SP System Change Idea

Getting Skill Points
Dont get me wrong. I love doing 1 off challenges for feats. Its unique but it often gets boring when you have to do an alert 90 times for a chance to get a feat.

Skill points are harder to get the more you progress, meaning the more you have, the more skill you SHOULD have. This isnt the case for 80% of the playerbase who have 500+ SP and still dont do mechanics or know how do a raid/what bosses to focus and what to do. I have been in countless raids where i have explained the mechanics incase people in the content do not know what to do. For the most part i am calm, collected and willing to help however, there are still high end players with full current dlc elite gear, 200 artifacts, 600+ sp crying that people dont do mechanics when they themselves are being a scoreboard chaser and dont know/do mechanics.

IMO a new SP system should be brought in. Feats are still a good part of dcuo, while there are many controversial ones *COUGH COUGH* TIME CAPSULES *COUGH COUGH*, I believe SP should come from encounters with heavy mechanics. Think for example Underworld Trials from Amazon Fury or the card game from that 1 raid no one does with randoms because of the exact reason i stated before. No one listens.

Sure over time we will have an over abundance of SP if we keep adding them to encounters, but that is the point. You are showing to others that "Hey look. I know the mechanics of alot of raids, i am skillful. consider me to join your elite raid"

So instead of making hard, unique challenges in a raid encounter, add a feat that tracks the amount of times you complete a specific encounter without failing its mechanics or at least doing your part in the mechanic (for certain raids that require 1 person to stand in a spot or something). You will NOT earn progress if you do not partake in the mechanics. Something similar to Bombshell paradox last boss where you get the blue aura and have to close a portal before you die.If your team member does it, you get no progress, if you do it, you do.

Spending Skill PointsHere this one is simple. Allow players to invest skill points to get augment like effects for the older raids.
The older raids are pretty meh when it comes to being down levelled. Augments are pretty much not used in them anymore by the casual player or by anyone for that matter. So my way is a simple fix to that. Spend 5 skill points on a certain feat node on a new "Episode" tab. You get that augment built in to your skill build. (You wont recieve additional might else where, ONLY in that content)

We can still keep the augments if you desire but they will not stack with the SP variations. the newer 3 dlcs will not have the option to invest SP but instead require you to have the augments. This prevents new content being completed faster than it should be and forces players to progress through the dlc itself and not other dlcs to improve the current one

EndThis comes from deep within, more of a rant if you will. Players who dont listen or care for anyone else by ignoring mechanics should have their progress reduced. They are not willing to put the time and effort into making themselves a good team player or a good player in general so they should be rewarded with less skill points to show for it. They ruin things for other players who are indeed doing the things they need to do to progress in the encounter/game but are being ruined by players who dont care or listen.

Thanks for coming to my ted-talk

Skill point acquisition used to be sparse in the early game. They were either excessive grind, like the PvP ones, or very difficult to do, because of a specific thing you had to do in the instance to get it. Over the years, those still exist, but they started adding some you just sneeze and you get them. There was also a significant turn, and suddenly we got more, which I'll explain below.

When I was at SOE Live, they did a survey, what is the most sought after thing in DCUO. Everyone said Skill Points. At the time, 2013/2014, they had just introduced weapon mastery and AMs were just getting started. Each weapon had stats at the bottom row. So getting to those stats meant you had to spec into weapons 4 skill points each to grab them. So of course, players said Skill Points. So content suddenly had more feats to acquire. Some easy, some hard, some grindy, etc.

Fast forward to AM era. Where CR Differential was around. Skill points didn't matter at all. Heck, gear didn't matter either, especially if you were a pet class. You just needed to know when to hit your mechanic's big hit and the game figures out the rest. This resulted in the whole #statsmatter thing on the forum.

Fast forward again, we finally get the stats revamp. They reworked the skill point system. It now is in it's own section for stats. These stats have a purchase cap equal to the highest item level of gear available. So every DLC, they go up. This... This is when the turn happens. The devs, Avair being the lead on this, set a 1:1 ratio of CR to SP. Where you should have at least the same number of SP equal to your CR. Then suddenly, we were getting MORE feats. They really increased them quite a bit. Now, they even give more. I think the devs are trying to follow their own 1:1 ratio and realized that the SP gain is being surpassed by how quickly the Item Level of gear is ramping up.

So yeah... Do we need 700+ skill points? No, but there are players that are always coming in. They need the easy feats to help gain the stats to just run content.

As for your idea, eh, I'd rather they revamped the system to be more accessible to new players. I also wish they stopped putting feats into Time Capsules.

Because putting feats into Time Capsules churns $ for Daybreak.....so asking Daybreak to not do that, they are NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO DO IT!

And yet, they have not given good sales on black friday/cyber monday, when people DO churn out money. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Skill (Stats) Points do not equate to "Skill" in the game. Just because I have 500 SPs does not mean i know all the mechanics to a raid or better yet, ALL the mechanics in a game thats been around for 11+ years. I think your confusion of combining SPs to knowledge of content is getting muddled. I have been in Raids and I dont have a lot of those Raid Feats, does this mean I dont know the content? No it doesnt. Most of my Feat Points are from Open World and even TCs. But Im also a Player whose been here since Day 1. Im also someone not a Feat Chaser. I know the Min/Max I need for my build and I accomplish it.

