Experiment number seven:
Create a character, any character that you feel most comfortable with. The road ahead will be fraught with danger. As you are creating your character don't use any “VIP” gifts or rewards until you past level 40, if you choose. As you are leveling through the first two sections, the ruins and the hollows, the amount of AP varies between 10 and 50 normally and with a VIP it could be anywhere between an additional 5 to 50 given on which map you might be playing. VIP's also provide additional “XP” which forces you to level up faster, than normally. Would you agree?
When you don't use the VIP's there will be gaps between levels in which you can run multiple large AP maps. There is a section in the game where you level up from level 9 to level 12, you get XP and you get Gold, but you lost out on how much AP? Without the VIP you fall into a XP void where you don't produce the additional XP, so it takes longer to get to the next level.
The void is suppose to be there to allow you to go back to previous maps, to look for things you didn't find the first time. It is what I used it for. Quest items are harder to find in the lower levels without the VIP. I ran the Frost Stones 10 times looking for different items associated to the map. It wasn't a real pleasant experience. There is that problem with “diminishing returns”.
When you are in the mid-thirties, apart from the normal missions, without the VIP you are running 5 additional maps for every level. If you choose to only run the high AP missions, like 50, 45, and 40's, for each character level, you will accumulate more XP and AP than using the VIP quick fix. When you use the VIP you are running five fewer maps than people who aren't as blessed as you are. Just when you thought you were getting ahead of everyone else; life sucks sometimes, don't it?
Experiment number eight:
This is a test to determine if my abilities to play this game has improved or am I just as dumb as I was on day one or am I maturing? Create a series of characters that you like the best, just not the same character a bunch of times. I'm using a set of eight, two of which are in their forties now: Vella and Lynn, everyone else that I'm going to use are in their 20's. So I'm going to get 50,000 NX, to bring them up quickly. One month for preparation. For me it will be a 9-month experiment.
Level them up to the mid-forties, just after they have tasted their first 2-day armor set. You want their abilities to be roughly even.
Purchase 50,000 NX per month for the next eight months. Roughly $50 per character. See how far you get in the game, by completing the entire quest line. Write down your start date and time. You only get 30 days. I'm using these characters as measuring sticks. Write down your finish date and time.
Yes, I know you have a incredible quest backlog – who said it would be fair? To be reading this, you already think your pretty good, don't you?
Then you have to write a five page essay on your exploits and post it on the forum.
Comments
I pass.
Originally posted on the Australian Chat section of the forums:
Are you Interested in Science?
Either way, these seem far more time consuming than necessary, if you actually have a goal for this, come back when the next character comes out, I'm sure someone will indulge you.
^This.
You don't even slow down in exp gain until around level 65 or so these days. You just power through in normal mode runs and get carried in missions by geared and veteran players.
You will never know the struggle of being among the first to get to Malina and having no freaking clue of what to do. Of carrying that stupid altar thing through the maps rendering one of your characters mostly useless. etcetc
Or yeah, as said above, running Hidden to level up. Or trying to figure out if it was better to do Colhen in Flames so you get some enhancement stones also. And then dying multiple times as well because neither you nor anyone else in your party was good enough to carry.
What the...
Are we serious?
Are we treating our incoming player base (precious few, these days) like peasants because they didn't suffer alongside us back when the grind was as korean as it gets?
Are we supposed to long for the "good old days" when people ground out a hidden run every 3 min? When people checked each other's titles to see if you were a "hidden spammer" aka lvl40 with <15 titles?
Grind was removed from the game. Dead mechanics are dead. New players will never experience them. We should be celebrating.
Elitism is dumb. Ageism is dumb. Suffering through 2013 Vindi doesn't make anyone special. I should know. I did it too.
as a new player. yea, thats how your comment came across. theres nothing worse than elitism in a dead game. becasue the game will most likely stay dead that way
Indeed, I thought people would get stuck scrounging around for gear until they are 10+ levels past the boss they need to beat, and then still die because gear > level.
That comment wasn't elitist at all... Just some facts.
That said, the endgame right now is complete garbage compared to what it used to be and I feel bad for anyone who missed some of the better times in Vindictus. Not a big fan at all of the decisions of some of the recent directors.
I'm not sure but before thor came out (cuz my character was already 60 at that point) you finish all stories around lv48 and then the last episode in colhen won't be available until 52 or 53 i forgot, that was when i also had to farm hidden for xp.