Ukase

I would like to make a distinction here. I'm not talking about separating the arcs from the ATs. I'm suggesting that other ATs be able to do the arcs. That's not precluding the HEATs from doing the arcs. And I never suggested a generic re-write, either. It is a fair point you brought up - about the re-write, but I'm not suggesting they do that. There needs to be no editing. I'm simply suggesting they make the arc available to all ATs. They've already made red/gold/blue available to all alignments via null the gull (aside from goldsiders who haven't reached level 20 yet). But, clearly you're against it for the reasons you stated, and you're entitled to that opinion. But, the suggestion still remains.

I understand this perspective. But...it's disappointing that the only way to be exposed to the content is by playing the VEAT or HEAT - both of which are not very much fun (for me) to play. And while you may find this content sucks - I have not reached the conclusion, as I've not done the arcs. My one warshade was on a crawl team, and we went through the usual paths - hollows, faultline, striga, croatoa, rwz. I could visit the content through ouro with this character - but the AT, while having interesting effects, it's annoying to play, having to make frequent use of macros and binds. Why should I subject myself to such things just for a story arc? Candidly, none of the content in this game is going to make any critic stand up and take notice. It's designed for young teens, most of it. (in my estimation, anyway. Opinions will certainly vary) But, it would be more enjoyable to me if I could run through the content on my blaster, or corruptor, as opposed to these odd AT types that require multiple respecs because of the growing pains they have.

Any Karate Kid fans? (the movie) In this fine film, Mr. Miyagi says to Laruso - "Daniel-san, the best way to block hit - No be there!" Back on live, before I knew that perma-debt was even a thing, I had it. I want to say it too me 870 hours to get my first 50. I want to say that - but it was really longer. A lot of that time difference between then and now is this version has xp at ..what, a 25% higher rate than live? And with p2w, even higher. But anyway, I digress. I used to die. Often. I'd carry the wakies in my tiny inspiration tray. Then it occurred to me, maybe if I carried a few more greens and purples, I wouldn't need so many awakens. I would likely have taken 50% longer to reach 50 if I hadn't figured out what defense was. Investing into tough and weave saved my skin a lot more than I would have ever thought possible. My first foray into the maths...I can't recommend it, it's quite tedious. But I can recommend the results of that investigation. Slot for defense. Or a boat load of recharge, so you're always clobbering. There's a balance between chaos and order, and when you find it - you rarely suffer defeat. Not trying to dictate that this approach is for everyone. Some folks will be better served to just carry on, enjoy the game the way you are. But a few, just a few might consider carrying a few purples, mashing them before the boss engagements, and die a lot less. It's almost like cheating, except it's not.

You know, I should have mentioned that myself. Good call.

Hey, I never said I was smarter. I just said I prefer to think of it like that!

Sunstorm, Shadowstar. Currently, a warshade is assigned Shadowstar as a contact, and PB's get Sunstorm. (or do I have them mixed up? Don't think so) While my warshade can do Shadowstar's arcs through ouro, my non-warshade characters cannot. I'm certain this is working as intended. My suggestion is to open these arcs to any AT. A warshade and a PB used to be a privilege to play; you had to be 50 to even make one. This is no longer the case. Stopped being the case sometime during live. Seems like since it's no longer a true privilege to play one (beyond just being able to play at all) the contacts should be open to any AT.

I feel as if anecdotally, I'm a bit of an expert in this, as I literally use about 1000-3000 converters a day, at least, depending on the day. I've had these types of conversion fits with Aegis - where the psi resist gets converted to end/recharge and back to psi resist 3 to 4 times before it will turn into one of the other 4. Sometimes, as many as 6 times. It happens. I don't write it down or anything. I just know it happens. But, it doesn't happen often enough for me to think the rng is broken. But that's just my experience with it. Similar experiences with Obliteration, where I'll be looking for the proc or the quad, and continue to get the dam or acc/recharge. But, what happens to me far more often is I'll go from converting a rare hold, out of set and get an lotg 7.5%. So...that's fairly rare, but it does happen. Both of these happen. And if I can live with the latter, seems like I should be able to live with the former. I do think if they implemented an in-set cycle, where they don't repeat, the cost of the converter from a merit vendor should be much, much higher. Like 5 reward merits for 1 converter.

