Hydrophidian

Because the "alternative options" often suggested aren't actually "alternatives" at all. They're meant to replace and effectively kill the market. How is that an "alternative"? Sounds more like the old 'you might enjoy this, but I don't, so it has to go,' routine that's all too typical on these forums.

Yes, many people who enjoy the market would rather not see it ruined. I fail to see how there's anything wrong with that view.

IOs are not required to play the game. They're required to reach certain build goals... but such builds are not necessary for a character to perform well enough in the game.

Min-maxers/power gamers have been saying "X is a MUST" for years... long before IOs came into the picture. But anyone who says, "you NEED X IO to play" is wrong. Just like anyone who used to say, "you NEED Hasten" was wrong, or, in many cases, Stamina.

SOs work just fine. The game's still balanced around them. IO sets are meant to be something you build over time as "icing on the cake". I still have 50s slotted with SOs and they function just as well on teams as they did before IOs were introduced. Would I like to "trick out" those characters with sets? Sure, and I plan to do so... but I'm in no hurry.

And it hasn't really changed since then. The mobs are the same, with the same attacks, same damage, same effects. So why would an increase in performance be required?

Simple answer: It just isn't. And my SOed characters prove that every time I play them. I generally don't even bother with IOs until level 32, and usually ignore sets until the 40s. If IOs were a requirement, I wouldn't be able to do that, right?

Ergo: IOs are not a requirement.

Y'know what happened when Merits were introduced?

People went off to farm farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm for them.

This typically involved exemplaring down.

Result?

People stopped playing level 50 content.

Result?

Purple drops declined sharply.

Result?

Prices on purples started shooting up.


Want to make purples purchasable with merits? Okay.

First of all, they would have to cost much, much more than the amount you've suggested. So you'll have to disabuse yourself of the 250/300 pipe dream. That'll never happen.

Still want them to be purchasable with Merits? Okay. When made so, large swaths of the player base would immediately go and farm farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm for merits. Likely more than we've ever seen do that before. And, considering that you can now get XP while exemplared, there'd be no reason left for these players to do level 50 content at all. Thus, a "natural" purple drop would be a once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence.

This would ensure that market prices for purples would remain ridiculously high, with scant few--far fewer than we see now--ever becoming available. The only guaranteed way remaining for a player to gain purples would be--dare I say it--farming merits.

Cue the flood of complaints: The game is just a grind now. I can't find a team. All anyone wants to do is farm merits! Doesn't anyone just want to... PLAY THE GAME?!

You think it's bad now? Make purples available thru merits and it'll get many times worse. How do I know? 'Cuz those of us who've paid attention to the market have already seen it happen. We saw what happened to high-level recipes when Merits were introduced. Supply went down, not up. Prices went up, not down. And farming merits became the thing to do.

There is no reason to think that repeating the error would garner a different result. If that's what you think, well... Einstein had something very accurate to say about that line of reasoning.

As far as this game goes:

It's one thing to kill a character--a lot of people have done that--but it's another thing entirely to have them stay dead. That's more of a rarity.

I did it with a character a couple of years ago. I knew, at creation, that she was going to die. Despite that knowledge, when the time finally came, it still ended up being a heart-wrenching and bittersweet experience. And not just for me.

I think part of the impact stemmed from the way it happened. She wasn't killed, there was no heroic sacrifice. Instead, one day she just... stopped; fell over in the middle of a SG meeting. And that was that. She was gone.

It's still one of the most powerful roleplay experiences I've had on this game.

Well, really, you can't pull someone into your storyline without their consent.

Which is a big part of why you should ask for that consent at the outset, as a default. 'Cuz if you proceed without asking, and then the person says, "Uh... no, I'm not going along with that"... then what? Your storyline is hosed, isn't it?

That said, it may be a good idea to get general consent, rather than revealing and spoiling any specifics of the plot. Some people would rather not know what's going to happen. It's more fun for them that way.

Were it me, that's what I'd ask about first, and then go from there depending on the answer.

There is now a second Robotica video commercial.


Also, all the submission for Robotica Haiku are in! Folks can vote for their favorite haiku here.

It's not your only choice.

Uh... no. I'm not. I'm not even in the zones anymore. How many times do I have to point that out?

I'm on the side that says open PVP is appropriate in an open PVP zone, and that trying to restrict or marginalize open PVP in an open PVP zone is inappropriate. When you chastise people for interrupting your duels, that's is what you're doing.

Because I prefer the PVP to be a friendly experience. Not everyone cares about that, and that's valid.

That's not what you've been saying. Do I have to cite the quotes?

Yes, it has nothing to do with "ganks". Lol. That's a straw man. Lol. Even if you use 'lol' it remains irrelevant.

