[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Most (not everyone) of those who seriously would quit over farmer bans are either in "and good riddance" category or would quit no matter what
[/ QUOTE ]
And what about that small "not everyone" group (which I'm in either that or I'm a good riddance member)
[/ QUOTE ]
I might quit too. I specially have monthly sub, to keep my options open, just in case. 
But, let's face it, unless there are tens of thousands of like-minded players, (and I strongly doubt there are) it won't even start to figure in NC/PS calculations. 
And even if it would, they may still reach conclusion it's neecessary. Tens of thousands people, most of whom, I'm sure, were not in any way troublemakers, left over ED, and the game survived, didn't it?
Again, as I said in that locked thread our peersonal hurt feelings are one thing, but what NC may or may not do is something entirely different. And again, my feelings are hurt by it. But I'm trying to be objective, that's all.
The problem is that once the playerbase have voted with their feet and left it's too late to get most of them back whatever the dev team does, because most will go straight into another MMO and likely give their loyalty to that.
When I think of all the MMOs I've played for more than 6 months then left, with half of them I made myself a vague promise that I'd go back one day, see what had changed and try to recapture what I first loved about it.
The only time I have ever have returned to an MMO I quit was to this game, and that was because I missed it, as there were no other MMOs around quite like it (fluid combat system, fast travel, totally customisable character appearance, build a character how you want instead of being and looking the same as everyone else). Give it a couple of months and that may no longer be the case...
exactly its one thing to [censored] off your player base when you have no direct competition its another to [censored] them off when your competition is coming over hill and that competition apparently plundered your own suggestions section.
Yes, that's valid point. But CO will launch just att the moment all the nerdrage (I'm nerdraging too) caused by I14 should calm down... On the other hand, anyone remembrers any recent MMO launch that wasn't hit by at least 2 of those:
1) Serveer stability issues.
2) At least one titanic exploit you could drive the entire US Navy through, all at once, sideways (in hindsight)
3) Rebalancing, aka. nerf patch
I think only WoW avoided most of the list, and I may be mistaken about it. Suddenly, CoX seems all shiny and stablee again... Of course, relying on that is too a gamble.
Personally, I'll try CO... After the 2nd patch.
[ QUOTE ]
Just imagine, - they delay I14 launch till, say two weeks ago, they don't tell why, rumor mill starts. Then, after that delay, the thing is exploited anyway, maybe not as epically, but still it would be. You can't find exploits without exploiters, and open beta is of only so much help anyway.
[/ QUOTE ]
i understand what you're saying but this is incorrect. The very first posts we did when MA was first announced regarded- guess what? - Farming! This wasn't some unforseeable exploit that came from no where. It was bloody obvious. And as for exploiters, why dont banks lay their cash on the till because people aren't supposed to take it?
Or roads not have road signs cause people know to stick to the speed limit?
people are people. Like I said, give em an exploit and it'll be exploited. Which is why, knowing that, bankers put their money in safes.
They knew this would happen and lo and behold it has. Assuming they really did think three steps out their garden gate which I doubt.
It's actually unacceptable that this whole fiasco has occurred right when they should be batoning down the hatches or going on the attack because of whats coming in the summer.
Instead they've given several people (who will discuss with their friends who will discuss with their friends..) good reason to jump ship.
Boy, there's a certain crew we know so well, rubbing their hands right now...
[ QUOTE ]
Oh, sure, you personally might not care about MA, even if it's used as intended, or even might wish it never existed. But many do care. Frankly, MA and what it could mean are major reasons why I didn't cancel the sub this winter. Press would react negatively to uunexplained delay too, I suppose, and even more so to delay explained by MA security issues.
[/ QUOTE ]
That's unfair. I would never knock your likes. And I even put my own mission arc up. It's not my fault. It's theirs.
[ QUOTE ]
And with CO around the corner some producer, or even Posi himself, might have gotten nervous enough to force the launch no matter what, figuring that they can keep farmability hush-hush long enough.
