Thoughts on The Pyrus Project

[Himenoinu]

First off, I'mma say that I'm really happy to see it happening - the relays rebuilding.

Now, to the topic (with the hope that the next relay rebuilding event will be even better):

• The foundry item. It's a too long wait for too small an item that has the raw material dropping like crazy.

Make the construction time shorter - maybe 30 minutes - and move the item from the normal loot category to the rare one (like orokin cells or argon crystals). Adjust so that the item building feels continuous, smooth - with just enough time to gather the mats before the strut is complete.

Also, the fact that we're raiding exclusively grineer outpost to help a former grineer build a relay for everyone makes very little sense. With the vast resources at the disposal of the Corpus (both tech and currency), we should have foundry tasks related to both - maybe more intense on the latter, judging both by Steel Meridian's diplomatic alignments (at odds with Sequence) and by its npc members.

So, I would've split the foundry tasks. Get some valuable mats from doing sabotage missions and finding all 3 caches (rotation C would include this event-related crafted material as an extra).

Even better, craft a sabotage mission for the event that has the same start as the grineer one (with 2 phases - hacking and the actual sabotage), but instead of the reactor is a vault. The two coolants are replaced with 2 data keys, in rooms also protected by mini-bosses. The "stealth" solution to it would be similar to the armored vault task in the Plains, while a brute force approach would be similar to the Lynx spy location on grineer settlement, but with room lockdown and more guards pouring in while the boss is alive. Also, the stealth would reward two of the required crafting materials.

 

• The Simiaris' scan task. That arrogant, self-important AI is not suited for the job. His routines are overflown with murderous intent.

Instead of Simaris' scan, I'd have to get some intel from spying missions. That drops as added reward - in increasing quantities with every rotation - from perfectly executed spying attempts. Triggering the alarm inside the terminal room would revert the rewards for it to normal ones, basically destroying the event item. Aaaand, all the intriguing data collected will be delivered to Suda.

 

• The Pyrus Essence. Probably the most obvious tacked on element of the event.

It's a relay. It has to do with engineering. Not with magic. Snuffing out a random person's life-force doesn't really fit in the picture.

Seeing how most things today are based on orokin tech, I'd instead travel the system lookin' for that. Lua's puzzles and spy mission, Derelict Vaults, Void Sabotage or Survival missions. The rewards would be blueprints (with a 20-25% chance to get them) and rare crafting mats for the relay's components.

 

• The G3's attacks. Tennos didn't make many friends in the Origin System, so our arch enemies should join forces to hamper our efforts of relay rebuilding.

Even more so, considering that it's not just Vay Hek's armada that keeps attacking the relays. With more places to travel to in search of crafting materials and blueprints, there are more opportunities for a (hopefully) improved Zanuka run-ins, with juggies and/or sentients (based on where the tennos go).

 

• The relay rebuilding should have phases, not just one - it's not a simple cake we're cookin' after all.

With each completed phase of the relay construction, we would gain access to facilities. 1) Main area, conclave and navigation. 2) Syndicates spaces. 3) Darvo and Simaris.

Here it's where each area could also require a certain number of contributions before being completed. Initially, every sindicate room (also Darvo and Simaris) would be a mess, with missing decorations, heaps of containers and busy/confused-looking npcs. We'd have tasks given by all (syndicates representatives, Simaris and Darvo/Clem) to help finish up the place. All quests would only be acquired and initiated from within their respective rooms (Darvo, Simaris, Sydnicates), but would be available until the room completion, and could be repeated a set amount of times each day.

Darvo would be the one to take care of pretty'ing up the areas outside the syndicates and Simaris' influence. So he'd be found initially in the main room, around where Baro will show up. Seeing how the jousts can't contribute to a relay rebuild, pvp tasks (while potentially good to revitalize this aspect of the game) can't really be part of the pve event.

To make things more interesting and worthwhile, syndicates should have one extra task/day especially after the relay reconstruction, accessible and initiated only from their rooms in the relay, that rewards the maximum standings for each tier.

Also, players should have the possibility to launch syndicate missions from within the relay's syndicate room in the new relays. Maybe make some special loading screens for each syndicate showing a single syndicate ship, with the host steering and the squad maneuvering turrets or something 😄

On the topic of phases, anything not completely built should not be completely operational at the end of the event. Say, an incomplete Perrin Sequence room would not have the npcs for turning in the marks, nor the special extra task option, just an interactive hologram of Ergo Glast who'll say something about the syndicate being unable to send representatives to the relay.

 

• Lastly, like someone else said, all the pretty architecture won't mean much if the relays continue to be only a place where Baro sometimes comes and where players dump their syndicates marks. They'll be like a Tesla Roadster powered by a hamster on a wheel. Pretty, but useless.

Edited August 31, 2018 by Himenoinu

[Urlan]

Good points!

[SpicyDinosaur]

Why does "thoughts" always end up being "complaints" when I read stuff on the forums? I mean technically it's both, but obfuscating the point of the post is so "meh."

[(PSN)OriginalEquinox]

I wouldn't care much about this 'event' tbh, it's just DE wanting to reset the relays so the Fomorian has one to blow up each time it passed through, and instead of just fixing them in a small update the Devs decided to hit two birds with one stone and give players some 'content' to keep them happy.

[Himenoinu]

31 minutes ago, SpicyDinosaur said:

Why does "thoughts" always end up being "complaints" when I read stuff on the forums? I mean technically it's both, but obfuscating the point of the post is so "meh."

Why constructive criticism always ends up being considered "complaint".
I started by saying that I'm happy with the event happening at all. I then shared thoughts on the 4 things we need to do. Must I only be happy about everything?!

I even forgot to mention that there are 6 syndicates out of which one seems to be the only one set on making the System a better place, which should've been read as "I hope that more syndicates will offer to rebuild stuff"

Also, I consider a complaint to be useless if you don't provide any kind of suggestions to the problem you are talking about. On every point related to this event I did start with the negatives, but I didn't stop there.

You however, are bordering hypocrisy from my point of view, since you just came here to complain. No 2 cents on my wall of text, no suggestion regarding fixing the problem you see - "people complaining", that is.GGWP!

[Himenoinu]

4 minutes ago, (PS4)Equinox21697 said:

I wouldn't care much about this 'event' tbh, it's just DE wanting to reset the relays so the Fomorian has one to blow up each time it passed through, and instead of just fixing them in a small update the Devs decided to hit two birds with one stone and give players some 'content' to keep them happy.

I actually like the idea of having a counter-event to the armadas. Each time one gets blown up.
Hell! They could even add some more dials, this time in the syndicates' panel - showing how well prepared each is to rebuild a relay (based on how many ppl ran their tasks or donated marks).

Further down the line, this could become competitive, but not in a GvG style, more of a SvS, with players contributing to their favorite syndicate in the process of rebuilding. Then, based on how many relays a syndicate has built, players of working with them would get an incremental % to their standings from missions and or additional cosmetics in the offerings (like a syandana in line with the relays' theme or something).

I'd add more relays on the map, a faster invasion cycle and the 3rd - the infested - faction to invade. Regarding the latter, a planet with an infested-overrun relay would have it converted into an exterminate+assassinate+sabotage mission chain and during the infestation, everything on the planet would become Infested faction. The infestation's progress would be dictated by the amount of time its invasion missions take to complete (the slower one is removed, the more % is added towards the next infestation outbreak).

Granted, I would love to actually see levels designed around the armada/rebuilding theme instead of the standard ones, but that's already both daydreaming and off-topic 😄