And so after the long and dramatic battle, the JLA had finally managed to defeat the Legion of Doom (just barely). As the core of the JLA stood battle scarred and injured but triumphant, the mighty Superman, after pulling out a small shard of Kryptonite from his shoulder stood over the defeated body of his arch-nemesis Luthor and proclaimed:
U GOT PWND BI%$% !
I have to say that as much complaining people do about the Devs not doing this or that, considering what they have to work with they are doing a remarkable job.
Here is what I mean:
At the moment CoX is the only Superhero/Supervillain online game they created their own universe, created there own heroes and villains and attempted to make a superhero based game system in which people could effectively level without the game getting entirely old.
The difficulty is that they had to make a game as well as let it fit into the superhero genre. Some Superheroes can fight great battles on their own [Solo], while others (meaning the less combat-oriented ones) usually join up with others to battle crime and other such things [Teaming]. Even the most powerful of heroes need to work together to deal with world-shattering problems [Taskforces & Trials]. Or they can also just do something that would take up a single comic book [Newspaper Missions]or a series of comics [Story Arc].
Villains on the other hand are designed to be able to work on their own most of the time (hence not as team designed archetypes). But on occasion do join up with others for their own protection or to get access to equipment they wouldnt normally have access too [Supergroups & Bases]. In times of great crisis, large numbers of heroes and villains battle it out to save or destroy the city [PvP]but most of the time in comics they are more often dealing with each other on an individual level [1-on-one Arena battle]. Even at times heroes and villains work together to destroy a greater threat to ensure their own survival [Rikiti Invasion Event, Rikiti War Zone].
CoX is not a comic though, it is an ONLINE GAME. Because of this we are not dealing with comic book characters but players making characters. Players like all people enjoy different things and Cryptic knows this. Cryptic wants to make money and therefore needs to listen to its current player base as well as expanding its player base.
Do I PvP a lot? No not really. Its not that I hate it (although it does get frustrating at times) but I like playing with my friends both local and others I have gained while playing this game. Some like PvP and others dont. If I can have fun doing PvE content then I see nothing wrong with it.
I do believe that there are myths about PvP and PvPers, and although I dont agree with most of them there is always a seed of truth in the greatest fabrication. I have met some fantastic and enjoyable people while PvPing, but I have also met people who to me seem outwardly rude and impossibly cruel. This is there game too, and as long as they pay their $15 and the Devs dont see them as a problem they have their right to act as they wish, but I dont think it helps the PvP communitys image.
Lets face it PvP in CoX is more like a war than a comic book. Would you really purchase a book about a character that just snuck around and sniped or wounded heroes or villains made a snide comment and then went somewhere to do it again? Yes games like WoW, SWG or Warhammer are more well designed with PvP, if you look into their names or backgrounds they are based on direct conflict therefore PvP has been integrated from the gound up. City of Heroes started as PvE with the idea of PvP content to be added later.
Yes at times you grind to get where you want to be, but in my opinion its far easier to do in CoX than in WoW. I have played WoW and in my opinion the coolness about remarkable quests that can take you hours to complete due to traveling around the globe literally (even the simplest ones) can be as much a pain as they are an achievement.
In my opinion I believe it would be much better in CoXs interests to instead of just trying to create more content to focus on new events. Like an event every three months or so. It can be one sided, meaning perhaps it only focuses on heroes rather than villains, it could be PvE or PvP based but at least it might get people who appear to have a one-sided vision on where this game is going or should be going to see the usefulness of both PvP and PvE.
Just my two cents
Who wants the soap box now?
P.S. Badges can be fun to acquire if you are in the right mindset and are also about bragging rights (at least that is my opinion).
