To the DCUO Team, Artifact Swapping?

If you think every or many groups on USPCPS are beating TSWE+, even to this day, then you'd be mistaken. Only the best groups in the server are beating that content, when we spoke the other day about those supply drops that had nothing to do with legitimate groups beating that content and that also has nothing to do with artifact swapping (I'm only saying that to make sure it's not mistaken as such)

I agree future content should not be like TSWE+, it's 3 DLCs old now and still ridiculous, we just have to hope that the developers choose not to listen to players making such a request and give opposing feedback, you'll get kickback from the 1%ers though, they take incredible exception at having their over the top difficulty questioned

Let me know when you've had a few YouTube videos made about you, cussing you out and raging, then we'll be true peers

Hey guys, since I got the PS5 and started swapping, I'm doing nearly three times the damage I was doing before. And I'm planning on getting all the artifacts that people on YouTube showed me can be swapped in and out again to maximize my potential even further. I used to be a casual but now I'm trying to be more of an elite sweaty player, no sarcasm intended. At least swapping is intended, unlike some PC players who use third party systems to exploit the game physics and mechanics. Everyone will be pretty satisfied once they have the hardware to do such a thing as swap an artifact. The load times alone are worth upgrading your system.

Three times the damage. And Mepps says this only has the potential to be a problem.

Also take into consideration skill, as SupremeDeity or DeitySupreme, whichever, would say. Art swapping, loadout knowledge, game mechanics, timing, these all play a part, and don't forget super speed and precision... The biggest thing was getting the PS5 because everything is just smoother, quicker, and you can generally do things faster on current gen.

It'll become certainly a problem in the future. That said, the best way to solve this is to create more slots for Artifacts. I personally defend 3 more slots for Artifacts. Also the number of artifacts that we have are fine so the devs should concentrate their efforts in another aspects of the game, like a new movement for example. Remember that Skimming was released in 2014.

That’s just a ridiculous idea. If there are 6 slots then people will ask for 9 or 10. And then more. There is no need to 6 slots. At that point just throw balance out the window and all mechanics would be one shots. And guess what. The players who currently swap will still swap even if there were 6 slots.

They've said that Art Swapping is intended since doesn't become a scandal, since it's almost a scandal you've three roads here: Or you eliminate definitely art swapping, or you give more slots (3, 4, doesn't matter) to the players or you simply say that Art Swapping is intended and you stop the "drama". That simple!

Also, they've pay for this Artifacts. You should have a slot for that artifact, technically, instead of swapping.

Dear God.

If I had a nickel...

THAT doesn't it make it a bad idea... any more than having 3 being a bad idea.... even though people are asking for 4.

Okay... Then how's about we get rid of the exploit/not-exploit benefit of swapping.... something that was stated as being unintentional.

I recall them saying that swapping was intended... but, having the benefit of the effects of an artifact no longer in use was not intended..

The stated intention was to have 3... and only 3... artifacts going at any given time.

I'll never embrace Artifact Swapping as an actual intended thing until it is actually a supported thing in the game with its own dedicated menu and all.

To think that swapping, the way that "sweaty" players do, was intentional from the moment of the artifacts idea inception, is delusional. Even the idea that something like Philosopher's Stone was conceived with the thought of "oh this artifact I just created? I made it for players to equip it for 2-3 seconds in the fight and then bin it for another artifact for the rest of the encounter" is bonkers. No... casually swapping an artifact for another because of a "oops, I actually wanted this art and not that one for this fight, let me switch them" is what the intended way was logically.

Somewhere down the line, the devs caught on to small casual swaps of artifacts like Dead King's Scepter and Philosopher's Stone, and it seems the thoughts were "ummm, yes, let's say this is intentional, let's not step on their toes and let them keep doing it, they're bringing in more cash anyway, and this isn't that big of an advantage", while someone on the team wasn't so ok with it and decided to give the Scepter artifact an extra passive buff for it to not be swapped out, thus the orbital assistance was added to it.

At this point, I think the 2 proper ways of fixing the situation would be to make artifacts have their own menu, and either:

1- Make it incredibly clumsy to swap artifacts quickly, so that it would only be done when you really want to switch them around because you didn't intend to have equipped what you had at the moment.

or

2- Make it to facilitate the swapping. No more bugs with the game opening the skill points menu instead of the inventory, and no risk of deleting your artifact.

