The new Solo-able incarnate drops
By
Agent White,
Posted on: 2012-03-09 15:36 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
Quote:
No, Wendy. You get three options, once per day, total.| Now I have a question... Once I complete all 6 arc taking a component as a reward each time am I allowed to go to the Ouro Portal and run them again taking merits? and then again taking 10 threads? All within the same 20 hour period where i am waiting for the component option to be available again???? |
If I've already run all 6:
Day 2, I run an arc, I get a component.
I then turn around and run either the same arc or another one, I can choose merit(2 astrals or 1 emp random.)
I can then run either the same arc or another one and get 10 threads.
That's it. The cap for ALL arcs in a 20 hour period is 1 component, 1 merit, 10 threads. After that, you might as well go do something else.
Be well, people of CoH.
Quote:
I just wanted to quote this for agreement. Well said. The arcs were a lot of fun, I don't want anyone to think I'm saying otherwise. They were great and a pleasure to play/ The rewards however, were disheartening when looking at the amount of farming needed to get anything over T2. I think It's great I have an option to get T2, it expands my character and it's fantastic. I'm one of those people however who strives for the best I can be without regard to what other people are doing. I want my character to be better because it can be. Being artificially limited because the devs think I shouldn't get access because I don't have time/inclination to play with 7-23 other people is frustrating.
|
Originally Posted by FourSpeed
I'll throw my nickel into the kitty as well.
First, I'm *very* pleased that there IS a solo path - it's a great start. Second, the story arcs were fabulous! Never has my character felt more epic and heroic than he did through those arcs, and "Saving Cimorora" hands-down kicked SSA's backside from here to eternity and back... Stopping the war singlehandedly (I naively went in alone) was incredible (it took me about an hour and I used every trick I could think of to do it). Wow! My squishy E3 Blaster felt pretty d*mn impressive after living through that! Followed by: Instant deflation when the reward was - a Common  For some numbers - My Blaster had Alpha, Judgement, and Interface already when he began the DA Journey - he was at 45% Lore and 65% Destiny. After running *all* of the DA arcs (virtually no street sweeping, unless a group was blocking the door), he had received 41 threads, a couple astrals, and he'd progressed to 68% and 88% on Lore and Destiny respectively. On each "Finale" I rolled the component -- 1 Uncommon, the remainder were all Common. I'm not sure how many missions comprise the full story line, but it's gotta be around 20. Enjoying the stories, that was several hours of time spent over a couple days. After finishing the last story (Excellent), I happened to see a BAF forming in DA, so I joined. Result? 6 Threads, 2 Astrals, a Common, and my Lore was at 88% (net 20% gain) -- for 20 mins of waiting (including a mistaken entry into the DD trial by the league Captain - ewps  ), and another 20 mins of actual effort.Some disparity, I fully understand - but this gap is a chasm... Further, even at 0/1, those DA missions were challenging - I could easily see where some characters might not even be able to solo the "solo" missions (It's interesting to note that most of them recommend "Bring Friends"). I think the increased Risk deserves better Reward, though I fully understand (and conceptually agree with) the need to balance between soloists, teams running DA content, and leagues running iTrials. It's early in the process, but I'd hope for some improvement there going forward. That said, the content itself, was some of the best I've seen to-date. Kudos to the writers! Regards, 4 |
Quote:
Not gonna happen |
Originally Posted by Bill Z Bubba
when the itrials become impossible to start.
|
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
Quote:
Only for some players |
Originally Posted by rsclark
Yes, by the developers' inability to make them more fun than hernia surgery.
|
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
Just throwing in my .02, since that's what the intarwebs is for.
I'm a very casual player that plays in streaks. I'm by nature an introvert, and solo much of my play time. I have one character with alpha unlocked, but not slotted. I've never run an i-trial.
I started DA content last night and had a lot of fun. Picked up something like 30% of the experience needed to unlock the first two slots after alpha, and haven't started Max yet. Picked up a handful of threads, no idea what to do with all these thingamajiggies. Picked up a comman and uncommon component, didn't feel like taking the time to figure out which ones would be best for me (god this system is confusing if you don't stay on top of things). Hopefully the ones I picked at random will benefit me if I ever get serious about building powers.
On the one hand; uncertainty about how to proceed (even with wiki help it's hard to figure out what rewards to take).
