I don't play DAMP anymore. On those rare occasions that I do, I check in on a weekend challenge. Then I play one PuG, gain no progress, get frustrated, and realize that I have to solo the challenge if I want to accomplish measurable progress.
So I try to solo the challenge, and after several games, I either make too little progress, or I simply realize that I will have to grind more solo games than I want to. Then I play a different game that doesn't feel like a grind.
I don't spend money on packs, and I honestly never will, so my advice should be taken with a grain of salt from that perspective. Even so, I think whether or not they're buying packs, it is still better to have more players playing. With that in mind, for what it's worth, here's what I would do to try and lure players like me back to playing the game.
Don't lock SP content of any kind behind MP Challenges.
There's a reason why it was decided not to do this ever again. It was tried with ME 3, and it failed. The people who played ME 3 MP played it because it was good, and the ones who were forced to play it for SP content resented it. A lot. That's a lot of headaches for no gain. You already learned the lesson, so it seems strange to have recently mis-stepped.
It was no skin off my nose. I accomplished it in one game, and it didn't bother me to do so. But it had no impact on whether I continue to play the game, since I don't. That's because it doesn't work as an incentive.
Challenges should be challenging or easy. They should never be tedious.
When conceiving of a challenge ask two questions.
1. Does this challenge promote teamplay?
If the answer is no, go no further. Do not use the idea.
2. Does this challenge promote soloing as a more efficient alternative to completing the challenge?
If the answer is yes, go no further. Do not use the idea.
I suspect that most of the player base falls on the casual side, with fewer promotions. If they play 3-4 hours a week, finishing the weekend challenge means that they end up spending most of that time playing by themselves. In the alternative, they either have to play more than they want to, in order to grind the challenge, or they will be unable to complete it.
I have no idea how many people fall into that category, but it is a group that could be reached by ensuring that all challenges promote teamplay, and for which there is no efficiency advantage to soloing. They could also be reached by making the challenges less of a grind that interferes with the fun.
I have no issue with difficult challenges, but if you want to make something difficult, do not also make it a grind. If the challenge is to complete a high difficulty, make a single game the requirement. This is vastly superiour to the "point grind" that is currently used.
Experienced players will usually be happy to take a player or two through high difficulties, to carry them for a challenge. However, most of them aren't going to enjoy a weekend full of PuGs where 2 or 3 in every game are under-promoted with weak equipment and few skills, because they have have to grind multiple high level games, instead of just one.
Players with advanced manifests and many promotions are going to get a lot less out of a challenge, relative to what they already have, as a reward, and most of the challenges are, for them, accomplished through normal play. It requires little to no extra effort, and offers little in the way of reward.
With that in mind, the less the challenges feel like a grind, the more enticing they are likely to be to the people who play less often. Focus on an achievement that is more difficult, but only requires a single victory. I believe that will serve to draw more people to play than requiring the repetition of tasks across many games (that also encourage people to finish quicker by soloing.)
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