Yet Another Request About Patrol XP

[Rudra]

Here's a random thought I had today: Can patrol xp be disabled if our characters are dead when we log off? If a character dies, the player can easily click "Go to base" or "Go to hospital" while the timer counts down without disrupting the counter. It takes less than a second to do that. However, can I at least have the option of no patrol xp while my characters are dead? After all, how are they running around doing patrols while logged off if they are dead?

[Techwright]

'Cause the management's got supers working their day job as street sweepers dragging your sorry carcass to the hospital medporters then booting you to the curb. You're dead, so good luck resisting whether your spirit likes it or not.  It's either that or you wake up in 6 different Vahziloks, and that's a problem for everyone else.

 

Joking aside, why would it matter? Is this some RP thing?

[TheZag]

Rudra isnt a fan of patrol xp and has been hoping for a way to turn it off.  With there being so many ways to increase xp,  im actually suprised that there arent any p2w choices for 25 and 50% reductions.  100% reduction is covered with turning off xp,  but there is nothing for people that want to run more content before outleveling it other than all or nothing xp.

 

I will admit that xp reducers would be rarely used and maybe thats why the devs dont add any.  

 

[Rudra]

Like @TheZag said, I'm not a fan of patrol xp. I understand why it was added, and I'm fine with that. It just annoys the hell out of me that the Live devs never once thought there might be players that would want nothing to do with it, and so never gave us a means of killing it, I mean, turning it off.

[JasperStone]

19 hours ago, TheZag said:

Rudra isnt a fan of patrol xp and has been hoping for a way to turn it off.  With there being so many ways to increase xp,  im actually suprised that there arent any p2w choices for 25 and 50% reductions.  100% reduction is covered with turning off xp,  but there is nothing for people that want to run more content before outleveling it other than all or nothing xp.

 

I will admit that xp reducers would be rarely used and maybe thats why the devs dont add any.  

 

Yup, thread #3

[Ghost]

I would actually like patrol to be doubled, maybe even tripled…..heck how about quadrupled. 
 

 

 

But only on Rudra’s toons

😈

 

 

 

Edited September 4, 2023 by Ghost

[Akisan]

23 hours ago, TheZag said:

Rudra isnt a fan of patrol xp and has been hoping for a way to turn it off.  With there being so many ways to increase xp,  im actually suprised that there arent any p2w choices for 25 and 50% reductions.  100% reduction is covered with turning off xp,  but there is nothing for people that want to run more content before outleveling it other than all or nothing xp.

 

I will admit that xp reducers would be rarely used and maybe thats why the devs dont add any.  

 

 

@Rudra's not alone on that - I've a character running under "golden age" challenge rules (made much harder by the low-level enhancement change) that isn't supposed to benefit from Patrol XP (or low-level DOs/SOs).  Right now, I compensate by running every 3rd mission with XP off (at least while I have Patrol xp), but it doesn't feel right.

 

Having a way to turn Patrol XP off, or even having P2W powers that strip all Patrol XP or add a bar of Debt would be great.

[Greycat]

Well, we *have* the "Experienced" power that adds bars of Patrol XP (don't recall if it's 5 or 10, want to say 5.)

Not sure how easy it'd be to modify that to an... "inexperienced?" *shrug* power to remove it. Granted, it'd have to be added to P2W (Experienced isn't there,) but if they can just make it negative... 

 

Granted, I wouldn't use it, most likely, but maybe as a basis for doing something?  (I'd almost say "throw badges at it to get more people using it," but I'm not sure how that'd work with some of the other badges... I *think* there are some for X amount of patrol XP earned or used?)

[TheZag]

A way to turn off patrol xp along with an xp reducer would go a long way to bring back the feel of original leveling.  A way to use 'enemies buffed' without having to go through ouro would help also since making the enemies higher level also increases their xp.

 

[RikOz]

My understanding is that, in the early days of MMOs, there was some concern that players would just sit there for days playing the game, and that would be unhealthy. "Rested XP" (or "Patrol XP" as we call it here) was originally meant as an incentive for players to turn off the game and "go outside and play". Rested XP would be a reward for taking a break.

