Cavatina

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Has the game just become the City of Wallflowers?

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I hope so, because then I'll have a lot of company.


(Wait, does that make sense?)

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Its always been the city of wallflowers, least on Infinity. Before AE you could see seven people in broadcast at once looking for team and if you suggested they form one you'd get zero response.

Hell, go to Atlas and it STILL IS. 9/10 people wont even lead an AE farm themselves, they'll spam that theyre lft in the hope someone will pity them and take them on a farm.

Not to say I'm the worlds biggest fan of leading morons, but I have little problem with creating my own tf/sf teams and forming them outta people from my globals.

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In my own opinion, AE was the worst thing that could have been done.... Noone seems to want to do anything else but play AE missions. I can't get a TF or a regular mission team for anything. And now with issue 16 allowing people to solo missions (including AE missions) set for a full 8 man team...there will be people not wanting to even form a team.. Before AE, there was mission team, farm teams, TF teams, etc.... The farms was good only b/c of the drops. AE doesn't even give you that.... and b/c noone is playing a regular non-AE mission anymore, drops are scarce and the price of them are outragious. So it even affects the market.

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Hint: Find a social group, join an SG, or a global channel. people still run teams and TF. They just dont do it outta broadcast where they risk picking up near-worthless pug players who insists on yelling in broadcast rather than being proactive.

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MA obliterated the south part of Missouri.

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well that explains how us Central missourians have a lot more free space/

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another method is to join your server's badging channels. people usually organize hami/mothership raids and TF runs a lot out of those. Or find a good casual SG. all of this you can do by visiting your friendly server forum to find the info.

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I'm not saying any of those are bad ideas, but I'm just talking about missions.

I've joined 2 SGs, following suggestions here, and found myself to be more active than they are. Back to the drawing board...

Anyhoo, I propose an exercise. Start a new character on another server, not using your existing support groups to find teams, etc. Just to see how it is for a new player.

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Um..well, theres one problem with that for me.

see. I've been around MMos long enough that were I for some reason to start a new one, I'd quickly seek out a support network.

as for your SG problems, this is why you should read forums or ask for recommendations. a lot of the SGs that recruit in AP broadcast are fly by night affairs that wont last the week.

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It's like a catch-22 for me.

I go to the zones I'm interested in and ask if anyone wants to group I hear crickets.

I attempt to solo the stuff, which isn't enjoyable to me (my own opinion I know others love soloing).

I go to AP, say "lvl X Y LFT" and immediately get an invite and/or whispers.

I recently reached Cimerora and loved the build up of something sinister in the area as I talked to its citizens. Then to be unable to find anyone to do the missions sent me me crawling back to AP. I felt like I didn't have a choice.

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Protip: Broadcasting isnt the optimal way to find teammates

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Apparently not outside of AP.

Do you have any suggestions for the other zones?

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Some people have suggested going to AP and broadcasting that you're putting together a team for regular missions or arcs.

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I'll try both of those suggestions thank you.

And the irony is not lost on me about a suggestion to go back to AP.

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another method is to join your server's badging channels. people usually organize hami/mothership raids and TF runs a lot out of those. Or find a good casual SG. all of this you can do by visiting your friendly server forum to find the info.

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It's like a catch-22 for me.

I go to the zones I'm interested in and ask if anyone wants to group I hear crickets.

I attempt to solo the stuff, which isn't enjoyable to me (my own opinion I know others love soloing).

I go to AP, say "lvl X Y LFT" and immediately get an invite and/or whispers.

I recently reached Cimerora and loved the build up of something sinister in the area as I talked to its citizens. Then to be unable to find anyone to do the missions sent me me crawling back to AP. I felt like I didn't have a choice.

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Protip: Broadcasting isnt the optimal way to find teammates

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True some people are tired of hearing others express their dislike for AE but it doesn't mean they should be silenced either just for having an opinion. Most posts similar to this topic seem to ignite a battle. After all this time, I've just begun to post and already the feedback received is so negative.

