NTFSSS: The Annoying Killer
By
Astroburn,
Posted on: 2009-05-27 19:07 in The Global Training Room Test Server
I was fortunate. I got on a PuG for the new TF and it went really well, but I believe most people that I was on it with was vets from the forums here. I believe Zombie Man was one of them.
I had fun, and it went really well 
Cool little TF!
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Do you just look for things to complain about? What a shallow life you lead....
Don't I know you???
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Do you just look for things to complain about? What a shallow life you lead....
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You mean like complaining about message board posts?
"You don't lose levels. You don't have equipment to wear out, repair, or lose, or that anyone can steal from you. About the only thing lighter than debt they could do is have an NPC walk by, point and laugh before you can go to the hospital or base." -Memphis_Bill
We will honor the past, and fight to the last, it will be a good way to die...
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Do you just look for things to complain about? What a shallow life you lead....
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You mean like complaining about message board posts?
[/ QUOTE ]Or complaining about message board posts that complain about message board posts?
In the Arena of Logic, I fight unarmed.
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Do you just look for things to complain about? What a shallow life you lead....
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You mean like complaining about message board posts?
[/ QUOTE ]Or complaining about message board posts that complain about message board posts?
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Stuffed.
Ran with a PUG last night. We had a tank 3 scrappers 2 blasters a Kin and what we thought was a Rad.
The Ill/Rad didn't have ANY of the Rad debuff powers, effectively making Reichsman impossible to kill when he pops his godmode. We weren't impressed.
@Radmind - Justice Server
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ClintarCOH - Twitter
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Q: What are the general and specific causes of NTFSSS?
A: The general cause is being teamed with lower quality players in an unfamiliar Taskforce. Specific causes can be:
-Teammates who don't yet realize their build isn't up to snuff for the demands of a TF.
-Teammates who don't play their characters well.
-Teammates who are unable to recognize patterns and devise strategy.
-Teammates who just wont listen.
-Teammates lacking common sense.
-Teammates of a lower level being sidekicked up.
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You left out: -Teammates who have no concept of time and suddenly realize they have a RL obligation 20 minutes into the TF.
Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
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You left out: -Teammates who have no concept of time and suddenly realize they have a RL obligation 20 minutes into the TF.
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That depends if the teammate knew well ahead of time something was coming.
Most people understand that most TFs can take around two hours at best. Joining one when you're 45 minutes from dinner is definately a valid indicator of stormy seas ahead.
But I can excuse someone for answering an unexpected phone call from Grandma who's 97 in August and wont be around much longer or going AFK to extinguish their toddler.
Generally, if said teammate knows to warn people up front "Hey guys, in a half hour I'm going to go eat/take an important business call/run obnoxious errand" then he had no business joining the TF in the first place, IMO.
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"I haven't played this character in a looong time. LOL!"
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Example of this: me. I haven't played villains in a very long time, but I loaded my Thermal Corruptor (only villain 50 I haven't deleted, and only on principle) for the SF. I was very much useless the entire TF, died thirty billion times, and my entire contribution was to shield and forge people, recall and rez, and try not to draw aggro onto myself because the second I alerted mobs of my presence, I was mezzed and dead in 20 seconds. Oh, and debuff the AVs, once I remembered that Thermal gets debuffs.
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This is what 3700 heroes in a single zone looks like.
Thanks to @EnsonsDeath for the GVE code that made me VIP again!
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"I haven't played this character in a looong time. LOL!"
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Example of this: me. I haven't played villains in a very long time, but I loaded my Thermal Corruptor (only villain 50 I haven't deleted, and only on principle) for the SF. I was very much useless the entire TF, died thirty billion times, and my entire contribution was to shield and forge people, recall and rez, and try not to draw aggro onto myself because the second I alerted mobs of my presence, I was mezzed and dead in 20 seconds. Oh, and debuff the AVs, once I remembered that Thermal gets debuffs.
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I have done that myself. But it only takes me about 5 minutes to get the gist of my toon again, but I dont LOL at the end of my sentences. One thing that looks stupid as hell on my screen is a bunch of lols and hahas in the same run on sentence.
I have LOTS of toons where it has been a year or more that I havent played.