Right. You think the Arena is inconvenient. You duel in PVP zones because it is more convenient for you. This is about your convenience. Nothing more, nothing less. You expect others to accommodate your convenience, at the expense of their own play.

I find that to be remarkably self-absorbed.

Plenty of people use the Arena channel. If you don't use it, how would you know?

When I want to duel I use the arena. You don't speak for "everyone". Your experience is anecdotal, your perspective (extremely) limited. Just like the rest of us.

You don't use the arena channel, so you have no idea who does and does not use it, or how it's used.

I disagree. You're entitled to that opinion, of course, but that's all it is. What is clearly intended, however, is that open PVP zones are meant for open PVP.

Hey, you're the one who went down that road.

Open PVP is possible in open PVP zones. Thus, people engage in open PVP in open PVP zones. If people were meant to be able to duel privately in those zones, they'd be given the means to do so.

Sorry, yes there is. And of course you're going to continue to 'group me with the rest', because your argument falls apart if you don't.

But, as inconvenient to your rationalizations as it may be, I don't interrupt duels. I just recognize that it's fair and valid for anyone to do so in an open PVP zone.

No, you don't. It is a choice of convenience, which you've already admitted. And no one says you can't duel in PVP zones. What is being pointed out to you is that no one has to acknowledge your duels... and to not acknowledge your duels is perfectly appropriate in a open PVP zone, regardless of your view. You think it's selfish? Okay. I think your selfish.

In the end, the only thing that matters is what the zones are designed for. They're designed for open PVP.

You need more than that, I'd say.

By the way, giving me negative rep with the rep you have does absolutely nothing. This is putting aside the fact that I have it disabled.

I'm not attacking you at all. Again: I don't bother with open PVP zones anymore. One of the reasons why is people such as yourself who insist on using them as if they were something other than open PVP zones.

No, I don't agree. And this is the very point I made in the last post. It's not selfish to try to use the zone in the manner it was intended to be used. It is selfish to expect everyone to abide by your standards, rather than the games' standards, and restrict their play because it's more convenient for you.

That's fine. If you don't want to contend with how "far away" the Arena is or the loading times, and instead opt to duel in open PVP zones, accept that people might attack you. Because it is an open PVP zone.

I'm doing nothing of the kind, nor is anyone else. You've chosen not to use the arena. Having to deal with people who're using open PVP zones for open PVP is the consequence of that choice. You do not have a leg to stand on when you try to claim that they are the ones behaving inappropriately. You are the one choosing to reject the system designed to accommodate your playstyle. It is the height of arrogance to expect everyone else to cater to you.

I never interrupted a duel. Please stop making convenient assumptions.

And it's also fine for someone in an open PVP zone to say: 'Well, I don't recognize duels and special conditions'... which is the part you don't seem to get.

I don't like getting "ganked". This has nothing to do with "ganking". Straw man.

And a lot of people enjoy open PVP. The problem is when you start assuming your preferences supersede those of everyone else, in a zone designed to accommodate what they enjoy, because it's too much bother for you to use the system designed for what you enjoy.

No, they're not. There is, however, an Arena channel. I realize you'd like to make this out to be a situation wherein you've no options. But you do. You are not forced to use PVP zones for your duels. You choose to do so. And there are consequences that come along with that. My issues start with your apparent attitude that you ought not have to contend with those consequences.

Go right ahead and duel... with the understanding that your duel may be interrupted, and that such interruption is part of the intended zone gameplay and dynamic. No one is doing anything wrong by interrupting you.

Oh, well, by that reasoning, you must agree that duels were meant to be interrupted. Because we can interrupt them.

No, you're not just asking for special accommodations. If that were the extent of it, I wouldn't be posting in this thread. The problem is, you demand them, and carry on as if it's a given that people who don't acquiesce to your conditions are somehow being rude.

It is not rude to engage in open PVP in an open PVP zone. The conditions of an open PVP zone are stated every time you enter it.

But you are, which you don't seem to grasp. Asking me not to openly PVP in a zone meant for open PVP rather defeats the purpose of me being there.

I realize you really want to believe that I'd attack you, because it helps your rationalizations to imagine me as "aggressive and selfish". But, even if I bothered with open PVP anymore, I wouldn't attack you.

You just can't lump me in with everyone else in this thread (which is partially why I decided to jump into it), so you're going to have to abandon all the personal condemnations. They don't apply to me.

No, there is no "apparently". The issue is exactly as I stated it in the previous post, and does not require you to reword and/or reinterpret it. I no longer bother with open PVP zones. Part of the reason why is fight clubs.

