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Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's reputation systems for the new player
One thing new MMO players will learn is that games that have levels inevitably also have a level cap, meaning that when a character reaches the highest level, there's not often much left to do other than to wait for a new expansion. This conundrum has left many developers trying to find ways to keep players in the game while they worked on new, larger content pushes. Many accomplish the task by creating repeatable quests or missions. Some games, Star Trek Online included, have integrated what are known as reputation systems into their games. Reputation systems are meant to keep players participating in repeatable content, allowing them to apply the currency received from that play to obtain select items and unique rewards.
Reputation in review: Pandaria
Mists of Pandaria represents a dynamic change to how we look at reputation in World of Warcraft. While Cataclysm's reputations were all by and large flat dungeon grinds aided by the use of reputation tabards, reputation in Mists took a much different approach. In fact, it took many, many different approaches -- each reputation grind in Mists of Pandaria was slightly different from the next, with no two taking the exact same process to get to the end of the climb. On the WoW Insider show, we've talked before about how this is likely a grand experiment on Blizzard's part -- one to see which aspects of grinding reputation players tend to take really well, and which could be happily left behind. I've reviewed quite a few of the reputation grinds in Pandaria myself over the course of the expansion, largely because I'm obsessed with filling all those green bars. But what about the big picture? What really worked with reputation grinding in Mists, and what deserves to be left in the dust?
Patch 5.4 PTR: Reputation gear cost changed to Justice Points
In case you missed the latest update to the patch 5.4 PTR, a major change was added that ought to help players looking to level and gear alts. According to the notes, all reputation gear will have its reputation requirement removed entirely in 5.4. This means that any faction-specific epic gear will no longer require players to earn reputation with that faction in order to purchase it. The only exception to this is the Shado-Pan Assault, which will have its requirements reduced to Friendly or below. But believe it or not, that' s not the biggest change to the gear! All Valor gear will now cost Justice Points instead of Valor -- and all blue gear that currently costs Justice Points will be reduced in cost by 75%. Again, the only exception to this is the Shado-Pan Assault gear, which will still cost Valor, but have its cost reduced by 34%. Please note that all other items, including mounts, tabards, and various unrelated baubles will not be changed -- and all items that currently require an Exalted reputation will not receive any changes. However, this change suddenly gives Justice Points a definitive use again. Since 5.4 is currently believed to be the last raid patch of this expansion, the changes make sense -- players that have come in very late in the expansion should find it much easier to gear up and get caught up with the latest content. I know I've got a few alts that will definitely see a little more play time once these changes are in place. There has been no notification that Valor points will be reset with the next patch, however things may change at any time -- we'll let you know if we see any further changes.
Captain's Log: STO's fleet advancement and reputation systems
In my continuing efforts to mark time until we all find out what the blazes the most recent teasers for Star Trek Online's upcoming March Beneath the Raptor's Wings are hinting at, this column is going to delve into two huge new tech developments the game has seen since its free-to-play conversion. Many players are just now coming back to Star Trek Online after a prolonged absence and have asked me to touch on some of the changes the game has seen in the past two years. Seasons Six and Seven saw the release of the fleet advancement and reputation systems. Both of the new systems work on the same basic principles, so let's go over the basics, then touch on each individual system's idiosyncrasies.
Patch 5.2 PTR: Reputation gain changes
One change that's arrived with the latest patch 5.2 notes is one that has to deal with bonus reputation. Players have stated how grinding and repetitive the reputation can be. A suggestion that was offered was to bring back reputation tabards so players could continue to earn reputation while participating in dungeons. This would offer players two methods to earn reputation: Dailies and dungeons. Blizzard disagreed they didn't want players to double dip as dungeons already reward loot from bosses along with valor points. The developers mentioned sometime back in December that they were planning a way to include bonus reputation through dungeons. A suggestion was brought up by our own Matthew Rossi where players could represent a faction for a limited time. That looks like the compromise solution we were looking for! Patch 5.2 PTR and Patch Notes You can now earn bonus reputation for your first dungeon and scenario of the day. You can select which reputation you choose to champion by selecting it from the reputation panel on the character screen. When you queue for a dungeon or scenario, the UI will remind you which reputation you are championing and allow you to change the reputation from there. (You cannot change that reputation once you are in the dungeon or scenario.) source The UI has changed so that the Reputation panel in the character screen displays which reputation they have purchased Grand Commendations for. That's great for people like me who've accidentally purchased the same reputation commendation twice. How about it guys? What do you think of this alternative way to earn reputation? You can still knock out your dailies but between the commendations and the bonus reputation from dailies, I wager you'll be able to hit Exalted at a nice rate.
