Death_Conqueror

I think the boost to xp 1-20 is just stupid and rediculous. If that goes into effect, that'll be a grand 40% increase to xp in those levels since initial launch, not to mention the debt sliced in half and no debt till 10 instead of 4. For god's sake, if we're going to make it this easy, just give them the damn "insta-20" button (this is called sarcasm, devs. please take note of it).

As for the sk bit, I'll wait and see. Easier to form some of the TFs, but like FMP said, I'm not thrilled this is automatic. Will cut down significantly on the borea runs during 2xp... hmm. I'd say change it, make it a button on the team window for the team leader's choice... though that defeats the whole idea of destroying bridging.

And the fun continues...

Sara Moore, 1pm EST
40+ for xp, 63 merits.

1. Hamster
2. DC (maybe)
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.


Faathim-the-Kind-of-a-Jerk, 7pm EST
44+ for xp, 73 merits.

1. Hamster
2. DC (maybe)
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.


Both run about 3 hours or so, depending on team makeup.

8pm EST

1. Hamster
2. DC (maybe)
3. Ohloh
4. Viking
5. Dominatrix Vamp
6. Slave Vamp
7. Praetorian Slicer
8. Raging Blue

Alt:
1. Snake Rogers

45+, blue side only, 38 merits +2 for every flier, yada yada.

Since it hasn't been commented on around here, I'm going to guess most haven't seen this; understandable since the digests don't work.

Oh for the love of...

*Goes to bang head on wall* Market's not going to get much time to calm down.

Not as much cash as I had hoped, but 170ish million's alright by me, even with half of Sunday wasted and a morning break on Saturday.

Only about 250 mil to go for Leader.

/e salute

See ya on the flipside.

Day four complete:

Citadel: 1:31, 7 dead. Started with 8, but ended with 3 tanks, 3 scraps, 1 def.

Sara Moore: 2:45, 53 dead. 1 tank, 3 scraps, 3 blasters, 1 troller.


Overall, approx. 18.7 hours spent for the shard-a-thon over the 4 days. Apart from Faathim, most all teams were heavily melee/damage oriented, but that didn't seem to slow us down much.

Thanks to all that participated. Hope everybody enjoys the merits/new badges/nightmares.

Day three complete.

Q: 4:30, 86 dead. 4 scrappers, 1 blaster, 1 tank, 1 troller. Thanks to Blue Justice for padding to help us start.

Sis Psy: 1:38, unknown amount of deaths (more than 5). 3 tanks, 3 scrappers, 1 blaster, 1 PB.

Faathim: 2:39, 18 dead. 1 tank, 3 scrappers, 1 troller, 2 defenders, 1 blaster.

Day two complete:

1st blue respec: 1:01, 4 dead. 4 scrappers, 1 defender, 1 warshade, 2 tanks.

Augustine: 1:46, 24 dead. 4 scrappers, 2 blasters, 1 tank, 1 troller.

Whee for Q in the morning.

Day one complete:

Hess: 50 min, 8 dead. 3 blasters, 3 scraps, 1 tank, 1 troller

Synapse: 2:02, 3 dead. 3 tanks, 2 blasters, 2 scraps, 1 troller.

Very few deaths indeed.. except for me, who died like 15 times. I really want to like elec armor, but... just fails too many times. And apparently 2 interrups in aid self isn't enough.

Ran the rest of GW's 2nd arc, then ran almost all of Ambassador Kuhr'Rekt before splitting for hamster's team. The timed Luminary mission is available for next week.

Here's hoping I don't lose power again. Didn't get around to catching up, so I guess I'll leech just a bit.

Roster as it stands:

Thursday
Hess:
1. DC - tank
2. Ham
3. Des
4. EB - scrapper
5. FMP
6. MMP
7. El Corvo
8.

Synapse:
1. DC - tank
2. Ham (maybe)
3. Des
4. EB - scrapper
5. MMP
6.
7.
8.

Friday
1st respec:
1. DC - tank
2. Ham
3. FMP
4. El Corvo
5. MMP
6.
7.
8.

Augustine:
1. DC - tank
2. Ham
3. El Corvo
4. SnakeRogers - scrapper
5.
6.
7.
8.

Saturday
Quaterfield:
1. DC - tank
2. Ham
3. Des
4. Thess - blaster
5. El Corvo
6. EB (maybe) - scrapper
7. Vanum
8.

Sister Psyche:
1. DC - tank
2. Ham
3. Des
4. Thess - WS (maybe)
5. El Corvo
6. EB (maybe) - scrapper
7.
8.

Faathim:
1. DC - tank
2. Ham
3. Des
4. EB (maybe) - scrapper
5. SnakeRogers - scrapper
6.
7.
8.

Sunday
Citadel:
1. DC - tank
2. Ham
3. Des
4. EB (maybe) - scrapper
5.
6.
7.
8.

Sara Moore:
1. DC - tank
2. Jade Claw
3. Ham
4. Des
5. El Corvo
6. EB (maybe) - scrapper
7. SnakeRogers - scrapper
8.


