Wicked_Wendy

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  1. Okay All you potential COP planners take note of the numerous mistakes made on the COP I joined last night in Atlas (of course on the Virtue Server or why would I be putting it here).

    1. We assembled under the statue of Atlas in AP. Doesn't sound like anything is wrong with that except as the teams were trying to organize we were competing with Role Players, a Potential WL event and just passers by wondering what all that 50 levels were doing in one spot. The successful COP I was on started in Ind. Port far away from the masses where the team leaders could be heard and understood.

    2. I get the impression someone just got the bright idea to do a COP and didn't really put a lot of thought or research into the effort. We ran into a serious problem (s) because

    2a. As the teams organized it finally occurred to someone that all three teams needed access to the same base and that base needed to be COP ready. After several mistrials we finally got 3 leaders that belonged to the same SG (mainly because one leader quit his own SG and joined the other so they could get the event started)

    2b. After we got inside .. low and behold the SG had the mission computer needed but a search of the entire base turned up no Raid Teleporter

    Several good guides have come out since the COP restarted and we are not talking major strategy yet here folks.. If you are thinking of hosting a COP make sure you have three leader that KNOW what they are supposed to do, all from the same SG, and have the basic equipment necessary to start. We are not even talking a lot of stuff.. you need one Raid Teleporter and one Mission Computer. It took well over an hour to get organized do to all this craziness and several people quit and found something else to do because it was taking so long.. which just made it take even longer while they were replaced.

    3. We finally got inside and.. No one specified which team should go where. At one point, following my team leader, all three teams were at the same Psionic Resonator instead of one at each. some one HAS to take charge and say Team One goes here, team Two goes there and MY team will take the third.. ready, set, GO!

    4. We finally organized and attacked and you could watch the progress bar on two locations drop rapidly and the third never moved.. we were down below 20% and location 3 was still at 100% health. I am at a loss for advice here because we had no idea what the problem was with team 3. It seemed like we were all about the same distance apart and my group could here the command to attack from the Trial Leader.

    5. Team make up was horrible. I am not sure how the others were but the one I was on had 2 tanks, 2 scrappers, 2 blasters (including mine), and one Defender a Kin. Lots of damage absolutely no defensive buffs and limited heals. We wiped several times and had to go back to the hospital, IN ATLAS, and return to start again. Now I'm not saying a COP demands a certain team but when you know your facing a lot of enemies that WILL respawn having along a good Buffer or Debuffer seems to make a lot of sense.

    Okay with under 30 minutes left we SOMEHOW managed to get organized and get the portal open and get inside to face the Aspect or Rularuu and the same disorganization ensued. It seemed fine at first .. three teams attacked three Willforges and we were able to bring down the barrier. That's when things went bad once more. I am not even sure what happened but it didn't seem like anyone even tried to get back to their assigned positions and just started attacking whatever was close. People were dying left and right and we made no progress at all. Along with many others I was completely out of awakes and had to teleport back to the hospital in Atlas again to continue.

    Finally with about 3-4 minutes left in the assigned hour Rularuu was still at 100 % health and I saw a message that an ITF was forming. I was in Atlas, AGAIN, and just quit the team and went off to battle Romulus. At one point I saw one of the organizers post in global that "for a first try it wasn't bad. We got inside the chamber!" NO for a first try it was horrible. Try researching things here on the forums and through Paragon Wiki before you waste more than two hours of people's time.

    FINAL SCROES FOR EVENT I TOOK PART IN ...

    COP Trial .. 2 hours plus to organize and FAIL 0 shards, o slavage, 0 recipes and 0 influence

    ITF.. 1:20 minute 5 shards, 1 Ancient Nictus Fragement, 18 pieces of IO salvage, 6 recipes, and several million in INF.

    Oh and while we stood around in Atlas while this circus tried to organize a Mothership raid formed in the RWZ, a Hami raid took place in the Hive and several other TFs formed and were probably over long before our ONE HOUR LONG (MAX) Trial. Guys you wasted a LOT of peoples playing time tonight.. get yourself organized before you try something like that again.

    LOL Okay maybe I was spoiled since the first one of tese I did was SO well organized and went so well. We were completely done and out in under 30 minutes and I don't know how the other two teams did but the one I was on didn't suffer one defeat. Going from that to something SO BAD was a rael shocker. The trial is not not tough if you plan. Future COP leaders take notes and learn from my PAINNNNNNNN
  2. In no particular order..

    1. The ITF Probably one of the easiest TFs to recruit for and I still get a kick out of battling the Cyclops and Minataurs. With the new Incarnate system this also seems to be the one that pays off the best in shards thanks all those Bosses, EBs and AVs.

