Ukase

Pretty sure if you can see the player on your team roster, they're "in zone". Beyond that, other than the occasional player having a real life issue, I've never encountered someone not participating. I used to worry about it during the master of ugt runs when a league leader would impose "snipers only" for the bomb portion. But it was never an issue. I do recall on retail getting the 10 threads once, but I can't remember why. I'm sure it had something to do with escorting desdemona, but that was a long time ago, and details in my mind are fuzzy.

That looks a bit like one of the questions on Patton Oswald's new "1% Club".

This has been the case for me on the past...300 or so alts. I have this mission from Maria Jenkins saved on 5 characters across several accounts so it doesn't matter which alt is needing it. As stated - enter, Ouro or base tp out, badge is awarded. I have known a player here and there that claim the badge didn't award. I can't see their screen, but I know it has always worked for me.

My understanding is this "meta", where you have tank, ice/cold corrs, a kin and some other dps, are for the speedy runs of the Advanced modes. For the 2 hour Advanced Modes, I don't know that you need complex builds that give up fight pool in exchange for max HP and recharge. I'm certain they help, tho. The difference in something like Freeze Ray when it's proc'd vs when it's not is noticeable - if all the procs actually fire in the same shot. They won't always fire. The math doesn't support it. Bitter Freeze Ray? Every time. Burn from a fire blaster's secondary - every time. (assuming no recharges slotted in the power) The marginal differences will add up. And really - the build isn't as important as the player behind the build. If you kill adds without needing to and you have a kin on your team - have you hurt your team because of a weaker fulcrum shift? Perhaps! It's at least the 3rd time I've mentioned this specific example because it floors me that @loc thinks about stuff like that. I'm still stunned. I am the guy that will kill those adds with a blizzard (or try to) without thinking about such things. At least, I was. A bit more careful about it now. From where I sit, if you have the team discipline to keep the barriers and clarion staggered, (and don't have a team of optimized builds) you'll probably do okay. Not speedy, but okay. And by okay, you and your team will die a LOT. In normal content, a blaster is considered by some to be a glass cannon. Not my style, but okay. Some play real close to the edge of defeat. Others, like me, not so close. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. The same way people learn to play their ATs and powersets, they'll pick up things as they run the advanced mode tfs more often. Practice may not make perfect, but it will improve things. I think the advanced modes, in some fashion are going to go through some changes in tactics as more people try more things. Some will stick with what's worked for them, of course. Others may try to improve upon the times, and others might try an all MM advanced mode TF for the kicks and grins of it. (and they really should!) I am unconvinced that the current meta will stay the meta in the long run.

See, I could accept the "previously damaged" scenario, but they were both at full health. I didn't ding in between the clobbering of the two supa-trolls. All were the same level - 15. Certainly, it's not a big deal at all, and I suspect that it's just an anomaly. Perhaps what I should do is grab an alt that's level 15 on Excelsior with the standard xp rate, no 2xp buff and try again and see what result I get. Surely somewhere within the 7 pages of alts, there's one that's level 15, or close enough for this purpose.

Well, I don't think it's nonsense now that I grasp the why. But when I didn't, I was a bit like a brat who mocked what he didn't understand. If I'd just thought about the zone cap, that would have been enough. Now that Lady Grey is a bit more popular, stands to reason the cap is going to get reached sooner, preventing folks from getting there. It's just not something I thought about.

Yeah, I am guilty of being overly obtuse. I now see the flaws in my thinking.

"hidden level variance"? Can't say I've seen that term before. They were all at 100% health. Not a big deal, just curious.

Well, it is apparently repeatable - I gained a level, so the xp is a little lower - but both were level 15 lieutenants. (as were the two previous) Seems odd. I wonder if it has something to do with the rank of the troll that goes into the rave, even though they all come out the same.

Was in Skyway; (Indom, that's why the xp is so high) But my character is level 12. The Supa Trolls appear to be uniformly all level 15 lieutenants. I was the only one there, killed both solo. Why the difference in XP?

I agree. Any of you read through the Q & A from the Paragon Studio devs? One of them quoted/paraphrased Positron (Matt) as saying players are always going to find a way to get as much as they can with as little time investment as possible. Something like that. Lower level players are always going to find a way to get more/faster xp. Higher level players are always going to find a way to get more/faster rewards. If the lower level player with speed boost can help the higher level stone tank who loves granite, then they're going to team up. What's that 10 dollar word...symbiotic? Now, I was in one of the fancy, schmancy Instanced MSRs the other day. And a level 2!!!! was in it. My greedy for VG Merits mind said, "Glad they're not on my team!" But, you know what - they died at least half a dozen times -which tells me they were trying, at least. (tho, I'm still glad they weren't on my team) If I want to run an MSR that's 35 and up, which I've done...the result is you only get about 20-30 players interested. It's enough, but the rewards aren't as good when you have a full league. So, there is an element of symbiosis there in allowing the lower level players, not so much leaching. And in the case of MSR - don't kid yourself - there's a number of level 50 players who openly (and proudly) confess to dropping their HVAS, targeting their HVAS and putting an attack on auto fire and coming back 29 minutes later. Are they leaching too? There are some ideas in this thread worth looking at and considering. Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. First - we need to make a choice - do we want to be "City of Options", or "City of Equitable Contribution"? (truth be told, we're really City of Procs & Fold Space. Anyone not using both is just doing it poorly. Not wrong, just poorly. I AM KIDDING. I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT. Just a joke, folks)

Damn, I already had one cup, now I want another!

