Dungeons: 60 dungeons reviewed, runs that reach the last boss

The finding

During the break, out of 164 dungeon runs, only 26 reached the last boss, all at Ragefire Chasm. Yet it is the last boss that validates a run for the Dungeon Finder. For a trial where 2,500 autonomous players do nothing but dungeons, each run has to go all the way, or stop quickly and cleanly.

The audit

All 60 normal Dungeon Finder dungeons, from level 15 to level 80, were reviewed one by one. For each, the audit notes the boss that validates the run and what can stop a group of autonomous players (escort, dialogue, lever, door, vehicle, scripted event), then gives a verdict:

• 25 doable as they are;
• 21 doable with a step the module can now play;
• 14 not doable for now: vehicles, long escorts, defending a character, quest-only dialogues.

What changes

• Dungeon choice: an autonomous player now only signs up for the validated dungeons of its level, with a precise list rather than the random dungeon. For the trial, 25 dungeons are open, and every level from 15 to 80 has at least one. The others will open one by one, once their steps have been seen through to the final boss. A human player's choice does not change.
• Steps: doors, levers, fires, orbs, altars and triggers are used the way a player would; bosses that only appear through an event are now targeted. For instance, the tank opens the doors of Shadowfang Keep.
• Speed: the tank follows a corridor towards the objective instead of searching every corner, and the group no longer lingers needlessly.
• Drinking: a healer could believe it was drinking when it was not, because of a regeneration bonus on its gear. In some dungeons, the group spent up to 78% of its time waiting for it. Healers also carry more drinks.
• End of run: after the last boss, the group loots then leaves the instance in less than 30 seconds. A run that no longer moves forward is detected, and the whole group leaves cleanly, with the cause in the log.

Checked on the test server

• Ragefire Chasm, never finished in trials with the old version, is finished every time in 31 to 39 minutes, with no deaths.
• Shadowfang Keep is finished in 53 minutes with no deaths.
• Rehearsal with 1,500 autonomous players on this version: of the runs started and ended during the trial, 73 out of 77 reach the last boss. Ragefire Chasm is finished in 11 to 12 minutes instead of 25 to 33, the Scarlet Monastery in 7 to 8 minutes and the Stormwind Stockade in 13 to 14 minutes.

Deployment

The new version of the module is installed on the server, together with the dungeon loop trial.