    2. The STF I love the challenge of this one. Tons of AVs to face and requires some coordination on the last mission to keep Recluse busy while the team takes down the towers.

    3. Sorry but I like Tin Mage. You get the "hard" mission out of the way first against Director 11 and after that it's EASY.. Plus I still get a kick out of the last mission when someone is doing it for the first time and enters the portal room and see ALL those Superheroes waiting to send us off. heheh I've had teams spend 5 minutes wandering around the room just looking to see who all is there.

    And I'd like to add a 4th as sort of a runner up. I recently did the Faathim TF in the Storm Palace for the first time ever. It was a little long but unlike some of the Shard TFs I found it to be very enjoyable. Lots of AVs to battle, no mindless hunts to defeat 50 of this or that throughout the zone and we only left the zone itself one time for a few missions in Paragon before returning for the conclusion. I did it with a 50 level and the shard count wasn't bad either but it did take us over 3 hours and i could have done 2 shorter TFs and gotten more elsewhere. Still it was something different, for a change, and I would do it again.
  3. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Fritzdog View Post
    It can be a bit grindy when your pact buddy is not around if you are soloing. Teaming is not too bad though. I pacted with a buddy who plays about as much as I do but not always at the same time and I gotta say, its real cool to log in and find out you leveled. It might be worth breaking the pact in the 40s as that is where it really seemed extra grindy but 1-40 wasn't too bad.

    This is exactly what I ran into when I tried it out. A good friend of mine that I played with all the time and I agreed to create new characters that would compliment one another and form the pact. When it began we hooked up and formed up and for a little while things went fine. Then he ran into money issues and for a long time disappeared entirely from the game. Soloing was very tedious since half the XP I earned went to him so we'd stay equal. Teaming and TFs were not too bad but it was still a little frustrating to join a Task Force and see people getting 2-3 levels in an hour and a half and I was lucky to gain one. I also ran into another issue.. My friend is a serious badger and as I continued to SLOWLY climb upward I realized that short or Ouroborus or in the case of Safeguard missions asking to join lower levels he was missing out on a lot of badges because I was outleveling contacts that granted them.

    Eventually I broke the pact after sending him an off line message explaining I felt guilty depriving him of so much content, etc while he was away. Also I had gotten to a point where I stopped playing my BS/SD Scrapper because of the grind and guilt and I did love how she played. He finally returned on one of the free re-activation weekends and had no problem with the split. I have NEVER tried a pact again LOL
  4. /e grabs HUGE bucket of popcorn and finds a comfy seat as the flame war begins

    "This should be a Really, REALLY, REALLY GOOD ONE. Since it releates to no specific topic so anyone that likes to complain can take offense and rage on into that dark night!"

    hehehe Okay that out of the way I agree with the OP. Now I am not saying people don't have the right to come here and voice concerns and ask for thing to be fixed.. one of the reasons I have stuck with this game for more than 5 years now is the NC Soft staff do something almost unheard of in a lot of major US Industries.. They actually LISTEN to what we say and add things to the game based on our comments and fix things that get broken. With that politically correct statement out of the way let's get a little nasty...

    All of these are recent rants I have seen here on the forums:

    I hate Praetoria how can I get out of here fast? Huh? Excuse me? The main reason that entirely new world exists is because older players were complaining they were tired of running the same old content over and over every time they created a new alt. If you hate it so much try actually playing the character, get it to level 20 and leave.. Then simply never go back again.

    The new incarnate system is unfair it forces me to team: Okay first of all its an MMORPG that is designed for team play but more importantly it also allows almost any AT to still solo and the Incarnate system is no different.. Yeah if all you are going to do is solo its going to take a LOT longer than it does those of us joining Task Forces and having an uncommon slotted in a day or less but no where does it say if you don't team you can't get shards and slot you Alpha!

    Oh and one of my favorites...

    I've been playing this game for almost a year now and think its so unfair I don't have the same Vet Rewards that 6 year players have. Why can't the sell us that stuff in Packs? DUHHHHHHH Because those VET REWARDS were a way of saying a very small Thank you to players that have been paying to play this game like six times longer that you have. Where were you 6 years ago? All you had to do was join back then and pay every month/quarter/year and you could have all that neat (?) stuff too.


    As we all knoiw the list goes on and on. It doesn't matter what NC Soft does to improve things there is always someone, with a small group of disciples, that thinks it is the absolute worst thing ever and has condemned the game to utter destuction.

    /e looks around in her chair for the snack bar


    "I wonder if they have any gummy bears. I could go for something sweet and chewy right now. Please don't let me bother you. Continue to rant."
  5. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Diggis View Post
    Born in Battle looks a heck of a lot easier than the Portal Jockey bagde to gain. Give me a quick run in 3 PvP zones over having the ensure you beat the entire Praetorian gang.

