Lockpick

Thank you. I liked the amount of choices that were provided and do like the intent to make it more immersive and having the choices drive the way the arc flows. That is extremely hard, so definitely appreciate the effort. I should mention that I was on a stalker (EM/EA), so had to deal with the waves of enemies exploding. My defense was high as I was using an end game build, so could see it being challenging for lower levels. I got wrecked in the one mission where I had waves of Psy foes attacking me because I have a Psy hole in the defense.

First Thoughts: All in all I felt it was okay, but I haven't finished it yet. Seems like some serious old school mission design. Start in SC The contact here was nice, I liked the video he received on his phone which sent me to a mission, this is an upgrade to modern times Go to Sky Go to Talos. Kill 20 Freak (really? defeat 20 Freaks to get info for the door mission? Why couldn't I get the info for the door mission from the boss in the previous mission?) Talos Mission I called into the contact after the mission and he was acting like I had handed him some notes even though he is in SC and I am in TI. I would suggest saying I sent him an email with the notes or something. Keep it modern with the smart phone angle that was created at the beginning of the story. Go to Sky, Travel halfway across the map to talk to someone Go halfway across Sky and talk to someone else Go across Sky to some call boxes (after all this runaround I was irritated and decided I was done with it for now) My honest feedback is that I am not interested in running all over the place like it is 2004 again. The missions I did were fine, the dialogue was fine, the spelling of the dialogue was fine, combat was fine, etc., but running around everywhere just made me feel like I was back playing an old school mission arc. Maybe that is the intent, but not something I would be interested in doing more than once. If you are going to have this type of mission arc I suggest adding a badge. I doubt this arc is something people will do over and over without some incentive. There are some badges and merits, so nice to have some rewards for this arc. I hate being so negative because I know a ton of work went into this arc, but I wanted to provide my candid feedback. I'll go finish it, but wanted to get my feedback in when I hit the frustration level. Edit: Starting back up and finishing arc. Go across Sky to some call boxes (after all this runaround I was irritated and decided I was done with it for now) Travel around Sky to 4 different call boxes Call contact Go to Faultline to Investigate the Rusty Rivet Bar Which apparently has a top notch VIP room, so I was surprised that I was entering a bar through a manhole cover Chapter 6 Intro Long run on sentence in the Intro New sentence started with a lower case "we" The player response should end in a question mark Go to IP (are you f'ing kidding me?) This mission was interesting and the choices were a treat Watkins has turned into a dick and is asserting some authority he thinks he has Go to KR This mission was pretty good and I was defeated once as I got overwhelmed. I liked the dialogue and choices. All in all it was a decent experience, but probably something I would only run once. Not something I would do for every character. By contrast I run the Graham Easton and Laura Lockhart story arcs on pretty much all my characters. Just my feedback, wish it was better.

