I think the concept of playing 10-20 min instances like alerts or even rampages while convenient it kills the flow of the story if even there is an actual story. It is the same difference between watching an story arc episode and a filler episode in a tv series.
For instance, where is the introduction to villains like gravitar, fire & ice?
Cybermind 3 instances at least tell a story we can follow.
Rampages are about tokens for justice gear and for some Q farming like other alerts with the difference that players can fail in rampages. However, what is the justice gear for? if rampages themselves are in the top hardest content in this game, then what justice gear prepares me for, that I can't deal using heroic or mercenary gear?
Rampages are about tokens for justice gear and for some Q farming like other alerts with the difference that players can fail in rampages. However, what is the justice gear for? if rampages themselves are in the top hardest content in this game, then what justice gear prepares me for, that I can't deal using heroic or mercenary gear?
I agree with your sentiment. I have a stack of tokens and enough Drifter Salvage to purchase a set of Justice Gear. But I haven't yet. Some of it's alt-itis. And some of it is.. I just don't have any reason to buy the set. There's nothing in the game that really warrants it and I don't see it as that much of a necessity yet.
Perhaps some new content is on the way.. and if that's the case I'll just hold off until I find out. I would hate to purchase and slot that gear up only to find out I could've made a different choice.
I was in it for her costume pieces, which I now have - all from the AH. Given how I find Grav not even slightly fun due to her cheap shots and lockout nonsense, I do not expect I'd ever join in for her again, because I'm not really a top gear-grind sort. Kudos to those who are, but.. not me.
Have you done Grav recently? I ask because you mention the lockout.
Maybe you played when the rampage was first introduced and had some bad luck with pugging. I say this because the players for the most part these days don't get locked out upon defeat. They call for a rez, and there is almost always a rezzer or someone with a become device with rez capability.
Also you don't *need "top gear". Hell you could get by on Merc gear. Lastly if it's an issue of pride and you don't like being deaderized and cascaded and bubbled and such, understand that there are healers and rezzers that enjoy when that happens because it gives them something to do. If you are doing your level best and throwing whatever you can downrange no one will think less of you if you do catch a shot to the chin.
Get yourself a decent supply of servitur serums (see the silver champion recognition vendor, look at the bottom of consumables). They are only 3 recognition points and have 3 charges. They will revive you, but you need to have some powers or consumables to heal you up quick before you get hit again. You start back up with almost no HPs. Don't hit the Recover button, hit the SS in your device tray. Anyone who goes into Gravitar or F&I (or anything with a lockout) should have at least one of these. I'm always chagrined at the number of Lvl 40s in Gravitar who get taken down and moan when there's no rezzer in the group to help them. Folks need to be a little more proactive here. Run a few alerts like Hi-pan; 3 completions gets you enough for 2 SS's. Best investment one can make considering the minimal time involved, the usefulness and doesn't cost any real money.
I was in it for her costume pieces, which I now have - all from the AH. Given how I find Grav not even slightly fun due to her cheap shots and lockout nonsense, I do not expect I'd ever join in for her again, because I'm not really a top gear-grind sort. Kudos to those who are, but.. not me.
I've also encountered servitor serums in the VB quest Winters of Our Discontent (one of the long ones where ya eventually encounter another unnecessary pop culture ref made into an npc). The coffins ya can open in that sometimes have serum, and I think ya can keep resetting it as long as ya never fully complete the quest. They may be found in other places, but that was one I remembered when leveling early on (hope it still works like that now).
Very little can make Rampages appealing after how crappy of a grind it was to get a full set of justice gear. For real. But as a PvPer, I hate having to do any PvE.. was boring enough just to get level 40 4 times (alts.)
While CO encourages having multiple character slots, the grind required for top gear (not even including mods) per character requires WAY MORE time invested than I care to give.
Yep. Exactly what I said. Still, better to give that a try than lie there face in the pavement. One Gravitar run took 3 uses of SS to complete it, but I was still standing at the end.
sounds like she hates one of your characters.
My record still stands at 24 deaths in one Gravitar.(yes, i sat there counting, it wasn't funny at the time but sure was after) The healer just kept ressing me and she kept one shotting me, at least everyone else was safe.
up until I opened my mouth and said "don't go near me, she'll get you."
yep, she got the healer next.
sounds like she hates one of your characters.
My record still stands at 24 deaths in one Gravitar.(yes, i sat there counting, it wasn't funny at the time but sure was after) The healer just kept ressing me and she kept one shotting me, at least everyone else was safe.
up until I opened my mouth and said "don't go near me, she'll get you."
yep, she got the healer next.
the rest of the team finished the alert easily
Maybe the reason the healer rezzed you was so you could take another one for the team to draw fire away from the others
I take this quote from a review that I agree with.
