Doctor_Gemini

We were talking about moving around servers again last Sunday. I think before there's much point in talking about it we should find out who would be joining us if we were not playing on Liberty every week.

I notice there's not much posting by the people who used to join us pretty regularly in this forum, either, so it seems more like the AE interest cycle is on the low end at the moment. If that's true we may as well stay put. (of course, with as many characters as I have I always like playing different character and server hopping always works for me).

With 125+ characters I play them all, but for sheer awesomeness and feeling truly super it has to be Storm.

My Storm/Ice offender is about the only defender I play regularly, and he is an uber-tank (thanks to Hurricane) calling down the wrath of god on his enemies who are usually too busy flying through the air and picking themselves up off the ground to ever hit back.

My Stormies don't get to unleash their full power often on teams, but when the pancake hits the fan and the team starts dropping like flies, Hurricane, Tornado and Lightning Storm keep my stormie alive and clear out the bad guys long enough for everyone to rez and jump back into it to fight whatever is left.

The game will finally be able to give us pie.

I've been burned out on CoH for the last 3 months or so, but spending the last month in a recently launched MMO has rekindled my CoH interest and reminded me why it's now the longest played game I've ever owned.

1. Travel. Except for the the first 10 minutes of the game, I can get anywhere I need to go quickly. I like having to travel through the environment, it adds to the sense of immersion in the game (which is why I have a hard time playing more than 1 AE arc in any given night), but, I've no desire to spend 5 to 10 minutes getting anywhere. CoH does it just right, a quick trip through the city and you're there. Just like in the comics - you might get a panel or 2 showing your hero traveling through the city, but you don't spend half the book seeing nothing else but.

2. Inspirations. I get a number of consumables that enhance my performance with no cooldown on their use. If I'm fighting something very tough, I can take multiple heals quicker than I get hit, so I don't end up having the effects of the heal taken away before I can even get another attack in.

3. Costumes. Not being forced to look like everyone else and have my look dependent upon what gear I want to use, is a major issue for me. Characters looking the way I want them to look makes me want to play them. In fact, I've deleted some CoH characters because I could never figure out the right look for them.

4. Powersets. You can make an incredible number of completely different playing characters. While a number of powersets play in similar ways, with only different special effects, there are still a huge number of sets that are significantly different from others. On top of that, many secondary powersets can make many primaries play very differently than with another combination. I've 125 characters at the moment, and with the exception of a handful of rerolls, they all feel different. I've never played a game where the various paths you could take within a class made the class feel significantly different from one taking another path.

5. Money. Money flows like water. I don't have to spend time being a marketeer, or farming, to make enough money to buy almost anything I want. I can get tickets running AE story missions, I can get hero merits running tips or the SSA's. and very easily amass a couple hundred million. I IO out my characters at level 7 and replace those IOs every 10 levels or so. Other than buying purples or PVP IOs, the only obstacle to getting what I want has been its availability, which can also be circumvented.

6. Teaming. I play for fun and relaxation. I have no desire to learn the most optimal builds or have to study and memorize the proper strategy for playing a role correctly on a team. In CoH I only have to know what my powers do (which is gained through normal gameplay) and have basic common sense. Being willing to work with the team (as opposed to acting as if one is playing solo and there just happen to be some other heroes in the same mission) is the only major requirement to being a good teammate.

7. Getting Away. I can move faster than the bad guys. If I get in over my head I actually have an option for survival...RUN! Better yet, I've a good chance of being able to get away. In most other games I've played, once you're engaged you're fighting to the death. Nothing is more frustrating in a game than seeing you have no chance and realizing there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. In CoH, I have inspirations and speed.

There is more, but the post is already more than long enough.

As a story arc player, I already get pissed over the things the dev's have done to control PLing in AE. If I have a few hours to play and I feel like running my character that is leveling exclusively in AE I damn well better not run out of the ability to gain xp. That would be the nail in the coffin of my ever using AE again.

Farming is not the problem. Farming is also not the dev's issue. Nearly all of the AE nerfs have been to combat PLing, not farming, which are two entirely different things. The problem is the devs. The devs made the decision, after initially announcing AE was not to be used for farming, to turn a blind eye to it. Despite deciding to unofficially condone farming, the devs refused to make even a simple fix that would allow story players to actually find story arcs. They already have the tools in place to do it, so there is no excuse why they have not done so.

The farmer vs. story crap needs to stop. Farmers did not ruin AE, the devs did. They're the ones that deserve the outrage.

I keep subbing for 2 things. Ability to pay base rent, since my SGs are alts only, and, most importantly, having enough slots for upwards of 125 characters. Otherwise, I'd likely drop my sub as well. I've only 2 50's and am pretty much locked out of running Incarnate content due to my playtimes until the solo path gets made, and there has yet to be much free to VIP non-incarnate content I've enough interest in to keep subscribing to get. Without my sub I'd have 15 or so slots. Considering my sub cost is less than $4 a month (after subtracting the cost of my free PPs), it's a great value compared to the cost of buying all those slots.

Sorry I haven't been keeping up with the club. I've pretty much gotten burned out on CoH and a few weeks away has not recharged my batteries so I'm likely out for another month or two. I always get pulled back in, though (and I'd better since I'm buying another year with the holiday deal), so kick me out and take my arc off the list, I'll rejoin the club when I come back.

Best Lowbie Arc: designed for levels 20 or lower
1) The Blue Devils #468738 by @Flame Kitten
2) Cole in Your Stocking #474611 by @Venture

Congrats Igor. I don't think I've played this one yet. I'll have to check it out when I can stomach the AE again.

Arc Played: #517859: Crime is Art and Art is Crime, by @Twoflower
Character: Col. Liberty, L40 Broadsword/WP Scrapper

Overall: I enjoyed this arc a great deal. Good humor without devolving into immersion-breaking comedy. I was almost laughing too much to fight at Abe Lincoln's lines later in the arc.

I liked the customs, and the bosses seemed well-done power-wise (although it's hard to judge when running them on a nigh-invulnerable character at only 0/x1). Teddy is the only one that actually gave me any real injury, the self-rez made him an especially tough one. Liked it.

There was nothing I disliked in this arc and I've no suggestions or criticisms for you. I give it a Thumbs Up (5-stars).

I'd like to know what exactly has been added to the game that you consider gimmicks.