    The other 2 however, look tons harder, even without the PvP visits.
    Yeah the HARDEST part for my Crab Spider in obtaining Born in Battle was Ironwomen... I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever endure 1 milion in damage to get that.. Of course that's another thing I LOVE (please note sarcasm) about the difference between getting Hero and Villain Accolades with powers. Almost ever hero accolade requires a certain number of Exploration badges, a history plaque, a mission badge or two and a few defeats. Villain Accolades rerquire you to TAKE DAMAGE? Okay we all take damage but they couldn't think of anything else to require for an accolade besides "Go out and let them pound on you a while" Oh and of course let's not foget High Pain Threshold requires that you pay off 200,000 in debt to earn the accolade. Not that 200,000 is a huge amount of debt to erase but once again in order to obtain a Villain Accolade you are basically being told "Go out and get killed" But But But .. Gee Doctor Aeon I thought the idea was for me to defeat our enemies. Why am I being granted a reward for LOSING to them? LOL
  6. Quote:
    Originally Posted by tanstaafl View Post
    I'm not complaining that I have to play my character to get to 60.
    I'm complaining that I have no choice other than to team to get to 60.

    This is not something that City has ever done before - locked level progression behind teaming.

    I think you may be missing the point. At present there is nothing stopping any player from obtaining shards while playing solo. I myself have gotten 2 shards soloing during Rikti Invasions and 4 shards during a Zombie Invasion. I've picked up one shard doing a Tip Mission solo. Is it faster and easier to obtain shards on any of the 7 Task Forces (STF, ITF, Kahn TF, LGTF, Sara M TF, Justine A TF, and Faathima TF) the 2 Strike Forces (LRSF and Baraccuda TF), the COP, Blue and Red side Hami raids or RWZ Motherships raids? Yes of course it is because those contain a lot more Bosses, Lieutenants, Minions, along with EBs and AV , than you are going to see running solo.

    The two new Task Forces.. Apex and Tin Mage do require that you have your Alpha Slot open and enhanced unless you enjoy fighting at a negative 8 level disadvantage BUT there is absolutely nothing that says you MUST complete one or both in order to enjoy the rewards of the Incarnate system. When I-20 hits and the "Trial" goes into effect it will be another way 50 levels WITH there incarnate powers slotted can enjoy the game but I am certain it will have no bearing on getting the rare and very rare slots filled on your Alpha or be a requirement that you have to complete to access the new Judegment slot.

    No one is saying you can't have incarnate powers unless you are willing to team. Its going to take you a lot longer but its still possible. The only thing they have said so far is "If you want to do these TFs (Apex and Tin Mage) you need to at least have your Alpha Slot opened. THAT can be done solo. Now they also say "If you don't want to do the new TFs with a -4 Debuff against 54 level enemies you need to enhance you Alpha Slot. That can be easily accomplished by teaming and doing a few Task Forces to get a common enhancer crafted. And like any of the Task Forces at ANY level no one is saying you HAVE to do them at all. Hey I picked up 4 shards durig a Zombie invasion in less than an hour.. I was in Cap Au Diable in the spot where the teams gather and I had my pets out so I was damaging a LOT of Zombies even solo but that was still one player getting 4 shards soloing in less than an hour. 12 Shards = a common alpha slot enhancer!
  7. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Divus View Post
    I ran into an odd bug (or maybe not) at the end of an ITF earlier this week.

    I had 3 ancient nictus fragments (or whatever the incarnate ITF reward is called) banked, and when I tried to claim a 4th, the interface locked up and I wound up with nothing.

    I bugged it but haven't heard back from customer support. Has anyone else run into it or am I crazy for running around with that much TF reward salvage banked?

    Well I play my Crab Spider a LOT lately and she has around 150 shards 6 Ancient Nictus, 5 Hero One Dna , 3 Essence of the Incarnate, 3 Dimentional Keystones and 3 Gr'ai Matter. I have never had a problem getting an end of TF drop.. By chance had you done the same TF recently? There is an 18-20 hour waiting period (I can never remember which) between.. do the same TF in less and it simply won't award you a component but you should still get the option for Reward Merits.

    And NO I don't think your crazy.. we have no idea yet what it will cost in the way of shards and components to fill those Rare and very rare slots and I know plenty of players stockpiling so they can slot ASAP
  8. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Techbot Alpha View Post
    IF Lady Luck hasn't seen fit to habitually take a dump on you from great height.

    Got five over the whole thing while people were getting rare salvage and shards out the wazoo. Guy on the one I ran the night before to get my Crab to 50 got 12.