[/ QUOTE ]
They are in blissful denial of CO. But that's another topic.
[ QUOTE ]
Or in other words, you're offered 2 choices: guaranteed loss of, say £8 000 or a gamble, - 1/10 chance to WIN £10 000 and 9/10 to lose the same £10 000 (most of which you're going to lose anyway)? Apply this to delayed launch vs doing what devs did.
[/ QUOTE ]
Too late! You've drawn me in. MA (disregarding the exploit) is a great add on.
It is not however, a response to the new shiny game coming round the corner. This games response to that has been almost nothing. And, good luck to em? Why should people switch from this game to another brand new one packed with features this one can't be bothered to put out? Right?
[ QUOTE ]
(2) Devs aren't babbling idiots.
[/ QUOTE ]
No but someone amongst them should have an ounce of business sense. This isn't a game. (couln't resist)
[ QUOTE ]
Even retroactive ban threat is quite reasonable.
[/ QUOTE ]
I disagree here. Retrospect ie banning is not reasonable. You are punushing someone for something that you,by your inaction, told them it was ok to do.
[ QUOTE ]
Would it be OK for you to use my flat for your party? You meticulously steal nothing, you just party there because my actions might be an indication I don't mind strangers in my flat. you are even so nice you pay me a little. Would this behaviour be OK?
[/ QUOTE ]
isn't there a law against that? Which is my point isn't it?
Even if we accept their word as law, no one said boo to a goose.
Don't get into a flap. It's only my opinion and I'm thick
Arc 56763 Lord Anarchys heaven
2 mission arc. Bring friends cause Lord Anarchy means business...
[ QUOTE ]
And as for exploiters, why dont banks lay their cash on the till because people aren't supposed to take it?
Or roads not have road signs cause people know to stick to the speed limit?
[/ QUOTE ]
Your metaphor falls down when you realize that even if they did it'd still be breaking the law to take the money/break the speed limit. Personally I'm capable of not breaking or abusing rules just because it is easy too.
Honestly people are behaving like kids caught out by their parents over this. "You didn't say I couldn't break the rules in THIS way, so it must have been okay to do it."
I mean which do you want? For the developers to treat us as if we don't have an ounce of common sense and can't tell right from wrong? Because i'd find it a little insulting to have the MMO equivalent of "Caution: Do not stick fingers in plug socket"
Why on earth dont they just come on here and explain whats happening and put an end to all this.
Its almost as if they like unhappy customers.
Any normal company would just say this is happening, and this is how it is being implemented.
That way those that dont like it can lump it or leave.
This no one knowing is just another version of the same old "soon" [censored].
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Just imagine, - they delay I14 launch till, say two weeks ago, they don't tell why, rumor mill starts. Then, after that delay, the thing is exploited anyway, maybe not as epically, but still it would be. You can't find exploits without exploiters, and open beta is of only so much help anyway.
[/ QUOTE ]
i understand what you're saying but this is incorrect. The very first posts we did when MA was first announced regarded- guess what? - Farming! This wasn't some unforseeable exploit that came from no where.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yes and no. I can say for sure, that there are multiple potential major exploits in the game right now. The catch is I don't know what exactly they are. Plus, as far as I recall, those "very first posts" expected it to be akin to "old" farming/PLing, maybe slightly better, not THIS.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Oh, sure, you personally might not care about MA, even if it's used as intended, or even might wish it never existed. But many do care. Frankly, MA and what it could mean are major reasons why I didn't cancel the sub this winter. Press would react negatively to uunexplained delay too, I suppose, and even more so to delay explained by MA security issues.
[/ QUOTE ]
That's unfair. I would never knock your likes. And I even put my own mission arc up. It's not my fault. It's theirs.
[/ QUOTE ]
Sorry, wasn't directed @you specifically.
[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
And with CO around the corner some producer, or even Posi himself, might have gotten nervous enough to force the launch no matter what, figuring that they can keep farmability hush-hush long enough.