I'll try to form up maybe 5-10 minutes early. If I don't know your global, I'll page you off of either VF or one of the VBs, or you can show up at the TF contact.

Best of luck to us all.

[ QUOTE ]
(And note, this is blue-side we're talking here, influence, so I'm confused by the reference to the TV mission [unless there's some Terra Volta flashback I'm unfamiliar with]...)

[/ QUOTE ]

Unlockable contact redside, Television.

For 'best' ways, it would be either the Marybash from Katie TF, or a ton of ITFs. Main thought is to stay on a large team at all times, keep fighting stuff that's higher level than you (now, whether you take that to be a 50 fighting 53s or a 50 exempted to 46 facing 52s, that's your choice).

It may not be the best way, and it'll take most all the weekend, but 200 mil for Borea isn't bad, I don't think.

Roster as it stands:

Thursday
Hess:
1. DC - tank
2. ohloh
3. Ham
4. Des
5. EB - scrapper
6. FMP
7. MMP
8. El Corvo

Synapse:
1. DC - tank
2. ohloh
3. Ham (maybe)
4. Des
5. EB - scrapper
6. MMP
7. El Corvo
8.

Friday
1st respec:
1. DC - tank
2. Ham
3. FMP
4. El Corvo
5.
6.
7.
8.

Augustine:
1. DC - tank
2. Ham
3. El Corvo
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Saturday
Quaterfield:
1. DC - tank
2. ohloh
3. Ham
4. Des
5. Thess - blaster
6. El Corvo
7.
8.

Sister Psyche:
1. DC - tank
2. ohloh
3. Ham
4. Des
5. Thess - WS (maybe)
6. El Corvo
7.
8.

Faathim:
1. DC - tank
2. ohloh
3. Ham
4. Des
5.
6.
7.
8.

Sunday
Citadel:
1. DC - tank
2. ohloh
3. Ham
4. Des
5.
6.
7.
8.

Sara Moore:
1. DC - tank
2. Jade Claw
3. ohloh
4. Ham
5. Des
6. El Corvo
7.
8.

Still have plenty of spots for any interested. Less than a week to go.

[ QUOTE ]
No "content" so far, if you want to be a negative nelly

[/ QUOTE ]

There's no content in there. Where's the 10-15 Strike Force, aptly named "Positron's Revenge?"

They throw in some SFs to fill the level range void and this will be the best issue so far. While I couldn't care less about power customization (oh huzzah, pink ice shields), I do like that they've made more animations for MA and even Granite'll get a little love.

For the powerset proliferation, that's a ton of new sets. First thought that went through my head was rad blasters and scraps with Lightening Rod. Elec Armor may be quite good for Tanks... several end recov. helping powers along with probably near the resis. cap in several areas... the no dull pain bit would be interesting, but we'll see.

I'm really curious about this revamped custom difficulty bit. It's going to help the farmers out a ton, I think. Offhand, I wouldn't have a clue about how many casual players will want to push themselves like some folks around the boards. I can see this being a bit problematic for PuGs as well. But, should help the soloers who want to get a bit more of a challenge. Hopefully there's some limits to what you can do. No +5 or +6 baddies please.

Should be good, and we must be getting closer to get the details now.

[ QUOTE ]
*Reads the overview page*

*blink*

... Holy [censored].

[/ QUOTE ]

QFT. Holy hell. Thrilled for most everything there (save power customization), but, as someone else pointed out, this does seem to help the farmers a bit. But, no longer will we see requests for padders, so that may balance things out a little.

Well, that was a fun night.

First my anti-virus kept complaining about how "I don't know what this is, are you sure you want to run it?"

And as soon as I fix that, neighborhood loses power for 3 hours. whee.

I'll try and run something over the weekend to catch up a bit.

The 60's version:

My perfect summer vacation would be Dead Man's Curve doing the Twist with Barbara Ann while we rock around the clock.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


It looks like a good patch, from what the notes seem to indicate. Mito farms are dead, and the MM temp power should now work for Barracuda SF.

[/ QUOTE ]

And PvP drops are back, I think the new system will make them actually place them above purple recipes on the "rareness" scale. That Rep timer thing is long overdue to be revamped. It punishes people on teams and rewards kill stealing.

hmm, maybe im ranting in the wrong thread.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not like being in the wrong thread ever stopped anybody.

I agree the system is no where near the best, but I do believe this is a step in the right direction. Having some sort of cooldown period will help cut down supply and bring about what I think the devs wanted; a drop similar to purps that would appeal more to the pvp crowd.

I think, if anything, the change may also help to reduce some zome kill-farming, where folks keep killing one specific target over and over, ignoring the other folks in the zone (this being different than the old rep-farming). If the individual wanted the pvp recipes, this may encourage him to change targets.

[ QUOTE ]
Be aware that a small patch was applied to the live servers today.

Please plan accordingly.

