How much clearer can I make this. There is NO contradiction here: I DO NOT WANT TO DO MISSIONS TO LEVEL MY CHARACTERS FROM 6-15. Understand??
Running around all over the map to do this is stupid. I have done it. I didn't enjoy it then, I am going to enjoy it even less the next time. Why in the hell do you feel it necessary to force people to play the game in a way in which they do not enjoy?? No one is telling you that you HAVE to play alerts to level your characters. There are plenty of missions that allow you to do so. HAVE AT IT!!!
But what I don't understand is this need to tell people how to play the game.
You do what you want, let us do what we want, and beyond that... go F yourself.
it seem like you're trying to make the claim that the changes are going to cause there to be more bad players...
Reading comprehension was not your strongest attribute back in school eh??
I am not saying that there will be more bad players...I am saying that there will be the EXACT SAME AMOUNT. Because these changes don't address that at all.
You realize that someone being between the levels of 6 and 10 is no guarantee that they're not a bad player, correct?
Of course. Which, if you had actually READ what I posted, you'd know that. In addition, you'd know that the converse of what you are saying here is true: Being level 6-10 does not mean you are a bad player at all!
Also, why would these changes be the ones to make you suddenly realize that you're running the same content over and over again? Most of us realized that long long ago, and made our peace with it.
Again, you are missing the point. Run whatever content you want. Just stop advocating forcing others to run the same content. You might be perfectly happy killing 200 purple gang scrubs over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over,and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over...
... but some of us aren't.
So why advocate for forcing us to run the same content over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over,and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over...
I just don't get it.
What others do in this particular game, unlike many others, really doesn't have much to do with you at all.
Sure, once in a while, you might find yourself in a group of low level characters for an alert or two, but is that really the end of the world??? I mean, seriously...have a leech on your team, or worse...a former WoW player that thinks everything has to run like WoW...is FAR worse.
Best advice: Play the game the way YOU want, and stop worrying so much about the way everyone else does it. In short...mind your own GD business.
Sooo...what exactly do you mean? You're willing to run the same alerts over and over (which I have no problem with mind you), but not missions, and that's considered having completely different experiences?
Totally different experience.
Missions : find contact, travel to and find mission, zone into mission, two minutes, zone out of mission, find contact, get 1x mission xp.
Maybe the mission is some crap like 'wander around the block for forty minutes killing these guys', or 'hang around this jungle killing 120 these dudes' or worse 'collect a hundred this garbage'.
I have been playing this game for 3+ years. I have done Westside. I have killed all the paintball players in Canada I ever care to, and last thing I ever want to do is see Snake Gulch again.
I did it. It sucked then. It sucks even more after having done it 14 times.
Alerts bring a quick way to get characters past that garbage and into the stage where they can do other, more interesting things.
More interesting things like running Gravitar 3 times a day?
You can run things like Adventure Packs and Comic Series once you hit level 11. Fatal Error isn't even level gated so you can run it at level 6.
Also, why would these changes be the ones to make you suddenly realize that you're running the same content over and over again? Most of us realized that long long ago, and made our peace with it.
THIS.
There hasn't been any significant amount of new content in a long time (Queen City was pretty much it) so powerleveling to 40 doesn't mean much. Not to mention how much faster one can hit 40 nowadays compared to the pre-On Alert days. I've come to accept Westside as an extended tutorial of sorts... or more accurately, a proving grounds for new characters; if I can enjoy running a character through it, I'll enjoy running that character afterwards.
At this point in CO, "interesting things", if you're not into RP, is pretty much hunting costume pieces. You don't even really need high-end gear; you can easily get by on 11K Quesitonite gear.
Grind for the Grind God! Tokens for the Token Throne!
How much clearer can I make this. There is NO contradiction here: I DO NOT WANT TO DO MISSIONS TO LEVEL MY CHARACTERS FROM 6-15. Understand??
Good news! Grabs will grant XP and start at 10, not 15. So that's only four levels in an area where you level up every other time you visit Kodiak. SWEET, MERCIFUL GOD, WHAT A GRIND!
Again, you are missing the point. Run whatever content you want. Just stop advocating forcing others to run the same content. You might be perfectly happy killing 200 purple gang scrubs over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over,and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over...
... but some of us aren't.
So why advocate for forcing us to run the same content over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over,and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over...
I just don't get it.
So you'd rather grind the same alerts over, and over, and over, and over, and I'm not typing that many "and over"s?
Best advice: Play the game the way YOU want, and stop worrying so much about the way everyone else does it. In short...mind your own GD business.
Hey, you're the one who went on a thread-derailing, I'ma-quit-the-game tantrum over four friggin' levels.
Choose your enemies carefully, because they will define you / Make them interesting, because in some ways they will mind you
They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends
How much clearer can I make this. There is NO contradiction here: I DO NOT WANT TO DO MISSIONS TO LEVEL MY CHARACTERS FROM 6-15. Understand??
Running around all over the map to do this is stupid. I have done it. I didn't enjoy it then, I am going to enjoy it even less the next time. Why in the hell do you feel it necessary to force people to play the game in a way in which they do not enjoy?? No one is telling you that you HAVE to play alerts to level your characters. There are plenty of missions that allow you to do so. HAVE AT IT!!!
But what I don't understand is this need to tell people how to play the game.
To get to level 10 you won't be running all over the map. Also why would you be leveling to 15 before starting to do XP alerts, when the level gate is at 10? Again, you're contradicting yourself... you say you don't want to run missions, but now you're voluntarily going to go through 5 extra levels before starting XP alerts?
You do what you want, let us do what we want, and beyond that... go F yourself.
Oh don't worry, I will be doing what I want. Which is running alerts over and over, because I like alerts and find them fun
Again, you don't seem to realize, I'm not trying to force you to do anything. I don't have to... you're going to have to do those 4 levels of missions no matter what I have to say about it. All I'm saying is, if you really can't handle those 4 levels, then you might want to go with your plan of quitting the game.
If you're worried that it's going to negatively impact the game... don't worry, you seem to be the only one this worked up over the changes, so you're probably the only one that would be quitting over them. Yeah yeah I know, guilt trip me over it.
Reading comprehension was not your strongest attribute back in school eh??
I am not saying that there will be more bad players...I am saying that there will be the EXACT SAME AMOUNT. Because these changes don't address that at all.
Of course. Which, if you had actually READ what I posted, you'd know that. In addition, you'd know that the converse of what you are saying here is true: Being level 6-10 does not mean you are a bad player at all!
This is ironic, since you obviously typed all this without even reading the full paragraph. It's hard to comprehend something you didn't even read, ey?
Also, no one was saying that being levels 6-10 makes anyone a bad player, so not sure why you're so vehemently pointing that out.
Again, you are missing the point. Run whatever content you want. Just stop advocating forcing others to run the same content. You might be perfectly happy killing 200 purple gang scrubs over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over,and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over...
... but some of us aren't.
So why advocate for forcing us to run the same content over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over,and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over...
I just don't get it.
What others do in this particular game, unlike many others, really doesn't have much to do with you at all.
Sure, once in a while, you might find yourself in a group of low level characters for an alert or two, but is that really the end of the world??? I mean, seriously...have a leech on your team, or worse...a former WoW player that thinks everything has to run like WoW...is FAR worse.
