Suggestions for Improvements to Oratan Red Alert Events

I believe the event was a lot of fun. The flying mobs weren't all that bad. And the unreachable for that matter, since we aren't wasting ammo on those shots. I do agree tho that some idea people posted above could solve those problems.

I do have 2 complaints about the Oratan Events though!:

1) I think there should be more of a set "time" for the events.

As in, an actual endtime each day. While 51 hours non-stop is pretty epic I think that if it drags on too long, the event loses some appeal. :S. Or people who want to try to be dedicated in protecting the base the whole event is just not possible. The first day I was able to do 16 hours nonstop! but then was falling asleep on the keyboard. I wanted to keep going, but it's not possible. So I feel like I was missing out, and never knowing when it was going to end can be a drag aswell. I believe if there were set Start and End Times on each day. It would give players the chance to plan, and try to be there the whole time. And not miss out on things. Have 12 hours a day, each day, for the weekend or something? Then everyone in all timeszones can participate at least some. And those who want to be dedicated, can plan to be there the whole time to help protect those bases from the smelly Oratan!

2) Rare items need to be classified as rare, and show up in the "Rare item looted" hoflist!

This would make it a lot funner. Going 12+ hours without knowing if any item has dropped isn't fun. Especially now that most have been discovered, any other drops will go silent and unnoticed. If all of these UL items are set to Rare hofs then players can grtz people and know what is dropping. I mean, it's possible for imp gyro etc to drop again, and noone would even know. All the uber UL items that dropping should all be classified as RARE! Then everyone would have a lot more fun in these events!

 

I definitely agree with your point on the rares. I know ark dev's have had issue with MA restricting how many items the planet is allowed to have as rare, which is some crap cause shit like marcimex brain oil, and mutated bones and making stupid armor plates spam the rare board all day everyday. So hopefully Ark can use that as a point of argument to get that fixed for our favor, cause I agree with you 100% on that.

On the way events start and end from what I understand there not being any hard stop time or a final boss is based on 2 things. a lot of pricks who wont do the event they will come shoot the first hour for items, then shoot when the boss is suppose to show up at the end or only shoot the boss at the end and that's just not right. If there is a super epic boss in the future, I hope it comes completely randomly, hopefully more than once ofc but random so people don't treat it as the maffoid boss, pestilence boss, or sand king boss. All of which people stand and wait till its there then kill it for the goods.

The second reason im told they don't define the end time is.. what if at 12hr we still haven't hit a stride of hofs and have had a really bad last 6hr. and maybe no items r dropping? Dev team has decided when they can, they would continue till we hit the hot period to leave with a good ending. IMO that is an excellent tactic. At honestly its saved me small fortunes on a couple of the events I think.

If im not mistaken I think that came from seeing the super epic loss everyone got when we did that 8hr day during MM and I think there was maybe 3 hofs the whole 8hr. Everyone lost huge except maybe 2 people that day I looted a bow and Bilbo looted the scanthi if my days r not mixed up... But tt return for everyone was terrible because of that they descided to try to grind thru to glory from then on.....


Just my 2cent on that


For having a smaller group at another base available without a bunch of ubers, I agree its needed. But if this is done then it means that we don't want the same people who ask for that to come running over to the big mobs when they r popping all over the board.. lol Cant really have it both ways I think. I could be wrong.


As for making it an instance..... I absolutely abhor the idea and will full stop never EVER participate again if its made into instances. I am completely fed up with the Caly style MM crap segretating everything while most of the playerbase gets raped. I definitely don't wanna see it adopted on ARK.

How can you say its ok you can be lv 20 for example and you have the right to join instance for all other category up to the highest. but me cause im lv 100 and use big gear im tied to the highest category.... Kill rate in my category is lower so instantly I suffer. At no time ever will I have the most dps. I continue to suffer. So all point would be removed for me to even attempt, which is exactly why I wont compete in MM anymore..(seeing 2xadjusted hedoc's and 1x imp hedoc drop cat3 and none in cat 4 or 5 was the last straw) 2yr in a row they did that crap.

