Speed TFs make me sad

I have been playing the game just over six months now, and have noticed TFs do not seem to be enjoyed the way I would like to enjoy them. As a new player, I was always hesitant to start and lead a TF because I wasn't familiar with them at all. So I joined other people's teams to get experience, and found that I wasn't learning anything because the missions ended before I knew what was going on. Last night, I was trying to hop on a LGTF to get a Notice for my blaster. I've run the LGTF a few times, and it was always on a speed run. I tried for a few minutes to find a team with no luck so I fugured, what the heck, why not throw a team together and give it a shot. I sent out a call for members to join a "kill most" LGTF and I was full in seconds. I told the team I had never led a LGTF and that I had only ever done speed runs. They all seemed okay with it so off we went. Let me tell you, I have never enjoyed a task force more than I did that one. We actually saved Penny in the first mission, and rescued everyone in the third mission. We took our time killing everything in our path and actually PLAYED through the TF, and it only took one hour and twenty minutes. I feel like this is what TFs were meant to be, and wish more people would run them this way.

Am I alone on this? Can you speed TFers explain the appeal of skipping half the fun? I guess a vet player who has been there done that wouldn't want to do it again, but if you don't like the TF, why run it at all?

As do they make me feel sad in the pants. Moar kill-all in the ways please! You aren't alone.

I see it both ways, I have been here since the beginning and so 81 months in doing the same TF multiple times on different alts can get boring.

Now if the team you are on has a sense of humor it goes a LOOONG way towards kill alls rather than speed runs.

I was in a group last night and we decided to save the ever yakking Glacia and Fire tank girl. Well when I accidentally fired off Gale instead of Ice slick - everyone just laughed - they also found it just as amusing as I did when I would throw a tornado into the huge spawn rooms just for the chaos it would cause. Some people would have gotten mad but we all just realized it was funny to see them flying thru the air and in the end they would come and get us anyways.

Some teams are loose and have fun - others just want to complete it. Both are good just learn to change your mindset.

Just depends on how much time I have or want to spend running one . If I have run it before on a different toon , if possible I speed run but if it is the first time , then no . Glad u had a blast though and as leader YOU dictate how it is to be runned .

Beyond the most basic reward/time equations, the Weeklies give a series of badges for running the same TFs over and over and over and over...

If you're interested in the badge, it's in your best interest to make the TFs as short as possible. Luckily, you seemed to have figured out a solution -- set up your own TF and set your own rules/goals. Especially for the high end TFs, kill-all ("shard runs") seem popular enough.

I guess I can understand the reward vs time argument. I've just never been a reward-driven gamer. For me, its always been about the experience, but that's just me. I don't pay your fifteen bucks, so as long as you are having fun...so be it. From now on, I'll start my own TFs.

The only time I do speed TFs is for the WSTs, for badge and time reasons - any other TF is done normally, or even as a defeat-all.
For the fast WSTs, I also check first if anyone on the team hasn't done the TF before - and if there is, then I change it to a slower run so they can experience the TF normally.

Speed TF/SFs serve a specific function, like Chinese take-out or fast food Drive-Thru. One doesn't "savor" the $2.99 cheeseburger-gut-grenade-special in the same way one would truly enjoy every nuance and flavor of an expensive sit-down dining experience.

If you have "kill most" in your TF/SF description, then there should be no surprises.

When you have multiple characters at 50 and you are burning through TFs for the Notice of the Well or a Hero 1 DNA sample (or, this past week, both) and you are limited in how much time you can game, then speed is of the essence.

For example, my 2 favorite 50s will probably get their tier 4 Incarnate stuff later today because yesterday I burned through a LGTF then an ITF with one, logged it, and then logged the other on and did the same thing. By the time I was back on the first character, three hours had passed and I could get the Nictus Essence again or the (reduced) merits. The other 50s will get their notice, but I won't have 32 spare shards on each of them for the tier 4, so they shall have to wait. I reckon once the 50s all get their first tier 4, then there will probably be a lull or fewer speed runs until Issue 20 hits.

7 years + many alts + many runs of the same tfs make some people not want to stop and smell the roses everytime they run a TF.

As of i20, Kill Most TFs will get a rise in popularity all across the board. They're changing it to allow you to get shards no matter what level you're exemped down to, so people will likely be willing to kill things to get what they want.

But as said, in TFs, the big rewards are the end rewards, as well as things you're required to kill to complete the TF. And if you're level 50 there's no XP, so killing random enemies isn't as rewarding as hurrying toward the end rewards.

Also, two words: "TIME TRIAL!" There's something particularly rewarding about completing a task far more quickly than the intended duration.

Fortunately, I20 will help with that. My understanding is that, presumably assuming your "native" level is 50 and you have your Alpha Slot unlocked, you will get Shards even while exemplared.

I'm pretty sure that's a welcome change to folks regardless of their preferred approach to TFs.

(I just wish it was already in place now that we're getting Sister Psyche for the WST.)

It's funny, in my personal experience, I've been seeing fewer speed runs since the Incarnate system came out, because teams want more chances for Shards. The other day, the Lady Grey team I was on decided to actually rescue Infernia and Glacia and complete their mission... I haven't done that in ages, even on non-speed runs.

Once issue 20 comes in and you can earn Incarnate Shards at any level, once you've unlocked the Alpha slot, then you'll probably see a lot more slower Taskforces being run, unfortunately until that happens you're going to see speed TFs for the lower level stuff.

Plus most of the stuff like Synapse, Sister Psyche, Manticore, Citadel are just....boring, even if you stop and read the text 90% of it is fluff that really adds nothing to the story or is a short, 'well done, your princess is in another castle' kind of deal.

Jeebus, peeps. Both ways can be fun.

The thing is, I gotta* run this TF 7-8 times for my mains and then if im not burnt out yet, another 4 or 5 toons of mine would like their notice as well. So thats a ton of time at an hour twentyish each, especially considering I can get it done in half the time by ghosting/speeding.

Kill all/kill most certainly have their place and can be a lot of fun but, particularly with the WSF, I just wanna knock em out as fast as I can. I'd be happy to run almost any other TF as a kill all once I have most of my WSF's done.

You are in luck though, now its Sister and there is not too much that can be stealthed in that one. Lots of kill alls, sadly we won't be getting any shards from them

*I know no one is forcing me to do it but a brotha gotta have goals, right?