Forbin_Project

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On the contrary, while new sets would be nice and they should add more full sets, this would be a decent way to please several people's demands with fewer needed resources.

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I'm not denying that, nor am I saying the idea is bad. You'll notice I didn't /unsign it. I'm just voicing my preference for completely new sets.

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If you're in a VG, the base teleporter drops you very conveniently close to the AE building in Cap - to the point where it's almost impossible to get ganked. This is why Cap continues to be the lowbie haven of choice.

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If you've ever been to Kings Row the AE building is near the train, the trainer, the market, the base portal and tp spawn point, the Pocket D entrance, one of the PvP zone entrances (I forget which one), the Vault, Det Frietag/Becktrees & Safeguard entrance, and the Hospital.

I haven't been playing redside much either since I14 so I'm running on the assumption that Mercy is being used the same way Atlas is.

I'd rather see the devs expand the initial tutorial to include things like crafting IO's, using the train, selling something at the market.

Then make it mandatory for all new accounts to go thru the tutorial once per account. After that the new account is flagged and they can choose to skip the tutorial.

If a person who indulges in gluttony is a glutton, and a person who commits a felony is a felon, then God is an iron. - Spider Robinson

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One thing the game needs to make a bit clearer is your initial contact.

I'd like the see a new level one contact added that essentially functions as an in game tutorial (better than the current ones.)

1. You get the normal contact popup for this person as soon as you arrive in the starting zone.
2. The first mission gives you a bit of inf and sends you to a shop where you're given a couple free TOs (if you skip the tutorial it's easy to miss the enchancement help) with a brief explanation and possibly a "dummy" fight.
3. After a small mission or 2, this contact introduces you to one of the normal contacts in the zone.
4. Once you reach the level for the next normal zone, the initial contact popups instructions about using the train/ferry/helicopter/etc. system and sends you to a contact in the next zone.
5. Possibly a group based mission (2 or 3 man team minimum) to teach players how to use the lft system (most of the new players don't know this even exists due to the broadcasts and it would help get rid of that annoyance.) The lft system seriously also needs an AE category added as well.

Not terribly hard to write, easy for vets to skip (they will only introduce contacts you can access other ways) and new players will learn the essentials. Heck, maybe even have a fairly easy mission at level 10 to introduce the sidekick system.

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That's why I suggested a new expanded tutorial that's mandatory for new players.

The devs could code it so the new player has to accomplish a set of tasks before they exit the tutorial. Once the new player completes the tutorial the account is flagged and they can choose to skip it when making new characters.

The tutorial could include things like using the train, selling something at the market.

They could even take those ingame trainings at the AE and the University and include them in the initial tutorial.

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How can none of you see the Irony in getting the Doc badge, on a toon named Doc that doesn't heal...

I guess everyone has their own perception. The protector bots do, but I rarely use Repair.

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Please point out exactly where you told us in your first post that the character in question doesn't heal.

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My Main Doc Mech-Nec just got the Doc badge

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Doc - a slang for doctor.

Synonyms: expert, general practitioner, healer, intern, medic, physician, professor*, quack*, scientist, specialist, MD, bones, doc, medical person, medico, surgeon.

Yeah there's no way we could come to the conclusion that your "Main Doc" has the ability to heal.

What's really ironic is that the true irony of your posts eludes you.

I want completely new powersets not some half-arsed sets cobbled together from already existing powers.

NCcoin is NCsoft's new micropayment transaction system that will allow Exteel players to spend real-world money for specific items in the game. Specifically, players can purchase NCcoin through their NCsoft master account, and then use NCcoin in Exteel to acquire new Mechanaught equipment, weapons, and special accessories.

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If the power can only be used on zone maps, it has an extremely limited fuction. There is a very small, finite number of zone maps. Clear Fog of War on all zone maps. Throw the power in the trash because it no longer seves any purpose whatsoever.

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That's assuming you never play another character. I don't know many people that only make one character in this game. I also don't know of any player that hasn't deleted at least one character.

The number of times you'll need to clear a zone map is only limited by the number of characters your imagination can create.

That being said I feel confident in saying the devs have never consulted me nor based any of their decisions on my personal preferences.

The whole point of my bringing up how farmers used to go to PI was to demonstrate that new players did in fact go thru higher level zones in order to conduct their preferred playstyle. So I don't see them getting frustrated at having to go to KR or Port Oakes.

It was never meant to portray farming/PLing in a bad light. Some people like it, some don't.

It only takes the tiniest amount of effort to learn how to avoid mobs while travelling thru a zone and the difference level difference between Atlas/Mercy and KR/PO is very small.

The other benefit is that learning there are other zones can entice the new players into exploring them and keeping ther subs active longer, instead of getting bored with thinking the game is restricted to one tiny zone.

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The farming comment wasn't necessarily directed at the OP. It's been brought up in this thread though.

