Kill XP in MA - How About It?

If nothing else, removing XP from the AE would quieten down people who get heated over the fact there's less XP in it. Not sure why - seems counter-intuitive doesn't it? - but that seems to be the case.

I doubt they'll take that step though, thankfully.

I did not like the introduction of MA, much like I did not like the introduction of PvP, namely because it put the burden of content creation on the paying subscribers, and that's just plain lazy. Hire good arc creators, or give them 3 months free game time, but don't just say "make up your own adventures." That said, reality television is extremely popular, so who am I to judge...

Anyhoo, personally I'd be fine with removing XP from MA. I use it primarily to take out 50s for a spin and see some content I've never seen before. I'd appreciate a better search interface. I'm not sure how the drop rates with tickets correspond to drop rates in regular missions, but they are a bit less random and the ability to pick your range gets you drops you could not get otherwise on a 50 short of Ouro.

I don't like it, but they might as well cap XP/Inf like they've capped tickets. In the last year we have seen one exploit after another coming out of AE without any sign of slowing down.

By limiting rewards to some reasonable value no complex XP weighting scheme would be required for critters, so the author's creativity is uninhibited. If someone finds an exploit that allows them to kill something easily, they will be unable to level their characters to 50 in an hour no matter what. In the worst possible case it will be directly comparable to players doorsitting in regular missions while other players PL them.

The caps would be determined by datamining the XP/Inf you'd get on the same map if you were running regular content. Something like this was probably already done for tickets.

The ticket and XP/Inf limit should be displayed for each mission when you're selecting the arc. Players could then decide whether the arc is worth their time, or select their level of difficulty accordingly.

The caps could be waived for Dev's Choice missions and for a new category of arcs that are deemed "exploit free."

Like I said, I'm not quite calling for the end of all rewards just yet. I think tickets and their present drop rates are controlled enough as to not necessitate losing them. Besides of which, given the state of the in-game economy, tickets are providing a crucial service for players who are either unable or unwilling to grind out content for normal drops or to pay exorbitant prices on the market. Inf/prestige rewards are really tertiary to the issue, since you really don't see anyone but RMT teams seriously grinding out mission solely for inf.

I understand that as long as there are rewards there will be farmers and exploiters. I just think this might be the next controllable step. Would it kill AE? Eh... maybe, but it is not as if the buildings are very populated other than in Atlas and Cap Au Diable. Actually, they are usually deserted. So, for the most part, I think whatever activity AE has that isn't solely geared toward reward-based missioning is pretty minute anyway. Net loss is, IMO, able to be minimal.

I agree, take the XP out. It's where this is all headed anyway.

Nerfing XP because you have a defensible object or more than one MAlly is just silly and hurts many legitimate MArcs and MAuthors.

WARNING: I bold names.

I find it interesting that MA is characterized as "putting the burden of content creation on the players", when many players had been asking for the opportunity to create content. Even if 90% of the posted arcs are farms, that's still a lot of player interest in creating content. Not a majority, but a dedicated minority.

There are two ways you can go with an activity that in and of itself holds marginal appeal: you can try to make it more rewarding to lure in more players, but then have to balance it so that it can't be exploited, or you can give those who enjoy it maximum leeway to enjoy it as they like, and remove rewards so that you don't need to worry about exploits or balance issues. The developers have shown a preference for the first option in their decisions regarding MA and PvP. I'm not sure that the results have validated that decision.

A third way would be to give universal access to maximum leeway for zero reward, and then on a case-by-case basis (assisted by automated tools) select specific items as conforming to risk/reward goals and upgrade them to full reward status - in fact, that's how I expected MA to work from the start. But that would require developers with a deep understanding of the system in question and the time and energy to make it work. It could be argued that was lacking when it came to PvP: we never had a "PvP dev". We do have a "MA dev", and he seems to have some idea what he's doing, so maybe that's the way to go.

What exactly is the issue with farming AE? I've never seen anyone say something other than "it's an exploit". Why do the devs care if I farm it. Maybe if there was new stuff I would play it but to be honest I get a bit sick of sewers-->KR scanners-->Hollows-->Steel scanners-->midnighter arc-->talos scanners-->Striga-->croatoa, etc.

Here's my dumb suggestion: remove xp from AE (leave inf & insp) and introduce YAC (Yet Another Currency) for normal missions as an opt-in, like turning off xp. This new option would disable randrom drops (enhancements, recipes, salvage only) from regular missions and instead give something similar to AE tickets (call them Heroic Tickets or Villain Tickets, smart people can come up with better names). That way a player can get xp & tickets doing normal missions (no bonus for mission completion though, keep the xp bonus) and not clog up MA with farm missions. And if a player wants purple drops, they opt-out of the tickets and go back to getting random drops. That way farmers can go back to their favorite farm mission and still get xp and tickets and maybe be less likely to look for the next MA exploit.

I know if I could control my regular mission rewards the way I do with AE tickets I'd never set foot in the AE buildings again. I've done a number of dev's choice and guest author arcs and really only been impressed with one or two of them, and that was because I read the guest author's online comic on a daily basis. No offense to you story tellers out there, I don't get a whole lot out of the regular missions either.

It's probably a dumb idea but it's been rattling around in my noodle since yesterday and I had to set it free.

Ironic how those that want to rmove the xp are the same ones that made hamis, Freak, and the umteen million other farms. "What we can get an overdose of xp for running around a city block, then take out all the xp. If we cant door sit and level in four hours then no one should get xp." Bullcrap! I still make story arcs, I like making custom characters to run the arcs with and fight against. I dont run AE farms even with my 50s. I like getting xp because yes, radio missions are the most boring thing there is and AE works for filler missions I can run between Midnighters and Faultline or Doc Delilah. So no, leave the xp and ban the friggin farmers.

Why are people being so over dramatic & immature about the latest AE fix?

AE was becoming a shooting gallery nubs!

Get it through your thick domes already.

They already stated in a thread this fix with respect to allys is a temporary solution until a permanent one is implemented.

Show how nub a lot of people are here. You think in the world of game development is as easy as waving a magic wand?

Seriously people, let's practice some restraint...and maybe grow up a lil eh...

Strangely enough, I use the MA for what it was originally intended: an alternate means of progress in the game. I don't farm or exploit. I like missions with good plot, and I don't mind taking my time to get through them.

So don't take away my XP. It's annoying having to redesign my arcs for the XP nerfs, but I can do it. Take away the XP, and the only reason I'll have to use the MA is to take screenshots in test mode.