On the other hand, more progress in one night than I've made since the incarnate system went live. Of course that doesn't mean much.
Conclusion:
Orangutan.
Quote:
There's no team in MMO either.|
Originally Posted by Ronin_Edge
In my own slightly deluded opinion, I think the reason that the drop rates are so low is two-fold. 1) There's no Solo in MMO
|
Massively Multiplayer just means there are a lot of cats in the same box. There is nothing said about the presence, or lack, of a cat herder.
Quote:
If you already have some Commons built up, I'm finding the Merit roll (2 Astrals or 1 Empy) or 10 Threads to be the better option.|
Originally Posted by FourSpeed
On each "Finale" I rolled the component -- 1 Uncommon, the remainder were
all Common. |
Remember, 8 Empy = a rare, and I do have pretty good luck with the Astral/Empy roll.
Quote:
You're right; it doesn't matter why you can't run the trials.|
Originally Posted by Humility
Doesn't matter why I can't run the trials, just that I cannot. As such I should be denied the ability to advance my character?
|
Should you be denied the ability to advance your characters AT ALL? No, and you are not. Should you be denied the ability to advance as fast as people doing the trials? Now we look at the word "should". Pushing people to team is one of the most basic design decisions of this development team and game. Should it be that way? Everyone can have a different opinion on that. But it's been that way from day one. So, from the point of view of the original dev team and the current team, should solo advance more slowly than team? Yes.
Now, it looks like it was set a bit TOO slow. However, we have seen, and the devs have publicly stated, they prefer to introduce things conservatively and upgrade them after seeing how it goes, rather than starting off bold and nerfing later. We can be absolutely certain they are evaluating the rate of solo incarnate progress. Having said that, they may be perfectly happy with the way it is right now. Or not. We'll have an answer if they improve the iSolo experience.
Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
Quote:
I agree. The solo path should be slower. I don't have an issue with that. It's just that the gap is too wide right now. As you said, they'll be monitoring things and we'll see what they do. But expressing that opinion is one way to make sure they get some feedback.
|
Originally Posted by Ironblade
You're right; it doesn't matter why you can't run the trials.
Should you be denied the ability to advance your characters AT ALL? No, and you are not. Should you be denied the ability to advance as fast as people doing the trials? Now we look at the word "should". Pushing people to team is one of the most basic design decisions of this development team and game. Should it be that way? Everyone can have a different opinion on that. But it's been that way from day one. So, from the point of view of the original dev team and the current team, should solo advance more slowly than team? Yes. |
There could be some tweaks once they datamine the effects of DA on the live servers.
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
Quote:
I also agree progress should be slower but I am not ready to say this version is too slow. It's only been one week and I am pleased with the progress on my main character who is running the Heather arc 3x per day. I'm reserving judgement until I've accumulated a month's worth of components. merits and threads.|
Originally Posted by Humility
I agree. The solo path should be slower. I don't have an issue with that. It's just that the gap is too wide right now. As you said, they'll be monitoring things and we'll see what they do. But expressing that opinion is one way to make sure they get some feedback.
|
After 30 days that character will have at least:
30 components of various levels
30 assorted iMerits
300+ Threads.
At that time in mid April I will assess the inventory and see what can be crafted for the most favorable results.
(As someone who has on hand more than 250 unspent Alignment merits (40+ on 1 char; 30+ on 5 more chars; and more scattered on other chars) I think I have the patience to play this version of DA out over the long term to see just how good it can really be for the average solo player.)
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Wicked_Wendy
Figured I'd update.. Took my SJ/WP Brute and started the arc..
On Heather's I got 2 threads and the award table netted 1 common On Mu'Vorkon's I got 4 threads and the award table netted 1 common On Max's arc I got 2 threads and as mentioned there is no reward table On Duncan's I got 4 threads and again the award table gave me a common On a break for some dinner but so far I have managed 12 threads and 3 common components. Three common components is enough to slot one power to tier one so not bad. Now I have a question... Once I complete all 6 arc taking a component as a reward each time am I allowed to go to the Ouro Portal and run them again taking merits? and then again taking 10 threads? All within the same 20 hour period where i am waiting for the component option to be available again???? Could drasticaly increase the potential reward.. of course you have to have TIME to try and complete each arc 3 times in one day LOL  Oh I should add there does sem to be one other benefit to the arcs. Of late it seems like the trials don't drop a lot of normal salvage or recipes.. I suppose they decreased the rate since we are getting threads and components. Just doing these 4 arcs I had to head to the in zone store twice to unload enhancements, excess salvage and recipes. I managed to finish Praetors Duncan's arc with 379,279, 552 more in INF than when i started.. Yeah I got a purple recipe drop that sold for more than 300 million but that's my point. In MONTHS since I have been doing trials I can only recall getting one purple drop ... I've had 2 so far on different characters here in Dark Astoria. The progression toward incarnate may be slow but the available cash increases quick when all you finght are 50 level or higher! |
hehehe Okay updating the update...
