When I saw 40 I thought, hmm, cut down from 160 (absurdity) but not cut down enough. Even MMORPGs dont make 40 raids. World of Warcraft has 60 raids today, and that game was announced 23 years ago. We are bound to have some stinkers along that slog through 40 randomized raids with straight-up antagonistic modifier/mutator combos that disrespect players’ time.
Then I saw that they have a progress reset system if you don’t climb successfully. You fall back down rungs and have to climb again. So they also learned nothing from Auric Storm Survivor, a penance that earned many a complaint post because its “consecutive” requirement encourages quitting at the first sign of trouble. Losing progress is toxic progression design. And it’s not even based in reality. I don’t lose my degrees retroactively when I make a math mistake years later. Nobody comes up and takes my martial arts belts or Scout badges away when I mess up high kicking or tying a knot today. But Havoc will kick us down runs we’ve already cleared if we can’t make the next raid in 3 tries or less.
Then the random modifiers. So some weeks will be practically unplayable, and players will check out. Killing momentum if they want people coming back week after week.
And you still can’t just select modifiers you want to challenge yourself with. Custom Mode is not that complex an idea. The beloved Hades has 32 “heat” levels for its hardcore players to challenge themselves with, and you are free to pick whichever. I understand wanting to control matchmaking, but let’s be real, this difficulty is a challenge arcade for organized teams. 40 difficulties is a nightmare for quick play queueing, no matter how you slice it.