During a Featured TFO Event only this version on Normal is available. After that, the full version with the various difficulty levels will return. This has been going on since Sompek.
In the past when I did this for event tokens... I did it on Advance and got the Dyson Elite Mark and got 100+ marks for other reps... least I am pretty sure I did. Otherwise one of my toons wouldnt have 30+ elite marks for Dyson
During a Featured TFO Event only this version on Normal is available. After that, the full version with the various difficulty levels will return. This has been going on since Sompek.
In the past when I did this for event tokens... I did it on Advance and got the Dyson Elite Mark and got 100+ marks for other reps... least I am pretty sure I did. Otherwise one of my toons wouldnt have 30+ elite marks for Dyson
Yes, there used to be Advanced for all the old event queues (Breach, CC, Mirror) that apparently have now been removed.
Breach, IIRC, even had Elite, though I never played it.
Same thing they did with Sompek and Kobayashi. Since Sompek, all new Featured TFOs are Normal only. They want the Featured Events to be quick runs. I shutter to think what they are going to do with Crystalline Cataclysm. Yuck for that on Normal only during the Event.
'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.'
You are correct about shudder. No, I know they have modified it for the Featured TFO Catastrophe/Cataclysm. I am speaking about conforming to the new paridigm of limiting the Featured TFO to Normal difficulty only.
'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.'
You are correct about shudder. No, I know they have modified it for the Featured TFO Catastrophe/Cataclysm. I am speaking about conforming to the new paridigm of limiting the Featured TFO to Normal difficulty only.
Limiting FTFO's to normal only makes me shutter as well. I believe you meant paradigm.
Paradigm. Spell check let that one go out. Didn't even notice.
'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.'
You've got that backwards. People wait things out because the missions are dumbed down. Nothing needs a full team and people know it.
The breach racetrack is a perfect example. Only the first ship through counts for anything, so the rest might as well just wait for the insta-teleport button to show up.
Really? 'cause in most runs everyone is just running the trench to see who can get there fastest.
You've got that backwards. People wait things out because the missions are dumbed down. Nothing needs a full team and people know it.
The breach racetrack is a perfect example. Only the first ship through counts for anything, so the rest might as well just wait for the insta-teleport button to show up.
Really? 'cause in most runs everyone is just running the trench to see who can get there fastest.
Never seen anyone have a meaningful race. Its a terrible design as its basically a single player map designed for 1 person to fly in a straight line and 4 people to sit with nothing useful to do. Which is just bad design for a multiplayer map, in fact its a bad design for a single player map as there is nothing to do but hit full speed and fly down a set path with no meaningful choices or options. The entire TFO is redundant for a group you can do the entire run with 1 person with little to no noticeable impact over a group.
It is yet another example of a revamp by the devs only to be made worse in the revamp . The original at least had team work and options for the entire team to do along with making logical sense with the new one does not. The original was a much better designed map.
I just down understand the design path the current devs are taking. Its making the game worse. Which combined with the bugs, lag and rubberbanding that's the worst I ever recall it being, is making the state of the game the worst its ever been.
You've got that backwards. People wait things out because the missions are dumbed down. Nothing needs a full team and people know it.
The breach racetrack is a perfect example. Only the first ship through counts for anything, so the rest might as well just wait for the insta-teleport button to show up.
Really? 'cause in most runs everyone is just running the trench to see who can get there fastest.
Never seen anyone have a meaningful race. Its a terrible design as its basically a single player map designed for 1 person to fly in a straight line and 4 people to sit with nothing useful to do. Which is just bad design for a multiplayer map, in fact its a bad design for a single player map as there is nothing to do but hit full speed and fly down a set path with no meaningful choices or options. The entire TFO is redundant for a group you can do the entire run with 1 person with little to no noticeable impact over a group.
It is yet another example of a revamp by the devs only to be made worse in the revamp . The original at least had team work and options for the entire team to do along with making logical sense with the new one does not. The original was a much better designed map.
I just down understand the design path the current devs are taking. Its making the game worse. Which combined with the bugs, lag and rubberbanding that's the worst I ever recall it being, is making the state of the game the worst its ever been.
Agreed. And to kind of "answer" you: that's because many find anything that's not "pushing one button and trashing everything in front of me" way too hard.
