Lockpick

I've been playing with it some more since it hit Live. I created a new character and have been gathering zone exploration badges generally while waiting for team content. I don't find the gathering of a badge per zone to add zones to LRT to be an issue for me. I was generally in the zone anyway, so getting a badge was relatively quick. I did go to my base and use the beacons to hit some zones to specifically get some of the badges to add zones to LRT, but again, I was waiting for a team to fill anyway. I will agree with others that I think the recharge is to long. I find myself not using the power because I'm afraid I will use it and then need to use it within the 10 minute limit and it won't be available. I know there are many other options, but this has been my experience. I really liked another suggestion in the thread that would lower the recharge of the LRT power for getting all the exploration badges in some zones. This aligns very well with another thread where we have been discussing adding additional rewards to content. If there was a way to reduce the recharge time one minute for every zone where all the exploration badges have been found and cap the recharge to somewhere between 2 and 5 minutes I think that would be a win.

Tactical Arrow was just adjusted. You may want to look at it again before selecting it.

Would love to see both of those ideas become Judgement powers. When I turn 35 I generally start an ITF and run it as team leader. Never had an issue. Sometimes I may want to give the team lead role to a 50 and I will, but it's my call to make.

Faultline is not appearing after gathering exploration badges in the zone. Added to the bug reports forum as well.

A couple more: Get a badge and a 1% passive movement speed buff for completing the missions in a grouping listed in the Oro portal. This missions could be done as you level or through flashback. There are 8 groupings, so a total of 8% movement buff could be earned: Level 1 - 15: 20 mission arcs - Reward = badge and 1% passive movement buff Level 16 - 19: 7 Mission arcs - Reward = badge and 1% passive movement buff Etc. Complete all Unai Kemen missions - Get a badge I like movement speed buffs as rewards because I don't think they are OP and there is a cap of movement speed, so if you earn 15% movement speed through these type of rewards you still are limited by the cap.

What time sinks are you referring to? We are talking about adding rewards to existing content. It's the exact same content, but with additional rewards for doing it. Example: Add an accolade badge and passive power that provide 5% movement speed for completing all 4 Shadow Shard TFs and some exploration / history badges I can only speak for myself, but I would like to see rewards added for content that does not have rewards today. We would have to be careful not to add rewards that would be over powered. I have mentioned some previously. Some others: Defeat all the named Giant Monsters and get a badge Complete all the TFs for a faction and get a badge and an unlock of some sort I really like the branching stories gate. The Laura Lockhart story arc was very well done with doing the original mission then doing it through Flashback for additional choices and a badge. Made the entire experience very rewarding. I wouldn't mind seeing a few more like this, but you wouldn't want it to become a common occurrence.

Going around getting exploration badges to populate LRT destinations. Went to Faultline and got 2 or 3 explorations badges and Faultline is not showing up in LRT.

The reality is that they cannot create "new challenging content" in any meaningful way. They have provided 4 story arcs that have been pretty good IMO, but those arcs have come out over 1.5 years and 2 of the arcs have alignment restrictions. Until the HC team unlocks the ability of the player community to provide content with rationalized rewards there will be limited content pushed to Live. The HC team could implement new rewards for existing content that is lacking said rewards pretty quickly. This would give more incentive to do content that I expect is often skipped today. I also think they could do other improvements that allow the players to customize content pretty quickly as well. I won't go into details because I have done so a number of times in different threads, so no need to repeat. It just doesn't seem to be a focus area. The focus areas seem to be more about wholesale balance changes to existing sets and disrupting the movement speed of certain sets. Odd priorities in my mind, but it is what it is.

I don't know what to tell you. My post clearly stated that "I'm not suggesting we change any of the costume parts that are there now." Later in this thread I suggested we drop the topic of locking costume parts behind gates because the HC team does not seem to be inclined to do it and it might make more sense to focus on other types of gating content / rewards.

I don't have the inf many of you have. I play my characters and then switch to an alt when my latest 50 hits my baseline parameters. One of my baseline parameters is all my 50s should have $100M inf. I have 18 50s, so will probably take half of that inf and buy winter packs for the IOs. I have several characters that need winter IOs, but I have been holding off getting them in anticipation of the winter event.

