Topic

Focusing Orb is pointless

You need to advance very far in the meditative arts skill set to earn more than 20 xp energy points when meditating. Problem is, by the time you reach there your energy requirements are way higher. Its a waste of time as it is, I believe. Could we get more out of the orb?

Posted 20 months ago by Yaya Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • This thread probably would be best suited in the Ideas Forum, but fwiw, I find the orb quite useful.   Have you tried using it with Bubble Tea?
    Posted 20 months ago by WindBorn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I find it useful as a touch up or emergency reserve. 

    Maybe an advanced form that allows a once a day complete fill up (regardless of your level)?
    Posted 20 months ago by Lord Bacon-o Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @WindBorn: what happens when you use it with Bubble Tea? o.O
    Posted 20 months ago by Dienasty Subscriber! | Permalink
  • You get a buff that ups the amount of mood you earn from using the orb.
    Posted 20 months ago by WindBorn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I personally find the Orb Useful. 
    I mean I'm a low-ish level player and it helps me from time to time - although I wouldn't mind more out of it! ;D

    (1st forum post BTW :D)
    Posted 20 months ago by GravityGrip Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Congrats on the first forum post, GravityGrip ;)

    We'll look into the returns from Meditation — they certainly could be out of whack since it has been a while since we changed them ...
    Posted 20 months ago by stoot barfield Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I am fondly remembering when they were out of whack the other way--focusing energy and mood was so effective I just stopped eating altogether.  Ah, that was nirvana, baby!
    Posted 20 months ago by Nanookie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It is so effective for me that I only have to eat when I am mining or cooking heavily. Plus the radiation skill is perfect for street projects. I get a lot of use out of it.
    Posted 20 months ago by Mistress*of*Fishies Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I definitely notice focusing on energy is no better (usualy worse) than regular meditation.
    Posted 20 months ago by Joe Blow Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I love meditation i think its great since it allows for you to fully fill up your energy/mood once per day. I do wish there were more levels to it/more abilities like a group meditation perhaps?
    Posted 20 months ago by Kev Kliner Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It's quite good for keeping mood at max when exploring or trying new recipes for max XP.
    Posted 20 months ago by Tofu Casserole Subscriber! | Permalink
  • meditation should probably a bit more powerful given the obscene learning time for Meditative Arts III, but as it is meditation certainly isn't "pointless".

    my favourite use for meditation is to meditate while engaged in project actions. refill as you work. needs to be supplemented with food, but helps you get more mileage out of your snackpacks.
    Posted 20 months ago by striatic Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Personally, I find focussed meditation to be pointless at the moment.  It only focusses on one area and gives less energy/mood than regular meditation with MA3 gives.  Since I learned the two very close together, it was wasted time for me.  I can understand however, that if it was learned after MA1, it might be more useful, but I think the skill should scale with MA level then.  As it is, when the concept of unlearning skills was mentioned, Focussed Med was the first skill that came to mind that I would definitely consider giving the boot to.
    Posted 20 months ago by Marebito Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Rather than boot focused, just make focused more effective when someone has MA3.  Or offer FM2 that's better in a single slot than MA3 can get.
    Posted 20 months ago by mirth Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Perhaps its because I am doing exactly what Marebito is saying. I use focused meditation on energy and I usually get 18 energy points out of it. Considering its the same that 2 potatoes give me, I think its a waste of time.
    Posted 20 months ago by Yaya Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I get 40-50 with each use of general meditation.
    Posted 20 months ago by Tingly Claus Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'm not very chatty cause I'm not very coordinated. I work so hard just to navigate or jump that by the time I realize someone has messaged me, it was long ago. I'm not not rude, just busy with the game. but i want other players to feel acknowledged or find out that I am friendly. so I smile, hug and gift a lot. If I don't have anything of value to share, I like to use my orb hoping it helps the other player. at least those who stick around long enough to benefit. I also rely on it when I am out of anything else to raise my mood level.   :) 
    Posted 20 months ago by coolbettycakes Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I used the meditation a lot earlier on when I was just setting out, but it barely seems worth it now. I guess it might get better if I went for MA3, but it would have to be an awfully big improvement to make it worthwhile. 
    Posted 20 months ago by dopiaza Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I agree Mare, focussed med hardly seems worth it. I was monitoring it today during the projects, was giving out between 6 and 16 energy. I also get between 40-50 for general med so I use it mainly when crushing and making things. Seems the higher level you get, the least you need it.
    Posted 20 months ago by tweetypie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I have to say that I believe the focussing orb is pointless - probably because it's a glass sphere with no edges.
    Posted 19 months ago by Bob Apple Subscriber! | Permalink
  • As a general suggestion, I would like to see one's level influence the returns from the meditative arts to help keep it "relevant" at higher levels, energy-wise.  Of course, I'd also like to see Experience Level affect other skills' returns as well (or at least more noticeably).  After all, experience should represent more than just the "grind" factor and rather represent a greater base understanding of the world as a whole.  Even if being of Level N gave one an N% chance of a bonus result on any given skill, that would be a useful application of the concept.
    Posted 19 months ago by Hazmat Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I was just thinking the same thing, Hazmat, and agree with you 110%!
    Posted 19 months ago by Shepherdmoon Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I also agree that it seems focused med seems off. I always assumed that it was basically the same except all those points go into either mood or energy but doesn't seem like it works that way right now.
    I also have doubts about Bubble Tea giving me good effects. I feel like I get booted from mediation EARLIER on Enhanced Bubble Med than without.
    Along those, I wonder about what things kick me out of mediation. I can prove it, but it seemed like I would get distracted if a precious buff caused a boost while meditating, it would end. That does quite feel right.
    There is a slight inconsistency considering you can use meditation WHILE doing work on a Project. (Which I also have a question about... being able to fix tools and eat while working on a project. While super convenient, not sure if it fits with how the rest of the world.)
    Posted 19 months ago by Lord Bacon-o Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I agree with the disproportion of focused energy/mood vs. regular meditation, so much so that I have stopped using them altogether. I don't know if the effect is broken, maladjusted or just not working as intended. I have noticed that the actions of other players around me have booted me out of radiation and that I have to move off from the project in order to get maximum boosts.
    Posted 19 months ago by Mistress*of*Fishies Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It's interesting. My first reaction to the Focusing Orb was literally, Why am I in a game meditating, when I could be spending the time focusing on my real body, healing and finding peace?