on Sister Solaris' Arc I got 7 threads and the award table gave me an uncommon
On Dream Doctor's first arc I got 2 threads and the reward table gave me a common
On Dream Doctor's final arc I got 5 threads and the reward table gave another common
In all I was able to get 26 threads, 5 common and 1 uncommon component in my first run through the contacts. That would be enough to slot two powers to tier 1 with an uncommon and 6 thread left over Or slot one power to tier 2 without touching any of the threads. [for anyone not aware a tier 1 power requires 3 commons (either thru drops of built using 20 threads) and a tier 2 power requires 2 commons and 1 uncommon]...uncommons can be obtained through drops or built using 60 threads.
Real life followed by the short circuit (???) COH experienced last night forced me to finish up the 6th arcs, from Dream Doctor, today but I could have done all 6 yesterday.. I didn't keep track of the time invlved but I'd say it would required a good 3-4 hours soling. Tomorrow I plan to test just what all one can gain from a single arc run from Ouroborus.. I will do Heather's arc once for merits, once for a component, and once for the listed 10 thread end reward.
�We�re always the good guys. In D&D, we�re lawful good. In City of Heroes we�re the heroes. In Grand Theft Auto we pay the prostitutes promptly and never hit them with a bat.� � Leonard
�Those women are prostitutes? You said they were raising money for stem cell research!� � Sheldon
Quote:
I think the start of that sentence pretty much excludes you from being an average solo player.
|
Originally Posted by Fritzy
(As someone who has on hand more than 250 unspent Alignment merits (40+ on 1 char; 30+ on 5 more chars; and more scattered on other chars) I think I have the patience to play this version of DA out over the long term to see just how good it can really be for the average solo player.)
|
Quote:
Yes and they LOWERED the rates.
|
Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison
Did you guys voice these concerns in the beta? Or did they change the rates from beta to live?
|
Quote:
While twirling their moustaches.
|
Originally Posted by Infernus_Hades
Yes and they LOWERED the rates.
|
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
Quote:
Or there might not be - or unicorns could be the next vanity pet - or possibly you might be given the Title Miss Obvious.|
Originally Posted by Golden Girl
There could be some tweaks once they datamine the effects of DA on the live servers.
|
You must be a politician in that your ability to state the obvious with absolute certainty is unmatched.
Quote:
Fritzy we determined that it will take you somewhere in the realm of weeks to hours solo to iTrial.|
Originally Posted by Fritzy
I also agree progress should be slower but I am not ready to say this version is too slow. It's only been one week and I am pleased with the progress on my main character who is running the Heather arc 3x per day. I'm reserving judgement until I've accumulated a month's worth of components. merits and threads.
After 30 days that character will have at least: 30 components of various levels 30 assorted iMerits 300+ Threads. At that time in mid April I will assess the inventory and see what can be crafted for the most favorable results. (As someone who has on hand more than 250 unspent Alignment merits (40+ on 1 char; 30+ on 5 more chars; and more scattered on other chars) I think I have the patience to play this version of DA out over the long term to see just how good it can really be for the average solo player.) |
So roughly what you could get in 8 hours of trials will take you more than 8 weeks solo.
Quote:
The beta sequence was something like this.|
Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison
Did you guys voice these concerns in the beta? Or did they change the rates from beta to live?
|
- Wow, really slow, but hey, it's beta.
- Hey, these are pretty nice.
- Ouch, these aren't much better than (1).
