Gaspard

I have read this thread till now and judging by your posts you have been some sort of a -rep magnet? Oh dear.

But yeah, more seriously. While it's obvious that everything devs do will not excite everyone.

However I agree with unsub, we are talking about this particular issue anyway. Issue 16, which added "power" customization, some profileration and revamped difficulty switch.
So I try to judge this issue by its merits, ie. what the 16th issue brought. So yeah this is basically how I feel. Maybe others who have expressed their critique agree aswell.

I'm not quite sure about new experiences brought in this issue however. The new difficulty system basically just lets you add more mobs without fillers now. Fighting team (or full) sized mobs isn't anything new, solo, small team or full. You could have done this easily before this issue, even without fillers. I think we have all fought smaller mobs and very huge mobs solo and team. If not, then yeah, I guess it is something new.
But for me and my friends, the difficulty system doesn't change how the excisting missions play in practise or richen us with new experiences.

As for power customization, this doesn't add any new experiences or new things to do. Well you could count the actual "picking colors UI" as a new thing to do, but I believe players in this game are expecting something more as things to do.
As for the actual colors, I can't really see how its any different. Running the same mission with fire blaster isn't exactly anything new. Going to icon and switching colors to blue and running the same mission again doesn't change a whole lot, I wouldn't say it's new content.

Just like unsub, me and others were expecting something new gameplay mechanic/mission/powerset wise, not aestheticly reharsed stuff we already done. I'd be so bold and classify it all under QoL. If this makes any sense ,or are we just stuck in semantics here?

Maybe I'm thinking this too deeply, or not thinking it all, or looking from wrong perspective. There's always that, aswell. Believe me however when I tell you, I really tried to get kicks out of this issue and I just can't. Even with new colors. I can appreciate if someone does however get kicks out of this issue. I just got my hopes up for GR, or the yet unannounced issue 17.

I just checked out every possible place to alter costume freedom red side. I don't think 6 players are huge chunk of people, after all I have been talking about Freedom red side this entire time. Also the villain numbers haven't risen that much.

Ok fine, I will run with your "I do it, so must the others" explanation. No matter how big of a stretch it may sound, just because the man in the television said so.

Yeah I'm currently online and this (late time for me) used to have way more than 200 or 250.
If I'm not mistaken it was something like 400-500 villain side during these times. Villain side is always less populated than hero, that's given. Of course people hidden is always speculation, but I don't think few hundred people would /hide just within few days.

Back in Eu that was usually the "peak time" , which is why I came here in order to get Sfs running better.

As for having new friends, well my list is full of friends, just happens they're playing different games for time being, some will come back some will stay, bit like general CoH public. That doesn't matter anyway, since I tend to run pugs.

But yeah I was wondering why the sudden drop, but I had forgotten Aion aswell.
I have personally tested all of them excluding DDO and I'm still staying.

Just my personal observations drawn from /sea search all and global friend list.
Happens these were busier certain time of the day (usually checked them 9pm) than they are now. I know it doesn't represent the population, but it sure makes it slightly harder to get SFs together. I'm not freaking out yet, but I just wanted to know why.

And yeah I'm betting my money on people trying Co/Aion/DDO. I know many of my friends are trying out them atleast.

Yeah, but I have been /searching entire server (usually CoV side) and I have noticed a decrease in player numbers when comparing to past numbers.

Yeah I have noticed all the empty space aswell.

Bit like when CoV was first released, CoH momentarily became a ghost town. I think it is the same thing, cept now it's Co. We shall see.

However I'm not too happy with the player numbers going as low as the Eu numbers were back when I used to play there.

My thoughts are that I feel excluded.

There isn't anything exciting among proliferated powersets that I haven't already played many times on other archetypes.

Also since VEATs are within my interest, I feel disappointed that the power customization doesn't apply to them.

Oh yeah, I also noticed that servers haven't seen huge peak times lately, not even after i16 went live (atleast so far.)
Is this due to that other game?

Oh yeah and one thing to make life easier for gunbanes (other than the animation changes I already brought up) would be to let them customize build up with power customization.
Mainly let them choose which weapon BU draws for them.

I tested this one aswell.

It's a good addition and step in the right direction. I know some banes that can finally drop the venom grenade (and redraw) because of this.
Too bad the power is only available at the very end of the game.

But yeah, it's a good "buff". Maybe (just maybe) they will work on bane survivability next.

I have played every type of Arachnos Soldier from Gunbane to Tankcrab and now when I started thinking I recalled the animations could use alot of work.

It would be nice if the bane buffs/debuffs were like brawl and Darkest Night, you don't have to redraw weapons when you activate these particular powers.

I don't understand why build up can't be done so that it doesn't put away your weapon/mace (I know that currently the power draws a mace), but doesnt draw it for you either.
Same for surveilance, this power should not put away your mace/gun, that's why there should be an alternative animation for using surveilance when your weapon of choice is already drawn out.

Also it would be nice to be able to shoot the arachnos gun with just one hand like the npc wolfspiders do.

Oh boy, if I could make a change or two, it would definitely involve banes.

For starters I would lift the mez protection of the Bane spider armor and give it some passive +def. Also the -def debuff resistance which people have already brought up.
Another thing I would add to the branch would be a panic power of some sort, like elude or self heal.


But hey, that's only what I would do, right?

Alright I'll check it out next time I log.

Na, jag vet ingenting om det.

But yeah, seriously, I have seen few Fins on Defiant when I used to play there.
On US servers however, none so far. There was a channel for Eu refugees though, but it kind of died because everyone was too busy playing (farming) AE.

It wouldn't matter anyway, since Eu people couldn't join the channel because they happend to be on the wrong side.

But yeah, I would be intressed in Scandi channel, atleast it would give me some activity while these yanks are sleeping.

Ha.

I fully symphatise the people that are stuck on EU servers.
There's a reason why I chose to come here instead, despite the fact that I already had vet badges worth 2 years.

But yeah like said, here in Finland at that time the only version of CoH sold off shelves was the Deluxe pack (with dvd cape) and lo and behold, it was Eu server client.

Also the EU side forums were pretty infamous among the US players that actually knew the deal there.
But what made me purchase US client was the server population. I play villains exclusively and it is safe to say (especially for Defiant) that if you're not part of some good brothers club, getting into SF is pretty hard since PUGs are rare.

And overall playing a lvl 50 villain at Eu side is just not worth it. Back during activation weekend I did some searches and at best I found 65 lvl 50 villains and this was suppose to be one of those "peak times".


As for server merge, it can happen, provided that Ncsoft EU and Ncsoft actually start working together, which was not the case last time I was asking Ex Libris for some clarification.