No, really, you're not. If you were, this'd be a completely different story, which I'm sure is why you're trying to frame it that way. But no, you're not being forced.

You seem to have sprung a leak.

I'm sorry, but this is absurd.

Sentry, people with your attitude are a contributing factor to why I don't even bother with PVP zones anymore. Zones are for open PVP, and fight clubs undermine that. I've seen them completely extinguish open PVP in an open PVP zone, changing it into little more than a glorified arena.

That's inconsiderate to everyone who isn't there to duel. There is a whole system in this game to accommodate dueling--the Arena--but, because you're too lazy to use it, because it's out of your way, you expect others--players who've gone to a zone to engage in play the zone is specifically designed for--to abide by your special rules and conditions, put aside their own preferences, and sit around while you have your fun?

That's not "sharing" the place. That's co-opting it. And yah, that's gunna tick people off or just drive them away.

Seems to me, you're the one who's disrespectful here. Seems to me that, if you're going to duel in a PVP zone, you shouldn't expect any special accommodations. And if you do expect them, you're the one being discourteous and selfish.

So, wanna complain about people breaking up your fight clubs? Fine. But please... stop trying to paint your position as the civil, respectful, and thoughtful one. It isn't...

If you want to duel with a guarantee that there will be no interruption or outside interference, yes, you have to go to the Arena. That's what it's there for.

PVP Zones do not belong to you. Your convenience does not supersede the purpose and intended dynamic of the zone. Your special rules are a disruption to that dynamic and purpose, run counter to it, and no participant has to abide by them. More importantly, if they choose not to recognize your rules, that doesn't make them inconsiderate. They're using the zone as it's intended to be used. There is nothing wrong with that.

It is implicit by entering into a PVP zone that you consent to engaging in open PVP. If you do not want to engage in open PVP, do not enter a PVP zone.

If the zones were full of people, this would be a non-issue. But they're not. So trying to co-opt an open PVP zone for something other than open PVP is a disservice to those who're there to engage in open PVP.

In short, it's rude.

By the way, congratulations. I don't think I've ever posted in a PVP thread before, but your routine got me to do so. I wanted to make it clear to you that your behavior is part of what's keeping some people, myself included, out of PVP zones. To me, you're just as self-absorbed and inconsiderate as some of the folks you're chastising from your high horse.

Oh, is that you? Great look!

Fingers drift across bare skin, riding the tremble. Breath hitched as lips brush feather-light against lips. Hair grazes across cheek, eyelids flutter. An attempt to find focus fails in the rising electric-heat. All that's left is to give in to the moment... and kiss.

Or...

unf unf unf o so hot baby.

Or...

im in ur pantz, diddlin' ur naughtiez

Game's launched now, yes? So, what are you "big players" waiting for, exactly?

Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe 10 minutes is a long time to him.

Maybe, when making a Hotpocket, he glares at the microwave, taps his foot impatiently and mutters, "Come on... come on... I haven't got all day!"

Hot like a fox!

...


Yah!

Did he?

But it's not. It's also not required (which I still greatly appreciate).

Yah, the market can be daunting to the new/casual player, I'm sure. But we've a whole forum here that can be of service to them, replete with guides and information supplied by articulate and thoughtful people. The advice around here is very helpful (sometimes a little too helpful, in my opinion). When backed up by the input you can get here, it doesn't take a whole lot of effort to get started on the road to wealth, whether you're casual or not. This thread alone is brimming with helpful tips.

So did the OP really come to the wrong place? The 'venting of his frustration' seemed to revolve around insulting market regulars and blaming them for all his woes. Despite that, he's been offered advice on how to address his issues. Looks like he came to the right place to me.

The market and inventions weren't always here. We were all new to them at one point or another. Personally, I took my own sweet time in getting familiar with them. IOs had been around for a couple-few months before I really started looking at them, and it took even longer for me to delve into the market.

It's easier now. Anyone new can benefit from people who've already made the mistakes, taken the risks, and figured things out.

So while I agree that the market can be overwhelming to anyone new to it... I don't find there to really be any excuse for letting that impression defeat you before you even try.

True enough, but there was both a downside and an upside to that simplicity. As the greater complexity is entirely optional, I don't have any problem with it at all. I play with it when I want to and when I don't... I don't.

I think it's frickin' great that I can do that.

Depends on what you're buying, but yep, things change.

Be aware that the buying power of that 1 billion Inf is likely to increase (perhaps substantially) in the very near future.

See? Helpful.

That'd be fine. Robots, synthetics, cyborgs, AIs... it all fits. It'd be great to have one of your arcs on the list!

I have 2 arcs in mind (one heroic, one villainous), but it'll be a feat if I manage to finish just one before the deadline, let alone both of them.

Thanks.