Unpopular Opinion: League Challenges Should Require Solo Completion

^yes...honestly SSF should have its own set of challenges. Every mode should have challenges associated with that particular mode.

But you're right, when I said that was a good idea I didn't think about SSF

Exactly. While SSF is intended to be an additional burden, its challenges should be specifically designed with that mode in mind. Too often, challenges boil down to "just buy items from the market," as the drop rates are so absurd, turning it into nothing more than an RNG gamble or a mindless grind to spam the game for rewards.

But like you said, challenges should never hinge on luck; they should be tests of skill or character. Both can be implemented in trade leagues and SSF alike. Forcing players to engage with content directly would immediately check off that skill component, making existing challenges feel like, well, actual challenges instead of just another box on a carry list.

Some players won't be affected by this, as they already complete content and challenges on their own, but for others, this would transform those currently lackluster challenges into something that actually tests their abilities, rather than letting them bypass it by buying a carry.

No the game should be designed around the core game which is trade. Full stop. Anything you opt into is your own choice to make things harder. Things shouldn't be balanced around that to remove the entire point, which was making out harder/ more time consuming.

Bump for GGG putting the challenge back into challenges!

Bump for this is a terrible idea. ;)

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KaosuRyoko#1633 wrote:

No the game should be designed around the core game which is trade. Full stop. Anything you opt into is your own choice to make things harder. Things shouldn't be balanced around that to remove the entire point, which was making out harder/ more time consuming.

There’s a fine difference between removing trade entirely and simply removing the ability to cheese challenges through it. Just taking away the cheese doesn’t change the fact that the core game is still balanced around trade. Trade stays, and so do loot and crafting, all designed with trade in mind. So nothing truly changes about the core game balance, with trade simply existing as it's intended to.

The only real change is that challenges become, well, actually challenging. If it feels more grindy without the option to cheese your way through, that’s a good thing, because this content is meant to be optional, something to work toward. It’s not there to be skipped with a little outside help.

I see that you got a lot of fire for your post. It's well deserved. I will add some.[Removed by Support] It's a multiplayer game and one should be able to complete all of it's challenges with friends.

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KaosuRyoko#1633 wrote:

No the game should be designed around the core game which is trade. Full stop. Anything you opt into is your own choice to make things harder. Things shouldn't be balanced around that to remove the entire point, which was making out harder/ more time consuming.

Except that challenges, by their definition, exist OUTSIDE the core game. And also by definition, they themselves are things you "opt into", in exactly the same way one would opt into SSF for additional challenge or limitations. We aren't talking about story quest completion here...

Challenges aren't "balanced" around anything other than "normal" gameplay. And "normal" gameplay is no different regardless of which mode you play in.


Plus...we already have ruthless challenges that are different from "normal" challenges, so your "full stop" has already been bypassed lol.

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xxanderr#6180 wrote:

IIt's a multiplayer game and one should be able to complete all of it's challenges with friends.

Being a multiplayer game isn’t a valid excuse for the lack of challenges aimed at individual players. In fact, if we're going to talk about the "multiplayer" aspect, it's honestly disappointing how little effort has been made to make the game feel truly multiplayer beyond the trading system.

There's no real content designed around cooperative group play, and likewise, there are no meaningful challenges built for parties either. The developers could be doing so much more—imagine party-based challenges that actually require coordinated effort, where every member has to contribute meaningfully to overcome something difficult. Not just tagging along with a “friend” or hiring a random player to carry you through with an aura bot.

The issue is, there's no existing foundation for party-focused content, which makes it hard to build such systems now. As a result, the only viable path seems to be tightening up existing challenges, removing the ability to cheese them with carries and requiring players to complete them solo. That doesn’t mean people can't still party up and enjoy the game together, it just means that to earn the challenge rewards, players have to actually face the challenge themselves. And really, that’s the whole point. It’s called a “challenge” for a reason.

People often forget, just because it’s labeled a multiplayer game doesn't mean it functions like an MMORPG or something like Lost Ark, where team-based gameplay is a central pillar. It’s time the challenge system reflected that reality a bit better.

In the end I'm fine with "services" being available to remove gating that certain builds have difficulty with -- esp. when that gating otherwise hampers your ability to start progressing towards end-game.

For example paying someone some spare change for a Maven Voidstone isn't so bad to me -- esp. given that I'm not of the opinion that VoidStones should be gated behind "pinnacle" (?) content.

... On the other hand I do see the argument that challenges should be just that -- a challenge. Hiring a service to trivialize the challenge trivializes the whole challenge system itself.

I'd be fine with rewording certain challenges to make sure that you can do those solo. Other challenges, esp. the grindy kind, I'm perfectly fine with allowing group play to finish those off.


Maybe solo clearing Ubers, defeating bosses without being hit by certain attacks, defeating a boss under a very specific condition, etc. would be fine for solo play. For pretty much all the rest of it I'm fine with allowing services and/or group play -- esp. for the grindy bits. After all no use penalizing people that like playing with their friends / guild / etc. .... Having some balance though is fine.

YMMV