gamar wrote: It's not like d3p could refresh all the stacks when a shard ends or anything, that's crazy talk
gamar wrote: Even supposing d3p doesn't clear out node stacks whenever a shard ends, which they could easily do, how many of those queued battles are going to have worthwhile points? Almost none.
gamar wrote: Frankly, who cares, because the people who are bad at shield hopping and are losing points aren't determining the Shards' top scores so they're irrelevant in the context of this discussion.
gamar wrote: Still not seeing it
HailMary wrote: Obviously, that would solve the "later Shards are totes better" problem, and definitely isn't merely a crude band-aid.
HailMary wrote: Why "almost none"?
HailMary wrote: Sorry, I missed the part where "the context of this discussion" was "only top-scoring people who are unbad at shield hopping."
gamar wrote: Don't beg the question
gamar wrote: HailMary wrote: Why "almost none"? Because that's how many nodes worth more than 10 points I ever see near the end of an event?
gamar wrote: How exactly are you going to convince MPQ to queue up 15 people ALL in Shard 1 and ALL with 1000 pts?
gamar wrote: HailMary wrote: Sorry, I missed the part where "the context of this discussion" was "only top-scoring people who are unbad at shield hopping." You missed the part of this discussion where it's about hypothetical point inflation, which is determined entirely by the top scoring people in the shard?
lukewin wrote: reckless442 wrote: So please explain to me how the time-shards as currently implemented actually help the players they are intended to benefit. In PVP, I'm currently more focused on placement (covers) more than anything else, since my alliance is working towards growing in PVP and doesn't require a minimum. I got Top 25 (2 covers, I could actually use). I scored 732 points, 22nd place. Used 2 3 hr shields. I think without the time shards, my score would've got me Top 50, if that, so one less cover, less ISO and 25 less HP. The extra HP is a bonus, the extra ISO is nice, but that cover is a huge deal. I normally don't even hit the 700 pt progression reward, so that is more of a bonus. I am in the ISO rich, cover poor bunch, so placement that means more covers is nice.
reckless442 wrote: So please explain to me how the time-shards as currently implemented actually help the players they are intended to benefit.
lokiagentofhotness wrote: lukewin wrote: reckless442 wrote: So please explain to me how the time-shards as currently implemented actually help the players they are intended to benefit. In PVP, I'm currently more focused on placement (covers) more than anything else, since my alliance is working towards growing in PVP and doesn't require a minimum. I got Top 25 (2 covers, I could actually use). I scored 732 points, 22nd place. Used 2 3 hr shields. I think without the time shards, my score would've got me Top 50, if that, so one less cover, less ISO and 25 less HP. The extra HP is a bonus, the extra ISO is nice, but that cover is a huge deal. I normally don't even hit the 700 pt progression reward, so that is more of a bonus. I am in the ISO rich, cover poor bunch, so placement that means more covers is nice. Yeah I got 848 and number 6 which is the best I have ever done in a pvp. Oh also did not have to stay up to 2am to do it.
reckless442 wrote: lokiagentofhotness wrote: lukewin wrote: reckless442 wrote: So please explain to me how the time-shards as currently implemented actually help the players they are intended to benefit. In PVP, I'm currently more focused on placement (covers) more than anything else, since my alliance is working towards growing in PVP and doesn't require a minimum. I got Top 25 (2 covers, I could actually use). I scored 732 points, 22nd place. Used 2 3 hr shields. I think without the time shards, my score would've got me Top 50, if that, so one less cover, less ISO and 25 less HP. The extra HP is a bonus, the extra ISO is nice, but that cover is a huge deal. I normally don't even hit the 700 pt progression reward, so that is more of a bonus. I am in the ISO rich, cover poor bunch, so placement that means more covers is nice. Yeah I got 848 and number 6 which is the best I have ever done in a pvp. Oh also did not have to stay up to 2am to do it. Which is purely a function of the need for high scorers to create their own death brackets to get progression rewards, maintain season scores, and help their alliances. Is that really how the game should be -- that the strongest players have to fight each other for placements, while the rest of the MPQ universe gets to ride comfortably to good placement rewards without much effort? Do you not see a problem with that?