I took in 3 of my Blasters to test out changes for powers that I currently have in game. Energy Manipulation Total Focus Cast time reduced from 3.3 seconds to 2.53 seconds Great change, thank you. Martial Combat Ki Push Damage increased from scale 0.8 to scale 1.32 Reaction Time Absorb has been adjusted to match Cauterizing Aura's Heal per Second and can now stack up for up to 12 seconds No longer shows floating numbers by default A new "Show Floaters" theme is available if you prefer seeing the Absorb numbers Ki Push change is great. I'm not a big fan of the hokey mechanics of Reaction Time when deactivating the power gives you a burst of speed and some recharge. It doesn't make sense to deactivate a power to get a benefit. Can these effects be added to the power itself? I'm also not a fan of the slow affect aggroing bad guys, but it is what it is. Description: (Paragon Wiki): You attune yourself to the world around you, moving with preternatural speed. All enemies nearby move slowly and have reduced recharge, and you can absorb small amounts of damage every 2 seconds. When Reaction Time is deactivated, you gain a burst of speed for a short duration, increasing your own recharge and move speed. Ninja Training Immobilizing Dart Toxic damage over time doubled to bring it in line with other single target immobilize powers Sting of the Wasp Recharge increased from 5s to 10s Damage increased accordingly (per the standard damage formulas) Shinobi No longer grants a damage buff outside of stealth Now grants the caster a 20% chance to inflict lethal criticals with every attack The amount of damage will be based on the recharge time of the power Usually this will be 80% of the standard damage formula This bonus damage ignores enhancements and damage buffs Golden Dragonfly Recharge increased from 12s to 20s Damage increased accordingly (per the standard damage formulas) Good changes overall, but I would prefer adding the movement buff into Shinobi like Scrappers and Sentinels have. For me this was the major reason to take this set and this entire time I have been waiting on a bug fix. Edits Begin Here: Tactical Arrow Electrified Net Arrow Range reduced from 80ft to 50ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers Endurance cost increased from 5.2 to 7.8 to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers Ice Arrow Range reduced from 80ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation ST mez powers Recharge increased from 12s to 16s Hold changed from Mag 3, Scale 12 to: Mag 2, Scale 10 (non stacking) Mag 1, Scale 6 (stacking) Upshot +Recharge buff reduced to from 30% to 15% +Damage buff reduced from 100% to 81.25% +ToHit reduced from 20% to 15% Flash Arrow This power's effects are no longer irresistible Gymnastics (Replaces Agility) Gymnastics and Agility have been merged into a new toggle power Provides knockback protection, a 1.75% defence buff, a recharge bonus, a movement speed buff and some slow / mez protection If you previously had Agility, you now have Gymnastics ESD Arrow Hold now only applies to robots. Hold changed from Mag 3, Scale 8 to: Mag 2, Scale 8 (non stacking) Mag 1, Scale 5 (stacking) Added Stun against non robots: Mag 2, Scale 8 (non stacking) Mag 1, Scale 5 (stacking) Now accepts Stun enhancements and sets Oil Slick Arrow (Replaced Gymnastics) Similar to the Trick Arrow version, but does not have a defence debuff and only has a 15ft radius If you previously had Gymnastics, you now have Oil Slick Arrow I am not a fan of many of these changes especially on the Range of the powers being reduce. I chose this set for theme and to play at range. I use ENA in my attack chain and moving up to use it is going to make it pointless for me, but I am still forced to take it. While I like the merger of Gymnastics and Agility I don't like the changes. If you are going to merge them combine the powers as opposed to nerfing a portion of it. I would rather keep both powers as is than merge a waeakened version of the powers together and giving OSA. I doubt I will ever take OSA. Devices Taser Fixed this power doing PvE damage in PvP Gun Drone Now has 80% resistance to all damage Taunt aura reduced to 8ft, mag 3, max of 4 targets Death explosion now has a knockup component These changes seem reasonable. I can't really comment on the other sets as I haven't played them to high enough level. Although I will say this seems like a lot of work that wasn't really needed.

I was just about to ask if they fixed the bug that didn't give the speed buff. Sounds like you are saying that they just removed the text and they may never have seen it as a bug. That is disappointing. The main reason I took it was for Shinobi and to get the movement.

Maybe I was a bit irritated, but I didn't want to make a big deal of it. The community is small as is, so don't want to alienate anyone. I was actually more worried that my team mates were going to be pissed at me for quitting mid-TF. This is aligned with my expectation of an ITF speed run as well, so was surprised when it turned into a defeat all.

Is issue 27 and page 6 the same thing?

I am usually fine with a defeat most or all, but today just didn't have the time. I wasn't aware the XP bonus was higher if the mission is completed faster. Is that confirmed any where?

