Elric27

Not to sound like an old fogey remembering war stories, but I remember back in beta that any mission I attemped with ANY AT with any build I could solo. I must be the only scrapper I know who doesn't have stamina or hasten, because I wanted to build a regen scrapper that supposedly didn't need
it.

/sarcasm mode That was obviously a flaw in my thinking, since I should have taken both of those powers by level 20 and then getting the higher level heals and six slotting hasten with recharge enhancments. Oh, wait, I should be able to solo bosses with my scrapper anyway, because we are the uber archetype that can't be stopped. Oh wait, Tankers are actually suppposed to be able to do damage and rely on attack powers? Wow. I'll have to tell that to my non-fire based tanker the next time I see him. Oh yeah, that's right, he's still stuck at level 7 due to my mismanagement of my power selection. Silly me, I should respec him, and then any of my new level 1 guys, and then write or type out my power tree structure before I build the character. Oh, and I need to read the guides the uber power level players put out so that my heroes can effectively team, as my controllers and defenders shouldn't do any mission alone. Oh, and don't forget to take hasten and keep adding those enhancement slots for recharge. Let's see, blaster and defender blast powers actually have a secondary effect? I didn't know that. Maybe I should take one of the fancy colored enhancements that enhance the secondary effect, or even more. Nah, I can't do that. I can't do enough damage unless I 6 slot my attacks with 1 accuracy and 5 damage augments. Wait, the blaster secondary pools actually do something other than acting as an low end immobilize or planting bombs all over the battlfield under cover of an LCD cloaking device. Quick, I need to set up my Al-Qaida assault rifle blaster and take devices to undermine these sneaky Americans and their corporate culture. Roleplaying? We can roleplay in this game? That was what I missed in the MMORPG description. Cool! Does that mean if I type out a description and plot hook for my character, I should get some type of reward. And you can contact GMs to solve problems? I must have encountered the wrong GM then, because all I ever received for the 30+ petitions I sent on various issues was a nice message about the GMs thanking me for my input, and all of the nice rewards and benefits Issue 2 had made for me. That must have been a typing mistake on my part. Oh, and I'm not supposed to build up debt from Tsoo minions, correct? My tactics and playing style must be to blame. Cool./end sarcasm

So, if I'm not supposed to solo play, I should team all of the time right? Hmm, EQ 2 looks better and better all of the time. At least there I can team with groups of 50 people and generate money from the guilds as our teammates work together. Supergroups? Other than having a group of people to team or gain influence with if they are not busy with life, how does a supergroup benefit me?

Oh well, D&D online will be out in the second part of 2005.

One-shots also happen to supposedly solo possible types as well. I have a level 33 MA/Regen scrapper who has been killed four times by one-shot bosses. Two fixes I would recommend


One, you need to really look at the activation areas for powers on the screen. I have clicked several times on a healing or regen power, or toggles, etc., only to not have the power activate at all. Binding keys for the other powers leads to confusion or constant changing of the keyboard, and I deal with that enough at work. That has been the biggest pain in dealing with the new boss changes.

Two, lowering the damage output the bosses makes much more sense. Bosses with increased HPs are not as dangerous, and it allows low health types the ability to hold or restrain/debuff bosses and AVs. A level 43 defender, in order to defeat Nemesis, had to recruit my main to defeat him, as he could not do enough damage to him to lower his health by an appreciable amount.

I believe that any mission should be soloable, Arch-Villain, boss, named lieutenant whatever. One of the most interesting parts of comics revolves around the stories of those heroes who defeat villains by themselves, not with a group of 10 to 50 heroes. Would Wolverine seem as fearsome if he constantly had to ask the X-men for help to fight SabreTooth? No. Does Batman ask the Justice League for a hand in taking on the Joker or the Riddler? No. Do you ever see the Punisher asking a SWAT team to help him eliminate a crime boss? No. Like many others on this board, the main feature that drew me to COH was the ability of players to solo missions. Games like EQ and SWG turned me off due to their heavy focus on 30 to 50 players being required to complete higher end quests. I would hate to see COH go the same way.

The amount of issues that many of the other players have posted with higher level ATs then mine doesn't ease my fears.
I have a level 23 blaster who I have not touched since July due to the insane effectivness of mez and hold equipped minions in every mission. Tsoo Ink Men particulary are unbalanced. Now that the free respec has been offered, I may go back and start using him again. Please take some time to consinder these changes.