    I think it's a curse

    Oh Tech then I know you will absolutely hate me for telling you I joined an All VEAT ITF the other night and about 2 mobs in I had a purplr recipes drop.. Not one of the biggies I have sold purples for as much as 200 -300 million while this went for only 30 million. My Crab Spider seems to be a purple recipe magnent and is rapidly approaching 2 billion on hand. She is my main and my badger so we wou't even discuss how many shards and extra components she has in preparation for the rare and very rare slots to open up.

    Yeah unfortunately shard drops like everything else vary from team member to team member. I've walked away from a TF with 9 or 10 while others were only saying they'd gotten 6 .. and I have been the one on the low end as well. To the OP.. Just keep playing it all evens out LOL
  9. I'd say that the ITF is the best task force for shards. The final Shard tally varies for me from one to another but I have gotten as many as 12 or 13 shards on a single ITF and don't recall ever finishing with less than 7 or 8.. plus you gain the Ancient Nictus Fragment so with that one Task Force you can potentially enhance your Alpha Slot (depending on which of the four choices you go with and IF the Nictus Fragment helps fulfill 1 of the requirements).

    After that I'd say the Lady Grey is next best followed closely by the Statesman TF. The Kahn TF has shard potential but it always seems like every one of those I have been on turned into a speed run just to get to the end and grab the component. So I rate it last LOL

    Now recently I have been doing some of the Shard TFs with my badger .. Sara Moore wasn't bad I pulled in six shards on it (about the same average as a LGTF or STF) and I just did Faathima TF tonight and picked up 8 shards there. The big difference is those both took a good deal more time (close to 3 hours for Sara and a little over 3 for Faathima). Also they don't award and component at the end but do award merits as always. Faathima even has some missions involving the Rikti and I picked up some Vanguard Merits there .. Which of course can be used to purchase the Gr'al Matter component from the crafting tables in the RWZ. Oh and I'd skip the Justine Augustine TF.. way too many Defeat 50 on this Bastion and you wind up fighting villains that are level 44-47 which gives up almost NO Influence at all and OF COURSE since they are not 50 levels .. no shard drops at all nduring those missions. So you end up doing 6 missions that have absoluetly no chance for a shard drop and only 5 that do. Of course Justin was the only one of the three that was fast.. we finished in a little under 90 minutes.

    Don't forget the Hami Raids (Red and Blue) side now award 4 shards for completion and you can generally pick up a few as you battle the GMs, Mitos and Hami himself... Last time I did one blue side I left with 7 shards total. And of course Rikti Mothership raids are a good source for shards AND give out a pile of Vanguard Merits yo can use yo but that same Gr'al Matter component I mentioned earlier.


    Let's see I have gotten shards during Rikti Invasions, Zombie Invasions, and while I haven't been involved in one personally I have heard that even Banner Events offer up shards. I've gotten them solo even doing Tip Missions and/or Radio/newspaper missions. Basically if you are a 50 level and your Alpha slot is unlocked ANY mission you do that is set to 50 level has the potential to drop shards.
  10. Wicked_Wendy

    X2 XP weekend

    Well let's see I have recently started a new Blaster (DP/Ice) and when I saw this question I logged on and found an NPC with a name starting in M (always tells you how many hours your character has been on patrol).

    She has logged 29 hours on Patrol and is currently a level 28. This includes doing Posi One TF, Posi Two TF, Synapse TF, Sister Psyche TF (Twice). She soloed her way to around level 12 when she joined her first Posi TF and didn't go near the AE building in Atlas or the Sewers. She has run radio missions and safeguards along with some missions from contacts. Oh and she also has all of the exploration and history badges available from Altas, Galaxy, KR, Steel, Skyway, Faultline, Talos, Croatoa, Boomtown, Perez and the Hollows... I like getting 5 free merits per zone just for flying around and stopping on top of markers.

    She was involved with a failed Citadel TF that never went beyond mission 2. We encountered a bug that kept us repeating the first mission over and over. Finally got a GM to come and get us to mission 2 and for some reason on a TF that when you checked showed as being set to +0 X0 we were facing level 33 and 34 Council. At that point everyone got disgusted and quit. And all of that probably added an hour to her time in game.

    So I am averaging around 1 hour per level as I approach level 30. Now as Memphis Bill commented from 30 - 50 I fully expect that time to drop significantly based on the increase in the anmount of XP required to level but as you can see it really is NOT that hard to level a character quickly.

