Hussar
Legend
Not really. I've tried a variety of things, from reducing hp/increasing damage to changing initiative, to using more opponents, more minions (in waves), changing up my tactics, using terrain, fewer brutes/soldiers, more skirmishers, minimizing elites/solos, etc. The trick is finding a balance between faster encounters and challenging encounters. A quick combat is not the solution if it's not challenging. A challenging encounter isn't if it takes forever to get through. The ideal solution for me would be to get 3 challenging encounters into a session, which means a maximum of 1 hour per encounter. That's yet to happen.
The problem I found is that it is taking me too much time and effort trying to find the right combination of fixes to make my game work. Even if I do find a combination that works, it's not like I can use that same combination for every encounter I design, so an ongoing solution has eluded me thus far.
So, I'm taking a break from that campaign until I can come up with more ideas. If I can't, then I'll have to go to another game system for my 7 player group.
I'm just going by what you list here, so, obviously that's an incomplete picture. But all the solutions you list are on your end. You've not said anything about the players. Are they helping? Do they see the problem? Is it possible that the players are the problem? Have you done anything to nudge problem players into getting into gear?
I know in my one group, it's two players who basically refuse to learn the mechanics which are currently slowing the pace to a crawl. I'm wondering if you are having the same issue.