really appreciate that you have taken the time to think about an alternate style of end game rift that does not focus purely on being a glass cannon. I think there are probably a number of logistical issues with the new type of rift you have outlined. Off the top of my head I think gold would be a real issue because of boon of the hoarder and goldwrap combo that would make players invincible, so, no gold. Anyway, the real point is that I would love it if Blizzard were actively investigating another type of end game rift type. Admittedly, it would take a lot of work for them to come up with something workable.
Personally, what I'd like to see is in principle what you have suggested, a rift that is not a race/time trial, and thus a rift that might reward other types of builds than just having max firepower (either directly or indirectly). I think other people should also try brainstorming ideas for other types of end game rifts.
Off the top of my head, I think a 'survivability' type rift would be a good option to have. ie. one where you need to complete the rift without dying (no time limit). While this would inherently be attractive to hardcore players it would also be cool for sc as it would allow us to set up a different type of gear focus. I would need to think about this alot more before getting more specific about this "survivability rift"..
Thank you for the praise! ^^
I forwarded this post in multiple places in hopes that Blizzard will see it and actually take notes for something new.
A survival rift would be a good rift to have too. But the problem I have with this is that the game's affixes and damage mechanics are way too imbalanced. Maybe when they fix all of that it would be a solid addition, but right now it would be a mess.
*Edited first post with the new additional information I left out*
Yes, there are certain mob types and Rift Guardians that make survivability a real issue. In fact Blizzard themselves admitted they need to imrpove the effectiveness of defensive stats on their latest play your way stream. They also made some comments about Rift Guardians. For example Orlash is a very tough boss, but to be honest he is a boss that requires you to really "play". Many of the bosses simply either one shot you when they teleport on top of you, but have no real gameplay mechanic, and simply require some luck that they get stuck in a corner tanking with your follower(s) etc at which point you just hit the fire button pumping out as much damage as you can and not even moving. It is hardly what you could call great gameplay. So anyway, they need to look at the cheap "one shot" kills and they need to imrpove the effectiveness of defensive stats to that they create a genuinely stronger character.
btw, I am make a lot of criticisms but I do love the game. I just think it could be better and I do struggle to understand some of their design decisions.
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Not sure If I can forward this post here or not as I didn't see anything specifying what kind of posts go here... So if it is in the wrong place or doesn't belong here then I apologize in advance.
I wanted to revive this topic for a 3rd time since the other 2 got closed for too many negative comments a long time ago, so maybe i'll get better feedback this time around. This new rift idea I have is called "Uber Rifts". "What makes this different than the other Rifts types?" Well, the difference between this rift and the others is that this one isENDLESS, meaning it ends when you decide it ends.
Here is how it works:
In order to access these Uber Rifts, you have to collect "Uber Rift Stones" from any of the uber bosses already present within the game. These Uber Rift Stones will only drop on T6. (or higher if Blizzard adds T7-T10, then it would be scaled to the new highest difficulty setting.) However, in order to be eligible to enter an Uber Rift, you must be at least Paragon Level 300 on your account to enter. (Thank you DragonsBlood on D3 Forums for providing the level requirement idea.)
These rifts are similar to Greater Rifts in terms of stat scaling, however this is not a time trial, and you can swap equipment and skills whenever you like. Additionally, the first floor always starts off scaled to the highest difficulty setting available in the game.
Upon entering the rift, there will potentially be up to 5 completion bars present for each floor. These bars will not be as big as the current rift progress bar, they will be about 1/3 of that size so it doesn't take up a large portion of the screen.
The first bar monitors how many monsters are left in the dungeon before the Rift Guardian will appear.
The second bar monitors how many treasure chests are on that floor.
The third bar will monitor the exploration of the floor.
The fourth bar (this may not show up sometimes) monitors how many events are present on the floor.
And the fifth (this may also not show up sometimes) monitors how many Monster Bounties are present on the floor.
Urshi/Orek (or maybe a new Nephelem Ghost) will appear at the entrance of each floor. If the floor is too hard to continue and needs to be reset, or if people need to leave, speak to the ghost to opt out and get your earnings in a cache or to reset the dungeon at the same level. Once a person opts out, they are automatically removed from the room within 30 seconds. When someone leaves you will be asked if you want to continue, if you select "Yes", the rift will remain open and the game will search for more players to join. If you select "No" you will collect your earnings via cache and be automatically removed from the room within 30 seconds. If you want to keep your entire group intact and want to close the rift and collect your earnings, speak to the ghost to initiate a "close the rift" vote to close it. If someone disconnects from the game, you will be asked if you want to continue the rift, options will remain the same. If you were disconnected from the game or kicked, an item cache containing all of your earnings will be mailed to your account and accessed via mailbox in-game.
