Your least enjoyable Elite activity?

I'd forgotten experimentals V1 it was a pain, I used to spend rep to adjust the experimental so far fewer rolls, then buy some random item to engineer with plentiful stuff and get the rep back.

That was already V1.5 or so. The option wasn't available for quite a while. And yes, it did already help a lot, but it's not what I still consider the V1 experience.
 
That was already V1.5 or so. The option wasn't available for quite a while. And yes, it did already help a lot, but it's not what I still consider the V1 experience.

Didn't really matter to me since I never gave it more effort than the current version needs.
 
Didn't really matter to me since I never gave it more effort than the current version needs.

I was much the same, 5-6 dice rolls & whatever I got was usually a straight upgrade. I wasn't trying to get the best though, that was an unenviable chore for competitive PvPers.
 
I don't agree with many of the points people raise, but I try to understand them, I empathise. I agree that people should check to see whether a particular gripe or bug has been addressed, and that the process of engineering a ship is not as grindy as it was (I thought the original implementation was fine tbh and just got on with it. Many, many people didn't and some still don't).

What we have here, and with other examples, is a situation where (to use the vernacular) whiners complained, and the game was changed to remove much of the challenge (ie the actual gameplay) at the expense of people who were not complaining. Then when those previously happy customers complain, they are called the whiners by idiots who don't look at the bigger picture because the change suited them or they don't care about the change.

Opinions are fine, it's okay to disagree. Generally I only comment when whatever I think has not already been stated, it means I tend to sit on the minority side of plenty of discussions. That doesn't make me (or anyone else) wrong or irrelevant to them or to a wider audience. It doesn't necessarily mean I'm right either ;)

I generally appreciate your point of view. It's a good attitude.

The problem is that the situation is a bit different from your example. Its all along "it once was bad, they changed it, I refuse to check out what they changed but rather wallow in my hate for the old system".

The part where he complains about the power creep is perfectly fine. That's still there and unchanged. Potentially even worse than in the V1 version. I consider any complaints about that to be valid and support them. But some of the complaints are based on very outdated info. And I just consider it unfair to complain about something which already was fixed. I mean, what should they still do? Travel to him, kneel on his doorstep and ask for forgiveness?

Didn't really matter to me since I never gave it more effort than the current version needs.

I'm not saying that I did much more there. I tooled around with it for a week or two, saw how terrible it was and gave up on it. I chose to rather have fun playing the rest of the game. I just wanted to point out that the V1 actually was way worse for those who actually cared for it than you at the moment seemed to remember. So yes, I can very much understand all the hate the V1 drew. But I also think that, as it was fixed, it's not worth holding on to the grudge but move on to the better (not perfect, but much better) system we have now.
 
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You quit after engineers V1 after choosing to grind at it, I chose not to do the grind which then didn't trigger a quit. Back then I told people consistently "stop grinding or you'll burn out".

So while I get you really didn't like your chosen approach to the game back then I don't value your opinion on how grindy you think engineers might be now and I don't think your experience has been relevant for the last few years.
No, I didn't grind at it. It was pretty obvious that it was a ridiculous grind by just trying it out a bit. I quit because the game became unfun. Mainly combat. It's described in my opening post.
 
No, I didn't grind at it. It was pretty obvious that it was a ridiculous grind by just trying it out a bit. I quit because the game became unfun. Mainly combat. It's described in my opening post.

There is no subscription model, you already own the game & assuming your hardware is still capable of playing the game with it's updated minimum requirements perhaps the best thing you can do it try it again, and see if there is some way to play that is still enjoyable :)

NPCs generally are a bit harder to kill than they were before Horizons launched or 2.1, but if the choice is between not playing at all vs resetting your save back to harmless & trying again, I know which I'd choose.

I do agree the game, in particular meeting other players was much, much more fun before engineers. Fortunately for me I play a hell of a lot so I have generally always had access to the best gear. If I get popped it's because I made a mistake, not because others did more grind than me ;)
 
The biggest problem with the old system was the lack of a ceiling, the people who lacked control could just sit and grind till they bled from their eyes. In threads about how to engineer just your thrusters the advice was being given as "you need 200 rolls minimum" I was going with best of three and getting called names for saying so. My stuff was just as good that last 0.003% just never mattered.

V2 was (I think) specifically designed to stop that sort of gaming self harm by adding an upper limit. FDEV didn't see it coming as this is their first MMO so they didn't understand how crazy some gamers can get.

