Failsight

The person I was responding to was trying to connect their practices, at least indirectly, to the experience of the average or casual player. Their experience is their experience, and while it's sad that they won't be able to do what they've done in the past, trying to say "getting all the IOs that I want within a year" is the average experience, and what's more, saying that the average experience will suffer due to Merits when the system can actually help the majority of players (who don't run Katies regular times a week), is misguided.

They are allowed to say that their experience is messed up. Implying that everyone's experience will be messed up by assuming everyone does what they do is highly misleading, and steeped in non-fact.

Again, I cannot state emphatically enough that I don't think the Merit system values are perfect--the Devs acknowledge that fully--but the underlying system is actually beneficial to the game as a whole, so long as the Devs do what they said they will, and keep working on data mining and adjusting values. And at this point, I see no reason to think they will break this promise.

Guh. No, I'm simply telling you that they are fixing an oversight: certain TFs should not be exploitable like they are now. What you were doing was, in fact, grinding for what you want, using publicly acknowledged loopholes to put yourself at a performance level that you think is correct, but is ultimately well beyond necessary by developer measurements. There's actually nothing wrong with that.

However, you did say "a few decent recipes a year."

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so far about 4 full sets of Numina, 2 purple sets, just about every proc I want on every toon, et. I do quite well - I am not crawling in wealth like the farmers but I am ok.

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is what I'd consider more than a few decent recipes. That's actually really good by most players' standards.

So if you want to complain that you won't be able completely deck out characters the way you want as quickly as you are now...maybe. If you don't adapt, in any case. There is currently the potential that other exploits will be found, despite the Dev's best efforts.

You're also exaggerating. It wouldn't be "down to nothing." As I said, investing that same amount of time, you'd end up with "a few decent recipes a year," as in a few really good rares. So no, I'm not wrong. Your measuring stick is simply not accounting for what should be "rare" and "ultra rare." You simply want it and want it now.

Now, you'd have an argument if the Devs were simultaneously lowering PC abilities across the board, ultimately making this game more difficult and unenjoyable for the broad player base. You may even have something, if you're referring directly to PvP's player base (as in PvP on Live, not the new PvP). However, they are most definitely not "giving less and charging more" when it comes to the majority of players--ones that end up with far less than your "few decent recipes a year." In fact, it's giving them a means to earn them over a long period of time where they didn't have an option before. At this point, it actually helps casual players while only placing a small, and seemingly not insurmountable obstacle to those who are gaming the system.

So really, I think your perspective is rather skewed and full of hyperbole. Furthermore, you're assuming that the Devs aren't willing to adjust the variables of a variable system (Merits) if they see a problem when the issue hits Live.

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I don't grind, period. I do what? Sometimes 3 or 4 katies or caps in a week... sometimes not one for weeks at a time. That's a total commitment of 2 hours a week - that's not a grind. And I consistently end up with decent recipes over the course of a year.

The "other content" gives almost zilch merits... the only way to really pile up merits and have anything decent in this system is to start grinding out 4 hour TF's and you know what that does?

That means that nobody but hardcore gamers and GOLD FARMERS will own all the recipes now.

Do you know why? Because they get paid to sit in front of the computer all day and grind this stuff.

I've seen this happen time and time again in every game I have ever played. I also see the same people on the forums in said games defending every move the developers make and saying "oooh stop whining oooh stop wining" it's just fine.

They could nerf your avatar into oblivion and give you a fart in the glass and you would yell "Stop whining, my toon is better than ever and I drink rose petals!"

Sooner or later nobody is left playing the game but the "yes" people. And in the end... there will be a whole dozen people with their 100 veteran stars when they shut out the lights.

Then again, like the poster above said - you can rub your hands and cackle gleefully that you have gotten rid of all the players without a million vet rewards... after all, without the fresh blood you can play in solitude and talk about the glory days as they dust the cobwebs off the rikti dropships every few weeks and throw them at you like cake.

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First off, nothing changes the fact that farmers will try anything to keep farming. They're a non-factor in this. They're around now, they'll be around when merits hit.

Second, if you play exactly the same way you do now, assuming you run story arcs at all, you'll still be able to make a few decent recipes a year. What you may miss is a feeling of immediate gratification when you get that great drop at the end of the TF. You'll either get that feeling of gratification when purchasing a random roll from merits, or have a sense of accomplishment when you purchase exactly the recipe you want.

Now, I don't think the system is perfect. There are a number of suggestions I hope the Devs will take into consideration. But your behaviour of "they changed stuff, I don't want to change, I quit," is a bit hasty. If you want to quit, then that's your call. However, I think it'd be worth waiting a month after Live release to see how it truly pans out. Even if you do leave, then keep an eye out to see if things change afterward.

Some gamers in these forums are die-hard CoX fans, it's true. But the difference between a real fan and a bad one is that the good ones will keep on pushing for changes in an intelligent and well-explained manner, even after an Issue's release. We've seen it work in the past, and I'm sure that it will continue to work for the foreseeable future. Taking your ball home to sulk (i.e. protesting with your feet/by withdrawing your cash) has actually not been an approach that's gotten a lot of change done.

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Dear Devs:

You ruined this game and turned it into a long freaking grind to get anything - thereby pushing a casual player like myself out of the equation.

I had to cancel my subscription today, right on the cusp of finally getting my angel/demon wings and I am ticked off.

What a mess this is. I did not want to try to go out and find a new game before Christmas.

Subscription canceled.

You can take your WoW like faction grind you are creating and stuff it.

The best thing about this game was the fact that you didn't have to grind for good things, it was the ONLY GAME out there you could escape the grind with... and now you completely re-centered the game around a stupid boring grind for merits.

