Voth Battlezone Command candies on initial implementation before they changed it to award proportionately.
'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.'
The pulse doesn't reliably proc continuity talent from temporal spec. Sometimes it will fail to proc while other times it does and combined with the knockback from the wave you end up 20km away.
The rommie singularity ability will protect you but its wasting the weapon boost.
The kar'fi phase cloak didn't work when I tried it.
10.5km seems to be the safe minimum distance for the pulse.
I go to 11-12 km, as once I was 10.5 away and got blasted anyway.
Now a LTS and loving it.
Just because you spend money on this game, it does not entitle you to be a jerk if things don't go your way.
I have come to the conclusion that I have a memory like Etch-A-Sketch. I shake my head and forget everything.
I'll just play it safe, stay around 9km above and run when it's absorbing. That's worked for me.
That's what I currently do: I bravely run away, away. Still, I don't like that the Entity has become untankable. Much like ppl have been arguing in the mega-crits thread, I don't think NPC's should have single hits that far exceed what you could ever possibly tank. Got hit for 560k, the other day.
Sure, there are invuls one can use, but still, to paraphrase an old movie, if the only winning move is not to engage, then I feel they overdid the blast a bit. This is a typical Cryptic way of 'fixing' things, though: they go from one extreme to the other.
'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.'
It is more enjoyable than before imo. A good balance of activity, fun, rewards, & sometimes dying. Also, knocked on wood, no AFKing sponges yet. My only complaint is it seems the 10k perimeter is ajar slightly, but I could be incorrect.
Post your feedback for the Crystalline Cataclysm here!
Love it overall. Much improved from the old version. My only complaint is that it hits carriers very hard, fighters don't recall fast enough to save any significant number of them from the blast.
I like it a lot, the mechanics play out as originally intended and fighting the entity feels a lot less perfunctory (ie. it instantly melting with only some minor forward damage to worry about) with the changes to its mechanics and the shards being worth consideration now.
Bipedal mammal and senior Foundry author.
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
Post your feedback for the Crystalline Cataclysm here!
Love it overall. Much improved from the old version. My only complaint is that it hits carriers very hard, fighters don't recall fast enough to save any significant number of them from the blast.
My carriers don't use fighters but what I tend to do is give the dock command before the first pulse, resummon replacements as needed then after the second pulse let them out to play since that'll be the kill phase where I fly in guns blazing rather than lurking at the edge watching the escorts looking confused when they go pop instead of doing a tactical retreat.
I like the changes. It adds a bit better pacing to the runs.
However, the shards are more a nuisance than worth staying around for destroying. They need to be worth just a bit more salvage to make them worthwhile.
Also, what does "first place" actually mean. I've been in runs with fleetmates where multiple people appear to have gotten the same place. I used to think it was some total damage against the Entity or in the queue, but that's clearly not what it is. Anyone?
Also, what does "first place" actually mean. I've been in runs with fleetmates where multiple people appear to have gotten the same place. I used to think it was some total damage against the Entity or in the queue, but that's clearly not what it is. Anyone?
Scoring is a combination of damage done, and healing done (shield and HP). Third gets a random blue item, second a random purple, first gets 2 random purples and an accolade. This accolade gives you the ability to place a trophy shaped like the Crystalline entity in your ship... if you ship has a floor trophy slot.
If you want first place then target the tholians (and terrans) on the periphery that don't get sucked into the entity on the initial gravwell deployment.
As the rewards are MK10 for some stupid reason the only point of doing this is to get EC or salvage, a far better return than the single blip per crystal killed at the end.
I bet they would've gotten even more takers on doing this Queue if they provided Gamma Marks as a choice for running it or for the Project(s) rewards.
'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.'
I quite enjoy the event version. The shards add a bit more of a challenge although not too hard if you know to dodge them. I’d love to see the original version back for an event though, for a crazy hard challenge! Of course I’d probably suck at it now but it’d be great to get some actual teamwork required in a queue for once instead of feeling like a solo game.
If you want first place then target the tholians (and terrans) on the periphery that don't get sucked into the entity on the initial gravwell deployment.
As the rewards are MK10 for some stupid reason the only point of doing this is to get EC or salvage, a far better return than the single blip per crystal killed at the end.
if you want first place, slot that Tachyon Trait (for heals when using Tachyon Beam), and you're almost guaranteed 1st spot. Or likely anything else which gives you insane heals. I'm not doing any of that, btw, as I coudn't care less about 1st place: you get higher quality drops, for sure, but they all wind up as Salvage here anyway.
