Lycantropus

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Zone Giant Monsters are getting the buff. GM's that are mission-specified (like the ambush ones, or the Eden trial, etc) are not being touched. Those GMs are "arch-villain" level, i.e. made to be beaten by 1 team.
Zone Giant Monsters are the GM's that appear randomly (or triggered) in zones. This does not include the ambushes that are triggered from missions.
This change will be both CoH and CoV.

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I have to ask, WHY?
On Protector, a part of the herolimpics was a memorial clearing of "Monster Island" in PI. It took a long time to kill the GM's and the experience for one was abysmal compared to the massive debt many got while clearing this area (which never happened due to the spawn rate and mobs of GM's apearing near each other. We had 50 people or more and could not clear the island fast enough.
Doesn't that tell you that gian mosters are already so far out of wack compared to the XP gained that no one is going to tray and take them on if they get even harder? We were getting hundreds of thousands in debt but only 800xp per monster. Explain that?
Please explain why this is happening because it doesn't make any sense to me at face value.

[/ QUOTE ]Yaknow... hadn't really thought about it before, but this is a very good point.

With all the talk of "risk vs. reward", the concept of "reward vs. penalty" should be examimined too; as they are intrinsically linked to one another. Like the above example, there are a number of instances I can think of in game where the reward doesn't really match the risk.

Just a thought...

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Because the cases you mentioned didn't include Giant Monsters.

[/ QUOTE ]Acutually, I'm kind of intersted in the changes to Giant Monsters. Perhaps a bit concerned that it will be just more HP's to whittle through with more damage directed at us... I'd rather by "tougher" they mean "more interesting".. a changeup in powers throughout the fight, or requiring a different strategy than just beat on them until they die kinda thing. Honestly though, that's more of a 6 of one, half dozen of another deal... as long as my team can fight em with a chance of winning, it's all good.

My main "balance" concern, and meat of my "gripe" as it were, is the giving of more endurance to Lt's, Bosses, and Elite Bosses. They took away a lot from us in many categories the past few issues. Among them, ED's effect upon Stamina, our own endurance pool after a fashion, was effected. Since we don't get more endurance as we level, nor do we regain it any faster, for those that are challenged in that category (most of the time anything with toggles, and a lot of blasters) a lot of powersets/AT's feel that hard. Not all mind you, but enough to really notice.

The debate for endurance drain aside, how is giving them more Endurance after the changes to us "balanced"? My main, a level 50 Claws/Invl Scrapper (just hit it this week!!!) has 3 slotted Stamina, at least one end reduction in every "armor" and one in every attack... I get winded pretty quickly if the fight doesn't end in reasonable ammount of time... and Claws is supposed to be one of the least "end-costly" powers for that AT.

I have hardly ever seen any of the NPC's get "winded" and even if their endurance goes down, I don't really notice a change in their performance unless they're purposefully drained of it all by another player. This applies across the board... I only wish my teleporting Defender could have beeboped around like the Tsoo sorcerers could at level 16 when he fought them (I'm not even getting into them being able to teleport through walls).. and toss off heals left and right to boot! Did the Tsoo Sorcerer's end go down? Sure, on occasion. Did it alter their performance in battle? Not that I could tell. It seemed like no matter how low it got.. they kept beeboping all over the map and healing their allies until they were taken down somehow.

If my Defender even tried that then (assuming he could teleport though walls like they could) he would have been toasted quick in endurance, and in health shortly thereafter I'm sure.

So unless the changes are only to maintain the status quo due to other changes that they've stated as the reasons... Why, and to what end; and how is that "balanced" compared to us, who do run out of endurance? At this point at least, it doesn't seem to me that the NPC's are the one with the endurance problems, that's all I was wanting to know in that regard.

