Should Missions now be Rank locked again?

[Esteban]

I'd like to see the ability to take lower-ranked combat missions (for example), even as a higher-ranked player. I'm trying to help a new player get some experience with these types of missions. Since this player has shied away from these missions, he has no good idea for which one to select on our behalf that will be easy enough yet provide some learning opportunity. I can make this assessment almost instantly because I have the experience that allows me to.

Yes, this can be made to work this way, but I'm spending more of the time hand-holding just to select a mission rather than hand-holding during the mission. Doing this while interacting remotely (we're very far apart) is a pain. He's reading mission descriptions to me... you get the picture.

I feel that there are other valid reasons for being able to do this, even playing alone. Let players play the game they want to play.

All that said, I have gone thru the learning process (and I don't consider myself to be fantastic at combat at all) at my pace. We all know, though, that for many players, this process is a hill that they can't or don't desire to climb. With some assistance, these players would stick to the game. And especially in a play-together scenario, there's then the ability for us to have fun together.

This is just one example; I appreciate that the "system" for issuing mission has merit for a lot of players so I wouldn't presume to alter that. That's not my aim; this is simply a point in the galaxy of viewpoints and mention it because I think it has some merit too.

 

[CMDR Karrde Sun]

Its been turned back on again, great!

Does anyone have an undestanding of how progress in the ranks themselves have been balanced? For trade and exploration specifically, natural play in either the sandbox or the mission board seems to advance the ranks faster than you'd expect. If the ranks could be rebalanced to current earnings you could also put back a sense of progression.

Maybe i just haven't played in a while though.

The last time i tried was.. maybe last year sometime.. and it still felt like the early stages of progression were skipped. In a new sidewinder, a 2 million credit ground scanning mission was still available to me eg. If this won't happen now that's a good thing!

 

[Quantis Trap]

Wow, I really like seeing devs jump in and explain things like this! I had seen this explanation from the grape vine in the past, but it's nice to get direct confermation of game features which we can point to in the future when this comes up in a thread again!

 

[tolm]

Maybe not exactly locked but perhaps locked to a couple of ranks above your current rank?

So:

• Starting out as Harmless you also have access to Mostly Harmless and Novice missions
• Getting to Mostly Harmless unlocks Competent missions as well
• Novice then gives access to Expert missions
• And so on until at Dangerous rank you can then take Deadly and Elite missions

Would provide some progression based control - and reward you for unlocking higher ranks - whilst not being so draconian as to require months of gameplay to be able to take the better paying missions.

But can’t say I’m massively fussed either way, TBH.

 

[tolm]

Hi there,

Yes. Rewards are scaled to rank of mission and you can only see or accept missions a few ranks above or below your current rank.

Thanks,
Dom

ha ha, should have read this first, I guess?!! Seems entirely sensible to me ...

 

[Jmanis]

Wow, I really like seeing devs jump in and explain things like this! I had seen this explanation from the grape vine in the past, but it's nice to get direct confermation of game features which we can point to in the future when this comes up in a thread again!

Dom has some sixth-sense for posts about the mission board

 

[BackToTheMud]

How would they convince Zorgon Peterson or Faulcon DeLacy not to sell their ships to potential customers? I don't think the Pilots federation has that kind of influence.

You sure about that?

"Pilots Federation's Near Monopoly
Historically the Pilots Federation has been a trusted source of information for pilots. As humanity expanded into space that need for information continued to grow.[10]

Before 3100 they provided data for many ship and station manufacturers. After 3100 in an understated, but effective campaign of acquisitions and mergers they became the dominant provider of this data as well as the hardware and software solutions serving that data.[10]

From star chart data, ship data and bounty management systems the Pilots Federation expanded their data sources to include markets, newsfeeds and communication systems.[10]

In 3300 the Pilots Federation's GalNet system has a near monopoly on all shipboard and station embedded systems. The systems are fitted as standard on nearly all independent ships and even some militaries. It's a testament to the trusted nature of the PF that this monopoly has occurred with the little resistance bar some backroom negotiations.[10]

Pilot's Federation Influence
Officially, the Pilots Federation is apolitical: as an organisation it does not interfere with the internal workings of systems or factions. However this official stance is a misnomer. The PF wields considerable power through its web of political contacts as well as the application of the bounty system and control of the ship and station embedded systems.[11]

It also uses a lot of soft power by providing pilot safety support throughout human space.[11]"

 

[CMDR Decus Crux]

Hi there,



No, they were not.

