Ukase

Favorite arc on blue side...I'm gonna be in the minority, but it's Skipper LeGrange's out of Croatoa. And why? Because of "Stop 30 Fir Bolg from entering the portal". A lot of folks just auto-complete this one, but this is probably my favorite mission in the entire game. Why? Because I find it amusing to run to the portal, clear the area...then look for the closest mob - try to kill them, and quick, or I have to worry about their aggro, and then tackle the 2-3 minions (or more, depending on my diff level) that suddenly make their way towards the portal. And those little buggers are fast when they want to be! I get to run back and forth, making sure nobody escapes. It's a hoot. My second favorite is Tina Mac's arc - but that's only because of the search for Dr. Calvin. You never know where that rascal is hiding. I'm one of those weirdos that likes to hunt for the kidnapped victim or boss that needs to be taken down. I'm familiar with most of the nooks and crannies that Doc Calvin may be hiding in, but every now and then, I have to look more carefully, or use a macro to find him.

I agree with the second line. I dunno about the first.

Um..Sorry. I've only ever played CoH, so I'm not certain I understand what this means. If you're suggesting that pug groups should get better rewards vs solo players - they do already. A team of 8 gets an XP bonus that a smaller team or a solo player doesn't get. At least - that's what one of the "tips" in a loading screenshot stated. On the one hand, I think I understand why you think a team should get better rewards than a solo farmer - but can the game make the distinction between solo farmer and solo player? I work remotely. There are times, where if I were in an office, I would simply be off-line. Or have a character/farmer in a map with burn on auto. But, I'm home, and tabbing out is rather simple. It would be rude of me to team during the week, most of the time, so I don't. Well, only rarely. If I understand you - you're suggesting that because my character can handle a solo map, due to my experience playing my character, my reflexes, my ability to understand the NPCs and what they can and can't do - my rewards should be less than that of a full team? Is that what you're saying? I should get more rewards on an MSR when I just have an attack on auto while I scarf down lunch, intermittently casting a heal than if I'm in my own map, laying waste to the Positron Automaton Elite Boss? Personally - if that's what you're saying, you'd need to defend that statement with a reason why I should be denied the same opportunities as everyone else who may not be as capable. The very fact that folks team suggests that they either like the chatter, or they aren't very good at doing it alone. I only occasionally like to chat, and find a group slows the game down to a crawl. If I'm the mood, fine. But if not, I'm going to solo. To not get the same merits, the same drop pool because of that doesn't seem right to me. I get that at least half, if not more of the player base views this game as revolving around a teaming experience. I don't. More often than not, it's for a badge. It really is that simple for me. If I can do it alone, I generally do. Sometimes just for the challenge. Other reasons are because I'm not terribly pleasant when faced with roleplayers, folks who would zone in, but take more than 30 seconds to get to the mission door, or take 2 minutes to zone in because they're playing on a flip phone or a toaster oven powered by a starved ferret. Or anyone else that wastes my time. Hey you! The guy who shows up to a task force without enhancements at level 35, because they got PL'd there with 2xp/no inf, and can't afford any - you're the primary turd I'm trying to avoid! Or the one with a bodily waste function referenced in your name - I don't wanna think about that when I look at the team roster. FFS, do better than that in the character creation stage! So, yeah - that probably says more about me than anything else, and I'm okay with that. But I'd vote no - if I understood you correctly.

