Mage and Ark Feedback/Suggestions [Spoilers Alert]

Owns

Loreseeker
Joined
24/05/2018
Messages
173
I'd like to share some feedback on the Ark based on my Mage playthrough. I played on Hard difficulty, was level 20 and was using a caster/elementalist build that relied on spells and high damage more than anything. No summons and very fragile, a true 'glass cannon'. Up until the Ark, this build was more than fine. Undead were a joke, and I could typically kill multiple enemies at once. Enemies with elemental weaknesses were particularly vulnerable. I only struggled against enemies with high resistances, no weaknesses, and dealt heavy, normal damage (like Vorators and Iron Golems and to a lesser degree Earth Elementals). I don't think I ever needed more than 5 potions of any kind before starting the Ark of Lothasan quest.

The biggest challenge was obviously the fact that I no longer had a companion to depend on, and with my build no summons either. Until I eventually found a Tesla Emitter, I had to rely almost entirely on Lightning Bolt for damage using hit and run tactics, which was fine. 2 lightning bolts kill a steel spider, 3 for a steel wizard. It was fairly easy (and cheesy) to dodge wizard blasts while I waited for Lightning's cooldown. Sure they have the technology, but I can dodge bullets like Neo so there :cool: .

The next obvious problem then is mana consumption. Having fared quite well up until this point using my build and only occasionally needing a few potions, it felt like a poorly balanced difficulty spike in the Ark. All in all I needed to go back to town to restock (on both potions as well as the right gear) 3 times and in the process spending 40k gold to finally complete the Ark. Money I was saving up and hoping to spend differently :evil:. I could've opted for a respec, maybe to a build that was easier for the Ark, but I wanted to see if I could manage with the same build that did well everywhere else. Mage was promised to be a versatile class after all (and it is!). Please bear in mind that I went into this with no idea of what to expect, my first time playing through the Ark and having not read any strategies/spoilers.

My main concerns and suggestions are as follows:
1 - not a single mana recovery item drops on the Ark, while a plethora of health recovery medipacks drop. This made it seem like the Ark was designed without Mage class in mind.
I realized after conversing with the Oracle that story-wise, it makes sense for there to not be mana potions dropping,
but I think that the same line of reasoning that allows mana recovery from the medical facility should've allowed medipacks to also recover a small amount of mana. For a mage, mana is more important than health after all and without it, the dungeon seems imbalanced to me.

Suggestion: Medipacks should recover both health and mana.

2 - After completing the Reactor area, and returning to the Ark starting level, the entire dungeon respawned?!?! :shock: WTH?? The first time through this part I had been counting on going back to the medical facility for a full recovery, having exhausted my recoveries and mana potions. Parts of the dungeon I had already cleared! Yes, I realize that nanomachines or whatnot are continuously building new robots on the Ark, but I think a full dungeon respawn is a bit too much. I had to call it a day and use a scroll of recall at this point for yet another trip to restock, re-equip, and make the trek all the way back again... I don't think any other dungeon fully respawns in this way so why here and now??

Suggestion: Please don't respawn the entire dungeon when moving between Reactor and starting level. I think it's enough that a few rooms will respawn new robots at those manufacturing pods.

Yes it's true that after finding EMP weapons and learning your way around the Ark things do get easier but I think the above suggestions would make the dungeon more balanced and less frustrating, it will still be very challenging, just maybe won't break my bank on stacks of mana potions; or my patience, having to clear parts of the starting level twice in one play through.

Complaints aside, I absolutely loved the twist and storyline of the Ark. Did not see that coming, and the option of a peaceful resolution was not only interesting but a real breath of fresh air. Kudos! (Gameplay of the Ark can be improved though in my humble opinion).
 

Duck123

Loreseeker
Joined
13/05/2017
Messages
346
What level were you and what kind of build did you use when you had this experience? Also what difficulty were you playing

I was a lvl 19 or 20 summoner on casual (this was also back when iron golems didn’t take lightning damage)
 

Alan_SP

Staff member
Administrator
Joined
11/01/2016
Messages
1,957
Owns":qh2sulgd said:
True but I think you need to reload the area for it to take affect don't you?
Not sure how it should work, it is more for David to answer. I noticed sometimes respawned area, sometimes not, but also, as I play, I don't keep eye on exact time passage etc, so I just know that area respawns after 12 hours, that it helps in some situations when something didn't spawned (quest related), and also that there could be some effects like finding some cleared area again populated.

And, some areas have enemies that spawn like crazy intentionally.
 

p4ran0id

Staff member
Moderator
Joined
27/01/2017
Messages
2,063
Ark is special about respawn. You don't need 12h to rest (or leave the area). I had several times a fight (Reactor for example) and the wizards respawned before I was able to clear the room...
 

Xen

Loreseeker
Joined
13/03/2017
Messages
625
Ark is interconnected dungeons that is why the enemies respawn after 12 hours clock time in the game(not the actual hours IRL) in an area of it and then the enemies respawn if your going to the other floor of the Ark.

Take Abbey of Saint Admus-Hellish Cave as an example; Clear Abbey of Saint Admus, go down to Hellish Cave, spend 12 hours clock time(game clock) inside Hellish Cave, go back to Abbey of Saint Admus and you'll see the Corrupted Sabercats, Hags, Skeletal Champions, and Death Knights back in action without reloading the game.
 

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