Special Mob Combinations

[Iluszachane]

We've all noticed that the difficulty of a given mission is heavily influenced by the "special" mobs the game decides to throw at you. Dealing with Stingtails and Shellbacks at the same time is a wholly different experience than dealing with, say, Goo Bombers and Menaces at the same time. You can get Web Spitters, which are annoying, or Acid Spitters, which are lethal. This is great most of the time.

However, more and more special enemies have been introduced over time, which certainly seems to have added to the potential chaos of any given mission. Take my Stingtail+Shellback example; prior to season 4, the game had no real way of stacking up these physics-based threats. It was just Shellbacks, that was their niche. And while Stingtails are arguably distinct (they pull you instead of pushing you away like a Shellback does), stacking them together during a mission can get a little gnarly.

Same would apply to something like Acid Spitter + Menace + Mactera, but that's been in the game for a long time already. Those missions are brutal unless you're well-kitted/prepared and constantly on your toes.

Are there rules that prevent certain enemy combinations from appearing in a single mission? I genuinely don't know. If there aren't, do you think there should be, or do you think that a hands-off approach to curating these encounters is better for the game's aesthetic and replayability?

Curious to hear everyone's thoughts on (A) how new enemies affects the game's balance, given DRG's randomness mechanics, and (B) crazy enemy combinations, and how they affect your overall experience with the game.

[Derpykat5]

There are three separate spawn pools that a mission can pull from (well, four, but one of them is the "always spawns" pool); the Disruptor pool, the Special pool, and the Biome-specific pool. Any given mission will pull a few enemies from the Disruptor pool and a few enemies from the Special and biome-specific (if eligible) pools. Those are the only enemies that will spawn on that mission.

Explicitly banning any encounters would require a lot of thought, especially when you start talking about combos of more than two. You'd need to make sure the spawn pools were still "filled" even after the exclusions.

I think it's better for the game's health to allow you to encounter any given combination, even if some of them are harder on certain builds than others.

[MrPurple33]

It's Just the RNG, and Sometimes You can get Cakewalk Missions with all Ground Based, 'Easier' Enemies, and Sometimes the Game Can Really Test You with the Right Combination of Enemies- The RNG of the Spawn Pool, Plus the RNG of the Map Generation, Is what
Keeps DRG Interesting, No Matter What Mission Type You are Playing

While there are Much More Threat Options and Enemy Combos Today, I Remember Back when DRG Started- The Only Enemies were Swarmers, Regular Grunts, Praetorians, Exploders, Regular Mactera, Web and Acid Spitters, Spitballers, and Cave Leeches-
Standard Dreadnoughts If You Chose Elimination was the Only Change Up- So Pretty Much EVERY Mission It seemed Like You would have Packs of Exploders, and 1 to 3 Cave Leeches- The Exploders were Less than the Exploder Infestation Mutator, But More than when they RNG Now, so You would be Dealing with them a Lot- And the 'Regular' Setups for Cave Leeches back then made them MUCH More Dangerous than they Currently Are-
A Standard Mission You could sometimes come across 6 Leeches Easy- The Current
Cave Leech Warning Mutator, I'll sometimes See Only Two- Because of the way it was
In the Past, Myself and Many Other Vets have an Ingrained 'Cave Leech Paranoia'
to This Day, and are ALWAYS Scanning Ceilings Every Cave- Nowadays, 99% of the Time there's No Leech, but the Paranoia Is Still a Nice Instinct, and Helps to Locate Any Other Threats, or Spot Objectives, Loot, and Contours of Areas







So Current Enemy RNG- Much More Variety, and can sometimes Give Difficult Combos-

Past Enemy RNG- Predictable, But Was Always Good- And I Strangely MISS All the Exploders and Cave Leeches- Odd, I Know

[Nightwolf]

Originally posted by MrPurple33:

It's Just the RNG, and Sometimes You can get Cakewalk Missions with all Ground Based, 'Easier' Enemies, and Sometimes the Game Can Really Test You with the Right Combination of Enemies- The RNG of the Spawn Pool, Plus the RNG of the Map Generation, Is what
Keeps DRG Interesting, No Matter What Mission Type You are Playing

While there are Much More Threat Options and Enemy Combos Today, I Remember Back when DRG Started- The Only Enemies were Swarmers, Regular Grunts, Praetorians, Exploders, Regular Mactera, Web and Acid Spitters, Spitballers, and Cave Leeches-
Standard Dreadnoughts If You Chose Elimination was the Only Change Up- So Pretty Much EVERY Mission It seemed Like You would have Packs of Exploders, and 1 to 3 Cave Leeches- The Exploders were Less than the Exploder Infestation Mutator, But More than when they RNG Now, so You would be Dealing with them a Lot- And the 'Regular' Setups for Cave Leeches back then made them MUCH More Dangerous than they Currently Are-
A Standard Mission You could sometimes come across 6 Leeches Easy- The Current
Cave Leech Warning Mutator, I'll sometimes See Only Two- Because of the way it was
In the Past, Myself and Many Other Vets have an Ingrained 'Cave Leech Paranoia'
to This Day, and are ALWAYS Scanning Ceilings Every Cave- Nowadays, 99% of the Time there's No Leech, but the Paranoia Is Still a Nice Instinct, and Helps to Locate Any Other Threats, or Spot Objectives, Loot, and Contours of Areas







So Current Enemy RNG- Much More Variety, and can sometimes Give Difficult Combos-

Past Enemy RNG- Predictable, But Was Always Good- And I Strangely MISS All the Exploders and Cave Leeches- Odd, I Know

this is pretty much spot on.

i wouldnt mind seeing it geared to haz level. meaning it should throw less hellfire and damnation spawn combos at you at lower levels vs haz 5 you should get everything the game has. that way theres no reason to whine about rng. if you cant handle it step down the haz.

the spawns on the drops like on refining missions and PE are prob the most chaotic and demanding of any part of the game. at no other point in any mission at any time do you get potentially screwed so royally than during those opening drops.

its also the only time the game proves to be any real challenge on any haz

Originally posted by MrPurple33:

In the Past, Myself and Many Other Vets have an Ingrained 'Cave Leech Paranoia'
to This Day, and are ALWAYS Scanning Ceilings Every Cave- Nowadays, 99% of the :

this is a real thing like PSTD levels. i never enter a cave EVER without scanning the roof. like i will dance in a 2ft square because i havent checked the ceiling surrounding the area no matter how sh*t things get

however, pro strat, when you are on a team of noobs and they just casually enter a cave. sit at the cave entrance. if they dont get sucked up... you good!

[SCamp]

The following video explains it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLiX_GJRdWw