As snippy as it may sound.. I'm actually not really angry about this... concerned, yes, but not "angry". I just really want to understand the logic from the Dev's perspective, because it doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I think endurance should be just as much a "concern" to the NPC's in terms of tactics and powers they use/can use as it is to us. At this point I don't feel that's the case at all, and yet they're still wanting to give NPC's an enduance boost. It just doesn't add up in the way I see the system working now.

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So if they make them toughter would that HP that ='s 25% of their total now be the same as the reduced percentage later? We'd still have to do the same amount of damage or close to it.
let me explain that better:
Let's say Kraken has 100 HP. 25% of that is 25 HP.
Now lets say in I7 Kraken gets tougher and becomes 250HP. 10% is still 25HP...
It would be nice to hear just how much tougher they plan on making them. And how they intend on handling it for people with odd play hours who might not be able to find these large groups that will soon be required to defeat them...

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Good question. I'd like to know how much tougher they mean, and how that's going to be represented (just more damage output and HP's, or more special attacks/ tactics on their part)?

I know my first post here sounds a little "knee jerky", but it's not.. I really want to know the answers there. I'd like to know what these changes actually are, and how they apply to us, before I start getting my dander up. I also hope me asking them, and their answers, will actually prevent another uproar so soon after the last one.

Okay.. I'm going to be a snit here... just because I feel it should be pointed out...

Let me get this straight... They're "adding more challenge" to the game by making Giant Monsters tougher, and giving and endurance bump to Lt's Bosses and Elite Bosses, and that's just what we know at the moment... Right?

Okay...

Wasn't that what I-5 and I-6 was supposed to do? They wanted to "add more challenge" to the game by severly reducing defense and resistance base numbers, doubling the recharge time of Blaster "novas" and Controller group holds (while halving the duration of those holds as well). They Introduced ED, which hampered our capacity for defense and resistance even more, in addition to damage, our own endurance, etc... that's just off the top of my head.

I'll admit, the lower levels are still okay for the most part, but many of the higher level enemies I sincerely believe were built with the assumption of many of the things we used to have in mind (HP's designed around taking hits from a well-slotted blaster, damage capable of actually denting a heavily slotted Tank, etc). Now, while I also believe that back in the day they didn't quite live up to the "standard" they could have- the changes they made in I-5 and I-6 more than turn the tables on that now, perhaps even too far in some cases.

And now... after giving a number of major reductions to us... they're giving buffs to Giant Monsters and NPC's??

And if I remember correctly, didn't they explain to us, after many requests to buff NPC's instead of reducing us, they said they didn't want to do that for whatever reason... and then even later said that there were no plans to change NPC's to take the reductions we took into account? (since they're actually buffing them, that last one is still true I suppose...)

I'm just making sure I understand that correctly...

Explain to me how this is "balanced" please....

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We're not asking for it to SS fast, just a tad faster.

Disadvantage is already incorporated, end drain!

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And.. AND... it costs more slots (in endreds and flightspeeds) to make it competitive for what it's supposed to do- get you from point A to point B. Even then, it's still slower.

That's the price. How many drawbacks are needed to make it "fair" to other sets that are faster, almost as safe, and work just the way you want them right out of the box?

All this because of the excuse of safety?? No. My main is a Super Jumper and gets there just as safely and much faster (only suffered one or two defeats moving across zones in his whole carreer, and they were from when I first got it, and then I learned to be careful where I land). The only advantage Fly or TP has over it is when you're in the Shard. With the Stealth component in Super Speed, even that is relatively as "safe" as fly.

Still.. I have Fly on many characters. Not because it's specifically beneficial (since all travel powers ultimately do the same thing) but because it's fitting to the character. I imagine most people are the same way. Those that aren't pick whatever is the easiest and most effective anyway, so that isn't really a viable argument either.

Disclaimer:
By no means am I suggesting to "nerf" SJ or SS!!! ( I specify this, because it seems that's the direction the Dev's go in when seeing arguments comparing better powers to ones we want a boost to)

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I should probably add, Lycan, that I ALWAYS filter the search tool with "Looking for any" and "Looking for missions" selected. Anyone who SAYS that they're "looking for any group" with the pick down list, but nitpicks in their comment, is a bit too schitzo IMNSHO...not worth the effort of sending a tell to.