I like it, I would only propose one small change..
Make the blast waves deal 10 Million Damage to make sure they're impossible to survive. Force people to actually move away and hold fire instead of allowing them to tank the blast. I would only propose this in Advanced, not normal.
There needs to be some type of 'do this right or get killed' condition.. it doesn't have to fail the mission or anything crazy like that.. but the Entity needs something to make it seem powerful. The ability to one shot everything within 10km is a good power for advanced. Move.. or die.
Other then that, it doesn't seem that different to me overall. I like the wait period to start the mission.. gives people the chance to get in, launch a wave of pets etc. The artificial time gate of not being able to hurt the entity doesn't bother me.. it only lasts a few seconds, I am good with it.
From a timing point of view I have to admit that part is better then the blog described. So far its always been 10 or 15seconds which is about perfect. 30seconds is way to long but a short 15seconds or less is fine. But it did create a new problem in my last run in my carrier which was I could not move after the timer ended.
I was jam packed in-between a bunch of ships and as those players didn't move once the timer hit zero, I could not move. Not had that in any other queues. Perhaps the player spawn point needs to be a bit wider.
Agreed 100%.
Had the same problem in my Scimitar.. if people don't move, I can't either.[/quo^te]
^ Yes please this! Widening the spawn point would be most welcome, especially for larger craft.
~Shia~
Member - Houseclan t'Charvon (STO)
Shiarrael e'Tal'Aura t'Charvon, LvL 65, Rom Sci
S'aana ir'Virinat t'Charvon, Lvl 65, Rom Eng
T'Lyra, LvL 65, Fed, Vul Sci
Ta'el, Lvl 63, Rom Tac
Sukima, Lvl 65, Fed Vul Sci
I've had a vonph unable to move because some dopey twit in a reliant couldn't get it out of neutral.
The spawn point is an issue you see cropping up for every "social" map like space outside ESD, DS9, etc. Watch others arrive and you'll see ships getting punted about because all traffic has to come through a single bottleneck.
Space maps are in theory empty so why not have a spawn point double the maximum ship size and during making the map don't overlap the spawn with clutter like the asteroid in CC.
Tiny spawn might be a game engine issue but adding clutter for folk to get stuck on is bad map design.
The small waiting period of 30 seconds (for me usually 15 seconds, since the other 15 are used to load the map) allows for the stuff people said - getting pets out, setting cruiser commands or temporal settings, what have you.
The two phase breaks of course are time gates, but at 15 seconds apiece not that bad, and it feels more natural to what this phase should be - invulnerable entity with a real killer at hand. Yes, the queue is still easy beyond belief, but it feels more like a story being told than before, when people were able to kill the entity off before it even pulsed once. The one hit kill could in my opinion be even more beefed up though. I as well survived it once when a cooldown I relied on wasn't finished. I understand that an auto kill would mess with the anti kill buffs, but a couple million more damage wouldn't hurt.
What I really like, though not really something to do with this queue, I just notice it here, is the power slide. To expand: I use evasive maneuvres to get away from the blast. Once I pass the 10km mark, I stop (hit "R") and turn around. It really looks cool, you gotta try it. Especially when you have the view locked.
I agree to what others have said though: both the tholians and the anomalies don't matter that much. I ignore static, grav wells and rifts altogether, only the black blobs with their visibility hindrance are worthy of flying around.
Though I don't want to hear the outcry if CC actually became challenging. After that make ISA require strategy again and the forums would burn. Probably the game itself too.
My mother was an epohh and my father smelled of tulaberries
'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.'
Post your feedback for the Crystalline Cataclysm here!
Love it overall. Much improved from the old version. My only complaint is that it hits carriers very hard, fighters don't recall fast enough to save any significant number of them from the blast.
Scramble Fighters is the best way to save fighters or frigates
Since the maintenance the CE is very buggy Continuity talent and Invincible trait are not triggering every time on the pulse. Also to confirm what someone else reported since maintenance the pulse blast charge is not displaying. There is no warning the CE is about to shoot a pulse. I had no problems with this until latest maintenance.
Check your calendar when ingame as it'll tell you exactly and take into account your timezone. Just remember the server will likely go down before the event actually finishes so you may be pushing it to get 3 shards. If you fail to finish the event just leave it queued 'til next year then finish it then.
Comments
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.'
I go to 11-12 km, as once I was 10.5 away and got blasted anyway.
That's what I currently do: I bravely run away, away.
