High quality TFs/SFs

Ok, so, I think a lot of people would agree this game's best TF/SF is the ITF. It is done over and over and I have done it a ton. Then on the other hand, the original TFs kinda suck bad (well Posi got a fix but Synapse and some Shard stuff....*shudder*).

Anyway, since GR is almost here and when it's launched there will be lots of Devs. Why not have a small Dev team focus on TFs/SFs only and launch them separately from issues. This team could make high end TFs/SFs every 4 months or so. Make them unique maps and really epic - space maps, underwater, moon bases etc etc. Instead of new zones, make unique maps for these.

Also, you can use all unique factions/groups as it could be a mini-story apart from directly connecting to the mainstream canon. It will allow the story to branch out a lot.

Just my 2 cents in hope we have some higher end stuff to do cuz...well...things are getting stale...

/signed and the last I heard, the new Positron is the best TF in game. (And I think they may get to work on updating the rest of the TF's after GR.)

Silly question, what is ITF?

Okay let me say I love the ITF. It's my favorite TF for many reasons. But it's the most popular for these reasons...

1) All missions take place in 1 zone that isn't that big.
2) Lvl 35-50 TF, so you have alot of team member options, and do good.
3) Co-Op, no matter what side you're on, you can get in.
4) It can be sped through if wanted
5) alternatively, if can be a bit more kill all, and get great xp fast!
6) It's hack and slash! I play this TF, I feel like I'm playing Diablo 2 again! I love that about this TF. I go in and click away (no matter what AT) and I feel the same as I did playing D2.
7) 1 50, a bunch of lower levels, chance at purple drops!
8) Even killing all with a pretty weak team, usually just means (there are exceptions) 2 hours of play.
9) Many different ways to go about taking out the end AV. I can have one team rush Rom and do just fine, another needs to pull to the grass to avoid ambushes, the other might be better off taking out the nictus from range first.

I've yet to tire of this TF, and I've done this TF A LOT!

Gonna have to give it a try, sounds very interesting.

Hmm, I don't know if I like BrandX's reasoning. It basically boils down to "it's not like the rest of the game and can be gamed to get better rewards in less time". I mean, to each their own, but that still seems disingenuous given how varied the TF is in terms of missions, objectives, enemies, tactical situations and plot. But mweh.

Someone should host an AE contest to have skilled people make cool Task Forces like those.

To be honest about the only one, ouside of the Shard.. shudders along with JazMan, that I dreaded was POSI and I am very pleased with the new one. Most of the rest of the BIG SIX (Posi, Synapse, Sister P, Citadel, Manti and Numina) have a good mix of Defeat alls and stealthables and can be completed in well under 2 hours. Moonfire is perfectly fine IMHO .. it all takes place in one zone and mixes defeat alls and stealths. If they want to change anything cut back on the "Busy Work". We can do without the patrols and the FedEx missions thank you very much.

Yeah I know they TAKE too long. Well then DON'T do them. I've done as many as 3 TFs in the same day on a character and managed to level significantly. The problem these days is no one wants to do a TF to TRY and earn XP all the are looking for is a quick Badge, the TF Commander Accolade (when applicable) and as many Reward Merits as they can grab. On lower level characters I look at Task Forces as a way to LEVEL faster. I did a Manticore a while back, one of my favorites, and was the tank. The Leader somehow managed to set the Difficlty so we were facing blue and green minions instead of Yellow or Orange. We blasted through every mission and sure we got done in less than an hour but I had managed to go up a whole 5 bars in XP and did the ting again later that day with another team so i could actually get good Xp and enjoy it.

Not saying any or all of them couldn't use some tweeking but the only one that was a real chore was Positron and that's fixed. Go do something with the Shard and MAYBE I'l have more than one character that has ever done any TF in there.

Mmmm

I have mixed emotions over the new Positron, I like it in some aspects and totally hate it on others. While it is shorter in a way, and broken into two halves, it takes the pain of a lengthy TF away. On the other hand, the positioning of the mobs are too narrow and the number and size of the ambushes are frankly too large. The problem with the excessive use of ambushes is they are much harder on the support ATs and thus in a round-about way makes the TF more difficult; while I like to see more challenging TFs, I want the challenge to be more even across all ATs not solely at the expense of the support ATs.

I also did not appreciate the severe reduction in merit gains from doing the new Positron versus the old one, but then the 2 Positrons do not have as many missions, so maybe it is a break even type of thing. I liked large merit TFs because I only have to organize a team once to get that many merits, I suppose its a matter of convenience.

With regards to revamping other TFs, not sure I care to see them transformed to pityful merit earnings, with lots of ambushes, etc. I don't think that in itself is an improvement, its new, but not quite better.

If TFs going to be upgraded, an effort should be made to address brainless repetitiveness, say for instance Synapse; we get 3 identical kill all missions back to back, using the same exact map! Perhaps 3 different groups could be engaged, and have different maps.

I would like to see "Kill Alls" and "Hunts" re-addressed, lets make missions make sense! In many kill all or hunt missions, the actual goal is to obtain a bit of information, say the name of a spy, location of a base, etc. It really makes no sense to me, you have to obliterate the entire base or all "x" number of mobs to gain the information, are we super types have such incredible bad luck, that it is always the last one we beat up, the one who happened to have the information? Every time!

Also defeat boss, should be re-looked at as well, normally when a mission is to take a leader out, the objective is to de-stabilize the enemy group by denying leadership. I can see defeating the leader with his immediate bodyguards; but does it make sense to have to defeat the entire room, and in many cases the room is really huge, multiple floors with strange closet like rooms, entry ways, etc. I believe a surgical strike, should be surgical.

Also in many TFs only the leader sees the script or story line, would be nice if each team member could see the writing as well, so they can understand why they are doing what they are doing.

I also would like to see the missions themselves better balanced in the challenge aspect, do not pick-on a specific AT and then claim that made the mission more difficult. I frankly think its wrong, you have by design ranged ATs uncapable of having mez protections and then "challenge" the team by having mez attacks spammed, throwing ambushes that spawn in the middle of the group, etc. These so called challenges are totally ineffective against melee ATs who are designed to take these form of attacks as a matter of course. I understand accomplishing this is difficult, but its only right.

I also would like to address the need for TFs to have so much inter-zone travel? I am not saying don't have it all, but lets not have it at every mission either.

Finally, lets look at maps, would be nice if the maps made sense to a particular group. I can see CoT using caves, but Freaks? I would like to see where groups and maps make sense. Think of this, lots of sewer maps, cool, but which groups should operate there? I can see Vahz using them, lost as well, beyond them I really would feel pressed to justify it.

Stormy