[/ QUOTE ]Fair enough If they actually take the time to use the drop down "looking for" menu, then yeah, adjustments should be made to the message, since they're there anyway.

Usually, I don't set it for looking for any kind of team when soloing, so I put the "please send tell" message in there, because while I'm content to solo at that point, I may be inclined to help on one or two missions if the person needs help and asks politely.

Unfortunately, a lot of people don't use it at all. I've tried that method and found like 3 people in the level range I was looking for tops. Granted, that was enough to make a team, but not much variety

Using that drop down bar should be in a "DO" list somewhere...

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Never invite someone who says "no blind invites", "My level or higher", "PL me Please" or "Send tell first" in their comment. They're more interested in XP than in having fun, and are usually group spoilers.

[/ QUOTE ] I agree with the "PL me please, or "my level or higher coments.." but.. Um.. hate to break this to you, but I have in most of my comment boxes "No blind invites, please send tell"- and I'm not more interested in Xp, nor do I consider myself a "group spoiler". I just consider it (un)common courtesy to do so, and ask as much. I also do the same if I'm searching for a team. I don't know what they're doing, and most people don't use the "looking for" dropdown menu, so I ask.

Since I've used that policy, I have had better PuG's than I ever did just accepting blind invites.

I can't count the number of times I've helped lower level folk out in a mission (EXing if they want xp, and not if they just want to get past something they've died too many times trying to do and want to get it over with) and one of my favorite things is helping people get their capes, auras, and costume stuff. On some of my group's SG nights, we've stopped in the middle of our missions and stuff, to pick up a "lowbie" who wants help getting their cape or costume. Even giving them influence to get them if they don't have enough. All we usually ask in return is that we get to see what their new look is The cape and costume thing is a rite of passage of sorts for all the hard work that character did, and most of my SG take a lot of joy in helping with it.

Anyway, the point is, I consider blind invites (for a team or SG) rude, and it's not a lot to ask for a little courtesy. Besides, if they aren't willing to bother with your preferences in getting a team, what consideration do you think they'll have for your playstyle?

Blind SG invites are even worse though. All that says to me is that they don't care what I'm like personally, or my playstyle. It tells me that they want to pad their membership roster for more prestige. I just think it's sad how many new players are just happy to get an SG invite, when all that's happening in my mind is that they're being used to get more prestige for the SG leaders to build their "uber" base.

At least I don't go as far as a friend of mine that puts a warning into his comment field that if you blind invite him, he will do something unpleasant. Which is, if you blind invite him for a team, he accepts, asks for the star, then kicks the person who blind invited him from the team. He then explains why he did, then give the star to another teamate and quits... they can reinvite the other guy if they want. Me? I just click no. I'm just not that motivated in my vindictiveness.

Then again, I favor CoH, and he favors CoV.. go figure..

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Odd. I use the term "wife agro" whenever mine wants me to spend time with her instead of the game, or she needs help with something, or if she just bats her eyes at me.

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Yeah.. me too. It's kind of a running gag with my SG mates and I. My wife thinks it's funny too, as she'll come up when I'm playing and poke my arm or mess up my hair and saying "wife aggro" while she does it.

Of course, I'd never use that term about somebody else's SO to them though, which I guess is the point the OP was making.

The list here is pretty comprehensive... about all I can add of the top of my head is:

Do not discuss religion or politics unless you really know the people you're playing with, and never in broadcast... it isn't accepted in mixed company in RL, why do you think it's any better accepted here? Moreover.. if you do start that topic, don't get upset when someone in the team disagrees. After all... you started it.

Like I said before, I don't think an increased speed to Hover would break the power either. Maybe back when you could 6-slot it with flight speed, and it made it almost as fast as an unslotted fly, that was a reason to keep the base speed of Hover as slow as it is.

