KeepDistance

Weird. I copied my top performing sent from live, which is elec/regen - 2:15 pylon time. On beta I got 2:35 and 2:45 in back to back runs. In the first run I didn't use Vulnerability, then the second run I did use it. Really not sure what to make of this.

All I can say is axe was fine, why not fix kinetic melee?

Regardless of what the OP has or hasn't done, I concur that the game could really use more content in that specific level range. I would really like to see another TF for example.

I missed the change in beta, but page 4 removes the Astral and Emp merit rewards from hard-mode TFs including Aeon. This bothers me. Prior to the Page 3 patch, the game had a very standard power progression. You get more powers/abilities to unlock more content, and that new content gives you resources to improve your powers/abilities beyond what you could do before. There are now two reward structures in the game that break this model: 1) Master of [X Task Force]** badges. These badges are earned via difficulty settings that explicitly disable incarnate powers, but they grant rewards - specifically, a free rare incarnate salvage component - that *only* improves incarnate powers. So you improve your abilities by *not* using them. That's weird, and leads to situations where you can earn the last few improvements to incarnate powers but never experience the benefits, because you're doing Master of [X Task Force] runs where you can't use them. ** Note that Master of [Y Trial] badges, earned in incarnate trials, are fine. You get free rares from them, too, but in the process you're using the powers you improve, and you get to experience the benefits thereof on subsequent runs. 2) High difficulty Aeon SF and Imperious TF. This has the inverse problem of the above: you can (and almost need to) use incarnate powers, but you no longer get any special rewards that help you improve them. So the end game content doesn't give you a good path to improving end-game powers. That's weird, and leads to situations where you're incentivized to complete a character before running these TFs - at which point that character has no use for whatever rewards accrue from success. My suggestion is simple: swap the reward structures. Grant bonus reward merits instead of incarnate salvage for Master of [X Task Force] badges, and return to granting empyrean merits instead of reward merits for the advanced difficulty SF/TFs. Thanks for listening.

The general changes were fine; unbounded nictus, higher base tohit etc. Fights took a bit longer with more EBs and I had a reason to use barrier. Then we got to the robots. And instantly I wished I'd just stayed home. The fight wasn't hard. It didn't even take that long. But: 1) it had a cutscene preceding it, which generally annoys me because it's something I'll read maybe once or twice and after that just gets in the way 2) it's all the way back across the map and 3) this is the big one 3) I'm just going to repeat how much I hated this 3) I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING BUT THE ROBOT'S ANKLES DURING THE FIGHT. I'm zoomed out all the way, and still. Just ankles, and feet. Maybe those robots look super cool up there, where I can't see them. Maybe they're casting really interesting powers to throw at me. Who knows? I CAN'T SEE IT. Anyway. We finished the final mission too, and I guess there were changes, but all I could think about was how dumb it was that I had to stab ankles in the previous mission. Maybe that fight is skippable, I dunno, the team all wanted to see the new content so I didn't even suggest it. Sheesh.

Any chance to update this table with Prismatic Aether Particle rewards?

Patch notes for page 3 read: What are "Incarnate merit rewards"? Is this referring to Empyrean merits? If so that seems like a big deal and doesn't seem to be mentioned in the release notes proper. If it's referring to something else, I can't figure out what. PS. I haven't exhaustively read everything about page 4 so maybe I missed it, but I did try to do a search and came up empty.

Nice guide for a basic BAF but with that title I was really expecting a Master run walkthrough.

I was curious enough about this to read the source code on Ourodev (not the HC code exactly but probably equivalent in this case). Turns out there is already logging that happens whenever a respec fails, on the mapserver. Some observations about the process as I understand it: 1) It's the mapserver that runs the respec, which explains why different zones might have different behaviors. If the mapserver flakes or packets get dropped for other reasons, the validation part of the respec will likely fail, although I don't know the code well enough to say exactly how. 2) There's a _lot_ of validation that happens as characters level. I don't know all of what's being checked (what exactly is a "pile boost", I have to wonder...), but it looks at a super high level like the mapserver is protecting against respecs from a hacked client that is attempting to create an invalid character. 3) Some of the validation does indeed special case the "character can level" / "character is leveling" situation. So the GM advice about claiming all levels is not entirely unfounded, though it's pretty unclear to me why that code path would randomly fail more frequently than the other code path. Possibly there is some specific combination of powerset, active toggles, and unclaimed levels that is in play, and that it's not actually random but the combination doesn't happen frequently enough to identify. If I were a dev and this somehow got to the top of my list, I'd look at sending a reason code back to the client instead of just logging it on the server. Then the pattern would be more apparent to the player the problem actually affects. Snorkeling through what must be a massive trove of logs might illuminate trends, but there's a lot of context the server doesn't have; the players might make connections more easily since they have all the context on what the character was doing at the time.

