Ukase

If you'd have sent me a tell, you'd have gone unanswered. Why? Because my farmer is an afk-farmer, and I'm at work.

Opinions will vary. Why? Because builds and powersets will vary! I just finished leveling a mace/fire scrapper. I have determined that scrappers are fairly worthless. "But, man, the dps!" No, sorry. When you have to chase down the mobs, you lose whatever dps edge you may have had. I won't say it's not fun, but it's not the dps king, not even close to my brutes or blasters. Anyone that tells you differently....they have built their scrapper differently. And that is the primary point I want to make. Each player builds their character differently - if they're not snagging one from the boards or some other place. One Brute may have 23% damage bonus from powers & sets, while another might only have 6%. One guy takes assault, another guy doesn't. One tank takes assault, the other doesn't. One tank has assault for hybrid, while the scrapper goes melee to get some sort of taunt going. It's all going to vary. Even the same AT and powerset is an apples to orange comparison due to build/power selection differences, and play style differences. Even if the builds are exactly the same - if the content chosen differs, the in-game experience will be different, and so will the anecdotal conclusions. This notion that you want to rework an AT or two based on your own experience with them is just not enough data to suit me, particularly when it flies in the face of my own anecdotal evidence. Give scrappers a taunt aura and it will all be fine. But that's just my own experience. I can hardly expect everyone else to feel the same way. Tank damage is still woeful compared to a brute or a scrapper. So the cone is larger. Big deal. Only on my fire/ice tank have I even noticed that being a benefit. But, I'm still working through all the armor/powerset combos, so my jury is still out. Do not nerf tanks. Yes, buff brutes. Mine could all use more damage, as the fury bar rarely gets mine much over 190% damage bonus. Let that fury bar burn higher when fighting. Seems like it should reach the cap without inspiration use or external buffs, but it never does. But then again, if it did, everything would die too quickly and we'd be back to City of Brutes again. Wishful thinking, I suppose.

So.. I wanted to caution all of the avid badgers with these suggestions. Some of you - after you complete one character with all badges, you begin another! There are at least three people that I know with certainty, other than myself that have completed multiple characters. I have 2 myself, with 2 more once/if the nemesis event happens, and 6 more bringing up the rear. Voltor, Sentenza, Stitch and who knows how many others. If they introduce too many badges, we're gonna be awfully busy, running SSAs or whatever into the ground! I'm all for the idea, but we need to be mindful of how much grinding do we want to set ourselves up for.

I like the idea about snipers, but it should just be Crey Snipers. The nemesis snipers are found in missions quite often, and it would be a simple thing for the badge to be obtained easily. We already get a badge for the fakes, the hulks and the jaegers. I think that's quite enough glory for Nemesis.

So, currently, I see "something" that I consider manipulation. Uncommon Salvage. We know the devs have seeded the salvage, and that essentially, one piece of uncommon salvage is the same as any other, as far as listing them for sale on the AH or bidding on them. Yet, there IS someone who has painstakingly placed bids for the unseeded salvage at some low price and relisting it. Generally, I can buy uncommon salvage for 1-2k with no waiting. The price in the past couple of days crept up to a 10k "buy it now" price. Whomever it is, is buying the uncommons my farmer sells for 1.5 to 2k, and relisting them for a much higher price. Now, we can assert this is just someone that believes uncommon salvage, being seeded at 100k should cost 100k to buy, and they aim to make it so. At 10k, it's not enough for me to use my brainstorms to make uncommons, so I let it pass. If that's the way someone gets their kicks, have at it. But, in my mind, this is untenable in the long run, a short term hiccup. But to me, it's manipulating the price. If I wanted, I could do this same thing with just about anything in game, but I couldn't keep doing it. And I might not make any profit after all is said and done. To me, this kind of thing seems ...immoral. It gets whomever is doing it a lot of buys and a lot of sales, with some tiny profit per sale. But you got to have a LOT of sales to make meaningful influence at 4-7k profit per salvage. Even at 100K sales, that's not worth my time. I can do better.

So, I got my High Pain Threshold accolade, and when I switched from Villain to Vigilante, all my accolades disappeared, impacting my stats, as evidenced by the drop in Hitpoints in combat stats. When switching from Villain to Hero, they remain. And then if I switch to vigilante, they remain.

I tend to auto-complete Maria Jenkin's first mission, against infernal. He's already in her arc, so no need to beat him down twice. But, if I'm playing a fiery aura brute or tank, I might just set it to +4/8 and PL myself a bit. Occasionally, I will auto-complete the mission against Honoree and Captain Dietrich in the unlock alpha arc. Just depends. I have only rarely auto-completed that "stop 30 fir bolg from entering the door" and the other final mission of Buck Salinger's arc, also in Croatoa, where the red caps keep trying to prevent the ritual. I kind of like them.

