Bumping up. If you are looking at the XP/info issue, please look at the rep boost. I really want to max my main Merv reputation. Thanks.

Then you have a schism right in your hands, as I'm a loyal follower of the Empire, being the Old Republic  is a vicious and corrupted form of government.

Jedi44 wrote:

so its going to take my character longer to gain rep after she has got it to 0? Its easier to lose the rep then gain it? Like I know for a fact I'll have to do what 137 missions right to get 100 rep in merv since she is -37 in merv rep.

Definitively is easier to lose reputation than winning it. You will find that the having your rep up to 100, in order to use the key, won't take just 100 missions after zero, as there's a kind of gaussian progression formula attached to it, but don't worry. I think you will have a better chance to achieve your goal with the current conditions, than me getting a max reputation (Somehow that's why I'm asking for the boost).

The problem is that as you are closer to max rep, the odds to earn a point become lower. So, if you have a bigger reputation with your org, it becomes harder to earn a rep point as you're closer to the max (1.7 % I think to remember).

Now that XP and info were changed to help those of us with alts yet at a low level, I would like to request a change on the reputation gain because as it is, it woul be impossible to reach max reputation ever. Maybe something like a 50% chance of earn a rep point while running a regular mission or so. Please, change it.

Othinn1 wrote:

Virrago wrote:

MxO is now running with Double XP and Triple $info for the duration

 

 

   What about increasing mission reputation so some of us can actually reach full rep?

Yeah, please. I want to max reputation for every char I have.

Check your e-mail at Recursion.

I'm fully inspired. Now. Which way to the carnage? 

What about tomorrow, May 1st? Let me know at what time you're available so I can be online at the same time. If fortune is at my side, I can get the 2 Merv rep points I need to max out.

Garu wrote:

Hit Valfreyja with Disruption Field, Insidious Code and Destroyer.  Interlock her and then just nuke/bomb her down in about 15 seconds.  I've never tried soloing any of the level 60+ NPCs but there are a few techniques to do so I hear.  I just prefer to farm those levels with a friend or two.

I do that, but without the IL, because the nuke/bomb abilities have an accuracy penalty in IL. If you land the debuffs, she's down after the third attack. Of course, if you do it with a friend that distracts her while you land your hacks, the deal is equally done.

TimeMaker wrote:

You don't have to lose your target, if you hover your mouse over the door and use tab (I believe that's the default "use" key) the door will open without it becoming your target.

 Live and learn. You're right. Tab key keeps your target behind the doors. Thanks for the tip.

Villemar_MxO wrote:

Garu wrote:

TekMon wrote:

BTW, the name for the Merovingian token is Merovingian's Bond.

I always thought it was "boon". :S

Lol trust me the full name is "The Merovingian's Boon."  I've used the thing constantly for almost 4 years now, I activate it as often as I activate Evade Combat, which is pretty much always

:: laughs :: I stand corrected. Talk about quoting from memory. Yeah, the right name is Merovingian's Boon. What throw me out of my guard was  Vesuveus list, spelling it as boone. Not that I'm excusing myself 

Neo's Insight used to do the same as what ZHR, GotS and MB do nowadays: Grant enhanced toughness when activated. The exact amount varied, depending on how many PDA's were collected and delivered to the Organization collector, when the Red Eyes Agent LE took place. When Glimmer of the Source, Zion Hardware Requisition and Merovingian's Bond were handed out, NI was deactivated.

BTW, the name for the Merovingian token is Merovingian's Bond.

Garu wrote:

Vesuveus wrote:

Thanks for the info, I've updated the OP again.

The only item that has been mentioned that I haven't put on the list is the Holiday Presents. I found a few of these when Rarebit dropped them in the City but found no difference between the ones found and the Presents offered at Prop Vendors. I checked the Details and there was nothing different. I recycled them.  Can anyone show difference between the 2 items?

There is no true difference other than the Winter presents were found on the ground instead of at the vendor.  I'm fairly certain they are just the same item but dropped into the world by an admin.

EDIT:  I miss my "Gitch Pigeon" from Beta.

Actually, there is a difference between both items. The Winter Gift has Stability and a different description than the one found at the prop vendor. Below are the images:

- Winter Gift:

- Prop Item

So the Winter Gift is a rare item, after all.

I agree with you Neoteny. I'm not trying to punish veteran players. I was just rationalizing that the skill roll as a way to say "bad days happen". Guns jam, shield generators fail, the pilot is drunk :: laughs ::, etc.

The question not should be if the current environment is friendly to new players, but how we can work to attract new players at all.  If after Rank 5 won't be additional stats increments, then a random 6 will be enough fora lower ranked player, without crippling the efforts of a higher rank captain. Let's test how the random 6 works.

