Memphis_Bill

Here's my gripe.

When AE was announced, we were (supposedly) going to get slots freed up for things like, oh, getting Dev or Players Choice. When's the last time any of those were really added, outside of Aeon's little contests? (Were those even awarded?) Given the number of people in game, what percentage would *ever* see that?

AE's search/filtering/voting/etc is another thing in need of revamp, frankly, just in general.

Well, at least a short time ago, you didn't need the extra badges to create the beacons - I had a group that didn't have the PI beacon, for instance, and I just needed the original one (out, right from the ferry to the - second? - island) to get it.

Do they show up in SG badges? I'm assuming not. (I'll have to check one of mine that hasn't changed for a while.)

Edit: Checked two of mine that haven't changed in quite some time, all the bacons are still there and available in the edit window.

So. I'm sent with my Fire/SS tank to hunt Carnies, for instance. They spawn in a good size group. Fighting them, basically every non single target attack costs me?

No, thanks.

Sharks

Old video. Spirit shark - single target, damage and knockback (the latter, IIRC, makes it somewhat popular in PVP, or did.)

For the hover, not sure. I'll check and edit with an answer.

Edit: I can actually hover up a good ways and still use school of sharks. (near the roof of a 2 story warehouse, attacking things on the ground.) This is, of course, the brute version.

I was working on a post (since discarded - it didn't look like the point I was trying to make would get across, regarding rewards, time, teaming vs interest and the like.) But one of the illustrations I was going to use was the Lusca encounter.

"Back in the day," people used to swarm over to attack Lusca on a regular basis. I remember multiple teams joining to do so - then attacking the OTHER luscas while they were up. They weren't really interested in the XP or badge, it was a fun, social encounter (I base that on repeated "Hey, I got a badge!" and mid to late fight "How's the XP on this anyway?" type statements.)

It was at a point where the experience of the encounter was a reason to do it, and the rewards really DID balance out the risks (including the social rewards. No real pre-organizing needed, just get together and beat on future sushi.)

Now... XP's been nerfed, the merits aren't really worth it, and Lusca's treated like a piece of scenery. Which she is - she doesn't move, doesn't really "threaten" anything or the like.

Other GMs are much the same - they stand around, wander a bit, but really don't stand *out* much. I go after Scrapyard, for instance, because I need him and his followers badges to unlock a contact. The fight itself isn't too interesting (and is, frankly, more irritating than anything with his running everywhere and self-droning, not to mention timing out in the middle of a fight and "expiring," robbing people of the rewards they'd otherwise get regardless of damage.)

GMs should be more interesting, and the centerpiece of events. There should also be things that soloists and non-optimal teams can do to contribute to the event end, or "in" the event.

For instance - and I'm going to stay focused on Lusca here:

There are various ships in Independence Port doing their thing. Dockworkers working. Life is going on as usual. Suddenly, one of the ships puts out an SOS - it's being attacked! A hero going there will find a ship with a tentacle or three around it, the ship being rocked. If the creature isn't chased off in 10 minutes, the ship sinks and another ship is attacked. You have two options - you (or your team) can fight the creature if you do enough damage (and it will fight back!) or, if you can't overcome its regen/do enough damage/you're solo, you can enter the ship and rescue crew members (scaling if you have a team,) plus find the otherwise environmentally-hazardous cargo to put a mediport-type beacon on it and get it transported away. (Yes, the two can be done at the same time. Different badge/rewards, though.)

After that, regardless of result, another creature attacks the docks. You have to fight the creature and/or save the dockworkers (which could be an opportunity for a non-combat event, stabilizing badly injured dockworkers, either through healing powers or, if you don't have those, a med kit that the medics outside will give you, much like the steel canyon fires can be dealt with either by an extinguisher or ice powers.) Since the warehouse near the dockworkers is in flames, you can also work on your firefighter badges if you choose. (Great opportunity for teaming, as defeating the fires could extend the timer for rescuing the people inside.)

A third creature starts attacking one of the pumping stations near Terra Volta (center island.) This station helps refine cooling water for the reactor - this is critical! The creature's not just attacking pipework, but just its presence is blocking an intake. Again, either fight the creature, go inside to shut down overheating equipment/fight fires and/or fight off the Devouring Earth who have noticed and decided to attack as well.

If any or all of these have been completed in some form, Lusca appears (this time with a broken ship she destroyed when she surfaced.) A team can do the usual tentacle defeat, wait for resurface, etc. (with better XP/merit rewards than currently given - one merit per two tentacles, two at the end, and more worthwihle but not overpowering XP) or, if there aren't enough people interested, an individual can get into the broken ship to rescue the survivors before it sinks. Rescue all the survivors, get a temp power (missile strike) - the Navy won't attack with a civilian ship there, but it will if they're out of the way. (Like a warburg nuke, can take a tentacle or the head down to 1/3 health and reduce its regen - also usable elsewhere with somewhat lessened damage and -regen.)

Rewards depend on what you've done - you can keep the med pack (it works on teammates, too) if you have charges left over, or the fire fighting equipment (cold damage cone,) or the missile (described above,) etc - or all of them, if you've done them. Badges, of course, at multiple tiers (doing all the rescues/all the fires/all the fires plus steel canyon fires, though not part of the final event badge/got the missile) as well as the entire event (which doesn't all have to be done at the same time.)

Other examples:
Scrapyard - Is still a "mini GM" to me, really. Have his followers start causing mayhem - defeat the ones attacking cars/buildings, put out the fires they cause (or, alternately, add some of your own and let them take the blame!) Of course, reroute him so he doesn't kill himself on the BM's killfield, and if he's being (significantly) attacked (1/2 health or less) he doesn't despawn until he's either defeated, or regens more than 1/2 health and is left alone.

Kraken - I'm not 100% sure what to do with him. It's not a particularly interesting encounter. Beating on a GM that just stands around - eh. But it's another place to have him destroying something, or you can work on reestablishing a containment field (Vanguard learned where he came from and can send him back until the Rikti bring another - fight off attackers as you find/repair these and weaken him) or something similar. Little more challenge to come up with as it *is* a lower level zone.

The point, of course, is to make these *events.* Some (like defeating the monster construction) I think are fine, though the Paladin should be more interesting if he *does* get built.

In any case, these should have more "stuff" to get people interested and involved, even if they're not on a GM-defeat-capable team. Plus it would breathe new life into some of these zones by letting them have events (Perez/Boomtown, anyone?)

Eh.

(That being the reaction from me probably makes it fit in with other vet rewards pretty well.)

I'm not really against it, primarily because it's a single level bump for a non-50, and specifically because leveling IS ridiculously easy. You can wait for 50 and get a bit of INF (which, given what things run for on the market, doesn't look like a big deal at 50 mill) or say "Y'know, I'm (say) 31, I want my controller pets, *bing* now I have them."

Call me slightly-less-than-apathetic about it. Doesn't particularly excite me, but it doesn't sound horrendously broken. I don't think it'll really (as mentioned above) "contribute to a feeling of haves vs have-nots" at a single level, or less INF than generated by dropping any of a number of recipes at the market.

Personally, I think they did a pretty good job of representing a modern destroyer.

Yep. Just had a friend ask about this, as she'd been moving some stuff around via email.

I went in and looked - same thing. Little bonus for me (another character that could use it now has the Performance Shifter +END IO, and a stupefy they didn't need.) Don't recall if I had anything sitting there to *lose,* really - probably not, I don't shuffle things often.

Can we stop with the necroposts? Last post before today - 2008.