Getting to tier 4

[Ukase]

So, first, I want to say I am likely in the minority. Let me share this experience and express my thought. 

I recently got a character to  50, and having heard a rumor about a change coming on the next patch, I thought, "Self, you won't be able to just sit in a farm for vet levels when that patch hits. So, you'll have to determine a best path for getting your incarnate goodies." 

So, I teamed up with some folks from the SG. At first, we were able to collaboratively complete and get 3-4 reward tables for the finale of the first few arcs, which was good, although the rng determined I should get nothing higher than an uncommon. Eventually, as we were meeting once a week, some folks had conflicts and real life happens. So, the collaborative completion gimmick didn't pan out as efficiently as I wish it would have. 

We ran through all the incarnate story arcs. At the end, I still needed two rares and 4 very rares, 136 emp merits worth. I didn't and don't want to burn them, because emp merits are going to be even harder to come by without using the vet levels in AE. I've only earned with vet levels, and those single emp merit drops from the story arc completion 108 emps so far. (maybe 109, can't recall) 
So, I use the AE for vet levels because I have run all the itrials until I'm pretty much sick of them. I've gotten Really Hard Way and Master of Magi on pretty much every 50 I have. I would have Master of Minds of Mayhem, but that nightmare badge is a bit of a grind for characters I don't badge with. And, on my farmer accounts, I would use vet levels for converters. Seemed like a bargain to me. I can see where some folks would scratch their heads and wonder why that was possible. I liked not having to buy converters. 

Now, I am grateful that we get vet levels in the first place, believe me, I am. And I do understand, in a sense, the desire to push folks like me out of AE and into the other content, as I'm simply gaming the system by afk farming for my vet levels (and the emp merits I want). 
I get it. But I think if you do that - then when someone takes the time to do all the incarnate story arcs, then they really should have gotten enough from the reward tables and emp merits to complete to t-4. Maybe some might think that unreasonable. And trust me, if it were all new to me, I would probably have no issue re-running them again and again. But, it's not new to me. 

If we're on this pattern of having harder content reward more loot, then I really hope we do that with the random reward tables, too. At least an increased chance of rare/very rare if run at +4 or some other hard mode. 

[Rudra]

I could agree with tier 3, but not tier 4. Tier 4 is uber beyond the shifts tier 3 already gives.

[The_Warpact]

If I didn't have access to farms to get the necessary components to get my T3/T4 items, then there would be no way I could do so otherwise. (I only go to T3 anyways)

 

I only have a few hrs to play every week, not the multitude of hours required to run itrials over and over to farm for that stuff.

Getting to farm helps that, I go afk alot because of work/life and there's no way I could do that on a itrial.

 

At this point in time if they start changing stuff again that takes away from how I play then it's no longer beneficial to me and then I question why I should play. Really I hardly play anymore, maybe 1-2 nights a week for a couple hours.

Farming on the other hand (prior to my graphics card dying), I was on almost 5 nights a week farming, I farm more than I play. 

 

But, I digress.

I get what you're saying, but, there should be a tiered system in place, if you run these trials it gets you to this point, and then if you run these itrials it gets you to another point. You "level" as you go eventually achieving T4 and then after that some final trials to conclude the whole of it. 

[SuggestorK]

also there are more incarnate arcs /content incoming with page 4 ^^

[Bill Z Bubba]

There is a farm for gaining components and emp merit progression. It's Heather's arc in DA. Infinitely repeatable by way of the Ouro crystal, infinitely farmable. An incarnate component drop at the end of it. iXP throughout. If you run it at max diff, you'll get more iXP, of course, but you can also base diff it for extreme zergin and get an incarnate drop in like 15 mins.

As efficient as the iXP gain in fire farms? Course not. But it can be an easy way to luck into very rare drops.

[Greycat]

10 hours ago, The_Warpact said:

If I didn't have access to farms to get the necessary components to get my T3/T4 items, then there would be no way I could do so otherwise. (I only go to T3 anyways)

 

 

DA repeatables.

 

Hell, some of mine have T4s - plus extra empyrians, etc. that they'll never use - just from being MSR raid regulars. (Which I mostly do to BS with the other regulars there.)

[biostem]

What is the expectation for how quickly you should be able to get your T4s?  I mean, I have them on a few characters, and I got them by running iTrials, doing TFs, raids, and so on.  It did take some time to do, but that seems appropriate to me...

[Bill Z Bubba]

1 hour ago, biostem said:

What is the expectation for how quickly you should be able to get your T4s?  I mean, I have them on a few characters, and I got them by running iTrials, doing TFs, raids, and so on.  It did take some time to do, but that seems appropriate to me...

 

Back before the snap the expectation was "I'm doing this once and I hate this damn system."

The expectation now is "If I must have them now, thanks for emp merit emails" or "I think it took a couple days farming Heather's arc for BZB scrapper." Took MUCH longer to farm DA repeatables for the 666 vet lvls screenshot.

Edited July 13, 2022 by Bill Z Bubba

[lemming]

I've got a smattering of T4s (and some of those have multiple t4s).   I think most get to a set of t4s by vet 20 or so unless I wind up moving some emps from another char, then earlier.

[TalynDerre]

The Apex / Tin Mage combined task forces can be run in under 40 minutes, guarantee a minimum of 2 Emps, and you get something like up to 5 rolls on the Incarnate Salvage table.  And that's on top of the regular XP, Inf and Merits.  Sure, it is probably the most challenging content in the game (outside Relentless ASFs and a handful of 'raids'), but it's still perfectly doable with a pickup group.  Run a TinPex twice a week and your character will be fully kitted out in T4s before you know it.

[golstat2003]

2 hours ago, TalynDerre said:

The Apex / Tin Mage combined task forces can be run in under 40 minutes, guarantee a minimum of 2 Emps, and you get something like up to 5 rolls on the Incarnate Salvage table.  And that's on top of the regular XP, Inf and Merits.  Sure, it is probably the most challenging content in the game (outside Relentless ASFs and a handful of 'raids'), but it's still perfectly doable with a pickup group.  Run a TinPex twice a week and your character will be fully kitted out in T4s before you know it.

I had forgotten you get reward wills on TinPex! Thanks for the reminder. 😊