Gear Crunch

"Acymetric;c-2285924" wrote:

"Kyno;c-2285908" wrote:

"TheDude420;c-2285899" wrote:
They pump out new content with high gearing requirements to prolong the life of the game. If they made gear more readily available by easing the gear crunch, it would contradict these efforts.

I wish they would alleviate the gear crunch, but it seems to be strategically opposed to their recent business decisions.

I dont think anyone disagrees with this, but the idea that the gear pinch points should shift as you develop your roster further and further has merit and should be explored.

7-8m GP rosters should not be hitting gear crunch at g8 or g9, IMHO. Hitting them around r1-3 and up sounds more reasonable. (These numbers are completely made up and dont matter in the principle of this argument.)

That is how they maintain the crunch without making it boring and stale, IMHO.

This is spot on, but I wonder if part of the problem is that coupling relic tiers to gear (via the scavenger) made it harder to fix the crunch at lower levels without reducing the relic crunch some as well. I feel like making balance changes to the gear economy would have been easier if gear wasn't used for relic tiers.

Separately, what about the Cantina crunch. So many toons to farm there but I feel like I'm just going to be farming signal data forever.

I'm sure that plays into it, but most early/mid pinch point gear is in the lower end relic materials, so even if they flooded it today, we are only hitting r3.

Hitting r3 makes a character useful to play with but not as a requirement (as we are seeing), so that seems like a fair point to hit, and work from.

Yes signal data is the other pinch, and again that seems a reasonable point to have a pinch as players develop. And early/mid game players will have to choose between those farms and signal data, which is always going to be a problem.

"Ravens1113;c-2285948" wrote:

"Kyno;c-2285908" wrote:

"TheDude420;c-2285899" wrote:
They pump out new content with high gearing requirements to prolong the life of the game. If they made gear more readily available by easing the gear crunch, it would contradict these efforts.

I wish they would alleviate the gear crunch, but it seems to be strategically opposed to their recent business decisions.

I dont think anyone disagrees with this, but the idea that the gear pinch points should shift as you develop your roster further and further has merit and should be explored.

7-8m GP rosters should not be hitting gear crunch at g8 or g9, IMHO. Hitting them around r1-3 and up sounds more reasonable. (These numbers are completely made up and dont matter in the principle of this argument.)

That is how they maintain the crunch without making it boring and stale, IMHO.

Bingo. Glad to see you finally speaking what we’ve all been trying to say. Especially with these LV reqs, every single one is R5 minimum, multiple R8/R7 reqs and it’s not looking to get better any time soon. That’s not ok.

The gap in requirements compared to income is growing further and faster and we haven’t seen any meaningful relief to the gear crunch. It’s past due. There’s no reason that once players are at 7/8 million GP, they still struggle to get past G8, or need to hoard and farm for months just for one character.

We have agreed on this for a while, in this thread,
but thank you for finally recognizing that. I just dont believe the suggestions you have to fix it would fit what they have said the points they are looking to hold onto.

Either way, yes we both agree they should do more to address the gear crunch. (I have said this before.) ?

"Acymetric;c-2285924" wrote:

Separately, what about the Cantina crunch. So many toons to farm there but I feel like I'm just going to be farming signal data forever.

I'm curious.
How long have you been playing?
I started April-19 and the characters in Cantina are either Done for me or Useless for me.
So I'm just wondering what it is your farming still while also being advanced enough to need LOTS of Relic Mats?

"Schwartzring;c-2285954" wrote:

"Acymetric;c-2285924" wrote:

Separately, what about the Cantina crunch. So many toons to farm there but I feel like I'm just going to be farming signal data forever.

I'm curious.
How long have you been playing?
I started April-19 and the characters in Cantina are either Done for me or Useless for me.
So I'm just wondering what it is your farming still while also being advanced enough to need LOTS of Relic Mats?

I started in early 2018 I think, but I quit for about a year starting right around the time relics dropped (late 2019 or so I think?) so my roster and resources are in a slightly weird place relative to everyone else, admittedly. The main difference is probably that I value toons that you're considering useless though, unless you've been mega-whaling on Cantina farming the last 4 months.

I'm bored & waiting on approval for something at work........

So here goes...... how could they fix our stores to allow us to actually BUY the items we want to gear people up.

Guild Token Store - See Highlighted area that IMO don't need to be in the rotation.


Not bad, only 1 is useless out of 5. But even that one doesn't need to be in the rotation.


2 pieces don't need to be here at all & a 3rd (M5 Furnace) was only an issue at G8/9 when trying to level up multiple teams right around Level 70-85 range & now sit there waiting for the day you have to go back & work a different team.


2 pieces of gear that are easily farmed from nodes including better gear.


Better places to farm 3 of these v/s spending Guild Tokens


Mods Store - Do people even buy the Type-E mods w/ no stats on them?