Best advice: Play the game the way YOU want, and stop worrying so much about the way everyone else does it. In short...mind your own GD business.
Again, you just don't get it. I'm not telling you to do anything. What you do in the game doesn't matter to me, because it doesn't effect me. Whatever you feel like doing, I'm just going to go ahead and keep running alerts.
Now, I get that you're all sorts of angry about this... which really just speaks to the point that I am making. Look how mad you're getting over this game... look how mad you're getting over the prospect of having to do a little less than 30 minutes of leveling once per character.
What I'm advocating is that you do 1 of two things... either get used to that, or find another game. Notice I'm not telling you to do missions?
What I am trying to do is to open your eyes to the fact that you're blowing all this way out of proportion, and you're convincing yourself of things that aren't true. No one is trying to force you to do a bunch of missions... not me, not Cryptic, and not the alien overlord Xenu. It just simply isn't true, so it'd be a shame if you're getting yourself all mad and quitting over a fairy tale.
Face it guy, people have been asking for level gating on missions for a while. I've always been against it personally, but only because players always put forth some really high numbers for the gate. Level 10 is perfectly reasonable, and when you combine it with the other changes they made, it's even more so.
Hey, Biff. Maybe it is time to close this thread so folks can start over.
Yeah... no one even bothered to talk about the potential for gated alerts to be an excuse for them to make more interesting alerts tuned for higher level players, so might as well shut it.
This makes your complaint about missions being "the same thing over and over" ring rather hollow, yes?
"Science teaches us to expect -- demand -- more than just eerie mysteries. What use is a puzzle that can't be solved? Patience is fine, but I'm not going to stop asking the universe to make sense!"
People that do alerts at low levels that know that they will be leaching off higher level players also knowing that they will most likely be the cause of the alert failing all because they cant be bothered playing the game proper is the main reason why these said gates are starting to pop up.
So the gates are appearing this argument you guys are having is invalid. Lowbie leechers can scream till they are blue in the face it matters not.
Nepht and Dr Deflecto on primus
They all thought I was out of the game....But I'm holding all the lockboxes now..
I'll......FOAM FINGER YOUR BACK!
And I was concerned that I was not making that clear enough.
Yes, I would much rather do Alerts over and over than to schlep all over the map doing missions.
That is what I said from the very first post.
Good on you for just now catching up.
And we're trying to get it through to you that you're not going to have to schlep all over the map... you'll be doing a handful of missions in a small part of westside for a few minutes, and then you'll be back in your missions... and you'll only have to do that once per character.
Yeah yeah I know, "even five seconds of missions is too much!". I'll be expecting your "I'm done with this game" forum post to be prompt when these changes go live, and try to keep it short.
People that do alerts at low levels that know that they will be leaching off higher level players also knowing that they will most likely be the cause of the alert failing all because they cant be bothered playing the game proper is the main reason why these said gates are starting to pop up.
So the gates are appearing this argument you guys are having is invalid. Lowbie leechers can scream till they are blue in the face it matters not.
Lowbie leechers isn't actually the topic here (surprisingly enough, it hasn't really been brought up as a primary topic in a discussion about level gating, it only popped up secondarily)... the real topic here is whether it's okay to force people to level from 6 to 10 through missions.
Nepht used confuse ray!
It backfired!
It's very effective!
Oh I get whats being said here, but I refuse to acknowledge a certain leeching player. So instead I pointed out that leeching in alerts is starting to be frowned upon by the devs it seems.
Any leecher trying to justify their play style may as well be asking the tide to stop.
Nepht and Dr Deflecto on primus
They all thought I was out of the game....But I'm holding all the lockboxes now..
I'll......FOAM FINGER YOUR BACK!
Oh I get whats being said here, but I refuse to acknowledge a certain leeching player. So instead I pointed out that leeching in alerts is starting to be frowned upon by the devs it seems.
Any leecher trying to justify their play style may as well be asking the tide to stop.
And I was concerned that I was not making that clear enough.
Yes, I would much rather do Alerts over and over than to schlep all over the map doing missions.
That is what I said from the very first post.
Good on you for just now catching up.
I'm sorry... I've been following this whole thread for a while now, and lemme get this straight... you are mad because you have to talk to Defender and Drifter and the Powerhouse gang then teleport to Kodiak, then go like do... what... 5 missions to get to level ten that takes not even 30 minutes and join alert cues the rest of the way?
Oy vey... I know I agreed with your idea about fleshing out the tutorial to help create a player that understands how to play this game, but if you are that hell bent for playing a game with content that you didn't even enjoy the first time around... then pray tell WHY are you still playing Champs??
@Aleatha1011 in CO | Keeper of the Cheesecake since Nov. 2011| Bunni BOT is on PRIMUS! | Come check out my deviantart page!
Yes, I would much rather repeat the same crap every five minutes all day, every day, with every character, for as long as I'm playing than to repeat the easiest missions in the game once per character.
/ftfy
/10chars
Choose your enemies carefully, because they will define you / Make them interesting, because in some ways they will mind you
They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends
I'm normally very much a fan of 'play the way you want,' but... man.
Suck up the 1 hour it takes you to hit 10. Jeebus.
Also, I approve of making leechers cry.
I don't get it either. I mean, I do it anyway, simply because if I go into Alerts before that, I do nothing but die. I'll take the "less than an hour" run to get used to new powers over not getting any practice at all, dying over and over or using my powers when they're not really doing anything.
Can you still start an AP prior to its stated level ? You used to be able to start APs as early as level 6 (or was it 8 ?) regardless of listed level requirement. Been a while since Ive played a low level toon so I am not sure.
I'm sorry... I've been following this whole thread for a while now, and lemme get this straight... you are mad because you have to talk to Defender and Drifter and the Powerhouse gang then teleport to Kodiak, then go like do... what... 5 missions to get to level ten that takes not even 30 minutes and join alert cues the rest of the way?
Oy vey... I know I agreed with your idea about fleshing out the tutorial to help create a player that understands how to play this game, but if you are that hell bent for playing a game with content that you didn't even enjoy the first time around... then pray tell WHY are you still playing Champs??
I myself don't "enjoy" the game much at all anymore, its more a bad habit.
However, it is sad to see someone complain about completing missions but be perfectly fine with repeating alerts...
I mean, I can acknowledge the only reason I still put time in here is because I put so much before long before alert hit.
If you can't find the patience to do missions but can repeat alerts to hit 40... what the heck do you do at 40? I don't know if it's occurred to you, but we haven't actually seen much in the way of lvl 40 content in over 2 years.
Like it or not the fact is the Westside shuffle is not impressing gamers and they
are not for the most part sticking around after their adventures there.
City Center was a ghost town and Downtown was as despairing way back in 2011.
Lets say ten people log in.
1 wants to RP
2 wants to RP with 1
3 wants to RP with 1 and 2
4 is standing in zone spammming WTS
5 is digging around the SG bank for gear
6 is mailing some items
7 is in the tailor
8 is going to club caprice
9 just got out of the tutorial and ....logged right out
10 is waiting around Ren Cen for his daily alert, before he alts for more daily alerts because he has bursts on all seventeen of his characters as the new guy in the CoX channel has, or I've had on even more characters since the dawn of the age of alerts.
0 out of 10 players will be playing more missions.