Components: I would suggest extending the vet level incarnate thread rewards for a few more levels. I think people may end up wasting threads in the early stages unless they have really planned their build, so getting additional threads through vet level progression might help. Powers: Current Alpha: These seem fine to me Judgement: I wouldn't mind some other options. Mighty and Vorpal are the only ones that look like natural, but might be nice to have another option where it looks like you are throwing a weapon of some sort (maybe like Exploding Shurikens) Interface: These seem fine to me Lore: The Lore pets are not balanced. I would suggest a balancing pass on these pets. Destiny: Seem fine to me Hybrid Seem fine to me Future I would suggest not adding new incarnate powers until the ability for players to create hard mode content is functional and reward rationalization is complete (see below) Genesis Stance Vitae Omega UI: Seems fine to me. In theory, you are not using this UI very much, so not sure the effort to make it much better would be a good use of time. Other: I would suggest not nerfing the incarnate powers. You will likely get a lot of suggestions to nerf these powers, but they are intended for incarnate / hard mode content. The real solution is allowing the player base to create hard mode content that will make use of the incarnate powers. I would suggesting focusing on: Adding challenge criteria to TFs to disallow incarnate powers (separate selections for All, Alpha, Judgement, etc.) Adding additional options for notoriety, so content can be made harder Focusing on making adjustments to AE, so hard mode content can be created Focusing on reward rationalization, so risk / time / reward are aligned based on the parameters set

I took the week off for Thanksgiving. There goes my life...

Is there an ETA for when this patch goes Live?

I understand stance that both of you are taking. I have suggested we get past the costume part component because we seem to be getting stuck there. I think the HC team has made it clear they are not going to lock costume parts behind gates. Are you interested in any of the other suggestions beyond the costume parts?

I completely agree with this post. I haven't suggested changing any existing stuff. I have suggested adding new rewards. I'm not sure where anyone is getting the idea that people are advocating for changing existing rewards, but it is not something I am advocating.

I think this bolded and highlighted section is probably the most important section I have seen in this thread. I know @Solarverse has tried to explain it multiple times from his perspective and it doesn't seem as though people are understanding his points, so I'll take a stab. I'm not sure I can explain it better than he has already though. Yesterday I was wondering why I was spending my time replying to this thread as opposed to playing the game. After all, I love this game. It was my first MMO. I started playing when it first came out. I was going through a rough patch and I can honestly say that playing this game kept me out of a lot of trouble, I probably played 15 to 20 hours per day early on. Over the years my play time diminished, but I was still probably playing 20 hours per week and had 2 accounts due to the character slot restrictions. It was a happy moment when my first character dinged 50! I was always happy when I unlocked my travel power or earned a cape for the characters then needed them. Still happy today when I unlock one of the 4 passive powers. I was pissed when the game was shut down and was ecstatic when it came back. I again jumped right back in and played like crazy becasue I was afraid it would get shut down again. Over time I gradually diminished my play time, but was still playing 10 to 15 hours per week. Recently I have been trying to think about what I should do in game. My typical routine is to get a character to 50, incarnate to T4, make sure I have the 4 passives, make sure the costume slots are unlocked, make sure I have $100M Inf. Once I do that I take an alt through the same journey. I now have 18 level 50 characters with the majority of them complete within the parameters I set. I have 2 level 40s and probably 20 characters in the 30s. The desire to play the game is slowly ebbing away because I don't feel like there is a way for me to continue to progress once I hit 50 and my parameters. I like to be rewarded for playing content because I feel like I am being rewarded and am achieving an accomplishment, but once you cap yourself with all the rewards that are available that you believe provide a reasonable reward there is really no reason to play further. My thoughts are that additional rewards added to existing content will allow continual progression. That is why my suggestions focused on adding rewards to the task forces, vet levels, etc. There would be an incentive to progress and a feeling of accomplishment. I also think that adding rewards to vet levels means more people would play one character longer leading to them becoming more well known within the server community and fostering more community spirit. I have no stats to back that up, just my opinion. I honestly don't know hwy people keep acting like we are talking about making the whole game move in this direction. I have not suggested that at all. I have suggested adding additional new rewards to existing content. I have not suggested changing any current rewards at all. My take is that there are no rewards for certain sections of the game. Let's add some rewards there. No one is getting those rewards today, so it shouldn't really be an issue if they choose not to earn those fictional rewards in the future. Y'all know this is just my opinion, right? I'm not trying to take anything away from anyone or tell anyone how to play the game. I am just expressing my opinion.

