Lord Mayhem
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Posts
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Joined
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Quote:+dmg is a good idea for Stalkers, though I built my EM/EA for +rchg (mainly to get ET & TF back up as fast as possible) and my Elec/Nin for a mix of +rchg and +def (the latter to softcap him, the former to bring his heal and area attacks up faster).Originally Posted by Elaith
This, so this. I'll admit I tend to default to defense if I don't have another priority in mind but it's all about what you want from the build. Take my stalker for example. I was content with where he was on survival, so I focused on getting +damage set bonuses. Sure I got some defense on the way (either from sets I was building for +dmg or in powers that didn't have sets I could use) but the main focus was getting that +dmg as high as possible. My empath built for recharge to get the powerhouse buffs back. My controller DID build for defense, but starting with forcefields meant I didn't really have to sacrifice much in the way of slotting. I'm all for having an IO goal but my general policy is not to change the number of slots I'm giving powers much from SO levels. An extra slot is one thing, 4 slotting a power I normally wouldn't add anything too to get a set bonus is something else.
But yeah, building on what you said, it's not just a good idea to have a focus, but it's a good idea to have a focus that matches not only the archetype and powersets but also your own playstyle. Some people prefer to fight small spawns of tough mobs, others prefer to face huge spawns of weaker mobs; some prefer to solo, others prefer to team; etc. Just like when you pick your archetype and powersets with a certain role and playstyle in mind (whether it's soloing, team tanking, area damage, burst damage, consistent damage, control, debuffing, buffing, healing, or whatever), if you're using IO sets then your slotting should also match the role and playstyle you have in mind - though you also have to decide whether you're going to patch up the build's inherent weaknesses or just enhance what the build will be good at.
As for allocating slots, set IOs haven't changed how many slots I put in most attacks (still 6 slotting most of them, or 4-5 slotting the attacks I only use situationally such as Hurl on a Brute/Tanker, nukes on some Blasters, Lightning Storm on my Corruptor, etc.), but it has changed how I slot some powers, most notably pool powers - pre-IOs I'd have left travel powers with just the base slot whereas now I sometimes 2-3 slot them (2-3 Blessings of the Zephyr) - Combat Jumping never had any slots added pre-IOs, but now it usually has 2-4 slots in most of my builds (Kismet +ToHit, Karma +KBprot and/or LotG+7.5 and/or ULeap +stealth - or 2-3 BotZ plus 1-2 of the aforementioned IOs) - and in builds with end issues 3-slotted Stamina has gained an extra slot (Perf Shifter +end%, EndMod, EndMod/Rchg, EndMod/Acc). Health sometimes gets 2-3 slots as well (for uniques) whereas before it only had the base slot unless I was playing a /Regen scrapper. Some powers have even saved some slots, such as Teleport dropping from 6 slots (3 EndRdx, 3 Range) to 5 slots (every TP set IO except the +stealth) on the one character I have that uses TP.
Set IOs have probably changed my power picks more than my slotting - lots of +rchg can make skipping certain attacks a lot more viable.
The only time I ever both took and slotted a power purely for a set bonus was on my Mind/Psi perma-dom, where I took the snipe to mule 5 Stings of the Manticore for +rchg, even though I knew I'd never use the power. Generally I pick all the powers I want first, then worry about how I'll use sets to get what I want - I'd never sacrifice a power I wanted purely for a set bonus. -
The Cold/Thermal/Sonic/FF buffing sets, because I dislike having to remember to re-apply the single target ally buffs.
Empathy/Pain/Thermal (again) because I would rather debuff/control to mitigate damage than to heal - though I could possibly stretch to playing /Pain on a soloing Mastermind if I was interested in playing that archetype again...
... so I guess you can add all of the existing Mastermind primaries to the list as well as I've not felt motivated to play an MM since I got my Bot/Dark to L50 in I7 (too easy, too dull), though Demon Summoning may make me re-assess (Thugs/ didn't, though).
Dark Blast, because from its numbers it just looks too low damage for me - I may re-assess if Blasters ever get it as I suspect it would get re-assessed and maybe get some replacement powers.
