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[CoX] Issue 20: Incarnates is live!

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Posts

  • Modern ManModern Man Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    I tried the trials today and wasn't massively impressed with either. The prospect of repeating them three hundred times to fill those four slots doesn't fill me with joy, I think I'll bow out for a while.
    I'd be more impressed with them if the players didn't seem determined to fail. Last night's PUGs were an unending clusterfuck. It might be worth waiting a few days until the player base learns the basic strategies.

    Modern Man on
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  • TubeTube Registered User admin
    edited April 2011
    I tried two pugs, both of which failed. I haven't done the maths, but it looks like the amount of reruns of the same two trials required to get a rare in each of the 4 new spots is going to be ridiculous. Life is too short.

    Tube on
  • skippymchaggisskippymchaggis Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    for a game that has a generally/mostly (not always) fun leveling process, and who's specialty, imo, is allowing people to play so many different characters, the time sink required for the Incarnate stuff is why I unsubbed a couple months back.

    skippymchaggis on
  • CyberJackalCyberJackal Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    So, what are peoples' plans for the new slots? I think I'm going to focus on Lambda for awhile and try to power through to a rare in Destiny for the level shift. Haven't decided which power I want yet, though.

    CyberJackal on
  • LednehLedneh shinesquawk Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    Anyone have any advice on soloing lowbie Dominators, specifically my 8 Earth/Thorn? He did great in a team but with just Quicksand and a ST hold he's getting clobbered alone :(

    Ledneh on
  • Modern ManModern Man Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    for a game that has a generally/mostly (not always) fun leveling process, and who's specialty, imo, is allowing people to play so many different characters, the time sink required for the Incarnate stuff is why I unsubbed a couple months back.
    Yeah, I'm a little ambivalent about the whole Incarnate end-game thing. It wasn't bad when it revolved around the task force of the week. I ended up doing task forces I'd never done before. But having to do the same trials over and over again is pretty mind-numbing.

    Maybe I'd be singing a different tune if last night wasn't a total PUG fail festival.

    Personally, I would have preferred if they'd focused on giving more leveling options, especially on blue side. Creating a 1-20 leveling track in Paragon City similar to Praetoria would have been a nice addition. And I'd like to see them re-work neglected zones like Boomtown and Dark Astoria.

    Modern Man on
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  • grouch993grouch993 Both a man and a numberRegistered User regular
    edited April 2011
    I earned 30% in the BAF with one failure at prisoners and then a success. Think I am at 80% with two lambda successes.

    Just first tier, not sure how much is needed to unlock each level.

    The successes were large groups of PA folks with some pick ups.

    It also looked like having the /afk message when you were typing was enough to fail and disband a league. Wild guess at this point since we didn't set up a trial run to verify.

    grouch993 on
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  • see317see317 Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    The prospect of unending Lambda and BAF runs is unpleasant at the moment to say the least. Both seem determined to fuck my MM up the ass (I suppose it might be to make up for the past 20+ levels of being a badass). Of course, they're both new so give the pug population a chance to figure out what they're supposed to do and they might get better. Give NCsoft some time to make another half dozen trials for more variety as well.

    At the moment it's pretty worth it to dump a massive influence wad on burning threads for IncXP to open the slots though.

    see317 on
  • jonxpjonxp [E] PC Security Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    I dunno. It seems pretty much par for the course for MMO endgame content. It just turns into something for the people who are willing to grind it to get the "good stuff".

    jonxp on
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  • ShawnaseeShawnasee Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    I am pretty sure there will be a couple more added when CoH 2 comes out.................

    Shawnasee on
  • kafzielkafziel Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    Two more trials have already been announced.

    And there are a lot of ways to get progress towards the boosts themselves. Threads are constantly dropping, including Astral Merit conversions. Successful trials give Empyrean merits, eight of which plus 200 threads gets you a Rare from scratch. And successful trials also give a choice of component, which saves you 20 threads even if you only get the common window - my first trial, I got the Rare window, so that's the most expensive of my Judgment components taken care of in a snap.

    It's really not nearly as difficult as it looks at first glance. My brute has done two trials so far, one BAF and one Lambda. From that, I have 12 threads, a rare component, and uncommon component, and two Empyrean merits - plus 20 threads from Shard conversions. She hasn't unlocked any slots yet, but if I cash in Empyrean merits, she's 28 threads away from an uncommon in whatever slot she unlocks, and after that only 40 away from the rare. That's one, maybe two successful trials.

    kafziel on
  • Eat it You Nasty Pig.Eat it You Nasty Pig. tell homeland security 'we are the bomb'Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    yeah, it's not really as bad as it seems. Once people start completing the trials regularly you'll be getting quite a few merits, which speeds things up considerably even without converting empyreans.

    Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
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  • ScooterScooter Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    The one thing that gets me is there's no solo content at all this time around. Never really passed on an Issue day before but I'm just not feeling the energy for TFs and Trials after work right now, I'll catch up this weekend.

    Scooter on
  • WeX MajorsWeX Majors 8th Floor, MegashipRegistered User regular
    edited April 2011
    for a game that has a generally/mostly (not always) fun leveling process, and who's specialty, imo, is allowing people to play so many different characters, the time sink required for the Incarnate stuff is why I unsubbed a couple months back.

    Holy shit I found someone that can adequately describe why I don't care about the end game content better than I ever could!
    Thank You!
    I've always had this weird disconnect with me playing CoX, and playing CoX like a video game.
    Vitruvian is...jesus I don't even remember. 48?9? Something like that. Which would probably drive some of you insane, and I honestly don't care if the game dies tomorrow and I never get him to 50.

    I play if a character is fun to play, and at no other time. Which means it's entirely possible I spent $15 last month simply to keep the vet rewards going. And I'm comfortable with that too.

    But I'm also thrilled to see that this is what you dudes want to play. It is after all, your game too.

    WeX Majors on
  • Eat it You Nasty Pig.Eat it You Nasty Pig. tell homeland security 'we are the bomb'Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    I just think the game is so much more fun to play at the high end.

    I mean, prior to level 30 or so most of my characters felt half-finished. Then in the 30s and 40s they start getting fun, and by the late 40s and level 50 they start feeling like superheroes (or villains.) Previously once a dude hit fifty and his build was done there wasn't really much to do with him except farm for the same old rewards. I've rolled a lot of alts, but the characters I'm most attached to and like playing are the ones that wind up being high level. So I'm glad there's something for them to do.

    I understand running the trials over and over is going to get monotonous, but as far as I'm concerned it's not much different from running the same old ITF/LGTF/kahn rotation anyway.

    Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
    NREqxl5.jpg
    it was the smallest on the list but
    Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
  • Modern ManModern Man Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    From an immersion perspective, beating up on a bunch of brainwashed prisoners in the BAF is a little unsettling for a super-hero character. I mentioned that last night during a trial, and a league-mate responsed "Yeah, war sucks."

    Interesting point. Whenever our characters cross over into Pratetoria to fight Tyrant's forces on their own turf, they go from crime-fighters to soldiers.

    Modern Man on
    Aetian Jupiter - 41 Gunslinger - The Old Republic
    Rigorous Scholarship

  • RingoRingo He/Him a distinct lack of substanceRegistered User regular
    edited April 2011
    Ledneh wrote: »
    Anyone have any advice on soloing lowbie Dominators, specifically my 8 Earth/Thorn? He did great in a team but with just Quicksand and a ST hold he's getting clobbered alone :(

    I seem to recall those first few levels being a gigantic pain in the ass. You've just got to get real good at pulling small numbers and hope like hell that you don't miss the ST on the Lt.

    Domination does make you feel like a tiny god though

    Ringo on
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  • grouch993grouch993 Both a man and a numberRegistered User regular
    edited April 2011
    On my controllers and dominators I have tried to group up for the low levels. Just because having a tray full of awakens to complete a mission gets depressing.

    grouch993 on
    Steam Profile Origin grouchiy
  • tricontricon Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
  • LednehLedneh shinesquawk Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    HEY JERKS so I got 22 last night on my Earth/Thorn dominator and got to work slotting 25 common IOs. Wasn't as impressed by the improvement as I thought I was going to be, sadly--grouping is just as good as always, and soloing didn't get much easier. So couple questions.

    1) Seemingly I do my best work at -1/2 difficulty; extra numbers to keep under wraps with Earthquake while I AOE, with -1 level to offset the extra damage. Does this make sense or would I be better served with another difficulty?

    2) How should I be handling things in general? I use either Earthquake or Stalagmites to open, but it seems like enough of them don't get controlled that I still suffer for it, and can't kill them fast enough to avoid the pain.

