Regarding Recent Changes to Architect

Hey everyone,

We wanted to take a moment to address issues that have come up regarding the latest patch that has been released. We certainly understand a lot of your concerns and we want to do our best to alleviate them.

The change that has been implemented is a temporary change to combat a long standing exploit. This was a stopgap fix that we had to put out until we could come up with a more permanent solution. We certainly do not want to leave your arcs in a state where using them in non-exploitive ways results in little to no experience being gained.

Myself, pohsyb, Television, War Witch, along with everyone else here involved in the operations of Mission Architect, are doing everything we can to arrive at a solution that we can all agree on.

We currently plan to implement a solution in issue 17 or soon thereafter (and I mean actual soon and not Soon™) . We can't go into detail about what exactly is planned, but it will alleviate the current issue that many of you are having, which is finding your normal arcs are rewarding little experience.

Anyone who has a normal story arc that is drastically affected by this change should not go about overhauling your work. We are going to make sure that this upcoming fix will stop exploitive behavior within Architect while also allowing you all to be as creative as you want within the system - without extremely negative consequences.

Dr. Aeon

Doc, you guys have probably already figured this out, but the stopgap solutions that are currently in (namely the custom-power-selection XP reduction and now the allies/etc. one) should really get hammered down to a permanent, less harsh solution when Going Rogue actually hits. Not shortly thereafter or soon enough after it.

GR is likely going to produce an influx of players (or so we hope), not so much new as people who've gone on a break and may be lured back in by the new shinies. If GR is going to work as the three stage content in Praetoria/Move to Paragon or the Isles/Back for more, there's going to be a good population of newly leveled alts who could get back into the AE buildings if the system is actually ship-shape and settled down, without these stopgap solutions.

GR could very well revitalize AE, if the latter is ready when the former hits that is.

I'm sure you guys are on the ball with this, but just to recap the things I said:

The current issue is that some pets take their share of exp while others do not. Attacking pets take exp when they attack. Buffing (and debuffing) pets do not. All of these contribute in a way, but only attacking pets actually take points from you.

The new system doesn't fix or change this. It makes no attempt to consider what a pet is or what it does. Ideally, pets with buffs/debuffs should take away exp overall. Otherwise, the way the system is set up, pets who only attack are DOUBLY penalized by the new exp tax, and a small number of buff/debuff only pets are not affected at all. This more or less gives farmers incentive, even permission to give themselves a buffbot.

A system that's fair to everyone would need to involve imposing an exp tax for every buff or debuff power that every allied creature has. These powers currently contribute without taking away experience, unlike pets who only attack. That should be fixed without overly taxing for offensive-only pets. Nobody ever exploited AE using pets that only punch, shoot, or stab badguys.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PRAF68_EU Dispari has more than enough credability, and certainly doesn't need to borrow any from you.

I'm a little disappointed you didn't wait the month (or two) to have the 'right' solution for what you've stated is a long-standing problem.

Actually, I'm a lot disappointed. Subscription cancelled.

Thank you for the post explaining the situation and coming solution. I'm sure it will help alleviate a lot of frustration for players/creators.

Glad to hear a fix is on the way.

Thank goodness. I suspected as much, but glad you came out and mentioned it to put our fears to rest!

Thanks for the info, Dr. Aeon. It's always appreciated.

I only recently came back after a year away. Among other things, I was disappointed to see many things that were 'right around the corner' for AE still in the 'real soon now' category (like properly functioning custom powers).

To see yet another problem where the devs place the fun of folks using the system right below the 'exploit' of those using the system wrong makes it very clear this is not a new design philosophy, and one that will be in place for the forseeable future.

AE is the only reason I came back. So.

I have too many characters to give away all of my stuff, though I did wipe my arcs.

So - problem all solved, we just need to be a bit patient. End of raging please, people.

Falling outside the system, like having a rescue objective or defendible object, which apparently takes an XP hit?

As for 'every MMO changes,' they are quite up-front that this isn't the intended fix, that this isn't meant to make anyone happy except a general 'cut down on exploiting.'

I agree with DumpleBerry. Dr. Aeon knows and understands the concerns of content creators. I'm sure it pains him to know how this affects the 20(?) arcs he created as a player, and he will do whatever he can to help the creators out.

That being said, he's not omnipotent, so we've got to cut him some slack.

Thanks for the information, Dr. Aeon.

We (Well, most of us) know everyone over there cares a great deal and must have been working things out. It's good to let everyone know though, no question.

I'm sure you all know the problems that this change has caused and there has been some great feedback and test documentations about it on the forums.

So, I wish you a speedy solution and much happiness for everyone (Except the exploiters).

I have to say... the negative affect on the rest of the legitimate AE content was harsh this time 'round.

I do love and appreciate the AE for non-xp concerns, but, just as the Team wishes for also, many of us love it for the alternate means to progress at a pace consistent with the rest of the game (not exploiting, but not gimped).

A tricky balance, no question.

Best of luck!

Or... should I say... FOR SCIENCE!