Reputation in review: The August Celestials
At the four cardinal points of Pandaria, great beasts known as the August Celestials watch over the precious continent. To the east is Yu'lon, the Jade Serpent -- a being of unfathomable power who is neither the first nor the last Jade Serpent in existence. While speaking to Yu'lon, it is made clear that upon her death, her life's essence will be passed on to another, in cycle that indicates some type of immortality. There are three others in Pandaria; Chi-ji the Red Crane to the south, Xuen the White Tiger to the North, and Niuzao the Black Ox to the west. It's not clear if these three follow the same cycle as Yu'lon, but all three share the same sparkling, ethereal appearance. We don't know where they came from. We don't know what they are. We don't know exactly how long they've been on Pandaria, although there is mention of Yu'lon in tales from the last Pandaren Emperor. We don't know what their ultimate purpose on Pandaria is, except to guard and watch over the world. And one would think that a reputation grind dedicated to these ethereal creatures would answer at least a few of these questions.
Lichborne: What do I do at level 90? And 2 other burning death knight questions
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done. Reading a guide is all well and good, but sometimes, even after you read, you still have questions or need clarification. This week, I've taken 3 questions I see death knights ask a lot at various places around the web, and provide some advice and clarification. Why don't tanks need so much hit and expertise? If you've been reading the column, you've probably noticed that I have de-emphasized hit and expertise when discussing blood death knight tank gear and strategy. This is for a very good reason. Certainly, active tanking is the rule of the day in Mists, which means in theory that tanks should want hit and expertise so their abilities land. In theory, if your Death Strike doesn't land, you don't get the healing or the blood shield, right?
Patch 5.1 PTR: Reputation rewards for Alliance and Horde
Patch 5.1 introduces two new factions -- Operation Shieldwall for the Alliance, and the Dominance Offensive for the Horde. With these two new factions are new dailies to complete that involve the new faction areas in the Krasarang Wilds. Although the new factions are meant to encourage world PvP, it is not necessary to flag in order to participate in the quests. So far the daily quests involve gathering resources and cheerfully murdering the other faction. And of course both sides have their own sets of reputation rewards available for purchase with Justice and Valor points. There is a reputation requirement on gear, but it never goes above Revered -- the only bonus to being exalted is the sweet new mounts that were datamined earlier this month. As for the gear, some items can be purchased immediately for Justice points, but the more valuable gear requires at least honored reputation to obtain. If you're interested in seeing what your faction has to offer in 5.1, check out the full galleries below. %Gallery-171209% %Gallery-171210% Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
The evolving design of reputation
I'm not going to pretend that I like the process of gaining reputation in World of Warcraft, because I don't, and I never have. I remember grinding Brood of Nozdormu reputation back in vanilla for a ring that I still have in the bank. I remember gathering Scourgestones so that I could get to exalted Argent Dawn (I also still have my Seal of the Dawn), and murdering bears in Winterspring to get enchants off of other bears. As an insanely old bearded madman it is fair to say that I have dragged my ancient, grumbling carcass from expansion to expansion, finding various ways to get various groups to like me (often via the application of murdering pixels or collecting pixels off of murdered pixels) and I have always come to loathe the groups I've gained rep with along the way. In fact, I'd go so far to call it an axiom. The more a certain group comes to like me, the more I'd willingly feed them all to a wood chipper if only that were an option. (Yes, Klaxxi, I'm looking right at you here.) That being said, it would be unfair and untrue to pretend that faction-based reputation hasn't undergone several design permutations over the years. During Burning Crusade, for instance, there were specific dungeons that rewarded reputation with specific factions. I ran Shadow Labyrinth for Lower City reputation until my eyes quit in protest and moved to Paraguay. One of the ways that design began to change was with the Isle of Quel'Danas, which itself built upon the foundation laid by the Ogri'la and Sha'tari Skyguard factions. These were faction grinds that allowed for the progressive unlocking of quests designed to be repeated daily, and these three faction grinds laid the basis for what we have today in Mists of Pandaria. And I'm starting to wonder if the reason I so dislike the Mists approach to reputation, with its copious daily questing, is not because of anything wrong with that system but rather because I'm incredibly spoiled.