I think for the basis of discussion, you'd compare farming to any and all other methods of game play. While it is true "anyone can do it", the starting costs of making a farmer can seem overwhelming. I recall one player telling me, "If I could get those sets, I wouldn't need a farmer!" There may be a player or two, whose system is so poorly designed or old, that they can't handle two accounts being on at the same time. I can't fathom such a system belonging to someone who'd play this game, but anything is possible. The default setting for both Tequila and the HC launcher require adjustment before being able to multi-box, and if the player is unaware, they likely assume all of us multi-boxers are hacking the system in some way, and wondering why HC never does anything about us, or assuming that the volunteer staff doesn't have the time. For those with genuine alt-itis, a farmer is rather bitter-sweet. They likely only do what's necessary to get the inf necessary to fund the next alt. I could be wrong, but I think it's fair to suggest 80-90% of all farmers fall in this category. In fact, they likely don't even consider themselves farmers, just a regular player that has a farmer or two on an alt account and their primary account. As to the question, "Is farming an imbalanced method"....to put it delicately, and please read all I state here, yes, it is imbalanced - but only because to be balanced would be to suggest the same time, effort put in doesn't give the same rewards as other methods. The case could be made for most designated farm characters require 4 full superior winter sets, two superior ATO sets, a few pvp IOs and a number of other procs. The cost of the builds, depending on how resourceful the player is can be anywhere from 200M to more than 900M. 24 winter-Os, if the player is getting them "now" from AH will cost them 720M alone. (current AH pricing shows most of the superior winters selling for 30M, give or take 1M) Compare that to most other builds that might have 2-3 winter sets - if that, they'll be far more affordable. That's not to say that a player can't "farm" their way from SOs to a fully kitted out build eventually, (I certainly did with my first farm brute) but there is large barrier to entry in this space. These players that complain about farmers seem to have differing objections. 1. Reduced teaming pool - if they're farming, they're not teaming. This comment won't earn me any points, but if you have another player on your map helping you clear, you're not farming, you're teaming. I am referring to folks who solo the maps repeatedly. These are the players that this segment of anti-farmers want out of the farms and into the pool of available teammates. 2. The ability of the farmer to tackle +4/8, seemingly without risk, doesn't seem fair to your average defender, who has to wait 30-45 seconds for their nuke to recharge to tackle 0/8 to +2/8 mobs, depending on the build. But they'd never be able to do this afk-style with any level of proficiency. A blaster can fare better, given the vast improvements to HP and the sustain toggle (if you choose the right secondary, lol), but they're not going to be able to afk either. Over time, given the contrast in ability for the farmer to solo these settings, they will eventually earn all the investment back. But - even this takes time, depending on what the player does with drops. Just selling stuff - it will take much longer. Crafting, converting, selling drops - it will require more tedium, but the recoup of investment will be sooner. It's all a function of how much time they want to put into it. 3. A perception that the drops earned - more influence, what's done with the salvage and recipes, catalysts that drop on the farmer - impact the prices of IOs. More specifically, the perception that a farmer's activities impact their ability to afford what they wish to buy from the market. They seem to think the farmer, by listing an item for X inf is responsible for the sale price of that item. Rather, it's the player that saw fit to pay that price that sets the value. And the farmers get blamed for this. For some reason, it's always the farmer that is accused of paying these higher prices - but the farmer doesn't need these pieces. If they did, they wouldn't be selling them! The market is blind. We have no idea who's doing the buying. We can guess in some cases (thinking of you, Yomo) but we never really know for sure. But the ones that vocally complain about this, somehow, they know! They assume only the farmer can afford such things, and yet - marketers that market daily have far more influence than farmers who farm daily. In summary, no, it's not balanced. But, there's a ton of time that goes into earning the inf/merits to make a farmer. It takes time to recoup that investment. Let's not forget also, that while some find farming relaxing or fun, most folks find it boring. We put up with the boredom to fund our alts. I see no reason why others can't put up with the same boredom. If they don't want to, nothing wrong with that, but it's not my problem.

I think it's kind of you to consider being able to port your teammates around - but - that's what Assemble the Team is for. And it doesn't cost a power pool. The changes to the teleport and the pool itself has encouraged a lot of folks to respec in favor of it. It certainly has some utility. Worst case - you get it and find you miss SS. Or whatever it is you drop for it. Then you can respec back. Or make two builds.

