I'm not sure how the numbers compare to other stuff. But, I just played a 40 minute foundry mission and earned about 2400 xp. It was called "A Radio Blast in the Past." Upon completing the quest, my reward (in addition to the dil and loot) was 1800ish xp.
I'm not sure what the most plentiful source of xp is (probably a cryptic mission). But, if you're hurting for xp, the foundry might be a viable option if you play the story missions instead of shooting fish in a barrel for the ECs.
If I for example have a mk x Borg Space Set, when this update hits your saying that due to it no longer being available, it would automatically upgrade to the mk XII?
no. You will still have your MK X Set, but its no longer avaible to get. If you loose one item, you will not have the possibility to complete the set again. If you miss pieces, you will never complete the set.
Hopefully, they decide to keep the MK X and XI Stuff, if enough people are complaining.
Well the simplest way to keep us from complaining would be to upgrade all inferior pieces automagically are mk XII, and you can still complete your sets.
they said the reason for not having one mark to rule them all is people will just farm ISE or other easy mission that gets you lots of marks
i'll be honest i know as soon as they did that that's all i would do after one or two runs of the new content i would then grind what is ever easier
Though as it is that's exactly what goes on now anyway in a divided fashion. Which is why almost all of the queues are pretty much dead unless they're a good source of a specific mark. They have some fun decent missions that nobody plays because they aren't very good at making the rewards anything close to equal or equivalent to effort.
Well the simplest way to keep us from complaining would be to upgrade all inferior pieces automagically are mk XII, and you can still complete your sets.
Hear me Devs, fix it please...
But then you'd have everybody who already owns the MK XII versions complaining because these other people would have paid a lot less for their items. :P
Face it, switching them all to the same system the Dyson Rep makes sense in the long run. No more buying three versions of the one set for no reason what so ever.
Join date is wrong, I've actually been around since STO Beta.
True alters don't have a "main". Account wide unlocks for all unique event rewards!!
-I'm fine with mk X and mk XI sets being removed from the rep track. IMHO, those projects just cluttered up the menu and were a waste of resources. That said, I hope there's still some way to get them. Putting the (mk X and XI) Omega sets in as rewards to the Borg storyline wouldn't be a terrible idea, for example. There's a lot of storyline content I just don't play right now because the rewards don't matter once you're level 50.
-I'm a little worried about what might happen to the commodities market with the rep tracks no longer acting as a sink for them. The market is already flooded with some of the lower-value commodities so unless something changes on the input end, I'm probably going to end up vendoring my excess.
I'm going to join in with the dissenters who have no idea how you folks are short on expertise. Expertise is not a scarce resource, as it's rewarded by everything and has few other uses.
Seriously, do you play your alts at all? And if not, why do you expect to be getting endgame rewards without bothering to play?
Edit: let me expand on that. I play nine characters and run a small fleet. I contribute regularly to fleet projects. My "poorest" alt has 500k+ expertise. I scoffed at the recent XP weekend because, seriously, why would I ever need more of that?
I'm going to join in with the dissenters who have no idea how you folks are short on expertise. Expertise is not a scarce resource, as it's rewarded by everything and has few other uses.
Seriously, do you play your alts at all? And if not, why do you expect to be getting endgame rewards without bothering to play?
Edit: let me expand on that. I play nine characters and run a small fleet. I contribute regularly to fleet projects. My "poorest" alt has 500k+ expertise. I scoffed at the recent XP weekend because, seriously, why would I ever need more of that?
You must be able to spend all of your time in game than. Good for you, but not possible for everybody.
Let us wear Swimsuits on Foundry maps or bridges please! I would pay zen for that.
You must be able to spend all of your time in game than. Good for you, but not possible for everybody.
With 1 hour of playtime you can make a lot of exp. Look at the exp the story line rewards. Besides you have to decide if you want dili / marks or exp. I personally hate people wanting everything without any affort.
Since they reduced the exp for tier 3 mine/embassy, my exp is fast growing. Last time i was able to contribute 10 mio exp+. I'm missing a sink for exp and ec.
With 1 hour of playtime you can make a lot of exp. Look at the exp the story line rewards. Besides you have to decide if you want dili / marks or exp. I personally hate people wanting everything without any affort.
Since they reduced the exp for tier 3 mine/embassy, my exp is fast growing. Last time i was able to contribute 10 mio exp+. I'm missing a sink for exp and ec.
Oh, its so good for you! Apparently people who dont have an hour to farm expertise alone are not as worthy as your highness.
