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A Lack of Levelling Gear
magpieuk2014
Posts: 1,268 Arc User
Hello. Back again playing the game after a break and am having fun levelling some Alts. There have been some good additions to the game while I've been away, so +1 for that.
However the Double XP and Defender events have meant I've started a lot of characters, and I can't use Q to equip them all. And I've noticed a distinct lack of levelling gear to be had, especially primary gear.
I know there are ways to get this already but the thing is...
a) Finishing quests - all good but once you get to level 15 or so you get horribly out of sync with the quest givers. I know where these guys are (and keep meaning to build a list for others) but sometimes you just need some gear and find that of the quicker options....
b) UNTIL boxes give primary gear, but these are random drops and frequently have all manner of odd combinations. Strength and Ego Primary Utility, yes please.... (not).
c) The Auction House. There's not much in there. And most of what is there is Adventurous Gear from lootboxes. Adventurous Gear is an OK idea for Level 30+, but at lower levels it is expensive (10g for the item, another 5 for the mods) and not actually very good (R5 mods at level 20 give worse returns than Green standard gear).
So, here's the suggestion.
When a character reaches level 10 and they get sent off to Surhoff for the "Checking In With The Chief" mission, Surhoff gives them a mission to go to the MCPD Armory in Westside.
In there would be a vendor to which goods can be bought/sold, like the Collection Officers - but like Karneekie they also sell stims and heal packs. They also sell a range of MCPD branded Primary /Secondary gear for resources, based on single stats, and perhaps with a slot for the offense/defence mods. This should be decent quality, quest drop stuff, perhaps not the best (Primary +30 per stat at level 10, +1 per level from there, Secondary 1pt per level) but the most relevant in terms of superstats, and an easy way of upgrading for levels 10-15. It would remind/explain to newer players about the importance of improving gear and give other players a quick way of making a definite upgrade for resources, something we've normally got plenty of.
Rinse and repeat for levels 15-20 (PRIMUS gear), 20-25 (Ravenswood gear) and 25-30 (UNTIL gear) at the various RP sites around MC and at the main bases in Canada and the Desert.
After 30 there's no real need, as players have normally caught up with the quest givers when MI and VB are open, and there's plenty of stock in lockboxes or the AH.
This is a quick and cheap fix for the lack of levelling gear, educates new players about gear, reminds people to upgrade along the way, and makes use of relevant RP locations around the map.
I do have an idea about UNITY and post-40 gear, but that's for another time....
However the Double XP and Defender events have meant I've started a lot of characters, and I can't use Q to equip them all. And I've noticed a distinct lack of levelling gear to be had, especially primary gear.
I know there are ways to get this already but the thing is...
a) Finishing quests - all good but once you get to level 15 or so you get horribly out of sync with the quest givers. I know where these guys are (and keep meaning to build a list for others) but sometimes you just need some gear and find that of the quicker options....
b) UNTIL boxes give primary gear, but these are random drops and frequently have all manner of odd combinations. Strength and Ego Primary Utility, yes please.... (not).
c) The Auction House. There's not much in there. And most of what is there is Adventurous Gear from lootboxes. Adventurous Gear is an OK idea for Level 30+, but at lower levels it is expensive (10g for the item, another 5 for the mods) and not actually very good (R5 mods at level 20 give worse returns than Green standard gear).
So, here's the suggestion.
When a character reaches level 10 and they get sent off to Surhoff for the "Checking In With The Chief" mission, Surhoff gives them a mission to go to the MCPD Armory in Westside.
In there would be a vendor to which goods can be bought/sold, like the Collection Officers - but like Karneekie they also sell stims and heal packs. They also sell a range of MCPD branded Primary /Secondary gear for resources, based on single stats, and perhaps with a slot for the offense/defence mods. This should be decent quality, quest drop stuff, perhaps not the best (Primary +30 per stat at level 10, +1 per level from there, Secondary 1pt per level) but the most relevant in terms of superstats, and an easy way of upgrading for levels 10-15. It would remind/explain to newer players about the importance of improving gear and give other players a quick way of making a definite upgrade for resources, something we've normally got plenty of.
Rinse and repeat for levels 15-20 (PRIMUS gear), 20-25 (Ravenswood gear) and 25-30 (UNTIL gear) at the various RP sites around MC and at the main bases in Canada and the Desert.
After 30 there's no real need, as players have normally caught up with the quest givers when MI and VB are open, and there's plenty of stock in lockboxes or the AH.
This is a quick and cheap fix for the lack of levelling gear, educates new players about gear, reminds people to upgrade along the way, and makes use of relevant RP locations around the map.
I do have an idea about UNITY and post-40 gear, but that's for another time....
0
Comments
From my own little experience, I can tell that leveling my 1st character was a terrible experience in all ways. I could mixmatch anything and truely felt like superstrong, and then fell totally and unable to complete a mission (Viper Nest is still my personal nightmare).
There are so many possible combinations and so many numbers that I spent a fortune to retcon and retcon and retcon until I could experience the difference between theory ("oh this attack has nice numbers") and practice ("oh that attack does better").
I'm not going to claim I got everything right but a few things I believe I understand correctly :
- up to lvl20 (when you unlock your 2nd spe tree), all you need is 1 aoe+1 single target attack and 1 heal (on top of your EB, Form, Passive).
- post lvl30, gears and spes start to matter for easy leveling.
I'm doing the Defender event too and combined with the previous event, I'm starting to lvl a freefom. But I was unhappy with a few things and I got a totally different concept. So I retconned her entirely : stats, powers, costumes, everything (except her name) which means all the gears she had were no longer appropriate for her stats or powers.
And yet.
Along 3 lvls, the only gears she had on were heirloom secondaries. No primary offense, nor primary def, nor utility. Just 2nd heirlooms.
For her faster lvling, I switched to hard mode and yet I didn't had any troubles.
Hopefully, my little experience will help you to understand why I don't feel this suggestion.
Not everyone is so fortunate to have that, and lots of Questionite for Armadillo sets, etc.And in any case... it helps resolve an issue of major importance to the game.
One of things I have noticed since I've been away is that Gear and Mods are now properly messed up.
Attempts to provide more options have just resulted in hundreds of different kinds of mod, most of which are not much use. And this stuff drops from Lockboxes - the financial engine of the game.
I come back to play, I buy lockboxes and I think "why did I bother?". I don't mind getting blue Gear boxes for level 40s but there's only so much of that I need - plenty of supply in the AH - and if I don't get a decent costume piece the box seems to contain nothing but trash - substandard Adventurous Gear which doesn't work for low tier characters, Booster Boxes and annoying random dual stat mods (Presence and Endurance enhancement 5, again). So I spend less.
Lots of these trash mods - things like Respite and Hardy - would be quite useful to low level characters, though. However they can't use them because there's a distinct lack of moddable gear to put them in. So I throw them away, and think "I wasted my money".
I do love this game but the population is very low. And allowing these petty economic annoyances to carry on is incomprehensible, because it makes people leave, and it's so easy to fix.
Speaking of economy, this is a point I'm concerned about your suggestion : if missions are giving better gears, the offers in AH would drop down. There would be less choice and at higher price. I don't think it would be a solution.