    Then I noticed that in some sense, the calming of meditation in-game, did in fact give me some sense of my surroundings, because it slowed me down, made me stand for a bit before gathering returns and otherwise seemed aligned with what I expect from the actual out-of-game experience of meditation.

    This is my viewpoint in this reply.

    I can't speak from personal experience about getting kicked out of meditation on projects, since I've never participated on a project, but I know for sure that I've been hanging around in spots where people jumping in front of me shakes me out of the meditative mood and then I'm stuck with small returns. This happens. But as the skill grows, I would expect less ability for others to shake me from my meditative state. When I was first learning taichi, my instructor used a phrase about standing meditation that equated to, "...and the mountains can fall down around me."  That's what I am looking for as my skill increases -- the ability to be less-shaken by the events around me as I increase my meditation skill.  As the chaos of other people grows around me, so too should my ability to focus and gain clarity for myself.  The bigger the challenges you learn to overcome, the more able to you are to focus in any situation.

    All this as a long way to say, if you are a high-level meditative sort working on a project with a bunch of other people, you should be able to radiate some pretty great healing vibes regardless of what's going on around you.
    Posted 19 months ago by Naoko Subscriber! | Permalink
  • When I'm about to die, I'll drink bubble tea and do focus mediatation. Very handy, I got like 40 energy once. But what I find troublesome are the cooldowns times. I'd like a level that completely abolishes the cooldown.
    Posted 19 months ago by KitkatCat Subscriber! | Permalink
  • My Meditative finds (I have all of the Meditative skills):

    Regular Meditation will give me on average >45 energy/mood without bubble tea, and will give me a consistent average of 50 with bubble tea.  Cool down is very quick.

    Focus Meditation will give me on average 35 energy or mood without bubble tea, and will give me on average 45 with bubble tea.  Cool down takes forever! LOL

    Transcendental will give everyone about a 15-20  and cool down is a long time, but I think this is just fine.

    I think the longer cool down for FM is supposed to reflect the extra effort put into the actual Meditation.  I gather that as meaning that you should be able to gain more energy or mood per FM.  Given that the Devs are still tweaking with quite a bit, I'm expecting to see slight changes yet.  I'm also slightly excited to see if the expanded skill sets, that have yet to come, will include more advanced meditative skills!!! :) *wink, wink, nudge, nudge*
    Posted 19 months ago by RainyRain Subscriber! | Permalink