Getting a lot of expertise in one hour is impossible since the old mirror event was removed.
Let us wear Swimsuits on Foundry maps or bridges please! I would pay zen for that.
With 1 hour of playtime you can make a lot of exp. Look at the exp the story line rewards. Besides you have to decide if you want dili / marks or exp. I personally hate people wanting everything without any affort.
Since they reduced the exp for tier 3 mine/embassy, my exp is fast growing. Last time i was able to contribute 10 mio exp+. I'm missing a sink for exp and ec.
In one hour you could:
1. with only GREEN doffs, go on a fast diplomacy/other doff mission grab - stack up with 6 to 8 to 24 hour tasks for optimum return
(I said green as they cannot be killed, are very, very cheap/easy to get and you'd still get more sucess than failure - PLUS you get xp for sickbay)
2. Run an ISE - rep marks and xp, let alone dil
3. Run a Cystalline catastrophe run - rep/fm and xp and dil
4. Do a cluster exploration - more xp
5. cash in your doff tasks from last time
Oh, its so good for you! Apparently people who dont have an hour to farm expertise alone are not as worthy as your highness.
Getting a lot of expertise in one hour is impossible since the old mirror event was removed.
IF you do not have a lot of time, then you cannot and should not expect to be able to get/do everything. IF you do not like it,then you should never have started playing an MMO and should go back to candy crush saga where that thought process belongs.
IF you do not have a lot of time, then you cannot and should not expect to be able to get/do everything. IF you do not like it,then you should never have started playing an MMO and should go back to candy crush saga where that thought process belongs.
I think there is a disconnect between obsessive compulsive players and casual players. When I get into playing a game, I do not take a compulsive approach. Many compulsive MMO players end up losing their jobs, friends, and lively hood. As someone who plays games casually, I am able to keep real life in perspective.
On a similar note...
I am looking for a casual experience, which balances rewards with effort. If I am getting less than 200 marks (or xp) for fifteen minutes of work, while only progressing the bar by a centimeter, I have more to gain from walking away.
"Star Trek: Online" does not balance rewards with effort, nor does it give players a sense of fulfillment. At the end of each session, I want to walk away fulfilled. I want to 'accomplish' something meaningful. Waiting 20hrs for a timegate to expire is not meaningful. Grinding and filling endless resource requirements is also meaningless.
I want to work towards a specific goal; however, the steps and rewards have to give me a sense of progression. If I am walking away practically empty handed, at the end of each session, I will end up moving onto something more fulfilling. Outside of progressing a small reputation meter, I am ending each session without anything substantial.
Since the Dyson reputation system represents the future, let us use its reward system as an example. In order to obtain an entire Mk XII set, you have to progress a bar for roughly two months. Other words, you cannot enjoy playing the set for two months. Once you actually do get the gear, the road (grind) to obtain it mutes your passions. You are left bored from performing repetitious actions. If you are able to obtain the gear quicker, while limiting the number of mission play throughs, you are more likely to not burn out. You will get instant gratification, casual play, and more passion.
Ironically...
All the endgame items are tools, which only have one specific purpose. Players are trying to obtain items, so they can use them to carry out repetitive actions. What are you getting from the experience? Did you solve any diplomatic missions on Vulcan? Did you help with a civil war on Romulous? Did you free any Borg on Khitomer? Did you negotiate peace between the Federation and Klingons? Did you become the hero of the Alpha Quadrant? Did you bring your character up to level 60? Did you get a new rank?
Outside of grinding new grinding tools and filling holdings, what do you actually accomplish in endgame? Trigger cut-scenes? rofl... What a waste of time.
On another note...
"Star Trek: Online" is not a modern day role-playing game, and that makes the grind that much worse. Instead of using modern role playing mechanics, similar to "Dragon Age: Origins" and "Skyrim", Cryptic has made a game that harkens back to the late 1990s. "Star Trek: Online" is stuck in the past.
*crunches my personal statistics*
Nope, "Star Trek: Online's" current 'reward system versus player's efforts' does not add up.
guess what, those two games you mention, would make for bad, unbalanced MMO's. Once again, that is your personal opinion, I am in no way a Obsessive player, i have been playing for 2 years, yet barely have rep done any even my oldest character, I am not in a fleet and even if i was, i would likely not be very helpful in any way.
