Ukase

That's a good idea. I'll have to ask teammates what their starting number is, if they'll help me track and compare. So, I did an MSR on a water/atomic blaster, level 41 yesterday. I got over 2000 VG merits. No tanks or brutes on my team. Other teammates got the same, within a few. Obviously, I can't draw any scientific conclusions, but anecdotally - the lesson is to not take a tank to an MSR, and to try not have one on the team, if that can be helped. And that's a shame, because without the tanks pulling, then that will certainly limit the merits for everyone. But 2000 compared to 800? That's a huge discrepancy. And 2k is an outlier, as most of my characters get about 1200. But still...

My best advice is to play your 50, as mentioned by others. There's no law that says you have to craft, convert or sell anything, although small kittens will likely give up their life if they discover such things. Let's look at it from another perspective: If you enjoy teaming and killing through, for the most part, consider just teaming up for a kill most ITF or Aeon SF, if you have the time and can find others who are like-minded. If not, just do the weekly tfs with a group. Or recruit for story arcs like Provost Marchand, or really, whatever content you like. SSA's can generally be completed in less than an hour with a decent team and pay 20 reward merits. Some story arcs can probably be completed in the same time frame and may pay more, but the kill-most preference may impede the efficiency of earning merits. You can sell the prismatics, although the value of those has been dropping and will likely continue to do so. And, you can also convert your reward merits into whatever floats your boat. A lot of folks sell boosters over converters because it's fewer clicks and sometimes will net you more inf, although not as fast. Either way, if you play your 50 for a while, say you meet a vet level goal, or even a badge count or a inf-level goal, then play around on an alt. Think of how much inf you need to get what the new alt will need. Then, when you're on your 50 - start bidding a little less than the going price and maybe in the next day or so, you get lucky. If you don't have a base, make one, place an enhancement bin and place all the enhancements your 50 bought into the bin for your next alt. This way, your next alt will have all or most of the enhancements you'd want before you even create it. Then, you let the new alt start leveling up and accruing inf for the next alt.

So, just my opinions: Pros: you have a decent change of interacting with people that you might enjoy spending some time with over discord. Seems like most SGs are using discord as a tool to coordinate harder content, or just crack jokes, or mock people they don't like, or better yet, mock people they do like. Anecdotally, as @Snarky can attest, I am frequently told I'm mispronouncing words and my jokes are not funny. Cons: If you're not the leader, you're subject to the rules put in place by the leader. Sometimes, the SG is organized enough to share these rules prior, and you agree to them before joining. But sometimes, there's a rule that's just stupid and you don't want to follow it. If your character is in an sg, odds are you might use that base to craft, store, or travel from zone to zone. Or maybe even use an icon npc to change a costume. But - not all SGs are going to have the same attention to detail. Some SGs spend hours & hours making elaborate bases, but lose points on efficiency. Suddenly your fps drops to single digits because of all the extra junk they have in there. And you have to travel 200 yards to a teleporter, passing through a labyrinth to get where you want to go. You might be doing a respec, stash some stuff in an SG storage bin, only to find out that you have privileges to put stuff in, but not take stuff out. As shown below: That's my own SG base, by the way, and I just edited that setting to show it could be done, not that I've ever come across anything like that. In some SGs, one I know for certain, they allow you to take whatever you want, once you've been a member for a month. Other members routinely drop off hami-Os, purples, super inspirations and ambrosia or Essence of the Earth, depending on what events are scheduled in the coming week. But - now, we have global channels, like the Task Force Junkies. If you can make your own base, going with an SG is something you would do for the social aspect and the scheduled events. Beyond that, with a channel like TFJ, you don't really need an SG. There's more people using TFJ than in any SG, because most folks are members of TFJ and members or different SGs. They are in general, a speedy bunch, with a number of players who have a keen understanding of game mechanics, and how to get the most out of a build. There used to be a time when being a member of a given SG meant something. Like these guys are speed-runners, these folks are into RP, those guys over there are more into iTrials than anything else, that group likes pvp. Nowadays, it seems like an SG will take anyone, which basically means your sg is just a pug group. But, I guess once you team together a few times, you can iron out certain wrinkles so the pugness of the experience isn't that bad.