I will state emphatically and enthusiastically that this is me, almost every time - unless I have some crafting/converting to do while I wait. It's the one reason I'm able to stomach an MSR from time to time - because on Excelsior, Doc Proteus (I think that's his global - maybe it's just Proteus) will broadcast in lfg "X/48" so folks like me will know how much time we have to wrap up whatever it is we're doing. The question is - why do you state this like it's some sort of negative characteristic? I suppose impatience could be perceived negatively by some. I prefer to think of it as simply being smarter than the folks that joined before I did. I got some other things done while they stood around and did ToT or whatever. (Which I have already done on 6 characters this season and that's quite enough, thanks)

Interesting. So, have you read elsewhere in these forums where some players are frustrated because when they drop their judgement or AoE or whatever power - and they feel it's wasted because between them mashing the button, and it executing, someone else's nuke went off a second earlier? I would swear I read about this routinely. It certainly happens to me often enough. I once got chastised for being the first to use my nuke, wasting another player's nuke, because they were a split second slower than I was. (Not a real admonishment, it was more of a "darn it" kind of frustration on their part. I am sure most of us have felt that way. You think it's faster. (for all to stay together and fight through mobs) In some cases, it may well be faster. But, I suggest you consider that in some cases, it is woefully slower. It all depends on the players on the team - their ATs, powersets - and most importantly, the competence and experience of the players behind the avatars. Further - you're welcome to correct me any time you like - but don't be surprised if I just laugh at you for having this idea that your way is the way I'm supposed to do things. I say that in the context of you not being the team lead and giving direction. That's not your place in that context. You're just another teammate just like me. You have no authority in that case to give instruction. You can make a suggestion, sure. Offered as such, I'd probably take it. But if you give correction - well, a smart man said to me, "rules without relationship reap rebellion". I suggest you NEVER give correction to someone you don't know. It never works. You can offer a suggestion - that's a different thing. The joining the team answer may be different for different people. Merits, badge, XP, etc. And that answer tends to dictate how folks want to do a certain task. Me, I'd rather go as fast as I can. Compared to some - due to page load times, knowledge (or lack of same) of a given tf/trial, inexperience on a character - I can be faster than most, or slower than some. It's a bit relative. Either way, if the team lead communicates the desired approach, it would save about 200 pages of posts in these forums.

When I was in college, I attended the same university my father taught at. I did this primarily because if I made a 3.0 GPA or better, I'd get half my tuition reimbursed due to my father being employed there. When he asked who was teaching my economics class (he was the chair of the finance dept.) he about had a stroke because I took the guy whose rep was an easier grade. I asked him what the difference was. He told me that the better professors would know how to approach the same problem from a different angle and explain things to different students in different ways if they needed a different perspective. So, while I'm not a PhD in any category at all, I'll do my best to explain this from a different perspective - I think, I hope. We're all different people, presumably alive (except maybe for Snarky who claims to be undead, as opposed to alive) and we all certainly have our own thoughts and behaviors. So, I completely agree with the part of your post I've cited. As we're all different, it stands to reason (doesn't it?) that we'll all have somewhat different ideas of what's fun, or amusing, or engaging - whatever the term is that answers the reason or reasons why you play this game. So, when we gather for a team up, or a league, if nobody knows who anyone else is, the odds of all players being on the same page, with the same agenda are quite poor. One player may want XP. Another may just want a Notice of the Well. Another may want the incarnate reward table. And another may just want to team up with other players because they ...like it? Or their build isn't that great, or their AT is a support character and it makes sense to them to buff/debuff as the need arises. Yet another may want all those things. The mission objectives in our Nav bar - Barring communication from the leader to the contrary - is the one thing that all players should be in agreement on. We all know the drill. Whether it's "Defeat X" or "Destroy Y", or "Escort XYZ", there are ways to accomplish these tasks quickly. There are ways to accomplish them efficiently. There are ways to enter the map, clear all the NPCs on the map. Some prefer this is done as fast as possible. Others don't see the logic behind that - as there's just another mission to follow this one, and we may as well get as much reward as we can while we're in here. I mean, we are having fun in here, right? (or are we interested, engaged - whatever the term may be for you) Some folks have different goals. As a result of having different goals, the methods for completing various tasks are likely to be different. The only way to accomplish these tasks with any harmony at all is to communicate how you'd like to do these tasks. As a wise man once said, "You have not because you ask not!" We're not mind readers. If some of us play the same game in a different fashion, there's nothing wrong with that. Until my "fun" ruins your fun. Then it's wrong. But - if you didn't tell me what's fun for you - is that my fault? Or is it yours? Or do we just blame the HC devs for bringing the game back? NCSoft was smart enough to recognize how stupid this game is sometimes - that's why they shut it down, because of all the complaining, right? For those that couldn't tell, that last bit was intended to be sarcastic! (and rhetorical!!!) Anyway, I hope you all will enjoy the game as best as you're able. Tomorrow isn't promised to any of us. If I can be helpful, ask me politely.

