[video] Money GRINDING problem 2

[Bob Lighthouse]

I'm currently grinding Federation Rank in Sothis/Ceos in order to get the Corvette. I've been at this for three total days, averaging three ranks per day.

I started this grind as Midshipman Rank. I am now Post Commander. (Just got the rank a few hours ago.)

On average, it takes me one full trip from Sothis Mining to the Ceos station in order to gain 10% of my rank bar. That's 20 Data delivery missions.

So, from rank 1 to 12, it would take a total of 2400 Data Delivery missions. That math does not include the fact that each rank ramps up the requirements by about 1.5%.

I have played since game-launch. I have a total of over 700 Hours. I should not have to dedicate DAYS of time on top of what I've already done to do nothing but TENS OF HOURS of data delivery missions in order to reach my dream ship.

It will be another day or so before I hit my goal. Due to my experience with how hellish this grind is, I will not be going after the cutter. I doubt I'll even touch missions at all for quite some time.

This makes me fear for the future of Elite. I love this game. I'd honestly argue that it's my favorite game of all time. (Megaman X being a close second.) I don't want anything to happen to this game. I want it to last decades. That won't happen unless FDev takes a serious look at the reward structure.

Why do you choose such an unenjoyable (to you) path?
I've made rank for the Cutter and to post commander, mostly since 2.4 dropped.
I'm a new player and not a virtuoso by any stretch.
I ignore data missions as tedious and unprofitable.

 

[Hacc]

Why do you choose such an unenjoyable (to you) path?
I've made rank for the Cutter and to post commander, mostly since 2.4 dropped.
I'm a new player and not a virtuoso by any stretch.
I ignore data missions as tedious and unprofitable.

Because this is the last goal I have. Once I get the ship that I want, I can start engineering it for PvP and taking on Thargoids.

I already have an Anaconda fully A-Rated. I am unhappy with it due to how it flies, and I do not enjoy how the ship looks. The Corvette fixes both of these problems for me.

Due to the fact that I now have my mind set on having the Corvette, going through the slow (Possibly months or even a year's time) slog of just casually playing mission boards until I reach Rear Admiral, I would rather go through a few days of hell in order to reach my goal.

This grind is soul crushing, but I'm almost done with it.

 

[tagos]

Do you think everyone should have everything within 40 hours? Cos that's the alternative.

The term ‘Excluded Middle’ leaps unaccountably to mind.

 

[Bob Lighthouse]

Because this is the last goal I have. Once I get the ship that I want, I can start engineering it for PvP and taking on Thargoids.

I already have an Anaconda fully A-Rated. I am unhappy with it due to how it flies, and I do not enjoy how the ship looks. The Corvette fixes both of these problems for me.

Due to the fact that I now have my mind set on having the Corvette, going through the slow (Possibly months or even a year's time) slog of just casually playing mission boards until I reach Rear Admiral, I would rather go through a few days of hell in order to reach my goal.

This grind is soul crushing, but I'm almost done with it.

But my point is that I'm outpacing you it seems, and I'm just playing the game and spending lots of money on donations.

 

[House0fDerp]

But my point is that I'm outpacing you it seems, and I'm just playing the game and spending lots of money on donations.

@ 3 ranks per day, you should be done by now if keeping that pace.

The term ‘Excluded Middle’ leaps unaccountably to mind.

Even if it wasn't I'm not sure what we're trying to protect here. There are enough small ship evangelists telling everyone that the big 3 are relatively poor experiences. Letting people into them seems like a good way to reduce frustration for what in some cases will be no reason.

 

[Bob Lighthouse]

@ 3 ranks per day, you should be done by now if keeping that pace.

I *already own the Cutter* and took almost two weeks off to a) do a CG and b) engineer said beast.

 

[House0fDerp]

I *already own the Cutter* and took almost two weeks off to a) do a CG and b) engineer said beast.

Yes, you already own the cutter, but not both, which at 3 ranks per day you should have.

That's 8 days for Rear Admiral + Duke at the same pace.

 

[Bob Lighthouse]

That doesn't make things rare. It never has. It never will. All it does in encourage engaging the game in the worst ways.



Unfortunately that doesn't work for 2 of the big 3. They're tied to rank which is tied to missions. Skill is a wholly irrelevant factor to earning them.

Want to go exploring as a primary focus and work towards a cutter at the same time? Too bad.
Spent several hours shooting pirates at a bounty hunting CG? No progress towards that corvette.
Trading loop between stations? Nada.
Fighting for your faction in a CZ? Hope the stations are popping massacre missions regularly, otherwise it's wasted.

All of the profits you earn in any of those endeavors can go towards the ranking you choose.
That said if you go around killing members of a faction or superpower you wish to gain favor with, it should come as no surprise that this might hinder your progress.

 

[sollisb]

If your goal is big 3 then yes.

But that's already talked on other threads.

I personally believe flying big ship should be a status of good and experienced Elite player.

Define 'good' ?

Define 'Experienced' ?

 

[House0fDerp]

All of the profits you earn in any of those endeavors can go towards the ranking you choose.
That said if you go around killing members of a faction or superpower you wish to gain favor with, it should come as no surprise that this might hinder your progress.

Yet they don't, so there goes that. The hindrance only comes in that "playing your way" has an entirely variable effect on ranking depending what "your way" actually is.

 

[Bob Lighthouse]

Yes, you already own the cutter, but not both, which at 3 ranks per day you should have.

That's 8 days for Rear Admiral + Duke at the same pace.

