Charging for Powerlevelling to level 50

[Bill Z Bubba]

It's simple. The game gives you the tools to do what you like.

Don't like seeing spam in your channels for AE related junk? Gignore and go about your day.

Don't like playing with people that PL? Gignore and go about your day.

 

Quit trying to ruin what other people find fun, be it farming or powerleveling or soloing or roleplaying or whatever....

 

Harm No Other and Do as Ye Will.

 

Ruin my ability to PL new alts for testing? You're harming my ability to enjoy this game and that makes YOU the asshole.

 

[DR_Mechano]

At this point Troo I'm starting to think YOU'RE the Troll.

 

Ok lets take a look at how Blizzard does it, they're NOTORIOUS on clamping down on things like this. This isn't some rogue server like CoH is, these are servers fully owned and operated by the games company. This was even before they introduced the whole WoW token thing so you can't bring that up as them basically taking a pie of the RMT stuff.

 

As long as no direct money transfer was involved at any step of the transaction (that means buying gold from chinese farm sites even to start the process) and it only involved ingame resources that were gained ingame (like I said, no buying gold for real cash from farmers) then they don't care. The top mythic clearing guilds will, once they've got the content on farm, sell places in their raid for gold (a LOT of gold at that) in order to bring in outsiders and walk them through the content in order to get their character geared or just so they can get the mount that only drops from the final boss of the raid on Mythic. These are guilds which have sponsors who, if they're banned through RMT, will basically lose most of their income through not only by being banned from the game and losing said sponsors BUT also losing the ability to stream on Twitch which is another huge chunk of their income after sponsors (this has actually happened to a few mythic first race guilds).

 

If a company with THAT much of a spotlight on them, especially now after what happened with the whole Blitzchung thing, is fine with people exchanging ingame currency that they earned legitimately for what would be the equivalent of not only power leveling but then having your character fully IO'd AND incarnated with everything tier 4 AND having an exclusive costume piece that only people who beat the hardest iTrial in the game in the hardest possible way, I think exchanging ingame influence for Powerleveling from 1-50 is a rather minor thing.

 

He has a point. IOs don't just magically appear on the market, people have to work to get the inf to craft the recipes, get merits/the inf to buy convertors then spend those convertors making them into something which people want. They then set the price of said IOs because they want to be compensated for their time spent crafting and converting them.

 

The moral of this story is, if you don't like people PLing, don't freaking do it, unless you're doing the HARDEST content in the game, someone being PL'd to 50 has literally no effect on you, they're still goign to smash their way through mobs like everyone else, they're still going to be able to complete taskforces just fine, they're still going to look up builds online so their character isn't gimped (hopefully). So yeah...it doesn't effect you in the slightest really does it?

 

This isn't WoW where DPS and HPS are a major thing with both dungeon and raid bosses having checks for both in the place so that not knowing your class is actually a huge detriment to the group and likely to get them wiped is it?

[Solarverse]

32 minutes ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

Ruin my ability to PL new alts for testing? You're harming my ability to enjoy this game and that makes YOU the asshole.

Well, because it's you, I'll try very hard not to be the asshole.  😄

[Bill Z Bubba]

11 minutes ago, Solarverse said:

Well, because it's you, I'll try very hard not to be the asshole.  😄

 

The whole world would be a better place if everyone did.

[Frostbiter]

10 hours ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

 

The whole world would be a better place if everyone did.

Untestable hypothesis.

[Snarky]

I like rollercoasters. I think it is unfair that ither people get ti ride them without byilding their own. I mean i didnt exactly build my own all by myself. But i feel like i did. And that is what counts

 

make other people build their own rollercoasters

[Lines]

I'm more than happy to see this thread turn into a convoluted metaphor contest.

[Corruption]

15 hours ago, Troo said:

Do you ever add anything valuable to a discussion or just troll and try to argue with folks?

Dismantling the basis of your argument with a simple example is not trolling.

 

You can believe trading influence for x is the same thing as trading real money for x. That's your opinion, it just happens to be a wrong opinion. 

Edited January 15, 2020 by Corruption

[Neiska]

One thing I think worth mentioning is one part of the game that I don't think has really been discussed yet, but I think its linked to the whole PL thing.

 

Some people get great enjoyment in pushing builds, redlining the engine, going as far as they can. I haven't done this in CoH myself yet, as I am still learning powersets and whatnot, but I have done it in other games. To some players, its this part of the game that they get the greatest pleasure from. However, there really isnt a way to test them (at least as far as I am aware. I heard mutterings of test servers but I have never seen links or directions to one.). 

 

So for people like me that enjoy the math and game mechanics behind build philisophey and how it all comes together, leveling a character the old way could take weeks of time, not counting the farming for enchancements, badges, accolades and everything else. Only just to get to the end and find out "well, that didnt work." You could be talking weeks if not months of lost time. And if it took this much time to "try" ideas or new play styles "each" time, then people might very quickly get burned out, which would could lead to a massive drop in community numbers. And that is something I think we all agree is bad, no matter what side of the PL fence we are on.

