Low level content and Rubi-Ka in general.

[Jenshiye]

Oh well. Keeping a New Year's resolution for six months isn't too bad but I think this is pretty important.

Things I think we need:

• All current QL 1 - 200 armour and weapons be extended through to QL 300 with pattern scripting.
• Change the mission range from 1 - 250 to 1 - 300.
• Open the unused zones and populated them with 200 - 400 level monsters.
• More dungeon options. The worst is levels 100 - 125 ... and 150+ is pretty slow with only a feebly designed dungeon Inner Sanctum for company. A miniture one on newbie island might be fun and so would a few over lapping ones, ranges 18 - 50, 50 - 75, 75 - 125.
• I don't agree with increasing the XP in RK but think there should be some items or quests that get this under utilised part of the game frequented by sl00bs more.
• I think we still need more work on the low level content and maybe some tutorials in game on how implants work? We are not retaining enough of the people that do try this game.
• Obviously, the new engine would be great when it arrives.

Edit:

• Some improved AI, mobs that seek out some help, root and run out of range of melee, etc

/Edit

Now as Jonny Storm puts it:

Flame on!

[Quilluck]

All current QL 1 - 200 armour and weapons be extended through to QL 300 with pattern scripting.

With perhaps a few exceptions, I don't see any reason why not.

Change the mission range from 1 - 250 to 1 - 300.

Does take a bit away from the uniqueness of fixers, but make em 1-270 and allow fixers to get up to 300 with enough B&E. Also, plx add a bit more variation in missions above 200. I get a bit tired of Hellhounds after a while ^^

Open the unused zones and populated them with 200 - 400 level monsters.

Simply: bump. Feel free to add more than just monsters though ^_^

More dungeon options. The worst is levels 100 - 125 ... and 150+ is pretty slow with only a feebly designed dungeon Inner Sanctum for company. A miniture one on newbie island might be fun and so would a few over lapping ones, ranges 18 - 50, 50 - 75, 75 - 125.

100-125 i can agree on, we'll see what this new SL instance brings to the table for 150-200.

I don't agree with increasing the XP in RK but think there should be some items or quests that get this under utilised part of the game frequented by sl00bs more.

Sure, I love playing on RK and have taken my new doc through a lot of team missions with a friend, and it's a bit of variation in the leveling.

I think we still need more work on the low level content and maybe some tutorials in game on how implants work? We are not retaining enough of the people that do try this game.

Getting a better introduction to the game and some better tutorials I'm sure would help keep people in the game. So.. erm.. bump, I guess heh.

Obviously, the new engine would be great when it arrives.

Yes.

[Bugzybug]

lol.. nine words:

fixer grid access to new places,
fixermish terminals.

[drainbamage]

If you want to get and retain more people what really needs to be looked at is the mind-numbing grind. Not many people want to pay money to kill the same monster over and over again for hours on end.

[Jenshiye]

... Not many people want to pay money to kill the same monster over and over again for hours on end.

Remove Hecklers. There. Fixed.

The levels should come as a result of having fun, not this Waste of Web mentality, "The game only begins at 80!" or in our case, "The game only begins at 220!"

To some extent I see your point. I prefer playing without expansions but then I have always maintained they are just a stack of grind to extend the game and sink more time. Not really offering anything that widens the scope of play.

[drainbamage]

Remove Hecklers. There. Fixed.

The levels should come as a result of having fun, not this Waste of Web mentality, "The game only begins at 80!" or in our case, "The game only begins at 220!"

To some extent I see your point. I prefer playing without expansions but then I have always maintained they are just a stack of grind to extend the game and sink more time. Not really offering anything that widens the scope of play.

Hecklers, in my opinion, are really just a symptom of a bigger underlying problem. People grind hecklers because levelling normally is, well, joyless. Aside from a handful of quests (often involving their own annoying grinds, see: shoulderpads) and the occasional dungeon there's not much to do other than grind missions/mobs... and there's only so many caves full of cyborgs you can take before you start to get squirrelly.

I honestly think most people are lost not at the newbie isle or at the endgame but somewhere in between. I know I've logged on at times just to stare at the screen for five minutes and then log back off.

[Darkripper]

bump for this, add more quests just like wow's ones (flame me, i did it to who compared both games before too), improve the loot tables of the dungeons (this means giving better armors and weapons), and gief more interesting worthable dungeons.

[Bugzybug]

What would really fix item drops is if all non-unique drops from RK monsters were bumped by a bit..

Ie lvl 1 monsters dropping lvl 5 stuff, lvl 20 dropping lvl 30-50 stuff.. etc.

[Mireiawen]

Things I think we need:

• All current QL 1 - 200 armour and weapons be extended through to QL 300
  with pattern scripting.

There are some armors, but I'd surely would like to see more choices as well, something in the lines of Miy armor, that could have its uses for not only froobs, but paid as well. Nothing like new AI armor, but armors with useful bonuses. And preferably not nodrop, to create some market where money flows from paid to froobs as well.

