Mission Difficulty Level and Notoriety, I8 v0.1b
By
Dwimble,
Posted on: 2006-12-31 13:34 in Player Guides
Excellent guide!
I learned new things!
a note on the kheldian tag; it is the team, not the players that get tagged, which means that if you are the last member of the team that didn't quit (IE you kicked the other teammates, or they all logged off) you are still "tagged" on being on the original team, which is how a non-kheld can get Quantums and voids to spawn solo. however; in the case of quitting the team, the game separates you from that original team, and the kheldian tag associated with it. Because of this, you will no longer have the kheldian tag, and should you then become the leader of the same (disbanded) team (by everyone else leaving the original) the same players would then be tagged as being on a different, non-kheldian tagged team.
Excellent job, Zombie_Man! I've run tests on the difficulty system many times, PM'd with Statesman about it, written little guides, and edited the Paragon Wiki article about it. Your guide is excellent and compiles all that information and more into a comprehensive and readable format...in a manner far better than I could have ever found the time and inclination to do.
Great work!
__
Here's a small bit of info you might wish to incorporate into a future version of your guide after a little more research or testing...
In a post made long ago, Statesman talked about the way spawns work, specifically with regards to bosses spawning in solo missions (note: this was just before the notoriety system was added, and I think the post is still available). According to him, bosses don't spawn normally in solo missions because they are technically worth more than 3 minions. So, when you see a boss in a mission it is because the mission creator specifically chose to override that limitation and place one or more bosses in it. I've never tested it, so I'm not sure if levels #2 and #4 would cause them to appear in solo missions (due to the "virtual teammate") where they wouldn't appear if set to levels 1, 3, and 5. From my experience, bosses still rarely appear in duo missions, but it might be worth some testing to find out if the virtual teammate causes them to spawn randomly when solo and set to 2 or 4, since there aren't any "random" boss spawns at the other levels.
Excellent guide, thanks.
--
Ex.
Part-Troll, who used to be Excession777, now playing pantomime with people's mindlets.
--
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Special Cases: Bosses and ArchVillains/Heroes
AVs will always remain AVs in normal missions when the mission holder's Notoriety (Difficulty) Setting is #5 (the highest, which means the AV will spawn at +2 level, to boot!) -- even while soloing.
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CORRECTION: A soloist on the highest difficulty level will spawn an AV that is the base level of the mission, not +2.
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Task/Strike Force Levels and Trial Levels
There was recently an official redname post on this, and, I can't find it. Probably made in a scrolling forum. Anyway, I think it went that:
Task Force foes spawn to the max level of the Task Force range. The leader's difficulty level can increase the foes' levels and spawn size, and larger team sizes will increase the number of foes.
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New exceptions to the rule: The new Task/Strike Force of the RWZ and Cimerora scale to the highest person on the team (like Trials do). If a high level teammate was exemplared/malefactored and then un-exemplared/un-malefactored, then the next time foes are spawned, they will jump in level to the new level of that player.
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Anyway, it's a good idea for everyone on a Force or Trial to set themselves to Notoriety Level #1. You never know when a disconnect, mapserve, or a temporary log out will change the leadership of the Force/Trial to someone else. Better be safe than sorry.
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Some players have reported that the notoriety of the first person to enter the mission is used for that mission (or just for that first spawned groups?). Some have noted that only happens if they're the only ones in the zone when they enter the mission.
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This is a beta version of a guide to Mission Difficulty Level and how it is affected by Notoriety (Difficulty Level) and team size. All comments are welcome, especially with the stuff that still needs testing (see Task/Strike Forces and Trials).
[Kheldian section edited with info provided by Fried Jedi]
Introduction
Basically it all comes down do this question: How difficult will the foes be in this mission, and can I affect that difficulty?
Difficulty of foes come in three forms:
So, let's look at how the game mechanics determines the difficulty level of the foes. This first part will deal with regular, normal missions one gets from contacts (i.e., not the Task/Strike Forces or Trials).
