Weekly Discussion 43: Badges/Badge Hunting

[Zeraphia]

My suggestion with badges would be that some badges should be less "team-reliant" and more self-reliant. For example, the Preservation Specialist badge has been often failed in iTrials due to general ignorance or lack of team direction, getting 16-24 people to stay behind the entire league and listen the entire time is arduously difficult, especially with PUGs. I think there is a time and a place for team and league wide coordination, but I think the coordination should also not be failed because one "Turbo Man!" Tanker with the huge body type decides to "LEEROY!" across the corridors without looking at the league chat. I don't know of a great compromise or fix to this, but this can be extraordinarily annoying.

Edited March 24, 2020 by Zeraphia

[Voltor]

On 3/22/2020 at 10:21 PM, GM Miss said:

Weekly discussion 43 - Week 3/22/20-3/28/20:

⚔️ YOU VOTED: Badges / Badge Hunting! ⚔️

 

❓ Things to think about:

 

>Here is a link to the Badges https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Badges

>What types of badges are your favorite? Least Favorite?

>What badges would you like to see added for the future?

>Do you think any of the badges are too difficult to get?

>Do you want to see certain zones add more badges?

 

Don't just use these prompts, talk about anything Badges!

 

Let's Chat 😄

 

Favorite badges? hard to say there are many.   

 

The easiest ones to get are the map badges and plaque badges.  The only map badge that is a mild problem to get is the Unabashed badge from atop the Rikti ship which requires a ship raid.  No big deal.

 

Among my least favorite:

 

1. Buddy: for 100 Hami buds.  I don't like Hami raids, and repeat runs of LGTF get monotonous. 

 

2.  Warburg Rocket badge, I made a post a week or so back about how the launch rocket 10 times requirement should be lowered to either 3 or 5. The war burg rockets are basically unnecessary to have as a temp power, and getting the launch codes involves escorting 3 techs through a hazard zone. Can't use stealth or run too fast as you have to back to get them and of course the potential for other players to interfere.   It should be changed to either the techs giving the codes upon being rescued, or only one tech needed instead of 3, or else change badge criteria to 5 or 3 instead of 10.

 

3. The Arena Badges: first the Arena is in need of being debugged as it tends to lock up and not launch matches which is a shame as I'd rather PvP in the arena then in the zones.  Also the Swiss Draw match was broken before the game went dark and unless you know the trick to getting it, which is not an exploit but simply understanding the glitch in the award system of the badge then it cannot be obtained. Also needing 8 people for it can be a hindrance.  Add the ability to spawn "Arena bots" to fight in lieu of players.  The player still needs to defeat the bots to get the badge but they can still solo the arena when other players cannot be found.

 

 

4. The Paladin event in Kings Row, any time frame for repair?

 

As for new badges, well map and plaques for Kallisti Wharf would be nice.

 

Also, given that Summer Blockbuster is year round and that Nul the Gull can warp us to special areas that currently serve no purpose, perhaps Nul can be used to warp people to the special version of Atlas where it is always Halloween and have some of the Halloween event running like the Haunted House?

 

Edited March 24, 2020 by Voltor

[Yomo Kimyata]

8 hours ago, ArchVileTerror said:

 

If the Devs were to create a category of Badges which don't count toward Badge totals, that -might- be enough for the majority of Badgers to be "okay" with the addition of nigh-inaccessible "Hardcore" Badges.  

Thanks for responding!  This quote sounds like it would be a win-win situation.

 

I, for one, only really care about badges for three reasons:

 

1.  It provides a tangible benefit, like an accolade power or merits.

2.  It is a name that I like and fits the theme of my character.

3.  It represents an accomplishment that I am proud of.

 

I'd like to understand more about the "gotta catch them all" badge mindset.  I mean, if they reduced the "official Badge total" to 1000, or 100, or 10, would people still feel a need to get all the unofficial ones too?  I'm guessing that part of it is that getting as many badges as possible represents an accomplishment that the badger is proud of.  If it's OCD (which I take seriously, but mine manifests in a different way), then I'd like to understand that mindset as well.

