No, I'm not saying that a level 200 character should get 200 million XPs for doing the FS quest. But lets face it, a level 200 most likely already has it, and the incentive to get off his butt and help out a level 20 character (let's just pretend that it is a "new to the game" character and not just a reroll for the 50th time) do the quest.


Yes, there are people who will help others without any desire for "reward", but because of the lack of advertising, and the MASSIVELY shrinking player population, those numbers are shrinking. So getting a fellow together just to help some "n00b" get an item that you got 4 years ago, and if you go, you will miss your spot on the list in EO or PotB for 200 million an hour, so you can spend 2 hours just so you can raise your health by 1 point, is getting harder and harder to organize.

I am not blaming you guys for taking this step, I can understand why you do it, but I still believe that might be YANTACC.


Arch_Magi: Why didnt you just say you wanted to do Focusing Stone, I could have helped you. No need to quit over it

Kudos to you. Until now, I have refused to download LifeTank because of its UCM proponent, even though it has some (non-combat macroing) features I would like to take advantage of.


I may just download it now. Thank you.


Silver

 

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Wow, that was a very long read - going through every reply, the heated, not so heated, amusing, pissed and flippant....


Bringing me full circle to Turbine.


Why oh friggin why would they put in two additional Egg Orchards, if not in support of UCM?


No, no, before you immediately hit reply and slam that statement, read on. Look at the current "End Game" - 275th level. 191 billion exp. Assuming you have the time to play, at the keyboard, at 200 mill an hour - please, the game is 6 years old, no one wants to take another year to get there. Let's say you start a brand new guy today - to get to 191 billion, thats 995 hours at 200 mill/hour. At 8 hours a day, that's still 124 days! And at 4 hours a day that's 248 days! And that's not taking into consideration days/weeks you can't play for some reason. Yes yes, at 200th level-ish, you're already "there". But many are diven by that number. It used to be 126th. Now that number is 275th. Telling a large percentage of the player base that for them and their play style, that number is no longer in reach? Please.


And Turbine, with their lax application and enforcement of their own rules, coupled with the rediculously high ammount of exp required to achieve that goal has all but forced many TO resort to UCM to ever hope to achieve it. Not everyone HAS the luxury of hard working Vassals like many here have stated.


Turbine caused this problem. Turbine did. Look at the layout and design of almost every "High Yield XP" dungeon we've ever seen in game - The Martinate Holding, Phytos Menace, Tusker Holding, Vile Sactuary, Egg Orchard - etc. most have key spots to camp to maximize exp in a hunting fellowship. Many spots camped easily by someone not there (IE: UCM) - almost is if they were desigend that way. Hold on now - when competition for these spots got too much what did Turbine do? In Egg Orchard's case made it even easier to UCM by adding two more dungeons! And even that's not enough! Now, look at every server's boards? Nearly every day there are new posts of people complaing how those spots are not enough and people can't get in. By allowing UCM and not enforcing these rules, by making places where the exploitation of these plug-ins from a player viewpoint simply makes SENSE, and my giving the crack addicts all the crack they can smoke and then some, why oh why are we suddenly surprised at the ire when the drug of choice goes away?


Turbine waited too long to respond to this, and did everything in their power to give the junkies even more of what they wanted in the meantime. Like many have stated here, a hard line now will cripple the player base. Yes, yes, we will have a nice core of CoC abiding players left behind. But 14 (ok, sorry 17) accounts won't pay the bills. Yes, I know there are more people who don't like decal, etc than that - I am being flippant here.


Yes yes yes, We are only removing the +Admin detection capability of these plug-ins. But. What's next? Gong on tell? I mean if I were to have my speakers turned all the way up I would be able to be in another room watching that movie that's been mentioned in this thread a few times - and be able to get back to my keyboard in time to repond to a UCM test. Or, like other have hinted at, asleep in my bed when GOOOOOOOOOONG - I roll out and respond. Isn't the Gong on Tell just as bad an exploit as the +Admin alarm? With todays climate of narcing the moment someone even thinks they caught the whiff of someone UCMing, I don't do either - but what if?


What if.


All or nothing Turbine.


Nuke Decal.


Or leave it be.


On a positive note I admire that this is being done. Just now isn't the time to do it - 4 years ago was. Now we're in our twilight. Our swansong.


Let it ride.

 

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I agree the admin dectection SOUND helped people UCM.. they could sleep or whatever and hear it and then wake up or whatever...


But why remove it completely?


Couldn't you just have it pop up the text? with no sound.


This wouldn't alert the people sleeping/in other rooms watching a movie or whatever.

But would still help the people playing spot that they were about to be tested.


If your there enough to see the extra alert text your attended, correct?


Don't punish the whole playerbase. Leave the text alert in!

 

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Churi:


One thing that I think you're overlooking is that ACM is still legally allowed through the CoC..


lets hypothetically say that Egg Orchard WAS designed for "Combat Macros"... lets not confine it to only UCM... but say "Combat Macros" in general. As long as people are Attending their Combat Macros, that would be a perfectly valid way to level a character. The problem as I see it comes in the people's wanting something for nothing, and Turbine's laxed enforcement.


Note however also, that I don't agree with this statement either. I don't personally feel ANY form of Combat Macroing should be allowed, but that's a moral principle I have which is not shared by a majority of people.


Edit: Shriva.. there is absolutely no need for an alarm of any kind. The ONLY need of an alarm is to wake someone up or get the attention of the user who was not properly attending their macro. If you're attending a macro properly, then an alarm would have no use. By that I mean that when you're being tested, it will be plainly obvious to anyone paying attention that you're being tested. Creatures can no longer attack you, you can no longer participate in chat, there is nothing to "spam up" your chat windows other than the Admin or Envoy instructions. There is no need for an Attended macro to have an Admin alarm of any sort.. text or otherwise.

can we get a better tracker for ltx?


ala give me the coords to the monster I'm looking for?

 

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Drakier, IF they put you in limbo..


The only time i was ever tested i was not.. and they are other times people have not also.


I caught the text though and have never been banned myself.. but would not have liked it very much if i had been banned that time.


EDIT:

Just saw that spies is going to keep the text alert...

Guess i will have to run 2 plugins instead of one.


Also, if you are put in limbo what would the text alert hurt?

If your there to see the text alert your there to see the limbo.

If your not there to see the limbo, your not going to be there to see the text alert either.


Why not leave in the extra protection in case your not in limbo?


Hurts nothing and MAY help if they messup the limbo?


Wheres the harm in that?

 

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Arch pretty much nailed it. However, there is absolutely NO endgame once you hit 275 except to log in once a month to run the aug gem quest to get another enhancement just to get it. Speeding people to 275 will just result in many more players twiddling their thumbs wondering what they should do. Turbine's current endgame is the long stretch of time it takes you to get to 275. So the problem is twofold - you need quests to actually *gasp* give xp to advance you towards max level, but you also MUST have something else to do once you reach max level. At least right now, people seem to stick with the game as long as they can push the green up arrow regardless of how ineffectual that 1 skill point increase is that cost 100 mill xp.


As for the person wanting level restrictions on lower level dungeons to provide more challenge - those were in place on many dungeons in the past and were removed because of lack of people at the correct level range to ever get the quests done. With the current game population, you cannot put upper end limits on places, only lower level ones. If a sidekicking/mentoring system was implemented like in CoH, then you could talk about adding back level restrictions on the upper end. Until then, expect no upper limits.

Glad I hit 275 last month lol

 

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