Idea for a new kind of event: Survival

Cross-post from: http://www.reddit.com/r/pathofexile/comments/1jjni2/idea_for_a_new_kind_of_event_survival/

As a player I'm not too keen on the idea of races; continuously running through the same areas just doesn't appeal to me. I think it would be interesting to have an event where the player is locked in an arena with an immortal boss either on their own or in a party. The boss has very high health and health regeneration - enough so that it cannot be killed.

The concept of this mode is that the player attempts to get to the highest level and experience possible within the allocated time, much like a race. This can be achieved in only two ways:

* Dealing damage to the boss and killing summoned monsters will grant experience.

* Every x seconds survived you gain x experience.

As you level you can allocate points in the passive tree as you normally would (Although you'll have to be fast!)

Players will be able to create a character in this event 30 minutes before doors to the arena open. Once they have entered the game world they will be able to freely move around; no laying face-down in the mud! There will be three areas in total:

* The spawning area. Contains vendor NPC's, an entrance to the arena, and a doorway to the tavern. Perhaps it would be wise to ask someone nearby what lurks inside the arena.

* The arena. One entrance. One boss. One exit: Death. Will it be yours or theirs, brave soul?

* The tavern. A meeting-place for brave heroes. Here you can browse public parties and collectively regroup in the spawning area.

When you first spawn you will find a number of tokens in your inventory. There will be multiple vendors nearby that you can purchase white gear and gems from. Unlinked gear will be cheap; whereas high-linked gear will be more expensive. Gems will have their costs balanced accordingly, some supports being more expensive than others. The player will need to decide on how to spend their tokens effectively.

The other thing I have considered is being able to purchase some kind of token or 'rune' or something that directly modifies the stats of an item without RNG being involved; for example a life rune granting +10 health to a piece of armour, and so on. There needs to be a limit of the number of runes you can apply to each item.

During the fight:

Every 5 minutes the boss temporarily retreats, summoning minions in his absence. The boss reappears after 45 seconds with 5% more attack speed, cast speed, movement speed, and damage. The battle ensues for another 4m15s and then the cycle continues, with different types of monsters being summoned during the retreat time.

When the timer reaches 45 minutes a portal is summoned. Taking this portal will teleport the player back to the safety of the spawning area, however they will be unable to re-enter the arena and gain any further experience. Death in the arena results in you losing your place on the ladder.

When in a party experience will be pooled so that all members of the group in the arena have the same amount of experience. The amount of experience gained from dealing damage to the boss is divided by the number of players in the party.

Time frame:

* 00:00 Event begins. Players have 25 minutes to find out what boss they're up against, sort out their equipment and group up if they choose to do so.

* 00:25 The entrance to the arena opens. Players zone in to separate instances of the arena, or the same instance if they are grouped.

* 00:30 The boss is released, or awakens, or notices the players in some way. The battle begins. Every 5 minutes from here on the boss grows stronger.

* 01:15 A portal is summoned, giving players the chance to escape if they wish.

* 01:30 The boss retreats for the final time without summoning monsters.

* 01:31 The event ends.

What else... changing bosses! With this kind of event it would be really easy for GGG to change which boss players fight in different events. This could also allow them to test mechanics against players before releasing such things into the other leagues.

I understand it's a lot to read but if you've made it this far I'd appreciate your thoughts below! :)

It would be interesting to play, but it seems less competitive/race-oriented from other events.

"

As a player I'm not too keen on the idea of races...

Given the quote, that is probably the point, Polaris.

I think this is a great idea. Along the lines of this and Descent, there is so much more that we could do in sixty to ninety minutes than just rush through the main content.

There definitely should be a "survival" event, I was thinking something partially based on Cowards Trial, the unique map.