reputation
Latest
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.
What reputation is, how to get it, and why you should care
If you've played for any length of time at all, you've noticed reputation being mentioned. Perhaps you've seen a message pop up when you killed a monster or completed a quest saying you'd gained reputation with this faction or that. But do you know what reputation is -- or what it can do for you? To get started, you'll want to click "U" on your keyboard to bring up the reputation panel. The list of names that comes up are factions you've interacted with, alongside your standing with each. Most groups -- or factions -- in the game have their own reputation, which ranges from hated to exalted. At hated, hostile, and unfriendly, members of the faction will be indicated by red text. At hated or hostile level, faction members will attack you on sight, but once you reach unfriendly they'll no longer attack -- though you still can't interact with them. At neutral, members of the faction will be indicated by yellow text meaning you can interact with them freely: talk to them, trade with them, or accept quests from them. At friendly, honored, revered, or exalted level, faction members will be indicated by green text. The trip from hated -- or even friendly -- to exalted is a long one, but almost always worthwhile, because as you gain standing with a faction you also gain rewards.
Star Wars: The Old Republic adds a grab bag of grab bag reputation
Do you love the feel of cracking open a random assortment of items in Star Wars: The Old Republic? Do you wish that the game rewarded avid grab-bag grabbers with their own progression path? Because the latest development blog explains the new Cartel Market reputation track does precisely that; it allows players to gain reputation and earn the right to purchase new items by purchasing several random packs within a given shipment. Items are divided up into Shipments, which share a thematic name such as "Cartel Packs" or "Contraband Packs." Opening these packs provides reputation tokens that allow players to gain reputation with a different faction for each Shipment. Eventually, the Shipment in question will be temporarily removed from circulation, but players with enough reputation will still be able to buy the items directly from reputation vendors. It sounds a little messy, but in practice it means that people who love some grab bags get a little more motivation to keep buying them.
Patch 5.2: Zandalari Warbringers and where to find them
The new patch has plenty to offer with a new raid, a new zone, and tons of new quests and content. But don't forget the rest of Pandaria in your travels, because the Isle of Thunder isn't the only thing to discover in patch 5.2. The Isle of Giants located north of Kun-Lai Summit offers several different things to obtain through the mass slaughter of dinosaurs -- and scattered across Pandaria are a selection of new rares to plunder. These rares, discovered early in the PTR cycle, aren't your typical rare mob. Unlike the other rare spawns scattered around Pandaria, these are gold elite mobs that require far more skill. There are three different mobs that spawn -- stealthed scouts, flying elites shown in the picture above, and Zandalari Warbringers. It's the Warbringers that offer the most difficult challenge, requiring a tank and healer at bare minimum to bring down. So where do you find these wonderful mobs, and why do you want to kill them?
The Care and Feeding of Warriors: Patch 5.2 and warrior gear part 1
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Care and Feeding of Warriors, the column dedicated to arms, fury and protection warriors. Despite repeated blows to the head from dragons, demons, Old Gods and whatever that thing over there was, Matthew Rossi will be your host. Gear constantly changes. Every major patch, there's new gear to drool over and want. For the next few weeks, I'm going to look at the gear we're getting in patch 5.2 from the Throne of Thunder, Oondasta (holder of the greatest loot table in the universe), and Nalak. We'll also take a look at Shado-Pan Assault, Kirin Tor Offensive, and Sunreaver Onslaught gear. This means we'll be looking at gear with a wide variety of item levels, from the 522 of the world bosses and normal mode Throne of Thunder to the 476 of some of the faction gear. Also, although I won't be covering the items here, transmog minded warriors should take a look at the return of these Burning Crusade blacksmithing models. These weapons won't be an upgrade for you in almost all cases, but they're a welcome addition to our cosmetic arsenal. Now, to discuss gear.
Blood Pact: Reputable sources of warlock loot in patch 5.2
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill splits the warlock loot over two weeks to keep things light. Various people have been referring to Throne of Thunder as Thund'uar, a name I fully intend to steal and use. It's just a perfect blend of the new raid and its supposed raid model, Ulduar, with the expected troll-like apostrophe thrown in for good measure. But this week I won't be listing out the Thund'uar loot drops; I'll just drop in with a lighter piece covering gear miscellany and the new faction offerings. Next week, we can discuss how the PTR patch buffs and nerfs fit in with the expected performance of warlocks in Tier 15 while listing out the loot, instead of dropping a lump of lists in your lap.
