Well, I can't speak for everyone, but for me we've already waited this long for them or frankly any new real content that wasn't about advertising for the purchase of vehicles or lockboxes or just something in the stores, so what's a few more months to years more?
I'd much rather they take their time and do it right, think it out clearly and fully, work out all kinks and player related issues with it rather than rushing it to market to make a quick buck. This system seems a little lazy in some ways, like they took the easiest route. I could understand if it was PART of a large content issue, cutting corners here and there so that they could get all things done on time (like how STO and NW usually release big content packages with missions, zones, enemy groups, revamped or expanded content, sometimes things are still a little under done but with so much going on it's a little understandable), but we're talking about a stand alone content that's not part of a future issue.
I'll just say this, if they want to handle it sort of lazy as items in slots, I can live with it sure, but making me repay for aura's from powers in power sets I've already paid for, making these items bind to one character at a time with a cost to match something like the travel powers or becomes (which actually DO something useful and all characters can use) even though it's basically just a costume item, and then charging us real money per slot (in combat and perma as a pair but you'd still have to buy into it 3 times to get it all) PER character is just....I'm honestly running out of things to call it without getting insulting. It's just plain....terrible. This is like first draft idea, as in, only worked out in a meeting and then better judgement keeps you from implementing it and making you look bad, rather than something you put out there and let us SEE you could think it was a good idea.
Also I don't think it's worth mentioning how doing something else would encounter bugs, they couldn't even unlock vet rewards for LTS's without bugging that up and the game already had code for unlocking them. This current idea will likely encounter some bugs of it's own, so it doesn't really matter on that front.
For the record, I love your set up idea for putting them in the costume creator, thank you for sharing that.
That's sadly, basically what these "Legacy Aura's" are. They took the aura's out of the passive powers (from powers in power sets, some of which you had to subscribe or buy the AT to have access too), repackaged them as an item for this new system, give you one for free per character, and then charge 200,000 Q per aura item to get them back, BUT they are bind on pick up to the character that buys them not account.
Are you guys removing visual effects we already have and then selling them back to us? Do you need help with ideas that would generate revenue without disrespecting your playerbase?
As they're currently implemented, auras are build-specific. You can have one build with an always-on aura and another without it. I'd like to see an on/off button for auras that are equipped in the persistent slot.
Build specific is not too bad, as i can have a change-build keybind to swap the costume and also turn off the auras so Radioactive Cosmonaut, Professor Ant Head, the Scarlet Pippistrelle will all need some re-binding but will still have transforms.. it will cut down on things though, currently i have 5 sets of transformation binds on one character as an example, that's 12 different costumes on 5 variations of the character(i filled the whole numpad and still needed more keybinds!), it'll take some doing to get them all organised between build-changes and costume changes (especially as a build change triggers the costume change cooldown) but at least it is do-able. Now i just need the Infernal aura i use on Radioactive Cosmonaut to be added to the Aura list so he can look radioactive while riding his grav bike.
Oh... and it means that Professor Ant Head will need to go freeform too.
___________________________________
While she has been rescued
what diabolical mastermind
was behind the devious brain-napping of
the Volterrific Dr Cerebellum?
Are you guys removing visual effects we already have and then selling them back to us? Do you need help with ideas that would generate revenue without disrespecting your playerbase?
I swear nobody reads.
EVERY CHARACTER PAST, PRESENT, OR FUTURE GETS ONE LEGACY AURA (the effects on your Passives right now on Live) ABSOLUTELY FREE.
So the only way you're 'losing effects' is if you have more than one Passive (which is a tiny percentage of the population as frankly it's a waste of points), or if you Retcon your Freeform character (which yes, can be an issue).
if you Retcon your Freeform character (which yes, can be an issue).
I don't know how feasible it would be, but perhaps a retcon could come with some form of Aura exchange token, or some way to exchange one for another just in the case of a full retcon.
That's not the point they were making. Taking back something from us they already gave us or we paid for so they can sell it back to us at a high price is underhanded. It's the principle of the thing. Other than that, it does cause a big issue with retcons and perhaps the amount of people who take two is low, I myself have only done such with one character out of all my others, but this represents a big issue to freeforms, since AT's are usually stuck with only one passive ever. If they insist on doing the system this way, Legacy aura's should be free out of respect or more cheaper and in line with other costume like Q store items, if not account unlocks.
EVERY CHARACTER PAST, PRESENT, OR FUTURE GETS ONE LEGACY AURA (the effects on your Passives right now on Live) ABSOLUTELY FREE.
