
This represents a dungeon that caters to people who enjoy active risk during their adventuring, and balances it out with an increased reward to compensate for the fact that they could be doing something way easier, but are pushing the limits instead. For reference, this is essentially my ideal dungeon. I enjoy the game the most when I have to play well, using a well thought out build, can never afford to tab out or watch netflix on the side, and am playing with at least one other person who also enjoys that style of play.