However, now in this ED world, things like that were what it was designed to "correct," I think a number of the base numbers of powers (including movement speeds- keeping it on topic) should be revisited based on the new paradigm.

With ED in effect, Hover can be faster without being a threat to Fly, or as a desireable alternative to an actual "travel" power. I would just like it to be effective as a "movement" power.

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You think Stone is bad NOW? At least you're no longer a walking poo.

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I remember that too...



**shudder**

Fair enough.

Would still like to be able to personalize my power effects though

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Normally I hate the Ice and Stone SFX. Why make a nice costume and end up looking like a Devouring Earth or an Ice Cube? Ick

[/ QUOTE ]Preach it!!

<.<
>.>

ahem... sorry about that, just had to agree. I have a Stone Tank, and wish there was a way I could personalize that to just look like the original stone armor you get (concept toon of an ex-outcast brick turned into a werewolf-thing and became a hero)

Please return to your regularly scheduled thread, thank you.

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Unfortunately, better zone design in the future doesn't really help the dozens of zones that already exist. I don't see reworking all the zones just to un-gimp that aspect of SS

[/ QUOTE ]I think that's a serious design flaw in SS, IMHO. I would imagine, by definition, a "travel" power should enable you, by itself, the ability to travel almost any zone. Just about anyone I know that has Speed, gets Jump as well. The same thing applies to Teleport with Hover.

An easy fix is available for both of those problems though. I've heard a good one for Super Speed right on these forums. I forget who originally suggested it, but allow for the ability for speedsters to run up vertical surfaces. Stopping of course would negate that vertical movement. This allows a SS toon to get through faultline and other such areas without being penalized for picking it as a concept; plus it would be fun and neat to watch

As for Teleport, I would like to see it have an "indefinite" hover that would be negated by making an attack, or pressing any of the movement keys. That would still make getting Hover with it still desireable, but not nescesary. As it stands, with the two second hover, the slightest lag hiccup you're kissing pavement. Not only that but conversing while in transit to a location requires that you find a place to "land" before responding (not game breaking, but annoying).

Thoughts?

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As Monument says, my main is a stone tank who used to heavily slot swift so he could move at acceptable speed in granite armor (which slows you and doesn't stack with any other movement enhancing powers including sprint for the uninitiated).

[/ QUOTE ]By acceptable, he means slower than a sprinting toon, but still capable of feeling like you're getting somewhere.

Rooted and Granite together are monstrously slow. a 6 slotted Swift was the only recourse unless you wanted Teleport for in-map movent (not travel, just plain ol' movement!)

Currently, against the grain of concept for him, my Stone now has TP and I got him Granite Armor. Neither of those fit him, as I wanted him to be a SJer and not look like a member of the Devouring Earth.

I don't play him much... While I find his new build very effective in the I-5/ED environment, it's not "fun" for me. He's just not what I wanted him to be. At his level I'm not going to delete him, that would be a waste. He is, however, shelved indefintely at this point.

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Hover: We might buff it some, at some point. However, it should never be an effective travel power.

[/ QUOTE ]Heck, I'd be happy with it just being an effective movement power.

I think the idea on the boosts we're seeking are not nearly as dramatic as some may think (while there are a few exceptions of course). I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for Hover to be at least as fast as a single-slotted Swift+Sprint with 3 flight speed SO's in it...

Here's a thought...

How about hover, 3 SO slotted for flight speed, be able to reach the same speed as a single SO slotted sprint... Furthermore, allow Swift to be slotted with flight speed enhancements as well as the run speed enhancements it currently can be slotted with, with benefits being the same for each.

This would mean:

Single SO slotted Sprint= X speed
3 SO slotted Hover= X speed
wherein X is the same value for both numbers
Swift with 1 run enhancement= +Y speed
Swift with 1 flight enhancment= +Y speed
wherein Y is the same value for both numbers

It costs more overall to achieve the same effect, however that's fair considering Hover has vertical movement. all the same, it's not really that much faster than it is now... just faster enough, which is, of course, the point.

