Make Red side newspaper missions optional

[gameboy1234]

We were talking in chat and someone mentioned something I agree with a lot. So here we go.  The newspaper missions that you must do red side to get a contact are really annoying and padding out content.  It's an old design that really isn't relevant, or needed, or fun.

 

Instead make the newspapers optional, like blue side.  When you talk to a broker, you should get the newspaper spiel, and also offered a contact to work with.  Talk to the broker again and get another contact.  Yes I'd like two options right off the bat.

 

Of course we should still be able to do newspaper missions and mayhem missions if we want to.  But right now they're forced on you and that feels bad.  Find Contact can help by-pass that but still isn't ideal.

 

[Communistpenguin]

I definitely agree. Outleveling content is bad enough on blue side, it is much worse re side. 

[gameboy1234]

I started a new Dom w/ Illusion Control on red side to play though arcs.  It's shocking how much superior invisibility improves newspaper missions.  Just ghost them and skip them, it's so much better to not have to actually "play" through what is obviously padding and filler.  It's what really convinced me that forcing newspapers are a bad idea.

 

[SaxyGuitar]

You can use "find contact." Some contact will just let you talk to them and start doing missions, too.

 

But I understand if that doesn't feel natrural.

[Doc_Scorpion]

4 hours ago, Communistpenguin said:

Outleveling content is bad enough on blue side, it is much worse re side. 

The XP lock exists.  It's actually difficult to impossible to outlevel content if you remember to use it.

[Oubliette_Red]

 

5 minutes ago, Doc_Scorpion said:

4 hours ago, Communistpenguin said:

I definitely agree. Outleveling content is bad enough on blue side, it is much worse re side. 

The XP lock exists.  It's actually difficult to impossible to outlevel content if you remember to use it.

 

Goldside is even worse, that why I add a macro to my toolbar on most of my characters.

/macro_image "DayJob_XPBoost" "XP Toggle" "option_toggle noxp"

 

This gives me a nice, little toggle for turning XP off/on rather than going to Options or using a command every time.

 

[Doc_Scorpion]

2 minutes ago, Oubliette_Red said:

Goldside is even worse

And Goldside was bad enough back on live, when we didn't live in a permanent quadruple XP situation...  (And that's before the free boosts!)

I might steal that macro though, it could be handy.

[Rudra]

3 hours ago, gameboy1234 said:

it's so much better to not have to actually "play" through what is obviously padding and filler. 

Just to be clear, you do know that radios and newspapers were added specifically to give players repeatable missions to help them level between contacts and weren't part of the game at launch, yes? (Edit: They also point players to contacts they may not know about because of how the contact system works.) (Edit again: With papers and radios, and the Safeguards and Mayhems they lead to, players were given an alternate means of leveling without having to go through the same contacts. So there aren't any stories in them, just repeatables with randomly filled in enemies from a level specific pool to give players some variety.)

 

Edited 26 minutes ago by Rudra

[Oubliette_Red]

7 minutes ago, Doc_Scorpion said:

And Goldside was bad enough back on live, when we didn't live in a permanent quadruple XP situation...  (And that's before the free boosts!)

I might steal that macro though, it could be handy.

 

I used it heavily on my Praetorian that did an All-faction run, took 42 hours of game play.