I am taking full advantage of the Patrols this time around - I did it for that TRIBBLE that was Mycelial Crysis, too, but that's because the episode was boring af and the STF was just the episode slightly changed, so same thing - because I cannot do the Breach. It's one of the worst queues in existance at the moment. for lack of difficulty, team work and lenght.
Not agreeing with someone doesn't give you the right to be an TRIBBLE.
Ci sono tre tipi di giocatori:
- quelli a cui non va mai bene niente... e vanno sul forum a trollare;
- quelli che sono talmente imbesuiti da credere a qualunque cosa i dev dicano, perfino che la luna è fatta di formaggio... e vanno sul forum a trollare;
- quelli che credono a quello a cui è giusto credere, sono d'accordo con quello con cui è giusto essere d'accordo e sono critici con quello che non va;
Ai giocatori dei primi due tipi, gratis in omaggio un bello specchio lucente su cui arrampicarsi. E una mazzata in testa per la loro poca intelligenza e compassione verso gli altri giocatori che non la pensano come loro.
Agli appartenenti al terzo tipo, invece, dico grazie. Anche se non sempre si riesce a mantenere la calma, siete quelli per cui vale la pena incazzarsi.
Yes, I too have noticed most people waste their time shooting the bits in the trench (FYI, shooting them doesn't actually do anything at all ).
Most people also waste time shooting the ships in the subcore room, instead of opening the shutters and getting on with the mission.
Fortunately, I don't need their help with any of that. The mission is a piece of cake to solo, trench, cores and all. Let the randos fumble around blindly shooting things, I don't care.
But yes, the original Breach, with all the interior rooms and no racetrack, was much better.
Really? 'cause in most runs everyone is just running the trench to see who can get there fastest.
Most Breach runs I have rarely have anyone actively trying to race to the end. Most people actually play the TFO, and shoot all the hard points, and destroy those node things. The one person running to the end thing does happen sometimes, but that's the rarity in most cases for me.
Actually playing the TFO is going to the end that's the main primary objective. Even though I fly some of the biggest, slowest ships in game since the now old revamp when we went from multiple trenches to 1 single trench I have not once that I recall seen the hardpoints or nodes do anything what so ever. With at least 1 competent person in the team doing the main objective the nodes become a pointless distraction that do nothing.
Unlike the original Breach with multiple trenches now that was a good design and a lot more fun being built for teams.
I shutter to think what they are going to do with Crystalline Cataclysm. Yuck for that on Normal only during the Event.
CC already has been modified for events.
(I believe you mean shudder, not shutter.)
CC is already dumbed down a long time ago, because people could not understand how it works, im sure a lot of players can remember the health going down to 10% and then somebody would launch a torpedo spread at the fragments and you could start over again....
Same with the old BORG TFO's , if it gets to difficult and requires team work the big part of the playerbase will cave in and give up, sadly enough.
Most people also waste time shooting the ships in the subcore room, instead of opening the shutters and getting on with the mission.
>Its wasting time to play the TFO
How shocking that most people play games to enjoy playing them, not to min/max their spread earnings.
Its not about min/max spread earnings. Its about doing the main objective and helping the team to achieve the main goal instead of leeching and doing nothing helpful for the team mates.
Is it really shocking that someone wants to have fun and actually play the mission instead of ignoring the primary objectives?
Most people also waste time shooting the ships in the subcore room, instead of opening the shutters and getting on with the mission.
>Its wasting time to play the TFO
How shocking that most people play games to enjoy playing them, not to min/max their spread earnings.
Its not about min/max spread earnings. Its about doing the main objective and helping the team to achieve the main goal instead of leeching and doing nothing helpful for the team mates.
Is it really shocking that someone wants to have fun and actually play the mission instead of ignoring the primary objectives?
Lol you're gonna call people leechers for doing the optional objectives?
Really? 'cause in most runs everyone is just running the trench to see who can get there fastest.
Most Breach runs I have rarely have anyone actively trying to race to the end. Most people actually play the TFO, and shoot all the hard points, and destroy those node things. The one person running to the end thing does happen sometimes, but that's the rarity in most cases for me.
Well, yeah, most of them kill everything on their way to the other end.
Lol you're gonna call people leechers for doing the optional objectives?
