Timequake Research Projects

Makai

The question is simple. What research project(s) did your org go with, and what was the reason for pursing it? This could be some valuable information and feedback to the system if those maintaining it know what powers seem most attractive to their players, and making the lesser used paths more appealing. If you took Harmony specifically for Time Sickle, state as such, even if -every- single org says this. Let the conversation commence, and please be courteous! If your org hasn't fully decided yet, list the ones you have chosen and the reason, please.

Xenthos

90% of the time, Time Sickle does effectively nothing.  So I really hope no org picked Harmony "just for Sickle."

It takes 5 minutes base to harvest an anomaly, and 7.5 minutes until a new anomaly spawns, so if you start harvesting within 2 minutes of an anomaly spawning you will never miss out on anything.  You will get the exact same result with or without sickle.  The only time it helps is with the very first anomaly (if you start it at minute 3, you may still finish "under the wire"), or if you haven't managed to clear the other side out of the rift yet.  The quakes I've seen though have tended to end up with someone "owning" the rift, at which point Sickle has no further use.

Edit: Glomdoring went with Nature/Death/Harmony, to actually address the question.

Dys

Gaudiguch did Nature/Death/Harmony too.

The Knowledge powers don't appeal to me:
- Mana costs don't usually make much difference to me. 
- I can cap mana regen without the extra 3/13 and if I'm getting targeted for mana drain by a group I'm probably going to die even if capped.
- 5ap for an hour of double essence power contribution seems pricey.
- I don't cut gems, do alchemy or forge.
- I have enough ways to teleport around the Basin that the travel power doesn't add much. The new players who'd use it more probably have better uses for the 10ap it costs to activate it for a month (RL day?), if they have 10ap at all. PATH TRACK is really really good, especially with decent celerity.

I like three other types and the projects themselves, so I'm happy to use knowledge anomalies for an eventual source of archpower.

Makai

I can see where personal opinion on things could sway which option is taken. Were people consulted on the projects or just left to the guild leaders to decide their projects in your case?

Dys

I think we just spoke to whoever was around, with Alaksanteri coordinating as city leader. It was pretty informal. Revelry started Death first then Alaksanteri told me Tortuga (Goons) were doing Nature so I said Seekers would do Harmony.

I wouldn't recommend Knowledge over any of the others, though I might be missing something.

Coraline

Choosing Death for Revelry was pretty accidental. We participated in a Death timequake and got two anomalies, then put them in the project before reading the helpfile all the way through.

Xenthos

Sounds about right!

Makai

I don't know, there are fringe cases where Knowledge can be better. Places like Magnagora that have lichseed could afford to bypass Death (they didn't) because most of that stuff we already have from being liches, so we could technically do Harmony, Knowledge, Nature and gain the benefits from all four to some extent. I personally wonder if Knowledge could be brought up to an even playing field, since it seems apparent nobody is taking it so far.

Xenthos

Celest took Knowledge, I think?

Dys

The 5% crit chance in Death looks great.

Celest took Knowledge.

Makai

Maybe if Mental Potency (Knowledge level 3) was 5ap/month for the double power from essence it would be more attractive? Also the possibility of making it org-wide like Nature level 5 is. Personally I wish these powers were more org-wide instead of purely personal buffs to activate, especially the Harmony and Knowledge ones.

Ayisdra

Death and Nature seem like no brainers to take (and maybe even required for Nature 2 and Death 2) Personally, I find Knowledge mostly lackluster. Knowledge 3 is nice, but Knowledge 1(Outside of maybe clotting costs) and 2 aren't. But at the same time, Harmony 1 really is the only good power of that path. There are probably cheaper ways to get influenced/xp related buffs that last longer too.

Deichtine

Death and Harmony are the two that will directly hit the ascention seals so I can see a big push for people to have them.

So if you have people in your org who care about ascention death and harmony make sense then its down to nature vs knowledge.

Dys

All the powers are org wide, I thought?

Enya

Frankly at the upper ends it might come down more to benefit versus upkeep cost instead of comparative benefit. One might be better than the other in some niches, but on its own is it worth the upkeep cost? 

EDIT: and if the guilds in question can even afford the upkeep costs. 

Xenthos

Upkeep costs are the same at level 1 and level 5 of research.  Once you've started the research you're stuck with the upkeep costs forevermore (or at least until all research progress is lost).

Kalnid

Is it confirmed that missing upkeep kills all progress? Because, like, that's a lot of resources burnt.

Xenthos

Kalnid said:

Is it confirmed that missing upkeep kills all progress? Because, like, that's a lot of resources burnt.

It kills one level of progress every time you miss the upkeep (and yes this is confirmed).  This is something that I would like to see addressed, because it can be a lot of resources burned.

Enya

It seems to me that the credits from participation are worth more than the extreme hassle and cost of the actual powers...

Xenthos

And Timewind is really not worth the cost for almost every quake.  Only ones it seems to be worthwhile for are in the Seas.  Other areas it's better to just run to the area and search.  A full anomaly burned doesn't net you much...

Enya

Agreed. It's only a useful power when the timequake is in a hard to access, enemy territory area. In other words, where you can't have someone sit there and be a teleport point because they'll be killed. 

Maligorn

I disagree about Time Sickle - yes the net amount of anomalies is going to be the same, but securing one faster is pretty decent. Whoever's stuck releasing the thing can be more mobile, as well.

In any event, Knowledge is so obviously suboptimal that it was a really clear choice to take the other three, regardless of their immediate usefulness or not. Future anomalies are my archpower food now.

Enya

Sickle seems bad now because there aren't really contested timequakes, so faster doesn't make much of a difference. Having to stand on it less time in a fight would be useful though. 

Pysynne

I have been in far more contested Timequakes than not.

Xenthos

Pysynne said:

I have been in far more contested Timequakes than not.

How many were contested past the first 10 minutes or so?  Every one I've been in has been resolved by that point.

Makai

So turns out upkeep is 1 anomaly, 1k comms, and 10k gold. Did we get a ninja patch and the HELP RESEARCH get not updated?

Orael

Makai said:

So turns out upkeep is 1 anomaly, 1k comms, and 10k gold. Did we get a ninja patch and the HELP RESEARCH get not updated?

That's a typo, it did cost 2 anomalies. It's been fixed for next time.

Xenthos

Help Research says all of that for upkeep (except it says 2 noms, not 1, so may just be a bug).

Shaddus

Xenthos said:

Help Research says all of that for upkeep (except it says 2 noms, not 1, so may just be a bug).

So it's supposed to be a nomnom, not just a nom?

Makai

@Orael Sorry to ping again, but confirmation is always nice. Do the commodities decay in these research items? Say an comm has 11 month decay time, you toss it in during Estar, will they decay before the new year, or does the research item act like a rift?

Orael

Acts like a rift, they won't decay in the item. The only way to lose comms is through upkeep or increasing your level.