Sure, of course we can impose self-discipline, although I fail to see the relevance in the position I have been advocating. I have already stated multiple times that I would not change any of the existing rewards or existing costume parts. Any comments I have made about Vanguard or Cimerora are only examples of why I think it is reasonable to earn costume parts in certain situations. I have suggested they might add future rewards to existing content to incentivize doing the content and I think it is reasonable to have to unlock those rewards. I agree that there is already a compromise between gated content and non-gated content. I think we are in a pretty good place right now, although I might have gated a few more things than the HC team did. I am really glad we agree on something. That being said, is it possible that you might agree that for new rewards it might be reasonable to have some of those new rewards gated? Let's even assume that costume parts are off the table. The current HC team doesn't seem to want to lock costume parts behind content, so lets assume there will never be a costume part that has to be earned in game. Are you okay to add new rewards to existing content to incentivize doing that content? I feel like we are really getting derailed by the costume part issue, so let's take it off the table and discuss other areas. No, I'm not saying that at all. What I said was pretty basic. It is my opinion that is appropriate occasionally to gate rewards behind having to unlock in game to include costume parts. I think you keep misinterpreting me to try and justify your position. That being said, I feel like we are really getting derailed by the costume part issue, so would suggest we take it off the table and discuss other areas.

I was quoting you because you said: I agree that people don't want to wait. I don't think it matters if a costume part makes the game easier or not. A costume part historically has been one type of a reward for accomplishing certain activities in game. My question was is it unreasonable to have 5 to 10 new costume parts earned in game out of hundreds or thousands of costume parts that are freely available? If not, how many costume parts earned in game would be reasonable? Sorry, I don't agree. I think it is entirely reasonable that you would unlock Vanguard costume parts for becoming a member of Vanguard and Roman costume parts for having been sent back in time to Cimerora. It sounds like you think it is unreasonable to have any costume parts gated behind content. I'm curious if you were to step back and look at the positions: Position 1: It is okay to have 5 to 10 new costume parts unlocked through game play because historically this was how some costume parts were awarded. After all there are hundred or thousands of existing costume parts that are unlocked that can be used immediately. Position 2: It is not okay to have to unlock any new costume parts through game play because there might be a character concept I want to create using those costume parts and the game values freedom of expression. Which position do you think a reasonable person without a stake in the outcome would take? All of this is moot really since the HC team has already made their position clear, so I think for further dialogue it might be better to focus on other aspects rather than costume parts since that seems to be clearly a position that most people in this thread oppose. Do you have thoughts on the other reward suggestions being earned in game? Most gated content was probably badges, followed by temp powers (think Day Job powers), then I would guess it would be cosmetics and then non Day Job accolade powers. All of the other gated content aside from the cosmetics remains today.

A good point. I think when evaluating a position we should be asking is the position reasonable or not. In most of my posts I say things like "it seems reasonable to me" or "it doesn't seem unreasonable to me" primarily because I am trying to align my opinion / position on this topic with trying to be reasonable. I'm not suggesting we change any of the costume parts that are there now. I don't necessarily agree with the position the HC team took to make everything unlocked, but it is what it is and I get why they did it. However, I don't think it is unreasonable to have 5 to 10 new costume parts be earned in game when all the other costume parts are unlocked. I haven't seen any argument that has persuaded me that my position is unreasonable. I will say that I do like much of what HC did to remove the grind. I guess there is one server that is just like Live. I have no desire to play that level of grind. I'm just looking for a few more rewards to incentivize playing the existing content and provide a sense of continual character progression. I don't think that position is unreasonable. All that being said, I don't think my position is going to persuade the HC team or the people who are opposed, so not sure it matters. I just thought I would add my opinion to this thread becasue I think it is good for the HC team to hear a variety of opinions. And is it unreasonable to have 5 to 10 costume parts earned in game out of hundreds or thousands of costume parts that are freely available? How many costume parts earned in game would be reasonable?

