Organica

Maybe I just imagined Independence Port (20-29), Striga Isle (20-29) and Croatoa (25-31)?

In any case, the point that Dark Astoria is more or less replaced by First Ward is more or less valid... it's not like there's a lack of blueside zones in the 20-30 range. I still encounter people who don't know where DA is, and when's the last time anyone in this thread visited it for any other reason than to collect explore badges or because a mission was located there? (Or to check for/fight the big zombie I suppose).

Add a new shard villainous strike force that heroes can join if they want.

You mean a full Incarnate inaction. Because you know, he trains people, he doesn't do anything. Not that anyone ever sees anyway.

All of these things. I spend 99% of my gaming time A) Making money on the market so that I can B) Create top-end IO builds (top-end enough to please me at least) so that i can C) Run TFs and missions of all levels with my friends.

Without super sidekicking, IOs and the market, I would be doing none of those things and would likely not be playing the game anymore.

However, D) Continually expanding costume options helps a lot too. ^_^

1. Moving the TFs to a different zone is more work than not moving them. (Which was all I was really trying to say.)

2. Reworking the TFs in the way you're talking about is more work than not reworking them. (Again, all I was really trying to say.)

3. If they did do what you're talking about... I think they'd have to do something about the explore badges. Because badgers would complain otherwise. So maybe you'd have "shadow of Storm Palace" or something? Meh. But probable if they were to really overhaul the zones like you'd like.

4. Imagining one of those massive shard zones as a PvP zone makes my head asplode... although I suppose it'd make afk farming safer.

5. "12 missions that are all the exact same as the last"? If only! Dr. Q is 22 missions, Sara Moore is 15, Faathim is... like, 19, counting all the monument clicks. (My friend, who is very clearly in a minority here, likes these TFs precisely because he can run a single TF instead of 2 or 3 regular ones in a row, and he doesn't have to form new teams every hour or so. But yeah. 22 missions that are all the same.... The same friend is still kind of sad that they reworked the Positron Task Force, even though he likes the new versions too.... )

Ideally, the stuff you're talking about would be pretty nifty. The shadow shards are kind of cool but also kind of big and empty... giving all of them a total revamp and working in villains in a way that makes sense would rock, of course. And since they've finally said that they're reworking Dark Astoria into a co-op zone... something I've thought they should do for 2-3 years but figured they'd never be able to do... well, who knows?

But even if *all* they did was let villains enter the shards... well, that's better than nothing. So few people enter the shards anyway. Or even if they did something simply like clone the shadow shards for V-side only (in the way they did for the monster islands) and did minimal reworking of the TFs to give them a more villainous flavor... if that's even possible... well even that would be better than nothing.

In this day and age when you can travel redside to blueside and back, or start any AT on any side you want, are there that many people who worry about which side has more content or more zones? At least aside from them adding a Strike Force for every Task Force, an evil SSA for every good, that sort of thing? I mean, I know redside could benefit from a couple more strike forces at certain levels... but I don't see any indication that that's ever going to happen. (Adding a new redside SF with no corresponding new blueside SF I mean).

Let me explain... (pause) No, there is too much. Let me sum up:

1. The cooler a rework is, the more work it's going to take.

2. When you take something away, people will be mad. Even if you replace it with something most people think is cooler.

3. PvP in a zone the size of the shard... *head asplode*

4. The Justin Augustine TF is the stupidest, most insipid TF in the game. I know that has no relation to anything I said above, but any time we bring up the shadow shard I feel compelled to point this out.

In fact now that I think of it, villains can have the JA TF. I'm happy to give it up!

I can refute that quite easily -- I know several people who run the Shadow Shard TFs on a regular basis, and would not be happy if some of the shards were taken away.

Setting aside what everyone would want or like, the easiest thing for the Devs to do is to rework the zones so that villains have access to co-op zones, and leave it at that. Anything else might be more cool and more desirable but at that point you're talking about using a lot of developer time on it.

But... that's unpossible!

Where does a 35 lb gorilla sit?

Oh wait... I don't think that joke's going to work the way it normally does...

It's a bit odd that StJ has an AoE with a very limited range, but with that sound I feel like I'm crushing enemies left and right, while TW has AoEs where I really am crushing enemies left and right, but it doesn't sound like it.