Ukase

So, I was monitoring the help channel, and the question was asked - "is there a way to count the number of members of an SG without having to manually count them?" Seemed like a good question, and one I wanted the answer to. I tried /cmdlist to see if I could see a command that might give a clue, but it was a lengthy list, and while I did look through all of it, there were some abbreviations I didn't recognize, so I could have missed it. I thought /SGWHO would give the full list with the number at the top, but it doesn't. I asked an in-game friend who swears she used this command to check the roster each week (but it's been a minute since she's played) So, my feedback is to suggest this command list the total at the top as it supposedly used to, but even if it never did. When you're in charge of a large SG, but still active, you never want to move to invite someone and not have room. And counting the total # of names with fingers and eyes - when the count can be so large, you wouldn't think it would be so easy to goof up, but it is!

Either someone added an extra 0 at the end by mistake...or something is going on...

Years ago, there was a film starring Al Pacino, called "Scent of a Woman". In this film, where his character, Col. Frank Slade was coming to the defense of Charlie, portrayed by Chris O'Donnell. He said, "I always knew the right path, but I never took it." See, I knew what the right thing to not do was, but I did it anyway. It was just too hard to not do it. 😈

I know better than to actually type this out - but I think you're referring to the player with names about being able to read, or having patience, etc. I've teamed with both, and they could very well be the same player. A lot of similarities between the two, but I can't prove anything. I actually have both of those globals on gignore - not because they've ever done anything rude to me, I just found teaming with them to be miserable. One guy is in his base for half the mission and then fusses at the team because they didn't clear the path for them. And they insist you let them run into the herd before you start attacking. As if I need a tank to protect me? pfft. Not in the Hollows, lol. The other tries to sell the team on an ambush when there is no ambush. They try to stand on their years of playing and they know the game, when they only know half of it. On the other hand, I don't think they can be the same, because I see the rude named one running content over level 30. Never see it with the other. (But I've had them both on ignore for about a year, so who knows)

I regret to say - I didn't fully trust the HC Wiki. I should have, but I thought - how can this be true? How is it we can award 80 merits for 5-10 minutes of GM killing and 60 seconds of a beat down on hami...and yet, only award a Single Origin enhancement for completing Mender Lazarus' TF? I guess I realize now why I've only ever done this once before on HC, but so long ago, I didn't remember it until the last mission - which is when I went to look at the HC Wiki. I figured, hey, it seems new, something different. Or at least, it's been long enough where I don't remember it - why look it up? But, once I saw the last mission, it triggered something, and then I see 1 SO is the award. No Reward Merits. Zip. It is my own fault, of course. But seriously - this should change it should award somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 to 15 reward merits at least.

As someone who solo's more often than not, I feel I should suggest that you not use this as an argument. I get it - I do! But, there are so many players that are begging for teams, it seems kind of pointless to pursue a soloist argument. I could certainly be wrong, but the HC devs are still allowing us to start TFs solo, and do all manner of things solo - but I don't see them switching the AVs to EBs just for us. And I know you didn't ask for that - just asking for a second look at the damage. That by itself is a fair request. But I do think it's working as intended. Although I think you should have been left with at least 1 hitpoint. Maybe there is something screwy going on.

Without piling on, I have a question of my own. My understanding was the Paragon Dev team had instituted some policy or code or whatever to prevent players from being defeated in 1 shot (although I'm pretty sure the Minotaur didn't play by that rule with his gobsmacking 6k worth of damage, lol). Maybe the rule changed? Or perhaps there are exceptions to the rule.

Again?!?

I'm finding myself obtuse again...untoggled hybrid is allowed...but you can't toggle it. Okay. So, judgement is a no go? Maybe it would be better to say incarnate powers may be slotted but not used. And..I did check out the +4/8 on my spines/fire farmer. The thing is - when the mission completes - you can't see the time it took. It never occurred to me that when the mission completed, I couldn't check. Just as well. It wastes 5 seconds just entering the map. I am thinking more than a few of my characters would struggle to complete the +4/8 simply because of the inability to use inspirations. But I'm with Snarky. Attacking a pylon is the most useless task in game. It's so pointless because pylons don't hit back.

