Topic

Make Rook attacks more challenging

Rook attacks used to be my favorite thing in the game... now I find them quite boring. It's not because they're inherently boring--it's because they are WAY to easy to thwart. When there are only a few people at a Rook attack, it is extremely interesting and fun: there is actually a real threat of the stun/prime attempts failing, and the Rook getting an attack in. Every attack I've been to lately (including one during off-hours this morning) have had enough people there that there is zero chance of failure. I don't even know if the new players have ever seen the animation of the Rook attacking their screen... probably not. I don't feel like my presence is needed, which gives me no reason to show up. It is also insanely easy to revive animals afterwards, so there is not even any reason to do that (there only really needs to be 2 people total doing the reviving.) I think the maximum number of people helping at a Rook attack before it becomes completely unchallenging is somewhere between 10 and 15, which is extremely easy to achieve. 

Given the large number of players that are currently looking for something more interesting and meaningful to do than learn skills and gather resources, Rook attacks are a great, easy way to keep them entertained and happy *if* they feel like they are contributing in a meaningful way. The Rook has to be harder to beat in general. Also, maybe if there are more Glitch's present than a certain threshold the Rook could call in reinforcements and become even more powerful. The Rook is currently a laughably weak enemy, and it would make things much more interesting if this wasn't the case.

Posted 13 months ago by Shepherdmoon Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • I don't know how I feel about making them stronger. My resources get stretched really thin after each attack and since I have a vested interest in joining each defense it means I haven never breached 20,000c in funds and I only got my first Icon yesterday. I don't mind especially since I started repelling when I was level 18, but some people would. I know players of my level who feel that they lose too much in resources after each attack they participate in that they sit out the subsequent attacks.

    So the attacks may be too easy for you, but for use with less resources it hurts. We find it fun and challenging.

    Perhaps what is needed is not tougher Rook attacks, but anti-Rook missions. Think a crusade against the Rook.

    — Mal'akhPrimate of LemPrimus Inter Pares of the Orthodox Church of the Giants of UrHubby of ArannaShriner of Mullangi Meda
    Posted 13 months ago by Mal'akh Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +10
    Posted 13 months ago by Millie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'm with Shepherd.  It's particularly disheartening to teleport in to a call only to find the rook was defeated while your screen was loading.  

    Because a rooked street with even a relatively small rook-fighting posse can overwhelm my pathetic little computer, I'd prefer that the rook attack on a second front, rather than sending reinforcements to the original street, when the rook-fighting force is large.  (On "for us with less resources it hurts", the thing I've found hurts most about rook-fighting is the lag-induced accidental tool donations.  Click on donate arrow, nothing happens, figure you missed as your screen was shifting, click on donate arrow again, donate some random item from the middle of your inventory.)
    Posted 13 months ago by Fnibbit Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Mal'akh, are you referring to resources used up when donating to primed shrines? If that part is so expensive, then it doesn't need to be made more difficult. The part that is too easy is the stunning--most people present don't have to contribute at all for the Rook to be stunned before it is able to attack. In actuality, there only needs to be one person present with martial imagination, and a maximum of 8 people who can contribute to powering up the orb. Everyone else is extra baggage. I learned both Rook fighting skills, but can never use them because there is always someone else using them at any given moment. We really only need one person there that has the necessary skill. That person will get drained quickly of energy, but if they have enough food reserves there is no reason for anyone else with skills to be there. It makes it easier if there are two or three people there using the skills to share the energy drain burden, but there doesn't have to be much more than 10 people present, with between 1 and 3 that have learned the skills. This makes the extra people there feel like they're not needed, and I'm sure it has caused some to go to a coupe of attacks and then never come back.
    Posted 13 months ago by Shepherdmoon Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Fnibbit: I think you're right--having multiple attacks happening in different streets at the same time would be a great solution.
    Posted 13 months ago by Shepherdmoon Subscriber! | Permalink
  • multiple attacks on diff streets at the same time... I'm totally there.
    Posted 13 months ago by Gwynne Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Maybe have a counter attached to the street that when say 15+ glitch show up it triggers the next street over as well.  Would have to have a splash screen come up announcing it like the red one when you first get to the street.
    Posted 13 months ago by BlackWolf Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Having the attacks spread across more streets depending on population is a good idea.