So for instances, if it goes that route, you can completely count me out of a socialist spread the wealth mentality. If it continues like it is where people just show up and do what they can and cards fall where they may then so be it, u will see me there everytime.

Note to all: DPS doesn't mean everything. Yes weapons n stuff r looted to those with dps on ARK but it has also been looted by with with little to none. I was shooting same mob Bilbo was when he looted the Scanthi gun. he used plr 17 and I used t7 slugstorm so there was about 100dps difference but he still got the item. So EVERYONE has the same chanse to loot the random item. Excess dps helps with 1 thing in my experience and that's getting larger amount of the stack... and that only ends up paying you back if your lucky enough to get on the largest hofs, miss them and your pedcard is toast.

Comments and suggestions are coming along great.. Keep it coming

LB

 

I would love to see lower mobs included (not too far from where the main action is happening). It would be nice for lower level players like me to be able to single out a mob that won't kill them with one hit, instead of standing there passively waiting for someone else to make the first shot. Or at least if there can be a base targeted towards lower level players where the boss mobs are like level 50 or under. In the very first event when i went to the low level base, the boss mobs were just too much. You'd have no chance of surviving a hit. So you'd shoot twice, die, come back to a field full of other dead avatars, take one shot and die again. At least that's how it was during the time I was there.

I agree with others that the carcasses stay on the ground too long for this kind of event.

My biggest loot was from a miner too.

I agree! the event should have a pre-announced ending time. Let's face it, it's addicting and we'll keep on playing longer than is healthy. Best to keep the events shorter and prevent burnout... and keep them exciting.

I think it would be cool if the last boss mob was bigger than all the others before it. But if the event drags on and on the number of avatars will dwindle by the end, so not the best for a giant mob, so it would work best if there was a set end time.

Flying mobs are a pain but made fun screenshots.

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That is the biggest problem and why I have an issue with the uber level boss mobs any way. People want loot first and foremost, taking part in event is nice but loot is the driving force behind people a lot of the time.

So between a bunch of newbies hunting a low level boss or just putting in a couple of hits in a much higher level one, they'll take the chance with the higher one because it drops better items.

A good storyline is nice but it won't part me from my ped if I know I'm likely to lose it all with nothing to show for it.

Maybe just have an event with just low level bosses everywhere then everyone is in the same boat. That way if the higher level players are taking the majority of the loot the lower level players have a choice to move to another area rather than having to put up with it or give up.

Doing it that way might encourage other newbies to come from other planets or return to Ark knowing they're not just cannon fodder and there to make up the numbers.

The way the system is setup and I know it's not your fault but the loot system feels more like it's setup for high level players rather than newbies which on a new planet isn't great.

 

Nice discussion, just making a few remarks to previous posts:

- The lower level mobs should in general not be that interesting to high level players, as the chance to loot a 'rare' item from them is much smaller. That's just daily practice: of course there is always a very small chance, but how many are willing to take that risk?
A weapon drop that is amazing for a newbie, is totally uninteresting for a mid to high level player (in the first event I looted a gun 2 levels above my own, which was already a great drop for me, though that gun is probably TT food for higher levels).

Even when all mobs were on 1 firebase, the majority was concentrating on the higher bosses, with only a few people going actively after miners. But still I saw no people walking all the way outside and go for the lowest available mobs.


- But if there should be problems with people 'crashing' the party: maybe eventually there could be a system in place, where (on the low level base) the mobs have a set standard maximum damage that's appropriate for their own level (eg. the max one could do with the average highest weapon/attachment/enhancer/boosts available). And if someone repeatedly inflicts way higher damage than that, the mobs of that level become 'unreachable' for that shooter. So they themselves would either leave to a higher level base, or downgrade their equipment, and play on a fair level.
(Or tp that person to the appropriate base: this could even be done from the next VU on, since the devs will get those powers by then.)
Even if it is technically not possible to have that setting on the mobs; when there is noticeable bigger damage than normal witnessed (and requests to play fair have been ignored): a simple scan can already show if that shooter is at the appropriate base or not (after which a involuntary move can be enforced).