Today there was an announcement for a speed ITF. I joined since it was the WST and I had about 30 minutes, but could max to about 45 minutes. We get into mission 1 and start defeating all including going up the regular path instead of bypassing it. I asked if we were still doing a speed run and one guy said there was some non-50s that wanted XP. I said I understand, but this was advertised as a speed run. The person doing the advertising said we were making good time. Second mission we cleared all including the ambushes. After the mission I was about out of time, so told the team I was dropping and thanks for the team. I wasn't upset, but wasn't happy either as I wanted the merits. I generally think of ITF speed runs as less than 30 minutes, 45 minutes as a mid range run, and 60 to 75 minutes for a defeat all run. I was thinking I had been the victim of a bait and switch, but then I started thinking that there is really no consensus as to what constitutes these times; it's just in my mind. All that being said, I'm curious what others think about how long a speed ITF should take. Any thoughts?

/jranger

It would be nice to have a widget that shows a countdown for rewards or activities. Example: 20 hours for ITF or Ephram Shah 10 threads rewards. The timer will let you know the last time you did an activity, so you don't do it again early and not get credit.

None of that is 50+ content. MLTF: 45 - 50 ITF: 35 - 50 LGTF: 45 - 50 (think it is 35 on HC) Peregrine: 41 - 50 RWZ: 35 - 50 First Ward: 20 - 30 Night Ward: 30 - 35

From my perspective, 90%* of the game is 1 to 50 content. The only 50+ content I am aware of is DA, TinPex, and the iTrials. Is there other 50+ content I am forgetting? The challenge I see is that people are taking 50+ min/max builds and then are complaining there is no challenge in the 1 to 50 content. My take is we should be focused on creating that 50+ content as players. The HC team is to small to make the amount of content that will be needed to satisfy the players, so we need to take ownership ourselves. * All percentages pulled from my 4th point of contact. We have the ability to create a ton of new content via AE to the point where it will never be exhausted. We just need the HC team to focus on some minor updates, reward rationalization, and a stronger focus on community (challenges, rewards for creating content, etc.).

I had 2 accounts on Live I was paying for and would have kept paying. I think NCSOFT really missed the opportunity. Frankly, I think they are still missing an opportunity. They could easily take the game today, make some updates, clean it up, and re-launch.

Exactly. I create one window with 10 stats, but want to monitor more stats. I have an extra wide monitor, so I could easily add 2 or 3 windows.

It was unavailable, but I got The Power Creeper, a version of the Creeper, but with more, um, power...

I would like to be able to add multiple windows of Combat Attributes. For example, I would like to create one window for Defense attributes, one for Resist attributes, etc. and be able to place them in different areas of my monitor.

Thanks for the explanation and the link. I had never heard the term "core" gamer before, so it is interesting the term came out in 2000 or earlier. My experience with gaming started in 2004 when CoH launched. I was addicted. Couldn't wait to get home and play. I was probably playing from 6 PM to midnight every day and probably 20 hours per day on weekends. Now I treat it more like a hobby as the article indicated. I would much rather play CoH than watch TV. I probably play a couple of hours each night as I usually logon with one character to do the 7PM Hami raid and then run an Ephram Shah mission for threads. I then do the same thing with another character for the 10 PM raid.

I didn't say anything about pay, I mentioned terminology. It seems to me like you just don't agree with the definition of power gamer. If you don't like the definition of power gamer on Wikipedia, please feel free to edit it. I'm not sure why you are arguing with me about a definition on Wikipedia or terms like "power gamer" and "casual player" that have generally been used to describe players in MMOs for years.

In this game, especially on Everlasting, there are players that are more focused on story and role play as opposed to maximizing their results. The definition of power gaming is what it is. I didn't make it up. It is just terminology. I usually hear the terms casual or power gamer for MMOs. I'm not sure why correlating to dancing or football helps make your point. Someone playing football to progress has different terminology that they use and a player might go from high school player, to elite recruit, to college player, pro, etc. I don't get the negative connotation myself since I pretty much agree with the definition. I consider myself a power gamer because I do, in general, what the definition states a power gamer does. I generally try to maximize my character's potential and I tend to focus on content that allows me to progress efficiently enough to suit my needs.