Can you still start an AP prior to its stated level ? You used to be able to start APs as early as level 6 (or was it 8 ?) regardless of listed level requirement. Been a while since Ive played a low level toon so I am not sure.
When I tried a several several months ago this seemed to longer be possible. The level gate for zones is still 3 levels under but the level requirement for APs was exact.
Like it or not the fact is the Westside shuffle is not impressing gamers and they
are not for the most part sticking around after their adventures there.
City Center was a ghost town and Downtown was as despairing way back in 2011.
Lets say ten people log in.
1 wants to RP
2 wants to RP with 1
3 wants to RP with 1 and 2
4 is standing in zone spammming WTS
5 is digging around the SG bank for gear
6 is mailing some items
7 is in the tailor
8 is going to club caprice
9 just got out of the tutorial and ....logged right out
10 is waiting around Ren Cen for his daily alert, before he alts for more daily alerts because he has bursts on all seventeen of his characters as the new guy in the CoX channel has, or I've had on even more characters since the dawn of the age of alerts.
0 out of 10 players will be playing more missions.
Let's say 100 people log in. They're all super excited to play and start running missions and allerts like crazy immediately.
If you can't find the patience to do missions but can repeat alerts to hit 40... what the heck do you do at 40? I don't know if it's occurred to you, but we haven't actually seen much in the way of lvl 40 content in over 2 years.
Mostly, after 40, I grind through the UNITY Overwatch missions until I get the Silver Champions gear I want, then I shelf the character pretty much, only breaking it out for alert dailies, or once in a while, one of the comic series or Nemcon with friends. I don't mind the comic series, because they at least have a story. Same with Nemcon.
What I do not care for is the:
- Talk to NPC
- Get mission
- Go to same sewer map you have been in 20,000 times
- Kill scrubs in groups of three X number of times
- Kill easy boss
- Return to NPC
- Get about 1/10th of the XP you would from completing a Smash Alert (as they are right now) compared to the time you spent.
But, I will say this...I do understand that it is frustrating for people to have "low level leechers" in their alerts. Of course, there are ways around this without revamping the entire alert system...but it is what it is.
So, in short...a handful of players will now fail slightly less often in their alerts, meanwhile, a handful of players will simply lose interest and quit the game.
It happens. Any time you change things in a MMO, it causes some degree of backlash.
That is pretty much all I was saying to begin with, before everyone decided to get so snide and hostile.
With that said, enjoy your 2% lower fail rate in alerts, whiners...and remember, when you fail now, you won't be able to blame lowbies anymore. It comes down to your own personal stupidity.
What I do not care for is the:
- Talk to NPC
- Get mission
- Go to same sewer map you have been in 20,000 times
- Kill scrubs in groups of three X number of times
- Kill easy boss
- Return to NPC
- Get about 1/10th of the XP you would from completing a Smash Alert (as they are right now) compared to the time you spent.
You can speed things up considerably by grabbing missions from and turning missions in to your crime computer instead of running back and forth to most NPCs. There are some that don't show up in the computer for remote pickup in and turn in.
You can speed things up considerably by grabbing missions from and turning missions in to your crime computer instead of running back and forth to most NPCs. There are some that don't show up in the computer for remote pickup in and turn in.
It's good advice... but honestly it's irrelevant. After the changes hit, Hockey is still going to be just running alerts, because things aren't going to change as much as he thinks (or he's going to continue to percieve things as having been completely ruined and will quit playing entirely).
You could give him some hints for that horrible grind he'll have to do to level from 6-10 through missions though.
So, in short...a handful of players will now fail slightly less often in their alerts
Actually, XP alert failures will be down drastically, since they won't be timed anymore. Smash alert failures will also be down drastically, since everyone will be at least level 20, and in most cases will be level 40s grinding resources, since folks below 40 will have drastically less reason to que for Smashes, other than 3 times on days where its the daily, and 1 time on days with the APB daily.
meanwhile, a handful of players will simply lose interest and quit the game.
Yes, a handful of players may in fact find this to be a reason to quit the game. Again, I'm still not sure why they would... they were running these alerts before the changes.. they'll be running these alerts after the changes... nothing will actually have changed.
Folks who quit because they'll have to do missions from level 6 to 10 are, quite frankly, people who should already be considering quitting, or at the very least taking a break, since their interest level in the game has clearly become extremely low already.
People lose interest in things. Happens all the time. Nothing to get worked up or worried about. The devs aren't worried, so why should you be?
Actually, XP alert failures will be down drastically, since they won't be timed anymore. Smash alert failures will also be down drastically, since everyone will be at least level 20, and in most cases will be level 40s grinding resources, since folks below 40 will have drastically less reason to que for Smashes, other than 3 times on days where its the daily, and 1 time on days with the APB daily.
Well said. This is the most likely result, I think.
I'm sorry... I've been following this whole thread for a while now, and lemme get this straight... you are mad because you have to talk to Defender and Drifter and the Powerhouse gang then teleport to Kodiak, then go like do... what... 5 missions to get to level ten that takes not even 30 minutes and join alert cues the rest of the way?
Oy vey... I know I agreed with your idea about fleshing out the tutorial to help create a player that understands how to play this game, but if you are that hell bent for playing a game with content that you didn't even enjoy the first time around... then pray tell WHY are you still playing Champs??
^ Good question, and great counter-point. I agree with you.
I'm normally very much a fan of 'play the way you want,' but... man.
Suck up the 1 hour it takes you to hit 10. Jeebus.
Also, I approve of making leechers cry.
Good point about the apparent laziness of a few people, although hating on leechers is kind of passive-aggressive isn't it? Then again, maybe they deserve it... engh... I dunno...
Personally as long as people are trying, I'm more than happy to help carry them through the alert. I like helping newbies, that's fun for me. Maybe I'm just weird like that.
So, in short...a handful of players will now fail slightly less often in their alerts
Actually, XP alert failures will be down drastically, since they won't be timed anymore. Smash alert failures will also be down drastically, since everyone will be at least level 20, and in most cases will be level 40s grinding resources, since folks below 40 will have drastically less reason to que for Smashes, other than 3 times on days where its the daily, and 1 time on days with the APB daily.
I agree. Also keep in mind that this was actually what we players had been asking for over the past year or so... so I guess that means Cryptic is listening? Interesting isn't it?
meanwhile, a handful of players will simply lose interest and quit the game.
Yes, a handful of players may in fact find this to be a reason to quit the game. Again, I'm still not sure why they would... they were running these alerts before the changes.. they'll be running these alerts after the changes... nothing will actually have changed.
Folks who quit because they'll have to do missions from level 6 to 10 are, quite frankly, people who should already be considering quitting, or at the very least taking a break, since their interest level in the game has clearly become extremely low already.
People lose interest in things. Happens all the time. Nothing to get worked up or worried about. The devs aren't worried, so why should you be?
People will always quit. People will always cry doom on these forums (have been doing it all along in fact). Years later, this game is still here.
That said now, I'd like to help reduce the turnover rate where possible. It's impossible to please everyone, but you need to create a stable (fixing bugs), reliable (especially where money is concerned), and fun (relative to the individual, but it's about keeping consistent to the artistic and innovative design that people enjoy most) game to keep people here.
It's not hard to understand where I keep going with this:
new players joining and playing - old players leaving or simply not logging in much anymore = net change in active population.