It depends what else they do, not all of them are leechers. For example if they stop to shoot nodes and do not complete it then they have contributed nothing useful in that section of the mission for the team and nothing useful for the main mission.
Likewise if shoot a few ships only and nothing else while someone else goes off to kill the primary objective of the sub cores and/or saves ships. Again they have done nothing really that useful in that section or to help the mission or team. In the worse case they don't even bother to fly back out the ship before it explodes.
Yes, I too have noticed most people waste their time shooting the bits in the trench (FYI, shooting them doesn't actually do anything at all ).
Most people also waste time shooting the ships in the subcore room, instead of opening the shutters and getting on with the mission.
I already knew that shooting the hard points in the trench, despite being listed as an optional didn't make any difference. It's the second sentence quoted here (shooting ships in the subcore room) and also saving the friendlies that's making me question my own 'conditioning' and what other 'optionals' are necessary to complete this event map.
If I were to make a list of optionals and other things that present themselves that don't have any effect on mission completion could somebody fill in anything I've missed or have listed incorrectly?
Exterior:
Shooting hard points doesn't count.
Shooting and destroying the integrity field nodes doesn't count.
Getting to the access portal, blowing it up, and going inside is the only exterior objective.
Interior:
Destroying the hostile ships doesn't count.
Saving friendly ships doesn't count.
Exiting the facility doesn't count.
Completing the mission in the time allotted doesn't count.
Completing the subcore room puzzle to gain access to the main core which must be destroyed are the only interior objectives.
Yes, I too have noticed most people waste their time shooting the bits in the trench (FYI, shooting them doesn't actually do anything at all ).
Most people also waste time shooting the ships in the subcore room, instead of opening the shutters and getting on with the mission.
I already knew that shooting the hard points in the trench, despite being listed as an optional didn't make any difference. It's the second sentence quoted here (shooting ships in the subcore room) and also saving the friendlies that's making me question my own 'conditioning' and what other 'optionals' are necessary to complete this event map.
If I were to make a list of optionals and other things that present themselves that don't have any effect on mission completion could somebody fill in anything I've missed or have listed incorrectly?
Exterior:
Shooting hard points doesn't count.
Shooting and destroying the integrity field nodes doesn't count.
Getting to the access portal, blowing it up, and going inside is the only exterior objective.
Interior:
Destroying the hostile ships doesn't count.
Saving friendly ships doesn't count.
Exiting the facility doesn't count.
Completing the mission in the time allotted doesn't count.
Completing the subcore room puzzle to gain access to the main core which must be destroyed are the only interior objectives.
For this event the mission boils down to 1 person fly’s fast to the end of the trench. 1 or 2 people blow up the sub core. Then fly to the big core and everyone shoots it for a few seconds. You do not have to but I choose to fly out as if everyone fly's out before the timer hits zero it ends a little faster.
It’s the one time I fit the Impulse Capacitance Cell console first for the trench run and then when the subcore blows up to move into the main core room. As its normal its not like you need damage so moving faster between the slow sections seems to work better. If 1 person switch's to the speed traits for the trench run its possible to do the entire TFO in well under 5 mins. A slow Dread Cruiser without speed traits can do it in around 6min.
Yes, I too have noticed most people waste their time shooting the bits in the trench (FYI, shooting them doesn't actually do anything at all ).
Most people also waste time shooting the ships in the subcore room, instead of opening the shutters and getting on with the mission.
I already knew that shooting the hard points in the trench, despite being listed as an optional didn't make any difference. It's the second sentence quoted here (shooting ships in the subcore room) and also saving the friendlies that's making me question my own 'conditioning' and what other 'optionals' are necessary to complete this event map.
If I were to make a list of optionals and other things that present themselves that don't have any effect on mission completion could somebody fill in anything I've missed or have listed incorrectly?
Exterior:
Shooting hard points doesn't count.
Shooting and destroying the integrity field nodes doesn't count.
Getting to the access portal, blowing it up, and going inside is the only exterior objective.
Interior:
Destroying the hostile ships doesn't count.
Saving friendly ships doesn't count.
Exiting the facility doesn't count.
Completing the mission in the time allotted doesn't count.
Completing the subcore room puzzle to gain access to the main core which must be destroyed are the only interior objectives.
