Arcanaville

I wouldn't have the stomach to do it, but I've thought it. Many, many times.

I am very close to suggesting that the devs basically out the players with the grenades and acids: when they drop, combat spam will say "Violet Rumble recieved Molecular Acid" and when its used combat spam will say "Violet Rumble has destroyed a reinforcement portal." I think this is the sort of thing you should be wary of doing, and the only reason I'm not personally there yet is because even with the apparently amazingly high illiteracy rate among MMO players my overall success rate is still pretty high running trials.

I know some people are shy, some don't really want to talk in team or league, and some honestly don't really know all that much about the game except what they needed to know to play it however they decided to play it. You don't need to know about temp powers or the temp power listing to play the game to 50. So whether I'm leading the trial or not, I always say in league "Everyone check your temp power listing for acids. It might not have dropped in your tray" unless the league looks like they are wiping the portals out fast. I usually repeat and emphasize if a portal or two doesn't magically snuff itself within a few seconds. I think the important thing to mention is that it might not be in their tray: they might have gotten more than one drop, they might not have had space, whatever. And its important to tell everyone to check, because sometimes someone goes the wrong way and can cause drops to cross to the other team.

I'm thinking of LGTF where people actually try to fail that mission, and even long after chatterbox dies and despawns, sometimes the mission lingers on for a while before kicking everyone, and it doesn't seem to be consistently predictable how long it takes.

Could it have been that when the team wiped for a brief moment everyone was either dead out outside of the map? Its possible the game triggered the "all defeated" condition, but it didn't actually kick you until 30 seconds later. I've seen many cases even in normal mission where the failure condition for the mission doesn't fail the mission until a significant amount of time after the trigger occurs.

Edit: to clarify, its possible there's no actual minimum time required to trigger the failure: if it happens for even one moment the trial fails, but there is a random delay between when the game notices this and when it actually happens, possibly because the game server performs this task as a low priority task to prevent inducing additional lag.

Given that eventually, a player somewhere usually eventually figures out what is going on, that would be an incredibly bad risk to take in this game.


In any case, if there are any masterminds still reading, I have a conjecture to test. After thinking about what the devs said the system does and does not do, and all the possible things it has to do, I gave a suggestion to two separate masterminds over the weekend who complained about getting 10 threaded in a trial often and had just gotten 10 threaded in the trial they were on. I suggested the following: that they continue to play exactly as they normally do, but with one exception. If at any time they were waiting for a power to recharge, or they were low on endurance and couldn't afford to fire an attack because it would cost too much endurance, they were to move towards the nearest target and brawl it. Brawl is fast and costs no endurance, so except for the fact they would be moving around more it wouldn't cost them anything much in time or endurance to do this extra thing. In both cases they qualified for rewards on the next trial run. Not statistically strong, but potentially worth conducting the experiment for masterminds that are consistently getting the 10 thread table.

Note: I'm not saying you should *have* to do this, or this is the only way to generate the same result. Its just the current best idea I have. Also note it doesn't actually matter *which* target you attack, which means for masterminds that are constantly waiting for their pets to catch up, its actually just as good to be in the pack that cleans up spawns rather than the pack that forges ahead and engages the next spawn with AoEs (I'm ignoring the practical issues with the way Lambda blinkies are currently harvested in many trials at the moment as well).

I'm afraid that is beyond my meager capabilities. I'm forced to be great, and leave it to others to be humble.

I have Lambda handy:

Marauder: It's go time!
Marauder: These grunts must think they've got what it takes to bring down the Big Dog!?

We are ready for deployment on your command, Praetor White!
Well, then what are you waiting for?! Let's light 'em up!
Yes sir! Engaging the teleportation beacons now! Estimated time until reinforcements arrive is 30 seconds!

Marauder: Good stuff. Now let's see if this serum from Praetor Berry is all he said it was.
Marauder: Raaaaarrrr! Yeah! That's what I was hopin' for! These punks won't know what hit 'em.

We're online sir! Deployment begins now!

Marauder: Get those punks out here then! No one comes into my house and lives to tell about it! Let's do this!


I have Sutter and Kal, but I'll need to dig them up because they are not in my trial excerpts. Should have them tonight after I get home.

PS: I think Marauder should just come out and call himself the "Main Man" already. "No buncha two week old Incarnettes gonna mess wit' the Main Man!" Its not like I'm the only one thinking it.


Plus, I think Siege should sound like ED-209:

Siege: Put down your weapons. You have twenty seconds to comply. You are in violation of penal code 6-14 Section 5 regarding the use of super powers against praetorian property. You now have 10 seconds to comply. Five... Four... Three... Two... One. I am now authorized to use physical force.

And then he should Full Auto everyone.

