Or... they could remove some if not all of the NPC shifts from the later trials. Rather than keeping them as-is, devs wondering 'why do you keep running BAF/Lambda?', and having to come up with ever less ingenious ways of "convincing" people to actually play the later ones only to have it upturned by simple farming tactics.
I don't see Incarnate sidekicking ever happening because then there'd be less incentive to do the cursed things for yourself. Remove some of the NPC shifts and then it'd be less do-or-die when it comes to player shifts.
When the DD trail was part of the DA arc set; I was one of the few who complained that new Incarnates fresh off DA's storyline might not even have their first shift and suggested removing the NPC shifts to make it a second entry-level arc for trials. During the beta MrCaptainMan (IIRC) organised some Alpha Tier 2 ONLY runs of the trial and while the mechanics were easy enough to overcome; the shifts crippled them at the second stage.
Take the NPC shifts away and make all the trials more favourable to being run.
Tyger (50), Mutation-Controller Mind/FF - oldest Mind/FF on Union
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Originally Posted by Dispari
I don't know why Dink thinks she's not as sexy as Jay was. In 5 posts she's already upstaged his entire career.
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Come on, Ty. Take your filthy common sense elsewhere, you know that doesn't belong here 
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Originally Posted by Zwillinger
GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.
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Originally Posted by Captain_Photon
NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.
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I would like to suggest again that a form of sidekicking be implemented for Incarnate trials. Many of the later trials are very difficult without level shifts, yet they remain an attractive alternative to low-incarnate players sick of BAF and Lambda and too impatient for the glacial pace offered by Dark Astoria. However, by joining these later trials, in large numbers these players can jeopardize the trials success.
So I would offer a solution not unlike the sidekicking mechanic present in the rest of the game: Simply determine the median amount of level shifts in play across the league, then give every player below that amount enough level shifts to bring them one level below that. In other words, if half or more of the league has 3 level shifts, anyone with less than 2 shifts will be brought up to +2. If more than half are +2 or more, but not +3, every player would be brought up to at least +1. Etc, etc.
I know the "sidekicked" players still wouldn't have the powerful abilities that come with your own level shifts, but they'd still be much more helpful than they would at their natural level, just like with sidekicking in regular content.
Issue 16 made me feel like this.
Warning: This poster likes to play Devil's Advocate.