Super Hard content and gated rewards/toys

[Sovera]

I'll add a point of view here: having everything diminishes the interest in logging in.

 

I'm loving the current WoW expansion but ran out of things to do. Got gold medals from all races, my gear is acceptable, my guild finishes the heroic raid in one day... and I have nothing to do. I still like the expansion and would log in and play more, but there is nothing to do (here's to the next patch in a week). Even world quests that, in the past, would reset daily, have had their reset increased to three days so there is not even chasing something.

 

In guild Wars 2 we can turn money into gems and with the gems buy items from the store or rare drops from the AH. For example, one of my characters would look really well with a cosmetic effect that changed the normal aspect to a blue holographic aspect. This was either a case of grinding fractals and hope it dropped or fork a chunk of gold for it. That was a nice goal to have and gold was amassed until I could get it.

 

CoH lacks this and has been a complaint in the past. Incarnates easy to get (my latest 50 had two T3 the first day of reaching max level, and I'm only playing sporadically), all items unlocked, capes, etc.

 

Having a goal is not bad.

 

 

As for people disappearing from the game, please, we all know there is nothing that we can stomach for ever, be it ice-cream at every meal or CoH every day. People will drift off and play other things.

[Luminara]

1 hour ago, Sovera said:

there is nothing that we can stomach for ever, be it ice-cream at every meal

 

Lies.

[Jiro Ito]

I didn't like the badges that needed the Aethers, as grindy badge requirements irk me.

 

On the other hand, 

 

[Greycat]

3 hours ago, Sovera said:

I'll add a point of view here: having everything diminishes the interest in logging in.

 

 

That's going to depend *entirely* on the person.

 

Some people have proposed that not having to grind Prestige for base items any more was a bad thing because it took away something to "work for." Or not having to unlock capes, try to get Vmerits for all the Vanguard costume parts/auras and the like. Others feel the exact opposite - COH is a game which allows a *lot* of creativity, and hitting an artificial wall and not being able to finish (say) a rec room in your base because you need 10,000 prestige more, or not being able to make the character you want right away so you can enjoy them and express who they are from level 1, was *far* more annoying.

 

I "have everything," but I don't care. I'm interested in lore, and in RP - and the latter's what keeps me logging in. The storylines my friends and co-conspirators come up with and what happens with them (and just hanging around with them.)

 

Nothing prevents anyone from making their *own* goals. There are plenty out there. Run all the arcs through Ouroboros. Get all the badges. Get one of each AT to 50 (or 50+all T4s.) Get one of each powerset up there. Run a superteam. Run a super*group.* See if you can max out on all the merit types. Whatever it is, if someone "needs" a goal?

 

*Make one.*

[Astralock]

19 minutes ago, Greycat said:

 

That's going to depend *entirely* on the person.

 

Some people have proposed that not having to grind Prestige for base items any more was a bad thing because it took away something to "work for." Or not having to unlock capes, try to get Vmerits for all the Vanguard costume parts/auras and the like. Others feel the exact opposite - COH is a game which allows a *lot* of creativity, and hitting an artificial wall and not being able to finish (say) a rec room in your base because you need 10,000 prestige more, or not being able to make the character you want right away so you can enjoy them and express who they are from level 1, was *far* more annoying.

 

I "have everything," but I don't care. I'm interested in lore, and in RP - and the latter's what keeps me logging in. The storylines my friends and co-conspirators come up with and what happens with them (and just hanging around with them.)

 

Nothing prevents anyone from making their *own* goals. There are plenty out there. Run all the arcs through Ouroboros. Get all the badges. Get one of each AT to 50 (or 50+all T4s.) Get one of each powerset up there. Run a superteam. Run a super*group.* See if you can max out on all the merit types. Whatever it is, if someone "needs" a goal?

 

*Make one.*

RP works for some people.  Badges works for some people.  But for many others, material rewards to work for are needed - whether that be prestige, aura unlocks, Incarnate abilities, or Aethers.  The problem was (and it’s a very significant problem), is that for three years, Homecoming had literally nothing to work for.  Everything in the game was literally given to you.

 

For a significant portion of the Homecoming player base, there was literally nothing for them.  RPers had RP.  Badgers had badges.  Players who like to have goals to work on and material rewards to achieve had… nothing, which is why many of them left years ago.

Edited March 17, 2023 by Astralock

[kito]

All this does is make a hard to get currency for the sake of grinding. Anytime there is something hard to get it opens up people who ware willing to give real world money for in game stuff. I do not doubt there are people who are willing and proably have payed to get them. 

[Seed22]

On 3/16/2023 at 1:40 PM, ivanhedgehog said:

If buying it is the main way to get them, put them on a vendor. dont set up your preferred playstyle to make bundles of money and claim that just a coincidence. Also, when you buy a costume, why restrict it to that character only? This game is all about alts. except for now that we are trying out wow style mythic content.

If I understand it, you're right, but for a different reason I think.

 

I have ~87(idc) 50s between my 2 accounts.

