Akisan

You can stay true, actually! You'll get that power after running a Hero/Villain Morality Mission to reinforce your Hero/Villain alignment.

1) Incarnate difficulty settings could be really fun, especially paired with say, Hard-Mode. Being able to run the TF commander arcs again for a challenge would be a great option. 2) They'll definitely have to do some tweaking for this one - enemies only go to 54. An incarnate running +4 is really only running +2.5, as the 50/50 split of +4s/+5s is all +4s. Having enemies go to 55 & 56 would be nice, though could be somewhat unbalanced depending on power scaling. 3) Partially touched on in (2) - actually gaining the level(s) could slightly reduce our gained rewards, as we're being rewarded as if we were still 50 (so a white-con minion awards as if it were a +1 minion, which it is). We would get more HP, and higher base damage scaling, that may not fully offset the bonus for fighting higher-level foes. +2 shifts are a bit harsh - it's not uncommon for some of your teammates to still be building towards their own incarnate powers. Running +4s when everyone else is running +1s is doable, running +10s is not. Even missing one power, against +6 enemies, is barely doable - a build has to be solid to take down a +6 enemy (of any rank).

Except it's not just a hypothetical situation, and I'm not the only one bothered by it - if that were the case, then we probably wouldn't even be having this arguement.

And... you've missed my point, not that I'd elaborated much. I don't want it pushed back to enforce a slower game, or even because it can impact a build - I would want it pushed back to remove any percieved obligation to take one of them just to keep up with the team. It's not much of a reason, and I know it, so I don't push to have the change reverted - after all:

And that would be why it's a bet, and not a fact. Yes, my 3rd point in my original post is an opinion based on my preferences, but I'm not alone in that opinion, and it's definitely not the only reason I oppose this suggestion. I despise the "I had to suffer through something, therefore you do too" mindset - it's not a valid reason. My objection here isn't that levels are being skipped, or that content is being skipped, it's that it allows players without sufficient game knowledge to get to 50, where there is a reasonable expectation that you know how to play your character. Quite a few forum-goers already have that knowledge, and I have no issues with them being PL'd. I want a barrier left in place to prevent newer players (who most likely don't have that knowledge) from easily being PL'd, so that we don't lose the expectation that a 50 has at least learned the basics. (I don't think that's an unreasonable expectation, btw). Which also means that I'll oppose any set unlock point for an instant 50 option - some players will pick up the game very easily, and earning the unlock would be an unnecessary slog, and others (like me) might only play certain powersets (so they could potentially earn the unlock, but still not really know how to run other sets). Case in point - I've 3000+ hours on my main, with 1000+ badges (blueside only), and while I know a lot of game systems inside and out, I've never levelled a MM past 15. I'd be so very lost with an instant 50 MM. I don't feel the need to burden a 50 team with a clueless MM, and I'm pretty sure most teams don't really want to be burdened with a clueless 50 MM. (That said, this community is great, and I'm pretty sure I'd get quite a bit of help/encouragement with said MM). Ultimately, I don't care how people get to 50, as long as they know how to play said 50 on at least a basic level. I don't care that people are being PL'd, I care that there are people that have no idea how to play their characters when they should. And again, I'll oppose any instant-50 suggestion because, while I am happy to help new players, I do expect that any random 50 in a team has at least some idea on how to play. (And yes, "basic level" is subjective, and its definition varies from person to person. It's one of the reasons we keep having these discussions.)

Fair. I could have phrased that... a lot better. I will agree though, the game begins in the character creator, not when you ding 50 - it's why I often freeze XP on the few alts I do have.

It's not about whether you can, its about which ones are easier to remember. I'm not saying alting is good or bad, I'm betting that it's easier to remember your non-PL'd characters vs. your PL'd characters. And as @PeregrineFalcon hinted at, you're not the type of player I mind being PL'd - you have plenty of player experience already, and can most likely adapt well to any given powerset combo. I have issues with newer players trying just that (the AE Babies), or even worse, seeing the calls for PL'ing and thinking that should be normal, and not the exception.

Yeah, they used to. The travel powers themselves *are* the 3rd power in the pool, so you used to have to be 14 before you could freely move around the city. A certain paid unlock during the Free-to-play days granted level 4 travel powers to veteran subscribers, and that change went global in HC as a QoL change. I'd like to see it pushed back, as few builds can really spare the power pick for a movement skill at that level (your attack chain and/or defenses are generally more important). That's just my opinion though, and quite a few people enjoy that freedom, so they can have at.