How is the difficulty level of the foe-spawn determined?
There are three variables which affect the level, number, and rank of the foe spawns:
[u]The level of the mission holder at the time the mission was received[u]: When foes are spawned, the game looks at what the level of the mission holder was when they first got the mission. (A player's 'level' is their 'Security Level' if they're a hero or their 'Threat Level' if they're a villain.) So, for example, if the mission holder picked up the mission at level 10, but didn't do the mission until the mission holder was level 20, then the base difficulty level of the mission is still generated for a level 10 character.
[Please note: The difference between 'mission holder' and 'team leader.' The 'mission holder' is the team member who got the mission from the contact. That person 'owns' the mission, but they may or may not be the 'leader' of the team. The team leader (the one with the star) can see all the missions of all their teammates (if they're in the same zone) and pick their own or someone else's mission as the current team task. If they pick someone else's mission, then it is that person's level at the time they received the mission that matters. When it comes to Task/Strike Forces and Trials, then it's the 'team leader' that counts with regard to the Notoriety (Difficulty) level.]
So, for example, if the mission holder picks up a mission from a contact at level 10, then levels to level 12, and then does that mission... then the base level of that mission will still be 10. If during the mission the mission holder levels up, and even if they train to that new level... the base mission level will not change. If that mission holder goes into the mission solo at the default difficulty setting, the foes will all be level 10... give or take.
Give or take? Yes. Give or take one. The overwhelming majority of the spawns will be level 10 in this example. However, you will see an occasional level 11 spawn, and more rarely, a level 9 spawn. There appears to be some purposeful randomness involved.
[Side Note: Buggy spawn levels -- You may encounter the occasional bugged mission which may contain some very bizarre level ranges and spawns. The most common involves a foe's minimum and maximum levels. Let's take the example of the imaginary foe group called the Foobars. Internally, deep in the mechanics of the game (i.e., on a spreadsheet _Castle_ guards), the maximum and minimum levels of the Foobars is listed... let's say, they can only spawn between levels 12 and 47. Now, let's say you take a level 10 Policeband mission that has Foobars in them. Guess what? They won't be level 10... they'll start at level 12, their minimum allowable level setting. Then, if you take a level 50 Newspaper Scheme mission featuring the Foobars... they won't be level 50... they'll be level 47, their maximum allowable level. That is why, e.g., the Hellions that appear in a high level villain mission are so many levels lower. And sometimes, the maximum and minimum settings get bugged which create level 35 Warwolves in a level 30 Task Force, or, Level 2 Wyverns ambushing a level 30 villain. Weird stuff, but, bugs happen. Send in a /bug report when you see foes that are clearly the wrong level that they should be.]
Once the game takes into account the level of the mission holder when they got the mission, it then looks at two other factors:
[u]The Size of the Team[u]: This is rather simple... more team members, more foes (or higher ranked foes) in each spawn point (a group of foes).
The base size of a spawn point for a solo player is: Three minions, or, a lieutenant-minion pair, or, at higher difficulty levels (see below) a single Boss. Note that there is a little bit of randomness thrown in: sometimes you might see just two minions, or maybe four minions; or maybe a lieutenant alone; or a boss with a minion. Three minions or their equivalent on average is the base spawn for a solo player.
Once you add in more team members, the spawns increase in size: two members tend to spawn 5 minions or their equivalent on average.
[It would be nice if someone wanted to experiment with team sizes and determine the average spawns for teams with 1-8 members. And make a nice chart out of it. -ed.]
Notice the 'or their equivalent'. If a boss is worth about three minions, and you're spawning an average of 11 minions per spawn point with a large team, you just might get a spawn with three bosses and two minions in it. Bosses are noticeably more difficult than minions, even moreso than three minions because they 'con' higher. Foes that 'con' higher because of their rank are harder to hit, have more accuracy, have more damage, and they have more attack and mez powers. They are worth more experience points, but that's because they are a greater risk, and thus, more difficult to battle.
