Seldom

Working in a web development business, I can say with complete honesty that it's what is obvious in the user interface that determines the ways people use a system. What is first seen is what's most important to the user. Right now? That's stars. (And the dev choice/guest icons) The yellow, shiny things that glow on top of that green list just jump out. Hide the stars under a drop down, all of a sudden you are saying that those are of secondary importance.This isn't enough, however, if the first page is determined by stars.What you put on the first page is ALWAYS the most important, most used. I really like the idea of starting with a 'random' page; this means there's always a chance your arc could get played, no matter the rating. It also puts more emphasis on people simply submitting arcs, rather than just getting the highest rating possible.

Let's take a step back. The devs, I can say with pretty fair certainty, wanted the AE arcs by players to work as 'filler' content, especially in the downtime between issues to counteract some of the boredom/inactivity that happens when the new stuff has been 'used up.' Some may say that this ain't so, that arcs are just meant for you and your friends; this ain't true. Not with the way they balanced the star rating system. And there's no way friends can give enough content to use in casual play. I can make a long arc for a week or two of my play time sessions, and it will be used up in an hour and a half. More people's arcs must be used to give the MA continuous use. Like it or not, the AE is failing to do this to a large degree, despite the many stories available. If the AE functionality fails, the onus to make new content is soley on the devs, despite the time spent to give players the chance to do so. The biggest problem with the AE is that it just doesn't deliver a good gameplay experience. Why? Junk. Yes, people are not always going to make dev's choice arcs, and yes, one man's trash is another man's treasure. But in that huge mass, there has to be some good ones. Hey, some may make arcs that the devs would never choose that players enjoy MORE than what the developers may pick. The only way the AE will work and get used is if it can give players a fun time. As such, it will have to lead them to this. The only way in place compare arcs are stars.

But stars are just data, let's get back to what people mean when they insert that data. 4 stars can mean "good," as can five stars. Nobody gives a one or two star rating for something they really like, though. As such, let's not say that it's a matter of five being five times as good as one, but that someone really liked something. So, if a mission has 1400 four star ratings, and 10 five star ratings, it's actually more likely to please someone than a mission with 12 five star ratings. So, if a player could search by popularity of content, the system would be better off serving the 1400 four star-rated arc before the less tested 22 five star rating content.

But this is still all using stars, it should also give a chance to the content that hasn't been given a chance to get rated. I mentioned I'd like the front page random: just to renig on that a bit, what if the top 2-3 slots were always from a pool of the most recently played/edited/published arcs? (replacing current dev's choice/ guest arcs) It could be randomly drawn from something using a broader time frame, like days, to avoid people just sitting by hitting edit/republish to hog the front page.

Somebody mentioned having a separate tab for dev's choice/guest content. That seems a great idea, perhaps adding hall of fame arcs to this. That way the tried content would be easily available for those wishing for it, but wouldn't crowd out the many other arcs. And let's be honest, these arcs don't move much, so having them separate, but well labeled would allow people make a stable go-to point when looking for missions.

Having the search feature open would also let people see that yes, they could specify their tastes, and find stuff in said flavors. Yeah, it's there, but I hate to say it: people DO NOT explore UI often. For many folks, any content under an 'expand' type option=hidden.

While yes, I can agree as a writer 'however long it needs to be," as a player there are some caveats. People don't all have a long time. As it uses the task force mechanic, your arc will monopolize the gameplay options of those playing it. If it's so long that multiple play sessions are needed for people who can just game evenings, it had better be good (and memorable) enough to stand up to that kind of monopolization. The player is using up their time, make sure their time is well spent.

As such, keep in mind not just the number of missions, but try each mission and see if they are long. My rule of thumb is never make an arc that takes longer than a short to medium strike force with the same team make up. Tougher enemies make longer missions, as do defeat all/lead out objectives.

For mission number? 4 is usually my maximum unless I make sure there are some relatively short ones in there somewhere. 4 defeat alls on large outdoor maps, however, is time consuming. I do try timing mine, and if a non-optimal team can't finish an arc in two hours, it's time to edit. An hour and a half for an arc is really long, when you think about it. Remember: the longer the arc, the more fun you'll have provide to distract the players with so they don't feel inclined to peek at their watches. The longer the arc, the higher the stakes.

Hm. I've tried a good many times, and was pleased to see that my account is stubbornly secure as of yet. Can anyone confirm the wrong account problem? (I was using chrome/IE 7)

Oy! Hope they do something with this, pronto. Heck, I wouldn't mind if they shut things down until it gets fixed. There are just too many bad possibilities if this is true, and simple as it sounds.

edit: Tested this out, and so far no other accounts showing up. Just my own, thankfully. What browsers were used in testing this?

....but, but...some of us MAKE crime....

Though this is perhaps not helpful to all, I thought I'd pop in with a quick tip, to those it applies to: Ballista are susceptable to control effects. They have mag 6 protection, but once that is taken down, they're helpless.

Note that because of their long duration,confuse effects work wonders against them. (And give you defense to protect you as you kill them.)

As to that mission in particular, I would also like to note there is something very odd with Ghost Widow's endurance use. When she runs shadow fall, her endurance simply dies. Even without this, she simply cannot continue through many fights without bottoming out, making her a tad useless.

Positional defense is far more adaptive.

