Suggestion for alteration to how Purples drop

In another discussion, we were talking about whether to make purples something purchasable with merits, and while typing, I thought of something that I couldn't see anything that was apparently wrong.

It's become pretty standard to try to run task forces as speed runs because you get merits faster and can purchase your recipes. "Fun" isn't enough of an incentive for most people to just fight through a mission. What if there is incentive for fighting through the missions?

How about if the frequency of purples dropping was slightly decreased for normal mobs, but moderatly or significantly increased for mobs within an instanced TF/SF mission? If you choose to speed run the missions for maximum merit rewards, that's fine. If you chose to steamroll through the missions fighting the mobs along the way, you'd be rewarded by a greater chance of getting purples.

Maybe there would be no need to alter the frequency of the drops on mobs outside the TF/SF, I just thought that it may seem more palatable if there was a tradeoff because the purples are supposed to be ultra rare.

Thoughts?

QR

Not a bad idea necessarily, but I think it would have to be something along the lines of making the drop rate better the further into the TF you are.

Many TFs have first missions that would be farmed for days otherwise. See the first mission of the ITF for example. With fillers (we're finally getting rid of them, this could bring them back), many ATs could solo the first mission set for 8. Over and over again.

Even with the addition of making it being based on how long you were in the TF, you would have to be careful lest people get to the end of the Doc. Q and then farm the last mission every night for weeks. Again, I don't think this is a bad idea per se, but we have to be careful how it's implemented.

Better IMO, to give a chance for a purple based on completing challenge goals in a TF. Something like Kill 1000 mobs in the ITF or something.

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QR

Not a bad idea necessarily, but I think it would have to be something along the lines of making the drop rate better the further into the TF you are.

Many TFs have first missions that would be farmed for days otherwise. See the first mission of the ITF for example. With fillers (we're finally getting rid of them, this could bring them back), many ATs could solo the first mission set for 8. Over and over again.

Even with the addition of making it being based on how long you were in the TF, you would have to be careful lest people get to the end of the Doc. Q and then farm the last mission every night for weeks. Again, I don't think this is a bad idea per se, but we have to be careful how it's implemented.

Better IMO, to give a chance for a purple based on completing challenge goals in a TF. Something like Kill 1000 mobs in the ITF or something.

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That last part sounds good. I refrain from suggesting that it gets tied to any one portion or goal of the task force because that just gives incentive to do that goal faster. So even making it so that the chances increase the further into the task force you get just means you have incentive to speed run the first half. An improvement, certainly, but not as nice as giving incentive to just play through.

I had several task forces in a row where we speed ran them and it was VERY unpleasant. But then I got on one where they had a couple rules. The first was that there was no whining, the second was that we would play at the highest difficulty and always fight our way to the objective, and the third was no whining. It was a total blast steamrolling through all those mobs.

Having an incentive like a better chance to get a purple from fighting those mobs could bring that playstyle back.

Maybe for lower-level task forces they could increase the drop chance for rare recipes. That could pass the incentive onto the lower task forces too.

Any other comments?

I'm against TFs offering a better chance of getting Purples on any level. Many players, me included, cannot put in several hours on a routine bases to run TFs. I've got 3 50s and a lvl 48, but never run a Statemans TF and only 2 of 6 Phalanx TFs in 2 years - that illustrates my plight. TFs should be their own reward (Merits and Badges and just getting to do the darn things)

Instead, I wish there was something to make the Zones themselves more alive - maybe this idea would fit better there. If you're fighting in a zone, not an instanced mish, you have a slightly better drop rate.

I think that's one of the problems in the game. Once you attach a reward to the completion of an objective, you give incentive to get to that point as quickly as possible. If you can squeeze three task forces into an evening, you get three rewards, so get them done as fast as you can! Regardless of what the reward is, having it at the completion encourages you to do it quickly.

There should be incentive to just do it, not to "do it quickly."

I like the general idea, but I also think i16 is going to end most reasonable perceived purple supply problems by luring farmers back into normal missions.

So bottom line, you want to increase the number of purples for people who run task forces at high difficulty levels AND then lower the purple drop rate of people who can't run task forces and/or have builds in which they can't fight higher level mobs.

In essence, you want to make your toons more powerful while everyone else stays weaker.

Purples are rare and available for everyone right now. That doesn't need to change. I don't know for certain, but I'm will to bet that task forces are only run by a small percentage of the population.