Ukase

I mentioned why it's a peeve - because of how hard I work to ensure I'm pulling my weight to the best of my ability. I feel like I bought a thesaurus with nothing but blank pages. I don't have any words to describe how unsavory I think running around without enhancements is. There is just no excuse good enough. I should add, that I do get it to a small degree: you're on a lowbie, doing ToT, and the levels are coming fast. And with the buffs to recharge, and other attributes, you probably don't miss the enhancements. It's just not anything I could feel comfortable doing. Occasionally, I do a drop challenge, where I can't use any enhancements, except for what drops. It helps me get excited over the smallest things, like an end mod invention recipe. (which are more rare than very rares, anecdotally) But - when I do those challenges, I don't team with anyone, because I just couldn't allow myself to burden someone else with my twisted idea of amusement. It is not my intent to shame anyone for playing in a fashion that's cool with them - so you continue to do things the way you do them. Don't worry about me. I rarely join the leagues anyway.

Seriously - why? Why would you do this? If you're on a team, doesn't matter if you're level 5 or 50. You should be courteous enough to have at least SOs slotted. You've played long enough to know better, and you can certainly afford it by now. Sorry - this is a major peeve of mine. I go out of my way to get what I think are the best enhancements I can because I'm only a slightly better than mediocre player. I need all the help I can get. And you're running around with nothing? That makes no sense in my world.

"Lone Wolfing"...ultimately, how I feel about it would depend on my mood at the time. Sometimes, I'm perfectly fine with whatever happens in a mission. And sometimes, I want to reach through and smack people. To me, when I'm on someone else's pug, and I see most of us follow the team lead, and I see a brute or scrapper or whatever go their own way, I ask myself...what is it they seek to accomplish? Now, this is an important question. Generally, when the team is all together except that one person who went East instead of West with the rest of us, it's a kill all or kill most. Otherwise, myself and everyone else would just be zipping to the back of the map to kill the boss and move on to the next mission. Teams tend to have synergy. The player by themselves, they're probably having their own fun, and thinking that they are capable. Or, they could be wondering why everyone went the other way instead of following them. Hard to say when folks don't communicate. But, when you have buffs, debuffs, aggro management and dps all in the same area, the killing goes faster. It just does. That's how the synergy of mobs being debuffed, and players being buffed works out. The player by themselves - they might think they're saving time - and if it's a speedy effort, then it might be saving time. Hard to say, really. But if it's a kill most, kill through - they're likely not. They can type whatever they want, but they're not saving time. If they were with the team, the mobs would fall that much faster. Now, I suppose there is such a thing as "overkill", where the case might be made to have the team break off. Really tough to say, because who is standing there with a spreadsheet and a stop watch and analyzing the hitpoints for each npc, the damage dealt and calculating the amount of overkill? Not me. And not you, either. If you say you are, good luck convincing me, because I won't call you a liar, but I will think it. You might guess there's overkill, and you might be right. Ultimately, the answer just isn't that important. The goal for me is typically the reward merits and/or the badge. I don't care about XP. I don't care about INF. At least, not usually. I'm the one who, as a level 12 in patron mission, will stealth to Dr. Q and get the stupid mission over with; even my lowbies could not give two spits about XP. It will come. No need to sweat it. So, lonewolfing to me is good or bad, situationally. On a speedy run, go for it. On a kill most/kill through, I think you're just showboating, OR and this can be true often in kill most/kill through teams, you're a super good player, and your team is overly cautious with that stupid trinity tendency where the tank wants to be buffed before heading into each mob. But, as a slightly better than mediocre player, I'm going to recognize this and probably help you out. I have no patience for a tank that wants buffs before heading into battle - unless it's like an advanced mode TF or something.

So, there's a badge awarded when you complete Dr. Kane's HoH in costume. I think the answer is no, but figured I'd ask anyway: Do costume toggles like the ones purchased from Benovolabs Vendor, or the one awarded from 1000 gladiator kills count as a costume for the purpose of getting the badge?

