[b]WARNING WALL-OF-TEXT[/b] [i]TL:DR: Massive Scrap And Field Upgrade Economy Changes Suggested, Waves Beyond 50 Increase To 100, Rewards Shifted To Be More "Rewarding". More Defense, And Offensive Beachhead Phase Suggested. Bosses Increase Chest Amount Rewards. Option #2 Final Boss Gets Chest Room With Keys Earned From Completed Boss Runs, A-La Last Wish. I Capitalized Each Word In This TL:DR.[/i] ================= All this is just for future evolution of the Onslaught mode, if kept beyond Final Shape, as I'm not sure if anything other than the Scrap Cost of Upgrading economy changes can be done. First up is me complaining, then constructive feedback, cost adjustment, upgrades, and last the two options for Wave changes. ================= [b]First thing for in current form, specifically when Matchmaking[/b]: You should add something to lower cost to purchase and upgrade the Onslaught Trip Mines, Turrets, Decoys. Being that not everyone will join voice chat or text chat during stuff it feels kind of hindering that Trip Mines start at 1000. Decoy at starting of 2000 a pop at start and not even sure if enemies to care if not in direct path to the ADU. Turrets I can sort of understand at 2000, but the first upgrade of 4000 always seems to force the need to hold back from the initial group of area defense, meaning that Trip Mine that could have saved your run is ignored. If anything, instead of each being 3 Level of upgrades, maybe make a 4th as what they currently are at Level 3; while making an in-between to as follows: Trip mine: second explosion after 1st used up, Turret: more armor, Decoy: more armor/taunt (so before Lord Shaxx a rocket frame, [i]instead of the gun holder one, assuming has slightly more health than the gun holder but less than Lord Shaxx[/i]) New suggested costs would be like such, If no 4th Level added just keep the current L3 except L3 Decoy Shaxx drops 1000 Scrap cost we have but change to the new suggested L1 and L2 costs. As Follows = [b]Level: Scrap Amount (description) --- Cost Increase[/b]. [b]Trip Mine[/b]: L1: 750 , L2: 1250, L3: 2000 (adds second Level 1 explosion after 1st charge used-does not increase with later upgrades to main), L4: 2000 Full strength of current Level 3 explosion --- [i]Increases total buy-upgrade to 6000 over the 4500 current.[/i] [b]Decoy[/b]: L1: 1500, L2: 3500, L3: 5000 Increase Taunting/Beefier, L4: 5000 Daddy Shaxx --- [i]Increases total buy-upgrade to 15,000 over 12,000 current.[/i] [b]Turret[/b]: L1: 2000, L2: 3000, L3: 5000 Beefy Armor, L4: 6000 --- [i]Increases total buy-upgrade to 16,000 over the 12,000 current.[/i] [spoiler]Note how both Decoy and Turret costs the same overall still, but easier upgrade costs for a mid-point, and takes in account below if 5th Tier added costing same as Level 4. [/spoiler] [b][u]Add a 5th Level upgrade[/u][/b]: Make modifiers for the energy type matching the subclass of purchase/upgrader, equal cost to Level 4 above. [b]-OR-[/b] Give us the option to buy modifiers for what type of final Level 5 upgrade as such from Arcite 99-40 to use in the mode (like how say the cards activate/deactivate from Season of the Witch). [i]With the defaults of such below that are available after initial purchase of Level 5 with Scrap and just holding down the button to rotate which you want active without costing Scrap again:[/i] [b]Trip Mines[/b] (Solar, Arc, Void), [b]Additional Turret Armaments[/b] (Void mortar launcher AoE for groups, Stasis missile volley for tracking shots at larger tank enemies, Arc shotgun for close range burst damage), [b]Decoys with Counter-Attack[/b] (Kinetic: Kinetic Tremors, Strand: Severing Bursts, Arc: Shaxx Thunderclap Punch) [i]And add maybe even some sort of [b]Deployable Mines Fields[/b] in an Area, in place of Trip Mines so we have a 4th option[/i]. [b]Deployable Mine Felds[/b] would follow the order of L1: Kinetic Shrapnel - 1000 Scrap, L2: Larger Radius - 1500 Scrap, L3: Throw More Grenades.... I mean... Secondary Explosion trigger for spot in field when 1st is expended and is not upgradeable beyond the 1st Level - 2500 Scrap, L4: More Boom...err I mean Explosion Blast Damage - 3000 Scrap. L5: Energy Modifier (Solar: Swarm Grenades Scorching, Stasis: Crystals Slow field, Strand: Pouka Swarming that Tangle foes) Costing same as L4 of 3000 Scrap for total of 11,000. The reasoning being that Mines would be more robust in an larger area of triggering over multiple times vs the 1x 2x Trip Mines. =======[b]Option #1 for Waves[/b]======== [i]These could be used to increase the wave count to 100[/i], and shift the difficulty curve to be more forgiving, as it would mean the lower ranks could be less enemy density starting, increase with number, and strength, vs the 50 we have now which seem to spike at weird intervals. You could switch up the last 20 Waves to be on the Pyramid ship so having an actual pool of scrap before you get there would actually feel like making a Beachhead in them, vs just killing the final Boss. This also means the earlier waves would go way faster vs the semi-slog of the current first 30 Waves (you literally feel like you've done close to 50 already). Also going every 5th round to the spark runs feel too formulistic. Shoving every boss to 20th Wave, focusing on defense for every 10 Waves, then the Spark run would feel better; as you already move around the map on the regular in 3 different spots. Boss clears would have more chests as you progress. =======[b]Option #2 for Waves[/b]======= [u]The other option for 100 Waves is possibly 25 Waves at each spot before the last 25 Pyramid ones, and still have 5 bosses each giving a key for final reward room on top of normal chests increasing per Boss, failed runs would still result in keys held for future use for the final chest room, in the following order:[/u] [b]25 spot 1:[/b] Spark End of Wave 10, 2nd Spark Wave 20, 1st boss at Wave 25. [b]25 spot 2:[/b] Spark run end of 35, Spark Run 45, 2nd boss end of Wave 50. [b]25 spot 3:[/b] Spark Run end of 60, Spark end of 70, 3rd boss end of Wave 75. [b]25 Pyramid Beachhead:[/b] Starting 5 Waves to set up in Pyramid, Boss 4 (Gatekeeper) at End of Wave 80, Spark/hold point at end of Wave 90 with some sort of maybe Taken Chimera, Boss 5 at Wave 100. [b]These final 25 Would be on a linear path in the Pyramid ship, and all take place moving from one area to next so no portal needed after the initial entry. The 1st phase (Wave 76-80) could be collecting/building a bomb to use on the Door, before the Gatekeeper Boss, 2nd phase Wave 80-90 could be collecting power to push back Taken Essence and blow next door, 3rd phase Wave 90-100 being the power building to take over the Pyramid ship/neutralize it, making it void from the Darkness fleet to use after we kill the final Boss.[/b] [spoiler]This also means we can go ahead and change the Chest amounts to increase at end of Phase Boss clear to be more in line with the length of time each phase takes. Like the Gatekeeper could be the spot the general groups can stop at, while going all in for Final Boss gets a Chest Room similar to The Coil, or The Last Wish Raid with collected keys from the run to open some amount in room.[/spoiler] Fin.