Psionic Assault, because I didn't enjoy it while levelling my Mind/Psi to L50 apart from the last 12 levels (i.e. with PSW), and though the set has been changed now, even if it's really good it would seem bittersweet to me as PSW was nerfed (and it was the only thing that made levelling my /Psi worthwhile at the time), plus I'd rather play a secondary I haven't played before.
Energy Melee, because I've got that set to L50 twice, the last time experiencing the EM nerf while levelling (on my EM/EA stalker - /EA felt pretty terrible as well - so I'll probably avoid that too), and the set is a shadow of its former self, so I don't think I could play it without feeling it was a ruined set. -
I think it's best to have a priority for a build - everything counts in large amounts - so most of my builds are focused on either getting global recharge as high as possible or soft-capping defence (usually positional, quite often just Ranged Def for squishies, but rarely I'll go typed S/L def and perhaps typed E/N def too, especially if the build already has some typed def from powers). Which I choose depends whether a build has survivability issues while levelling, but it's not always that clearcut - global rchg can add to survivability too if you're depending on a self-heal - and rchg is often more desirable as it affects almost every power you have and can increase your damage considerably over time.
A couple of my builds are a compromise of getting both +def and +rchg, notably my L50 blaster (my only purpled-up hero) - I just needed a little extra survivability on him (he has 25% ranged def, which was enough for what I use him for - TFs and also some soloing that's heavily dependant on Rain of Arrows), so the rest of his build was devoted to getting BU/Aim up faster. It just depends what I want from a character and whether they're mainly a solo or team build.
The only time I've deviated from either +def and/or +rchg is with builds that needed to fix really bad end issues (it was a joint aim for my WM/SR along with softcapping his def to all positions), though I could also see myself going for +HP bonuses if/when I build a teaming Tanker (currently I only have a low level Shield/SS built for tanking in a duo, but I plan to make a teaming Invul/Fire at some point, though softcapping S/L/E/N will probably be his main priority). -
Welcome back, Soul - very stylish poster.
Ironically the arc I originally asked you to do a poster for, "A Mythos of Mystical Mysteries", was awarded Dev Choice a few weeks ago - I felt a little bit of retrospective guilt that I switched you over to making a poster for my other arc instead, so I made sure I gave you a mention in the "thanks" section of my first post on the Dev Choice thread
I can't wait to see more of your posters. Glad to see you back. -
Welcome back, Soul. Great poster!
Yeah there's plenty to be excited about - Going Rogue in particular.
I've been out of the game for six months myself due to an arm injury (taught myself to use my mouse left-handed, but it doesn't really work for me in combat in CoH) - but I've still been logging in occasionally to move characters for day-jobs (which takes a while with only 1 hand - with Super-Jumpers I cheat and use their Raptor Packs), to check the markets, chat a little on global channels, play with the costume creator, and make minor changes to the decor in our SG bases.
This isn't an easy game to give up, even when you can't play it properly
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Quote:Hehe I'm agreeing with you again. I always hated level-cap raises - in EverQuest you actually felt weaker at higher levels than you did at low levels - you started out being able to solo, but as you levelled up that soloability went away for most classes, and you felt comparatively weaker and weaker compared to same-level NPCs each time the level cap went up with expansions. At least CoH does actually make us feel more powerful - or certainly no weaker - as we level up.Originally Posted by Psyte
Well, they keep raising the level cap and stuff like that too. All the important "carrots" that I'm glad not to participate it
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Quote:Yeah I wouldn't mind if gated content was unlocked account-wide - heck, I might even be interested in badging if they were account-wide unlocks and if certain badges weren't only available for limited times.Originally Posted by Psyte
Yep. The divorce between appearance and ability is one of my favorite things about COH. Being able to have most all all the options (capes, wings, auras, etc) in CO at creation is one of my favorite things about that game. Since the ball is back in Paragon Studio's court, I'd like to see them go even further than that! For example, I can understand keeping somethings gated (whether I like it or not is a different matter), but being able to unlock things per account or getting a redeemable "token" for another character would be great (unlock a Tommy Gun or Tech Wings with one character, use that "token" for a new character at creation). Stuff like that.