You might as well have us raiding endless hours and forcing us to do DKP supergroups and start raising the level cap every 3 months.

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Okay, here's what I don't get: you blame the Devs for making this game a grind when what do you spend your time doing? Grinding the same TF for loot.

The merit system is tweakable, and allows players to play regular story arcs in order to work towards either random rolls or specific IOs. That's actually less grind (i.e. playing the same content) overall then just running a Katie a day or more.

I think there may be some things to do with recipe pools that may alleviate any further concerns about the Merit system, but altogether, it's actually not a backwards step when looked at overall. You simply end up running other content beyond Katies or Caps.

Heheh thanks for the vid! I've got something to look forward to now.

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The branching dialogue options sound interesting, to say the least. I'll wait to see how it shows up in the new zones to see what they actually do with it. If they go back and spruce up old content with it, though, there's a couple villain contacts I can think of who need some more dialogue choices...

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Fun exercise time! I want to see lots of fun (and hopefully not ban-worthy) replies!

List of things you'd like to say to Hardcase:

READYGO!

Blasters would actually be able to go PEWPEW!

Was just thinking...how horrible would it be to play with a PB like this? Every single attack, you'd only see a screen-filling "FOGHOOOORN!!!" or what about SB'd Claw/SRs? Row upon row of "SNIKT!"

The more I think about it, the more I'd love to see a joke version of this with real gameplay footage.

I love how people are still falling for it. Gold. Sheer gold.

Make it a psi blade!

lol Time to move that DM/WP to WP/DM and roll up a Bots/Storm MM (Oh, the KB!). I'm mostly curious about what the Mental Manipulation consists of for Blasters. I'm guessing a lot of control-type powers, but it'll be interesting to see the powers in that.

SR for Brutes was a bit of a surprise. I don't know if I'd really enjoy that.

Between now and June a good answer?

A shared PvE zone would be cool, I just don't think that the Hollows is the place to do it. Much better to completely make a new zone or heavily repurpose a zone to make a good reason for there to be villains (i.e. RWZ and the greater threat of the Rikti), which doesn't really make sense in context for the Hollows. The biggest threat in the Hollows is probably the Circle of Thorns and all their disturbing up the Igneous there. Well, Nerva already has plenty of Circle, and it has the big ol' Thorn tree, plus you romp over Circle all the time in missions, etc., so they hardly seem worth it.

Again, it's not PvP concerns most likely, but that summons don't persist over zone changes, which sounds like a code thing, which means it's not likely to be changed. The best solution is still a mass summon/buff. Even then, I've gotten into the habit of summoning and then buffing on the fly as i start the mish.

Hmm...I don't think much can be done about that, other than the fact that the roads (if the door for the mish is in the city part of the zone) are clearer. I don't really know how contacts in a different zone pick their doors, but if you're getting mish's in the hills or in the other less accessible areas, then the only thing that can help you is a travel power of some kind.

The article mentions how she left clear travelling paths, usually on roads, through most of the zone. Obviously, the areas in the hills is a bit different in that respect, but I think the assumption is that by that time, you should have a travel power, temporary or otherwise, by then.

Well, it is the first hazard zone introduced to players, so I can understand why it should be a bit toned down compared to other hazard zones. And by the time my Ill/Storm Troller was 30, she was jumping into spawns of 8-10 +2s and surviving. Something that she obviously couldn't do back in levels 5-10. I honestly always hated the fact that the first 2 missions were "kill x of whatever" when they all came in groups of 6-10 enemies often +1 or higher compared to your character. Making the first part of a lowbie hazard zone soloable is nothing but good in my books. There are still challenging areas in The Hollows, according to Melissa, but they're not around the entrance, and that's good.

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Yeah, while I support any and all upgrades to the CoX game, I have to say that I am a little disappointed at the use of the "easy button" on the Hollows. I feel like too much whining (no offense) has led to the dumbing down of many cool and challenging features of this game.

My first few toons learned the value of a travel power, aggro range, the power of a team, and the falsehood of "hey, they are all my level, i can take them!!!" really quickly when i was a noobling in the Hollows.

If anything, I felt that CoV needed a similar hazard zone.

Next time a low lvl squishy runs into an 8 man spawn alone, i'll think of this change!

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Have you even read the dev diary? This zone is gonna be like 10 times cooler.

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Of course I did. More diversified but fewer mobs. Closer mission doors. More friendly mobs. A contact with repeatable missions. Easier =/= cooler in my book. Tricycle not cooler then Harley.

Overall I am overjoyed with 95% of the upcoming issue, beside myself even. Just not this 5%. Did the Hollows need some attention? Yes. Was this what it really needed? I don't think so.

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Although I suppose one may have qualms with the changes (I don't--I never liked the Hollows, personally), I do have to say that this was a lot of work done by a dedicated person who honestly didn't have to do it for the QoL of casual players within a timeframe and budget window that sounds like it was practically non-existent. I personally can't see how being killed in transit to your missions or having to take round-about paths or hovering to low-level missions is cool, but of course, you're allowed your opinion. It is also acknowledging that, yes, people do want to solo at low levels in the Hollows. I'll definitely check the new Hollows out when I12 hits, and I appreciate Melissa's hard work. She's my hero!

Naw, that's the badge for spending x amount of hours playing on the ice slides. For Frostfire, I'd call it Hot Flashes. Hehe

Let me be one more voice asking to set the options to Disabled by default for new characters. It's simply much kinder to have to opt in to an information service than to have to opt out. There's no reason to make it all enabled by default.