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Posts
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Joined
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Quote:That's probably why Pocket D isn't the place used on Infinity to form leagues; out of respect to the RP'ers.Virtue, due to the RPers that are in the D, usually has RWZ or Midnighters or Cimerora as the starting point. Though, when things are slow for the RPers, we use Pocket D (or studio 55).
-Johnny -
Quote:
Caveat: With respect to ego, my personal practices encourage me to recognize and avoid such associations, so let me make it clear that my feature request has more to do with improving the game play. It would be *nice* to have my accumulated prestige amount restored, for reasons that I have already expressed.
Hi Bill,
Thanks for trying quite earnestly to add to the discussion. I admit, I was feeling somewhat skeptical, though you're raising some interesting points. You've written quite a bit, rather than meet me in Pocket D (you missed a fantastic event), so let me try to paraphrase in order to make certain that I'm understanding.
Summary of Bill's Pointsa) Collecting prestige whilst still earning play-generated influence has been made easier for post level 26 toons.
b) Generally, prestige is good for developing a stocked base, though after a certain point it is a meaningless statistic.
c) Indeed, for an established supergroup, there no incentive for new toons to contribute prestige.
d) Examples of three possible situations are as follows:Solo hero:
- They play merely to avoid SG invites, but they never team with the SG.
- Regardless, they contribute 2.1m prestige.
Active contributor:
- Participates with SG activities, leads teams, does recruitment.
- They never play in SG mode, though it doesn't matter because the SG already had 10m prestige when they joined.
New member:
- Doesn't contribute much to team.
- After a lucky invention piece drop, they sold it for 3b influence.
- Using the sale revenue, they do a straight 500:1 influence-to-prestige contribution to the SG.
- Unfortunately, the new member then realizes that the SG isn't that active, and so the contribution did nothing to improve the SG, nor is there anyone around to recognize the contribution.
So the question arises:- Which of the three examples contributed most effectively to the SG?
- At this point, you CLAIM that I prefer the "New member," whereas you prefer the Active contributor.
- You further claim that my feature request has everything to do with ego stroking.
Responding to Bill's Points- Let me be clear that from your examples that I prefer the Active contributor, and this is the sort of person that we encourage for our activities. At this point, I would ask that you cease trying to tell me what my opinion is.
- Looking at the examples, there is a quality that differentiates them, which is the level of SG involvement. For the solo and new members, the SGs don't sound like they have much active involvement, whereas the active contributor appears to be in an active SG.
- For the inactive SGs, they are effectively dead, as they don't really contribute much to the game. For that matter, having a "fully stocked" base is meaningless because travel between and with zones has been simplified to such an extent (i.e., look at how the train lines and black helicopters now provide travel between all the connected zones.
(( On a side note, think back to travelling in the original Hollows, or getting to the Tailor in Steel Canyon for a low-level toon. Such tasks are trivial nowadays, though it hadn't always been that way. ))
What Adds Value to an Active Supergroup?- For the active SG, what your example fails to illustrate is *how* the SG remains active. True, it helps to have active players, though a successful SG is founded on the camaraderie between its members, which is helped along by the way that members can perceive that they are contributing.
- With respect to a fully-stocked base, one can mistakenly believe that there is nothing more to be done. However, you are overlooking customization. A few years back, we took a page from the League of Extraordinarily Indebted Heroes, who have a rule that anyone that earns 1m prestige gets their own room within the base? Why do this? Just for the sake of encouraging participation and having fun.
- With respect to your suggestion about SG-specific titles, the taxis already have something like this in the works, though it is more along the lines of our own in-house badges, since obviously the game itself doesn't support this. Your suggestion is valid though, and I would invite *you* to make your own feature request. However, such a title/badge system is *not* counter to the value of having one's accumulated prestige remain persistent after being re-invited to a SG.
