General Consensus: What level is OK to do alerts?

kenpojujitsu3 · January 2013

OK, double XP and it's a weekend. Goes without saying for those that know me but those that don't know (and possibly don't care) I plan to be leveling alts this weekend while Double XP is active and I'll be mixing alerts into my questing...well...I'll be mixing in Soul Siphon and Dockside Dustup. The rest can *CENSORED*

So what level is OK to start alerting without having to press O and watch names I know bail at the sight of my mighty lowbie furiously attacking with righteous fists and thundering kicks?

fudgemonsta · January 2013

15?

If you got a decent team I'd say as low as 10.

But 15 is good cause you have your SS's for your gear (Which I assume you are wearing. Nemi or Q gear works.) as well as a selection of powers.

15 is easy to get to. Maybe an hour or two of quests? Easy.

jonesing4 · January 2013

kenpojujitsu3 wrote: »

OK, double XP and it's a weekend. Goes without saying for those that know me but those that don't know (and possibly don't care) I plan to be leveling alts this weekend while Double XP is active and I'll be mixing alerts into my questing...well...I'll be mixing in Soul Siphon and Dockside Dustup. The rest can *CENSORED*

So what level is OK to start alerting without having to press O and watch names I know bail at the sight of my mighty lowbie furiously attacking with righteous fists and thundering kicks?

Haha, great question. Let's see if we can get a concensus here. I'd say alot depends on the build (and the player). If you don't mind retconning down the way (and the boredom of playing the exact same character for low-levels every time), I think the Electric Bolt, Lightning Arc, Ionic Reverb, Invulnerability, Conviction route can give pretty good contributions to Alerts (and stay alive) by lvl. 8-11.

decorumfriends · January 2013

Rookie view: I was told 15, and when I was I went into my first one and no one bailed. We failed on the timer, but I tried another and we got it. Both were those "Recruiting Drive" ones, though. I chose those because I'd read the strategy on the boards and they seemed pretty easy to start out with. I haven't tried either of the ones you mention yet, so I don't know if people want higher there or not.

smoochan · January 2013

My vote: Level 6.

thalast1 · January 2013

It is ok to do alerts as soon as they come available to a character!

Last time I checkd, thats right after the tutorial.

vitalityprime · January 2013

I honestly have no problem with level 6's being there.

If we happen to fail...so what...it's only about 3 mins of gametime "wasted".

crypticbuxom · January 2013

I've seen alerts fail with a team full of 20s. Just make sure the PUGs use powers other than EBs.

xcaligax · January 2013

39!!!!!!!

visionstorm01 · January 2013

xcaligax wrote: »

39!!!!!!!

I was gonna say 41 but if you absolutely MUST do them I guess lv39 will do :biggrin:

towershield · January 2013

I'd say 11 is a decent starting point. That's when ATs get their passive and start to see performance increases.

bwdares · January 2013

if I am just leveling for the sake of leveling I got right out of the powerhouse. Though I just use Lightning Arc. Doesnt matter about the theme, I will retcon when they are 40.

canadascott · January 2013

Here's what I'd *recommend". Some builds, of course, can do these sooner, others may want to hold off. Obviously, I expect robust disagreement on some:

Burst Alerts:
Radiation Rumble: 11
Pyramid: 17

Grab Alerts: 17

For Smashes:
Soul Siphon: 11
Dockside Black Fang/Guy Sweetland: 14
Dockside (other): 17
Recruiting Drive: 17
Trainstopping: 21

Special Alerts:
GRAB: 21
Green Dragon: 21
Red Winter: 25
Hi Pan: 30
Warlord: 40

ariesmajor · January 2013

Depending on what skills you have and if you have a dps maintain and a stacking passive, you can pull off better numbers than some 30s with a lvl 8

biffsmackwell · January 2013

smoochan wrote: »

My vote: Level 6.

thalast1 wrote: »

It is ok to do alerts as soon as they come available to a character!

Last time I checkd, thats right after the tutorial.

Yep. I've gotten to the "who gives a crap" stage. I've won as level 6, I've lost with a team of 30s... Who cares, 20 minutes in and you're already level 15.

Especially if you've got the Nemesis gear, and you're a person who knows what they're doing (as Kenpo is), I wouldn't sweat it. Just get in there and punch.