So the only way you're 'losing effects' is if you have more than one Passive (which is a tiny percentage of the population as frankly it's a waste of points), or if you Retcon your Freeform character (which yes, can be an issue).
with all due respect what free stuff? Outside of the LTS vet reward unlocks, everything new for the past year has been about buying keys for lockboxes, buying vehicles, and putting new stuff on the Zen store. Even what few new missions or Alerts we did get revolved around the new lockboxes. I could understand if say, every 5 costume packs they put in the store they made a new costume set free for subscribers like some other games do/did, but that's not what's going on here. What's going on is a half cocked, recycled content, now at a higher price. The only thing that's really new is how we'll use the aura's, but the majority of them we already had or paid for and taking them back to make us buy them again is wrong. Seriously. If they want to encourage people to spend money they can, and rightfully should, but it should be with quality items or content worth the money, not with disrespectful tactics and cheap ploys.
but once the changes are made you won't have to spend a dime to get the aura you already have. planning on retconning soon? maybe take an aura that would fit multiple themes.
Subscribers get free zen on top of all the perks for being a gold member, with that free zen they can buy whatever they want form the Z store, or even turn it in for piles of questionite on the exchange.
Unless you changed your mind. Then you'd have to pay to get a new one. Really, you don't see a problem with paying the same price for one aura as you would a travel power or become, both of which EVERY character on your account can use, for a item to recreate an effect that was previously free or you already paid for once, that is bound to one character only? Or that the slots are bought with Zen on a per character basis rather than account? Just because Subscribers have some Zen each month does not justify this unbalanced pricing.
Honestly, if we were talking about big and fully fleshed out system, with loads of NEW aura effects right from the get go, I could see your point, but taking something we've already had to make us buy it back to make a quick buck is crazy, especially at these prices when the only other things at that level of price are actually useful and have an impact on combat and game play, not just visual effects.
but once the changes are made you won't have to spend a dime to get the aura you already have. planning on retconning soon? maybe take an aura that would fit multiple themes.
Subscribers get free zen on top of all the perks for being a gold member, with that free zen they can buy whatever they want form the Z store, or even turn it in for piles of questionite on the exchange.
Taking back something from us they already gave us or we paid for so they can sell it back to us at a high price is underhanded.
Yes, this is very underhanded when it actually happens.
Anyway, this is on PTS for a reason I imagine. It's hopefully not final so everyone get your thoughts out there. Just try to be accurate with some of it. There's a ton of inaccuracies and hyperbole in this threaded clouding over the actual feedback.
Too many limitations going on with these Legacy Auras economic wise.
1. They're too expensive
2. They're character bound, so no account unlocks.
Please change one or the other.
A. If they're going to be expensive (200,000 Questionite each), then at least make them account wide unlocks.
B. If they're going to be character bound at least make them worth 11,000 questionite each.
Agreed. If I had to guess, I'd think the 200,000 Q price was using the travel power skins as a pricing precedent. Well...devs those are account wide for that high price.
See, that's the point though. What's on PTS is what they're wanting to implement. If we don't complain about it now and voice our opinion they'll just go ahead with it. As it stands from PTS, the plan is to repackage effects we already owned and sell it back at unreasonable prices. It's not hyperbole, it's what they've shown us. I hope they'll see how many people are unhappy with this and at the very least adjust the prices down in line with other "visual" items.
Yes, this is very underhanded when it actually happens.
Anyway, this is on PTS for a reason I imagine. It's hopefully not final so everyone get your thoughts out there. just try to be accurate with some of it. There's a ton of inaccuracies and hyperbole in this threaded clouding over the actual feedback.
Sure, the price could come down a bit. But they're still giving auras away for free on every single character you make, so it really isn't as bad as you make it seem.
See, that's the point though. What's on PTS is what they're wanting to implement. If we don't complain about it now and voice our opinion they'll just go ahead with it. As it stands from PTS, the plan is to repackage effects we already owned and sell it back at unreasonable prices. It's not hyperbole, it's what they've shown us. I hope they'll see how many people are unhappy with this and at the very least adjust the prices down in line with other "visual" items.
I disagree.
This is your opinion of it that is separate from the reality of it for me and a few others judging by the comments in this thread and other places. My characters are single passive characters and when I retcon I generally swap powers around but I can only think of maybe 3 occasions out of hundreds of retcons where I've changed a passive (Lightning Reflexes to Quarry in all 3 of those). So, for me, they are taking exactly nothing from me. I get a token on every character to immediately put my aura back on...or swap to a new aura if I want. When I make a new character, I get one free aura at character creation just like I do now only this time it'll be any aura and not the one that was tied to the passive. I lose nothing but gain options I didn't have before.
Also, often times PTS is not what they want to implement. There have been too many times where they have directly stated that what is on PTS is what they have to show currently but it is not the final plan. Only need to go back as far as the Kenina and Frosticus rampage for one of several examples of this.
So yes, comments of what the plan is and stuff being unilaterally taken away to be sold back are a bit of hyperbole. That said, I don't like the prices for something that is to be character bound.
