Was there some kind of Nerf to affinity and focus?

[(XBOX)Xbeaker]

The 18.5 update just came out on the XBOX.  I ran 3 Extermination missions on Ceres to gain focus and I am only getting a fraction of what I got prior to the update.  Prior to the update I could reliably get about 85 Focus per kill to both my weapon and frame (for reference, I run Ivara with a greater Naramon and Orthos Prime with a greater Zenurik) if I keep a good stealth chain going.  So a run with 100 kills would net me about 8500 each, 17000 total. 

My first run after the update got me ~4K for each lens, picking up 2 Focus boosts along the way.  I thought 'that's odd' did it again, and again got about ~4K each.  I thought maybe the focus boosts were the problem, so I did a run where I purposely avoided them, and only broke my stealth chain twice on 99 kills.  I got 2,220 focus each!  

What is going on?  Am I going to be forced to run Draco to gain focus?  I really enjoyed the solitary exterminates and seeing how long I could keep the stealth kills chained.  Now I guess leaching in endless is the only option?

[(PSN)Magician_NG]

Focus Changes: v 1.1

The following changes are the first in a series of updates designed to make the Focus System more interactive and rewarding for players.  Because these changes will be frequent and gameplay-altering we will be applying a label to any major update made to the Focus System.  Please keep in mind that the nature of these changes is to provide overall improvement to the Focus System, and that we will monitor and make additional changes as necessary.

• Introducing: 'Convergence'! Read on to find how out these Focus-boosting drops work.
• Convergence can now appear in Missions with players that have a Focus Lens equipped:
  • Convergence are unique pickups that last for a short amount of time, and will spawn at a random point in the tileset a short distance away from a player.  A unique icon will direct players to the location of a Focus marker on spawn.
  • Convergence will activate once picked up, and will only affect the player that activated the Booster.
  • Convergence will reward the player a 6x Focus multiplier for 45 seconds.  This time limit will appear as a countdown buff on the player.
  • A 5 seconds remaining notice will play before the Affinity multiplier ends.
  • Convergence will only last for a limited amount of time, and will eventually disappear if not picked up.
  • Convergence will automatically drop if one has not appeared after 3-5 minutes.
  • Focus can now be earned through radial and shared Affinity gains rather than just personal kill Affinity Gains.
  • Convergence pickups work like Mods - there is a unique one for every player to grab! It's not 'first-come, first-serve'.
• The daily Focus cap has been increased from 75k to 100k.

Focus Convergence and Focus Gain changes:

• As per above, Convergence will reward the player a 6x Focus multiplier for 45 seconds.  This time limit will appear as a countdown buff on the player. Here is how the Focus gain percentages work in v 1.1:

• Normal Lens: 1.25% without Convergence
• Normal Lens: 7.5% with Convergence (multiplied by 6)
• Greater Lens: 1.75% without Convergence
• Greater Lens : 10.5% with Convergence (multiplied by 6)

Edited April 7, 2016 by (PS4)Magician_NG

[Blakrana]

Lenses had their base values altered for Convergence's boost.

Regular lens is 1.25%
Greater lens is 1.75%

These are multiplied by 6x during Convergence, giving 7.5% and 10.5% for that period. So, practically speaking, you're spending more time with less than 2% conversion than whole missions you used to get a base 5%, even if it wasn't shared.

There might be some other factors involved, but that'd be something others will be better equipped to elaborate on.

[Kaotyke]

2 minutes ago, Blakrana said:

Lenses had their base values altered for Convergence's boost.

Regular lens is 1.25%
Greater lens is 1.75%

These are multiplied by 6x during Convergence, giving 7.5% and 10.5% for that period. So, practically speaking, you're spending more time with less than 2% conversion than whole missions you used to get a base 5%, even if it wasn't shared.

There might be some other factors involved, but that'd be something others will be better equipped to elaborate on.

Wait untill the Grand Lens come...

[Rakosta_Kai]

"Short distance away" seems to be based on comparative relativity.

They don't spawn a convenient distance away but don't spawn so far away you would say that it was inconvenient.

 

[Blakrana]

3 minutes ago, Padre_Akais said:

"Short distance away" seems to be based on comparative relativity.

They don't spawn a convenient distance away but don't spawn so far away you would say that it was inconvenient.

Once had one spawn 50 meters away by the distance marker. Through a wall where the actual route, when investigated, turned out to be a massive u-turn coupled with some other twists and turns, so right now, distance is being judged 'As the Crow flies' rather than 'literal foot distance to reach it'.

I think at the furthest point just navigating rooms to reach it it hit somewhere around 150m. At least it was enroute but still...a bit of an odd logic at work.

9 minutes ago, Kao-Snake said:

Wait untill the Grand Lens come...

Consistency would say such a thing would be 2% and require 4 Greater Lenses to make. Though that may not be cynical enough...

[(XBOX)Xbeaker]

Ok, I didn't know I was getting 5% prior to the update.  Well, I guess high level endless missions it is.  At least I can gain some focus outside of solo missions.  Hopefully it balances out, as the stealth Ext. seems pointless now unless I want to run it for hours on end.  I enjoyed them a few times a day, but I don't want to make a part time job of it.  

[(XBOX)BULLS 0N PAR4DE]

3 minutes ago, (XB1)Xbeaker said:

Ok, I didn't know I was getting 5% prior to the update.  Well, I guess high level endless missions it is.  At least I can gain some focus outside of solo missions.  Hopefully it balances out, as the stealth Ext. seems pointless now unless I want to run it for hours on end.  I enjoyed them a few times a day, but I don't want to make a part time job of it.  

Youre in for another surprise... Missions like spy sabo and deception not will not spawn endless hordes like it use to. It as well has been altered.

[(XBOX)Xbeaker]

The spawning on those mission types doesn't really affect me.  I run them with a Loki and rarely kill anything at all.  Just a ghost messing up the computers and breaking stuff. :)  Though I could see how you could treat them like an Ext mission and just kill hundreds of unaware enemies before completing the objective and leaving.  

[Yzjdriel]

Focus gain got a straight nerf with the update, yes.  Us PC folks have already gotten over that annoyance (and I don't mean it got fixed.  I mean we just shut up).

Not much we can do about it, but that doesn't make it suck any less.

[(XBOX)Twinna25]

Meanwhile, Mirage with a Synoid simular on Draco can now get 20k focus for four waves without a booster

[enizer]

Yep, I really dont like the convergence mechanic, it heavily incentivises a type of killing spree gameplay, for max efficiency, that I just don't find fun, and the convergence is easily the vast majority of all focus i gain, so, I cant afford to ignore the idiotic killing spree times..

I go to draco for killing sprees, when I decide to add sevral forma to a weapon, and just need it back to 30 asap.

I want the rest of my game to be much more tactical, which the convergence just breaks the flow of.

And if I try to ignore it, it's still a bright yellow reminder of the focus that I'm missing out of.

 

On top of that, it regularly spawns very far away, when I'm still, it regularly spawns up to 50m away, THROUGH WALLS, where the actual distance to fetch it, is MUCH longer.

And when moving, it seems to spawn up to 50m away, from where I was 10-15 seconds ago, which leads to a LOT of backtracking, or me having to decide... nope, it's just too far away now..

Edited April 8, 2016 by enizer