- Not looking to take any freedom away from the higher level players, but frankly, at the moment the event is completely geared towards that group only. Which is understandable, because that's the bread and butter of any event.
But when you are starting this game, events such as these should be a reason to get exited about playing the game, not disappoint you because you feel you shouldn't be there.
And subsequently develop a aversion for events, so that even when you finally reach the needed level, you still would not participate in them.
'Catch them early' is a good strategy.


- Also, it's not a question about 'DPS is everything', it's more about: the DMG itself is way too low compared to the mob's hp. I don't think anyone is expecting the same share of loot that someone of level 100 gets. But to shoot along during the mob's entire lifespan, and not receive any loot (or 10 ammo/oils) is quite frustrating.

Sure, even someone who does a lower percentage of damage has a chance to loot a nice item. But that's just the point: I'm talking about so low a level percentage that you would not even register for that chance (eg. I can't even use a PLR-17 yet).
Anyone with enough base damage, who is going for the random drop only, would be perfectly happy with the way it is now. That's not the issue.
But realistically, I don't think most newbies are gunning for that random uber item, but more for decent loot, and the occasional weapon that they can use (or sell).


- About a final boss: it's true that 'boss snipers' could spoil it. Didn't think about that.
But since the event is set up in a real time way (manual spawn, and ending on a 'high note'), the ending time, and thus the appearance of a final boss would be at an unknown moment.
Which would make camping it for hours, and then the chance to miss that single mob, not a very attractive prospective.

Besides, I meant it more as a visual final boss, to signify the end of the event (it's death causes all Oratans to die/leave). And not so much as a mob who drops an unique item.
Just the same chance/level loot as the other bosses (or perhaps a bit higher, but not so much that it would warrant camping), just being physical bigger. So there is a specific ending to the event, instead of a petering down.
For instance, the same could be achieved by having one last assault by a huge amount of 'foot soldier' Oratans, who overwhelm the players for a short period, until they all get wiped out = end of the event.
Basically, something that could clearly signal the 'end' of the event.


Edit:
Thanks for trying a lower level base again.
During the first event there were a lot of people who ran to the firebase with all the hofs, because at the time it was not that obvious there was a difference in level. And basically you go where you think is best.
But now that everyone has experienced some events, it should be clear which base is best suited for your level of playing.

I think most low level players have tried the 'putting in a lucky shot', but have found that is not a pleasurable or ped conscious way to play. Even without the chance for a rare/unique item, if the overall loot is good (meaning not an automatic huge loss), there will eventually be players that will chose the low level base to play.
(And to illustrate: even the faraway mobs with lower hp than the rest were too hard to kill alone. So I tried, but nobody of around my level was willing to go that far out, because the chance to actually kill the mob was very small. "The healers are too far away", "there are high agro mobs that kill you on sight all around there too, so I would not even be able to get there alive", were the most commonly given answers.
Nobody said: "I only want to shoot the highest level mobs to get a chance for a rare item".)
So even though it will not be as busily visited as the higher level bases, I'm positive that it will be appreciated.

Though it might take a bit of convincing to get some to try the event again: please make it abundantly clear which levels are available at which fire bases. So I can wave numbers around as an argument.

 

So lets give them that choice. Individuals can decide what is the best option for them. And then there isn't really any grounds for people for people to be unhappy.

I think your expectations are incorrect. There is the same long term TT return on these event mobs as in normal hunting. So if you stay and kill a significant number over an extended period you should end up no worse off. Yes there are a lot of hunting stackables but most are not TT food. The higher level mobs drop rarer oils that I have been selling for up to 115%. Even the more common oils generally sell above MU on arkadia.

I like the idea of looking at ways to encourage lower level players to participate but I don't think it's a good idea to do it by discouraging higher level players.