AE Exp has to go!!

Why has this stupid thread not been locked yet?

OP may rest easy now, pretty much all the farmage is nerfed now. Even on Freedom blueside the broadcasts for AE are few and far between.

I thought most outside of people on these forums thought AE already gives no or little exp, so what is even the point of this thread anyway?

I actually agree with the idea behind this post, but feel it doesn't really go far enough.

In-game, and in-character, the AE Complex is offering its customers a virtual experience. In other words, players are being virtualized (a la TRON) and are experiencing adventures within the AE computer system. Since this is the case, I asked why would their actions in the virtual game world of the AE computer ever earn them Influence in the "real" world of Paragon City? Why would it earn their Super Group Prestige? And why on earth would they get Recipes and Salvage from their defeating of virtual enemies? (from Dev Choice missions)

I think that any XP users of AE would get should be a fraction of normal XP, since it's a virtual world -- basically, a training experience, a la the "Danger Room". There is something indefinable that is lost... perhaps the element of actual danger? And certainly -- since heroes who are defeated in combat are not using the Medical Transporter System, but rather are just being dumped out of the AE System and re-materialized as hale as they were when they went in, why would they ever suffer "debt" from being defeated?

Back in the day, when AE first came out, I said that users should only receive 1/4 the normal amount of Experience one would gain in an actual (i.e., non-MA) mission, and no debt for being defeated.

It made no sense to me that playing MA missions awards Prestige or Influence, and certainly not drops, either from an in-game or an out-of-game perspective. I felt, and proposed, that these rewards be removed entirely from AE.

Out-of-Game, by removing Influence and Prestige and Drops ENTIRELY from the AE System, the Devs would also completely remove the inf Farmers and Power-Levellers from the system. Farmers will go only to the places where they can farm for the inf that they sell through their pay sites.

If AE didn't offer it, then these people would go back to RV or somewhere else, but they would not be capable of generating such huge levels of Influence and artificially inflating market prices into the billions at WW.

Similarly, if the amount of experience earned through AE missions was significantly less than that of normal game content, the Power-Levellers would go back to using their demon farms and XP-turned-off Level 46 bridges or what-have-you -- but at least they would not be clogging up the AE building trying to power-level one another.

My thought was that if these changes were implemented, it would leave the AE System exactly what it was meant to be -- (or at least what I assumed it was meant to be) -- a venue where players could create, share and experience user-generated content in a safe, "virtual" venue that would not at all impact the "outer" world of CoX. Where there would be no grinding, no griefing, and no farming. Just pure storytelling, and the enjoyment that comes from experiencing it.

-- Vivian

Farmers aside, it's doubtless best to winnow down my point.

Prior changes to MA awards did not go far enough. I honestly feel that removing Prestige, Influence, Drops and most XP gains from MA Missions would change the AE System from what it is now into a place where players could create, share and experience user-generated content in a separate venue that would not impact the virtual economy of CoX.

Wasn't that the original goal of MA? To be a virtual storytelling venue inside the AE Game Computer?

Actually, it was supposed to be an alternative leveling experience.

The problem with this idea of taking all rewards from AE to make it all about story is simple:

People won't generally play very much for JUST story. They will play something that can advance their character in some way. If AE provides a remotely viable alternative to newspaper/radio missions, some people will play it a lot, and those people may well go through a ton of stories and enjoy them. But if you take away even the slightly nerfed rewards, then they won't.

Fundamentally, though, I don't see why anyone cares. So what if people are farming AE, or sewers, or whatever else they can figure out how to farm?

Alright, Vivian...

You may have a few points, they might even be true, but I don't agree with them. It was already pointed out that the AE/MA was marketed as an alternative way to level, so i will leave that alone.

I also won't dismiss everything out of hand because that really doesn't help the discussion, it only solidifies everyone's position. However, you are wrong on at least 2 counts that I would like to bring up:

1) There are drops: Tickets. They can be used to "buy" the very things you correctly say don't drop in most story arcs, so I don't see where the point of driving prices up comes in. In fact, I understand there is less "junk" from the ticket buys, so I would think it would have the opposite effect of adding more desirable salvage, etc. to the market.

2) You can get normal drops from the more popular DC choice arcs if you choose. That might include the Guest Authors and Hall of Fame arcs, but I really don't remember if they do or not.

I think the intent of "Dev's Choice" is essentially that those are arcs which are essentially being approved as Real Game Content, so of course you can get regular drops and XP bonuses for them.