I'm not 100% on this idea, so I thought I'd throw it out there to get some more opinions! To know if this is something people see as a problem or just part of the game.

Basically, sometimes I end up facing down a team in the gauntlet that is full of creatures that are either good with healing, very defensive, their only selling point is the “only allies attack” special, or energy regenerators. My team (while not all pack-mentalities and assailants, still averaging fairly good damage) can and will whittle down those teams over time, but not necessarily within the 20 rounds provided, and I could lose. The thing that bothers me isn't that I'll probably lose though, because that happens, but that I'm losing to a team that could never win itself. Such an enemy team, against almost any other team of the same level, would never actually win by eliminating everyone else short of a ton of critical strikes (if even), and under arena rules would be losing on time on almost every battle. These highly defensive teams are less of an opponent and more of an obstacle, and “defeat” your team only because their win condition (survive to round 21) is different from yours (defeat each companion on the team), and they would likely never fulfill your win condition of defeating everyone on the opposite team without a highly improbable streak of critical strikes, dodges, and much more than 20 rounds.

I guess I'm asking that whatever generates gauntlet teams detects teams like these and doesn't make you fight them, although other gauntlet improvement suggestions (like the one about seeing the silhouettes beforehand, so I know if my team will just be chipping at a brick wall) might solve or alleviate this issue as well. On the other hand, the gauntlet is about risk and maybe these uneven (in terms of end goals) fights are just something to account for in the player's team-building, so if the average player isn't more frustrated by these brick wall teams than the regular fighters that take down your team the normal way, then this isn't an issue.

edit: The reply below this one has some good ideas that would probably easier to carry out (much more of a concrete if-then) than having to detect if a team is too defensive or not before the battle. If you also have solution ideas, please share them!

I think the limit of 20 rounds should be done with. I don't mind if it fasts forward after 20 rounds, but I agree that it is unfair that our condition to win is very different from the oppenents condition (defeat within 20 rounds vs survive 20 rounds). If the amount of rounds aren't limited, as long as the attacking team does more damage than the defending team heals, it wouldn't go on endlessly.

Alternatively, if the limit of 20 rounds is reached with no clear winner perhaps a redo at the same level could be done. No rewards are earned but progress also isn't lost, and you need to redo that level (with a new generated team, ofcourse!) before you can go on.

Given how the gauntlet works (if you lose you lose ALL rewards) I feel losing after 20 rounds of not winning is way too punishing.

Encountered one of these teams the other day and I thought the page had broken. Very annoying. It was a massive staring contest basically. Then, round 20 ends, and I lose. I was baffled and annoyed.

There's a 20 round limit in the gauntlet? That's so unfair with how some teams are generated. Support for changing something about this.

Support! I think perhaps there should be restrictions on team composition for the parties you fight against, so you don't end up against nightmare teams. Like max of certain types of abilities on the teams, or possibly even restricting certain companion duplicates, so there's still variety but losing is due to your own team level/composition rather than the other team having 3 Coordinate specials. (I've experienced the endless non-fighting induced by the opposing team and it's a nightmare knowing there's nothing you can do to stop it).

As someone who was taken to round 16 or so on level six thanks to those dang monstropods (shields my beloathed), support.

And/or removal of the 20 turns thing (maybe take it to 30-40 if it needs to stay?) as well.

Def support to remove the 20 round limit since its unfair to the player.

I like Gaia's suggestion of, after round 20, the team that dealt the most damage wins. I would prefer though if the rounds didn't go past 20. We already have a time intensive fighting mini-game in the Arena. I get bored fairly easily, and I don't want to spend 5 minutes watching still images move towards each other. That said, I also tend to refresh over a lot of the early battles, so I'm not watching them usually. (I watch in the later rounds so I can know if it's relatively safe to go on the to next round.)