This will allow Hoverers the ability to keep up in combat for pursuit purposes, or in general movement on maps with teamates (I have a few concept toons that are always in Hover mode- one never touches the floor).

As far as flight itself goes, while it's slower than most other "travel" powers out of the box, the consistent vertical movement still keeps it in the "worthwhile" category.

I imagine the relatively small boost it would recieve if Swift were slottable with flight speeds would be enough to give it that extra "oomph" that fliers are looking for. After all, Super Jump, and Super Speed both benefit from Swift.. why not Fly?

Doing that would also get another power off that list that can only be slotted by one enhancement

Thoughts?

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People choose stamina because you end up with the most bang for your buck.

[/ QUOTE ]Exactly. That's not a bad thing though... It helps keep the game fast paced and fun when you get the "big gun" powers, which is kinda' the point.

If you could defeat mobs at the levels you have those kinds of powers without having to take them (aka, your lower end ones scale up to be just as effective- comparitively speaking- as they were when you took them) then maybe it would be more of an option than it currently seems to be; at least for some AT's (ones with lots of toggles would still probably want it).

And yes, the powers you took at the lower levels are still "effective" and useful, but many of them are not nearly as effective against the mobs you faced when you first got them. The game is built around the assumption you got the higher end powers, and the mobs were built around that. This, of course, means more endurance cost, and a more winded you...

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Make Stamina an inherent = game will be much more fun.

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And even further imbalanced.

[/ QUOTE ]Only if it wasn't applied across the board to every AT. If everyone had it, then it's still balanced within itself.

The only "imbalance" I could see it cause, would be to give you three more power selections, and maybe a few more slots to play with (assuming you bothered to slot the other two powers you had to get to take Stamina- while I do on a few of my toons, some don't, that's all I'm sayin'). More choice doesn't mean imbalance. If all the toons work that way, that just means more "fun" choices. The PvE mobs get hit the same way, and hit you the same way... no real change there, except maybe you have one or two more ways to hit them, or keep from being hit. Since you still have do x ammount of damage to them before they fall, and vice versa, that really doesn't imbalance the game... just makes it a little faster paced... and fates forbid... super...

In PvE, most mobs can spam attacks and never get winded- they can do it all day, regardless of what they can do. Electric used to be the end-drainer that helped stifle that, but with all the changes it doesn't really do that any more... while I'm sure it's still good for PvP, it's pretty useless in PvE, as enemies are pretty much an "all or nothing" on endurance vs. effectiveness. Us having something even remotely comparable by having Stamina (though it still isn't as cool as what the mobs have) again, isn't imbalanced...

As for PvP, that would still be "balanced" within itself, as the same would apply to all the other players too...

People get Stamina not because they want to "exploit" anything as far as I'm concerned. Some get it because they have to because of the degree of endurance they need to keep their powers running (as it seems some Powers/sets are built around the assumption that the player has, or is going to get, Stamina) and just want to make it through a fight without getting winded half-way through. I do that with a few toons with Stamina only now 3-slotted, and end reducers in almost every power (including attacks).

I can also posit that regardless of "need" some just want less down time in the game... having to rest between every mob isn't "fun" nor is it "challenging". Sure, if you're with a group you like that gives you time for chit-chat, but in many PuG's this doesn't happen, or worse, someone (with or without the need to rest) goes running off and aggros a bunch of baddies. That leaves you with the option to a) run away until you can get your end up enough, or b) make due with what you have and hope you don't faceplant. Again... not fun... um.."challenging" maybe... but not fun (stupidity or a lack of consideration for the rest of the team is not the kind of "challenge" I find "fun" at any rate...)

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Owch theres a valid point... what if your the last soul left on a TF half way or more done and you actualy want to complete it?