And removing the AE building from Atlas WOULD restrict characters from using the AE as an alternate path from 1-50. Notice I didn't say prevent, I said restrict. As in it would restrict them to only being able to use it if they went to galaxy, or another zone other than Atlas Park.

I should have made it clearer that I wasn't really responding to the OP. His suggestion isn't all that bad. I'd be just as happy if the AE guy, and admissions officer lenk, and all the other random contacts that you only really need to do once didn't contact you at all.

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OK, with that clarification I can see what you mean but I feel the benefits outweigh the "restriction". I think that when they go to the train to go to the AE in KR they'll see there are other zones available and curiosity will tempt them into checking them out at least once.

I honestly believe that when they see more of the zones they'll want to keep their account active longer. Even if they only look around the zones inbetween running AE missions.

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However, if the devs decided that they would create a separate non-trade IO set that they sold via micro-transactions, then I would at least want to see how it affected balance before I said, "no."

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Here's another thing to consider, if a set of non-trade IO sets were made, how would they be handled during a respec?

It is not unheard of to respec a character and no longer have a use for a set of enhancements.

Since those non-trade IO's would no longer be slottable or tradeable the real money investment would be thrown away.

Edit: Hmm, I see I said "to this" when I meant "with this". Sorry about that. I didn't catch that and it does change the way I was saying what I said.

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Personally I still think it's a business decision. AE spawned a lot of 50s in a short time and now people are trying other ATs faster since there isn't that chore of grinding/leveling.

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From what I understand, this thing most people refer to as "grinding/leveing" is also known as "playing the game the way it was meant to be played".
They didn't sit down and spend the hours, days and weeks creating and writing out back stories, intricate plots, organizations and their connections, in game history, and giving each a unique look and personality that fit said story, so people could spend the entire game moving from one door to the next getting power leveled, or worse yet, not even leaving the starting zone.

One of the great things in this game, imo, is that it is not top heavy. Sure, there is loads of content in the endgame, but the vast majority of the content they have added spans more than ten levels per. Which is more than most MMO's put out. That being said, the game is not made to be "completed", it is made to be "experienced".

Imho, anything that aids PLing should be reviewed and toned down or modified if not outright eliminated or avoided.

P.S. I think the Architect falls under the former category.

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This isn't about playing the gameas it was intended. We don't care if new players prefer to farm. We just want them to be able to make an informed decision about their preferred playstyle.

Theres a huge difference between running AE farms in Atlas because you think thats all there is to the game and deciding that after you have had the chance to check out the different zones and all the content available you prefer to run AE missions.

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A new player getting to PI or even knowing where PI is was not that common, most lowbies spamming PI either had friends that introduced them to PI or alts.

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And the only difference between what they did then and now is that the new players back then learned how to travel from Atlas to PI.

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Usually the spammers did the Broadcasts caught alot of grief and either left the Zone in shame or got everyone's Global Ignore.

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No they didn't. PI was always filled with farmers and PLers on all the servers and the chart channels were inundated with farm/PL spams.

Players that wanted to run regular content were always complaining that they couldn't get teams formed because of the "spam".

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The Farm mechanics were different, there were SK rules to follow and just being on the team was not a factor as it is in AE. Most lowbies were just exploited as fillers. Stay in your zone and hunt or grouped just to spawn the map.

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You seem to be confused. If the lowbies actually stayed in the lower zones they wouldn't have been able to spam PI broadcast channels with farm/PL requests.

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I'm not going to say that AE is Doom for the game

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We aren't saying the AE is the doom of the game either. We're saying that new players will see that the game has more to offer if they actually have to leave the starter zones in order to get to the AE.

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cause what it did do was provide a Central Hub (Atlas Park) for toons of all levels to join missions and not worry about lack of SKs which on the low pop servers comes in handy.

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Translation: We now have a lot of new players that are going to be quitting the game soon out of boredom because they have no idea that there is more to do than sit in Atlas or Mercy and run AE missions.

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Personally I still think it's a business decision. AE spawned a lot of 50s in a short time and now people are trying other ATs faster since there isn't that chore of grinding/leveling.

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Sitting at the mission entrance while another player powerlevels you to level 50 isn't "trying out other AT's."

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Excellent suggestions! I have had many newbies ask me things that show they havent left Atlas yet, and its really sad.

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Let me say that using the phrase "farming the AE" implies I'm against farming. I'm not. I think that by leaving Atlas or Mercy will introduce them to some new farming options that they won't find if they never leave the starter zones.

Theres more to farm than just the AE.

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sorry had no idea there was a specific view over powers and costumes. oh well guess i can get used to that
forbin,i was reffering to super heroes who need or dont need protection or certain travel powers given by a costume.

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To be honest I threw the jetpack comment in there because I'm sick of wings and boots. I'd kill for the option to craft a jetpack costume recipe.

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No.

The powers in this game are entirely separate from the costume equipment in the game because we do not need to all look the same.

And, having been a comic book retailer for 13 years, there's exactly no truth to the supposition that there are "2 types".

