Should Massacre Mission Stacking be Nerfed?

[rootsrat]

To answer the OP's question: IMHO - no.

However I think this will mostly come to personal preference.

Mission stacking itself is not a bug or exploit in my opinion. If a contractor A wants you to kill 10 ships of a different faction, and then contractor B wants the same - if you then kill 10 ships you can show that to both of them. Makes sense. Contractor B does not say specifically "Destroy 10 enemy ship, but they have to be different ships than you're going to destroy for that other shady character sitting in the corner of this lowly bar".

Saying that, mission stacking BY RELOGGING is an exploit - again, IMHO - however this is something that we have to live with for now I guess.

Skimmers and other things being counted as ships is a nasty bug and IMHO missions that allow for that should be removed from the game, but AFAIK Frontier is fixing this now so all good there. Anyone encouraging to exploit this bug should be banned, exploiting bugs is against the TOS if I'm not mistaken.

 

[CMDR Ofan]

Don't think they need nerfing just need a more intelligent set of reward boundaries, only silly high payouts should be available for high pilot rankings and the pay gradients should be a bit more defined. That's the point in in game rank right, to give you access to bigger and better missions?

 

[MarkAusten]

... mission stacking BY RELOGGING is an exploit - again, IMHO ...

I wonder if you'd do me the favour of explaining why you consider this to be an exploit. I've heard this said many rimes on the forum but never understood it. I view it as no more an exploit than pressing F5 to refresh your browser. As I understand it, the mission board refreshed every 5 minutes anyway, so mode switching is just a way to save waiting 5 minutes.

Or am I missing something?

 

[Starwolfe]

There are days where I would say I am not paid enough for the stacks of Massacre Missions.

Ever try to duke it out in a 1 vs a dozen ? That could happen there. The risk can be crazy in those CZs.


Now I would say there is a very fine line of where this is an issue.

-Re-logging in the same spot to stack missions is a bit of a cheat

-Travelling to a dozen stations and bases to pick up a stack of missions fits perfectly well for me.

Taking the time to travel and find the missions, with the various groups, sub-divisions and other interested parties paying up for the missions makes sense. That I don't mind and helps make you feel somewhat invested in earning that payout in the end.


Now if FDev could actually fix the mission boards so I don't have to travel AND cycle to find the damned missions...

 

[rootsrat]

I wonder if you'd do me the favour of explaining why you consider this to be an exploit. I've heard this said many rimes on the forum but never understood it. I view it as no more an exploit than pressing F5 to refresh your browser. As I understand it, the mission board refreshed every 5 minutes anyway, so mode switching is just a way to save waiting 5 minutes.

Or am I missing something?

Maybe "exploit" is a wrong word for it, perhaps too strong. It just encourages working around the game mechanics (because exit to menu is a function, not a gameplay mechanic) as opposed to actually playing the game. Instead of relogging you could just go to a different station in the system to get different missions (that's what I do).

It a workaround more than exploit I guess, but it still doesn't feel right. Not that it affects my game in anyway, but I'd rather see a system where we are encouraged to play the game rather than log off the game. I understand that many of the todays gamers are lazy and get used to having everything handed on a plate to them, so I don't judge anyone using relogging. To me PERSONALLY it's just cheating (as you're consciously leaving the game to change a server in order to get more missions rather than use IN GAME means to get more missions).

In other words - I'm an oldschool roleplayer to whom Elite is RP game and I view the game's world through the eyes of my Commander rather than my own. To him - logging off does not exist, it's not part of the world he lives in.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I wonder if you'd do me the favour of explaining why you consider this to be an exploit. I've heard this said many rimes on the forum but never understood it. I view it as no more an exploit than pressing F5 to refresh your browser. As I understand it, the mission board refreshed every 5 minutes anyway, so mode switching is just a way to save waiting 5 minutes.

Or am I missing something?

Maybe "exploit" is a wrong word for it, perhaps too strong.

No! Exploit is not too strong a word. It describes a mechanism without judgment, therefor it can't be too strong.

It's making use of different modes in a manner not intended by the developers to your advantage. You can feel this exploit is justified because there are few missions. Or simply because it's available to you and you're not breaking any rules. But it is an exploit.

 

[Littlerift]

I don't think it's truly an exploit, or that it should be merged. I rerolled my commander last Christmas and have only been playing sporadically, but I the time I've only been able to reach a base level mining Python. Money is so slow to come under normal game conditions that the game requires the existence of a few accelerated ways to make money.

 

[MarkAusten]

Maybe "exploit" is a wrong word for it, perhaps too strong. It just encourages working around the game mechanics (because exit to menu is a function, not a gameplay mechanic) as opposed to actually playing the game. Instead of relogging you could just go to a different station in the system to get different missions (that's what I do).

It a workaround more than exploit I guess, but it still doesn't feel right. Not that it affects my game in anyway, but I'd rather see a system where we are encouraged to play the game rather than log off the game. I understand that many of the todays gamers are lazy and get used to having everything handed on a plate to them, so I don't judge anyone using relogging. To me PERSONALLY it's just cheating (as you're consciously leaving the game to change a server in order to get more missions rather than use IN GAME means to get more missions).