Neoteny wrote:

That's all well and good for the /random 3 rolls - which are flawed, and that's the goal to fix it.

As it stands, with increasing to a /random 6 roll, a ship with a stat of 0 going against a ship with a stat of 3 would still have a 1/12 chance of success, with a 1/6 chance to succeed or tie. (i.e. this is the equivalent of a ship with a stat of 1 [since we have relatively low 0's] going against a ship with a stat of 4, which, outside of hull, does not exist yet). Under the normal system, the stat 0 would have 0% chance to hit or tie.

A ship with a stat of 0 going against a ship with a stat of 2 has a 1/6 chance of success and a 10/36 chance of success or tie (i.e. shp with stat 1 vs ship with stat 3). Under the current system, the stat 0 would have 0% chance to hit and 1/9 chance to tie.

A ship with a stat of 0 going against a ship with a stat of 1 (stat 1 vs stat 2) has an 11/36 chance to succeed and a 16/36 chance to tie. Under the current system, the stat 0 would have 1/9 (for comparison, that's 4/36 - the /random 6 improves odds 4 times over here) chance to hit and 2 chances to tie.

These rolls are a significant improvement and, I believe, will be what we will use, at least in one test battle, though I do not foresee any difficulties.

Yes Neoteny, my point is that a situation where a random 6 will be useless doesn't exists yet, but it migth eventually occur. With my Skill roll proposal, I'm aiming to fix the problem under the current base 3 system and keeping it from break, eliminating the modifiers when appliable, only for that single attack phase.

Of course, the scenario when a lower rank player might have a better stat than a higher rank player needs more revision, specially with odd hovercraft configurations. Maybe a formula where the whole stat points are counted might give more balance than a straight stat debuff. Will think about it.

OK. I decided to stop being argumentative and decided to bring some simple mathematical analysis, in order to back up my claims about the fairness of a random roll increase against my proposal of a Skill roll to debuff higher stats.

First. The table below shows the results of rolling a random 3 dice, without modifiers, i.e. when both players have the same value at a given stat:

	Player 2
Player 1
		1	2	3
	1	T	L	L
	2	W	T	L
	3	W	W	T

The probabilities are as follows:

Now, let's see the odds, when there's a +1 modifier:

As such, the probabilities are:

 If there's a +2 modifier, then the results are:

Then the probabilities are:

At this point, we can see that it won't matter what Player 1 does, he can't win. We can even propose to speed up the battling process, giving the winning roll to Player 2, without the need of throwing the dice.

Nevertheless, let's see how a random 6 dice behave. The following table shows the results of rolling a random 6 dice, without modifiers:

	Player 2
Player 1
		1	2	3	4	5	6
	1	T	L	L	L	L	L
	2	W	T	L	L	L	L
	3	W	W	T	L	L	L
	4	W	W	W	T	L	L
	5	W	W	W	W	T	L
	6	W	W	W	W	W	T

 Under this scenario, the probabilities are:

Not bad, apparently, even with higher odds than a random 3 roll. However, when there's a +1 modifier, the results are as follow:

	Player 2
Player 1
		1 (+1 =2)	2 (+1 =3)	3 (+1 =4)	4 (+1 =5)	5 (+1 =6)	6 (+1 =7)
	1	L	L	L	L	L	L
	2	T	L	L	L	L	L
	3	W	T	L	L	L	L
	4	W	W	T	L	L	L
	5	W	W	W	T	L	L
	6	W	W	W	W	T	L

Suddenly, the probabilities for winning are lower than with a random 3 roll:

With a +2 modifier the probabilities are:

	Player 1
Win	16.6%
Tie	11.1%
Lose	72.2%

With a +3 modifier the probabilities are:

	Player 1
Win	8.3%
Tie	8.3%
Lose	83.3%

With a +4 modifier the probabilities are:

	Player 1
Win	2.7%
Tie	5.5%
Lose	91.5%

And finally, a +5 modifier gives probabilities of:

	Player 1
Win	0.0%
Tie	2.7%
Lose	97.2%

In conclusion. A random 6 gives chance to a lower rank player to compete against a higher rank player, with odds favorable to the higher ranking player, but it eventually will lead us to a situation similar to the current one. My proposal for a Skill roll doesn't have this limitation, though it needs to be tested to see if it will help to promote the hovercraft battles.

Omega0 wrote:

TekMon wrote:

A high rank player will win always against a lower rank player, because a random 6 still lefts the high rank player with her/his stats intact.

