The odd ball challenges

[Ukase]

So...a thought occurred to me. They often do when my mind is left unsupervised. 

Anyway, I'm on one of my project characters where I try to subsist off what the rng blesses me with. I'm going without 2xp because, well, I'm gonna need the influence, since borrowing from my alts would make things too easy. And, well, that'd be spending influence when I'd rather accumulate it. 

So, I'm level 26, and I got the Celebrity badge. When I use p2w for 2xp, I would earn this at 50. So, now that I realize I've gotten this at 26, I am thinking, surely I've gotten this earlier than 26 before. But I don't really pay attention to stuff like this. 

But what if I did? 
Celebrity (or Bling, or Who's Who) is awarded when you earn 500k influence. Any level 50 would tell you that's chump change. From marketing some drops, I made that much at level 10. But, what if I set out to see how soon I could get it? 

The lower the level, the lower the inf earned per npc defeat. Getting defeated past level 10 slows the leveling process a tiny bit. But, without turning off XP, how early could you get it? Or, rather, how early can I get it? 

If I use my marketing savvy to acquire the usual trinity of PvP IOs for my build, the kismet accuracy, the steadfast 3%, the kb protection if on a character that needs it, I can probably accept challenges that are more difficult a little sooner, and possibly get it sooner. 

So, that's going to be a challenge for my next character or two. To see how soon I can get it. 

Other challenges: drop challenge - no AH, no teaming, only slot what you can get from drops, but you are allowed to convert drops..you just can't buy converters (but you can use them from merit vendors) Delete upon defeat. (It's tough because end mod enhancement and recipes rarely drop!) 
Iron Man (I think) - SO enhancements only, delete upon defeat. 

I suppose one could try playing the entire game without enhancements, but that just seems really, really crazy. 
Any other odd-ball challenges you guys like to try? 

[KC4800]

I have a Radiation Defender currently up to lvl 42 that didn't take the Healing Aura and turned off getting any green drops. The only way to get healthy is through resting and natural regeneration. She is very fun to solo with.

[MoonSheep]

there are some badgers who earn as many as they can and keep their alts at lvl 15, lvl 20 etc - i’ll see if i can find some examples

[srmalloy]

3 hours ago, Ukase said:

So...a thought occurred to me. They often do when my mind is left unsupervised. 

Be kind to it; it's in a strange place.  

[Ukase]

2 hours ago, KC4800 said:

I have a Radiation Defender currently up to lvl 42 that didn't take the Healing Aura and turned off getting any green drops. The only way to get healthy is through resting and natural regeneration. She is very fun to solo with.

Oh my. Funny how fun to some folks sounds like masochism to others, lol. 

I can actually see forgoing the heal on a rad defender, as it's a fairly small heal, like 15%, with noticeable end usage when fighting (before you've hit 50 and are all decked out). And there are some good set bonuses for regen, too, so it may not be as bad as I think, once you get to level 22 or so. 

[Ukase]

25 minutes ago, srmalloy said:

Be kind to it; it's in a strange place.  

Very true, very true. 

[AboveTheChemist]

3 hours ago, Ukase said:

drop challenge - no AH, no teaming, only slot what you can get from drops, but you are allowed to convert drops..you just can't buy converters (but you can use them from merit vendors)

 

This is basically the theme behind a SG I belong to (The Long Riders), although we team and we can use the AH for selling (no buying except invention salvage for crafting recipes). I am playing it a bit more restricted and only slotting Basic IOs and lower that drop, and I play more with XP off than on so that I can hit every possible mission/arc. I'm just shy of level 25 now but I've probably got enough in merits and saleable set IOs at this point to easily fund this character's full set IO build when I retire him from the SG. Playing this self-sufficient character has made me realize the vast amount of resources this game showers upon its players.

[Ukase]

10 minutes ago, AboveTheChemist said:

Playing this self-sufficient character has made me realize the vast amount of resources this game showers upon its players.

There's no debate, really. If you're even half-inclined to figure things out, you can make a billion inf in day. Maybe not every day, but in a day. Or, you can get all the IO sets you need for your build with no influence of your own, just making good use of the drops you get. 

[Coyotedancer]

I play a silly game with all of my Stalkers... When I'm running them solo and come across a big room with multiple targets, I try to "perfectly stalk it".