I've said this on a previous thread: this is a live server, not a sandbox. Farming and PL'ing already push it closer than I'd like to sandbox territory, and this isn't a good enough reason to make that worse. @El D made several good points about the community impact of allowing this change, and I'll add a few: This could seriously hurt sub-50 teaming. Pretty much the only people adding non-50s into the pool of characters would be roleplayers, people running challenges, and people that disagree with the instant 50 option. And yeah, you could fill teams with a few exemp'd 50s, but a surprising number of 50s just... run off, and solo the missions. I know a few people that don't invite 50s to teams, just because of that. Secondly, part of the reason I don't like PLing is because a good chunk of PL'd players don't know how to play that character effectively. One of the big reasons to play a character through normal content is that you (hopefully) learn the synergies between your primary and secondary sets, as well as how they respond to certain buffs/debuffs. You just don't get that player experience getting PL'd. And yes, it builds character (pun intended). I've found that I'm far more attached to things that I worked hard for, and things that are just given to me tend to be shelved and (eventually) forgotten. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in that regard, and I while I may not have many alts (and only one 50), I challenge you altaholics to name all of your 50s, without looking at a list of them, and see which toons you remember more easily. (And yes, @UltraAlt makes a very valid point about the name reservation system - this would absolutely allow name-squatters to just fill their roster with a thousand names, then *maybe* come back to them when they feel like playing that powerset combo)

Can I request that that please be a toggleable option, along with effective spawn sizes? Certain builds can solo the EBs (the extra inf/xp is very nice, btw), and ToT spawns seem to ignore notoriety settings (so someone at -1x0 gets the same spawn options as someone at +2x6). Perhaps one of the Halloween salvage vendors?

Used to do that deliberately back on Live with the SC Natural store (very easy to trigger in there, just log out by the counter), so I could RP that my toon was one of the shopkeeps there as their dayjob (after all, only employees are allowed behind the counter). Getting out was a trick though... Related - you can also be trapped in the police station interview rooms in the same manner, if you log out near them.

Some self-targeting Anti-Mez powers can be activated while mezzed - this includes click powers like Clarion Destiny, as well as things like Practiced Brawler (SR defense), but not toggles like Rooted (Stone Armor).

Also, about that mission: there's a LOT of ambush triggers in that mission - but none of them are in the hallways with rugs.

I would hope that this would still have a visual of some sort. That would be nice, yes. Borrowing from some of the support sets' particle effects (a barrier around you), or an animated, floating shield (bonus points if it reacts to attacks with a blocking animation) would both be good ways to represent this.

It's surprisingly easy to maintain an inventory full of medium & large inspirations - keep a burn slot in your inspiration tray, like so: I usually choose 5 types of inspirations per toon (varies by toon) - Health, Defense, Def/Res, Damage, and Anti-Mez for my blaster here. I'll immediately "burn" (use) everything that isn't one of those types, and only keep the largest available 3-4 of each. Seriously though, they drop like candy, the boosts are nice (I typically have 2-3 random inspiration effects up at any given time), and I find that they drop so often that it's very quick and easy to refine my tray so I'm left with just mediums or better (for when I *actually* need the boosts). While I'm talking about inspirations - if you only need occasional mez removal, it's worth enabling Team inspirations at P2W: while most of them give up a rank to affect nearby allies (Large team insp. grant a Medium effect), Mez removal inspirations last *MUCH* longer (the medium ones last 3 minutes, compared to regular medium's 60 seconds)

This is nice because it helps decouple RP stuff from mechanics - allowing for things like @Menelruin's particle shield, or even a Psi/Shield scrapper blunting or blocking blows using Telekinesis (very different from a Psi/SR scrapper dodging everything through seeing the future). More importantly though, this may also open the door to curing our shield carrying heroes' terminal stoicness. While we're on this topic though, I'd still like: 4: Left/Right handed shield Part of the old request to allow us to choose if our characters are left or right handed, independent of powerset.

Yes, pretty much all Hybrid-typed attacks were shifted to have a single damage type, as far as to-hit checks are concerned (they're still hybrid attacks, with 2+ damage types to be resisted). Some attacks were also rebalanced to change their damage balance (like grenades are typically now Fire/Lethal instead of Lethal/Smashing, and will check against our Fire & AoE defenses) And you pretty much already stated the (probable) reason (#1 below) - since there are usually more S/L attacks than other types, S/L defense is already (arguably) more useful than other defense types, even without it also intercepting the majority of hybrid attacks. (From a raw damage perspective, and ignoring debuffs/CCs. A lot of non-S/L attacks can carry some nasty debuffs) As a side note, I can think of a few other ways they could have implemented this that are more or less (usually less) fair: Hybrid attacks always check against the highest of the tagged defense types <-- the current system, with the stated S/L loophole above. Hybrid attacks usually check against the most damaging tagged type (rarity breaks ties, favoring rarer types) <--- the system being implemented Hybrid attacks always check against the lowest of the tagged defense types Hybrid attacks check against a weighted average of the tagged defense types (an 80% Cold / 20% Smashing attack would roll against [.8*Cold def + .2*Smashing def]) Hybrid attacks check against a randomly selected defense type (weighted according to damage types, so an 80% Cold / 20% Smashing attack would have an 80% chance to roll against Cold defense, and a 20% chance to check against Smashing defense) It's worth noting that none of these would affect how the system checks against Positional defenses - it would still use the higher of our typed defense or positional defense.