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I think that then, to quote the great philosopher and thinker Mickey Jagger, the phrase that applies is, "You can't always get what you want..."

I've done many TF's (although I must say, I've certainly never been able to go AFK), and have only failed on one respec (which was fun, I'd never seen the reactor go "boom" before), no matter how many left. Of course, I've never been ALONE at the end, either, I think the minimum I've had left at the end was three.

Oh, and I've had to quit once or twice, but I always told the team leader that was likely before we started.

Meh, I don't know...someone made the argument to me once that TF's SHOULD be the most difficult thing to complete, and though we argued back and forth about being able to recruit help, even if they couldn't get the badge/respec/reward, I do see his point. TF's are one of those "I'm doing a great undertaking" things, that you SHOULD be able to fail much more easily than normal missions, or even AV missions.

At least, that's how I see it.

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I have to say I see it that way too.

It took me 6 tries to complete the Synapse TF, and was level 40something on that last try (first one was the only one I was actually the right level for it). For a while there, I thought I was cursed not to finish it. Everything that could have gone wrong did at one point or another; from personal computer issues that kept me from reaching the end, people in the team quitting until there weren't enough to finish, to the worst one, some bug in the game that was causing people to DC and when they logged back in, they were no longer in the TF (this was around the time the sound-loop bug first reared its ugly head).

Out of those 6 tries, I got to the last mission four times before whatever messed it up happened, or forced us to quit for not having enough players, or the right mix of AT's, in the group. I honestly didn't expect the 6th one to succeed (it was a PuG no less) but I figured why not...

Even after all that... I still don't think TF's should change.

Including where you can "ghost" the few missions in them to stealth through and get the blinkie to shorten the massive ammount of time a TF can take

See... I had a point in there somewhere.

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Thanks Ice_Hot, same point I've been making all alone.

It's occasionally nice when someone conclusively proves I'm not a minority of one

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Heh, make it three.

I like it too. Then again, I would like to see it applied to timed missions, missions that go to timed missions as soon as you finish the first one, and missions that require more than one blinkie to be hit at the same time. In those cases, I can see the agument that it can break a degee of "immersion" but from the game side, it's a QoL feature the same as wanting to know about the AV's. I've accidentally taken timed missions (or one I just finished led to a timed) right before time for me to log. Most timed missions are clear if you read the text, but some are very vague, and a little red warning like we get for PvP would be nice

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No XP for glowies. Exploit closed.

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I hate to give an argument to support Stealth supression, but quite a few people have already pointed it out, so I don't feel I'm giving anything away.

In any mission where you can "stealth the blinkies" to just get to the end, you can raise the difficulty to get a higher end of mission bonus, with no appreciable greater risk...

Now, I still think that's a really gimp "exploit" since you'll be giving up all the xp you could get from fighting, but it's still a form of exploit, so I can understand them wanting to "fix" it.

While they're figuring out how to implement it though ('cause we know you guys are ) How about considering allowing the difficulty slider also determine if that supression kicks in or not? It's an elegeant soloution to the AV thing, and I think that can apply here too...

What if it wasn't supressed on Heroic or Tenacious, but on Rugged and up (when you actually get a bigger mission completion bonus) supression kicks in. Furthermore, the blinkie itself gives no reward at all (yes, I know that's the way it works now- but this would apply to drops and influence too, that I think some still give) only the basic mission completion bonus would apply (ending the mission, and preventing the "exploit of being able to repeat it). That will allow squishies to ghost the missions they can, while giving the equivelant "reward" for their risk.

Those missions set at Rugged and above will supress Stealth when you click on blinkies, and I would suggest that there be things given for them based on the difficulty you have set (xp influecnce, enh drops, whatever) since there is more risk involved, and to encourage wanting to work with the supression (more carrot, less stick).

This would, of course, not apply to "outside" missions for things like the holiday presents (where supression would apply- it's outside after all- or maybe just kick in during the day, but that would be some insane coding I imagine!).