Well said - I find myself agreeing with you a lot lately - you're not a parallel earth version of me, are you?Quote:Originally Posted by Psyte
Let me rephrase, then...
level =/= skill
veteran's status (ie, length of time playing) =/= skill
A good player, especially one that decides to educate themselves (through guides, Paragonwiki, just listening*, etc) and is playing with people willing to help/teach them (last I checked we still had one of the best communities for a game ^_^), should be able get a hold of *EATs (and the game) pretty quickly.
*This is assuming they're not getting bad advice from people or are playing with those "there's only one right way to play/slot/etc" mentality folks.
Though honestly very little about MMOs involves any real skill - being able to follow orders/guides, endure repetition and/or spends lots of time in the game are usually all that is required to hit top status - most gamers with previous MMO experience shouldn't struggle too much here. But building and slotting a character does at least take a bit of knowledge in CoH, and knowing what you want from your character (often in advance), moreso than a lot of MMOs - and there are enough options that there is no single clearly "best" build for most characters, just whatever suits what you want - although there are clearly sub-par builds, players can get by with them - this is not a hard game unless you go looking for a challenge.
Some of the EATs may be a bit more complex, but tbh I've struggled more with trying to fit powers and/or slots into some of my Stalker and Dominator builds than I have with some of my EATs. I guess I was lucky with my warshade in that I focused on dwarf+nova, only taking human powers that supported the forms, so I never had slot problems, and I had tons of power picks to spare (my WS is my only character that has more than 1 travel power - counting innate/form-powers he actually has all 4 - something that would be very broken in any other archetype, but he's an absolute beast in combat). And all 4 VEAT branches were relatively easy to build except that I could have done with 1 extra power pick on each build - but again, I focused my builds with a certain playstyle/goal in mind, rather than trying to do everything.
Honestly I don't think that opening EATs up at L20 is going to flood the game with any more confused/bad players than the game allegedly has now (and I've seen mid-L30s players with 4 travel powers before - and they weren't warshades ). Besides everyone has respecs available and I'm sure we all made mistakes with our first characters - I know I did.
The only complaints I can really see about opening up EATs at L20 is from players who like having something that other players don't have access to - and while that's valid from their perspective, and probably valid in an achiever-biased game like WoW or EverQuest, I don't think it's a particularly valid view in CoH/V which is one of the most casual-friendly Western MMOs in existence (with certainly one of the fastest-to-level-cap levelling curves of any Western MMO I've played). Besides if they want things that few other players have then they can always aim for a fully purpled and/or PvP IO'd build.
It will be interesting to see how the new endgame changes the game's overall casual balance, though I'm not overly worried. -
Quote:And yet look at the MMOs where people look different as they level - sure, at L50 you look much more impressive than you did at L1, but you also look like most of the other people who are L50. Personally I'd rather stick to CoH's system where you never see anyone who looks like you, and there's no elitism based on appearance/equipment. It's ironic you started your post with the word WOW - that MMO just about sums up my point.Originally Posted by bzald
NOTE: Why does that bother you so much? why such hostile action is it because you don't want to look different because you are higher lvl?
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I17 sounds good, from the rather vague list of features we've had. More mission content is the standout feature for me, as I'm always happy to have fresh dev-created content to play through.
I have a Warshade and both VEATs at L50 and I don't personally feel cheated that access is being lowered to L20 - they're very fun archetypes and I'm glad more players will be able to experience them.
Quote:I also agree with the above - I'd like to see Capes (and Auras) available at L1, and travel powers too, purely because some character concepts just feel wrong having to wait 14/20/30 levels for them. Unlocking powers/slots is enough of a reward for levelling, imho.Originally Posted by Psyte
Cape at creation would be a good idea, IMO. Actual travel powers at 6 would be also (versus getting the VR). CO does it. DCUO probably will too.