Those IO prices are usually pretty stable - largely due to Marketers keeping a steady supply in place. I'd be more interested in comparing their relative prices against the aggregate price of the "trash" IOs that are being flipped, as I'm pretty sure those are the supply buffer keeping Wentworth's afloat (along with converters. So many, many converters).

This is pretty much exactly what I'm referring to as to the change in "design philosophy", though it's more of a change in "enforcement philosophy". As far as player expectations (and, to a more limited extent, dev expectations) goes - my memories of live were that AE farmers were grudgingly tolerated, if not frowned upon. Compare that with HC, where nearly everyone has at least 1 farmer toon, and builds are actively discussed/improved upon/what have you. Farming isn't an unfortunate side effect of AE anymore, it's a tool to progress faster (like the 2x XP boosters). They will. Farmers will farm whatever gives them the highest return per <time/effort>. If rewards were quartered, they would go find the next best thing (or leave, depending their tolerance for grinding). They may stop farming AE, but that won't stop them from endlessly farming the Portal Corp missions, Task Forces, DA content... For what it's worth, I agree with you on the farming issue - AE farming (especially AFK farming) is an exploit in my eyes. Were it up to me, AE would be nerfed to the ground, XP boosters, DFB, DiB, and the radio missions would quietly disappear, and the common Portal Corp. farms would all get timers. But I'm not the Fun Police, and it's not my place to dictate what others can, or should, do. Farms are popular, for various reasons, so they (grudgingly) get a pass - though I still hold the opinion that AE farms are disproportionally overtuned for reward/time vs. risk, and should be nerfed accordingly. That said, I'd rather leave the AE farms (and other levelling tools) mostly intact, though somewhat less rewarding, since crippling them would alienate a good chunk of the playerbase, and tolerating farming (and PLing) *definitely* beats playing in a ghost town (if I wanted that, I'd go hop on another server).

That's a pretty misleading definition of exploit there. While exploit can be used in a positive term (like in the example quotes), it's often given a negative connotation - that something or someone is being unfairly taken advantage of: "By exploiting local labor laws, companies with overseas factories can produce goods for a fraction of the cost". Also, missing a definition in there: 4: (noun) A flaw in a system (computer or otherwise) that can be utilized to cause unintented behavior. (Both the tool exploiting the flaw, and the flaw are called exploits) Using the original intent of AE, yes, the AE farms were 100% exploits. Design philosophy and player expectations have changed since, so AE farms are no longer considered exploits (by most of the playerbase, anyways). They're just another part of the game now, and will likely stick around for a good long while. From what I can tell, the devs' intent is that farms will still have one of the best rates of return for generated xp/inf per hour, but neither disproportionatly so, nor for other returns (like Reward Merits). If they wanted AE farming to stop completely, AE could have been cratered long ago, and if they were ok with the current reward rates, they probably wouldn't be nerfing them.

These would be great, or, at least bumping the resistance to 100% (half duration) would be nice. 2/3 duration on Taunt and Placate (current values) is usually more than enough time for a squishy to get roughed up.

Some of that is also about picking your battles. I'd be totally for re-locking some of the costume bits (as it encourages seeking out and running specific content), as well as removing some of Null's options. But those are likely neither feasible, nor popular, so it's not even worth debating. You can too! That's pretty much what Diablo 3 did for a while... and virtually all of the game is a complete and utter cakewalk now once you're geared up. Probably too late to be of help on this one, but they *barely* nerfed that command - you can still use that command, from *anywhere*, for 10s after casting LRTP, or after using the dayjob "summon base portal" power (from logging out next to a base portal). The AH removes quite a bit of Inf - 10% of the sell value of everything sold. But that's still only a drop in the bucket, compared to how much Inf. is floating around. And I remember Upkeep as well, and was super happy when it was removed on Live (some time after base raids went away), as it meant that I could save Prestige to have a nice solo base, instead of needing to join a larger SG just to have basic amenities like storage or teleporters. Re-instating Upkeep & Prestige would likely cripple the base building community, which is a total no-go (it'd be like making AE enemies drop nothing, then putting an entrance fee on the maps). I want the AE nerfed, yes, but not nearly that far.

Legacy base salvage. Little stuff like the Vahz actuators, or the Red Caps' coins really helped the game world feel alive - that there was a backstory there, and that we weren't just punching different-looking sacks of HP.

Seriously, @Without_Pause?! Yes, fine, my original post in our back and forth wasn't well worded, and fairly ambiguous. It is possible, with that wording, that I did say that farming is all about damage, which, yes, isn't true. That was NOT the intent of my post though, and since you're hanging doggedly onto that mis-wording after I clarified and elaborated on my position, I have the distinct feeling that you're deliberately mis-interpreting my posts.

And content doesn't have to be, and, indeed, shouldn't. While farming though, you should be running at the highest difficulty you can quickly clear - because at that point, lowering your difficulty is like leaving money on the table.