The Well of the Furies, being a bored five year old playing with his toys, has focused most of its power on a willing slave. Emperor Cole. With all of the Wells attention on the Praetorian war, those stealing its power can call on the echoes of Coles minions.
As for the Grindiness... I'm not really seeing it. I've done somewhere between six to eight, maybe ten, trials over the past week on Alice, each of which is only 45 minutes to an hour, and I've already gotten three and a half slots unlocked, and a power in interface. I haven't managed to beat a trial yet, which means I haven't gotten as many rewards. That said, it's already starting to show similar habits to the Imperious, Reichs, Apex and Tin Mage Task Forces. Where originally it was brutal and near-impossible, it's already getting smoother as people work out plans and techniques, get an idea of what they're meant to be doing, and start to access the new powers. Judgement AOEs are very useful against Seiges 9CUs, for example.
And this is early days. There's two trials active right now, both of which are much like Tin Mage and Apex, possibly even shorter. I expect that we'll see a strike pack, much like the one for 19, with another two to three Trials, and then more in 21, its strike pack, and so on. There are frustrating moments (Spud, OM and Uni can speak of the time I startled the entire house with a cry of "FUCK!" at midnight when someone decided to trigger the Lamba Sector countdown), but this is fun. It's not a grind. It's just like everyone playing the WST to death, or pretty much the ITF being replayed into the dirt. So yeah. I'm having fun.
As for the Grindiness... I'm not really seeing it. I've done somewhere between six to eight, maybe ten, trials over the past week on Alice, each of which is only 45 minutes to an hour, and I've already gotten three and a half slots unlocked, and a power in interface. I haven't managed to beat a trial yet, which means I haven't gotten as many rewards. That said, it's already starting to show similar habits to the Imperious, Reichs, Apex and Tin Mage Task Forces. Where originally it was brutal and near-impossible, it's already getting smoother as people work out plans and techniques, get an idea of what they're meant to be doing, and start to access the new powers. Judgement AOEs are very useful against Seiges 9CUs, for example.
And this is early days. There's two trials active right now, both of which are much like Tin Mage and Apex, possibly even shorter. I expect that we'll see a strike pack, much like the one for 19, with another two to three Trials, and then more in 21, its strike pack, and so on. There are frustrating moments (Spud, OM and Uni can speak of the time I startled the entire house with a cry of "FUCK!" at midnight when someone decided to trigger the Lamba Sector countdown), but this is fun. It's not a grind. It's just like everyone playing the WST to death, or pretty much the ITF being replayed into the dirt. So yeah. I'm having fun.