EvilGeko

Exactly. We've tread this same road before. Many people have done these trials a few times at most and really don't know what they are doing. They're getting frustrated because compared to other content they don't know it as well. Yes, the Incarnate trials are difficult. They do require more coordination, tactics and listening that other content. One simple solution I would offer to everyone is target the battle orbs first. It will make a big difference. Next, do not immediately assume that your soft-capped character has any great advantage on these trials. Do not assume the opposite either, that your soft-capped character is being picked on. The Praetorians come loaded for bear and they are intended to be difficult.

In two weeks, once people are casting Destiny buffs, have new level shifts, are debuffing via Interface, Judgments are wiping spawns, and most importantly people understand the strategies for defeating this content, everything will calm down.

In what ways is it not money?

I thought Knockup was just Knockback aimed in a different direction?

Is that a playstyle choice?

Why does it matter? Perhaps they were testing concepts out that they had no intention of using? Who knows? Perhaps the Destiny slot originally caused a hologram of an old dude and a little green midget to appear and tell you you had to murder your father.

I think it's been about two years!

I use inspirations like the skittles they are. They make so much possible.

Naw, not really. Personally, I don't need a reason to repeat the trials and I suspect the vast majority of people won't either. But it's simply wrong to suggest that it makes no sense that more than one League would attack Lambda and BAF.

Lambda and BAF are high-value military targets. I would imagine they would be under attack almost constantly just as the Vanguard headquarters are.

The point if the Lambda trial is sabotage. There no reason whatsoever that you can't sabotage a facility multiple times. There's really no overarching story to the trial. It's blowing up Cole's stuff to make his invasion harder to accomplish.

Likewise, there's no reason they couldn't keep trying the same scheme over in the B.A.F. each time figuring that there's only so many Primal heroes to stop us and maybe we'll get lucky this time.

Except, it's a story that ends when both sides close the portals to each other. There's no particular reason for a war under the circumstances you list. If Cole was a "tragic hero" he would NEVER have invaded Primal. He might have sent scouts into Primal, who would have reported about a world that seems to be in chaos and that would have been the end of their aspirations for Primal.

Cole was never an interesting villain. He's always been a power mad Tyrant. The goatee version of Statesman. It's simple comic book fun. Not high literature, but a very good background reason to beat up polygons!

It takes 60 to craft a common; another 100 to get an uncommon. For a soloer, that sucks, but for someone who groups? Please, that's nothing. Convert everyday, do a trial here and there to earn merits for the rare components and before you know it all four slots will be filled.

But hey, don't believe me. I really know how this is going to play out. For all the complaining, come Issue 20 I know people will be playing these trials a lot, having fun, and earning threads via conversion through any content they do. It's going to be a lot of fun and I hope it's soon.

Many have found that not to be true. Beyond a certain point (basic comfortable standard of living), having more money can be a curse for a lot of people.

Sums up my whole stance better than I have been able to in weeks and I get paid to argue!

Shards aren't components. Components come from the tasks I listed above. Shards drop, of course, from any level 50+ enemy. Since shards up-convert to threads, that same Blaster could earn a common or uncommon Interface, Destiny, Judgment or Lore power the same way. May take more shards and it will take influence, but it's possible.

Respectfully, it seems at this point, you just want to be angry about this. It's clear there will be more than two tasks that drop components. It's equally clear that, despite the claims, one doesn't have to grind these two tasks alone since you get a few threads from Apex and Tin Mage and have the conversion from shards available. Nevertheless you keep claiming the opposite. Why is that?

Of course, but we know right this second that that is a temporary condition. The developers have already announced two additional trials. We only get Alpha components from five tasks: ITF, LGTF, 5th Column TF/SF, STF/LRSF, CoP. The raids (Hami and RWZ) give things that can turn into components. Realistically not too many people are doing the CoP raid, most everyone I know just converts those components. Yes, there are only two trials. But that's going to improve with the announced Keyes and Underground trials and whatever else comes after. The devs are obviously giving the trials a window of exclusivity so that everyone gets a chance to experience them and experience new more strategic encounters. I suspect that very good ideas like the challenge mode TFs will come, but that's not something the devs can do in time for Issue 20.

In addition, there's no actual requirement that a person only grind those two trials. A player who groups often will easily be converting shards into threads on a daily basis, making it easy to build up to uncommons in the higher ranks. Using other tasks and the up-conversion to supplement your rewards from the trials can very easily break up the grind.

Lastly, it's only a grind if you let it be. When you just play and not focus on the rewards, then it's likely to be a lot more enjoyable journey to becoming a mighty Incarnate.

Cherry picking doesn't really make your case. In terms of content, Issue 20 is well in the middle. There are several issues: 4, 6, 7 (for heroes), 8 (for villains), 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 that had demonstrably less content than Issue 20.

Many of the remaining Issues are comparable in content. Issue 10, 11, 19 for example.

You may not enjoy the trials. Again, no one can really change your opinion on that and I'm not trying to, but it's simply wrong to say that Issue 20 is content light. There might not be content you want to do. That's happened to me. For my part, there have been several Issues that I've barely bothered with.

Oh, OK. I can understand just not liking the whole Praetoria thing. I haven't tested the new TFs (I want something to be fresh) but I don't think they're ALL about Praetoria.

May I ask, are you having fun now? If so, what will change when they add additional content such that you feel the need to leave?

Just guessing, but I think they want to get any stragglers their rares so that most folks are playing the trials at +3 instead of +4. The less people fail the trials, the more people will support more efforts down that line.

That or Positron is trying to beat his 14 min. time on the TF.

So bad, so lol.

Although I think Venture's point was that to say that Scott is worse than Tyrant is beyond laughable. Neither are great guys you want at the company picnic, but Cole makes Scott look like a girl scout selling cookies.

It's interesting, because I see Power Loyalists almost more like Rogues. Selfish, out for self, but little of what they do really tugs at you as being evil. They're stopping criminals to the regime for the fame it earns them. As for the Crusaders, their tactics are extreme to the point of evil, but almost none of them are truly 'bad' people. Most of them have a backstory which makes it fairly clear why they have been driven to this conduct. Especially the Imperial contacts. Most have suffered greatly as a result of the Cole regime and seek vengeance. Not a great motivator to be sure, but it's easy to condemn them when your family wasn't wiped out.

With the Wardens/Responsibility folks, the choices seem almost good until they aren't. Responsibility path folks are doing OK until they're asked to support slavery and later work with a psychic vampire. Wardens are peachy all they way up to the point where they blow up a water filtration plant.

I do think Sam is on to something when he says there shouldn't be such clearly defined roles. It would have been better in my mind if Cole's regime wasn't so clearly, irredeemably evil and the Crusaders used dirty but not stomach churning tactics or at least felt bad about them.