No, a higher rank player will not always win against a lower rank player if they do /random 6.  Let's say that a ship with default stats (3 1 1 1) is shooting at a ship with shields at 3.  If the ranked ship rolls a 1, then the unranked ship can win by rolling either a 4, 5, or 6.  This way, the new players have a much better chance of doing some damage to the ranked players and surviving longer, while the ranked players do not feel that their accomplishments are meaningless.

As stats stand now, yes, the lower rank player might win the roll. I'm proposing the Skill roll as a way to anticipate the time when a 6 base roll won't be enough. In the other hand, I'm not throwing away veteran accomplishments.

On the contrary, the debuff applies only at the resolving combat phase. If the higher rank player wins the Skill roll, her/his stats apply, exactly as it's happening now, while if s/he losts, the stats go down to the same level as the lower rank captain, with a chance of winning the attack roll, either shield or ballistics.

Let's face it. We're discussing this because nobody wants to lose against a higher ranked captain, knowing beforehand that the battle will be lost with the current rules.

Hyperviolent wrote:

I've had some sucess against Valfreyja with high regen and gun/patcher hybrid load. Just imo it gets too drawn out, there's got to be a more efficient way.. And yes, i have tried shooting/hacking outside of the room, it takes even longer and is very boring.

She has high resists and damage, rolls are okay.

Hacking behind the door gives you a window of opportunity of only 4 attacks, before the door closes and make you lose the target. Therefore, the only way to bring her down is entering the room. The Destroyer-Howitzer mix I use is very efficient against Valfreyja, as long as the debuffs hit at the very beginning and you avoid IL. It's possible, if you start at the opposite end of the room, from her.

With not everybody playing at the time where I'm online, making difficult to assemble a full fighting force. I wonder if there's anybody willing to share their tactics to solo some of the NPC bosses. For example, with a Destroyer-Howitzer mix, I'm able to take down the whole Valk's quest and to consistently beat the last leg of Pandora's Arc 4, but the angels.

So, what's your tactic? How you can beat those level 60 and above by yourself?

Neoteny wrote:

What is it that you don't see fair about the /random 6, Tek? All of these rules you're sugesting for skill rolls seem to be making things a bit too complex and disorienting for my taste, and the game is already daunting enough to newcomers.

A high rank player will win always against a lower rank player, because a random 6 still lefts the high rank player with her/his stats intact. For example, RedBindi hovercraft needs the low ranked player to make a ballistic roll of 4 or higher and wait she lost the throw. Of course, that is a 50% throw, but if eventually she keeps earning more experience, the time might come where her ballistic roll might be pumped up to 6 and then current situation will arise again.

My Skill roll proposal is to give a chance to lower rank players and yet to allow higher rank players to play. As it is now, higher rank players are farming XP points from lower rank players. Remember that was the reason Vogt set a rather complicated way to pair battles, even deniying a higher rank player the opportunity to play, if there was not a proper match.

I know the extra roll will be a burden to keep, but what we're looking for is  to entince new players and let them know they can win if fortune and a proper battle management are on their side, regardless of the rank of the other player.

Neoteny wrote:

TekMon wrote:

OK. I've been thinking about a way to level the field between ranked and non-ranked captains. The roll to 6 on ballistics and shields, might not solve the problem in a fair way as I see it. So, I propose the following: A Skill roll.

A Skill roll will apply only if there's a rank difference greater than 1, i.e. if both players are of the same rank it won't apply. Roll base number will be 3, as any other battle roll.

If a higher ranking player wins the roll, s/he will keep her/his base statistic (ballistic, shield) at her/his current level, for the next regular (ballistic, shield) roll. For example, a Rank 1 captain wins the Skill roll and a ballistic roll will resolve, s/he keeps her/his ballistic stat at 2 (given s/he has the regular ship configuration) as the base for the ballistic roll.

If a lower ranking player wins the roll, the higher player will have it's base statistics (ballistic, shield) lowered at the same level of the lower ranking player, for the next regular (ballistic, shield) roll. For example, a Rank 1 and a Rank 0 captains make their Skill roll. The Rank 0 wins the Skill roll and a ballistic roll will resolve, The Rank 1 captain will have her/his ballistic stat at 1 (given the Rank 0 captain has the regular ship configuration) as the base for the ballistic roll.

If there's a tie, re-roll, as usual.

At the end of the particular engagement, stats reset at their normal level, and won't be carried, i.e. each round will require a Skill roll, when appliable.

I called it a Skill roll, but the name can be changed. As I said, the roll will be a random 3, as any other battle roll.

What do you think? Will it work?

