Discussion: Positron Q&A on the XP Smoothing
By
2Negative,
Posted on: 2008-02-07 10:53 in News, Events and Announcement Discussion
woot 24th post after a redname
Lord Raptor lvl 50 Thugs/traps MM Le Guerrier lvl 50 Broadsword/invuln scrapper
Lola the Chain lvl 50 electric/energy brute Kage Ryu lvl 50 ninja/dark MM
Billy. Bones lvl 50 zombie/trick arrow MM Jet Stream lvl 50 Super Strength/invuln tank
*shrugs*
1st year slow it down by nerfing everything in site
2nd year meh!
3rd year meh but with actual content
4th year speed it up
can we make up our minds?..the constant nerf bat runined the lvling.not the xp curve
as nice as it is..i already dont have issues playing due to the fact i dont sit in atlas or play just one toon.altitis either i might add
its nice..but it really isnt THAT big a deal and who told posi bases exsist?
even though sg mode really doesnt update the actual bases itself which neeed the love more then influnce to sg mode
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Almost every one of my characters is stuck in the 36-40 range, I'm really glad to see something like this get put in the game. I think it's an excellent change.
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I'm with you on this. I have so many characters stuck in their low to mid 30s, and one villain at 42. Part of the issue is leveling speed, which is being addressed, but another part of the issue not being addressed (especially on the villain side) is the lack of motivation for advancement.
Most characters have all their good powers between 32-38, and usually enough slots to make things work. Well what's there to work towards after that? Patron Pools and/or Ancillary Pools? Meh to both (especially the PPPs).
The post level-40 game is considerably more difficult than pre-40, as all critters start gaining some nasty abilities they previously never had (or you're now facing critters with nasty abilities for the first time) that are highly difficult to mitigate, often leading to utter frustration. And with nothing spectacular to look forward to on the road to level 50, I often don't see the point in playing those characters. Risk goes way up, reward goes way down.
In 3.5 years of playing I have only two level 50s, both on the hero side, one on each of my two accounts. And the only reason for this was to unlock Kheldians (that was actually something I saw as being worth the effort).
So while I commend the devs for the new XP curve that will indeed speed things up considerably (especially thru the teens, where just about no toon is fun to play), I'm really hoping they someday soon address the issues of the game between level 40-50. And I'm not talking about content. I'm talking about rewards. The ancillary and PPP pools *could* have been a compelling reward if they weren't all highly nerfed versions of powers already in the game (with very, very few exceptions).
They should be tier-10 level powers, not severely underpowered versions of other AT's tier-2 powers. Make them powers I *must* have, and I'm more than willing to work for them. Keep them as crappy useless powers that by and large do nothing for me, and I have no reason to continue.
And that kinda sucks.
Would it be possible to tweak the original COH Contacts so they'll open their full Inspirations store quicker? I'd rather not have half the zone's Contacts not sell me what I need because I outleveled them.
Teams are the number one killer of soloists.
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The one thing I question tho, he said they datamined how long characters were at certain levels. Could this info have been skewed by alt-itis? I know when I hit 22-27 range, I usually start another alt and run them for a while. Or even partake in a FOTM build.
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We have a "life at level" stat in seconds. This is how long a character spent at a particular level, logged in. While not a perfect indicator of levelling speed, it's an excellent starting point.
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Any way we could request that data for a specific character(s) or could this be in the "City Vault" webpage? I'd like to know how long x character took to get to 50 and how long x character took to get from 30-31, 39-40, etc... 
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I'd love to see a new system of advancement [...] that doesn't use XP, but rather tracks advancement based on completion of certain tasks.
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YES. Metroidvania MMO.
... it'll never happen though...
@SPTrashcan
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Why MA ratings should be changed from stars to "like" or "dislike"
A better algorithm for ordering MA arcs
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I'd love to see a new system of advancement above 50 that doesn't use XP, but rather tracks advancement based on completion of certain tasks. As rewards, give out some special non-slot powers, costumes, badges, invention rewards, SG rewards, etc.
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For instance, to get L51, you'd have to complete all of the storylines from all prior contacts, excluding TFs. For 52, you must complete all normal zone TFs. For 53, complete all the oddball TFs like Hollows, Croatoa, Strigga, RWZ, etc. CoV would need more content for this to work for them, as well, but then CoV needs more content compared to CoH anyway.
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Why would you need to "get to 51" at all? The function of levels in the game is to gate content and powers advancement. If you are not going to get any more primary or secondary powers, and you're inventing an alternate way to gate content by accomplishment, there's no actual need for a level 51. You would advance by doing what was necessary to unlock the next set of challenges in the game.
The Ouroboros is a form of this type of advancement, albeit in extremely simplified form. You have to do something (satisfy the requirement to get Seeker and the Ouroboros portal) to unlock an entirely new part of the game (flashback, Ouroboros arcs). The only reason why its not considered "advancement" is that its open to all levels (above 25). If it was something only level 50s could do, it would effectively *be* level 51, even if no actual level 51 existed.
