Rooftop_Raider

To be clear, I am not saying the game needs even tougher challenges than we do now. But more above-average challenges available, as this game probably has a high percentage of those types of players who would like something different and more interesting.

Just creating more missions, more minions, LT's, bosses etc, more TF's isn't what I'm talking about. I'm talking about, what is created, be more intelligent. A TF that's more involved and interesting. Missions that have more parts or requirements. Stuff like that. Not merely more EB's in missions, harder-to-kill AV's, etc.

That sort of thing might very well be in the works, with the two new TF's and missions coming up in I19. Time will tell.

I feel most EB's should be soloable, but with significant effort, and some AT's and powerset combos obviously fare better than others. AV's and GM's should be out of reach for most builds in less-than-advanced hands.

I've solo'd EB's with some of my weakest characters, and I've had a few of my middle-of-the-roaders solo literally every EB in every mission I could get them in. But I spent time arranging a good gameplan, used plenty of the right kind of inspirations, and put together steady attack chains (if not very optimal ones) to do so. Before AV's and GM's got their last big boost I solo'd quote a few AV's with one of my Scrappers, but I just didn't put much effort into it, and I didn't have any true elite AV-solo-centric characters. After that last boost (maybe 1-2 years ago, can't recall) the AV's and GM's basically became too much for any of my characters, and I've never put forth the effort to make any on that level.

It might for AV's and GM's possibly. Hopefully not for EB's. I think the challenge level for them is just fine, really.

I think the elite players who make the most of their characters now, and take them to the next level after the Incarnate system, might want some more challenges that are less trivial than what the majority of the game offers for them. I'm not sure what those challenges might be, but those will be harder for your average player. I don't have a problem with that right now. I think, given the age of the game, and the ratio of highly skilled and experienced gamers, we probably need such content. Most-likely new missions with more intelligent design, tougher custom bosses, EB's, and other types of challenges beyond conventional AI.

I'm one of those who exclusively joins for company. Don't get me wrong, I prefer to get XP while grouping, but if I don't want company - I just solo. If I group, I generally prefer non-farming/powerlevelling missions, as they are Boring. If I can't play, I won't stay.

To be fair, Tough adds significant extra survivability for a fire tanker. Debating it's "need' level is a matter of semantics.

Your additional comments, and the response above, help to fill out the implications, so my apologies for jumping on you. And yes, I am an experienced Stalker (actually every AT but the blue and red epic AT's) I have considerable experience with, and in my opinion, Stalkers are among the best solo AT's in the game. And especially at the lowest levels of the game, their very AT design stands out more than the others, than they do in the later part of the game, when all sets get more powers and some fringe combinations in each AT tend to dominate within AT boundaries, and excel beyond them.

I just feel that, regardless of financial situation (deliberately avoiding the market and making unwise buying/selling decisions, to IO crafting and skilled profiteering), Stalkers will certainly hold their own at the lower levels. Really in Praetoria our biggest concerns are against ambushes that are targeted on us, and escort missions that compromise our stealth. And modestly skilled players can work around that just fine.

To put what I am saying into further context. I went on hiatus in 2009 and only came back after I17, because GR was coming out. And I have no characters littered with IO's and set bonuses, and I really only recently started using the market in any way. With the exception of 3 characters, all others use either standard enhancements (TO/DO/SO) or the common IO's. The three that don't are littered with more HO's than I care to admit.

IO's are not required to make characters that can handle the in-game content just fine. Though characters with optimal powerset combos on the right AT's with the best inventions and bonuses, combined with experience and solid gameplans can make the game seem trivial.

It's just a better use of resources than throwing a ton of it into PvP and making it as unpalatable as it is now. You can selectively-quote for some sense of satisfaction, and in lieu of making any significant point - it won't change anything. PvP in this game sucks in it's current incarnation, and this game would have been better off putting it's resources elsewhere, than to have it in it's current state.

Now, would I approve of PvP in some form in this game, over no PvP at all? Yes. But it has to make sense. It doesn't now, and there's no reason to play it. But the truth is this game wasn't designed from the ground up as a PvP-influenced game. It was bred into it, and then torn up.

PvP was more fun before I13, and it was still in bad shape then. It just got worse, in spite of the effort spent towards "improving" it. I do think that this game would have been better served for PvP not to happen at all, then to go through all the sweeping changes it's gone though. But I think a minimalist approach to evolving and improving PvP would have been the best option, all told.