 

I vaguely remember that thread you referenced from November, and that's the sort of thing I was referring to as "vehement" objection.  I'm sure there are some pearls of wisdom in there, but as I recall it was 18 pages of people saying, "Your pathology is stupid; my pathology is the correct one," before it got closed.  Regardless, I would not re-read that thread even if they gave out a special badge!  My willingness to undertake tedious and/or masochistic tasks has its limits!

 

[Cutter]

7 hours ago, Voltor said:

4. The Paladin event in Kings Row, any time frame for repair?

This! Personally, I'd like to see that one reverted to "the way it was"(tm).

 

Story time.

 

I remember back on live as a wee noob, doinking around KR on a my second or third hero ever, a fresh MA/SR scrapper, when I came across a build site. No idea what was going on but it was fascinating. Jumped in because I was full of overconfidence; hospital trip in 1.2 seconds. Came back because WTH was that. Couple other folks were there at this point. Get invited to a time. Slug it out for a while, reading messages about the paladin being built. So many reinforcements. Finally we stopped it, and that shiny Knight Errant badge text popped up. I wore the heck out of that one. More importantly, most times that I logged in on any character after that event, if I had a couple spare minutes I would always hop the train to KR and take a quick spin round the zone, just in case another build site popped up.

 

So I guess short answer, more random events that encourage activity across all the zones, especially what I would consider the underused ones, would be nice. The Hollows could sure use something like that; Faultline too (but there's a fair amount of TF traffic there since the rework so maybe it's OK). PP and Boom at least have random GMs show up, but still not much reason to go to either.

[Moonscribe]

Well, this would be a lot of work presumably, but I think it would be great if there were individual defeat badges for basically every unique AV and EB in the game. ("Unique" as in Frostfire and Requiem would each get a badge, but Longbow Ballistas would not, though Tendaji would.) Defeating a powerful supervillain/superhero seems very badge-worthy to me, but in many cases there is no particular reward for doing it, especially with older content.

 

Of course, I know that many AVs/EBs are part of task forces, trials and the like and those have badges associated with them already, but many others either can't be found there or can ALSO be found in solo content (which sometimes allows you to avoid the AV, so it would be fun to reward you for fighting the AV anyway). So it doesn't seem redundant to add new badges for the AVs/EBs themselves. Dimensional Warder already tracks Praetorian AV victories this way - and it would be easier to keep track of which ones you'd already taken down for that badge if there were a separate badge for each one of them! There could even be new, similar badges for defeating every prominent member of, say, the Council.

 

This also seems like it shouldn't be too grindy since you only have to defeat a single opponent per badge, though in some cases there might be a bit of a grind to get to that opponent depending on where they can be found. But even that could be mitigated if need be by adding new content where those opponents also show up, which would be fun for other reasons.

[Troo]

Easter egg badges, should we add some?

[FireBrandi]

I like exploration ones for interesting hidden sites.   Maybe there could be random rampages by lesser villains, (not AV or GM) where they show up, cause a bit of trouble for a time, then try to get away.  Don't need a bunch of people to take them down, but there is a time limit for how long they are there.

 

Don't want anything that involves a lot of grinding.  My free time is limited, and got other hobbies/interests that have been neglected since finding out about Homecoming.

I like task forces, but don't get to do them a lot.  Most of the badges I need are TF/SF/Trial related.  Oh, and I hate PvP.  As a Blaster I dread those 'with no defeats' ones.  In Live I got all the debt badges the day they came out.

 

Oh, and if there is a new badge for badge collecting, I think it should be named  "Been There, Done That"

[ArchVileTerror]

OO!  Something else that comes to mind:  Could we please have the newer Exploration Badges (the ones with the 100-word essays as descriptions) rewritten to be less Agency-stealing?  Short of mind control (and even then, there's a good way and a bad way to handle that) narrative content in a roleplaying game like this should not rob the player of agency to define their character, and should NEVER tell a player how their character feels.  

