Page 4 experiences so far...

[Loc]

Overall I'm digging the update a lot and can't wait for the new costumes to release. Really happy that the ITF rewards got bumped up. I mentioned it before and this seems way better. (Although ASF is still more efficient than ITF if you just wanna farm the salvage by a considerable margin)

 

One thing that does seem to be a real issue however is the cascading reward system. For ITF and ASF this isn't really an issue but for trials it's a pretty big deal. Right now if you don't want to waste your reward potential you HAVE to alt after every trial. I sorta get the cap of 3 salvage per 18h but because of the way the rewards work you also can't combine a level 1 and 2 trial without losing out. I wouldn't mind the timeout being on a trial to trial basis personally but if we're keeping it 3 per character per 18h why not let a level 2 and level 1 trial give full rewards on a single character? That way people won't be discouraged as much by the hassle of constant alting. Or am I missing a reason for the design choice? If it's to curb the amount you can earn, that is being circumvented by alting anyway so it's merely an inconvenience. And most important, it's an inconvenience for the people hosting content which we probably don't want.

Edited August 29, 2022 by Loc

[Without_Pause]

On 8/27/2022 at 1:55 PM, Wavicle said:

You’ve done that AFK? With the new aggro rules?

I already covered my error in understanding the context of what was being said.

 

I still find it interesting that AE/farming was impacted in a negative way in Page 4. Player numbers haven't seem to gone up despite the new Page being out. The dirt cheap market is even cheaper. The market during Page 3's release absolutely went up. Yet people are still going, "You know, we need to curb faming even more." I have over 3 billion sitting. The vast majority of that comes from the market and not farming. I might dual box for a bit once every so many months. If farming was genuinely gone, and don't ask me how that actually happens since Unai Kemen exists, but its legit removal would essentially end my playing time for CoH. In the land of things CoH needs to fix, farming isn't the win you think it is. The only farming the HC team needs to worry about is faming more talent for their team.

[Zhym]

34 minutes ago, Loc said:

(Although ASF is still more efficient than ITF if you just wanna farm the salvage by a considerable margin)

ASF was pretty rough right after it came out, too.  I figure we're still in the period of figuring out optimal strategies for running ITF challenge modes.  Once we get there, the death rate will probably go down some. 

 

36 minutes ago, Loc said:

One thing that does seem to be a real issue however is the cascading reward system. For ITF and ASF this isn't really an issue but for trials it's a pretty big deal. Right now if you don't want to waste your reward potential you HAVE to alt after every trial. I sorta get the cap of 3 salvage per 18h but because of the way the rewards work you also can't combine a level 1 and 2 trial without losing out. I wouldn't mind the timeout being on a trial to trial basis personally but if we're keeping it 3 per character per 18h why not let a level 2 and level 1 trial give full rewards on a single character? That way people won't be discouraged as much by the hassle of constant alting. Or am I missing a reason for the design choice? If it's to curb the amount you can earn, that is being circumvented by alting anyway so it's merely an inconvenience. And most important, it's an inconvenience for the people hosting content which we probably don't want.

Yeah, I did a lot of alting this weekend to try to scrounge up Aether one or two at a time. (Then I joined a 4-star ASF and racked up 30 in one go.  Sweet!)  On the one hand, some of my characters finally saw a bit of action for the first time in a while.  On the other hand—well, I'm not sure what the cool-down accomplishes, since most of us have enough alts to get around it.  But the same argument applies to all the other cool-downs, I suppose, so at least Aether isn't unique in that regard.

[Linea]

5 hours ago, KaizenSoze said:

Note, this was a 1-star. Most of the players commenting in the MM thread I linked are on 2-4 star and dying heavily even before the last mission.

4-Star everything is 1-shot fodder except the Tank.  The Tank is 2-shot fodder.

 

If even one of your pets pulls a Leroy, you are dead.  This is as much a MM AI issue as a MM Player issue.  Melee MMs are going to get it exponentially worse, they're going to pull aggro no matter what, and the pet is gonna one-shot die transferring that aggro to the MM.   If the MM isn't heavily armored, and buffed, they're gonna one-shot die.  I don't see a good answer here.   My only suggestion would be to remove the pet levels shifts based on stars and then see how well bodyguard compensates when the level shifts are removed.  Remove one level shift per star, so 3 is no level shifts, and 4 star the pets are +1 IF you are +1.