I don't like the idea bzald mentioned that appearance should be an indicator of level either, as 90% of the MMOs out there work like this - it's refreshing that CoH doesn't, because everyone looks completely different at all levels. I like that visual variety and having appearance limited more by your own creativity than in-game achievement.
Quote:Originally Posted by Psyte
If the devs took all my VR costume bits and made them available to everybody from creation? More power to them - I think that would be to the game's benefit, especially since the competition (now and incoming) will likely have things like Trenchcoats, Wings, etc., available from the get-go. How do I feel that my pre-order COV:CE Arachnos helmets are now Veteran Rewards? I'm 110% okay with that. I think it'll benefit the game and the players in the long run. I'm hoping it'll make the game more appealing to new players. After all, level 20 is a short hop from level 14 - the trial level cap. One more thing to tempt folks with. Its more early level content as well to help alleviate some of the repetition of the early levels (which, lets be honest, gets old quick).
I've just got a different view on this. If its for the benefit of the playerbase and the game? I think its a good move.I agree again - I have most of the costume pieces from veteran rewards that I personally want, but I'd be very happy to see them opened up to all players. In fact with all unlockable pieces, however they're unlocked (TF, level, Vg merits, Vet Rewards, etc.), I wish there were basic versions available at L1 with just flashier/prettier versions available as unlocks (e.g. a linen trenchcoat, like Columbo wears, available from L1 with the leather trenchcoat unlocked by the 15 month Vet Reward like it is now) - so that there was still prestige for unlocking things (for those that care about such things), but certain concept characters wouldn't be blocked until specific conditions were achieved (e.g. you can't really have a Roman soldier character until you've done the ITF).Quote:Originally Posted by Psyte
Oh, and one thing for marketing: Please, please, PLEASE do not go crazy with store-specific/exclusive pre-order goodies like various companies are doing these days. Its rather annoying. I'm sure Gamestop will ask for something, and once they get something then everyone else (from Wal-Mart to Del Taco) will want in on it too.
Regarding pre-order bonuses, I hate it when different pre-order packages are offered (like Cryptic has done with STO) for several reasons: a) you can't get everything without buying more copies of the game than you need; b) US players tend to get all of the pre-order options offered, while EU/other players get fewer options or only one - indeed most of those pre-order Arachnos helmets weren't available at all on EU servers until they were added as Veteran Rewards. I would be very disappointed if NCSoft/Paragon Studios went down the same path Cryptic is taking with lots of different pre-order packages - they had less pre-order options available from EU vendors too, I believe.
I'm all for things being unlockable in-game through normal activities that players enjoy, or through greater challenges, just to keep Achiever-type players happy - I just don't want limited availability or region-restricted availability that leaves some players out of luck, or level-limited availability that blocks character concepts. -
Quote:Maybe his soldiers could use them for target practice - that would be usefulOriginally Posted by AzureSkyCiel
Hellions and skulls, they're too incompetent even for Nemesis to find use for.
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Quote:Originally Posted by Venture
Sure they are, by people called "editors".It depends - in an author's first few novels (if they make it that far) chances are that the editor will make strong suggestions about what to include and what to change or take out - and I'm talking content-wise not just language-wise - editors don't just exist to amend spelling/grammar and tighten up pace/structure - they're working for the publishers to ensure what a newbie author writes will be marketable - most new authors have a very limited understanding of the industry. You might be surprised how restrictive and heavy-handed editors can be in the early stages of an author's career. It's give and take - knowing when to give in and when to stick to your guns is one of the things that divides successful published authors from mediocre ones. Make enough cash for the publisher and the leash comes off and the editor will be instructed to trust the author's judgement more.Quote:Originally Posted by Sister_Twelve
Well, to be fair, an editor isn't exactly going to tell you what to write. He or she is going to tell you that things need to be tightened or trimmed and pretty much leave it to you to decide how to do it.
