Elite mode in SP

[Amarra]

This is probably a silly question, but I have to ask. Is there any way I can confirm that a particular SP character is elite?

I started an elite SP character yesterday but so far I haven't noticed any difference at all compared to normal mode. I'm concerned that I accidently hit the wrong option at character creation, or ran into a character creation bug or something. I'd like to know if there's a way for me to double-check that the character is actually elite.

[kawgel]

Check your attributes screen, to the right of your characters name there should be a symbol.

[Amarra]

Thanks for the reply.

But are you certain that works in SP? I've just created several test characters, some with the elite option selected and some without. None of them, elite or not, have a symbol near the name on the stats page. I'm wondering the symbol might be an MP-only thing.

Just to show what I mean, this is a SP test character I created where I'm sure the elite option was selected: http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/7409/elitelw5.jpg

I don't see a symbol there, or am I looking in the wrong place?

[cecilofs]

You have to be a subscriber to be able to play in Elite mode. In SP the button is there but it won't do anything unless you subscribe.

[Spearthrower]

Cecilofs, you are mistaken. Elite mode was opened to non-subscribers pretty much on day 1 of release.

The actual problem is that there IS NO ELITE MODE for SP!!

At character creation, it appears that you have selected Elite mode.... but your character actually is in normal mode. The only way to play Elite is to play MP!! :S

It sucks big time.... I can't believe that these guys don't remember the masses of pure SPers that supported their previous offerings.

From all the information I can find (of course I am not allowed onto the official site thanks to having an Asian game - 2nd class citizen you see) - there's no plan to even add this option for SPers.

Sorry Amarra.... if you can post on the official forums, please also register my serious complaint at this! :(

[Hannibal]

I havn't finished the game in SP yet so can't test. But I heard that there is a SP patch that allows elite in SP, is that correct?

[Spearthrower]

Hannibal - see my above post... the bit in big, bold letters that is underlined. ;)

I've tried it - it doesn't work. Any character made in SP is normal.

[Hannibal]

Hannibal - see my above post... the bit in big, bold letters that is underlined. ;)


I got that. But I was wondering if you tried it with the old patch or the latest patch. You never know. :D

[Amarra]

That's terrible. I can only hope they fix SP elite with a patch in the future. And even then, if I have to start over again just to create an elite character I'd be pretty upset.

I guess it's better than nothing. At least Flagship is trying.

Thanks for the information, Spearthrower.

[DeadPL]

I see a diference @elite SP I have more enemies,and better drop.

[Spearthrower]

Ok DeadPL - go into your SP game, press K to bring up your character and take a screenshot.... this will show us that you have the Elite marker next to your characters name.

[Amarra]

Is your belief that there's a bug based on the elite marker only? That could be just a display bug, not a problem with the entire SP elite mode.

[DeadPL]

No I don't have elite marker but I feel a diference in game... strange :|

PS. Don't have last 1.5 patch.

[Spearthrower]

Is your belief that there's a bug based on the elite marker only? That could be just a display bug, not a problem with the entire SP elite mode.

It's not a belief, it is tested.

How about trying it this way then.

With your SP Elite character, go and purposefully die.

What are the options you have to respawn?

Elite options are different than standard gameplay options.


Further, my own actual play testing does not compute with what people have said of Elite. I have heard of many people dying prior to level 5 in Elite.... with my patched version with Elite ostensibly "on" (i.e. it appears to be on in Character creation) there are no more monsters than before, I level at the same speed and nothing hits harder or has more HP's.... it's practically impossible to die before level 5 if you aren't either completely new to the game or trying to juggle flaming pigs simultaneously..... ok I didn't test that last one! :p

[Amarra]

Thank you for the information, but as an SP player myself, I kind of have to hope elite actually does work.

It's not a belief, it is tested.

How about trying it this way then.

With your SP Elite character, go and purposefully die.

What are the options you have to respawn?

Elite options are different than standard gameplay options.


