Ukase

Just on the very tiny chance the OP doesn't know - the "just load your character in and get 2x xp on Indom" - yes, that is over. But you can still get 2xp from START vendor.

So, this comment makes a lot of sense to me. And I guess it has to make me rethink my position. I was wrong. I do learn a lot from this particular part of the forum, on the "why" or "why not" something wouldn't work. Some of you are excellent at providing data which can allow me to independently reach the same conclusion.

I agree with your final conclusion, but not for the reasons you state.

Tabasco, please. I have more to say, but most of it is just opinion and may not belong here, so I hid it in a spoiler.

I have zero problem interacting with others. But I don't think your opinion or mine is relevant when it comes to the suggestions or feedback of other players. Context matters. If the idea reeks, I'm sure our dev team doesn't need us to tell them that. Maybe they do. It's just my feedback that we shouldn't give feedback. Because that leads to what we have here. You give feedback. I give feedback on feedback in general. I don't see any positives in giving folks a thumbs down, unless they're asking for reasons why we couldn't have something. Changes do not necessarily need to be in line with the style/previous content found in-game.

One of these days, this sub-forum will allow posts by players, with no replies from other players. At least, that's my dream. The OP makes a suggestion, and then others chime in about why it should or shouldn't change/occur. I'm not real clear on why we step in here and give our opinions that support or reject someone else's suggestions. I'm just as guilty as the next person, but it doesn't make sense. No matter how much logic is used, in more than a few cases, there's got to be some cases where a decent idea is tossed out because of negative responses, without getting any actual consideration by the people in a position to actually make the changes. Unfortunately, I think the nay-sayers make some interesting points. The idea that Fire and Dark armor don't have KB protection...yeah, that's a thing. Easily remedied, though. Well, sometimes easily remedied. Using a number of slots to increase kb protection to over 12...that's not so easy all the time. But there is no enhancement I'm aware of that protects against Fear. Maybe that could be a new d-sync? How many millions might that cost? Just a thought there. If I had my way, I'd give Protector the "I-win" button 'cause he's such a good guy. Have you seen his YouTube videos? He's not Logan Paul or anything, but that content!

I might play around with the animations, but the idea of someone else proposing that I spend my time tinkering with the color and hue of powers that I don't even know if I'm going to take strikes me as an unreasonable expectation. If you don't want to see the color of vengeance, stop with the needless defeats!

A while back, this post asked the question about if it was okay to not play well. Opinions varied there, as we would expect. Is farming in some circumstances resulting in rude play? Perhaps. Or perhaps we're all being a little too self-absorbed. Or maybe it's just me. I do think that players who play well tend to discover who else plays well. And who doesn't. And they find themselves teaming to together more often than not. And not teaming with those they deem rude, and/or not playing that well. And the players that don't play well, they still find Snarky, right? So, ultimately, other than becoming famous in Snarky's wonderful posts, there really isn't a downside other than a lost Master's badge every now and then.

Such a colorful way with words, as ever. lol I still think the msrs are a bit...well, routine. But given how many have been done by now, it should be routine. It's not that things can't go badly if you're not prepared with an adequate group. They can. Usually when there aren't enough 50s. Still, if you're not really doing anything else, it's decent way to get a vet level, perhaps. Or if you're below 50, it's a great way to get a fairly good chunk of progress. Myself, if there's no vanguard merits, it's a waste of time. I would just feel bad going there with a character under 35. Not sure why. Some folks have no problems joining at level 1. Just anecdotally, characters of mine that get too much XP too fast...I just don't have that much invested in them, so I don't play them as often. I can add, and confirm something I did not know, or if I knew, I forget. Your teammates clicking on the bombs gives you badge credit. So, I just focus on as many reds as I have until I hit the damage cap.