No. The silliest thing I might say would be "So, it would appear Adamastor has been waiting to be summoned. Let's give you sleepy people 7 minutes to get to Echo:DA". And then the jerk summons in 5 minutes when convenient for them without regard to my being the first one there - and the one that told them Adam could be summoned (although, to be transparent, that's my assumption - for all I know, they have a timer/alarm that goes off to alert them. ) Nothing against Okie, but I'm not at all into RP.

So, I completely get that my perspective is probably unique and not shared by others. I'm used to it, lol. Fold Space is a game changer for AoE. That's why folks use it or misuse it. Almost nobody I've encountered has deliberately used it just before my drain psyche was about to execute, leaving me with no sustain. But, in this very thread, we see how easy it is to communicate - but anecdotally, I've never seen ANYONE ever communicate they were going to Fold Space. They just do it. Now, I'm smart enough to know what they're trying to do, and for me, it's more of an annoyance than something I'll get pissy and quit over. It's kind of like Incandescence when I'll have forgotten to enable the tp prompt. The problem with fold space is really ridiculous when you have more than one player with it, and they're just playing tennis with a group of mobs, and I feel like I'm the net. They're at X, now they're at Y. I see this happen a fair amount in the Grim Vale, which is generally just a large pug. I count myself as one of those players who's just not smart enough to use it properly. I've tried it in the msrs, and nothing ever happens. Nothing. It's like I didn't do anything. So, I just don't choose the power anymore. I'm not going to piss away 300M on some acc/threat/recharge enhancement, even though I could buy all of them if I wanted to. It's not worth it to me. I can use the F key and follow the mob if I need to. There is one case where I think Fold Space is particularly useful - and that's the labyrinth. Whether it's positioning yourself so you only pull the malevolent fog away from a hostile group, or in the Orange Font of Malevolence, or whatever the Achylus room is called. During parts of it - it's a good idea to be "anchored", and not all powers will reach to the other side of the room. So in that context, Fold Space is pretty handy. I don't know how many slots or the toHit and accuracy numbers need to be for these folks to make it work, but for me if it's not going to port a level 54 Rikti Magus, I'm pretty sure it's not going to port a level 54+8 Rikti Magus either. So, for me, it's a useless power that doesn't do anything except occasionally annoy me when someone else uses it. I think maybe the really annoying part is they make it work, and I can't. I have the power on maybe 5 characters. A few of those characters will get deleted, the other two will get a respec to get rid of the power and take something that works reliably. But as far as others using it, particularly in ToT - it's annoying -especially when the zone is crowded enough to where the npc is no longer targeted. I would prefer they didn't use it. But I don't see a solution that's as elegant as null the gull.

No question that recovery serum boosts recovery amazingly well. But the recharge on it isn't fast enough to keep you in endurance. At least, it's not enough for me in the cases when I find I need it - generally when fighting freaks, clocks, carnies or sappers. I typically just use it as a clear hint that my build sucks and to use some unslotters to pull out range or recharge enhancements and slap in end reductions. Or just do a respec. Recovery serums are a short term solution to a long term problem. No build that's worth anything should ever rely on them. I say that not to criticize, or nitpick - just to share the benefit of my anecdotal experience. Like a lot of players, I'll encounter a challenge or some difficulty. I'll come to the forums, and I'll heed some of the well-intentioned advice, only to discover good intentions do not necessarily carry over to good advice. (I'm as guilty of this as anyone) If a character has end problems, look at the build. Look at the detailed tab info of each attack and toggle and investigate how much endurance is being used. Hopefully, it's a small matter of leaving the travel power on during combat. It's the same thing with damage taken. Look at your build. Where's the defense stats at? Where are the resist stats at? In some cases, it's worth trading off some recharge for more defense. (in some cases it might not be - nobody should make that call except you, whoever you are) And yes, it's the same kind of thing with anything else in your character's performance that you're not pleased with. In some cases, our expectations are too high and we just park the brute and make a tank. (or vice-versa)