The problem with valor points in Pandaria
Valor points, a once-elegant solution to gearing woes that arose in prior expansions, has become something of a thorn in players' sides in Mists of Pandaria. Considering how far this expansion has gone to advance the elements of player choice and freedom, it's strange that a something that was once so simple is more of a grind than ever. Why is that, exactly? In my opinion, it's an issue of double-dipping. Valor isn't a currency with a simple acquire-and-spend flow anymore. Instead, there are additional barriers that stand in your way, effectively doubling (at least) how much work must be done to spend what you put in the time to earn. Looking back on the launch of Cataclysm, the barrier to entry for high-end content was fairly high. Heroics, as they were released at launch, were fairly difficult for groups assembled via the dungeon finder. The launch raid zones were also considered quite difficult for players that were new to raiding, and the raid finder tool hadn't yet launched. What wasn't difficult, however, was acquiring the gear to participate in that content. Justice points were used to bring you up to the current tier of content, and valor points were a supplement to your boss drops within the current tier. As soon as you earned enough points to purchase your gear, you could go and do it. No reputation barriers, no requirement to participate in content that didn't interest you, nothing like that. So why, in Mists of Pandaria, has that changed?
Star Wars: The Old Republic drops patch 1.7 on Tuesday
It's almost time to see what you can do about your reputation in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Patch 1.7 is bringing the new reputation system as well as the new Relics of the Gree event to the live servers on Tuesday, February 12th. The maintenance window for the patch is five and a half hours, although as with most major patches, there's always the chance that it'll run a little longer because of unforeseen issues. If you've still got more questions about what the reputation system will add to the game, a recent development blog answers those questions. Notably, this patch has not been up for testing on the test server, possibly to keep the event a bit more of a secret. Whatever the case, players will get to put their hands on the changes in just a couple of days, so get ready to travel across the galaxy and get some props from galactic reputation. [Thanks to Jose for the tip!]
BioWare details SWTOR's Galactic Reputation system
If your Star Wars: The Old Republic avatars are tapped out in terms of advancement opportunities, take heart! The game's 1.7 patch will introduce a new Galactic Reputation system and associated reward items to keep you busy. The latest BioWare dev blog has all the details, including bits about earning rep points (via consumable trophies) and niceties like legacy titles and other perks. The reputation system is accessible to both free players and subscribers, though the latter group do get a 50% bonus.
Captain's Log Supplemental: An exclusive interview with Daniel Stahl
Huzzah! It's here! Star Trek Online's third anniversary celebration begins today! So while we all await the patch and loosen up our trigger fingers in order to undertake the new mission that will reward players with either an Ambassador class or a Kamarag class ship, you can sit back and read a new interview with Star Trek Online's Executive Producer, Daniel Stahl. Stahl took the time out his busy schedule to answer a litany of questions about the past year as well as the future of STO. We were also given a few new screenshots and you can view them in the gallery below. There are a lot of questions, so let's get to it! %Gallery-177708%
Patch 5.2 PTR: Dungeon Finder updated with reputation rewards
Recently, Blizzard revealed that they were adding another method for players to gain reputation in patch 5.2. In addition to fulfilling work orders for the various factions around Pandaria, players can represent a faction when they queue into a dungeon. In the above screenshot, you'll notice that the Dungeon Finder interface has been updated. When you click on the Choose Reputation button, your Reputation tab will appear. Choose the Pandarian faction you want and click Find Group. You can only cash in on this reputation reward once per day. My main has hit exalted with most of the factions. I'm still working on the Anglers but I have a hard time motivating myself to push for it. Work orders and the reputation rewards in the dungeon queue should help ease that grind up. I feel the same way with my alts. I have absolutely no interest at the present in doing all those dailies again (at least, not for a long time).
Patch 5.2: Work orders allow reputation gain through your farm
Work orders are in in the patch 5.2 PTR, allowing players to gain reputation with other factions by farming. You can see Matticus' character here being offered several work orders from other factions. Wowhead has datamined many of the quests, indicating that, for now at least, they are available purely for factions added in patch 5.0.4 and patch 5.1. It's no great surprise that the new factions aren't included in these work orders, to be able to earn reputation for the new factions by farming would be rather strange when they have only just appeared. There doesn't, at present, appear to be any prior reputation requirement to get these work order quests, but you do have to have bought your farm in order to receive the work orders, so a considerable dose of Tillers work is required. Edit: A blue post has clarified that you no longer have to buy the farm to receive and complete work orders, but you will need to be exalted with the Tillers and have all plots unlocked. Once you've bought the farm You'll need to farm specific vegetables for specific factions, so, for example, the Golden Lotus want White Turnips. There's two quests for each faction, so continuing to look at the Golden Lotus, the first quest is to plant 8 White Turnip Seeds, and the second is to harvest 8 Ripe White Turnips, resulting in 40 White Turnips. Only the second part of the quest awards reputation, 300 at the moment, but both currently award 236,000 XP. The general consensus seems to be that any way to gain reputation is a bonus, but these don't seem particularly fast. Do they strike a good balance? 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.