[/ QUOTE ]
They are in blissful denial of CO. But that's another topic.
[/ QUOTE ]
Are they? Or are you exprecting that they'll seriously talk about it in public, thusly providing free advertising to the competitor?
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Or in other words, you're offered 2 choices: guaranteed loss of, say £8 000 or a gamble, - 1/10 chance to WIN £10 000 and 9/10 to lose the same £10 000 (most of which you're going to lose anyway)? Apply this to delayed launch vs doing what devs did.
[/ QUOTE ]
Too late! You've drawn me in. MA (disregarding the exploit) is a great add on.
It is not however, a response to the new shiny game coming round the corner. This games response to that has been almost nothing. And, good luck to em? Why should people switch from this game to another brand new one packed with features this one can't be bothered to put out? Right?
[/ QUOTE ]
well, I disagree, I14 was supposed to be part of that response. whether it would be enough even in the ideal case may be debatable, but it's obviously something they thought about.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
(2) Devs aren't babbling idiots.
[/ QUOTE ]
No but someone amongst them should have an ounce of business sense. This isn't a game. (couln't resist)
[ QUOTE ]
Even retroactive ban threat is quite reasonable.
[/ QUOTE ]
I disagree here. Retrospect ie banning is not reasonable. You are punushing someone for something that you,by your inaction, told them it was ok to do.
[/ QUOTE ]
Again, they weren't "inacting".
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Would it be OK for you to use my flat for your party? You meticulously steal nothing, you just party there because my actions might be an indication I don't mind strangers in my flat. you are even so nice you pay me a little. Would this behaviour be OK?
[/ QUOTE ]
isn't there a law against that? Which is my point isn't it?
Even if we accept their word as law, no one said boo to a goose.
[/ QUOTE ]
Well, for each law there is a lawyer(*). And that "they permitted it by inaction" argument, is just that, - "lawyering", as in attempt to reinterpret pre-existing rules in your favour. There was no "inaction", just not enough action to stop the problem on its own. There aren't any new rules, either. The problem is that those rules weren't ebnforced for ages, and now they dusted them off all of a sudden. (Which is a major screwup, - a law not enfored is worse than no law.) But again, the situation is such that devs are bound to be unfair to someone.
(*) BTW, in some equity cases "they didn't act on it quickly enough" is a valid defense, IIRC.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Even retroactive ban threat is quite reasonable.
[/ QUOTE ]
I disagree here. Retrospect ie banning is not reasonable. You are punushing someone for something that you,by your inaction, told them it was ok to do.
[/ QUOTE ]
[/ QUOTE ]
It still doesn't matter. Whatever the players want or think or threaten or whine, it's completely irrelevant. You waived any rights either at signup or sign on - see that "Agree" button? That's the one that says, "I acknowledge that I don't have a leg to stand on".
Please fight My Brute: http://2hero.mybrute.com
Mission Architect 54161 - Michael Mundano, Megan Malloney and the Secret Senate.
Mission Architect 91838 - Constantinople Jones' Family Secret. A One Mission Story arc.
QR
I think an exploit is receiving an disproportionate reward for the effort you have put in due to a flaw in the game engine.
I would consider farming with the aid of multi FF generators as an exploit.
I wouldn't consider farming groups only containing bosses as one as the risk there is higher, thus the reward can increase.
I consider leaving your PC logged in with your character inside a mission earning you badges while you sleep the worst kind of exploit (though I did AFK trick or treat the first year they did that so in a way it is something I am guilty of too)
Using the damage proc to kill Hami over and over again for reward I would have considered an exploit had it gone live.
I'm unsure whether Perma Elude and Merma MoG back in the old days were an exploit or not, but they did remove all level of risk from the game. I think I can put them down as poor planning by the devs instead
"Well, they found my diary today.
They were appropriately appalled
at the discovery of the eight victims
They're now putting it all together.