So...my sister is out of work. Has been for quite some time. As we all know, it's a bit scary in the world right now. But there are jobs. I delicately posed a suggestion to her about a potential employer. "That would bore me to tears!" Well, if you're broke....a little boredom will be fine. But that's real life - and this is a game. We don't want to lose players, we want them to have fun, & keep playing. Are these problems of a lack of adequate inf to deck out characters (that seem to only be held by a vocal few) pervasive through the player base? I simply wouldn't know. I know in my SG, I pinned a document in our discord outlying very clearly how I get my influence, and these methods are repeatable with very similar results. At least a couple have thanked me profusely, and one said, "There's no way I'm going to spend time doing that". So, here's some questions: 1. Is this "our" problem, or "their problem"? Think of the big picture. What do "they" do to keep having fun? 2. Can this problem be solved with code, without causing more problems? How the heck do we answer that? The future is unknown and unknowable. I can say this for a fact: there are some players that used to play here that now play on Rebirth because they viewed HC's economy as "too easy". They want to work for what they have. They're certainly in the minority, but I see the appeal. Recently, they have made some things cheaper, but things are still a lot more merits & inf than here on HC. I bring this up simply to say that if we just start every alt with 50M or some nominal figure, or make all the p2w toys free...we may as well just play on a test server that's not going to get wiped. Would that be less fun? For some, yeah, probably. Is it 6 in one hand, half dozen in the other? I have no idea. 3. Would some of us wealthier players giving away our stacks of inf solve anything in the long run? I don't think so. There's always (I hope) going to be some players who are broke. "The poor are always with you...". (Matthew 26:11 for the religious folks who found that familiar) For me, I think the problem is one that will always exist, given the market and the way it works. Our HC devs have made converters very affordable, and easy to get. I see no reason why any and EVERY player can't equip their characters with viable enhancements easily. Maybe not the best ones, but they can work towards that if they wish. You don't NEED the market, but it helps. You don't NEED a farmer on a second account, but it helps. The CoH universe is your oyster. Get some pearls!

Yeah, I was thinking about that during my row earlier. Outliers, etc - they'd skew the market. I asked myself, though... Take 3 builds out of each AT forum, tabulate the cost of each build based on history, and I think those outliers would be ...I think the word is Normalized, if I remember my statistics course. That would be tedious as can be, though, and to what end? Just to be able to say, "yes, OP, goods are now 3% higher than they were last year." It's just not worth it - at least, not determining it in that fashion. I'll be thinking about it some more, though. I think it would be a nifty metric to be aware of, beyond my overall "feel" for the market.

And your requested price was sub 3m? nice!

I agree. I really don't know all the IOs that should be included in such an index. I do think for such an index, the big 3 pvp procs should be included. The absorb proc from preventative medicine, maybe the numina & miracle procs. The perf shifter +end...in my mind is so commonly used (maybe it's not?) that it should be in every index. But, I've never made an index before. I'd have to do some reading through some old Econ texts. (yawn fest)

Holy smokes! That's brilliant! This is a fantastic idea! We need this in game! @Yomo Kimyata, what say you? Min-maxer index: All the procs, the big 3 pvp IOs, Kismet 6%, lotg 7.5%, etc. a daily check in on the average price of the last 5. General index: other than end mod IOs - uncommon and rares..no idea what should go in here. I've no idea, really, what the "have-nots/care-nots" slot their builds with. Now that my enthusiasm for this idea has been noted - you have a point. The only items I routinely look at are Oblits, Perf shifters, Unbreakable Guards, Aegis, PvPs, & procs. (maybe a few others, but not as routinely) I would still appreciate specific examples, because I can certainly put downward pressure on the prices of these items. But if they're not on my radar, they're not on my radar.

Anecdotally, this used to happen to me when I was by the SG portal in Talos. Soon as I got 50 feet or so away, it stopped happening. But that was over a year ago.

