Ares, a Good Sign or a Destroyer of MCOC

As an endgame Valiant player who has been in MCOC since the very beginning, I have some strong opinions on the Ares boss fight.

I consider myself an above-average player when it comes to skill, yet even I struggle to grasp the sheer level of precision, knowledge, and execution required to complete this fight without burning through all my revives and units.

That said, the fight itself is actually quite enjoyable—once you get the hang of it. But the time investment needed to get through it successfully without heavy losses is insane. Add to that the intentionally frustrating mechanics, and it becomes an exercise in endurance rather than skill.

Not having a single cue or indicator for which special Ares is about to throw? Painful, but manageable. No prompts like SP specials? Infuriating, but still possible to work around. But then they speed up the specials in the final phases? That’s just unbearable. And if that wasn’t enough, you’re expected to execute specific prompts only if you complete the special’s cycle correctly. By the time you reach the final phases, even the most dedicated players have to admit—it’s just a revive sink.

I’ve successfully cleared two paths so far, and I plan to explore more of the quest over the next month. With time and practice, the resource drain should lessen.

However, in my opinion, this kind of content will be the downfall of MCOC. Like Abyss of Legends, in a year, these resources will be trivial compared to what’s available in terms of difficulty. I understand the need for challenging content, but artificial difficulty doesn’t make for good design.

So, where does everyone else stand? Does content like this excite you and make you want to invest more in the game, or is this the kind of challenge that pushes you away?

Comments

The_Doctor_24_1

I just realized something, isn't he supposed to loose one of his immortalities when you enter the fight? Like what's up with that

Demonzfyre

First, people complain about the lack of challenging content.
Then they complain when it's released.
No win.
There is a huge difference between challenging content and something you have to spam revives at. They are not the same.

Eh, it depends on what type of player it is. Many that spam revives lack the skills and complain it's too hard. People said the same about the collector, grandmaster, kangs etc...

Matty_Ice

I voted for this one, but I’m between the both of them.
On one hand, they designed a boss that can be beat with skill. On the other hand, they designed the fight to intentionally make it to where the skill requirement is astronomically high.

It’s good for games to continually be pushing the ceiling and challenging for new content, but I feel like this was a bit too high. Giving some indication on special, besides very small visual hints, would have made it within reach for most of the player base to work to obtain.

I feel like most players will just brute force it (which they also designed to allow players to do).

GroundedWisdom

First, people complain about the lack of challenging content.
Then they complain when it's released.
No win.
Challenging is one thing. An obscene and overt money/resource sinkhole is another, which is exactly what the current iteration of the Ares boss is.
You might as well just refrain from commenting. By now everyone here knows your M.O., which is seldom grounded or wise. You and DF both are such anti-playerbase contrarians that you might as well work for Kabam. Your shtick hasn't changed since the 12.0 update, and frankly it's getting tired.

I'm going to ignore the personal attacks and address the topic at hand.
Your argument is not very solid, considering I witnessed someone on the Forum share their progress within a few hours of release, that had pretty impressive skills in a short amount of time.
There's always an assumption that if something can't be bested immediately upon release, then it's unjustly fair. The truth is, we don't have time be the best the moment it's released. In fact, it's almost always wisest to wait and see what the feedback and strategies are. Then there's the whole idea of practice improving our skills. We don't all have to be MSD, but we can certainly get better at things the more we try.
I've seen every challenge protested come and go, and people have learned to overcome them. Relax and keep trying.

Wicket329

First, people complain about the lack of challenging content.
Then they complain when it's released.
No win.
Challenging is one thing. An obscene and overt money/resource sinkhole is another, which is exactly what the current iteration of the Ares boss is.
You might as well just refrain from commenting. By now everyone here knows your M.O., which is seldom grounded or wise. You and DF both are such anti-playerbase contrarians that you might as well work for Kabam. Your shtick hasn't changed since the 12.0 update, and frankly it's getting tired.

He’s really not. The learning curve was extremely steep, but my last run only took me 4 revives. Here, I took screenshots of my progress each time (I have no idea what order the forums will upload these in, I’m sorry):

4 revives for an endgame boss fight is by no stretch of the imagination a resource sink. My first run was brutal, for sure. But that’s because I was learning. I’ve got two runs to go, and I’m hoping I can get a solo on one of them.

Pseudouber

First, people complain about the lack of challenging content.
Then they complain when it's released.
No win.

These are to separate groups of people. Read the polls. Half like it the other half hate it.

GroundedWisdom

First, people complain about the lack of challenging content.
Then they complain when it's released.
No win.
These are to separate groups of people. Read the polls. Half like it the other half hate it.

That's nothing out of the ordinary for the Forum.

Average_Desi

My first run took a lot of revives. At least 20.
In my 5th run, I just got him to 1% in one go. My heart is beating like I just did cardio.

So yeah, it's skill intensive. But more than that, it's a bit unforgiving if you make mistakes

Potatoslice500

I thought it was insanely difficult, used an absurd amount of revives, good rewards but not fun at all