- With respect to building an active SG, the inactive groups from your example were doing nothing to provide a structure for either activities or camaraderie (it was implied). In contrast, an active SG doesn't typically invite members willy-nilly, and some manner of consideration is taken before inviting and promoting members.
Satisfaction From Accumulating Prestige- Regardless of how other SGs perform recruitment, the Taxibots perform an orientation that simply reviews the main points that are on our web site, such as having Recall Friend, not griefing even in jest, etc.
- With respect to SG mode, orientation makes it clear that this is entirely optional, though it is encouraged to contribute.
- Why do this? Essentially, having the ability to contribute prestige, even if for a fully loaded SG base, is a pleasing activity that effectively says, "Thank you for having me on the team, even though I can't contribute much more than what others have done before me."
- To help new taxis feel comfortable doing this, I would often cite that I've always played in SG mode without it impacting my ability to accumulate influence.
- However, for me to get dropped from the SG and have my accumulated prestige cleared destroys that sense of contribution.
- Of course, it would be nice to have the prestige amount restored, both for myself and OTHERS that it happens to.
- Further, I can foresee my being away from the game and getting dropped again. So I am now wary of contributing prestige, which is contrary to the principle of adding value to a SG, as described in the preceding paragraphs.
- So that is why I encourage a feature that remembers the amount of prestige accumulated with one's previous SG, so that being dropped doesn't clear the value.
In Conclusion- Bill, it is fairly clear that you have a certain play style, and more power to you. I notice that your posts in these forums is currently at 25,242 posts, so you are apparently quite prolific and knowledgeable.
- However, if prestige has such little value, then likewise I suggest that you send a PM to a mod and have your post count cleared. After all, it is a meaningless value, and contributes even less to the game does prestige.
- If you can give up your post count without a twinge of regret, then that would be quite encouraging. Keep in mind that you can always refer back to this post to see what your post count used to be.
Cheers,
Johnny -
Quote:And as I called out last night, just regular tours with Taxibot Belle are a delight. For Belle to provide a city-wide tour is *literally* a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so congratulations to everyone that gets an opportunity to participate with this.And speaking of the tours, I can't wait to take Lost Bob on the city-wide tour! Tony has been helping me study up on all of the new badges (there's a TON of them) so that I'll be the best tour guide I can be. Johnny's offered to help me out by forming up a second team, and we'll try to take as many friends of Bob with us on the tour as possible by forming a league. So if you want to go, make sure you talk to Bob about when he wants to have it and tell him you want to be invited! I can't believe he bid so much, but it really made me feel special. Thanks, Bob!
A single taxi is capable of managing a tour of up to seven people. By forming a league with two taxi teams, we can manage *FOURTEEN* people on this exceptional tour.
-Johnny -
Quote:Aye, that's all. Essentially, we're talking about a quality of life thing, rather than deep math about who contributed what.I get what you're saying, to some people Prestige is like collecting Badges....its a personal achievement that in others eyes is just a novelty.
Johnny -
Quote:The "words with no answer" jibe is a fairly cheap statement. I expected more from you, Bill, based on what I'd seen from your other postings. Did you even read my previous post?Many words with no answer.
<...snip...>
It doesn't get fixed because it's not broken.
Also, what do you do about someone who has gone through other SGs? How far do you want to track prestige? For instance, BlasterGuy joins the Blaster Battallion. He earns 120,000 ...
<...snip...>
Essentially, you're assigning more to a number than it can ever really represent.
- You suggest that a "high prestige number" is in any real way related to how well a
<...snip...>
You've written quite a bit, though I'm trying to understand your perspective:
Quote:For your SG, you have *lots* of old timers that have accumulated prestige, so the base has everything a newbie could want.
Then you ask: Even if prestige were tracked, then how far back should this be done?
Bill, you then listed several "suggestions" that I apparently made, and quite honestly you seem keen on putting words in my mouth, especially the business about having a focus on prestige generation.