This incomplete list may be helpful to you. Maybe not. When you see the +4 in XP per arc, it's because the difficulty setting seems to have an impact on the bonus. Contact Start level Finish Level 2XP? Ouro? XP Gained XP needed Merits Wincott 6 8 Yes No 1440 Level 8 to 9 2680 7 5.3 Bars Flux 8 11 Yes No 800 9 to 10 3125 18 11 to 12 4995 1.6 Bars Julius 11 13 Yes No 800 12 to 13 6405 10 1.25 Bars 13 to 14 7400 Talshek 13 15 Yes No 1000 14 to 15 9093 30 .89 Bars 15 to 16 11184 Shauna Stockwell 15 16 Yes No 1800 16 to 17 13000 6 1.38 Bars Eagle Eye 17 18 Yes No 1800 17 to 18 15950 6 1.13 Bars 18 to 19 19200 Jim Temblor 18 19 Yes No 2000 19 to 20 23400 8 .85 Bars Penny Yin 19 20 Yes No 1600 20 to 21 28000 10 .57 Bars Doc Delilah 20 20 Yes No 4000 +4 1.5 Bars Agent G 20 22 Yes No 17920 +4 21 to 22 36000 25 3.98 Bars 22 to 23 45000 Stephanie Peebles 22 23 Yes No 22400+4 23 to 24 56000 25 4 Bars Long Jack 23 24 Yes No 22400+4 24 to 25 69,300 27 3.2 Bars 25 to 26 85,200 Tobias Hansen 24 27 Yes No 40400 +4 26 to 27 108,000 22 3.74 Bars Lars Hansen 27 27 Yes No 76760 +4 27 to 28 135,000 13 5.69 Bars Gordon Bower 27 29 Yes No 76760 +4 28 to 29 166,650 27 4.6 Bars Skipper LeGrange 29 29 Yes No 40400 +4 29 to 30 203,400 17 1.98 Bars Kelly Nemmers 30 30 Yes No 72400 +4 30 to 31 254,000 12 2.85 Bars Buck Salinger 30 31 Yes No 57920 +4 31 to 32 314,600 20 1.84 Bars Lou Pasterelli 32 33 Yes No 72400 +4 32 to 33 386,400 43 1.87 Bars Phillipa Meroux 33 33 Yes No 72400 +4 33 to 34 470,600 28 1.54 Bars Neal Kendrick 33 34 Yes No 72400 +4 34 to 35 571,200 55 1.27 Bars Peter Stemitz 34 34 Yes No 72400 +4 35 1.27 Bars Levantera (intro - VG) 35 35 Yes No 150000 +4 35 to 36 701,500 15 2.14 Bars Levantera - Ben Decker arc 35 35 Yes No 32000 +4 5 .45 bars Cadao Kestrel 35 36 Yes No 150000 +4 36 to 37 854,700 25 1.76 Bars Provost Marchand Ch.1 36 37 Yes No 150000 +4 37 to 38 1,036,600 6 1.4 Bars Ginger Yates 37 40 Yes No 120000 +4 38 to 39 1,250,200 39 to 40 1,502,550 40 to 41 1,692,900 32 .7 Bars Janet Kellum 40 41 Yes No 270000 +4 41 to 42 1,907,550 52 1.4 Bars 42 to 43 2,150,550 Serpent Drummer 41 43 Yes No 270000 +4 43 to 44 2,421,900 15 1.1 Bars

As someone who does take the drops my afk-farmer gets and places them in the AH, I can tell you that I've seen only small instances of this. It's weird. The Preventative Medicine Absorb proc. I love that one. It's literally called a proc. It's in the name. Damn thing works no matter where it's slotted. And you can literally see that it works when the letters flash across your screen in game. But, I digress. But price fluctuations in a market are completely normal, as supply and demand are also fluctuating. Converters are the big game changer, though. You can sell them and pay the price directly, or you can use them and make what you need. Or someone else can. Makes no difference to me. It's easy to say 200-300% and it be true, though. The trash IOs...like an uncommon Targeted AOE (now called Ranged AoE) like detonation or Air Burst...those turds sell for 100-300k. The variance in the sale prices alone ranges between 200-300%. But what about the popular items? Like LotG 7.5%? Over this past year, I think I've seen them sell for 5M for a weekend. There were literally hundreds sold at that price - while mine were stuck, listed at 6M. But, over the course of this year - they're still stuck at 6m, dropped from the fairly routine sale price at 7M from before the NoXP2XInf nerf. It's a stable price. So, I'd need some specific examples of these price ranges, otherwise, I'd say you're just not being patient. Bid, log, check back the next day.