The void opal price balance might have been the same because people were going at that in a really grindy way for entirely imaginary carrier prices.
The biggest problem, imo, was and partly is the layered RNG. You look for something specific - you simply can't find it. The amount of different ingerdients factors into that too. It's been since adressed partly by exploration tools and mat traders, but that doesn't really take out the frustration of not finding what you seek. More busywork, but doable.
The point of obsessive G5 grading comes much later.

Imo, inexperience is no excuse. MMOs aren't exactly new territory and reward systems have been devised for decades now. There should have been enough know-how to design it properly. Or rather none at all.
 
I was much the same, 5-6 dice rolls & whatever I got was usually a straight upgrade. I wasn't trying to get the best though, that was an unenviable chore for competitive PvPers.

And yes. Before engineers I was into casual PvP. The V1 engineers made me leave that behind, never to return. I know that by now my ships are engineered to adequate levels again, but it's definitely a lasting effect of the engineers: it drove me away from PvP. And by not being involved for such a long time, I have no confidence that it'd be anything else than a moving target any more. So yes, that's definitely collateral damage of the engineers. But alas: water under the bridge. Long gone, not worth shedding tears over it.
 
There is no subscription model, you already own the game & assuming your hardware is still capable of playing the game with it's updated minimum requirements perhaps the best thing you can do it try it again, and see if there is some way to play that is still enjoyable :)

NPCs generally are a bit harder to kill than they were before Horizons launched or 2.1, but if the choice is between not playing at all vs resetting your save back to harmless & trying again, I know which I'd choose.

I do agree the game, in particular meeting other players was much, much more fun before engineers. Fortunately for me I play a hell of a lot so I have generally always had access to the best gear. If I get popped it's because I made a mistake, not because others did more grind than me ;)

You'd reset and void all the progress just to do it all over again?
 
The biggest problem, imo, was and partly is the layered RNG. You look for something specific - you simply can't find it. The amount of different ingerdients factors into that too. It's been since adressed partly by exploration tools and mat traders, but that doesn't really take out the frustration of not finding what you seek. More busywork, but doable.
The point of obsessive G5 grading comes much later.

That's where I just disagree. I haven't done pursued any specific material since a long time. I have engineered two ships without doing any of that, but only using what I had stored away and/or visiting a material trader.

My experience on the V1 engineers was EXACTLY how you describe it. And it's really a challenge to not use impolite words when describing the OLD system. Your point of view on how the system WAS is 100% valid and I completely agree that it was like that. But my personal experience by now is just so very different from how it was in old times. It feels completely different, I don't grind for materials. I just pick up what crosses my way and use or trade it later.

And because my experience has so vastly changed when engineers were reworked, I really think you should give the game another chance. No, I can not guarantee you that your experience will be better. But I think there's the chance that you will find the system to be much more manageable than in old times.

So in the worst case, you spent a little time in the game again, of which you still frequent the forum. You learn that you still don't like the system after the change, but then can give well founded feedback, based on your actual experience of the new system. In a better case, you find that the game is enjoyable for you again, have fun playing again and we can together rant about other things of the game which we consider to be a problem. :)
 
You'd reset and void all the progress just to do it all over again?

If the alternative were to never play a game I'd bought again, sure ;)

What use is progress if you don't use it? NPC difficulty is linked to your Elite Ranks, resetting your save may allow you to get some enjoyment out of the game, and some > none.

I left the bubble in about October 2016, fed up with the rank based NPCs introduced in 2.1 a few months (but hundreds of hours of playtime) earlier. I didn't dock again until December 2017 (in Colonia), When I eventually returned home in March 2018 the NPCs had changed enough that I was no longer irritated by them. In my case it was more about immersion & them magically appearing behind me, which players cannot do. I still think location based challenge is the way it should have gone (eg tied to system security etc).

When the 3.3 update pointlessly removed the simple pleasure of waywardly wandering about the galaxy I didn't quit the game, nor did I reset (it wouldn't have helped), I just threw myself into the BGS instead, an activity I was already doing just not to the extent that I do now.
 
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That's where I just disagree. I haven't done pursued any specific material since a long time. I have engineered two ships without doing any of that, but only using what I had stored away and/or visiting a material trader.