In all seriousness, this term you use "well built combat-focused AT" that can carry a team on a +4/8 ITF. What do you mean by "carry" ? Are you essentially taking out all the surgeons and managing aggro at the same time? And dispatching with all the npcs while the other 7 are spamming you with Adrenaline Boost, speed boost and fort and overgrowth and fulcrum shift? You're right in one respect, if you can't do it, recruit more wisely. But, I like to think my characters are well built and combat focused - but I cannot carry 7 other players in +4/8 ITF - not that I've ever tried. That would so be out of character for me to even do an ITF in the first place at any setting. (I intensely dislike the yelling, but I love the crunch of my mace knocking heads, so turning off the volume isn't an option. I should really use the city modder!) Can you humor me and just elaborate what you mean by carry, so I don't suffer from inadequacy issues?

Fair enough. On retail, MSRs would from in RWZ. iTrials would form up in Pocket D and Dark Astoria. They only started forming up in Ouro because of Luna. (that's my thinking anyway) In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter. I was just curious (and a bit annoyed at having to type out someone's code to participate when they could have easily gone to some other co-op zone.)

I don't disagree. But I am eagerly awaiting a day when there is more information readily available within the game. Granted, for most of us, it seems kind of silly that someone interesting in finding out more wouldn't just hit the url links we give them when they ask. But one thing is clear to me: Relying on external sites for information is problematic. Eventually, the people running those sites will find something better to do. Then what? Go the HC Wiki that hasn't been updated in X years? (that's an example of what might be in the future - no reflection on current state) The forums here are also a treasure trove. It's just a shame the search feature is so quirky. It's probably just me, but I have better luck using Google than the forum search function.

There's just a tiny problem - or huge problem, depending on variables. Tackling a 4* cannot be done just willy nilly. For players that leveled up through content, this will almost certainly mean doing a respec and pursuing max recharge and max HP. It means blasters can't just AoE as they please - they have to exercise target control because we wouldn't want the kin's Fulcrum Shift to be any less than it could be, right? It means flight isn't really an option - because those that do this kind of content use the Teleport Pool. Because they kind of have to. If a null field is between you and your team and you're using teams of barrier casting, you can't just SS through the null field, but you can tp through it. And problems may occur if someone isn't arriving in the mission in time for barrier. Or for the incan to the spot for the next fight. SS is just too slow in some cases. SS is relegated for short trips within the mission, usually. It boggles my mind to think teams are now completing the 4* in less than 30 minutes, with under 5 defeats. (the duration is more impressive than the minimal defeats to me) These players are getting exceptional at getting the most out of team synergy with some of the crappiest builds for general content. A blaster with no fight pool; less than 10% defense, and only 5% resistance. A ton of damage. Capped HP, maybe. Proc'd to the gills. Damn near perma hasten. Fold space. All the good stuff. But that same character by themselves, they'd likely be dead against a level 7 hellion if exemplared. (I just made that up - no idea if it's true, just saying the builds I see succeeding in 4* are pure trash outside of incarnate buffs) It's ridiculous how they make it work. And I'm guilty of doing the respec to make my character pure trash, too. I'm looking forward to the next attempt at a 4*. But, no, the idea of revisiting...people are doing this now - in 3 months, those same people may have moved on to a different game or there may be a new patch with an advanced Atta mission where you have to clear the map before the tunnels collapse on top of you and that begins to get everyone's attention. Gotta strike while the iron is hot.

So, just to be 100 clear - Combat Attributes showed the defense boost from Maneuvers at 3.96% in one of my level 50 characters. In Maneuvers, I had an lotg 7.5%, and 3 pieces of a Shield Wall set. I took the level 50 def/recharge out, and replaced with a level 10 def/recharge in, and defense boost from maneuvers dropped from 3.96 to 3.92. So, they do not level up with you, sadly. This is why I use attuned for my level 7 characters, and then remove and replace with level 50's when they reach level 47.

Anyone beside me notice the strange sales of the pvp sector? I think it has something to do with the Advanced mode TFs - as Panacea, Shield Wall and Glad Armor sets share a common stat boost - +HP. The Glad Armor 5 piece gives 2.25%, as does a 3 piece of Shield Wall. The Panacea is a bit smaller, but also offers up some regen to go with it, not to mention the unique and it's goodness by itself. The supply seems to be less than 10 for more than a few of them. But they aren't selling instantly when offered cheaply. It has the look of a player who wants to "buy now!". What I can't make sense of is the player that is buying all the +HP/End Panaceas for 7.1M. Instant sales, those. I mean, it certainly seems like the same player, unless multiple people are offering the bid at the same odd number. What does one do with over 100 of these? I've done this myself before, just stashed the LotG 7.5% in my base, but I can use 5 of those at a time. Not just one, like the panacea unique. They don't seem to be relisting at a higher price. Eh, maybe they are just hoarding them. Fine by me. I'll keep selling.

