Ingress

[slimshady2357]

Originally Posted by Miisa

I used to be really bad at them but then I got an app to practice (I use Memoglyph, but there are others) and it helps to learn their names (or make your own up).

My first attempts at glyph hacking were dismal at best, but I downloaded that app and practised last nigh for about an hour on and off. Today I managed to get loads of 3-glyph tests perfect and the 1 4-glyph test I was offered I got as well! Loads of extra swag and 52 points towards my badge.

I did notice that it's pretty random as to how much extra you get. Sometimes you get loads extra and sometimes you get only 1 or 2 items, even when you get all 3 correct and a 66% speed bonus. That's the max speed bonus I seem to be able to get on a 3-glyph test, 66%.

Anyway, just wanted to say again for that app

[Miisa]

Wow, a 700% thanks rate!


Thanks to the glyphing I now stand around streets and squares mumbling to my phone screen - "Hanger. Pointy thing. Little zig-zag. Other pointy thing. Sad face."

[Ensign Steve]

Seriously, though.

We looked for and found something similar on the iPhone and it is great. I am getting way too good at the glyph hacking. I'm sure memorizing this pretend stupid language is an excellent use of my brainpower.

Originally Posted by Miisa

I am now at the point where I recycle all keys I probably won't need (all the London ones, for instance, even of the portals I own )

But! but! You can maintain those remotely if you still have the key! I have three portals up at the bay that are not very convenient to anything, so they're just sitting up there unmolested and jacking up my "max time portal held" stat. I use the keys to keep an eye on them and charge them back up as needed. They were some of my first portals, so they're all cute with their L1 & L2 resonators. So vulnerable, like a wee baby bird that fell out of its nest onto the grass.

I'm up to L4, and bey's at L6. There are a few key locations near our home that we have become very territorial about. Our lucky little dogs are getting more walkies than ever.

[Miisa]

Originally Posted by Ensign Steve

But! but! You can maintain those remotely if you still have the key!

In theory, but at 1800 km away I would have to be a level 8 to have that recharging range, and even then I would likely lose 99% of my xm on the way. With a bit of luck and co-operating smurfs I might reach 8 around the time I plan on visiting London next time, but it is likely at least two months away. The portals will not be mine any more by then, that is pretty clear.

And seriously, I had like a hundred London keys.

[Miisa]

Oh, and I have now learnt the trick of using as many resonators as possible in my portals. You don't get points for upgrading your own resonators, but they do count towards your "resonators deployed"/Builder badge. So I deploy all lvl 1 at first, upgrade 4 of them to lvl 2, then upgrade the same ones to lvl 3, then the remaining lvl 1 resonators to lvl 2, the lvl 3 ones to 4, the 2's to 3's, etc. And it helps you get rid of lots of resonators without practically wasting them via the recycle, thus freeing space while working towards your badge.

[Miisa]

The far-away portals you hope will remain untouched are called "guardians" in English as they help you get your guardian badges. It is very, very difficult not to to get attached to them, even though I have learned to let others go with a shrug. It helps if they don't have all their resonators so they are low-level and people can't link to them and make them stick out on a map.

[Ensign Steve]

Aha! I did not know that the distance made a difference when recharging. This is how I learn! I will keep an eye on that.

I also need to unload some keys just because it takes me forever to flip through them.

[Miisa]

I had to go in to Helsinki to get my daughter some new ballet stuff, so decided to go in early (she could make her own way in by bus later - it's only 50 miles and she'll be, like, 12 soon). Because of the listlessness of our local smurfs I had a huge arsenal and went a little nuts blowing stuff up, and then building it up again and linking it all. Completed two missions and made level 7.

Would have taken me three weeks to get those points locally that I made in three hours, according to agent-stats projections.

[viscousmemories]

So, apparently I won't keep talking to you folks after I make Level 8!

I'm about 315k AP short of Level 9 right now, and about 24 hours ago that number was 750k. I play a LOT. It might even be an illness.

Anomaly next Saturday!

[slimshady2357]

Oh man, I wish I lived in a city!

[beyelzu]

This morning, I woke up 70k short of level 7, I'm now 60k into level seven. ES made level 6. We walked to downtown San Jose and spent a couple of hours around the Science Discovery Museum.

[Qingdai]

Haha! That's right Saturday the 21st is an Anomaly event in Austin. Loads of fun, but do VM, kick Ethan (AKA bettyrumblepant) right in the keister for me. He's a local and drives the NL van. If you can go to a First Saturday event(two hours of play) or a cross faction meet up (random stuff with drinking) or even better an anomaly (four hours of play with drinking afterwards), it's tons of fun, and even better AP.

