I think 1 merit per SO is plenty... And I support this idea if it's just 1 merit per SO. SOs get outleveled fast at low levels and merits are valuable.
NPCs: A Single Method to Greatly Expand Bases
I can see your pain, but using merits for SO is really not that good of an idea.
I would suggest to be mindful of what activites yields merits, and even at low levels you can make a good amount of merits. Reaching 250 merits at low levels, is possible, but actually if you are observant you can buy some good recipies as low as 125 merits and then sell those recipies for 50 to 60 million influence, after that your SO buying blues are gone.
Now 125 merits seems like a lot, but if you do 2 Positrons (66 each) will put you at 132 merits, and that is not hard to do at low levels (10-15), interestingly you will not be buying Duos until 12 and Singles until 22, but by earning merits, and buying specific recipies ( not random roll) you can ensure to make sufficient influence to cover your Duos and Single needs all the way to 50 with ease. Also if you aggressively sell the salvage you make during the adventures, you may find you actually make enough influence to afford the DO and SOs as well, with out dipping into your merit pool, after all you want a Numina Regen?recov for 250 merits.
Hugs
Sue Aka Stormy
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While that's great advice for a new player who's planning ahead for the future, for me it's not a matter of gaining influence, it's the fact that I don't always want to level up. One of my mains is still level 10 after something like two hundred hours. That character's done Posi twice, has millions of influence (even earned Celebrity) and plenty of merits, but little to spend them on because low-level (i.e. level 13) IOs give poor bonuses (and I already have my Harmonized Healing, Karma +acc, Knockback protection, Winters Gift).|
Originally Posted by Stormfront_NA
I can see your pain, but using merits for SO is really not that good of an idea.
I would suggest to be mindful of what activites yields merits, and even at low levels you can make a good amount of merits. Reaching 250 merits at low levels, is possible, but actually if you are observant you can buy some good recipies as low as 125 merits and then sell those recipies for 50 to 60 million influence, after that your SO buying blues are gone. Now 125 merits seems like a lot, but if you do 2 Positrons (66 each) will put you at 132 merits, and that is not hard to do at low levels (10-15), interestingly you will not be buying Duos until 12 and Singles until 22, but by earning merits, and buying specific recipies ( not random roll) you can ensure to make sufficient influence to cover your Duos and Single needs all the way to 50 with ease. Also if you aggressively sell the salvage you make during the adventures, you may find you actually make enough influence to afford the DO and SOs as well, with out dipping into your merit pool, after all you want a Numina Regen?recov for 250 merits. Hugs Sue Aka Stormy |
Low-level SOs are almost impossible to come by without fighting AVs (I try to team in Faultline, which is usually empty), especially hard if you mostly PUG (not many of my RL friends on to help me). Low level SOs just aren't available at Wentworth's; if they were I'd pay a ton for them. Which is why I brought it up: Low levels are the only time that they actually would be worth buying with merits, since they are better than IO recipes by a good margin, and they aren't freely available (why anyone would pay 8 merits for something they can buy for under 50k influence is beyond me).
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Ah, I now understand what you meant. That is a tough nut to crack, SO's below level 25, maybe the merit vendor should sell those SOs along with the IO recipies, and I can see why you suggested to trade merits for SOs. I am all for it, now that I understand your situation. In my case, I do sewers and TFs to level rather quickly, and as a result I don't bother enhancing my powers until level 22, which I normally achieve in two to three days max; thus buying enhancements for those powers simply does not make sense; as opposed to you who tries to enjoy the game and take your sweet time; unlike me who simply swallows the food, ha ha ha...|
Originally Posted by Voxen
While that's great advice for a new player who's planning ahead for the future, for me it's not a matter of gaining influence, it's the fact that I don't always want to level up. One of my mains is still level 10 after something like two hundred hours. That character's done Posi twice, has millions of influence (even earned Celebrity) and plenty of merits, but little to spend them on because low-level (i.e. level 13) IOs give poor bonuses (and I already have my Harmonized Healing, Karma +acc, Knockback protection, Winters Gift).
Low-level SOs are almost impossible to come by without fighting AVs (I try to team in Faultline, which is usually empty), especially hard if you mostly PUG (not many of my RL friends on to help me). Low level SOs just aren't available at Wentworth's; if they were I'd pay a ton for them. Which is why I brought it up: Low levels are the only time that they actually would be worth buying with merits, since they are better than IO recipes by a good margin, and they aren't freely available (why anyone would pay 8 merits for something they can buy for under 50k influence is beyond me). |
Stormy
I've never really understood why some people freeze their characters from advancing, but if you want to 'twink,' which is what it is called in WoW, I think, then I have no issue with you spending the merits you receive. You really aren't hurting my gameplay experience with your twinked character and if that's what you enjoy doing, more power to you.
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Why? Did you ever see the movie Daredevil? He stayed and protected Hell's Kitchen. So if a person wants to do the same thing in the game he/she can turn off their exp and be the "champion" of a specific city zone (or bane of a zone if he/she is a villain). Turning the xp off allows the character to still enjoy the challange of fighting NPC's in that zone. He/she can also assist other players new characters as they face their own challenges in that particular zone.|
Originally Posted by Sister_Twelve
I've never really understood why some people freeze their characters from advancing
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We have the ability to make hundreds of characters. Not every one has to be ubered out at the max level. Some of us actually play because we're having fun.
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Alrighty. I actually play because I'm having fun also. I mentioned something that seemed relatively innocent to me in a relatively mild way, in the midst of basically /signing the request for those who want to twink to be able to use their merits to purchase something about 15 levels below where you're supposed to be able to get it.|
Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
Why? Did you ever see the movie Daredevil? He stayed and protected Hell's Kitchen. So if a person wants to do the same thing in the game he/she can turn off their exp and be the "champion" of a specific city zone (or bane of a zone if he/she is a villain). Turning the xp off allows the character to still enjoy the challange of fighting NPC's in that zone. He/she can also assist other players new characters as they face their own challenges in that particular zone.
We have the ability to make hundreds of characters. Not every one has to be ubered out at the max level. Some of us actually play because we're having fun. |
I don't really think biting my head off for that is warranted.
I would like for my low-level characters (Level 10+) to be able to purchase early SOs using Merits or Tickets. I realize that typical players would quickly out-level them, but for those who've turned off XP or advance slowly for other xp-pact or similar reasons it would be nice to outfit our characters more effectively.
At high levels, 8 merits for a SO is questionable since influence is cheap and IOs are strictly better. However, at low levels, it would be a neat perk to be able to purchase SOs, letting players trade Merits for a bit of oomph over the next few levels, and giving them something interesting to buy with the merits for their first few story arcs or holiday monsters.
I would gladly pay 1000+ tickets for a level 13 SO, and reluctantly pay up to say, 20 merits for one, though I think the current 8 seems pretty fair. Thanks for your consideration.