Memphis_Bill

Because, of course, being "at the top" gives so many benefits like...


.... um.....



being... at the top.... of a list...



... that almost nobody looks at...




... and.... er....




...





.... um.... yeah, got nothin'.


So, why should it be worse again? "Oh no, they can build a nice big fancy base that has absolutely no effect on me since I'm not in their group!" isn't much of an argument against creating a more reasonable rate, and base raids are disabled - and would require the devs to actually fix PVP, which will happen about the same time we investigate, oh, Hoag's Object for colonization.

Going to tackle this and some of what Oz said.

I've run Keyes once, as a preface. For me, it can be summed up as two things:

1. Chaotic.

2. Gimmick collection.

For chaotic, well - compared to the other trials, it felt far less organized and organize-able. Lambda? Outer ring, turrets, inner ring, guard, get your assignment, get stuff, beat on Marauder. BAF? Rather easy to define stages and locations. Now, yeah, Keys has reactors... and, bunkers... and a yard... but it doesn't feel as stage-able to me. It's less well defined.

For gimmick collection? OK. First reactor, we start out pretty standard, clearing NPCS and grabbing crates to throw batteries at terminals. We have a fairly sensible (to me) progression from there - "Hey, they're taking those, keep them from them! Move them with the goliaths!" OK, it kind of makes sense. And then.. um... we break into bunkers. Because, for some reason, the goliaths can't be used any more? And the crates are no good? Oh, and "I"M BEING SUBTLE, MAYBE YOU WANT A STALKER TO SNEAK INTO THE BUNKER, NUDGE NUDGE WINK WINK PITY AT SELECTION!" ... ugh.

It just didn't feel as cohesive to me - and I can see it triggering what Oz mentioned.

All of that said as opinion and feel - I'd suggest he try it in a month, when maybe someone HAS managed to force some organization on that - and when he's not also dealing with time constraints to see a sick friend (extra stress.)

Oh dear god no.

I do NOT want my abilities, stats, etc. tied to what costume I use. It's one of the reasons I've kept playing this game for as long as I have - I can look *how* I want, without being any less effective (or have to give up a look I started with and REALLY like because my Noobly Sword of Wet Paper has to be upgraded so I can do more than tickle a level 20 minion... even though I like my Noobly Sword f Wet Paper and it fits my character.) Or have to look like every OTHER <insert at/powerset here> because the GEAR DEMANDS IT!

Tie your customization to your IOs or one of your dual (or, once Incarnate-dom is unlocked, triple) builds. NOT to costume pieces.

And you will, of course, be wrong about that.

But we've danced this one before. Let the other kids have a go.

Intentionally, not sure.

Is it one now? Yep.

I'll give it "slightly different," but it's mostly in the way the blades are attached. (IE, instead of spinning from one end, they're inside a cylinder.) I can't think of another right offhand that has that arrangement... I'm fairly certain I've seen it in another application, though. Just can't think of what it is.

Yeah, that's part of the other reason for the suggestion, really. The trials feel like... well, DOOM. (Not to be confused with DOoooooooooooooooommmmmmmm, I do mean the game specifically.) You know. "Um, you're a space marine. it's mars. Here's a gun. Shoot whatever isn't you."

If we're going to have these things... flesh 'em out some. if not in the trial itself, in some surrounding missions.

/signed

This needs fixing (for Gravity in general) before anything else, IMHO. It doesn't matter *what* I'm throwing at it if my target is dead (of teammates or old age) before it's "thrown" at them.

I don't know about that. Just the script as is, saying "This name is available," is (IMHO) fine. The trials don't take up global names any more, after all (unless you REALLY want 23g 8by [TRIAL] as a global.)

I *suspect* that actual character deletion might cause issues. But obviously can't say for sure.

Has anyone said "NOBODY actually likes running them?" No.

But, hey,
... right? Keep setting up those strawmen. And ignoring or discounting the fact that, yes,
*is true.*

Sorry, but no.

Why are people "lining up to do Lambdas and bafs" still? Because that's the ONLY way to get the incarnate rewards. Which now go beyond powers into costume pieces/auras and emotes.

If the ONLY way to, say, get food was to stand in line to have someone deliver multiple punches/slaps/kicks to random parts of your anatomy, would you say "People want a way to get food without getting hurt" would be false? Because that's what you're doing here.

It's also where a fair part of the teaming is... because of that very thing. Yes, I can get teams elsewhere, but a good chunk of the population is still grinding these out. Which means if you want to play with others, you... go to where they are. Where they're grinding out trials for stuff that can only be gotten through trials.

The trials aren't popular because they're so incredibly wonderful. The trials are popular because they're the only way of getting *multiple* classes of rewards.

It's also worth noting that the last time they did that, the game was less than half the age it is now.

Ice Armor.

On the other hand, Dark Armor. And fury change.

Even with the badges, holiday events and, yes, trials forming there?

I'd bet you have *more* reason to *willingly* go to Pocket D than MOO has to keep running the trials.

I do, to a degree, agree with the sentiment. I don't like seeing so much locked behind the trials - with the trials the only reasonable way of actually getting anything. I'd still like to know just what was wrong with the Alpha system, quite frankly, and why shards were so quickly relegated to a "lol, just kidding" by the devs.

I want to see more - ok, *ANY* - solo/small team content related to Incarnates. OK, so you're sending task forces (which really deserve the name) to hit the big targets. Why can't I, or myself and two friends, work on sneaking in to hit some other anciliary targets?

Or, as I've said before... why aren't we taking (and strengthening) "godlike" powers against, oh, a mad, dimension-eating deity?

We won't be lacking for iTrials for a while. We've got five more (ugh.... I really dread that) power slots to unlock, so we'll probably have at LEAST five more of these. (And why do I get the feeling we'll see "Time manipulation" be strangely effective when we face the Neuron trial, whatever it might be called?) So we've got these grinders coming for a while.

But something *else* that can be done... yeah, it would be nice. Something I can do on my OWN time... much like gathering shards while running missions. *cough* But in a reasonable timeframe. Something that, if there are three of us would-be trial runners standing around in a dead time (like, oh, having just missed two sets of trial teams going simultaneously, or being the "extras,") we can just pick each other up and run really fast.

I was using him as an example. Yes, I *have* done this on multiple arcs and strike/task forces.

And again, with this sort of reward being given out, do you really think people *wouldn't* coordinate to run through arcs?

So you never, ever hear people saying "Running X arc, pst if interested?" (For instance, Montegue's arc?)

And behaviour can't change with an added reward?
And I do. What I'm looking at with the countersuggestion is avoiding the PLing the OP's suggestion would encourage and encouraging people to get probably as many (if not more) PPs for *playing the content.*

Heck, throw in a bonus for finishing story zones like Striga, Croatoa or Faultline (which, admittedly, rather screws over redside until either Croatoa or RWZ... but OTOH encourages more stuff like this to be made/added to places like DA.)