The REAL problem is, people want something for nothing, they want instant gratification, they want to be rewarded for doing absolutely NOTHING. They want to play a game for only a little amount of time, but have everything unlocked and given to them. Those so called "primitive" MMOs are still going today, and the bggest MMO in existence is one of those MMO's. Final fantasy is still going strong as a series for the same reason. Pokemon points and laughs ar Elder scrolls, Mass effect, Dragon age's small numbers, even COMBINED, compared to its. That so called "old and outdated" system is still the biggest, and most liked RPG system in existence and only the"gimme, gimme, gimme" group is crazy enough to say otherwise.
STO's grind is NOTHING compared to what many mmo's have done and are doing. It takes a week to get to level 50, and if you actually tried, about a month or so to get max rep (minus maybe the waiting). In MANY MMO's, it takes about that long just to get to the max level, where you will then spend the next year grinding and MAYNE getting the best stuff and even then it will just happen all over again. People want harder and harder games, then complain when they do not get everything and have to spend time actually working and trying. in FF11, you cannot even do much of the game without being in a group a lot of the time.
IF you want to have the best stuff, WORK FOR IT and stop graveling for it. IF you do not have the time to play this game, you SHOULD NOT BE PLAYING IT. You should go back to Candy crush saga and Angry birds where your kind belgons and stay away from the actually GOOD genre of RPGs
*points at "Star Wars: The Old Republic" & "Elder Scrolls: Online"*
Two prime examples of it working in MMORPGs.
If I have to sacrifice free play, in order to get a meaningful experience, I would rather pay a yearly subscription fee.
ummm. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Swtor is a WOW clone (and thus is ESACTLY like wow it how it is played, and its endgame) and ESO is already unbalanced beyond measure even in Beta and is going to have a sore lack of real endgame content other than restarting in a new area.
Also, Swtor is considered a MEGA-failure by A LOT of people.
ummm. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Swtor is a WOW clone (and thus is ESACTLY like wow it how it is played, and its endgame) and ESO is already unbalanced beyond measure even in Beta and is going to have a sore lack of real endgame content other than restarting in a new area.
I hope Cryptic decides to add a subscription gate, which gives paying customers a 50-75% discount on grinding. I would pay for a lifetime subscription. As long as the time gates and resource requirements are reduced, I would have no problem in paying a $100-$200 dollar fee.
I hope Cryptic decides to add a subscription gate, which gives paying customers a 50-75% discount on grinding. I would pay for a lifetime subscription.
To some extent, this game already has that, you can pay to buy the better ships, consoles (From lockboxes), etc. Be happy, that as a free player, you can do everything this game has to offer. DCUO, DDO, Lotro, and many other games have expansion need to be paid for and thus yo cannot actually even GET to endgame without paying money. SWTOR has you pay to even EQUIP ANY very rare or endgame gear.
To some extent, this game already has that, you can pay to buy the better ships, consoles (From lockboxes), etc. Be happy, that as a free player, you can do everything this game has to offer. DCUO, DDO, Lotro, and many other games have expansion need to be paid for and thus yo cannot actually even GET to endgame without paying money. SWTOR has you pay to even EQUIP ANY very rare or endgame gear.
What would be neat is if Cryptic added a c-store 'timegate and resource reduction' token, which people could buy for around $25 - $30. Upon activating the token, you can choose up to two reps to reduce timegates and resource costs. If you want to reduce the cost and time for other reps, you will have to buy another 'reduction' token.
IF you do not have the time to play this game, you SHOULD NOT BE PLAYING IT. You should go back to Candy crush saga and Angry birds where your kind belgons and stay away from the actually GOOD genre of RPGs
And who are YOU to say what game we should and should not be playing?
You know some of us do have lives and time is limited but like to play something in the spare time that we do have.
What right do YOU have to dictate how this game is played and by whom and make suggestions like the pieces of rubbish call candy crush to us.
And who are YOU to say what game we should and should not be playing?
You know some of us do have lives and time is limited but like to play something in the spare time that we do have.
What right do YOU have to dictate how this game is played and by whom and make suggestions like the pieces of rubbish call candy crush to us.
Most obnoxious post i have ever seen
Common sense
you should not come into playing an MMO with only a limited amount of time and expect to be able to do and get everything, that is the thought process of someone who only wants instant gratification and does not want to actually do something for stuff.
I referenced stuff like Candy crush saga, becuase those are games where time matters little, yo ucan do/get everything without having to worry about how much effort you are putting in.
Here is a good example. Playing an MMO an hour a day and expecting to be able to do and get everything is like playing a sport and believing they can get really good without playing constantly.
IF you do not have the time for that commitment, either understand you will never be as good as those who actually put time and effort into the game.