Have you thought about doing either of these 2 things? 1. Form your own trial, like a baf. You don't really need instructions, most folks know this one backwards and sideways. If not, and you don't know - read the guides in the forums here. It's fairly simple. 2. Simply state in lfg chat, "Casual incarnate player looking for incarnate content".

Routinely, when I run a citadel, which caps at level 30, I see the occasional level 19 within one or two of the maps. I say, "Why don't they let that guy level up? or at least sidekick him?"

Um..so, where is Vahzlok's lab? I don't see a gate/entrance from within the abandoned sewer network. I'm assuming without evidence to the contrary that I now have to do Doc Buzzsaw's new arc to get access. As a badger, this arc has so many pre-reqs it's like one of the last things I'm likely to do on a character. I'd rather not have that one exploration outstanding for so long. Is there a different path to the badge other than the arc, if my assumption is correct?

I was pretty annoyed when I'd bought my first void skiff, as it had detoggled all my armors. This latest patch, you folks opted to change this, and that's fantastic! But why can't we use our powers while in flight? In most cases, it's not a big deal, but in certain situations - fires in steel come to mind, flight is useful. But it's so situational, it's not worth taking flight - which is still slower than SS (all travel powers should be the same speed!) I suggest you allow us to take the temp flight powers and still be able to use a fire extinguisher, or even our own attacks. I don't see the harm. If someone wants to forgo a legit travel power, let them. They'll be slower, it's a fair tradeoff.

For one, the sg base has those for your use. And, most of us have farmers that can easily get these for you at no cost to you. Take advantage of this, please! That's what they're for! You pay it forward by your innate ability to criticize accents and other snarky commentary.

Collaborative completion is one of the most under-utilized assets in this game. There are so many players who want to team with like-minded folks, and it seems rare that they find each other. I lead a group of folks 2x a week, red and blue side, where we aim to collaboratively complete the missions so everyone gets merits, everyone can read the npc story stuff if they wish. We don't speed through (even though it kills me to go so slowly), we don't take 2xp. We just plod through it. Often, we take two paths because half of us weren't paying attention. Nothing like a lot of damage taken to get you to pay attention and merge back together as a team. Someone suggested you find like-minded people and do play the content the way you like to play it. These two events seem to satisfy those who prefer content over rewards. Me, I prefer ranged over melee. I think fold space and worm hole are situational powers - like pulling hami out of the goo in lady gray. I do not appreciate teammates removing npcs from my attacks that are PBAoE or cones. But, I deal with it when I have to by moving a group ahead. You want those npcs, you got 'em. Now you kill 'em. I can sympathize with the original poster, because it's annoying to have to use the f key to line up the next attack. At least as a brute or a tank, you have a taunt aura and can keep the bad guys near you. The poor scrapper...always having to chase the bad guys down. I can find more bad things than good to say about my current project, a mace/fire scrapper. No defense debuff protection. No KB protection, save from IO slotting, slow to blossom when leveling through. Crits are nice, but unpredictable. What good is a crit against a minion with 1/2 health? I wanted it against the boss. (I do get them on occasion, but I never know when they'll happen is my point) Short version - there's always something in the game that your character will find annoying or frustrating. No matter what your power set, your AT, your slotting, your choice of teammates. Nothing's perfect. If it weren't for these annoyances, the game would get super-dull, super fast.

What I found interesting is that there seem to be two types of fires. On one fire, I would take 18 per tick, and another, I took 3x (roughly) at 55 per tick. One is a strangely occurring fire in Mercy also, but only appears for certain characters. It almost seems like you have to have them unlocked, because they appeared for me after completing one of the Mercy Arcs. So strange. Before the arc, the alt of mine with all badges could see the building on fire, but the alt wanting all the badges could not. I'd heard about these double fires, sought them out...and could never find them. And by not finding them, I mean, I saw them..but didn't quite understand what was meant by double fires. They are in fact single fire patches, but close enough together to get the damage from both. Yes, I can be a bit obtuse. But I'm still puzzled as why one fire only does -18 and the other does -55. In both cases, in rest, at level 50, on the same AE arc to avoid auto log-off.