Lystrata wrote: reckless442 wrote: lokiagentofhotness wrote: lukewin wrote: In PVP, I'm currently more focused on placement (covers) more than anything else, since my alliance is working towards growing in PVP and doesn't require a minimum. I got Top 25 (2 covers, I could actually use). I scored 732 points, 22nd place. Used 2 3 hr shields. I think without the time shards, my score would've got me Top 50, if that, so one less cover, less ISO and 25 less HP. The extra HP is a bonus, the extra ISO is nice, but that cover is a huge deal. I normally don't even hit the 700 pt progression reward, so that is more of a bonus. I am in the ISO rich, cover poor bunch, so placement that means more covers is nice. Yeah I got 848 and number 6 which is the best I have ever done in a pvp. Oh also did not have to stay up to 2am to do it. Which is purely a function of the need for high scorers to create their own death brackets to get progression rewards, maintain season scores, and help their alliances. Is that really how the game should be -- that the strongest players have to fight each other for placements, while the rest of the MPQ universe gets to ride comfortably to good placement rewards without much effort? Do you not see a problem with that? Not particularly. It actually seems more even-handed. The top ranking players fight other players on their level. The lower tier players do likewise. You all had to fight each other anyway - at least this way, anyone who doesn't want to compete against every X-men alliance out there can choose a less competitive time shard. Which doesn't actually suggest it's a 'comfortable ride'. I still had to fight just as much to get my 600+ points in the last PvP. The only 'comfortable' part about it was I didn't have to wake up at 4am to do it.
reckless442 wrote: lokiagentofhotness wrote: lukewin wrote: In PVP, I'm currently more focused on placement (covers) more than anything else, since my alliance is working towards growing in PVP and doesn't require a minimum. I got Top 25 (2 covers, I could actually use). I scored 732 points, 22nd place. Used 2 3 hr shields. I think without the time shards, my score would've got me Top 50, if that, so one less cover, less ISO and 25 less HP. The extra HP is a bonus, the extra ISO is nice, but that cover is a huge deal. I normally don't even hit the 700 pt progression reward, so that is more of a bonus. I am in the ISO rich, cover poor bunch, so placement that means more covers is nice. Yeah I got 848 and number 6 which is the best I have ever done in a pvp. Oh also did not have to stay up to 2am to do it. Which is purely a function of the need for high scorers to create their own death brackets to get progression rewards, maintain season scores, and help their alliances. Is that really how the game should be -- that the strongest players have to fight each other for placements, while the rest of the MPQ universe gets to ride comfortably to good placement rewards without much effort? Do you not see a problem with that?
lokiagentofhotness wrote: lukewin wrote: In PVP, I'm currently more focused on placement (covers) more than anything else, since my alliance is working towards growing in PVP and doesn't require a minimum. I got Top 25 (2 covers, I could actually use). I scored 732 points, 22nd place. Used 2 3 hr shields. I think without the time shards, my score would've got me Top 50, if that, so one less cover, less ISO and 25 less HP. The extra HP is a bonus, the extra ISO is nice, but that cover is a huge deal. I normally don't even hit the 700 pt progression reward, so that is more of a bonus. I am in the ISO rich, cover poor bunch, so placement that means more covers is nice. Yeah I got 848 and number 6 which is the best I have ever done in a pvp. Oh also did not have to stay up to 2am to do it.
lukewin wrote: In PVP, I'm currently more focused on placement (covers) more than anything else, since my alliance is working towards growing in PVP and doesn't require a minimum. I got Top 25 (2 covers, I could actually use). I scored 732 points, 22nd place. Used 2 3 hr shields. I think without the time shards, my score would've got me Top 50, if that, so one less cover, less ISO and 25 less HP. The extra HP is a bonus, the extra ISO is nice, but that cover is a huge deal. I normally don't even hit the 700 pt progression reward, so that is more of a bonus. I am in the ISO rich, cover poor bunch, so placement that means more covers is nice.
