Curses from Dying to Boss - Time limit suggestion

[Kucerakov]

I tried searching for a forum post similar to this because I suspect it has already been talked about/addressed, but couldn't find one. In any case, I'm wondering the rationale behind the 'forever' curse debuff if you die to a boss. In my experience so far, while playing with a small group (4 people) we have been deterred from attempting bosses because of the foreverness of the curse. Right now the feeling is to out-level the boss to ensure success and that takes away some of the fun/challenge.

Suggestion: Make the curses stick around for 24 hours or even 72 hours (maybe vary depending on how impactful it is?).

Question: What is the rationale behind making it forever? Is it to encourage the asking for help from more advanced players once you have a curse? Right now, folks seem to be friendly enough, but I could see that being very difficult long-term.

Thanks!

[Yaffy]

The rationale behind making them last forever is to make them more punishing and a more interesting game mechanic. If curses only lasted for a day or so, then players could just ignore many of them until they ran out (Ex. By just afking in town all day). Making them last forever means players have to return to the boss and defeat them which usually means getting help or organizing a group to defeat them which is a lot more interesting. Also some players want to stay cursed on purpose, either for fun or for function. For example it would be really annoying if the cow curse kept running out and you had to go and get cursed again.

It's hard to explain, but even though you say your group is too worried about getting cursed, you could also argue that the curse makes the fights more exciting because you actually have a penalty from dying. Going into a fight knowing that you might not win and could get punished makes it all the sweeter if you do actually win. Not only that, but if your group does get destroyed and you're too weak, there is a lot of satisfaction on getting your revenge against the boss later to cure the curse.

You could just play safe and I can't fault you for that, but there's fun in taking risks too. My only complaint might be that some of the curses are too punishing for how easy it is to stumble into them, (Ex. The Fog's and Tremor's) but for many of the other bosses you should try even if you're not sure you'll win.

[Kucerakov]

I agree it's an interesting mechanic, but I think for the reason you stated (stumbling into some really bad ones) it needs a bit of balance. Engaging the Rhino boss in the crypt at mid-teen levels and getting -10 inventory slots or stumbling (I know there is a big warning, but it's hard to tell how hard stuff really is before engaging) into The Fog in your late 20's is a big punishment for trying what might only be your 1st or 2nd boss attempt in the whole game. Then to be hit by an uncurable curse seems a bit harsh.

It's just a suggestion, we're playing through it and it's not like it's making us want to quit. Just trying to provide some feedback.

[Oxlazr]

I like the permanent effect - it gives you some motivation and adds an element of risk to battles.

That said, it's been maybe a few years now and I've never once been "stuck" with a curse, so maybe I'm a bit skewed on my opinion here.

Realistically, however, a lot of the newer curses aren't particularly exciting (I.e. getting turned around, mini-stuns, locking abilities and such) - I'd like curses to be give/take, not an outright debuff where possible.

There's some good ones, though - Timmy's curse, personal rainstorm (when the effect likes to actually work), cow form, etc. Even the tutorial curse isn't an outright drawback. In these cases, permanent effects seem more reasonable.

It's probably worth noting you can get rid of curses via Minor Panaceas, which are a fairly obtainable item if you use them sparingly.

[Niph]

As others have said, the permanent curse adds some risk to the encounter, and provides a reason for people to ask for/give help. And therefore, to play together.

It is worth noting that currently there is I think a community of high-level players that will happily come to your rescue, and this really mitigates the risk. There is also of course the Minor Panacea, but it seems to be an item that is not often on sale. The reason for this is that it works on all curses, from low-level bosses as well as high-level ones, and maybe future curses in content that is not even available yet. So, of course, we keep it for ourselves.

If I could make a suggestion, it'd be to create a low tier of Panacea (Basic Panacea?) that cures up to, say, level 50 content. High level players would not hoard it: they don't get cursed by these bosses anymore, and it's useless on future curses. Then there could be an economy for it.