The Socketed Device: A Party/Solo Balance Fix for Maps (RETRACTED)

This suggestion is retracted pending rewriting. Version 2.0 will be out shortly.

Please +1 this suggestion if you like it and -1 it if you hate it.
Why you love/hate would be nice to know as well.

Purpose: Equalize solo and party play in terms of both cost per map run, and in terms of yield (loot gained) per map run.

Implementation: Well, let's just say it's a little outside the box.
What if the map device in the Eternal Laboratory was similar to a itemlevel 50+ chest that started with one socket, and the sockets and links determined how the portals worked?

• Jeweler's: The number of sockets would indicate the number of portals. By default, this would be one, which might be okay for solo play, but groups would require Jeweler's Orbs. Instead of being random, each Jeweler's would add one linked socket of the same color (more on links and colors below). So with five Jeweler's, they'd have their five additional portals and everyone could enter.
• Fusings: The links would indicate the instance that the portals went to; linked portals would all go to the same instance, while unlinked portals would go to new instances. Instead of being random, each Orb of Fusing would (ironically) unfuse a link, essentially allowing the map to be ran an additional time, but with fewer portals going to each instance. Portals would always be divided as evenly as possible, and links would be indicated visually so players don't get confused and enter the wrong portals. This would allow solo players to essentially run the same map up to six times, and would be a huge boon to solo map play.
• Chromatics: The color of the sockets is the color of the portals; the color of the portals indicates where the portal leads to, with different colors leading to different locations in the instance. There are six "colors": the default portal graphic tinted blue, red, or green, and the Piety runic floor portal graphic, tinted blue, red, or green; these are all treated as separate colors. By default, every portal is the same color and leads to the same location in the instance. Using Chromatic Orbs varies the colors of portals leading to the same instance, increasing the difficulty for group play. However, this increased difficulty is not without its rewards: upon using a portal, the traveling player gains 50% increased IIQ for each linked portal that isn't the same color, lasting until the player leaves the instance. This replaces their party bonus while they're alone and fending for themselves, and allows up to double the group bonus once their group is reunited (the portal bonus is considered a party bonus and stacks with it additively, not multiplicatively).
• Cost per instance: Under the points above, a solo player could run the map six times at a cost of the map, 5 Jeweler's and 5 Fusings, for an average cost per instance of 1/6 of a map, 5/6 Jeweler's and 5/6 Fusings. A group of six under the same conditions would likely use one map, 5 Jeweler's and 5 Chromatics, for a per-person contribution of 1/6 of a map, 5/6 Jeweler's, and 5/6 Chromatics per instance. Thus this suggestion comes very close to equalizing the cost per run.
• Yield per instance: A solo player would get one player's worth of drops per instance. A six-player party using Chromatic Orbs would get up to six player's worth of drops, split six ways for one player's worth each; however, achieving this result would require discipline and teamwork. Thus this suggestion comes very close to equalizing the yield per run, with the exception of...
• Map Drop Rates: A solo player doing 6 runs would likely find six times as many maps than a six-person group under the current system... unless we changed the party IIQ bonus to now apply to map drops as well. So we'd do just that. Naturally base map drop rates would need adjusting, although this might be partially mitigated by making each map instance slightly smaller, as running the same map six times in a row in one solo session might be too big of a time commitment.
• Preview: The map device would include four inventory slots, allowing a spot for the map, Jeweler's, Fusings, and Chromatics. A graphical representation, just like the socket design above a chest piece, would preview the portal modifications. Default portals would be visually distinct from floor portals of the same color, adding a runic design where a gem might go. Once the user clicks a confirmation button, the map and currencies are consumed and the portals open.

Note that, due to non-random effects, downtime will be minimal; instead of "crafting the device" trying to reroll for great mods, players just insert the required currency and get on with killing things. This is especially important in group play, where waiting on someone to get the map started would have the potential for boredom.

In addition to its main goal of balancing solo and group map play, "socketed maps" idea would also make group map-hunting runs in Act 3 Mericless viable by removing the group exception to map drops, and also ensure that all currencies (except for GCPs and Blessed Orbs) can be invested in the map system, providing a more stable currency economy through currency sinks in consumable items (infinite demand) in addition to their current application on permanent items (strong but finite demand).

