Death From Below to 50?

Lol this all sounds to me like the classic game is getting too big kinda discussion.

Developers and creators often struggle for new ways too keep the game going, happens alot in MMORPG scenes, they have the right idea with the architect part but maybe they have taken it down the wrong path.

In many games that are not on-line the level creation aspect of a game offers nothing but special item's and gold or credits, this means that anyone regardless of level can play to get money for better upgrades or equipment not exp. Maybe this is how they should have done it for this, then eventually maybe bring in enough content to award a merit after a certain amount of time played in the archtect arena to promote you to a higher status level giving you a special innate power to choose from etc etc etc.

Leave the leveling to arcs and then you have the scope to increase them making the game a little more interesting maybe ?

From a purely vet perspective: I not only use DfB to get to 22, I've used DfB and the XP boost pay power on my new Praetorian to get him over levelling humps like 27, 32, and 35.

There is something rather thrilling about the ad hoc teaming and seeing nacent builds of other players develop in DfB. I've run a 50 through it a few times, not for the badges because I still enjoy it.

I'm onto a new obsession now: Getting patron epic pools for a toon that started hero.

However, once I go back to hero, I may go into DfB for 49 and 50. It would be interesting in a meta kind of way.

Of course it's possible. I do it 4 times to get the temps and some SOs and usually get to 14 then I go do Posis and other funnier things.

But in my runs, I've had plenty of 40ish toons, sometimes they wanted 3 bubs to level and get the epics (yeah I know now get them at 35) and there was a person who ran it 4 times with me on my new toon that was 44 to get to 45 and go do LGTF.

Getting to 50 like this would be so boring tho.

I have never farmed or power leveled.

Well, except these two times:

A PUG I joined once ended up farming in AE. I could tell the team was enjoying themselves, but I felt like I was robbing myself of content, which I enjoy playing. So I quit the team and recreated my character. I didn't spit on the team on my way out, I simply realized it wasn't for me.

The second time was last week. I did the DfB trial for the first time, and was thoroughly entertained by the bells and whistles. But I walked away from it a bit shocked. I had seen a farm before. I knew what one looked like. And now I'd seen another...created by none other than PARAGON STUDIOS!

I really liked the environmental design (the fire traps and malfunctioning Rikti bombs should actually do damage though). The battle with the Hydra heads at the end was pure awesome. And I liked the stat bonuses, but I flew through so many levels so quickly, it was pure insanity.

Do I think that's a bad thing? For the game? I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. Bad for me, evidently. Since then, I've spoken with a couple new players about all the years worth of content they're skipping for the tiny tip of the iceberg called the endgame. I'm happy to report that they're both running new characters a bit slower now, enjoying the journey that is City of Heroes.

I can see myself doing the DfB trial again, under certain conditions, such as possibly disabling my XP gain after the first run through for the stat bonuses.

It would have been death for the game a few years ago.

Now it's training for grinding iTtrials.

It bothers me, but I'll live. I just hope it doesn't lead the Devs to slack off on actual story content for the game. For now, the SSAs and First Ward have assured me that I should have no fears about that.

I imagine at some point it would get to a point where it would take a couple trials to just get a single level.. but I did 4 trials in just over an hour to get my beam/Rad corr to level 14 on RED side (virtue). So I can imagine how fast teams are filling blue side. Is it possible.. Yeah I'd say it probably is but I have no desire to prove the theory.

I really can't go along with the idea of diminished returns Sam although I understand why you suggest it. When exactly do you start to dimish it.. As mentioned the trial offers four very nice buffs that a lot of players want and the fact is if you get on 4 straight 7-8 man teams by the time you have the 4th buff you are around level 14 or 15. That's not trying to power level my, or anyone else's, way to 50 its just trying to get a bonus NC Soft themselves has provided.

Fact is over the past 6 years I have seen players find one way after another to PL their way to whatever. I think it may be time to just take a deep breath, clear our heads and go play the way we enjoy playing. If there are players out there perfectly content never seeing anything but the inside of the one trial map all the way to level 50.. So be it. I'll be the one actually playing content and havig fun playing with my friends. BTW .. Founders Falls is much prettier than the sewer if you ever decide to sight see LOL

I think I highest I've gone doing the DFB was 16 or 18...just any longer it becomes a dredge since the enemies are even con...

I love to run the DFB whenever I want a quick and easy to establish team with a set time limit. Quick, short, easy to run, it's a ton of fun if you've got twenty or so minutes to spare.

It's great for running at any level.

Just an amusing update concerning my 'accidentally PL'd to 33' friend.

We we're duoing missions, standard fare, I'd wait at the door for him to load in, then I'd toggle on and go to work.

After 2 or 3 missions like this, he paused and asked;

"Why does everyone act like missions are a race?"

I smiled at this, here I was thinking he'd PL'd on purpose, perhaps with endgame in mind. The more I probed the more I learned he had no clue the trial would rocket him past the low levels.

He ran it repeatedly because... He knew of no other way to get a team if I wasn't on. Oops.

So, I explained to him that it's not really a race mentality so much as its a 'been here done this, for years.' mindset.

He laughed and said it's all new to him. So we slowed way down, taking a more RP approach, pointing out the problem enemies, like leaving Nem Lts for last etc.

Much more enjoyable than the 'get outta the mish QUICK' mindset that us Vets are trapped in.

And we also get

DETH Baby Momma's

and

DETH BABY DADDY'S!

I guess my problem with it, personally, is how it trains newbies. I hang out in Atlas Park and like to help new players, but seeing them standing around Ms Liberty saying "LFG sewer" as if there's nothing else in the game is frustrating. Also, why they keep trying to find a team when they can just join using the LFG tab makes me wonder.

--NT

For what it's worth, they were doing this with old-style sewer hunting and skipping to at least level 10 or so for years. When I heard of the new Sewer Trial in i21 beta, my response (after facepalming) was to figure that Paragon had decided there was no way to stop it and they might as well make their own official version.