These are edge cases. Given that SP uses a different executable than MP, it is possible that the core gameplay elements of the SP code were properly updated for elite, while the subroutines called upon death and profile views were not.

That's a stretch, but I have to hope.

[Spearthrower]

Well... if that's the case Amarra, they also forgot to include more monsters, harder hitting monsters, increased monster HP, more bosses.... etc etc!! :D

Sorry to burst the bubble, but you can see for yourself. :)

Sit down and assess your play - play a class you know well to level 5 with the Elite mode off.... then play the same class with Elite mode on. Count the number of bosses, see how many large packs you run into with each etc.

When you weigh up the fact that your character has no Elite symbol, you have standard options when you die, there are no obvious gameplay changes... you have to accept it!

You said it yourself in your first post - you cant see the difference between standard and "elite". If you read what MP elite players have been saying.... it's really bloody difficult on Elite mode... as in, you'd notice it immediately.... it would be in your face-kind of obvious.... not a subtle shifting between black and very very dark grey!

Then, rather than trying to persuade yourself that everything's ok.... you could take action by posing questions to FSS on the official forums about when it will be fixed for SPers. Only by constant, courteous pressure can we hope to change things.

[Amarra]

Well... if that's the case Amarra, they also forgot to include more monsters, harder hitting monsters, increased monster HP, more bosses.... etc etc!! :D


I think DeadPL would disagree based on his post.


You said it yourself in your first post - you cant see the difference between standard and "elite". If you read what MP elite players have been saying.... it's really bloody difficult on Elite mode... as in, you'd notice it immediately.... it would be in your face-kind of obvious.... not a subtle shifting between black and very very dark grey!


It's true that I hadn't when I made my first post. While I'm still a little concerned that something might be going wrong, I notice differences now. For instance, I often run into groups of legendary monsters and several rares all hanging around together. I never saw them grouped like that in non-elite. While I'm concerned that this could just be a coincidence, the lack of an elite icon doesn't convince me that elite isn't working.

When you weigh up the fact that your character has no Elite symbol, you have standard options when you die, there are no obvious gameplay changes... you have to accept it!

Not really. Flagship hasn't been that great for explaining how the game is supposed to work (see the vague skill descriptions, for instance). The death behaviour could be intentional and they didn't tell us.

I realize how unlikely that is! But still, the points above make me doubt a little.


I'm not trying to prove you wrong, by the way. I'm just saying that I don't see conclusive proof that SP elite is broken. (Nor is there proof that it's working.)

[Ave]

As far as im aware there is currently no elite mode for SP. And as someone said an easy way to tell would be to die and see the respawn options it gives you, this is an integral part of elite mode (it forces you to put portals down before every zone or risk travelling from station to where you died last)

Also the belief that getting more legendaries means your in elite is totally flawed as the drop rates of items, legendary or otherwise, is identical to normal mode, its just you meet more rare and boss monsters in Elite, thus get MORE not better drops for the equivalent level.

[Spearthrower]

It seems Amarra that you just want to hear what you want to hear! :D

I don't really mind if you want to believe it's working as you wish, but you asked for a definitive answer and I've given you them.

I have heard it's not working from second hand sources from FSS official site. As in, a moderator said something along the lines of "if you want to play Elite SP, then just go online and ignore everyone!".... yes.... that's what I heard!

I have personally attempted to corroborate that information.

I can testify that Elite mode certainly didn't work for me when I patched up my SP client.

I have listed countless ways you can amass circumstantial evidence. Yes, they are purely circumstantial, but if you want to disregard that amount of circumstantial evidence, then really, you are supporting far more tenuous evidence.

Clearly, I can't convince you, so you are welcome to your beliefs! ;)

If you want some other people's insights, post up asking for some clear ideas from players who play Elite mode - how many extra monsters they see, how much harder they hit, how much more life they have than normal etc. Ask them for direct comparisons.

For me the really telling thing is reading people's Elite character logs. So many HC Elite characters are getting killed prior to level 10. I've read people crying about being killed by Zombies :P. Some people have lots countless HCE characters. From my perspective, on normal mode it is really considerably difficult to die early in the game. From what I have read of Elite, it is much tougher - monsters hit noticeably harder, there are a really noticeable amount more legendary packs of monsters.... not just the occasional one here and there.

