Synapse Task Force Dread

[Snarky]

1 hour ago, Lockpick said:

 

I have never gotten a Shivan Shard.  How long does it take?

first, you have to find two Shivans that reallly like each other.....

[Uun]

1 hour ago, Lockpick said:

I have never gotten a Shivan Shard.  How long does it take?

https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Shiva_Strike_Mission

[Timeshadow]

20 hours ago, A Cat said:

For me, it and Citadel are overly repetitive and boring more than anything. I would support making it more interesting and varied as much as I would support just shortening it instead. 

This. A normal Synapse usually takes anywhere between 1 to 1.5 hours. That's not an unusual amount of playtime for a single session. In general, CoH does a good job of providing content in smaller, more accessible bites than other MMORPGs.

Where Synapse (and Citadel) fall short is their lack of variety. Same enemies and similar maps on repeat for the entire TF makes it feel much longer than it really is. The hefty number of defeat all missions doesn't help. I'd very much be in favor of a rework to add more variety and keep players engaged, rather than just cutting content to reduce the overall time.

[Ironblade]

2 hours ago, Lockpick said:

I have never gotten a Shivan Shard.  How long does it take?

I never timed it.  You have to visit six meteors (which are marked on the map) and analyze them with a gizmo from the scientist.

Then you have to take over a firebase by destroying the 4 large turrets surrounding it and the 4 little turrets on the roof.

Then use the 'ore processor' inside to process the samples and return to the scientist.

 

The only annoying aspect is that the turrets are on a five-minute respawn timer.  You can be on the 7th turret when they all respawn.  On a high DPS character with a good travel power . . .  maybe 6-8 minutes.  On a defender or controller, I'll take out ONE turret and wait for it to respawn so I know I have five full minutes.  So 10-12 minutes if you have low DPS.

[Hedgefund]

To the question of how long to acquire a Shivan... I combine the Bloody Bay patrol with my Shivan hunt and it takes, I dunno, 10 minutes?  I say this without ever once actually timing it.  The biggest drivers of time (as I see it) are 1) ability to scan meteors before the Shivans crawl out of the ground and attack you 2) how quickly you can take out 4 major and 4 minor turrets (which can be helped by finding lvl 25 turrets with no boss) and 3) if the turrets respawn before you're done and, rarely but it can happen 4) other players harassing you.

Edited December 12, 2023 by Hedgefund

[kelika2]

3 hours ago, Ironblade said:

i wonder what percentage of players respec when they hit 50.

almost every alt for me.  if its not dropping a Minor damage attack its using something and not liking it like Power Boost on a trick arrow alt.

 

Or that one slot that has a 2% more effectiveness somewhere else.

[tidge]

3 hours ago, Hedgefund said:

To the question of how long to acquire a Shivan... I combine the Bloody Bay patrol with my Shivan hunt and it takes, I dunno, 10 minutes?  I say this without ever once actually timing it.  The biggest drivers of time (as I see it) are 1) ability to scan meteors before the Shivans crawl out of the ground and attack you 2) how quickly you can take out 4 major and 4 minor turrets (which can be helped by finding lvl 25 turrets with no boss) and 3) if the turrets respawn before you're done and, rarely but it can happen 4) other players harassing you.

 

The two issues I encounter with getting a Shivan from Bloody Bay are:

1.  As mentioned, doing enough damage quickly enough to defeat all the turrets. Wearing them all down (but not defeating) and then defeating them rapidly works well even for low DPS characters.
2. Sometimes I don't have a travel power in Bloody Bay. The temp powers for purchase in the PVP zones don't last all that long.

[Snarky]

I have said a hundred times there is one simple solution for Synapse.   Keep everything the same.  Except…..

 

You ever do a Synapse and luck into the small maps every single time?    Goes fast doesnt it?

 

Code the MFer to not be random maps.  Just default it to the small maps.  
 

Tah-Freaking-Dah.  Synapse fixed.

[twozerofoxtrot]

24 minutes ago, Snarky said:

I have said a hundred times there is one simple solution for Synapse.   Keep everything the same.  Except…..