"customisation is so linear; everyone is after the optimal dps:survivability ratio with 0 reliance on other players = autonomous gameplay... Players don't need each other anymore... which in my opinion is a bad thing."
Have you done Grav recently? I ask because you mention the lockout.
Maybe you played when the rampage was first introduced and had some bad luck with pugging. I say this because the players for the most part these days don't get locked out upon defeat. They call for a rez, and there is almost always a rezzer or someone with a become device with rez capability.
Also you don't *need "top gear". Hell you could get by on Merc gear. Lastly if it's an issue of pride and you don't like being deaderized and cascaded and bubbled and such, understand that there are healers and rezzers that enjoy when that happens because it gives them something to do. If you are doing your level best and throwing whatever you can downrange no one will think less of you if you do catch a shot to the chin.
tldr; give the rampage a second chance
Empirical PUG success rates (~50 or so runs so far?):
Gravitar: 90% (time can vary)
UNTIL Sky command: 95%
Lemurian invasion: 100% (but it can't fail)
Fire and Ice: Less than 20% (PQ is 100% so far, but there are wipes)
So no, I don't see the problem with gravitar.
PS The two builds I use are a grav-capable regen tank and AoRP healer/rez/self-rez, so the numbers may be inflated a bit on my part. As for Frosticus ... no I don't have anything for that right now unless I get a dedicated healer.
I'm always a bit surprised that people going into Grav or F&I don't bring along at least 1 Servitor Serum. Free self rez. Sure, you come back pretty weak and can die again from a random attack, but for 3 SCR it's better than just lying there or quitting if there's no rezzer in the group.
It really doesn't help that as a healer you can only see half of your team on the sidebar. If we're gonna have a 10 man rampage, I *really* need all of the life bars to be able to heal effectively. Right now it's willy nilly camera panning and a bit of luck.
In game, I am @EvilTaco. Happily killing purple gang members since May 2008. RIP Caine
I guess all those people were right. Remember the people, when rampages first came out, said "Rampage tokens drop way too frequently, it won't be long before everyone has all the Rampage Gear they need and then the queues will fall into disuse. The drops need to have a lower drop chance."
or alternatively, the people who were spamming them for hours at a time(I think somebody said hey were doing them 9hrs a day for 3 weeks) , have got their gear and stopped.
but 2 pts for a brilliant summation.
I'm always a bit surprised that people going into Grav or F&I don't bring along at least 1 Servitor Serum. Free self rez. Sure, you come back pretty weak and can die again from a random attack, but for 3 SCR it's better than just lying there or quitting if there's no rezzer in the group.
Servitors pretty much guarantee an anti-rez blast as soon as you have 1 hp and still can't act.
This is my Risian Corvette. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
Huh. One of my characters uses servitor serums, and I think I've gone through maybe 20 charges across well over 20 runs, and I can only remember getting "anti-rez blasted" once.
Probably helps that it's on a ranged character with no knock resist, though; I suspect most of the time I actually use a servitor serum, I'm out of range of (at least most) of Gravitar's attacks.
The problem I have with Sky Command isn't that it's too long, it's that it gets tedious. A bit more variety in the waves of attackers would be good, and it should end after you kill the mega destroyer instead of subjecting you to interminable minutes of a lone black talon making repeated futile assaults.
Edit: Or, here's a better idea: the mega destroid respawns when killed, until the timer runs out, gives its full resource drop each time you manage to kill it, and gets a stacking buff each time for more health & damage output. Turn the timer into a source of challenge (how many megadestroids can you kill) instead of a source of boredom.
Here's an idea: what if it's actually Shadow Destroyer making the assault, and sometimes he teleports a bunch of karkadons onto the deck? Give you something different to fight than just more identical destroid robots...
The problem I have with Sky Command isn't that it's too long, it's that it gets tedious. A bit more variety in the waves of attackers would be good, and it should end after you kill the mega destroyer instead of subjecting you to interminable minutes of a lone black talon making repeated futile assaults.
It does seem to be the most hated rampage. I think it needs to be tightened up a ittle to make it flow better.
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!
Totally. And what's crazy is that it's not because it's hard. it's because "go look over here! wait, look over there! wait! look up on top of it! LOL JK THEY'RE BELOW YOU NOW"
It's not hard. It's just eef. Coulda planned that better. I'm not trying to play badminton here.
