I haven't farmed anything in this game for months >.>
I rarely log in. I have logged in more this month than in the past 5 months >.>
(logged in 3 times for a total of 3 hours)
Woot!!!
I don't even care much about purples anymore, I see them as completely attainable if I want them. I can't even play Villains at all. Can't even log in to it. I can log into Heroes, but it takes effort.
For me, it's about that one character. I've enjoyed playing it so much lately, that I'm mostly curious to see what it can do if I slap on some shinies.
Unfortunately, I've played it too much lately, and well, even the double-mini-nuke gets old after a while.
Lately, I've been rather altruistic. I probably gave away around a billion redside as some nice surprises for others. I have about five project toons now, but I just don't have the patience to play them.
So, I pulled out good ol' morrowind, and downloaded the Tamriel Rebuilt mod. But, I played that to exhaustion. Then, I've been a little too busy posting on these forums lately.
I really do want to play CoH. But I don't.
(Yeah, it doesn't make sense)
Makes sense to me >.<
I made 1 "Last" villain about a year ago... She was gonna be the last one I ever played through all the content.
She is level 42 right now, and damnit.. I can not play her. I don't have any desire to do so. And she was my big "This is it" character. She is a clone*ish of my husbands main villain "Fear Death".
I was so gonna purple herout and make her far more epic than my husbands main... just cant do it...
Then I made a "this is it" hero... named her Harliquen Dancer... was so excited... played her... got bored :\ she is stuck at 42... just cant play her. Just cant do it.
Want to and DO NOT WANT to all at the same time.
I don't know what game you guys are playing, but the CoX I play has new stuff added to it all the time.
As for how they treat long time subscribers, veteran players get perks they shouldn't have. If I were a new player, I wouldn't start CoX just because of all the stuff veteran badges give that I would be forever playing catch up on.
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Surely you say that in jest... or you are just naturally happy getting next to nothing for months at a time. Or you only have time to play but 1 hour per month...
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Originally Posted by Elfis_Presley
I don't know what game you guys are playing, but the CoX I play has new stuff added to it all the time.
As for how they treat long time subscribers, veteran players get perks they shouldn't have. If I were a new player, I wouldn't start CoX just because of all the stuff veteran badges give that I would be forever playing catch up on. |
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you play the forums, yes we know |
Originally Posted by Golden Girl
I play quite a bit, and I'm happy with it
 |
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I play the game at the same time |
Originally Posted by Silver_Lobo
you play the forums, yes we know
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@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
Quote:
Things to keep me interested would include:|
Originally Posted by Genesis Man
*snippet*
What do YOU think this game needs to change/update to make you want to come back to it/stay? |
- Revamp Boomtown. Add shops, a hospital, a trainer. Make it a low-level coop zone. Villains could enter from the sewer tunnels on the boom map. (dirty villains). Add some contacts there with new missions and some repeatables.
- Add mini zone events unique to each *city* zone (if they don't already exist). Steel Canyon, Skyway, Talos, IP and Kings Row already have mini events (with building fires, troll raves, ghost ship and paladin construction respectively). But it would be fun to have something similar added to the other zones. And I'm not talking about giant monsters for that matter. It could be a bank robber fleeing through the zone that you can catch, or a wandering mini-plague of embalmed abominations; a stampede of robots; a large gang of damned bosses trying to summon a demon EB under a timer; a lost hero NPC that needs escorting to a signature trainer in the zone; a massive riot of skulls trying to attack the hospital (because the nurses will never treat them); a runaway giant donut in faultline that needs destroying; etc. I'm sure others can think up better ideas than mine too
- Add more easter eggs to the existing zones. These are fun to find (for me anyhow).
- Add 2 new complete *power pools. *gasp*. Could include a new travel power also.
- Add 1 new patron pool and 1 new epic pool.
