Give us a Challenge

I'm finally growing bored, and it's not for lack of AT's or Powers to use... this is why.

-( Reason/Background )-

All the characters on one of my servers are 30+ (the first page is all 50's finally) I've experienced a good bit of variety but it always comes to the same end, no matter how interesting I try to make things with IO's or badges, TF's or trial content.

The fact is, there's no challenge to be had anywhere, excepting maybe PvP which is just so convoluted that I can't understand where to start... however I still PvP decently so maybe there's something to say to that also.

We can create challenges for ourselves by purposely gimping ourselves (no insps, no temps) and fighting large team content solo. The problem with this however is that there is no significant reward to challenging yourself, or challenging your team as an alternative to farming. The additional problem to having to play this way is that you are encouraged to play on your own, or with folks who are basically hired farmers, rather than actually connecting to each team and enjoying eachothers powers.

-( Suggestion )-

There are two ideas I can think to combat this, make EB's have a higher chance to drop rares, and higher inf/xp. Up the merit drop of GM's to 4, they are interesting content and a few more merits never hurt anybody (it's still not competing with a TF due to spawn time) Make monsters drop one merit, as a semi effective way to fight for reward (just incentive).
<If doing this EB's have to be more varied, I fight Heavy Assault Suits in RWZ and have great fun, but that's the only EB that wonders, and one of the few outside the ITF, put these in difficult missions too as an option>

The other idea is one that at one time I KNOW you guys wanted to do, truly open Firebase Zulu. There was so much love put in to this zone, incredible landscapes, huge maps that are very explorable and varied, interesting TF's, and unique enemies that actually ARE difficult.

No one goes there however because, what's the point in fighting enemies that are far more difficult than your average foe when you can get the same reward at almost no risk from warriors or freaks or other farmable (S/L no area attack, no mez, no mez resistance enemies) especially since they actually combat the very common soft cap strategy.

For the good of this game, give the players incentive to play all the content this game has to offer. Make it worth our while, make it so our combined team powers and strategies get tested, and make it so if we wish to IO, that farming isn't our only future - boss fighting, stealth, and safety/control specialties would matter in the everyday end game.

None of this is at all hard to accomplish with what's already in game.

-( Exit )-

Letting my bill stop now, once that wears out I'll see you all once we Go Rogue. Hopefully there will be something to hold my attention that's more fun than hacking away at a pylon or a 54 RHAS in the night, because unlike the teams I'd prefer, here at least I see my opponent live for a moment, and unlike the game as it is meant to be.. there's risk.

Hit me up at @Katten if I'm online and you need some start up inf or advice on Freedom, helping people is always fun even if I don't get it right every time.

While I sort of agree with some of your points, this thread's title should really be "give us more rewards for challenging stuff" and not "give us a challenge". There's plenty of challenges out there, even team challenges - make a pick-up group and run the Repeat Offenders arcs set for +4/x8, for example.

The difficulty is just getting random people to play for challenges ; that will not happen, ever. Most MMO players will always pick the path of least resistance, that's the whole reason we're here playing a stat-based game as opposed to a skill-based one such as a first-person shooter.

You can either hold your breath waiting for it to happen (I wouldn't count on it), or make friends with people who enjoy the same kind of stuff as you do.

This sounds like one of two things:

1) A stealth request for more goodies (I don't think it is, considering the source).
2) A people problem.

Either way, it has one BIG issue:

This is a game designed for people who aren't necessarily great and don't necessarily have great builds. The second you add the kinds of rewards the OP is asking, that's the second we get another AE type of situation, thus drastically changing how this game is played and thereby eliminating most of the sets from the game, and a great many of the players. The suggestion makes players elitists, and it would make the "gotta have a Rad" tendencies so common that the game may as well only have a very small number of sets for any AT, thus eliminating another key aspect of its design.

I wish there was more challenge as well, and I want it just for the sake of challenge (by challenge, I don't even need difficult, just to the point that 5 people on any 8 man team aren't totally irrelevant). We already have enough goodies. What we don't have is much content that becomes trivial with more than a few people on a decently high level team. I've quit more steamrolling teams than I have suicide squads, and I think a little death is good for the game.

But one of the big problems in this game, and games like it, is the players are greedy and lazy and this suggestion is not a solution for that condition. Thus, a people problem.

QR "and mkae it so if we wish to IO, that farming isn't our only future"

sounds misleading, I mean that IO'ing has the most notable advantage of being an IO'd demi-god (which was what 'final builds' usual goal is) is that you can wipe 8 man farm spawns with more efficiency.

Since there is little reason to regularly play the more difficult content, the IO/build making skills are pretty much a waste of time outside of farming, and since farming comes back to better farming skills it leaves a rather wasted sickly feeling every time I get a character near reaching its final build

Of course that was IO's by design, I suppose 'roll a new alt' may be the true end game, but with that the case I'm just finally out of interest, 4-5 years replayabilities not bad.

There is probably only one thing that will really wind up serving to help me enjoy things at this point, and that's becoming a stronger leader. I've played the RO training day missions at release, those were a lot of fun. My fault would be not dragging enough unsuspecting victims along on the ride. So taking Thornies advice I'll MA hop again to see what exists.

So what has my original rant/suggestion devolved into? I suppose at this point two things.

1.) Moar EB's
2.) Randomly Eject 10% of the population in to the shard each day and make them like it.

So perhaps the OP was a little screwed up (as in misleading or ranty) but I'm no Icon around here, so I guess, deal with it. (laughs) I'm fine with where things have gone.