Why is more population good?
Can find teams easier
Can find people to RP or PvP with
Zones are not ghost towns, feels more like a MMO
More people who are likely to buy items, sale increase, which means profits increase, which means you can afford more developer time and content development
New players don't have everything already, are more likely to buy things
Existing players who continue to enjoy the game and have room to grow (or friends or SG mates to help out) still are more likely to buy things
A larger player population means a larger market to sell your virtual goods to in-game, the in-game economy becomes more stable and it's faster to buy & sell things
Cryptic has an opportunity to make much more money, so the servers keep running (note: not always true, example = NCSoft & City of Heroes)
Mostly, after 40, I grind through the UNITY Overwatch missions until I get the Silver Champions gear I want, then I shelf the character pretty much, only breaking it out for alert dailies, or once in a while, one of the comic series or Nemcon with friends. I don't mind the comic series, because they at least have a story. Same with Nemcon.
What I do not care for is the:
- Talk to NPC
- Get mission
- Go to same sewer map you have been in 20,000 times
- Kill scrubs in groups of three X number of times
- Kill easy boss
- Return to NPC
- Get about 1/10th of the XP you would from completing a Smash Alert (as they are right now) compared to the time you spent.
But, I will say this...I do understand that it is frustrating for people to have "low level leechers" in their alerts. Of course, there are ways around this without revamping the entire alert system...but it is what it is.
So, in short...a handful of players will now fail slightly less often in their alerts, meanwhile, a handful of players will simply lose interest and quit the game.
It happens. Any time you change things in a MMO, it causes some degree of backlash.
That is pretty much all I was saying to begin with, before everyone decided to get so snide and hostile.
With that said, enjoy your 2% lower fail rate in alerts, whiners...and remember, when you fail now, you won't be able to blame lowbies anymore. It comes down to your own personal stupidity.
HPX
For someone who runs that many alts, you should be a bit wiser about alerts in general. I've done thousands since it released. I swore to stop until I realized that without them I would have nothing to do in the game's current state.
Smashes had a far higher failure rate than you seem to recognize. Even now, me running my 40 through dailies can very well dictate if a team fails or succeeds. When I was still grinding, nothing was more frustrating than a chain of failures because the teams were not playing as well as they should given their levels.
CO bleeds players daily for various reasons. I don't think grabs should get a lower xp buff, but overall I see it as a positive change as now failure only occurs if a team completely wipes repeatedly against the boss (and thus boss resets). Smashes could go smoothly but a lack of general damage would guarantee failure regardless.
I honestly don't understand why you continue to level so many alts when you are already planning to shelve most of them. If you enjoyed leveling or the leveling experience, ok. But it's pretty clear its an unpleasant process for you. It was always an unpleasant process for me, so I did the logical thing and stop leveling alts I wasn't going to use. I still have 8 empty slots that will probably never see a character aside from another auction mule thanks to my 250g silver cap and 10 slots to auction. There's no point in purchasing additional slots if I still only get 5 days to sell something at no more than 250g.
But really, if you detest leveling so much.... stop. At 18 40s I dont touch most for days if at all.
Actually, XP alert failures will be down drastically, since they won't be timed anymore. Smash alert failures will also be down drastically, since everyone will be at least level 20, and in most cases will be level 40s grinding resources, since folks below 40 will have drastically less reason to que for Smashes, other than 3 times on days where its the daily, and 1 time on days with the APB daily.
The question for me is, how many exp do you really get in a Grab and how long does it take ? I only ever did Grabs 2 or 3 times, and mostly i had to carry the whole team there and had the feeling i needed 30 minutes or whatever for that, and that it simply is not worth the time.
I could fail a lot Smashes in that time, and i can also do quite some normal missions in that time (as long as it is noch VB )
However i also only did the "easy" smashes for leveling like Black Fang or Sweetland, and Nemesis. All other i mostly just did maybe to refresh the Exp-Bonus
I honestly don't understand why you continue to level so many alts when you are already planning to shelve most of them. If you enjoyed leveling or the leveling experience, ok. But it's pretty clear its an unpleasant process for you.
I suppose I could have been more clear in my previous posts, but let me elaborate a bit on why I make so many "alts"...
First of all, none of my characters are "alts". I have been drawing comic books for over 30 years. Even been published a couple of times. I have a comic universe that I have created, and a ton of characters that I have written about, developed, and generally grew up with. Some of them are pretty straight forward, and creating them in CO was really easy. Some of them, not so much, as their power sets are not represented within the game.
What really keeps me playing, and paying, is that I have a place to sort of 'bring my characters to life'. For me, leveling them as quickly as possible, up to a point, allows me to experiment with the powers offered in the game to see how closely I can come to how they have been developed over time in other formats (my comics, pen and paper RPGs, books, etc.)
The days of me playing CO...as a game...have pretty much come and gone. Honestly, I don't really care for MMO games that much, mostly because they are super repetitive, and super time consuming. And yes, I realize that alerts are the same way, but I can currently level a character from 1-25 using smash alerts much faster than I can using missions...and probably the way things will be after the changes. That remains to be seen.
So yes, I realize my interest in CO is probably very different than that of others here. And I realize that these changes are being put into place because a portion of the players don't ever want to fail at anything in the game...ever. Which is fine. As far as I am concerned, if there was a way that I could create my characters in the game, assign them the powers I want them to have, test them out, work their costumes out, and then move on to the next one...without ever entering an alert, or a mission, that is exactly what I would do. But to my, admittedly limited, knowledge no such environment exists.
But...I also understand that the way I want to play the game isn't necessarily the same as what everyone else wants. So, if I can no longer play the game I want, I will have to decide if I want to quit, or keep paying for the game to do the same thing, but with a larger time commitment. Honestly, had alerts not been introduced, I probably would have quit a long time ago because leveling through missions alone takes much longer, and...IMO...is not worth the effort or time.
In the end, my desire to level characters as quickly as possible has nothing to do with wanting to impede anyone else's progress, and nothing to do with wanting to run alerts vs. missions beyond the time involved...as I have done both missions and alerts so many times now, they are nothing but a means to an end.
As far as I am concerned, if there was a way that I could create my characters in the game, assign them the powers I want them to have, test them out, work their costumes out, and then move on to the next one...without ever entering an alert, or a mission, that is exactly what I would do. But to my, admittedly limited, knowledge no such environment exists.
It does exist actually. It's called the powerhouse. All you have to do is go in there with one of your level 40s and completely remove all your powers. Then just never leave the powerhouse with that character. You can now, for free, repeatedly do full retcons from top to bottom on them, and test out all the powers in the game in any combination you can think of.
It does exist actually. It's called the powerhouse. All you have to do is go in there with one of your level 40s and completely remove all your powers. Then just never leave the powerhouse with that character. You can now, for free, repeatedly do full retcons from top to bottom on them, and test out all the powers in the game in any combination you can think of.
There is also a tailor in the power house.
That is an interesting idea, although, it will be difficult to see how certain things work compared to others without 'real world' tests.
However, this idea is great for parking a test character in there and using that to flesh out ideas before 'going live' with a character.
Am I mistaken, or does that get wiped periodically??
I have never really looked into the PTS, but I know on other games I have played, they get wiped every so often.
If it doesn't, then this is exactly what I want.