- Improve the functionality of bases (this has been brought up many times before). Heck, give bases a choice of a new contact that can be put inside it. Then a sg member can talk to him, and grab a unique mission for his team. Even put a mission door inside the base. I'd also like an interface inside bases for the auction house.
- Fix the cathedral of pain trial already and put it back in the game. Then sg's can finally do base raids again. (Although I'm not sure how pathing issues will work with all the stacking).
- Revamp the shadow shard. Turn it into another coop zone. Review & modify the existing TF's in the shard, they are already painfully long, boring and frustrating. Add a new contact or 2 with some new missions. And a new, fun, TF in the shard would be great.
- Fix the known bugs. I'm talking about bugs that have been known for years. Like the epic lag on the ITF, on the map with the computers. Fix the seer marino mission marker already. I'm sure there are others but by golly these 2 annoy me.
- Add a new villain epic archtype and a new hero archtype.
- Add a new mission arc to every level 50 contact in game.
- Add a new taskforce to cimerora (gasp) so there is another TF to do there other than ITF!
- Revamp mission maps. All the existing maps have a set layout, and most vets know the exact layout of them and where all the mobs will gather. Take these maps and make more variations, so that when you walk in, you are not sure what to expect. Eg. Office maps -- make some of the closed doors to be open with new hallways instead and existing hallways closed or going to a different location. You could be on ground floor, find what is normally a closed door open, go in there, up a flight of stairs, which then puts you on the next floor, down a narrow corridor with ambushes in side cul-de-sacs, down a flight of stairs to the ground floor, where you are in another hallway and can see through the office window to your team mates who are on the other side on ground floor. "Dude how did you get over there?". Hehe. Making the maps as random as possible and mixing up all the doorways with new halls/entry points would be great. (For me anyhow).
- Add new mission maps. Including new map types. Currently we have a bunch, including office, tech, arachnos, etc. It can't hurt to spice things up a little bit by adding a brand new type of map. Also adding a couple of new maps to the existing types would be wonderful.
- Modify mission mob spawn points. Add more spawn locations. Move some of the existing ones. Add more clever mob locations to up the challenge for missions (like the ambush corridor on the office map tile set).
- Modify enemy mob behaviour. Instead of being all huddled up like retarded, easy to kill sheep (which I refer to as sheeple). Whilst some farmers will probably hate this idea, it will liven things up a lot for me. Reduce the number of sheeple mobs on maps. Change them so more of the mobs move about their spawn point and are not clustered up like sitting ducks. Have 50% of the mobs patrol outwards further from their spawn point. After say, 5 minutes or so, have any (non-aggrod) mobs march across the map to patrol a new part of the map.
- Add more ambush triggers. Ambushes *can* make missions a lot more fun and challenging. I recommend it be done with care, and the use of some triggers.
- Add some new enemy groups to the game.
- Modify existing enemy groups, by adding 1 or 2 new critters to them.
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Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
I was thrilled with the Science pack cuz I finally got payback on the creepy guy that kept trying to ERP with my tween heroine, by hitting the costume change and turning into a 10' tall monstrous escaped prisoner and telling him, "You gots a real purty mouf, now bendover and squeal like a pig fo yo daddy, cuz you my little puppy now!" Haven't seen him since.
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Maybe not a TF, but there is new Cimerora content being worked on - it ties in with the Coming Storm, apparently 
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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I came in here expecting to be pitched a solution to my problem with ED.| The Staying Power of CoX |
I was FOOLED! So
rite nao!
Well i can only say from MMO perspectief .
Is to give in to the endgame content .
Its not that veteran players are leaving , its more that you need fresh blood to keep a MMO going , sometimes the fresh blood are worst then what are gone .
In the end a MMO runs on people you like or meet , in this perspectief .
CoX doesnt have a endgame kills a otherwise terrific product .
Also the all new content and features makes the game sometimes look like a jigsaw puzzle.
Too many options for the new players , they could drown before they even reach 50 .