I've always thought that was a good thing to do in general, because it prevents level escalation problems while still giving people things to do. I've liked the concept of unlockable content since before unlockable content (besides levelling) even existed in the game, except in trivial form (i.e. level 30 stores).
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For instance, to get L51, you'd have to complete all of the storylines from all prior contacts, excluding TFs. For 52, you must complete all normal zone TFs. For 53, complete all the oddball TFs like Hollows, Croatoa, Strigga, RWZ, etc. CoV would need more content for this to work for them, as well, but then CoV needs more content compared to CoH anyway.
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Absolutely not. This idea forces people to grind through all of the game's content for every level 50 they have or ever plan to have. This kills alt-itis stone dead.
If you're looking for a way to get me to hang it up and move on to a new game, you've found it.
Fortunately, it appears that the devs want to encourage faster leveling and keep us around, rather than the opposite.
Goldbrick 50 inv/ss tank
Other 50s: Power Beam, Rocky Mantle, STORMIE Agent, Matchless, Major Will, Knightmayor, Femstone, Space Maureen, Crimebuster Ako, Dr. Twilight, Doc Champion, American Gold Eagle
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Barry White was asked about the XP curve in CoX. His response? "Smooth it baby, oh yeah!" 
He plays an Ice Tanker. What else?
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Very regrettably Barry White died on July 4, 2003, before CoH went into closed beta.
Goldbrick 50 inv/ss tank
Other 50s: Power Beam, Rocky Mantle, STORMIE Agent, Matchless, Major Will, Knightmayor, Femstone, Space Maureen, Crimebuster Ako, Dr. Twilight, Doc Champion, American Gold Eagle
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I wish he'd answered the concern some of us have about the impact on prestige earning, with people reaching the influence penalty earlier.
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In Issue 12 (no release date yet, sorry), we are going to have you never dropping below 50% Inf. earn rate when in Supergroup mode. We will look at the impact of that change and base future alterations on that.
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EXCELLENT! Thank you! Consider my qualms quashed.
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The one thing I question tho, he said they datamined how long characters were at certain levels. Could this info have been skewed by alt-itis? I know when I hit 22-27 range, I usually start another alt and run them for a while. Or even partake in a FOTM build.
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We have a "life at level" stat in seconds. This is how long a character spent at a particular level, logged in. While not a perfect indicator of levelling speed, it's an excellent starting point.
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Can you exclude time spent in the same zone/mission for over 2 hours? I can see how people farming badges (specially in PvP zones) can very easily skew those numbers.
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Very regrettably Barry White died on July 4, 2003, before CoH went into closed beta.
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What you don't think there is CoH in Soul Heaven?
Oh and Barry White would be an Incarnate, probably Eros.
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The one thing I question tho, he said they datamined how long characters were at certain levels. Could this info have been skewed by alt-itis? I know when I hit 22-27 range, I usually start another alt and run them for a while. Or even partake in a FOTM build.
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We have a "life at level" stat in seconds. This is how long a character spent at a particular level, logged in. While not a perfect indicator of levelling speed, it's an excellent starting point.
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I don't suppose that the "life at level" stat could be added to the Attribute Monitor at some point? That could be a handy reference.
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The one thing I question tho, he said they datamined how long characters were at certain levels. Could this info have been skewed by alt-itis? I know when I hit 22-27 range, I usually start another alt and run them for a while. Or even partake in a FOTM build.
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We have a "life at level" stat in seconds. This is how long a character spent at a particular level, logged in. While not a perfect indicator of levelling speed, it's an excellent starting point.
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I don't suppose that the "life at level" stat could be added to the Attribute Monitor at some point? That could be a handy reference.
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Don't the city terminals give you some kind of info like that? Or maybe it was clicking on NPCs whose names were a certain letter. Something like that.
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Don't the city terminals give you some kind of info like that? Or maybe it was clicking on NPCs whose names were a certain letter. Something like that.
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That just gives the number of hours you've been playing (citizens that start with the letter M). What Posi mentioned was more detailed and ultimately more useful. If it doesn't get added, no big deal, but it'd be kind of nice given all the other fun numbers we have access to now. 
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I wish he'd answered the concern some of us have about the impact on prestige earning, with people reaching the influence penalty earlier.
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In Issue 12 (no release date yet, sorry), we are going to have you never dropping below 50% Inf. earn rate when in Supergroup mode. We will look at the impact of that change and base future alterations on that.
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Finally, an excuse to stay in SG mode all the tiem without having to sacrifice my character's well-being market-side
Now, if only we could select an SG costume slot, or not have the SG colors go funky every time we switched costumes while in SG mode... 