It's happened one time so far. Here's a pretty easy way for you to work with PTS(Assuming you have costume unlocks you like on Live since PTS is kinda weird about those).
1. Create New Toon on Live(Save Costume File just in case before completing creation).
2. Select "Skip Tutorial" which will put you at LvL 6 in the MC PH.
3. Go Here to opt in for PTS and copy toon over.
4. Exit game and relaunch. You should see a dropdown on your launcher for Live or PTS. Select PTS.
5. Select newly copied over toon and enter game.
6. Exit PH and talk to "debugger" who will allow you to insta-level to 40 and also get some gear. Alternately, you can just transfer a set of Heirloom Gear to your LvL 6 before you copy over if you like.
7. Enter PH and build toon.
8. Guessing this is important to you and I do it as well so....Create Txt file for "Bios" and folder for "Builds" so you can record such information for "just in case" backup.
9. Later return to live, delete LvL 6 toon(move Heirloom Gear 1st if you went with that option), create new toon(again: Heirloom option up to you), and repeat until heart's content.
Congratulations, according to your previous posts you are now forever happy with CO. Enjoy.
Except the PTR is usually pretty empty most of the time, and being a test realm is often quite buggy. If you are going to be on the test realm, you should really be there to test things. It might be a good place for testing builds, but it certainly isn't a really good place to play long term imo.
Except the PTR is usually pretty empty most of the time, and being a test realm is often quite buggy. If you are going to be on the test realm, you should really be there to test things. It might be a good place for testing builds, but it certainly isn't a really good place to play long term imo.
Not naming names, but some people have been playing on PTS nigh exclusively for a very very long time with minimal complaints. Also, the notion of not playing there because it's buggy is not exactly a great point for this game. Live server is notoriously bug infested as well with bugs that have persisted since Launch Day. PTS is not that far from it when all things are considered.
Not naming names, but some people have been playing on PTS nigh exclusively for a very very long time with minimal complaints. Also, the notion of not playing there because it's buggy is not exactly a great point for this game. Live server is notoriously bug infested as well with bugs that have persisted since Launch Day. PTS is not that far from it when all things are considered.
True there are plenty of bugs on live, though there seem to be a few extras on the PTR. Though that is to be expected given the nature of those servers.
As for those who have been playing, too each their own I suppose. Until Cryptic/PW get around to fixing the Z-store over there I personally wouldn't recommend it, if you aren't interested in testing the new content (and hopefully reporting bugs as you go), or testing out various builds.
That is an interesting idea, although, it will be difficult to see how certain things work compared to others without 'real world' tests.
However, this idea is great for parking a test character in there and using that to flesh out ideas before 'going live' with a character.
Thanks!
There actually are "real world tests" available in the powerhouse. Specifically it has a danger room where you can set 3 enemy spawns selected from the enemies available in that zone (Mill city powerhouse lets you choose purple gang, demon, or psi; canada lets you select hunter patriots, gadroon and I forget the third, maybe Argent). You can set your difficulty for the test separately from your actual game difficulty and you can fake a team from 1 to 5 people.
The room also has objects of all sizes for you to pickup and throw at them, and you can reset as often as you like.
no exp for the actions in the room though and no bosses.
There actually are "real world tests" available in the powerhouse. Specifically it has a danger room where you can set 3 enemy spawns selected from the enemies available in that zone (Mill city powerhouse lets you choose purple gang, demon, or psi; canada lets you select hunter patriots, gadroon and I forget the third, maybe Argent). You can set your difficulty for the test separately from your actual game difficulty and you can fake a team from 1 to 5 people.
The room also has objects of all sizes for you to pickup and throw at them, and you can reset as often as you like.
no exp for the actions in the room though and no bosses.
And they're also going to be placing cosmic level regenerating dummies in the powerhouse
Does that mean that they can start balancing the gated alerts for higher level players and we can get some more challenging alerts that require more than just standing there and spamming a single power over and over? Since they had to balance them that way since a lot of the low level characters in there really only could spam a single power over and over and all, but that won't be the case anymore!
As spinnytop notes, a minimum level entry into Alerts was not the main problem; the main problem is the *ability disparity* between players in Alerts. And of course, making everyone in Alerts the same level does not, in any way, assuage that ability disparity. That means that this ?fix? will not fix Alerts, it will merely reduce the amount of whining by whiners.
Right now, many players are simply *too strong* for Alerts and so often try to run them by themselves. At best they will ignore the rest of the team because they don?t need it. At worst they will try to sabotage the rest of the team by locking them out of the boss fight or by inducing aggro onto them, or any number of other spiteful tactics.
Alerts need players of *comparable ability*, Alerts need to *scale* to that ability and Alerts need to be designed so that the *team* has to engage, not just one or two players. Until Crypic does that, Alerts will remain a dice toss that can be an enjoyable diversion or an aggravating and frustrating experience.
As spinnytop notes, a minimum level entry into Alerts was not the main problem; the main problem is the *ability disparity* between players in Alerts. And of course, making everyone in Alerts the same level does not, in any way, assuage that ability disparity. That means that this ?fix? will not fix Alerts, it will merely reduce the amount of whining by whiners.
Right now, many players are simply *too strong* for Alerts and so often try to run them by themselves. At best they will ignore the rest of the team because they don?t need it. At worst they will try to sabotage the rest of the team by locking them out of the boss fight or by inducing aggro onto them, or any number of other spiteful tactics.
Alerts need players of *comparable ability*, Alerts need to *scale* to that ability and Alerts need to be designed so that the *team* has to engage, not just one or two players. Until Crypic does that, Alerts will remain a dice toss that can be an enjoyable diversion or an aggravating and frustrating experience.
Letting players get more of their powers earlier would help. It would also help us get our heroes to fit the "vision" we have of them sooner as well.
Comments
How much clearer can I make this. There is NO contradiction here: I DO NOT WANT TO DO MISSIONS TO LEVEL MY CHARACTERS FROM 6-15. Understand??
Running around all over the map to do this is stupid. I have done it. I didn't enjoy it then, I am going to enjoy it even less the next time. Why in the hell do you feel it necessary to force people to play the game in a way in which they do not enjoy?? No one is telling you that you HAVE to play alerts to level your characters. There are plenty of missions that allow you to do so. HAVE AT IT!!!
But what I don't understand is this need to tell people how to play the game.
You do what you want, let us do what we want, and beyond that... go F yourself.
Reading comprehension was not your strongest attribute back in school eh??
I am not saying that there will be more bad players...I am saying that there will be the EXACT SAME AMOUNT. Because these changes don't address that at all.
Of course. Which, if you had actually READ what I posted, you'd know that. In addition, you'd know that the converse of what you are saying here is true: Being level 6-10 does not mean you are a bad player at all!
Again, you are missing the point. Run whatever content you want. Just stop advocating forcing others to run the same content. You might be perfectly happy killing 200 purple gang scrubs over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over,and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over...
... but some of us aren't.
So why advocate for forcing us to run the same content over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over,and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over...
I just don't get it.
What others do in this particular game, unlike many others, really doesn't have much to do with you at all.
Sure, once in a while, you might find yourself in a group of low level characters for an alert or two, but is that really the end of the world??? I mean, seriously...have a leech on your team, or worse...a former WoW player that thinks everything has to run like WoW...is FAR worse.