What would be neat is if Cryptic added a c-store 'timegate and resource reduction' token, which people could buy for around $25 - $30. Upon activating the token, you can choose up to two reps to reduce timegates and resource costs. If you want to reduce the cost and time for other reps, you will have to buy another 'reduction' token.
That sort of thing RUINED another good game called grandchase, they had missions you can do to unlock a lot of stuff and the amount of stuff yo needed would make you think STO's rep grind is a drop in a bucket. you could pay to unlock an easier version of this mission. This along side some other stuff, killed the game.
MAybe you should realise that just because you are playing this game, it does not mean you are entitled to not have to try to get anything.
...So games should exist that require "good" players not to have a life? I don't think so.
No, but you should not be able to play for only a couple hours a week and expect to have it as good as those who play for longer. You CAN get everything by playing an hour a week, but it will take much longer to get that stuff. DEAL with it, or quit playing MMO's, because that is all you will ever find, games that require you to actually play for more than a couple hours a week to have decent progress.
No, but you should not be able to play for only a couple hours a week and expect to have it as good as those who play for longer. You CAN get everything by playing an hour a week, but it will take much longer to get that stuff. DEAL with it, or quit playing MMO's, because that is all you will ever find, games that require you to actually play for more than a couple hours a week to have decent progress.
Go back play EVE if you like games like that so much. I'm sure you'll fit in with that community better.
Go back play EVE if you like games like that so much. I'm sure you'll fit in with that community better.
Eve is a wretched hive created only for masochists, that game takes it WAY to hardcore. I am against things like perma-death and dropping your inventory, but MMO's were not created to be able to play for a couple hours a week and be able to get or do everything, it would go too fast and then their would be nothing to do.
Do not get me wrong, the rep grind can be annoying and the new updates are amazing, but let me ask you a question, if you wanted to be a good soccer player, do you think you would/should only need to practice/play a couple hours of week to get good?
It might be possible, but it would take quite a while, and you would still never be all that great compared to people who play often for fun.
as i said before, welcome to the world of MMO's, where you actually have to try to get progress
if you wanted to be a good soccer player, do you think you would/should only need to practice/play a couple hours of week to get good?
as i said before, welcome to the world of MMO's, where you actually have to try to get progress
Soccer isn't a very good comparison, because practicing and grinding, in my opinion, are completely different things... Practice is to improve your skills and get some exercise in (with all of the benefits of that) as well. Grinding is sitting there doing the same thing over and over in a computer game to get some piece of gear (or something) that basically makes it either easier or possible to progress or be "successful" in a game, which is basically mindless and has no real benefit save its intended, eventual result. That's not "trying," that's wasting your time, unless of course said grinding involves many diverse scenarios - in which case, it's not really grinding anyway.
as this game has dailies, STF's, both of which come in ground and space flavors and even many missions that are literally unfailable or are not combat heavy, there seems to be at least SOME things to do varied everyday.
Maybe it is because i do not really bother trying to get all the max rep as fast as possible, and just try to have fun playing the game.
Comments
I'm not sure what the most plentiful source of xp is (probably a cryptic mission). But, if you're hurting for xp, the foundry might be a viable option if you play the story missions instead of shooting fish in a barrel for the ECs.
no. You will still have your MK X Set, but its no longer avaible to get. If you loose one item, you will not have the possibility to complete the set again. If you miss pieces, you will never complete the set.
Hopefully, they decide to keep the MK X and XI Stuff, if enough people are complaining.
Hear me Devs, fix it please...
Though as it is that's exactly what goes on now anyway in a divided fashion. Which is why almost all of the queues are pretty much dead unless they're a good source of a specific mark. They have some fun decent missions that nobody plays because they aren't very good at making the rewards anything close to equal or equivalent to effort.
But then you'd have everybody who already owns the MK XII versions complaining because these other people would have paid a lot less for their items. :P
Face it, switching them all to the same system the Dyson Rep makes sense in the long run. No more buying three versions of the one set for no reason what so ever.
-I'm fine with mk X and mk XI sets being removed from the rep track. IMHO, those projects just cluttered up the menu and were a waste of resources. That said, I hope there's still some way to get them. Putting the (mk X and XI) Omega sets in as rewards to the Borg storyline wouldn't be a terrible idea, for example. There's a lot of storyline content I just don't play right now because the rewards don't matter once you're level 50.
-I'm a little worried about what might happen to the commodities market with the rep tracks no longer acting as a sink for them. The market is already flooded with some of the lower-value commodities so unless something changes on the input end, I'm probably going to end up vendoring my excess.