 

Alas, while well-intentioned, it appears that early MMO developers didn't foresee the idea of "alts".

[Rudra]

2 hours ago, RikOz said:

 

Alas, while well-intentioned, it appears that early MMO developers didn't foresee the idea of "alts".

They had to have seen it. With the exception of Firefall(?), every MMO I saw launched with multiple character slots per player. (Firefall just made your character every AT, you chose which AT you wanted to be at any given moment and could change it at will by talking to a specific NPC in each zone.)

 

2 hours ago, RikOz said:

My understanding is that, in the early days of MMOs, there was some concern that players would just sit there for days playing the game, and that would be unhealthy. "Rested XP" (or "Patrol XP" as we call it here) was originally meant as an incentive for players to turn off the game and "go outside and play". Rested XP would be a reward for taking a break.

The Live devs stated that Patrol XP was introduced to the game so that players that had been away from it for a while could quickly catch up to players that had remained actively playing. So it was less a "Rested XP" to encourage players to take breaks, and more "Catch Up XP". Which while still well-intentioned, was pure garbage to shove down everyone's throats.

[JasperStone]

https://wiki.cityofheroesrebirth.com/wiki/Day_Jobs

 

ALSO

Introduced with Issue 13, the Day Job system allows characters to log out from a specific location, like a Hospital or Vault Reserve facility, and gain a temporary power or other benefit when they return to play after an extended period offline.

 

I viewed it as alternated identities

 *shrug

[Rudra]

8 minutes ago, JasperStone said:

https://wiki.cityofheroesrebirth.com/wiki/Day_Jobs

 

ALSO

Introduced with Issue 13, the Day Job system allows characters to log out from a specific location, like a Hospital or Vault Reserve facility, and gain a temporary power or other benefit when they return to play after an extended period offline.

 

I viewed it as alternated identities

 *shrug

With your character out doing patrols as a super instead of specific missions while also working their day job while logged off. Because, reasons. (You get patrol xp no matter where you log off or what state the character is in while logged off. Because, reasons.... [Edit: I take that back. The reasons were given. It was so your character can catch up to characters that played while you were offline.])

Edited September 6, 2023 by Rudra

[macskull]

On 9/4/2023 at 9:23 AM, Akisan said:

@Rudra's not alone on that - I've a character running under "golden age" challenge rules (made much harder by the low-level enhancement change) that isn't supposed to benefit from Patrol XP (or low-level DOs/SOs).  Right now, I compensate by running every 3rd mission with XP off (at least while I have Patrol xp), but it doesn't feel right.

 

Having a way to turn Patrol XP off, or even having P2W powers that strip all Patrol XP or add a bar of Debt would be great.

Dying when you have patrol XP burns patrol XP instead of accumulating debt, so a potential solution is just to die a few times until you burn the patrol XP.

Edited September 6, 2023 by macskull

[Rudra]

1 hour ago, macskull said:

Dying when you have patrol XP burns patrol XP instead of accumulating debt, so a potential solution is just to die a few times until you burn the patrol XP.

Depending on the character level and the last time the character was played, that can take up to an hour. Using the Rikti monkeys on Monster Island via the Smuggler's Submarine makes it faster, but you can't access that zone until level 45.

[macskull]

3 minutes ago, Rudra said:

Depending on the character level and the last time the character was played, that can take up to an hour. Using the Rikti monkeys on Monster Island via the Smuggler's Submarine makes it faster, but you can't access that zone until level 45.

You can access Bloody Bay at level 15 (the wiki says any level, but I'm not sure if that's correct) - run into a mob, die, go to SG base, go back out through the portal and zone in to the same mob again. Rinse, repeat, and be done in about 5 minutes.

[Rudra]

32 minutes ago, macskull said:

39 minutes ago, Rudra said:

Depending on the character level and the last time the character was played, that can take up to an hour. Using the Rikti monkeys on Monster Island via the Smuggler's Submarine makes it faster, but you can't access that zone until level 45.