For this event the mission boils down to 1 person fly’s fast to the end of the trench. 1 or 2 people blow up the sub core. Then fly to the big core and everyone shoots it for a few seconds. You do not have to but I choose to fly out as if everyone fly's out before the timer hits zero it ends a little faster.
It’s the one time I fit the Impulse Capacitance Cell console first for the trench run and then when the subcore blows up to move into the main core room. As its normal its not like you need damage so moving faster between the slow sections seems to work better. If 1 person switch's to the speed traits for the trench run its possible to do the entire TFO in well under 5 mins. A slow Dread Cruiser without speed traits can do it in around 6min.
Thanks for the confirmation. Just did a speed run myself while ignoring everything I'd listed. Immersion decreased, but time to complete also decreased Yay?
Is anyone else having problems with it not giving progression towards the T6 ship coupon? This is the 3rd day I have gotten full FTFO progression, but didn't get any progress rewarded towards my T6 ship coupon. I have been doing the Breach.
It is doing the same thing on my brother's account also.
Razar.
Leader of Elite Guardian Academy.Would you like to learn how to run a fleet? Would you like to know how to do ship builds (true budget as well as high end)?The join the Academy today!
Is anyone else having problems with it not giving progression towards the T6 ship coupon? This is the 3rd day I have gotten full FTFO progression, but didn't get any progress rewarded towards my T6 ship coupon. I have been doing the Breach.
It is doing the same thing on my brother's account also.
Razar.
Use TFO not the patrols... looks like I missed one or two due to choosing patrols. It was supposed to be fixed but I didn't check that. Anyway the TFO is supposed to have an account wide CD (I am unsure how this works and if it works ok) and advance, and should give 2 points toward the item and 50 points toward the T6. If you did the breach TFO on those days and not in CD then no idea.
Yes, I too have noticed most people waste their time shooting the bits in the trench (FYI, shooting them doesn't actually do anything at all ).
Most people also waste time shooting the ships in the subcore room, instead of opening the shutters and getting on with the mission.
I already knew that shooting the hard points in the trench, despite being listed as an optional didn't make any difference. It's the second sentence quoted here (shooting ships in the subcore room) and also saving the friendlies that's making me question my own 'conditioning' and what other 'optionals' are necessary to complete this event map.
If I were to make a list of optionals and other things that present themselves that don't have any effect on mission completion could somebody fill in anything I've missed or have listed incorrectly?
Exterior:
Shooting hard points doesn't count.
Shooting and destroying the integrity field nodes doesn't count.
Getting to the access portal, blowing it up, and going inside is the only exterior objective.
Interior:
Destroying the hostile ships doesn't count.
Saving friendly ships doesn't count.
Exiting the facility doesn't count.
Completing the mission in the time allotted doesn't count.
Completing the subcore room puzzle to gain access to the main core which must be destroyed are the only interior objectives.
Actually, while shooting the Voth ships is technically not an objective, the same is true of most enemies in TFOs. The other three interior things DO affect the marks you get at the end. it's only 13 or so though. Assault exterior isn't even in the scoreboard for the event version. Integrity field nodes are a part of that and not a separate objective, IIRC.
Thing is, the way TFO rewards work, optionals are a pittance. 13 marks is maybe 15% of the payout. It's even less important if you're getting an RTFO box. I think it'd be better if optionals acted as a rewards multiplier. I still do them, just because they're there, but you don't get much for it.
Yes, I too have noticed most people waste their time shooting the bits in the trench (FYI, shooting them doesn't actually do anything at all ).
Most people also waste time shooting the ships in the subcore room, instead of opening the shutters and getting on with the mission.
I already knew that shooting the hard points in the trench, despite being listed as an optional didn't make any difference. It's the second sentence quoted here (shooting ships in the subcore room) and also saving the friendlies that's making me question my own 'conditioning' and what other 'optionals' are necessary to complete this event map.
If I were to make a list of optionals and other things that present themselves that don't have any effect on mission completion could somebody fill in anything I've missed or have listed incorrectly?
Exterior:
Shooting hard points doesn't count.
Shooting and destroying the integrity field nodes doesn't count.
Getting to the access portal, blowing it up, and going inside is the only exterior objective.
Interior:
Destroying the hostile ships doesn't count.