The too repetitive issue of the mission is a problem , but every mmo suffers from that .
Well i think maybe somebody should post a 1-50 fun guide with all the extra temp powers , event and accolade badges , seems most people playing wow just follow guides .
Most raid guilds raiding new contents just read up on the stuff , instead of experimenting themself .
Its the new generation you need to keep hooked the old ones are slowly dissapearing .
Or feel lost with all the new additions , so maybe time to bring out cookie cutter guides from 1-50 with min max value of fun for the new players .
What keeps most people around is that CoX is so casual as hell , you log in play a couple hours then log off . just sadly there is no forced endgame that keeps veteran longer hooked or make time for each week .
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There shoudn't be a forced endgame - CoH is very good at keeping everything optional - so any new endgame stuff should really be made as something that you can decide to do or not.
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Originally Posted by Lonelyshade
just sadly there is no forced endgame that keeps veteran longer hooked or make time for each week .
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@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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Forced isn´t a ugly word , cause you are not forced to get IO .|
Originally Posted by Golden Girl
There shoudn't be a forced endgame - CoH is very good at keeping everything optional - so any new endgame stuff should really be made as something that you can decide to do or not.
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Still people get them ,
Forced isn´t bad cause a lot of people can´t deal with freedom given.
Do or not do , is the issue , look at AE anybody with a brain would tell you people in the end were forced to do AE mission cause it brings beter reward.
NOW put the best reward in a impossible TF , you dont have to do it .
But enough people will go for it , "force" others to come along cause they can´t solo it .
Its still optional , but the twist is that people in the end are all forced to do something .
Endgame sadly is about forcing people to do stuff , something majority wants .
Cause the name END GAME says it all , the game ended .
Just people dont see it that way , they see ha thats where the game starts
So dont see my force as a force to do stuff .
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For folks who may not have seen this: At the San Diego Comicon dev discussion panel, they made it clear that one of their key goals for Going Rogue is to add a challenging end game to CoH. |
Originally Posted by Genesis Man
End-game Content (outside of TFs). Other than the Rikti/Hami raids, there really isn't a LOT. More is promised, so... this might already be covered.
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More than that, notice they carefully said "a way to make your level 50 a more powerful level 50." They have repeatedly said they're not going to raise the level cap, but they obviously are planning a system to 'power up' level 50s. The prime suspect as to how they'd do this is Universal Enhancement Slots, first mentioned in the August '08 marketing survey.
EDIT:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Golden Girl
There shoudn't be a forced endgame - CoH is very good at keeping everything optional - so any new endgame stuff should really be made as something that you can decide to do or not.
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In the video I linked to above, Posi notes they've spent "a great deal of development effort on" the end game. So it's coming and we'll just have to see what it turns out to be.
Freedom: Blazing Larb, Fiery Fulcrum, Sardan Reborn, Arctic-Frenzy, Wasabi Sam, Mr Smashtastic.
Well, my little 8 ball says, the drain has been from a lack of new story and mission content, which i expect(and freaking well hope) GR will rectify. Beyond that, this game has had some qol improvements this year that assured my staying,animation customization was bigger than anything any other mmo offered me. But honestly, Things will be as they are and there isnt much that pouting or stomping our feet can do to change things. If you see a new player, be nice to them. and if they have a question, help them if you have the capacity. maybe even global friend them, so you can be the go-to guy/gal. that is the only power we the players actually have, but its not as small as it may seem, loyalty doesnt spring from trees, its is cultivated through good works(gyah, too many customer service training seminars...but ti is also true, despite being sappy). There is a reason coh has the rep it does for being friendly and inviting, MAINTAIN IT!
as for marketing, im guessing that they aren't marketing now because there isnt much new to market right now, but theya re going to market heavily on gamer specific sites, like kotaku, penny arcade, /gu and the like when GR gets it's hype train chugging. much like they did when the MA box hit, there were a lot of ads then.