    3) Specifically, how should I be using Quicksand? It's great on groups (when people lay off the knockbacks :x), but solo I don't much see the point.

    4) It just occurred to me that Earth and Thorns have the same side effect, i.e., -Def. Did I screw up in this regard? Should I have taken a different secondary?

    Ledneh on
  • LepwaveLepwave Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    Quicksand around corners, then use Earthquake.

    Lepwave on
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  • Eat it You Nasty Pig.Eat it You Nasty Pig. tell homeland security 'we are the bomb'Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    You need a lot (like, a lot) of accuracy in stalagmites. It's default accuracy is lower than most of your attacks, and you've already seen what happens when it misses. It's definitely your best bet for an opener, though.

    My favorite use of quicksand and earthquake is actually to hold stuff inside volcanic gases until it's held. You can drop quicksand from around the corner like lep says, then lay volcanic gases on top of it, and send stony in to take some hits for you.

    You don't have stony or gases yet, unfortunately. That's the problem most low level squishy characters face, though: it's hard to solo without having some of your most important powers. Best advice is to either team or farm your way to a level where you find you can solo acceptably (for me this is usually the mid 30s or so.)

    I wouldn't worry about stacking the -def from earth and thorns, assuming you like playing both sets. The debuff component of the assault sets isn't that consequential, really.

    Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
    NREqxl5.jpg
    it was the smallest on the list but
    Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
  • ShawnaseeShawnasee Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    Is there something I can do to combat the lag? Any settings I can turn down so when I click on a power it actually fires when I hit it?

    Shawnasee on
  • ultrapeanutultrapeanut Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    Shawnasee wrote: »
    Is there something I can do to combat the lag? Any settings I can turn down so when I click on a power it actually fires when I hit it?
    The first thing I do whenever I notice performance going down is reduce Water Effects to low or off, which usually makes the framerate pretty fantastic even on my underpowered laptop. You can also turn down the ultra mode settings if they're on. I remember the max particle count causing a lot of trouble on an old computer's skuzzy video card, so that's something else to consider.

    Also, hi! I drifted away from CoX like five years ago and finally gave in to the urge to play again after resisting it at least a dozen times in the past five years. I'm kind of amazed by how much fun I'm having so far, even with random groups. It doesn't hurt that my favorite alt is a kin/rad defender on Virtue who's been an absolute joy to play for the past week or so. Seeing her hit 20 after so long was an absurdly nice feeling.

    There are so many things that feel ridiculously familiar given how long it's been, and there's almost as much stuff going on that makes no sense to me. Love it.

    ultrapeanut on
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  • Eat it You Nasty Pig.Eat it You Nasty Pig. tell homeland security 'we are the bomb'Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    don't forget to respec to get inherent stamina!

    mm, tasty

    Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
    NREqxl5.jpg
    it was the smallest on the list but
    Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
  • GhostalkerGhostalker Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    So I don't know if I'm really feeling the new update. The upgrades to my 50's are really nice and the new Trials are well done but it's already starting to wear on me.

    Like the WST got old near the end of every week. I can't imagine doing this over and over again for months until the new Issue.

    Ghostalker on
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  • ShawnaseeShawnasee Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    I wish they offered lifetime subs.

    I hate missing out on my vet rewards.

    And thanks Ultra...I will try those out.

    Shawnasee on
  • PonyPony Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    Lambda Sector can suck a dick.

    BAF is okay but jesus christ fuck Lambda Sector so much.

    Pony on
  • LednehLedneh shinesquawk Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    Alright, just got my second 50 ever and unlocked my Alpha slot.

    So, uh, I'm confused, what do I do now :arrow:

    Ledneh on
  • kafzielkafziel Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    High-end Task Forces to fill out your Alpha. Imperious, Statesman, Recluse, Lady Grey, Barracuda, Dr. Khan, Mothership Raids, Hamidon, even Cathedral of Pain. Once you have something slotted in Alpha, add Apex and Tin Mage to the list.

    Alternately, start queueing for Behavioral Adjustment Facility or Lambda Sector trials. You can make Alphas with the things from those, too, and start unlocking your more advanced slots as well. Don't take the fact that you aren't hugely IOed and don't have a high-power Alpha as a reason not to do these - they're more about teamwork than anything else, and both trials have been done by teams where nobody even had level shifts.