Saving friendly ships doesn't count.
Exiting the facility doesn't count.
Completing the mission in the time allotted doesn't count.
Completing the subcore room puzzle to gain access to the main core which must be destroyed are the only interior objectives.
Actually, while shooting the Voth ships is technically not an objective, the same is true of most enemies in TFOs. The other three interior things DO affect the marks you get at the end. it's only 13 or so though. Assault exterior isn't even in the scoreboard for the event version. Integrity field nodes are a part of that and not a separate objective, IIRC.
Thing is, the way TFO rewards work, optionals are a pittance. 13 marks is maybe 15% of the payout. It's even less important if you're getting an RTFO box. I think it'd be better if optionals acted as a rewards multiplier. I still do them, just because they're there, but you don't get much for it.
Thanks Mark. I'll continue to blow up the Voth ships and rescue the friendlies, just because it seems like the right thing to do
So, if you manage to get 100% in the first part, there is no extra marks??, never been able to get 100% on the event version.
There aren't enough hardpoints on the event version to even get 100%. Even with destroying all of them, the highest I've seen on the event version is like 70% or something. On the normal version they count for bonus marks.
The hardpoints respawn, so it is possible to do it in the event version if the whole team agrees to wait. Someone tested it once, though, and it didn't count for anything.
Lol you're gonna call people leechers for doing the optional objectives?
It depends what else they do, not all of them are leechers. For example if they stop to shoot nodes and do not complete it then they have contributed nothing useful in that section of the mission for the team and nothing useful for the main mission.
Likewise if shoot a few ships only and nothing else while someone else goes off to kill the primary objective of the sub cores and/or saves ships. Again they have done nothing really that useful in that section or to help the mission or team. In the worse case they don't even bother to fly back out the ship before it explodes.
It's literally impossible to for more than one person to contribute anything useful to the racetrack. The first one through advances the mission and nothing the others do counts for anything.
But in the subcore room it would indeed be much more useful if (at least 3) players would spread out to open all the cores at once to advance the mission instead of dawdling with the optionals and leaving one player to fly back and forth between the cores.
Thing is, the way TFO rewards work, optionals are a pittance. 13 marks is maybe 15% of the payout. It's even less important if you're getting an RTFO box. I think it'd be better if optionals acted as a rewards multiplier. I still do them, just because they're there, but you don't get much for it.
Make optionals give event progress or something unique, then I'll consider them worthwhile. As long as it's just another bag of peanut marks, I call it a waste of time.
So, if you manage to get 100% in the first part, there is no extra marks??, never been able to get 100% on the event version.
There aren't enough hardpoints on the event version to even get 100%. Even with destroying all of them, the highest I've seen on the event version is like 70% or something. On the normal version they count for bonus marks.
The hardpoints respawn, so it is possible to do it in the event version if the whole team agrees to wait. Someone tested it once, though, and it didn't count for anything.
Yes, yes I did. Then I looked at the ending scorecard to see it's not even on the card.
But in the subcore room it would indeed be much more useful if (at least 3) players would spread out to open all the cores at once to advance the mission instead of dawdling with the optionals and leaving one player to fly back and forth between the cores.
Enh, freeing all the ships is faster than shooting up the core once. Then the distraction is over.
Comments
In the past when I did this for event tokens... I did it on Advance and got the Dyson Elite Mark and got 100+ marks for other reps... least I am pretty sure I did. Otherwise one of my toons wouldnt have 30+ elite marks for Dyson
Breach, IIRC, even had Elite, though I never played it.
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 believe you mean shudder, not shutter.)
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.'
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.'
My character Tsin'xing
It is yet another example of a revamp by the devs only to be made worse in the revamp . The original at least had team work and options for the entire team to do along with making logical sense with the new one does not. The original was a much better designed map.
I just down understand the design path the current devs are taking. Its making the game worse. Which combined with the bugs, lag and rubberbanding that's the worst I ever recall it being, is making the state of the game the worst its ever been.
Agreed. And to kind of "answer" you: that's because many find anything that's not "pushing one button and trashing everything in front of me" way too hard.
I am taking full advantage of the Patrols this time around - I did it for that TRIBBLE that was Mycelial Crysis, too, but that's because the episode was boring af and the STF was just the episode slightly changed, so same thing - because I cannot do the Breach. It's one of the worst queues in existance at the moment. for lack of difficulty, team work and lenght.