I thought they would be more valuable on tanks for sure. My character is a StJ/SD with soft-cap M/R/AoE and S/L resistance above 60%. I have been playing with the 2 regeneration IOs and I feel as though I can tell the difference, but not sure if it more valuable than just sticking 2 Health IOs +5 in True Grit which (according to Mids) will increase my Health from 1755 to 1870. I actually find my endurance to still be challenging in long fights despite 4 slotting stamina and getting Superior Conditioning and Physical Perfection with +End IOs, so maybe I should look at endurance slotting with these 3 slots. Decisions, decisions... Here is the build:

I think the term power gamer is not defined well or people have different definitions of it. I tried to define it earlier based on my thoughts, but the definition from Wikipedia is below where player focus on maximizing potential. In that context, there are probably a lot of power gamers here. I think there are negative connotations around power gaming, so people may not be comfortable being called a power gamer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powergaming Powergaming in roleplaying games can take several forms. One form is the deliberate creation of optimal player characters (PCs), with the aim of maximising the power the player wields in the game world. This is known as min-maxing, due to the practice of maximising desirable or "powerful" traits while minimising underpowered or unuseful traits.

This seems to align with my experience as well. I have a bunch of characters and by 40 I will usually have a full IO set build. At 50, I will pull out set IOs that are not part of my final build as I buy the sets for my end build. Between 22 and 40 I will have a mix of basic IOs and set IOs depending on what I can afford or what drops. I guess the point I am trying to make is that the character with end game min/max builds are usually going to have set IO bonuses and have several vet levels. They will have several incarnate powers. They will be powerful. They are supposed to be powerful. The end game content needs to align to these end game builds. We don't need to change the 1 to 50 experience to make it harder when the concern is high end content for end game builds. I am also curious about the amount of time played at 50 compared to 1 to 50. I guess I can understand a bit better the issue some are having if they are focusing on one character at 50 and finding the current content easy. I focus on leveling for the majority of my play time, so for me the amount of time I am godlike is more limited. Again, I would suggest that the answer is to create harder content for the end game builds as opposed to balancing the 1 to 50 game to make it harder. I would also suggest that people that think the game is easy should try to create AE content they find challenging as Lines did. If 5 to 10 people created the high end AE content, we might be able to convince the dev team to add appropriate rewards for that content and could have a rotation of high end AE content added to the WST. That would be a win for everyone.

I do this as well. If I look at Info at a Hami raid or iTrial I will see players with a lot of IO set info (and a ton of vet levels), but if I am leveling up (which is the majority of the game) I see few characters with IOs. I start slotting my IO sets as soon as I can, but I think I am rare compared to most of the community. We on the forums probably do it, but we are the power gamers.

Okay, what is your definition of a power gamer? And how would you classify yourself? I generally see gamers labeled as casuals or power gamers. If you are meeting the definition I provided I don't think you qualify as a casual. Not sure if there other classifications I am not thinking about. Here is a definition from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powergaming

I'm not sure I get your point. If you are indicating I am a power gamer, I agree. I indicated earlier that I am a power gamer, but even if I am a power gamer there are others that might be considered super power gamers like @Werner, @nihilii; @Bill Z Bubba that can take that next level step to do insane challenges. From my perspective, if the game was made harder I would adapt because I play a lot, I make builds, I read the forums, etc. My concern is more for what I would consider the average gamer that really like the non-trinity casual nature of this game. I don't know that percentage of players, but I expect it is much larger than the power gamer percentage. A power gamer in my mind (just so we have a starting point): Plays a lot (this is different for everyone; I play a lot, much more than I should) Has multiple 50s Min/max builds Plays multiple aspects of the game to earn inf IO sets Incarnates Forum regular Veteran player who understands the ins and outs of the game well enough to have a reasonable developed opinion on the topic at hand