What about the mutant who takes no damage from incoming things, instead, absorbing them?

What about the mentalist who doesn't need body armor because she always has a mental shield?

Only a small portion of the superheroes in any given universe are "super strong" - many are "super healthy" but that changes.

The thing that's always made this game FAR better than all others in terms of character creation is that the appearance of the character is *entirely apart* from their abilities. We do NOT need any costumery that affects game play.

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This. Except for some jetpack recipes.

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Edit: Plus, yes, Forbin has a good point.

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Daaaaaammnnnn! I have to quote and sig that. It's not every day Bill says that about me.

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/unsigned.

The intention behind the mission architect is for any character to use it as an alternate leveling path from 1-50. Anything that restricts the ability to do so is a bad idea. And yes, it's still a bad idea even if you think it will reduce farming.

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Good job on that reading comprehension, don't hurt yourself on your way out of the forum.

OP:

Sounds like a good idea. It doesn't restrict anything, just helps give new players a better breadth of the game rather than stuffing them right into the AE fresh out of the tutorial.

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That's the only argument thay have. The big "you're just against farming" rant.

This isn't about farming, it's about retaining customers that are getting bored and cancelling their subs because they have made the erroneous assumption that this game consists of one zone and one AE building.

There are farming/PL opportunities in every zone. The thing that changes and keeps us interested is the scenery.

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And interestingly enough I could have sworn navigation issues were one of the reasons that the devs revamped the Hallows.

I don't think frustration is a good teacher. But that's just me.

I distinctly remember many breathing a sigh of relief that they no longer had to do the hallows when kings row became even more viable due to newspaper missions.

I don't think you encourage folks to visit other zones via (potential0 frustration, which is what the whole point of moving it out of Atlas is supposed to accomplish.

But as I said before having the level contact appear at lvl 5 is a great idea. Moving it directly across the street from the tram is also good.

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Aura, I'd just like to point out that it is very unlikely new players are going to get frustrated and quit because they have to leave Atlas, Galaxy, or Mercy in order to use the AE.

Or have you forgotten that prior to I14 new players had no trouble getting their level 1 characters to Peregrine Island and Grandville and spamming the chat channels there with Farm/PL requests.

Requiring them to go to Kings Row, Steel, Port Oakes, or Cap is not the big deal some would make it out to be.

Nothing that has been suggested would restrict new players from using the AE to level from 1 to 50 as an alternative to running regular content.

It would only make them go to a different zone to do it. And before you even try to put forth that lame excuse that new players won't want to risk travelling to a higher level zone in order to use the AE, I'll simply point out that those same new players had no trouble getting to Peregine Island before I14 was released and flooded that zones chat channels with farm and PL requests.

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Well, guys, I've been away for some time, and a lot of good's come of it.

Since June 5th, I've been out because I've been with someone very special to me.
She's my best friend and she's my very spiffy girlfriend. We'd met online about 4 years ago, and had become close friends, with mild hopes for much more, but limited by all of the distance between us. After 4 years, we finally met up, and spent a month living together (With my mother, since I'm broke/poor/lazy/takingcareofherinjuries). Needless to say, it was magical.

Today, she embarked home, leaving me a lonely, lonely Siggy... But also a Siggy that's been left quite un-updated! o.o

So far, I've seen that I15 is out, and Power Customization is on the horizon, so speaketh Posi. Being the doom-monger that I am, I'd like to know the other calibers of DOOOOOOM currently afloat.

(Yes, this was partially all about the butterfly feelings from meeting her.)

So, give me DOOOOOOM!

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Grats on the significant other Siggy.

As to DOOOM! there currently is a heated discussion as to wether or not the devs should allow the AE to award 2xp during the next 2xp weekend thats coming at the end of July/ beginning of August.

This has also sparked a couple threads about removing the AE buildings from the starter zones Atlas, Galaxy, and Mercy due to the recent rise in new players that don't know there are more zones in the game other than Atlas and Mercy.

Intelligent players agree that the company will have a better chance of retaining new players for a longer period of time if they have to leave the starter zones and discover that there is more to the game than just farming the AE.

Evil, would you agree to this?

The devs aren't going to sell something that can be traded between players ingame.

Purchased Respecs cannot be traded or sold to other players.

Purchased Jetpacks cannot be traded or sold to another player.

Purchasing the ability to cast buffs on allies cannot be traded or sold to someone on another account.

The devs aren't going to turn the company store into an official version of the scum sucking RMT vampires that are a bane to this game.

If they do sell something it will only be able to be used by the account that buys it.

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I'd assume it's more so meant for mission maps. Although I'd personally see that as a double edged sword: If I missed a room, it'd help me find it... but at the same time, I use the Fog of War to know where I've been!

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God I hope it's not meant for mission maps. I also use the fog to know where I've been.

However using it to clear the fog from zones would be fantastic! I absolutely hate having to clear my maps on each and every damn character I have.