Ad Astra
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Posts
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Joined
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Quote:All good advice - in fact, even if you are deadset on being a pure blapper - "fall back and take advantage of range when things get too sticky."Originally Posted by Ben_Arizona
Kill them faster than they kill you. Don't be afraid to eat a purple inspiration - that's what they're there for. Use the mitigation tools at your disposal - /energy's stuns or /ice's Ice Patch, for instance. If you're not dead set on being a "pure" blapper, fall back and take advantage of range when things get too sticky. A fairly popular mixed style is to use AoEs to mow down minions, then move in and wreck the bosses with your hard-hitting melee attacks.
The "secret" of being a Blaster is knowing when to do this. -
Quote:Power - I can honestly say, after reading your recent slew of posts - this is advice you need to take to heart.Originally Posted by Power_NA
ooops, I really need to read my post. I meant OUTFITS
You *really* need to read all your posts before hitting the send button. There is a "Preview Post" button there for just that reason.
If you *know* you tend to post misspelllings and malapropisms (and you have to know that after so many people making fun of them across several posts just these last few days alone) - then make use of the tools given to prevent the problem! -
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Quote:How exactly do they *not* have equal opportunities to enjoy "the game content"?Originally Posted by Uruare
And also, yes, it is a market. Quite clearly so, as its full of shmucks, drips, two-dimensional cads and ethical sociopaths that do not realize they are playing a game and will win at any cost, especially when that cost is paid by others.
Such as the multitudes of people that do not happen to be stockbrokers and have no real interest in playing City of Wallstreet.
Funky little thing about that, y'know? I can play the market too. I've experimented with this flipping, I keep my own RL portfolio of stocks and I work in an industry in which markets, marketing data and data interpretation is, in fact, my job.
Do ya -really think- I want to pay to play a game that reminds me of my /job/? Yes, that's quite personal and personally biased right there, but c'mon -on- man, /think/ here.
Most of us (I presume; maybe I'm just delusional) play games like these to have fun.
Lots of people have fun in rather different ways. Some by being all organizational and gung-ho and regulatory and charging around in massive SG's streamlined like para-military organizations, running 1000 TF's a month and Hami raids on the dot, on -every- dot, like clockwork.
Some others, by toodling around, teaming when they can, yakking with people in /b and mostly just goofing off and fiddling with various builds.
Yet -others- by getting amped up, build-tweaking, trying to find just the right configs of powers and IO's and stomping around in PVP zones.
Yet -others- to jaw around and type a lot and roleplay.
HOLY CRAP that's indicative of a lot of divergant interests!
And every single one of them deserves, contingent upon the grounds set forth by the EULA and its authoring bodies, equal opportunities to enjoy "The Game Content".
You go on and on about folks with divergent interests and then villify and heap scorn upon one set of those divergent interests - hypocritical much?
Again - how are these players being denied their enjoyment?Quote:Now, call me greedy if you like (o'wait, you already did, lawl), but I think that one of the absolutely best ways to ensure that equal opportunity exists for everybody is to cater to the LEAST powergamey-grindy-farmy strata of the gaming population.
Y'know, those mythical 'average gamers' that do reasonable amounts of some stuff and dabble in most of the rest. It's a broad pseudo-category, but it -is- a category largely defined by it's exclusion of extremes.
The average gamer does not farm 12 hours a day, nor do they spend 80 hours a week logged in. They do not powerlevel from 1 to 50 in six hours, nor do they try to make the cover of Newsweek by refining their Wallstreet accumen in Wentworths or on the Black Market.
So uh...yeah.
I'm greedy because I'd like to level the playing field and ensure that the least obsessive (o'wait, did I go there?) denominator amongst the stratified playerbase can, within reasonable expenditure of time/effort/funds, experience all the game content.
I think I am likely one of those "average gamers" you champion. I take months to get a character to 50, and only have 2 level 50 characters after 5(!) years of playing. I play anywhere from 5 to 20 or so hours in a given week. My richest characters do not have more than 100 million inf each (thanks to some people who paid "buy it nao" prices for a Numina's here & there).
Yet somehow I manage to contain my disappointment at not having a purple'd-out Warshade (sarcasm, in case you couldn't tell).
I still manage to enjoy the game, playing thru missions and joing TF/SFs, getting drops and inf, and selling stuff either at a vendor or the Market depending on where gets me the best price.
Thank you for pointing out how deluded I have been these last few years and that I have clearly been cheated by these evil other players crushing my hopes and dreams. (more sarcasm, BTW).
Meh. You speak as if "Greed" isn't a valid drive in a game setting. News Flash - it is for some people. And yes - you seem to be one of them, since your enjoyment of the game seems to be wrapped around having the brightest "shinies" and implies that you are incapable of enjoying it without their possession and use.Quote:Who exactly am I ah...robbing, with that?