 

For example:  Rikti Monkey Island Exploration Badge

"There is a secret to this island of monkeys:  that if an infinite number of Rikti Monkeys were placed before an infinite number of typewriters, the smell they'd produce would be unbearable.  It is nearly unbearable here; the Rikti Monkeys chattering non-stop, dropping dung wherever they please, and prancing about with that unnerving rapidity fills you with the urge to kill every last one of them.  You're going to enjoy pulping their little bodies."

 

Proposed changes (plus some other edits):

"It has been said that if an infinite number of Rikti Monkeys were placed before an infinite number of typewriters, the smell they'd produce would be unbearable.  But it's no secret that on the Rikti Monkey Island things really are quite bad.  The little monsters chattering non-stop, expelling droppings wherever they please, and prancing about with that unnerving rapidity.  It's enough to fill some with the urge to kill every last one of the Rikti."

[Display Name]

Yay!

 

1) Allow multiple tries for Efficiency Expert.

2) There are a few badges that are *only* awarded to the team lead.  Can this be fixed?

3) Arena badges.  Ugh!

4) Unlock all exploration badges for everyone.

[Voltor]

1 hour ago, Display Name said:

Yay!

 

1) Allow multiple tries for Efficiency Expert.

2) There are a few badges that are *only* awarded to the team lead.  Can this be fixed?

3) Arena badges.  Ugh!

4) Unlock all exploration badges for everyone.

 

The Efficiency Expert badge is easy to get, the main problem is if you suffer a power or internet connection failure that doesn't get resolved in time.   So adding this to Ouroborus would be good.

 

Arena: debug it and add the ability to have "arena bots" to fight in lieu of actual players.

 

Not sure what you mean by unlock explore badges for everyone, at level 1 if you are a stalker you can go anywhere except the Hive, and Abyss, and PVP Zones.   so at level 1 you could ghost around and rack up a lot of map badges and plaques.

 

Also a badge that I try t forget how much I hate is the Avoids the Green Stuff in the Keys Trial.  I grow weary of people not turning off their TP prompt, or having alleged lag spikes that keep them from moving away in time and thus costing that badge for the whole league.  Incandescence is great to have in that trial but ti doesn't guarantee a badge win.  Can be adjusted to fail only for the person or persons that get trapped and not the whole league?

[FireBrandi]

3 hours ago, Voltor said:

 

Arena: debug it and add the ability to have "arena bots" to fight in lieu of actual players.

 

Yes!   That would go a long way towards making the Arena stuff playable.

[Display Name]

6 hours ago, Voltor said:

 

The Efficiency Expert badge is easy to get, the main problem is if you suffer a power or internet connection failure that doesn't get resolved in time.   So adding this to Ouroborus would be good.

 

Arena: debug it and add the ability to have "arena bots" to fight in lieu of actual players.

 

Not sure what you mean by unlock explore badges for everyone, at level 1 if you are a stalker you can go anywhere except the Hive, and Abyss, and PVP Zones.   so at level 1 you could ghost around and rack up a lot of map badges and plaques.

 

Also a badge that I try t forget how much I hate is the Avoids the Green Stuff in the Keys Trial.  I grow weary of people not turning off their TP prompt, or having alleged lag spikes that keep them from moving away in time and thus costing that badge for the whole league.  Incandescence is great to have in that trial but ti doesn't guarantee a badge win.  Can be adjusted to fail only for the person or persons that get trapped and not the whole league?

 

A level 1 Stalker can't go to Grandville, etc (if they're able to reach all the locations you described.)

 

The other solutions sounded good.

[Display Name]

Oh, yeah!  Almost forgot!  The Paladin badge is slightly broken.

 

Edit: And allow players to track their progress on the Vandal badge.

