Events and ways to lessen the grind

krailov

I currently have 7 characters (toons) and I know that is not a lot compared to others, but I find the work involved in maintaining and gearing them is exhaustive - to the point where I no longer participate in events like I used to (Call to Arms, the festivals - I have not even started Tales of Old (ToO) or Alliance Season). Partly it is because of the scaling, partly because of the queue's, but mostly because I cannot feel motivated to run (work) through 3 to 10 activities per toon to make the quota (work) so that each toon can have 'the item' or goods - and what if my 'toon of the moment' is no good for the event, or the next mod invalidates that toon? It also leads to toon grinding (work), where I spend all my time circling through each toon just to get the items (Festivals, anyone?).

I understand the balancing act that the Devs must do - everyone wants newer, better, stronger, free stuff - but each such item at the top end throws out the balance of the game. So, there is a grind wall to limit how many are in the game (work), plus make the players value it more(?). Is there a way that I can participate without making it a grind (as much - still have to grind, but limit it to a toon or two per event as desired) and yet keep the game in balance? It needs to have a way of making the effort expended not wasted if things change game-wise, or if my favourite toon has now changed (willingly or not) 6 months later. Yes, we have Heroic Medallions or the ToO and Alliance Seasons, but these are limited to individual toons - I must grind on each one for each one, with the items generally not transferable.

I feel that there are about 3 levels of goods/items:
Low tier (LT) - this is the flavour stuff that is earned - enchantments, runestones, dyes, appearance/food items.
Medium tier (MT) - this is generally worth having, or specifically for the event - fishing rods, blue/green mounts/items, Protectors Garden Key, etc.
High tier (HT or Legendary) - top end stuff - the purple mounts, high end artifacts or equipment, tickets in Saha, etc.

My suggestions:

• Create an Event Currencies section in the bank like Trade Bars and Companion Tokens, and have the ability for toons to save or draw against it. Make the earning of the tokens (or each event currency specific to that event/theme) account wide - they can go into the account pool, that can be spent by any toon. This can be used for LT, MT and HT.
  
• Items are account bound or account unlocked, so that once I have obtained it for one toon, they can all get it.
  
• Have HT and certain MT items need a 'recharge' - if you miss more than two similar events in a row, the magic fades and the item loses its ability to be transferred to another toon - or is possibly even 'lost', so it must be re-earned...
  
• Have the best items (HT or Legendary) be singular per account - but they can be passed from toon to toon. This would limit the 'every toon must have it!' - plain and simple, they cannot. Achieving the item becomes a goal as it is now. To keep it, you need to participate once in a similar activity every 6-12 months, using any toon, and spend a certain amount of event currency to recharge it.
  

Cryptic can still sell the event currency for Zen for those that do not want to grind at all, or to unlock the MT/HT goods for a price. I feel there is no need to change the current drops of the LT, except possibly swapping some of those drops for the event currency. The incentive for us is to still participate, otherwise you do not get currency to spend / keep the better items, but - you get to play the toon you want to play, knowing that the effort you are putting in can be transferred. I understand the last point of a single Legendary item per account will not make some people happy, but really, there can only be one ring to rule them all! Once I have earned it, I play for fun (and to keep it charged/transferable)!

greywynd

Scaling increased the run times to the extent that the events aren't really possible. I have 9 characters in my stable. I ran Dread Vault once on one of them. When the CTA Season started I managed to run all 9 through the weekend's event. That stopped when they dropped M16 just prior to another event. Most of my characters weren't up and able at that point, so I pretty much gave up.

plasticbat

I play 6 mains. I am not exactly playing 6 every day. I just play one at a time until I hit a time gate. Then, I move to next. That depends on how much time I have.

Their mod campaign/quest progress can be:
Day 1: 1,2,3
Day 2: 1,2
Day 3: 1,2,3
Day 4: 1,2,3
...
Day 10: 2,3,4
Day 11: 3,4,5
...
Day 20: 4,5,6
Day 21: 5,6
....

I found that I can casually finish all of them within a mod.
In mod 16, it was perfect because the 6th finished 2 days before mod 17 landed.

For other activities such as CTA, if I have time, I would pick one to play. They all have CTA currency because they keep all their previous earned currencies. I don't have to get something within one event time frame since the reward usually repeats regardless. When there is something new, most likely they have enough currency to buy it in the beginning of the event.