 

I am not defending either side here, or saying one way is better than another. I am only saying that if a tool or playing option wasn't meant to be allowed, then it wouldn't be in the game, or they would remove it. Homecoming has been out for a bit now, and I think the AE is here to stay for the time being. So if you like it, then use it. If you don't, then don't. I still stand by the "live and let live" angle. If person A wants to give person B infamy for a powerlevle, thats between them. Or even if its a powerlevel between friends just to help them catch up, or just to spend time playing together. And while I appreciate the passion and angle of the "get rid of ways to PL" opinion some people have, its a valid option for those that want to utalize it. No one is forcing them or you to use it, or not use it. Its all personal choice. If they want to powerlevel quckly to get to the endgame, then thats their choice. If you or them also want to go "hardcore" and use solely story missions to grind up the levels, thats fine too. Honestly I wish there was a roleplay reward system in place. Some games have such systems, where you could actually level up by hanging out and roleplaying or performing more mundane jobs like bartending or whatever. 

 

Just saying, as a newish player, I still think more options are better for the overall enjoyment and longevity of the community as a whole. Not everyone will like, agree, or support each option or style of play. But thats okay! To be expected in fact. But I think splitting hairs about which is "right" and which is "wrong" only ends up dividing an already aged community, when in a game this old we should stick to our guns. I mean the game only just came back. Do we really want to see a mass exedous of players because some people didnt like X way to play?

 

Just my 2 cents!

[Bill Z Bubba]

2 minutes ago, Neiska said:

However, there really isnt a way to test them (at least as far as I am aware. I heard mutterings of test servers but I have never seen links or directions to one.). 

 

https://forums.homecomingservers.com/forum/57-homecoming-beta/

 

You can now copy characters to test, start new ones and insta-level to 50, grant yourself 2 billion inf or just load up with every enhancement and incarnate power you want.

 

But it's a one way trip and they can be wiped out at any time.

 

So I'll keep usin AE for new alts.

[Neuronia]

I do farm but never charge.
People have offered me X million per run or their purple drops or whatever, and I take those. 
I'm just glad to get people's alts to 50, though I do have a hard cap of two others on team, more allowed if in our sg/coalition, to prevent too much drop dilution.

 

[Apparition]

10 minutes ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

 

https://forums.homecomingservers.com/forum/57-homecoming-beta/

 

You can now copy characters to test, start new ones and insta-level to 50, grant yourself 2 billion inf or just load up with every enhancement and incarnate power you want.

 

But it's a one way trip and they can be wiped out at any time.

 

So I'll keep usin AE for new alts.

 

It's worth noting that while in the release candidate stage (which is now), the beta server has the insta-level and such disabled to make sure that the release candidate is suitable for the live servers.

[ShardWarrior]

16 hours ago, Troo said:

Do you ever add anything valuable to a discussion or just troll and try to argue with folks?

Pointing out how your position does not make any rational sense is not trolling, nor does insulting others add anything valuable to the discussion. 

[Ukase]

The argument (philosophically) about the harms of PL'ing folks to 50 is not new. Who doesn't at least figuratively raise their eyebrows when a level 50 gets an invite to PI for a mission and they ask how to get there? 

There is a cost to having someone else - that's not your alt account - in a fire farm mission. It really is that simple. You get less inf, period. When I bring my alts in on my farms, almost routinely - the lowby is the one that gets the purples! Since it's my alt, I don't mind, but if it were some random person I was being nice to...I don't think I'd like to be THAT nice. The game mechanics suggest that just because that person was in there and got lucky doesn't mean that I would have gotten that drop if they weren't in there. I understand that. But, it wouldn't make me feel any better. 

But, that's just me - and that's a whole 'nuther can of beans, so to speak. For me, I have no beef with someone charging for a PL. My beef is with the people foolish/impatient enough to pay it. 

[ShardWarrior]

34 minutes ago, Ukase said:

Who doesn't at least figuratively raise their eyebrows when a level 50 gets an invite to PI for a mission and they ask how to get there? 

I did not know where Peregrine Island was when I first started playing the game.  There are many reasons why someone may not know it and it is a bit of a presumption to assume someone who does not know where a particular zone is automatically means they are a bad player. 

[Ukase]

3 minutes ago, ShardWarrior said:

I did not know where Peregrine Island was when I first started playing the game.  There are many reasons why someone may not know it and it is a bit of a presumption to assume someone who does not know where a particular zone is automatically means they are a bad player. 

Sorry to offend. 

Reasons why a good player might not know where PI is: 

1. Only played redside and switched over at 50. 

2. Really just loved ITF and kept doing them repeatedly. 
3. Loved MSRs and did those and other mission contacts in RWZ. Maybe did an ITF, too. 