My experience on the V1 engineers was EXACTLY how you describe it. And it's really a challenge to not use impolite words when describing the OLD system. Your point of view on how the system WAS is 100% valid and I completely agree that it was like that. But my personal experience by now is just so very different from how it was in old times. It feels completely different, I don't grind for materials. I just pick up what crosses my way and use or trade it later.

And because my experience has so vastly changed when engineers were reworked, I really think you should give the game another chance. No, I can not guarantee you that your experience will be better. But I think there's the chance that you will find the system to be much more manageable than in old times.

So in the worst case, you spent a little time in the game again, of which you still frequent the forum. You learn that you still don't like the system after the change, but then can give well founded feedback, based on your actual experience of the new system. In a better case, you find that the game is enjoyable for you again, have fun playing again and we can together rant about other things of the game which we consider to be a problem. :)
There's an encouraging point. Can't really argue with that. I doesn't make the bulletsponge go away, but I could indeed try out some exploration. Sightseeing was and probably is still good. Doesn't get me anywhere in the game tho.
 
You'd reset and void all the progress just to do it all over again?

That. Or contact support to reset your combat rank. They do that and (according to other feedback, i did not try it) it really makes things much easier again. Or alternatively get a new account to try things.
It would actually be nice if they'd have something like a 7 day free trial. But as far as I know, there's nothing like that? Or did I miss it?
 
That. Or contact support to reset your combat rank. They do that and (according to other feedback, i did not try it) it really makes things much easier again. Or alternatively get a new account to try things.
It would actually be nice if they'd have something like a 7 day free trial. But as far as I know, there's nothing like that? Or did I miss it?

They did that for people who'd got elite before the NPC buff and couldn't cope with the scaling enemies. They drop some nice mats.
 
I haven't done pursued any specific material since a long time. I have engineered two ships without doing any of that, but only using what I had stored away and/or visiting a material trader.

Must be nice to have your normal play cause you to not need anything for engineering. I'm constantly topping off on planetary mats to complete each new ship build I want to try. And for me planetary surfaces are going out of your way to get those mats because otherwise I wouldn't be there at all.
 
The biggest problem, imo, was and partly is the layered RNG. You look for something specific - you simply can't find it. The amount of different ingerdients factors into that too. It's been since adressed partly by exploration tools and mat traders, but that doesn't really take out the frustration of not finding what you seek. More busywork, but doable.
The point of obsessive G5 grading comes much later.

Imo, inexperience is no excuse. MMOs aren't exactly new territory and reward systems have been devised for decades now. There should have been enough know-how to design it properly. Or rather none at all.

You don't need to grind G5 at all or anymore for that matter. Maybe 15 rolls max from easily available stuff.
 
If the alternative were to never play a game I'd bought again, sure ;)

What use is progress if you don't use it? NPC difficulty is linked to your Elite Ranks, resetting your save may allow you to get some enjoyment out of the game, and some > none.

I left the bubble in about October 2016, fed up with the rank based NPCs introduced in 2.1 a few months (but hundreds of hours of playtime) earlier. I didn't dock again until December 2017 (in Colonia), When I eventually returned home in March 2018 the NPCs had changed enough that I was no longer irritated by them. In my case it was more about immersion & them magically appearing behind me, which players cannot do.

When the 3.3 update pointlessly removed the simple pleasure of waywardly wandering about the galaxy I didn't quit the game, nor did I reset (it wouldn't have helped), I just threw myself into the BGS instead, an activity I was already doing just not to the extent that I do now.

Sunk cost fallacy maybe. Not about money, but time. And the prospect of just getting to the same point. Which may or may not happen.
 
Must be nice to have your normal play cause you to not need anything for engineering. I'm constantly topping off on planetary mats to complete each new ship build I want to try. And for me planetary surfaces are going out of your way to get those mats because otherwise I wouldn't be there at all.

I sometimes feel like lazy mining. Pack my mining lasers, roam around and let the limpets collect. While listening to an audiobook. It's a bit of gaming zen and I do enjoy that.

As a side effect, this activity tops up some G1 and G2 raw materials in limited time. And the material trader then converts that to whatever I need. Sure, the trade rates are terrible, but you usually don't need excessive amounts of them. Similar for data things: sure I could try to grind for firmware or something like that. But data comes in automatically when hunting enemies in a RES. When storage of some data runs full, I exchange it again for the more valuable stuff.

So no, neither of those things brings in materials fast. It's a small but constant stream of materials instead. It just pools up in the run of time and was enough to get my last two ships engineered when I decided to get them.
 
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