And so, you would stop them and force them to team with you? Be careful what you ask for. Are you also going to compel the HC devs to prevent me from making 10X a farmer because I'm an effective marketer? Farmers do not argue for the privilege to farm because others choose to enjoy the game differently. They argue to farm because they enjoy being able to buy the enhancements they need because some of them can't be bothered to use converters to get the IOs they need. I would venture that if you were to remove the folks who routinely post in these forums and ask each member of the current player base - only 2 out of 3 would know how to make a superior ATO or Winter-O. Add to that the folks who "just can't be bothered" to create the IOs they need, it's clear to me that farmers are necessary. And if you remove the rewards within to 10% of current rewards, I'd guess most would stop playing. Is this what you want to see in the AH? Take a good look. 10 months for a sale? (This was from Rebirth server, today) I do understand that if you've got 50 folks farming, that's using resources of the server, and they're potential teammates that aren't in the mix because they're farming. I do get it. Back on live, there used to be a big beef against fire tanks (before CoV and the lovely brute) and then some genius on the dev team implemented fear in burn. The controllers were finally getting to team up, because they could hold the mobs while the tank burned 'em down! I can't recall how long it was - but they eventually took fear out of burn. They had to know it was a mistake. If folks want to team, they'll team. But this game is solo-friendly. And that's a good thing. We have options! Why would you want to reduce options? And why would you want to corral others to play your way, instead of their way?

Drops can be fickle, yes. A lot depends on if you include selling the commons to a vendor, and how you deal with the uncommon and rare recipes. You mention marketing. Some farmers market the drops (I do), while some just vendor some recipes, and sell some on AH. And they also sell the rare and maybe the uncommon salvage, too. No one right way to profit off a map. But one point another made earlier is about scale. During a test run: My afk hour - was only 51m. That doesn't include drops/vendor sales. I've got to think that an active farmer would easily double that, but I could certainly be wrong. But...I can scale with an afk farmer. 3 accounts X 51M....I can surpass 150M. Of course, some days, I don't even bother with resetting, as I can get distracted easily.

As far as I can tell, there are generally two sets of Hami raids. One is in they Abyss, seems to take place early afternoons (Eastern time, around 4-5pm - but it's not as consistent) and the other is in the Hive, (accessed via Eden) at 9:00 to 9:30 Eastern. As a bit of a heads up, this one fills fairly fast, usually, so a lot of folks get there early. And the zone caps at 50, so if you are late, you may not get in. If you're on time, you still may not get in. So, be early. Around 8:15pm Eastern, you may want to start using /search and check The Hive to see how many folks are there. Some folks hide, so as soon as you see 25-30 folks in zone, you better get drop what you're doing and head over.

So, this may be something not everyone is aware of. Our OP hates to miss - so he may be aware of it and just doesn't care. So what am I speaking of? Beginner's Luck! Character's Level ToHit Bonus Character's Level ToHit Bonus 1 +15% 11 +7% 2 +14% 12 +6% 3 +13% 13 +5% 4 +12% 14 +4% 5 +11% 15 +3% 6 +11% 16 +3% 7 +10% 17 +2% 8 +9% 18 +1% 9 +8% 19 +1% 10 +7% 20+ +0% Now, there's a fancy formula in the game about accuracy & "toHit". I don't know that I need to go over all this, when it's in the paragon wiki under "attack mechanics" - but at early levels, there's not much need for any accuracy SOs, although they certainly won't hurt. But two - at least prior to level 14 or so is probably overkill. https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/wiki/Attack_Mechanics HitChance = Clamp( AccMods × (1 - TargetElusivity) × Clamp( BaseHitChance + ToHitMods – DefMods ) )

I also lack the patience for it. There's a method called AFK-farming. You just park the brute/tank in the center of the map, with burn on auto. Come back when you feel like it and reset. All you do is craft/convert/sell when you're ready.

