A new itrial every issue? How about no?

I have to agree with Moo on this one. Gating basic emotes behind the Incarnate system smacks of desperation. It's a bribe no different to putting PvE badges in the PvP zones. It tells me "Hey, I know you don't want to run Incarnate content, but we need a certain critical mass of players for the system to work, so let's see how we can make you run then anyway."

The argument that "no-one is forcing you to do it" is sorely misguided and quite narrow-minded, I think. No, no-one is forcing me to do the Incarnate Trials. And so I don't. And so you end up with a disgruntled customer. I could have used those auras and those emotes and played in my little toy room like a little kid, not bothering anyone, but I can't. And so it bugs me.

Here's the thing - I'm not going to farm iTrals. I don't care if I was offered real cash, I still wouldn't do them. Bribing me into running them with rewards that have nothing at all to do with end game doesn't make me want to run them more. On the contrary, it makes me RESENT them more.

Add all the iTrials you want, 10 per Issue if you want. I don't care. Just stop gating cosmetic options behind them that have nothing at all to do with that content.

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Incidentally, I hope and pray that ALL cosmetic items will show up in the Paragon Store. I fully expect Freedom to ask me to pay more money even as a VIP player, but THAT is one thing I would be happy and even excited to pay money for - to remove all of those annoying restrictions on costume items.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

In the end it all comes down to options.

If I want the Stone Block Costume change, my current options are as follows:

1: Do 3 successful Incarnate Trials.
2: Don't and not have the Stone Block Costume Change.

If I want the Electric Trail Aura, my current options are as follows:

1: Do 3 successful Incarnate Trials.
2: Don't and not have the Electric Trail Aura.

If I want the Magnetic Aura, my current options are as follows:

1: Do 2-3 successful Incarnate Trials (Astrals).
2: Do 2 successful Incarnate Trials (Empyreans).
2: Do 10 runs of the Incarnate Task Forces. (5 Days Minimum time)
3: Don't and not have the Magnetic Aura.

If I want the Swoon Emote, my current options are as follows:

1: Do 2-3 successful Incarnate Trials (Astrals).
2: Do 2 successful Incarnate Trials (Empyreans).
2: Do 10 runs of the Incarnate Task Forces. (5 Days Minimum time)
3: Don't and not have the Magnetic Aura.

If I want the Barcode Chest Emblem, my current options are as follows:

1: Do an Incarnate Trial.
2: Do either the Tin Mage or Apex TF.
3: Don't and not have the Barcode Chest Emblem.

So, in some places, I have 3 Options: iTrials, iTask Force, Don't have. In Costume Changes and Path Auras, I have 2 options: iTrials or don't.

And some of these rewards aren't really, truly 'symbols of Incarnate ability' like some people have been saying, and if they were, then why when unlocked can little Level 1 Slime Boy use them?

It just seems like someone's gone "Oh, you want auras, you want costume changes? Here you go! Oh, you need to run content you might not want to, several times, to get them."

If they're going to be on sale in the Paragon Store, I'd just use the 400 points/month VIP players get to purchase them and be done with it. I couldn't care about the Ascension armour, truth be told. Or the incarnate symbol chest emblems for that matter. The emotes, costume change emotes, non-incarnate chest emblems, auras and path auras? Those, I do care about, and would happily fork over points for.

(As an outside option, what about the chance to do a mission to unlock the non-Incarnate emblem/ascension stuff? Take down Gravity Control using Clockwork or something, get Magnetic Aura. Take down powerful lightning-using villain, get Electric Trail aura.)

How dare they not have options on day two of a half issue. It's a slap in the face.

T5 Slotted.

I find the complaints here valid to a degree. But people need to realize that it doesn't make make great business sense for the developers to have multiple paths to achieve these rewards now that the game is going to be hybridized F2P/P2P with micro-transactions. Certain rewards need to be exclusive to specific tasks and not all rewards need to be solo friendly.

These recent rewards requiring Astrals and Emyreans are readily attainable by casual players with one caveat-- a casual player will likely have to choose what they want now, while waiting to collect the rest of the rewards in later weeks, months, and years. That is, however, unless they want to spend some Paragon Points at the store to expedite the process. All new rewards will likely have two paths to procurement, with one of them likely being a micro-transaction through Paragon Points.

Several posters have harped on what they refer to as gating:

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Originally Posted by SuperOz You say 'to get y, you must do x.' Must do. Not opt in, not do some other way, must do.