I think the margins here are slimmer simply because of population. I couldn't possibly remember what each server pop was back then, but my guess is Excelsior is probably as populated as one of the smaller pop servers back in live. And we only have 5 servers, as opposed to...what was it, a dozen? I used to try to amuse myself by trying to recite them by memory when I was doing mundane things like cutting the grass. I never could. Triumph, Guardian, Champion, Infinity, Virtue, Freedom, Justice, Liberty, Pinnacle..looks like I forgot about Vigilance, Union, Victory, Defiant and Exalted. But as to your question, I have certainly bought an item and flipped it for a slightly higher price, if that's what you're asking. But I certainly don't do that exclusively. It makes me feel bad to take something that's under-valued and relist it, even though I know it was sold too cheaply. I have tons of influence, and there may have been someone who wanted that item, and I got it instead of them. Now they have to pay more, because some fool thought an lotg 7.5% was only worth 5m, when it's clear folks are willing to pay 7m.

@AboveTheChemist The character in question was not praetorian. Came up hero side. He's at 1548 badges, and to the best of my knowledge, only missing the Nemesis Plot badge to have them all. There seem to be a number of badges ONLY in the alphabetical listing that aren't highlighted, aside from Nemesis Plot. I assume now that they are gold side titled badges. But when I was looking for complicated and saw it, but also saw "Concussed" wasn't highlighted, I had a brief moment of panic, as I mentioned. The non-alphabetical listings show all badges but Nemesis Plot as highlighted. A very minor thing. I have zero complaints.

Yay! Appreciate 1) having the updated .mnu file so I don't have to deal with my anti-virus warnings from that presumably sketchy modder site. 2) also appreciate the file being so easily accessed from the first post. It's really a thankless task that often results in some folks letting their frustrations get the best of them and you have to deal with folks lashing out. (seems that way to me from the outside, anyway) So, I'm thanking you which is something I don't do often enough. I did want to share a very, very minor glitch that caused me to panic for a moment. I was checking to ensure I'd copied the new .mnu file over correctly, and I saw that concussed wasn't highlighted. I just knew I had this badge, but was still panicked. I double checked, took a big sigh, then noticed that Top Dog wasn't highlighted either. These seem to be Praetorian titles. Now - in the respective categories - they show as highlighted, only in the alphabetical listing do they not show as highlighted. Very minor, but I found it odd, so figured I'd share it here. And holy smokes! You added the option to add a thumbtack! Excellent and praiseworthy! Awesome idea, and great implementation. Just tried it in Siren's Call with great success!

So...DiB, I know with certainty is certainly soloable, as I've solo'd it. I would imagine DFB being the same way, although I haven't done that...yet. I suspect a level 50, exemped, would fare far better than a newer character, but I'm quite sure this is doable. All you need to do is lfg queue for it, and lock it to just yourself. And while this may seem like a bit more fuss than you should have to deal with - you know me in game; if you give me some advance notice, I'll happily either make a new character or bring a 50 in to help you get these badges - on red side, since that seems to be where you like to play. I much prefer blue side, as I find red side looks ....trashy. But to each their own. It's the same trial once it starts. But I suppose that's just a short term solution, as you'll undoubtedly make many characters. Have you tried to solo them yet? The system will let you.

A completely different thread, this thought here! I kind of miss Torchbearer. I got RHW and Avoids the Green Stuff, arguably the two hardest badges to get on Torchbearer, and got them before anyone on Excelsior. Can't really recall, but before Excelsior existed, I think. Or maybe it was shortly after. But Stan Lee! His signing off in the letters he wrote was Excelsior. I remember wondering..what does that even mean? My dictionary back in 1976 ( I was 10) said it was woodshavings for furniture. Now, it has Stan Lee's name in the definition. Upward and onward. Something like that. How could I not go with Excelsior?

So let me ask you - what metric would you use? What metrics are there? Vet levels? That immediately removes anyone who's on a 50, and there are a ton of players who have hit 50 many times over and playing alts that aren't there yet. Costume? Back story? While indicative of creativity, they don't necessarily show experience in the broad spectrum of what the game has to offer. And, being more than comfortable with my own inability to make a decent costume (that other people like - I like them just fine), I'm inclined to rail against those with great costumes as they suggest ( to me only) that they spend more time in the creator than achieving objectives. That's not bad - just different from me. The accolades - while they don't give a broad spectrum of what the game has to offer, they suggest the player that has them knows how to get them and puts the time in. It's that knowledge that suggests they likely understand other game mechanics - like soft-cap defense, resist caps, etc. What other metric could one use? SG name? I belong to a huge SG - primarily because they take anyone. There are rules that a player has to agree to before they get the invite. But that's the only requirement. Other SG leaders likely team with folks a few times - not bothering with any metrics, just looking for amusing or interesting people. Or maybe just anyone with a pulse that's willing to team routinely. Character name? Only teaming with punny character names? That would be every bit as hit and miss as any other strategy. I don't suggest for one moment that my badge bias is a good method. I just know that I have only very rarely encountered a player with a high badge count that was a poor teammate. Nothing scientific, just my own anecdotal evidence. And what's amusing to me - is I met you through my weekly Master of Underground iTrials. In my mind, not many folks are willing to suffer through a bomb badge effort that's merely a casual player. But that's just my addled mind, I suppose. And for the record - you were always a welcome addition to the league, always very helpful. Often you and the FCM were the folks I sought out to invite first. That had more to do with my knowledge from previous runs that you had both done the task we were setting out to do. But, when a leader leads for the first time - they don't have that experience to pull from. They take what they can get, pulling from global friends, etc, and then lfg. If they're fortunate, they get more global friends on a successful run. If not, they have some assessment to do.