Say you're fighting council. JUst the minions use these attacks: a lethal/ranged attack, a cold/ranged attack, a fire/AoE,a lethal/melee, a energy/ranged, a negative energy/ranged, a negative energy melee, a smashing+lethal/AoE, and a smashing/melee. Look at those damage types, and you'll need a broad spectrum. Let's just say you got high ranged/melee defense. See how many in that list you can cut out?

Very few things in the game do not have a position tied to them.

Okay, a couple things.

The endurance costs should not even consider acrobatics, as some have claimed. Acrobatics is not a necessary consideration, as there are other avenues to the same solution: breakfrees, IO's. If it's bugging you, carry some of your indigoes or you can invest in steafast knockback protection....please, don't talk to me about "I can't afford those!" They are easy to get. For those out of the know, and without cash, run a couple AE arcs that give tickets, and use the earnings to roll bronze recipes in the 10-15 range. KB protection shows up pretty regularly there, and those are cheap.

Secondly, comparing to fiery armor is a bit faulty. Electric, I can see a bit, but still not quite there. Why? Dark armor is balanced around its control auras. Like it or not, the fact is not only do you as a dark armor user have a way to regain your health and reduce incoming damage, your have a means of preventing incoming damage. Stunned foes don't fight back well, nor do ones quivering in fear. Electric is close with its sapping, yet this is a bit is faulty as it is not balanced around its heal the way dark armor is. Unfortunately, you must prove from its own merits why dark armor needs its buff.

A cloak of fear tweak? I could perhaps see that. When it was set from "+afraid" (Run away! Run away!") to "+fear," the thing was overpowered. The fear effect was downgraded, the endurance cost should probably now follow. After all, the toggle is doing less for just as much. With reduced effects, a reduced cost seems fair.

Mine was a scrapper, made a while ago: 1886 days offline.

To me, the origins come down to this:

Natural: Relies on training, skilll, or inate abilities. The innate abilities may supercede those of most humans, but it's a natural talent as there is nothing inherently different about their cells, and they don't need to cast any spells. They may learn new ways to use the power they have, but they often do develope brand new abilities.

Tech: While the character may have innate talents, the technology they use they rely upon. Without the technology, they would not stand up to the a hard task without it, or without creating some new technology.

Mutant: Something is different about the character's cellular structure, or genetic makeup, that confers their abilities upon them. This may have happened at birth, or due to outside manipulations, but the abilities are something very much a part of their physical being and DNA code. These abilities may even present themselves without the bearer's wishes, and may be controlled/developed with training/time.

Science: A process or experiment created the character. If this did not happen, they would not have ever had their abilities. While the process may have mutated the character, a scientific origin places the emphasis on the event/process that created the character's abilities.

Magic: Some arcane source either confered powers, or is used as a power source. Without the magic, the character would be unable to do what they do. This usually relies upon entities, artifacts, or spells as a means of obtaining powers, or making powers work.

Both are west coast servers, yes?

.....And those are the only servers I play on!

<--sad Seldom

/\ Yup. But dual slot impervium armors in your res toggles, put the +end proc in a 4th stamina slot, some extra +recovery bonuses where you can fit them, (hint: many stun sets give +recovery) and it won't be an issue.

Here I was, thinking the OP was asking for actual "skeletons" as enemies in the AE/game. Ah, well.

....C'mon, fighting skeletons would be neat. Zombies aren't the same. I can think of a hundred different stories that would be awesome with a horde of skeletons.

I think you just found out why I like energy melee with dark armor so much. It's fun to play as a melee character that can turn big bosses into stumbling, helpless drunkards.

Ah. Good to know about the whole PvP thing.

So...what's a good pricing number?

My "off the cuff" number of what I'd LIKE it to be would be 25 merits a piece for each vanguard costume item. (Maybe more for weapons, as those are more than uniform, but rather represent technology) Running vanguard missions, especially on teams, this number would at present take a lot of work, but at a good pace be obtainable. Yes, you'd have to work for it, but wearing it would show the dedication to the organization.

Wait, would someone be able to get a full costume on a good raid? Yes, and that seems fine in my book. They've done something the vanguard could not do, but greatly approves of.

I've had a bit of trouble finding a reliable way to find said enemies redside. Any pointers from villain badgers?

You will not need the fitness pool, you have drain psyche. -And the beauty of mind/psi is that it can keep things from attacking often enough that the +regen from drain psyche keeps you at full health most of the time.

Seriously- with sets slotted in most powers, they use less endurance, and drain psyche gives about a stamina's worth recovery per target it hits, with domination's endurance refill, I just don't see the need for stamina. That's three power slots and a pool spared, right there. I might pull up my build when I get home and post it.

To the OP: if you want an "RP PvP" scenario, you should have behaved as such. (I assume you are, as you asked why a hero runs, not why a player makes their character leave.)

Challenge the hero in an RP way. Whisper behind them. Do stuff in character, they may play along. I they send a response like "I don't PvP" then they aren't into it. The issue, I think, with PvP is this: you say that, and the idea of a min/maxed character who play to win comes to mind. They don't go into character as much as pick fights. You can circumvent this assumption about you by showing that you're just interested in a fight, not pwning them. If a stalker pop up behind me and whispers "Aha, hero, you've fallen into my clutches!" I might play along for the heck of it. If someone simply comes by stabbing me in the back, I have no frame of reference, other than that I'm being stabbed. ....and when a player says something like "Run, noob, like the coward you are!" they're not being fun about it, and I'd have no interest in engaging in a fight with them.