But you do have a point about the new issue's details. I have always had a love for the game because of it's originality regardless of its age and as an off and on player for several years now, it's easy to see how many people have become frustrated with AE. The dev's have made numerous changes since MA's release which at least shows there may be hope in the future, but the process has just been so extremely slow. So I will try to keep the new updates in mind.

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Its easy to see why, yeah. But imio, that why, is because theres a good potion of the fanbase too lazy to socialize and just wanting exp handed to them on a platter. that portion is either in the AE, or on the forums whining about how the AE killed their pugs.

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They'd have to institute a recall on the box version plugging AE as a sell point.

Also, sure people are abusing the system, and the devs are trying to make it stop, and even though they never will be able to stop it completely, they can continue to try and curtail it.

Leaving it only to 50s, almost no one would use it.

The only thing I can think of is a little marker that comes up next to a lvl 50 chars name that says if they spent most of their time in the AE building, or running dev content.

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I'm not in the mood to read through 8 pages of the same old stuff about why they can't change the AE, but this was right on the front and really bugs me.

It does not matter that they sold a boxed copy called Architect Edition. That box, just like every other MMO box, plainly says "Game experience may change during online play".
The Devs can, will, and do change the game.

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Yeah. But changing it just to appease a small portion of people who think the game has died simply because they cant find radio pugs would be a horrible idea.

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This is an experience I've been having lately.....

I have a dark defender at level 50 that I enjoy playing on occasion. I also enjoy building up my SG base. A couple items I want for the base require the SG healing badge (5,000,000 points of damage). I've logged on the last several days with the intention of finally getting that badge. Since our SG was just almost 99% complete, I figured a couple sessions with a high level team should easily let me hit 100%. I wasn't up for doing a task force and just wanted to get into a basic arc or radio mission team.

Over the last three days, I've moved the counter from almost 99% to 99.5%. Yes, I found some teams, but it was not easy. I'd be in PI and get tells saying "Want to help us fight an AV?" I'd say "sure!", accept the invitation, and see that everyone's in AP. AE missions don't contribute to non AE badges, so I'd tell them that, wish them luck, and quit.

Yes, I could form my own team. Yes, I could get on a task force. The environment within the game has changed pretty drastically though as before, I wouldn't have to manage a team or join a task force, I'd almost always be able to join an existing team. But they are more scarce now. If that's the direction the game is heading, then I'll easily accept that. But there's also nothing wrong with being honest and admitting that it's not an environment I like as much.

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Honestly its better to run the team yourself or play with trusted friends anyhow, imo. Games more fun when you arent putting your debt in the hands of total strangers

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"Fun" is different for everyone. One of the things I like about MMOs is that you meet new people. It's boring if you only play with the same people all the time. Besides, my real-life friends don't play CoH, and debt isn't a concern to me. I rather enjoy PUGs because you never know what to expect. Even when you have a couple people playing badly, I look at the bright side and consider it a challenge to try to compensate for them. Being on an optimized team with the same people can feel like a rut because not much changes. And if you always blaze through missions with little risk of danger, it gets bland pretty quickly.

As for running my own groups.... I do that on occasion. But I'll honestly dislike it if I have to do it all the time. There are many times I'm burned out from work and tired, and want someone else to lead.

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Well, thats your definition of fun, then. My own definition finds that I have an active SG I'm part of, and the game is NEVER boring for me running with the people I consider my online friends.

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You know, a team is up to 8 people with 1 leader. You are telling me that there are so few people now that anyone that wants to play the old way, they have to be the leaders? If i actually want to play the game the way it was made, i have to go and search for the few others hidden on the other corners of the globe? Yes i can do that, but my question is why? Why is it that now, the only people that want to play the other 95% of this game are an underground society? Whatever, if it's gotten to the point that people that just want to PL are calling me lazy, maybe i should just leave this game for good.

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Yes. Global channels are totally an underground society. Thats why theres always at least a good 200 or so people in a lot of the major ones on Infinity server every night.

Get over yourself. if you want teams so bad, get your [censored] out there and make them yourself via pming available people and politely asking, or find a good, active SG.