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-Teammates of a lower level being sidekicked up.
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I personally don't see how this applies at all. I had my 46 Fortunata lk'd up and I was kicking rear. Only died when my boss wandered off to help people who apparently can't navigate to save their lives and other such times where all my support disappeared, etc.
I didn't complain though, because it's an early version of a new SF, which means dying or failing means even less than the little it means on live.
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Q: How can I tell if I'm likely to contract NTFSSS from my team?
A: There are signs you can spot early on to prevent NTFSSS from taking root.
Signs such as your teammates saying things like:
"I haven't played this character in a looong time. LOL!"
"This is a concept toon..."
"Where am I?"
*heard in the middle of combat* "How should I slot [insert power here]?"
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ROTFL!!!
Blazara Aura LVL 50 Fire/Psi Dom (with 125% recharge)
Flameboxer Aura LVL 50 SS/Fire Brute
Ice 'Em Aura LVL 50 Ice Tank
Darq Widow Fortune LVL 50 Fortunata (200% rech/Night Widow 192.5% rech)--thanks issue 19!
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Ran with a PUG last night. We had a tank 3 scrappers 2 blasters a Kin and what we thought was a Rad.
The Ill/Rad didn't have ANY of the Rad debuff powers, effectively making Reichsman impossible to kill when he pops his godmode. We weren't impressed.
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If he was bugged, any amount of rads wouldn't of made a difference, so don't feel bad 
Combat Kangaroos, Justice Server. First 50's
Jirra Roo Plant/Storm/Stone/Musculature Controller
Combat Kangaroo Rifle/Energy/Mace/Spiritual Blaster
Kung Fu Kangaroo Martial Arts/Reflexes/Body/Spiritual Scrapper
Tribal Arc Shield/Elec/Mu/Spiritual Tanker
I was hit by NTFSSS on the new TF.
I clicked Unstoppable the first time you face Reichsman, not yet knowing he's unbeatable and you just exit the mission. I completely forgot it was still running when we started the next mission, and then I wondered why I suddenly face-planted in an easy fight.
I can't believe I'm typing this, but here it goes:
I found Johnny_Butane's intentionally funny post to be funny, because it's true.
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Lol. "This is a concept toon."
You know you're in trouble when you check their badges and all you see are full sets (including the epic) of a few of the AE badges (Kills, destructible objects, non-required objectives) and pretty much nothing else. Not even an exploration.
True to form, the player was a Dark defender that never once summoned a Dark Servant, used Fearsome Stare, used Howling Twilight, and it took much pleading from the team to get them to start using Tar Patch every now and again.
Nothing dooms a task force more quickly or completely than people who leave as soon as the going gets tough instead of sticking it out and formulating a new strategy around the team's strengths and weaknesses.
I will not rest until we have in-game throwable pies!
Course.. nothing ruins a TF faster then people who act like we're planning an assault in real life and it's the most important thing in the world..
A TF without a few casualties means you're not trying hard enough.
Dr. Todt's theme.
i make stuff...
So.... how IS the new TF? Is it fun?
How does it stack up compared to the ITF?
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Not even an exploration.
[/ QUOTE ] Considering the AE has one... that's tough! 
Orc&Pie No.53230 There is an orc, and somehow, he got a pie. And you are hungry.
www.repeat-offenders.net
Negaduck: I see you found the crumb. I knew you'd never notice the huge flag.
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So.... how IS the new TF? Is it fun?
How does it stack up compared to the ITF?
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It needs some work. It is Beta, after all.
Speeding Through New DA Repeatables || Spreadsheet o' Enhancements || Zombie Skins: better skins for these forums || Guide to Guides
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So.... how IS the new TF? Is it fun?
How does it stack up compared to the ITF?
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My general opinion of the ITF is it's a fast pace joy to run with an end encounter that kind of ruins the expereince with an OP, bloated AV that relies on cheating and gimmickry to be "challenging" (in other words, needing a specific team make up).
On the Reichsman hero TF:
I found it an unremarkable, short and repetative experience to run that's made worse by an OP, bloated AV that relies on cheating and gimmickry to be "challenging".
SPOILERS. Do not read if you care.