Women wrapped in silk
with one leg missing
Eight legs, one body, silk,
spider, brilliant!"
[ QUOTE ]
QR
I think an exploit is receiving an disproportionate reward for the effort you have put in due to a flaw in the game engine.
[/ QUOTE ]
I keep saying this. It wasn't a flaw. They knew it would happen and could have prevented it but chose not to.
[ QUOTE ]
I'm unsure whether Perma Elude and Merma MoG back in the old days were an exploit or not, but they did remove all level of risk from the game. I think I can put them down as poor planning by the devs instead
[/ QUOTE ]
What they didn't do was deduct all the xp the scrappers got from having elude on retrospectively though.
you can go on and on about players taking unfair advantage of things devs put up in good faith. And the devs fix that something. That's part of life.
This was different. Because they unleashed MA knowing it could be exploited.
Tell me something. When Roman Abranovic bought Chelsea and poured hundreds of millions into it, was that an exploit?
It certainly wasn't what the football league intended but there wasn't a rule against it.
I don't think a single non chelsea (or Man City now) fan thinks it's fair but it wasn't against the rules.
So it wasn't was it? And even if the league brought out new rules now, they wouldn't deduct Chelsea all the pionts they won under Roman would they?
Don't get into a flap. It's only my opinion and I'm thick
Arc 56763 Lord Anarchys heaven
2 mission arc. Bring friends cause Lord Anarchy means business...
I was answering the OP rather than putting out the same views I put on the locked thread as to what I thought an exploit was. Trying to respect Sing's request and avoid the talks on punishment
"Well, they found my diary today.
They were appropriately appalled
at the discovery of the eight victims
They're now putting it all together.
Women wrapped in silk
with one leg missing
Eight legs, one body, silk,
spider, brilliant!"
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
QR
I think an exploit is receiving an disproportionate reward for the effort you have put in due to a flaw in the game engine.
[/ QUOTE ]
I keep saying this. It wasn't a flaw. They knew it would happen and could have prevented it but chose not to.
[/ QUOTE ]
How do you know what exactly they could and couldn't do? That's what I keep saying. For some reason you keep imagining that well, it was more or less liker Positron personally examined the issue way back in beta, and publically condoned it and then changed his mind.
What I think happened was that at first it was just lost in gazillion other issues they naturally had in betas (heck, we still have them), when it finally came to their attention they got everyone they could on fixing it ASAP, but fixing it without breaking something else was difficulrt and took time.
Yes, FOR US the fix looks very simple, but between unique game mechanic of comm officers, need to keep old ones in regular PvE and who-knows-what-else (I suspect that the need for backward compatibility with MA missions that used generic Rikti) it might be much more difficult than it seems to a laymen like us.
If you mean somer global XP cap, etc... Well, these aren't without they drawbacks, and may be themselves exploitable in some way and/or alter game balance. Not to mention that reliable and bug-free implementation takes time.
[ QUOTE ]
I consider leaving your PC logged in with your character inside a mission earning you badges while you sleep the worst kind of exploit
[/ QUOTE ]
I wasn't asleep all the time when I did that - is that better? 
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Even retroactive ban threat is quite reasonable.
[/ QUOTE ]
I disagree here. Retrospect ie banning is not reasonable. You are punushing someone for something that you,by your inaction, told them it was ok to do.
[/ QUOTE ]
[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
It still doesn't matter. Whatever the players want or think or threaten or whine, it's completely irrelevant. You waived any rights either at signup or sign on - see that "Agree" button? That's the one that says, "I acknowledge that I don't have a leg to stand on".
[/ QUOTE ]
It's relevant because I'm paying for a bunch of judgemental ban-waivers to/or not to condemn some of my toons based on a poorly explained policy.
EDIT: The MA farming policy wasn't included within whatever agreement your referring to, I can conclude that since the only policy we've heard is the one from the dev's mouth.