All press is good press!

I see no problem with the game being renamed to City of Ukase!

I only highlight this portion because out of all the replies, this part speaks to me the most. So, I thank you for that. The rest of your post was also quite interesting - I'd give 100 billion to rename Artillery Blast to Ukase's Blast, for sure! But it would have to be permanent, lol. So, given your logic here, it's a fun idea - (to me) - but a poor one. I now consider the question answered. So thanks everyone!

I've got about 30 T-merits stashed. But they spend a lot faster than they come in, for sure. It's part of the reason I opted to get all the badges on more characters. Gives me more time to accumulate them. My primary account is actually set on t-merits. It's the secondary account that I play while the first account is soaking damage, or dishing out damage for various badges that I'm having to farm the emp merits for. Just tedious, no big deal, really. On the one hand, HC has already done quite a bit to make the incarnate grind less grindy with the emps & threads dropping at certain vet levels. I like the HC method a LOT more than the old version of dealing with Astrals & Emp merits for not only incarnate stuff, but recipes & IOs as well. On the other hand, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me that 2xp turns off at 50, when there's more XP to be had, even if it is incarnate XP. I mean - the more inf we sink, the better, right? Smart play with the TinPex. I enjoy Apex...but Tin Mage just seems dull to me. Nothing to dodge like in Apex.

On a grand scale, you're right about that. And he doesn't care who gets it, either. I'm a lot more discriminating. I have no beef in handing out a tidy sum to someone who's got a clever name or a funny bio. But I'm not gonna hand out inf to anyone who asks for it. The idea of the gift needs to come from me, or it's not really a cheerful gift. I prefer to monitor the help channel and gift folks who are asking questions that show they are trying to figure things out beyond just blind button mashing. Giving in this game can be difficult, too! I was giving away hero/villain packs yesterday. People keep moving away! You try to chase them down, and they zone out. I gave away a glad armor 3%, panacea +HP/End, and Shield Wall 5% to a number of players a couple of months ago. A billion inf worth. And it took me forever, because folks are rarely stationary. (not paper, pun lovers. Stationary as in standing still) And the ones that are - Spines/fire brutes who certainly don't need influence, level 50's that ...I have no idea what they're doing standing on the ledge in front of Ms. Liberty, but I check their build info and they're already kitted out, so no need to gift those folks.

Because no good success goes unpunished.

No, it's not at all an equal field. I get that it's subjective. But you did bring up a possibility: everyone gets a trophy! Except folks with gross character names. References to gross bodily functions should probably not be rewarded. I much prefer avatar names that use alliteration, like my own "Massive Man", who is as tiny as I could make him, who also boasts TW powerset. A shame that the weapon scaled down with the avatar, but I understand why.

The NPCs do tend to speak up about you, particularly when you've recently completed a story arc or task force. If a Task Force, they mention the task force "name", like "Task Force Nebula", or "Task Force Profit". I believe it's just a local reference though, not zone or game wide.

I won't review each item on the list and just thank you for the energy to reply. I suppose the reputation I have doesn't align with how I play this game. I do enjoy the game the way I play. I'm just trying to enjoy it more. I will say one thing: I'll never host, or knowingly sponsor a costume contest. I think those are patently unfair, because all of us have different graphic settings and there's no way to know what the other player is seeing. A trial leader once referred to Will of the Earth (a debuff swirl that gets cast onto the feet of someone in the trial) as brown. On my screen, it's yellow. I mean, it's not even close to brown. I also don't think it's even close to fun having your character passed over when you see some of the outfits the winners are wearing. So, pass on that idea. I have several characters in play that avoid p2w altogether. No 2xp, no nothing. No aid from the alts. It's good to be familiar with how a newer player struggles. But please know that I already do just about all of those things on the list you suggest. This post isn't about me whining about not having any fun. This post is simply asking your thoughts on an ability to buy emp merits in bulk as a good, bad or horrible idea. Not for the way I play to be assessed and reviewed.