So, what I think would be helpful - for the rest of us to help you - is to get a copy of the chat between you and the others just prior to starting and to the point that they leave. Anecdotally, I know I will leave a team when a mission is over if I'm not enjoying myself for any reason. Unless it's a TF, and then I'll just endure it but will quit as soon as I get the merits. For me - teams where the team lead barks out orders and says something that's not accurate, and chats to the team like nobody can read - yeah, I leave that team as soon as the mission is done. Sometimes, it's not the team or team lead, but there's another activity I saw being recruited for that sounds like more fun. Like, I'd much rather do a Yin TF than a pug team in the Hollows because I get merits from Yin, I don't get merits from doing Frostfire - unless it's my mission. And given the way levels happen, it would be problematic to try and collaboratively complete, and with the hunts in that arc, it can be tough to do without holding up the team. So, that's my suggestion. Let's see what's being communicated between you and your team. That might shed a clue as to what's going on.

So, what happen when you switch alignments is you do temporarily lose the missions. They get removed from your queue. If you were on a story arc - let's say you had a Siege mission saved for your alts. You switch alignments, the mission goes away - but when you switch back, your place in the arc is generally kept and you can pick up right where you left off. If the mission was what I refer to as a one-off, not part of the arc, you may have to speak to the contact, accept the mission given, and do it or abandon it and try to get the preferred mission. In some cases, Tina MacIntyre, for example - she has a mini-arc where she sends you to Bricks to speak with another contact, Sheridan. If you switch alignments before taking the goo to Sheridan, you may have to redo it from the first mission.

For me, much depends on what I'm playing when I fight them. Most of my melee characters don't have much of an issue, except those super stunners with their AoE -end mod patches, those are very annoying, particularly in the early 30's, before I've taken the slots to address endurance while running a number of toggles. My ranged characters might not go for +X/8; just depends on the tools available and my skill using them. Ultimately, it doesn't matter. If we want things easier, we can make them easier. If we want them harder, we can do that, too. They already self-rez, often after you've left the area and then sneak up on you as you've engaged the next group. They are already annoying enough with stuns, sleeps and end drains. What more do you want? Whatever it is - let's get a toggle so you can have it and I can do without.

Well...you got me. I don't really keep up with such things, so ya got me.

Which do you think is of greater utility? Value? I think 1 prismatic is worth more than 1 reward merit, as far as the market goes. But the reward merit has a lot more utility. Hard to believe 1000 prismatics can be worth 2.7B, depending on price and fees. (assuming a 3M price)

You're right! The barista looked at me funny, but I didn't care! I have no significant feedback to provide beyond my initial feedback in the beta discussion. Now, insignificant feedback - just ask me. Lots of that. But I don't want to type all morning. My arthritis isn't bugging me too bad, so I'm gonna go row 10k while the servers are getting maintained.

Because you can't do missions in your SG base? And, I imagine there are still folks out their that don't have base editing privileges in their sg.

Posts like these - when I can keep my own mouth shut - are where folks can learn all kinds of things - or simply refresh their memory. Nemu must be on one heck of a refill. Still, a lot of good info in here.

Candidly, the changes in game are kind of blurry to me. If you return, welcome back. If not, enjoy your day. I do think it's worth logging in and taking a look around. The city modder tool has some interesting add-ons that can subtly change things that might have annoyed you, like demon pet noises, and can color up the place a bit like making the globe Atlas carries look like an actual planet instead of just a big gray ball. That may be worth looking into should you decide to return.

