City of Heroes: Live Forum Archive

Biggest Incarnate Content Issue

Ad Astra

By Ad Astra,
Posted on: 2011-12-20 18:56 in CoH and CoV General Discussions

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Celestial_Lord View Post
Personally, I find it rather inconsiderate to join even a BAF or Lambda Trial unlevelshifted.
I got my latest Alpha shift after like two Trials. No way in hell am I going to grind Shards/WST for that ever again.

 

Posted

I like the new trials a lot.

Its unfortunate that I have to run my lvl 53s to contribute and have a good time though. They dont even need the increased rewards, there's no incentive for me to run them other than for the fun of it. That's not enough when this system was billed as a way to progress my 50s.

My up and comming Incarnates would love the rewards... the 60 thread boost, the better rare and very rare drop rates... and even more than that because I'm so freaking sick of BAFs and Lambdas I wouldnt mind never running one again. Unfortunately taking anything less than a 53 at best doesnt contribute much to the leagues success... and at worse actually hinders it.

Honestly, if they nerfed the rewards for the TPN and MoM and removed the level shifts so my unfinished incarnates have more to do, I'd be all for it.

 

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Darth_Khasei View Post
I never said what you wrote and you automatically assumed I would just want to stand there, which is in fact absurd and is only stated by you in an attempt to minimize the facts I stated.

That's cool mate. It does not address the issue regarding the absurdity of the gimmicks, but I guess it makes you feel better to say that stuff I did not say.....
So, you don't want to stand still, but you don't want to be forced to move either?

How would you go about it then?

I vastly prefer the current trial mechanics over the standard tank and spank snore fest.

The Apex TF, the MoM iTrial, Keyes iTrial (final fight) are my top 3 most fun things to do on a high level character in this game.

@True Metal
Co-leader of Callous Crew SG. Based on Union server.

 

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Originally Posted by Kisana View Post
The "gimmicks" as you put them - ie having to MOVE out of melee cos of the rings in BAF, and having to MOVE away from *gasp* pink that grows in MoM, and of course all the other "gimmicks" that make you have to "watch - react and move" suggest that you prefer to stand still and fight
No they don't, that's you assuming or just saying that to make it look like that is what is meant, which is the standard internet silliness.

The issue is not about having to move with the rings at all, the issue is "why" was this type of mechanic introduced? If the reason is to get people to react, there is plenty to react to with the various groups of bosses appearing in mass from various directions etc... and frankly it should have stopped there.

It didn't and we had a further progression of this mechanic with the green hold and kill patches in the Keyes trial along with a damage pulse from hell that has some thematic basis, but of course was nerfed to a reasonable level. The way it was people were dying from this and that should never be the reason people die in a TF or trial...it was insane.

As I stated the rings are something that is not overly done in the BAF, but it set them down the road of what I consider a much more serious issue that has us with the MOM. The growing blob like pink rings of death that just "seem" to magically appear under you growing mid attack "rooting" you just long enough for the DOT of Death(another over harsh damage pulse like mechanic) to kill you.

I won't even get into the babysitting deal you they have going in several trials now since that is an old weaksauce gaming mechanic devs have fallen back on for going on three decades now...

I have completed the MOM and UG a few times each, but never had fun or felt like I would like to run them on a regular basis. The fails on those trials in particular has always felt like a loss to the mechanics and not the trials themselves. I have not had that feeling with any other content in the five years of playing this game until those trials.

I am not close to the only one that feels this (in game not the forums) and it is something that the devs can learn from or go further down the mechanic path, further alienating and fragmenting the very people they say they want to play together.

The development team and this community deserved better than this from NC Soft. Best wishes on your search.

 

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Originally Posted by TrueMetal View Post
So, you don't want to stand still, but you don't want to be forced to move either?

How would you go about it then?

I vastly prefer the current trial mechanics over the standard tank and spank snore fest.

The Apex TF, the MoM iTrial, Keyes iTrial (final fight) are my top 3 most fun things to do on a high level character in this game.

As I stated you are forced to react already with the BAF and the bosses coming at you from various directions. If the league does not move and react to them it can and has lead to cascade fail as it should.

In terms of what I would do, I would use my data mined information on the TF's that have been there for years and see what people liked about the ones that the majority of people ran the most. I would remove the level shifted AV's from the new trials as it serves as nothing more than a catalyst for fragmentation of the player base.

