I want to earn Merc AA.

Discussion in 'The Veterans' Lounge' started by Scorrpio, May 14, 2019.

  1. Scorrpio Augur

    I got this problem with merc AA. It is only earned when merc is being used. And AA really makes a difference. Because of this, when mercs are good enough, people (including myself) often balk at dropping them and inviting a live player. I often catch myself thinking that if I could toggle a % of my XP to go to merc at all times, I would be a lot more willing to suspend merc and invite an lfg player.

    Or maybe let us convert regular AA to merc at some reasonable ratio...
  2. Waring_McMarrin Augur


    This sounds very similar to the issue with leadership AA in the past where people didn't want to pass leadership to someone without it maxed which made it harder to earn it.
  3. Sokki Still Won't Buff You!!

    It's basically the same problem all over again, same scenario applies. Player A has a max aa merc and Player B doesn't, guess who's merc is getting used... I'm glad they have taken steps to help get Merc AA's faster but it doesn't do any good unless it's your Merc that is being used, which isn't always the case.
  4. Conq Augur

    Your max AA merc is worth .25 of a real player - average skilled. Merc's are the Devil.
    Conq
    Mediik likes this.
  5. Buds Augur

    Well that .25 player certainly keeps me alive pretty well lol. Most people don't have a choice of a merc or real player. I can't get an insta real cleric to heal me, when I log on for 30 mins to grind. But if I had the choice, no question would take a real healer, to heck with merc AA.
  6. Mediik Augur

    Being max AA. Would be nice to be able to work on something else. I guess I can pop a healer merc.
  7. Yinla Ye Ol' Dragon

    I'd love to be able to give my merc AAs instead of wasting AAs purchasing Glyths. At the moment I am using Glyth of Destruction and repurchasing it as soon as it repops just to keep below the 220 AA cap.
  8. Brohg Augur

    Glyph of Leadership for +1 merc AA, please! 20/25/30/40 cost at the existing glyph threshholds? I'd pay
    Arraden, Sancus, Petalonyx and 4 others like this.
  9. Flatchy Court Jester

    I dont see how I can be max aa within a few months of expansion going live , yet merc who is almost always out, lags so far behind. Yeah I would share my exp with merc in a heartbeat.
    Ruinedmyownlands likes this.
  10. Warpeace Augur

    Merc experience rate still needs a lot of work.
    Arraden likes this.
  11. svann Augur

    Teek dailies give good merc xp. I was getting 2 a day in a very short amount of time.
  12. Warpeace Augur

    As a player you can grind hundreds of AA per day. Mercenary AA gains are super slow for no reason.

    It is better since they adjusted it the last time but still needs another bump.
  13. Ecchicon Elder

    Mercenary AA should probably be included with autogrant, but even that doesn’t solve the problem.

    The primary benefit would be that new characters would not be left with extremely inadequate player replacements in times of need, but it would also simply allow players to explore the feature better by preventing different types of mercenaries from falling too far behind.

    Up through EoK, I did pretty well in keeping up with the general merc AAs and the AAs that helped the healing merc, but the others fell behind. However, now I think I’ve barely purchased 2/3 RoS-TBL merc AAs. They just come so slow and cost so much. This means that even if I wanted to test out the changes to the tank, he’d be so far behind that I’d barely know what to think.

    As a result, by the time a new character reaches the point where they want/need to rely on a mercenary, they’re low or inadequate power level makes them unappealing which in turn with make them underutilized.

    Perhaps it goes again the design goals of the devs, but there would certainly be some benefits to consolidating many of the merc AAs. Not only will it be easier for players to explore the feature, it seems like it would [potentially?] even save the devs time in the future.

    Consolidation plus autogrant doesn’t exactly solve the problem, but it strikes me as a pretty simple change [this is also an assumption; perhaps this would be a far greater development challenge than I realize]. Once again, it’s not my game, but it just strikes me that if I was making a game I’d want to increase the use of features. This might be a tough balance, but in terms of mercenaries the issues seem widely known and most of them stem from frustration with stagnation and comparative advantage rather then simple power level.
  14. Flat Toad Elder

    Not really "fixes" to the perceived problem but...buying or winning some better gear for your merc(s) does nice things for their survival and effectiveness...Also, though it may sound extreme to some...have you considered possibly, um...grouping with real people occasionally??
  15. Scorrpio Augur

    I do group and I do prefer to group. But my play times are erratic. If I know I may need to AFK for an hour mid-mission, I need to rely on a merc.
    My tank merc has full Vigilant, max EoK AA and a few RoS AA, and actually performs fairly well. Same for the mercs on my box accounts. But if I need to drop a box for a live player, I can still share xp via fellowship. But if I drop a merc, I have no way to improve it.

    Being able to buy merc points for regular AA would probably be the best option, and easiest to implement.
  16. Ecchicon Elder

    Why does this sentiment get echoed so often?

    While it is technically correct that people may use a merc when a person is willing and able to take that slot in a group, it neglects any and all context surrounding the situation.

    If a player is using a merc to complete challenging current-level content, then they would probably rather have a real player but don’t due to a wide range of perfectly reasonable explanations.

    In many cases, however, mercs are just being used to pad a group with some extra healing or, in some sad cases, some piddly extra damage.

    But one of the primary uses of mercs is probably in competing older content. In this case there is almost no challenge provided that justifies adding a second real player and fewer players that need or want whatever specific rewards come from that content. And these aren’t really cases that result in people criticizing merc AAs because the content is relatively trivial anyway.
  17. Dewey Augur

    But the thing is you don't need our benefit from that missing .75 in many cases. If the sole reason your xping is for the merc AA then a real player is never going to get the slot.. It all depends on content and intent. Since with a merc you don't have to roll on anything and you can choose to do the content you want.

    Because the rule of EQ is to max all things, kill all things, and click all things. Merc AAs are in the list to be maxed.

    Next expansion you never know the chase loot might be linked to merc AAs.
  18. Archery Lorekeeper

    ___

    Well Said!! I've exactly the same issue on 3 accounts ATM. Would LOVE you suggestion implemented.
  19. Nennius Curmudgeon

    Once again, I suppose, merc. AA's would take time from the devs. work. Fewer devs. = less innovation. It is still a great idea.
  20. Scorrpio Augur

    How long would it take to add a glyph-type AA that grants a merc point on activation?
    Yinla likes this.