Hmmm...I never thought of the day jobs as perticularly awkward to use. I just found I prefere some over the others.
Like +REC is nice and all, but if it only works when out of combat, it becomes of little use to me.
S/L Defense shield is nice, but it's only good for me if I have a character with suffiecent S/L defense to stack with it.
The end of mission rewards are nice, but it requires I slam through missions to make more use of it.
Hmmm...a thought...
Make Day Jobs a selectable thing, much like Incarnate Powers.
However, put a time limit on how often you can change it. Then when you put it in a slot and you get that particular bonus power, whether it be a toggle (like the S/L Shield) or Passive.
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Interesting.
I think the "charges" bit has been brought up before, and I can see the reasoning behind it. I don't recall all of them right off the top of my head, but I wouldn't argue with them being given a good once (or twice) over.
And the unlocking of arcs or missions - yeah, I could get behind that. More exploration into the nooks and crannies of the city (and the lore) would be nice. (And give more reason to go after some of the day jobs.)
i like the idea of charges as it makes more sense than having at most a 2 hour temp power that runs out before you start mishs if you are marketing and whatnot
timed day job powers like that i basically just started ignoring because they were useless on such a short timer
It's that time of the month again when I resuggest a rather well-received suggestion of mine to the forums in the hopes it gets a 'we'll look into it' by the devs.
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Day-jobs v2.0, proposed suggestions to improve the QoL of the existing system and adding new content to add some more depth to day-jobs as we know it.
Replace timer-based day job bonuses with charges
The reason people don't have much faith in the day-job bonuses these days is because how awkward they're given out. Many DJ bonuses with mission completion requirements are on timers, which means to make the most of the bonus you need to get to a mission and complete it before it runs out. This doesn't work out well because people might want to get a team together before running content and the timer doesn't wait for anything, encouraging recklessness for those who really want to take advantage of the bonus, and woe to those who don't finish a long mission in time before it goes out. >:|
The Solution? Turn timers into charges.
The reason Patrol XP works so well is not because it accumulates from logging out anywhere, but because it's only lost through ACTION. Defeating enemies or being defeated. Auction-house bonuses actually give out charges for powers, you know you'll never lose them unless you use the power or delete them yourself. Also include the jetpack powers which have timers but only count down when you use them. And lastly the tailor discount coupons which are only spent when you use them at the tailor.
All mission complete bonuses should be turned into charges which basically say "Every time you complete a mission, one charge disappears and the bonus is given", when all the charges are gone, just log out of the DJ-location and get some more!
Graveyard's Mortician can act a little differently, charges that are spent every time you are defeated to reduce (or pay off) debt.
PvP's Predator, Transit's movement-bonus, Pocket D's end-recov, Arena's End-bonus, Cime's Resistance, Hospital's regen are trickier ones since they're not mission completes. Solutions could see each of them turning into extra powers-like-toggles where you can choose when you want them active, though this might clutter things. But I still believe that these bonuses should be lost only through action. It's the whole reason people see Day-jobs more as awkward-to-get badges these days.
They could even be click-powers or have different bonuses altogether to ensure they stay around unless they're used, however I'd imagine changes like that would need to be well-thought out to avoid player backlash.
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Day-Job Representatives & Story arcs
If the devs wanted to go even farther, they can try pushing a content angle with Day-job story arcs!
So your character has been working at Wentworths (or the Black market) long enough to have earned their Day Trader/Marketeer badges. Normally that would be the end of it. But this proposal is that day-job representatives will appear in the earliest zones that job features in, in official or unofficial capacities. These contacts contact you when you achieve your badge to alert you that they need your help! Maybe something important from the market has been stolen and they want you to get it back, but only trust you with the task because you know the JOB well enough!
The story-arcs would be relevant to the job at hand, just to add a bit of depth to the system that makes it less of "that badge that takes 21 days of idleness to get".
Additional Perks to Day-Jobs
The second part of the representatives and DJ story arcs would that successful completion of the arc will grant you extra perks related to the day-job.
Maybe by doing good for the Hospitals they'll allow you to purchase some medical temporary powers? Working for the police or arachnos allow you to purchase weapon temporary powers? Or even more interestingly allow you to explore new places in establishments, like behind the scenes in Icon or extra costume parts unique to the group in question? (Per character but with an account-unlock version for Paragon Market)
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That's the end of that suggestion, but let's hear from you discerning folk and jrangers out there!
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