Of this page the Gold Cross is the only one I'd even look at for possible Primary/Secondary combo of stats.
Maybe its just me but unless its a Gold "Left Side" or Purple "Right Side" mod, I don't even look at them.


GET Store: Arguably the most valuable currency in the game, I have no idea why there is ANYTHING in this store that isn't a hugely in demand item.
Personally I only buy the 6 "Epic" Ships/Characters from here & Stun Guns.


3 items out of 6 on this page are useless & need to be removed to make room for more frequent chances at the "Good" Gear.


I recently just crafted some MK3s so don't let that 91 fool you, this entire page is useless.


4 of 6 should be farmed in other locations. The last 2 should do but at least those 2 are slow enough that maybe someone could be desperate to speed up the process.
It would be bad to use GET but at least its not criminal like using it for the highlighted 4.


Now onto the Shard Shop.


Mixed bag of 2 useless, 3 questionable, and only 1 in demand item.


And a full row of items you don't want to buy to finish off the store.
Remove them from the Rotation, Replace them more shots at better items.
The only time I'm out of Shard Currency is when I start making LOTS of purchases of the 720 items for a particularly in demand G12 piece. If I'm not buying lots of 720's the Shard Shop just keeps building up.


And finally the newest store in game, The Conquest Store.
Created long after we have been pointing out the need to remove bad items from stores & only rotate good ones.

And we still get a 50/50 ratio today of bad items.
Its mind boggling that Mk4 Stunguns are in ANY store ever.


Its not like this would even be giving us gear free like the many updated challenge suggestions.

No, this would just let us SPEND FASTER, what a crazy concept that is right?

"Schwartzring;c-2285966" wrote:
I'm bored & waiting on approval for something at work........

So here goes...... how could they fix our stores to allow us to actually BUY the items we want to gear people up.

Guild Token Store - See Highlighted area that IMO don't need to be in the rotation.


Not bad, only 1 is useless out of 5. But even that one doesn't need to be in the rotation.


2 pieces don't need to be here at all & a 3rd (M5 Furnace) was only an issue at G8/9 when trying to level up multiple teams right around Level 70-85 range & now sit there waiting for the day you have to go back & work a different team.


2 pieces of gear that are easily farmed from nodes including better gear.


Better places to farm 3 of these v/s spending Guild Tokens


Mods Store - Do people even buy the Type-E mods w/ no stats on them?

Of this page the Gold Cross is the only one I'd even look at for possible Primary/Secondary combo of stats.
Maybe its just me but unless its a Gold "Left Side" or Purple "Right Side" mod, I don't even look at them.


GET Store: Arguably the most valuable currency in the game, I have no idea why there is ANYTHING in this store that isn't a hugely in demand item.
Personally I only buy the 6 "Epic" Ships/Characters from here & Stun Guns.


3 items out of 6 on this page are useless & need to be removed to make room for more frequent chances at the "Good" Gear.


I recently just crafted some MK3s so don't let that 91 fool you, this entire page is useless.


4 of 6 should be farmed in other locations. The last 2 should do but at least those 2 are slow enough that maybe someone could be desperate to speed up the process.
It would be bad to use GET but at least its not criminal like using it for the highlighted 4.


Now onto the Shard Shop.


Mixed bag of 2 useless, 3 questionable, and only 1 in demand item.


And a full row of items you don't want to buy to finish off the store.
Remove them from the Rotation, Replace them more shots at better items.
The only time I'm out of Shard Currency is when I start making LOTS of purchases of the 720 items for a particularly in demand G12 piece. If I'm not buying lots of 720's the Shard Shop just keeps building up.


And finally the newest store in game, The Conquest Store.
Created long after we have been pointing out the need to remove bad items from stores & only rotate good ones.

And we still get a 50/50 ratio today of bad items.
Its mind boggling that Mk4 Stunguns are in ANY store ever.


Its not like this would even be giving us gear free like the many updated challenge suggestions.

No, this would just let us SPEND FASTER, what a crazy concept that is right?

I agree with you but those who are on CG's side with just say as this is a "collection" game that requires you pick and choose which resources you collected to be upgraded and used, buyer/player be aware.. This game is full of the wrong gear/materials to collect that will not be a good ROI..

Didn't give it my full attention, but strongly disagree on the MKIII Detonators. They don't have a farming location, only the salvage does. You need a lot of the salvage wherever the MKIII's are used. 200 GT for five is a bargain, and I'll buy them often. Same with the MKV BlasTech Weapon Mod, much better value and less hassle paying 100 GT for five crafted ones.

Also, slice some mods.

"Schwartzring;c-2285966" wrote:
I'm bored & waiting on approval for something at work........

So here goes...... how could they fix our stores to allow us to actually BUY the items we want to gear people up.

Guild Token Store - See Highlighted area that IMO don't need to be in the rotation.


Not bad, only 1 is useless out of 5. But even that one doesn't need to be in the rotation.