Mark & Recall accolade power is fantastic. When this new accolade power got released, I wasn't terribly impressed, as I didn't see much utility for it. But, let me tell you, this is a MUST-HAVE for all of my characters that intend to play any kind of content beyond simple marketing or farming. I am going to steal the requirements from @Bludgeoner. For mysterious reasons, his post was tossed into Feedback & Suggestions - and frankly, I don't think many people got to see it there. The requirements, which is basically Bludgeoner's entire post is behind this spoiler: So - now that you can see how to get it, maybe your next question is "why?" To save yourself the annoyance of escort missions. To save a little time. The what/how: For most of these situations, you have to ensure: 1) your stealth is off when you rescue the npcs. If they can't see you, they won't follow you. 2)That you are the one that did the rescuing, not your teammate who didn't use Mark & Recall. If your teammate rescues them - sometimes, it's just easier to forget about it, particularly if you're a slow typer, and they seem pretty new or obtuse. Some folks just won't understand what you're trying to do (or don't like the idea of it) But, if you have a "team player", tell them to move as fast as they can, stealthed, out of view, and hopefully you can pick them up and use the accolade to finish that objective/mission. 3) With some NPCs, like Katie Hannon, she's got pretty good vision. Turn your tactics off before you rescue her. It may be worthwhile to clear around the area a bit before you free her. 4) Most importantly, be sure you set the mark where you need to set it. It's not always at the entrance! Tarikoss SF: In the 5th mission, you have to free and escort a technician to a portal computer. You find the portal computer. Click on your Mark & Recall accolade. It will place a mark on your map, and it will spin, like a toggle does. Then you free the technician, and press the accolade power again, and you and the tech are instantly ported to the portal computer. Mission Complete! Silver Mantis SF: Use the Mark & Recall at the mission entrance. The first mission has you defeating 2 captains, Li and Lee. You're on your own with those guys. But the tattoo artists to bring to the entrance are in the back room. One is on the left as you enter the big room, and the other is just below him. Rescue both, then use your Mark & Recall to go back to the entrance. That objective is met. Operative Renault Strike Force: The first mission has you rescuing Barracuda and leading her to a portal. Use the Mark & Recall at the portal FIRST. Then rescue her, and make sure she's following you, (turn your stealth off) and use your Mark & Recall accolade to port to the portal. She will come with you. Jim Temblor (Faultline) Arc: The Rumblings of the Past: Fusionette can be a bit of an aggro magnet and a bit annoying for some players. Mark your spot at the entrance, free her, and port back. She comes with you. Mission Complete! Penelope Yin (Faultline) Arc: I lost my Daddy: In the last mission, you're to free Yin's dad and walk him back to the entrance. This saves you the walk. Moonfire TF: In the 7th mission, the objective is to free Dr. Todd and escort her to the entrance. Free her, and use ATT, or if nobody has that, or it's on cool down, you can use Mark & Recall to bring her back. John Houston (Independence Port, Rogue contact) The first mission has you rescuing Tunnel Rat and bringing her to the entrance. Place your mark, and rescue her, mash that button, mission complete. Crimson (Peregrine Island, Badge mission, Rikti Negotiator) Sadly, this one has you running to Founders to talk to Indigo for the sake of the story. But, once you get there, you can mission tp to 2nd mission, kill the boss, free the npc. (No escort required) The third mission is set for you immediately. They give you 2 hours and 30 minutes to finish it. Rescue the oddly named Rikti, and use the accolade to port both of you the mission entrance. (I Just complete this myself in 5 minutes, solo at 0/1 on my new level 50, fire/natty corruptor. Your times may vary. Got 7 merits for it, too. Seems kind of easy for 7 merits. ) Katie Hannon TF: I mentioned this above as an example, but when you rescue Amy, despite best efforts, sometimes Amy will get stuck. If you set your mark at the entrance, free her and then port back with the accolade, as promised in each example above, she'll come with you! You can also use it with Katie in the last mission. A little bit faster and less chance of aggro if you're sure she's following you. Again - make sure stealth is off. I know there are a number of other NPCs to escort in game - thinking of some of those safeguard missions, and one particular mission in Praetoria (you'd have to do this through ouro, can only get tip missions at level 20 and higher) comes to mind where you have to escort a very slow, injured person above ground. This npc moves slower than any npc I've ever escorted. I've repressed the memory and can't recall it. Sadly, the accolade doesn't work in PvP. I know I'd have a few more nukes if I could speed the process up with it. One other category I didn't mention is tip missions. There's a few that come to mind where the Mark & Recall would be handy. But I was doing those 25 tip missions to earn it and couldn't use it. But, if you find yourself doing some tip missions, the accolade may be more useful than you think.