[/ QUOTE ]

It looks like a good patch, from what the notes seem to indicate. Mito farms are dead, and the MM temp power should now work for Barracuda SF.

I feel I should mention that these Task Forces are not meant to be similar to Des' Milk Runs, where you go as fast as you can and stealth stuff.

Apart from the Quaterfield (which has a metric ton of kill alls anyway), these task forces will be "slaughter-throughs"; basically, fight your way through the map to the target, and complete the mission. If we have an outdoor map, then we go stealthing/scouting around to complete.

Just an FYI.

It's that time again, folks: time to prove your insanity, time to get those annoying shard badges, or just time to rack up a ton of merits! It is time for...

[u]Shard-A-Thon 3!![u]

First, I'd like to take a second to mourn the loss of gameamp.com... simply b/c they had some fairly decent shard guides. C'est la vie.

Moving right along: this version of the Shard-A-Thon will involve more of the original 6 Task Forces in the game. Also, I've decided to expand the event from 3 days to a fourth day, taking over Thursday the 23rd and running till Sunday the 26th. As in previous versions, folks can sign up for as few or as many as they'd like.

Let's take a look at our lineup, shall we?

[u]Thursday, July 23:[u]
Hess TF: 7:30pm eastern, 6:30pm central
Hess leads off, at just about an hour long when it's not run in the speed format, containing 19 merits. 25-30 for xp, Burkholder's Bane is the badge.

Synapse TF: 8:30pm eastern, 7:30 central
To finish off the first night (a nice, light night with no shards), we'll run Synapse. About 2.5 hours or so on average, Synapse has 57 merits, plus 2 for Babbage. Loads of clocks, you'll get the gearsmasher badge quickly here. 15-20 for xp, Synapse's Cohort is the badge.

Total for Thursday: 76 merits.

[u]Friday, July 24th:[u]
1st respec blue side: 7:30pm eastern, 6:30pm central
1st respec, fighting the Sky Raiders, ought to run just around an hour or 75 minutes. 27 merits, 24-33 for xp, with one of the Respec badges as your reward if you choose the respec.

Justin Augustine TF: 8:45pm eastern, 7:45pm central
Since the 1st respec may be 1.25 hours, a little bit of an odd time for the start of this one. Augustine is the Fed-Ex of the gaming world, as there's a grand total of 4 door missions in the entire TF, with the rest of the TF being varied grey hunts and fedexes, bringing the overall time to 1.5-2 hours. The good thing about this TF before the other shards is that you'll be able to map out the Chantry a bit more than you may already have. 44-50 for xp, 24 merits, Protector of Kindness badge.

Total for Friday: 51 merits.

[u]Saturday, July 25th:[u]
Quaterfield TF: 9am eastern, 8am central
I know folks, I know. Unlike all other TFs, this one will be run at heroic diff in an effort to help quicken the pace a bit. However, look at the bright side: you get to spend maybe 5 hours with me! (wait, that's not the bright side) Well... look at the shiny badge and merits. 111 merits, 40-44 for xp, Portal Smasher badge.

NOTE: if there is enough time after Q but before the next event (1.5 hours hopefully), I'd like to squeeze a Kahn in. 45-50 for xp, 20 merits, Column Breaker badge)

Sister Psyche TF: 4pm eastern, 3pm central
As we take a break from the ever beautiful, yet deadly shard, we move to the wondeful world of Freaks with Sister Psyche. About 2-3 hours or so, 50 merits, 20-25 for xp, Sister Psyche's Comrade badge.

Faathim the Kind-of-a-Jerk TF: 8pm eastern, 7pm central
As we wrap up the day, and hopefully after a short break, we're back at it in the Shard with the one schmuck who doesn't use a phone, smoke signals, or telepathy to get us his missions. We'll be running all over, including stops in such lavish places as the Chantry, the Storm Palace, and Atlas Park, with trips to both Death Stars, which will bring the time to about 3-5 hours, I would imagine. 73 merits, 44-50 for xp, Slayer of Madness badge. Come for the Shard, stay for the AVs! (Includes Baphomet, who gives his own badge, Demon Slayer)

Total for Saturday: 234 merits (254 if we get that Kahn in)

[u]Sunday, July 26th[u]
Citadel TF: 4pm eastern, 3pm central
As we come off the long Saturday, we start relatively late with a Citadel in the middle of the afternoon. As we slash through Nazis, Nazis, and more Nazis (in varying caves that look exactly the same), we'll at least get 40 merits. 2-3 hours, 25-30 for xp, Citadel's Assistant badge.

Sara Moore TF: 7pm eastern, 6pm central
And finally, to finish up Shard-A-Thon 3, we have the last Shard TF needed, and one of the better shards in the game. Close to the same time as Faathim at 3-5 hours or so, it's more Rularuu than Faathim though. Come prepared for an interesting fight. 40-50 for xp, 63 merits, Destroyer of Strength badge.

Total for Sunday: 103 merits.

Overall weekend Possible total: [u]464 merits[u] (or 484)
-------------------------------

So, who's up for some insanity?