Agreed.
I enjoy the adrenaline rush a good, massive fight brings. Probably the mission I love most in the entire game is in the Silver Mantis Strike Force, where you're in that warehouse and the Freaks hit you in waves over and over and OVER again, from two directions! (I plan on trying to recreate that vibe in a mission arc, if I can find some outdoor jungle maps)
Anyway, if I want some mad combat action, and there's no Ritki Raid or Zombie raid, I can always jump into an AE farm map for some wild combat. (and I used the tickets to unlock a bunch of content to make my own missions. Tickets I would not have had were it not for the farm.)
Good job. With all those unlockables, you can create the kinds of missions that MA was actually, painstakingly designed for.
People here are going to disagree with me, but I like to see maybe a tiny bit more effort put into the design of these farm missions. Maybe I'm just going to the wrong ones?
Ex: Contact is a custom mob that looks like a product of a random button, and so do all the opponents. Exactly the same. Outdoor map, no mission details. I'd be happy with a palette swap for the different enemy tiers, and an ambush or two.
Win Dialogue: "'bout time you slacker."
Note - I haven't said there was anything wrong with farming, just a lot of the farming missions that feel like a bastardization of what MA is supposed to be capable of.
I'm not asking for a masterpiece, just anything. Hell. My own mission is shoddy, but I didn't just slap it up there.
Maybe I'm asking too much? Go ahead, fire away.
Or better yet, shoot me a couple of your favorite arcs.
I'll try them.
@Kyuu
There are certain 'farm' maps that have been a blast to play lately...thick infestation of enemies that seem to have no end. Wading through them with my Brute made me feel pretty super and I had a ton of fun. Sure, the tickets and xp were great, but having fun fighting off the swarms was the best part of the experience.
I actually greatly enjoyed the 'rikti invasion' arc.
technically it was a set of farm missions, and obviously the first mission was an outdoor invasion, with lots of rikti comm officers... but there was a TON of dialogue, and a bunch of captured heroes as well as optional bodybags of those who fell to the rikti ships.
the rest of the chain was interesting to say the least, culminating in a 'boss farm' which near mimicked a rikti invasion. there was even a highly interesting storyline about the characters taking the fight to the enemy, and if (admittedly) arachnos base maps and tech maps were used to simulate the interior of the rikti mother ship, at least it was understood as to why.
I hope more 'farmable' arcs of this type are published... farming should be fun, and I could see an entire series of spin-off mission chains detailing the entire rikti invasion from the initial landing to the creation of the war walls to the fighting in the sewers and the sealing of Orenbaga.
umm...was that a spoiler?
@Frostweaver
That sounds *awesome* The only farms I've seen are the city block with the comm officer pride parade. 
Would it be too much trouble to PM me the arc number, if you remember it? That sounds like more of a story than half the stories. 
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Farming missions are an option, and they abate the advancement problems that made the game unfun for me as a player. I can level up when I want to and do story missions when I want to. I have options, and options are always good.
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Yeah, there are a good portion of people that do exactly what you do, playing a wide variety of content in a number of different ways. The determining factor on what you do is "you".
I too am a game editor junkie. One thing I have seen in the twenty plus years of gaming(yes im a old bloke) is the change/midset of devs that open things up to the user when they include in game editing tools.
In some games the devs get this right from the start and its part of the design of the game. Hey player here are a set of things we designed and here is a tool for you to design stuff to your taste "whatever" they are, have a go.
Some devs/games evolove to the above point and once they do they take off and last much much "longer" in the long run then if they had been "restricted" to dev only content.
While I respect and understand what most devs go through to present the masterpieces they do like COX, they tend to be a bit more restricted in their thinking than the average player.
Allowing the "option" for players to determine these things individually is the number one sign that the devs actually "get it".
The development team and this community deserved better than this from NC Soft. Best wishes on your search.
It has just come to my attention that any discussion that touches on farming is FORBIDDEN in this forum. Therefor, this thread may also by extension be FORBIDDEN.
Unfortunately, because of all the hush hush secrecy surrounding those who must not be named, I am not permitted to tell you why, because it is a technical violation of the Message Forum Rules and Guidelines to openly discuss moderator action on the boards - therefor I shan't.
What I *can* do is link to an informative post that should clear things up:
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat....ue#Post13422099
Sorry to be all cloak and dagger, but since certain subjects are FORBIDDEN this roundabout manner is the clearest way I have to let you guys know that you may be wandering into FORBIDDEN territory.
Please, do not reply to this post, as that may also get too close to FORBIDDEN territory if you openly discuss moderator action, which as I have just found out, is itself a technical violation of the Message Forum Rules and Guidelines.
Please respect the rules and avoid the FORBIDDEN topics and discussions. And for all you "free speech" advocates, please keep in mind that while that is all well and good, the only place you can validly invoke that is in your own home or in public. This is not a public place. This is a private forum, and the owners of the forum are not required at all to permit any kind of discussion that displeases them. And please do not bring up the fact that you are a paying customer, or that thousands of people use these forums, or even that as the official forums there is an obligation to free and open exchange. None of these things are true. The owners of these forums have the final say on what is permitted, and the ordinary poster has no rights at all.
You would be best to accept that fundamental truth, and simply just engage in these forums in ways in which the forum owners (and by extension, those they employ) approve of.
Do what you are told, and obey the folks in charge here, and constrain your actions and speech (and posts) in the manner desired by them, and you will be fine. Above all, avoid what is FORBIDDEN.
Make sense?
For Great Justice!
Cross posting is clearly against the rules and if mod8 feels a thread should be locked him surely will do so. Relax have a cuppa joe, nah just go take a walk or something mate.
