Thoughts on 'DFB'
I love the DFB. However, I'd be more than ok for it to have diminishing rewards per character. 100% first run, 95% second 85% third, 70% fourth, 50% fifth, and stay at 50%.
It's already PLing enough as it is it needs to entice people to get out of it. I can see someone thinking the game is very repetitive and dull if all they run is the thing.
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'I don't like the look of it at all,' said the King: 'however, it may kiss my hand if it likes.'
'I'd rather not,' the Cat remarked.
'Don't be impertinent,' said the King, 'and don't look at me like that!' He got behind Alice as he spoke.
'A cat may look at a king,' said Alice.
We need to hook the LFG queue up to the Signature Story Arcs, Cavern of Transcendence trial, and Positron's taskforces as soon as possible. |
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Quite simply, we need a 'team advertisment' channel available to F2P players. /Help should remain for help.
Make a LFG channel.
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'I don't like the look of it at all,' said the King: 'however, it may kiss my hand if it likes.'
'I'd rather not,' the Cat remarked.
'Don't be impertinent,' said the King, 'and don't look at me like that!' He got behind Alice as he spoke.
'A cat may look at a king,' said Alice.
Where is this available to F2P LFG channel?
Member of:
Repeat Offenders Network - The Largest Coalition Network in the Game, across Virtue, Freedom, Justice and Exalted. Open to all, check us out.
Current Team Project: Pending
'I don't like the look of it at all,' said the King: 'however, it may kiss my hand if it likes.'
'I'd rather not,' the Cat remarked.
'Don't be impertinent,' said the King, 'and don't look at me like that!' He got behind Alice as he spoke.
'A cat may look at a king,' said Alice.
1-10 powers. More often than not, these are the player's core powers anyway.
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5 out of 9 tanks arguably have all of the core powers for their primary sets at level 10. And tanks will have more of their core powers for their defensive sets available than the other melee characters. Brutes do considerably worse, with only 3 of 10 arguably having all core powers.
DFB is very newbie friendly and most likely serving the purpose it was made to serve.
The idea of changing it to reduced rewards etc... is nothing more than that internet control freak behavior some people engage in on the net. Nothing more nothing less.
The development team and this community deserved better than this from NC Soft. Best wishes on your search.
I agree that the DFB is a pretty good trial. It would be nice if there was a few more of them though, for some variety. And personally I'd also prefer if they capped at some point around level 20.
Also, it HURTS to see the LFG technology WASTED on just one mission, 1-49. Not only do the new players like the LFG queue, but Dr. Kane's House of Horrors shows that it's viable, at least on moderately populated servers. We need to hook the LFG queue up to the Signature Story Arcs, Cavern of Transcendence trial, and Positron's taskforces as soon as possible.
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Lastly, people simply aren't using it. If everyone queues up with a full 8-man group, then no one in the queue will be picked up. If you queue, odds are pretty good that you will end up with the bare minimum of a four-man group (and even then, the wait can be so long than when it finally does pop, half of those players are asleep and don't click ok in time
![Stick Out Tongue](images/smilies/tongue.gif)
I like the LFG tool. I hope they improve it and do more with it. Adding Positron's task forces would be weird, but they should add all the strike forces
![Wink](images/smilies/wink.gif)
Thought for the day:
"Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment."
=][=
We need to hook the LFG queue up to the Signature Story Arcs, Cavern of Transcendence trial, and Positron's taskforces as soon as possible. |
Unlike the SSRs and Positron TF, the Cavern Trial requires someone to have played through the entire Hollows arc to unlock it. What you'd have happening is a whole bunch of people sitting there in the queue for an event that will never start because none of the people in the queue realize it needs to be unlocked by someone first.
And it should remain gated by the Hollows arc. It is the culmination of that entire storyline, and it would make no sense to anyone who has not played through it yet.
SSRs and TFs, sure, put those in the LFG queues. But don't put content that needs to be unlocked in it.
Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
The idea of changing it to reduced rewards etc... is nothing more than that internet control freak behavior some people engage in on the net. Nothing more nothing less.
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If you kill a Hellion in DFB and kill one of the same level on the streets of Atlas, they give the exact same xp.
Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
It's also a ridiculous idea. The enemies in it give no more rewards than fighting the same enemies out on the street. There's just more of them gathered in one place.
If you kill a Hellion in DFB and kill one of the same level on the streets of Atlas, they give the exact same xp. |
Blazara Aura LVL 50 Fire/Psi Dom (with 125% recharge)
Flameboxer Aura LVL 50 SS/Fire Brute
Ice 'Em Aura LVL 50 Ice Tank
Darq Widow Fortune LVL 50 Fortunata (200% rech/Night Widow 192.5% rech)--thanks issue 19!
![Big Grin](images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
"Trust me, it worked in the Simpsons." - Calash
'I don't like the look of it at all,' said the King: 'however, it may kiss my hand if it likes.'
'I'd rather not,' the Cat remarked.
'Don't be impertinent,' said the King, 'and don't look at me like that!' He got behind Alice as he spoke.
'A cat may look at a king,' said Alice.
I agree with most of what was said in the original post. That said, "variety is the spice of life." To new players, who want to be "super" immediately, the quick xp with the good rewards is very enticing. However, if a new player levels up to 10+ with the DFB (and many are going higher) and then gets bored, they are really left on their own to figure out where to go, and that's the one danger of which we need to be aware. With contacts, when you out-level one, they introduce you to another one, in a zone appropriate for your level range. For a totally new player, the game is huge and overwhelming enough without having to find what they are supposed to do next.