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This is an experience I've been having lately.....

I have a dark defender at level 50 that I enjoy playing on occasion. I also enjoy building up my SG base. A couple items I want for the base require the SG healing badge (5,000,000 points of damage). I've logged on the last several days with the intention of finally getting that badge. Since our SG was just almost 99% complete, I figured a couple sessions with a high level team should easily let me hit 100%. I wasn't up for doing a task force and just wanted to get into a basic arc or radio mission team.

Over the last three days, I've moved the counter from almost 99% to 99.5%. Yes, I found some teams, but it was not easy. I'd be in PI and get tells saying "Want to help us fight an AV?" I'd say "sure!", accept the invitation, and see that everyone's in AP. AE missions don't contribute to non AE badges, so I'd tell them that, wish them luck, and quit.

Yes, I could form my own team. Yes, I could get on a task force. The environment within the game has changed pretty drastically though as before, I wouldn't have to manage a team or join a task force, I'd almost always be able to join an existing team. But they are more scarce now. If that's the direction the game is heading, then I'll easily accept that. But there's also nothing wrong with being honest and admitting that it's not an environment I like as much.

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Honestly its better to run the team yourself or play with trusted friends anyhow, imo. Games more fun when you arent putting your debt in the hands of total strangers

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Can you guys suggest a server other then freedom (so much lag) or virute (not into RP). Any one that i can get a good standered mission team will make me happy. Also as stated before, AE didnt ruin CoX. I've played awsome story based arcs. I have a few im working on. unfortinally if it gives any reward such as xp, inf, badges, tickets, salvage, ect. It will be farmed if you were in villans around lvl 6 before AE everyone did bank farms. So its not the content but the way it is played. If you want zero farms they will have to turn CoX into a game where you are a blob of goo in a cardboard box, and your objective is to not move for 100,000,000,000,000 years. If you win you get a cookie, oh wait people can farm that too just leave your computer on for a long time. Well i guess there is only one way to fix this. Delete CoX from the world and never try to bring it back.

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Infinity is also a good server to try. Join the Inf Badge Seeker channel, theres usually a LOT of Taskforces being ran out of there or random stuff. everything from the occasional pug, to tfs, to some occasional farms too

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I seldom get involved in the whole MA debate but I had an idea. What if MA put you into an exemped type status no matter what level you were, where you wouldnt earn xp but would earn double influence and prestige as well as the tickets?

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People'd farm it even more for the retardedly easy money generation.

Also it'd kill the whole "alternate levelling route" thing and piss off a bunch of us who arent always farming.

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Fast forward to now: This game is great for me! Nobody cares what I am and what role I`m doing, they just get impressed when I do it well. When I leave, the team doesn't grind to a halt and disband, they smile, wave, and keep going without me. (No matter what I was on!) I don't have to rush to the end of the game to actually play and I can actually find groups for low level stuff. (Which is like, OMG!)


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And THIS is why this game totally rocks.
It's completely true, too. It's one of the main things I love about the game.

The day that they implement gear grinding is the day I walk out and never look back. Fortunately it doesn't seem likely to ever happen here.

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I agree.

Not to say I dont have purples or dont market. But The fact tat its an optional thing here and that the fact that my defenders and controllers dont need a heal power to be valued by a team makes it fun for me instead of a horrific grind.

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So they don't want to generate the salvage and are willing to pay a nice chunk of cash for them ... and this should make me WANT to sell them the salvage at a lower price?! Ummm, what am I Congress now? No thanks, I'll stick to my non-charitable ways...

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This. Generally the people whining about prices are just using it as an excuse to justofy their laziness about IOing out their characters while simultaneously coveting it

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That unless they figure out a way to make rewards on regular mishes not suffer horrifically if they nerf farming again, that the only people using the AE will be the nutcases who advocate AE being absolutely free of any rewards at all?

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Balancing out rewards between MA and the real world isn't as difficult as you seem to think.

There is plenty of middle ground to find between OMG FARMTOPIA and /E RP UNIVERSE.