I have a fair number of names that I like on level 50 characters. If, after name release, you try for a name and can't get it - I recommend you try /getglobalname Name And let Name be the name you wanted to get and couldn't. If by chance it's one of mine, odds are I would let you have it if I haven't played the character in a while. I'm only really attached to about 20-25 of the hundreds of names I have on level 50 characters. Most wouldn't be of interest, as they're some sort of Ukase XXXX or Gordian XXXX or Apache XXXX. But I do have some names I rather like that have no naming convention applied. Like Humdinger, Doozy, and Flabbergasted. I'm keeping those. But, if asked nicely, I may be willing to release some names, as they're on 50's I haven't gotten around to doing a respec, and then deleting.

Welcome to our city. As someone who's played this game a long time, I have a lot of advice. Most of it is aligned with what everyone else would advice. But the one thing I would tell you that perhaps not everyone would is - take your time. Don't be in a rush to get to the "end game". This game has a TON of small details in both game mechanics and lore that you'll miss if you rush through things.

No doubt you're referring to targeted aoe, or "ranged AoE". Still not sure why they changed the labeling on that. In any event, if you are going to literally click on the power, and place the reticle with your mouse, yeah, it can seem kind of slow. To get around that, I've always used a macro. (well, since I figured out what a macro was, about 4 years ago) /macro IS "powexecname Ice Storm$$powexec_location target Ice Storm" I place the Ice Storm power on tray 2, above tray 1. In tray 1, that's where the macro goes, right below the ice storm icon - mainly so I can see when it's recharged. It fires automatically, as long as I have an npc targeted - every bit as fast as a PBAoE or single target attack.

You've gotten a lot of one-size fits all type suggestions. I'll be slightly more specific. Ranged, but not a blaster: Corruptor or defender. DPS - if solo, go defender. If teamed, go corruptor. Now, the problem with dps and corruptors is the debuffs/buffs (secondary) tend to make one primary a little stronger or weaker than another secondary. The ice/cold is fantastic because: 1. Fast activation/animation times 2. Typically fast base recharge times 3. The targeted AoE's are great for scourge, and ice/cold has access to blizzard, sleet, and ice storm. 4. Heat Loss and Sleet are very solid debuffs, as is Benumb. Now, is ice/cold the highest dps? No idea, and neither does anyone else! Why? Because how I build mine might out-dps however you built your fire/natty. Or, it could be your skills outdps my ice/cold. But, ice/cold is arguably one of the more popular combos for corruptors for a reason. Secondarily, you can do a lot worse than fire/natty. The natty secondary has some nice damage boosting, and nice debuffs as well. And well, fire...again, arguably one of the higher(est) dps primaries for corruptors. Best? No idea for the same reasons nobody can say ice/cold is best. But both are up there. From a sheer survivability aspect, natty>cold, because the cold corruptor cannot put the shields on themselves. The natty's buffs are pretty much as good for you as your team. For my money, I'm going ice/cold, than fire/natty. And wouldn't you know it, since I have 1000 slots, I've made both. Both are great, and each is better for certain things than the other.