In game, I am @EvilTaco. Happily killing purple gang members since May 2008. RIP Caine
Totally. And what's crazy is that it's not because it's hard. it's because "go look over here! wait, look over there! wait! look up on top of it! LOL JK THEY'RE BELOW YOU NOW"
It's not hard. It's just eef. Coulda planned that better. I'm not trying to play badminton here.
Indeed the two'ing and fro'ing ( not sure of that spelling ) is just plain awful. The Mega D fight near the end is fun , but the wait after you have done everything is just plain stupid.
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!
Totally. And what's crazy is that it's not because it's hard. it's because "go look over here! wait, look over there! wait! look up on top of it! LOL JK THEY'RE BELOW YOU NOW"
It's not hard. It's just eef. Coulda planned that better. I'm not trying to play badminton here.
Needing to move around in three dimensions is personally my favorite part of that alert. Then again, sometimes I feel like I'm part of a very small minority of players that actually feel that having to move around during encounters is an appropriate game mechanic.
Needing to move around in three dimensions is personally my favorite part of that alert. Then again, sometimes I feel like I'm part of a very small minority of players that actually feel that having to move around during encounters is an appropriate game mechanic.
PWE plans on taking away all movement and have a [ Become someone that can walk ] device put in lock boxes.
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!
Why does Sky Command have to be the Rampage w/ the far worst token drop rate for me? I have about half of them as I do other tokens, and I run the others (save Gravi) quite less.
I wouldn't mind it if, like LI, you could speed up the instance somehow, but nope. Really becomes tedious because of the fixed timer. I think I'd somewhat enjoy it if it weren't for that.
Needing to move around in three dimensions is personally my favorite part of that alert. Then again, sometimes I feel like I'm part of a very small minority of players that actually feel that having to move around during encounters is an appropriate game mechanic.
Wait, you mean you guys don't split into groups of 3-4 to cover each part?
Now that I have a Justice Gear set, I haven't queued for a Rampage in a week.
Just doesn't seem worthwhile now. Q isn't that big a deal since the exchange rate is 350 or 400 to 1 Z.
Now that I have a Justice Gear set, I haven't queued for a Rampage in a week.
Just doesn't seem worthwhile now. Q isn't that big a deal since the exchange rate is 350 or 400 to 1 Z.
It's actually gone under 300 a couple times in the last week or two and would probably stay under it if someone wasn't trying to inflate the exchange rate but, that's a discussion for another thread.
I don't think there is a plot to increase the rate. It has more to do with the release of new lockboxes, I think.
Look at the Sell Zen tab instead of the Buy Zen tab so you can watch the top offers to buy zen and you'll see what I mean. It's something that's been repeated many times now and is impossible to deny once you recognize it.
Comments
SS's changed and gear changed.
also crafting changed.
I only had about 30 characters then and I redid all of them with no problems.
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For instance, where is the introduction to villains like gravitar, fire & ice?
Cybermind 3 instances at least tell a story we can follow.
Rampages are about tokens for justice gear and for some Q farming like other alerts with the difference that players can fail in rampages. However, what is the justice gear for? if rampages themselves are in the top hardest content in this game, then what justice gear prepares me for, that I can't deal using heroic or mercenary gear?
I agree with your sentiment. I have a stack of tokens and enough Drifter Salvage to purchase a set of Justice Gear. But I haven't yet. Some of it's alt-itis. And some of it is.. I just don't have any reason to buy the set. There's nothing in the game that really warrants it and I don't see it as that much of a necessity yet.
Perhaps some new content is on the way.. and if that's the case I'll just hold off until I find out. I would hate to purchase and slot that gear up only to find out I could've made a different choice.
Use justice gear to pvp.
Seems legit to me.
RIP Caine
So I have no reason to queue Gravitar.
She's pretty fast Q up to the 600Q mark.
Have you done Grav recently? I ask because you mention the lockout.
Maybe you played when the rampage was first introduced and had some bad luck with pugging. I say this because the players for the most part these days don't get locked out upon defeat. They call for a rez, and there is almost always a rezzer or someone with a become device with rez capability.
Also you don't *need "top gear". Hell you could get by on Merc gear. Lastly if it's an issue of pride and you don't like being deaderized and cascaded and bubbled and such, understand that there are healers and rezzers that enjoy when that happens because it gives them something to do. If you are doing your level best and throwing whatever you can downrange no one will think less of you if you do catch a shot to the chin.
tldr; give the rampage a second chance
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
While CO encourages having multiple character slots, the grind required for top gear (not even including mods) per character requires WAY MORE time invested than I care to give.