This game is old and we are even going to get more content as the game progresses. It shouldnt be expected a Player that started this year, last month, last week, to have X number of SP. There's a minimum for sure depending on your Role/Playstyle. Players just starting out should treat this Episode as their first like we all did. Focus on the now. Then you have 40+ other Content to play to get those Feats. Can content be beaten with 40 SP? Yes. Can it be beaten with 700 SP? Double Yes. Now of course Elite content is a different beast but hey, doesnt hurt to try.

The Revamp made it to wear Gear is more important for Stats and SP increase as a sideway to increase your stats. Focus on Gear, get SP as you go. Beat Content. Simple.

There is not a single thing the devs can realistically do in order change the skill level of the player base. Dcuo is already one of the easier MMOs on the market and people still fail at some of the easier common sense things. How can anyone expect the devs to make changes on his topic when it’s the players themselves that do not listen? A perfect example is the krytponian solo that they did for the StU event. Literally the easiest content ever made. What other boss can be beat solely by lunging the boss over and over back to back none stop? Yet people kept complaining that it was impossible to do.

Change SP to be more skill based and you end up with people that still don’t listen with less SP. There is nothing the devs can do because that asking them to change the nature of the player base.

On top of that. A skilled player can already have a smooth and easy time without many sp. I have been able to dps players with far better gear and maxed arts on my baby toons with 120 arts and 200sp. There is no substitute for actual skill and common sense.

I haven't read any of that and I'm going to go with a resounding NO!

If they mess up and things go wrong I'm going to go completely psycho and murder everyone and then well have to find more new devs.

500 SP maybe not mean you know mechanic but 770 + means you do becouse you cant have it without knowledge .
There are people who dosnt have SP from behind paywal with 500 SP and they are top players who for sure know mechnics .

I dont like when people says SP is stats points becouse when you look closer how many stats you got for 340 SP ( max atm ) in might for example you can notice nitro soda gives not much less lets say 200 k might is max atm and 340 SP is les then 5 % and its freaking sad that buffs peolpe drink gives more then 340 SP and it shouldnt be like that .

And no elite content its not only for high SP players and its funy when people asking how many SP you got before they invite becouse like i said SP means nothing . I prefer to have one of my friends alts with 100 SP in groupe then some random guys with 500 + becouse i know that my friends knows mechanic even if not they will learn in 5 min .

Im in for ideas to change SP system becouse what we got atm its not ok .
What i would change is amount of stats for adding SP for example for 340 SP in might not 9 k but 90 k so then you can finaly say SP is Stat point .

Now people doing this feats only becouse there is nothing better to do and i have no idea why people buying feats since it give you advantage that is hard to notice.

I would love a power up system for our powers. So for all 30 of our powers allow for 10-20 sp to be placed into each power. This could effect damage done, power consumption, support effectiveness etc. It would help diversify the powers people use and allow for players to try out different loadouts. Ya like a power, but it doesnt do the greatest damage, sink some skill points in it and build it up.

Im not sure what your argument is since Im sure its "at me" but I dont see how when nothing you said really relates to me. Im sure the paywall thing is probably because I said I have Feats from TCs...well i mean, who the hell doesnt right? lol The statement about having 770+ SP means you have knowledge. Yeah okay, the human brain can only retain so much and one should never put "770+ means you have knowledge". Well so does the 500 SP or even the 100. Stat Points doesnt equate to knowledge and its still factual. Feats mean you completed an achievement. You learned it for sure and got the reward for it. But Ive done content just as much as the next guy but b/c I dont have a higher SP or a Feat behind it, doesnt mean one isnt knowledgeable.

The knock about players not behind a paywall that are top players, cool. Dont think i stated those that do or dont are right or wrong lol Im nto a fan of Feats in TCs but years later, here we are and I dont see that changing anytime soon. Also folks who go after the "CR Skippers" are just there to complain. Level Skips arent new and while the SP given is barely a drop in the bucket.....its a freaking drop in the bucket. Move on.

Also folks like myself we flip between Skill Point or Stat Point but thats also because, probably like you, we've been around long enough that Skill Point is just engrained in our speech. But we dont have Skill Points, these are Stat Points. The "Skill" in this game was killed off when Advance Mechanics were brought in and the final nail was placed in the Stats Revamp. The Skill is based off knowledge and learning of mechanics which everyone does or should. Whether its retained, meh. Im old and happy I remember to put boxers on the inside of my pants. New and old players need reminding of mechanics. But we dont help players here. We wipe then leave and call players trash. Thanks to those in the community that at least try to offer to assist players.

As a PvE focused game, DCUO doesn't require a lot of skill. Just apply some basic observation skill to observe and notice mechanics, and communication skills with teammates to run any and all group content in a smooth and timely fashion. Nothing difficult.

The SP system in DCUO is a time + $ sink. SP is not representative of skill.

PvE games don't require much skill. PvP games require first a stable and fast connection for good and consistent game ping, followed by skill for consistent PvP performance.