    If I'd joined a Sewer team in Atlas at level 2-4 I could easily have been a level 6 or 7 in under an hour. Radio teams in KR and Steel can quickly get you through the early teens and into position for the TFs which almost always get you a couple of levels in less than 2 hours... On Synapse alone I went up 3 level in 1:30.
  11. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Lady Arete View Post
    I'd guess that the incarnate thing is more of a private thing. Its not a sudden influx of incarnates that pop up, but more that of personal development, more of a selected few souls.
    "We" (the playerbase) are the selected few, but we are not thousands of incarnates. I'd say it goes on an even more slim list then even the "Destined ones". And yet that is sort of the only thing In game that I can allude to.
    Remiel talks to You (single term), and yet "We" (all playerbase) is this "you" (single term)
    Well that is my take on it.

    This makes sense to me plus don't forget we are NOT actually incarnates yet. Altogether there are 10 slots we can eventually open and enhance and we haven't even gotten to the point where we can unlock the full potential of the first one. We are simply on the "long path" as Ramiel describes it in the cut scene in the final mission. Who knows how many before us have been on that same path and never finished the quest? We are now a little better than those not on "The Path" but still a very long way from being Demigods.
  12. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Noxilicious View Post
    So I've been thinking about how expensive the Rare Boost might gonna be, and I figure it might be either 60 shards (28 shards + Uncommon Boost) or 68 (36 + Uncommon Boost).

    I'm making two assumptions here. One, that the Rare Boost will use three components like the Common and Uncommon Boosts, and two, that there won't be components rare than the uncommon components.

    So I figured, if the Common Boost uses three common components and the Uncommon Boost uses two common and one uncommon components, the Rare Boost would either be two uncommon and one common components, or just three uncommon components.

    'course, we all know what they say about assumption. In any case, if I had to bet on some shard costs for the Rare tier, those would be my guesses.

    Yeah if I am reading your post right this is one thing I have been wondering. Now I am not sure HOW they would do it since every 45-50 level TF/SF with the exception of the ones in the Shadow Shard has already been assigned a component drop (And of course to date the Apex and Tin Mage only award shards and not a component). So either the rare and very rare building blocks just require an AWFUL lot of shards or they plan to come up with ways to make NEW component s that we either craft (again back to LOTS of shards) or get from some new drop????

    We DO know that issue 20 promises us the next slot Justice (? I think that's right LOL I know it starts with a J anyway) but we don't really know for sure exactly WHEN the rare and very rare from the Alpha will arrive. All they said prior to I 19 was the top two tiers would arrive later.. They never confirmed or denied that meant with Issue 20. It could come before as something to tied us over as we wait for 20 to arrive. As far as I know there has been no date even hinted at for I 20's release but we know they have averaged at least 2 or more issues a year so ... Late Spring to Early summer? Let's say it June. With that long a wait between issues it wouldn't be unreasonable for them to release the Rare and Very Rare Aplha Slots in say March just to keep everyone excited and interested. JUST theorizing here folks Please DO NOT take any of that as carved in stone hehehe
  13. Okay I hate constantly dredging up old stuff but I had another instance tonight where I confirmed shard drops. I was on my 50 level Bots/MM Mastermind and there was a Zombie Invasion in Cap Au Diable so I headed over there and joined the fun.

    Now let's set the scene to avoid speculation...

    1. I did NOT join any team so all the drops, Salvage, Recipes, Shards, and Enhancements I may have earned came from my own attacks or from something i at least damaged before someone else defeated it.

    2. I did have out all 6 minons and there were plenty of times I had no clue exactly where they were or what they were attacking

    Okay that out of the way during this invasion I had 4 shards drop. Once again after this now aging thread began I paid close attention and while on two of the drops their were Elite Bosses out (and on one I was actively attacking one when a shard dropped) the other two occurred when nothing higher than a Boss was present. Between this incident and the others posted here I think we can assume that if a 50 level teams or solos an Invasion (Rikti, Zombies, or Banners) there is a chance of a shard drop no matter what is attacking at the time (IE.. minon, Lieutenant, Boss, or EB).

    We can also conclude, from my numerous experiences, that the RIKTI are cheap A$...ed bums that grudgingly give up anything compared to their Zombie counterparts... Two different Rikti incasions net me TWO shards while ONE Zombie invasion, that I even joined late, nets me 4? LOL
  14. Quote:
    Originally Posted by jacktar View Post
    Hi,

    somebody has to say it........

    Why do the words "Shards - Grind - Farm" (in any order) spring to mind on reading the the quote

    I have everything crossed that when the higher tiers crafting criteria are revealed all those words will have been taken into account by the Dev's.

    And given the Issue time scales, I will probably be dead by the time the last slot, top tier, stuff is finally released anyway, so guess I should not be sweating about it too much.