As a disclaimer, I do not think this is a current issue, merely a possibility that should be considered.
@Winter. Because I'm Winter. Period.
![Big Grin](images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
I am a blaster first, and an alt-oholic second.
![](http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i382/Winterminal/Talsorian-BannerGrey.png)
I agree with most of what was said in the original post. That said, "variety is the spice of life." To new players, who want to be "super" immediately, the quick xp with the good rewards is very enticing. However, if a new player levels up to 10+ with the DFB (and many are going higher) and then gets bored, they are really left on their own to figure out where to go, and that's the one danger of which we need to be aware. With contacts, when you out-level one, they introduce you to another one, in a zone appropriate for your level range. For a totally new player, the game is huge and overwhelming enough without having to find what they are supposed to do next.
As a disclaimer, I do not think this is a current issue, merely a possibility that should be considered. |
as per the OP, personally the DFB is fine but i hate playing it past lvl 12 since i wont get all my powers
![](http://i.imgur.com/90o12.jpg?1)
I don't understand why the newbie trial lasts all the way to 50. Surely it should cap at 20?
I don't understand why the newbie trial lasts all the way to 50. Surely it should cap at 20?
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I also love that I can make a new toon and get it into the 20's quickly to try out all kinds of combos that I didnt have time to try before. I have a bunch of alts now that I never would have made before because I wasnt going to waste a week playing a set that I possibly wont enjoy mid or late game.
DFB isnt just for newbies.
It's also a ridiculous idea. The enemies in it give no more rewards than fighting the same enemies out on the street. There's just more of them gathered in one place.
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If you kill a Hellion in DFB and kill one of the same level on the streets of Atlas, they give the exact same xp. |
I don't understand why the newbie trial lasts all the way to 50. Surely it should cap at 20?
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Why should it get xp gated you know you could play posi tf all the way to 50 too should all tfs gate xp at the tfs max lvl. DFB is just a long mission that is easy to form and get into compared to the other tfs with the LFG tab.
Onibi---Fire/Fire/fire Blaster
I'm ready to burn it all.
Lets Fight!
ParadigmX City help the city.
Gathering enemies in one place is considered enough of an advantage to require the ambush nerf.
And if you kill a Hellion on the street you will outlevel it. That doesn't happen in a trial - see CEBR for the effects of constantly killing very low level enemies. |
Tise dev sanctioned content. I'd rather not suddenly have LESS people playing it and the queue once again being useless.
Leave it as is.
Blazara Aura LVL 50 Fire/Psi Dom (with 125% recharge)
Flameboxer Aura LVL 50 SS/Fire Brute
Ice 'Em Aura LVL 50 Ice Tank
Darq Widow Fortune LVL 50 Fortunata (200% rech/Night Widow 192.5% rech)--thanks issue 19!
![Big Grin](images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
Seems arbitrary. I like the fact that I can take any level toon I'm playing at the time and hop on a quick sewer trial. The xp isnt bad at any level, and I dont always have time to run an ITF or somesuch when I want to make progress.
I also love that I can make a new toon and get it into the 20's quickly to try out all kinds of combos that I didnt have time to try before. I have a bunch of alts now that I never would have made before because I wasnt going to waste a week playing a set that I possibly wont enjoy mid or late game. DFB isnt just for newbies. |
Agreed!
Originally Posted by Megajoule
We're being invaded. Again. This time, instead of aliens, zombies, or eyeballs with teeth, it's the marching band.
Thoughts on DFB
I've heard of lot of people complaining that 'DFB', as the 'Death from Below' lowbie trial is advertised on /help, is sucking the life out of the game.
And while I do think that there is massively more to the game than five rooms in the sewer, I think that Death from Below is actually VERY GOOD for the longterm health and longevity of the game.
Why?
First, Death from Below is not a farm. It's a real mission. You have to defeat everything in it. The enemies are not super hard, but they're lowbie enemies. New players cannot simply sit AFK at the door and level up. They have to actually go in and participate.
Because of that, New Players learn to play their characters. One of the chief complaints about power-leveling is that it creates an ocean of level 50s with no idea how to play. Even if they repeat the trial until they're 30 (as I heard one player mention), they have a rock-solid understanding of how to use their 1-10 powers. More often than not, these are the player's core powers anyway.
It also teaches players to communicate with their teams. The two conditional badges don't require a lot of coordination, but they do require at least reading instructions. Players who earn them learn very quickly that they're rewarded for paying attention. They also see the players in their team who refuse to communicate and learn pretty quickly how to deal with them.
The most important aspect of the trial, however, is that it teaches players that the best way to get ahead in the game is to find a team and play rather than to look for an easy AFK farm or an exploit to abuse. Players get good experience and decent rewards for playing in the team setting. They're shown that all they need to do to have a good time is to be willing to play with others.
There are problems, as with any new mechanic. The biggest problem is, however, City of Heroes' longest standing retention issue: Variety. Since there is only one trial, players get sick of doing nothing but wading through the sewers... just like they'd get sick of Yet Another Warehouse, Yet Another Cave, and Yet Another Science Lab. We need about four more trials just like this one, but given different, exciting settings.
Also, it HURTS to see the LFG technology WASTED on just one mission, 1-49. Not only do the new players like the LFG queue, but Dr. Kane's House of Horrors shows that it's viable, at least on moderately populated servers. We need to hook the LFG queue up to the Signature Story Arcs, Cavern of Transcendence trial, and Positron's taskforces as soon as possible.
Good job, Developers, on DFB, but don't rest on your laurels or the new wealth of players will trickle through your fingers!