Ukase

I see no problem with the game being renamed to City of Ukase!

I only highlight this portion because out of all the replies, this part speaks to me the most. So, I thank you for that. The rest of your post was also quite interesting - I'd give 100 billion to rename Artillery Blast to Ukase's Blast, for sure! But it would have to be permanent, lol. So, given your logic here, it's a fun idea - (to me) - but a poor one. I now consider the question answered. So thanks everyone!

I've got about 30 T-merits stashed. But they spend a lot faster than they come in, for sure. It's part of the reason I opted to get all the badges on more characters. Gives me more time to accumulate them. My primary account is actually set on t-merits. It's the secondary account that I play while the first account is soaking damage, or dishing out damage for various badges that I'm having to farm the emp merits for. Just tedious, no big deal, really. On the one hand, HC has already done quite a bit to make the incarnate grind less grindy with the emps & threads dropping at certain vet levels. I like the HC method a LOT more than the old version of dealing with Astrals & Emp merits for not only incarnate stuff, but recipes & IOs as well. On the other hand, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me that 2xp turns off at 50, when there's more XP to be had, even if it is incarnate XP. I mean - the more inf we sink, the better, right? Smart play with the TinPex. I enjoy Apex...but Tin Mage just seems dull to me. Nothing to dodge like in Apex.

On a grand scale, you're right about that. And he doesn't care who gets it, either. I'm a lot more discriminating. I have no beef in handing out a tidy sum to someone who's got a clever name or a funny bio. But I'm not gonna hand out inf to anyone who asks for it. The idea of the gift needs to come from me, or it's not really a cheerful gift. I prefer to monitor the help channel and gift folks who are asking questions that show they are trying to figure things out beyond just blind button mashing. Giving in this game can be difficult, too! I was giving away hero/villain packs yesterday. People keep moving away! You try to chase them down, and they zone out. I gave away a glad armor 3%, panacea +HP/End, and Shield Wall 5% to a number of players a couple of months ago. A billion inf worth. And it took me forever, because folks are rarely stationary. (not paper, pun lovers. Stationary as in standing still) And the ones that are - Spines/fire brutes who certainly don't need influence, level 50's that ...I have no idea what they're doing standing on the ledge in front of Ms. Liberty, but I check their build info and they're already kitted out, so no need to gift those folks.

Because no good success goes unpunished.

No, it's not at all an equal field. I get that it's subjective. But you did bring up a possibility: everyone gets a trophy! Except folks with gross character names. References to gross bodily functions should probably not be rewarded. I much prefer avatar names that use alliteration, like my own "Massive Man", who is as tiny as I could make him, who also boasts TW powerset. A shame that the weapon scaled down with the avatar, but I understand why.

The NPCs do tend to speak up about you, particularly when you've recently completed a story arc or task force. If a Task Force, they mention the task force "name", like "Task Force Nebula", or "Task Force Profit". I believe it's just a local reference though, not zone or game wide.

I won't review each item on the list and just thank you for the energy to reply. I suppose the reputation I have doesn't align with how I play this game. I do enjoy the game the way I play. I'm just trying to enjoy it more. I will say one thing: I'll never host, or knowingly sponsor a costume contest. I think those are patently unfair, because all of us have different graphic settings and there's no way to know what the other player is seeing. A trial leader once referred to Will of the Earth (a debuff swirl that gets cast onto the feet of someone in the trial) as brown. On my screen, it's yellow. I mean, it's not even close to brown. I also don't think it's even close to fun having your character passed over when you see some of the outfits the winners are wearing. So, pass on that idea. I have several characters in play that avoid p2w altogether. No 2xp, no nothing. No aid from the alts. It's good to be familiar with how a newer player struggles. But please know that I already do just about all of those things on the list you suggest. This post isn't about me whining about not having any fun. This post is simply asking your thoughts on an ability to buy emp merits in bulk as a good, bad or horrible idea. Not for the way I play to be assessed and reviewed.

How would one do a scavenger hunt? Not like I can leave a hero pack on the ground somewhere? Still, you raise a good point. I was going to give each SG member a large amount of influence, but I was discouraged by the SG leaders because they feared it would lead to a lack of motivation. So, I think I'll just start giving away various goodies in game. But still, I sure would like to "buy" a ton of emp merits.

I could - but the last time folks took a break - the game shut down!