    Cheers

    I don't really think of it as a grind. Like I said in my post I have close to 150 shards but it isn't like I log on and spend all my time desperately shard hunting (running from one TF to the next). Tessa is my main and my Badger .. I just love playing her so I will pull her out once a day, or less, and run a TF. Whatever I get goes into the "Let's be ready for the next set of slots" bag. I don't see it as farming or a grind at all just having fun. The other day I joined an ITF and was one of Four SOAs. We had so much defense and an amazing amount of damage that we breezed through the Task Force. The leader set a challenge, based on what we had, of no more than 4 deaths and when all was said and done.. we had only used up three. Everyone had a great time and I think I walked away with 7 or 8 more shards along with another Nictus Fragment.
  15. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Stone Daemon View Post
    Apex/Tin mage are about an hour, to an hour and a half.

    COP has a time limit of 1 hour--though generally if you can't do it in the first 20-30 mins you're not gonna beat it.

    Calvin Scott TF: Calvin Scott, from the Resistance? I wasn't aware there *was* one. Is this from beta?

    Tin Mage and Apex do run about an hour, some do them faster, and I have done 1 COP.. it does have an hour time limit but we were finished in around 30 minutes so I'd guess that's about average.

    Calvin Scott is an older TF that is now available again through the Ouro Portal like the old Posi TF. I hav yet to try it so I have no idea how long it would take.
  16. Quote:
    Originally Posted by DumpleBerry View Post
    The website and the in-game Alpha tree disagree with each other, so I would advise people not to make any plans based on either of them. We don't know anything beyond the common and the uncommon. Rare and very rare are still a complete mystery.

    Agreed I am not assuming anything with my main. She has her uncommon slotted and what I have been doing is just accumulating shards and basic components for when I find out exactly what I need. Currently she has close to 150 shards and 20 components from various TF/SFs. I could easily start craft uncommon components but I figure why waste shards and basic components trying to GUESS what I'll need.

    We still have no clue exactly when the Rare and Very Rare slots will be available so I'll just keep storing things and hopefully will have enough to go straight to Very Rare when it does finally hit.
  17. Quote:
    Originally Posted by shaggy5 View Post
    I just can't agree with this much. Unless you are packing too many of the same kind of enhancement, you still get much more benefit from being 50 IOed than 30 IOed.

    To answer the OP, I start at lvl 32.

    I tend to agree with this .. 35 level IO offer about the same benefits as SOs and don't lose strength. You could even wait to 37 since 40 levels offer about the same benefits as a 50 level SO.

    If you have the INF and want the added power you can slot IOs early on for some added benefits.. 10 level IOs far exceed 10 level TOs, 15 level IOs are better than 15 level DOs and 20 level Ios are better than 20 level DOs. After level 22 though Single Origin 25s are a lot stronger than their IO counterparts so its really a waste to slot them. In MY OPINION anyway
  18. Quote:
    Nope, shard TFs require simulclick glowies
    .

    Quote:
    You could have three others merely log off, and ask them to log back on to click the glowies once all is dead. I doubt anyone would claim it wasn't soloed based on that.

    Of course if someone were that... OCD about soloing, it could be possible to get a GM to assist once you came upon one of those. (after explaining a similar situation to GM_Roland many years ago, he and another GM assisted my friend and I in duoing the Dr Quarterfield TF by clicking the glowies with us once we cleared everything)

    Okay first of all only the Faathim the Kind Task Force and Dr. Quaterfield Task Force requires anyone to click multiple glowies.

    Sara Moore Task Force , Justin Augustine Task Force Have no such requirements. Now lets get back to Faathim and the suggestion of having 3 friends help you. These better be REALLY good friends and ones you can call on the phone every 10-15 minutes or so because if you look through the missions involved no less than 6 different missions in that TF require that 4 glowies be clicked at the same time. Sorry but I really don't see that working out to well Doc Q has 1 mission that requires 4 computers be shut off at one time .. that one your strategy might work on but with almost a third of the total missions requiring 4 players I DOUBT you will find a GM willing to keep coming back to help you again and again and again. They did you a favor back then and they are good for that sort of thing but their JOB is to asssits players that have run into bugs that prevent them from playing the game and completing missions. I decided to run a TF that is supposed to require 8 players by myself and now I need help six different times to complete missions ..is not a BUG it's a player being a PAIN in the ... "Oh my did she say that?" LOL
  19. I agree with most of you to a point but Gob has a valid point. Let's forget about Nukes for a second and look at something else...

    Accolades:

    Marshall Badge which adds 5% to your total End and requires the Weapons of Mass Destruction badge located in.. WARBURG. We are talking about an exploration badge here people and the only way to get it and obtain all of the requirements for the accolade is to enter that PvP zone.

