biostem

If the SCORE devs upped the XP and inf rates, but didn't raise the price of SOs, then it should be easier to afford them.

Well, one can simply sell stuff on the AH and buy elsewhere with the inf they gained - no need to compete for buys. Maybe have story arcs and such grant generic IOs that never expire anyway, instead of TOs/DOs/SOs, or grant a piece of orange salvage which sells for a good chunk of inf.

The only issue is that generic IOs don't provide as good a bonus as same-level SOs until around level 30 or so, which is why I think @Rudra's suggestion of them bottoming-out at -3 levels would probably be best. That would still incentivize using better generic IOs or keeping your enh's even level or higher, while not fully penalizing having some old ones.

I don't necessarily disagree with your points, but learning a game's systems is, well, part of the game. Not everyone is going to like every aspect of the game, and that's fine, but refusing to do so is at your own detriment and shouldn't be catered to.

Well, we have generic IOs for that. What I would like to see would be a sort of "floor", where enh's would never provide less than a certain bonus. Maybe not as good as said generic IOs, but beeter than losing everything...

I've seen a few players that want a support set, but don't care much for the blast sets that Defenders/Corruptors get. Some few will take the starting power and maybe the pet from the control set, with the rest being from pools and such.

I hear some of these arguments and it makes me think to practically every fantasy MMO, and trying to imagine players arguing that every drop should be a longsword because that's what their character uses. Don't get me wrong - having to grovel at the feet of RNGesus stinks, and I'm much more in favor direct currency awards instead. That's why my general advice is to slot generic IOs that are good enough, as they'll never expire and are origin-independent. I just don't see why we need to mess around with this aspect of the game, when it'd be much more productive to direct players to use the AH and/or sell what they don't need need and use whatever resources they do have to slot enh's in those areas/powers that are most critical...

The issue is that any such policy has to, by necessity, be malleable; You may be able to get a clever name, appearance, and/or bio that pay homage without going over the line, but others may not. One suggestion I've heard is to create your character, report yourself, and see what a GM has to say...

Right back at ya! The OG devs intended players to earn a certain amount of inf per level/time and priced enh's with that in mind. You haven't countered that. I acknowledge that you and others have made claims. None of them have proof to back them up, though.

I can think of at least 3 specific cases: 1. No other way to get the whip attacks besides rolling a demon MM. 2. While you can get the bug/bird attacks in savage assault for dominators, if you wanted those attacks paired with a support set, a beast MM is the only way to go. 3. If you want the special dark blasts that can summon ghosts, a necro MM is the only way to go.

You certainly voiced your opinion. Defended it? Not so much. Your claim that my argument is "terrible" doesn't make it so. Prove that the INTENT was to be fully slotted at all times after level 20. You haven't and you can't. As I've stated over and over again, they had ample opportunity to do so. Why didn't they, if that was their intent? If you are going to simply disregard the OG devs' intent, then why value any of their design decisions?

Incorrect. It only requires that they have a reasonable sense of how the game that they created/worked on operates. If you want to counter that, I'm gonna need some actual proof. My proof, for like the umpteenth time, is they could have adjusted the reward & enh cost rate many many times, but they didn't, so they must have been satisfied with them.

I.E. you can't defend your position and so have to resort to ad homs.

That only proves that they want you to know where to get enh's, not that you should be fully slotted at all times, from level 20 on. That's like saying you are supposed to take each and every power form your primary and secondary, because they provide them in the powersets, or because you can take 4 power pools means you should. Yeah... it's not like there are multiple guides on how to build wealth in-game or anything...

And it doesn't mean they don't like it, either. The proof, as I already stated, is that they had many years to adjust the rewards or lower the prices to permit players to readily slot all their enh's, if that is what they wanted. They didn't therefore they didn't intend to do so. My position is based upon how the game is. You are positing something that has no basis in fact.

Where's the proof? Demonstrate that the devs intend you to be fully slotted at levels 20+. You haven't...

I never said the devs were infallible, so stop trying to position me like I did. What we do know is they had ample opportunity to adjust the inf/xp rates or TO/DO/SO costs, but never did. Evidence points to them being satisfied with said reward rates, which entails players not being able to fully slot their enhancements at all levels, full stop.

You argued intent. I countered it. End of story. Now provide PROOF that players were intended to be fully slotted from levels 20+...

Sure they are - we went from discussing intent to discussing how you can disable XP when you couldn't before and such. The the other poster mentioned intent, and that's what I addressed. Who said the OG devs were infallible? They set the inf/XP earn rates and the enh costs. If you want to argue that was a miscalculation, that's fine. My argument is they had multiple years to adjust it and didn't. instead, they added the invention system with enh's that never expired...

Move the goal posts much? I never really dealt with the full morality paths, so I can't comment on those. I also don't disable XP, so I can't speak to that. Again, though, you are trying to change the topic. There are many ways to earn enough info to fully kit yourself out, if that's what you want. You just don't want to have to do any of them. That's fine, but don't then complain that your preferred method of inf generation isn't working out for you.

My source is the inf granted by defeats/mission completions vs the cost of DOs/SOs, as set by the OG devs. If they wanted you to be fully slotted at all times, (at least 20+), then they would have adjusted their costs or the rewards accordingly. Obviously they didn't do that, so their intent was that one NOT be fully slotted...

I'm gonna need to see a source for that claim. Clearly the OG devs had some calculation of what your typical 20+ character would earn, inf-wase, and priced DOs/SOs accordingly...

How dare you compare him to some 3rd-rate super-soldier program reject!!!

Maybe... maybe if they retained some benefit, even when they turned red, they'd be worthwhile at their regular cost. Lowering their price just makes them even more disposable, which, IMHO, isn't a good behavior to foster. As I've stated before, though, I think the notion that one ought to or should be fully slotted at all levels is also a misconception that should be abandoned.

Why exclude the AH, though? It's every bit a part of the game as any other. Frankly, buying DOs/SOs is a trap - it's a temporary buff at best, and a huge waste of inf at worst. Maybe a better solution, to alleviate this, would be to give DOs and SOs a sort of "floor", where even if they were way below your level, they'd still provide some buff to the power they're slotted in...