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which i might add is against the EULA.
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No it's not.
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my suggestion is keep AE but take away some if not all of the xp,
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No ... that would make every mission a test mission. And this isn't the Suggestion Forum. Post this in S&I.
Thank you for creating yet another MA farming thread. The sheer number of threads on the subject prove that there is a sheer number of people who are concerned about the topic. I have a sneaking suspicion that most of these concerned individuals play on Freedom, due to numerious earlier thread starters being located on Freedom, and since I haven't seen a problem on the six servers I'm playing on (but I could be missing something).
I would rather you not nerf my XP because of your perceived problem, thanks.
Leave the thing the way it is!
You don't have to use it, no one does its an option
Like AC in a car
I get plenty of invites for both MA and regular missions -- on lightly populated servers, no less.
Please don't ruin the MA for those of us who use it the way it's intended. It's fine the way it is.
seriously, I just played a great non-MA team with no trouble, just like pre-I14. besides, Its incredibly easy to find non-farm arcs that are great stuff. its all there, and the people who are farming o nthe MA are just the People who were farmung with In-game Content.
My SG and I are using this for the great story-driven arcs, and the tools to write missions during the week that we run together on weekends. It's awesomeness incarnate. Just because some fools are using it for HAY GUYS LETZ FARM is not my problem. Our COH experience has improved considerably thanks to AE.
If you want to run an arc that isn't just a bunch of easily killable nasties and no story, see my sig.
Global @Twoflower / MA Creator & Pro Indie Game Developer.
Mission Architect Works: DIY Laser Moonbase (Dev Choice!), An Internship in the Fine Art of Revenge (2009 MA Award Winner!) and many more! Plus Brand New Arcs for Issue 21!
My SG and Coalition friends are still playing normal arcs. We check the MA content for interesting arcs we have heard about or for quick missions.
I like the MA because it allows me to experiment and see whether my story ideas work or not. It has revitalized my old writing bug. 
It's been what, two weeks? It's still shiny and new. Wait a while before you sing the doom song, yes?
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It's been what, two weeks? It's still shiny and new. Wait a while before you sing the doom song, yes?
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That is a win comment.
And to the OP... Quit being a cry baby. If you don't wanna do MA missions put it in your search comment. I can barely find MA teams at the moment on Virtue/Freedom/Justice/Victory/Champion, but I get tons of newspaper mission invites. (partially because all the farmers have their teams full constantly).
Oh and I might add that the farming missions that all my friends make are effectively removed by about the 2nd day of them being created and used.
Well, basically the way it was for me before I14, most teams I ended up on just wanted to do radio mission after radio mission without interacting with each other or doing any story content. If I wanted to take part in a story, I usually had to play solo.
After I14 was released, most teams I end up on just want to do radio mission after radio mission without interacting with each other or doing any MA or story content. If I want to take part in a story or use the MA, I usually have to play solo.
Not much has changed...
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Thank you for creating yet another MA farming thread. The sheer number of threads on the subject prove that there is a sheer number of people who are concerned about the topic. I have a sneaking suspicion that most of these concerned individuals play on Freedom, due to numerious earlier thread starters being located on Freedom, and since I haven't seen a problem on the six servers I'm playing on (but I could be missing something).
I would rather you not nerf my XP because of your perceived problem, thanks.
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I don't think it's specific to Freedom. I play on Justice and see a LOT of "LF AE Farm team" talk.
This isn't to say it bothers me, though. People can farm if they want. I don't do it, but don't feel the need to stop others from doing so.
Admittedly, I did play an AE mission that was clearly a farm once I loaded in, but at that point I just wanted to see if I could handle it....I couldn't. 
I've seen plenty of farm chatter on Virtue, in zones that didn't use to have it. I'd like to see a solution besides taking Broadcast out of my tabs altogether.
My characters at Virtueverse
Faces of the City
I totally and completely agree with the OP.
I've seen this sort of thing before, and I've watched as it slowly killed the population of a couple of favorite MMOs that I used to enjoy.
It seems "not an issue" to some people at first, but lets face it; the act of actually doing this is AMAZINGLY BORING. Do players want to pay monthly for something dull? No. And there really isnt any denying that fact, no matter how much some may try.
Normally, I love joining up with groups and going out and doing missions. It's chaotic, it's challenging, and most of all, it's great fun. But this....... this is literally NONE of those things. This is for lazy people that arent willing to just freaking play the game they're paying monthly for; instead, they'd rather use exploits.
And yeah, I've heard the arguements before. "Just dont do it if you dont like it". Funny thing though: Nobody that says that actually considers the real problem here. *I* dont want to do things that way, no...... but the simple fact is, if everyone else on the server is just playing the cheap way, well, I wont be finding a team anytime soon. Which rather ruins the experience. THAT is the real problem here. The "farmers" ruin the game for those that want to play normally..... particularly when there's just so blasted many of them.