 

Lets say hypothetically I wanted to get just TWO 50s ehhhh I dunno, the mini. My dad loved the mini and got it for himself through INF on his own account, but it was HORRENDOUSLY expensive, and we're both billionaires across all 3 accounts. This isn't as affordable as we've made it out to be. Or rather, it can be, but we'd need a person, a place, and a good time to mobilize such a guide. That's for another thread though. We can't just keep dismissing the prospect of casual/newer players, then want casual and newer players who have the knowledge of us old heads(game wise :P)

 

**This being WoW-Mythic may be more of a...stat-boost the video game(my opinion) pastiche of WoW Mythic, not sure but what I can tell you is  I've been playing D4, and thanks to CoH HM, I'm actually handling pretty well considering I suck at console games lol

 

**I forgot the Math:

 

Mini: 250 PAP

Cost: ~3.1-3.5M

AH Limit: 10

Toons: 2

 

250/10=25 x 3.1-3.5=2 x[77.5M-87.5M]=155M-175M

 

Plug n play as desired for variable accounts.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2023 by Seed22

[Starforge]

12 hours ago, kito said:

All this does is make a hard to get currency for the sake of grinding.

I thought that grind was the entire point behind the devs introducing this completely optional currency for even more completely optional NPC costumes.

If it was something that actually affected your character like powers or enhancements I would be in total agreement that the grind for Aether Particles was ridiculous.

 

In this instance however, play at your own pace and eventually you'll likely earn enough to get that specific costume you want. If you're wanting everything right from the outset, either spend the influence or grind through the Hard Mode TFs.

[kito]

7 hours ago, Starforge said:

I thought that grind was the entire point behind the devs introducing this completely optional currency for even more completely optional NPC costumes.

If it was something that actually affected your character like powers or enhancements I would be in total agreement that the grind for Aether Particles was ridiculous.

 

In this instance however, play at your own pace and eventually you'll likely earn enough to get that specific costume you want. If you're wanting everything right from the outset, either spend the influence or grind through the Hard Mode TFs.

 

 

Your right Rpers who alt all the time normally low on funds and don't often do hard content but are most likely to want Thea's civ costumes like say clockwork  or devouring earth in no way are affected and most harmed but this.  I bet with there poor impulse control they in now way would turn to AlterNet means to get them now over later. My bad, good point. It's just for a fun grind and nothing more 

[Wobegone]

25 minutes ago, kito said:

 

 

Your right Rpers who alt all the time normally low on funds and don't often do hard content but are most likely to want Thea's civ costumes like say clockwork  or devouring earth in no way are affected and most harmed but this.  I bet with there poor impulse control they in now way would turn to AlterNet means to get them now over later. My bad, good point. It's just for a fun grind and nothing more 

I have doubts that anyone currently playing this game (other than perhaps you) would use real money to get costume pieces on an old low population game in which Influence/Infamy is trivially easy to obtain.  

[kito]

47 minutes ago, Ignatz the Insane said:

I have doubts that anyone currently playing this game (other than perhaps you) would use real money to get costume pieces on an old low population game in which Influence/Infamy is trivially easy to obtain.  

 

I have had people Offer to pay me for more or less everything in the game so far. From base building to costume help to builds for in-game currency. ( My answer is always the same they can take there money and Donate it to HC server for upkeep)   But your free to think what ever you want I'm sure not game ever has had a underground market for real money for in game stuff.

[Ruin Mage]

Source: Trust me, Bro.

[Astralock]

12 hours ago, kito said:

 

I have had people Offer to pay me for more or less everything in the game so far. From base building to costume help to builds for in-game currency. ( My answer is always the same they can take there money and Donate it to HC server for upkeep)   But your free to think what ever you want I'm sure not game ever has had a underground market for real money for in game stuff.

Paying with in-game currency is a far cry from paying with real life currency.  If you’re aware of someone selling anything in-game for real life currency, please inform the GMs.

[Sovera]

5 hours ago, Astralock said:

Paying with in-game currency is a far cry from paying with real life currency.  If you’re aware of someone selling anything in-game for real life currency, please inform the GMs.

 

That's what they say was offered to them. And tbh I can easily see it.  We are an aging demographic and most of us have 'adult' jobs where offering 20€ for a billion inf (no idea of actual prices) is much easier than to grind one billion inf.

 

 

But the truth is that either the rewards would be completely inconsequential (some new flavor of hami-o) and no one would care to farm for it, or it would be a valuable reward and then complaints about not having it handed like 100% of the game would crop up.

 

Not to downplay the current complains, but we've had people in this board complain that one week to level a character to max and fully equip in purples and T4 was too much. They wanted it done in a week-end tops.

 

Again, not to downplay the complaints, but, here we are with 99% of the game free and unlocked and now that there is 1% locked behind effort/time/grind the complaints about having that 1% lock are here too.