 

You ever do a Synapse and luck into the small maps every single time?    Goes fast doesnt it?

 

Code the MFer to not be random maps.  Just default it to the small maps.  
 

Tah-Freaking-Dah.  Synapse fixed.

 

[Scarlet Shocker]

There are two big problems with Synapse as I see it

 

One is, as others have said the lack of variety. Getting a TF done in under 2 hours is not the issue. ITF or LGTF can easily take as long or longer. It's that the content of Synapse is BORING AF!! It's essentially kill the entire population of clockwork AGAIN and AGAIN and AFUCKINGAIN!

 

The bigger issue is that Synapse is such a whiny-arse self-centred feeling-sorry-for-himself wanker nobody has any empathy for him as a player or other characters. His story is tragic but poorly written and he doesn't come out of it looking good. So no players have any empathy for him, his story, or his TF.

 

So when you go into the TF expecting it to be a chore, how do you expect to come out of it?

 

[tidge]

My old thoughts on a Synapse TF rewrite is inspired by the Penny Yin TF. Minimally...Have an instanced outdoor mission with objectives in place of some of the defeat alls and patrols.

 

I've also long thought that the Clockwork King would have a slightly better (and geeky) set of (elite) bosses that were necessary to defeat... Something inspired by chess pieces.

 

The CK has an interesting backstory, I wouldn't mind if Blue Steel ended up in a rewrite.

[Scarlet Shocker]

1 hour ago, tidge said:

My old thoughts on a Synapse TF rewrite is inspired by the Penny Yin TF. Minimally...Have an instanced outdoor mission with objectives in place of some of the defeat alls and patrols.

 

I've also long thought that the Clockwork King would have a slightly better (and geeky) set of (elite) bosses that were necessary to defeat... Something inspired by chess pieces.

 

The CK has an interesting backstory, I wouldn't mind if Blue Steel ended up in a rewrite.

 

I remember, on live, pre-Server merge, there seemed to be a distinct difference between how BS and CK are viewed in Europe and the USA. Europe side there's a lot more sympathy for CK, who's almost seen as a victim of Blue Steel's aggressive bullying but in the US it seems to be reversed and so far as I can tell most think CK got what he deserved.

 

It's an interesting cultural comparison but I do think the whole Clockwork King story is one of the more interesting, and yet under explored signature stories.

 

 

[Doomguide2005]

On 12/12/2023 at 2:35 PM, Lockpick said:

 

I have never gotten a Shivan Shard.  How long does it take?

Not terribly long once you get a feel for things.  There's good info in the wiki about tactical approaches to doing it.  I'm a little amused at the moment as my main Empathy defender doesn't have a Shard but she does have a small army of other pets.  Particularly a PPD suit and a Vanguard HVAS stashed for rough times.  Last pulled one out by accident when she and one teammate were suddenly the only ones standing during the Vahz ambush in Posi 1.  The team got a good laugh on returning to see a HVAS stomping about.

Edited December 14, 2023 by Doomguide2005

[MonteCarla]

I kind of like Synapse the way it is. And Citadel, and even Numina with her stupid hunts. I only ever play them when they're the weekly task force (so 122 merits counting Babbage for Synapse). The more modern streamlined content like Penny Yin is cool, but there's a certain sense of achievement with the less friendly older content? I think the game would suffer from losing this... chewier content? I always have a bit of dread, followed by elation at getting a team together, followed (90 minutes later) by elation at actually finishing it and getting the badge. I don't get that with Penny Yin.

Similarly, should Anti-Matter and Siege be rolled into the Maria Jenkins arc to make Portal Jockey easier? I'd say no - I like gathering the accolades to involve a bit of hierarchical planning and tough moments.

 

As long as the team gets talking (in or out of character) about something other than how much they hate the task force, the time flies by.

The only time I didn't enjoy Synapse was on a team where none of us had decent AoE damage. That could have been solved by a group shopping trip to get Plasmatic Tasers and Hand Grenades. End issues can be mitigated a lot by the supergroup base buff too, which should last almost the entire task force.