Improving Early Levels / Streamlining Enhancements
By
ClawsandEffect,
Posted on: 2009-08-02 21:24 in Suggestions and Ideas
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You won't see new players complain about "the grind" until they've been around the block a few times. I know I didn't start complaining about Training enhancements until a year into my game time. It's cool for new players to have more powerful enhancements and all, but you shouldn't buy into the rants of jaded veterans who believe that Stamina and SOs are the only way to play. Yeah, when you get used to the performance of a level 50 character, you're gonna' gripe when you get bumped down to level 1.|
Originally Posted by Vox_Populi
My main inspiration for this suggestion was how often I see veteran players complain about the "grind" from levels 1 to 20, towards Stamina and SOs. But I think it's more important for new players- using Enhancements should be simple and effective, with Inventions as the "advanced" version. New players are told to use the Training Enhancements, so they should be worth their while.
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For me, though, that progress from suck to rock is part of the fun of the game. Going from Trainings into DOs at 12, then into SOs at 22, then into Common Inventions (for me) at 32 or 37 is just part of the progress. I really wouldn't want to ruin that by having enhancements peak too early. What you're suggesting, effectively, is capping enhancement performance at level 12, and then not touching it for the next 20 levels. I don't agree with that. Enhancement choices should be meaningful. And they are, just not right out the door. Getting stronger is half the fun.
Incidentally, I wouldn't buy into the gripes for "low-level grind." When you've been over the low levels a zillion times, you're not going to be looking to make them more fun, you'll be looking to SKIP them faster, and that's what people really want. Me, I don't subscribe to that notion. I believe the lower levels are a fun part of the game where character growth is fast and things are still relatively easy. We don't need to make it any easier. It ruins the effect of getting stronger later on.
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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I never complained about Training enhancements. By the time I'd played long enough to be tired of their low power level, I was at a point where I don't even use them, anyway. I actually play up to 22 without any enhancements except what drops naturally on all my characters now. The levels go by so fast, the TOs are just a waste of inf. |
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
I didn't start complaining about Training enhancements until a year into my game time.
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http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt
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Not much of a waste, really. They're hideously cheap. You can buy a full set of the things at the cost of two, maybe three DOs. DOs are rather more expensive, themselves, of course. Still, though, not being as strong in the low levels as you'll be in the high levels is part of the fun. One of the really depressing things I faced back in the day was the fact that once I got to SOs, nothing would ever be enhanced any more than it was at level 22, as I simply didn't have the slots to add more of most things.
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Originally Posted by Fleeting_Whisper
I never complained about Training enhancements. By the time I'd played long enough to be tired of their low power level, I was at a point where I don't even use them, anyway. I actually play up to 22 without any enhancements except what drops naturally on all my characters now. The levels go by so fast, the TOs are just a waste of inf.
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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Basically this. I don't fly through the low levels any more, but I also don't bother with enhancing unless I'm really curious about taking my time, or want the character to do something silly like solo hazard zones.
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Originally Posted by Fleeting_Whisper
I never complained about Training enhancements. By the time I'd played long enough to be tired of their low power level, I was at a point where I don't even use them, anyway. I actually play up to 22 without any enhancements except what drops naturally on all my characters now. The levels go by so fast, the TOs are just a waste of inf.
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Not really- veteran players may be able to afford all Origin Enhancements at level 12, but new players won't. They'll probably stick with mostly Training Enhancements.|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
What you're suggesting, effectively, is capping enhancement performance at level 12, and then not touching it for the next 20 levels.
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But more importantly, even with stronger Enhancements, there's still a lot of growing in power to do. At level 12 you only have a limited number of powers and slots, and each new pair of slots becomes more noticable when you can put effective Enhancements in them. That sounds like more fun to me.
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Originally Posted by Vox_Populi
Not really- veteran players may be able to afford all Origin Enhancements at level 12, but new players won't. They'll probably stick with mostly Training Enhancements.
But more importantly, even with stronger Enhancements, there's still a lot of growing in power to do. At level 12 you only have a limited number of powers and slots, and each new pair of slots becomes more noticable when you can put effective Enhancements in them. That sounds like more fun to me. |
The way enhancements are handled has worked just fine for 5 years. Why go through all the trouble of fixing something that's not broken?
What you're suggesting is, basically, that the low levels be made even easier than they already are. I don't buy enhancements at all until level 12, and even then it's only for the powers that I really want to hit, or that burn a lot of endurance.
Being able to afford things is trivial these days. Have you seen what some of the common salvage has been going for lately? Buying DOs hasn't been an issue on any character I've leveled in the last year. And that's just with what they've earned themselves, I don't pass cash from my 50s anymore because it just isn't necessary.
What you've proposed here is a solution looking for a problem.
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Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
Short Version: Greatly increase early Enhancement effectiveness to improve early levels and relieve the perceived "grind".
Full Version:
While the game overall isn't very hard, the early levels can sometimes be a problem. Characters are limited in powers, limited in Enhancement slots, and the Enhancements themselves are weak. It's the last point that I think is a problem- new players are told to enhance their powers, but they are getting very little for their effort. Devoting slots and Enhancements to a power should have a very noticable effect, even in early levels.
My suggestion is to greatly improve Training Enhancements, to possibly around 75% of the effectiveness of current Single-Origin Enhancements. They would be available right from level 1 to 50, serving as "discount enhancements" that are cheap enough for new players to afford, but effective enough to keep up with veteran players.
Dual-Origin Enhancements would be removed from the game, and instead Single-Origin Enhancements availability would be lowered to level 15. Enemies could probably get a small boost to deal with these increased player power levels, though they are still limited by few powers and slots.
Invention Enhancements would start at the new Training Enhancement effectiveness at level 10 and increase from there. At level 30 they would equal Origin Enhancement effectiveness and by level 50 be significantly better than them. While Training and Origin Enhancements "expire" and need replacing, Invention Enhancements do not.
My main inspiration for this suggestion was how often I see veteran players complain about the "grind" from levels 1 to 20, towards Stamina and SOs. But I think it's more important for new players- using Enhancements should be simple and effective, with Inventions as the "advanced" version. New players are told to use the Training Enhancements, so they should be worth their while.