Quote: A question I have for anyone who played more than me: are there ever bosses that are challenging or require a group? For instance, I could go start a single-player D2 game and get to Andy but would probably not be able to kill her until I got a few more levels. Is there anything of that level in HGL? Also, on that note, do the surroundings ever change? Maybe not as drastically as between acts in Diablo but... anything? Perhaps something coinciding with aforementioned challenging boss?
My experience had a similar 'does this get harder?' feeling in the early beta. Especially when I grouped with a Blademaster and watched him tear bosses in half without any help from me. But as I repeated certain zones (The British Museum, for example) over time with different characters, they would become more complex and challenging.
And then last night the same people who got me into WoW (those bastards!) asked me to roll a fresh character with them. It was initially only mildly challenging, but as we followed the main questline (skipping all unrelated dungeons), it scaled quickly. Soon, only our guardian could take more than a couple hits. Sekworm turned out to be pretty challenging, and the Emperor Guldar event was insanely difficult.
Much of the difficulty we encountered was compounded by (among other things) buggy portals and positioning. My teammates (especially those without prior HGL experience) would run through the portal and get caught in an endless load-to-the-other-side loop. I.e., they'd get stuck going in and out of hellrift because it's really techy about your position.
And just FYI, we were playing on 'normal'--FSS has announced two additional difficulty options for subscribers:
1. Elite: More and More difficult mobs
2. Hardcore: No resurrection options available
You can stack them for "Elite Hardcore" if you want, as well.
After a few more nights of group play, I'll have a more in-depth review for the Lounge.