No, dear god no, to WoW style 'endgame' stuffs that while aren't 'forced' are pretty much arbitary (if you don't raid in WoW your choices are limited to PvP, grinding daily quests or running the same dungeons over and over when your at level cap).
I came to this game to get AWAY from raiding, I did my time damnit, I put in this 12 hours a week (4 hours a night, 3 nights a week) and even THAT level of casual raiding became something I dreaded because I HAD to log in for it even if I didn't feel like it otherwise I'd be letting the guild down.
So no, a WoW style endgame can do shove it's head down the toilet to drown!
I've been pretty happy, honestly. I start feeling burnout and considering unsubbing for a little bit (or just ignoring the game for a little,) and it seems there's a new powerset, or new zone, or new content - and a concept comes to mind and I have to play it. Or it comes to mind for one of my friends, and we end up rolling a team around it.
That - and, honestly, Aion ATM for a little change of pace - keep my credit card on file.
What I'd like to see, though? While not a "This or I'm gone," a wishlist, certainly -
- More to do with crafting. Temp powers, recipes, and I have to admit on the other one I' like "critting" recipes.
- Storyline. Introduce more via epic AT (where are those coralax? Where's the BOTBS?) as well as zones (new on redside, some revamp - DA arcs and TF, please!) as well as tweaking and/or updating some of the old content (hello, Angus, aren't you a little outdated now?)
- AI. Give the AI more options. Again, looking at Aion - while they're still in the "One player vs one to two enemies = threat" mold, part of what I like is that I *do* have to watch more than aggro range. Is it a flagbearer? Something with its own "Aggro range" that, if I let it call out, will call in its buddies? Why don't patrols do that here? Why can I kill off a patrol within feet of a group of mobs and have them not notice? What else can be done to make the enemy more unpredictable?
<QR>
Talking in general about the thread, and coming from a different angle.
Marketing of the game isn't too good. I can agree with that. I don't see any buzz and I keep finding people who've never heard of this game. I'm not sure if NC realizes how strong WoW's foothold in the NA market is, while they're getting by fine in Asia thanks to their strong brand name and solid offerenings there, they need to be more agressive in North America/Europe/Oceania if they really want to get more out of the investment they made when they took over this project.
HOWEVER.
That's only part of the story. The other part is this: We're not going to be getting new blood and we'll keep stagnant until the low level content (specially hero side) gets a revamp.
No ifs, buts, or maybes. There's a ton of really cool stuff in this game, but trial accounts just never get to see it, ever. Level 14 limit, somewhat limited access to communication channels, and no access to Architect (directly). A person trying this game gets dumped in Atlas/Galaxy after the tutorial (the tutorials are absolutely fine), with a contact in their list and a message about visiting it, to start a series of dull, pointless, repetitive missions, not to talk about boring fedex, "go talk to my uncle" and similar stuff that follows. It's old, outdated content.
CoV's better, but by a slim margin. Not much pointless travel, but a better start.
We need to grab new players as soon as they set foot in the newbie zone. Really, really need this. If resources are a problem, Architect is the solution. Host a contest for "best low level arc for all origins", or directly go and plunder the arcs that are already highly rated there (out of sight of the newbie, and inaccessible directly to the trialer IIRC) and throw the contacts to the open world. Give the new guy a varied arc with a gripping story, with cool custom enemies and whatnot. Rock them off their socks!
We have, IMO, the best looking combat of the MMO space that I know of. The new guy needs to see this!
Players' Choice Awards: Best Dual-Origin Level Range Arc!
It's a new era, the era of the Mission Architect. Can you save the Universe from...
The Invasion of the Bikini-clad Samurai Vampiresses from Outer Space? - Arc ID 61013
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Maybe nothing 'new', but there's still plenty to crow about. All the stuff that's ancient and decrepit (some might even say 'haired over') to a lot of us is still new to somebody out there. |
Originally Posted by rian_frostdrake
as for marketing, im guessing that they aren't marketing now because there isnt much new to market right now
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I put it to you, Marketing Team, what would P.T. Barnum do?