We don't need daily quests anymore
I think I've firmly established that I really love doing quests, and that I'm fine with daily quests as a whole. Sure, some of them may have had their moments of extreme frustration, but by and large the daily quest system in Mists of Pandaria is pretty entertaining. But while it's entertaining to me, and it's fine with some players, there are others who cannot stand the system. They hate daily quests. The sight of a blue exclamation point is a source of constant irritation. And it doesn't really matter how you wrap up that package, it's still going to be annoying content that players feel they must complete in order to be competitive. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to matter what is tied to the system, or if it offers rewards of value, like Lesser Charms or valor points. Adding the value to the daily quest system doesn't make completing the quests any more compelling, it just makes them another chore that must be completed. Which is why daily quests need to go away.
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.
SWTOR adding Gree event, galactic reputation system
Star Wars: The Old Republic may not be our only hope, but that doesn't mean it's not a viable date candidate. The dashing bachelor is sprucing up its resume with the addition of two new features to the game in the near future: a galactic reputation system and a recurring event starring the Gree. The Relics of the Gree event will take place sporadically on the endgame planet of Ilum. It's there that a giant Gree starship will be discovered, explored, and possibly conquered. BioWare says that players can "earn exclusive Gree technology" in the form of cool new gear. The galactic reputation system might be a powerful incentive to level up all over again. The system adds to the game a new rep grind, which can be leveled up by doing Gree, Voss, or military missions. Reputation points are shared across all characters and count toward the titles and rewards from reaching higher ranks.
Captain's Log: Our Star Trek Online year in review plus a look ahead
As I took the time to really go over the past 12 months in Star Trek Online, I began to realize just how much the game had changed between this time last year and now. While some people will never be pleased, I can't say I'm one of those people. I'm utterly delighted by most of the changes in the game and am looking forward to the expansion of the reputation system into 2013. With that said, however, there are improvements that Star Trek Online still needs if it wants to quell some of the harshest (and sometimes deserved) critiques. Join me as I finish up my year in review and then touch on some of Executive Producer Daniel Stahl's answers to player questions in this month's Ask Cryptic post.
Murdering animals for 5.1 reputation
The patch 5.1 daily system seems fairly straightforward for the most part -- you either get your dailies directly at the base camp for your respective faction, or you get a quest that will send you to a daily hub in Krasarang Wilds. Once your dailies are completed, you can then turn them in for reputation. But there's another daily quest out there, one that's hidden behind a purchasable item. This daily quest not only grants you a chunk of reputation, it'll give you a useful buff as well. But how you go about the process of getting that quest, and the limitations to the quest, seem to be a mystery to many players. And if you ask Jorn Skyseer or his Alliance counterpart Huntsman Blake, they have pretty much nothing to say on the matter. So how do you go about getting this useful bit of extra rep? Well, there are two parts to the process.
The Daily Grind: Are reputation systems passé?
Last week I got into a long discussion with a friend about MMO reputation systems. I think we both realized just how much we hadn't thought about them for some time now, and that led us to speculating if the whole kit and kaboodle is not long for this industry. In limited quantities, reputation systems can be special and intriguing. They offer horizontal progression in the game, usually by keeping some juicy rewards behind a gate. The thought is that while 90% of the players may never put in the effort to max out a faction's reputation, the 10% that do will have something special to show off. But developers have never seen a good idea that they haven't run into the ground and then tunneled through to China. So it is with reputation grinds, which are as plentiful in number as they are annoying pests. Is it time to just chuck the whole idea or perhaps transform it into a less grindy and more approachable system? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
New ways to earn reputation and lesser charms
Blizzard Community Manager Draztal has been busy on the EU forums today, revealing, amongst other things, some interesting information on Blizzard's new ideas for reputation gains and lesser charms. Complaints about Mists' focus on daily quests have been plentiful, and acknowledged in various interviews by various members of Blizzard's development team. They have not abated, and it looks like Blizzard is feeling ready to allow the Community Managers to release limited information on their proposed solutions. Splitting Draztal's post into two parts, he first addresses the repeated request for reputation tabards: Draztal Quote: title says it all. I really dont want to do dailies every day. I guess you might like this... The developers are currently planning to include bonus reputation that can be earned via scenarios and dungeons. It doesn't necessarily mean it'll be through tabards and in the exact same way as back in the days, but sounds close enough to what you want! source
Reputation in review: The Dominance Offensive
It took until patch 5.1, but we got it. The most perfect reputation grind in the game to date. I don't say these words lightly, because let's face it, I have pretty high standards for what I like and what I don't like with daily quests. But the Dominance Offensive appears to have taken the best out of all previous reputation grinds and wrapped it all together in a delightful ball of compelling story and quests that barely feels like a grind at all. Please note that this is a review for the Dominance Offensive, which is the Horde side of the 5.1 reputation. At this point in time, I don't have an Alliance character at level 90, so I'm unable to play through the Operation Shieldwall quests. However, I have been assured that not only are the Operation Shieldwall quests just as good, in some ways they are even better than the Dominance Offensive material. I'm not even sure how this is possible, because these dailies are just that good. But enough gushing. Let's get into the nuts and bolts of what makes this reputation grind so different from everything before it.