Best advice: Play the game the way YOU want, and stop worrying so much about the way everyone else does it. In short...mind your own GD business.
Totally different experience.
Missions : find contact, travel to and find mission, zone into mission, two minutes, zone out of mission, find contact, get 1x mission xp.
Maybe the mission is some crap like 'wander around the block for forty minutes killing these guys', or 'hang around this jungle killing 120 these dudes' or worse 'collect a hundred this garbage'.
Alerts: Queue, zone, fight, 2 minutes,2.5x XP, zone, repeat
When running missions you don't know if or when you'll ever get a team.
Get's really freakin' boring wandering around a playerless zones.
Alerts, you get a team, good or bad, every time, game feels alive and occupied, if a bit socially stagnant.
More interesting things like running Gravitar 3 times a day?
You can run things like Adventure Packs and Comic Series once you hit level 11. Fatal Error isn't even level gated so you can run it at level 6.
THIS.
There hasn't been any significant amount of new content in a long time (Queen City was pretty much it) so powerleveling to 40 doesn't mean much. Not to mention how much faster one can hit 40 nowadays compared to the pre-On Alert days. I've come to accept Westside as an extended tutorial of sorts... or more accurately, a proving grounds for new characters; if I can enjoy running a character through it, I'll enjoy running that character afterwards.
At this point in CO, "interesting things", if you're not into RP, is pretty much hunting costume pieces. You don't even really need high-end gear; you can easily get by on 11K Quesitonite gear.
Good news! Grabs will grant XP and start at 10, not 15. So that's only four levels in an area where you level up every other time you visit Kodiak. SWEET, MERCIFUL GOD, WHAT A GRIND!
So you'd rather grind the same alerts over, and over, and over, and over, and I'm not typing that many "and over"s?
Hey, you're the one who went on a thread-derailing, I'ma-quit-the-game tantrum over four friggin' levels.
They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends
To get to level 10 you won't be running all over the map. Also why would you be leveling to 15 before starting to do XP alerts, when the level gate is at 10? Again, you're contradicting yourself... you say you don't want to run missions, but now you're voluntarily going to go through 5 extra levels before starting XP alerts?
Oh don't worry, I will be doing what I want. Which is running alerts over and over, because I like alerts and find them fun
Again, you don't seem to realize, I'm not trying to force you to do anything. I don't have to... you're going to have to do those 4 levels of missions no matter what I have to say about it. All I'm saying is, if you really can't handle those 4 levels, then you might want to go with your plan of quitting the game.
If you're worried that it's going to negatively impact the game... don't worry, you seem to be the only one this worked up over the changes, so you're probably the only one that would be quitting over them. Yeah yeah I know, guilt trip me over it.
This is ironic, since you obviously typed all this without even reading the full paragraph. It's hard to comprehend something you didn't even read, ey?
Also, no one was saying that being levels 6-10 makes anyone a bad player, so not sure why you're so vehemently pointing that out.
Again, you just don't get it. I'm not telling you to do anything. What you do in the game doesn't matter to me, because it doesn't effect me. Whatever you feel like doing, I'm just going to go ahead and keep running alerts.
Now, I get that you're all sorts of angry about this... which really just speaks to the point that I am making. Look how mad you're getting over this game... look how mad you're getting over the prospect of having to do a little less than 30 minutes of leveling once per character.
What I'm advocating is that you do 1 of two things... either get used to that, or find another game. Notice I'm not telling you to do missions?
What I am trying to do is to open your eyes to the fact that you're blowing all this way out of proportion, and you're convincing yourself of things that aren't true. No one is trying to force you to do a bunch of missions... not me, not Cryptic, and not the alien overlord Xenu. It just simply isn't true, so it'd be a shame if you're getting yourself all mad and quitting over a fairy tale.
Face it guy, people have been asking for level gating on missions for a while. I've always been against it personally, but only because players always put forth some really high numbers for the gate. Level 10 is perfectly reasonable, and when you combine it with the other changes they made, it's even more so.
My super cool CC build and how to use it.
Whoever you are, be that person one hundred percent. Don't compromise on your identity.
Yeah... no one even bothered to talk about the potential for gated alerts to be an excuse for them to make more interesting alerts tuned for higher level players, so might as well shut it.
My super cool CC build and how to use it.
This has been my hope. I had assumed (never a good idea, I know) that it was a given. Fingers are crossed.
'Caine, miss you bud. Fly high.
And I was concerned that I was not making that clear enough.
Yes, I would much rather do Alerts over and over than to schlep all over the map doing missions.
That is what I said from the very first post.
Good on you for just now catching up.
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So the gates are appearing this argument you guys are having is invalid. Lowbie leechers can scream till they are blue in the face it matters not.
Nepht and Dr Deflecto on primus
They all thought I was out of the game....But I'm holding all the lockboxes now..
I'll......FOAM FINGER YOUR BACK!
And we're trying to get it through to you that you're not going to have to schlep all over the map... you'll be doing a handful of missions in a small part of westside for a few minutes, and then you'll be back in your missions... and you'll only have to do that once per character.
Yeah yeah I know, "even five seconds of missions is too much!". I'll be expecting your "I'm done with this game" forum post to be prompt when these changes go live, and try to keep it short.
You mean hockey's point? It's that he hates missions.
Were you referring to something else or we done here?
Lowbie leechers isn't actually the topic here (surprisingly enough, it hasn't really been brought up as a primary topic in a discussion about level gating, it only popped up secondarily)... the real topic here is whether it's okay to force people to level from 6 to 10 through missions.
Nepht used confuse ray!
It backfired!
It's very effective!
My super cool CC build and how to use it.
Any leecher trying to justify their play style may as well be asking the tide to stop.
Nepht and Dr Deflecto on primus
They all thought I was out of the game....But I'm holding all the lockboxes now..
I'll......FOAM FINGER YOUR BACK!
Everyone here agrees with you though
My super cool CC build and how to use it.
I'm sorry... I've been following this whole thread for a while now, and lemme get this straight... you are mad because you have to talk to Defender and Drifter and the Powerhouse gang then teleport to Kodiak, then go like do... what... 5 missions to get to level ten that takes not even 30 minutes and join alert cues the rest of the way?
Oy vey... I know I agreed with your idea about fleshing out the tutorial to help create a player that understands how to play this game, but if you are that hell bent for playing a game with content that you didn't even enjoy the first time around... then pray tell WHY are you still playing Champs??
@Aleatha1011 in CO | Keeper of the Cheesecake since Nov. 2011| Bunni BOT is on PRIMUS! | Come check out my deviantart page!
Suck up the 1 hour it takes you to hit 10. Jeebus.
Also, I approve of making leechers cry.
Wicks and Things: NW-DI4FMZRR4 : The Fenwick merchant family has lost a caravan! Can you help?
Beggar's Hollow: NW-DR6YG4J2L : Someone, or something, has stolen away many of the Fenwicks' children! Can you find out what happened to them?
Into the Fen Wood: NW-DL89DRG7B : Enter the heart of the forest. Can you discover the secret of the Fen Wood?
/ftfy
/10chars
They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends
I don't get it either. I mean, I do it anyway, simply because if I go into Alerts before that, I do nothing but die. I'll take the "less than an hour" run to get used to new powers over not getting any practice at all, dying over and over or using my powers when they're not really doing anything.