I approve this message. As if it mattered whether I approved it or not, lol.

Is the name "Lead Head" already taken?

Interesting. Still, I'd say it's worth a look. My character Naughty Zoot is showing too much leg.

Off-topic, but if I had 10 million inf for each tell I got asking if I wanted a spanking, I would be able to get one of those pricier D-syncs.

So, maybe I should make a suggestion that nobody should be allowed to comment on suggestions? I like your phrasing of "well meant white knights". My preference though is "well-intentioned idiots", that I jokingly refer to people who try to be helpful in help chat but are woefully wrong with their answers.

So...um...is that me? I do tend to be as precise as I can be. Various parts of this game have a lot of options, and I think it's best to let the player make informed decisions. And yeah, I use way too many words to communicate stuff. But I've never been an IT guy. A bit of a long-winded example in the spoiler, keep on trucking if you don't like a lotta words.

Aww...imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And you really flatter me!

So, I feel your pain, OP. Like, literally. My warshade just got stunned a moment ago. But, it's only level 10 atm, because I'm going very slowly with it. For me, this entire game is like the rock/scissors/paper game. The mez is the paper. The WS is the rock. You know the Dwarf form has status protection, but you want it in human form. So would I. And so do I. But, if I did have it, I'm afraid what they'd take away to give it to me might be more than I'd want to pay. I suggest a good offense and prioritize target selection. It's not what you want to hear, but it's my best advice.

Understand that I'm only speaking for me. I have never bashed anyone in tells or over a channel that begging/asking to get on a farm was a no-no or a crime, or even something to be discouraged. (But I might have thought it!) I've played this game so many different ways. I often "challenge" myself to make my characters independent. I recall clearly being on an ill/rad controller, just got out of the creator, spawned in Atlas. It was before Excelsior existed. Some guy was recruiting for a farm. I already had one 50, and this was a concept I'd done on retail, so I knew how to play it. And I knew how I'd slot it, too. So, I get in there, and get a nice bump to like level 23 or something. And...now I'm looking to slot...and I'm essentially broke. I know my alt has funds, but even then, it wasn't a huge stack. We were all just starting out. And here's my point. A new player isn't going to know what to do at this point. Even a returning player is going to have a rough time because the game and the market has changed so much. This is why on my side of the keyboard, I'm screaming in my head, "No! Don't do it! Do DFB, do Posi 1!" At least with posi 1 & 2 you get reward merits and can do something with those reward merits. You get out of AE, and yeah, you might have 4M or so, but in your 20's that's not going to get you very far, even if you just use SOs. (I knew at least to craft those recipes I got, and convert them. But even the 25M I got wasn't enough to get the stuff I wanted for my controller. In fact, I ended up deleting it. I remade it later, on Excelsior. Shout out to @hazygreys who asked for the name from the controller I ended up deleting. Hope you're doing well. (knew him from retail, a sharp player.) Next thing you know, these players are 50, and they're just guessing what goes where in their builds. If they were lucky, they might be teamed with another sitter who has a better grasp of how things work and can give advice about various rules of 5, etc. But if they're not lucky, they're 50 and don't know much at all. Is this really how you want new players to experience this game? See, I want new players to suffer! Like I did, but not like this. I want them to try and tackle some Vahzilok and then suddenly the Abomination they just killed gets rez'd by the Reaper and then they get clobbered! I want them to learn target priorities. I want them to DFB so they can learn how to avoid that green stuff so they can know how to avoid other green stuff later. Now, if they want to just sit in a farm - I'm cool with that. But stay there. Don't leave. At least, not until you've solo'd content enough to learn at least some of the lessons we've all learned by leveling outside of a farm. If that makes me a jerk, than I'm a jerk. I'll own it and wear it with pride.