The premise is that if everyone had their own farmer, they wouldn't need to beg for a PL

This goes a bit beyond what the OP was asking, but if any player is patient, I routinely vendor all my excess common salvage for 275 inf (the 250 the vendor would pay, plus 25 for the AH fee). They do not sell instantly. But generally by the next day they have. And I often get more than the 275 I ask for. As the son of an economist playing in this easy money universe, it makes sense to me to do this. There are no taxes in CoH, so it makes sense to gather as much influence as I can. Why sell for 250 when I can get at least 275, and often more? Now, for a newer player who may not have the luxury of waiting, well, the vendor is a fine option. I have often bought common salvage from the AH at 10-50 inf and sold at the vendor for 250. You can make a tidy sum for a level 2 looking for SO money in fairly short order.

I would not want to dissuade anyone of playing gold side. But, if it's task forces you seek, you'll do better on blue side - which you won't be able to visit until you go through the rift at level 20. (Can't do it before level 20) Red side has task forces, too - just not as many. Historically, Blue side was it's own stand-alone game. Red side came much later, and gold side came later after that. So, it stands to reason why there's not as much content as blue side has. If I were you, I might consider having the group make 2 new characters. One a hero, for the blue side stuff, and one a villain for the red side stuff. If you find you like one side better, you may freely switch sides by visiting null the gull. In any event, regardless of your path - if you have questions when in game, use the help channel. Someone will likely have the answers you seek.

While this may be true, I've always found that on a team - some players don't move their characters to the battle fast enough. Some have longer load times, some just seem to march to the beat of their own drum - which is fine, but the fight is usually over when some of them arrive. Anecdotally, the "best" use I've seen of a bubbler is in the MSR. Solo, even with the damage boost, they are woefully inadequate to suit me. And, in the early levels, they are painful to play. Unless you take the PL to 50 route, and for me - when I do that, it just creates work, as now I've got to gather and use emp merits to play a character that is not fun for me to play. But you are right, there is a balancing act. That fine line between Damage, recharge, defense, resistance and hitpoints. The only 5 characteristics I've ever bothered to chase with set bonuses (aside from the kismet accuracy). When you reach that balance point, teaming pretty much slows you down just because of the recruiting process. I can usually get more merits per minute solo than I can teamed up, even with a good team, except when the weekly is particularly good, like Apex/Tin Mage or one of the Shard TFs. On some moments, when I see a low level defender state they're looking for team, I almost what to stop what I'm doing and form a team to help them out. Then, I think again, and remind myself that no good deed goes unpunished, in life, or in game.

Need may be too strong of a word. But, if the issue is all the begging for a PL/Farm run, a second account would resolve the issue. (at least for those who are weary of seeing the begging)

That pun is fantastic!

Off the top of my addled brain: Gullible - that silly chat with Null the gull where you become a immovable bird. Incarnate Rival - Save Madame Bellerose at least once in Dark Astoria before your final meeting in Dream Doctor's story arc Buddy Cop - Save Detective Hopp at least once in Dark Astoria before your final meeting in Dream Doctor's story arc. Firebug - Complete 10 arson side missions in mayhem missions Fire Marshall - Prevent 5 arson side missions in Safeguard missions Bomb Squad - Stop 5 bombing missions in Safeguard Missions. PPD Deputy - Rescue 20 PPD Hostages in Safeguard Missions Interceptor - Stop 10 Weapons Deals in Safeguard Missions Security Expert - Stop 5 Vault Break-ins in Safeguard Missions Obviously, all the Spend X time in X zone for this badge, Day Job badges, Security/threat level badges, badge-count badges, Recipe and Insp rejections badges, Inf earning, debt earning/working off, mentoring and such. History and Exploration badges are also, of course, character only badges. Completing "personal" stories - Yin, Eagle Eye, the Center, Deadlock are solo only, as well as the morality choice missions on gold side as well as the alignment morality missions on red/blue side. Completing various story arcs and arcs within zone. All invention and marketing/consignment badges.