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Oh please. even roleplayers like me dont want the AE stripped of rewards. >.>

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there's an exception to those "TFs" and that's the other eleventy billion badges you get for doing flashback arcs under whichever challenge you set.

I honestly forgot about those TFs though, ran them a few times, then continued using Ouro as a fancy train.

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Nobody remembers them solely becauyse of their lack of badges and their tendency to be buggy as all hell.

Its ironic nobody cares about it given everyone always demands more content yet nobody cares about this content.

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The newest TF does kind of suck apparently though, so I don't think that's a good metric to really judge pickup groups by.

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Its not very fun, its true. a lot of people dislike running it unless you have a truckload of debuffs to make Reichsman less likely to take 20 minutes to kill. not to mention other than the first map its very generic, re-used maps

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And no badge(s), far as I know, which doesn't help.

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>_> can you name one TF/SF/Trial that doesn't give one?

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all of the Ouroboros ones.

Reichsman gives Column Breaker, though. But NONE of the TFs/SFs offered in Ouroboros reward badges. and reward hilariously low merits, too.

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"Progression raiding" is actually a fairly logical continuation of the leveling process. Instead of giving you increased power through new levels (and better stats and new powers that come with it), progression raiding increases your power through giving you better gear. The advantage is that gear improvements can be handed out in smaller increments than level improvements, so the process can be spread out longer.

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Yes. it also means that for people who enjoy trying things for the lore or for the fun of seeing new things, that theyre FORCED to grind the living hell out of an instance or three they might not enjoy just to get the carrots needed to see the new shiny.

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It doesn't take long to get to 50 if you wanna PL, but if you take your time and enjoy the journey, doing as much content as possible along the way....it takes quite awhile. This is why I think all the AE farming will ruin the game. All these noobs are goona get bored and leave because they think getting to 50 as fast as possible is the point of the game, when in fact the journey to 50 is what this game is all about. Once you get to 50, eventually things do get repetative and boring.

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Uh..one, 50 isnt boring for everyone, and two, one can easily hit 50 in a month without really trying.

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An excellent post that sums up the disparity and shows the weak spots between the 2 ATs. The other thing that I find discouraging for the defender is the soon to be Redeemed Corruptors showing up in Paragon City. Except for a few non-proliferated power sets there simply won't be a reason to play a Defender over a Corruptor (let alone over a Controller).

The majority of the blame lies squarely on inventions. (Don't get me wrong I love the invention system.) Players can now fill in weaknesses (with only a few exceptions) with inventions that Defenders (and teams) were required/desired for during the days of post ED, SO only builds. The converse is not true. There are no IOs that replace the team for the defender.

The defender's role keeps shrinking. When Going Rougue comes out most people will play defenders only for nostalgia unless defenders get a serious overhaul and update. With the possible exceptions of Forcefeilds and Empathy any other buffing AT will be a superior choice both for teaming and soloing.

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Except one thing. a lot of us who play defenders and corruptors p[lay them not because we want to be omghax, but because we find them far more fun than playing "teh best!!!!!!1!1!"

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So in zone...same rules as arena? I'd have to wait 5 minutes between attacking someone in hopes of getting a drop?

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yep.

Good luck.

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Its only worth more than real on a farm.

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Even if accurate, I'm not seeing how that's relevant.

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That unless they figure out a way to make rewards on regular mishes not suffer horrifically if they nerf farming again, that the only people using the AE will be the nutcases who advocate AE being absolutely free of any rewards at all?

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The newest TF does kind of suck apparently though, so I don't think that's a good metric to really judge pickup groups by.

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Its not very fun, its true. a lot of people dislike running it unless you have a truckload of debuffs to make Reichsman less likely to take 20 minutes to kill. not to mention other than the first map its very generic, re-used maps

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Mines soloable. But then, its designed for lowbies so if that turns you off..then oh well. :<

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I have to say "thank you" for the arc because it's the one I tend to go to immediately on new alts I make. It's very easy for any lowbie, not too tedious, and gives good EXP and tickets for gearing up with DOs.

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Really glad to hear that.