    Born in Battle which adds 5% to your health and end requires the Triumphant badge (again we are back in WARBURG after yet another exploration badge) plus it requires the Shashbuckler History badge which requires players to click on plaques in SIREN'S CALL and BLOODY BAY


    Megalomanic Badge which increases the strength of holds, immobs, sleeps, ect for 60 seconds requires the Last Stand Badge in RECLUSE VICTORY and Triumphant in WARBURG


    Are you staring to see the pattern here people? While the Accolades that grant these powers for a hero are different and require almost no contact with PvP unless you want it. Villains seem destined to have to visit every PvP zone there is if they want these same benefits. The point Gob is making is if its badge that anyone may want to fulfill one of these requirements .. WHY ON EARTH did they put it in a PvP zone to begin with? The game is designed so players have the choice of engaging in PvP or not. Some players enjoy that challenge others couldn't care less and simply like to play the PvE content. So lets get all those "REQUIRED" badges that don't have a thing to do with PvP out of PVP.... Sorry but you are not going to convince me that clicking a plaque or stopping on top of a badge marker constitues me challenging you to a duel? LOL

    I myself have taken my badger into every one of those zones and obtained all the mission badges, exploration badges, history plaques and in Recluse Victory I am up to 50 Pillboxes and 50 Heavies and counting. I have rarely had a problem on Virtue doing any of this. I have been sent tells numerous times asking if I'd like to duel and when I explained I wasn't interested that I was only there for the badges.. I was pretty much left alone. Now if I am taking down Pillboxes in RV and I get attacked.. Its part of the game and I accept it ..that's supposedly the whole idea behind the zone to take control. Funny thing is the few times I hae been in there during peak hours when heroes and villains were battling it seemed like no one cared less about the pillboxes all they wanted to do was attack each other. Heck most didn't even bother with the heavies.. Move to slow for the style of fighting going on.
  20. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Zombie Man View Post
    Why don't you lie down on that couch and tell me for how long the Vanguard crafting table has been talking to you? <take notes>
    Well Doctor Z Man it all started when I was quite young. I was much taller than the other girls my age and they all seemed to avoid me. I began talking to my stuffed animals and then one day .. they talked back.


    OH you didn't mean me? NEVER MIND hehehehe
  21. Okay you two behave! LOL

    Just to end the mild debate and confirm things I have been to the RWZ where I purchased a Gr'ai Matter with 150 Vanguard Merits and then attempted to purchase another.

    The official reply is : You can only purchase one of these items every 18 hours.

    Goodness I feel just like a UN Peace ambassador .. Okay maybe not.
  22. Quote:
    Originally Posted by je_saist View Post
    A team that takes 3 or so hours to clear an LGTF is going to get far less total rewards than a team that didn't clear an LGTF, but ran an LGTF, an ITF, and maybe a Dr. Khan in the same amount of time.

    While I agree with all you said.. I do have one small issue. I have been on Kill all TFs recently since shards started to drop. I did am ITF in about 1:40 and even after we defeated romulus we stayed and wiped out the troops in the towers and on the walls. I did a similar LGFT (defeat everything we can find) and that took all of around 1:30 to 1:40. What in heaven's name was a team doing, aside from dying repeatedly taking on Hamidon which can happen, that caused them to take 3 full hours to complete any of the 6 TF/SF every 50 level is rushing to get on since shards started to drop? LOL Oh and by the way while the Random Number Generator may be random on that ITF I got 11 shards and a Purple Drop and on the LGTF 8 more shards. Now how many shards dropped on that trio of TFs you mentioned that everyone rushed through and left mobs standing everywhere? I've been on those types as well and trust me the numbers are much lower. 4, 5 maybe 6 shards.. The speed run teams claim they make out because they can get actual components faster.. true but then again at best if you run an ITF, LGFT, BSF, LRSF, STF and KTF you can get 6 common components .. and then no matter how many more times you run them you can't get anymore for 18-20 hours ( I forget the exact time limit). Not that that is bad by any means.. 6 components and lets say 4 shards per TF, for an average, so they also picked up 24 or more shards (which equals another 6 components). Let's say they managed to do each in around or less than 1 hour and just say 6 hours maximum. Anyone on those teams should easily have their Alpha slotted with an uncommon with shards and components to spare.

    Of course I picked up 19 shards and 2 components on those two "Kill all" Tfs in under 4 hours and using Vanguard Merits to buy a Gr'ai Matter I also went from no enhancer to having an uncommon in my Alpha Slot. So both systems work and frankly from all the TFS i have run, no I don't collect numbers, it seems to me that shard drops are in some way tied to the number of enemies you defeat. Regular salvage, purple recipes and the rest just happen when they happen and i don't even worry about them .. just enjoy the surpises when they come.
  23. Oh goodness where to start? there has been so much bad info handed out over the years.