Well you're welcome to your opinion dude, and I hope you're right. But I've been with Cryptic for years on all 4 of their major games and watched them just quickly shovel something they put to public test to live as fast as they possibly can. That new Alert you mention, doesn't seem nearly as finished looking as this aura content appears as, so no, aside from possible technical issues it looks pretty good to go to me. From my time here the only thing I've seen them put on test that didn't hit live within two weeks is this current new Alert they are working on (last I heard it doesn't even have a reward yet) and the changes to Dodge, which required a lot of reworking. And this is a matter of having access to any aura I wanted at any time by switching powers I paid for, by using global to now having to pay with currency worth real money value to get that same ability back one at a time per character. If it doesn't bother you, that's fine. But there are others who are bothered by the pricing and limitations in this thread than just me. It would be hyperbole if it was just rumors or stuff we heard, but it's something we've can SEE, if they were just testing the aura system for feed back alone, why already set a Q store price now let alone one so high, it could have just as easily been 50,000 or 100,000. It's seems to me more likely someone manually set that price, and if that's so it's possibly on purpose meaning it's the intended price.
This is your opinion of it that is separate from the reality of it for me and a few others judging by the comments in this thread and other places. My characters are single passive characters and when I retcon I generally swap powers around but I can only think of maybe 3 occasions out of hundreds of retcons where I've changed a passive (Lightning Reflexes to Quarry in all 3 of those). So, for me, they are taking exactly nothing from me. I get a token on every character to immediately put my aura back on...or swap to a new aura if I want. When I make a new character, I get one free aura at character creation just like I do now only this time it'll be any aura and not the one that was tied to the passive. I lose nothing but gain options I didn't have before.
Also, often times PTS is not what they want to implement. There have been too many times where they have directly stated that what is on PTS is what they have to show currently but it is not the final plan. Only need to go back as far as the Kenina and Frosticus rampage for one of several examples of this.
So yes, comments of what the plan is and stuff being unilaterally taken away to be sold back are a bit of hyperbole. That said, I don't like the prices for something that is to be character bound.
Very true. What is on PTS is not always what makes it to Live, but I have not seen any Dev say that is not the intended price point, I have seen them comment on other things about Auras, so maybe that is where most of the "worry" comes from?
Very true. What is on PTS is not always what makes it to Live, but I have not seen any Dev say that is not the intended price point, I have seen them comment on other things about Auras, so maybe that is where most of the "worry" comes from?
To me and IMO, Tidal's views on the removal of content only to be resold back to the playerbase is a valid one ONLY when cash comes into the equation. I objected to the crafting unlocks being put in the Drifter shop because the most common means of obtaining salvage is lockboxes which in most cases means cash. Having said this, I also agree that the pricepoint on the Legacy Auras is about 4 times too high(50k is casual enough IMO) but I feel that the one free token per toon in the history of forever in reguards to this game is a solution which covers most people. I do wish they were an account unlock because then some of my more "mundane" heroes who will not be using aura slots could still spend the Q for those heroes who have more "flashy" aesthetics. Also, the completionist in me kinda wants them all just to have them all.
For 200kQ I am not expecting "Legacy Fire Form Aura" I am expecting "Legacy Fire Form: Aura", "Legacy Fire Form: Hands", "Legacy Fire Form: Head", "Legacy Fire Form: Feet", "Legacy Fire Form: Torso", AND them to either be account bound of Mutli-claim. Honestly, Multi-Claim would be the best option for me IMO. Let's just skip the account bound option altogether and go Multi-Claim on the Q-Store and Z-Store options. Drops, on the other hand, would be lovely if they were Multi-Claim like a costume unlock but I could see those just beeing, "You got one, you got ONE."
See the issue with such a high price is it makes a lot of people feel like the only real way to get them would be to trade in Zen for the Q, which involves real money. On the other hand for those who are patient enough to grind out that 200,000 Q to buy it, they will have been dumping their Q there instead of trading it for Zen to get stuff off the store for free. To me, that's the ONLY point with making them cost this much Q when they barely do anything, making them character bound so you have to buy more if you want more for each character, and making you unlock the slots with Zen one character at a time. I don't mind spending money on a game, myself, I've bought loads of costume sets and such here, but it's got to be worth it and done right, this isn't.
However, I hadn't thought of that, and I agree with you. If it was a SET of aura pieces (hands, feet, chest, aura, and head) then I could actually see paying that much for that. If they made them a set, even if they weren't account bound, then I could stand by a 200,000 Q price tag.
To me and IMO, Tidal's views on the removal of content only to be resold back to the playerbase is a valid one ONLY when cash comes into the equation. I objected to the crafting unlocks being put in the Drifter shop because the most common means of obtaining salvage is lockboxes which in most cases means cash. Having said this, I also agree that the pricepoint on the Legacy Auras is about 4 times too high(50k is casual enough IMO) but I feel that the one free token per toon in the history of forever in reguards to this game is a solution which covers most people. I do wish they were an account unlock because then some of my more "mundane" heroes who will not be using aura slots could still spend the Q for those heroes who have more "flashy" aesthetics. Also, the completionist in me kinda wants them all just to have them all.
