Happy farmer

[Eranthius]

Hello and good morning!

 

Like most of you I was online when we powered down CoH.  What a great game and what a GREAT GAME to have back!  That leads me to ask - why change things "against" farming for xp/inf?  Now, don't get me wrong here, i'm not fishing for a fight or argument but would like to hear your thoughts on pro/against farming in CoH.  My two cents:

 

Pro:

[*]Help. I get to help people gain influence and XP. TBH, this is the main reason I farm.

[*]Fun. I have always been a guild farmer in every RPG. It gives me a way to give back to those I enjoy gaming with.

[*]Heroic. In CoH specifically I find it incredibly enjoyable to just smash the crap out of large groups of mobs.

[*]End game. I have always preferred to play in the end game aspect of any MMO I play. It tends to be the area where my type of content is and I get to surround myself with great content.

[*]Funds. In CoH it can assist in purchasing things for me, friends, the SG, or whatever. Did you enjoy the 200M costume contest? Or what about someone who helps out a noobie or friend?

 

Con:

[*]Influence advantage. It can create a powerhouse of influence.

[*]Market offset. It can upset the market, driving prices up/down.

[*]It's not following the story of the game, as intended, with level flow of the game.

So talk to me folks, I really am curious. In the world of AE farming some just don't like the fact that a farmer can do what they do - but heck, it's how I like to play the game. Maybe I don't want to run through caves of CoT or whatever. Maybe I want to run in, smash 700 mobs and do the thing.

 

I look forward to hearing from you and thank you ahead of time for responding!  :)

 

-E

[DSorrow]

I don't have an issue with farming specifically, but I think there shouldn't be an activity that is several times faster than another at producing XP/inf/merits, especially inf and merits as those impact the economy = other players. People will always gravitate towards the most efficient XP/inf especially if the difference is huge. Just look at MSR: previously it was something like 5x merits/time compared to any other activity and they were going all the time and now that they're "only" about 1.5x as efficient, they still happen pretty often but people do other things too. Other than that, I don't think it's a problem if someone gets 1-50 in two hours by farming in the AE unless it's a completely new player.

 

Still, no matter how much balancing is done some activities will still be more lucrative than others and I'm fine with that, so long as the difference isn't immense or if it's justified by the added challenge.

 

 

[Eranthius]

I don't have an issue with farming specifically, but I think there shouldn't be an activity that is several times faster than another at producing XP/inf/merits, especially inf and merits as those impact the economy = other players. People will always gravitate towards the most efficient XP/inf especially if the difference is huge. Just look at MSR: previously it was something like 5x merits/time compared to any other activity and they were going all the time and now that they're "only" about 1.5x as efficient, they still happen pretty often but people do other things too. Other than that, I don't think it's a problem if someone gets 1-50 in two hours by farming in the AE unless it's a completely new player.

 

Still, no matter how much balancing is done some activities will still be more lucrative than others and I'm fine with that, so long as the difference isn't immense or if it's justified by the added challenge.

 

Good points DSorry, good points!  I'm not 100% for sure, but I don't think AE farming grants merits.  It can gain incarnate xp, though.

 

Thank you for replying!

[nihilii]

I'd argue farming is much easier here than it was on Live (barring full on exploits), because you've got access to double XP at will, and the various price caps and merit changes make it so the cost of a full build is in the 500M range. AND you get empyrean merits through leveling up after lvl 50, too, so no need to ever step out of your farm to become an Incarnate!

 

It's easy (and understandable) to focus on AE being half XP, but I think in big picture terms, Homecoming is actually more friendly to farming than the Live servers ever were.

 

 

[Xeres]

I really don't like farming, but that's just me.  If people want to farm, that's fine.

[BlueDragoon]

Farming is fine. The integrity of the game isn't really there anymore anyway in favour of sandbox changes. It's not a big deal to hit max level, it's not a big deal to hit inf cap, to have a big SG base and many other things. It's fine like this, and who knows how long we have to enjoy the game, let us do so at breakneck pace if we wish.

[jubakumbi]

Farming is fine. The integrity of the game isn't really there anymore anyway in favour of sandbox changes. It's not a big deal to hit max level, it's not a big deal to hit inf cap, to have a big SG base and many other things. It's fine like this, and who knows how long we have to enjoy the game, let us do so at breakneck pace if we wish.