The development team and this community deserved better than this from NC Soft. Best wishes on your search.
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Cross posting is clearly against the rules and if mod8 feels a thread should be locked him surely will do so. Relax have a cuppa joe, nah just go take a walk or something mate.
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First of all, please for the love of god be be more careful, I believe that your post may itself be a technical violation of the Message Forum Rules and Guidelines.
Secondly, I am fairly sure that this does not count as cross posting as it is not only relevant, it is in the interest of helping unknowing posters from inadvertently breaking the rules. As this is happening on several threads, it must be addressed on several threads.
After all, if three different people asked how long Speed Boost lasted in three separate threads, would it be cross posting to answer each one? Obviously not - and this is much more important than that.
Thanks.
For Great Justice!
ummmm...dude you have been reasonable through most of this discourse across the boards....
but...wow...
I highly recommend walking away for the afternoon or something.
Ok Met cross post away.
The development team and this community deserved better than this from NC Soft. Best wishes on your search.
I do not enjoy farming, find them boring and pointless, but after playing five years I get bored of certain areas. Mainly level 1-20; low level I fight most tedious because your character is using the basic of powers available. Level 12-20 are manily used on movement and fitness powers (not all powersets require this).
There are times I want to bypass those early levels and when I got a tell yesterday, on my level 14 controller, asking if I wanted to join a farm I said sure. Now since I14 went live finding a team has been a bit more difficult.
Join that team, eight person, and ran the Comm officer map twice. My team oriented level 14 Plant/Kin controller is now a soloable SO'ed out level 22. Got me over the hump that I so disliked. Will probably do again with any new low level alts, to get to where I can enjoy the game and my character.
Valaraine: Master Archer & Electricity Whiz.
(Archer - lvl 50, swordswoman - lvl 50, Elec zapper - lvl 35, Ice/DB tank - lvl 50, Arch/En - lvl 26, Lvl 33 Blade wielder, trick archer - lvl 34, flame tank - lvl 30, rad specialist - lvl 44.)
My DA page
Farming is, in concept, very tedious - but I've found that its not half bad as far as PUGs go. Everybody is out to do the same thing, and almost every farming PUG is very laid back. Since you know what to expect, there's often lively discourse between team members, and rarely are there any hard feelings over someone messing up and getting someone else killed.
Conceptually the whole thing is dumb, but from a playing standpoint... its been kind'v enjoyable. My wife, my friends and I still run normal content together on certain toons, but the farming has given some of us a chance to try out characters we wouldn't have otherwise been able to tolerate the early levels of (stone tanker... gah!).
The only thing I'd suggest is that the AE buildings be moved out of Atlas and Galaxy. I do think all the farming broadcasts make the game look trashy to new players.
it can be tons of fun if the map has some challenge to it (like so many spawns that you need a competent team to handle it.). I mean. those kind of maps are what a good defender player dreams of.
Want comedy and lighthearted action? Between levels 1-14? Try Nuclear in 90 - The Fusionette Task Force!
Arc ID 58363!
I recommend changing the venue of this discussion to the moderator created farm thread in City Life
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@Frostweaver
That sounds *awesome* The only farms I've seen are the city block with the comm officer pride parade.
Would it be too much trouble to PM me the arc number, if you remember it? That sounds like more of a story than half the stories.
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ugh, I tried to find it today, but when I typed in 'Rikti Invasion' I got like 600 different arcs.
The search engine is BAD. They need one sort of like they have here on the forums.
I HATE wasting my search-fu Mojo on crap.
Aw, too bad. Thanks for checking though. I ran one map yesterday (using the tickets to fish for some recipes I need) that was custom dual-blade clowns on a city carnie map. We had a blast!
But, and we were discussing this, once the mobs learn to build combos, that map will be transformed into some sort of Ironman challenge!
And of course, I can't find the name or number.
There are different definitions of "farm".
1) A mission which gives you all the rewards/badges you might be after.
2) A mission which levels you 10X faster than you should level.
I don't think anyone has a problem with 1, the problem is with 2.
IMO a type 1 arc with a good story is awesome and everything you could ask for in a MA arc. There are a lot of them however with no description, no text, just a bunch of mobs, a bunch of glowies and a bunch of hostages. And heaven forbid you say that the mission needs work.
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You can't please everyone, so lets concentrate on me.
Holy [censored] another one! Mod8 made an official farming thread why do people keep making these things. We have heard it before in dozens of other threads. I have nothing to add except their is now an official farming thread and this one is pointless.
so people like you have something to whine about.
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Do what you are told, and obey the folks in charge here, and constrain your actions and speech (and posts) in the manner desired by them, and you will be fine. Above all, avoid what is FORBIDDEN.
Make sense?
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LOL, you forgot the sarcasm tags.
I come from LotRO, the most story intensive MMOs on the market. I love a good story. I used to play CoH/V, even though the stories were not that interesting (some were, some were not). I stopped playing CoH/V due to the steep exp grind (I tended to solo or duo with a friend) and the repetitive mission environments (back in the warehouse again?).
I came back for the free weekend in order to try the mission editor (I'm a game editor junkie: nwn, aow, homm, etc). I went out on some farm missions last night with a level 2 character who after a few hours is level 23. I do not particularly miss grinding out those first 20 levels at all (been there, done that, many times). More important, I gathered up enough tickets to unlock all the optional content for the editor so I have all the available resources to work with for designing missions. The fighting in the mission itself was pretty intense and a lot of fun in a chaotic, wild west sort of way.
Farming missions are an option, and they abate the advancement problems that made the game unfun for me as a player. I can level up when I want to and do story missions when I want to. I have options, and options are always good.