You can access Bloody Bay at level 15 (the wiki says any level, but I'm not sure if that's correct) - run into a mob, die, go to SG base, go back out through the portal and zone in to the same mob again. Rinse, repeat, and be done in about 5 minutes.

No, you can't. I've tried it. I've tried Bloody Bay, Siren's Call, Warburg, and Recluse's Victory. It takes just as long in any PvP zone as it does in any PvE zone, because while it may have once upon a time accrued greater debt for being defeated by mobs in a PvP zone, that is no longer true. (Edit: I've even tried the monsters in the Hive. They tend to take a while to kill you too. And though the hospital there is a field hospital, you still have to find a Monster to start the process all over again. Preferably a triple spawn of them so it doesn't take long for them to kill you.) The hazard zones are your best option because of mob spawn sizes, but those don't lock your level to the zone. You can start an Ouroboros arc and then go to a hazard zone, but you still spend a lot of time loading the base/hospital to rez, loading the zone to exit the base/hospital, finding a group to kill you, waiting for group to kill you, then loading the base/hospital to rez. Monster Island works because it is a field hospital, so you only load to rez, then you jump into a spawn of Rikti Monkeys that you can see from your gurney. Otherwise, it is Peregrine Island so the super purple mobs there can kill you relatively quickly, hindered by the spawn size and the fact the Possessed Scientists seem to miss a lot, because at least in PI, there are usually (but not always) CoT spawns not that far away.

 

(Edit again: You are also either unaware of or ignoring that many times when you exit the base or hospital, the mob(s) you used to defeat you have despawned an annoyingly high percentage of the time. I've done this often daily for different characters I wanted to play that day. Only to use up my available game time or burn out and walk away from the game. The only expedient means of dying to get rid of patrol xp is to either play that character every day so it only takes a few deaths, or use Monster Island's Rikti monkeys.)

Edited September 6, 2023 by Rudra

[macskull]

36 minutes ago, Rudra said:

No, you can't. I've tried it. I've tried Bloody Bay, Siren's Call, Warburg, and Recluse's Victory. It takes just as long in any PvP zone as it does in any PvE zone, because while it may have once upon a time accrued greater debt for being defeated by mobs in a PvP zone, that is no longer true. (Edit: I've even tried the monsters in the Hive. They tend to take a while to kill you too. And though the hospital there is a field hospital, you still have to find a Monster to start the process all over again. Preferably a triple spawn of them so it doesn't take long for them to kill you.) The hazard zones are your best option because of mob spawn sizes, but those don't lock your level to the zone. You can start an Ouroboros arc and then go to a hazard zone, but you still spend a lot of time loading the base/hospital to rez, loading the zone to exit the base/hospital, finding a group to kill you, waiting for group to kill you, then loading the base/hospital to rez. Monster Island works because it is a field hospital, so you only load to rez, then you jump into a spawn of Rikti Monkeys that you can see from your gurney. Otherwise, it is Peregrine Island so the super purple mobs there can kill you relatively quickly, hindered by the spawn size and the fact the Possessed Scientists seem to miss a lot, because at least in PI, there are usually (but not always) CoT spawns not that far away.

I just did the exact thing I described this past weekend while burning patrol XP for the debt badge to get High Pain Threshold, so I know it works. I tend to use Siren's Call though, the middle of the map has plenty of packs of Warriors and Tsoo that are big enough to kill you quickly. Just to be super extra sure though, I logged in while typing out this post and hopped into Siren's Call. 90 yards from the blueside helicopter I found two +2 Warrior bosses that killed my Dominator in 6.21 seconds. Went to SG base, zoned back in right on top of the same mobs, and died in less than 7 seconds. Did it a third time and was dead within three seconds. Including load times, none of those die -> base -> zone -> die cycles took me longer than a minute, and I'm running the game on a 10 year old laptop that has horrendous load times.

 

The reason I say it has to be a PvP zone (or trial zone like the Hive, Monster Island, or the Abyss) is because zones without SG base portals will drop you right where you left if you go back out through the entrance portal in your base, while zones with base portals will always drop you at the portal.