 

That is to say, I try to take out each target individually, without any of the others noticing that I did it. 

 

It's harder than you might think, depending on how many goons there are in a group and how close they are together. But it's good fun trying to be the Ultimate Sneaky Assassin. 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 13, 2022 by Coyotedancer

[Six-Six]

I've got some crazy ones for you.

No training. Toons stay at level 1. You only get T1/T2 primary, T1 secondary, Sprint/Slide, Brawl, Health, and Stamina with one slot each. No Rest! You're free to partake the P2W merchandise as long as you can afford it. Your powers do improve as you ding the levels, but you can't add powers or slots. I have 5 of these, the highest at level 20 but all are quietly waiting on a shelf while I attend to my altitis.

Similarly, I also have a handful of Gimped toons. I only train until Level 10 then try to get to 50 with only those powers and slots. my highest so far is at (equivalent) level 25 or 6, also gathering dust on a shelf.

I've done the Pool Boy challenge which is to only pick pool powers (tertiary) as soon as it opens up at level 4. Had a nice run with my Demons/Kinetics MM. It really opens your eyes to how strong and/or useful some of the pool powers are.

Also currently doing a couple of Old School challenges. One of them is with @AboveTheChemist and the rest of the Long Riders, though It's an effort to try to catch them online when I am. An older one is the Reenactors which tries to simulate CoH 2004--only SOs, you have to take 2 powers you'll never use prior to level 14 as a stand in for fitness/stamina; none of the new pool powers, etc. I had to shelf it because I simply can't play on Ever (where the Reenactors SG is) as my connection to that shard does not allow me to play without lag... must be the population, I don't know. 

I've also successfully completed the Hardcore Rogue-like (or Ironman) perma-death. Did it on a Beam/Devices Blaster. Basically no dying until T4 alpha has been slotted. Also, mandatory notoriety are +1 from level 20-29, +2 from 30-39, +3 from 40-49, and +4 from 50 until completion. Teaming/TFs are allowed as long as it's same level or lower, but I've found PUGs or teams in general to be very risky. Unfortunately, as soon as I slotted the T4, I attempted the Lone Wolf badge (Dream Doctor's last mission solo) and i died before I got a screenshot of the proof of no death. (I tried it again on a duplicate toon and died at 49 haha). Strictly no sitting in AE farms (running AE content is fine, though I didn't), no P2W (especially XP Boost), disabling XP is fine. No IOs or Inf other than what you earn. AH depends on how anal you want to be, although you're not allowed to purchase recipes or IOs. You're allowed to convert what you've crafted--which is where ALL of your merits go.

The other challenges aren't as strict with the rules. 

There was another one that started in the forums, but didn't really come together in-game. The something or the other Diner Challenge (I'll try to look for the link later). The scenario is you're all in a diner minding your own beeswax when you're all hit with a mad science ray and boom you're a hero. The rules are simple: Go find an online dice roller. Set up and roll for AT, then primary, then secondary. You're free to choose your pool powers and epics as you see fit. Costume, you have to click Randomise and then just minor fine-tuning. I rolled an Elec/Fire Stalker. Haven't played him yet.

 

[Ukase]

On 8/13/2022 at 3:51 PM, Six-Six said:

I've got some crazy ones for you.

I've also successfully completed the Hardcore Rogue-like (or Ironman) perma-death. Did it on a Beam/Devices Blaster. Basically no dying until T4 alpha has been slotted. Also, mandatory notoriety are +1 from level 20-29, +2 from 30-39, +3 from 40-49, and +4 from 50 until completion. Teaming/TFs are allowed as long as it's same level or lower, but I've found PUGs or teams in general to be very risky. Unfortunately, as soon as I slotted the T4, I attempted the Lone Wolf badge (Dream Doctor's last mission solo) and i died before I got a screenshot of the proof of no death. (I tried it again on a duplicate toon and died at 49 haha). Strictly no sitting in AE farms (running AE content is fine, though I didn't), no P2W (especially XP Boost), disabling XP is fine. No IOs or Inf other than what you earn. AH depends on how anal you want to be, although you're not allowed to purchase recipes or IOs. You're allowed to convert what you've crafted--which is where ALL of your merits go.

The other challenges aren't as strict with the rules. 