Catchy title, am I right? Lately, I've been on Adamastor's case. Because of the timer, I've been inclined to park multiple characters at that platform where Adamastor is summoned. In the mornings, I'll log one in, see where the timer is at. This morning, apparently, nobody was on the job, and he could be summoned in that instant. But, I know folks like merits, and why make it hard on myself and solo it? So, I broadcast in the lfg channel and tell folks I'm going to summon in 5 minutes. I feel that's about 3 minutes longer than they need to get there. For whatever reason, there are two players who don't wish to join the league. Fine, no problem. I'm doing this as a courtesy really. If they want to be solo, get their hit in and get paid, doesn't matter to me. As the 5 minute timer on my computer ticks down, there's about 90 seconds left. I let LFG know that they should probably be there already, or they're not going to make it. And while I'm typing it - one of these people has decided to summon him before everyone is there. So, I've no idea who summoned him. And I say they summoned him early, because I stated in Broadcast and LFG when I would be summoning. Apparently, I was being presumptuous, daring to make the call of when to summon, even though I was the first and only one there. So, it became obvious to the league what happened so the league slowed down damage to give the remaining folks time to get to the platform, and as far as I know, everyone got paid. Still, this is a crappy way to start my day, recognizing that some unknown player can't be bothered to wait 90 more seconds for other players to arrive. And I promise you, if I know who it was, I would have given them a worded message their impatient backsides deserved. It isn't all about me. But it sure isn't all about them, either. 90 seconds isn't going to break anyone in this context. Hmm...maybe they had me on global ignore and didn't see the times? Possible, but not likely. They didn't arrive until after I made the announcement in lfg. Some folks, I just want to reach through the screen and slap 'em. Like a "How I Met Your Mother" Slapsgiving slap!

So, with the 4 passives, depending on the content you play - TFC would almost certainly be gotten organically by doing TFs when they're the weekly. The others can't really be organic unless it's your practice to go around clicking on history plaques. But, aside from the history and exploration badge requirements, certainly Portal Jockey would be organic if it's your practice to do story arcs and iTrials. If you do Moonfire when it's the weekly, you're very likely to get the defeats required for Atlas Medallion, but that Spelunker mission pretty much has to be sought out. It's super easy to get through Ouro, or even organically if you know which contacts and what level you should be, but it sure isn't something 99% of us will stumble on by just playing the game. As for why aren't they organic...that's anybody's guess.

That's really the only conclusion left. I do appreciate the correction on the reward for the mote of the gladiator.

So, I have to say "No thanks", and I'll explain why. For one, it's not going to be any harder to defeat Romi by some waterfall than anywhere else. Just more annoying to have to pull him there. What would be the point? To be annoying? To take up 90 seconds longer to finish the TF? While I think the badge name is compelling, the way to get it is not. As for crafting during a Tin Mage, I don't really have a problem with this, other than when you have more than one character that pursues badges, this kind of thing gets old. Bringing each character in just to do that one thing. I do give props for a clever badge name and creativity. I would prefer no more new badges for a year or so. Let some folks catch up.

So, I just responded in another thread where someone was asking about a re-visit to the "balance" of EB powers. So, I'm sure you're not alone in feeling under-powered. The thing is, I don't see it. They do not hit that hard. They barely hit much at all. They are in fact, super easy. The only issue I've run into was getting held, so I used a break free. Now, I'm not saying every character I've gotten my 10 prismatics on has just 2-shotted them and I never had any difficulty. Some of my characters had a little harder times than others, but overall, they are just big bags of HP. If your defense is 30%, they probably won't ever even hit you, unless you just sit there in front of it for reasons unclear to me. I've clobbered these EBs enough to earn 500 prismatics in total, with every AT. They are easy. They are not hard. They might take your dominator or controller a little more time, depending on how your characters are built. But for me, at least anecdotally, they were no problems at all.

Not an option? Sure it is. These guys are nothing but big bags of HP. As long as you have a break free, they pose almost no threat. And this is just my own anecdotal evidence of soloing them with Defenders, Dominators, Controllers, Corruptors, Blasters, Brutes, Stalkers, Tanks, Soldiers of Arachnos (Bane), PBs and Warshades. They are not hard. You just have to be proactive and hit them hard and fast. I'm sorry, but they were easy for me. And I'm not even one of those uber 'leet" players. I'm just slightly better than mediocre.

Well...suddenly I am even more confused. Then why did a couple of my characters get that pop-up explaining that I got a new vanity pet? I appreciate the explanation, but it's strange having two different experiences for getting the mote of the gladiator. In one case, I pass through a portal, with all my toggles turned off, and in the other, I get a pop-up telling me I have earned a new vanity pet.

