Aura_Familia

Originally Posted by Leo_G

I think you sorely underestimate the tenacity of new players.

I know *I* didn't get discouraged when I died over and over in the Hollows way back when...and in my perspective, the Hollows was *mandatory* then too.

Originally Posted by Ice_Wall

The Simple Solution: If they are going to be the squishiest Melee AT, they should be the most damaging Melee AT, not just on average going by AS, but every hit. Blow for blow they should be doing more damage than Scrappers and Brutes.

IMO it should be like this:

Tanks = Most Durable (4) - Least Damaging (1)
Brutes = Little less Durable (3) - A bit more damaging (2)
Scrappers = Even less Durable (2) - Good damage (3)
Stalkers = Least Durable (1) - Most Damage (4)

Since Stalkers suck defensively, then their new motto should be "The best Defense is a good Offense." They should be made to do blaster Level Damage, or even a little more since they seem to be nearly as squishy.

Originally Posted by Atomic_Woman

However, new players are not FORCED to play Stalkers as their first characters, and this ambush situation only applies to them (outside of reports of people getting 'triple ambushes' all at once, which I would consider/suspect to be bugs). If they choose any other AT then the fact that ambushes see through stealth is pretty much moot.

So it's an issue, but it's not as large as one as you may think.

Originally Posted by EvilGeko

No offense, but that's a cop-out. I'm arguing the point. And again, I wasn't responding to you. Just because I refuse to accept that the game should be easier doesn't mean I don't consider your point. I don't find what you find fun. You aren't considering MY point. You ignore it.

I believe that the game should have a baseline difficulty that is higher than what you would set it at. You disagree. That's OK, people can disagree.

Originally Posted by UberGuy

I don't actually agree. Well, I guess I don't disagree, but I think there's more to it.

On what I'll dangerously refer to as a "well-balanced team", the stats of even-level, non-AV foes make them trivial to disable and destroy for level 50 characters. Layered combinations of debuffs, controls and applied damage (which can be buffed) can cripple them to a radical extent, and ally buffs can mean the NPCs are rendered nigh-impotent against the players. The devs could reply by giving the NPCs lots of resistance to effects and buffing their stats, but increasing their level does this implicitly. I agree that there are probably some undesirable side effects of this, such as the rapid "roll-off" of the effectiveness of Mastermind pets, but the general approach has some value.

Fundamentally, +0 NPCs who aren't at least AVs just aren't that challenging to a player character team with a good mix of buffs, debuffs, controls and DPS, almost without regard to what powers the NPCs have. To have much of a chance, the foes need higher stats.

I think the core question is what is the assumption about a player team? If we assume the team has this well-balanced mix of capabilities and we want to ensure they face some higher level of challenge, then adding levels to their foes makes some sense.

It seems to me that some of the angst here is really about that team composition assumption. If a team that's not well-balanced comes along, they're going to have a potentially much harder time of it. Who's the baseline? Pretty clearly, the devs seem to be aiming for a high water mark on the performance scale. (Despite this, some players are still mowing their way through the Apex and Tin Mage TFs.) Also pretty clearly, setting the bar high in that way is not popular with everyone. Is that a problem? I don't know. I know I generally like what they're doing, because I'm in the high-performing group of players.

Originally Posted by EvilGeko

I've said it more times than I can count. Adding more NPCs and upping their levels doesn't make the encounter more interesting. Yes, it makes it 'harder' but not in a good way. Not in a way that is memorable.

Originally Posted by graystar_blaster

Some of the responses i find funny. I clearly agree this is not a real life situation. Im refering to a game version. No we dont have an increase in sos cause they are set by the devs this is really a market conversation starter.

And i also agree inflation in game is 10,000%

but what im suggesting is that inflation is now about 100% a year or more.


Yes some things like salvage which are you can farm/use tickets to buy etc... are cheaper.

However some things like purples are 500 mill and 2 years ago they were 100% less and in some cases even cheaper


Im not saying its game breaking im not complaining im just asking if wveryone thinks that the inflation is hyper or over hyped.

Its certainly a lot.

2 billion and you were rich in 2009 but in 2011 2 billion means u can buy one purple set. There has been a change im just wondering if anyone thinks its game changing.


No is a perfectly fine answere but so is yes


id like to hear what people think and what they have experienced

Originally Posted by Arilou

What rules? They deal a new damage type. It's no differen than invuln having a psi-hole, onlyit applies to all tankers. (and not just tankers) and thus require some different tinkering.

BM *isn't* a brute force thing precisley becuase of the mechanics (she has a very good DOT patch that forces you to move around) yes, in a sense it's a brute force thing in that it requires you to get her HP down to zero, but then again, this IS a superhero game, where ultimately, everything comes down to punching

One of the things I've always liked with COH is the wide variety of powers and tricks enemies throw at you. The DEV's seem set on expanding that.