Anyway, as it's SP, if you are happy that your SP client is tough enough to warrant considering it Elite mode, then I'm happy that you are getting your enjoyment.

For me, it is nowhere near as tough as I would expect from Elite mode given the write-ups I've seen on it, so I am going to continue trying everything I can to get Elite mode added for SP.

[Amarra]

It seems Amarra that you just want to hear what you want to hear! :D

I don't really mind if you want to believe it's working as you wish, but you asked for a definitive answer and I've given you them.

Oh, I never said I don't believe you. I'm very worried that you're right. In fact, I actually did stop playing as soon as I read your first post in the thread so that my work isn't wasted on a character that might not really be elite.

The point of my posts is that so far, I have not seen this "definitive" evidence. You said SP elite doesn't work because it doesn't add more and harder monsters. Yet when DeadPL claimed to have seen more monsters and better loot, you said SP elite doesn't work because there's no special icon on the character sheet. You seem to be flipping to whichever evidence is most convenient for the circumstance.

The doubt is enough for me to take this seriously, though.

I have heard it's not working from second hand sources from FSS official site. As in, a moderator said something along the lines of "if you want to play Elite SP, then just go online and ignore everyone!".... yes.... that's what I heard!

I absolutely agree that it's a silly argument to make, since not everyone has broadband and not everyone wants their enjoyment of the game dependent on the server's stability. But you said it yourself, "second hand sources".


I have personally attempted to corroborate that information.

I can testify that Elite mode certainly didn't work for me when I patched up my SP client.

I have listed countless ways you can amass circumstantial evidence. Yes, they are purely circumstantial, but if you want to disregard that amount of circumstantial evidence, then really, you are supporting far more tenuous evidence.


Yes, but if you're accepting circumstantial evidence, you have to accept circumstantial evidence for the other side of the argument as well. DeadPL said he saw more enemies and better drops. I said I saw more legenary and rare monsters.


If you want some other people's insights, post up asking for some clear ideas from players who play Elite mode - how many extra monsters they see, how much harder they hit, how much more life they have than normal etc. Ask them for direct comparisons.

For me the really telling thing is reading people's Elite character logs. So many HC Elite characters are getting killed prior to level 10. I've read people crying about being killed by Zombies :P. Some people have lots countless HCE characters. From my perspective, on normal mode it is really considerably difficult to die early in the game. From what I have read of Elite, it is much tougher - monsters hit noticeably harder, there are a really noticeable amount more legendary packs of monsters.... not just the occasional one here and there.


Yeah, I haven't seen any of this, but if anyone has played MP elite and SP elite and can directly compare them, that's the best evidence I can think of.

Being a non-MP person myself I can't it myself.

Anyway, as it's SP, if you are happy that your SP client is tough enough to warrant considering it Elite mode, then I'm happy that you are getting your enjoyment.

For me, it is nowhere near as tough as I would expect from Elite mode given the write-ups I've seen on it, so I am going to continue trying everything I can to get Elite mode added for SP.

Assuming you're correct that it's not currently working, I too really hope it does get fixed.


All that said, I intend to stop debating this point because it's gotten silly. Circumstantial evidence or not, we both wanted SP elite to work. I feel it's uncertain whether it truly is broken, but if it is, I'd love to do whatever I can to help get it fixed.

[Spearthrower]

I can agree there - I definitely *want* it to work.... unfortunately, DeadPL is the only person I have heard that thinks it is working.... all other SPers are as yourself, not convinced that it's working and then come to look for answers.

I was in the same boat just a few days ago. I've started trying to find out all information I can regarding SP and the different patches/retail versions available.

Everyone who can log into the official forums says they've seen it mentioned there before, really it is only the word of DeadPL against quite a lot of others..... so I'd like to hear back from DeadPL again, because the short statement he made could be entirely subjective.