 

[Indystruck]

Gimmie more of that hard mode content.

[Ironblade]

7 hours ago, Ukase said:

Then how do you explain my earning 30 prismatics each time I've completed a 4* Aeon SF? But we only earn 20 for completing the 4*ITF? 

I did this on Tuesday and Wednesday of this previous week, post patch.

Sounds like a bug.  The most recent patch notes flat-out say the ASF rewards 20.  And Prismatics didn't exist when the ASF was introduced.

[Ukase]

6 minutes ago, Ironblade said:

Sounds like a bug. 

It could be, but I don't think so. I mean...how could it be? Someone had to trigger them to drop upon the defeat of Hero 1, right? I mean, otherwise, they might just drop for any old thing. If it were just one, sure, I could blame it on the RNG, but it's 10 of them. But, hey, who knows? Not me. 

[lemming]

46 minutes ago, Ukase said:

It could be, but I don't think so. I mean...how could it be? Someone had to trigger them to drop upon the defeat of Hero 1, right? I mean, otherwise, they might just drop for any old thing. If it were just one, sure, I could blame it on the RNG, but it's 10 of them. But, hey, who knows? Not me. 

Bug since they say the rewards here:

• These are the current Prismatic Aether Particle drop totals for Advanced Difficulty content:

Advanced Difficulty - Dr. Aeon's Strike Force:

• ☆ 1-Star = 2 Prismatic Aether Particle salvage.
• ☆☆ 2-Star = (2+5) 7 Prismatic Aether Particle salvage.
• ☆☆☆ 3-Star = (2+5+6) 13 Prismatic Aether Particle salvage.
• ☆☆☆☆ 4-Star = (2+5+6+7) 20 Prismatic Aether Particle salvage.

Advanced Difficulty - Imperious Task Force:

• ☆ 1-Star = 2 Prismatic Aether Particle salvage.
• ☆☆ 2-Star = (2+5) 7 Prismatic Aether Particle salvage.
• ☆☆☆ 3-Star = (2+5+6) 13 Prismatic Aether Particle salvage.
• ☆☆☆☆ 4-Star = (2+5+6+7) 20 Prismatic Aether Particle salvage.

 

[Indystruck]

27 minutes ago, lemming said:

Bug since they say the rewards here:

 

 

Secret fight rewards 10 additional prismatics since it can also kill the run if you don't meet the time limit, IIRC.

Edited August 29, 2022 by Indystruck

[Spaghetti Betty]

Wanna give my thoughts on the patch so far as well. Granted, there's not a whole lot of stuff I've been able to try out in my limited play time, but...

 

The new ITF stuff is bar none my favorite content in the game now. ITF was already one of the most fun things to do in the game, IMO. The new fights are really cool, and makes it feel like there are stakes. Do I have some gripes about it? Yeah, I do. I don't think minions should be able to chop down any AT in 1-2 hits. That seems a little excessive. I also don't like having to immediately check the door to phase 2 Rom to see if I'm gonna get blown to smithereens. Just seems like I've watched the team wipe more from entering that chamber than have actually died to the encounter. Oh, and the Vandal fight seems a little tacked on, but I think I just feel that way because having to wait for him to run to you is a little cheap. Other than those points, I love all the new ideas.

 

Sheathed Weapons is a dream come true for me. Even when I started playing all the way back in 2004 as a kid I always thought about how cool it would be to have a sword strapped to my back/side/spleen/etc. A huge plus in my book. Oh yeah, and the Knives of Artemis sword was added. Way cool.

 

I don't know that I care too much about Prismatic Aether Particles as much as I'm glad they added a vanity reward to Hard Mode stuff and not something extremely critical or exploitable. I did make some fat bank off of the handful I sold, which will go to alts. And this is not to say that vanity rewards aren't something I'd do content for. I spent a lot of hours in WoW hunting for mounts. Just not really interested in looking like a NPC.