 

Another aspect I think that is being overlooked is that farming is arguably no longer really needed like it was on Live.

It is comparably very easy to gain resources on HC than it was on Live.

Basically, my chracters are rolling in inf and resources, just from normal play.

I have not felt the need at all to have to go farm anything for resources.

[_NOPE_]

AFAIK the only issue with AE farming and why they put it to 50% XP is due to the strain on the servers. I don't think the HC team has made any official statements against farming in general, just on the resources used by AE map instances.

[Without_Pause]

If there wasn't an AE, people would still farm.

[jubakumbi]

If there wasn't an AE, people would still farm.

 

Oh yeah. There are plenty of good non-AE farms, always were.

[cronus]

I have no issue with people farming.

 

My only issue is when people get powerlevelled to 50 and don't know what any of their powers actually do.

[jubakumbi]

I have no issue with people farming.

 

My only issue is when people get powerlevelled to 50 and don't know what any of their powers actually do.

 

Players are good or bad regardless of level or powerleveled, IMO.

The years long, constant calling out of powerleveling as the reason for bad players is, IMO, silly and false.

 

Also, I think players expect too many other players to play just like they do and this clouds the lens and makes poeple judge others harshly for no good reason.

[MunkiLord]

I have no issue with people farming.

 

My only issue is when people get powerlevelled to 50 and don't know what any of their powers actually do.

 

Players are good or bad regardless of level or powerleveled, IMO.

The years long, constant calling out of powerleveling as the reason for bad players is, IMO, silly and false.

 

Also, I think players expect too many other players to play just like they do and this clouds the lens and makes poeple judge others harshly for no good reason.

 

This

[subbacultchas]

I have no issue with people farming.

 

My only issue is when people get powerlevelled to 50 and don't know what any of their powers actually do.

 

Players are good or bad regardless of level or powerleveled, IMO.

The years long, constant calling out of powerleveling as the reason for bad players is, IMO, silly and false.

 

Also, I think players expect too many other players to play just like they do and this clouds the lens and makes poeple judge others harshly for no good reason.

 

This

Thirded.

 

I'd also add that there are many reasons a person could have a level 50 character yet not how their powers work. This reason is just the one that people latch on to.

[Wild Claw]

My only problem with farming is a lack of overalls and pitchfork costume pieces. :)

[Saikochoro]

I have no issue with people farming.

 

My only issue is when people get powerlevelled to 50 and don't know what any of their powers actually do.

 

Players are good or bad regardless of level or powerleveled, IMO.

The years long, constant calling out of powerleveling as the reason for bad players is, IMO, silly and false.

 

Also, I think players expect too many other players to play just like they do and this clouds the lens and makes poeple judge others harshly for no good reason.

 

Completely agree with this.

[Coyotedancer]

I don't farm myself, but I have absolutely nothing against them. Farmers listing their drops help to stock the auction house with goodies, and that's a strong plus in their favor as far as I'm concerned.

[First Player]

AFAIK the only issue with AE farming and why they put it to 50% XP is due to the strain on the servers. I don't think the HC team has made any official statements against farming in general, just on the resources used by AE map instances.

Is it still 50%? I thought they changed it with the 2XP boost?

[_NOPE_]

AFAIK the only issue with AE farming and why they put it to 50% XP is due to the strain on the servers. I don't think the HC team has made any official statements against farming in general, just on the resources used by AE map instances.

Is it still 50%? I thought they changed it with the 2XP boost?

AFAIK (and checking the Dev Tracker), the last comment about the AE nerfs said that they were still going to be around for the forseeable future, unless I missed something:

 

https://forums.homecomingservers.com/index.php/topic,2875.msg19229.html?PHPSESSID=vktgmh9dq46gk7k0jha011ppb3#msg19229

 

[Shinobu]

 

It's a 50% xp nerf, but with a DXP boost it's just normal xp gain.

 

My experience is that an AE farm is still the fastest way to level.  The nerf mostly changes it from being able to go 1-50 in less than 2 hours, to taking more like 3 or 4 hours (roughly speaking, I haven't timed anything.)

[marcussmythe]

With apologies to Sheldon Cooper, all I could think of was this...

 

"Soft farmer,

warm farmer,

for PL we do yearn!

Happy farmer,

wealthy farmer,

burn, burn, burn..."