For 200kQ I am not expecting "Legacy Fire Form Aura" I am expecting "Legacy Fire Form: Aura", "Legacy Fire Form: Hands", "Legacy Fire Form: Head", "Legacy Fire Form: Feet", "Legacy Fire Form: Torso", AND them to either be account bound of Mutli-claim. Honestly, Multi-Claim would be the best option for me IMO. Let's just skip the account bound option altogether and go Multi-Claim on the Q-Store and Z-Store options. Drops, on the other hand, would be lovely if they were Multi-Claim like a costume unlock but I could see those just beeing, "You got one, you got ONE."
I think people would probably just create a character, claim the unlock, delete the character, rinse and repeat endlessly and completely bypass any need to purchase secondary, tertiary, etc auras if they were account wide unlocks.
I don't think the free aura covers it. Anyone who retcons is then stuck with that aura.
The introduction of more friction to existing customizable content is not a smart move when that's all that is left...then you'll have even less people doing it. If this was actually new content and it required cash then it would be fine.
Agreed with Cross that there is a pricepoint in terms of questionite where customization does not mean handing over cash, but rather farming some extra Q. Which is better. Still makes me feel like cattle being prepped for an epic milking, but it could be worse.
I think people would probably just create a character, claim the unlock, delete the character, rinse and repeat endlessly and completely bypass any need to purchase secondary, tertiary, etc auras if they were account wide unlocks.
Even this shouldn't be a problem honestly considering how this has already been used for a long time with nothing done about it. People already do this for farming the costume change tokens and for safequard catalysts.
But even besides how this is already done with other things (as someone will surely point it that just because it's done doesn't mean it's right), the situation currently is that something that we didn't already have (Q store travel powers) runs around 200,000Q and are account wide unlocks. Now, for people who actually retcon passives or use more than one, the current system on PTS is taking something that they did already have away from them, slapping the same 200,000Q price tag on it, and making it per character to add more insult to injury. It currently looks like another example of a previous precedent being abandoned for no rhyme or reason and not to the players' benefit in all cases.
One of the things the devs kept telling me when I mentioned things about the legacy auras was "Well the legacy auras aren't the focus of the system". My thoughts. Does it matter if it's not the focus of the system? No, it doesn't matter if it's not the devs focus of the system because the fact is the very first use of the system most players will likely encounter is going to be to get back the aura(s) they already had. That should theoretically be as painless as possible and if it negatively affects even a small portion of the playerbase it's worth looking into other alternatives to not screw any characters over. 200,000Q is not some insignificant amount for things that are account bound. For things that are per character? That's ridiculous.
As it stands though, let's get a bit more objective and a bit less subjective:
200,000Q - travel power - has an actual function in game mechanics - account wide
200,000Q - Aura - has no actual "function", it's a costume piece - character bound.
The value is arbitrary at best and that is an issue. Something more comparable to auras are the Q store costume pieces like the cyberpunk set and those aren't anywhere near 200,000Q expensive per piece and they are account wide as well. The pricing needs to be adjusted and legacy stuff needs to be account wide since that's how it functioned during its legacy.
I probably won't be using any aura at all for most of my characters and I'm sure I'm not alone... so maybe fewer people using auras will actually reduce lag? Not everyone wants to run around glowing like a chirstmas tree you know
anyway, good job Devs *thumbs up*
^^^
^^
^ This.
I have exactly ONE character making any sense with an aura effect and it's a one from the power flight TP.
I'll be more than happy having option for getting rid of all aura effects from the rest of my characters. And. Never. Ever. See. It. Again. On. My. Toons.
So many pages related to this Aura topic. Maybe it's been asked somewhere else, if so, please just point me there
Will a hero's auras be affecting pets and team members? When I tried auras on my pet hero the pets did not have the aura. It would be kind of a relief not having 4 pets and 5 team members all with glowing green hands from AoED.
I probably won't be using any aura at all for most of my characters and I'm sure I'm not alone... so maybe fewer people using auras will actually reduce lag? Not everyone wants to run around glowing like a chirstmas tree you know
I have exactly ONE character making any sense with an aura effect and it's a one from the power flight TP.
I'll be more than happy having option for getting rid of all aura effects from the rest of my characters. And. Never. Ever. See. It. Again. On. My. Toons.
Same here, I will propably WON'T use this Feature at all and I will stick with the Legacy Auras my Toons has been using until now!
Nothing against this new system, I just DON'T need VANITY stuff for my characters, especially since they will cost tons of Questionite! HECK I have Unlocked and Bought SO MANY RARE Pre-Alert and Alert costume unlocks but I never Use them
I'm not Exhibitionist about my character's costumes and not into Vanity stuff! Except if the Aura I want is PERFECT for my character concept
I'm glad that it will exist and power to the people who will Abuse it... I mean USE this Feature! :biggrin: (better set the Visual FX Quality to Low...) the last thing I want is to LAG in Gravitar...