When dealing with new content, or content that's new to me, I typically first gloss over the patch notes. Sometimes, I'll even take my time and read them. In most cases, things are not so terribly complex. And every so often, things will happen where I am left to wonder if I misunderstood something. I do not know if this is a bug. It relates to the Mote of the Gladiator. I learned the other night that if I visit all the motes with a character, I can then turn in the motes in the Core, and then need only revisit one mote to get the buffs from all the motes. Additionally, characters that do this are presumably awarded a "mini-benefactor in the fog" temp pet. This is from a corruptor of mine: While temp pets are not normally my thing, because I think the icons look so cool, I thought I might get these temp pets on other characters. The Mini-taur temp requires beating the minotaur with his 5 different weapon sets. This is just a matter of time and effort and some cooperation from the RNG. The Mini Avatar of Achylus simply requires you to defeat the Avatar of Achylus. This Mini-benefactor of the Fog is procedurally easy enough. Visit all the motes, then go to the core and turn them in. As you can see by the graphic, I've been able to do this. But on two of my blasters ( as opposed to two of my corruptors) while I've seen the message "welcome back gladiator" and even been into a room where some gladiator with the label "Benefactor in the Fog", who apparently is an empty shell of Daedalus, these characters have not been awarded a temp pet. In exchange, they got to enter this room where they found an empty chest and some dusty books (got to click on them as the cursor turns into that blue hand) I put a fair amount of detail in the Fort Trident section, but that section of the forums seems to be rarely visited. So, what I was hoping for was clarification on whether I screwed something up, or if this is a bug/feature I'm unaware of. What gives?

Clicking on the Benefactor in the Fog, the "empty shell of Daedalus", I see this:

The character that did not get the "Mini-Benefactor in the Fog" temp pet - I logged it back in, and got the "welcome back Gladiator" message across my screen. So I know I combined the motes properly. I attempted to see if I could get the above pane pop-up, but instead, I just clicked through and ended up in the It's the same place with the empty shell of Daedalus dressed as a gladiator.

I took a third character in. And this is the message pane that pops up. So, the combining of motes clearly works; just not for one of my three characters. I just can't sort out where I screwed up.

So, not sure what to make of this. On one character, I only had the temporary pet Mini Avatar of Achylus. Reading through some comments in league chat about people wanting to visit the motes helped me realized that I could visit all the motes and then "turn them in". So, I did this. I got this large pane pop up with some lore information, and a notification that I had acquired a new pet. (edit: went back to this character to see what this pet was called "Mini-Benefactor in the Fog") Well, I decided I wanted the same pet on another character. And after doing the same things, I sought to combine them, and while I did find this empty shell of Daedalus, "Benefactor in the Fog" and I did see all the mote icons and turn into the Mote of the Gladiator, this experience was different from the previous character's experience. No big wall of lore pane popped up. No mention of getting a special costume or new pet. I can only think I have gotten confused, being armed with just a little knowledge. What did I miss?

Anecdotally, I've gotten Illusionist (defeat the pets from a master illusionist), gearsmasher, unveiler.

This was by far my biggest gripe with being on a ToT league. To be fair, when you're leading, and a level 50 team leads without warning - and the league is otherwise full, you literally have to stop what you're doing, and first see if there's a level 50 on the team that just didn't get promoted by the previous one. Alternately, you have to begin looking at the other characters to find out who's 50 among them. It's a bit tedious. I think the first two days are largely okay; and the lack of level 50s doesn't seem to be that much of an issue. After that, anecdotally at least, if you have more than 5 level 50's, you're living right. My "work-around" has been to recognize that while EBs will spawn occasionally if you're a solo ToTer, if you're solo at the motel (for example) you can take advantage of the numerous EBs there, and really, you don't have to do any knocking at all, unless you just want to. I didn't knock at all until I wanted to get the tips and the costumes. And it works for me. I've accumulated over 500 prismatics, which is roughly worth 1B, less fees. Mind you, I haven't sold them yet. I'm just not sure if I want to yet. Never know when I might want a mini-me. But, better to have them and not need them, than want them and not have 'em.