a serious discussion of Haku missions

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sanleon wrote:

Only zana and haku gives you decent missions. Other masters missions are just boring because they are way too easy

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johnKeys wrote:

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Sprongley wrote:

You're speaking on two completely opposite sides of the spectrum. What about every build in between? Personally I think Haku is a little imbalanced. My standard character, who is max block mjolner with 6k life, sometimes comes close to dying in those missions so I can just imagine what it would be like for a beyond league who doesn't have the crazy gear.

honestly, if I ever see the bastard standing next to his "cave of wonders" in a HC league - I'll just run past him.
there's no chance in hell I'll ever attempt a Haku mission in HC alone.

@Nubatron, I consider my higher chars a good balance between survivability and DPS. they don't excel in either, but are pretty good overall.
my Puncture Ranger for example, was able to take a couple of EKs from the Jungle Valley spider and live to tell about it. you won't believe me when I tell you how much HP she has - but the build is solid enough to do that, and the gear is good too.

Haku's "rip missions" just seem out of touch with the rest of the Master missions, to me.

@Worldbreaker, thanks man.

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johnKeys wrote:

after failing yet another, and still being unable to get Haku into town (have all the rest at level 3-5), I think this is beyond me being bad.

Haku missions remind me of a certain Uber Zone in the Median mod for D2. those who played it will know what I'm talking about: "Kingdom Of Shadow".


for those who haven't, it's a zone with invincible (non-targetable) fast zombies that swarm and eat your char in seconds, plus some totems shooting deadly spikes called "punishers".
your goal is to run as fast as you can, get to the boss, kill the boss, and get the fuck out before you're zombie-chow.

and yet, even though "Kingdom Of Shadow" was a definite "RIP zone" for those stupid enough to try it, it still feels fair compared to Haku's missions, for a couple reasons:

Spoiler

1) you are allowed - heck, encouraged - to use teleportation/movement skills. no one expects you to just run through swarms of immortal zombies.
well Haku does. right through his invincible totems of OP elemental doom, spawning monsters you have no time to stop and kill without risking death, and occasional falling rocks you pray won't hit you.
did I mention this is *after* you actually killed the boss? you're basically running through no-man's-land twice.

2) there's no time limit. you obviously should run like hell in KoS, but no one is going to say "you failed!" if it takes you a bit longer to complete the level.

3) the KoS boss is badass, but not too tricky given what you went through to get to him. Haku's totem bosses don't give you that privilege. most of them are just insane.

I'll stop here, to keep this wall-of-text moderately short.

I'd like to know what you guys think about Haku's missions.
I think they are unfair and should be nerfed the fuck down. especially if we compare them to other masters' missions. heck, even to Zana's timed pillar missions.

two nerf suggestions right off the bat, are allowing the player to actually kill those totems, and removing the time limit.