    I think the first was misinfo by omission. I started back in December 2005 and when I arrived the very first thing I got was a Jingle Jet. Being new to the game I had no idea this was a "TEMP" power so I passed level 14 and took no travel power. I was in a Super Group (Villain) and no one I was teaming with ever thought to mention.. "Hey you are planning to take a travel power right? casue that jet pack your using will run out soon." If I remember correctly I FINALLY took fly, after wasting a pick on hover at around level 18.. maybe even level 20.

    More recently... Prior to GR going live I got info from people telling me that if I became a Rogue or Vigilante the ONLY way I could travel from the Red to Blue side (or visa versa) was by using the subs in Sharkhead and IP. I was specifically told NO.. you can't cross back and forth through the RWZ, Midnighter's Club, or Pocket D!!! Heaven forbid that would make things too easy LOL I was also told I could join Task forces but if I made the HUGE mistake of visiting my VG base or going back to the red side to buy Inspirations, etc I'd be kicked off my team. I was told if I leveled up while teaming I'd need to wait, due to the whole being kicked thing (), I'd have to wait and that I couldn't buy or sell anything. In short some here on these forums painted a picture that made it seem like if I went rogue... I had to run to Sharkshead to get to the Blue side. If I went up a level I needed to go back to the Red Side to train. No store in Paragon City would take my Infamy so if I needed new enhancements.. time to run back to IP and the red side again. There was NO where short of the two co op zones I could even think about buying inspirations and don't even think of going near my base or the red side if I was on a Blue side team or I'd be ejected from that team.. and if it was a TF I'd need to start all over. GEE that sure all turned out to be SOOOOO WRONG hehehe

    Of course eventually I wound up in Closed and then Open Beta testing Issue 18 and quickly discovered for myself the truth behind all that wild speculation. Just another of many countless reasons why I have come to discount about 90% of what I read both here and in game until the actual new issue, or whatever, is released and I can see it for myself.
  24. My badger/main character these days is my Crab Spider. I have her set up with a series of ranged/AoE attacks along with a few melee but basically I have set her up as a Blaster. Okay so you ask what is the difference?

    1. Between her own natural abilities coupled with the accolades I have earned she has about the same amount of hit points as a Scrapper. So unlike any Blaster in game she can take more damage without dying

    2. DE----- FENSE! (lol) The armor I have along with the Tactical auras I have provide me, along with team mates that are close enough, with defense against almost every known type of attack including holds, immobs, fears, etc. There isn't a Blaster, Defender, Corruptor or Dominator alive that has this much defense and now that I have my Alpha Slot filled she's added another 20% which gives her defense some tanks would envy (NO not STONE tanks ).

    3. Pets.. I can summon 3 spiderlings, 2 Arachnobot Disruptors and 1 Arachnobot Blaster. Granted each only lasts about 4 minutes but with all three available there is never a time when I can't have out at least one set adding to my damage output. So along with the ability to do damage and buff I am also a wanna-be Master mind with an array of minions.

    4. DAMAGE ... Okay unlike the classic blaster I don't have a Long Range Sniper attack but I have a ton of others that allow me to put out close to 1200 HP on damage just running through my attack chain once and that doesn't include the damage my pets may be causing. Add in several immobs (Web grenades and Wide Area Wen Grenades) for some lockdown and my Venom Grenades which debuff and the overall effect can be devastating.

    As mentioned we do get our own storyline and don't even have to process through the "Breakout" tutorial at level one. The Contacts provide short arcs that aid in leveling and even provide you with the chance to get a 2nd outfit as early as level 10 (Since you get only limited options on your first).. Don't get too excited. Yes overall we can have 6 costumes with the addition of halloween salvage but the 6th ends up being a mirrior or the 1st and you have almost no way to access it. Once you hit level 45 and complete all the story arcs from you Patron ( including defeating Recluse) you get one more mission as a "Destined One" and find yourself in Atlas Park where you get to defeat Statesman. NO other AT gets that opportunity one on one.... well at least not SO FAR

    Personally, because I have the option for both, I think the VEATS were better designed and much more fun to play than the HEATS. Regardless of what path you chose you have plenty of options.. You can easily have a dual build with one Bane Spider and one Crab or one Fortunata and one Night Widow. Even inside those choices you get more. I set up my crab as a Blaster with a few melee attacks for anything close but you could set up a crab as a melee character just as easily with a few long ranged attacks to either pull mobs to you OR take out that one mob member running away (without having a foot race).
  25. I have that badge on several characters and yes only the Cold Demons and Succubus count toward it.. very easy to pick it up near Potter's Field on Sharkhead.