Tokens- official response please

[______________hobbes]

The token board change has lead to a great deal of discussion on these forums. Different people have different ideas about what your goal was when you added them to the game.

Many people feel they are entitled to the 1000 token board, others feel that only an elite few should get this perk.

Our discussions have become as fruitful as watching a dog chase it's tail.

Please let us why token boards were created (For everyone, for solo players, no particular reason) so we can assess the situation intelligently and move forward.

We are in limbo now, as it is obvious a change must be made. We all agree that everyone having the top token board would be pointless. My character plays solo and will reach 1000 tokens by level 80-100 (no farming, period). I would imagine I will earn thousands more before lvl 200 as I choose to only play solo missions as it fits my schedule. What should I do with these things?

"I don't know?" is an acceptable answer. We just want to know if you guys are in there, somewhere

[Detonate]

The official response was them boosting the number of tokens you get in a mission.

The old system didn't compensate the time it took at higher levels for the effort and work put in to missions. Thus, the number of people farming at level 6 kept rising and rising...

The token board is still for only those people willing to put the time into missions. The 1k board is far from a gimme, and far from this uber super piece of equipment people try and make it out to be.

[______________Krneki]

yep, it's kinda stupid when you get to 1000 tokens and keep getting more when you finish the mission. I got 1300 tokens now and they just keep commin...

[_____________Paldorr]

It isn't as much about getting the last (1000) board as the progression to get the others in the middle game. Now it's possible to have a board that's meaninful for your current level without farming.

That's a vast improvement. Thanks, Funcom!

[________________punk]

sugestion:

2500 token board: wear from title level 5, better stats than 1000 token board (and i mean better!!)

eventually even a 5000 token board for title level 6 with awesome stats

[_____________Paldorr]

I like it, punk! Who knows?

[__________NicholaSix]

I'm pretty sure they were made to just be more stuff. All these types of games are about getting stuff. It's just more stuff. Here is some stuff, you get this stuff by doing this, if the stuff is worth the effort you do what you need to do to get the stuff.

To be honest, it was never a symbol of achievement. 80% of the people who have a 1k board before the patch either bought their boards before the no-drop fix or farmed their boards while level 6 or below. To be honest, I don't care if they did either, if that's what floats your boat, and you want to pay $12.95 a month to do the same thing day in day out for a few weeks so be it.

There is a yin yang thing going on here: Where their are rules, there is cheating and exploiting. Staying at level 6 to farm tokens is exploiting, not in the sense of a banable cheat, but in the true sense of the word, you are using a fault in the system to your advantage.

So tokens are easier to get now. Some of the work you value is suffering from inflation, same thing will happen if they do an over-equipping patch, people will complain that the hard work they did to twink their characters went to waste.

The bottom line is IT IS ALL A WASTE. It's all a waste of your time, and you can have fun wasting your time or you can be unhappy wasting your time, or you can be bitter and frustrated wasting your time, but no matter what you achieve in this game, all you have really achieved is a waste of what time you have on earth, so you had best be having fun =]

[______________hobbes]

I would like an official response, please.

Valid points so far:

1) Original system was not good. I am all for higher compensation for higher levels, just like the money.

2) Many people disrespect the token board as they feel people are going against the spirit of the game and farming. I agree, please implement a maximum number of tokens per level. This will also have to change in number as you ascend in levels. Don't make it too tight, some people run 10-12 missions/ level (and this depends on your level, obviously) just to level up.

3) 1000 token board is way too low to be the pinnacle under the new system. Running the game as I ordinarily do, I could imagine getting thousands under the new rule.

4) I was against the change, but I am willing to bite the bullet and get on with the game. If boards over 1000 are created, I will eventually regain my token edge, as I run more misssions than most.

Thank you.

[_____________Cloudeh]

I only have 25!

[______________hobbes]

Officially, or by your own count?

Can we some feedback?

[______________Blanch]

You get highest company honor by doing what. Same little missions 1000 times(incase patch now like 400 time). Still kinda strange way get highest honor.

[____________RedSonja]

What we need is some kind of damage control.
As I have said in other threads, as the token system currently stands 1000 tokens is not difficult.
Before we know it everybody will have the item and a lot easier than before.
I am not saying it is easy to get the 1000 board, but considering you can get 6 tokens per mission, instead of actually having to run 1000 token giving missions you now only need to run 167.