I'll tell you what. I'll be in Pocket D on Infinity tonight for a PERC Player Auction. Look it up in the Infinity forums. Come join in and give me a better idea of where you're coming from. Otherwise, you seem to be somewhat unfocused in this thread, and might be reading more into this feature request than there is.
Cheers,
Johnny -
It appears that the LFG pane is a work in progress. The currently accepted method of getting on an Incarnate trial is:
- Go to the Rikti War Zone.
- Set your teaming flag to, "Looking for Trial."
- State in Broadcast that you are LFT, either Lambda or BAF
Cheers,
Johnny -
Bill, to answer your question, the reason is that there is more than just one way to play the game.
Choice of Play Style
True, I've encountered people that spend much of their time divided between multiple toons, sometimes to seemingly obsessive levels using 2-3 accounts. I can see how for such people that it is virtually impossible to play their toons frequently enough that one doesn't get dropped, so one develops indifference toward the prestige amount (i.e., a sense that it's hopeless to prevent the prestige from being cleared).
However, I speak for people that have a modest number of toons, where the fun comes from playing a character with solid continuity (an important concept for any comic book fan). Johnny Taxibot is my main toon, with a well-rounded build that allows me to exemplar down easily to enjoy low-level content, or to kick *** at any level of PvP, and more recently to extend the toon's abilities through the new Incarnate content.
I generally contend that people can have a narrow vision about how to play the game, which creates a bias that favors having multiple toons. I dislike this bias because it can lead one into grinding, rushing through content, and eventually burnout. In contrast, there is great fun getting a feel for the story using whatever powers you have available at the exemplared level, and this is completely aside from the challenge of adapting to the capabilities of your pickup team.
How Prestige is *Actually* Used
Occasionally, I would hear the lament that one had been dropped from their SG, though I didn't appreciate their feelings at the time. I figured that it was a simple matter to be re-invited. However, for people with a modest number of toons, the accumulated prestige is somewhat like badge hunting; in a way its face value is unquantifiable, yet there is amusement at seeing how "far" one had "progressed" on an individual level.
And as I've already said, I have been involved with doing SG recruitment, where having a high prestige amount (i.e., immediately visible in the SG list) is useful to help encourage people to play in SG mode. Having a high prestige amount is essentially confirmation that one can play the game (in SG mode) and have fun without needing to obsess over accumulation of influence. For a seasoned pro like yourself, I *know* you understand this principle. However, it can be a difficult concept to get across to someone that is green to the game.
So Let's Get This Fixed
So I'm surprised that this issue with the cleared prestige hasn't been fixed long ago. I suspect that it's a combination of player apathy (i.e., people disdain the SG after their prestige has been cleared), and support apathy (i.e., people working in support don't quite understand that there is more than one way to play the game).
My feature request seems sound, simple in concept, and I rather doubt that there's more to the current implementation than, "Aw, why do we need to bother fixing this." This is just sloppy, especially when it's been neglected for so many years, so let's get this fixed.
Regards,
Johnny -
Hi everyone!
I just returned to the game after a couple years, and found myself dropped from my SG despite having made it clear that I'd be away. Regardless, I was invited back, but the amount of prestige that I'd accumulated (2,297,879) had been cleared to zero.
It had taken quite a bit of teaming to accumulate that prestige, so I made a /petition to restore the value in our SG list. However, the request was denied, with support saying they didn't have the tools nor authority.
Long story short, I'd like to propose the following:
1) Persistent PrestigeImprove the game, such that the accumulated prestige remains accurate in the SG list, even when a toon had been dropped from the SG.
2) Prestige Adjust for SupportProvide support with the means to perform correction to the amount of prestige that is displayed for a toon within the SG list. This doesn't add prestige to the SG; it merely shows what portion the toon contributed.
I'm not certain why this issue hasn't been raised because there *must* be others that have stumbled across this. Support's suggestion to me was to simply re-earn the prestige, but this is nonsense. If I have to be away for a couple years again, and I get my prestige cleared again, then the effort will be wasted a second time. Best not to play at all than suffer annoying game mechanics.