Seriously, do you play your alts at all? And if not, why do you expect to be getting endgame rewards without bothering to play?
Edit: let me expand on that. I play nine characters and run a small fleet. I contribute regularly to fleet projects. My "poorest" alt has 500k+ expertise. I scoffed at the recent XP weekend because, seriously, why would I ever need more of that?
You must be able to spend all of your time in game than. Good for you, but not possible for everybody.
With 1 hour of playtime you can make a lot of exp. Look at the exp the story line rewards. Besides you have to decide if you want dili / marks or exp. I personally hate people wanting everything without any affort.
Since they reduced the exp for tier 3 mine/embassy, my exp is fast growing. Last time i was able to contribute 10 mio exp+. I'm missing a sink for exp and ec.
Oh, its so good for you! Apparently people who dont have an hour to farm expertise alone are not as worthy as your highness.
Getting a lot of expertise in one hour is impossible since the old mirror event was removed.
In one hour you could:
1. with only GREEN doffs, go on a fast diplomacy/other doff mission grab - stack up with 6 to 8 to 24 hour tasks for optimum return
(I said green as they cannot be killed, are very, very cheap/easy to get and you'd still get more sucess than failure - PLUS you get xp for sickbay)
2. Run an ISE - rep marks and xp, let alone dil
3. Run a Cystalline catastrophe run - rep/fm and xp and dil
4. Do a cluster exploration - more xp
5. cash in your doff tasks from last time
and thats off the top of my head
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
My character Tsin'xing
IF you do not have a lot of time, then you cannot and should not expect to be able to get/do everything. IF you do not like it,then you should never have started playing an MMO and should go back to candy crush saga where that thought process belongs.
On a similar note...
I am looking for a casual experience, which balances rewards with effort. If I am getting less than 200 marks (or xp) for fifteen minutes of work, while only progressing the bar by a centimeter, I have more to gain from walking away.
"Star Trek: Online" does not balance rewards with effort, nor does it give players a sense of fulfillment. At the end of each session, I want to walk away fulfilled. I want to 'accomplish' something meaningful. Waiting 20hrs for a timegate to expire is not meaningful. Grinding and filling endless resource requirements is also meaningless.
I want to work towards a specific goal; however, the steps and rewards have to give me a sense of progression. If I am walking away practically empty handed, at the end of each session, I will end up moving onto something more fulfilling. Outside of progressing a small reputation meter, I am ending each session without anything substantial.
Since the Dyson reputation system represents the future, let us use its reward system as an example. In order to obtain an entire Mk XII set, you have to progress a bar for roughly two months. Other words, you cannot enjoy playing the set for two months. Once you actually do get the gear, the road (grind) to obtain it mutes your passions. You are left bored from performing repetitious actions. If you are able to obtain the gear quicker, while limiting the number of mission play throughs, you are more likely to not burn out. You will get instant gratification, casual play, and more passion.
Ironically...
All the endgame items are tools, which only have one specific purpose. Players are trying to obtain items, so they can use them to carry out repetitive actions. What are you getting from the experience? Did you solve any diplomatic missions on Vulcan? Did you help with a civil war on Romulous? Did you free any Borg on Khitomer? Did you negotiate peace between the Federation and Klingons? Did you become the hero of the Alpha Quadrant? Did you bring your character up to level 60? Did you get a new rank?
Outside of grinding new grinding tools and filling holdings, what do you actually accomplish in endgame? Trigger cut-scenes? rofl... What a waste of time.
On another note...
"Star Trek: Online" is not a modern day role-playing game, and that makes the grind that much worse. Instead of using modern role playing mechanics, similar to "Dragon Age: Origins" and "Skyrim", Cryptic has made a game that harkens back to the late 1990s. "Star Trek: Online" is stuck in the past.
*crunches my personal statistics*
Nope, "Star Trek: Online's" current 'reward system versus player's efforts' does not add up.
I do not care if anyone hates what I said.
At least I have the guts to say it.
The REAL problem is, people want something for nothing, they want instant gratification, they want to be rewarded for doing absolutely NOTHING. They want to play a game for only a little amount of time, but have everything unlocked and given to them. Those so called "primitive" MMOs are still going today, and the bggest MMO in existence is one of those MMO's. Final fantasy is still going strong as a series for the same reason. Pokemon points and laughs ar Elder scrolls, Mass effect, Dragon age's small numbers, even COMBINED, compared to its. That so called "old and outdated" system is still the biggest, and most liked RPG system in existence and only the"gimme, gimme, gimme" group is crazy enough to say otherwise.