I know not everyone has the resources to do this, and I don't pretend it can be done on every AT, but when I needed a few of the badges that Aeon had when it came out - the cryogenetiwhatevers, and the lycanthrope or whatever that's called, I put my two accounts together, one tank, one blaster and used lores, summons, etc to get past the AVs. I didn't finish it, because I only did it for the badges, but I would suspect with enough trips to p2w in pocket D, it would have taken a while, but it could be done. Do I think it would be more efficient to find a couple of like-minded folks who want to take the time and read? Absolutely. But in a pinch, p2w is useful in that regard.

@Glacier Peak thanks for all that - I use HC launcher, and I've never noticed that information being there. Just never paid it any attention. As I've confessed often, I can be obtuse.

I cannot agree with this enough. It is ...difficult for me to admit I'm getting bored with certain parts of this game. When it last shut down, I was actually a bit bored before then. The shut-down was actually well-timed for me. But, I'd hate to fill the time doing something else and then miss something - like a new development or opportunity. I've often thought about base building, but man, that is super tedious. It's like worse than crafting a zillion IOs. I can't imagine the old base builders who actually had to pay prestige to place all the cosmetic stuff we take for granted. I wish we could find a way to put in our own cut scenes in AE. I've got some stories to tell, but I can't figure out how to do things in a certain way within the Mission Architect system.

I don't understand this comment. I don't want to read into it, as a lot of meaning can be lost in text, unlike a live conversation. I don't think the OP should "move on". The OP has a valid perspective and shouldn't be told to just move on, as if his opinion didn't matter. It doesn't matter how long something was on beta, it probably wasn't on there long enough. At least, that's my thinking on it. Now, for example. Is there something new on beta? I've no idea. I was just on brainstorm a week ago - and no messages popped up stating anything new could be tested for feedback. So, please, don't give us this "it's been on beta for months". How would we know? I never got an email or a pop up telling me something should or could be tested. I'm not a mind-reader. It's a volunteer staff. There's no reason for me to have anticipated anything was on brainstorm. How hard would it be for a pop up to appear in game to encourage folks to test things out, well in advance of it hitting the live server? Now your opinion matters too, but just because you wanted 8 seconds and (from what I've just read in this post) most folks wanted zero, that doesn't mean either of you are right, it just means you both had different thoughts on it. I see absolutely nothing wrong with the folks who want zero to keep mentioning it that the 5 second suppression is too long. Because, for them, it is too long! What's the harm? Squeaky wheel gets the grease. So let folks squeak all the want. Even better if they can clearly explain the rationale behind their request.

I personally wouldn't care, but let's say if the more hold enhancements you slotted a hold with, the greater the mag of the hold. Wouldn't that be a case where an AT like a controller might get left out in the cold, if other ATs could just match their mag with IOs? It would be an interesting thing to experiment with, but it would need to be thought out from more angles than I can ponder at the moment.

It would be insane to disagree with this, but I feel the need to nitpick. There SHOULD be nothing here so important that it is worth investing such emotional energy into it. I would go so far as to say, nobody SHOULD be spending hours upon hours investing in their characters each day - but it happens, and it happens a lot. When such investments are made, those with outside responsibilities, hot wives, families...we scratch our heads and wonder how/why something could be so important to them. But when you don't have those family ties or work responsibilities, and you've invested 14 hours a day into this character or that, and a change is made that impacts how you have invested in your characters and planned to do so for future characters, it should be pretty easy to understand how some folks can get bent out of shape. For some folks, during the pandemic, this game was all a lot of single folks had, sad to say. And even now that it's mostly over, it's still all some people have. For whatever their reasons - disability, disorders, just being a bum...whatever it might be - this is all they do. Stands to reason these folks are more emotionally invested than others.

So, I opened about 30 winter packs yesterday. So, here's what I did, and granted, this solution isn't for everyone. Log in your 3 accounts (or more, if you have them, on different shards) Open the packs until you get your "Please wait a moment", then tab out and open them on another account, repeat as necessary. I still have another 2100 packs to open, lol. One other thing I discovered, I can use this macro: /macro opacks "salvage_open S_HVSuperPackSalvage$$salvage_open S_RVSuperPackSalvage$$salvage_open S_WinterPackSalvage" and it will open (and if you select "open packs automatically", you can do this while doing other things in the market. Or while farming, or whatever.