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This. I agree with all that you said Aliana.|
Originally Posted by Aliana Blue
*snippet*
We're not going to be getting new blood and we'll keep stagnant until the low level content (specially hero side) gets a revamp. No ifs, buts, or maybes. There's a ton of really cool stuff in this game, but trial accounts just never get to see it, ever. Level 14 limit, somewhat limited access to communication channels, and no access to Architect (directly). A person trying this game gets dumped in Atlas/Galaxy after the tutorial (the tutorials are absolutely fine), with a contact in their list and a message about visiting it, to start a series of dull, pointless, repetitive missions, not to talk about boring fedex, "go talk to my uncle" and similar stuff that follows. It's old, outdated content. CoV's better, but by a slim margin. Not much pointless travel, but a better start. We need to grab new players as soon as they set foot in the newbie zone. Really, really need this. If resources are a problem, Architect is the solution. Host a contest for "best low level arc for all origins", or directly go and plunder the arcs that are already highly rated there (out of sight of the newbie, and inaccessible directly to the trialer IIRC) and throw the contacts to the open world. Give the new guy a varied arc with a gripping story, with cool custom enemies and whatnot. Rock them off their socks! We have, IMO, the best looking combat of the MMO space that I know of. The new guy needs to see this! |
In the past, I have found new players in Galaxy, on trial accounts. I met one the other day and showed him how to find the yellow line, travel across zones, where hazard zones are, etc. He had no idea that he could leave Galaxy and was very excited. He was level 5 when I found him, and he was running after me trying to catch up and talk to me in local chat, asking for help etc. So I did. I also showed him Atlas Park, and he was "OMG" over how many people were in atlas (I don't think he had seen any or many players in Galaxy when I found him). Someone put speed boost on him and he went nuts (in a good way).
Had I not been there in galaxy (hunting xmas present glowies), he would have continued to run about solo, slowly killing mobs on the street and not been able to see team chat, high level missions, power variations etc. Sure he might have found the train or another player eventually, maybe, if he stuck it out.
My point is, trial accounts are only good up to level 14. It doesn't take long to hit 14 now with the new xp boost, and the player getting bored/frustrated fast. And trial accounts have a lot of difficulty meeting other players due to the limitations on chat. I understand *why* there are limitations, but I feel they are in need of changing.
Maybe allow trial accounts to get up to level 25? Also let them reply to tells (so they can join teams).
The best selling point for CoH in my opinion, is the social teaming. This can make the game a lot of fun for those that enjoy company. If we can get new players onto teams with less difficulty, that will help to get them want to subscribe
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Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
I was thrilled with the Science pack cuz I finally got payback on the creepy guy that kept trying to ERP with my tween heroine, by hitting the costume change and turning into a 10' tall monstrous escaped prisoner and telling him, "You gots a real purty mouf, now bendover and squeal like a pig fo yo daddy, cuz you my little puppy now!" Haven't seen him since.
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For me, they're going to have to get out of a couple long-held, but short-sighted, mindsets.
The first one is that "villains are active, heroes are reactive." On the whole, and in very general terms, this may be true. However, if this is how the content always plays out, and so far it is, some people are going to get bored. For example, I would love to see heroes have something like Mayhem Missions where they go into the Rogue Isles looking for information, or shutting down a weapons plant, etc., and along the way helping people get out of there. This would also set up a Safeguard-like mission for villains that also takes place in the Rogue Isles where they try to stop this, for self-preservation reasons. There are plenty of opportunities, especially with new, more neutral factions coming, for this kind of thing to happen.
(And please don't tell me "Heroes have Safeguard Missions," because while that is true, they are in no way comparable to Mayhems save for the fact that they take place in Paragon City. Safeguard missions are about as enjoyable as watching paint dry.)
