Logansan

Keep in mind that the Instance Mother Ship Raid was always designed for level 35+ players (as far as I'm aware). I really can't see any reason why it was changed, it's not as if getting to level 1 to level 35 is a major grind these days and there are other options to speed that process up. I'm normally against raid leaders been about to set gatekeeping options in games as that often lead to elitists attitudes, but in this case it makes perfect sense to change it back to how it was.

On some of my characters I don't get the chat message that tell me how many items are sitting in the Sold and Bought tabs on the Auction House every time I log in (even if there weren't items sold or bought since the last logon). On most of my characters this happens automatically by default and appears in the Global chat. I've search all of the settings in Options and can't find any that apply. Adding the "Consignment House" channel to a chat tab doesn't help as that just gives you the AH messages as they happen. I can remember people talking about this same issue back on Live but can't remember if there was ever a solution for it. Does anyone know?

I haven't read the whole thread yet, but with all the issues people are raising (on the 1st page) wouldn't a simple solution be to just based it on the number of different ATs on the team? For example the bonus is applied if you have at least five different ATs? (I just picked "five" at random, it could be any number what ever feels right) PS: Now that I had time to read more of the thread, I can see that I'm not the first to suggest this.

Like Xandyr, the first time I did an update it just stopped halfway, after deleting all the exe's. I had to then download the version from the site again which was 3.2.17, now it says there is a Update and at first that seems to work but after the update it's still version 3.2.17. Edit: Just found the discord server, I not 100% sure, but seems version 3.3.1 is a temp release for a problem in 3.2.17. The problem with the updating loop has been noted, so I just going to wait for the next update (that covers page 4) and manually reinstall if I have to.

Same here Warpact, it starts updating, deletes the old exe and stops. Will have to download manually I guess.

I just started playing again after 2 1/2 years (was out locked out of country due to COVID). Just saying.

I may had missed it, but the only proposal from you I could find was talking about replacing the current "threads" you get with veteran levels with this new currency. Wouldn't it be simpler to just replace the (same amount) of Empyrion Merits you get with Veteran Levels with this new type of non-tradeable item ("Veteran Empyrions"?), and have them work the same way as you outline above? I haven't seen anyone mentioned that the threads you get for veteran levels are a problem, only the Empyrions. I proposed a somewhat similar idea in another thread, but this sounds a hell of lot easier to implement then mine.

If, as I understand it, the issue is AE farmers converting Empyreans to Reward Merits to buy stuff to put on the market and making huge profit. Then the only solution I can think of that will not impact too many people would be to change the conversation from Empyreans to Reward Merits to a new currency that can be used instead of Reward Merits, but only when using the Conversion Vendors ("Conversion Merits"?). If there will still be an issue of people then selling those items, then that becomes a little more complex but there is a solution for that also. Make the items you can purchased with this new currency Account Based only. Worst case scenario this will involve making special duplications of all the items you can currently buy with Reward Merits on the vendor. This will allow people to continue to outfit their alts using the AE, and unless the AFK farmers intend to create hundred of alts it reduces their reasons to farm 24/7. PS: For those that may be worry that this doesn't help outfitting a alt on a second account, then just make you your first toon on the second account a farmer, problem solved.

Yes, that's obvious, which is why I included the other paragraphs.

If a small group of AFK farmers are the root cause of these changes (which quite a lot of people are suggesting here), why not just just add controls that limit their XP and drops while they are doing so. I realise that the initial idea of removing Vet levels in the AE was one control designed to do this. But while that particular change would had impact all AE players, can't we just tweak that suggestion to just put a limit on the maximum xp/drop gains per day for each character but make it a extremely high barrier so it only impacts those that are "abusing" the games mechanics? How this could be done I have no straight answer, but at least it will directly be targeting the right players and no one else. 30 - 40 years ago I use to include a diminishing returns system on experiences gain in most of the games I designed (I use to run a games company). Most players never noticed as it would only impact a small number of players who either played 24/7, were using a "undocumented feature", or where just better at understanding the game mechanics then we ever expected. Personally I believe all online games should include such a control.