So many pages related to this Aura topic. Maybe it's been asked somewhere else, if so, please just point me there
Will a hero's auras be affecting pets and team members? When I tried auras on my pet hero the pets did not have the aura. It would be kind of a relief not having 4 pets and 5 team members all with glowing green hands from AoED.
I am thinking about that too! AoED had one of the COOLEST Party effects in this game, it will be a shame to see it gone!
POWERFRAME REVAMPS, NEW POWERS and BUG FIXES > Recycled Content and Events and even costumes at this point Introvert guy who use CO to make his characters playable and get experimental with Viable FF Theme builds! Running out of Unique FF builds due to the lack of updates and synergiesPlaying since 1 February 2011 98+ Characters (7 ATs, 91 FFs) ALTitis for Life!
So many pages related to this Aura topic. Maybe it's been asked somewhere else, if so, please just point me there
Will a hero's auras be affecting pets and team members? When I tried auras on my pet hero the pets did not have the aura. It would be kind of a relief not having 4 pets and 5 team members all with glowing green hands from AoED.
The visual effect is gone from the party. But the effect of the Aura (like AOED) remains. So the rest of the party will get the boost, just no visual effect.
I think people would probably just create a character, claim the unlock, delete the character, rinse and repeat endlessly and completely bypass any need to purchase secondary, tertiary, etc auras if they were account wide unlocks.
Which is why, if they were account unlocks, they would most likely give out one free unlock per account. just like hideouts.
Vehicles in a superhero game was a mistake to begin with imo.
Auras in a superhero game are not. But, the process could be mishandled.
We will have to wait and see.
Vehicles in a superhero game was a mistake to begin with imo.
Auras in a superhero game are not. But, the process could be mishandled.
We will have to wait and see.
Besides, what's the point of vehicles if you can achieve the same result with jet boots/a jetpack and the minigun/gatling gun?
Vehicles in a superhero game was a mistake to begin with imo.
Auras in a superhero game are not. But, the process could be mishandled.
We will have to wait and see.
Batman had a car, and both Wonder Woman and the X-Men had stealth jets. It wasn't a bad idea, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
This is really Auras done wrong. Not only should auras be an account wide unlock per aura like costume pieces but they should be added to a back end list like costume pieces and not take up any inventory whatsoever. Also all the "classic" auras or whatever you want to call them should be available for free at least for subscribers.
Champions has fallen a long way and this system further compounds the issue. If someone is to pay a subscription they should see far less Micro transactions.
This is really Auras done wrong. Not only should auras be an account wide unlock per aura like costume pieces but they should be added to a back end list like costume pieces and not take up any inventory whatsoever. Also all the "classic" auras or whatever you want to call them should be available for free at least for subscribers.
Champions has fallen a long way and this system further compounds the issue. If someone is to pay a subscription they should see far less Micro transactions.
I agree. I find this system cumbersome,lackluster, and rather uninteresting visually. Not to mention that OTHER Cryptic MMO made years ago had a much better, and completely free aura system implemented nearly ten years ago now.
I was rather hopeful that was what we were getting here thanks in part to the eye auras that were added some time back from the AT grabbags.
But this? Completely disappointed. It's just existing toggle effects I get for free otherwise that I have to PAY FOR or grind for to gain.
I would be happy if Legacy Auras would be free for subscribers and for silvers give them the aura that works or their ATor just give them the legacy auras for free too so everyone can have some auras. I have no problem paying for the new auras. I think they are well made.
CO needs money. These auras(the new ones) will get my money.
It's no so much that I want these to be free, it's the fact that this system..aside from the stacking of auras is a step backward from what we were offered for free in other,less moneygrubbing MMO's.
It's no so much that I want these to be free, it's the fact that this system..aside from the stacking of auras is a step backward from what we were offered for free in other,less moneygrubbing MMO's.
Personally I love the stacking idea. I don't see how something like that, which I have never seen before, can be a step back. I do see it as a step forward. The only thing I want is a fair price. Like costumes, IMO they are fairly priced. Vehicles and catalysts are an example of unfairly priced items.
But it is a holiday weekend. I do believe we should give them time to present how it will be given or sold to do us, cause so far they have completely ignored us on costs, so perhaps numbers are not set yet.
Personally I love the stacking idea. I don't see how something like that, which I have never seen before, can be a step back. I do see it as a step forward. The only thing I want is a fair price. Like costumes, IMO they are fairly priced. Vehicles and catalysts are an example of unfairly priced items.
But it is a holiday weekend. I do believe we should give them time to present how it will be given or sold to do us, cause so far they have completely ignored us on costs, so perhaps numbers are not set yet.
I like the idea of stacking as well, but the nature of the aura system is the step backward. In that other game these were called costume auras because they were tied to your costume. Which of course allowed nearly every part of your character to have an aura attatched to it. Did it allow stacking? No, but it did allow great things like Firey eyes, flame hair, plants and flowers to spring from the path you walked and other great things of that nature. THIS just allows you to turn on toggle and power framework effects without having to take the powers themselves, and for a cost.