 

When it comes to the removal of converting Empyrean Merits to Reward Merits, I view it as a necessary loss. I feel like we had it real good, just being able to stockpile merits like that. I know that's not a popular opinion, but it gave me a kick in the butt and realize that sitting in my hermit cave and only soloing wasn't gonna keep me playing. Now that I've been reaching out a bit and trying to do more team oriented content, I have just as many merits as I did before while making some new friends along the way. At least I think they're friends.

 

I think that's about all I've given myself a chance to experience of Page 4 so far. I'm also gonna have to break out of my safe space of playing mostly melee to try out Symphonic Control, new Sonic Blast, and the Ice Control changes, but they are on the list.

 

The long list of projects that I have started and put on the shelf. *looks at the 3 Doms I started 2 months ago*

[Ruin Mage]

You should ONLY be earning 30 PAPs from HM ASF:

If you do the Extra Vanguard Fight on Relentless/4Star w/ the leader having the Master of badge.

Edited August 29, 2022 by Shadeknight

[Voltak]

14 hours ago, Ukase said:

Then how do you explain my earning 30 prismatics each time I've completed a 4* Aeon SF? But we only earn 20 for completing the 4*ITF? 

I did this on Tuesday and Wednesday of this previous week, post patch. 

Each time, after we fought Incandescence, Serpent Drummer, Levantera, Borea, Dark Watcher, Lady Grey and Hero One, when Hero One was the last to go down, we got 10 Prismatics. No idea if that's by design or not, but since it's not that hard to do, (relative to the rest of the challenges in the SF), may as well do it. Get the combat dummy and 10 prismatics. Then got 20 when we completed the SF. 

30 for about 70 minutes vs 20 for about 2 hours. (to be fair, the time to complete the 4* ITF can certainly be shorter, team composition, players, etc. ) 
But, I'm convinced the HM ITF should reward more due to the longer time requirement. 

 

Admittedly, over time, the prismatics won't be selling for that much, and won't be much of an issue. But, right now, the difference of 10 PAPs is about 200M, give or take a smidge. 

I have done 4 ITFs now of Sub 1:21 Hours - HM , 4 stars. 

Also, the sheer amount of xp and influence is drastically higher in ITF HM 4 than AEON SF 

Today our all Defender and one tank team did 1 hour and 9 minutes, sub 20 deaths. 

I feel what you are saying. 

But taking everything into account, xp, inf and those Aethers which are good for costumes , I think the ITF is better investment. 

I dont like the ITF taking that long, by the way. 
I want it to be less ambushes 
Less mobs needed to kill and so on. 

But as it is , I am just sharing what I am getting per time spent

 

Edited August 30, 2022 by Voltak

[Zhym]

I get the love for the new revamped ITF.  And to some extent, I share in it.

 

But I'm still a fan of Aeon over ITF.  It's just so darn fun.  The writing is great, the challenges are challenging and varied, and, if you do the optional content YOU GET TO FIGHT HERO 1 AND ALL OF VANGUARD.

 

Ahem.  Pardon me.  I just really enjoy that alternate dimension with Apex (who is also a nice Easter egg if you read the CoH comics), Hero 1, and PsiCurse...and that's just a part of the Strike Force.

 

Can ITF be done more quickly?  Probably.  But there's something about Aeon I just love.

 

(I just wish there were a low-rewards solo mode, because there's so much going on in that Strike Force that you never get to see.)

Edited August 30, 2022 by Zhym

[Ukase]

1 hour ago, Voltak said:

I have done 4 ITFs now of Sub 1:21 Hours - HM , 4 stars. 

Also, the sheer amount of xp and influence is drastically higher in ITF HM 4 than AEON SF 

Today our all Defender and one tank team did 1 hour and 9 minutes, sub 20 deaths. 

I feel what you are saying. 

But taking everything into account, xp, inf and those Aethers which are good for costumes , I think the ITF is better investment. 

I dont like the ITF taking that long, by the way. 
I want it to be less ambushes 
Less mobs needed to kill and so on. 

But as it is , I am just sharing what I am getting per time spent

 

I appreciate the info. I got a DM telling me that my time was off by a considerable margin also. I can only go off my own experience and what I'd heard from others. I guess the jury is still out. 
No doubt, times will improve as folks run it more often. 