Sure, there are invuls one can use, but still, to paraphrase an old movie, if the only winning move is not to engage, then I feel they overdid the blast a bit. This is a typical Cryptic way of 'fixing' things, though: they go from one extreme to the other.
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.'
If so, I'll be glad I haven't signed in to the game since the 15th.
Love it overall. Much improved from the old version. My only complaint is that it hits carriers very hard, fighters don't recall fast enough to save any significant number of them from the blast.
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
My carriers don't use fighters but what I tend to do is give the dock command before the first pulse, resummon replacements as needed then after the second pulse let them out to play since that'll be the kill phase where I fly in guns blazing rather than lurking at the edge watching the escorts looking confused when they go pop instead of doing a tactical retreat.
However, the shards are more a nuisance than worth staying around for destroying. They need to be worth just a bit more salvage to make them worthwhile.
Also, what does "first place" actually mean. I've been in runs with fleetmates where multiple people appear to have gotten the same place. I used to think it was some total damage against the Entity or in the queue, but that's clearly not what it is. Anyone?
My character Tsin'xing
As the rewards are MK10 for some stupid reason the only point of doing this is to get EC or salvage, a far better return than the single blip per crystal killed at the end.
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.'
I’d love to see the original version back for an event though, for a crazy hard challenge! Of course I’d probably suck at it now but it’d be great to get some actual teamwork required in a queue for once instead of feeling like a solo game.
if you want first place, slot that Tachyon Trait (for heals when using Tachyon Beam), and you're almost guaranteed 1st spot. Or likely anything else which gives you insane heals. I'm not doing any of that, btw, as I coudn't care less about 1st place: you get higher quality drops, for sure, but they all wind up as Salvage here anyway.
Member - Houseclan t'Charvon (STO)
Shiarrael e'Tal'Aura t'Charvon, LvL 65, Rom Sci
S'aana ir'Virinat t'Charvon, Lvl 65, Rom Eng
T'Lyra, LvL 65, Fed, Vul Sci
Ta'el, Lvl 63, Rom Tac
Sukima, Lvl 65, Fed Vul Sci
House Miliskeera in exile (NW)
Sereska Miliskeera, Lvl 70 OP - Devotion (Just.)/Protection (Just.)
Shizlee Miliskeera, Lvl 70 DC - Divine Oracle (Right.)/Anointed Champion (Faith.)
Finithey Miliskeera, Lvl 70 HR - Stormwarden (Combat)/Pathfinder (Trapper)
Maya Sik-Miliskeera, Lvl 70 CW - Spellstorm
Irae Sik-Miliskeera, Lvl 70 TR - Master Inflitrator
The spawn point is an issue you see cropping up for every "social" map like space outside ESD, DS9, etc. Watch others arrive and you'll see ships getting punted about because all traffic has to come through a single bottleneck.
Space maps are in theory empty so why not have a spawn point double the maximum ship size and during making the map don't overlap the spawn with clutter like the asteroid in CC.
Tiny spawn might be a game engine issue but adding clutter for folk to get stuck on is bad map design.
The small waiting period of 30 seconds (for me usually 15 seconds, since the other 15 are used to load the map) allows for the stuff people said - getting pets out, setting cruiser commands or temporal settings, what have you.
The two phase breaks of course are time gates, but at 15 seconds apiece not that bad, and it feels more natural to what this phase should be - invulnerable entity with a real killer at hand. Yes, the queue is still easy beyond belief, but it feels more like a story being told than before, when people were able to kill the entity off before it even pulsed once. The one hit kill could in my opinion be even more beefed up though. I as well survived it once when a cooldown I relied on wasn't finished. I understand that an auto kill would mess with the anti kill buffs, but a couple million more damage wouldn't hurt.
What I really like, though not really something to do with this queue, I just notice it here, is the power slide. To expand: I use evasive maneuvres to get away from the blast. Once I pass the 10km mark, I stop (hit "R") and turn around. It really looks cool, you gotta try it. Especially when you have the view locked.
I agree to what others have said though: both the tholians and the anomalies don't matter that much. I ignore static, grav wells and rifts altogether, only the black blobs with their visibility hindrance are worthy of flying around.
Though I don't want to hear the outcry if CC actually became challenging. After that make ISA require strategy again and the forums would burn. Probably the game itself too.
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.'
at what time on the 6th Sept does it finished ( i need 3 more shards ;-))
Seems like most people don't even bother at this point. They get their marks and warp out to do something else.