I don't think the system is badly implemented. The only aspect of it I really don't like is the pricing, but we'll see whether they listened to us or not. Questionite controversy and UI oddities aside, it's almost ready for primetime.
I don't think the system is badly implemented. The only aspect of it I really don't like is the pricing, but we'll see whether they listened to us or not. Questionite controversy and UI oddities aside, it's almost ready for primetime.
Not at all, I need my lightning eyes first darnit.
So... They cost the same as a travel power, which actually serves a purpose in game and has a noticeable benefit, but only unlock for one character? And existing auras have been totally turned off, so I'll need to buy a new aura every time I retcon into a new passive or theme?
I've been anticipating this release for months now. Over a year, even.
With one bad decision, you lost me. I've got 14 level 40s, 5 or 6 of which I swap between as main characters. 4 of those I change themes on willy nilly.
I *refuse* to farm 200kQ for an item that only works on one character, if it's not going to add directly to my game numbers. It was hard enough legitimizing to myself getting 3 pieces of vigilante gear for Chernobyl, and I *still* can't bring myself to dump the money to finish up my set of travel powers.
I 100% agree with kenpo, the prices should better reflect the cost of the cyberpunk pieces, or something similar. This is functionality that's being taken away from us, in some cases. You can make the token unlocks character bound, if you want, but the q-store stuff? 50 different kinds of bs to expect us to pay that much for that little, especially when we can't buy em and trade em to other people. I'd be cool with it if I could at least buy one off auction house or something.
In game, I am @EvilTaco. Happily killing purple gang members since May 2008. RIP Caine
As i have said, I find the lack of a response on Cryptic's side (about the Q pricing) insulting. I want to believe that the prices are simple place holders, but no one has given us a reason to believe that is the case anymore.
chalupaoffury, I felt the exact same way. I have waited for auras since they were first brought up in the UNTIL REPORT, but I am less excited now.
I will however at least give them credit. The non-legacy Auras look really good. So they are putting out content I would gladly pay for, but with the way they are handling legacy auras I don't think I will touch them for a while. Unless they finally speak up about that darn Q pricing.
The pricing controversy is most definitely not going to blow over. I think they've definitely picked up on the sentiment between this and the other two feedback threads. Hopefully, they'll address our concerns and either make them account unlocks, lower the cost, or both.
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I'd much rather they take their time and do it right, think it out clearly and fully, work out all kinks and player related issues with it rather than rushing it to market to make a quick buck. This system seems a little lazy in some ways, like they took the easiest route. I could understand if it was PART of a large content issue, cutting corners here and there so that they could get all things done on time (like how STO and NW usually release big content packages with missions, zones, enemy groups, revamped or expanded content, sometimes things are still a little under done but with so much going on it's a little understandable), but we're talking about a stand alone content that's not part of a future issue.
I'll just say this, if they want to handle it sort of lazy as items in slots, I can live with it sure, but making me repay for aura's from powers in power sets I've already paid for, making these items bind to one character at a time with a cost to match something like the travel powers or becomes (which actually DO something useful and all characters can use) even though it's basically just a costume item, and then charging us real money per slot (in combat and perma as a pair but you'd still have to buy into it 3 times to get it all) PER character is just....I'm honestly running out of things to call it without getting insulting. It's just plain....terrible. This is like first draft idea, as in, only worked out in a meeting and then better judgement keeps you from implementing it and making you look bad, rather than something you put out there and let us SEE you could think it was a good idea.
Also I don't think it's worth mentioning how doing something else would encounter bugs, they couldn't even unlock vet rewards for LTS's without bugging that up and the game already had code for unlocking them. This current idea will likely encounter some bugs of it's own, so it doesn't really matter on that front.
For the record, I love your set up idea for putting them in the costume creator, thank you for sharing that.
Build specific is not too bad, as i can have a change-build keybind to swap the costume and also turn off the auras so Radioactive Cosmonaut, Professor Ant Head, the Scarlet Pippistrelle will all need some re-binding but will still have transforms.. it will cut down on things though, currently i have 5 sets of transformation binds on one character as an example, that's 12 different costumes on 5 variations of the character(i filled the whole numpad and still needed more keybinds!), it'll take some doing to get them all organised between build-changes and costume changes (especially as a build change triggers the costume change cooldown) but at least it is do-able. Now i just need the Infernal aura i use on Radioactive Cosmonaut to be added to the Aura list so he can look radioactive while riding his grav bike.
Oh... and it means that Professor Ant Head will need to go freeform too.
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EVERY CHARACTER PAST, PRESENT, OR FUTURE GETS ONE LEGACY AURA (the effects on your Passives right now on Live) ABSOLUTELY FREE.