Fury
[ QUOTE ]
The MA farming policy wasn't included within whatever agreement your referring to, I can conclude that since the only policy we've heard is the one from the dev's mouth.
[/ QUOTE ]
I think it might involve casting the farmers out of the MA, then setting a GM with a flaming sword to guard each AE building.
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Most (not everyone) of those who seriously would quit over farmer bans are either in "and good riddance" category or would quit no matter what
[/ QUOTE ]
And what about that small "not everyone" group (which I'm in either that or I'm a good riddance member)
There you have a group of players that have paid there subs quite possibly for several years and have more than likely purchased most if not all the booster packs loyal customers that your happy to see move else where (and i bet you can guess where they would move).
because i know personally I've pored a lot of cash and time into this game (2 accounts all the boosters numerous character slots and transfers) if it came to the point where i couldn't log into a character because i had farmed with them at some point i would quit without a second thought also if it happened to any of my in game friends and they quit i would quit along with them.
I would do this because i don't want to support a game that would change the rules and then retroactively apply them I'm all for drawing a line in the sand but it should be a line it shouldn't be
"well now we've decide we don't like MA farming so every one who's ever done it may get banned"
It should be a case of "As of (insert date) farming will no longer be tolerated any one found to be taking part will be banned"
this message should be posted in game and pop up as soon as people log in then there can be no claims of "i didn't know" that way the line is drawing and then every one can move forward from that point.
Of course even then farming wont disappear and i believe the devs are foolish if they believe even there current statement will stop farming all that will happen is people will find better ways to disguise there farms in the MA or they'll move back to PI and GV but its still going to happen.
Any way i await and see what comes of the statement but at this rate it'll be another month before we here of any action.
[/ QUOTE ]
@MESS, I only picked this particular post because it contained a few things in it that jarred with me.
As far as I am concerned this whole farming/powerlevelling thing relates to the MA. NOT to PI or Ourobouros or the 'A Hero's Hero' arc or whatever.
From reading Posi's statement again it seems to me that the banhammer will be wielded (if at all - it hasn't actually happened yet) against the 'Meows', RCO farms, etc through the MA.
I know full well that posting 'no one made you* play those arcs' is not going to change anyone's opinion on the matter.
I'm also gladdened to see less of the 'it's my subs, I play how I want.' Yes, it is 'your'* subs. Play how you want. If the Devs then tell you that, actually, that's *not* the way to play then you have a few options:
Make a complaint (not here, but to the Company, in writing), vote with your feet (i.e. leave the game, stop paying subs). Those to me are the 'sensible' options.
Arguing that someone made you do something by their omission to make it crystal clear that powerlevelling through the MA is not acceptable is, in my mind, akin to the McDonalds case which resulted in them having to put 'This product contains hot water' on their coffee cups.
So I'll ask a simple question: Is levelling very quickly through the MA (i.e. from, say, 1-35/40/50 in a day) acceptable?
(* your = anyone, not directed at anyone in particular)
[edit] - So as far as I am concerned the 'retroactive' nature of the action will be for the whole month that i14 has been live. Again, I don't know any more than anyone else does. Until 'we' receive confirmation of something (if indeed, we will - there's no naming and shaming allowed remember) then threads such as this are merely people trading opinions.
[ QUOTE ]
As far as I am concerned this whole farming/powerlevelling thing relates to the MA. NOT to PI or Ourobouros or the 'A Hero's Hero' arc or whatever.
From reading Posi's statement again it seems to me that the banhammer will be wielded (if at all - it hasn't actually happened yet) against the 'Meows', RCO farms, etc through the MA.
[/ QUOTE ]
That's part of the problem tho IMO farming should be tackled as a hole not just in individual instances stamping down on it in one place only moves it else where.
[ QUOTE ]
I know full well that posting 'no one made you* play those arcs' is not going to change anyone's opinion on the matter.