There's definitely some precedent for this protecting players from themselves. For example, I can no longer sell a very rare recipe to a vendor (by mistake or otherwise) Simply remove any "attuned" purple with the fuzzy edges from the AH. Simply disallow the combination of a catalyst with a purple or pvp IO. If it needs to be said, we continue to allow the attuning of pvp IOs so lower levels can slot them, unlike the very rare (purple) enhancements which require you to be trained to 50.

In these forums, and the help chat, we get to read a lot. Some of it useful, some of it amusing (thank you Snarky) and some it is just plain wrong. Sometimes wrong is well-intentioned, but borne out of the poster's experience. They heard someone say/write X, and in their experience doing "X" seemed to be the right way to go. But, they have no idea half the players are doing something else. They all get the same thing accomplished. But some think their way is the right way. The only right way. Oh - that's another thread. Sorry. Don't attune purples or PvP IOs because they are attuned right out of the box. You can respec, or you can use unslotters, take out the attuned and replace with level 50 versions of the same enhancement. OR - and this may cause some of you to cry - just leave the attuneds in place and go about your merry way. Why make work for yourself? If you are considering the advanced mode tfs, then I would suggest you respec your character and use unattuned and boost your enhancements. If there's room for marginal improvements, take that room. Every bit helps. Or you can elect to use a 2nd build - one with boosted IOs, the other with attuned. In the AH, be reminded of Snarky's comment above. It's true. You'll notice the same sales history for the attuned as the unattuned. There are the same number of each for sale, with the same number of bidders. So, you can certainly sell your attuned. And when you try to buy the unattuned version of the same thing - hopefully, you'll get it back at the same price. But be careful. Sometimes, there aren't any more. And someone gobbles up your attuned version as soon as you list it, and you'll have to craft one from a recipe. It doesn't happen often, but it can happen.

The Church of Snarky has services routinely throughout the day.

So, beyond the scope of my post, but the character I was on was just grabbing the explores, but right at "badge 1" on the vidiotmaps list is a terminal. And I have a vague memory of a contact telling me to click on it...and retail has been ages ago, so I could easily be remembering something else. So, I set out to find General Hammond. And my level 44 character looked to be set to get some missions. I looked him up on the HC wiki - no story arc, just general missions. Well, I am about the merits, not the xp, so I passed. But he did intro me to Dr. Boyd. Same scenario. Just one-off missions, no arc. So, I passed. I can grasp why this area goes ignored. It's nice to visit, but the idea of hopping from island to island to complete an arc...well, that's bound to get old once the mission tp and team tp need a recharge. But, if it were a short arc, 3-4 missions for X merits or so, yeah, I'd probably explore that at least a few times. Given the reasons a lot of players do radios, the shard just isn't suited for those folks - as they want to avoid caves and have the maps fairly close together so there's little down time - I don't think this would likely get a lot of attention. But, it doesn't hurt to ask or suggest it, so I did. But as far as fun goes - that's subjective. I think a new arc could at least be interesting, if not fun. Again, doesn't hurt to suggest it.

I realize I'm not the first one to make this suggestion. At least, I wouldn't think so, but have we considered a path that makes sense for the Shadow Shard to be co-op? I am not saying this should be a priority. But somewhere on the queue of things to do, I wonder if it would be feasible for a story arc or two to take advantage of all this space? Well, some of it. Also - I noticed when grabbing the explorations, I didn't get any tips, which I would get if I were in Paragon or the Rogue Isles. It could be it was never designed to get tips on purpose - no idea there. But perhaps it just got overlooked.

I do agree with one thing - freeze ray on the sentinel should be a hold, not a sleep. Other than that, I think it's just fine. I initially thought you were comparing Sentinel Ice to other Sentinel fire. Comparing to blaster ice is comparing apples to oranges. Both might be tasty, but they're supposed to be different. Don't discount the Sentinel inherent. It is a debuff that goes unnoticed by the npc. It allows for your attacks to deliver more bang. The recent revamp which allowed this is nothing short of great creativity. It was hard for me to understand it at first, because it's not obvious how the opportunity is built - until you're told, or find the info in the forums, and then you smack your forehead in a Homer Simpson fashion.

Can you elaborate a smidge? I thought Life Insurance reduced the debt you acquire when defeated. I would think this is the last thing you'd want when you're heading off to Monster Island to sacrifice yourself to the GMs as many times as it takes to get the Unbroken Spirt/Undaunted badge. Patrol XP is generally what I use to gobble up the debt ahead of time. You have me confused - and I'll confess, other than for badges, a typically avoid mayhem/safeguard because there are no merits involved. The Steel Canyon temp is nice, an extra ATT for a few days. And having extra HP or recovery, always nice. But debt protection? I don't see the utility there.