Sometimes I imagine Mother Mayhem sounding like Gloria Gaynor singing her dialog:

Mother Mayhem: First I was pleased, the project stupefied...
Mother Mayhem: Kept seeing more of my children here by my side
Mother Mayhem: I spent so many nights correcting where they went wrong
Mother Mayhem: I made them strong
Mother Mayhem: And now their ready to move on
Mother Mayhem: And so those rats
Mother Mayhem: in their resistance base
Mother Mayhem: When will the children run amok and wreck their plans
Mother Mayhem: and shoot them in the face?

Mother Mayhem: I am just -so- pleased with the success of this project, and as you know, if Mother is pleased, you know that our dear Emperor is pleased as well.

Nightstar: Yeah, yeah, pleased. Can we move this along: I have a manicure at three.

Siege: Is it ok if I just stay dead this time? I want to run an ITF in an hour.

Mother Mayhem: If I have to wear this f-ing thing twenty-three hours a day, the least you twits could do is pretend you give a crap. Jesus this itches. Screw it: you two go kill all the squishies in the courtyard, I'm going to give all the mindwashed jump packs and we can go get some lunch. Lets head for Steel Canyon: for some unknown reason I feel this urge to have my dog take a giant dump in Positron's helmet.

I have to admit that by the third run, I started commenting on the scene in league chat. By the fifth run I was MSTing it to myself as it played:


Mother Mayhem: They have even told me where to find the other children who've run away, so they can be returned to their Mother's loving embrace.

Nightstar: And an ample embrace it is.

Siege: I'll be in my docking port.

Mother Mayhem: I am just -so- pleased with the success of this project, and as you know, if Mother is pleased, you know that our dear Emperor is pleased as well.
Mother Mayhem: Our little runaways have had -so- much to tell me, so many -interesting- things. They've proven their devotion to their Mother with this information.
Mother Mayhem: They have even told me where to find the other children who've run away, so they can be returned to their Mother's loving embrace.
Mother Mayhem: Those little -rats- in the Resistance won't be able to hurt Mother's children now, after all the hard work our little dears have done. Now... be good and tell Mother, when will we be ready to deliver our next little -present- to those -vermin-?!
Nightstar: We have been closely observing the subjects, and we estimate that they will be ready within the next day, Praetor Tilman.
Siege: We have developed a plan for the release of the subjects that we believe you will appreciate, Praetor.
Siege: Tomorrow evening, the B.A.F. will suffer an 'attack' by the Resistance and Primal forces. In the attack, the facility's security will be shut down and the subjects will escape.
Nightstar: When this happens, we can immediately begin to sway the public's opinion in our favor, as we will have means of controlling the subjects.
Nightstar: Some of the subjects will go berserk at our command. We will easily locate them, and we will have an opportunity to stop them and save the day.
Siege: Thus, the Resistance and the Primals will be blamed for releasing terrorists into the city. We, however, will gain the grace of the populace for taking control of the situation.
Siege: Better still, some subjects will remain sleeper agents, missed in the chaos. They will be free to infiltrate the Resistance and turn them to our side from within.
Mother Mayhem: Wonderful. See that you send all of your precious work to Mother's archives.
Mother Mayhem: There are just -so- many things we have planned! My children will soon see just how much -love- their Mother has for them.
Mother Mayhem: I will leave the next phase in your capable hands. I know that your love for Mother means that -you- -will- -not- -fail- -me-!


I have so many logs of trials I can build an Incarnate cabin.

According to Baryonyx:

It would be for someone who had the slots unlocked. It would not be for someone who didn't have the slots unlocked: that would be the bottleneck in that case, particularly if they ran 20 BAFs and still didn't have Lore unlocked. That's enough threads to make all the commons you would need even if you were getting nothing but uncommon drops.

I'm assuming anyone that is consistently getting the worst possible iXP on a BAF would simply convert threads to iXP. It only takes 30 threads to unlock the lower slots and 45 to unlock the higher ones. To unlock both Judgment and Lore without any help from earned iXP would take only 75 threads. That's an amount of threads I would expect anyone to get from thread drops and astral merits in about four BAFs.

If you don't do that, you could conceivably take a huge number of BAF runs to unlock both psychic slots, but that would be voluntary if you want to hoard astrals. The game is giving you enough resources to do it much quicker than that.

What's unique about me is that anyone else with a similar resume would be known as a jack of all trades, not a "numbers person." It would be assumed they played the game to death, not studied it in a telescope from a long way away. That's really the main thing I object to.


Actually, there is another unique thing about me. When the players say "X should go take a look at this" most players don't. I tend to foolishly say "ok." That may have more to do with it than anything else.