Speaking of Blessed Orbs, here's an additional suggestion:

• Give each map (or at least some of them, especially high-level ones) an intrinsic, variable mod, just like belts, rings, and amulets have. This would make each map different in a way other than its tileset and monster variety, thus making people care more about which type of map they're running. People could use Blessed Orbs to alter the strength of these mods. Since these mods wouldn't effect item quantity or quality, they would both help and hurt the player:

how about not useing your portal limit/link idea
and make maps socket instead
now we assume i got a map with maybe 2 sockets that arent linked,the colour of thes socket are green and red
a start with a transformation orb on that mape
it adds an affix to the map max resist reduced by 5% or player is crused
now i add an augmentation
mobs in the area hav x% more life/movementspeed/attackspeed/castspeed
now i could use some of the skillsgems i found (lets go with a red one)
that skill gem increases the fire (since its a red one) the mobs deal on this map
if i add a green gem as well the mobs would deal more lightning dmg or i could change the colour of the socket (---> i switch it to red as well)
that would add even more fire dmg( no wait i dont want even more fire dmg so i decide to link those 2 sockets)
now that those 2 red gems are linked 1 would increase the fire dmg and the linked one would increase the chance to burn me/burning duration or the buring dmg

important is that you cant! remove the gems but ofc you could use an orb of sourcing and remove all affixes

"

ciel289 wrote:

how about not useing your portal limit/link idea
and make maps socket instead

So how many inventory slots would maps take up then?

I'm fairly confident that the map system would be nearly unusable if every map took up as much inventory space as a chest.

"

ScrotieMcB wrote:

"

ciel289 wrote:

how about not useing your portal limit/link idea
and make maps socket instead

So how many inventory slots would maps take up then?

I'm fairly confident that the map system would be nearly unusable if every map took up as much inventory space as a chest.

ya that would be a problem ^^
i just wanted a way to use skillgems as well and wrote down what came to my mind (didint even spent more than 5 min thinking about it)
so feel free to tear it apart as much as you like

Amazing suggestion Scrotie. I love it. +1

As for Chromatics and the like, perhaps the colors could represent bonuses to IIQ/IIR or some other reward and each be tiered.

For example: If a map had a red, blue, and green "socket" (thus a red, blue, and green portal), each portal gives a different temporary bonus to the player while in the map. Bonuses to IIR/IIQ, Faster health/mana regen, Boosts to damage, etc etc, could be some. None overly amazing. The bonuses could follow the colors.

Red would give things related to Str/HP/Physical Damage, Blue would give mana, elemental damage, and such, and so on.

IIR/IIQ could be a gold socket that is rare (for obvious reasons).

There could be a white socket added that is just a plain portal with no bonus.

These bonuses could make using Chromatics on maps very helpful, though not necessary for lower ones.

"

TremorAcePV wrote:

Amazing suggestion Scrotie. I love it. +1

Thank you.

"

TremorAcePV wrote:

Spoiler

As for Chromatics and the like, perhaps the colors could represent bonuses to IIQ/IIR or some other reward and each be tiered.

For example: If a map had a red, blue, and green "socket" (thus a red, blue, and green portal), each portal gives a different temporary bonus to the player while in the map. Bonuses to IIR/IIQ, Faster health/mana regen, Boosts to damage, etc etc, could be some. None overly amazing. The bonuses could follow the colors.

Red would give things related to Str/HP/Physical Damage, Blue would give mana, elemental damage, and such, and so on.

IIR/IIQ could be a gold socket that is rare (for obvious reasons).

There could be a white socket added that is just a plain portal with no bonus.

These bonuses could make using Chromatics on maps very helpful, though not necessary for lower ones.

In my mind, I'm trying to think of something beneficial it can do that's nonrandom. You'll notice the Jewelers and Fusings aren't random, and that's 100% deliberate; I'm trying to reduce the amount of downtime spent at the device configuring the portals, so that both groups and solo players can walk up, configure it quickly, then get to killing things. Randomizing the colors could lead to sitting at that device for quite some time -- pretty much a buzzkiller if you're leading a group of 5 or 6 players.

Of course, thinking of Chromatics doing something nonrandom is extremely difficult.

The Chromatics could just be set up to "purchase" certain sockets. Kinda sounds opposite of what GGG goes for, normally, but it'd go into how you would want it to work.

For example: 1 Chromatic is used to buy 1 socket being 1 color. Add more chromatics to get a higher tier of bonus.

1 Chromatic could be used to buy 1 red socket that gives 1% HP regen on that map. 3 Chromatics could give 3% HP Regen and so on with all other sockets. Gold sockets (IIR/IIQ) would need to be relatively expensive considering their bonus. Perhaps 10 Chromatics, 20, 30, so on for the bonuses.

If GGG wanted to add this though, they'd want there to be a negative to having the IIR/IIQ, which I think, there inherently already is at least two.

Firstly, this would make it so that one portal was Gold. Meaning 1 player gets this bonus, and if that player doesn't get the final hit, the bonus isn't applied.

Secondly, this takes up another slot for a portal to give HP Regen or some other useful stat to use in the map, meaning you'd be sacrificing some minor survivability for minor increase in IIR/IIQ.

Edited OP for new Chromatic Orb functional I thought up. Also improved visual presentation.

I think this is a pretty good idea to make maps more fun, overall its a good idea. But also don't forget they do plan to be adding new acts to the game every 8 or so months when its live so when that happens this might not be as relevant.

While the concept is cool and everything, why would I run maps if my gear is perfect?