EDIT: And oh, what exactly would you consider NOT to be a brute-force encounter?

Originally Posted by Leandro

Assuming those numbers are final and they will go live as is, my reaction would be to never buy a Notice of the Well using the conversion recipe. I have the money and I have the shards, but I just perceive it to be too expensive. I'd prefer it if there were different alternatives in order to suit different playstyles, such as:

- 4 uncommons + 40 shards (for those who don't want to spend inf)
- 4 uncommons + 200 million inf (for those who don't mind the market)
- 4 uncommons + 200 merits (for those who get merits out of arcs)
- 4 uncommons + 100 merits + 100 million inf (combination of above two)
- 4 uncommons + 10 alignment merits (spend two weeks grinding tips for it)

Originally Posted by EvilGeko

It only take 88 for the people who refuse to do a TF or raid ever. If you're willing to do even a Mothership Raid, you can earn a few shards + enough Vanguard Merits to buy Grai Matters. Even if you don't need that component, you can break it down into more shards. If you're on a server that raids Hami, that's almost a guaranteed 7-10 shards for a very limited group commitment.

Then of course, you can cut this whole thing out, by simply waiting until there is a TF that you like and doing that. I think anyone who buys a Notice from shards alone is mad. IMO, that cost represents Positron and Co. evaluation that the reticence to grouping is unreasonable. And it is. Last night I was on a Kahn and there was a player who had connection problems and it appeared kid problems as well. This mythical casual gamer that you all want to protect so much. Well, the group was quite understanding and we even had her/him sit at the door last mission so he/she wouldn't DC during the final mission. The player was an empath and we could have used the buffs, but everyone decided that the player getting their Notice was more important and we didn't want her/him to take the risk of losing out.

Pure soloers have their path and it is punitively expensive. But there is an alternative that is so much easier in comparison that I have no sympathy.

Originally Posted by PRAF68_EU

The rewards for the BAF may be a bit unpredicatable, since it has been stated that they will be based around a "player contribution system" and they can produce weird outcomes.

Originally Posted by Emberly

Seems to me the inf cost could be doubled, given how easy it is to make inf in the game. Shard cost seems fine, maybe a tiny bit low, but whatever. Now soloers have what they wanted, so there ought to be no more complaints, right? Right?

Originally Posted by Chaos Creator

He uploaded his spreadsheets once. The things steelclaw enjoys many people would consider unbelievably boring.

Originally Posted by EU_Damz

It unlocks the judgement slot . . . . . . . what? i could be right!

Originally Posted by reiella

A fair point, however, something I would like to contest. The I20 Incarnate Trials also supposedly provide a method to obtain the Notice, that isn't time-gated. They might make a better immediate comparison. WSF method is still very relevant though, as it may turn out to be easier than the Incarnate Trials, and then become the de facto primary method.

Also, I kind of like that the combine up isn't time gated, in theory it may actually consume more Inf out of the system, but given the Shard #, I doubt it. Personally, I'd like to see the hard salvage count [not including the uncommon salvage and all that] get closer to maybe 20 or 30 instead of 40, just for progression consistency. It's really "weird" that the Notice -> Well takes 32, while Uncommon -> Notice takes 40. But that'll be what beta is for testing.

Originally Posted by BrandX

Well remember, in i20, shards will be dropped for enemies under level 50.

Also, for that 100million, I'm not saying it can be made in a day, I however can make a few million if I remember to sell the things I find.

Also, if you're going completely solo, as you're hunting for shards, you're making money.

So the test is, I would think, how much influence are you getting by the time you get the needed shards?

Originally Posted by EvilGeko

You can make 100 million in 2-4 days of casual play running tips.

Originally Posted by Eva Destruction

What do you mean "other MMOs?" This one has done it. Weakened Hamidon, Battle Maiden, the battle at the Kings Row stairs, Mr. I Am NICTUS, Recluse in the STF...they are all scripted encounters and none of them require the AV to have a million billion HP to make them "interesting."

Originally Posted by EvilGeko

Untrue. There are plenty of scripted encounters where you have to do X, Y, and Z and then the encounter turns into your standard tank and spank. Like Reischman.

Originally Posted by EvilGeko

It's not a sack of HP. Reischman is a scripted encounter on either side. AV Adds at specific HP totals + need to use the temp power for heroes. Adds + AT specific temp powers for villains IIRC (haven't done Cuda in awhile).

A sack of HP is literally a big AV with big damage that you have to beat down and nothing else is going on. We haven't had a TF like that in awhile.