[Mezmera]

1 hour ago, Ukase said:

I appreciate the info. I got a DM telling me that my time was off by a considerable margin also. I can only go off my own experience and what I'd heard from others. I guess the jury is still out. 
No doubt, times will improve as folks run it more often. 

 

The first week Aeon was out I got a pity spot on a team full of the zergingest zergers I ever play with at times.  We did Relentless Aeon with the secret fight 51 minutes in total.  I can't even recall what all happened, I'd zone in and get tp'd to a boss fight.   

 

This new ITF is a tad harder than ASF though so I can see it being longer with a crackerjack team steamrolling through 1:15 - 1:30.  

 

The two are different animals and I really appreciate the variety this one brings.  Taking a popular old TF and revamping it to get most of the playerbase to wade gently into these deep waters will serve well to get people interested in further ones that come out like this and maybe people will visit Cap Au Diable a bit more frequently.  

Edited August 30, 2022 by Mezmera

[Seed22]

18 hours ago, Ironblade said:

Sounds like a bug.  The most recent patch notes flat-out say the ASF rewards 20.  And Prismatics didn't exist when the ASF was introduced.

Its not. 10 for secret fight+ 20 for 4*

[Michael J. Clark]

My agricultural pattern has changed, but thus far it hasn't been a problem. (I don't engage in AFK farming.) To see how the double xp buff has affected PLing a toon, I haven't tried it yet. I spent the most of my time Pl'ing my own characters in an effort to get back the 35 or so level 50 characters I lost when the Paragon servers went down. I hope the changes don't significantly slow the process down. I still have 15 or so more to go on top of the cliche' builds I was working on.

[Sovera]

On 8/25/2022 at 9:04 PM, Marine X said:

The glowies make sound when you are near them, so you can locate them, but back in the day, with stereo speakers or head phones you could tell exactly which direction they were in, as the sound would pan between the 2 channels allowing you to follow the sound, this is no longer available unless you are on a Windows XP machine. Could be that ASUS, independently of Microsoft, is enabling the effect, which is good for you, I have a Midband Gaming tower and this no longer works on mine.

 

That's how it still is for me, I don't know what to tell you. When I'm looking for glowies I turn my camera around and locate it by the direction the sound is coming from.

 

I'm on Win 10.

 

One thing that helped me a lot in finding glowies was changing their sound. Soft humming was too subtle, but now I have them beeping which helps me more, plus I get to say that I'm hearing the beep beeps to my team which sounds better than the hummingers.

[AboveTheChemist]

2 hours ago, Sovera said:

That's how it still is for me, I don't know what to tell you. When I'm looking for glowies I turn my camera around and locate it by the direction the sound is coming from.

 

After reading this thread the other day, I specifically tested this to see if it still worked, and it did. With my headphones on, I stood near the glowie and turned for several rotations, and could hear the glowie sound go 'around' me as I turned.

[Magdalucia]

On 8/26/2022 at 2:52 PM, Krimson said:

Normally in a mission you are never flagged as AFK. I'd have it work so if you are idle for say 60-120 you get flagged, XP and INF turns off, until you start moving again. But I'm willing to see how the solution we got works because it's not bad. 

God this would really be a pain for those going for some badges  (the endure points of damage, deal points of damage, heal others, be held come to mind as I am spending day #I forget standing in lava)

[Magdalucia]

but not always. My badger that was never PL didn't have the first damage taken badge until I farmed it well after I reached 50 now we could say I was lucky and ran with great teams but I tell you it is a pain to get and the damage given was another pain but She is a troller so it took a lot of time and farming to get that one too. 

I get the frustration with PLing and AFK farming but really I don't see how their game play really effects anyone else. Does it really change how the game is played? does it really change how you play? I mean I am a badger but I don't expect anyone else to have a # of badges before they get content. I don't get why this is an ongoing issue that has to be "fixed" 

[Major_Decoy]

On 8/30/2022 at 3:09 PM, Krimson said:

Pay a bit more attention and get used to being constantly pelted with little projectiles. 

Solid life advice.