I have to be careful here and be more receptive to perspectives that I haven't thought about. I don't want to bemoan every suggestion. So, I hope I'm not coming across that way. But, how many times can someone stomach doing the same thing over, and over, and over again? I earned ...maybe 800 hero merits worth tanking hami a couple of years ago, doing that every day for months. The only reason I do those now is for the buddy badge. Once I get the 100 buds, I stop, until the next character wants/needs the badge. MSRs and Hami raids are a great way for folks that need the influence that those merits from those tasks provide. I almost feel guilty for taking up a spot as it is! Yet, perhaps if I can buy whatever I want - that would also detract from the game itself. Maybe it's for the best. I dunno. But I know I'm going to opt to farm for the foreseeable future for those emps, rather than attend Hami raids & msrs (though I do have several characters who will be in pursuit of buddy badge and those two irksome MSR related badges for Ukon and the bombs) Even so - 4 emps per hami raid, per character. You'd have to do that same thing 45 times to get the necessary emp merits. I've already done that thing 1000 times, at least! Enough of that tired story. The chatter while waiting used to be somewhat entertaining, but the more amusing players have left, gone on to other games, it would seem. I don't mind repeating certain things a number of times, but that's too many times, and you can only get 4 per day. (per character). I could swap characters, and send the emps to a specific alt, but that's still doing the same thing ad nauseum. I may as well farm. I can get a few vet levels, I think, before a triple run hami is completed. (maybe not...I'd have to check & verify that. I think I can, tho.)

Would save a lot of clicking, to be sure. I'd go for that.

I just remember the first July when HC opened. I'd reached 50, and I looked at the prices of the items I wanted. I knew how to market, was familiar with farming from live. But I lacked the resources to really do either with any efficiency. I think I got lucky, when I'd stumbled upon Catalysts. I saw they were selling for 5M a piece. So, I used some merits and sold a bunch of them - and then I discovered the price difference between an ATO and the superior counterpart. At the time, given the hassle of unslotting after making them superior, it was barely worth it. But when the cat prices dropped to 2-3M, it was certainly worth it, and that was where I made a quick ton of inf. And it was tedious. I didn't really enjoy it. But it seemed necessary to outfit my characters in the manner in which I deemed them worthy. I had a choice. I could nickel and dime as I went along, just getting by, or I could just invest the time and make enough where I don't have to do it anymore. It would seem I was there quite some time ago. But, when they changed the AH experience by seeding salvage, and later by putting winter packs on sale - I had concerns. At any time, they could change things. Email could stop holding influence, or it could disappear. Items that were or are selling for X, they could suddenly be seeded by the HC devs for less than the price I've been expecting things to be. Bittersweet - as the resources I have would go further, but the time I'd invested would have been wasted. So, I opted for "FU" inf. No longer do I feel compelled to do a weekly TF with a pug with folks I don't know. I can choose what I want to do, when I want to do it. Seems to have worked out. I just didn't stop soon enough, and well, someone has to keep Yomo in check.

There was a movie I saw with John Wayne, when I was a kid. Can't recall the name of it, but his character said, "I don't dance. I don't trust men who do, and I don't trust women who don't." When I was a kid, it seemed like a perfect excuse to avoid dancing. As an adult, I'm not quite sure the comment makes any sense, but the case remains - I do not dance. And I ain't giving you 500B just cuz of that.

Ah...the price would incentivize more farming...I didn't think of that. But, without it - I'm farming for the emps. Either way- more farming. The only way I'd do a trial without a badge on the line would be if the league was formed up and ready. I just can't stand all the waiting around in ouro or pocket d. It's just too boring to wait around and ..do nothing. Maybe I just need a break from the game.

I'm not opposed to giving inf away. But, 1. It has to be my idea. Nothing is more stinky and creepy than a beggar. 2. Anecdotally, the only time I've given inf away and that player kept playing the game is once - and despite my telling them it was a gift, they repaid me in a few months. It's just anecdotal, but folks I've given large sums of inf to - they just stop playing. I should add, it's clear you're not serious (although you'd likely accept it, lol). So I'm not labeling you as stinky & creepy.