Can you still start an AP prior to its stated level ? You used to be able to start APs as early as level 6 (or was it 8 ?) regardless of listed level requirement. Been a while since Ive played a low level toon so I am not sure.
'Caine, miss you bud. Fly high.
^That pretty much sums it up.
@hockey
I myself don't "enjoy" the game much at all anymore, its more a bad habit.
However, it is sad to see someone complain about completing missions but be perfectly fine with repeating alerts...
I mean, I can acknowledge the only reason I still put time in here is because I put so much before long before alert hit.
If you can't find the patience to do missions but can repeat alerts to hit 40... what the heck do you do at 40? I don't know if it's occurred to you, but we haven't actually seen much in the way of lvl 40 content in over 2 years.
are not for the most part sticking around after their adventures there.
City Center was a ghost town and Downtown was as despairing way back in 2011.
Lets say ten people log in.
1 wants to RP
2 wants to RP with 1
3 wants to RP with 1 and 2
4 is standing in zone spammming WTS
5 is digging around the SG bank for gear
6 is mailing some items
7 is in the tailor
8 is going to club caprice
9 just got out of the tutorial and ....logged right out
10 is waiting around Ren Cen for his daily alert, before he alts for more daily alerts because he has bursts on all seventeen of his characters as the new guy in the CoX channel has, or I've had on even more characters since the dawn of the age of alerts.
0 out of 10 players will be playing more missions.
When I tried a several several months ago this seemed to longer be possible. The level gate for zones is still 3 levels under but the level requirement for APs was exact.
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Serving since September, 2009 / 65 Characters, 63 Level 40's
Let's say 100 people log in. They're all super excited to play and start running missions and allerts like crazy immediately.
Yay! CO is saved by statistics again!
My super cool CC build and how to use it.
Mostly, after 40, I grind through the UNITY Overwatch missions until I get the Silver Champions gear I want, then I shelf the character pretty much, only breaking it out for alert dailies, or once in a while, one of the comic series or Nemcon with friends. I don't mind the comic series, because they at least have a story. Same with Nemcon.
What I do not care for is the:
- Talk to NPC
- Get mission
- Go to same sewer map you have been in 20,000 times
- Kill scrubs in groups of three X number of times
- Kill easy boss
- Return to NPC
- Get about 1/10th of the XP you would from completing a Smash Alert (as they are right now) compared to the time you spent.
But, I will say this...I do understand that it is frustrating for people to have "low level leechers" in their alerts. Of course, there are ways around this without revamping the entire alert system...but it is what it is.
So, in short...a handful of players will now fail slightly less often in their alerts, meanwhile, a handful of players will simply lose interest and quit the game.
It happens. Any time you change things in a MMO, it causes some degree of backlash.
That is pretty much all I was saying to begin with, before everyone decided to get so snide and hostile.
With that said, enjoy your 2% lower fail rate in alerts, whiners...and remember, when you fail now, you won't be able to blame lowbies anymore. It comes down to your own personal stupidity.
HPX
You can speed things up considerably by grabbing missions from and turning missions in to your crime computer instead of running back and forth to most NPCs. There are some that don't show up in the computer for remote pickup in and turn in.
My Amazon author page
How to build a freeform character...the Kenpo way
Demon Keypo's Building Guide
Freeform Builds Directory (Last updated: 04/23/2016)
Serving since September, 2009 / 65 Characters, 63 Level 40's
It's good advice... but honestly it's irrelevant. After the changes hit, Hockey is still going to be just running alerts, because things aren't going to change as much as he thinks (or he's going to continue to percieve things as having been completely ruined and will quit playing entirely).
You could give him some hints for that horrible grind he'll have to do to level from 6-10 through missions though.
Actually, XP alert failures will be down drastically, since they won't be timed anymore. Smash alert failures will also be down drastically, since everyone will be at least level 20, and in most cases will be level 40s grinding resources, since folks below 40 will have drastically less reason to que for Smashes, other than 3 times on days where its the daily, and 1 time on days with the APB daily.
Yes, a handful of players may in fact find this to be a reason to quit the game. Again, I'm still not sure why they would... they were running these alerts before the changes.. they'll be running these alerts after the changes... nothing will actually have changed.
Folks who quit because they'll have to do missions from level 6 to 10 are, quite frankly, people who should already be considering quitting, or at the very least taking a break, since their interest level in the game has clearly become extremely low already.
People lose interest in things. Happens all the time. Nothing to get worked up or worried about. The devs aren't worried, so why should you be?
My super cool CC build and how to use it.
Well said. This is the most likely result, I think.
Whoever you are, be that person one hundred percent. Don't compromise on your identity.
^ Good question, and great counter-point. I agree with you.
Good point about the apparent laziness of a few people, although hating on leechers is kind of passive-aggressive isn't it? Then again, maybe they deserve it... engh... I dunno...
Personally as long as people are trying, I'm more than happy to help carry them through the alert. I like helping newbies, that's fun for me. Maybe I'm just weird like that.
I agree. Also keep in mind that this was actually what we players had been asking for over the past year or so... so I guess that means Cryptic is listening? Interesting isn't it?
People will always quit. People will always cry doom on these forums (have been doing it all along in fact). Years later, this game is still here.
That said now, I'd like to help reduce the turnover rate where possible. It's impossible to please everyone, but you need to create a stable (fixing bugs), reliable (especially where money is concerned), and fun (relative to the individual, but it's about keeping consistent to the artistic and innovative design that people enjoy most) game to keep people here.
It's not hard to understand where I keep going with this:
new players joining and playing - old players leaving or simply not logging in much anymore = net change in active population.
Why is more population good?
Consolidate the currencies! (Please!)
Does your Champion have a theme song? (share it!)
Got a funny in-game screenshot? (share it!)
Please fix the Overdrive energy unlock! (Should help promote thematic build diversity!)
For someone who runs that many alts, you should be a bit wiser about alerts in general. I've done thousands since it released. I swore to stop until I realized that without them I would have nothing to do in the game's current state.
Smashes had a far higher failure rate than you seem to recognize. Even now, me running my 40 through dailies can very well dictate if a team fails or succeeds. When I was still grinding, nothing was more frustrating than a chain of failures because the teams were not playing as well as they should given their levels.
CO bleeds players daily for various reasons. I don't think grabs should get a lower xp buff, but overall I see it as a positive change as now failure only occurs if a team completely wipes repeatedly against the boss (and thus boss resets). Smashes could go smoothly but a lack of general damage would guarantee failure regardless.
I honestly don't understand why you continue to level so many alts when you are already planning to shelve most of them. If you enjoyed leveling or the leveling experience, ok. But it's pretty clear its an unpleasant process for you. It was always an unpleasant process for me, so I did the logical thing and stop leveling alts I wasn't going to use. I still have 8 empty slots that will probably never see a character aside from another auction mule thanks to my 250g silver cap and 10 slots to auction. There's no point in purchasing additional slots if I still only get 5 days to sell something at no more than 250g.
But really, if you detest leveling so much.... stop. At 18 40s I dont touch most for days if at all.
The question for me is, how many exp do you really get in a Grab and how long does it take ? I only ever did Grabs 2 or 3 times, and mostly i had to carry the whole team there and had the feeling i needed 30 minutes or whatever for that, and that it simply is not worth the time.