Also, ask some friends to carry you. :P

rapierwhip · January 2013

i gotta agree with Smack here. Kenpo, you know what you are doing, both with how to deal and how to avoid damage, so go for it. If anyone bails when they see a low level beside your name, they are a fool.

flyingfinn · January 2013

As soon as you can get in.
Devs don't care why should we.
It's 2 minutes at most and you can tell early if it's gonna fudge up or not. If it's gonna fudge up, just use Teleport To Ren Center device and queue to another. That's what i do. Or somethimes in BadZergRuuush i just sit at the building roof and eat popcorn.

kamokami · January 2013

15 seems right, but if you know what you're doing then you'll be more effective than many of the 15s out there. Plus it doesn't take that long to get there. Q with a friend or two and you're done.

roughbearmattach · January 2013

Depends on the Alert, but 11 or 15, generally.

Radiation Rumble: any level, since the alert is autowin

Grab Missions: level 11, since they are untimed, but lower level just gets smacked around mercilessly

Pyramid Power: level 11, since it is untimed, but lower level just gets smacked around mercilessly

Other Smash Alerts: level 15, so you have all superstats and can take good advantage of gear, otherwise, your toon doesn't do enough in the timed alert

Special Alerts: varies--level 11 or 15 for Hi Pan, level 15 for GRAB, level 20 for Harmon Labs, level 15 or 20 maybe for Red Winter

roughbearmattach · January 2013

flyingfinn wrote: »

It's 2 minutes at most and you can tell early if it's gonna fudge up or not. If it's gonna fudge up, just use Teleport To Ren Center device and queue to another. That's what i do. Or somethimes in BadZergRuuush i just sit at the building roof and eat popcorn.

I wish more folks realized that there is no need to be in Ren Cen for any part of alerts. You can join and pick up rewards anywhere in game from Socrates button on your minimap.

When I didn't know this, I spent tons of time hanging around Ren Cen. Now, I go and do missions in Canada, Desert, or Monster Isle while doing alerts.

kharma23 · January 2013

For myself, level 15.

I usually try to make it through West Side even though I want to scream every time I start a new toon and HAVE to do those missions again

bloodx13 · January 2013

I personally would use the tier 2 pvp standard of not entering until you are level 16 that way you have your superstats and enough powers etc.. to be of assistance pending you have heirloom gear and what not but seeing as its you I would assume you do.

ashensnow · January 2013

smoochan wrote: »

My vote: Level 6.

Seconded.

Play at the level you desire.

serendipitynow · January 2013

15 with an AT
10 with a freeform

Just go do kodiak till poe, with xp boost youll be 10 or maybe 11 doing that, and only takes 20 mins tops if you know what youre doing, about as fast as smashes accounting for fails, and everyones a winner!

haleakala · January 2013

shieldtower wrote: »

I'd say 11 is a decent starting point. That's when ATs get their passive and start to see performance increases.

Gee, and I thought AT's got their passive at level 8...

My personal threshold is 20, but I do not want to enforce my preference for myself on anyone else.

jonsills · January 2013

ashensnow wrote: »

Seconded.

Play at the level you desire.

This. I usually wait until I have at least one AoE attack; depending on the AT ('cause I'm Silver right now) that can be anywhere from 6 to 11. (Both Unleashed and Devastator get an AoE as their #2 attack - sure, it's zero range, but that just means you have to get up in the bad guys' faces first.)

Some people aren't comfortable until later. Some people never really learn to contribute no matter how far they level. (Oh, and the idea that a 6 "can't contribute" is bull - every HP pulled off by a lowbie brings the target one point closer to defeat.)

One word of advice, although not hard-and-fast instruction - if you are low, you might want to focus on the minions first, at least in a Trainstopping or Dockside Dustup Smash (my personal favorites). That frees the top dogs in your Alert to target the Big Bad. And if they're hitting the Big Bad with AoEs, try to kite those minions over to their boss...

agentnx5 · January 2013

vitalityprime wrote: »

I honestly have no problem with level 6's being there.

If we happen to fail...so what...it's only about 3 mins of gametime "wasted".

And 3 min more... And 3 min more... and more... and more... Your logic is foolish and weak, Vitalityprime. If you're going to think that way, you owe a lot of players a lot of their wasted time back, eh?

Allowing access at any level is what Cryptic has opted for though. So you're best off not doing Alerts and encouraging newbies to do mission arcs and adventure packs instead.