I'm also gladdened to see less of the 'it's my subs, I play how I want.' Yes, it is 'your'* subs. Play how you want. If the Devs then tell you that, actually, that's *not* the way to play then you have a few options:
Make a complaint (not here, but to the Company, in writing), vote with your feet (i.e. leave the game, stop paying subs). Those to me are the 'sensible' options.
Arguing that someone made you do something by their omission to make it crystal clear that powerlevelling through the MA is not acceptable is, in my mind, akin to the McDonalds case which resulted in them having to put 'This product contains hot water' on their coffee cups.
So I'll ask a simple question: Is levelling very quickly through the MA (i.e. from, say, 1-35/40/50 in a day) acceptable?
[/ QUOTE ]
While no one made any one do farm missions at the same time no one was stopped you (general you) doing it either. which is partially why this whole thing annoys me so dam much we have people on the forms saying "well the devs told you what they expected you to do with it" when has the player base ever done what the dev's expected were human beings problem solving is built into us on a almost genetic level.
Some people view getting from 1 to X lvl as a problem and look for a way to overcome that problem with the least effort its just plain human nature and the devs new people were going to abuse the MA positron said as much in his initial post they were made aware of a potential problem with the RCOs during beta they could see for them selves the problem once MA hit live but they did nothing for a month a hole month a month that included quite a few spells of server down time to fix problems with the MA but after each one the RCO farms were still there.
In short the problem was magnified by the Devs decision not to move on it
To then make a statement saying that any one who misused the MA may loose progression on there characters and any one who created farm maps may loose a mission slot is ludacris they could have stopped it before it even started but chose not to but feel its ok to threaten to ban people retroactively!
They don't even acknowledge that there slowness in acting exasperated the problem its all positive spin on how there taking a stance against farming had there just been the merest hint of humility in the announcement it would have came across so much better had it included some of the wording from his second announcement it would have been even better but once again we see a PR failure.
[ QUOTE ]
If you look to example 1 i've provided, lvling from 1-50 in a single enemy DOES NOT negatively affect ANYONE.
[/ QUOTE ]Oh [censored] wow. Do you actually believe this stuff or are you just trolling?
Give the players a button that'll instantly level their characters to 50 and the game will be dead in half a year.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
If you look to example 1 i've provided, lvling from 1-50 in a single enemy DOES NOT negatively affect ANYONE.
[/ QUOTE ]Oh [censored] wow. Do you actually believe this stuff or are you just trolling?
Give the players a button that'll instantly level their characters to 50 and the game will be dead in half a year.
[/ QUOTE ]
It will also affect anyone that 'buttoned' level 50 is teaming with, who has no idea on any strategy or tactic. Espically a tanker (taunting and herding etc)...
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
If you look to example 1 i've provided, lvling from 1-50 in a single enemy DOES NOT negatively affect ANYONE.
[/ QUOTE ]Oh [censored] wow. Do you actually believe this stuff or are you just trolling?
Give the players a button that'll instantly level their characters to 50 and the game will be dead in half a year.
[/ QUOTE ]
It will also affect anyone that 'buttoned' level 50 is teaming with, who has no idea on any strategy or tactic. Espically a tanker (taunting and herding etc)...
[/ QUOTE ]
That's up to the person who wanted to be powerlevelled. Assuming they have played other MMO's in their life, they will know what training/kiting/herding, and with a little thought can easily gain knowledge of taunting.
The fact of the matter is an exploit, to be an exploit has to give an unfair advantage to a player OVER another player. Since farming does not negatively affect anyone's gaming experience or degrade the quality of play, it is not an exploit.
Also, the devs are doing a poor job leaving us to argue it out ourselves instead of coming out and saying exactly what and when all this MA punishment is going to be done.
They will never stop farming, and they KNEW the problems the MA system would create, yet they did NOTHING until it was launched on LIVE servers to start fixing this problem.
[ QUOTE ]
Since farming does not negatively affect anyone's gaming experience or degrade the quality of play, it is not an exploit.