The devs could stand to do what other companies have when faced with what I see as a slight disconnect with the larger player base and use brief specific focus surveys. They spend a tremendous amount on the BETA server and also do e-mails. I think a brief e-mail survey or even a focus group could really help the devs reconnect with the wider player base outside of the forums.

Failing to do this will lead to further disconnect and further player base fragmentation and none of us want that.

The development team and this community deserved better than this from NC Soft. Best wishes on your search.

 

Posted

There have been some great contributions so far. The problem is that level shifts and incarnate abilities are a proxy for the previous advancement that we have made from 1-50. We now get new new powers and increased combat potential (levels) in a different fashion, through crafting abilities with salvage received from Incarnate level content. If the trials are going to have an upward progression in difficulty, then a combination of reward incentives, game mechanics, and hard or soft gating needs to take place for this to succeed. Some suggestions:

  • 1- Move the level shifts to Judgement/Interface tier 1. (Oedipus Tex)

I like this suggestion a lot, but it seems to trivialize the level shifts which are arguably the most powerful attribute granted thus far. I would suggest combining this with a more linear progression: grant +1 level shift at tier 1 Alpha; grant +1 level shift at tier 2 Judgement or Interface; grant +1 level shift at tier 3 Lore or Destiny. This is a much more linear progression, and achieving a +2 level shift requires a bit of effort but comes in short order.


  • 2- Remove level shifted AVs from the harder trials (various posters)

I am not sure how I feel about this. I think the AVs on harder trials need to have level shifts in order to make them difficult. Do you know how fast Maurader dies if you can bug him to stand still? I have been on leagues that have beat him in less than 15 seconds. The same goes for poor Siege and Nightstar when facing a league with even just a handful of level 53 Incarnates.


  • 3- Allow players to see all level shifts, not just Alpha, when forming a League (Mokalus)

This absolutely needs to happen, and it is what I would call "soft gating." While I agree that having an elitist attitude is not proper, the health of the incarnate trial progression depends on a proper risk-versus reward ratio. You can't have scaling difficulty as the trials progress into the future with a league comprised of level 50 or 51 characters contributing nothing against a 56 AV. That inevitably leads to the downward spiral that we have right now on some servers, where BAF and LAM are run almost exclusively.

Allow the league leaders to properly soft gate the upper tier trials if they want to. Not everyone has to be level 53, but right now there is no way to tell whether a character skipped their alpha and is level 52 in trials, or whether another character is 51, 52, or 53 when the do have their Alpha slotted. We simply have no clue until we are in the trial.


  • 4- Improve the Team Up Teleporter

I think this has to happen no matter what. First and foremost, players should be able to see the pool of available characters waiting for each respective trial or in the general "take anything" pool. Harder incarnate content should probably be hard gated by level shifts or a minimum overall league combat level to start, unless you want a league of 50s and 51s going up against a level 56 AV.

 

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Originally Posted by Darth_Khasei View Post
I have completed the MOM and UG a few times each, but never had fun or felt like I would like to run them on a regular basis. The fails on those trials in particular has always felt like a loss to the mechanics and not the trials themselves.
I used to feel the same way, and then I started to pay attention to the overall combat potential of each respective league that either failed or succeeded.

Almost universally, successful trials had higher level incarnate shifted characters while failed trials has a glut of level 50s. This reveals several aspects that are key to success. First, the majority of your league needs to be able to properly contribute damage against scaled enemies. Second, the newer trials rely on proper use of of your powers, and not having Judgement, Lore, or Destiny on a great many players severely hinders the league. Third, higher level characters have more experience with the Incarnate trials and generally (but not always) listen better and coordinate with each other becuase of their increased experience with the game mechanics.

 

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I really think the level shifts beyond Alpha make soft gating a serious issue with ramifications possibly not being considered fully. Right now some servers have a bit of an issue getting together 16-24 people for the trials now. Imagine how that could effect things as you go up that ladder and the pool of potential teammates decreases.

I understand the sentiment behind the idea, I just think in practical terms fragmentation of the populous of incarnates is not a good idea.

The development team and this community deserved better than this from NC Soft. Best wishes on your search.

 

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Originally Posted by JuliusSeizure View Post
I used to feel the same way, and then I started to pay attention to the overall combat potential of each respective league that either failed or succeeded.

Almost universally, successful trials had higher level incarnate shifted characters while failed trials has a glut of level 50s. This reveals several aspects that are key to success. First, the majority of your league needs to be able to properly contribute damage against scaled enemies. Second, the newer trials rely on proper use of of your powers, and not having Judgement, Lore, or Destiny on a great many players severely hinders the league. Third, higher level characters have more experience with the Incarnate trials and generally (but not always) listen better and coordinate with each other becuase of their increased experience with the game mechanics.
Incarnate fragmentation is not a good thing for the game IMHO.