Current reality:

minimum level 35 for Gravitar
any level can join the other alerts
the queue system is random
people's time gets routinely wasted

What it should be:

minimum level 35 for Gravitar
ALL alert enemies EXCEPT the boss use the "deadly" rank (like the Blood Moon zombies) which scales to your level
NO sidekicking, period. The boss is a level 30 Legendary. Getting your **** kicked? Then hide behind the high-level on the team. Let the boss killing you be your lesson for entering at too low a level, just like how MMORPGs have been doing for decades now. Common sense that you don't charge at something that many levels above you, and when you get high level enough to stomp the foe that use to maul you, that feels really good. You feel like you grew stronger & accomplished something that used to be impossible.
the matchmaking system tries to pull in people from different roles (Tank, Support, Ranged DPS, Melee DPS, Hybrid)
the matchmaking system tries to match the average level for the team as close to 30 as possible (i.e.: if there's two level 40's teamed up it grabs the two level 6's)

wimpazoid · January 2013

General, Major, and Colonel Consensus have nothing on me. I don't care what level one joins an alert.

But if that player simply stands at the spawn point, I will either bail when I just want to complete an alert fast, or when I'm doing them for fun, set my hero to follow the leecher. His participation will then determine my participation and if we win or fail.

biffsmackwell · January 2013

agentnx5 wrote: »

And 3 min more... And 3 min more... and more... and more... Your logic is foolish and weak, Vitalityprime. If you're going to think that way, you owe a lot of players a lot of their wasted time back, eh?

Allowing access at any level is what Cryptic has opted for though. So you're best off not doing Alerts and encouraging newbies to do mission arcs and adventure packs instead.

I have a foolproof way of ensuring a much higher success rate in alerts.

"Hey guys, anyone wanna run a few Smashes?"

If you're scared of level 6 characters ruining your alerts, try that. Not even considering that as an option? I think that's kinda foolish and weak.

Honestly, if you have one or two friends that know what they're doing, you almost can't lose.

I don't feel like I owe anyone any time if I'm level 6 in an alert and we lose. All those people that lost along with me had the option to team up beforehand.

itsbrou · January 2013

The game encourages players to queue for alerts as soon as they leave the tutorial.

Who are we to impose otherwise?

serendipitynow · January 2013

The game encourages players to queue for alerts as soon as they leave the tutorial.

Who are we to impose otherwise?

The game also lets you join an alert and stand at spawn in doing nothing.

Just because the game allows it doesnt mean its a good idea.

bioshrike · January 2013

serendipitynow wrote: »

The game also lets you join an alert and stand at spawn in doing nothing.

Just because the game allows it doesnt mean its a good idea.

I'll take that one step further - the game gives you a popup to teleport to Kodiak - why aren't people using it? It also involves less clicks than joining an alert, yet people seem to be glossing it over...

lovehammer1 · January 2013

16! Thats seems to be the magic #! You should have what you need to get bye for a while in alerts at that lvl. But, if others wish to play before that? It should have an auto-default between 6-15 allowing those levels to join together, yet dropping the overall difficulty.

I think less crying and hating on very low level players would occur, IMHO.

itsbrou · January 2013

serendipitynow wrote: »

The game also lets you join an alert and stand at spawn in doing nothing.

Just because the game allows it doesnt mean its a good idea.

On the last page of the On Alert popup window, it says "Queue for alerts," but does not say "stand at the spawn doing nothing."

towershield · January 2013

haleakala wrote: »

Gee, and I thought AT's got their passive at level 8...

My personal threshold is 20, but I do not want to enforce my preference for myself on anyone else.

Gee, you glossed over the "and start to see performance increases" part...
Passive + levels + gained talents = performance increase.

ashensnow · January 2013

jonsills wrote: »

One word of advice, although not hard-and-fast instruction - if you are low, you might want to focus on the minions first, at least in a Trainstopping or Dockside Dustup Smash (my personal favorites). That frees the top dogs in your Alert to target the Big Bad. And if they're hitting the Big Bad with AoEs, try to kite those minions over to their boss...

This is what team play should be (IMO). Everyone trying to find a way to contribute. That bit about kiting foes into other players' AOE is great. It shows battlefield awareness and interplayer synergistic play.

serendipitynow wrote: »

The game also lets you join an alert and stand at spawn in doing nothing.

Just because the game allows it doesnt mean its a good idea.

There is a pretty big difference between the game specifically encouraging or directing you to do something, and a lack of a game mechanic to prevent those players intent on abuse from abusing a system.

rapierwhip · January 2013

biffsmackwell wrote: »

I have a foolproof way of ensuring a much higher success rate in alerts.

"Hey guys, anyone wanna run a few Smashes?"

If you're scared of level 6 characters ruining your alerts, try that. Not even considering that as an option? I think that's kinda foolish and weak.

Honestly, if you have one or two friends that know what they're doing, you almost can't lose.