I know who you are. That why I said you weren't clueless. For whatever reason, you don't see the value in the accolades. To each their own. But - I restate - if I were recruiting for a master of TF and I had a choice between your character - having no idea who is behind the character - and another player with the same AT/powersets but with the accolades - I'd opt for the player with accolades. Why wouldn't I? They would have a greater chance at not being defeated simply because they have more hitpoints. That does NOT take into account skill level at all. There's no way to know that from a PUG situation. That is the context by which I make the statement. Not familiar friends, but unknown players.

I'm the same way. I absolutely slot ALL of my characters with the numina, miracle and panacea in Health (or elsewhere in certain situations) and they all get the Shield Wall 5%, The glad armor 3% def, the Steadfast 3% def, the kismet 6% toHit (it says accuracy, but we know better) and usually a celerity in ranged ATs and a 4 pts kb prot. in any character that doesn't get that from armor. And, the perf shifter end mod and +end. Also the ATOs - except some tank builds forgo the Gauntleted fist, and some doms may forgo a set as well. Just depends. But by and large, each character gets them if it's worth it bonus wise. They get these as soon as they can slot them. Levels 7, 10 and 17 and 27.

You show me a build that cost you a billion. I dare you! I will find a way to build it for half that. It might take me a long time, particularly if you're making crazy use of 53 Cytos and Micros. You might value a 3% def (all) Glad Armor at 8M, I value it at 4m. Why? Because pvp io recipes at level 10 can be bought pretty much instantly at 3.5-4M, and crafting it is 500-600K. You might look at an avalanche IO as costing 25M. I look at it as costing 7M, because of the winter pack sale. Catalysts have zero value to me, as while they're useful, they cost me nothing to get. Boosters are essentially a sunk cost. I don't think anyone in this forum would actually buy an enhancement booster unless they were pressed for time, or thought they could get more by relisting them. We use the boosters that came from the packs. Whether you're using attuned or level 50's for your build, you can still buy the recipes, craft them - then slot them, or sell them and re-buy the identical item attuned. It's quite nonsense to consider your buy it now price as the value of your build. Something is only worth as much as someone else is willing to pay. The 5 luck of the gambler 7.5% your build has - that you think are worth 6M each? They're only worth 6M total to me, because I can get a red fortune recipe for 1M - craft, convert and off I go. Converters come from packs to - plenty enough where I wouldn't need to buy them for converting some IOs to save some inf. I have often thought about offering to do the "shopping" for some sg mates. They pay me a billion, give me the build from mids, I give them all the enhancements for the build. I keep the change.

Nothing sad about tracking your stuff on a spreadsheet!

In my experience, they have all been not "necessary" but in some cases quite imperative. Say you're playing a Blaster. With 3 of the 4 accolades, you get a 10%, a 5% and a 5% increase in HitPoints. That can take a blaster from 1445 to 1685. (I just pulled up a random build I've used on a blaster) All other things the same, I'd rather have higher hitpoints. It's well worth the brief 90 minutes of tedium to get all 4 accolades to me. On a tank where Hitpoints are quite important, the boosts are even more significant, as they're based on %. On a lot of my brutes/scrappers, they'll be sluggish with end recovery, until I get that Atlas Medallion for the 5 extra points of Endurance. All the end recovery bonuses go off of that total number of endurance points you have, so more bang for the buck. Well worth it to me. As far as you being likely to be judged a casual player - probably just by me. I don't know anyone else who looks at players the way I do. And while that may rub you the wrong way - you are a casual player. Not clueless. But casual. You may invest hours into a costume and a back story, but not invest 90 minutes to make your characters better? You're doing what's fun/interesting to you - which is great. Not knocking it - but if I didn't know you - I wouldn't want you on my Master TF runs over someone who has them because you have fewer hitpoints than they do. That's assuming I know neither player. The badges impress me more than the lack of them. But that's just me. And, if you take my comment in context, it's a way to cut down on odds of a bad experience. Undoubtedly, this policy would "weed out" better than average players from time to time. Maybe great players. I'm willing to take that risk.