reckless442 wrote: So when there are new covers, it's fine that the people who play more and push harder get one cover because they have to fight death brackets due to the Devs' creationg of alliances and the season system, yet the "casual" player can get two to three covers by putting up 800 points because they face no competition. Yeah, that seems fair.
reckless442 wrote: Which is purely a function of the need for high scorers to create their own death brackets to get progression rewards, maintain season scores, and help their alliances. Is that really how the game should be -- that the strongest players have to fight each other for placements, while the rest of the MPQ universe gets to ride comfortably to good placement rewards without much effort? Do you not see a problem with that?
mags1587 wrote: There seems to be an assumption here that the time shard with the death brackets will always be predictable. That's not the case, as it will depend on which shard the top alliances choose per event. The majority of the playerbase will be flying blind on which shard is the death shard this event.
Lystrata wrote: reckless442 wrote: Which is purely a function of the need for high scorers to create their own death brackets to get progression rewards, maintain season scores, and help their alliances. Is that really how the game should be -- that the strongest players have to fight each other for placements, while the rest of the MPQ universe gets to ride comfortably to good placement rewards without much effort? Do you not see a problem with that? Not particularly. It actually seems more even-handed. The top ranking players fight other players on their level. The lower tier players do likewise. You all had to fight each other anyway - at least this way, anyone who doesn't want to compete against every X-men alliance out there can choose a less competitive time shard. Which doesn't actually suggest it's a 'comfortable ride'. I still had to fight just as much to get my 600+ points in the last PvP, still got hit and lost 25ish points at times, still had to retaliate down to the wire before shielding at 2hr 59m. The only 'comfortable' part about it was I didn't have to wake up at 4am to do it.
Eddiemon wrote: mags1587 wrote: There seems to be an assumption here that the time shard with the death brackets will always be predictable. That's not the case, as it will depend on which shard the top alliances choose per event. The majority of the playerbase will be flying blind on which shard is the death shard this event. It will either gel or it won't. After a season we will either end up with a known death bracket (whether it be #4 or the one that ends at midnight somewhere in the US or some other indicator), or we will end up with peopel dispersed across their timezones and brackets being competetive. But yes, for the first few events predicting the pack behaviours is a challenge.
seasong wrote: Lystrata wrote: reckless442 wrote: Which is purely a function of the need for high scorers to create their own death brackets to get progression rewards, maintain season scores, and help their alliances. Is that really how the game should be -- that the strongest players have to fight each other for placements, while the rest of the MPQ universe gets to ride comfortably to good placement rewards without much effort? Do you not see a problem with that? Not particularly. It actually seems more even-handed. The top ranking players fight other players on their level. The lower tier players do likewise. You all had to fight each other anyway - at least this way, anyone who doesn't want to compete against every X-men alliance out there can choose a less competitive time shard. Which doesn't actually suggest it's a 'comfortable ride'. I still had to fight just as much to get my 600+ points in the last PvP, still got hit and lost 25ish points at times, still had to retaliate down to the wire before shielding at 2hr 59m. The only 'comfortable' part about it was I didn't have to wake up at 4am to do it. I must admit, it completely baffles me that in a game whose income is based solely on players paying for an advantage, people continuously complain that those payers...have an advantage. In your example, you lost 25ish points at times and only seemed to buy one 3 hour shield. That is a very, very comfortable ride my friend. I got sniped for 40+ almost every shield hop and bought I don't even know how many shields/boost. And if you think about hp as money (which essentially is what it is), it's "fair" if you can pay $75 for access to a particular set of rewards while others have to pay $1000 dollars and still possibly miss out on those rewards just because they enjoy playing the game at a higher level and have put time, effort, and a lot of money into playing at that high level. Ok... So financially, the argument to D3 is players who were paying very little get to pay even less now but those players are happy. And players who paid the most have to pay even more to get less are upset but shouldn't be because this is all...fair. And will be especially fair when the top prizes are a new character/GThor.