The development team and this community deserved better than this from NC Soft. Best wishes on your search.

 

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Darth_Khasei View Post
Incarnate fragmentation is not a good thing for the game IMHO.
That makes no sense. Levels 1-50 are already fragmented by hard gating on trials (level requirements) and level ranges for enemies.

Should a fresh level 50 character be able to go fight Cole or the Hamidon without a hitch once the trials progress to that point? That would trivialize everything-- story, power progression, rewards, and the complete end game.

 

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Originally Posted by JuliusSeizure View Post
That makes no sense. Levels 1-50 are already fragmented by hard gating on trials (level requirements) and level ranges for enemies.

Should a fresh level 50 character be able to go fight Cole or the Hamidon without a hitch once the trials progress to that point? That would trivialize everything-- story, power progression, rewards, and the complete end game.
I was not talking about levels 1-50. I was talking about the fragmentation of "incarnates" further from "other" incarnates. Sorry if what I said was not clear on that point.

The development team and this community deserved better than this from NC Soft. Best wishes on your search.

 

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Darth_Khasei View Post
I was not talking about levels 1-50. I was talking about the fragmentation of "incarnates" further from "other" incarnates. Sorry if what I said was not clear on that point.
It was clear, and I merely used 1-50 as an analogy for 50-53+ that we have so far in the Incarnate trials. These Incarnate powers and level shifts really are just a proxy for regular powers and levels. We even have our own iXP that applies to these abilities. I don't see how hard gating is fine for 1-50, but needs to stop for levels 50+ and something as simple as effective soft gating is anathema to gameplay.

Your thoughts about smaller servers are spot on and should really be addressed by a comprehensive cross server Team Up Teleporter. I personally would much rather log in and have access to the entire CoH population than be relegated to Freedom, which already has a large population.

 

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Originally Posted by JuliusSeizure View Post
  • 1- Move the level shifts to Judgement/Interface tier 1. (Oedipus Tex)
  • 2- Remove level shifted AVs from the harder trials (various posters)
I would first do the second bullet point, and then would actually go completely counter to the first by removing the level shift from the third tier across the board and make you have to get a t4 to get the shift. As part of "removing level-shifted AVs" I'd remove the level 54 bump on anything but the AVs because the whole concept of "The Well powers Tyrant who somehow powers up the entire freaking world" is stupid; use the leader's difficulty setting and you can still have +4s, and make them ignore the -1. Challenge can be created through power choice or specific mechanics instead of just "lol moar lvls = moar hp + dmg!"

Now a t3 Incarnate can use their powers to wade through mobs but still will struggle against the +4 AVs; it also puts an incentive on getting t4 and doesn't unnecessarily penalize a "new" Incarnate who is joining a trial without anything unlocked.

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Originally Posted by PleaseRecycle View Post
it has gone from unconscionable to downright appalling that we have no way of measuring our characters' wetness.
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Originally Posted by Brillig View Post
It's hard to beat the entertainment value of Whackjob Wednesdays.

 

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I think it is a Good Thing that so many players are willing to run BAF and Lambda so much these days because it gives newly minted Incarnates a chance to build up their slots like the rest of us +3's did. When I got started with the whole Incarnate system a month or so ago, I was a little frustrated by the prevalence of speed runs which do little but make most newbies turn away from the Incarnate system as being "not for them." The sad thing is that has little to do with the system itself and more to do with the been-there-done-that position of most veteran Incarnates. I am grateful for the handful of league leaders out there who make a point of leading these trials for newbies, explaining everything along the way, rather than just assuming everyone knows what to do (which is a dumb assumption given that most of the gimmicky mechanics are seen nowhere else in the game, so familiarity with them is unattainable before reaching the iTrials).

BAF and Lam are the easiest and quickest for the rewards they give. Keyes has perhaps the best balance of time-vs-reward of all the trials. UG has excellent rewards but takes a long time and is easily failed unless the league is totally on the ball. MoM is almost a waste of time, IMO, because its rewards are slightly below that of Keyes but is riddled with gimmick mechanics that I suspect annoy most players. It has gotten to the point where I see more notifications of "Nightmare farming for badge in MoM" runs than actual MoM trial runs.

