Speed TFs make me sad

The whole "Shard run" phenomena is interesting. I'm glad it's happening, because it does tend to align better with the play goals of folks who don't want to speed run.

On the one hand, I'm certain that you get more Shards/time from at least some TFs by actually fighting. If there's a fixed probability of a shard drop per defeat, and your defeats/time decreases because you are spending time stealthing to objectives, for example, your shard rate/time has to go down.

On the other hand, several of the newer TFs we have absolutely require you to defeat large numbers of foes. You have no choice but to defeat several hundred foes in the ITF. You have to defeat nearly everything in the Apex TF. You have to defeat probably 2/3 of the total mobs spawned in the Tin Mage TF. Lady Grey? Not so much. Traditional speed tactics for that involve a few characters racing past dozens of Rikti spawns to get to key objectives, and while plenty of defeats are required, there's no question that people spend time doing nothing, waiting for objectives to be cleared or reached.

My own experience, though, is that if I'm running TFs galore (and I am), I'm getting plenty of Shards even if I'm getting less per time than I could be. Since I am running TFs, I am getting components, and thus I don't have to spend shards creating most of them.* So I basically only need the shards that are absolutely required to craft my uncommon components or Favor of the Well. I have 9 50s, and right now all but one of them has enough shards to create two Very Rare slots.

* I always end up creating the Cathedral of Pain component from Shards. No one on my home server runs that with any regularity, at least not openly.

Speed TFs don't make me sad. Neither do kill-all TFs. Bad players, I nickname them the TF Law Enforcement Agency, who think that starting a Task Force gives them the final say in how it should be run.

Sure, they start it and have the power to kick players out. Fine. I get that. But when they spam the channels looking for anyone and inviting anyone just to fill the roster without saying it's a 'speed run' or a 'kill all' and wait until the first mish is up, all the while seeing the chatter about how the other players want to run, before declaring "DO THIS!"

And that's not quite enough for them either. If anyone goes off script, they freak out. Even if it fits the strategy. Even if it doesn't hurt the time or the shard count. "WE MUST DO EVERYTHING PERFECT NAO!"

Now, I ask before joining. Once joined, I provide ideas and suggestions. If someone has an equally good suggestion, I'm fine with that. And I will butt my nose in when people bicker about silly details. As long as it gets done and people get what they want out of it, why get all huffy?

Luckily, my SG likes to stroll through content so I have a group when I want to do everything in a Task Force. If I need speed, I can find that too in those powergroups.

There are worse things than speed runs.... failed runs.

I used to speedrun back in the day just for fun. Some friends I remember used to do this just because we could. I recall doing speed ITFs on +4 (before it got removed, and re-added again).

Haven't done a speedrun since WST started. Intend to keep it that way. Since I need shards.

But I imagine speedrunners hate the "kill every blue enemy for shards" thing just as much. Different people have different tastes. I find both kind of dull. Would rather run something on +4 or do an Apex/Tin.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PRAF68_EU Dispari has more than enough credability, and certainly doesn't need to borrow any from you.

Irish, You might want to set up and post on your server's board that you wish to run a "non-speed TF of _________" and see who else is interested. You might also want to explain WHY you wish to run the TF this way. As others have said they have run the TFs for 5+ years so they know the story. But as a newer player if you let them know that you wish to experience the "stroy" well then I am sure you will be able to get players who would be willing to help out.

My stance on it is about 50/50.

Sometimes I like a speed run if my playtime for the day is limited and I really want to run that TF for whatever reason.

The vast majority of the time I like to slaughter everything that steps up in front of me. Because at the end of the day that's still why I REALLY play the game.

Rewards be damned, I'm here to kill $#!@.

I (personally) dislike speedruns. As a Bots/Traps MM it's a particular pain, because my pets are derpily pants-on-head 'special'. I refuse the sudden Team Teleport, I get left behind. I accept it, and my bots will jump straight back the way they came, usually aggroing other mobs that were skipped. One particular case I found was on the LRSF where I suddnely found it was jsut me versus MoG'd up Valkyrie...cheers, thanks guys. I'm softcapped and all, but all it takes is one lucky hit and Im down another bot...

I tend to run what I call 'Alpha Runs'. Due to, y'know, being called Alpha
My 'Rules';
1) If it moves, Kill it
2) Repeat 1 until it's dead. Use fire/death/nuking from orbit as necessary
3) If it doesn't move....kill it anyway.
4) If it won't die...stick a burn patch on it/booby trap it to hell
5) Pause only to move to the next killing field...I mean map

Much fun.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

All this "when you're a vet, you'll only want to speed run, too!" makes ME sad.

I've been here since i4, so I guess you could call me a veteran player. I play quite a bit, and I have a lot of alts. I've done all the task forces and strike forces many, many times.

However, I don't enjoy speed runs, at all. I like "killing" things, or else I'd probably be playing another type of game. With recipe and salvage drops, there's plenty of rewards to be had by actually killing things instead of skipping as much as possible, too.

I'm not saying speed runs are wrong or shouldn't be done, only that there are other ways to do things, even for us "vets." That's one of the best things about this game. There are plenty of options and variations to find something that entertains you.

As long as you let people know that you're doing a "non-speed," or "kill all/most" run, you'll find plenty of people who enjoy the same. Even vets.

Lol the "when you're a vet..." is BS

I've been here since preorder headstart and i still prefer to do TFs slowly (and i know i'm not alone in this!). I've done a couple of speed runs and i just hate it, its was fun to see how quick it can be done, but its a one time thing. I much rather gather up as much stuff as we can and then mow it down.

But i can see the appeal of it, from a competitive standpoint, getting it done quicker and quicker is an accomplishment. It takes skill and coordination to get the really fast times and kudos to those who manage and enjoy it.

Just not my cup of tea.


Tho there might be a diffrence in speed and speed. The TFs i do are kind of speedy keeping a pretty high pace in the killing department, but not skipping stuff.


On the other hand, i don't feel the need to farm shards and notices for ALL my 50s, i just took the three i enjoy playing the most And have decent variety.

Been here for a while... and for me the ones that i tend to "speed run" are Lady Gray and Imperious...

Now on the flip side, I also do "kill most" runs for them as well... with the ITF typically taking 1 hour to kill pretty much everything, and Lady Gray taking about 90 minutes.

It really depends on what the group is after as well...I prefer "kill all" missions as i am *not* set up properly for a proper stealth run, but if there are people on the team who can help us "jump" ahead of annoying parts, then I am also all for it.

But because i generally only play a few hours a week... Speeeeed ITF if one group of friends is online, and "Kill all" if another group is on.