Episode 22: Listener Mail

[Chewyonionz]

Hey Everyone,

Hope you are all enjoying your first week exploring and taking back Manhatten. As the time for Episode 22 approaches I wanted to create this new thread for Episode 22 Listener mail. Shoot us over your questions & comments on your experience thus far.

- Chewyonionz

 

[Mulehorn117]

This game is good, but..... FOR GOODNESS SAKE WHERE IS MY MULEBAGGIN lol  :laughing:

It's a great game. I feel like I can get lost just looking at stuff for sooooooo long. The depth alone is what is selling me on the game right now.

 

[VelveteenZombie]

GT: VelveteenZombie (XB1)

Hey fellas, I was hoping to get your take on one of two items...or both if you've got the time. 

1. Is the cost of everything worth it? OK, loaded question...there's lots of items to consider here:

1. The print book – has the $14.99 spent on the book been worth the "extras" available to you in game? Is it really leading you to stuff you couldn't do/figure out on your own? Or is it all halo effect, ambient, story building (not that's a bad thing)?
   
2. This next bit requires looking at a bunch of data points, many I'm sure I'm leaving out...but basically...are we just goofily blowing cash on outfits because we're a bunch of vainglorious couch warriors? Or do you guys think the personal touches make the game more fun? Frankly, I'm torn...I play with some guys who DEMAND I wear the same Marine outfit they do (I'm looking at you YNPxGreyxWolf) so we have a sense of comraderie when we play...granted it does feel more "ooo-rah!" when I get a good-shot-salute emote when the squad is kitted out in like uniform...but at $4.99 it also feels like an expensive way to just get some feels. If I really wanted the feels I'd let the dog lick my face for free. On the other hand...if I buy the bling and the game makes bang-gusters I guess we're more likely to get added DLC, right?
   
3. RE: Hazmat, National Guard, and the other four bundle kits (medic, firefighter, etc...)...So, they come with blinged out guns, but the guns aren't skins...they're just blingy guns. Except that the stats on them pretty much suck eggs. I don't think I even fired them. I had "better" weapons before I set foot on Manhatten and I couldn't even get my bling until I fought my way over to the Base of Operations. Was this a fail? Or did I miss something...I'd be far happier if those unique guns were skins, or could be broken down to skins....
   

2. Unboxing and reading the directions (among other things) was a time-honored tradition in the pre-digital era. But now, we can just jump in-game and rely on tutorial levels to teach us the ropes. But that means we need real tutorial levels that teach us the hinky micro-mechanics of how the game works, yet as I played last night, not in New York, but in the menus I learned some cool stuff. I had no idea how much XP I left on the table because I wasn't returning to safe-houses after completing their mission boards. I ended up making fast travel trips to like 4 safe houses to pick up completion bonuses for completing the neghborhood...something I never would have learned had I not been exploring the map's mission layout and noticed a bunch of un-checked side missions. I just don't think (I know...opinion) the game does a great job of saying, "go to ALL the safe houses, JTF Officers are located at each, along with a mission board. Completing all side missions from the board and the officers of a safe house earn a completion reward....for me, that really opened up the game and understanding how encounters, events, missions, and side-missions are structured.

And speaking of the game opening up wider...it would have been nice if somewhere there was a better prompt for us players that completing an actual story "mission" unlocked an "intel" item, aka, cut scene, that explained the backstory depending on whether the mission was medic, tech, or security...e.g., completing security missions unlocked intel cut scenes that showed me all the various bad guy factions in New York (also giving clues on how they fight)...and completing medical missions unlocked back story cut scenes on how the virus spread, was planted, developed, etc...

To me it feels like it's a form of reverse Destinitis...where Destiny promised me so much that it didn't quite deliver on...TCTD is delivering me a metric ton of cool content THAT IT NEVER EXPRESSLY TELLS ME ABOUT. Am I missing anything else that helps round out my post-apocalyptic adventure experience?

And tangent...anyone else feel like they should be making a go-bag for when society fails?




 






 

 

[VelveteenZombie]

Oh...one more tangent related to my second question...has anyone noticed whether or not JTF Soldiers stay in place after you complete an event...e.g., I was heading to Hell's Kitchen and ended up in a Checkpoint Security Event. Once I shot the baddies in their faces until they died from it, JTF rolls in and "secured" the area. Are they there in my instance "forever" effectively making my Manhatten safer? If yes, then maybe I can get down with the idea of why we each have our own instance of Manhatten as opposed to a giant unruly open world dominated by good guys with big guns. Because then I get a real opportunity to make Manhatten a safer place...sure it's not quite as definitive as Fable 2 & 3's changing sprawl of Bowerstone...but I like the sense of completion with restoring order. 

 

[Shenaniganz26]

Hey guys!

I just found your podcast, absolutely fantastic show I love it!

I think this game is fantastic, I have a group of friends that I play with consistently and that makes it even more fun, the game is great playing solo, but playing in a group and coordinating; both PVE and deciding when and where to go rogue in the DZ! 

There is only one thing I am missing, that is a talent/skill calculator online some where or a companion app that I could use to plot out awesome group builds and variations while I'm on the bus a zillion hours a week commuting to-from work!

Thanks guys, keep up the great work!

 

[Twitboy]

VelveteenZombie


Great post. All good points.  Just wanted to say I agree with you.  I also played whith GreyWolf and wondered where he got those outfits. Finally saw them in the Xbox store.

 

[Shenaniganz26]

To add something else, The Phoenix credit nerf was insane! It is kind of unfair because it set the people who had to work and couldn't hit 30 in the first few days back tremendously over the people who grinded to 30 immediately and were able to rack up hundreds of credits to get the high end blue prints. This makes it unbalanced in the Dark Zone at high levels because the people who hit 30 right away have all the better gear. 

I hope UbiSoft sees this and either tries to rebalance the DZ or maybe increases PC drops from 2 per boss kill to 5 per.

 

[BiggityB]

Does Rogue system need serious reworking? There really is point to going rogue other than to troll. We survived rogue lvl 4 at Level 29 and only got 1000 DZ credits while potential loss of thousands of DZ credits and experience if we did not survive. Not to mention you make more money and get more experience mowing down NPCs.