Breakfast Topic: Raiders, do you 'have' to do your dailies?
OK, raiders, huddle up. Yeah, we've all heard the part about this being a video game where nobody is forced to do anything they don't want to do. We can play the way we want to. The fact remains, though, that competitive endgame players right now are all working to get in the good graces of the main Mists factions. Questing your way up in reputation offers solid gear upgrades if you're headed into raids; you need a certain level of rep to purchase that rep-specific valor point gear. Then beyond gear, Mists extends numerous small performance boosts for what's often a considerable, sustained effort -- but if you're driven to excel, you can't help but feel the attraction. Sure, you could leave all that exalted nonsense to the mount collectors and crazies. And at some point in the (probably nearer than you expect) future, players who take longer to push up their rep or start raiding earlier in their relative play curves are likely to start outgearing the valor gear with raid drops before they've even earned the chance to purchase it. If you really detest dailies, you don't have to do them. Unless, of course, you do. What if the rest of your raiding guild or team is pushing up their performance by grinding out these tweaks? When everybody else is getting a leg up on you, you're going to fall behind if you don't join in the "fun." Suddenly, those dailies are looking a lot more mandatory, aren't they? What if the pressure to run dailies is tied less to the demands of the game than the company you keep? If you're feeling pressured to do unwanted dailies, where is that pressure coming from? Are there members of your raiding group who don't have rep gear? Are players without rep gear or full rep gear causing your raid group to be unable to get past the encounters? Have rep rewards become a mandated step on your raid group's raid gearing ladder, or is there an unspoken rule that this is simply how things are done? Is the choice to grind out rep gear more a nod to an internal drive to excel?
Getting started with reputation at level 90
Originally in the Mists of Pandaria beta, all reputation grinds were unlocked at level 90. This left players with a staggering amount of stuff to do, so much that it was immediately overwhelming. There was no clear path of reputation to follow, there wasn't a moment that explained where a player should go first, and why. On live, the Shado-Pan and August Celestials are now locked behind revered reputation with the Golden Lotus. This gives players a slightly clearer path to follow when doing dailies. But even with that change, it's still confusing to players, direction-wise. If you played in the beta, you have some understanding of reputations at level 90, how to increase them, and how they work. But if you're just now experiencing Pandaria and all it has to offer, you may be wondering where to go, what to do, and most importantly, what's in it for you? If you're dreading the thought of endless daily quests, don't worry -- it's nowhere near as complex as you'd think.
Blood Pact: Reputable gear and more for raiding
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill opens up Shado-Pan dailies and then promptly decides that things like having 4-slot farms for all her alts and leveling her shockadin are more important. What a slacker. Three weeks ago, I wrote briefly about the rewards from having reputation with Pandaria's factions. Three weeks ago, all I had was beta to go on, and on beta all the factions had dailies open to me independently of each other. When Mists of Pandaria went live, we found out that it really should have been named the Golden Gate Lotus faction, complete with "You Shall Not Pass into August Celestial reputation" signs. Then we had a hotfix of the Justice Points and Honor Points gear to bring them in line with each other ilvl-wise, a hotfix that removed reputation requirements for justice point gear, and some more hotfixes opened up some of the valor gear behind faction reputation lines. While your heading was spinning with all the faction-made gear changes going on, I was writing it all down to figure out which pieces I should be questing for.
