CMaster
23-04-05, 19:02
OK, so we all got our Marine/SF/Psi-core/SS/SRI in our heads, right. And we all would really like another one. So there are these "Area MC5" chips around, that are essentialy just another one of the above. But they are made so that you have to build them from 6 parts, and the parts can only be aquired in one specific location.
So whatever, you either earn large amounts of money/items (yay for timesinks), or you go to this location you can aquire these things. And what do you find? A small room, with mobs that insta-kill you if you stand in their LoS. Instead you hide behind a wall and shoot at another wall. And thats it. If you are a tank, you sit behind a wall staring at nothing but another wall and shoot, loot after a bit then reset. If you are a PPU you watch a tank shoot a wall and rez him occasioanlly. And just farm ad infinitum. Sometimes there is a droner there, sometimes another PPU/Tank team, so you wait a bit longer between your farming runs. This is high-level "content"? Shooting a wall is the ultimate non-pvp challenge in this game? Using a technique that is one step away from safespotting (or as some argue, 0 steps away for droners).
So what am I saying? Redo MC5 totally. At the moment it is just a complete and utter joke. Make MC5 somewhere with a bit of variety and a real challenge to it. Maybe needs more than just two people to do and is more than just one small room.
Concept (to give an idea of what I am after). A series of rooms or so.
Area MC5 Entrance security First room or so. Stacked up with turrets. You can either bulldoze your way through the turrets (no real loot, just computer type stuff) or a hacker in MC5 Hack (ideally around TH Bridgelink) can deactivate the security in this room, allowing progression to the next room.
Area MC5 Command Centre
Feature mobs like our old friend the base commander and guards (reduced power) and the Administrator (cowers in a corner, succesful interogation (based on int) delays first technician appearence by 1/2 spawn rate). Just a plain old-fasioned fight. Commander will call in occasioanl reinforcements until killed (no too many) unless a hacker in AMC5 Hack deactivates the communications. Three doors lead off Security Barracks, Power Gnereation and Research Labs.
Area MC5 Security Barracks
Just a room full of bunks and lockers (reasonable loot if anyone is crazy enough to hack the lockers - armour, stealtht tools, etc) and a continuous spawn of security guards. Not necissary for a basic chip aquiring run, but the mobs in here drop "Area MC5 Plasma rifles" a TL90 drop only rifle.
Area MC5 Power Generation
The next step in a chip aquiring run. The team has to go in here and either use a pre-constructed "power generation deactivater" (Tl150, BPs aquried from a cabinet in this room) or research the generator (TL115, "fire" tool on generator) and then shooting the discovered weak spot. This now opens the door to AMC5 Labs. From now on every so often(say 1 minute? 2 minutes?), an Area MC5 Technincan will come in and attempt to fix the generator. If he is successful, then the team in labs will almost certainly die. Some team members should be tasked to stay in power generation and tasked to fight the Technician (maybe make it so a lone character, rather than a fighter/ppu team can fight him).
Area MC5 Research Labs
Not accessible until the deactivation of the power generator, at which point the door unlocks. Contains 3-4 Area MC5 Scientists (toughest mob so far, using a pistol weapon, possibly variant of the rifles the guards use) and the 100/100 Area MC5 Security Robot (can be controlled by a AMC5 Hack hacker, otherwise fights the runners in the lab). A locked test chamber at the rear of the room contains a complete, randomly selected MC5 chip. Two ways of accessing the chamber - one of the scientists contains the access key. Take and you can open the chamber OR the 3 security interlocks in the lab can be hacked (TL140ish). If the power is restored at any point, LOTS of Area MC5 Advanced Security Turrets 127/127 come from the ceiling and open fire after approx 15 seconds (gives the team chance to run, also 15 seconds untill door relocks.
Area MC5 Hack
Entrance is somewhere fairly neutral, EG around TH bridgelink, Possibly also accessible from somewhere in H-14. Upon inital entry there is the firewall, a small maze with randomly generated routes through, and mobs traveling along that can be hidden from. Once inside there are Area MC5 ICE units (100/100) and Area MC5 anti-virus units (80/80, spawn 40/40 Threat Neutralisers). Pathways lead to a platform with Area MC5 communication Deamons (if all destroyed, Base Commander cannot call reinforcements), a console referred to as Area MC5 Security Control (using brings up old-fasioned hack, completion deactivates turrets in entrace) and another console labeled Area MC5 Robotics Control - gives drone-style control of the robot in Area MC5 lab, with allleusual risks to the meatsack (or in this case, datasack). Also drifting around is the 127/127 Area MC5 Data Security Deamon. Can (with skill) be avodided. If killed drops "Phoenix hack systems attack software", a new drop-only hack weapon.
Loot
Not exactly sure on the specifics, but the mobs should drop moderately valuable/useful loot, as well as the special items mentioned above. Maybe whole marines/SFs from the guards/commander, SS from the techinicians/scientists. In hacknet maybe codebreaker parts or something useful to hackers, even rare datafragments. The MC5 chips themselves could be perhaps be changed a little. Rather than just the SA being a clone of the SF but with +6 Dex, perhaps it gives a slightly different combination of bonuses.
