RRRRZZZZ419 on Sep 25, 2017 wrote:

I've thought about this in the past but never had enough material to make a post about it, until now. Ever notice how with the right team you can breeze through all 10 rounds of the Smuggler's Arena with minor or no problems? I(RRRRZZZZ419) did a run of the Smuggler's Arena with 2 other message board marauders(anecorbie and crimsonreaper5) and we made a great team breezing through the arena. Because we were such a great Smuggler's Arena team and left me wanting to keep on fighting after the 10 rounds. I thought, I sure wish I could keep on fighting and earn more than 500 scrip. What if you could? My idea is for a Advanced Smuggler's Arena Challenge(lets call it that for now, maybe one of my readers can suggest a better name). My proposal is once you complete all 10 rounds of the Smuggler's Arena in challenge mode you unlock a third option called Advanced Mode or something like that. In Advanced Mode you are given 25 rounds to beat with the chance to walk away with 2,000 scrip(and cool items) but it won't be easy. Advanced Mode will start out just like challenge mode with the same first 10 rounds, however once you make it through round 10, the first 10 rounds will repeat again with the enemies going up one more level each time and if you make it through round 20, 5 boss rounds with await you. That's right boss rounds. The last 5 rounds will consist of 5 of the spiral's dreaded bosses concluding with a super over leveled Kane in round 25. This super over leveled Kane will be 24 levels higher than the highest level pirate in the arena, haha! If you make it through all 25 rounds you will receive around 2,000 scrip, and possibly receive a rare boss item such as Kane's Mask. Perhaps there could be a special badge for completing advanced mode with another special badge for completing all 25 rounds 25 times. Anyone up for this?

crimsonreaper5 on Sep 26, 2017 wrote:

I'm fired up for this idea, Dino! I really love your Smuggler's Arena idea and you're right, after the Smuggler's Arena run we did I just wasn't fully satisfied with walking away with the usual 500 scrip. I wanted to fight more and earn more Scrip and I fully agree that the arena is not providing the challenge that it should to max level pirates out there. Also, I disagree with Anecorbie saying that 25 rounds is too much. Keep in mind that Tower of Moo Manchu is going to be members only, so making Smuggler's Arena 25 rounds instead of 10 will fire up interest in non-members farming it more, especially since it actually provides a decent challenge with the level 100 Kane on the legendary level 25. The Smuggler's Arena runs I do are all too easy and Smuggler's Arena is meant to push max levels beyond their comfort zone and past their limits so they feel challenged and motivated to finish it. I fully support your idea. Making the Smuggler's Arena 25 rounds with the addition of Advanced Mode will encourage more people to farm it and it'll make the Arena more fun, especially now since, again, Tower of Moo Manchu is going to be members only after the update hits Live Realm. I fully support your idea. Also, to add more to my post and further disagree with Anecorbie, Smuggler's Arena is still waaaaay too easy, even without the op gear like Captain Blood's Jacket (Blood Flames) or Imperial Boots of Moo Manchu (Frozen Tide.) I didn't have those items in the past and I still came out victorious. I wish Smuggle's Arena was more of a challenge so players could actually get carried out in 6 pieces like Scriptop says, instead of emerging Victorious every single time.

Sincerely,
Stormy Elijah Silver (Max Swashbuckler)
Corrupt Zane Silver (Max Privateer)
Dark Blaze Sharp (Max Witchdoctor)
Sly Brady Silver (Level 38 Musketeer-in-Training)
Merciless Toby Silver (Level 20 Buccaneer-in-Training)

Matthew525011 on Sep 26, 2017 wrote:

I'm gonna have to disagree with you. A good team, with the best gear and ok luck can run the current Smuggler's Arena in 45-60 minutes. A successful solo run with good gear and companions takes about 90 minutes, and an imperfect or flat out bad team could take upwards of 2 hours. The 25 floor proposal would take an ideal team over 2 hours, at best (it would take 2.5x as long as the original to complete at the quickest). Soloists and imperfect teams would easily take 3-4 hours, which is time that the vast majority of people do not have. While I absolutely agree with the concept of making a more advanced mode for greater scrip, increasing the dungeon's length by 2.5x or more is not a good idea. An ideal advanced mode for me would look like this:

• 10 floors (Anything more is too time consuming)
• Enemy AI improvements- Enemies would need to prioritize buffs, protects, hides, etc before rushing your team. Later on in the fight, heals would be prioritized as well.
• Off-Class powers- In addition to having powers of their own class, enemies would have access to some basic powers of other classes. (buccaneers with a sneak attack or walk in shadows, privateers with ghostwail, bucklers with rouse, etc.) Think Sato's dungeon here.
• Unique boss powers- Each boss should have access to a unique power or epic talent. Examples of this that are already in game include the Ophidian's Immobilizing Shot, Covering fire from the Marleybone Foxes, Blood Flames from Captain Blood
• Boss Cheats- Pretty self-explanatory
• Rank 4-5 epics on enemies (high level versions of the dungeon only)
• Enemies start at 5 levels above the highest level player (so for a team with 1+ max levels, the enemies would start at 75) and increase by 1 level per fight
• No need to have bosses like Kane appear, keep this completely separate from anything in the story

This version of an advanced mode makes the dungeon more challenging, without being overly time-consuming. Scrip rewards would be 750-1000 per run