Also upon entering the rift, everyone will have a lives counter by their portraits. Everyone starts each floor with 3 lives each. If you lose all 3 lives, you cannot be resurrected until the entire party dies, or the rift is completed. If the entire party dies, or you opt to reset the level, the floor will re-randomize itself at the same level you started it at. If someone leaves the party and another person joins, they must wait until either the remaining party members complete that level, or the party dies, or the remaining members opt to reset the level.
In order to advance to the next floor, you need to kill at least 75% of the monsters on that floor to summon the Rift Guardian, however, killing 100% monsters will yield bonus rewards. Exploration of that floor of the dungeon will also yield bonus rewards. These floors will not be overly big and will be easily explorable and noticeable if you missed a room. When you defeat the Rift Guardian, another Nephelem Ghost will appear (so you don't have to walk all the way back to the start). Speaking with it will provide the options to; Advance the next level, reset the dungeon (to continue playing at the same level, but can advance whenever you like.), or opt out of game and claim your rewards for participating.
Each floor will also have a chance to spawn 0-3 random types of events already seen in the game (or brand new ones if Blizzard adds this in) such as a Jar of Souls type survival, or walking into a room to fight Belial's twin. There will also be Cursed Pylons, touching these pylons will spawn a random Key Warden to fight. If you successfully kill the spawned Key Warden, you will be granted the random pylon effect, but for 4 times the normal duration as the reward. Cursed Shrines, Pylons, and Chests will not count as events, but they will still potentially spawn randomly throughout the rift, touch them at your own risk. A boss event will also count towards the Monster Bounty counter if it is present. Completing all events on the floor will yield bonus rewards.
Similarly to Greater Rifts, nothing you kill, break, or open will drop items, only gold (maybe on the gold part if it proves to be too OP). But, throughout all of the floors in the rift, there will be chests, lootable objects, and destructables scattered everywhere like any typical zone of the game. The difference here is, all of the loot that comes from those monsters and objects will drop at the end of your rift run. Finding all of the treasure chests in the level yields bonus rewards. Cursed Chests, corpses, and loose floorboards etc do not count; just actual chests, which are monitored via Treasure Chest Completion Bar.
When you close the rift, an item cache with all of your earnings will be awarded to you, possibly more than 1 if you scored a lot of legendaries doing bonus objectives. The loot contained in these caches WILL NOT contain yellow, blue, or white grade gear items. They will contain mass amounts of crafting mats, gems, and legendary/ancient grade items. For the chance of a bonus objectives rewarding legendaries, I would say it would be a 1-3 chance, and the chance of it being ancient would be 50%. If it doesn't roll a legendary, it will give you a cluster of each crafting material type, or a cluster of gems (which is the other part of the 1-3 chance). The reason behind this is because we have absolutely zero reason to be looting hundreds of low grade gear items unless it is to be salvaged for crafting mats at end game, which is why monsters kills will drop 1 of the 3 things instead. Blizzard may have a different approach on this if they decide to go with this idea, but that is how I would do it. (Thank you TheLordOfTerror at DiabloFans for pointing out the lack of loot info I didn't provide.)
The enemies that spawn in these Uber Rifts are purely random, any monster that was removed from either rift type is now back. However, Goblins and Goblin Parties will also be present. Killing all of the special monsters (purple named monsters) will count towards the Monster Bounty counter if they are present, and killing them all on that floor will yield bonus rewards.
This new rift type would provide an alternative end game for the player base to achieve, as well as provide a new fun way to collect loot and have it pose as a challenge. This can also be used for competitive leaderboards to see how far you can get before throwing in the towel. Civil feedback and/or support on this would be much appreciated this time around. :-)
Link to original thread:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/17345254585
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Thank you for the praise! ^^
I forwarded this post in multiple places in hopes that Blizzard will see it and actually take notes for something new.
A survival rift would be a good rift to have too. But the problem I have with this is that the game's affixes and damage mechanics are way too imbalanced. Maybe when they fix all of that it would be a solid addition, but right now it would be a mess.
*Edited first post with the new additional information I left out*