How would one do a scavenger hunt? Not like I can leave a hero pack on the ground somewhere? Still, you raise a good point. I was going to give each SG member a large amount of influence, but I was discouraged by the SG leaders because they feared it would lead to a lack of motivation. So, I think I'll just start giving away various goodies in game. But still, I sure would like to "buy" a ton of emp merits.

I could - but the last time folks took a break - the game shut down!

I have to be careful here and be more receptive to perspectives that I haven't thought about. I don't want to bemoan every suggestion. So, I hope I'm not coming across that way. But, how many times can someone stomach doing the same thing over, and over, and over again? I earned ...maybe 800 hero merits worth tanking hami a couple of years ago, doing that every day for months. The only reason I do those now is for the buddy badge. Once I get the 100 buds, I stop, until the next character wants/needs the badge. MSRs and Hami raids are a great way for folks that need the influence that those merits from those tasks provide. I almost feel guilty for taking up a spot as it is! Yet, perhaps if I can buy whatever I want - that would also detract from the game itself. Maybe it's for the best. I dunno. But I know I'm going to opt to farm for the foreseeable future for those emps, rather than attend Hami raids & msrs (though I do have several characters who will be in pursuit of buddy badge and those two irksome MSR related badges for Ukon and the bombs) Even so - 4 emps per hami raid, per character. You'd have to do that same thing 45 times to get the necessary emp merits. I've already done that thing 1000 times, at least! Enough of that tired story. The chatter while waiting used to be somewhat entertaining, but the more amusing players have left, gone on to other games, it would seem. I don't mind repeating certain things a number of times, but that's too many times, and you can only get 4 per day. (per character). I could swap characters, and send the emps to a specific alt, but that's still doing the same thing ad nauseum. I may as well farm. I can get a few vet levels, I think, before a triple run hami is completed. (maybe not...I'd have to check & verify that. I think I can, tho.)

Would save a lot of clicking, to be sure. I'd go for that.

I just remember the first July when HC opened. I'd reached 50, and I looked at the prices of the items I wanted. I knew how to market, was familiar with farming from live. But I lacked the resources to really do either with any efficiency. I think I got lucky, when I'd stumbled upon Catalysts. I saw they were selling for 5M a piece. So, I used some merits and sold a bunch of them - and then I discovered the price difference between an ATO and the superior counterpart. At the time, given the hassle of unslotting after making them superior, it was barely worth it. But when the cat prices dropped to 2-3M, it was certainly worth it, and that was where I made a quick ton of inf. And it was tedious. I didn't really enjoy it. But it seemed necessary to outfit my characters in the manner in which I deemed them worthy. I had a choice. I could nickel and dime as I went along, just getting by, or I could just invest the time and make enough where I don't have to do it anymore. It would seem I was there quite some time ago. But, when they changed the AH experience by seeding salvage, and later by putting winter packs on sale - I had concerns. At any time, they could change things. Email could stop holding influence, or it could disappear. Items that were or are selling for X, they could suddenly be seeded by the HC devs for less than the price I've been expecting things to be. Bittersweet - as the resources I have would go further, but the time I'd invested would have been wasted. So, I opted for "FU" inf. No longer do I feel compelled to do a weekly TF with a pug with folks I don't know. I can choose what I want to do, when I want to do it. Seems to have worked out. I just didn't stop soon enough, and well, someone has to keep Yomo in check.

There was a movie I saw with John Wayne, when I was a kid. Can't recall the name of it, but his character said, "I don't dance. I don't trust men who do, and I don't trust women who don't." When I was a kid, it seemed like a perfect excuse to avoid dancing. As an adult, I'm not quite sure the comment makes any sense, but the case remains - I do not dance. And I ain't giving you 500B just cuz of that.