[Astralock]

2 minutes ago, Sovera said:

Not to downplay the current complains, but we've had people in this board complain that one week to level a character to max and fully equip in purples and T4 was too much. They wanted it done in a week-end tops.

 

LOL.  Yeah, I remember that complaint in the great AE fire farm nerf threads.  It was ludicrous.  Too many people want Homecoming to be a pure sandbox server, which it very nearly already is.

[nyhm]

On 3/15/2023 at 5:17 PM, nihilii said:

....Let's say you make 20M inf per hour, that's 5-6 prismatic.

 

What am I doing wrong?! How do you make 20M an hour!? 😅

[kito]

1 hour ago, Astralock said:

 

LOL.  Yeah, I remember that complaint in the great AE fire farm nerf threads.  It was ludicrous.  Too many people want Homecoming to be a pure sandbox server, which it very nearly already is.

Ik I do 😛 but I don't rage it not. Would just be nice if it was the exact way I wanted 🙂

[Snarky]

2 hours ago, Sovera said:

Not to downplay the current complains, but we've had people in this board complain that one week to level a character to max and fully equip in purples and T4 was too much. They wanted it done in a week-end tops.

With a little planning (having already got a MiDs build, emailing myself Emps, having food stocked and no tasks/errands RL) I can do that in a day.  It is a grindy shitty day.  But I would guess 10-14 hours.  Lot of coffee. Bad mood. I have not farmed as many 50s since the AE nerf, but all of this would be AE until Alpha is opened up. Then +4 ITF kill alls and more farming (to test incarnate exp, I think both are similar.  plus needed a break from tunnels....)  Definitely achievable.

Edited March 21, 2023 by Snarky

[ivanhedgehog]

8 hours ago, Astralock said:

Paying with in-game currency is a far cry from paying with real life currency.  If you’re aware of someone selling anything in-game for real life currency, please inform the GMs.

the devs dont want to see rmt in the game. Yet they locked the costumes wanted by many behind Hm raiding. what did they think  was gonna happen? "buy them on the AH"!!! they designed this to encourage RMT whether they planned it that way or not. I can farm for money if I want it, but others dont do that.

[kito]

I don't even think it's just people paying to get stuff. We have a pritty generous community here the servers stay open because people donate. Is it really to hard to believe that if help those same people with w/e it is. Making a base or getting them hard to get currency so they can make there toon the way they want they would then not want to compensate you for your time and effort as well?   

 

I think some people where already banned or kicked for tying to sell inf but I'm not sure might just be general rumors.

[nihilii]

8 hours ago, nyhm said:

What am I doing wrong?! How do you make 20M an hour!? 😅

Go. Hunt. Kill Skuls Council!

[Ruin Mage]

8 hours ago, ivanhedgehog said:

they designed this to encourage RMT

Source: Trust Me, Bro x2

A buyable or earnable currency for cosmetic powers [And only cosmetic! You don't get stronger!) does not encourage RMT. Please, for the love of god, stop with the reach. It was designed to give people something to chase if they wanted to.
 

 

8 hours ago, ivanhedgehog said:

Yet they locked the costumes wanted by many behind Hm raiding

Two Task Forces, AH, iTrials (small amount), and the chance off mission completions.

With likely more task forces in the future to offer more sources.

 

 

6 hours ago, kito said:

I think some people where already banned or kicked for tying to sell inf but I'm not sure might just be general rumors.

Correct, they've stated before they do not allow RMT and it will net you nothing good if you do it.

Anyone doing it is a few marbles short anyway, so copping a ban is probably something that doesn't cross their minds.

[kito]

Seem unfair for you to say anyone who willing  to pay people is a few marbles short. 

 

I even feel baning them is harsh but I'm not a dev and have no idea what is "right" to stop people.  I do hope the people who offered to pay did en up donating to the servers. And where not  just some kind of odd scam.

[Ironblade]

16 hours ago, ivanhedgehog said:

Yet they locked the costumes wanted by many behind Hm raiding.

 

8 hours ago, Shadeknight said:

Two Task Forces, AH, iTrials (small amount), and the chance off mission completions.

With likely more task forces in the future to offer more sources.

Accurate.  There's a lot more sources for these things.  They are clearly NOT locked "behind Hm raiding".

In fact, I got most of mine from a method you don't even mention.  The new Halloween badges gave two each and there were five badges.  That's 10 per character.  I cycled more than 30 characters through the hotel murder machine in Peregrine and got over 300 in a couple days.  My next largest source is either iTrials or the Weekly Strike Targets (I'm not keeping track).  I do the Weeklies a lot for the Notices of the Well.

[Ruin Mage]

I meant to add in the 'Seasonal content' because Halloween won't be the last time we get Aether through season content I imagine.

 

 

11 hours ago, kito said:

Seem unfair for you to say anyone who willing  to pay people is a few marbles short. 

Yes, anyone willing to risk copping a ban over an Optional Cosmetic Thing...well, they're not smart.

For the record, I'm saying anyone willing to do Real Money Trading for this stuff is stupid.