I think the popularity of any given trial will always, ultimately, correspond to the perceived cost-vs-reward ratio (cost is usually measured in terms of playing time). Right now BAF, Lam, and even Keyes yield the highest ratios, and it shows in the number of trial runs you see.

NOR-RAD - 50 Rad/Rad/Elec Defender - Nikki Stryker - 50 DM/SR/Weap Scrapper - Iron Marauder - 50 Eng/Eng/Pow Blaster
Lion of Might - 50 SS/Inv/Eng Tanker - Darling Nikkee - 50 (+3) StJ/WP/Eng Brute - Ice Giant Kurg - 36 Ice/Storm Controller

 

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Originally Posted by JuliusSeizure View Post
Right now, more than ever, it feels like the BAF and LAM trials are run over-and-over incessantly. Perhaps it is just on my server, Freedom, which has a community of players that are content to farm. But maybe the issue is more widespread.

The first two weeks following the release of the Media Blitz update were wonderful because of the diversity of trials that were departing. I was able to join plenty of teams that would run TPN and MOM, and both Keyes and UG had a serious uptick as well. However, it now appears that my server is once again locked in a familiar rut: BAF-BAF-BAF-SLAM-BAF-SLAM. And this leads me to the biggest problem with the trials:
  • 1- People are content to run BAF and Lambda because the reward ratio still seems to favor them.
  • 2- Far too often when a MOM, Underground, or TPN gets organized there is a glut of level 50 characters that join aboard to either experience something new, or to leech the increased rewards from higher tier trials, and both motivations invariably cause a disproportionate amount of these trials to fail. This happens despite requests for characters to be level shifted to +2 minimum.
  • 3- Point #2 above creates a loop of failed trials and frustrated players that reinforces the habits of point #1.

There was a proposal on Beta server to lessen the rewards of BAF and LAM at some point in a character's career and force them to move up the Incarnate content food chain so that they could properly progress. Oh how I wish this had happened. The more difficult trials NEED characters that have developed to a certain point of power in the incarnate system to properly contribute, but there is a chasm between the current state of Incarnate content and where it needs to be for a healthy end game. What should be a linear progression towards more difficult trials with the option to return to older content has become an incessant grind fest of the easiest content at the detriment of gaming experience and long term VIP retention.

Is there any way to fix this?
Re: Point #1, there are more lv50s that need their initial incarnate powers than lv53s that need a rare or very rare component to upgrade to tier four. It's the same reason MMOs always seem to add a disproportionate amount of content to the mid-low level range: that's where most of the players are. You're seeing so many Lambdas and BAFs because there are more characters under +2 than there are over it. A quick fix would be to simply scrap the level shift system, but that would take some of the shiny out of the incarnate system.

Point #2 could be helped by increasing the rare component drop rate or offering a bonus reward (say, that bundle of 60 threads threads on the TPN) only to more developed incarnates. If the special rewards on the harder trials are only available to players with three level shifts, less developed incarnates will be less likely to clamor for pity spots on those trials. (And let's be real: outside of buff-heavy classes, the purple patch puts a serious dent in contributions from characters at -4 . When you fall to -6, that .15 combat mod means you're effectively Vengeance fodder.)

PenanceжTriage

 

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Originally Posted by JuliusSeizure View Post
It was clear, and I merely used 1-50 as an analogy for 50-53+ that we have so far in the Incarnate trials. These Incarnate powers and level shifts really are just a proxy for regular powers and levels. We even have our own iXP that applies to these abilities. I don't see how hard gating is fine for 1-50, but needs to stop for levels 50+ and something as simple as effective soft gating is anathema to gameplay.

Your thoughts about smaller servers are spot on and should really be addressed by a comprehensive cross server Team Up Teleporter. I personally would much rather log in and have access to the entire CoH population than be relegated to Freedom, which already has a large population.
Incarnates is a smaller population of the overall VIP population is my point. To then slice that up even further is not a good idea for any reason IMHO. "IF" they were going to do a cross server for incarnates that would cut down on that as an issue. I have always disliked the fact that we are not all in one world like EVE.

The development team and this community deserved better than this from NC Soft. Best wishes on your search.

 

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Originally Posted by JuliusSeizure View Post
  • 3- Allow players to see all level shifts, not just Alpha, when forming a League (Mokalus)
...

Allow the league leaders to properly soft gate the upper tier trials if they want to. Not everyone has to be level 53, but right now there is no way to tell whether a character skipped their alpha and is level 52 in trials, or whether another character is 51, 52, or 53 when the do have their Alpha slotted. We simply have no clue until we are in the trial.