Are these ideas fair? From my perspective, my prestige came from leading regular teams, either scheduled task forces, or recruited pickup teams. There was quite a bit of effort and organization involved, and having the prestige amount listed was a visual indication of the seriousness of my contributions.
In addition, I've done quite a bit of SG recruiting for the Taxibots on Infinity. When doing orientation for new taxis, I would cite my accumulated prestige as an example that teaming in SG mode doesn't really hurt you. However, I've been shown that getting dropped from the SG *does* have an impact, and I'm surprised that support doesn't have the tools to resolve this.
Cheers,
Johnny -
Oh, Ms. Mesmer. I knew just looking at you that there was leadership material there. Well done on stretching yourself a bit.
Keep it up!
-Johnny -
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Quote:Indeed, there's been an announcement that the WST have been changed to...However, I just completed Posi 1 and I did not receive a Notice...only the double merits. Do I hear hot fix coming?
Quote:..."Clamor and Destruction", obtained from Sister Psyche in Independence Port (Hero), and "Pirates of the Sky" (Villain), obtained either from Silver Mantis in Sharkhead Isle or from your Supergroup or Villaingroup base's mission computer or Oracle. -
Quote:The "Inf Badge Seeker 2.0" channel does not exist. Can you please double-check that?Inf Badge Seeker is at ver 2.0 now, so look for "Inf Badge Seeker 2.0". "Infinity tfs" is another. I think I have 3 or 4 Infinity channels and I think they're a pretty good source for teams.
The previous "Inf Badge Seeker" is alive and well, so not clear why there would be a 2nd version.
-Johnny -
Quote:Well, if you're recruiting, then state in the broadcast to set their "Looking for Trial" flag. People will wise up quickly, and consequently make it easier for future recruiting.That's because people aren't using it. When forming a league I have, on average, found 1 person with their "looking for trial" flag up.
People aren't really thinking of these trials as "trials." They're thinking in terms of "Lambda," "BAF" and "new content." So prod their memories by mentioning the "Looking for Trial" flag.
-Johnny -
Quote:That's a good suggestion for improving the LFG queue, essentially making the LFG a pool from which to recruit.There are many problems w/the current LFG system which makes players not use it. For one thing, it's not transparent, so when forming a league outside the LFG system (and yeah, maybe ppl shouldn't do this, but we do), you can see inside the LFG queue to see who's available to fill out the league. So ppl congregate in zones like the RWZ to try to get slots on player-made leagues. Then, you can't invite ppl who are on LFG queue so they have to quit first. The LFG queue should be a tool to find ppl who want to run trials, not a system that creates leagues for itself, though it can do that too.
Funny thing is, people can currently set their regular search flags as, "Looking for Trial." However, I'm getting the impression that recruiters aren't checking for this, which is a cleaner tool than having assorted LFT yells in RWZ.
-Johnny -
Quote:The channels listed in the Guide to Guides section might be getting dated. However, a quick search turned up a list of chat channels current in 2010 for the various servers.Hello--
I play on several servers and have the maximum number of TF channels possible in hopes of always hearing about teams being formed, especially for TFs and Trials. I have great success with channels on Freedom and Liberty, for example. I have little success on my channels from Infinity (my preferred server) and Champion.
I realize that some of the success I have (or don't) is due to size of server population, but I was hoping for lists of the best channels on my servers. I know that some of the will be full, so I would like full and not full yet channels, if possible.
Thanks in advance. My servers are: Triumph, Victory, Liberty, Champion, Justice, Infinity, Virtue and Freedom.
For Infinity, I'd suggest Inf Badge Seeker channel. Also check the server forums for any task force signups.
-Johnny -
Quote:I believe he left the game shortly before invention sets came out. Probably his best bet is to start a new toon because that way he can discover new aspects of the game in a measured fashion.I don't recall what year IO's came out, so no idea if they were around when you left the game.. But they can make Scrappers pretty darn survivable if you stack up some defense bonuses.