Clearly you haven't met me, lol. Donate inf to a costume contest? That's not an inf sink. That's just inf transfer. And it's all too subjective. Even if I were to host one, I'd have to actually look at the costumes. There'd be no fun in that for me. That would actually be boring and a waste of time. Other than the badge for spending 50M at the tailor, I've never spent ANY inf at the tailor. I just don't get off on costumes. I see them as pretty much a waste of time. As for the prismatic, they're worthless other than being needed for the three badges. Sadly, the value of these has dropped below 20M inf, and will likely drop below 10M inf in another couple of weeks. There's a number of things we could possibly get to sink some influence, but it seems we don't have enough influence in circulation for them to create them in game. Just speculation on my part, nothing concrete.

Back Alley Brawler is in SW Atlas as a trainer. But what he's missing is a couple of Longbow NPCs to sell my lowbie enhancements. Just a small suggestion.

It doesn't matter, because there's no content to play with that build. The only "practice" you get is baptism by fire in the pvp zone against other players. And that's what I don't want. I'd rather practice in missions, understanding how fast/slow recharge, regen etc is when in pvp. I don't want to have to toggle on again and again learning it. I would consider it a failure each and every time. There's no fun in that. I would prefer to run the content from 1-50 with those same rules on my build and then go into pvp having a better understanding of what my character can handle, and what it can't. The rules are different in pvp zones. I don't know what idiot decided to change our stats upon entry, but it was a bad move. I know why they did it - I just disagree with it. It is what it is. If it were fun, I'd do it. It's not fun for me, so I'm not going to do it, if I can avoid it. I've already seen from some in this post that they like talking trash. They think it's fun. And that's fine for them - but it's not for me. I find it much like the barking of a Chihuahua. A lot of fuss over very little. It's kind of like a cut scene in a task force or iTrial when you already know the story.

Opinionated, yes. Absolutely. And yes, I believe everyone deserves respect merely for existing - until they behave in such a way that illustrates they don't deserve it. Why should I expect any less for myself than what I would give everyone else?

This isn't always true. In fact, for most, it's rarely true. PvP takes time and effort to determine the differences between it and pve. I play 50+3 levels on a character and get into RV - and my character is not very much like it was in pve. Much has changed. Regen/recovery has changed. Resists and defenses have changed. It's an entirely different character. Some builds, like a blaster, can usually handle this change okay - as most blasters don't really have much by way of defense or resistances. But tanks, at least mine, are built to cap resists in most cases, unless it's a defensive armor, like Shield. When they changed the way my characters worked - I put pvp behind me. And I won't pick it up again primarily because of that. So, you're wrong. I can't do much about it, other than leave. The few times I did fight back - they run away when they're close to losing. I don't have multiple travel powers, and it's beyond ridiculous to get them just for an hour or two's worth of badging. Can't catch 'em, so even if I could win, I can't win, because they don't want to actually pvp. They want to clobber someone, and then run away when they can't. It just makes no sense with travel suppression. I am not crying foul. They didn't do anything wrong by tackling me. I'm just saying it's annoying and that the trash talk that sometimes follows is simply unnecessary and serves no purpose, other than to irritate someone, probably hoping they'll stick around and try to "show" them. Either way - it creates a negative effect for me, and I'd rather it not happen. Hopefully, it will be years before they put any more badges in pvp zones.

That's a lot easier said than done. If there were an executable I could download, and fire it up as easily as HC CoH, I certainly would. Not saying I wouldn't play here, but I'd certainly do that. I can't imagine the size of such a file. And, I'm pretty sure no such file exists, but a collection of files. Requiring perhaps a dedicated machine. I've honestly no idea, but I know with certainty it's not that simple.