Edited March 26, 2020 by Display Name

[siolfir]

3 hours ago, Display Name said:

 

A level 1 Stalker can't go to Grandville, etc (if they're able to reach all the locations you described.)

 

The other solutions sounded good.

A level 1 anything can go to Grandville, it's no more restrictive than Peregrine Island and unlike PI there's even a nice P2W vendor right off the ferry to make a newbie's life easier.

 

A level 1 Stalker can do it reasonably safely, although the PvE stealth cap at level 1 is less than a boss's perception radius so they can't just brush against mobs without a chance of being attacked like they can once the stealth cap goes beyond 150 feet. As mentioned in the post you replied to, you can get almost all of the non-PvP exploration badges at level 1, but you'll have trouble with the RWZ unless a mothership raid is going on, since I don't think a level 1 is taking the shield down on their own. Stalkers just make it easier because they all have Hide.

[Display Name]

1 hour ago, siolfir said:

A level 1 anything can go to Grandville, it's no more restrictive than Peregrine Island and unlike PI there's even a nice P2W vendor right off the ferry to make a newbie's life easier.

I understand what you're saying, but that's a workaround.

 

For story purposes, not every toon can switch alignments.  I don't want a workaround to go to Grandville.  I want to go there anytime without making a stop by the P2W.  And vice-versa.

[siolfir]

2 hours ago, Display Name said:

I understand what you're saying, but that's a workaround.

 

For story purposes, not every toon can switch alignments.  I don't want a workaround to go to Grandville.  I want to go there anytime without making a stop by the P2W.  And vice-versa.

The second sentence makes me think that neither of us understood what the other was saying.

 

My point was that if you are the correct alignment there are no exploration badge restrictions outside of PvP zones, and possibly the Abyss/Hive (I haven't checked those). You specifically mentioned Grandville as someplace that a level 1 Stalker couldn't go, which is just blatantly false - as long as the Stalker is a Vigilante, Villain, or Rogue. I brought up the P2W vendor as an aside: a small plug for redside because having more P2W vendors makes it a bit more convenient (and really, the one in Mercy is close to where you start but really inconvenient once you leave the zone), and it would be nice to have one added to PI as well.

 

That you mention switching alignments and call it a workaround, and then mention the P2W vendor - which doesn't allow you to switch alignments, that's Null the Gull in Pocket D - now leads me to believe that you were trying to say that you wanted free movement to any zone regardless of alignment. In that case, you are correct that you have to be a particular alignment, or more specifically not the opposite alignment - which isn't what you stated in the post I was quoting originally in order to correct, nor was it made clear in your post that @Voltor replied to.

[Display Name]

Correct.  I want free movement regardless of alignment.  My original post "Unlock all exploration badges for everyone" was an obviously poor attempt to describe that.

 

My mistake on the P2W agent.  Sometimes I'm thinking about one thing and typing another.

[Voltor]

8 hours ago, Display Name said:

Correct.  I want free movement regardless of alignment.  My original post "Unlock all exploration badges for everyone" was an obviously poor attempt to describe that.

 

My mistake on the P2W agent.  Sometimes I'm thinking about one thing and typing another.

Hm free movement without alignment.....no.  To do that would nearly defeat the purpose of alignments in the first place.

[Display Name]

Not at all.  I'm not talking about doing missions and participation.  I'm talking about movement only.

[Display Name]

Anyway, with all of these silly distractions aside, most of what I would like to see *personally* is simply to fix the existing badges that aren't working correctly!

 

It's hard enough getting the ones we have already without adding more!?  I haven't reached 1500, yet!  Lol!*

 

*not that I'm suggesting you guys slow down on adding them!  Lol!

[MrAxe]

There needs to be a journalist day job badge.

[tidge]

19 hours ago, Display Name said:

I understand what you're saying, but that's a workaround.

 

For story purposes, not every toon can switch alignments.  I don't want a workaround to go to Grandville.  I want to go there anytime without making a stop by the P2W.  And vice-versa.