I could see this being abused by players setting stats low (i.e. ballistics at 0) thereby making other players miss while keeping a normal chance to evade (i.e. ship configuration 4 hull, 2 shields) leaving them with stronger than normal ramming capabilities, low chance to be hit, so long as they succeed.

I visualize the Skill roll as a way to level the battlefield, between higher and lower ranked players, "de-pumping" higher stats when needed. Hull must be kept, in my oppinion, because a veteran player deserves her/his hovercraft lasts longer. The same goes for energy and the combat phases it gives.

Regarding the potential abuse of higher ranked players ramming with their hovercraft, we can add that if s/he lost the Skill roll, s/he lost automatically the hull point, without any additional shield check, giving to the lower ranked the chance to go directly the ballistic roll, with its own Skill roll, and possibly inflicting additional damage.

In the case where a higher rank player has her/his stats at a lower level than a lower rank player, i.e. ballistic 0 - shield 0 or as with Void's sentinel, lower hull integrity; a Skill roll is not needed, as I see it now, because the regular roll will do its work.

It is better with these modifications? What do you think?

OK. I've been thinking about a way to level the field between ranked and non-ranked captains. The roll to 6 on ballistics and shields, might not solve the problem in a fair way as I see it. So, I propose the following: A Skill roll.

A Skill roll will apply only if there's a rank difference greater than 1, i.e. if both players are of the same rank it won't apply. Roll base number will be 3, as any other battle roll.

If a higher ranking player wins the roll, s/he will keep her/his base statistic (ballistic, shield) at her/his current level, for the next regular (ballistic, shield) roll. For example, a Rank 1 captain wins the Skill roll and a ballistic roll will resolve, s/he keeps her/his ballistic stat at 2 (given s/he has the regular ship configuration) as the base for the ballistic roll.

If a lower ranking player wins the roll, the higher player will have it's base statistics (ballistic, shield) lowered at the same level of the lower ranking player, for the next regular (ballistic, shield) roll. For example, a Rank 1 and a Rank 0 captains make their Skill roll. The Rank 0 wins the Skill roll and a ballistic roll will resolve, The Rank 1 captain will have her/his ballistic stat at 1 (given the Rank 0 captain has the regular ship configuration) as the base for the ballistic roll.

If there's a tie, re-roll, as usual.

At the end of the particular engagement, stats reset at their normal level, and won't be carried, i.e. each round will require a Skill roll, when appliable.

I called it a Skill roll, but the name can be changed. As I said, the roll will be a random 3, as any other battle roll.

What do you think? Will it work?

Below is a list of what I have. I want to trade them for any other level 50 weapons that I don't have. Handle is TekMon at Recursion.

 Dual Handguns

Enhanced Twin Harlick Arms 717s
2% Chance of Ballistic Damage -5 pts for 10 Seconds

Enhanced Twin Royer Terminators
2% Chance of Ballistic Accuracy -10 pts for 10 Seconds

Enhanced Twin FM-1100s
5% Chance of Dazed for 10 Seconds

Handguns

Enhanced Harlick Arms 717
2% Chance of Viral Defense -10 pts for 10 Seconds

Enhanced Royer Terminator
5% Chance of Staggered for 10 Seconds

Dual Submachineguns

Enhanced Dual Grishev R95s
2% Chance of Melee Defense -10 pts for 10 Seconds
2% Chance of Ballistic Damage -5 pts for 10 Seconds

Submachine Guns

Enhanced Grishev R95
2% Chance of Blinded for 10 Seconds

Rifles

Enhanced Kessay AR1
2% Chance of Enraged for 10 Seconds

Enhanced Cramer-Seavy Heavy Shotgun
2% Chance of Melee Accuracy -10 pts for 10 Seconds
2% Chance of Viral Damage -5 pts for 10 Seconds
2% Chance of Blinded for 10 Seconds

Enhanced Ragaini Special Forces Shotgun
2% Chance of Viral Defense -10 pts for 10 Seconds

Thanks for the trade.

Interested in getting the key. At what time are you online? MasterFusion is the handle.

I don't know if I can make it at the time, but want to fight. Check me at the Merovingian's side as an alternate participant, so other captain's have a first chance.

a rubber chicken

http://tekmon.mybrute.com/

I hold well Lt ramming tactic, along with his superior ballistics. The last round was too close to become a tie, but at the end my ship was battered enough to call it quits. Good fight, nevertheless.

the uncharted server

became a sentient

Thanks Dulux for the trade.

life, universe, everything

Just copy the whole folder where the game is installed. If you have a USB key with at least 8 GB, you can even have the game portable.

with golden-code fur

Sure Dulux. I still want to do the trade. Just let me know which gender do you want for the shirt and I'll  send it to you.

Anyone?

Tough real life