Sorry, Brain. I think I understand where you're coming from - but the mere existence of the Upgrade feature suggests to me it is fairly normal for many players that actively play outside of farms to use SOs up to 50, and then cash in all their merits for whatever, to get the sets they want. As the game stands now, there's a number of sub-populations that play the game differently (in very broad strokes) Some PL to 50 and then begin to play Some create the character and play to a given point, never reaching 50, because the dings are too far apart for their dopamine levels to encourage continued play (or other mysterious reasons - like lore, or their character concept, or perhaps they just don't like the npcs they'd face at higher levels) Some play to 50, never touch incarnate stuff and just start over with a new character Some play the same character, or few characters to 50 and far beyond and never make a new alt. Interestingly, in this group are some avid farmers. It's literally all they do. For me - I wouldn't notice any difference in my play, as by 30, I've swapped to IOs anyway. But, if SOs are useless past 35, what do I get in lieu of those SO drops? More IO recipes? Currently those sell at level 50 for 80-110K (guessing, no idea the exact price range) But, I know after something like an ITF with about 30 of those SOs, I can sell them for a fair chunk. If I got recipes instead, I guess I'd get more - which I'd be okay with - but if the drops just went empty, like I'm doing on Ouro arc, it does remove some of the financial incentive to put up with those annoying screaming men who lack the decency to even say, "Have at you!" or "En Garde" in the same fashion they scream. Being an older guy - I hate change. Usually, after things change anyway, I adapt and am sometimes okay with the changes once I get used to them. (like the insta-base tp we used to have) I'm actually okay with the changes there, now that I'm used to them. And I'd be okay with this, eventually - but again, given the upgrade feature, I just don't see it coming to pass. The Upgrade feature is too useful, and people like SOs until 50 - because on a first character, players struggle with having enough influence and honestly, the differences aren't so great that a player might just forgo common inventions for the sake of simplistic ease. And those invention IOs are generally multiples more expensive than an SO, because of crafting costs. In some cases, there are badgers who can assist with their flooding the market with cheap IOs - but a first character player...they likely wouldn't be aware of the bargains that may, or may not, await them. Just my opinion, though.

I wish that new teleport power would just take us there. It's one of the reasons I usually avoid redside.

lol, it's your fault. You brought up the LVT reference, not me. Anything associated with Sound of Music is an easy, quick, emphatic No thanks!

It's an idiosyncrasy of mine. I don't like npcs behind me. Go forward, clear as you go.

Supposedly, back on retail, the Paragon Devs would data mine the length of time various tfs and such would take and base the reward merits on those timers. Most folks who played red side back then had already conquered blue side, so went red for something different. It's probably NOT fair for me to say, but my hunch is a lot of those folks were fairly competent in playing their characters, even though MMs, Brutes, Corruptors and Dominators and VEATs were newer ATs. So, they probably went a little faster, on average. That's just at theory of mine, mind you. I personally think Blue side is preferable, simply because there are more zones and more content. More options. Thankfully we have Null who makes changing alignments instant, so there really are no barriers to content for anyone, except for those gated by level.

Anecdotally, I've had mixed success with scrappers. My largest complaint with them is when I find an AT/powerset combo that's strong enough to handle large groups - they run off, defeating the purpose of the AoE goodness I'd like to take advantage of. My problem - and I emphasize that the problem is mine, not the AT - is I don't care for fold space. I don't really want to wait for an epic power to immobilize them - because even when that's done, they're rarely in a tight enough cluster. And confront on a scrapper...well, it doesn't seem to work that well - at least, not anecdotally. Is there a solution to this dilemma of mine that I haven't figured out?

First - glad you found something interesting to play. I didn't want to say anything until I checked out the combo myself. For me - it was an interesting leveling experience. A few times, I bit off more than I could chew, but not so often where I thought, "That dude must know something I don't". The thing is - and I understand a lot of differences are playstyle and build/slotting, the dps I had with 2x rage going was nice. The rage crash is minimal. But, tackling Siege, at +3, even as an EB..well, the crash was noticeable then, because he'd heal up and the -damage numbers don't help. If it weren't for some large reds in my email from super packs, it would've taken a lot longer. Still, nothing wrong with a little challenge. But - despite that, for my money, I'll take fire. FE + Burn > 2xRage + Foot Stomp. Now, the survivability of Energy Aura is clearly higher than FA - particularly in the higher levels when exposed to damage types beyond s/l. So, there's a case to be made, for sure. Ultimately, you've found your grail, which is great. I took a sip. I didn't find it bitter. I just prefer my own flask of FA. I'd certainly give it another go if I were to look at your build in mids. But since mids is temperamental at times, no big deal. Currently looking around to see what inspires me before I resort to using Troo's internet dice.