I don't quite get this and it seems the majority are in agreement with your opinion. I have just never understood it. I have no idea how many costume parts there are now. I tried to look on Paragon Wiki and couldn't get an answer. I assume there are hundreds of costume parts; maybe thousands. I have a hard time understanding why having 5 to 10 costume parts behind an accomplishment gate would be an issue. I mentioned the Ranger tab (badge) progression above that I went through. What I forgot to mention was that at that time if you made it to the Ranger Regiment you were issued a black beret. Only 3 units in the Army were able to wear berets. Airborne units got Maroon, Rangers got Black, and Special Forces, of course, were Green. It was a huge accomplishment for me to be issued and wear that black beret and I took pride in earning it. I still have it today. Of course, this is a video game, so the sense of accomplishment in earning a costume part or accolade may not be the same, but for me it would still be a symbol of accomplishment. An interesting side note: In 2001, General Eric Shenzeki took the black berets away from the Rangers and gave the black berets to all the soldiers in the Army. He apparently saw the Rangers in their black berets and thought they looked sharp and motivated. He felt that taking the black berets away from the Rangers that earned them and giving them to soldiers who had not earned them would instill a sense of pride in all the soldiers. Of course, all he did was piss everyone off. The Rangers were pissed because they felt the effort they put in to earn the beret was denigrated. I was out of the Army by then, but still had buddies that were in and they were all pissed as were many in the Special Operations Group. The soldiers that received the black berets were pissed. The berets were hot and uncomfortable and because they didn't know how to properly maintain / wear the beret and generally did not care about appearance as much as the Rangers they just looked sloppy with berets. It was a failure all around. Eventually, the Rangers got the tan beret as a replacement. I obviously did not know General Eric Shenzeki, but I just read his wiki. He was apparently pretty smart (West Point and Duke) and he had a Ranger tab. It looks like he was a standout soldier. However, he did not serve in a SOG unit and was never an enlisted soldier. If he had been or taken the time to talk to someone who had been he would have known this would be a major mistake. People still talk about it today, although usually they blame Clinton since he was President. http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/06/13/army.beret/

I definitely would like to see reward rationalization across the board and would favor providing higher rewards for doing content with various difficulty challenges. I would also like to see additional rewards for existing content that does not have rewards today. Maybe a passive accolade power for completing the 4 shadow shard task forces plus some combination of exploration / history badges Maybe rewards for vet levels plus combinations of badges or accomplishments Vet level 50 + Task Force Commander receives a badge + X Vet level 100 + the 4 passive badges receives a badge + X Vet level 150 + Z receives a badge + X Etc. Maybe new day job badges for logging off in the Abyss or the Hive Maybe a new accolade for achieving all the day job powers in the game Maybe a new costume part and an accolade for completing all the TFs in the game Maybe a new costume part and an accolade for completing all the Trials in the game Maybe a reward for completing all the missions in the Oro portal Y'all know this is just an opinion, right? I'm not dictating how anyone should play the game, just providing my opinion that I wouldn't mind seeing new rewards for existing content.

I'm not demanding anyone play my way. I have suggested adding new rewards that need to be earned in game. In case it was not clear, the Vanguard parts and the Epaulets were examples. I wouldn't change any existing costume parts. I am merely offering an opinion that maybe some new rewards can be added to other areas of the existing game to incentivize doing the content. Anyway, I don't expect everyone to agree with me, so it should be expected to have differences of opinion.

When you call someone selfish that is an attack. When you say that expressing an opinion is "stomping your feet and saying everyone needs to play by your logic" that is an attack. Do you not even understand basic courtesy? I could use your same exact logic to say you are being selfish and you are stomping your feet to get everyone to play the way you want. I just believe you are expressing your opinion and I respect your opinion. I'm not sure why you cannot provide that same courtesy. All very good points and I understand your reasoning.

I can always count on you to attack people. I find it ironic that in one breath you say you have more respect for people that seem nice and in the next breath you are calling me selfish for expressing an opinion. As to your specific question, it doesn't benefit me at all how you play your character. However, from a lore perspective, I believe that someone cannot become a member of Vanguard until that character gets the Member of Vanguard badge. It seems reasonable that if someone wanted to be a member of Vanguard they would have to earn a spot and then the parts would be unlocked. It seems reasonable to me that Vanguard wouldn't just let any level 1 character in. Before I joined the Army I wanted to be a Ranger. Becoming a Ranger required me to join the Army, pass Basic Training, Pass Advanced Infantry Training, pass Airborne School, pass the Ranger Indoctrination Program, join the Ranger regiment, compete for a Ranger school slot, and then pass Ranger school to earn my Ranger tab. That is a logical progression. I do not believe it is unreasonable to have some instances of that type progression in the game as long as it is limited and everyone has the ability to complete the accomplishment. Why is that people expressing an opinion and making suggestions for additional rewards behind certain accomplishments are "stomping their feet and demanding everyone play by their rules"? I understand your opinion. My opinion is different. I'm not attacking you for your opinion and it would be refreshing if you could restrain yourself from attacking others for their opinions.

I honestly wasn't expecting that response. No wonder there is no middle ground to be found. It looks like the opinions are to far apart to get to a middle ground. I do agree with you on the soloing aspect. I sometimes solo both Synapse and Citadel on occasion. I'm not a fan of either TF and do them becasue I want the accolade. I don't think I would want to be able to buy the accolade though.