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  1. #1

    Urban Jungle Event (And Apparel Events Going Forward)

    This first Apparel Event since the expansion has, unequivocally, been a horror show. And it's not even over yet. Let's take a look here, shall we?

    First, the folks who didn't buy WONY (or haven't yet). They are completely locked out of the Apparel Event because its progression is locked to SHD Levels, not character levels as it was over the course of the first year. There may be folks who are hearing that the expansion isn't as much fun as it sounds. Or they may be feeling a pinch financially and figure they can get the expansion later, but they've already got the base game, so that's at least something. Either way, they're screwed. Sure, they might get those items later. Once they buy the expansion and an unconscionable amount of Premium Credits. But there's not any way to look at this event as a gratuitous insult to a segment of the player base. And if Massive is genuinely concerned about "engagement numbers," this is a fantastic method for those numbers to take a hit which may not be recoverable by new players.

    Second, the grind. Every four SHD Levels, you get a key. Seems a little stiff at first. 'Course, I'm seeing people rolling around with SHD Levels in the low 200s at this point, which absolutely mystifies me. In theory, if you started right when the event did, you have to earn 136 SHD Levels (4 times 34, since everybody who bought WONY got one key to start). I'm averaging about three SHD levels a night. Over the course of 21 days, that would be 63 SHD Levels, less than half the ultimate number. You can point to half the world being locked down from the real world pandemic sweeping the globe and say, "You've got plenty of time! Just play longer!" You can offer up arcane XP maximization strategies involving CP4s with every Directive possible active. You can be obnoxious and dismissive, saying, "It's just apparel, dude. Why are you getting worked up over clothes that don't do anything?" And all of that indicates that the grind is too nakedly voracious, bordering on exploitative. Some of us are trying to get through this particular crisis without adding excessive amounts of stress, which this Apparel Event has been generating.

    The Apparel Event mechanics which finally got hammered out in the last event worked. Projects which helped people who didn't necessarily have all the time in the world. Keys every three character levels. Why throw away a perfectly good formula? Yes, they're cosmetic and they have no actual gameplay impact, but they're fun. The last couple events were a small wrinkle that added a little bonus for playing anyway, an event that flavored the game without necessarily shifting the focus. But now, it feels like the event has become the focus, or Massive is trying to make it that way. The event is no longer fun. It no longer adds enjoyment to the game. It has, literally, become a case of the haves and the have-nots. Don't have the expansion? Sucks to be you. Don't have more than a couple hours a night to play, despite working from home? Sucks to be you. Don't have the build to solo CP4s or the good fortune to fall in with randoms who know what they're doing? Sucks...to...be...you.

    If this is how Apparel Events are going to be going forward, I think we're going to start seeing a lot of very fatigued players and a base which will start shrinking every time one of these events shows up. I think that would be a completely avoidable tragedy.
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  2. #2
    1.) You can't expect to get expansion loot/apparel without the expansion.
    2.) The event is 3 weeks long, and during that time there's OTHER events that grant double exp for 15 levels, in addition in extra exp for doing other things.
    3.) There are certain things you can do to get more levels faster, like Dark Zone or rolling with your clan.
    4.) If you feel like all of that is still too much, you're more than welcome to spend less than $1 per crate you're missing at the end of the event, since you get 1-2 weeks of leeway.
    5.) If you still feel like you can't do it, they will be available eventually from regular crates or fabrics.

    It's been less than a week and I am already at 12/35. I don't know what your problem is.
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  3. #3
    I agree with the required grind being on the heavy side, but for the most part I agree with volitle89.

    For everything you're saying "sucks to be you" about, if they did the opposite, then it would suck for the other group of players. They can't please everyone.

    I'm not a big fan of time-limited events, which are the fashion in "games as a service" games like this, but I am grateful that whether it be down to a real or perceived boost in engagement to justify it, the developers have seen fit to add new stuff to the game. I think a lot of your grievances could be addressed by removing the time-limit on these things. If you could take your time then the scale of the grind is less of an issue, for example, as even with limited play time you still get there eventually. If things weren't Premium Credit only, again you could get stuff eventually. All in all it could be improved, but I don't think it's in too bad of a state.

    As for progression levels. Our active clan members are mostly around the SHD 200 mark (I'm 243 ATM). We've played most nights since WONY for probably 2–4 hours. We don't play with directives but we do typically play Challenging and sometimes Heroic. I'm 14/36 caches towards the event, so I'll probably complete it in time at this rate, but I would think I play a lot more than most people. I think it should probably be more like a cache every two levels to get the pace right.
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  4. #4
    You obviously are very concerned about this specific event. I don’t know why all the things that you loved about the former events are now things you disagree with in this event though.

    Former and this event both have in common:
    * Just something you can do while playing the rest of the game
    * Get rewards tied to lvling up a set number of lvls
    * No impact just fun
    * a little flavor

    You are in no way hindered in getting the keys.
    * You can match make on any difficulty
    * can set the world to lvl 4 so you don’t have to spend more time prepping control points.
    * can reset control points
    * can just run about the world and get them with no specific effort towards projects or something
    * you can buy keys to speed up progress
    * it is not tied to any specific area or activity

    And: you don’t need to get EVERY item or ANY item at all. It is just a little flavor.

    Take a couple deep breaths, play the game and see what cool items you get. If in doubt pull your creditcard out.

    stay safe and protect the city agent.
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  5. #5
    I have the expansion but keys have not dropped for me so far, gained about 9 or 10 SHD levels over a week or so, but no keys?? (don't have much time to play) Also I don't seem to get any SHD cache crate anymore? or has that been changed once you turn lvl 40??
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