I don't feel like I owe anyone any time if I'm level 6 in an alert and we lose. All those people that lost along with me had the option to team up beforehand.

Still looking for that "Like" button.

gtw891 · January 2013

For me some alerts I (successfully) regularly run 7+ in. In others like Nemesis I run 15+ toons in, And for a select few (like the snake head guy) I wont enter unless I have at leas a 30+.

In short it depends on the alert villain.

honestresearcher · January 2013

Wish ppl would play content, not 'watch a freeform do everything for me and complain about everyone else when i lose constantly because i dont choose powers and am still hrre at level 34 with only my powerbuilder'

Limit them per day to X smashes or increase the level needed to enter to around 25. Before the anti-snake-party blow their mouths again, getting to level 25 does NOT take long.

Those people over level 32 using only Eldritch Blast or Defensive combo should be ashamed. Theres just too many ppl running crap like powerbuilder or junk tier 1/0s.

I will not be nice :P going into smashes all the time where im always the one doing everything IS REALLY FREAKING AGGRIVATING.

I run AoED on all my toons leveling up to ATTEMPT to make all this high population of hopelessness a little more useful..

Feel free to flame now, i know a good plenty of you who feel the same anyway.

biffsmackwell · January 2013

honestresearcher wrote: »

Wish ppl would play content, not 'watch a freeform do everything for me and complain about everyone else when i lose constantly because i dont choose powers and am still hrre at level 34 with only my powerbuilder'

Limit them per day to X smashes or increase the level needed to enter to around 25. Before the anti-snake-party blow their mouths again, getting to level 25 does NOT take long.

Those people over level 32 using only Eldritch Blast or Defensive combo should be ashamed. Theres just too many ppl running crap like powerbuilder or junk tier 1/0s.

I will not be nice :P going into smashes all the time where im always the one doing everything IS REALLY FREAKING AGGRIVATING.

I run AoED on all my toons leveling up to ATTEMPT to make all this high population of hopelessness a little more useful..

Feel free to flame now, i know a good plenty of you who feel the same anyway.

Based on that little picture in your signature, you're already doing everything. Why complain?

draogn · January 2013

bioshrike wrote: »

I'll take that one step further - the game gives you a popup to teleport to Kodiak - why aren't people using it? It also involves less clicks than joining an alert, yet people seem to be glossing it over...

Probably because alerts are more convenient and faster, and in some cases people are tired of doing the same linear quest lines after doing them 10+ times.

honestresearcher · January 2013

biffsmackwell wrote: »

Based on that little picture in your signature, you're already doing everything. Why complain?

Because i wish i could queue for a freeform-only version of alerts or something.
The people in alerts cause braincells to be lost. I wish they would help themselves instead of rely on someone else.

Makes me want to go in alone cos im tired of goimg into alerts where people are so bad...i mean SOOOOO bad they ask crap like 'how do i walk?'

I dont like leveling up other people who cant level themselves.

theravenforce · January 2013

With all the lowbie bashing I suffered when I went into an alert which failed, because as a level 10 Radiant AT it was MY FAULT because I didnt follow the DPS into oblivion and heal him...As a result I've sort of opted to stay out of ALL and any Alerts till I am at least level 20. HOWEVER..for me it really depends on the character;

- If it is a low damage character but can heal, I stay out of alerts until I have some decent attack power.

- If it is quite high damage, then I go all out and join alerts at around level 10-15

I've also had experience of being on a team with 4 leechers...now that isnt fun..

But I do agree that you should join alerts whenever the hell you want.

Which is why once I come back from my kickboxing lesson, I'mma jump into an alert with some friends on my level 9!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BREAKING THE MOLD FTW!!!:biggrin:

theravenforce · January 2013

honestresearcher wrote: »

Wish ppl would play content, not 'watch a freeform do everything for me and complain about everyone else when i lose constantly because i dont choose powers and am still hrre at level 34 with only my powerbuilder'

Limit them per day to X smashes or increase the level needed to enter to around 25. Before the anti-snake-party blow their mouths again, getting to level 25 does NOT take long.

Those people over level 32 using only Eldritch Blast or Defensive combo should be ashamed. Theres just too many ppl running crap like powerbuilder or junk tier 1/0s.

I will not be nice :P going into smashes all the time where im always the one doing everything IS REALLY FREAKING AGGRIVATING.

I run AoED on all my toons leveling up to ATTEMPT to make all this high population of hopelessness a little more useful..

Feel free to flame now, i know a good plenty of you who feel the same anyway.