The crux of the issue is that Y was explicitly created as an incentive to do X. We aren't talking about a hierarchical structure where pre-existing items are locked away and gated behind an arbitrary system of requirements. Of course you are REQUIRED to do X because Y is the incentive. If that incentive is perceived as great enough, then you will feel that you MUST do X to achieve Y. Your perception and desire for the reward are the opt-in, not the task.

The viability of this game going forward is going to depend as much on the task (X) as it will on the desirability of the reward (Y), given that both will now generate revenue. The old business model was simply that (X) had to be fun in order to keep players subscribed. The new business model is that the task (X) must be fun for the majority of players, and that the reward (Y) must be desirable enough that some people will pay for it rather than play for it.

The thing I find most offputting about the incarnate system is the system is long, but getting through it is not made easy at all. Im not saying I want to just walk to complete power, but it would be nice if it was easier to get the shards and threads etc to make your stuff outside of incarnate related content.

I don't mind examplaring, will happily do it, I once examplared my 50 down to level 10 and got a shard or two helping a mate on his new character, but, it just feels too much of a slog, this is stuff you NEED, vital ESSENTIAL stuff that just doesn't seem to drop to you.

I want to do the incarnate content, I want some characters pimped out with max powers, but, others, Im not going to bother incarnating its just too much of a long road to travel down. Also, I think generally, maybe depending on server, getting a villain incarnate can be harder than a hero one, due to hero side being more popular.

Still, like it or not. iTrials are the thing to do.

Tf's are a rarity, teaming a thing that happens only occasionaly, doing something with the events a noshow.

Do I think that is a shame? Yes I do, because I like doing that stuff.

My problem with all of the Incarnate stuff is it will continue to leave people playing their level 50s which in turn makes it hard for characters not level 50 to get onto teams. It's bad enough now and will only get worse as more trials are added. The more trials get added, the more desire I have just to get PLed to 50 and go where the people are at.

If you're burnt out, then dont do them.

I'm going to tell you a little secret about all those rewards offered for doing the trials.

1) Not needed.

2) Those costume sets, not all breath takingly impressive. They're nice. But really, they don't fit the typical superhero concept.

3) They just lowered the price to turn 10 Shards into 10 Threads to 1 million. Now come on, that's 10 generic recipes found a day to get 10 threads.

4) Notice of the Well, turns into 40 Threads. No. It's not solo content per se (you could if you found the people to form it with you and one to stay on), but one group activity a week can be done by any soloer.

Yes, Tier 4's are expensive as all hell to get, but if you're solo, you don't need tier 4. Hell if you're solo you don't need tier 1.

Want to just team with friends? Just team with friends and do non Trial content. It's easy! No really it is.

How about yes.

More iTrials, more low level content, more tfs, more everything. More COH.

Would be nice if bases, pvp, and AE got some love though.

The funny thing about the "You don't need this!" argument is that it can just as easily apply to:

1. Earning experience.

2. Earning Inf.

3. Earning powers and slots.

4. Acquiring Inventions or any kind.

5. Defeating enemies at all ever.

6. Using the chat system.

7. Playing the game to begin with.

People seem to define "need" as "Someone sitting behind you with a gun telling you to do this." or, alternately, "You will die of exposure and starvation if you don't do this." Neither is true of ANYTHING in this game. Whenever someone somewhere says he or she "needs" to do something, you should read that as "need to do something IN ORDER TO HAVE SOMETHING ELSE." No-one pays to play games against his will. We play games because we want something out of it, and it just so happens that if you want something out of the Incarnate system, you "need" grind and farm Incarnate content.

Let me turn this question around: Name one singe thing to do in-game (other than billing and EULA stuff) that you NEED to do, unlike Incarnate content that you do not. I want to hear at least one in-game activity where "need" applies in a sense that does not apply to Incarnates.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

Assuming solo Incarnate content gets added sometime in the near future, I'm hoping it's actually difficult and challenging.

Honestly, AVs which spawn as AVs regardless of difficulty settings, on a mission that locks you into soloing (like the Praetorian morality missions), doesn't seem too far out of line, considering just how powerful Incarnate abilities can make any character.

I don't mind trials, but it certainly would be nice if they got rid of the absurdly high warm bodies requirements for starting one.

Any so-called difficulty in trials results from having to deal with random people, not the actual task itself.