Spiritual Guidance: Priest gear preparation for heroic dungeons and raids
WoW Insider brings you Spiritual Guidance for discipline, holy and shadow priests. Dawn Moore is a discipline priest by reputation, but still enjoys melting faces as shadow and bugging her raid to click the Lightwell as holy. When you get your priest to level 90, gearing up your character will probably be one of the many things on your mind. Your first inclination may be to run heroic dungeons, but what if your item level isn't high enough to use the dungeon finder? Maybe you're looking beyond that, and wondering what you'll need to queue for the raid finder when it becomes available in the next two weeks. Or, if you're like me, you're probably scouring Pandaria, trying to find all the best possible items outside of raids, so that your raid leader likes you when you start running normal mode raids in the near future. Well, whether you're a shadow priest or a holy priest, this is the guide for you.
Totem Talk: Mists reputation rewards for restoration shaman
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and cohost of the For the Lore podcast), shows you how. As you're leveling up, there is going to be plenty to explore and plenty to do. One of the things you're going to notice sooner or later is that there are a bunch of new factions to earn reputation points with. This expansion does two things really when when it comes to reps. First is that reputation isn't quite as hard or tedious as it has been in previous expansions, which is most welcome. Second is that the rewards that each faction has to offer you can be quite awesome for your chosen Warcraft profession. Shado-Pan clan The Shado-Pan clan are a very interesting faction as far as the pandaren are concerned. They are much more dark and sinister when compared to the other factions. They resemble more of closely to the ninjas of the old stories than the kung-fu masters. They are considered the most elite warriors of the pandaren dedicated to fighting against the Sha. Players will first encounter them in full at the Shado-pan Monastery, one of the new 5-man dungeons in Mists. Leveling your rep with them nets you some very nice rewards that you can buy with Justice Points and Valor Points.
Blood Pact: Zone into Pandaria with 85-90 leveling tips
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill delights in getting off her night-shift work at 3am Eastern -- just in time for Pandaria leveling! There are things I'll do and things I won't do when it comes to playstyle and gear advice. I'm not going to tell you that there's a best spec for leveling. There are many ways to level and Mists of Pandaria is all about doing what you want to do, so following what I do may not be best for you. I'll have you know that I think leveling is far too easy still, so I tend to pick the inefficient or harder ways of doing things on purpose just to keep it interesting. I'm also not going to debate which faction first with people. The gear choices are as varied as the leveling choices, and are meant to be mixed and matched as your drop luck will do for you. I will, however, point out the reputations you'll want to at least reach for reasonable raiding preparations.
A brief history of reputation in WoW
In the early days of vanilla WoW, I had a friend who spent hours upon hours killing ghosts near and around Karazhan. This was odd, to say the least, considering there was absolutely nothing to do in that area at that point and time in the game. I asked him what exactly he was doing, and he said he was collecting Scourgestones. Apparently, the ghosts in the area inexplicably gave reputation for the Argent Dawn. Bewildered, I asked him why he was doing so. The Argent Dawn didn't offer any real rewards at that point. "Because it's there," he replied. "I like seeing the bars go green. I want to make them all green." For him, I suppose, it was enough. I understand his fascination more these days, as I make it a point to max out every reputation I have at exalted because I can't stand to see a bar that isn't fully green. Call it vaguely OCD if you will, but if I'm going to go exalted, I'll make sure it's 999/999. These days, WoW offers a heck of a lot more options for filling up that little green bar -- but where did it all begin?
The Light and How to Swing It: Mists reputations for retribution paladins
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Light and How to Swing It for holy, protection and retribution paladins. Seasoned ret paladin Dan Desmond is here to answer your questions and provide you with your biweekly dose of retribution medicine. Contact him at dand@wowinsider.com with any questions, concerns, or suggestions! We have a launch date. Of course, we'll see if Blizzard sticks to it -- I'm hoping they do, because otherwise I will have taken those days off work for nothing. For just the next few minutes, however, let's pretend that Sept. 25 will be the day that the continent of Pandaria opens up to us and all of that shiny new loot becomes ours for the taking. As we level, quests and dungeons will offer the majority of our gear. When we reach the level cap of 90, another option opens up to us: reputations. Sadly, raising these reputations won't be as easy as running a handful of random dungeons with a tabard on like it was in Wrath and Cataclysm, but getting to know your allies in Mists is still very important. I have risked life and limb (and repair costs from running through high-level zones, getting dazed off my mount and pummeled into a paste) to seek out the various quartermasters to see what they have to offer. Before I begin, a couple of notes: Without solid stat weights to go off, determining the quality of a piece of gear in the Mists beta is a bit more dubious than it is on live. Until we see those numbers, I will withhold judgment and merely present the options. A few items (mostly profession patterns) cost gold, but most are purchasable with valor points (VP). All gold costs are before faction discounts. This being a beta, anything is subject to change. I cannot be held liable if you spend 5,000 valor points on what turns out to be a giant foam sword. Finally, spoiler alert! There are screenshots after the break, as well as brief descriptions of the different factions you will encounter.