So the only way you're 'losing effects' is if you have more than one Passive (which is a tiny percentage of the population as frankly it's a waste of points), or if you Retcon your Freeform character (which yes, can be an issue).
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I don't know how feasible it would be, but perhaps a retcon could come with some form of Aura exchange token, or some way to exchange one for another just in the case of a full retcon.
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Honestly, if we were talking about big and fully fleshed out system, with loads of NEW aura effects right from the get go, I could see your point, but taking something we've already had to make us buy it back to make a quick buck is crazy, especially at these prices when the only other things at that level of price are actually useful and have an impact on combat and game play, not just visual effects.
Yes, this is very underhanded when it actually happens.
Anyway, this is on PTS for a reason I imagine. It's hopefully not final so everyone get your thoughts out there. Just try to be accurate with some of it. There's a ton of inaccuracies and hyperbole in this threaded clouding over the actual feedback.
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1. They're too expensive
2. They're character bound, so no account unlocks.
Please change one or the other.
A. If they're going to be expensive (200,000 Questionite each), then at least make them account wide unlocks.
B. If they're going to be character bound at least make them worth 11,000 questionite each.
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Agreed. If I had to guess, I'd think the 200,000 Q price was using the travel power skins as a pricing precedent. Well...devs those are account wide for that high price.
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I disagree.
This is your opinion of it that is separate from the reality of it for me and a few others judging by the comments in this thread and other places. My characters are single passive characters and when I retcon I generally swap powers around but I can only think of maybe 3 occasions out of hundreds of retcons where I've changed a passive (Lightning Reflexes to Quarry in all 3 of those). So, for me, they are taking exactly nothing from me. I get a token on every character to immediately put my aura back on...or swap to a new aura if I want. When I make a new character, I get one free aura at character creation just like I do now only this time it'll be any aura and not the one that was tied to the passive. I lose nothing but gain options I didn't have before.
Also, often times PTS is not what they want to implement. There have been too many times where they have directly stated that what is on PTS is what they have to show currently but it is not the final plan. Only need to go back as far as the Kenina and Frosticus rampage for one of several examples of this.
So yes, comments of what the plan is and stuff being unilaterally taken away to be sold back are a bit of hyperbole. That said, I don't like the prices for something that is to be character bound.
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For 200kQ I am not expecting "Legacy Fire Form Aura" I am expecting "Legacy Fire Form: Aura", "Legacy Fire Form: Hands", "Legacy Fire Form: Head", "Legacy Fire Form: Feet", "Legacy Fire Form: Torso", AND them to either be account bound of Mutli-claim. Honestly, Multi-Claim would be the best option for me IMO. Let's just skip the account bound option altogether and go Multi-Claim on the Q-Store and Z-Store options. Drops, on the other hand, would be lovely if they were Multi-Claim like a costume unlock but I could see those just beeing, "You got one, you got ONE."
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However, I hadn't thought of that, and I agree with you. If it was a SET of aura pieces (hands, feet, chest, aura, and head) then I could actually see paying that much for that. If they made them a set, even if they weren't account bound, then I could stand by a 200,000 Q price tag.
I think people would probably just create a character, claim the unlock, delete the character, rinse and repeat endlessly and completely bypass any need to purchase secondary, tertiary, etc auras if they were account wide unlocks.
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The introduction of more friction to existing customizable content is not a smart move when that's all that is left...then you'll have even less people doing it. If this was actually new content and it required cash then it would be fine.
Agreed with Cross that there is a pricepoint in terms of questionite where customization does not mean handing over cash, but rather farming some extra Q. Which is better. Still makes me feel like cattle being prepped for an epic milking, but it could be worse.
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Even this shouldn't be a problem honestly considering how this has already been used for a long time with nothing done about it. People already do this for farming the costume change tokens and for safequard catalysts.
But even besides how this is already done with other things (as someone will surely point it that just because it's done doesn't mean it's right), the situation currently is that something that we didn't already have (Q store travel powers) runs around 200,000Q and are account wide unlocks. Now, for people who actually retcon passives or use more than one, the current system on PTS is taking something that they did already have away from them, slapping the same 200,000Q price tag on it, and making it per character to add more insult to injury. It currently looks like another example of a previous precedent being abandoned for no rhyme or reason and not to the players' benefit in all cases.
One of the things the devs kept telling me when I mentioned things about the legacy auras was "Well the legacy auras aren't the focus of the system". My thoughts. Does it matter if it's not the focus of the system? No, it doesn't matter if it's not the devs focus of the system because the fact is the very first use of the system most players will likely encounter is going to be to get back the aura(s) they already had. That should theoretically be as painless as possible and if it negatively affects even a small portion of the playerbase it's worth looking into other alternatives to not screw any characters over. 200,000Q is not some insignificant amount for things that are account bound. For things that are per character? That's ridiculous.
As it stands though, let's get a bit more objective and a bit less subjective:
200,000Q - travel power - has an actual function in game mechanics - account wide
200,000Q - Aura - has no actual "function", it's a costume piece - character bound.