2 pieces don't need to be here at all & a 3rd (M5 Furnace) was only an issue at G8/9 when trying to level up multiple teams right around Level 70-85 range & now sit there waiting for the day you have to go back & work a different team.


2 pieces of gear that are easily farmed from nodes including better gear.


Better places to farm 3 of these v/s spending Guild Tokens


Mods Store - Do people even buy the Type-E mods w/ no stats on them?

Of this page the Gold Cross is the only one I'd even look at for possible Primary/Secondary combo of stats.
Maybe its just me but unless its a Gold "Left Side" or Purple "Right Side" mod, I don't even look at them.


GET Store: Arguably the most valuable currency in the game, I have no idea why there is ANYTHING in this store that isn't a hugely in demand item.
Personally I only buy the 6 "Epic" Ships/Characters from here & Stun Guns.


3 items out of 6 on this page are useless & need to be removed to make room for more frequent chances at the "Good" Gear.


I recently just crafted some MK3s so don't let that 91 fool you, this entire page is useless.


4 of 6 should be farmed in other locations. The last 2 should do but at least those 2 are slow enough that maybe someone could be desperate to speed up the process.
It would be bad to use GET but at least its not criminal like using it for the highlighted 4.


Now onto the Shard Shop.


Mixed bag of 2 useless, 3 questionable, and only 1 in demand item.


And a full row of items you don't want to buy to finish off the store.
Remove them from the Rotation, Replace them more shots at better items.
The only time I'm out of Shard Currency is when I start making LOTS of purchases of the 720 items for a particularly in demand G12 piece. If I'm not buying lots of 720's the Shard Shop just keeps building up.


And finally the newest store in game, The Conquest Store.
Created long after we have been pointing out the need to remove bad items from stores & only rotate good ones.

And we still get a 50/50 ratio today of bad items.
Its mind boggling that Mk4 Stunguns are in ANY store ever.


Its not like this would even be giving us gear free like the many updated challenge suggestions.

No, this would just let us SPEND FASTER, what a crazy concept that is right?

I don't think removing the gear you suggest would help much if any. I already use these stores exclusively for gear and ignore these items. I also frequently deplete these currencies and wait for more even with ignoring useless gear.

All removing the useless gear will do is change the waiting for gear you need to show up to waiting for more currency. Not much of a change.

The development time would be better spent on actually easing the pre g12 gear crunch.

"Ravens1113;c-2286083" wrote:
The funny thing is that there are simple things they can do to make the gear crunch better (much to Kyno’s disagreement). Honestly after almost a year there’s no way they can truthfully say that they’ve looked at the gear economy and can say that they’re still unsure. That’s a lie. I mean cmon, I was hyped for LV and even wanted to buy a couple vaults to get him but the amount of gear needed for his reqs so far is astronomical! I’ll just hoard for a month and go executor it’s second pass. I’m so demoralized by their lack of care with the gear economy that i just feel cheated if I spend money on the game and have my investment devalued so much.

They never said they were unsure....in fact Crumb said he wishes he could show us what they are planning.

No it's not simple, and the only lie I keep seeing is your portrayal of the statements made in the pod cast. He even says he wishes he could show us more of what they are working on. The only thing remotely close to what you are saying is that he says it something they are always chipping away at and he can't give a direct answer. There is no magic fix that does what they want and works, it's an ongoing thing, but at no point does he say they dont know, or unsure, unless you mean when he says hes unsure how to answer and then goes into the best answer we are going to get about such a complicated system.

"UdalCuain;c-2286004" wrote:
Didn't give it my full attention, but strongly disagree on the MKIII Detonators. They don't have a farming location, only the salvage does. You need a lot of the salvage wherever the MKIII's are used. 200 GT for five is a bargain, and I'll buy them often. Same with the MKV BlasTech Weapon Mod, much better value and less hassle paying 100 GT for five crafted ones.

Also, slice some mods.

1. There was a time when M3 Detonators were hard to come by, but, that was when I was new to 85 & leveling far too many toons at one time & getting stuck at mid-purple gear levels.
At this point I have like 1000 salvage & no toon I'm working needs them.
To me, similar to Mk6 Hypos, these are only an issue if your pushing too many toons too fast.
I haven't had to farm them in 6 months to a year now.

2. The Mk5 Blastechs have about a 50% drop rate so once a month or so when I run out I'll drop a couple of 50 crystal refreshes directly into simming a 6 Energy Node for just them (or 8/10 shared w/ another piece?).
I never need to buy them anymore.

That said, your right, those are both solid buys that I did back when I had a huge need for both those items.
That doesn't mean most of the ones I highlighted have any value.

3. LOL, I slice LOTS of mods, I just don't bother buying a mod & leveling it when the starting stats are questionable. Like say, an unknown grey. I look stuff that at least has 2-3 stats I want before I purchase it.
I get enough greys when farming mods directly from challenges.