I agree, but not all Hollywood movies are rubbish - so like I said, creativity can thrive within harsher limitations than we're being presented with - and then of course the cream hopefully floats to the top and receives the praise it deserves. And I bet JK Rowling had to roll over and change lots of things she didn't want to change just to get her first book published - lucky for her it sold ridiculously well, so the leash would have come off a lot sooner than it does for most authors.Quote:Originally Posted by Lady_Dee
I disagree. Most of Hollywood is made of remakes; it has exploded in just a few years.Furthermore most of those successful authors are never told what to write, they are successful for doing what they wanted. Good example would be the "Harry Potter" series. Was the author told what to write? No. If she was, I am sure she would not be as rich and famous as she is now. You are famous for using all of your abilities not bits of them.
Structure is good, especially for a competition - it can be very tough to judge things that have very little in common. Also limitations create a challenge for entrants - more than just an open remit - it forces creators to push themselves - so the really creative people should be able to work within those restrictions and still thrive.
Besides, if it was just an open competition then there would be less incentive for the devs to run the competition at all, as they already have a completely open and ongoing competition in place for Dev Choice picks (and the AE awards) that has no such limitations. -
I love it when factions are interconnected - it makes the world feel more alive - so we need lots more of that.
Quote:And everything else isn't?Originally Posted by AzureSkyCiel
Sky Raiders are actually controlled by Nemesis.
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Quote:Yeah, the Tsoo don't need a redesign - they're well designed - they just need more content both sides. Being debuff/damage/control-heavy they certainly feel more like a high-level faction than a mid-level one, and their leader Tub Ci is L45-50 in-game (Viridian's arc) so it's time his faction was high enough level to stand beside him in some new high-level Tsoo content, exploring their lore more fully.Originally Posted by Leo_G
I'd simply extend the lvl of the Tsoo to 50.
I can't decide if The Warriors need a complete redesign or just deleting completely - their lore is thin, their motivations hazy, their appearance bland, their AI/tactics boring, and their redside presence almost non-existent (blueside isn't much better). Call me cynical, I wouldn't be shocked if their sole reason for existing was so that Jack Emmert could utilise his classical education naming Warrior bosses. Lore-wise it might have made more sense to have the Tsoo leading the Hellion/Outcast cartel, both from an artefact-smuggling perspective and so those gangs could peddle the Rage drug, giving them more reason for clashing with the Superadine-peddling Skulls/Trolls/Family cartel.
Malta and the Knives of Artemis need their lore developed and the connection between them explained - sure, they're meant to be mysterious, but they're too mysterious - as are the Sky Raiders, who I'd turn into a mid-level proxy for Malta (i.e. secretly controlled by them), tying both groups together in lore which should be easy as both have a military background and an anti-superhero agenda - then the Devs could ramp up the anti-supers conspiracy from L20+ with the Sky Raiders, setting the stage for Malta/KoA at L40-50 (like The Lost set the stage for the Rikti, and the Skulls/Trolls for The Family re Superadine). Maybe also give Malta some Skiffs like the Sky Raiders use, but better armed and nastier, and make Sky Raider JumpBots a bit more ubiquitous (maybe add some bigger versions with Zeus/Hercules-like elements). And lots more arc content all-round - give Malta an aircraft-carrier base that we can fight on/inside/through in missions/TFs.
The Coralax need developing further too - lots of potential there with their Cthulhu-like backstory - either partially flood DA and chuck them in there alongside the BP (to add variety), or make a new foggy coastal zone for both factions based on HP Lovecraft's Innsmouth (seems to be the popular thing to do now that the Cthulhu Mythos is public domain) - or just give us the long-rumoured underwater zone.
The Wailers also need to be completely redeveloped so that they have more variety in appearance and tactics (why don't they use most Sonic Resonance powers?) and give them some blueside presence too - tie it in as the consequence of the end of Hardcase's Pied Piper arc (which diverts some Wailers to Paragon). -
Quote:That's how I handled it - it worked out ok for meOriginally Posted by Arctic_Princess
Well, I retract my post (but would still like to see more stuff about the Pantheon!).
*scurries off to the MA to dream up arcs for them*
I've always wanted to see the Banished Pantheon revamped as more of a global threat, befitting their lore, as they're rather sidelined in-game.