[/ QUOTE ]Barring the huge effect on in-game economy (you can argue whether it's good or bad, but disputing it's existence is ridiculous), farming also speeds up the average levelling process and thus the average churn rate. This is especially bad for CoH since the low churn rate is one of it's main strengths and the main reason it's survived for as long as it has.
MA farming was on a completely different level than anything available in I13, both in reward rate and accessibility, and HAD to be cracked down on hard for the game to survive in the long-term. [ QUOTE ]
they KNEW the problems the MA system would create, yet they did NOTHING until it was launched on LIVE servers to start fixing this problem.
[/ QUOTE ] So you think the devs never placed any restrictions on the system before it was launched live? No ambush limits, unavailable enemy groups, reductions of mission bonuses, tweaking of reward rates? Because if you do, you should check your facts again.
Of course, they didn't do everything that could be done, but that's the way MMO's are, especially if your funding and employee situation is as it is for NCNC/Paragon.
I never said the devs never placed any restrictions, but the ones they did place, like every attempt they've made to stop farming, havn't been very effective have they?
And farming contributes positively to the economy, it creates supply and demand for high value and rare items, like purples. Chances are if no one farmed, there would be a lot less purples and price would sky rocket and no one be happy.
And no, farming doesn't, and wouldn't speed up the levelling process unless farming was the average method people use to level. Don't forget the majority of players are the normal ones, not the farmers.
[ QUOTE ]
I never said the devs never placed any restrictions, but the ones they did place, like every attempt they've made to stop farming, havn't been very effective have they?
[/ QUOTE ]Having played the game since I3, I can certainly say that the potential efficiency of farming has severely decreased since then. Sure you can't stop farming completely, but that's not the point. It simply needs to remain restricted to acceptable levels, which MA farming clearly wasn't.
[ QUOTE ]
And farming contributes positively to the economy, it creates supply and demand for high value and rare items, like purples. Chances are if no one farmed, there would be a lot less purples and price would sky rocket and no one be happy.
[/ QUOTE ]It also creates gross inflation, which counters many of the effects, especially for the casual player. And of course, merit/MA farming doesn't bring any purple supply to the market.
[ QUOTE ]
And no, farming doesn't, and wouldn't speed up the levelling process unless farming was the average method people use to level. Don't forget the majority of players are the normal ones, not the farmers.
[/ QUOTE ]That's usually been the case. However, MA farming was very quickly changing that since it was far more accessible than previous methods. And it was directly affecting the new player population, who'd be the least likely to farm otherwise.
[ QUOTE ]
Most (not everyone) of those who seriously would quit over farmer bans are either in "and good riddance" category or would quit no matter what
[/ QUOTE ]
And what about that small "not everyone" group (which I'm in either that or I'm a good riddance member)
There you have a group of players that have paid there subs quite possibly for several years and have more than likely purchased most if not all the booster packs loyal customers that your happy to see move else where (and i bet you can guess where they would move).
because i know personally I've pored a lot of cash and time into this game (2 accounts all the boosters numerous character slots and transfers) if it came to the point where i couldn't log into a character because i had farmed with them at some point i would quit without a second thought also if it happened to any of my in game friends and they quit i would quit along with them.
I would do this because i don't want to support a game that would change the rules and then retroactively apply them I'm all for drawing a line in the sand but it should be a line it shouldn't be
"well now we've decide we don't like MA farming so every one who's ever done it may get banned"
It should be a case of "As of (insert date) farming will no longer be tolerated any one found to be taking part will be banned"
this message should be posted in game and pop up as soon as people log in then there can be no claims of "i didn't know" that way the line is drawing and then every one can move forward from that point.
Of course even then farming wont disappear and i believe the devs are foolish if they believe even there current statement will stop farming all that will happen is people will find better ways to disguise there farms in the MA or they'll move back to PI and GV but its still going to happen.
Any way i await and see what comes of the statement but at this rate it'll be another month before we here of any action.