Thoughts on how to encourage players to form task/strike forces

[hexadecimalwtf]

I typically don't transfer money to new alt until I get a few levels into them. So 1-20 is typically unenhanced because I level faster than enhancements drop and anything that does drop I out level. 

 

But I think DO's and SO's could afford to drop way more often than they do. Being a new player in the game must be a horrible experience if you have no funds to outfit yourself when everyone else runs around as a demi-god in the low levels and you miss every attack. The beginners luck that fades away as you level is also annoying because it seems to be a hidden attribute and then all off a sudden you just start missing more and more often, again it seems like a terrible new player experience because they will be unaware what is happening.

 

You may say SO's are not that pricey but you typically can't afford to keep yourself up to date on SO's as you level if you are self funded. I always play with double-xp on so I never earn money on alts.

 

Edit: To stay on topic with the thread my point is, and this is my personal experience and I don't know if others are the same way. If I am leveling up a new alt and going the grouping route instead of power leveling I run into mechanics that make me hesitant to lead a task force. Taking Posi1 as an example but this is true for all. I get to level 8 and want to run Posi1. I can host the team and we are all underleveled but I get enhancement drops. Or I can wait until level 15/16 so the group can run at max TF level and I sacrifice my own enhancement drops. Now most of the time Posi1 has someone join who can take the star that is above 15, but why rely on that? This problem just compounds itself if I want to run TF's sequentially which is pretty easy to do on the weekend as groups can easily level into the next one. As the leader I am either always over leveled to the point nothing drops or I am under leveled. 

 

I think a super simple solution to this is just have enhancements drop even if you are exemplar. just have them drop at the level of the enemies. So now a level 16 hosting Posi1 can get some level 15 enhancements which is better than nothing. Include a settings option to allow players to filter out enhancement drops below X level so a level 50 doesn't have to deal with the cluttered inventory. Given how the meta is these days where everything is IO or attuned there is no reason DO's or SO's can't drop more frequently.

Edited August 23, 2022 by hexadecimalwtf

[Ukase]

6 minutes ago, hexadecimalwtf said:

You may say SO's are not that pricey but you typically can't afford to keep yourself up to date on SO's as you level if you are self funded. I always play with double-xp on so I never earn money on alts.

I guess I take my knowledge of the AH and such for granted. I start all my characters with zip. They all end up with a billion, just playing the game, crafting, converting drops, with some ...investments along the way. 

I keep trying to share what I know, but often folks can't be bothered. 

[hexadecimalwtf]

7 minutes ago, Ukase said:

I guess I take my knowledge of the AH and such for granted. 

 

Yes, it seems like you do. I for one don't enjoy the farming or money market aspect of the game. I enjoy just making new alts every day, which leaves me strapped for cash. You fund a billion likes it nothing, I fund a few million. Maybe I am the odd one out these days and everyone has billions to throw around but I don't think we should hinder a new players potential experience in the game because veterans are rich.

[Crysis]

On 8/20/2022 at 6:14 PM, KaizenSoze said:

I have seen some comments about players being nervous to create task forces. Because, they don't know a particular task or strike force well enough.

 

I had a thought, maybe we could create a list of text macros that players could use for each mission in a TF. Something that would provide direction for that mission if needed.

 

Examples for SIlver Mantis:

"We just need to click the six glowies and defeat the two named boss spawns"

"Once, Duray appears I will step back into the ship and fire Assemble the Team. So, we can fight him inside the ship, for an easier fight. Please, accept the ATT when it appears."

 

Then we can create a guide for each TF/SF.

 

I applaud the idea but I don't think macro's are going to help increase players' willingness to start/host a TF/SF.  That's a behavioral thing, not a lack of functionality. 

 

And I don't have a behavioral fix for you.  I doubt anyone does.  The HC devs have tried to incentivize TF/SF participation with the weekly bonuses, etc.  But that's really the only behavioral modification you can make to the content itself. 

 

It's not a usability issue.

[Crysis]

6 minutes ago, hexadecimalwtf said:

 

Yes, it seems like you do. I for one don't enjoy the farming or money market aspect of the game. I enjoy just making new alts every day, which leaves me strapped for cash. You fund a billion likes it nothing, I fund a few million. Maybe I am the odd one out these days and everyone has billions to throw around but I don't think we should hinder a new players potential experience in the game because veterans are rich.

 

I go through phases where I'll literally make 8-10 alts in a week, Powerfarm all of them up to 32 or so and then take months to level all of them to 50.  Most I won't even touch without a fully IO'd build already determined in MIDS.  And yes, that takes money but as Ukase pointed out, that's not a big challenge to get "enough" to fund a nice build or twenty.  I've not bought a SO since my first HC alt at re-opening of the game (a Fire/Kin I knew could farm on just a SO-only build).  

 

I really don't "enjoy" money making but it's kind of necessary to fund my joy of building alts.  So I do one to fund the other, sort of like real life job vs. lifestyle.  I don't understand all the negativity surrounding -how- people make their billions (marketeering vs. AE/mission farming vs. hybrid approaches).  But in HC it's relatively easy to get the best "gear" for your alts with but a little effort simply because there are so many paths to "enough" riches.