ParagonWiki is definitely a recommended resource. Also, in the CoH forums, go to Player Help >> Player Guides >> Guide to Guides. That'll have everything you want to know about the various archetypes and how their power sets work.
-Johnny -
Quote:For a person that DC's, they're still considered to be in the queue, and even if they log back in right away, they might not realize that they can rejoin/drop from the LFG pane.The times I tried this (after someone got DC'd and didn't load in) it would not allwo me to invite them after the trial had started.
It's likely that a DC'd person logs back in, but doesn't realize that they're still in the queue (i.e., they don't look at the LFG pane). And the system stops the team lead from inviting a replacement because it considers that spot in the queue to be taken. -
Quote:I see. So forming a league makes more sense to recruit good team leads into each group, and then get their help with recruiting the members they need. Does that make sense?i havent even got to that point on one of the trials that actually let me in last week ive only been on 2 since i have been trying for 4 days but the system looks at your AT and not what the AT actually does so we ended up with 3 controllers and a bunch of scrapper and blasters but no healers and no tank alot of team member would get held and be killed by mezzers
they would quit out of frustration
I imagine they are trying to copy starcrafts 2 system where they pair you up with other players but the problem is when you get paired up like that the teams usually suck
it hurts the incarnate system becuase that was hailed the method of getting shards and exp for the omega system but if people cant partake whats the point
Question: Are the team leads in a league able to perform their own invites, or is everything vetted through the league leader?
-Johnny -
Quote:Ha! That offer has "Belle" written all over it. <grin> Suffice to say, there's no better person than her to conduct a city tour. It would be like having a golden transit pass for the entirety of Paragon City.For example, I've had one person offer an exploration badge tour around Paragon City, ...
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Quote:Hi everyone!So, what's going on?
P.E.R.C. is gearing up to host a Player Auction on Infinity! For those of you who aren't familar with what a Player Auction is, it's a...
1) ...Chance for the community to get together and have fun!
2) ...Way to earn or win some awesome IOs and influence!
3) ...Opportunity to buy time with Paragon Studios employees Avatea, Beastyle, and Zwillinger!
4) ...Good time to help P.E.R.C. generate funds for future player events!
The rumours are true, I've returned to Paragon after several decades of service in the far-flung future. My intention is to use the Architect Entertainment services to give you a taste of my adventures.
So it appears that I've returned just in time to participate with this year's Infinity Player Auction, which R-Tech and PERC have been nice enough to dedicate their time towards organizing. Great stuff! R-Tech, please sign me up (( @Johnny Taxibot )) as an auctionee. I'm certain that I can assist whomever wins the bidding. Don't be shy with the bidding, as it will be good fun.
For those that haven't met me, before my time travels I had worked as one of the fine Dispatchers in the Paragon Taxi Service, serving in various capacities to expedite hero travels, conduct city tours, and even organize impromptu teams to combat city emergencies!
So how can you use me on your team? Well, I've worked with the Vanguard in the war zone, and they've classified me as a blaster (humorously tagging my abilities as "Crowd control through raw firepower"). <smile> Suffice to say, I'm a *great* addition to a small team, though if you need assistance with a larger group, then I can help recruit a *powerful* team on short notice. Please note that if you need help organizing a task force, then I would prefer to organize a signup in the forums about a week prior to when we're doing the run.
All the best, and good luck at the auction!
Johnny -
Quote:It's always pleasing to see new faces around Paragon, so welcome. I have no doubt that you'll start to make regular acquaintances, and the sort.Originally Posted by KrystDaymenI just recently started on city of heroes and I was wondering if a lot of people still play it. I'm in Galaxy City and I don't see anyone....where does everyone hang out and are all the cities relative to a certain level range? I mean am I doomed to always be playing by myself because I am new? I really am enjoying the game but the tumbleweeds are getting to me...lol. I'd appreciate any answers to these questions.