Blue
American Steele: 50 BS/Inv
Nightfall: 50 DDD
Sable Slayer: 50 DM/Rgn
Fortune's Shadow: 50 Dark/Psi
WinterStrike: 47 Ice/Dev
Quantum Well: 43 Inv/EM
Twilit Destiny: 43 MA/DA
Red
Shadowslip: 50 DDC
Final Rest: 50 MA/Rgn
Abyssal Frost: 50 Ice/Dark
Golden Ember: 50 SM/FA
How do the overall drops compare to Vanguard Merits through repeatables vs. the Mothership raids?
Assuming that, repeatables in DA are comparable to those in the RWZ and Mothership raids are somewhat comparable to Incarnate Trials.
Maybe a better question is, should they be comparable?
Quote:
I don't know if that's intended, but a similar thing happened for us in a duo. There was no prompt to 'complete the same mission', and both members of the duo got the option of components on the first run.
|
Originally Posted by Rodion
I noticed the following: a friend and I were doing Heather's arc in sync. When we got to her last arc mission I got the drop table (and got a common). My friend got only a thread/merit choice like the repeatables (no salvage choice). He also didn't get the prompt to complete his mission along with mine, and was forced to leave it unfinished.
So we did the mission again for him. At the end he got the regular drop table, and so did I (got another common). That surprised me, as I expected to be limited by the 20-hour limitation. What is the correct behavior here? Can you get a salvage roll every time you're on a team that completes the last mission of an arc run from a contact in DA? Or was my getting two pieces of iSalvage doing the last mission back-to-back a glitch? In particular, can a team of 8 players do the first three missions of the DA arcs together, then do each of their final missions one after the other to get 8 components in a day? And is that the intended behavior? |
One forum name, two members: Molly Hackett & Heliphyneau.
AE arcs:
27327 - Enter the Homunculi
176837 - Homunculi 2: Tectonic Boogaloo -- UPDATED
Quote:
The drop rate is garbage. The missions are Ok, and its nice to have something to do with an incarnate. If I really minded the itrials, then it would be a problem. But soloing to get your incarnate stuff at this rate in a game whose bread and butter is making alts? It's nothing but bad.
|
Originally Posted by graystar_blaster
I am totally fine with the rate. Its great. I love it and its great fun and these are the best missons i think you ever put out.
I wonder what you all think. yes it could be higher but its high enough for me. Yes it could be shorter but its just long enough for me. please let me know your thoughts. |
All I know is that I started with only my Alpha slot unlocked and it was empty. After running all 6 arcs and their respective non-combat contact stories I managed to build and slot a single power and got my Judgment and Interface slots to 37% from 0. At this rate I have to run all 6 story arcs about 2 more times to fully unlock those slots. That feels and sounds a lot like grinding. I don't know how anybody can run the same arc multiple times on one character. I rank it as just as ridiculously boring as reading the same book 3 times in a row. It doesn't matter how good the book is when you already know everything that's going to happen. It's just...tedious. Frankly, I'm disappointed with DA right now. I was hoping for better.
your = Belonging to you.
you're = Contraction meaning "You are."
Ur = The name of an ancient Mesopotamian city.
ur = This is not a word.
Quote:
Professor Wendy here with the final data from her experiment. hehehe|
Originally Posted by Wicked_Wendy
hehehe Okay updating the update...
on Sister Solaris' Arc I got 7 threads and the award table gave me an uncommon On Dream Doctor's first arc I got 2 threads and the reward table gave me a common On Dream Doctor's final arc I got 5 threads and the reward table gave another common In all I was able to get 26 threads, 5 common and 1 uncommon component in my first run through the contacts. That would be enough to slot two powers to tier 1 with an uncommon and 6 thread left over Or slot one power to tier 2 without touching any of the threads. [for anyone not aware a tier 1 power requires 3 commons (either thru drops of built using 20 threads) and a tier 2 power requires 2 commons and 1 uncommon]...uncommons can be obtained through drops or built using 60 threads. Real life followed by the short circuit (???) COH experienced last night forced me to finish up the 6th arcs, from Dream Doctor, today but I could have done all 6 yesterday.. I didn't keep track of the time invlved but I'd say it would required a good 3-4 hours soling. Tomorrow I plan to test just what all one can gain from a single arc run from Ouroborus.. I will do Heather's arc once for merits, once for a component, and once for the listed 10 thread end reward. |
Okay today I went to my bases Ouro Portal and selected Heather's Arc (its short and easy to finish quickly solo)
First run through I got 3 threads and took the option for merits.. gaining 2 Astals
Second run though I got 5 threads and took the option for a component .. gaining an uncommon
The option to take merits was unavailable but I did still have the option to take 10 threads so I am more than willing to assume I could run the arc a third time at get a reward of 10 additional threads. So I ran heather's arc twice and wound up with 8 threads, 2 Astrals and an uncommon component.. all in a little over an hour soloing with +0/X1.
