Update Apex and Tin Mage Task Forces

Just some idle thinking earlier. The Apex and Tin Mage taskforces are currently the only non-trial Team incarnate content but at the same time, they're not. They came out so early that they just aren't up to date with 'modern' incarnate goodies and they really didn't come out that long ago.

They were designed at a time when just the Alpha was out, so for instance you get the Alpha level shift and you have access to any higher incarnate slots but you get no Incarnate shifts from your T3 Lore/Destiny slots. The enemies are all Level 54 and, as far as I'm aware, award no iXP of any kind.

And the reward? A single Astral or a chunk of reward merits for something that's as long as a BAF/Lambda run. (Sometimes even longer depending how fast your server does SLAMs)

So as the 'initial Alpha Strike' these Taskforces just have not aged well in light of the trials and Dark Astoria and they're not even that old. As it is they're just kind of the fairly unloved middle stepchild of the lot, pretty much run -solely- when they're the Weekly Strike Target for a Notice of the Well. That just seems wrong for 'incarnate' taskforces.

So, what should be done? Well, the mobs are already the appropriate level, I don't know if they have the increased ToHit of standard Incarnate mobs but they could at least drop iXP for the trouble, maybe just one type per Task Force?

And bump the reward from one Astral to an Empyreal merit. Maybe set it up like the trials so doing badge requirements awards an astral? (even if you've got the badge). That last could be too much, but then Astrals already drop like candy these days, a few more I don't think are going to break the bank.

Though for level shifts, I could see a case for continuing to only allow the Alpha shift. I mean let's face it, the Task Forces aren't exactly hard and a full team of eight 50+3s could probably steamroll it harder than it already is. Then again, they'd probably just run a BAF/Lambda anyway >>

Just some food for thought. It just seems a shame that these two rather well done and fun task forces are kind of wedged into this limbo of 'incarnate but not really' content and could offer up a small team option for folks that want a lil more than Dark Astoria but a little less than a full on trial.

And just as a comparison, the rewards for every other end game task force award a common Shard component (worth FOUR astrals) or merits or the Synthetic Hami-O in the case of the Statesman/Recluse TFs, and for the most part those TFs all spawn 50-51 mobs (again, Statesman and Recluse the exceptions, without bumped difficulty settings).

Yeah it would be a nice change. I seem to recall last time it came up the official response form the Devs was that they didn't want to increase the rewards because then people would just farm them instead of farming the incarnate trials.

Yeah, recall that too, which is just absurd at this point. A single Emp for the reward would hardly break the bank and you could just as easily form a full team and do Dark Astoria missions, even repeatables, to farm both kinds of iXP in comparable quantities.

It simply isn't a valid reason anymore considering how the incarnate system has grown. And I just want to see more incarnate level task forces in addition to new trials and solo content, Apex and Tin mage are the first and last 50 only TFs in the game so far. That just doesn't seem right.

Agreed, good idea. I really enjoy these but typically only run them when they are WSF, but would much more if iXP was attached.

Oh, probably want to switch it over to a Thread drop event too. Or maybe keep it shards -and- include threads, as the only hybrid style event in the game atm.

The sewer trial wouldn't be a bad idea too, breath some old life into it.

Actually I'd love to see a Dark Astoria based TF too. Or at least some kind of zone event ala Adamastor, etc.