Thoughts on 'DFB'

I got caught on my lie....

A week or so back, a RL friend I'd talked into joining had started getting addicted to the DfB. Doing nothing but DfB from 1-31 and the occasional teaming with my duo.

Got to the point, anytime we'd be running tips or radios' etc, half way through the mission he'd start whinning that we should run DfB for the better xp.

I ended up lying to him, that the rewards in fact decrease with higher levels...

So he got off the gravy train before real addiction set in. Keeping him from getting burned out. He recently ran it again and realized he was still getting good XP and called me on it.
I explained to him that he never would've branched out and learned his other powers and tactics etc, about outlevelling all the cool content (took him to Croatoa to show him what he'd skipped) and he ended up thanking me for freeing him from the rush rush mentality.

I think, aside from diminishing returns, there needs to be more communication that the game isn't just Q and re-Q.

As I see it, DFB is the BAF/Lambda of the low levels. Short, easy, with good rewards. The problem is, the 'other content' is the rest of the game, which we can't really tweak to match DFB's massive payouts.

I just think it's a mistake putting in so many Arch Villains worth so much XP so close together. They should just be elite bosses, with the biggest chunk of Exp for the Hyrda being attached to the badge.

The game has set how much effort and risk gives so much reward, DFB breaks that model hard and fast.

Another problem, explicit to the new players, is that it sets up the expectation (when coupled with the GM tutorial) that the game has you fighting larger than life things from the start.

Then they get out into the actual world and start taking on regular ol humans. I can see the confusion on their part. Having such an Epic opening and then going into a more mundane diet of regular bosses without the staging of a trial...

I have no solution though.

What regular ol humans are you talking about? The civilians in this game are invulnerable and push us around as if we didn't exist, and the NPC's we fight have the same powers we do, albeit in different combinations.

And there is a very simple solution. Mind our own dang business. They aren't breaking any rules or abusing any unfair exploits.

While some aspects of the DFB trial could probably use another look, the OP is correct that it does at least teach new players some important lessons about the game (which is more than the usual "just stand by the door or lay on the floor while the FotM farm character kills everything" does).

Look, nobody here can tell someone else how to play their game.
We all see the danger in DfB, like we saw with AE.

Truth is, i really don't care how u play, as long as you are happy.

BUT...
If your on my team, and u got a 50 by only doing DfB, don't know your toon and are hindering the team, i'll kick you off the team faster than you can say "No". I'll also place my 'brand' on you, making you very easy for me to spot, and not team up with.
Once people see what i see, and do what i do, you won't find a team for anything.

My take is I think it's fine as is and as 1 other poster pointed out; the devs will do what the devs will do if they feel something needs "fixing."

Actually, whilst I think for some vet players the DFB may be percieved as an issue, I mostly agree with Moo that this is good for the game.

So what if it gets run by some players over and again. Sooner or later they are going to realise that there's a lot more to this game than the DFB and having learned the mad skilz they need in DFB go out and find them.

I don't want to see too many other trials... and nothing that would lead on from 20+ because there's plenty of good content in the game to do now and the old content is good to visit from time to time too.

It's a very good way of introducing new players to the game and letting them learn the ropes easily and then expanding on that.

"You got to dig it to dig it, you dig?"
Thelonious Monk

Whatever criticisms can be made of Death from Below, I still find it much more fun to play through than any of the "incarnate" level trials.

Here are my problems with DfB:

There is no compelling reason for players to play other content. I love the story, I would play for the story alone. But to a new player, when you go from DfB to any other content, your xp goes to a crawl. Merits don't make up for it.

This leads to players playing the same mission over and over. DfB is fun, but eventually the fun tanks, and then what? Slower, less lucrative missions that have a 'story' that you have missed most of.

This will cause freebies to leave the game rather than VIP up. And that is a problem.

If things like DfB are going to be the core content of the game, then fine; we need more variety stat. If they are not, then we either need to up the rewards for whatever the core game experience is (Monty Haul) or nerf DfB.

IMHO: DfB should not award xp if your base level is too high, whatever that is (I would think 8; otherwise you level completely past King's Row).

I wonder if some better pop-up contacts would help. As a new player, wouldn't you be interested if Positron called you when you trained to level 10, and told you about his Task Force? I would be fine if the AE tutorial guy never bothered me again, though.

Sadly, just turning off DfB xp/kicking people out at level 8 solves one problem but creates another.

Problems I have directly observed with DfBabies:

- No idea how to communicate or what to communicate about. They still only have access to Help and Local. So they can ask in Help, where their question can get 'drowned out' (or replied to with a Tell that they don't know how to respond to). Or they ask in Local, where no one knows the answer because they are also all DfBabies.

- They don't know how to get to high level areas, so they stand around in Mercy, where their choices are another DfB or grey street mobs or Contacts they don't know how to find, who if they find them, will direct them to zones they don't know how to find. Asking about this in Help gets them laughed at, of course.

- No travel power; they haven't needed one. Now getting to the next mission is sloooow. "Air Superiority is a travel power, right?" And when they get there, the xps are slooow. And the Boss is tough, because...

- Pool Powers: Lots of DfBabies ignore taking more attacks or shields because they don't need them and can't use them. They take Leadership or other powers that sound cool because why not, having no idea when a situation is when they will be useful.

- No Inspirations: Sure, they have them, but have never used them. They won't even have the tray up, so they won't use them when needed. They have no idea that a heal is just sitting there waiting for them, let alone something that has a subtle effect like accuracy or defense.

- No Enhancements: No idea what to do even if you direct them to the enhancement screen, let alone that these are loot drops, that they can use some and not others, that they are more powerful than Gear in other games. That they can be bought or sold. That they wear out.

- Cannot get teams. Because everyone else is DfB-ing, because

...so you step out of fun, fast, Death from Below into this wierd, noisy yet silent world where you can't find teammates, Bosses are tougher than the Arch Villains you just fought, there is no loot, getting anywhere is slow, and there are buildings and chasms between you and your next 'quest' where you will be told you are too high level and sent to someone else you can't find.

...

Twinshot and Doctor Graves do not help with this.

You level past them, and even if you don't, they don't teach you how to get teams and their intro missions are almost devoid of xp. At least they do teach you that there are such things as glowies you sometimes need to find and to read dialogue.

...

Here is my suggestion:

During the Tutorial, you need to be given a choice before zoning into Atlas/Mercy; go to Twinshot/Doctor Graves for training in how to use your powers, move around the world, etc or go to DfB for training in Raiding.

When you hit EXIT to exit DfB, you should be given the choice of training missions again.

Even better would be a choice that directed you to a series of demos/cut scenes that directly showed you how to use the UI, explained about travel powers, Enhancements, stores, the Market, etc. But that will take time.

...

SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE

Naturally anything that is done will create lots of angry players who will ragequit the game (most of whom are free or preem so the bean counters won't notice, but it is still bad for the game).

The current situation is no way to retain Freems, let alone get them to VIP up.

As it is, they are going to DfB to 50, then go charging headlong Leeroy style into the first Raid they can find because they can LFG up for it. And this is without a clue as to Ouroboros, the Alpha Slot, etc which they can't get because they are still Freem aaaaghh ra54gequit.

Re the above post and not able to find contacts: TP to contact.