Do we really have to grind these same 2 zones over and over?

I have only two complaints: The first is that we now have Threads as well as Shards when I think Shards were good enough. But I'll let that slide because it's early.

The other is that the Devs are scrambling to make new shiny and not spending much time fixing old problems.

However, in the interest of fairness, I also like several things about I20:

1) League system will rock for MS and Hami Raids.

2) The new Trials are not just 'beat down bad guys.' I remember when Romi took strategy. Now it's just 'bring more damage.' I haven't finished the new ones yet but I appreciate the challenge.

3) You get some progress even if you fail the Trial. One of my slots is a third done after 2-3 failed efforts as well as some salvage and Threads. So slow learners like me can still get it done it just takes longer.

4) The new ISalvage has nothing to do with the regular Invention system. So I don't have to worry about uber-rich Incarnates buying Diamonds for 30 million and raising the price out of reach for my pre-incarnate toons.

5) Incarnates is a system being put into place to open up yet more things. It's a doorway, not a red carpet. The second step in the journey that started with the Alpha Slot and ends (so they tell us) PAST the Omega Slot.

It's just like the old arguement against raising the level cap from 50 to 60. You expect them to spend a year or more making 10 levels of content that many players will eat up in a month? It's SUPPOSED to take time people.

Would I like to see some more attention on other things? Sure I would. But I'm willing to see what they've got in mind before I start yelling Doom.

Mmm...

i20 really does not strike me as a grind, despite of my sad trial success record. Yet win or lose, I get a nice share of threads that essentially averages after converting and what not to an average of 20 threads per trial performed. Not a bad number IMO, when you look at the cost at slotting incarnate powers to tier-2. Now Tier-2 is a fairly robust capability, across the board, one really does not have to go to 4 to actually have the power. In many cases Tier-3 and 4 all they do is add added radius to your effect, but do not increase the effect itself. Like so many powers, how many mobs you hurt will a power is limited as well, since mobs, like to "mob" you; odds are having the extra radius buys you nothing.

What has really bothered me during i20, I really thought in the first week after release, getting groups together would be nearly instantaneous, but sadly it is far from it. I suspect, that since the failure rate of these trials are so great, that team leaders are being very picky about team composition and player experience or reputation, thus making the time to arrange for a team take as long as an hour or more. IMO the i20 by default is removing the "casual" feel of the game it once had enjoyed, at least for the incarnate stuff, and this is a sad thing.

For Lambda, I feel it should be a 3 team effort as opposed to 2, its just too hectic with too many mobs when compared to BAP and its 4 team composition.

Perhaps the trials should be remade to be scalable based on full teams going in, so a casual group of 8 players could do these trials.

Hugs

Stormy

It seems kinda silly to me that we had a system that awarded incarnate rewards, including: 2 alignment specific TFs on each side, 2 old coop TFs, 2 new coop TFs, Vanguard Merit conversions, and any 47+ content all for one slot, Alpha.

And then a new system for 4-5 slots that narrows us down to the 2 new coop TFs, and the 2 new Trials, with conversion options.

That seems to me to be a tiny amount of content to gate us through. I suspect these Trials will be avoided once new ones come out, primarily because people will be burned out on them and tired of the cutscenes. And we'll devour the new trials and avoid them too. At some point, maybe, we'll be able to look back, reflect, and choose what's the most popular. Unless the others are significantly harder for less or equal rewards, I'm guessing people will migrate away from these two choices.

I like both Trials, though. I like the additional choices, the slightly different decisions implied to complete the trials, hopping GMs, ambushes that you can see running toward you, mini-tasks, temp powers, and new maps. I just hope they can keep churning out some new ones pretty quickly.

Maybe they could add an option in 45-50 TFs, something like: Incarnate difficulty and allow it to drop threads but make the TFs noticeably harder (say by increasing the level of enemies to 54, etc)

What I would like to know is how people are unlocking Judgement....and others so fast?
I have ran both Lambda 5 times all failed and BAF 3 times failed and still an average of 7% on Judgement and 56% complete on the other to unlock. I dont mind the "grind" but what I dont like, same as most of the post's i've been reading is there is no other way to get IXP. The shards really dont help as much if you dont have the "disposable income" that other toons have. I enjoy soloing in this MMO, its a nice break from waiting for teams or constant "afk" during missions.

Im not sure how "MrLiberty" can say to us who do solo that "....we are doing it wrong!" I can't spend hrs sitting grinding away when work and life call, but that shouldn't prevent us who want to reach that Incarnate level from getting there. My main has Alpha T4 and it was not a grind just play content here and there and before i knew it all was unlocked. I dont have the time to sit for hours like some do and getting the new powers hours after launch. There needs to be a way for the casual players to get IXP without having to dedicate the time we do have to play to finding and waiting for teams to form. I have to say 75% is waiting for the team to form because the leader is waiting for people they want to join instead of taking those who are willing to play now.

Read the following sentence i said Eric, you have to have infamy or influence to "blow" on that exchange of shards to threads. This is again not a fair trade for casual gamers I don't have millions or billions to use when i'm still trying to get all my IO sets complete.