I talk "down" to anyone who lowers themselves with a lack of respect shown towards me. I simply would not accept that trash talk in real life, nor will I accept it in game. I have no issues about putting knots on someone's forehead if they don't give me the respect I deserve. Life is too short to be around people who disrespect you. You're using this competition analogy like it lines up. It doesn't. If you look at my post in context, it's clear that I'm not there to compete, except against other badgers, in a fashion. And as badgers, most of us are more supportive than competitive. A badger who goes into RV is not there to compete. Now, someone like me may find themselves doing pvp whether they want to or not - but when they do not, it's not competition. It's just annoying. And in that context, trash talk is ill-mannered and rude. There's no basis for comparing the thickness of skin. If you like pvp and see a badger in there, sure, everyone is fair game. But that trash talk is just pointless. It serves nobody any purpose, and it certainly doesn't motivate me to pvp. It just motivates me to leave and come back later. When people are friends, and they compete, sure, there's banter and some mind games. PvP is not the same thing in most cases, because there is no relationship. And because of that, trash talk is not really "the norm". It's done by small-minded people, who are trying to feel bigger than they are. At least, that's my opinion. Yours is obviously different. And I find your way of thinking every bit as bizarre. It's all good.

I can generally keep track of my alts - which ones have done a weekly, which haven't. But with this new currency, the Prismatic Aether Particle, it has it's own set of rules, and well, frankly, it's a bit convoluted. So, I've got a new 50. Was doing a Belladonna arc when I see this recruitment message: No idea who this chap is, and that doesn't matter. But, it reminded me that we get merits and the prismatics for doing it. Thing is - I only got two prismatics. So..I think - let me send this chap a tell and let him know it only gives 2. But, the back of my wee noggin tells me that the error might be mine, as I'd run a sLam earlier, and following that, a BAF. I got one prismatic for the sLam. I got zero for the BAF. And I got two for the TPN. I remember reading this part in the patch notes, and frankly - to hell with your schedule of diminishing returns. It's patently stupid. Why? Because most folks don't swap back and forth from one alt to the next. They get a 50, play to gear up the incarnates, then make a new alt. I concede that everyone may not play like that, but I think it's fair to say that most do. The way I see it - be consistent. Give two prismatics, or one. Or 3. Whatever. Pick a number and grant those rewards in the same amount each time. There's no reason to encourage people to alt out. Alting out is a waste for most of us. I only have one level 50 that's not t-4 in all. Why would I want to alt out and get an incarnate component that my current alt can't use? It's just not clear why it should be this way. I can already hear it now (or read, as the case may be) "If you want the prismatic, alt, otherwise do what you do." I say "shut up, you're missing the point". The point is, I shouldn't have to be corralled into alting out for the figurative carrot. I should get the same carrot regardless of the alt I'm on. Now, if it were a second sLam or BAF or TPN, I get it. But they're 3 different trials. There should be no diminishing returns. So, hooray for having a reason to run these trite iTrials that I've run literally hundreds of times. But BOOOO! for removing that motivation in the same stroke. Screw those itrials if they're not gonna pay me. I think the diminishing returns needs to be revisited. We need some consistency for the rewards, otherwise, some asshat like me will be sending this league leader a tell, blaming him for telling me it was three prismatics when it's only 2.

It usually takes me about 5 days. I make the character, then look for a free ride to Ouro and park it before I do anything. When I get the chronologist badge, then I begin to clobber npcs. I tend to visit p2w at level 4, and proceed to market, kill stuff, grab exploration accolades, etc. While it's true I've never gotten a recipe drop before reaching level 10, getting from 1 to 10 doesn't take very long at all (once I start). So, since I tend to do story arcs en route to 50, I see no reason not to get the random rare recipe after each mission completion.

In context, when I was badging, it's always problematic recruiting for assistance, because once you do - the folks that like to pvp see the recruiting message and may be inclined to lay in wait. So, I would often use the Heavy in the zone, along with a vanguard HVAS, my lore pets and any other temp pet I had to assist. My characters are generally leaning more towards survivability than dps, although I do try to find a good balance. When I'd get zerged by several pvpers, I completely understand the risks - it's just annoying to have to stop what I'm doing, and come back later. As for what I'd have preferred they do - pvp each other. It's 4 of 'em. Let them tackle each other. I'm there to tackle the AVs and such. But, them's the breaks. It's a pvp zone. Just don't brag about it when it's 4 on one.

