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Chapter 1860.2: Dark Days Dungeons #1 -Part 2

Chapter 1860.2: Dark Days Dungeons #1 -Part 2
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So many deaths in such a short period of time. Everyone had the same thinking as Rong did, but they were not as capable as him. Now the Pandarens understood why this particular dungeon instance was based on a time limit rather than the number of tries.

"It is hard! How would I know that Goblins can hit this hard!" One of the Pandarens complained about the forum in the general section since there was no dedicated sub forum for this particular dungeon instance at the moment due to Jin's insistence.

Many others followed the same sentiment and complained about the difficulty level of the dungeon, especially with all the restrictions that had been placed on it. From not being able to use their own equipment to have to go in without shoes.

It was only then some of the Pandarens defended that this is the difficulty that dungeons should be. While they do not condone light hearted dungeons where people play and enjoy for fun, there were Pandarens out there who really wish to experience the grit of hunting monsters. A few others even stated that Jin had explicated stated that this particular dungeon had been modeled and inspired by the critically acclaimed Dark Sols video game. (Definitely not the same as the critically acclaimed Last Fantasia XIV with an expanded free trial in which you can play the World Reborn and the award winning Skystation expansion up to level 69 for free with no restrictions on playtime (Government rules applied.))

When people used the Dark Sols excuse, plenty of Pandarens had already rested their case and they knew how difficult that particular game was. However, all of them had forgotten that particular game was not difficult but time consuming. Patience, recognition of patterns, and determination were the main core concepts for the players to learn. Once they had grasped those, every particular duel and exploration that they had would be an experience that they would not forget.

Thus, Jin decided to emulate that experience within this to the best of his abilities. But unlike video games, the players can have the freedom of running around, climbing, jumping, and even swimming whereas video games have limits and walls that block the players from moving. That was why, in terms of dungeon design, Jin did not focus too much on limiting the players' freedom and rather allowed them to move unless it had been dictated by the environment that it was a no go.

The Goblin minions that he had used were also using a two weapon pattern movement as compared to the simple move and attack kind of pattern. Jin also made sure that the aggressiveness of the Goblins was unparalleled. They were not the 'I got hit once, and I am retreating a little', and rather 'I will chase you down the roads of hell if I need to.'

And to make things worse, Jin had purposely added a small puzzle in the Dark Days Dungeon Instance. Many had not recognised it yet since they were only minutes into the game. However, one smart aleck had decided that if he was going to fight, he would go straight for the clearing immediately. But knowing the game had been inspired by Dark Sols, there was a boss standing at the centre of the clearing waiting for the cultivator's arrival.

The problem with that was anyone who decided to skip the mobs to try and reach to the boat as soon as possible, the boss would unleash a deadly skill that would instantly rip anyone apart. When it happened, the Pandaren had no idea what was it. All he could see was black. Yet, he reported this to the thread and many others had decided to try it as well. After all when they are dead, they are resurrected back at the Subway station's medical bay for that was their first checkpoint and they have access to the Pandamonium App and forums. Only when they moved out into the fields, all of such features had been temporarily blocked.

And the Pandarens did find out that it was truly a one shot kill regardless. However, as much as those Pandarens tried to type those out, it had been filtered by the Pandamonium App. It was fine at first but subsequently, when someone talked about the spoilers of the dungeon, the filter came on and their posts had disappeared. The Pandarens guessed that it was because of the censor that Jin had talked about. It was only when those who had decided to finish or give up on the fight, that the sub forum thread appeared for them.

After which, they realised that their posts were not exactly censored and rather relegated to that particular sub forum thread. It was at that moment they realised that the Pandamonium App AI was smarter than they thought it was. It had censored various portions if they had not reached a particular part of the dungeon.

On the other hand, those who had hit the clearing first had access to such similar posts on their experiences but not what people had experienced at the start of the dungeon. In short, the AI censoring their posts was to prevent spoilers and information sharing to a certain extent. Certainly, if the Pandarens were to group together and speak to share their information, there was no way the System could stop them from doing that. (Actually, it could if it is within the store's instance but both Jin and the System too felt that it was extremely intrusive while the AI filtering can be seen as an advancement of technology instead.)

However, that was the whole point of the censoring as well. If people wished to enjoy the dungeon solely for the experience, they would be able to do it without too much interference. Yet, if people wished to discuss it, they could come together offline and form discussion groups with their friends or even strangers.

It was both an introvert and extrovert friendly experience and Jin tried to cater while providing this unique exposure to the best of his ability.

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