Ci sono tre tipi di giocatori:
- quelli a cui non va mai bene niente... e vanno sul forum a trollare;
- quelli che sono talmente imbesuiti da credere a qualunque cosa i dev dicano, perfino che la luna è fatta di formaggio... e vanno sul forum a trollare;
- quelli che credono a quello a cui è giusto credere, sono d'accordo con quello con cui è giusto essere d'accordo e sono critici con quello che non va;
Ai giocatori dei primi due tipi, gratis in omaggio un bello specchio lucente su cui arrampicarsi. E una mazzata in testa per la loro poca intelligenza e compassione verso gli altri giocatori che non la pensano come loro.
Agli appartenenti al terzo tipo, invece, dico grazie. Anche se non sempre si riesce a mantenere la calma, siete quelli per cui vale la pena incazzarsi.
Most people also waste time shooting the ships in the subcore room, instead of opening the shutters and getting on with the mission.
Fortunately, I don't need their help with any of that. The mission is a piece of cake to solo, trench, cores and all. Let the randos fumble around blindly shooting things, I don't care.
But yes, the original Breach, with all the interior rooms and no racetrack, was much better.
Unlike the original Breach with multiple trenches now that was a good design and a lot more fun being built for teams.
CC is already dumbed down a long time ago, because people could not understand how it works, im sure a lot of players can remember the health going down to 10% and then somebody would launch a torpedo spread at the fragments and you could start over again....
Same with the old BORG TFO's , if it gets to difficult and requires team work the big part of the playerbase will cave in and give up, sadly enough.
Is it really shocking that someone wants to have fun and actually play the mission instead of ignoring the primary objectives?
My character Tsin'xing
Likewise if shoot a few ships only and nothing else while someone else goes off to kill the primary objective of the sub cores and/or saves ships. Again they have done nothing really that useful in that section or to help the mission or team. In the worse case they don't even bother to fly back out the ship before it explodes.
If I were to make a list of optionals and other things that present themselves that don't have any effect on mission completion could somebody fill in anything I've missed or have listed incorrectly?
Exterior:- Shooting hard points doesn't count.
- Shooting and destroying the integrity field nodes doesn't count.
- Destroying the hostile ships doesn't count.
- Saving friendly ships doesn't count.
- Exiting the facility doesn't count.
- Completing the mission in the time allotted doesn't count.
Getting to the access portal, blowing it up, and going inside is the only exterior objective.
Interior:
Completing the subcore room puzzle to gain access to the main core which must be destroyed are the only interior objectives.
It’s the one time I fit the Impulse Capacitance Cell console first for the trench run and then when the subcore blows up to move into the main core room. As its normal its not like you need damage so moving faster between the slow sections seems to work better. If 1 person switch's to the speed traits for the trench run its possible to do the entire TFO in well under 5 mins. A slow Dread Cruiser without speed traits can do it in around 6min.
It is doing the same thing on my brother's account also.
Razar.
Use TFO not the patrols... looks like I missed one or two due to choosing patrols. It was supposed to be fixed but I didn't check that. Anyway the TFO is supposed to have an account wide CD (I am unsure how this works and if it works ok) and advance, and should give 2 points toward the item and 50 points toward the T6. If you did the breach TFO on those days and not in CD then no idea.
Thing is, the way TFO rewards work, optionals are a pittance. 13 marks is maybe 15% of the payout. It's even less important if you're getting an RTFO box. I think it'd be better if optionals acted as a rewards multiplier. I still do them, just because they're there, but you don't get much for it.
My character Tsin'xing
It's literally impossible to for more than one person to contribute anything useful to the racetrack. The first one through advances the mission and nothing the others do counts for anything.
But in the subcore room it would indeed be much more useful if (at least 3) players would spread out to open all the cores at once to advance the mission instead of dawdling with the optionals and leaving one player to fly back and forth between the cores.
Make optionals give event progress or something unique, then I'll consider them worthwhile. As long as it's just another bag of peanut marks, I call it a waste of time.
Enh, freeing all the ships is faster than shooting up the core once. Then the distraction is over.
My character Tsin'xing