Anyway, even if whether this is done or not, some artifacts would need to be buffed, to give them some passive buff to entice players to not swap them out, the same way Dead King's Scepter was buffed when the orbital assistance passive was created, although nowadays that passive is clearly not strong enough to make players not want to swap it out,so it would need reviewing.

But I believe this is the way to go. I don't think additional artifact slots would fix anything, even if said slots did not grant the artifact stats (like the devs once said if there was a 4th slot, it wouldn't give you the stats) because we art swap because of the buffs, not the stats.

The revenue generated from artifacts has to be bottoming out at this point. Everyone who wants them has leveled most (if not all) of the existing artifacts they need; and there aren’t a ton of new players starting from scratch. There is more revenue to be generated from artifacts, but they need to modify the system and seize it.

I believe the best way to address artifact swapping would be to open it up and monetize it.

First, create two artifact modes connected to a toggle switch - Manual and Automatic

Manual mode - tac swap like people have been doing for free

Automatic mode - lock the artifact slots during combat, but introduce a way to combine two artifacts’ abilities into one. No additional stats given. Only one of the artifacts’ stats will survive.

By crafting artifacts, you could get the use of six artifact abilities in three slots (which is what is happening for many *right now* with tac swapping - this won’t be some new boost to the game). For a crafting example, combine Dead King’s Scepter and Philosopher’s Stone to create the Philosopher’s Scepter, and that one new artifact would have the orbital and supply drop abilities. Combine the Rings of Azar with the Amulet of Rao to make the Rings of Rao. Combine Source Shard and Grimorium to make the Godmorium. Etc

To craft, you would need both artifacts at 200, and you would need more nth, cats and seals to accomplish the crafting. It would encourage 200 rank leveling (which many don’t bother with on some artifacts), and it would generate more revenue from at least three more artifact craft levelings per player. Given different roles, it could create revenue for six additional craft levelings or more.

For lore purposes, create a Black Alice vendor to act as an R&D table. As seen in the Rock of Eternity raid, she can combine abilities from two different characters. Stretch her power to combine two different artifacts.

This doesn’t have to be rolled out all at once. Start with Constantine selling R&D plans for maybe six commonly used combinations (to fill the three slots across roles), and then later introduce plans for another combo and another, etc. It’s on-going once the system is set up.

Players just want a level playing field. Many may even want to look at the actual game design as they play instead of looking at their inventory screen (which they feel forced to look at now to “compete”). The manual / auto option will keep angry players at a minimum. You like swapping? Have at it. Crafting will elevate players to a similar level without tearing swappers down.

Well you started this so this is the hell you created hahahaha bask in it! LOO KAT THE CHAOS! (only teasing btw)

Awww my little fanboy is here

No....

Just a friendly reminder that you really need to stop being a you.

That made no sense. You’re acting as if they HAVE to do anything.

They have already made the stance. Like it? Don’t like it? Doesn’t matter. But the idea that having more slots would somehow stop swapping is just ridiculous. As long as there are more arts than there are slots there will always be swapping.

Sorry I don’t do autographs.

You also don't know how to stop being you.


It really is sad to see...


Hopefully that telethon will find a cure for *ism.

Whether you embrace it or not it doesn’t change things. Mepps already stated they always intended players to be able to swap arts like gear. There will always be players who find ways to maximize the effectiveness of elements within a game. While devs can not see to the extent that their work can be utilized the baseline is still intended.

Yet you enjoy following me around

I’m always here for my fans

Perhaps we need to look at they reason or reasons for why players are engaging in swapping their arts. Why do they feel the need to do so? What are they gaining by art swapping?

I understand the stacking effects from swapping arts was not intended but is a side effect some players are exploiting (The use of the word "exploiting" in this context is not meant as an unscrupulous act to instead to mean "take advantage of").

In the overall scope of a boss fight, does it really make that much of a difference? Are a few seconds being shaved off?

Personally, I would rather players concentrate on the battle at hand instead of going into their inventory, choosing a different artifact, and mounting it to use. Hey, why not answer a few tells why you're at it! The rest of us will hold the Boss off while you dilly-dally.

Maybe this thread circles back to the other thread about picking up players. If these players are getting ko'd because they are in their inventory instead of doing their part, then maybe I need to re-think my efforts to pick them up.

I don't really care about art swapping one way or the other unless it adversely effects the outcome of the fight.