Every plus for you is a minus for someone else. Scaling rewards to performance, for example, will have the Space Barbie players hopping mad because they gain so little while the Deeps reap fortunes. Then when the Barbies complain and get their way the Deeps will cry havoc because there is no longer an incentive to perform well.
STO gets it wrong often, in my opinion, but I know I couldn't do better, and I know that they have to make the decisions they make based on what they know or believe at the time. We forum posters are a small subset of their players, and we are far from 'the average player.'
As an example, remember Hakeev's 'death scene?' Every time the players vocally reacted and STO accommodated them the result was more screams from the 'majority.' Eventually they gave up, realizing that no matter what a huge segment of the player base wouldn't like it. I was fortunate that I was running multiple characters through at the time, so I saw all of the various changes, and I liked the 'optional' ending version, but that too was too controversial for some.
tldr: suck it up, buckaroo. You won't like the fix to the fix either, and sometimes complaining only makes for worse, not better, options.
Whatever you do, make sure that no one on your Bridge Crew sneezes when you are trying to close Portals. Guaranteed interruption.
I really love how these guys come through a rift that causes some sensor/visual impairment but even before completely out they know exactly where and who to shoot at to disrupt operations. We don't have visuals on ships coming out above us, and sometimes we first find out about them when they fire on us. I guess, like Khan, we suffer from Two-dimensional Thinking while the Terrans don't.
'But to be logical is not to be right', and 'nothing' on God's earth could ever 'make it' right!'
Judge Dan Haywood
'As l speak now, the words are forming in my head.
l don't know.
l really don't know what l'm about to say, except l have a feeling about it.
That l must repeat the words that come without my knowledge.'
Yeah, and every time it comes back through a rift it announces itself 'ISS Kurland's here!!!'
Na.
Make it so the dreadnought continuously says "Kurland here!" every 2 seconds and for every rift closed, you gain 2 more seconds of silence. Better close those rifts and destroy the ship fast!
#TASforSTO
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rattler2Member, Star Trek Online ModeratorPosts: 58,588Community Moderator
There was no 'cap'. I've seen as little as 19 portals and as much as 41 portals. What they should have done was hit AFK'ers hard. It boils my blood that people refuse to do their fair share and just sit there, and still get their reward.
The unlimited portals is good because it puts to bed the 'I was sitting around for 5 minutes' complaints.
For me, its always stopped at 40. And this year for me, the most downtime I've had so far was only 2 minutes. The rest of the time we managed to cap out have always been under a minute.
In MI normal this is an okay change so there's no waste of time doing nothing at all.
In MI advanced, I haven't seen a difference yet since the most my pug groups were able to close was I believe ~35.
The mission on advanced is too hard for PUGS to achieve optionals, and demands min-max builds in the absence of team cooperation (random people), something I thought they'd address with the balance pass but clearly has only made way for more power selling.
MI should have an elite version for min-maxers, while advanced should be doable with decent rounded-out end game gear and ships. The only time so far I've managed to keep SB alive for about 8/10 health wasn't even closing rifts, but somehow drawing the endless crowds away.
This isn't saying I want easy mode, but losing optionals 100% of the time while trying to carry hard feels pretty crappy across 6 toons I've been doing this event on. I'm not a min-maxer, stop trying to make the game all about that. The very reward for MI event is a console that's completely at odds with min-maxing to begin with.
Actually, the ONLY change I'd like to see is to be able to close the rifts WITHOUT being interrupted...
I am not sure which trait/gear/whatever the heck is going on....but I seem to get lucky closing rifts when enemies are firing at me and I get a "miss" or "immunity" involved with the procedure. I think that is, like, defense stuff.
"Spend your life doing strange things with weird people." -- UNK
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
In MI normal this is an okay change so there's no waste of time doing nothing at all.
In MI advanced, I haven't seen a difference yet since the most my pug groups were able to close was I believe ~35.
The mission on advanced is too hard for PUGS to achieve optionals, and demands min-max builds in the absence of team cooperation (random people), something I thought they'd address with the balance pass but clearly has only made way for more power selling.
^^ Absolutely this!
MI has been done in typical Cryptic fashion: it's either way too easy (Normal) or too difficult (Advanced), for a PUG run. It's not that peeps in MIA don't have deeps, but they are generally not coordinated. And we can't even blame them, as, in a pug, there's always some idiot shouting how it should be done (and then doing it completely wrong), so ppl are accustomed to ignoring that kind of 'advice', and just do their own thang.
I only do MIA, btw, where the matter is compounded -- severely, I'd say -- because the DPS Channels don't seem to run MIA this year (or they do so when I'm not around). Last year, doing MIA from the DPS channels was a breeze. Now, it's just PUG land. And it's ugly.
Whatever you do, make sure that no one on your Bridge Crew sneezes when you are trying to close Portals. Guaranteed interruption.
It's this, and pretty much only this that makes MI(A) such a monumental pain for me. While you're busy dispatching one group another three have appeared... who start firing at you... which stops you closing the rift, which has now expanded... and by the time you've managed to destroy/placate enough NPCs to close the rift the station has dropped to zero.