Removing rank as a visible gating mechanic was an intentional part of the mission board revamp that was delivered in 2.1



Is not possible as missions only scale to a few ranks ahead or behind your current rank.

thanks,
Dom

My alt has NO combat rank, still, ELITE- Rated Kill- Missions are offered... so

 

[Watcher]

You don't have to do missions to improve your combat rank and non mission related NPCs will be based around your combat rank.

Yes..

I'm not sure how that changes what I've said.

I'm saying that tying trade mission difficulty to your combat rank is counter-productive as that disincentiveses more trade focussed pilots from pursuing any activity that increases combat rank.

I don't think believe many people would agree that making your combat ship increasingly require cargo space to fight as you increased your trade rank would be a good mechanic so why have it the other way around?

Instead specify trade, combat and exploration ranks for each mission - you still get better Elite trade missions for getting that rank but you don't have to take those where there is also an Elite combat rank requirement. If you want to do that, great, but you don't have to and your current rank doesn't effectively dictate the combat ranking of the mission.

I'd tend to suggest system state and governments should dictate ambient NPC levels and threat too rather than your own ranks. If you want to go fly somewhere safe in an unarmed sidey while triple elite your ought to be able to do that. If you want to do the same somewhere crazy dangerous while harmless and have an extra exciting time, that's up to you. You can put a certain amount of guiderails around people getting stomped when low ranked and unequipped but I suspect this should be more in the form of obvious and available information than anything stopping anyone, maybe the odd pirate "why did I even bother" and leaving you alone (or very much the opposite?)...

 

[Dominic Corner]

I'm saying that tying trade mission difficulty to your combat rank is counter-productive as that disincentiveses more trade focussed pilots from pursuing any activity that increases combat rank.

Hi there,

Trade mission difficulty has nothing to do with your combat rank. It has to do with your trade rank.

Thanks,
Dom

 

[Dominic Corner]

Maybe not exactly locked but perhaps locked to a couple of ranks above your current rank?

So:

• Starting out as Harmless you also have access to Mostly Harmless and Novice missions
• Getting to Mostly Harmless unlocks Competent missions as well
• Novice then gives access to Expert missions
• And so on until at Dangerous rank you can then take Deadly and Elite missions

Would provide some progression based control - and reward you for unlocking higher ranks - whilst not being so draconian as to require months of gameplay to be able to take the better paying missions.

But can’t say I’m massively fussed either way, TBH.

Hi there,

This is how it currently works. (With the exception of a few missions that have a minimum rank of Elite).

Missions will scale to a moving window of ranks centred around your current rank in the relevant career.

Thanks,
Dom

 

[Rubbernuke]

@Dominic Corner

Regards the templates, do they allow randomisation of opponent ship / weapons, or does each opponent require a new template?

 

[Jmanis]

Just while Dom seems to be floating around, just sayin' i'd totally get up 3am my local for an AMA on missions

 

[Watcher]

Hi there,

Trade mission difficulty has nothing to do with your combat rank. It has to do with your trade rank.

Thanks,
Dom

Fair enough, I stand corrected

I guess, to be picky, I'd note that if ambient NPC pirate activity scales with your combat rank then that will increase trade and other mission difficulty as an (unintended?) consequence. Still, not clear that is how that works.

Either way I very much appreciate the increased discussion and feedback!

 

[Jmanis]

Fair enough, I stand corrected

I guess, to be picky, I'd note that if ambient NPC pirate activity scales with your combat rank then that will increase trade and other mission difficulty as an (unintended?) consequence. Still, not clear that is how that works.

Either way I very much appreciate the increased discussion and feedback!

I think you might be crossing your wires on two things... there's ambient NPCs, and then there's the NPC tails you get for trade related mission wrinkles (that are specific updates to that mission).

Ambient NPCs (i.e random spawns) will be at a rank and difficulty comparable to your combat rank.
NPC tails in trade mission wrinkles will be at a rank and difficulty comparable to your trade rank.

That seems alright to me. This gives rise to the following scenarios.