 

EDIT: I do want to point out that I'm not opposed to your initial suggestion. More options are always good. I'm simply pointing out that you can burn unwanted patrol XP pretty quickly with methods that already exist as a stopgap until something like your suggestion is implemented.

Edited September 6, 2023 by macskull

[Rudra]

38 minutes ago, macskull said:

I just did the exact thing I described this past weekend while burning patrol XP for the debt badge to get High Pain Threshold, so I know it works. I tend to use Siren's Call though, the middle of the map has plenty of packs of Warriors and Tsoo that are big enough to kill you quickly. Just to be super extra sure though, I logged in while typing out this post and hopped into Siren's Call. 90 yards from the blueside helicopter I found two +2 Warrior bosses that killed my Dominator in 6.21 seconds. Went to SG base, zoned back in right on top of the same mobs, and died in less than 7 seconds. Did it a third time and was dead within three seconds. Including load times, none of those die -> base -> zone -> die cycles took me longer than a minute, and I'm running the game on a 10 year old laptop that has horrendous load times.

 

The reason I say it has to be a PvP zone (or trial zone like the Hive, Monster Island, or the Abyss) is because zones without SG base portals will drop you right where you left if you go back out through the entrance portal in your base, while zones with base portals will always drop you at the portal.

 

EDIT: I do want to point out that I'm not opposed to your initial suggestion. More options are always good. I'm simply pointing out that you can burn unwanted patrol XP pretty quickly with methods that already exist as a stopgap until something like your suggestion is implemented.

Using the base is faster than the hospital in a PvP zone. 10 minutes in on Siren's Call, still working on getting rid of patrol xp. It is going faster than Monster Island though. So thanks.

 

Edit: 17 minutes on a level 10 character. Much better than the hour it normally takes using PI. Will check a 40+ tomorrow. (I can only endure getting rid of patrol xp for so long.) Still requesting dead characters be exempted from accruing patrol xp.

Edited September 6, 2023 by Rudra

[macskull]

1 hour ago, Rudra said:

Using the base is faster than the hospital in a PvP zone.

Yeah, this cuts out most of the traveling you need to do - the only movement that should be required is to get to the zone of your choice and find the right mob. After that it's just going between your SG base's rez station and the entrance portal (and mine are close enough to each other than I can click the portal from the rez station),

 

EDIT: Caught the edit from your second to last post - I have been using this method to get debt for accolades for a while now and I can't recall a time when I've zoned back in to find the mob that had been there earlier has despawned. It might be because I'm using PvP zones and those tend to be so empty that you're 1) the player who causes the map to be loaded in the first place, and 2) the only one in the zone so there aren't any other players around to mess with spawning/despawning.

Edited September 6, 2023 by macskull

[Akisan]

On 9/6/2023 at 12:54 PM, macskull said:

Dying when you have patrol XP burns patrol XP instead of accumulating debt, so a potential solution is just to die a few times until you burn the patrol XP.

 

That's great and all, but I'd like to spend my time playing, not repeatedly committing suicide.  Also, for RP reasons, I tend to only play that character until he is defeated. Once he falls, he's done for the week. (So... burning off Patrol XP that way is a big no-no)

[Rudra]

12 minutes ago, Akisan said:

 

That's great and all, but I'd like to spend my time playing, not repeatedly committing suicide. 

This. Oh so very much this.

 

(Edit: Being told how to cut the amount of time it takes to get rid of patrol xp to 15-20 minutes is very helpful and greatly appreciated. However, being able to play for those 15-20 minutes by actually doing content is so much more preferred.)

Edited September 7, 2023 by Rudra

[PoptartsNinja]

As with the last thread: a disable patrol XP option on null the gull or something seems reasonable.

 

Even if I wouldn't personally use it, I can see no reason not to do something like this. Especially now that it's clear it isn't only Rudra who'd be interested in this as a challenge setting.

Edited September 8, 2023 by PoptartsNinja

[Marbing]

Yes vote. I would never use it, but it's not an unreasonable request.