I could fail a lot Smashes in that time, and i can also do quite some normal missions in that time (as long as it is noch VB
However i also only did the "easy" smashes for leveling like Black Fang or Sweetland, and Nemesis. All other i mostly just did maybe to refresh the Exp-Bonus
I suppose I could have been more clear in my previous posts, but let me elaborate a bit on why I make so many "alts"...
First of all, none of my characters are "alts". I have been drawing comic books for over 30 years. Even been published a couple of times. I have a comic universe that I have created, and a ton of characters that I have written about, developed, and generally grew up with. Some of them are pretty straight forward, and creating them in CO was really easy. Some of them, not so much, as their power sets are not represented within the game.
What really keeps me playing, and paying, is that I have a place to sort of 'bring my characters to life'. For me, leveling them as quickly as possible, up to a point, allows me to experiment with the powers offered in the game to see how closely I can come to how they have been developed over time in other formats (my comics, pen and paper RPGs, books, etc.)
The days of me playing CO...as a game...have pretty much come and gone. Honestly, I don't really care for MMO games that much, mostly because they are super repetitive, and super time consuming. And yes, I realize that alerts are the same way, but I can currently level a character from 1-25 using smash alerts much faster than I can using missions...and probably the way things will be after the changes. That remains to be seen.
So yes, I realize my interest in CO is probably very different than that of others here. And I realize that these changes are being put into place because a portion of the players don't ever want to fail at anything in the game...ever. Which is fine. As far as I am concerned, if there was a way that I could create my characters in the game, assign them the powers I want them to have, test them out, work their costumes out, and then move on to the next one...without ever entering an alert, or a mission, that is exactly what I would do. But to my, admittedly limited, knowledge no such environment exists.
But...I also understand that the way I want to play the game isn't necessarily the same as what everyone else wants. So, if I can no longer play the game I want, I will have to decide if I want to quit, or keep paying for the game to do the same thing, but with a larger time commitment. Honestly, had alerts not been introduced, I probably would have quit a long time ago because leveling through missions alone takes much longer, and...IMO...is not worth the effort or time.
In the end, my desire to level characters as quickly as possible has nothing to do with wanting to impede anyone else's progress, and nothing to do with wanting to run alerts vs. missions beyond the time involved...as I have done both missions and alerts so many times now, they are nothing but a means to an end.
You don't need fast leveling--you need to simply have level 40 characters that you can play around with.
Have you tried the PTS? It is EXACTLY what you are looking for. You can relevel characters as much as you want.
Whoever you are, be that person one hundred percent. Don't compromise on your identity.
It does exist actually. It's called the powerhouse. All you have to do is go in there with one of your level 40s and completely remove all your powers. Then just never leave the powerhouse with that character. You can now, for free, repeatedly do full retcons from top to bottom on them, and test out all the powers in the game in any combination you can think of.
There is also a tailor in the power house.
^ that too. go have fun.
My super cool CC build and how to use it.
Am I mistaken, or does that get wiped periodically??
I have never really looked into the PTS, but I know on other games I have played, they get wiped every so often.
If it doesn't, then this is exactly what I want.
That is an interesting idea, although, it will be difficult to see how certain things work compared to others without 'real world' tests.
However, this idea is great for parking a test character in there and using that to flesh out ideas before 'going live' with a character.
Thanks!
It doesn't get wiped periodically.
My Amazon author page
How to build a freeform character...the Kenpo way
Demon Keypo's Building Guide
Freeform Builds Directory (Last updated: 04/23/2016)
Serving since September, 2009 / 65 Characters, 63 Level 40's
1. Create New Toon on Live(Save Costume File just in case before completing creation).
2. Select "Skip Tutorial" which will put you at LvL 6 in the MC PH.
3. Go Here to opt in for PTS and copy toon over.
4. Exit game and relaunch. You should see a dropdown on your launcher for Live or PTS. Select PTS.
5. Select newly copied over toon and enter game.
6. Exit PH and talk to "debugger" who will allow you to insta-level to 40 and also get some gear. Alternately, you can just transfer a set of Heirloom Gear to your LvL 6 before you copy over if you like.
7. Enter PH and build toon.
8. Guessing this is important to you and I do it as well so....Create Txt file for "Bios" and folder for "Builds" so you can record such information for "just in case" backup.
9. Later return to live, delete LvL 6 toon(move Heirloom Gear 1st if you went with that option), create new toon(again: Heirloom option up to you), and repeat until heart's content.
Congratulations, according to your previous posts you are now forever happy with CO. Enjoy.
Join Date: Aug 2009 | Title: Devslayer
Not naming names, but some people have been playing on PTS nigh exclusively for a very very long time with minimal complaints. Also, the notion of not playing there because it's buggy is not exactly a great point for this game. Live server is notoriously bug infested as well with bugs that have persisted since Launch Day. PTS is not that far from it when all things are considered.
My Amazon author page
How to build a freeform character...the Kenpo way
Demon Keypo's Building Guide
Freeform Builds Directory (Last updated: 04/23/2016)
Serving since September, 2009 / 65 Characters, 63 Level 40's
True there are plenty of bugs on live, though there seem to be a few extras on the PTR. Though that is to be expected given the nature of those servers.
As for those who have been playing, too each their own I suppose. Until Cryptic/PW get around to fixing the Z-store over there I personally wouldn't recommend it, if you aren't interested in testing the new content (and hopefully reporting bugs as you go), or testing out various builds.
Aye. I just pretty much pretend it doesn't exist at this point.
My Amazon author page
How to build a freeform character...the Kenpo way
Demon Keypo's Building Guide
Freeform Builds Directory (Last updated: 04/23/2016)
Serving since September, 2009 / 65 Characters, 63 Level 40's
There actually are "real world tests" available in the powerhouse. Specifically it has a danger room where you can set 3 enemy spawns selected from the enemies available in that zone (Mill city powerhouse lets you choose purple gang, demon, or psi; canada lets you select hunter patriots, gadroon and I forget the third, maybe Argent). You can set your difficulty for the test separately from your actual game difficulty and you can fake a team from 1 to 5 people.
The room also has objects of all sizes for you to pickup and throw at them, and you can reset as often as you like.
no exp for the actions in the room though and no bosses.
And they're also going to be placing cosmic level regenerating dummies in the powerhouse
My super cool CC build and how to use it.
As spinnytop notes, a minimum level entry into Alerts was not the main problem; the main problem is the *ability disparity* between players in Alerts. And of course, making everyone in Alerts the same level does not, in any way, assuage that ability disparity. That means that this ?fix? will not fix Alerts, it will merely reduce the amount of whining by whiners.
Right now, many players are simply *too strong* for Alerts and so often try to run them by themselves. At best they will ignore the rest of the team because they don?t need it. At worst they will try to sabotage the rest of the team by locking them out of the boss fight or by inducing aggro onto them, or any number of other spiteful tactics.
Alerts need players of *comparable ability*, Alerts need to *scale* to that ability and Alerts need to be designed so that the *team* has to engage, not just one or two players. Until Crypic does that, Alerts will remain a dice toss that can be an enjoyable diversion or an aggravating and frustrating experience.
Letting players get more of their powers earlier would help. It would also help us get our heroes to fit the "vision" we have of them sooner as well.
My super cool CC build and how to use it.