There was another one that started in the forums, but didn't really come together in-game. The something or the other Diner Challenge (I'll try to look for the link later). The scenario is you're all in a diner minding your own beeswax when you're all hit with a mad science ray and boom you're a hero. The rules are simple: Go find an online dice roller. Set up and roll for AT, then primary, then secondary. You're free to choose your pool powers and epics as you see fit. Costume, you have to click Randomise and then just minor fine-tuning. I rolled an Elec/Fire Stalker. Haven't played him yet.

I've done the Hardcore Rogue challenge, as you describe it. The only difference was the +1 started at level 10, +2 at 20, +3 at 30, +4 at 40.  I had a lot of failure before I finally got a fire/energy blaster (hooray for knockback!) and a dark/dark defender through it. The DD was painfully slow in the higher levels, the npcs missed a lot, but my dps was a bit underwhelming, took me a long time to get through the bosses I ran across. 

I like this Diner option...

Thanks!

 

[Six-Six]

@Ukase I feel ya. KB is our friend.

Took me about a year trying out different ATs, powers and strategem. It was frustrating to die around late 40 and starting from scratch. But now I'm used to all of it, notoriety settings, no P2W, everything... that I play every toon with the mindset of permadeath. When some of them do die, I feel a great loss and have to take a step back to decide if the toon is casual enough to continue with a death on his conscience or if he's serious enough to be rerolled to try again. Most of my failed hard core toons die from lag or being mapserved and logging back in sprawled on the floor. haha. but a death is a death.

While the fear of death has made the game much more fun, challenging and overall interesting for me, the downside is that it prevents me from joining most TFs and PUGs, thereby forcing me to solo most of the time.

[Ukase]

3 hours ago, Six-Six said:

@Ukase I feel ya. KB is our friend.

that I play every toon with the mindset of permadeath. When some of them do die, I feel a great loss and have to take a step back to decide if the toon is casual enough to continue with a death on his conscience or if he's serious enough to be rerolled to try again. 

There have been two characters I was having a good deal of fun with, so when they died, I just said screw it and kept going. Both have only had the one defeat - except when I deliberately went to Monster Island to kill them purposefully for the High Pain Threshold badge. Pay off 200K debt. The only way to get it is to be defeated, so I don't count those. 

[Yomo Kimyata]

How about a melee alt that doesn't take any resistance, defense, or healing powers?  

[Psyonico]

17 minutes ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

How about a melee alt that doesn't take any resistance, defense, or healing powers?  

 

That's not oddball, that's suicide.

[Yomo Kimyata]

4 minutes ago, Psyonico said:

 

That's not oddball, that's suicide.

 

Not if you kill them first!  You'd need a lot of knockdown.  Whirlwind!

[Ukase]

1 hour ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

How about a melee alt that doesn't take any resistance, defense, or healing powers?  

The thing is...there are challenges, where a character has a fair chance. And then there's something like this suggestion...lol, I'll pass. 

[Yomo Kimyata]

1 hour ago, Ukase said:

The thing is...there are challenges, where a character has a fair chance. And then there's something like this suggestion...lol, I'll pass. 

 

Challenge accepted.  I'm going to have to think about what powers count.  Initially thinking a Dark/Dark/Soul brute.

[Yomo Kimyata]

It would be inhumane to not allow mez protection, so I'm allowing Obsidian Shield so long as I don't enhance the psionic resistance.  And I'm not counting Siphon Life as a heal right now, since that doesn't suit my purposes...

 

First cut:

 

Spoiler

https://www.midsreborn.com/builds/download.php?uc=1385&c=662&a=1324&f=HEX&dc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

 

[UltraAlt]

7 hours ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

How about a melee alt that doesn't take any resistance, defense, or healing powers?  

 

 

Interesting.  Blapper in reverse?

 

I'm thinking scrapper would need challenge or teleport target (to pull enemies away one at a time), mitigating power fx (knockdown/back, stun, slow..), Sorcery (for the ranged attack and setting enemies on fire)...

 

I'm assuming maneuvers, stealth and combat jumping are out of the mix because they add defense.

Do you get to pick end recovery and status resistance powers if the don't add defense, resistance, or heal?

 

[Ukase]

I will have to try and teleport a foe from the street to the top of a building - and then tp him to the air beside the building and see how much dps it takes. and then finish him off and see if the xp is scaled down. I think it would be..but I want to confirm this. If not, I may have a new challenge...