^Kinda harsh actually...I enjoy helping people in Alerts with my level 40, DPS/Tanks/Support chars. If they can't be bothered to use anything but their EB, then so what? It's still damage, annoyingly small but 2GM maintains and Epidemic + well every other source of damage (yes even the small amount of telepathy we have) IS still damage, that wouldnt be there if they sat and leeched...

In most instances, where I am with level 6s, I use my teleiosaurus + tech pets build, they make up for any lack of DPS on the level 6's part and we dont fail.

As long as I am not busy, I'm free to help. But that's just theravenforce for ya

Regarding highlighted: So...we want more players and the best way to do this is...to limit how much their toons can do per day? I'd say that was borderline mad or super counterproductive. I understand the frustration, but limiting them is not the answer...the answer is to bring moar DPS on your part as well as their own, if it can't be done then...you've at best wasted 3 mins of in game time...that could have been spent..travelling to a mission, standing idly in Ren Cen...etc

As a fan of content I like being able to run missions along with Alerts as they suppliment the missions. Since I RP alot, I only do alerts when I am itching to break to level 40, or it fits what is going on, or I need to go kill some VIPER with my PFF toon >:)

honestresearcher · January 2013

I know im harshe but hey, if i wasnt who would have the nuts to just say it?

Yeah i know how you feel going into a match with 4 leechers...but ya see it feels like im in that match EVERY TIME these days. If i dont remove 2/3 HP bars from the boss, they can never get past 1 bar.

theravenforce · January 2013

honestresearcher wrote: »

I know im harshe but hey, if i wasnt who would have the nuts to just say it?

Yeah i know how you feel going into a match with 4 leechers...but ya see it feels like im in that match EVERY TIME these days. If i dont remove 2/3 HP bars from the boss, they can never get past 1 bar.

Meh, if I have to do most to some of the work, I dont really mind, I get to shoot/zap/blast/slice/punch/kick stuff and I feel that much more heroic lol.

beldin · January 2013

Depends on the build. Personally for doing alerts on low level i prefer a build with

Pulse Beam Rifle
Invuln
Bionic Shielding
DEX and REC as Superstats
Nemesis Gear

With that you do good damage, don't have Energy problems, and also you are not in danger
to die.

So that would be level 10 .. maybe 11 for taking either Overdrive or Concentration.

jonsills · January 2013

honestresearcher wrote: »

I know im harshe but hey, if i wasnt who would have the nuts to just say it?

Yeah i know how you feel going into a match with 4 leechers...but ya see it feels like im in that match EVERY TIME these days. If i dont remove 2/3 HP bars from the boss, they can never get past 1 bar.

I can only conclude that the random PUG concept hates you, because I don't know that I've ever been in an Alert with a leecher. I have been in a couple that failed specifically because one or more players bailed in the mistaken belief that having even one lowbie in the Alert "dooms" them to failure - which, since they took their damage away with them, becomes a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. (Seriously, no matter how good you are, unless you're both 40s a team of 2 is not going to succeed in a Two-Minute Drill against Gigaton. A team of five, however, stands a fair chance, even if one of them is a 9.)

rapierwhip · January 2013

jonsills wrote: »

I can only conclude that the random PUG concept hates you, because I don't know that I've ever been in an Alert with a leecher. I have been in a couple that failed specifically because one or more players bailed in the mistaken belief that having even one lowbie in the Alert "dooms" them to failure - which, since they took their damage away with them, becomes a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. (Seriously, no matter how good you are, unless you're both 40s a team of 2 is not going to succeed in a Two-Minute Drill against Gigaton. A team of five, however, stands a fair chance, even if one of them is a 9.)

Still need that "Like" button...

neuraldamage · January 2013

Ping Forumites or one of your other channels and ask for a premade, then don't worry about what level. There's usually always someone farming alerts who can take a lowbie under their wing and get them leveled, its not like it takes long to become viable with double XP going.

Esp. if you can run during a neme alert.

Personally I never bail on one lowbie, but I've run enough alerts that I can usually tell how it is going to go if multiple lowbies show up on the team, so I may bail then if it looks bad. Or if its a bunch of yahoos who have no clue how to do a Recruitment Drive painlessly.

gtw891 · January 2013

honestresearcher wrote: »

Wish ppl would play content, not 'watch a freeform do everything for me and complain about everyone else when i lose constantly because i dont choose powers and am still hrre at level 34 with only my powerbuilder'.

Actually I do play a lot content (most of it is pretty damn good but I could do with some more mil city stuff). But I also play alerts, mostly when I'm close to leveling.

General Consensus: What level is OK to do alerts?

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