Oh absolutely - the BP need more content on both sides - a co-op mid-level revamp of Dark Astoria would be good, with a new higher level co-op port/coast zone attached north or south of that (which can also feature Coralax - with their Cthulhu-like background they'd work well atmospherically with fog). Also scale the BP to L50 more smoothly - the higher level BP rarely get used in-game and there are gaps in the faction's level scaling (evident in MA).Quote:Originally Posted by The_Larker
Yea I believe repacing some CoT arcs with Banished Pantheon instead would be good on both blue/redsides.
Also give the BP some new, more varied, minions (their bosses and lieuts are fine). Revamp them as a thriving cult (maybe like the death cultists in my Dev Choice arc), recruiting minions from Paragon's disaffected gangs and population (some of whom feel powerless after experiencing two devastating Rikti wars, so they are ripe to be suckered into the cult) and have them summoning undead mainly to poison the magic in Paragon City and the nearby Rogue Isles to prepare the world for their dark gods' return. That would put them in direct opposition with the Mu and Circle of Thorns especially, two warring factions who have very good reasons to fear the BP and perhaps even temporarily unite against this greater evil, seeing as their gods banished the Pantheon in the first place.
I want to see BP cultists actively trying to bring their "Old Gods" back, culminating in a co-op TF and a co-op raid where they almost/temporarily succeed. I want a 50ft tall BP Totem, an avatar for one of the BP gods like Rambetu, featuring as the GM in a Mothership/Hamidon-style raid. Have the early stage of the raid partially clear the fog (in DA and any new BP-heavy zone), then this 50ft totem wanders out of the clearing mist and wades in amongst the players - defeating him keeps the fog partially cleared for an hour or two.
Heck, beef up the Legacy Chain and scale them to L50 too and have them actively working against the BP on hero-side (with the Mu loyal to Arachnos being the villain equivalent) and drag in the Midnighter Club as the more neutral contacts for heroes/villains in the co-op war against higher-level BP (as they're underused too). Give us more atmosphere and awe - the BP lore is dripping with it and begs to be expanded on (more than the Praetorians ever did). -
Quote:Yeah that is rather disappointing - according to the rules as they are written I can't enter either because where I legally reside is not part of the EU (even though we are geographically part of Europe), and is obviously not in the USA nor Canada either.Originally Posted by airhead
You could always join us foreign folks who do like contests with a theme, but who are not acceptable to NCSoft xenophobes. I really think it's an awesome theme, but since I'm not "with them", I'm probably supposed to be "against" it. Good luck again folks.
I don't know what the specific reasons for the US+Canada+EU-only restrictions are - obviously it's something legal as I note that Rhode Island, Guam, Puerto Rico and Quebec residents can't enter this contest either. Curiously non-Quebecker Canadians will have to answer a mathematical question if they win to be eligible to claim their prize (though I wouldn't be shocked if it's 1+1=? ) which suggests to me there's a legal loophole that NCSoft are using to make this contest eligible for potential contestants in most Canadian provinces/territories which doesn't exist in Quebec law.
My residential details certainly didn't block my eligibility for Dev Choice, which in legal terms wouldn't seem all that different to an AE contest with an in-game prize which even the contest rules state has zero value (now watch them take my Dev Choice away from me ). Strange.
Oh well, whatever - I probably would have entered this time, seeing as I have a newly freed-up arc slot and time on my hands, but it's not worth getting bitter about. Good luck to the majority who are eligible to enter. -
Quote:In practical terms if you let players enter a story of their own creation then basically most of the playerbase who read the forums are going to enter one of their pre-existing arcs (why wouldn't they? It takes no further effort and they have nothing to lose). Then the Devs would get deluged with arcs to play through - and I'm willing to bet they don't have the time to play through hundreds/thousands of arcs. Themes/limitations mean that almost all players have to create something specifically for this contest and in terms of fairness they all start from the same point/premise.Originally Posted by Lady_Dee
About this contest, its really sad to see yet another contest with guidelines. Whatever happened to a simple contest to submit a story of your own creativity? Instead we have a contest of basically some one saying this is what you HAVE to write about.