So, I have a thought, and left to my own devices, I'd implement it, and not sweat where it would lead. But, that's probably why I'm not emperor of the universe. Or even mayor of my own humble city. I've got billions (of inf) And billions. like about 400 of 'em. I ask myself, where can I spend this? My characters already have the usual - TT, ATT, Base TP, Summon pets, etc. My email is quite full of winters/ATOs, and the goodies that come with winter/hero packs. So much so, that while I do have bids for 10M on winter packs, I really don't need any. The ones in my inventory and stuff in my character email will likely last me until December 2022! So there is one thing I find myself wanting in game that I have to "Grind" for, and would rather not. I mean, I do it, but I'd rather not. And that's doing the same stuff for emp merits. Aside from doing them for badges, I'm simply NOT going to do an iTrial, nor am I going to do any DA arcs. I refuse. I've done them on over 100 characters, and I'm weary of the same dialogue, same story. It begs the question, if I'm not going to do those trials and arcs, what do I need emps for in the first place? Well...to get t-4, of course. Can't really be complete without getting t-4 in all, now can I? My dilemma is there are 6 incarnate slots. The very rares cost 180 emps. That requires vet level 30. That's a long time in a farm. And what happens in that farm is I make even more inf. The pile keeps getting bigger. Now, I could just force myself to do content and let threads drop and drop...but in my head is the idea that I want to do the content with the t-4, not enroute to earning it. Maybe I'm being unrealistic. Anyway, I thought - wouldn't it be nice if I could buy a transcendent merit for a billion inf? Is that too much? Not enough? Or is the idea of being able to buy them simply too ...crude to even contemplate? I could put this in suggestions, but before I made the suggestion, I figured I'd ask what other thought about the idea.

My preferred characters are typically not truly villains. They tend to have come about their morality, or lack of it, organically - but they aren't evil, just pragmatic and opportunistic. Scratching and clawing their way from level 1 with nothing to as much influence as they can earn by level 50 t-4 in all 6 slots.

I did mention that some folks had no issue paying to play other games. The question will be - will they keep paying if the game fills the same kind of void? Whatever it is - it's got to be somewhat different and offer something HC doesn't. Even though I've got some "free" goodies for being on CoT's kickstarter, they're going to be charging money if/when they finally get things going. Am I going to pay to play that game when I can play this one for free? I have to wait and see. I'll certainly see what they did with my $75. But odds are, once more cash is expected to part ways with my wallet, unless there's some reason to keep playing, I'm not going to keep paying.

So, I was reading all this ...and really, just fascinated, and impressed with the level of detail with all the maths. Good stuff, and it's posts like these that can plant a great seed and turn a casual player into a real nerd, and that can't be a bad thing. Really good stuff!

At present, no way to get level 53 recipes. A pigg diver might be able to shed some light, but my best guess is there were plans at some point to make them available.

Personally, I think HC is a huge disruption. Why? Because it's essentially free. Some folks donate, but the window closes quickly, so it's free for most of us. So..I get that most of us can afford a different game, and would likely fork out some cash to investigate a new game - but how many would continue to do so? What void would those games fill that HC:CoH doesn't? In order to succeed long term, there has to be some sort of competitive advantage. Whether it be content, or compelling game play, or some other facet of gaming, there has to be some offering that the others don't have, or don't do as well. Even though I was in the initial kickstarter for CoT, how long has it been, for this volunteer staff? A damn long time. I'm not complaining - just stating a fact. Even though they're all essentially volunteers, they've yet to complete, and it will still be another year - AT LEAST - before a Beta is ready. To be fair, they are in Alpha stage now, if I read correctly. But given that HC is free...how are these Successors going to compete when they'll have to charge money - while HC is free? And odds are, at least a few of those folks are using the spare time they were putting into the game into playing this one. I don't know this, but I suspect it's the case. As for Ship of Heroes, I'm connected with McGeever on LinkedIn. The dude is every bit as legit as Jack Emmert, as far as game executives go. That said, the concept of a bunch of heroes on a ship just sounds silly to me. I'll probably wait until the ship lands. So, yeah, I read the article on Massively, and I do think that HC is a big problem for any game company that's going to try to capture and keep market share with a free game like this available. But - hey, I've certainly been wrong before.

I apologize if I was in error. I honestly didn't realize there was a patch on the 19th!

Honestly, I didn't even know they existed until I set out to get all the badges back on live. I must have played for a couple of years before I was aware of them. As far as I can tell, the game never calls attention to souvenirs, and it's under the tab called "Clues". Because of this, and my familiarity with the content, there's never, ever been a reason to look in there and see what's there. Aside from the badges for them, they're useless to me. Until now, I guess, explaining how this PsychoMetronChrono thingie gets destroyed.

There's Agent G, a blue side contact in Faultline, and there's Mr. G, a red side contact in St. Martial.