The focus for DCUO should be on:
- strategy to get old players to come back and play DCUO consistently
- strategy to attract new players and grow the game population
- strategy to retain players (new / current / old returning) and grow the game population

I love all the people saying this is a low skill game. Such statements are relative. Sure, compared to Dark Souls it is. But the average person (not Gamer) has a hard time just remembering what buttons are where on the controller, let alone knowing when to use what in a game like this. And FTP MMO's are generally aimed at casual players in the first place. The curve needs to be be fairly low so that those causals will spend time and money.

I am not advocating for any change to the SP system...and I only have about 300 since I am not willing to spend the hours doing boring tasks that don't gain my character much advancement or waiting in queues for specific missions that players will just drop out of. I reach a plateau and start playing a different character because I like the feeling of advancement and power fantasy.

I'm just bringing this up in hopes that you guys would step out of your bubble and realize that you are necessarily representative of the game as a whole. This board is mostly for hardcore/invested players. 99% of the players never come here or only do to ask a question and then never come back.

There is a extremely small but virulent group of gatekeepers (read elitists) that hate the idea of casuals and new players getting sp. Instead of recognizing how long it takes and how hard it is now post clamp they just yell "get gud" and then blame the players for not knowing mechanics. People can do mechanics perfectly but they don't have the edge all those juicy sp provide let alone max augs, arts, etc. that take quite a while to get. Nah, easier to just blame players for not following "mechanics."

All of us top tier 700+ sp people got them by out leveling the content via of the same progression every game had and then going back and steam rolling it to gain them with ease. You can't do that anymore and that handful on here abhor the idea of losing that 700+ sp advantage as it's critical for them to get that max dps score after every fight they seem obsessed with getting. I've been in groups with these people they are scoreboard chasers of the first order. If keeping new players and causal down will keep them feeling elite they are all to happy to champion anything that does so.

You have people like that in real life and in every game. It's up to the devs/company to decide if they will cater to the masses paying the bills or a handful of diehards that hate change unless it solely benefits them. I want to see new players and causals having fun because its a game and they should have fun no matter how much it angers the gatekeepers.

I'd argue that having 770+ SP just means you have a wallet and know how to use it. How many feats are in time capsules? Just not having them shaves off quite a number of available in game feats.

Then how many feats are just styles? Considering that most gear sets are 50 point feats and odd single styles are 10-25 points each, you are looking at another considerable number of SP that is just logging in to get the marks. (Although, maybe now, players are buying source marks for the old styles? IDK.)

How many SP are in collections? How many are in grind? How many are checklist? How many require random luck? You can distill it down and come up with whatever scenario you want to, but there are only so many mechanic heavy feats that require skill to get. I think you will be surprised that the majority of feats don't come from skill.

The thing about SP... if you cared about being a good player at the game then you'd grind them anyways. If you don't care, then you don't need the SP. You only "need" like 450 right now to max out one stat, which is good enough for most content. They're not supposed to be instant or free, they're part of the long-term grind. Not saying all feats are fine (TC collections and counter spams and RNG ones suck), but there's enough that if you spend some time and effort chasing them, you'll be able to hit 450 without a hitch.

As for a system rework, I don't really think that's necessary. I think they need to figure out how to grow the playerbase and encourage them to rerun content. CR is so easily emphasized for new players, and comes by easily. SP isn't, and when noobs realize they're important they freak out.

Yea we all know that but 770 + means you have almost all feats from game thats mean you must know mechnic of most raids or mybe yours feats did yours 5 years old daughter when you was at work 500 + might know mechanic but you dont know that becouse you dont know what feats that person completed might be basic feats and 250 SP from TC like you said .

Anyway the whole point is :
Nitro soda = 4455 might
Shoulders ( cr 342 ) = 10 072 might
340 SP added in might tree = 8911 might

So whats the whole drama SP behind pay wall or not ,hard elite feats ,easy feats , rare collections feats all means nothig as long as 340 SP = less then 9 k might .
Like i said if devs increase it to 90 k might then it start to make sense if not SP = last thing you need to do/have in this game.

Edit:
By the way i got all feats from TC without spending 1 $ ( if you dont count paying for all access ) i mean with this broken economy its not hard to get few bilions per month and buy what you need from broker !
Same with artifacts XP , catalyst and ally catalyst ect.

That’s where the developers often miss the boat. Who is the primary audience for this game? Dark Souls enthusiasts? Or people who want to go on an adventure with Superman?

If the developers are chasing the Dark Soils crowd, they don’t need Superman. It is a massive waste of money to have the DC Comics license if your goal is to create “git gud” content. They could accomplish that goal with Sammy Man. In fact, the devs most valued players aren’t even looking at the characters and environments - they’re swapping artifacts on their inventory screen. The DC Comics IP is a joke to them.

You’re leaving out the 10% bonus in the 340 SP might box, keep everything the same but spec 0 and then spec 340…it’s a little more than 8911

Sp grinding is gross, happy i can tank reg & even some elites with just 300sp.

Its been said for years that the sp grind will turn away new players, but nothing changes bc old 10 year peeps continue to spend money to keep up their stats