    You may also want to start collecting Notices of the Well, used for Rare and Very Rare Alphas, by doing the Weekly Strike Target - right now it's Manticore, for heroes, and Operative Renault, for villains, but on Tuesday it will change to be the Imperious Task Force. The new Mortimer Kal Strike Force for villains also gives you a Notice of the Well the first time you do it.

    kafziel on
  • LepLep Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    Go get them shards.

    Lep on
  • Eat it You Nasty Pig.Eat it You Nasty Pig. tell homeland security 'we are the bomb'Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    You'll start getting incarnate shards as random drops (they drop from everything now, I think, not just level 50 content.) You can use those (and WST rewards) to buy incarnate salvage, used to make alpha slot enhancements.

    I don't think you'd have very much fun in one of the new trials without either the alpha slot level shift or a heavily IO'd build, but there's no reason you can't try them out.

    Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
    NREqxl5.jpg
    it was the smallest on the list but
    Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
  • kafzielkafziel Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    It's just 54s. We've been fighting those without level shifts since I19 launch.

    kafziel on
  • ScooterScooter Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    Ghostalker wrote: »
    So I don't know if I'm really feeling the new update. The upgrades to my 50's are really nice and the new Trials are well done but it's already starting to wear on me.

    Like the WST got old near the end of every week. I can't imagine doing this over and over again for months until the new Issue.

    Yea, I was on the verge of 'quitting' (though my account's active til May) until I finally got on a good BAF team on Saturday, but even now...I can't just keep doing the BAF over and over.

    Scooter on
  • CyberJackalCyberJackal Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    kafziel wrote: »
    You may also want to start collecting Notices of the Well, used for Rare and Very Rare Alphas, by doing the Weekly Strike Target - right now it's Manticore, for heroes, and Operative Renault, for villains, but on Tuesday it will change to be the Imperious Task Force. The new Mortimer Kal Strike Force for villains also gives you a Notice of the Well the first time you do it.

    Actually, ITF was this week, and starting tomorrow it will be Psyche/Silver Mantis.

    CyberJackal on
  • grouch993grouch993 Both a man and a numberRegistered User regular
    edited April 2011
    Lambda is a lot easier to fail than BAF. Have also heard stories of people collecting the temp powers and not using them correctly, or just leaving once they have some. Noticed that I kept a pacification grenade from one trial for most of a day (mine wasn't needed, we spread them amongst the tanks, scrappers and brutes).

    Haven't had a successful PUG run with a group of less than 12. BAF, we had a group of 12 and completed.

    Master of Lambda will be a pain. Collect all 10 acid and pacification items but don't use any, plus the other badges.

    As for what to do, think I will do some of the new content to get at least tier three of destiny and lore on two characters, work on a couple other concept builds that I had, farm a little and spend some time on steam games I bought over the holiday sales.

    grouch993 on
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  • NarbusNarbus Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    kafziel wrote: »
    You may also want to start collecting Notices of the Well, used for Rare and Very Rare Alphas, by doing the Weekly Strike Target - right now it's Manticore, for heroes, and Operative Renault, for villains, but on Tuesday it will change to be the Imperious Task Force. The new Mortimer Kal Strike Force for villains also gives you a Notice of the Well the first time you do it.

    Actually, ITF was this week, and starting tomorrow it will be Psyche/Silver Mantis.

    The new strike force gives you a special temp power at the end, flames of promethus or something, that is a minor buff until you hit 50 at which point you can convert it into a notice of the well whenever you want. WST doesn't matter none.

    Narbus on
  • Eat it You Nasty Pig.Eat it You Nasty Pig. tell homeland security 'we are the bomb'Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    I like lambda a lot better than BAF. More interesting to play through and involves fewer than a million people.

    It's definitely reducing my desire to make alts though, and I'm not really sure how I feel about that. I have a couple concept dudes I'd kinda like to level up, but it's kind of hard to make time with all this incarnate craziness going on.

    Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
    NREqxl5.jpg
    it was the smallest on the list but
    Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
  • shalmeloshalmelo sees no evil Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    Yeah, that's the thing that's been bugging me this past week. As someone who only has one level 50, I've been bored to tears because EVERYONE is off doing the trials. I'm hoping the novelty will wear off after a while and some people will come back to doing the occasional sub-50 TF/SF.

    shalmelo on
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  • RobzielRobziel Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    shiaka.jpg

    Robziel on
    Do I look like the sort of man who'd go and find unsuspecting Japanese schoolgirls in short skirts and white panties and ask them if they want to see my "Cthulu Special"?
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