In other words - I'm an oldschool roleplayer to whom Elite is RP game and I view the game's world through the eyes of my Commander rather than my own. To him - logging off does not exist, it's not part of the world he lives in.

Ah, I see. That make more sense now. Thanks for your reply.

- - - Updated - - -

No! Exploit is not too strong a word. It describes a mechanism without judgment, therefor it can't be too strong.

It's making use of different modes in a manner not intended by the developers to your advantage. You can feel this exploit is justified because there are few missions. Or simply because it's available to you and you're not breaking any rules. But it is an exploit.

I'm not sure that it is true to say that it is "not intended by the developers" since FDev have quite categorically stated that as far as they are concerned it is not an exploit, but I understand your point. Thanks.

 

[VITRUVIANMAN]

i wish they would stop nerfing stuff so much. Smuggling is dead. Im a han solo type i liked slipping in and out of stations with illeagle high pay goods. it was fun. now not so much. i can fill a conda with long range haulage mission and only make 9 mil and it takes me hours to hand in the missions. Im not happy with it. I dont like grinding quite so much. I work 50 hours a week or more grinding for paychecks why would i want to come home and sit in front of a game that makes me grind even more. It feels like less of a game and more of a job. I already have a job dont need another.

 

[Deleted member 38366]

IMHO :

Any Kill-Mission that's counting every single Kill towards every single Mission carried has to be a bug.

In the past, a very similar Bug allowed to execute Salvage Missions asking for the same Commodity in large stacks and at great ease as well. It eventually got fixed and is working correctly now.
I suggested applying the same fix to Massacre Missions as well.

If folks can only play making hundreds of Millions of "Easy Credits", then something is seriously wrong in ELITE country.
Game was never designed around "Instant Gratification : fly an Anconda within 15 hours", and until that changes and it goes "full casual", I consider it an Exploit if pushed to the extreme.

The ball is in Frontier's park though.
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/314067-Mission-Changes-Feedback

 

[o2thaZ]

Im not supposed to say this but..
Logoffski to stack..and...logoffski to refresh skimmers.
exploit..and..exploit.
but by all means if thats how you want to play, be my guest.
But be aware that any future logoffski schemes should be treated the same way as this.
easy or not.

 

[Baler]

People have already exploited and cheated their way to the biggest and best ships/setups.

Logging between solo/pub isn't an exploit. If it was frontier would have patched it by now.

Why do people fight so hard to make the game more difficult and time consuming. It's still the same content. Making it take longer and harder to complete wont help anything. It will scare off new players. They should build on what is currently in place. Not destroy it.

Mission stacking, completing multiple missions at once and finding ways to make credits faster than other people is not an exploit. The developers should encourage people to find new and unique ways to push the boundaries of the game. Instead of the community drowning those people in a sea of hate and slander.

---
More of you should be mad at frontier and the elite community for this...
https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteCG/comments/4zj0z4/more_imperial_warships/
People made more credits from this ^ than a lot of you have made in the entire time you've played elite. Which they still have and it was caused by a bug.

Rather than people finding better pay for hard work.

 

[Ben Ryder]

Should Massacre Mission Stacking be Nerfed?

It needs to be made sensible. Peristent missions. Not the nonesene of loging on off mode swapping to chaneg modes. Every see teh smae missions and when someone take s tehmission it is taken off teh baord and a new one added. And cicl war missions aer just stupid. You get paind combat bonds for fighting in cvil wars. That's it end of story. None of this kill x ships in teh civil war and get paid blah missiosn. YOu alraedy sign up to figt and get pain in the war when you join the conflict zone. NO need for civil war conflict zone missions at all.

 

[Baler]

So if mode switching is an exploit. Why don't they fix it asap?

 

[bitstorm]

FD said it isn't. Therefore it isn't.

Apply a bit of common sense please.

 

[Baler]

Is a clever use of game mechanics considered an exploit?

 

[shadragon]

So if mode switching is an exploit. Why don't they fix it asap?

Mode switching is NOT an exploit, it is an integral part of the game and has been since early days.

Stacking missions by using mode switching and then getting credit for multiple kills is the exploit and will be corrected in time.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

So if mode switching is an exploit. Why don't they fix it asap?

mode switching is NOT an exploit

Mode switching to stack missions and then completing them all in 1 go IS it would seem now proven to be an explot as shown above... why dont they fix it? for the same reason other exploits have not been fixed..... difficulty vs time taken vs perceived benefits.

everything is a balancing act.. if your suggestion is that, "FD know about it, if its not fixed its not an exploit"

then clogging is not an exploit either................ but FD have told us it is.

edit goddam ninjas everywhere

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Oh, just nerf everything.
1 Cr per mission, 1 point of damage per weapon, 1 mission at a time, and then everyone can be miserable all at once.

 

[CMDR Cknarf]

Massacre missions are WORK.

Keep your nerfhammer away from them.