Since this bug is the only way to have XP boosters in character items email, I wonder if they could be converted to experienced charges when the fix for the bug goes live? That would require not claiming them in the meantime but it'd be a lot better than just losing the value of those spots in the reward list.

In case anyone stumbles on this, look at this thread instead. My recollection that winter packs ever had amplifiers was mistaken. The XP boosters in packs is a mistake, but what they replaced (at uncommon/rare/very rare drop configurations) is experienced charges, not amplifiers.

As far as I know they're exactly the same power you get for free from P2W. E.g. if you already have double XP active, or are level 50, you can't claim these.

Ah someone already answered while I was testing.

I opened a bunch more just now; zero amplifiers. I should probably double check that winter packs had amplifiers before - they weren't just in hero/villain and rogue/vigilante packs were they?

I came to the conclusion that they had replaced amplifiers, as I opened a bunch of winter packs today and got zero amplifier drops. Can anyone confirm that amplifiers are still awarded?

Thanks for the update. I'm a bit disappointed I have to wait until after the event to open these packs, but I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles.

It occurs to me this probably applies to the H&V and R&V super packs too, I just happened to notice because I bought a lot of winter packs for the sale.

Also petitioned in game. Perhaps if the buffs are left in unclaimed character items (under email) they can be converted.

Instead we are getting XP boosters (double, 50%, 25%). I think this is an unintended consequence of moving the XP boosters under Temporary Powers -> Buffs in P2W. I am going to cease opening winter packs until this is resolved. [07:03] Received Card: Snow Beast, Common, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Luck Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Brain Storm Ideas, Uncommon, x40 [07:03] Received Card: Candy Canes, Uncommon, x10 [07:03] Received Card: Avalanche, Rare, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Candy Canes, Common, x5 [07:03] Received Card: Greater Protection Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Brain Storm Ideas, Uncommon, x40 [07:03] Received Card: 50% XP Booster, Rare, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Entomb, Very Rare, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Rage Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Rugged Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Candy Canes, Uncommon, x10 [07:03] Received Card: Frozen Blast, Rare, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Entomb, Very Rare, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Precise, Common, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Rejuvenating Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Snow Beast, Uncommon, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Enhancement Booster, Rare, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Entomb, Very Rare, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Enhancement Converter, Common, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Experienced, Common, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Candy Canes, Uncommon, x10 [07:03] Received Card: Avalanche, Rare, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Winter's Bite, Very Rare, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Health Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Reward Merits, Common, x25 [07:03] Received Card: Brain Storm Ideas, Uncommon, x40 [07:03] Received Card: 50% XP Booster, Rare, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Entomb, Very Rare, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Enhancement Converter, Common, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Brain Storm Ideas, Common, x20 [07:03] Received Card: Candy Canes, Uncommon, x10 [07:03] Received Card: Frozen Blast, Rare, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Enhancement Catalyst, Very Rare, x3 [07:03] Received Card: Rugged Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Candy Canes, Common, x5 [07:03] Received Card: Enhancement Unslotter, Uncommon, x5 [07:03] Received Card: Winter's Bite, Rare, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Winter's Bite, Rare, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Protecting Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:03] Received Card: Guarding Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:04] Received Card: Rejuvenate, Common, x1 [07:04] Received Card: Frosty Aegis, Rare, x1 [07:04] Received Card: Frozen Blast, Rare, x1 [07:04] Received Card: Good Luck Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:04] Received Card: Rugged Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:04] Received Card: Brain Storm Ideas, Common, x20 [07:04] Received Card: Frozen Blast, Rare, x1 [07:04] Received Card: Enhancement Booster, Very Rare, x3 [07:04] Received Card: Guarded, Common, x1 [07:04] Received Card: Invigorating Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:04] Received Card: Invigorating Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:04] Received Card: Blistering Cold, Rare, x1 [07:04] Received Card: Avalanche, Rare, x1 [07:04] Received Card: Greater Endurance Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:04] Received Card: Rejuvenate, Common, x1 [07:04] Received Card: Snow Beast, Uncommon, x1 [07:04] Received Card: Entomb, Rare, x1 [07:04] Received Card: Frost Bite, Very Rare, x1 [07:04] Received Card: Enhancement Converter, Common, x1 [07:04] Received Card: Greater Health Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:04] Received Card: Candy Canes, Common, x5 [07:04] Received Card: Frozen Blast, Rare, x1 [07:04] Received Card: Avalanche, Very Rare, x1 [07:05] Received Card: Keen Insight Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:05] Received Card: Reward Merits, Common, x25 [07:05] Received Card: Brain Storm Ideas, Uncommon, x40 [07:05] Received Card: Brain Storm Ideas, Rare, x60 [07:05] Received Card: Character Respec, Very Rare, x1 [07:05] Received Card: Enhancement Converter, Common, x1 [07:05] Received Card: Reward Merits, Common, x25 [07:05] Received Card: Free Tailor Session, Uncommon, x1 [07:05] Received Card: Frozen Blast, Rare, x1 [07:05] Received Card: Blistering Cold, Very Rare, x1 [07:05] Received Card: Invigorating Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:05] Received Card: Luck Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:05] Received Card: Brain Storm Ideas, Uncommon, x40 [07:05] Received Card: Brain Storm Ideas, Uncommon, x40 [07:05] Received Card: Blistering Cold, Very Rare, x1 [07:05] Received Card: Snow Beast, Common, x1 [07:05] Received Card: Candy Canes, Common, x5 [07:05] Received Card: Reward Merits, Common, x25 [07:05] Received Card: Entomb, Rare, x1 [07:05] Received Card: Winter's Bite, Very Rare, x1 [07:05] Received Card: Brain Storm Ideas, Common, x20 [07:05] Received Card: Reward Merits, Common, x25 [07:05] Received Card: Candy Canes, Uncommon, x10 [07:05] Received Card: Winter's Bite, Rare, x1 [07:05] Received Card: Double XP Booster, Very Rare, x1 [07:05] Received Card: Candy Canes, Common, x5 [07:05] Received Card: Candy Canes, Common, x5 [07:05] Received Card: Enhancement Converter, Uncommon, x5 [07:05] Received Card: 50% XP Booster, Rare, x1 [07:05] Received Card: Winter Ward, Very Rare, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Greater Health Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Snow Beast, Common, x1 [07:06] Received Card: 25% XP Booster, Uncommon, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Reward Merits, Rare, x75 [07:06] Received Card: Entomb, Very Rare, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Protecting Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Enhancement Converter, Common, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Enhancement Converter, Common, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Frozen Blast, Rare, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Blistering Cold, Very Rare, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Reward Merits, Common, x25 [07:06] Received Card: Brain Storm Ideas, Common, x20 [07:06] Received Card: Free Tailor Session, Uncommon, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Candy Canes, Uncommon, x10 [07:06] Received Card: Frozen Blast, Very Rare, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Rejuvenate, Common, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Reward Merits, Common, x25 [07:06] Received Card: Candy Canes, Uncommon, x10 [07:06] Received Card: Winter's Bite, Rare, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Windfall, Very Rare, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Tactical, Common, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Enhancement Unslotter, Common, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Snow Beast, Uncommon, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Enhancement Booster, Rare, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Winter's Bite, Very Rare, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Brain Storm Ideas, Common, x20 [07:06] Received Card: Reward Merits, Common, x25 [07:06] Received Card: Enhancement Converter, Uncommon, x5 [07:06] Received Card: Avalanche, Rare, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Blistering Cold, Very Rare, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Snow Beast, Common, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Protection Imbuement, Common, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Candy Canes, Uncommon, x10 [07:06] Received Card: 25% XP Booster, Uncommon, x1 [07:06] Received Card: Winter Ward, Very Rare, x1