Keep in mind this is subject to change as the devs have said they're reworking the TF based on feedback.
2 out of the four missions in it you're fighting in 5th base/cave maps, and we all know how much people love to hate those. Contast that with the ITF where all but one of the maps is 100% unique to the TF. Sure there's some new sights on this TF to see; bits bolted on stuff we've seen a thousand times.
The new time capsule for Hero 1 and Omega Team was supposed to be a centerpiece of the TF. Well, you don't have time to stop and see the sights when you team jumps though a portal and starts getting slaughtered while you're trying to get a look at the thing.
Almost right away they throw you up against a Nosferatu clone who'se every bit as annoying fight as the original. Note to devs: more AoE heals for AVs, please. Ghost Widow, Rommy and every other dark themed AV need a rappid fire self heal to bolster their already stupid regen.
The "respec team" of villains from the STF show up as the ones robbing City Hall, I assume crossing over with the villain version of this TF. It's always nice to see named, themed super villains who aren't bloated up to AV level like the signature characters.
Reichsman shows up in the second mission spouting about how he's unbeatable, just like any other villain you face in the game. The cheap shot is this time he's not blowing hot air and he two-shotted our Tanker. You're not intended to win that encounter, but you don't know that until you get a team wipe. I don't think you're ever told to run. He just shows up and grinds everyone to bits, with the exception of the ill troller who had the good sense to go invisible.
The third mission, I never got to see because of the bug that splits your team. Half were sent to the mission, the half I was on spawned in a YET ANOTHER 5th colum base that was mostly empty. As I understand it based on dialogue, you're SUPPOSED to spawn on the Axis Amerika map (as seen in the Portal missions) and rescue alternate dimensional counterparts of Statesman who are being used to supercharge Reichsman.
The last mission is, again, a 5th Column base with a throne room for Reichsman. You end up figthing him and several other AVs. Twice the team I was on failed to beat him beacuse he's either bugged, OP or a little of both.
Either way the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. I can undersand it being unpolished and needing work being a beta and all, but the underlaying design just isn't fun in my opinion. Assuming everything is going to work as intended at some point, I'm just not into what it's intended to do. I can see past the bugs and lack of polish, and what I see is what ruins the TF for me, not the bugs.
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NTFSS: New Taskforce Stupidity Stress Syndrome.
As with the STF, the LGTF and the ITG, the two new TFs in i15 can be a breeding ground for NTFSSS.
I've put together some literature for whose who may be affected by NTFSSS.
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Q: When can NTFSSS happen?
A: NTFSSS occurs when, eager to experience a new TF, you team with whatever PuG drecks are standing around the contact.
Q: What are the general and specific causes of NTFSSS?
A: The general cause is being teamed with lower quality players in an unfamiliar Taskforce. Specific causes can be:
-Teammates who don't yet realize their build isn't up to snuff for the demands of a TF.
-Teammates who don't play their characters well.
-Teammates who are unable to recognize patterns and devise strategy.
-Teammates who just wont listen.
-Teammates lacking common sense.
-Teammates of a lower level being sidekicked up.
Q: How can I tell if I'm likely to contract NTFSSS from my team?
A: There are signs you can spot early on to prevent NTFSSS from taking root.
Signs such as your teammates saying things like:
"I haven't played this character in a looong time. LOL!"
"This is a concept toon..."
"Where am I?"
*heard in the middle of combat* "How should I slot [insert power here]?"
Q: What are the dangers of NTFSSS?
A: The dangers of NTFSSS are:
-Team wipes.
-Inability to finish a TF including inability to defeat the AV.
-Increased levels of rage.
-Risk of damage to computer hardware.
-Increased desire to solo in an issue with no new solo content.
Q: How can NTFSSS be treated?
A: The short term cure is to leave the team, either suddely or with a polite excuse depending on your personality.
The long term solution is time.
In time, many of these people will lose interest in this TF and go back to content that's more their speed. Others will learn the tactics needed to complete the TF and become worthwhile teammates. In time, you will have more opertunities to team with more competant people and people that you know and are likely your friends, making the experience much better even if it still runs a little bumpy.
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The important thing to remember is that with modern IOs, NTFSSS is treatable and you have a very good outlook for full recovery.
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