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I wish he'd answered the concern some of us have about the impact on prestige earning, with people reaching the influence penalty earlier.
[/ QUOTE ]
In Issue 12 (no release date yet, sorry), we are going to have you never dropping below 50% Inf. earn rate when in Supergroup mode. We will look at the impact of that change and base future alterations on that.
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Awesome!
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We have a "life at level" stat in seconds. This is how long a character spent at a particular level, logged in. While not a perfect indicator of levelling speed, it's an excellent starting point.
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Now I'm really curious what this stat looks like for level 50.
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I'd love to see a new system of advancement above 50 that doesn't use XP, but rather tracks advancement based on completion of certain tasks. As rewards, give out some special non-slot powers, costumes, badges, invention rewards, SG rewards, etc.
[/ QUOTE ]
For instance, to get L51, you'd have to complete all of the storylines from all prior contacts, excluding TFs. For 52, you must complete all normal zone TFs. For 53, complete all the oddball TFs like Hollows, Croatoa, Strigga, RWZ, etc. CoV would need more content for this to work for them, as well, but then CoV needs more content compared to CoH anyway.
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Why would you need to "get to 51" at all? The function of levels in the game is to gate content and powers advancement. If you are not going to get any more primary or secondary powers, and you're inventing an alternate way to gate content by accomplishment, there's no actual need for a level 51. You would advance by doing what was necessary to unlock the next set of challenges in the game.
The Ouroboros is a form of this type of advancement, albeit in extremely simplified form. You have to do something (satisfy the requirement to get Seeker and the Ouroboros portal) to unlock an entirely new part of the game (flashback, Ouroboros arcs). The only reason why its not considered "advancement" is that its open to all levels (above 25). If it was something only level 50s could do, it would effectively *be* level 51, even if no actual level 51 existed.
I've always thought that was a good thing to do in general, because it prevents level escalation problems while still giving people things to do. I've liked the concept of unlockable content since before unlockable content (besides levelling) even existed in the game, except in trivial form (i.e. level 30 stores).
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Well, it was just a grain of an idea, not a really thought-out proposal. Given that there are mobs above 50, and invention recipes up to 53 in the database that aren't actually awarded, why not have some way to rise above 50? It would be nice to have it based on something other than simple XP.
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The one thing I question tho, he said they datamined how long characters were at certain levels. Could this info have been skewed by alt-itis? I know when I hit 22-27 range, I usually start another alt and run them for a while. Or even partake in a FOTM build.
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We have a "life at level" stat in seconds. This is how long a character spent at a particular level, logged in. While not a perfect indicator of levelling speed, it's an excellent starting point.
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Well waiting on GMs sure throws this number off. Fortunately that doesn't happen so much anymore. Although they still need to work on KB getting people stuck in the furniture, knocking mobs through vault/cell doors, etc. that gets old fast.
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You can't please everyone, so lets concentrate on me.
I heard a rumor a while ago that this was only increasing enemy defeat awards, and not mission xp. Is this still true?
If so, then this seems like a direct thou shal not use stealth to complete missions from the devs, which is kind of unfortunate. (I really liked the feeling that my ninja could sneak past all the minions, and take out the important guy, with no one the wiser.)
Im reminded of a dev quote (from Positron himself, actually, if I remember right) that went something like A buff that only affects some circumstances will quickly become indistinguishable from a nerf that affects all other circumstances. Right now, if the xp increase isnt uniform across major sources of xp (Enemy kills, mission completes, and storyline completes) Im kind of feeling kind of like everyone may be getting a smoother xp curve except for me, and people like me, who sometimes prefer to focus on objectives rather than painstakingly chopping everyone in the warehouse into bits.
Anyway. Here's to hoping that it's a uniform increase, and not "smoother xp curve as long as you play in a certain way."
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We have a "life at level" stat in seconds. This is how long a character spent at a particular level, logged in. While not a perfect indicator of levelling speed, it's an excellent starting point.
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Part of me really wants to know those stats for my own characters. Since you've started giving out real numbers (Thank you!), could we get a page of useless (as in doesn't directly affect combat) info like this about our character? Or is that for the City Vault?
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In Issue 12 (no release date yet, sorry), we are going to have you never dropping below 50% Inf. earn rate when in Supergroup mode.
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Excelant news, look forward to it.
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Let's stay all gooey and puffy as we beat our chest in anticipation...chanting XP XP XP XP!!
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XP!
XP!
XP!
XP!
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In Issue 12 (no release date yet, sorry), we are going to have you never dropping below 50% Inf. earn rate when in Supergroup mode. We will look at the impact of that change and base future alterations on that.
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/e Poops Pants!
For someone in a small SG, this is going to make things so much better. I'm naming my firstborn Positron! Wether it be a boy or girl!
@Rylas
Kill 'em all. Let XP sort 'em out.