This is all just a rant, and seems to be off-topic, but I may as well vent. I can't say that I've ever experienced anything worse than this - BUT - it is this "standard" trash talk you speak of that I do not desire or require. It's completely unnecessary. "Gee, 4 of you ganged up on me while I'm fighting Ghost Widow, solo, in RV...such a display of skill." Why are 4 players tackling one? Because they can. But does that mean that they should? I get it, it's a pvp zone, you knew what you were getting yourself into when you zoned in. But it's because of THAT mind set that most folks avoid it. Just my opinion, but chat should be disabled in pvp zones. I find all that "standard trash talk" rude, especially if I win! I hardly ever win, and if I do, it's most likely because their cat got on the keyboard or something. I go there for badges only now. I have zero interest in playing a character for 50 levels, fine-tuning it, understanding it's attack chain and it's end recovery issues, if it has any, and then enter a pvp zone and discover my resistances are different, my defenses are different, my attack chain also has to change. What idiot thought that would be fun? I thought going into Warburg, I could do those missions to become accustomed to how my character would play under those rules, but as soon as you enter the mission, the pve rules kick back on. It's just a stupid, stupid implementation. Heck, that's probably why PvP is known for such hostility. The game makes people mad the instant they zone in because their character is completely different.

A fair question. When I was selling the pvp IOs, and keeping track, I would often see the Shield Walls selling for 10M, which struck me as odd, because I was selling them for 8M. It made no sense to me why people would just slap a 10M bid off the jump, particularly when the display glitch didn't seem to impact them, at least, not for me. I think it's a player, returning after an absence who has the resources and doesn't realize that prices have lowered over time. I could certainly be wrong. I recall getting something like 64M for a pvp IO, and I was tickled, because the going price was 8M, as I mentioned. I considered it an extra zero on the bid, and frankly, you get no mercy from me for low-balling an offer of 6.4M for an 8M item. 7M, I can see. But 6.4 is just being cheap. So, when I see an extra zero in cases like those, I chuckle to myself and send a mental message - "That's what you get for being cheap!".

The RNG can be a fickle mistress. When I'm farming, my alt that is getting PL'd once got 3 purples - just sitting, while the poor farmer got only 1. There's never a rhyme or a reason for it that I can tell. Anecdotally, I can tell you my tank routinely gets 2-5 uncommon/rare recipes per map, which I run at +2/8 or +4/8, depending on how close I am to leveling. I did another MSR, with an HVAS, and still got less than 900 VG merits, and this one was not instanced. This is my conclusion: bad luck. I think some teams just have people that are just "healing" instead of firing. A damn shame, too, because when I'm herding the Rikti to the bowl, I'm not getting any buffs at all. In any event, I have enough VG merits for the gr'ai matter I'll need tomorrow, and that's all the vg merits I need for now. My cold/fire brute holds the record for most vg merits at 1511. Prior to that, I'd gotten over 1400 only twice. Usually, I'm at 1200 vg merits. I'll just not be making any more tanks for a while, lol.

I dunno. Yeah, I was a bit surprised, when I'd run a Morty Kal when it was the weekly, and a lower level teammate didn't get the prismatic. They can drop randomly after the completion of a mission for a sub-50, so it really doesn't make any sense at all to me that sub-50's don't get them. That said, now that they're just 24M compared to the 175M they were going for after the patch hit, I can make that much in a couple of minutes on the AH. So, why run it for a couple of prismatics? The only time I run a weekly now is to support specific officers in the SG and when I need a notice. I'd like to run them with my lowbies, but if I run it on level 40 on a Wednesday, it disqualifies my character from getting a notice until the coming Monday. (as I'm likely to ding 50 before the week is over) That's why I almost never run a weekly on a lowbie. Nothing to do with a prismatic.

I can't remember. It was either Ukase or Ukaserex. At some point during live, I changed my global from Ukase Rex to Ukase. But I don't believe there's an option to change the forum name, so, it was probably always Ukaserex.