So, here's a few things I'll share. Because the community is TOO inclusive sometimes, your team might have on it some lower level folks. Nice enough people and all, but the damage they're going to do with the 3 slots they have in those two attacks isn't going to be very much at all, even with buffs. It's these kinds of details that will cost you opportunities for badge credit. There was a time when folks who wanted these badges would form their own MSR, clear pylons, kill the GM, and then quit, and do another instanced version and repeat. While doing that, they would also ensure they had the heavy dps characters on their team, to ensure they got 10% minimum for badge credit. Our MSR leaders today are generally not so mercenary. So, take team reds with you. Super team reds if you have the inf or the inclination to earn them in Dark Astoria. Heck, they may not even work because of the 20 foot radius, but they're better than nothing. If you communicate with your team that you're using them, they can make an effort to get closer to you. You'll want 3-4 of them to reach the damage cap, depending on league buffs. And you might want one of those team dual acc/damage inspirations too, because all the damage in the world doesn't do anything if it misses. That was a tactic I used to employ and it did work for me. Would it have worked without it? Maybe. But I've had many characters with 8/10 bombs clicked, but only 3/10 Ukon Gr'ai kills. So, I just figured I'd cover my bases. Now, I just don't sweat those badges anymore. If I get them, I get them. If I don't, nobody is really going to care. If they do, I can refer them to my main character that has all the badges. (except one winter badge I forgot to log in for - I'll get that in a few weeks, I reckon) Just do MSRs when you feel like it, and eventually, you'll get it. There's something very nice about getting badges organically, doing the content you enjoy without grinding for them.

I don't often feel anxious/nervous/worried. I do often feel impatient. But, every now and then, someone will be recruiting for something I'm just about to run and I'll join in. Nobody has ever said anything bad about my atrocious costume. Although I did have to give one leader a hard time for skipping the cutscene in Aeon because my costume change was AWESOME and they missed it! That got a good laugh from folks, particularly coming from me. Nobody has ever said anything about my slightly better than mediocre play. I even got recognized once in a MoM trial for saving this pug league of slackers who couldn't be bothered to hug in a blue aura. And I was held, too! But that was just being lucky, smashing all those buttons with my elbows while I had a drink. I get more anxious about answering questions in help these days than I do about teaming. I see so many folks give such poor advice, it makes me want to scream. And then, I look at the market (and I haven't done any marketing in maybe 6 months...not like I used to anyway) and I recognize the landscape of AH has changed a lot. So maybe the advice isn't so poor now. Heaven help us all if merits are the best way to get something like a steadfast protection 3% def(all). But I digress. Most jerks reveal themselves in their recruiting message. You just have to be on the lookout. Folks that use a macro for their recruiting...I'm wary of those buggers. (sarcastic) Folks that spell the words wrong, and have no idea what the minimum level is - like asking for 50's on an ITF - those are the guys that are in a real hurry and have learned from bitter experience. Some folks will fit right in, and some folks will not. Kind of have to be able to read between the lines there and determine if you'll fit in.

I'm sure others can chime in, but my gut says if you use it, disable every feature except the part where it notifies you of any new driver. Thus far, while I have NVIDIA GEForce RTX 3060, I don't have any app called NVidia app or GeForce Experience on my system. I have the NVidia Control Panel that I don't think I've ever used. If my drivers are out of date, so be it. Seems to work fine. I'm sure Microsoft or NVidia will send me some kind of annoying message that I need to update them if I need to.

No question that's an awesome bind.

It would certainly be nice. This is my current workaround.

I had the strangest experience with this Custom window. I knew the problem (or was fairly sure) the problem had to be on my end. Turns out, somehow, my left mouse button got configured to "real world look" The crazy thing is, I have never used any of these odd things except maybe zoom in/out, which I've done with no issues ever. I mean, I don't even understand why anyone needs to look at this page once you set things up the way you like it. In any event, I was finally able to take the macros out of the custom window.