4. Loved doing Numina, various shard TFs and just never got around to PI. 
5. Always used mission tp, so never realized there were ferries that went to PI, Talos, IP and Striga. 

While all of these are plausible, they just aren't terribly likely. And candidly, if you are a new player, it stands to reason that you have much to learn and probably aren't that good of a player yet. There's a learning curve for everyone. I still learn things that make me a better player, every day! 

I do confess that my attitude towards such a player stems from a time when folks would HAVE to go to PI just to get level 45 and 50 enhancements. That's where Ghost Falcon was and is. You'd have to do a quick mission for him to show you his SOs available. So, before IOs came on the scene, anyone who was level 50 that didn't know where PI was had to have been powerleveled or running around without ANY enhancements for at least 7 levels.  (aside from various drops - but no converters back then.) 

[Troo]

There are rules that are adhered to, folks don't actually get to do whatever they want. 

 

@Corruption You could answer the direct question asked. 'Are you okay with exchanging real money for powerleveling?'

I can answer that question. For some, it may be a bit of a Kobayashi Maru were one is easily stuck between hypocrisy and violating the code of conduct. (metaphor attempt)

 

@ShardWarrior I simply thought it was what you did. Including something inflammatory in comments appears to be your shtick. By the way - the in game commerce seems just fine without charging for power-leveling.

 

@DR_Mechano maybe I am the troll. I'm not familiar with WoW but appreciate your take. I have no problem with power-leveling. A middle-of-the-road opinion versus one extreme or another.  

Charging for power-leveling in global channels.. that, I disagree with. It seems a slippery slope towards violating the code of conduct and other nefarious activities such as exploitation.

[Snarky]

I have gold.  I will give it to you to PL me.  Real gold like from the earth.  What hole in the computer do i shove it in to get my fiddy?

[Solarverse]

37 minutes ago, ShardWarrior said:

I did not know where Peregrine Island was when I first started playing the game.  There are many reasons why someone may not know it and it is a bit of a presumption to assume someone who does not know where a particular zone is automatically means they are a bad player. 

It's also a presumption to assume that all these people who have no idea where to go or how to get there don't know for all these innocent reasons. I'm willing to bet my very life, and hope a truck takes me out and my heart stops beating and say that more often than not, somebody who does not know how to get to PI at level 50, doesn't know because they were PLed all the way to 50 and not because they simply just never went there. That is how sure I am that a majority of players who can't find their way as level 50's is due to them being PLed to 50. And I am also willing to bet, despite how people on these forums are responding, that the majority of players in the game would indeed raise an eyebrow when a player who is level 50, says they can't find PI.

 

You always bring up this rare instance of things being the opposite of what people are saying on these boards. Yes, people are generalizing here...and they are rightly doing so. I'm pretty sure every single person on these boards know that not everyone who can't find PI as a level 50 is a Power Leveled n00b. However, since we are generalizing here, I am willing to say it's a safe bet that a good 75% of the players are indeed n00bz who were invited to a farm team, they got hooked on the free door sitting extreme XP, and couldn't pull themselves to leave the AE building until somebody else PLed them to 50.

 

I challenge you to go to the AE building in Atlas Park, and look and see how many lowbies are in there begging for somebody to let them in on a fire farm. Several of them, standing around, not doing anything, but hitting Enter, Up Arrow Key and Enter, "Anyone have a Fire Farm I can join!  🙂  " with the cheesy smiley face. You would be hard pressed to find a time when there are none.

 

But yes, we are well aware that there will ALWAYS be those instances where a player is new, leveled normally, but for whatever reason the game never took them to PI. I have also seen level 50's who join my Positron teams, ask me how to get to Steel Canyon...

[Solarverse]

6 minutes ago, Snarky said:

I have gold.  I will give it to you to PL me.  Real gold like from the earth.  What hole in the computer do i shove it in to get my fiddy?

Ah man, I am sooo tempted to answer this with a vulgar response that includes a bottom.  😄

[ShardWarrior]

7 minutes ago, Solarverse said:

You always bring up this rare instance of things being the opposite of what people are saying on these boards.

And you are always making presumptions that supposedly work for the majority when they do not.

[ShardWarrior]

15 minutes ago, Troo said:

Including something inflammatory in comments appears to be your shtick.

How is pointing out what should be very obvious to anyone inflammatory?

[Solarverse]

5 minutes ago, ShardWarrior said:

And you are always making presumptions that supposedly work for the majority when they do not.

Oh but they do.

[ShardWarrior]

2 minutes ago, Solarverse said:

Oh but they do.

Whatever.  You go right on thinking that.

[Solarverse]

2 minutes ago, ShardWarrior said:

Whatever.  You go right on thinking that.

Heh, that's rich. That's exactly what I was thinking about you.