  • 4- Improve the Team Up Teleporter

I think this has to happen no matter what. First and foremost, players should be able to see the pool of available characters waiting for each respective trial or in the general "take anything" pool. Harder incarnate content should probably be hard gated by level shifts or a minimum overall league combat level to start, unless you want a league of 50s and 51s going up against a level 56 AV.
Welcome to GearScore-land. It did wonders for the 800lb gorilla's community.

Once your IncarnateScore is validated a casual will be round to collect your coat and offer you your complimentary l33t-sauce, don't tip him though, it will only make him feel like he is worth something.

 

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Originally Posted by SupaFreak View Post
There's no tolerance for 50s or (+1)s present in my experience on the new iTrials and when the lower tier Incarnates are present... I never felt that was the reason (whether I was the lower tier or not) we failed.
I think they should just go back to the idea of SSK and make everyone -1 to the highest level shift on the trial, so everyone provides a similar contribution to the trial. Having some people do 3x more damage because they are level shifted more makes for a disparity between contribution.

It wasn't really fun back when we had people SK'd at -4 to the team and it isn't really fun now, the -4s feel like they cannot contribute as much as they'd like or that they are leeching. Everyeone should be able to contribute to the league's success equally. But it is too late for that.

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Current Team Project: Pending

 

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Originally Posted by Celestial_Lord View Post
Personally, I find it rather inconsiderate to join even a BAF or Lambda Trial unlevelshifted. You're just making it harder on everyone else to succeed. It's not that hard to run three or four task / strike forces upon reaching Level 50 to get the parts you need to obtain a Tier 3 Alpha.
But people do, and will continue to do so, which is why level shifts are a bad idea. A level 50 of any AT can barely scratch an escaping prisoner as they charge towards the exit, and thus, they have to make several attacks to take one down, whereas a +3 will kill it in 2.

This can make leagues with not enough level shifted characters fail, even on a BAF. With large leagues, and most people not knowing each other, it's not a great dynamic to have some members contributing vastly more to a trial. Back when we used to have to do sidekick limbo, it usually wasn't a big deal if a couple people were -4 to the team, as the team could drag them along.

But super sidekicking (SSK) wonderfully made sidekicking a breeze and allowed everyone to simply 'play what they want' and participate based solely upon their powerset's abilities and enhancements, not their arbitrary 'combat level'. I would love to see someone like this added to the iTrials, but I suspect we've already 'built the cottage' here, so to speak. So, we simply have to police ourselves.

Now, I'm all about inclusion, and most iTrials (even the harder ones, don't require a 'vast' number of level shifts to succeed). The last MoM I was on that succeeded featured a league of almost entirely only +1 incarnates. But, there is a certain number of level shifts required to beat the combat level difference damage debuff (or whatever you call that) that causes you to do vastly level damage versus a +3 or +4 mob.

"Can I bring my unshifted level 50 on this underground trial?"

Sure, we'd love to have you, but uh...we do, as a whole, need a certain number of level shifted characters and/or Clarion to succeed.

And what that means is sometimes players will have to 'bring a higher tier' to ensure the success of a trial, and some will just be content with 'usually playing the lower tier' and allowing others to do the heavy lifting. I'd prefer if we just removed all level shifts and made each contribute equally, but they are there, and we just have to let the social dynamic of it all play out.