The main point I objected to was:

Saying I'm good with numbers is a complement. Saying I'm a "numbers person" and implying that limits my viewpoint or expertise is not a complement. Its an attempt to turn me into a caricature. I wrote one of the first guides to pulling. I helped formulate the standard strategy for the level 50 Hamidon. I used to solo task forces and AVs when it wasn't considered easy. I'm actually to the best of my knowledge the first person to post a "scrapper challenge" thread and the first to post a "earn X from scratch in the markets on the red side" threads. Its not like any of these things are big secrets, so saying I'm just a numbers person, instead of just someone good at numbers, is an attempt to put me into a small box with air holes that other people can ignore.

My numbers posts should not necessarily afford me more credibility in my other endeavors, but they should not afford me less either.

One more thing: I was actually a known quantity on the forums *before* I became known as the numbers maven. Notoriety came first, numbers came second. I guess most of the people who were around to know that have died of old age.

Conversion recipes are going in so that uncommons can be broken down into commons or even changed into other uncommons. This means it will never be to your advantage to "slack off" because in all possible cases higher rewards never have less utility: they always have equal or superior utility, even in the dreaded case of getting nothing but uncommons.

I've gotten exactly one very rare drop out of 44 runs across three characters: a blaster, a scrapper, and a controller. I don't think the average player is getting all that many VRs in general, and the low drop rate is not unlucky, its the high drop rate that is either very lucky or not accurately reported.

I don't *think* anyone really does that. Its probably safe to say, though, that I'm the Last of the Old School Game Mechanical Gurus that is still posting actively on that subject. When it comes to whether something is working as intended I'm probably the most recognized name - but not the sole tester: testing itself has progressed to the point where with Real Numbers and more sophisticated understanding, there's a large cottage industry of players testing things effectively, which is a good thing. In fact, most good testers today are doing at least a good of a job as I was doing in the days before Real Numbers and mechanical guides. I'm just the last stop on the rail for that sort of thing, when something unexplainable happens, or when conventional testing is inadequate.

Whether what's intended is what's *right* is something few people grant me special ability to arbitrate, which is as it should be. That's why I always separate discussions about what something does, and what it should do. I have specific expertise to speak authoritatively on the former, but my opinions on the latter should carry the same weight as any other players does. And they generally do: there's no shortage of people willing to say I'm full of crap when it comes to opinions. And while I will defend my opinions just as vigorously as anyone else, its a healthy sign that I'm not considered the final authority on matters beyond the objective facts I can speak to.

Yeah, he seems to have quit. Again. I don't know if he's going to return this time or not, he just sort of faded out.

Incidentally, BillZ was also the long-time resident ATI guru.

I'm finding it increasingly odd that you consider my disagreeing with you proof of my fallibility, because it logically presumes infallibility on your part, as you're stating that disagreeing with you *proves* error.

That's something I don't claim.

Nor do I ask anyone to do so. However, I do believe people can and should judge the relative credibility of all forum posters based on past history. Some people grant me higher credibility, some don't. I think if people are judging me by my past statements and record, that's fair either way.

I'm just one example of players granting other players a certain degree of credibility in certain areas. There are or were players considered authorities on force fields, on dark armor, on stalkers, on base building, on marketeering, on PvP, on badges. Heck: I never made it into a City of Heroes comic. And I'm pretty sure Iggy sleeps with a copy of Mids running under his pillow. Their opinions on their respective areas of expertise will be generally held in higher regard on those subjects than yours will - or mine. And that's because they earned their credibility in those areas, and you and I have not. The fact that other players respect them more than you and me in those areas is not a bad thing. They are more equal than you because they've done more than you, and proven themselves to the player community more than you.


No, I said most of my posts related to the game are non-numbers posts. Its not like its hard to find my posts. Count them yourself.


That's a good question. Let me ask the counter-question. Suppose its discovered that all of your participation algorithm "tactics" don't work, and you were personally responsible for at least encouraging people to attempt them, even if you didn't do so singularly. And this causes significant damage to the player community as a result of people hearing your words and being influenced by them. *If* that's true that would be more harm generated in one shot than I could possibly be accused of doing in seven years. What's the remedy for that?

I'll tell you what the remedy is for me. That doesn't happen for me. And the reason why is that while I'm perfectly willing to state my wild, unsubstantiated, personally biased opinions on matters that are for pure discussion purposes only, when it comes to something like "what does the participation algorithm in the trials do" I know I'm playing with fire. So I don't say it unless I'm certain. I don't jump to conclusions. I caution people to reserve judgment on matters we don't have enough information about. I don't sensationalize. And I provide as much detail about my observations as possible, so if I *have* made an error someone else might be able to spot it. And because of that, I don't have the problem I mention above, in seven years of posting. Someone might take my opinion as gospel when I myself caution them not to. I can't help that. But I've never told the playerbase I was certain about something that caused them to take detrimental actions for themselves or others, because I take full responsibility for my posts, and I factor in how every word will be interpreted by the community when I post. I sometimes rewrite them several times to ensure I am not misleading people to dangerous places or actions. I exercise restraint when talking about the game, and how players might play the game.

Do you?