Anyway, it doesnt have to be exactly like that, but something to that effect would make it worthwhile high level content, rather than as it as at the moment, the boringest farming in the game.
So whatever, you either earn large amounts of money/items (yay for timesinks), or you go to this location you can aquire these things. And what do you find? A small room, with mobs that insta-kill you if you stand in their LoS. Instead you hide behind a wall and shoot at another wall. And thats it. If you are a tank, you sit behind a wall staring at nothing but another wall and shoot, loot after a bit then reset. If you are a PPU you watch a tank shoot a wall and rez him occasioanlly. And just farm ad infinitum. Sometimes there is a droner there, sometimes another PPU/Tank team, so you wait a bit longer between your farming runs. This is high-level "content"? Shooting a wall is the ultimate non-pvp challenge in this game? Using a technique that is one step away from safespotting (or as some argue, 0 steps away for droners).
So what am I saying? Redo MC5 totally. At the moment it is just a complete and utter joke. Make MC5 somewhere with a bit of variety and a real challenge to it. Maybe needs more than just two people to do and is more than just one small room.
Concept (to give an idea of what I am after). A series of rooms or so.
Area MC5 Entrance security First room or so. Stacked up with turrets. You can either bulldoze your way through the turrets (no real loot, just computer type stuff) or a hacker in MC5 Hack (ideally around TH Bridgelink) can deactivate the security in this room, allowing progression to the next room.
Area MC5 Command Centre
Feature mobs like our old friend the base commander and guards (reduced power) and the Administrator (cowers in a corner, succesful interogation (based on int) delays first technician appearence by 1/2 spawn rate). Just a plain old-fasioned fight. Commander will call in occasioanl reinforcements until killed (no too many) unless a hacker in AMC5 Hack deactivates the communications. Three doors lead off Security Barracks, Power Gnereation and Research Labs.
Area MC5 Security Barracks
Just a room full of bunks and lockers (reasonable loot if anyone is crazy enough to hack the lockers - armour, stealtht tools, etc) and a continuous spawn of security guards. Not necissary for a basic chip aquiring run, but the mobs in here drop "Area MC5 Plasma rifles" a TL90 drop only rifle.
Area MC5 Power Generation
The next step in a chip aquiring run. The team has to go in here and either use a pre-constructed "power generation deactivater" (Tl150, BPs aquried from a cabinet in this room) or research the generator (TL115, "fire" tool on generator) and then shooting the discovered weak spot. This now opens the door to AMC5 Labs. From now on every so often(say 1 minute? 2 minutes?), an Area MC5 Technincan will come in and attempt to fix the generator. If he is successful, then the team in labs will almost certainly die. Some team members should be tasked to stay in power generation and tasked to fight the Technician (maybe make it so a lone character, rather than a fighter/ppu team can fight him).
Area MC5 Research Labs
Not accessible until the deactivation of the power generator, at which point the door unlocks. Contains 3-4 Area MC5 Scientists (toughest mob so far, using a pistol weapon, possibly variant of the rifles the guards use) and the 100/100 Area MC5 Security Robot (can be controlled by a AMC5 Hack hacker, otherwise fights the runners in the lab). A locked test chamber at the rear of the room contains a complete, randomly selected MC5 chip. Two ways of accessing the chamber - one of the scientists contains the access key. Take and you can open the chamber OR the 3 security interlocks in the lab can be hacked (TL140ish). If the power is restored at any point, LOTS of Area MC5 Advanced Security Turrets 127/127 come from the ceiling and open fire after approx 15 seconds (gives the team chance to run, also 15 seconds untill door relocks.
Area MC5 Hack
Entrance is somewhere fairly neutral, EG around TH bridgelink, Possibly also accessible from somewhere in H-14. Upon inital entry there is the firewall, a small maze with randomly generated routes through, and mobs traveling along that can be hidden from. Once inside there are Area MC5 ICE units (100/100) and Area MC5 anti-virus units (80/80, spawn 40/40 Threat Neutralisers). Pathways lead to a platform with Area MC5 communication Deamons (if all destroyed, Base Commander cannot call reinforcements), a console referred to as Area MC5 Security Control (using brings up old-fasioned hack, completion deactivates turrets in entrace) and another console labeled Area MC5 Robotics Control - gives drone-style control of the robot in Area MC5 lab, with allleusual risks to the meatsack (or in this case, datasack). Also drifting around is the 127/127 Area MC5 Data Security Deamon. Can (with skill) be avodided. If killed drops "Phoenix hack systems attack software", a new drop-only hack weapon.
Loot
Not exactly sure on the specifics, but the mobs should drop moderately valuable/useful loot, as well as the special items mentioned above. Maybe whole marines/SFs from the guards/commander, SS from the techinicians/scientists. In hacknet maybe codebreaker parts or something useful to hackers, even rare datafragments. The MC5 chips themselves could be perhaps be changed a little. Rather than just the SA being a clone of the SF but with +6 Dex, perhaps it gives a slightly different combination of bonuses.
Anyway, it doesnt have to be exactly like that, but something to that effect would make it worthwhile high level content, rather than as it as at the moment, the boringest farming in the game.