Now remember, because of team size, many of the foes will 'con' higher because there will be some higher ranked foes. They won't con higher because their level increased. At one time, large teams would spawn higher 'level' foes, but they don't anymore. So, for example, if a mission is going to spawn level 20 foes (give or take... see above) for a solo mission holder, then adding seven teammates will not spawn level 21 or 22 foes. Adding seven teammates will add more foes per spawn point, and higher ranked foes (bosses and lieutenants), but they will still all be level 20 (give or take... see above).
Let me simplify this: more teammates = more bosses and just 'more' over all, but not a higher level.
[u]Notoriety[u]: Ah, here is how you can bump up both the level of the foes *and* the number of foes/bosses. There are five levels of notoriety, by default, all new characters begin at the first and easiest level. The level names are (hero/villain):
Heroes can go to a Hero Corps Field Analyst (marked by a colorful dial icon on your map) or villains can go to a Fortunata Fateweaver (little person icon, just like contacts) to have their notoriety changed (for a fee of influence or infamy). Paragon Wiki has a good list of where to find Analysts/Fateweavers.
So, how does Notoriety (the 'difficulty setting of the player') affect the difficulty level of the foes?
Let's first consider the case of a solo player:
Notoriety (Difficulty) Level #1: Foes are the mission holder's level at the time the mission holder took the mission (give or take... see above). Usually three minions or their equivalent (see above). Bosses are suppressed for solo players at Notoriety #1. (At higher Notoriety levels, or for two or more team members, Bosses will appear as normal.)
Notoriety (Difficulty) Level #2: The team size is treated as if you have +1 more members. Yay! You get a virtual teammate! So, now, if you're solo, the game pretends you're not. It generates more foes thinking you're a two-member team. Welcome to the average of 5 minions or their equivalent (Bosses!) per spawn point.
Notoriety (Difficulty) Level #3: At this level you lose your virtual team mate, and the game will spawn foes for a team of one member... you're back to three minions or their equivalent per spawn point (but, there might be a Boss, Bosses are only suppressed for solo players at Notoriety #1). But what you lose in size, you make up for in level. Your foes will now be +1 to their base level. So, for example, if at Notoriety #1, the foes would have been level 10, they will now be level 11 (give or take... see above).
Notoriety (Difficulty) Level #4: At this level, you keep the +1 added to the foes' base level, just like at Notoriety #3, however, you get your virtual team mate back! That's right, the game will treat you as a two-member team (5 minions or equivalent on average) and spawn accordingly just like at Notoriety #2, but, they're all +1 in level!
Notoriety (Difficulty) Level #5: Your virtual team mate is gone again, so, you get the spawn size for a solo player (3 minions or equivalent on average), however the foes are now +2 in level (give or take...).
So, now that you know how Notoriety affects the difficulty of the foes in a mission for a solo player, it's easy to extrapolate to large teams, namely, more team members simply means more foes per spawn point which means probably generating higher rank foes (bosses, conning higher), but not extra levels. You can only bump the level of the foes by +1 with Notoriety Levels #3 and #4, and by +2 with Notoriety Level #5.
Special Cases: Bosses and ArchVillains/Heroes
The special case of Boss suppression by solo players at Notoriety #1 has already been explained. Let's now take the special case of ArchVillain Rank foes. (And by ArchVillain, or, 'AV', we also mean the heroic analog, the Hero Class.)
Many missions have an AV foe, especially once you get past level 40, then there are a lot of AVs. But, soloists and small teams sometimes find AVs impossible or extremely tedious to deal with (especially since AVs were buffed in difficulty during I7). And so, the Developers came up with this solution: Under certain conditions, an AV can be made to spawn as Elite Boss Rank, which is easier to battle. The conditions are a combination of team member size and Notoriety Level as follows:
Notoriety (Difficulty) Setting #1 -- team is less than 6 members.