[Seed22]

51 minutes ago, hexadecimalwtf said:

 

Yes, it seems like you do. I for one don't enjoy the farming or money market aspect of the game. I enjoy just making new alts every day, which leaves me strapped for cash. You fund a billion likes it nothing, I fund a few million. Maybe I am the odd one out these days and everyone has billions to throw around but I don't think we should hinder a new players potential experience in the game because veterans are rich.

You make some very valid and interesting points.

 

In fact, I used to be in the very same predicament waaay back in the day. My best advice if I may? SO's and DO's dropping frequently won't fix the cost associated with keeping them "up to date". It'll cost you way more in the long-run, I'd recommend making use of Training Invention enhancements. They're basically DO's(kinda? I think) and you never have to really re-up them post 25, as they're basically at that point SO's in effectiveness. It'll save you a helluva lot in the long-run, and hopefully smooth over some of those new player/SO pains.

[KaizenSoze]

1 hour ago, Crysis said:

 

I go through phases where I'll literally make 8-10 alts in a week, Powerfarm all of them up to 32 or so and then take months to level all of them to 50.  Most I won't even touch without a fully IO'd build already determined in MIDS.  And yes, that takes money but as Ukase pointed out, that's not a big challenge to get "enough" to fund a nice build or twenty.  I've not bought a SO since my first HC alt at re-opening of the game (a Fire/Kin I knew could farm on just a SO-only build).  

 

I really don't "enjoy" money making but it's kind of necessary to fund my joy of building alts.  So I do one to fund the other, sort of like real life job vs. lifestyle.  I don't understand all the negativity surrounding -how- people make their billions (marketeering vs. AE/mission farming vs. hybrid approaches).  But in HC it's relatively easy to get the best "gear" for your alts with but a little effort simply because there are so many paths to "enough" riches.

Not to digress too much. But the beta server is a great way to test out alts and a lot quicker.

[KaizenSoze]

@Bionic_Flea

 

I think will try and make pop menu as you suggested. Thoughts on the format.

 

• Task Force Name
  • Speed
    • LFG
    • LFG WST
    • Mission 1
      • A
      • B
    • Mission 2
  • Kill most
    • LFG
    • LFG WST
    • Mission 1
      • A
      • B

[hexadecimalwtf]

44 minutes ago, Seed22 said:

You make some very valid and interesting points.

 

In fact, I used to be in the very same predicament waaay back in the day. My best advice if I may? SO's and DO's dropping frequently won't fix the cost associated with keeping them "up to date". It'll cost you way more in the long-run, I'd recommend making use of Training Invention enhancements. They're basically DO's(kinda? I think) and you never have to really re-up them post 25, as they're basically at that point SO's in effectiveness. It'll save you a helluva lot in the long-run, and hopefully smooth over some of those new player/SO pains.

 

Thanks but I am not here looking for advice, as I'm not a new player just making a point in defense of new players. I was just here giving a viewpoint on a way that could improve participation in leading TFs. I would lead more if I could get some of the fun of getting enhancement drops along the way. It's no more complicated than that.

 

Slight derail, considering the common advice is to just about DOs and SOs anyways it might be time the game considers just removing them. If the solution to a new player is to just avoid them and buy IOs why are they even in the game. Though this really falls into a philosophy of if IOs as designed are better or worse for the game. But we all know they are not going away.

[golstat2003]

4 hours ago, hexadecimalwtf said:

 

Thanks but I am not here looking for advice, as I'm not a new player just making a point in defense of new players. I was just here giving a viewpoint on a way that could improve participation in leading TFs. I would lead more if I could get some of the fun of getting enhancement drops along the way. It's no more complicated than that.

 

Slight derail, considering the common advice is to just about DOs and SOs anyways it might be time the game considers just removing them. If the solution to a new player is to just avoid them and buy IOs why are they even in the game. Though this really falls into a philosophy of if IOs as designed are better or worse for the game. But we all know they are not going away.

 

If they ever remove DOs or SOs, then COMMON crafted IOs should drop in place.

[Bionic_Flea]

6 hours ago, KaizenSoze said:

@Bionic_Flea

 

I think will try and make pop menu as you suggested. Thoughts on the format.

 

• Task Force Name
  • Speed
    • LFG
    • LFG WST
    • Mission 1
      • A
      • B
    • Mission 2
  • Kill most
    • LFG
    • LFG WST
    • Mission 1
      • A
      • B

Yeah, something like that, but I'm not sure what the LFG and LFG WST is about.  I know what they stand for, but not what they are representing or adding in your menu.

[KaizenSoze]

14 minutes ago, Bionic_Flea said:

Yeah, something like that, but I'm not sure what the LFG and LFG WST is about.  I know what they stand for, but not what they are representing or adding in your menu.

LFG WST - Mention it is the WST and how many extra merits that means.

 

I always do this when I am recruiting for a WST.

[Bionic_Flea]

Ohhhh.  It's the generic announcement: "Starting (name) TF, level X+, Y merits, PST."  And then add, "It's the weekly so bonus XP, merits, etc. if it's your first one this week"

[Crysis]

On 8/23/2022 at 10:22 AM, KaizenSoze said:

Not to digress too much. But the beta server is a great way to test out alts and a lot quicker.

 

Oh I’ve used it for that, frequently.  But it’s exceedingly rare that I build something on beta and don’t want it on the play server.  But then again I seldom roll up an alt unless I already have a costume, name and build ready to go.  And at that point…I’m committed.