Serums are just asking to eat a Gravitar anti-res-blast-o-doom.
It always comes down to if I can fire off an active defense or full heal before she puts me right back into the dirt within .5 sec of resurrecting.
My record still stands at 24 deaths in one Gravitar.(yes, i sat there counting, it wasn't funny at the time but sure was after) The healer just kept ressing me and she kept one shotting me, at least everyone else was safe.
up until I opened my mouth and said "don't go near me, she'll get you."
yep, she got the healer next.
the rest of the team finished the alert easily
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
Maybe the reason the healer rezzed you was so you could take another one for the team to draw fire away from the others
As I've been replied when in your predicament, the Chosen one.
I take this quote from a review that I agree with.
"customisation is so linear; everyone is after the optimal dps:survivability ratio with 0 reliance on other players = autonomous gameplay... Players don't need each other anymore... which in my opinion is a bad thing."
The wall of dead bards from Dorkness Rising would be an applicable scene for this.
I think it's been a couple weeks since I've been on, though.
Empirical PUG success rates (~50 or so runs so far?):
Gravitar: 90% (time can vary)
UNTIL Sky command: 95%
Lemurian invasion: 100% (but it can't fail)
Fire and Ice: Less than 20% (PQ is 100% so far, but there are wipes)
So no, I don't see the problem with gravitar.
PS The two builds I use are a grav-capable regen tank and AoRP healer/rez/self-rez, so the numbers may be inflated a bit on my part. As for Frosticus ... no I don't have anything for that right now unless I get a dedicated healer.
Private groups are still very active.
Yea I do see you around Brou. Getting back into this game after a 6 month hiatus.
RIP Caine
Guess they showed us!
My super cool CC build and how to use it.
but 2 pts for a brilliant summation.
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
Servitors pretty much guarantee an anti-rez blast as soon as you have 1 hp and still can't act.
Probably helps that it's on a ranged character with no knock resist, though; I suspect most of the time I actually use a servitor serum, I'm out of range of (at least most) of Gravitar's attacks.
Git Gud M8!
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Cause I'm worth it. Playing since 2009.
RIP Caine
It's because it's too long to do. I don't hate it, myself, but I heard a lot of people dn't enjoy being forced to take so long for the reward.
Everytime I run Sky Command, it feels like this when the lovely lady announces there's a problem with the cooling system or engine ....
That's my issue too, which is really ironic, since I want rewards to be harder. Careful what you wish for, I guess.
RIP Caine
Edit: Or, here's a better idea: the mega destroid respawns when killed, until the timer runs out, gives its full resource drop each time you manage to kill it, and gets a stacking buff each time for more health & damage output. Turn the timer into a source of challenge (how many megadestroids can you kill) instead of a source of boredom.
Here's an idea: what if it's actually Shadow Destroyer making the assault, and sometimes he teleports a bunch of karkadons onto the deck? Give you something different to fight than just more identical destroid robots...
It does seem to be the most hated rampage. I think it needs to be tightened up a ittle to make it flow better.
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!
It's not hard. It's just eef. Coulda planned that better. I'm not trying to play badminton here.
RIP Caine
Indeed the two'ing and fro'ing ( not sure of that spelling ) is just plain awful. The Mega D fight near the end is fun , but the wait after you have done everything is just plain stupid.
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!
Needing to move around in three dimensions is personally my favorite part of that alert. Then again, sometimes I feel like I'm part of a very small minority of players that actually feel that having to move around during encounters is an appropriate game mechanic.
My super cool CC build and how to use it.
PWE plans on taking away all movement and have a [ Become someone that can walk ] device put in lock boxes.
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!
I wouldn't mind it if, like LI, you could speed up the instance somehow, but nope. Really becomes tedious because of the fixed timer. I think I'd somewhat enjoy it if it weren't for that.
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
Wait, you mean you guys don't split into groups of 3-4 to cover each part?
I'm only one person o3o
My super cool CC build and how to use it.
You don't use your Voltron separation mode?
Just doesn't seem worthwhile now. Q isn't that big a deal since the exchange rate is 350 or 400 to 1 Z.
Whoever you are, be that person one hundred percent. Don't compromise on your identity.
It's actually gone under 300 a couple times in the last week or two and would probably stay under it if someone wasn't trying to inflate the exchange rate but, that's a discussion for another thread.
Whoever you are, be that person one hundred percent. Don't compromise on your identity.
Look at the Sell Zen tab instead of the Buy Zen tab so you can watch the top offers to buy zen and you'll see what I mean. It's something that's been repeated many times now and is impossible to deny once you recognize it.