STO's grind is NOTHING compared to what many mmo's have done and are doing. It takes a week to get to level 50, and if you actually tried, about a month or so to get max rep (minus maybe the waiting). In MANY MMO's, it takes about that long just to get to the max level, where you will then spend the next year grinding and MAYNE getting the best stuff and even then it will just happen all over again. People want harder and harder games, then complain when they do not get everything and have to spend time actually working and trying. in FF11, you cannot even do much of the game without being in a group a lot of the time.
IF you want to have the best stuff, WORK FOR IT and stop graveling for it. IF you do not have the time to play this game, you SHOULD NOT BE PLAYING IT. You should go back to Candy crush saga and Angry birds where your kind belgons and stay away from the actually GOOD genre of RPGs
Two prime examples of it working in MMORPGs.
If I have to sacrifice free to play, in order to get a meaningful experience, I would rather pay a yearly subscription fee.
ummm. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Swtor is a WOW clone (and thus is ESACTLY like wow it how it is played, and its endgame) and ESO is already unbalanced beyond measure even in Beta and is going to have a sore lack of real endgame content other than restarting in a new area.
Also, Swtor is considered a MEGA-failure by A LOT of people.
To some extent, this game already has that, you can pay to buy the better ships, consoles (From lockboxes), etc. Be happy, that as a free player, you can do everything this game has to offer. DCUO, DDO, Lotro, and many other games have expansion need to be paid for and thus yo cannot actually even GET to endgame without paying money. SWTOR has you pay to even EQUIP ANY very rare or endgame gear.
And who are YOU to say what game we should and should not be playing?
You know some of us do have lives and time is limited but like to play something in the spare time that we do have.
What right do YOU have to dictate how this game is played and by whom and make suggestions like the pieces of rubbish call candy crush to us.
Most obnoxious post i have ever seen
Common sense
you should not come into playing an MMO with only a limited amount of time and expect to be able to do and get everything, that is the thought process of someone who only wants instant gratification and does not want to actually do something for stuff.
I referenced stuff like Candy crush saga, becuase those are games where time matters little, yo ucan do/get everything without having to worry about how much effort you are putting in.
Here is a good example. Playing an MMO an hour a day and expecting to be able to do and get everything is like playing a sport and believing they can get really good without playing constantly.
IF you do not have the time for that commitment, either understand you will never be as good as those who actually put time and effort into the game.
...So games should exist that require "good" players not to have a life? I don't think so.
That sort of thing RUINED another good game called grandchase, they had missions you can do to unlock a lot of stuff and the amount of stuff yo needed would make you think STO's rep grind is a drop in a bucket. you could pay to unlock an easier version of this mission. This along side some other stuff, killed the game.
MAybe you should realise that just because you are playing this game, it does not mean you are entitled to not have to try to get anything.
No, but you should not be able to play for only a couple hours a week and expect to have it as good as those who play for longer. You CAN get everything by playing an hour a week, but it will take much longer to get that stuff. DEAL with it, or quit playing MMO's, because that is all you will ever find, games that require you to actually play for more than a couple hours a week to have decent progress.
Go back play EVE if you like games like that so much. I'm sure you'll fit in with that community better.
Eve is a wretched hive created only for masochists, that game takes it WAY to hardcore. I am against things like perma-death and dropping your inventory, but MMO's were not created to be able to play for a couple hours a week and be able to get or do everything, it would go too fast and then their would be nothing to do.
Do not get me wrong, the rep grind can be annoying and the new updates are amazing, but let me ask you a question, if you wanted to be a good soccer player, do you think you would/should only need to practice/play a couple hours of week to get good?
It might be possible, but it would take quite a while, and you would still never be all that great compared to people who play often for fun.
as i said before, welcome to the world of MMO's, where you actually have to try to get progress
Soccer isn't a very good comparison, because practicing and grinding, in my opinion, are completely different things... Practice is to improve your skills and get some exercise in (with all of the benefits of that) as well. Grinding is sitting there doing the same thing over and over in a computer game to get some piece of gear (or something) that basically makes it either easier or possible to progress or be "successful" in a game, which is basically mindless and has no real benefit save its intended, eventual result. That's not "trying," that's wasting your time, unless of course said grinding involves many diverse scenarios - in which case, it's not really grinding anyway.
Maybe it is because i do not really bother trying to get all the max rep as fast as possible, and just try to have fun playing the game.