Random chance should have seen me find at least one PUG where the optionals have been completed in MIA. The fact that I've never seen such a thing over the years leads me to think that the mission needs a serious overhaul.
As an aside, the exact same problem crops up in Battle of Procyon, another mission that I avoid like the plague because it's just tiresome. That one is even worse in a way, because even if you manage to get the NPCs off your back a Krenim ship will show up and instantly use an AoE damage ability, which will stop you closing portals just as easily as being actively targeted. There's a big difference between challenging and infuriating.
0
rattler2Member, Star Trek Online ModeratorPosts: 58,588Community Moderator
because even if you manage to get the NPCs off your back a Krenim ship will show up and instantly use an AoE damage ability, which will stop you closing portals just as easily as being actively targeted. There's a big difference between challenging and infuriating.
Comments
Every plus for you is a minus for someone else. Scaling rewards to performance, for example, will have the Space Barbie players hopping mad because they gain so little while the Deeps reap fortunes. Then when the Barbies complain and get their way the Deeps will cry havoc because there is no longer an incentive to perform well.
STO gets it wrong often, in my opinion, but I know I couldn't do better, and I know that they have to make the decisions they make based on what they know or believe at the time. We forum posters are a small subset of their players, and we are far from 'the average player.'
As an example, remember Hakeev's 'death scene?' Every time the players vocally reacted and STO accommodated them the result was more screams from the 'majority.' Eventually they gave up, realizing that no matter what a huge segment of the player base wouldn't like it. I was fortunate that I was running multiple characters through at the time, so I saw all of the various changes, and I liked the 'optional' ending version, but that too was too controversial for some.
tldr: suck it up, buckaroo. You won't like the fix to the fix either, and sometimes complaining only makes for worse, not better, options.
I really love how these guys come through a rift that causes some sensor/visual impairment but even before completely out they know exactly where and who to shoot at to disrupt operations. We don't have visuals on ships coming out above us, and sometimes we first find out about them when they fire on us. I guess, like Khan, we suffer from Two-dimensional Thinking while the Terrans don't.
l don't know.
l really don't know what l'm about to say, except l have a feeling about it.
That l must repeat the words that come without my knowledge.'
Make it so the dreadnought continuously says "Kurland here!" every 2 seconds and for every rift closed, you gain 2 more seconds of silence. Better close those rifts and destroy the ship fast!
If you've got Temporary Hit Points, its possible already.
For me, its always stopped at 40. And this year for me, the most downtime I've had so far was only 2 minutes. The rest of the time we managed to cap out have always been under a minute.
In MI advanced, I haven't seen a difference yet since the most my pug groups were able to close was I believe ~35.
The mission on advanced is too hard for PUGS to achieve optionals, and demands min-max builds in the absence of team cooperation (random people), something I thought they'd address with the balance pass but clearly has only made way for more power selling.
MI should have an elite version for min-maxers, while advanced should be doable with decent rounded-out end game gear and ships. The only time so far I've managed to keep SB alive for about 8/10 health wasn't even closing rifts, but somehow drawing the endless crowds away.
This isn't saying I want easy mode, but losing optionals 100% of the time while trying to carry hard feels pretty crappy across 6 toons I've been doing this event on. I'm not a min-maxer, stop trying to make the game all about that. The very reward for MI event is a console that's completely at odds with min-maxing to begin with.
I am not sure which trait/gear/whatever the heck is going on....but I seem to get lucky closing rifts when enemies are firing at me and I get a "miss" or "immunity" involved with the procedure. I think that is, like, defense stuff.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
^^ Absolutely this!
MI has been done in typical Cryptic fashion: it's either way too easy (Normal) or too difficult (Advanced), for a PUG run. It's not that peeps in MIA don't have deeps, but they are generally not coordinated. And we can't even blame them, as, in a pug, there's always some idiot shouting how it should be done (and then doing it completely wrong), so ppl are accustomed to ignoring that kind of 'advice', and just do their own thang.
I only do MIA, btw, where the matter is compounded -- severely, I'd say -- because the DPS Channels don't seem to run MIA this year (or they do so when I'm not around). Last year, doing MIA from the DPS channels was a breeze. Now, it's just PUG land. And it's ugly.
It's this, and pretty much only this that makes MI(A) such a monumental pain for me. While you're busy dispatching one group another three have appeared... who start firing at you... which stops you closing the rift, which has now expanded... and by the time you've managed to destroy/placate enough NPCs to close the rift the station has dropped to zero.
Random chance should have seen me find at least one PUG where the optionals have been completed in MIA. The fact that I've never seen such a thing over the years leads me to think that the mission needs a serious overhaul.
As an aside, the exact same problem crops up in Battle of Procyon, another mission that I avoid like the plague because it's just tiresome. That one is even worse in a way, because even if you manage to get the NPCs off your back a Krenim ship will show up and instantly use an AoE damage ability, which will stop you closing portals just as easily as being actively targeted. There's a big difference between challenging and infuriating.
I. HATE. KRENIM. FRIGATES!!!!!!!!!