    The only time I've seen the screen-pecking animation was when we had so many people trying to fight that the orbs kept getting pushed to 9 from lag and we couldn't stun the rook.  There are so many bored players watching Rook Alerts right now the attacks are always overpopulated.
    Posted 13 months ago by Lucille Ball Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think maybe it's partially my fault that there are a lot of people showing up.

    @Shepherdmoon
    Increasing the Rook stun threshold is okay, but for the love of the Giants let's keep the Rook hit points at its current 1k level. It was so hard for me to get my icon because I had to keep donating all the good stuff I had during attacks.

    @multiple attacks suggestion
    That might actually cause more lag, but it might be a viable solution.

    — Mal'akhPrimate of LemPrimus Inter Pares of the Orthodox Church of the Giants of UrHubby of ArannaShriner of Mullangi Meda
    Posted 13 months ago by Mal'akh Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The last defense I participated in, there were only 3 of us for the first several minutes. It was VERY EXCITING!

    I do wish, however, that heaving huge amounts of worldly goods into shrines weren't the only way to fend off the Rooks, though. It just seems repetitive and lame, and it suggests that those of modest means don't have much to offer in defending innocent piggies, trees, chickens, and butterflies.

    And that can't be correct.
    Posted 13 months ago by Pascale Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Perhaps the answer is multiple attacks and attacks of various intensities, some being "normal" (as they are now) and some being far more intense, with more hurdles to jump, before the Rook is defeated. Perhaps the worst attacks could spawn lingering regional (or at least more than one street) effects that will be noticed by players who were not even online when the Rook attacked (and underscore why people bother to drop everything to go fight). Perhaps trees and animals who have been Rooked but revived can gripe about it for a Glitch day, and give out fewer resources or need more petting / feeding before allowing harvesting.

    I found it odd that the Enemy of Imagination would try the exact same attack each time, and that it would politely wait about two hours between each attack. A real Enemy is going to be more wily and try simultaneous attacks as well as change up the way it attacks, sometimes trying the same old thing and sometimes bringing more Rook enforcements than usual to make it more challenging.
    Posted 13 months ago by ✰ Lorelei ✰ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Lorelei, I love your suggestions: I think the Rook does need to make more of a lasting, meaningful impact on the environment. It would make fighting the Rook seem much more important. Right now, even if no one fights the Rook not much happens--the animals and trees get sick for a very long time, and supposedly eventually die off if no one helps them (but I've never seen this). Otherwise, the Rook will just stick around until someone finally comes by to defeat it. I also really love the idea of attacks with varying strengths--mix it up to keep us on our toes!

    I think it's too easy to revive animals: it used to take several people to do this--it's been reduced to just two. This makes it too easy, and doesn't give most people a chance to contribute. It just doesn't feel like the Rook is a real threat as it stands right now... I can't take it seriously, even though I really want to!
    Posted 13 months ago by Shepherdmoon Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Yeah, gonna have to agree with this. I really love the Rook aspect, and I fondly remember the first time I found an attack and sent out the alert- it was a total rush. At this point though the real battle is wrangling hordes of well meaning glitches who want to help but don't know what to do. Rook attacks should be more widespread, have more impact and should actually be a threat. If they're not a threat it makes you wonder why we're fighting them in the first place.
    Posted 13 months ago by SpookyJester Subscriber! | Permalink
  • have y'all noticed the rook hasn't been attacking lately? well of course ya have. maybe its cuz they're taking our comments ito cosideration!! 
    Posted 13 months ago by Gwynne Subscriber! | Permalink