The second mindset that needs to go, and the one that really annoys me, is "revamped content isn't new content." How on Earth is it not? If you have dead, empty zones no one uses, when you could have revamped zones that people do (Hello, Faultline and RWZ), how is that a benefit to the game? When new players join, and they see these desolate places and ask why no one goes there, how does that look good for us? While brand new zones like Cim and Ouro are awesome, I would be be happier if the rest of the game was usable and enjoyable.
Don't get me wrong, I love this game. I have been here five and a half years and will be here until they shut the servers down. But I feel there is a lot of squandered potential that could be tapped into by changing how they look at the game.
@Arwen Darkblade
Proud Member of Hammer of the Gods and Sanguine Syndicate
Arc ID #86194 "Cry Havoc"
Arc ID #103934 "Dr. Thomas' First Day"
[URL="http://tobyfife.blogspot.com/"]Hero Girl[/URL] - my geek culture blog
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That's casual play in WoW? o_O Do hardcore players have to invest in a stomach tube so that they don't have to get up long enough to eat?|
Originally Posted by Dr_Mechano
I did my time damnit, I put in this 12 hours a week (4 hours a night, 3 nights a week) and even THAT level of casual raiding became something I dreaded because I HAD to log in for it even if I didn't feel like it otherwise I'd be letting the guild down.
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Aliana Blue
We're not going to be getting new blood and we'll keep stagnant until the low level content (specially hero side) gets a revamp.
No ifs, buts, or maybes. There's a ton of really cool stuff in this game, but trial accounts just never get to see it, ever. Level 14 limit, somewhat limited access to communication channels, and no access to Architect (directly). A person trying this game gets dumped in Atlas/Galaxy after the tutorial (the tutorials are absolutely fine), with a contact in their list and a message about visiting it, to start a series of dull, pointless, repetitive missions, not to talk about boring fedex, "go talk to my uncle" and similar stuff that follows. It's old, outdated content. CoV's better, but by a slim margin. Not much pointless travel, but a better start. We need to grab new players as soon as they set foot in the newbie zone. Really, really need this. If resources are a problem, Architect is the solution. Host a contest for "best low level arc for all origins", or directly go and plunder the arcs that are already highly rated there (out of sight of the newbie, and inaccessible directly to the trialer IIRC) and throw the contacts to the open world. Give the new guy a varied arc with a gripping story, with cool custom enemies and whatnot. Rock them off their socks! |
The two related fixes that'd help keep me as a vet interested:
More 'alternative leveling' zones: Playing a hero, I can stick to normal contacts from 1-50... or I can do Faultline, Striga, Croatoa, and RWZ on the way up. Or I can do any combination of these. Just having the two big choices of location and contact groups really helps alleviate a lot of my problems with re-running stuff. Villainside desperately needs this, since there are just enough contacts right now that you're likely to see 2/3 of them on a single character. Heroside, though, could more use...
Revamp Old Content: Oh, hey, the Devouring Earth have kidnapped some lawyers in Crey's Folly. And, oh, look, they kidnapped some different lawyers, in Boomtown this time. And now some... other... lawyers... in... Skyway... You know what? I'll just run a radio mission.
Having Vengeance and Fallout slotted for recharge means never having to say you're sorry.
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Originally Posted by Calash
For end-game content we have the Shadow Shard.
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I nearly wasted some coffee on my monitor.
Just farm more purples, P_P so you have more to talk about. Or give them to me and show everyone how nice you are. Someone who likes puppies that much should be nice enough to give me purples.
My Elec/SD/Blaze scrapper would appreciate an Armageddon, Apocalypse, and Hecatomb set. Thanks!
Otherwise, given my dwindling energy to farm/marketeer right now, it's going to be two months before I have it outfitted.
I really should be farming right now. 2 billion or so more should do it. It's a shame my inf is all redside.
edit: I'm asking for purples in jest. I haven't even met you.