Who's the greedy one, I wonder? Those like me that would happily artificially cap the market to maximize availability of its use, or those that fight rabidly to maintain their abilities to profit egregiously off it irrespective of what impact this has on mythological and irrelevant figures (Read: Everyone else).
Think before you reply. You didn't once already, and it's tacky.
I really get tired of self-righteous people who come to the forums and claim to speak for me, especially when they attribute their own motives of greed to all "casual players". -
Quote:Short, pithy and on target.Originally Posted by Perfect_Pain
Wow, this is like the deadest of dead horses.
Some people like to farm. Some people don't.
I honestly dont think it matters. -
My eyes glazed over at all the mathy stuff, although I understand your basic concept. It would be nice to have Story Arcs grant merits to all on the team - if only there was a way to do it that could not be exploited. I don't think this system is quite the way to do it, though.
I don't really like the idea of "partial credit" merits. Going back thru all the missions to put in the calculation seems like a lot of programming (caveat: not a programmer, so all I can rely on here is SCR applies). Even if a lot of it could be done by assigning values to the "spreadsheet" that tracks all the story arcs & TF/SFs, there would still be the manual assignment of values for unique maps. Lots of places for stuff to get entered incorrectly and therefore lots of places where values would have to be maintained and/or tweaked.
I *really* don't like this part of your concept:
Quote:This is really a big inequality, especially compared to your other calculations.Current Bank Mission (level 50) Example
Side Mission Merits Awarded upon Exit (per player):
SAFEGUARDS
Stop the Robbery: (Defeat Boss encounter) 0.40 Merits +0.10 per Other player
Stop Jewelry Theft: (Protect Object) + 0.20 Merits +0.10 per Other player
Stop the Arson: (4 Collections) +0.40 Merits +0.10 per Other player
Stop the Breakout: (Defeat Boss encounter) +0.40 Merits +0.10 per Other player
Stop Sewer Bombing: (4 Collections) +0.40 Merits +0.10 per Other player
Stop Weapons Deal: (1 Collection) +0.10 Merits +0.10 per Other player
TOTAL SOLO: 1.90 Merits vs TOTAL TEAM of 8: 6.40 Merits
MAYHEMS
Rob the Bank: (Collection/Defeat Boss Encounter) 0.50 Merits +0.10 per Other player
Rob Jewelry Store: (Destroy Object/2 Collections) +0.40 Merits +0.10 per Other player
Torch the Building: (4 Collections) +0.40 Merits +0.10 per Other player
Kidnapping: (1 Escort) +0.40 Merits +0.10 per Other player
Break Out a Villain: (1 Destroy Object) +0.20 Merits +0.10 per Other player
Raid Weapons Deal: (1 Collection) +0.10 Merits +0.10 per Other player
TOTAL SOLO: 2.00 Merits vs TOTAL TEAM of 8: 6.50 Merits
For most of your calculation, the difference between Team of 4 and Team of 8 for a TF/SF rounds to roughly 1 merit.
For Story Arcs, the Mission Holder is slighted on Merits, but again, only about 1 Merit, although you express the expectation that
which I'm not sure is a correct expectation for all players. XP /= MeritsQuote:The bonus XP at the end of an Arc should make up for the difference for Arc holders if their value ends up slightly under Merit total of 8 man team.
The whole suggestion is based off a beginning assumption that Teaming with a full Team of 8 is to be encouraged, while Solo Play and/or Small Teams have less value and should not receive the same rewards. And I truly don't think that is a message the Devs want to give out.
I don't see the need to give out Merits for Paper/Scanner missions, nor for Mayhems/Safeguards.
Basically, nice try, but /unsigned.
P.S. I just noticed that the Safeguard and Mayhem missions give a different number of Merits for completion, although it's just a fraction. Still, over the course of multiple completions, the accumulation would grant more Merits to Villains for what should be essentially the same "mission"? -
Quote:Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
I'd rather have Ad_Astra jump out of a cake and sing happy birthday.
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What is the perceived problem with the announced "unlock at 20"?
It's a very elegant solution to perhaps how they could have been introduced in the first place (if the game had Striga Isle at the time), but they weren't. -
Quote:5 free levels for each of my alts - hmm, let's see, 63 alts time 5..Originally Posted by Power_NA
Ok, no $inf hahah.
Just 5 free levels and a badge
Poor 50s they get nothing but a badge. Maybe a good ehnacement?
315 free levels! And my characters who are in the upper 40s now hit 50!
NO.
Plus, NCSoft has no business knowing more of my personal information other than the credit card I pay them with. I do not want to put my birthday on file with them.
/unsigned. -
They came as part of the Good vs. Evil pack. Do you have that code applied to the NA account?