When you first log into the game, you're presented with a list of the servers. The first server is the most recent one that you visited. The remainder of the list is ordered from least populated >> most populated.
Once you're in the game, Atlas Park (AP) tends to be more populated than Galaxy City because AP tends to have more people milling about under the Atlas statue, costume contests, and the Mission Architect teams (AE) seems to have collected there.
To see who is around, type /sea for a list of heroes that are in your current zone. You can then perform further searches of the other city zones, and refine your search according to level and archetype.
Before you start teaming, I'd recommend that you check the Player Help >> Player Guides >> Guide to Guides section in these forums, and look at teaming advice. Be thoughtful about how you form and participate in teams, and you'll be a five-star hero. :grin:
Also, since you're new to Paragon, keep in mind that you're still learning, so don't get disappointed if teams don't work out. If you try leading a team, then you are bound to be a little "rough at the edges." However, try to spot where you can do a better job next time.
And ParagonWiki is your friend. <grin>
Cheers,
Johnny -
If you intend to exemplar quite a bit, then getting low-end recipe pieces makes sense because the pieces will count towards set bonuses, except in cases where you exemplar past -3 levels of the given piece.
See ParagonWiki for Exemplar Effects on Enhancements.
-Johnny -
For new people, here are my rough strategy notes that I tend to follow for this task force. I'll touch on key details prior to each mission, to make sure nobody is struggling.
-Johnny
Statesman Task Force - General Strategy
Here are comments on what we've found to work well to eliminate defeats on the team.
Note 1 (Initial attack on web parts): We leave two cables at the top of ramp and then go down into the facility to destroy more cables. At the end, we defeat all but a minion from the ambush, and SCRAPPER will taunt (without defeating) the remaining minion to prevent second ambush. Then TANKER will aggro Arbiter Sands, we bring Arbiter Sands down right away, and then Exit as soon as possible.
Note 2 (Capture Dr. Aeon): TANKER on point. Johnny has good success with targeted, rolling holds on the AVs to prevent their being able to "nova." Once all four AVs are defeated, one person to locate the exit, and rest of team departs via Ouroboros.
Note 3 (Thorn Tree): Stealth to tree chamber avoids villain ambush. Thereafter TANKER on team point; first to clear the Circle of Thorns, second to clear the vines. For safety, everyone keep tight on TANKER and avoid line-of-sight with tree (top half of map is safe from tree). When the tree is defeated, TANKER MUST BE the one to click glowie. The tactical reason is that the tanker will be capable of SURVIVING long enough to use the device on Dr. Aeon later in the subsequent adventure.
Note 4 (Second attempt Capture Dr. Aeon): TANKER on point. After each Security Chief is defeated, wait for ambush. For Dr. Aeon himself, TANKER again on point, give TANKER 2-3 seconds to establish aggro on Dr. Aeon, then followed by TANKER liberally applying the Power of the Thorn, which causes Aeon to be defeated quickly.
Note 5 (Stop Lord Recluse): Arachnos Flier on 20 minute respawn starting when first person enters mission. TANKER on point to clear enemies. Johnny to pull AVs one-at-a-time, with team set to run if more than two AVs approach. For end game, TANKER+SUPPORT on Recluse, and remainder of team on the pylons. Pylon order of Red>>Blue>>Orange>>Green. When time comes to defeat Recluse, use Red inspirations and pound on him without stopping for anything. -
Quote:Actually, some of you may recall that we completed the Katie Task Force on Invincible. Both teams did Invincible, as I recall, and it was a struggle when Mary returned those last 2-3 times with her purple bosses and lieutenants in tow. :grin:Originally Posted by Cyanide CrushAww were not setting it to +4 lol now that would be an interesting STF.
For any task force, Invincible (i.e., +2 levels) is doable when the team is working together. The team is fairly much obliged to work together because people on their own will get worn down.
-Johnny