1 - No. It's due 'soon', then again, it was due 'soon' when CoV launched a year ago. Last official word was that it should make it into the game as a patch before I8. Aparently, it's not the TF that is causing the problems but the actual IoP raid system so the answer for the time being is to release the TF and disable the raid system until it's fixed. A raid ready base is all you need to do it.(it has been on test a couple of times and a few of us have completed it on there)
2 - Looking at some of the ones on the test server, you can get small % damage bonuses, % XP bonuses, mez protection. They do all seem to be quite low numbers so not sure one IoP will make a huge difference but that may change.
3 - Not 100% sure. I've not read or seen anywhere official that you keep the prestige which is why so many people are dubious about them. Your items get destroyed, they're gone along with the salvage and prestige from everything that's been published on it so far. There is a chance to recover stuff at the end of the raids which can be boosted with base items and there is, supposedly, a big prestige bonus on completing the TF.
4 - You can do it during the 'base disabled' phase while they fix it but if you complete the IoP TF after it's all fixed, you HAVE to be raided until you lose the IoP.
Before I7, I would NOT have been interested in doing it, because of the prestige/base items at risk. Since I7, my opinion has changed slightly as it's now damn hard to destroy base items. Is the IoP worth it? Not from what i've seen but I would like to do the content involved.
My answer may well be just to get all my SG together and do it on test. With the 36million prestige on test you can build an IoP TF base, run the TF and enjoy it without worrying about your hard work being destroyed
A couple of ideas if you want to make the CoP and don't want to be raided after it :
- screw it ! Just don't get back with an IoP.
- arrange a "friendly raid" with a SG leader you trust. You do the trial, he gets the IoP.
EDIT: Latest info from the US boards
[ QUOTE ]
A couple of ideas if you want to make the CoP and don't want to be raided after it :
- screw it ! Just don't get back with an IoP.
- arrange a "friendly raid" with a SG leader you trust. You do the trial, he gets the IoP.
[/ QUOTE ]
It doesn't work like that. If you complete the TF, you are open to raiding. It's not optional that you can do the TF and just choose at the end not to take the IoP and prevent yourself being raided.
You don't get to pick who raids you. If someone wants to raid, it randomly assigns them a base to raid from the list of groups who have their raid window set to that period.
Even if you could manipulate the raid windows or got lucky and was sent against the SG you wanted, you've still got to find another SG who are willing to take the IoP and open their SG up to raids and the sort of damage you're trying to avoid.
It's just a matter of reformulating things, isn'it ? 
I don't know, I've never been there. I'm just throwing ideas in the wild.
- "Screw the trial (well, that's what I call a reformulation ) : get out once you've seen enough of it, but before the end". Is it okay like this ?
- By careful planning with the friendly SG (before running the trial), it should (must ?) be possible to "un-randomize" the process.
And, of course, these guys would take the responsibility of opening their bases to raids. But I know a couple of hard-gamers SG who would be happy to do so.
the only way i can thin of fixing it so you can be radided by the group of your chioce is picking a realy strange time for your raid window say 6am sunday and tell your freindly group to look ther efor you however that could blow up in your face as somebody else may pic that as a time they wont to try and you find yourself having to defend against a raid at that silly time
but as has been stated the raid system is disabled for now and from the looks of it will be for a long time so apart from the freindly insta raid system there isnt realy alot to worry about is there
There isnt a problem on earth that cant be solved with the proper aplication of hi explosive's
Darklords of the Underworld/Lords of Light forums [url="http://www.armleg.com/dlotu"]www.armleg.com/dlotu[/url]
Scotlands Bru ill/emp troller lvl 50
Monster Bru SS/stone brute lvl 50
Carman thugs/dark mm lvl 50
All right, we are a considerably small but well-working SG on Zukunft (German Server). www.sg-shadow.de
So far we earned almost 10 Million Prestige, which is enough to get started.
After the last few SG-TFs we stand before two choices:
1) Go for Raiding and finally do the Cathedral of Pain TF
2) Go for a Transport hub, get the huge Teleport Room and place 8 Porters to everywhere
Thus, a few questions that probably have already been answered by larger SGs:
1) Is the cathedral of pain currently working? What do we need to do, to enter? (Except the raidable Base, of course.)
2) What benefits are to be gained from an IoP? I heard they are minuscule.
3) What happens to items destroyed in raids (my precious turbine generator for example)? I heard: Prestige retained, Salvage lost.
4) Considering the first three: If the cathedral is up and playable, the benefit to be gained is minuscule and there is a lot of salvage to be lost: Can't we just do the Cathedral and not place or place and delete the IoP?
Becaus all in all, once we placed it, any other SG can enter and mess the place up. We are a rather small SG, thus a devastating raid might set us back a lot.
Do you have any ideas to do the cathedral and to avoid raids? Well, we could set Raid times at 4.30 AM on weekdays, which would deter some but not all.
Any other ideas?
PS To add to a freuquent topic: RENT SUCKS. I thought paying taxes in RL and money to NC would suffice... ^^
Wait a second!!! Wouln't letting your base power down due to unpaid rent prevent raids???