If you bought one of the other codes to start the new NA account (Architect Edition, Mac Edition, etc.) IIRC you will also need to get a GvsE code. -
Quote:Wow - if only it were that easy to "unlock" Beowulf.Originally Posted by RosaQuartz
I love the idea of having to read 50 books of increasing difficulty before you can "unlock" Beowulf.
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I know - Let's mush together two of the most hotly argued and denounced ideas EVAR on these forums into one single thread because someone is bored.
Oh, wait.... -
/Electric is just fine, thank you.
My level 50 is Energy/Electric/Electric. I think the combo works well, but that's probably because I actually like KB a lot for mitigation. Solo - nobody is hitting you if they are on their backs. In teams, judicious use of KB (not scattering mobs unless it's necessary to save the team, aiming the KB effect towards the meleers, etc) is not the bugaboo that so many people moan about. -
Go play The Sims on-line (is that still around?) or Second Life or one of those addictive FaceBook games like YoVille.
Honestly, Power, don't you *like* this game? You keep trying to make it into something it isn't, with this suggestion and the City of Monsters suggestion and so on. -
Quote:And even that restriction is blue-side only.Originally Posted by Fleeting Whisper
The only contacts you're restricted from due to origin are the lv1-5 starting contacts...
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Quote:This is pretty much what happened to me as well for I16 Closed Beta. I don't think I *ever* got the email for either my account or my husband's - and I have confirmed repeatedly that the email address is correct on the NCSoft account.Originally Posted by Schismatrix
Keep in mind that the beta invite emails can sometimes be delayed or not received at all. i was actually invited into the closed beta for issue 16 but didn't see the email until shortly after it went open. Also, there are normally forums for the closed betas in the main forum list that are visible only to those who are invited. i would expect the current closed beta to have the same. i know the forums for the Issue 16 closed beta were still visible to me for several months afterward.
So the two most likely ways to confirm being in the closed beta outside of getting the email would be seeing the forums for the beta and/or being able to log into test. Of course there's no guarantee that everyone who is eligible will be invited. The last time i checked my CoH account email i hadn't received a closed beta invite, but that was a few days ago. i'll check again when i get home. (Not that i'll be at liberty to say one way or the other if i do receive the invite.)
One day, the Closed Beta forums appeared for I16 when I logged in here on the boards - that's the only way I knew to go check the Test Server. -
Quote:^^^Originally Posted by Sharker_Quint
Reroll! and make sure you save the costume you worked on first.
This.
Also copy your carefully-crafted bio into Notepad, etc., if thats the attraction for the character. -
Quote:OK - I "get" that the tactics of your particular character would be to ghost the mission and skip to the end.Originally Posted by Hube02
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I believe that you are referring to the thread I started about "Teams & Tactics". To me this is no different. The tactics of this character are to get to the objective. I believe that my complaint had to do with not looking at things from a tactical viewpoint. With this stalker I can do that, and without all the time spent bashing things, when bashing things is not really part of the plot.
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BUT - that apparently was not the tactics of the TEAM AS A WHOLE. Apparently at least one of your teammates had a much different expectation of the TEAM tactics.
Your RP goals do not trump the desires of the rest of the team - which probably was to rack up XP and drops.
It is probably best that if you do not see your Stalker as a Team Player, that you do not join any other teams with the character.
If your purpose in coming here was to get some sort of validation that the player who was upset was some sort of a jerk - well, perhaps you are right. But my grandma always used to say that "two 'wrongs' don't make a 'right'", so look in the mirror. -
Your characters will be there.
Names on sufficiently low-level characters might not be there if they run the name purging script.
Your time towards any Vet Rewards will suspend during the non-billing period. This - not the chance that characters would be deleted - is a primary reason people keep the billing going.
You will not be allowed to post on the forums during the non-billing period - another reason some folks keep paying while on a break.
It used to be that any stuff stored in the Market would delete after 60 days, but that changed quite a while back.
BTW - the Reactivation Weekend coming up with Double XP in March would be kinda icky if NCSoft deleted characters from inactive accounts. -
I applaud your commitment to RP, but I also recall a whole thread where you, OP, bemoaned the fact that teams you were on just rushed through to the end to grab the goodies and didn't take any time to read the clues, etc.
How is that different from what you did to this team of heroes?
Also, I read your playstyle for your Stalker and the first thought that occurs to me is "Man, it's ginna take him forever to level that Stalker - and he's gonna be poor the entire slog thru the levels!" In most games of this type, the levelling speed depends at least in part on the assumption that you do defeat other things besides the main mission objective - bypassing all those other snales in the cave with Slithis means lots of "wasted opportunity" for the XP & drops those snakes give you.
That's your choice, of course, but you should be aware that you are deliberately slowing yourself way down based on your RP choices. You can just as easily choose to wreak carnage by sneaking up behind them and stabbing them in the back, but you are choosing another path. But don't come back later and tell us that your Stalker is "too slow" and "takes forever to level" and "is dirt poor".
