oh well since my thread was locked <mutter> will post what i said in it here..
Now i speak from a casual players point of view. As well as a bit of a PLer's point of view.
Ive been playing since two weeks after CoH's release, and i played as a fire/rad controller. Back then, PLing wasnt too popular as a good large chunk of the player base (as well as the first wave of 50's) did the missions, story-arcs, and the grind in general to get to lvl50 and reach the end point of the game.
While i my self enjoyed doing most of the missions, tfs, story arcs and so forth. Like any mmo anyones played for a long time, the grind does eventually get old. There comes a point where, you have done the same missions atleast half a dozen times already or more. This is especially the case if your an alt-aholic like my self, where youve returned the Jewel of Hera for the 20th time! (shes always losing her jewels... -_-)
Its just simply not fun...
I realise efforts were made in previous issues to fix this problem, giving lowbie missions and missions youve already done, a make over in appearance. But big deal, so the CoT hired a home decorator and got their cave all spiffied out, its still that same old jewel of hera.
Ontop of that, after reaching lvl50, collecting my badges etc, clearing out all my high level missions, I find my self often thinking, boy i wish i was this AT, or picked this powerset, or wish i could see how powerful this build for a different AT would be. Then i stop and look at all the grinding, the missions ive already done half a dozen times, the TF's id have to sit through for hours upon hours, etc, in order to get to where my main is. And i ask my self, do i really want to spend 3-5+ months getting to this point again? Would it even be worth it in the end, would that character be as wonderful as i think it will be?
In my opinion, i feel this is the reason PLing started in the first place, but should a person be punished for pling? I dont feel they should.
On the flip side, as i stated above, im an alt-aholic, and i love making concept characters, for rping or otherwise. PLers have never truely bothered me, not because i do it my self, but simply because they dont effect my characters in any way shape or form. They may brag about how they reached lvl50 in 5 days, but big deal? until they start pesturing me about how Uber l33t they are, i dont care, and at that point, id simply put them on the ignore list, problem solved.
Thankfully not all PLers are like that, ive actually come to meet quite a few great and friendly people that pl. Yet based on most of the posts within the origin xp change thread, PL'ers are hated and looked upon with distaste by the casual players.
Now as far as these up-coming changes are concerned, i think they are a bad idea all together. Like some already stated, it hinders the casual players more than it helps. And in turn, it also promotes more PLing. Now Statesman, if you intend to put an end to PLing, or lessen it to any variable degree, this change is not the answer.
Instead, i propose a few ideas.
For one, new missions for lvls1-50. NO, not "better looking" missions, not an extra torch on the wall here and there. But completely new and fresh missions players have never done before. This will effect your game in three ways. Firstly and most importantly, it will encourage higher levels to do the grind completely, from lvl1-50 because there will be new and refreshing missions they havent already done 20 times already. Striga Isle was a step in the right direction, quite a few 50's hopped onto alts and did the missions/tf's there and enjoyed it quite a bit, right along with the casual players. 2: more missions would add to your overall content, more content as good, who disagree's? and 3: everyone would love new and refreshing missions. Please RESCUE US from having to save Hera's Jewel a 20th time....
Another idea, is to give players the option, once they have reached lvl50, to create a character and auto level it up to a specific point in the game. I feel lvl32 is an appropriate point, for one its when you get your very last primary power, your character starts coming into their own, and you realise your true potential as a super hero. Now i know someone is just waiting to ask, "How would this be a good thing? Now instead of plers all hanging out in PI theyll be in every zone from brickstown and up!"
Well id like to counter that question with, "How is it worse than a lvl1-3 in PI begging to get PLed while they sit near ghost falcon or the ferry?" Better yet, "How is it a bad thing that now lvl50's will group with casual players with their alts because they dont have to do most of the grind. How is it bad that theyll group with you now, instead of heading to PI and getting PLed from 1-50 by their friends and SG mates?
-edit-
And before i posted this i only read the first few pages so if any of this was already said then sorry hehe ^_^