The adjusted ranges are quite reasonable to me and should suit the majority of players. There will always be some players who won't be happy whatever the final decision on the various ranges are. One thing that has surprised me in this thread is the constant talk about the impact on RP characters. I will admit that I rarely roleplay in games anymore (only have the one RP toon now), but I use to quite a lot so I know the desire to get a good name that suits each character. But I would expect that most role-players will only have a few characters that they do actually roleplay on, and would play them quite often so I can't seem many role-players actually losing their favourite names. Is this more about the desire to get names you want that other people have already chosen? If the ranges are too short then some people will just "snipe" what they think are good names, likely a lot more then happens now. I would also think that the vast majority of names been released when this system goes live would be from inactive accounts, so for most names the actual limit of the ranges won't be a big factor. For those that want level 50 characters to have an end period, keep in mind that any reasonable time that the majority of players will accept will likely takes us into the time when the game is either no longer viable or has been greatly updated (which may include other factors that will have a huge impact on the naming policy} anyway.

One important thing to remember (in regards to the farming issue) is that not all farmers are the same, there is a huge difference between AFK farmers and non-AFK famers, as there is between those that farm occasionally and those that do it every day. Not to mention the difference between those are good (for want of a better word) at it, and those that have toons that are just good enough to handle the standard farms in the AE. I wouldn't be surprise if you ask five difference random people that were farming in the AE at the same time about their reason and methods of farming, you will get five completely difference answers. Also the lost of vet levels won't impact all AE farmers. It would however impact me, which is why I'm concern about it. My reasons for farming in the AE (which I may spend up to about 6 hours a week doing) are because of the number of characters I build and the fact that my favourite part of the game is the Incarnate system. I try to have at least one character for every power set combination in the game. When I create a new character I normal do solo mission arcs (like the Shining Star) up to about level 30. I'm in no rush as I actually like some of the story arcs in the low levels. I will continue to do some of the more popular story arc to get from 30 to 50 with on occasions jumping into the AE and using a farmer toon on a second account to give the new character a few levels to get them over the "boring parts" of levelling. If there is chance I can get on a group doing normal content at these same levels then I will do that instead of using the AE. However, the normal time I can play there are very low numbers on my server (Torchbearer). And before anyone says so, no I don't want to switch servers I really like a lot of players on Torchbearer. I did switch a handful of character over to Excelsior (to group more) but I found that I don't enjoy playing on that particular server as much. Once I get my new character to 50 (which takes me a couple of months) I then do the (solo) Incarnate arcs to unlock the slots. If I'm very lucky I will manage to see an iTrail forming and I will be very happy to join them. However, more often then not this is not the case so I will go back to the AE to get the first lot of Veteran levels so I can start getting some Incarnate slots up a couple tiers. This is the best way I found to get my new characters at a level that I feel they are good enough to handle themselves in the higher tier iTrails for the happy occasions that I happen to get on one. Also to answer any question about my impact on the economy my particular method of farming has, the answer is a clear very little. The only time I sell anything on the AE is if all my storage boxes in my base are overflowing. I trend to use all the recipes (and salvage) of the popular sets that drop for either my current or future characters. Everything else normally gets sold straight to the vendor. The amount of stuff that drop in the AE that I don't end up using myself is very minimal. Anyway, my point is that the term "farming" means a lot of difference things to difference people and some people only think of the extreme side of farming when they see the word.

Great suggestions, the first one should be very easy to implement, the second one may require a little more effort but it's still a good idea.

This does really seem like a pointless change, if may reduce the time many people spend farming in the AE, but it doesn't mean those same people will now suddenly decide to spend that same amount of time grouping with others outside of the AE. They are more likely to just greatly decrease their time playing or just stop playing at all. If the game was still new or we were at the beginning of a great expansion of new players starting the game then maybe there would be a point, but that's not the case.

I haven't read all the comments above yet and I'm currently unable to do any testing myself. I just hope that not all of the testing currently been done is at max level using super maxed-out IO builds. Hopefully some players/GMs are testing toons on various levels with both standard and maxed IO builds.