You're not reading.
I'm not grinding ranks nor I have not played since launch and have made much more progress, ie I *am* outpacing.

This part is a non sequitur, you don't have to do any data runs, nor dedicate *extra* time.

I have played since game-launch. I have a total of over 700 Hours. I should not have to dedicate DAYS of time on top of what I've already done to do nothing but TENS OF HOURS of data delivery missions in order to reach my dream ship.

 

[Bob Lighthouse]

Yet they don't, so there goes that. The hindrance only comes in that "playing your way" has an entirely variable effect on ranking depending what "your way" actually is.

Yes they do silly, you just spend them as donations.


I read it right here:

There are several types of mission that give Ranks, but Charity Missions are generally viewed as the most useful and fastest.

http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Empire

Seems to work just fine for the feds too.

 

[House0fDerp]

You're not reading.
I'm not grinding ranks nor I have not played since launch and have made much more progress, ie I *am* outpacing.

This part is a non sequitur, you don't have to do any data runs, nor dedicate *extra* time.

The pace is 3 ranks per day. That's what he's currently working at. If he wasn't working on rank before, and I listed a series of activities that you in turn quoted, that time wouldn't really factor into that pacing. If you want to argue that you beat a ramdon guy walking on a trail while you were sprinting and had no idea who you were or that you were racing him in your mind that's not terribly useful a comparison.

 

[aardappelianen]

grinding for stuff is fine even if its alot but some aspects of the grind are just too tediuous and unreliable like cruising for signal sources or flipping the boards and praying to rngesus that the mission with a required mat will spawn
wich currently doesnt seem to be working for biotech conductors and exquisite focus crystals but thats for another tread

if everything is to be grind based then at least make it so that expertise leads to repeatable results and that one can ensure that their actions contribute to achieving their goal instead of it all being a luck of the draw kinda thing

 

[Bob Lighthouse]

The pace is 3 ranks per day. That's what he's currently working at. If he wasn't working on rank before, and I listed a series of activities that you in turn quoted, that time wouldn't really factor into that pacing. If you want to argue that you beat a ramdon guy walking on a trail while you were sprinting and had no idea who you were or that you were racing him in your mind that's not terribly useful a comparison.

Now, that's just in your mind.

 

[House0fDerp]

Now, that's just in your mind.

How so? I'm taking the pace he's given while trying to get rank, you said you were pacing faster, but include time before he was grinding it out.

 

[sollisb]

Example of a grind;

Tonight I wanted to upgrade my Cutter with G5 Dirty Drives and I had no Isolators.

I found a system in Outbreak and headed over. Spent an hour, yep an hour, cruising around looking for USS's. Found 1 but no isolators

I then decided to try another system. I spent 90 minutes there again looking for USSs. Found 5 of the ones needed and found isolators in the last one.

So that's 2.5 hr spent this evening, sitting in my chair, doing nothing but looking at a black screen with stars.

For my trouble, tomorrow night, I will head over and try my luck at the 'Dirty Drive Wheel of Fortune'.

I challenge any player including FDev to explain to me how that is, or can be thought of, as good, or even mediocre gameplay.

 

[Yamiks]

Example of a grind;

Tonight I wanted to upgrade my Cutter with G5 Dirty Drives and I had no Isolators.

I found a system in Outbreak and headed over. Spent an hour, yep an hour, cruising around looking for USS's. Found 1 but no isolators

I then decided to try another system. I spent 90 minutes there again looking for USSs. Found 5 of the ones needed and found isolators in the last one.

So that's 2.5 hr spent this evening, sitting in my chair, doing nothing but looking at a black screen with stars.

For my trouble, tomorrow night, I will head over and try my luck at the 'Dirty Drive Wheel of Fortune'.

I challenge any player including FDev to explain to me how that is, or can be thought of, as good, or even mediocre gameplay.

this not really grind.. this is WORSE.. it's getting on your knees and sucking the RNGesus off...in HOPES that you get a pat on the back!
It's a really good example of how something can be WORSE than GRINDING (at least with grinding you know what you'll get when you do something)

 

[Banana's_Are_Good_For_You]

Example of "not a grind".
Time played: 29 weeks. 6 days, 5 hours and 20 mins.

I just hit Rear Admiral the other day just by doing all kinds of different "stuff" and never focusing on one specific goal.
I still have most of my Empire rank to do but again, no hurry. There'll probably be Alliance rank to do which would probably be more interesting to me personally.
It's just more fun to vary your gameplay and not do the same thing repeatedly, at least for me.

Just seems people want things yesterday and just expect games to feed them when I'm from an Era where you when you bought a game, you had to engage with it to work out what to do.
Elite Dangerous is more of an old school game where the value is in working out how all the things work and the rewards come the more you understand the game.

 

[sollisb]

this not really grind.. this is WORSE.. it's getting on your knees and sucking the RNGesus off...in HOPES that you get a pat on the back!
It's a really good example of how something can be WORSE than GRINDING (at least with grinding you know what you'll get when you do something)

I think before ED. I would have considered Everquest as the grindiest game I ever played. If you died, you lost one third experience of your current level, and one from each stat. Now at high end, when raiding, you expected to die, but, you're guild etc were there to level anyone that needed back up in time for the next raid.

The difference was, even though it was grind fest central, you always knew, what was at the end. There wasn't some random garbage thrown in, because some clown somewhere thought it'd be totes'hilarious.

ED on the other hand, while also being grind fest central, also throws in this complete moronic randomness. And you what, there is no reason for it.

I actually reached a point tonight at which I thought to myself. Why am I doing this?

Clown-based game design.