Go to Grandville last. It may be possible that you could hit level 2(*) by accumulating XP from the exploration badges.

 

(*) assuming that you skipped the exploration badge and necessary missions in "Breakout".

[Eva Destruction]

On 3/26/2020 at 1:56 AM, Display Name said:

 

1) Allow multiple tries for Efficiency Expert.

 

Yes, this, a million times this.  A badge that if you fail, you fail forever isn't in keeping with the casual-friendly spirit of the game.

On 3/26/2020 at 3:07 AM, Voltor said:

Also a badge that I try t forget how much I hate is the Avoids the Green Stuff in the Keys Trial.  I grow weary of people not turning off their TP prompt, or having alleged lag spikes that keep them from moving away in time and thus costing that badge for the whole league.  Incandescence is great to have in that trial but ti doesn't guarantee a badge win.  Can be adjusted to fail only for the person or persons that get trapped and not the whole league?

Nearly every time I've failed this badge it's because the beam hits during a time freeze.  People CAN'T move.  You can try to coordinate the team to stop damage just before the beam hits, but it's akin to herding cats and if you fail, the people who didn't listen won't necessarily be the ones who get hit.

 

I'm also wondering if there's anyone who has earned the top damage taken or time mezzed badges without afk farming.  The top heal badges are excessively high too.  The damage dealt, inf earned, and debt badges are all doable through  normal play (the debt badges could actually be a little higher) but the other ones are set too high.

 

I would like to see more badges for some of the mini-arcs, like Chameleon, Do No Harm, and Nemesis Rex.  The Rogue Robots arc and A Titan Named Joe seem to me to be good candidates.  Redside, some of the arcs from the unlockable contacts could be given badges; Doc Buzzsaw, Slot Machine, and Seer Marino are some of the best content redside and adding badges might encourage more players to do them.

 

Tl;dr:  more badges you earn by playing content, fewer badges you earn by grinding or farming or herding cats.

[Display Name]

When I joined a league going after the Keyes badges, we specifically trained for the Green Stuff badge.  The league leader had an AoE power that froze the ground that he colored green and even designed a costume similar to Dr Keyes'.  Even so, it tooks us about a dozen attempts over a few days to get it.

 

You can FARM the Empath badge by getting the Rebirth Total Core Invocation (T3 is fine) and then travelling to Mercy Island.  Near the P2W agent is a large group of stationary Arachnos soldiers that you can auto-fire while afk.  It took me about 3 nights or so for my Blaster (!?) to get the Empath badge.  Great conversation piece!  Lol!

 

Someone showed me a way to farm damage taken in the Maria Jenkins arc.  There's a lava pool in the last mission.  SOMEHOW, they told me to get into a Rest position and then slide into the pool.  I did this and was being damaged at 91/sec or so.  The next day I tried to do it again, but I couldn't stay in a Rest position and enter the pool.  I never found the person again to figure out how they did that.

[Voltor]

2 hours ago, Display Name said:

When I joined a league going after the Keyes badges, we specifically trained for the Green Stuff badge.  The league leader had an AoE power that froze the ground that he colored green and even designed a costume similar to Dr Keyes'.  Even so, it tooks us about a dozen attempts over a few days to get it.

 

You can FARM the Empath badge by getting the Rebirth Total Core Invocation (T3 is fine) and then travelling to Mercy Island.  Near the P2W agent is a large group of stationary Arachnos soldiers that you can auto-fire while afk.  It took me about 3 nights or so for my Blaster (!?) to get the Empath badge.  Great conversation piece!  Lol!

 

Someone showed me a way to farm damage taken in the Maria Jenkins arc.  There's a lava pool in the last mission.  SOMEHOW, they told me to get into a Rest position and then slide into the pool.  I did this and was being damaged at 91/sec or so.  The next day I tried to do it again, but I couldn't stay in a Rest position and enter the pool.  I never found the person again to figure out how they did that.

Enter rest mode then eat about 10 break frees then you can move into the lava