And yes. I get that this issue just came out. I personally dont think that's an excuse though. Why wasnt this problem discovered in testing and dealt with long before releasing it? It's not exactly the type of problem you just arent going to NOTICE till after the fact.
For the first time since the game's beta, Im feeling bored of it, due to this.
For now, Im just gonna play Everquest instead.... at least there, people DO stuff.
And no, it's not a "doom song". I dont honestly think the game is going to just go down the drain or something. But one way or another, wether the "farmers" like it or not, this problem DOES need to be addressed in some fashion by the devs.
If MA was only about farms then story-driven arcs wouldn't be seeing play time, and that simply is not the case. I don't just mean the Dev's Choice arcs, I'll also use my own arc as an example - 33 plays as of tonight - and it's definitely not a farm. Try it and see (in my sig).
Yes, it is true that there is a lot of farming going on. I expect that as time goes on that this will become less of an issue as the developers nerf the worst of the farm tactics and many players grow bored with it (not everyone farming now is a die-hard farmer, they're enticed by getting fast tickets to unlock content or level up some character that has been languishing).
It's also not true that MA is killing existing game content. If you watch global channels dedicated to Task Forces and such you'll see that those are still going on, and that many players are dividing their time between MA and regular game content. I am. I'm currently running a Patron story arc on a villain and the RWZ story arc on a hero as well as trying MA story arcs.
Be patient, MA is new and shiny. Players are trying it out and the developers are still working out the kinks. Don't cry doom.
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I totally and completely agree with the OP.
I've seen this sort of thing before, and I've watched as it slowly killed the population of a couple of favorite MMOs that I used to enjoy.
It seems "not an issue" to some people at first, but lets face it; the act of actually doing this is AMAZINGLY BORING. Do players want to pay monthly for something dull? No. And there really isnt any denying that fact, no matter how much some may try.
Normally, I love joining up with groups and going out and doing missions. It's chaotic, it's challenging, and most of all, it's great fun. But this....... this is literally NONE of those things. This is for lazy people that arent willing to just freaking play the game they're paying monthly for; instead, they'd rather use exploits.
And yeah, I've heard the arguements before. "Just dont do it if you dont like it". Funny thing though: Nobody that says that actually considers the real problem here. *I* dont want to do things that way, no...... but the simple fact is, if everyone else on the server is just playing the cheap way, well, I wont be finding a team anytime soon. Which rather ruins the experience. THAT is the real problem here. The "farmers" ruin the game for those that want to play normally..... particularly when there's just so blasted many of them.
And yes. I get that this issue just came out. I personally dont think that's an excuse though. Why wasnt this problem discovered in testing and dealt with long before releasing it? It's not exactly the type of problem you just arent going to NOTICE till after the fact.
For the first time since the game's beta, Im feeling bored of it, due to this.
For now, Im just gonna play Everquest instead.... at least there, people DO stuff.
And no, it's not a "doom song". I dont honestly think the game is going to just go down the drain or something. But one way or another, wether the "farmers" like it or not, this problem DOES need to be addressed in some fashion by the devs.
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Double QFT with a cherry on top.
My solution to these things is simple. If I find an arc that I think is farming, I report it. Then, I let the Dev's handle it from there. If they don't think it's farming, then it isn't- and if they do, they'll yank your privelages and give you the scorn and shame that you deserve.
Amusing side story: I was invited to team up with a group in the MA. I told them I was in the middle of testing, but I'd drop it if the arc was fun. I also mentioned that I wasn't in the mood for farming. So, the team leader replied that his mission WASN'T farming, just a good fun arc with good xp.
Well, that sounded perfect. So, I dropped my testing, joined the mission, and was immediately set upon by HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS of boss-level identical toons, had nothing but melee powers, and had no defense powers of any kind. The team leader then told us that the mission was "Designed for long-range toons." and ordered the Dominators and Controllers to hold the mobs so that they couldn't reach us, while the ranged attackers fired away, and slaughtered the defenseless boss mobs right away.
That, to me, seemed like farming. So, I stepped out of the mission when it was over, and sent the farming report in. Before the team leader had a chance to reset the arc and re-farm it, the Devs had already pulled it down. Unfortunately, that left us all in the awkward position of being chewed out as a group by the team leader for "ruining his mission and being a tattle-tale".
The funny part is that someone else on the team took the blame for reporting him, because apparently, he and I had done the same thing.
So, the devs take farming pretty seriously, they jump in with swift action, and in some cases, leave you with awkward situations right afterward...
Please play and rate my AE arcs! Just look for @Captain Titan, and you'll find them! Also, whoever made the Penelope Yin splash page needs to be told that spines don't work that way.