The idea here is to allow for the possibility for "ghosting" missions for squishy players, and still allow reducing time in TF/SF's for those who wish to when possible, even if it is for little reward (completing the mission faster).

Thoughts?

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I wonder if the Adamastor in the portal mission is classed as a monster or AV.

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He's an AV... did it last week with some buddies

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Again, all of this will be solved by adding explicit text to the mission briefing before I accept the mission. Cryptic has a mixed record of doing this on mission text for AVs, simultaneous clickies etc. so I want to start asking for it NOW.

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That sounds completely fair.

Folks, he's not complaining about the change; he just wants them to let him know when an AV is coming up so he can prepare to face it on the terms he wants to face them on, just like knowing when you go to a PvP contact they implicitly state that PvP is involved. Did I read you right Lothart?

If so, I agree, and I wouldn't mind if the same red warnings! were on AV fights either... some of the descriptions aren't exactly clear, and you don't know until you get to it (with some of my toons, I would want an AV, on others, I wouldn't dream of it!).

I wouldn't mind the same treatment with getting timed missions, or missions that immediately jump to timed missions after you complete it, or "multi-blinkie-at-the-same-time" missions.

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As for the stealth thing, trying to argue that no exploit even exists is a failing strategy. There's not a lot of glowie rich missions in either game, but you don't need a lot - just one per level. Glowie farming was the main exploit, with the higher-than-intended XP rate of stealthy people a fringe issue.

[/ QUOTE ]That's another good point. I would imagine with my soloution, there would be no xp associated with grabbing the blinkies on the difficulties where you could "stealth" them... only the "lesser" mission completed award, ending the mission, and thus eliminating the farmable exploit for them.

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In the Dev's defense, stealth-suppression while clicking "glowies" isn't very popular, it at least makes sense.

Even if you're trying to be sneaky, it could be hard to not be notices removing books from a shelf, operating a computer, or things of that nature.

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Someone brought up that it is an exploit, because you can bump up the mission difficulty and get a larger Mission completion xp gain with no real added "risk" in "get the blinkie" missions. I can't argue with that one, and is the only argument in this case that I've seen that justifies a change in Stealth to me. Since they lose xp by not fighting anyway, it seemed like a choice to do it or not do it... but I suppose someone could pay to up their reputation on those to get that bonus without more risk...

But what if the Dev's continued their trend of "carrot over stick" and allowed Stealth to work the way it currently does for Heroic until Rugged (I think that's when there's the first mission xp boost for raising difficulty) but becomes supressed on Rugged and up (thereby justifying more risk for the bigger mission xp reward). Or at least on just Heroic... again, that's giving us choice in how much difficulty we want to face...

It will also continue making the difficulty slider mean more than just what level of enemy, like the AV/EB change...

Heh... I'm liking that choice thing...

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But these are certainly not worth offering one's firstborn for...

But then it occurred to me that maybe this just shows how starved for something positive the players of this game really are. These reactions are not unlike giving food to a starving man, or water to someone that has just walked across a desert. Maybe you should take this as a sign to give some positive changes to this community rather than nerf on top of nerf.

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Yup, what Val_Halla here said... QFT (emphasis mine)

I think the AV/EB thing is a pretty big deal though. It gives a degree of variety and control over AV missions that we never had before. From solo to at least a 4 person team, you get to chose when you face an AV.

By the way, I never said it before all the times I've seen it, but I think that avatar rocks!

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How will this change effect gettting AV Badges? Will you still need to defeat the AV or will the Elite Boss give you the badge too?

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Good question

Okay.. now I'm wondering if I'm dreaming...

This is a freaky twilight zone thing...

In either case... I LOVE IT!!!!

THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!!!!

Keep this up and you, Jack, will be my personal hero.

(not that I'd have a poster of you wearing the T-shirt and towel from the CoV party on my wall or something... that would be just kinda creepy... but you get the idea )