Some Thoughts on Vouchers

Vouchers sound like a neat idea. I definitely see the potential there for something interesting.

But I do have some ideas about expanding the system, and trimming some fat.

1) Okay, we're now at a stage where we're allowed to skip the Cape Mission, at a cost. Cool. Level 1s with capes are okay, as long as you pay for it. ...But at that point, why add in another weird meta-game hoop to jump through? Why not allow characters of any level to access and complete the cape and aura missions?

I realize there's some complexities involved with this, primarily the hero aura mission, which is a hunt mission against three specific groups of level 30 enemies. This would necessitate either making several sets of hunt missions that are level appropriate...or tossing the old aura mission in the trash, since it wasn't very fun to begin with. There may be similar problems with the level scaling of Lost and Rikti in the new cape arc, but this should be somewhat easier to solve.

Another small problem is that right now villains gain these missions from their starting contacts once they reach the appropriate level range, and this could interfere with the normal flow of missions. Moving these missions to a new contact (perhaps another Facemaker type) would hopefully clear that up.

I also think that this cost is pretty fair due to the way these missions work. If you want a cape at level 1, the missions don't change: You still have to fight Lost, you still have to fight Circle of Thorns, etc. Now getting a cape at level 1 is perfectly possible, but it's a challenge to do so (one lessened by simply gaining a few levels, which won't be hard if you're attempting these arcs to begin with). And it doesn't involve locking it away as a somewhat out of place Incarnate bonus and avoids advocating outright skipping content. The devs just went through all that trouble to revamp the cape mission, and now they want you to skip it?

2) More vouchers! This one's simple and has already been suggested many times already, which is a testament to something. Give us vouchers to unlock Midnight Club access and perhaps Ouroboros access (I realize that Ouroboros works differently and this may also necessitate a code change). If an Incarnate character can apparently grant a boon to another in the form of allowing them to wear capes, then certainly they can put in a good word with the Midnight Squad or the Menders, can't they?

3) Add vouchers to the Alignment Merit reward table. This one's pretty simple. Alignment merits are fairly comparable to Incarnate merits, but actually are more valuable individually than Empyrean Merits. It certainly doesn't take the power of a god to vouch for another character, right? If my hero has proven himself to be a stand-up guy, shouldn't he be able to ask the city to go easy on his protege and let him have a cape?

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

I wouldn't doubt those will be coming in later issues once the rest of the Incarnate Slots have been released... but for now, they want people to keep working at the four newest ones.

Anyway, totally /signed on Ian's suggestion.

Originally Posted by Nethergoat it's NEVER too late to pad your /ignore list!

In one sense, vouchers for capes and auras are a perq for players with level 50 characters who have probably done those missions innumerable times already. Gating the skipping of aura and cape missions through 50s ensures that you at least had the chance to do those missions.

In another sense, it's not another hoop to jump through. It's one less hoop. I have a lot of level 50 characters, and not all of them have the cape unlocked, and most don't have the aura unlocked. If I suddenly decide I want the aura on a 50, just spending a merit to get it is a big convenience.

Finally, making a voucher means the devs have to change very little. When you use the voucher it just sets the same bit on the character that doing the corresponding mission does. Actually changing the missions so that any character can do them at any level would likely require more sweeping changes. This kind of change gives the devs -- and us -- more bang for the development buck.

I'd be okay with doing both, I guess - opening the missions and offering the vouchers. But I still think it's very odd to make it a perk of being a level 50 to be able to skip content. Either it devalues the content, or you're basically admitting the thing you're allowing players to skip over was a pointless restriction, but have otherwise felt the need to attach a premium to.

I understand, as I pointed out thoroughly in my OP. Yes, this would take more work, but would be an update that would make things better for everyone, rather than just players with Incarnates on their account.


Also, another idea for a voucher: I know it's a little late, at least for most players, but how about a Vanguard membership voucher, to grant a character the ability to earn Vanguard merits prior to level 35? Again, I know, likely some code issues involved, but I thought it was a neat idea.

The devs have been treating Alpha differently this whole time. They even went so far as to make Alpha slot salvage easily changeable to newer salvage, but completely avoided getting rid of it altogether. I get the feeling that they like it as it is, an easy intro to Incarnate material. I don't see them making other slots as easy as it.

I'm not saying I agree with all of it, but it makes sense from that standpoint.

If the next set of slots takes the same jump from the current slots as the current slots took from alpha, you'll need 100 incarnate whatevers to make one common salvage but the whatevers will be a gauranteed drop off every mob you kill in the accompanying new trials.