The New Trials and Incarnates

Errr not at all what was requested and you know that.

As I said already there have been NUMEROUS suggested about areas of the lore to expand. Folks can go look them up if they've missed them. I'm sure the devs have a list.

That'd be the wrong answer. The correct answer would be "limitations of software development." Content takes time. More is coming, but there was a deadline to get even this much of the system out....since it'd already slipped a previous due date, pushing it back even further was not an option.

This. It's gonna take time to build up the content.

This is EXACTLY my thought. You will not allow me to advance doing what "I" want to do - like you have for 7 years? This in my mind is what I always feared would happen and the direction the game would take.

If this continues, ok have fun.

No, it would be the right answer. "Development time" is why there are only two Incarnate trials. There was no reason a priori to wed Incarnate progression so firmly to those two trials. The Alpha slot didn't require grinding Apex/Tin Man over and over; there was no reason to make the next slots require grinding the trials.

Yeah, there is. They are differentiating the end game from the 1-50. Alpha slot is the bridge between the two. Development time is the only reason there isn't a breadth of content in the Incarnate System.

Which was a bad design decision. This is where we came in.

Actually, Praetoria was one of the things quite a few players asked about when it came to adding to the lore - the original Maria and Tina arcs left all kinds of things unanswered about Praetorian Earth.

I disagree. Adding an end game that's just more of the same after 7 years would be pointless.

Why is it one or the other? Why not have trials and have the ability to earn threads in normal content?

Because then people would just farm for the Incarnate salvage by doing the same maps over and over. Oh wait....

I can understand why they're off in other lvl 50 content, currently, but changing that down the road is a flip of the switch. They're channeling us through the trials via threads so that the trials get done at a heavy rate. Which is something they want (at least in part, I',m sure there are other reasons) to look good to returning players who checked "no end game" on their exit surveys.

Ditto those sentiments. While other popular MMO's are making it a point of emphasis that their paths to maximum level can be done solo or small team, CoX has taken the exact opposite stance and made their max stuff attainable only via the larger groupie stuff.

Everytimre I take my Alphas out for a couple hours of 50 solo play but return yet again with Zero shards, it all makes me very, very angry and upset with this dev team. I've gotten exactly 3 shards in my last 12 hours of game play - just enough to be aware of the total disrespect and contempt this dev group has for their solo content paying fan base.

But, however angry I may be, I am not quitting. I will continue to give the majority of my time to all my lower level characters in the hope that within a couple of years the devs will return to their senses and get this game back to its roots of providing its entire paying player base with content and advancement that is reasonably doable for every play style.

Wow, I am blown away. I think that the Sutter TF is AMAZING and a lot of fun. I don't love the first mish, but the rest is so much awesomeness.

wow.

Not really. Revamping the low level (which folks are STILL asking for) starting zones (especially COH) was what was requested. I'd bet money that many more people wanted THAT than Praetorian Earth expanded.

I will say that without the expansion though the game's content wouldn't have been able to expand so fast in the past few months.

Err they could have added the trials while allowing threads to drop during Tin Mage/Apex the revamped Praetorian Arcs in Peregrine, and on the high level tfs.

Sooo, no, it's not one or the other. It was a CHOICE to only allow threads to drop from just two pieces of content, just like it was a CHOICE to REDUCE the reward on tin mage/apex.

I love Issue 20, but let's call a spade a spade.

I need to echo Evil. I do not agree with everything the devs have done recently, but . . .

wow

Maybe they wanted people to give the new stuff a try first, instead of just ignoring it right out of the gate and complaining about how slow it is to earn things the non-intended way. Crazy, I know, but I'm sure they'd love for people to use the content they spent months working on.

The only thing I wish the Devs could have done better about the whole thing was to try to get more trials than just the two in this Issue. That would have meant delaying it even longer, but it might have been worth it. Much of the complaining would have either been alleviated or severely lessened by simply having more than A or B as a choice for earning the new components. Make the additional ones for smaller sized teams (but still teams....not soloing) and lower the rewards down for them appropriately (more than you get from solo play, less than you get from larger Trials).

That's correct - but the devs were looking at the bigger picture - Praetoria was able to give a new starting expereince, as well as provide the first stage of the endgame system, and cover the idea of side switching-too.
The way Praetoria is set up, game-play and lore-wise, gives way more flexibility and development openings than a revamp of the blue or red side lower levels ever could.

Perhaps that tells us the new content sucks. Crazy, I know.

No, they could have allowed high level TFs to drop threads or allow players to bump up the diff to +4 to earn those threads. SOMETHING would have been better than NOTHING.

I . . . don't entirely agree with that. Especially since the decisions you make in Praetoria have no bearing whatsoever to whether you become a hero or villain. You could be the nastiest of nastiest of Cole supporter and simply click "Hero" when it's time to go to COH. I think there are other ways they could have handled it.

The also could have still intro'd endgame WITHOUT prae, even if they wanted to use Tyrant's crew. GR IS NOT our first intro to him and his baddies, so using them as villains for Endgame could still have been possible without the starting area of Praetoria.

Sure the NEEDED an expansion, I'll agree with that.

How they went about it is another issue.

Also all of this doesn't get them off the hook, folks STILL want a lower level revamp. Especially for COH, which is starting to look archaic when compared to the rest of the game.

Before this goes off into a mod-smackable argument, I will note for both sides that the devs have said they are going to intro more STORY ARCS and TFs that aren't trials, for Incarnates.

I would also bet money (based on their history of how they respond to player comments) that an Incarnate Mode for older content (recent suggestion, look it up) might be in the works. That they haven't actually confirmed yet though.