[Qingdai]

The higher levels of Ingress (8-16) only mean you can recharge a farther distance, and that you can hold more XM in your bar. So might need less cubes, or can use multiple cubes. Really after level 8, it's sort of choose your own adventure. Mega fields, missions, unique captures/hacks. I'm 30k away from my black trekker badge. So excited. Also we tend to have sweet 16 parties here, just because it's fun.

[Miisa]

I am also about 60k into level 7. But the activity here has been so lame that I am starting to leave some portals or resonators uncharged and let them decay just so I can eventually go back and replace them and re-link them together.

Need to go in to Helsinki again, I guess. Contemplating whether to wait for the weekend as planned or go in already tomorrow on my day off.

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by Miisa

Need to go to London again, I guess.

[slimshady2357]

The RES finally woke up and did something yesterday. They brought down nearly every green portal and made some big fields around the town. Strangely, they randomly left some green portals alone, even one or two that were right next to a portal they took down. Also strangely they filled a couple of portals with only L1/L2 resonators.

I was happy to have something to do again beside recharge resonators! Took a bunch back and made a load of links and fields. But I'm still about 50k short of L7. Hopefully I can get that in the next 2 days, still loads of blue to take down.

Oh and I've got my bronze glyph badge now and I'm on my way to silver.

[Miisa]

I have noticed that they sometimes will leave a high-level portal here or there out of compassion for other seasoned players (or the opposing team), as they know how precious high-level farms are to the locals.

It's too damn cold to glyph outdoors, so I mostly do it from my farm portal I can usually reach from the kitchen.

[Miisa]

I found one benefit besides the longer recharge range and xm potential to go past level 8; level 9 agents and up can submit new missions.

[viscousmemories]

I made Level 9 today!

Originally Posted by Qingdai

Loads of fun, but do VM, kick Ethan (AKA bettyrumblepant) right in the keister for me.

I would but I'll be playing in the Atlanta region, where I live.

[slimshady2357]

Went out this morning before golf and did some damage. I am now L7 It was quite enjoyable watching some L7 XMP's do their thing

Seems like forever until L8, but I've thought that a few times now and it gets there quicker than you think

Also, it seems like the area is waking up now, there are more people active from both sides again. Two weeks ago it was basically me against 1 L7 smurf. Now there are 2 more ENL helping out and I think there are at least 4 RES people active now.

One guy is called SpartanSmurf, he just took back 3 portals that I had taken this morning. He sent me a comms message right after that said: "THIS IS SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAARTAAAAAAAAAA!"

Nice to see he's enjoying it anyway

[Miisa]

O.M.G. I want some of these so bad I am actually salivating.

[viscousmemories]

As much as it hurts me to do, I have to stop fighting frogs in my neighborhood and start stockpiling gear for the anomaly on Saturday. Come Monday though, all bets are off!

[Miisa]

I have had to start recycling xm bursters as well as the bigger resonators as I am out of space and don't get a chance to use them these days. Must make an effort to go in to town to give the smurfs a taste of my arsenal, my inventory should be emptier after that.

On the other hand, all the inactivity means I have had no trouble making my gold guardian badge...

[Ensign Steve]

I lost my guardian after 9 days, just one day shy of getting the second badge.

I did hear tell that I took out an enemy guardian that was over 150 days old. I felt really bad about it, but then less so when I saw that 150 is the last badge you can get anyway. I can't imagine what portal it could have been, though. We've just been tooling around the city, not climbing up mountain peaks or anything. It had to have been pure luck that it lasted more than even 10 days, just like it was random luck that I killed it.

We're going to meet some neighbors at the Egyptian museum tonight and I'm going to get my level 7. I'm only 20k away, so I might even get it before then.

This has actually been a great way to meet our neighbors. We know roughly where everybody lives based on which portals they can hack from inside their houses.

[Miisa]

Yes, some people get surprising guardians, even in a city, as people just assume they are harmless farms (and they are intended and modded as such) and happen to leave them alone. If you put heavy-duty shields on a low-level portal it is usually a dead giveaway it is a guardian. Which is what I foolishly and naively did to mine, just hoping they are remote enough to make it another 9 weeks to platinum.
I still have portals standing in Helsinki centre from last Saturday, even though they keep getting damaged from bursters going on along the tram routes near by and I don't even have the keys (never bothered getting more after linking as I figured they would be destroyed in hours). Someone else is apparently recharging them. If they are still up tomorrow when I go in again I will try to get their keys and patch them up.