Notoriety (Difficulty) Setting #2 -- team is less than 5 members.
Notoriety (Difficulty) Setting #3 -- team is less than 4 members.
Notoriety (Difficulty) Setting #4 -- team is less than 3 members.
Or, another way to remember this is that 6, 5, 4, and 3 are the number of team members needed to spawn an AV for Notoriety Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4.
When is a foe generated?
Obviously, until you or a teammate enters a mission, no foes have been generated yet. Once a mission has been generated, then, at the very least, the first set of foe-spawns are spawned and exist when you enter the mission. However, it is very clear that for many maps -- especially multi-level or some very large one-level maps -- not all the foes are spawned all at once. As you get closer to new spawn points, or go up (or down) to their level (e.g., take an elevator), then the foes in that section of the map are spawned.
If there are foes-yet-to-be-spawned in a map and you change your difficulty level or the number of players on your team, then the foes-yet-to-be-spawned will be spawned adjusted to your new difficulty level and team size. You can prevent the change in foe spawns by running through the entirety of the map and forcing all the foes to spawn. Then you can change difficulty level or team size and the foes won't change. (Yes this can be exploitable, see below.)
Be aware that some foe spawns are hard-wired and won't change. Some Task Forces and Trials spawn foes at a certain unchanging level. The villain's respec Trial is now immune to changes in team size... it will generate the number of final foe spawns based on the size of the original starting Trial members, even if some are (temporarily) offline or have dropped from the game (this change was made in order to prevent the above mentioned exploit.) {Although, this 'fix' comes and goes depending on the Patch of the week.}
Task/Strike Force Levels and Trial Levels
There was recently an official redname post on this, and, I can't find it. Probably made in a scrolling forum. Anyway, I think it went that:
Task Force foes spawn to the max level of the Task Force range. The leader's difficulty level can increase the foes' levels and spawn size, and larger team sizes will increase the number of foes. [It used to be that larger teams increased the foes' level also, but that isn't the case anymore.]
Trial foes spawn to the level of the highest team member level. In fact, according to the Knowledge Base, Level of Respec Trials goes by the level of the highest level in the team and then modified by the team leader's difficulty setting.
And, most importantly, there are exceptions to the Force and Trial rules just given. We've had a report of the Croatoa Task Force base level being affected by the Notoriety level of a team member who was not the team leader.
Bleh! We need to create a list of all the Forces and Trials and keep track of how their difficulty is determined.
Anyway, it's a good idea for everyone on a Force or Trial to set themselves to Notoriety Level #1. You never know when a disconnect, mapserve, or a temporary log out will change the leadership of the Force/Trial to someone else. Better be safe than sorry.
Kheldian Spawns
Wherever there is a a Kheldian (Peacebringer or Warshade) there will be Quantum and Void spawns. Quantum spawns are the regular foes with Quantum versions of their weapons or powers that do special extra damage to Kheldians. Voids are a foe class who hunt Kheldians and do that special extra damage even moreso.
Voids spawn in addition to the regular spawn, they don't replace any of the regularly spawned foes.
And whenever anyone teams with a Kheldian, the team gets tagged with, let's call it, the 'Friend of Kheldian Tag.' Thus, if the team splits up, even the members without the Kheldian will spawn Quantums and Voids. Even after the Kheldian leaves the team, the team still has their Friend of Kheldian Tag active and will see Quantums and Voids in all their future missions until the last person on the team, who now owns the FoKT, logs off and back on. (This is to prevent the Kheldian dropping the team, having the team spawn the whole mission without the Kheldian and without Quantums and Voids and then inviting the Kheldian back. Teams can still do that... but they have to log off between each and every mission for it to really be useful... which then isn't very useful after all.) So, remember your FoKT if you team with a Kheldian until you log off.
And here is a handy chart that sums most of it up...
Notoriety / Difficulty Level Chart
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