From other threads here I see no reason to increase the difficulty when doing these .. in fact some pepople have stated you can DROP the diff to -1 and still get the same rewards so if its the rewards you seek WHY torture yourself? Drop rates for threads are probably tied to # of mobs defeated (at least to some extent) so if your team, or you solo can handle X2, X3 or X4.. you are probably going to see more thread drops and if your trying to earn IXP .. the more you defeat the more you earn.
So you have 6 repeatable arcs that can award merits, components and threads every day along with the threads tyou earn running them. There are other advantages .. BADGERS.. I was able to get all but the badge for defeating 50+ level COT by completing the 6 arcs. Each arc itself awards a badge and by completing all of the contact SOLO story missions you can get those 6 badges as well.
Have fun.. now on to my next project! lol
�We�re always the good guys. In D&D, we�re lawful good. In City of Heroes we�re the heroes. In Grand Theft Auto we pay the prostitutes promptly and never hit them with a bat.� � Leonard
�Those women are prostitutes? You said they were raising money for stem cell research!� � Sheldon
On the UStream broadcast today, Positron said that there are some upcoming tweaks that will make the solo progress rate slightly faster.
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
I ran all of the arcs on my SoA and took merits at the end of each rather than components... That wasn't too bad I got emps twice and astrals for all the others and averaged at 3-4 threeads per arc. Now my crab has teir 4s in everything so it was just an experiment but if I'd cash in the Astrals and Emps for threads I'd have about 80-90 threads and that would slot one power to tier 1 and start a second.
DA is quickly becoming THE trial zone on Virtue mainly because it allows us to roam the streets huntng for threads between trials.. and aside from a crafting table everything you had in the RWZ is right there by the hospital.. inspirations (see the combat nurse in the Hospial lobby), Merit vender, enhancement store, and access to bases. About the only thing missing is quick access to the market .. Villain side all you had to do was step out into Cap and Hero side got to FF and quickly take the train to Talos. Of course I have /auctionhouse available so its been a while since any amrket actually saw me. lol
Maybe today i'll run the arcs with a Brute and see what sort of drops I get.
Figured I'd update.. Took my SJ/WP Brute and started the arc..
On Heather's I got 2 threads and the award table netted 1 common
On Mu'Vorkon's I got 4 threads and the award table netted 1 common
On Max's arc I got 2 threads and as mentioned there is no reward table
On Duncan's I got 4 threads and again the award table gave me a common
On a break for some dinner but so far I have managed 12 threads and 3 common components. Three common components is enough to slot one power to tier one so not bad. Now I have a question... Once I complete all 6 arc taking a component as a reward each time am I allowed to go to the Ouro Portal and run them again taking merits? and then again taking 10 threads? All within the same 20 hour period where i am waiting for the component option to be available again???? Could drasticaly increase the potential reward.. of course you have to have TIME to try and complete each arc 3 times in one day LOL
Oh I should add there does sem to be one other benefit to the arcs. Of late it seems like the trials don't drop a lot of normal salvage or recipes.. I suppose they decreased the rate since we are getting threads and components. Just doing these 4 arcs I had to head to the in zone store twice to unload enhancements, excess salvage and recipes. I managed to finish Praetors Duncan's arc with 379,279, 552 more in INF than when i started.. Yeah I got a purple recipe drop that sold for more than 300 million but that's my point. In MONTHS since I have been doing trials I can only recall getting one purple drop ... I've had 2 so far on different characters here in Dark Astoria. The progression toward incarnate may be slow but the available cash increases quick when all you finght are 50 level or higher!
�We�re always the good guys. In D&D, we�re lawful good. In City of Heroes we�re the heroes. In Grand Theft Auto we pay the prostitutes promptly and never hit them with a bat.� � Leonard
�Those women are prostitutes? You said they were raising money for stem cell research!� � Sheldon