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Well, basically the way it was for me before I14, most teams I ended up on just wanted to do radio mission after radio mission without interacting with each other or doing any story content. If I wanted to take part in a story, I usually had to play solo.
After I14 was released, most teams I end up on just want to do radio mission after radio mission without interacting with each other or doing any MA or story content. If I want to take part in a story or use the MA, I usually have to play solo.
Not much has changed...
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This is my experience, too. Granted, I enjoy the newspaper missions more than the AE farms, just because there's more diverse enemies to fight and it also tends to require slightly more coordination.
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which i might add is against the EULA.
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No it's not.
oh really tell that to 1st the gm and then the dev that told me they are, maybe you should get your information together before you post? and according to the gm and dev i talked to, get ready for a patch to get rid of fams... have fun with your disillusions. and yes you cannot get teams very well at all that arent ae related and it dont take a rocket scientist to read the chat and see that 90%+ is all farm related missions, if you all dont see it maybe you have farm missions and/or are just blind to it?
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The funny part is that someone else on the team took the blame for reporting him, because apparently, he and I had done the same thing.
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You could have told him that you reported it too,which might have re-enforced the idea that a number of players find that sort of thing distasteful.
I'm not so wound up about this issue myself, although the example given is pretty egregious. Still, that is a bit funny and I'd have probably done the same, or even quit before it was done.
Sorry but most Game Content killed itself. Let's take Hero's as the best Example. Level 5 you have no travel power, your starter contact gives you a contact in KR. You go to the contact and he sends you to the Hollows. You don't have his nymber, but if you don't want to do Hollows content you have to return to KR. Time sinks like this killed Heroes for me.
Now to make it worse with Heroes. You have a 4 or 5 mission arc and it take place in 3 zones.
Villains is much more streamlined. But Villains need a few more SF and or trials.
Sorry for turning this into a little rant.
@Blood Beret(2)Twitter
I am a bad speeler, use poorer grammar, and am a frequent typoist.
MA ArcID: 1197
You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life. Winston Churchill
The state of the art in MMO design has advanced a bit in five years, what can we say? Lessons were learned, mistakes corrected. (Now we have all new mistakes!)
My characters at Virtueverse
Faces of the City
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which i might add is against the EULA.
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No it's not.
oh really tell that to 1st the gm and then the dev that told me they are, maybe you should get your information together before you post? and according to the gm and dev i talked to, get ready for a patch to get rid of fams... have fun with your disillusions. and yes you cannot get teams very well at all that arent ae related and it dont take a rocket scientist to read the chat and see that 90%+ is all farm related missions, if you all dont see it maybe you have farm missions and/or are just blind to it?
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First off... Learn to quote the correct people. Second, learn correct use of the english language.
Oh and if you talked to a Dev, who was it?
And again, farming is not against the EULA.
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oh really tell that to 1st the gm and then the dev that told me they are, maybe you should get your information together before you post? and according to the gm and dev i talked to, get ready for a patch to get rid of fams... have fun with your disillusions. and yes you cannot get teams very well at all that arent ae related and it dont take a rocket scientist to read the chat and see that 90%+ is all farm related missions, if you all dont see it maybe you have farm missions and/or are just blind to it?
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I'm sorry, but the point you're missing is this: Farmers farm, non-farmers don't.
The MA did not suddenly turn everybody into farmers. The people farming MA used to be farming Sewers or PI or somewhere else. Now they farm MA too.
Those of us who are not farmers have not started farming in MA. No, we are writing and playing arcs that are often more challenging than the some of the standard content, in part because custom critters hit harder than normal NPCs. We enjoy the creative side.
I've only played in one farming mission since MA came out -- because I didn't know it was a farm until I started it. I low-starred it too.
Just because "90%" (made up number) of the chat you see is farm-related does not in any way equate to most of the MA missions being farms. Farmers advertise for farms; players play.
It may be true that you're having more trouble finding teams since MA came out. A lot of people (including myself) are spending time in the MA creating their own content and playing friends' creative (non-farm) content -- because it's fun.
Remember: MA is new. This is bound to go on for a few weeks, then the newness will wear off and things will balance out a bit. Be patient.
However, assuming that MA is just or even mostly a farming tool is a fallacy not supported by facts.
there are too many people driving those automobiles and not enough people in horse drawn buggies! the end is near.....please get rid of those roads so i can find people who want to ride along in my buggy with me
AE is killing the idea of teams on regular missions and all its used for now is a way for everyone to farm, which i might add is against the EULA. my suggestion is keep AE but take away some if not all of the xp, this way the people into making missions can but yet cant use it for farming purposes. then any missions deemed worthy then maybe get a chance of becomming a in game mission for all to enjoy.