Designing A Dungeon - PvP Racing Raid
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iTZKooPA on Friday, September 19, 2008 - 30 Comments Tags: column, delayed post, design a dungeon, outdoor boss, pvp racing raid, world boss
iTZKooPA on Friday, September 19, 2008 - 30 Comments Tags: column, delayed post, design a dungeon, outdoor boss, pvp racing raid, world boss 
Last week my planned piece was interrupted by news of the awesome Heirloom Items. The article was almost further delayed by International Talk Like A Pirate Day, but Juggynaut handled that topic. So without further delay is my first Designing A Dungeon post.
The goal of these posts is to try to come up with creative dungeon ideas, from a gameplay stand point. Feel free to link in any boss fight designs, lore, art aspects or things of that nature, I will simply be speaking from a overview gameplay standpoint. That also means that these dungeon ideas won't be concerned with petty details like “guild ruining”, just creative semi-original designs. If you have encountered a dungeon like the one I am talking about in another game (or perhaps the Wrath of the Lich King beta), by all means mention it!
PvP Racing Raid
I thought of this dungeon shortly after Blackwing Lair was released and yet it still has not been implemented anywhere I know of. Players who dislike blending of PvE and PvP probably won't be a big fan of this design but I think it sounds like a lot of fun.
The idea is to have a short, linear, indoor, raid instance. For the sake of the instance's longevity it should be created to be the hardest instance in the game for sometime. Therefore, it would have to be a launch instance or part of a large content patch.
After downing the “end boss” players will be able to open a gate into a giant PvP Arena - think the Coliseum - to fight an outdoor raid boss. Here's the catch, the outdoor boss is outside the instance and actually an outdoor boss. This encounter would naturally have a loot table that is a bit better than the instance and the boss should have a very large model.
The design basically forces raids to race to finish the instance as fast as possible so they can get to the outdoor boss. The encounter with the outdoor boss would be designed to take a fair amount of time to complete. This would promote the epic struggle of two or more raids going after the same boss, while having to deal with each other. That kind of battle is the ultimate goal of the design.
The racing would definitely be an aspect that only very hardcore guilds would concern themselves with but I believe the hardcore deserve a little more “exclusive” content.
Reader Comments (30)
For raid instances, both 10 and 25 man, I would like to see an instance that requires you to send in individual groups to go through different content. For 10 mans 2 groups go through 2 different paths killing trash and meet up somewhere in the instance where it gets more difficult or to down a boss only to split up afterwards. For 25 mans split into 5 groups to kill trash and mini bosses and bring them together in 3 stages finally meeting at an end boss.
To me that just seems fun and something I've not seen in any game. It'd be an instance within an instance so you can only have 5 in each sub instance.
i agree that seeing an instance where you are q'd to wait for an equal 5 man team of the opposite faction would be great. its a 10 man and you have to work together throughout the whole instance, then maybe have 1 huge boss, but after downing the boss, both factions have to do a 5v5 and whoever wins that one, gets the very good loot that comes after, while the other gets sent home =(. it would mix the two together but in such a fun way, q's wont take too long cause people would enjoy it. it would be an instance where you see the same amount of posts in trade as kara and za. of course, ive gotten to mess around in the beta, and they have some pretty nice instance ideads (the oculus).
Maze dungeon. Generated randomly, you have to find and fight your way to the end bosses with traps and portals along the way. Old school D&D
Kol’Theet the Transmitter is la level 84 elite and the last boss in The Impenetrable Fortress. He has a total of 567,201 Health. (5-man instance).
Phase 1 Abilities:
- Melee attacks hit for 4000 on plate-wearers.
- Cannot be stunned or silenced.
Transmitting Signal I: Inflicts 2731-2950 shadow damage over 4 seconds on 3 random players and places a de-buff stacking up to 3 times increasing shadow damage taken by 50% for 1 minute.
Shadow Detonation: Inflicts 5125-5775 shadow damage to players within 30 yards of Kol’Theet.
Gloomy Slumber: Puts a player to sleep for 10 seconds. Any damage caused will waken the player.
Shadow Threshold: Creates 1 Shadow Threshold every 15 seconds throughout all 3 phases that is 10 yards in diameter. Any player who steps in the Threshold places a de-buff on the player that reduces movement speed by 50% and causes 1000-2000 shadow damage every second until the player steps out of the Threshold.
Hasten Stage: Increases all damage caused by 2%. Stacks up to 50 times.
Phase 2 Abilities:
- Melee attacks hit for 6000 on plate-wearers.
- Starts when Kol’Theet has 39% health.
Transmitting Signal II: Inflicts 3922-4350 shadow damage over 4 seconds on 3 random players and places a de-buff stacking up to 3 times increasing shadow damage taken by 60% for 1 minute.
Falling Sky: 5 second cast. Releases shadow energy causing 31450-33890 shadow damage to all players inside the instance. Only way to evade this is to stand behind a pillar.
Wondrous Call: This is used when Kol’Theet has 1-3% health. Stuns all players in the instance for 10 seconds. Transforms into a demon-like form and heals him from 50-75% health. This starts phase 3.
Hasten Stage: Increases all damage caused by 2%. Stacks up to 50 times.
Phase 3 Abilities:
- Melee attacks hit for 8000 on plate-wearers.
- Starts 10 seconds after Kol’Theet use Wondrous Call.
- Armor is increased by 360%.
Transmitting Signal III: 4 second cast. Inflicts 4561-4995 shadow damage over 6 seconds on 2 random players and places a de-buff stacking up to 3 times increasing shadow damage taken by 80% for 1 minute.
Gloomy Slumber: Puts a player to sleep for 10 seconds. Any damage caused will waken the player.
Brutal Impact: Deals 150% of normal melee damage to the main tank, and 75% of normal melee damage to every other player in the instance. Places a de-buff on all players that decreases the amount healed by 50% and inflicts 27% of healing done by healer to him/herself.
Rampaging Threat: Kol’Theet goes on a rampage causing 110% of normal melee damage to any player within 10 yards of Kol’Theet. 8 second channel.
Hasten Stage: Increases all damage caused by 2%. Stacks up to 50 times.
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