Mists of Pandaria Beta: Reputation rewards for the Shado-Pan
The Order of the Shado-Pan was formed 10,000 years ago when Pandaria first split from the rest of the Kalimdor continent and floated off into the sea. The Shado-Pan were charged by the last emperor of Pandaria with the task of protecting Pandaria from the Sha that had been imprisoned. With such a grim, serious task at hand, most of the Shado-Pan order are nowhere near as lighthearted as the rest of the pandaren players will encounter in their travels. The Shado-Pan offer a variety of rewards for those who choose to gain reputation with their Order. Cloaks, trinkets and helms await those who become revered with the Shado-Pan. And for those who work their way to exalted reputation, the Shado-Pan offer mounts. Three Shado-Pan riding tigers in red, green and blue are available for purchase. Quests and dailies for the Shado-Pan mainly take place in Townlong Steppes, although players first encounter the Shado-Pan in the Valley of the Four Winds. The Shado-Pan are working hard to keep several different threats at bay. Not only are there mantid to worry about, there's also the odd case of the mogu on the isles off the coast of the Townlong Steppes, who appear to be up to no good. Take a look at the gallery below for the full list of Shado-Pan reputation rewards. And remember, point and price totals for items may not be final. We're still in beta, after all! %Gallery-160434% It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
Mists of Pandaria Beta: Reputation rewards for the August Celestials
The August Celestials are a group of pandaren dedicated to defending the temples of Pandaria from the threat of the sha. So far, there are four known temples and celestials associated with them -- the Serpent, the Crane, the Tiger, and the Ox (or, more appropriately, the Yak.) The quartermaster for the August Celestials couldn't be easier to find; he's located in the lower level of the outdoor tiers for each capital city, one for Alliance and one for Horde. The August Celestials don't have any trick items with their reputation rewards, but they do have armor. A lot of armor. Boots, gloves and bracers can all be found with the August Celestials, for every class and spec available in the game. And if that isn't enough for you, they also sell the Reins of the Thundering Cloud Serpent to anyone with exalted reputation -- and who doesn't want a cloud serpent? There are several sets of dailies to gain reputation with the August Celestials. There are dailies that have you defending the various temples around Pandaria, and there is also a really fun quest chain of dailies out at the Cradle of Chi-Ji off the southern coast of Krasarang Wilds. I've written about the quest chain before; it's fun, interactive, and doesn't really feel like work at all. Plus, getting in-game mail from NPCs is always a bonus, in my book. Take a look at the gallery below for the full run-down of everything the August Celestials have to offer. %Gallery-160423% It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
Mists of Pandaria Beta: Reputation rewards for the Klaxxi
The Dread Wastes feature the conflict between the mantid of the region. While some are content to follow their leader, others question her true motives. Because of this, players end up allying with the Klaxxi, a group of mantid that are set on identifying the problem with the mantid populace and eliminating that problem before it causes any further trouble than it already has. And as we know, where there is reputation, there are reputation rewards to be purchased. Players gain reputation with the Klaxxi both through questing in the Dread Wastes and via dailies that are unlocked when players reach level 90. While the Klaxxi don't offer any sweet mounts like the Golden Lotus, they do share in the splendor of neat items with unusual twists. Players can purchase Restorative Amber upon reaching honored reputation with the Klaxxi, and it works just as the name suggests. Using the item will encase the player in amber, restoring 300,000 health and mana over 10 seconds. And though there are no mounts to be found, the Klaxxi offer a ton of options in the form of armor. Legplates, belts and necklaces can all be bought with valor points. For the full list of items, check out our full gallery. And remember -- prices and point values shown on the vendors are not finalized until the game is released! %Gallery-160314% It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
