Uber boss access via atlas keystone feels wrong

It induces a big fear of missing out if you use your boss keys to just do a 'regular' version of the encounter.

These boss keys are usually pretty expensive. And I don't like the fact that they are used to access both standard and heroic version of the encounter, where the gap between fight difficulty and potential reward is really big. Adding reliquary keys that only drop from uber versions made this even worse than it was in 3.18.

This needs to change, because currently there is very little incentive to play bossing if you can't do uber versions. You will lose money on this, as market prices of boss keys are balanced around uber version drops. And let's face it, there aren't that many builds that can do all uber encounters.

Changes proposed:
-Completely remove 'uber boss activation' keystones from the atlas tree
-Standard version of the encounter has a chance to drop the uber version key. A reasonably high chance, such as 25% or 50%. This boss key is tradeable just like any other boss key. No atlas points required, just run uber version from that new key or sell it.

I think when they introduced Ubers someone did a bunch of testing and found the time/difficulty change was not worth trying to farm Ubers for their drops.

You say invitation prices are fixed around uber versions. Disagree entirely with at least mavens writ and uber elder set they’ve been pretty consistent with the same price if not cheaper than before UMaven and UUelder was even released. Mavens writ always hovering in the 1ex range and Uber elder reds 70-90c and blacks 20-30c. Which they are now.

As for your solution. Let me explain why this will just make everything even less accessible:

You want to introduce a new, separate invitation for the Uber versions. Ok so it has to drop for someone, somebody has to be obtaining them based on some RnG chance.

Not only will this item have to be the price of the regular version, because it drops the same items. But will have to somehow increase in price to make up for the Uber versions specialized drops. So you just introduced a good drop to normal invitations and you say (25-50%) chance to drop, so a large chance to drop. Think watchers eyes but on steroids with this chance percentage range you proposed.

There’s two things that will happen here:
1) Not only will regular invitations INCREASE in price as seen by consistent invitation pricing before Uber versions were even released, AS WELL AS dropping a more valued boss invitation at a high rate.
2) Now you just created another invitation that will be even more expensive for anyone who will want to run Uber bosses, since the price has to be equal to the regular versions + extra for the specialized Uber loot. Uber loot you can ONLY get from Uber invitations now.

Heist has some npc related quest heists, which you cannot throw away or trade. Disregarding the fact it is annoying me you cannot put them away, could we implement something similar? Quest fragments to the boss fights that cannot be traded to other players? Then have new uber fragments that can be used together with the account bound fragments to amp up the fight the desired amount.

Receiving Uber Fragments? I dunno maybe have the Atlas keystones give a chance to fragments drop as uber fragments or no drop at all.

Quest fragments would encourage people to try the boss fights themselves, as they would not benefit from a trade.

Uber fragments would give us 5 levels of challenge to the pinnacle bosses, which we can adjust with how many uber fragments we put in.

Bonus: It would be nice to have the choice to add an influence to a map with a fragment, if there is an excessive amount of them.

I really enjoyed when we had to follow maps for influence to make them spawn. We had a choice to do elder or shaper stuff on the atlas.

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Chadwixx wrote:

I really enjoyed when we had to follow maps for influence to make them spawn. We had a choice to do elder or shaper stuff on the atlas.

This was actually my favorite too. Not collecting the watchstones, but the other aspects. +1

Endgame loop in general feels bad.

I thought Conq was bad, each iteration but spamming 24 maps each time is even worse. I don't think it's ever gunna be good as moving shaper/elder influence on the atlas.

The perk of getting all high Tier maps was ruined because you don't have to move influence.
They need more stuff like the memories. Things that send you on an adventure.

This is how trade works though. Running content as a solo not at highest difficulty is less efficient so you end up selling all of your 'fun content' due to the market values.

Groups of players are businesses, solo players are workers. Businesses corner markets and make profits. Workers supply them with the items they need to run their markets effectively, which they pay you for. You run the maps, they run the bosses. You spend the time, they get the loot.

This is just the economy of a gaming market.

If you don't like that feeling, maybe give SSF a run. You got all 40 challenges, seems like trade is too easy for you. Maybe you'd appreciate the challenge that SSF brings to the game. Also never worrying about what something costs and only what you need can be quite freeing.

Which ubers are you talking about? If you are referring to Exarch or Eater, there is a case to be made because their keys weren't ever worth much until Ashes/Omni was expensive (and that's also when the ubers came in so there's no data with those 2 separated). But for the remaining bosses that can be ubered, I honestly don't see the difference in a set of fragments now versus before ubers existed. Maven, Sirus, Shaper, Uber Elder especially, there is literally no difference in key cost for those bosses. Cortex has always been tied to Bottled Faith prices, which both versions can drop.