You should also be aware (and since you are new, I'm betting you didn't know) that there are some badges that are only available to the opposing faction during one of these events. For example, the CoT Hordelings are something Heroes cannot defeat at any time other than this event. If you had any heroes on your team looking for that badge, you just messed that up for them - and since it was a full team of 8, there would have potentially been lots of Hordelings for them to get. -
I like the low levels, for the most part. I don't mind running around for a few levels, then getting a jetpack to fly.
I am getting tired of the fedexs, running to meet a "new contact" (especially the Field Analysts & PvP reps - I know about them already, thanks, please let me skip them or take something else).
The fast pace (levelling almost every time I play for more than a few minutes) is what makes it attractive. Above the mind 20s, it slows down, and then it depends heavily on the powerset & AT whether I want to play a character for any length of time. That's probably why it took me over 2 1/2 years to get my first level 50 and why I only have 4 other characters above level 40 (including my second level 50 about a month ago).
But I am really, really looking forward to something different to do.... -
I've never done a Hami Raid successfully, and only been on one unsuccessful try. I would love to be part of this, but the amount of setup time scares me a bit.
I've been playing the game for five years now, but only got a character to 50 relatively recently. I know how to play her (blaster) to good effect, just not necessarily on a raid yet. I also have a level 50 defender bouncing around the various servers at the moment.
One thing for me is that the scheduled raids always happened on Sunday evening, when I can't commit to be there due to other obligations. -
She's not a queen, but here is my very sophisticated English noblewoman, Lady Veridian.
Using one of the Tiaras in Detail 1, the Magic Bolero, Tank Top, and Pencil Skirt Long. -
I would still take Swift for the running speed increase (at least at lower levels, although I might /respec out of it at higher levels) because I can't stand "slow motion" Sprint.
I would likely still take Health. I haven't slotted the procs others are mentioning in the thread, and probably still would not because when/if they drop, they would likely be even more valuable and would sell for beaucoup bux.
I would probably tend to pick up either Stealth/Invisibility or Aid Other/Aid Self if I had a spare Pool Power pick, especially on squshier characters. On the sturdier ones, I would probably pick up the Leadership pool (currently used on my defenders only).
All that being said, I have several characters who use only 2 Power Pools because I take most of their Pri/Sec powers and many Power Pool powers don't fit them.
The only character I have taken fairly high without Stamina was a Katana/Regen Scrapper, who still took the Fitness pool for Swift/Hurdle.
NightshadeLegree said this:
Quote:Which I agree with wholeheartedly (except for the bots/FF stuff, since I don't have a high level MM).One thing I won't do, on any character, is to postpone taking other fun powers in order to be able to take Stamina at 20, so most of my characters only end up with it in the mid to late 20s (except for Bots/FF, which I can't imagine ever needing it. Standing around watching your minions do all the work doesn't cost a lot of End.)
I honestly think that learning to manage your Blue Bar is as important as learning to manage your Green Bar. Many of my lowbie characters stop to use Rest because their Health is low, not because their Endurance is low. I can't support the many suggestions that have come up to eliminate the need to build Stamina into characters or to make Endurance Recovery greater in the lower levels. If that happens, why not just go ahead and give all characters endless HP to go with their now endless Endurance?
I guess I don't really have a problem with using energy management in a game as a balance mechanism. What could be substituted for it?
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Quote:Don't be a hater, Z_M!Originally Posted by Zombie Man
Y'all is used by people who can't understand whether 'you' is being used plurally or singularly by context. There might be a few exceptional cases where the 'all' prevents confusion.
And if you're going to be a Southern apologist, then explain the correctness of "all y'all."
"All y'all" is a fine old Southern usage that is merely more expansive than a simple "y'all". "Y'all might referto the two or three people there in front of you, but "all y'all" means "including your friends and family".
Regionalism has been part of the English language since since the time of Alfred the Great and Edward the Confessor. Just because those living in/near London decided something was "more correct" doesn't make it so.
Next you will be saying that "ain't" is not a perfectly good form of the verb "to be" (one of the most irregular verbs out there).
(I'm a transplant to central Ohio, from the state that broke away from the Confederacy - WV. I was taught all the proper English usages at my mother's knee and she would be aghast if I actually used "ain't" in front of her. But I do use "all'y'all" for emphasis when it seems appropriate.) -
More a class I won't play.
So far, I can't get a tank past the mid 20s, and I've deleted most of the ones I created. Maybe it's because this is my first MMO, but I can't get into the mindset of tanking. It's a skill I've never learned.
The "survivor" tank is fire/fire, so she's really more of a scranker. And she solos and never teams.
Every so often, I try it again - but so far, unsuccessfully.