Harmless Combat, Elite Trader:
Ambient pirates chasing you will be at low ranks due to your harmless combat rank. But any tails generated as part of trade missions will be powerful and at the Elite rank. This is comensurate with the increasing rank-based difficulty of trade, as you progressively evade/defend from bigger threats (since you're still Harmless combat, I presume you're evading and not actually killing them).

Of course, if you start killing these tails, your combat rank increases, and so ambient spawns will increase in difficulty

Elite Combat, Penniless Trader:
You're a seasoned (PvE) combat pilot at this stage, so you should be familiar with the risks of combat. So if you take that low-rank trade mission, sure, the ambient NPCs may still be beefy, but you should be used to that by now, and they're easier to shake than wrinkle NPCs, who persistently follow you... ambient NPCs are gone after the first evasion. The trade wrinkle NPCs will still be weak though.

Either scenario works IMO; you're either a seasoned combat veteran able to deal with risks, or a seasoned merchant who's equally able to deal with risks (albiet a bit less aggressively). Either way, you shouldn't have gotten to where you were without learning those skills (lol mining...)

 

[CMDR Karrde Sun]

I think mission and ambient npc's also factor in what ship you're in when deciding what to spawn.

A cutter and type-9 spawn very different npc's eg.

 

[BL1P]

I take it the Enemies Dom is talking about are the "Incoming Enemy" email alert message enemies.

Quite fun sometimes but really easy to beat in the mini game.
Also helps they all send you a message like "Ahh the rumour is true blablabla", just in case you were asleep and need to wake up to beat the mini game.
The other day I was doing Wing mining missions with 2 other people in the wing. we each had 6 or 7 missions stacked and had 3 missions on the go shared.
At one point we would get interdicted by upto 3 enemies in a row. and had things like 0/9 incoming enemy alert messages in one or more Mission info window.

When I say 3 interdictions at once, I mean each interdiction instantly started when you beat the other one as all three ships where waiting in a line to interdict you. No wait time at all just end one and bam start another.

Fear my mini game skills you inept Elite Anaconda ... Muhahahahaha and KA-ching 50mil reward
Interdicted maybe 60 times didnt loose a one. Hmm maybe they are a tad weak and need a balance too ?

 

[Ashnak]

Maybe not exactly locked but perhaps locked to a couple of ranks above your current rank?

Nah.
Just, like Rubbernuke said, make Elite enemies spawned from an Elite mission something even a seasoned player would tend to avoid, instead of considering them an easy source of additional income and materials.

 

[CMDR Karrde Sun]

Ahh speaking of enemies from elite missions.. is there any chance the quantity of this could be turned down to 1 instead of 4? For all of them?

As i grew in experience, i simply avoid interdictions now, where before i knew better, i used to drop and fight for the fun of it every time.

If there was only one enemy spawned, i would absolutely stop and fight every other time.

EDIT: The alternatives would be to make the wringles pay 2 million each (~100kish is not enough). Would stop for 4 then. Maybe... Wow that would make one delivery run turn into a combat session.

 

[Jmanis]

I take it the Enemies Dom is talking about are the "Incoming Enemy" email alert message enemies.

Quite fun sometimes but really easy to beat in the mini game.
Also helps they all send you a message like "Ahh the rumour is true blablabla", just in case you were asleep and need to wake up to beat the mini game.
The other day I was doing Wing mining missions with 2 other people in the wing. we each had 6 or 7 missions stacked and had 3 missions on the go shared.
At one point we would get interdicted by upto 3 enemies in a row. and had things like 0/9 incoming enemy alert messages in one or more Mission info window.

When I say 3 interdictions at once, I mean each interdiction instantly started when you beat the other one as all three ships where waiting in a line to interdict you. No wait time at all just end one and bam start another.

Fear my mini game skills you inept Elite Anaconda ... Muhahahahaha and KA-ching 50mil reward
Interdicted maybe 60 times didnt loose a one. Hmm maybe they are a tad weak and need a balance too ?

Hey... so... I'd normally grab a bunch of missions, wait for those updates and then just hang out in my fighter. I'd get interdicted and submit, but about 4 would dump in for an awesome fight.

I rekon do this, throw on a massacre, hang out in the target system and rake in the cash. 15 missions, half with 3-4 tails, add on the massacre, that's a good 70m for not much work.