• Change the mission range from 1 - 250 to 1 - 300.

Might be nice. Add better XP reward to high level RK mishes as well to get paid players away from heck grind? And with some items having range over 300, there might be items for fixers who still got high BnE to fetch as well, like scopes.

• Open the unused zones and populated them with 200 - 400 level monsters.
• More dungeon options. The worst is levels 100 - 125 ... and 150+ is pretty slow with only a feebly designed dungeon Inner Sanctum for company. A miniture one on newbie island might be fun and so would a few over lapping ones, ranges 18 - 50, 50 - 75, 75 - 125.

More than just new monsters, more quests as well like said. Stuff that people could repeat for some reward, but have some sort of lock, like the ACRU mission is.

• I don't agree with increasing the XP in RK but think there should be some items or quests that get this under utilised part of the game frequented by sl00bs more.

Why not? It would add more life to Rubi-Ka, by having paid people around there as well. Surely it would make froob life easier when they got more people to team with? Unless, of course, you want to be elitist froob who don't want to do anything with paid players...

• I think we still need more work on the low level content and maybe some tutorials in game on how implants work? We are not retaining enough of the people that do try this game.

Yeah, as it is currently, you aren't even pointed to doc at beach when you enter. Unless you go try to interact with that blue-named person there, you don't get much of anything as new player to start with. Newbie quests in itself are nice last I done them, though could add more information about gear, implants and such after the basic newbie island part. Not everyone is lucky to have ARK to greet themselves and ask questions anyway.

• Obviously, the new engine would be great when it arrives.

It will help some, but if people don't know how to play the game, it won't keep them around for long.

Edit:

• Some improved AI, mobs that seek out some help, root and run out of range of melee, etc

That would add some more difficulty to the game, might keep the grind bit more interesting when its not always the same, but I can hear the screams already... :P

[Jenshiye]

• I don't agree with increasing the XP in RK but think there should be some items or quests that get this under utilised part of the game frequented by sl00bs more.

Why not? It would add more life to Rubi-Ka, by having paid people around there as well. Surely it would make froob life easier when they got more people to team with? Unless, of course, you want to be elitist froob who don't want to do anything with paid players...

Well it depends how I am feeling. Sometimes it is more fun to play with just a fr00b team or raid forces as it is more challenging and sl00bs tend to be over powered for Rubi-Ka content. My objection is based on how I find levelling in SL is too fast. There is no big value or effort to it.

If you can level this fast [Example clicky] on Rubi-Ka then there is plenty enough experience. (He only upgraded when he hit level 200)

[Mireiawen]

Well it depends how I am feeling. Sometimes it is more fun to play with just a fr00b team or raid forces as it is more challenging and sl00bs tend to be over powered for Rubi-Ka content. My objection is based on how I find levelling in SL is too fast. There is no big value or effort to it.

Should just make the new stuff more challenging then? But it is not only hard to keep balance between froob and paid, but if froob were as powerful as paid ones, there wouldn't be any point to be paid player, and I think FunCom wants to have some income. I kinda think they think where their money come when deciding on who gets the improvements.

If you can level this fast [Example clicky] on Rubi-Ka then there is plenty enough experience. (He only upgraded when he hit level 200)

Even on RK, there are kite teams, so its not about able to level fast, just get crat and NT like paid people do at Ely. Well, bit more than that, but still if you got bit of luck and stuff, just sit 24/7 in kite and get levels relatively fast.

[Jenshiye]

... Even on RK, there are kite teams, so its not about able to level fast, just get crat and NT like paid people do at Ely. Well, bit more than that, but still if you got bit of luck and stuff, just sit 24/7 in kite and get levels relatively fast.

I teamed with him on my doc for a good many of his levels. It was RK missions that he did mostly.

[Jenshiye]

Should just make the new stuff more challenging then? But it is not only hard to keep balance between froob and paid, but if froob were as powerful as paid ones, there wouldn't be any point to be paid player, and I think FunCom wants to have some income. I kinda think they think where their money come when deciding on who gets the improvements. ....

In another thread I did suggest that sl00bs and fr00bs might have two different sets of stats and XP for the mobs. Which would balance them out on RK a bit.
The other recent change I don't like is the 201+ level thing where you no longer get a mission reward if teamed with them. Now I either have to have five 201+ sl00bs running a 250 mission or some fr00bs that honestly don't care about the XP (yes, even with them fairly rare).
I know that in game you said that FUncom has probably done it so that 220s stop running their alts through 250 missions. I think a better solution would be to tighten up the team level ranges with the 201 - 220, counting one Shadow Lands level as three or five Rubi-Ka levels.

I enjoyed that I could team with some friends and they could do something while being bored on LFT, getting some research XP. Now we just get penalised for teaming up.

[Jenshiye]

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[Sturmfaust]

Yes.

[Jenshiye]

Yes.

Maybe. Wait! No! (Contention keeps a thread alive.)

Please add your /signed below if you agree.

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