The item is no longer a rare item, it is something everybody can get after a few weeks of running missions.
Those people who have spent the first 8+ months running missions to actually get tokens (Please note, I am not talking about low level 'farmers' or exploiters) have now found that was 8 wasted months.
They could have been out levelling fast, be now level 150+ and still have a relatively easy run to the "top board".

It is too late to change back the token rewards, the second that patch went live the damage was done.
So, to bring back the edge to those people who like to do missions, we need higher level boards.
Something that can be aimed at, be as difficult to gain as the 1000 board was and something that not everybody will get.
However, we need higher level boards, but the "goalposts" can't be moved again.
If a new higher level boards are introduced, maybe at 2500 and 5000 then we can't see in 6 months time the number of tokens given out per mission increased yet again - one kick in the teeth is enough for anybody.

A clear indication from Funcom on the use of tokens is also a must.
I, like a few other players "thought" that tokens were mainly there for the people who enjoy/forced into doing a lot of missions.
Although we were not levelling as fast as others we had this route of reward to look forward to.
It would now appear that this is not the case as after 167 missions even the fast levellers will pick up this 1000 board.

[______________hobbes]

Ahem, a simple and legit request. Once the 1000 token board is acheived at level 80-100 for the solo player, should we be shoving the remaining tokens up our asses for the next 100 levels?

[_____________Marthos]

My $0.02

A good point was made...no matter what you do, you are wasting your time. Eventually (yes this is true) AO will no longer be around, and all the hard work you spent into your character will vanish one day. This, like any other game, is just a way to entertain yourself (basically, waste time). So basically, if you are having fun - there is no problem. If you're not having fun, then you need to address the reasons why.

Going on this line of reasoning, I'm assuming that the fun from completing a mission is getting the tokens, upgrading the token boards, etc. And this fun ends way too quickly (at 1000 tokens). Something should be added to continue this line of fun after 1000 tokens.

So...what are some possible ways to make missions more?

Adding new token boards would work.

Also, they could make it so every x tokens you get above 1000 allows you to go up another level past 200.

They could make missions more interesting (interacting with NPCs, buttons, levers, this stuff has been suggested before though), that way the token isn't the fun of the mission.

They could give you the option of doing missions that have harmful effects against enemies (complete a mission, random enemy player in the same title level has a messed up insurance scane, or loses a small amount of money, etc)

I personally would hate to see more token boards added, I'd rather see a whole new option open up to us at 1000. I really hate the repetitive nature of the game, where nothing changes except the numbers get a little bigger each level (I do 700 damage now instead of 70, but the monster has 10x HP, so nothing changed).

I remember playing a MUD called Medievia. The max level in that game was 124 or something like that. The game was great because you were always experiencing something new, and when you hit the max level - THAT was the when started to get really interesting. I wish AO would have something like this, where you hit certain points where a whole new set of options open up to you.

To sum up, I don't think making token boards with higher numbers really adds much fun to the game. I'd rather see some other ways to make the game more fun, and get rid of as much repetition in the game as possible.

Just my two cents.

[loca]

10 000 token board i think is good idea...or better 100 000 boards

for farming fans)

[XtroXtreme]

Originally posted by loca
10 000 token board i think is good idea...or better 100 000 boards

for farming fans)

Only if they add a small increase over 1000 board. Otherwise we end up with even more tokens each mission to make everyone able to get to whatever tokens for a greater balance.

The 1000 token board was one of the reason we solomissioned a lot, and now we don´t need to as much. That is a good change.

[Gunnandahalf]

ahhh I think as a lvl 200 person im entitled to have a 1000 board...

just make 1000 board title level 6.. that way it wont be a big difference like it would at lower levels

[______________hobbes]

What should be done with with all tokens amassed after 1000? In the new system, a legit mission runner will get about 3000 (very rough guess) before lvl 200 in the normal course of his game.

I personally wouldn't mind some ceremonial pieces of clothing to distinguish us. That way, the tangible benefits(health, nano, etc.) would stop at 1000, but there would still be some value in additional tokens, if only to give characters a sense of uniqueness.

Any objections to that?

[____________RedSonja]

Of course there will be objections to that.
Because then there would be something else the Level 150+'s wouldn't be able to get very easily.
So they would shout and complain and make Funcom give 20 tokens per mission just so they could get what they feel they "Deserve" for doing sod all.

It was a sad day Hobbes, but tokens died the day that patch went live.
All I can hope is that something else is thrown to us that enjoy doing single missions, cause tokens have gone and are never coming back.