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

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by JuliusSeizure View Post
Right now, more than ever, it feels like the BAF and LAM trials are run over-and-over incessantly. Perhaps it is just on my server, Freedom, which has a community of players that are content to farm. But maybe the issue is more widespread.
BAFs and lambdas fail less. BAF and Lambda don't usually fail due to a single player not doing what is needed. I've talked to other trial runners (the good ones), and increasingly the desire is to avoid PUG groups entirely for the trials. We're starting to go back to doing ITFs or other content instead of any of the Incarnate Stuff.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JuliusSeizure View Post
The first two weeks following the release of the Media Blitz update were wonderful because of the diversity of trials that were departing. I was able to join plenty of teams that would run TPN and MOM, and both Keyes and UG had a serious uptick as well.
Heck, on Triumph we didn't get that far, and now it is beginning to look like players will have to wait till Issue 22 to make significant Incarnate progress at all on Triumph.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JuliusSeizure View Post
  • 1- People are content to run BAF and Lambda because the reward ratio still seems to favor them.
  • 2- Far too often when a MOM, Underground, or TPN gets organized there is a glut of level 50 characters that join aboard to either experience something new, or to leech the increased rewards from higher tier trials, and both motivations invariably cause a disproportionate amount of these trials to fail. This happens despite requests for characters to be level shifted to +2 minimum.
  • 3- Point #2 above creates a loop of failed trials and frustrated players that reinforces the habits of point #1.
I called that back in late October. I told people so.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JuliusSeizure View Post
There was a proposal on Beta server to lessen the rewards of BAF and LAM at some point in a character's career and force them to move up the Incarnate content food chain so that they could properly progress. Oh how I wish this had happened.
So you wanted to go from people mainly doing BAF/Lambda to very few doing the trials at all? Good luck with convincing the developers to do that.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JuliusSeizure View Post
What should be a linear progression towards more difficult trials with the option to return to older content has become an incessant grind fest of the easiest content at the detriment of gaming experience and long term VIP retention.
The problem is that the trials have progressed, but the players haven't. In other words, the powers at the moment are geared to BAF/Lambda/New Keyes but not to UG/TPN/MoM. If you progress one side of the equation, you need to progress the other side as well.

UG/TPN/MoM difficulties are not balanced by the Incarnate Powers.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JuliusSeizure View Post
Is there any way to fix this?
Yes, change your expectations that the trials are only meant for the uber-leet.



Triumph: White Succubus: 50 Ill/Emp/PF Snow Globe: 50 Ice/FF/Ice Strobe: 50 PB Shi Otomi: 50 Ninja/Ninjistu/GW Stalker My other characters

 

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Originally Posted by Necrotron_RO View Post
I think they should just go back to the idea of SSK and make everyone -1 to the highest level shift on the trial, so everyone provides a similar contribution to the trial.
It's funny that you brought this up. While walking about town I thought that the best solution would be to implement SKing and LKing like it used to be. League and Team leaders could pair a level 50 with a level 53, thus bringing them up to level 52 for harder incarnate trials.

I agree that it would be nice for low level characters to contribute more harder icnarnate trials, but while level shifts are paramount, you also need all of the potential granted by the skills themselves. Having an entire league Super SK/LK up to 52 just because a lone level 53 is on the trial won't work all that well.

 

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Originally Posted by Snow Globe View Post
Yes, change your expectations that the trials are only meant for the uber-leet.
I don't think anything that I have posted in this thread is about creating an UBER-leet divide. My only expectation is that trials should function better than they currently are. Team content 1-50 was hard gated behind level requirements for Task Forces and Trials. So is each tier of content 1-50 only meant for the uber-leet? If so then I guess my expectations have ben shaped by, oh I don't know, the entire darn game then.

Proper gating whether hard or soft is required for there to be a proper difficulty progression in these trials.

 

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Quote:
Originally Posted by JuliusSeizure View Post
Team content 1-50 was hard gated behind level requirements for Task Forces and Trials. So is each tier of content 1-50 only meant for the uber-leet? If so then I guess my expectations have ben shaped by, oh I don't know, the entire darn game then.
A TF that requires you to be level 25 will accept someone that has more purples than Barney as well as a 25 in TOs.

There isn't a 51,52, nor 53, there is 50+1,50+2,50+3. The character is 50. The character's enhancements make it +1, +2, or +3, so the entire darn game disagrees with you.

 

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Originally Posted by Ogi View Post
A TF that requires you to be level 25 will accept someone that has more purples than Barney as well as a 25 in TOs.

There isn't a 51,52, nor 53, there is 50+1,50+2,50+3. The character is 50. The character's enhancements make it +1, +2, or +3, so the entire darn game disagrees with you.
That's splitting hairs. Do you know how much the purple patch penalizes a player against anything greater than +4? Against a+5 or +6 enemy, anything except for a buff class might as well not even be there.

 

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Quote:
Originally Posted by JuliusSeizure View Post
It was clear, and I merely used 1-50 as an analogy for 50-53+ that we have so far in the Incarnate trials. These Incarnate powers and level shifts really are just a proxy for regular powers and levels. We even have our own iXP that applies to these abilities. I don't see how hard gating is fine for 1-50, but needs to stop for levels 50+ and something as simple as effective soft gating is anathema to gameplay.

Your thoughts about smaller servers are spot on and should really be addressed by a comprehensive cross server Team Up Teleporter. I personally would much rather log in and have access to the entire CoH population than be relegated to Freedom, which already has a large population.
There is NO HARD GATING in levels 1-50. Why? SSK.

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!