The value is arbitrary at best and that is an issue. Something more comparable to auras are the Q store costume pieces like the cyberpunk set and those aren't anywhere near 200,000Q expensive per piece and they are account wide as well. The pricing needs to be adjusted and legacy stuff needs to be account wide since that's how it functioned during its legacy.
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^^^
^^
^ This.
I have exactly ONE character making any sense with an aura effect and it's a one from the power flight TP.
I'll be more than happy having option for getting rid of all aura effects from the rest of my characters. And. Never. Ever. See. It. Again. On. My. Toons.
Will a hero's auras be affecting pets and team members? When I tried auras on my pet hero the pets did not have the aura. It would be kind of a relief not having 4 pets and 5 team members all with glowing green hands from AoED.
Same here, I will propably WON'T use this Feature at all and I will stick with the Legacy Auras my Toons has been using until now!
Nothing against this new system, I just DON'T need VANITY stuff for my characters, especially since they will cost tons of Questionite! HECK I have Unlocked and Bought SO MANY RARE Pre-Alert and Alert costume unlocks but I never Use them
I'm not Exhibitionist about my character's costumes and not into Vanity stuff! Except if the Aura I want is PERFECT for my character concept
I'm glad that it will exist and power to the people who will Abuse it... I mean USE this Feature! :biggrin: (better set the Visual FX Quality to Low...) the last thing I want is to LAG in Gravitar...
(Lag and Colorful mess will be assumed >_>)
so yeah... There is that..
I am thinking about that too! AoED had one of the COOLEST Party effects in this game, it will be a shame to see it gone!
The visual effect is gone from the party. But the effect of the Aura (like AOED) remains. So the rest of the party will get the boost, just no visual effect.
Which is why, if they were account unlocks, they would most likely give out one free unlock per account. just like hideouts.
Auras in a superhero game are not. But, the process could be mishandled.
We will have to wait and see.
Besides, what's the point of vehicles if you can achieve the same result with jet boots/a jetpack and the minigun/gatling gun?
Batman had a car, and both Wonder Woman and the X-Men had stealth jets. It wasn't a bad idea, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
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Well, we could have this when Christmas starts.
....oh, wait....
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Champions has fallen a long way and this system further compounds the issue. If someone is to pay a subscription they should see far less Micro transactions.
I agree. I find this system cumbersome,lackluster, and rather uninteresting visually. Not to mention that OTHER Cryptic MMO made years ago had a much better, and completely free aura system implemented nearly ten years ago now.
I was rather hopeful that was what we were getting here thanks in part to the eye auras that were added some time back from the AT grabbags.
But this? Completely disappointed. It's just existing toggle effects I get for free otherwise that I have to PAY FOR or grind for to gain.
CO needs money. These auras(the new ones) will get my money.
Personally I love the stacking idea. I don't see how something like that, which I have never seen before, can be a step back. I do see it as a step forward. The only thing I want is a fair price. Like costumes, IMO they are fairly priced. Vehicles and catalysts are an example of unfairly priced items.
But it is a holiday weekend. I do believe we should give them time to present how it will be given or sold to do us, cause so far they have completely ignored us on costs, so perhaps numbers are not set yet.
I like the idea of stacking as well, but the nature of the aura system is the step backward. In that other game these were called costume auras because they were tied to your costume. Which of course allowed nearly every part of your character to have an aura attatched to it. Did it allow stacking? No, but it did allow great things like Firey eyes, flame hair, plants and flowers to spring from the path you walked and other great things of that nature. THIS just allows you to turn on toggle and power framework effects without having to take the powers themselves, and for a cost.
Not at all, I need my lightning eyes first darnit.
I've been anticipating this release for months now. Over a year, even.
With one bad decision, you lost me. I've got 14 level 40s, 5 or 6 of which I swap between as main characters. 4 of those I change themes on willy nilly.
I *refuse* to farm 200kQ for an item that only works on one character, if it's not going to add directly to my game numbers. It was hard enough legitimizing to myself getting 3 pieces of vigilante gear for Chernobyl, and I *still* can't bring myself to dump the money to finish up my set of travel powers.
I 100% agree with kenpo, the prices should better reflect the cost of the cyberpunk pieces, or something similar. This is functionality that's being taken away from us, in some cases. You can make the token unlocks character bound, if you want, but the q-store stuff? 50 different kinds of bs to expect us to pay that much for that little, especially when we can't buy em and trade em to other people. I'd be cool with it if I could at least buy one off auction house or something.
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chalupaoffury, I felt the exact same way. I have waited for auras since they were first brought up in the UNTIL REPORT, but I am less excited now.
I will however at least give them credit. The non-legacy Auras look really good. So they are putting out content I would gladly pay for, but with the way they are handling legacy auras I don't think I will touch them for a while. Unless they finally speak up about that darn Q pricing.