What did it look like before?

Someone has already pointed out the box at the top of the left screenshot that says "Display alignment and Statistics to Other Players". It does basically what it says it does. So I guess if the whole team has checked that box, I as team lead can see alignments. I still think it's a pain, since the option is off by default (as far as I can tell).

Which tab is that? The "Alignment" tab that I see when I view myself isn't visible when I view other people.

Ran the old-school challenge in the Ouroboros flashback version of LRSF. It was a nice change of pace! That said, it really underscored some weaknesses of trying to run team content out of Ouro. Unlike TFs/SFs, entry into the zone isn't sufficient proof of being able to join the TF. Heroes can't join the LRSF, but they can enter Ouro. Unlike TFs/SFs, the leader had to be rogue or villain - vigilantes can't start the flashback LRSF, even though they can start the normal one. There's no way that I know of to check the team's faction contents once the team is assembled. I had to ask people verbally to confirm there were no heroes. The contact let us start the LRSF even with a hero on the team. (I had asked, but someone didn't know...) We didn't get confirmation that there was a problem until one of the team couldn't enter Grandville. I'm not sure what the best solution is, but I will say that if these problems were fixed I think a lot more people would run flashback missions as teams. There are a lot of interesting story arcs and people have run the existing TFs a bazillion times, so the variety would, I think, have innate appeal. Here are some random, unfiltered thoughts off the top of my head: Add an indicator of faction in the team view Add warning text when viewing arcs in the Crystal that the team's comp doesn't allow accomplishing a given arc DIsallow starting an arc with the wrong team faction composition Add a Null the Gull to Ouro so that people can simply switch on the spot if they need to

Still wrong... I know it seems like nitpicking but I think some people are going to think the Master Of challenge mode has the characteristics of the Old School Challenge Mode. *shrug* I guess it will only matter while the patch notes are relevant.

Since this trial is getting some (long overdue!) love, I'd like to put in a vote to add a hospital somewhere within a dozen light years of the final map. Dying in that trial is way more punishing than seems right given its place in the modern difficulty scale. An abandoned hospital for example might fit thematically. I realize it's way too late for Page 3 but maybe it could get added in a subsequent update.