Also you may not believe it, but limitations do breed creativity - all successful authors, movie/TV scriptwriters and game designers in the world work with much stricter limitations than this contest has. Dr Aeon is giving us a basic framework to get us started and also challenging our creativity to create something fairly original and fresh despite the given limitation. It also gives him common ground for judging each entry based on how they tackle the premise. -
Quote:Me too - I can't think of a worse fate than being on the opposite side to BelkarOriginally Posted by GibsonMcCoy
If they're pulling in OOTS characters to fight the war, I'm siding with Belkar!
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Quote:Originally Posted by Golden Girl
As for Arachnos, my guess is that they either bcame absorbed into the Praetroian police, as some of the concept art for their uniforms looks rather Arachnos-ishLike BeyondReach said, Primal Arachnos is a meritocracy (and technocracy) purely because of Recluse's influence. If Arachnos ever existed in Praetoria, then without a Praetorian Recluse it may have remained the fascist Italian organisation it was when Primal Recluse joined it, under the undisputed leadership of a Praetorian version of The Weaver who never had a Recluse to depose him - that's assuming The Weaver ever existed in Praetoria. Lots of "ifs".Quote:Originally Posted by BeyondReach
I'd imagine that either Arachnos eventually tore itself apart without Recluse's eventual guiding influence, or it was destroyed during the Nuclear/Devouring Earth attacks. Becaue of that, I'd certainly say that those who were drawn to Arachnos would certainly be drawn to the meritocracy of Praetoria rather than the anarchists of the Resistance.
Speaking of Primal Archvillains and Italian fascists from the 1920s, I wonder if there's a Praetorian version of Requiem - are there even Nictus in Praetoria?
Doubtful. The Rikti brought the Hydra to Primal Earth from another dimension - and the Rikti are themselves from a different dimension and came to Primal Earth, not Praetorian Earth, because of events specific to Primal Earth that could not have happened in Praetoria (I won't spoil why, just for those who haven't done Dark Watcher's arcs).Quote:Originally Posted by NeonPower
Ps: How come the praetorian Hamidon is remarkably like the hydra??? could it be that the hydra are rikti earths devouring earth?? and the praetorian counterpart is a mix of the two??
The presence of Hamidon indicates that the Praetorian Devouring Earth probably have a similar origin to Primal Earth's DE, though there are obviously differences in how they developed - I suspect that without a Statesman, Freedom Phalanx or Rikti invasion to rally heroes in Shroud(Paragon) City, Hamidon went unopposed long enough to grow to power levels much higher than Primal Hamidon, also explaining why his DE minions spread faster and further.
Though the lack of a Praetorian Nemesis is a good indicator that if Praetorian Earth was ever an exact parallel of Primal Earth up to a certain point, then the divergence did not begin with Marcus Cole (as Nemesis was born over a century before him), so I don't think we can take anything for granted - apart from some familiar names and events Praetoria is a whole new world. -
Quote:Someone with lots of +rep has obviously taken a liking to your "new posting style"Originally Posted by rian_frostdrake
ok, im confused, my rep just nearly doubled, and i was in a really nasty mood the past few days, i boggle. - maybe you should keep it up
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Sterling's WoW anecdote sounds exactly how I felt when I quit original EverQuest - raids were an obligation but not much fun. Imho raiding endgames aren't that challenging either, except organisationally for the raid leader - raiding is repetitively procedural with little room for initiative, reactive tactics, and very few chances for individuals to excel. It also adds gear grinding and I don't want to see "build elitism" here (like raiding MMOs have "gear elitism") - I say that as someone with four fully purpled-up builds and more in progress. Tons of existing MMORPGs have loot-grind raid-heavy endgames, so it's available if people want that - I don't want it here.
I also agree with Sam - I don't want any endgame content being off-limits to any L50s - it really irked me in WoW that some quest chains needed a raid to complete them and that I couldn't witness the climax of expansion storylines unless I joined a serious raiding guild. Dev teams of raiding MMOs spend most of their time and innovation adding content that the majority of the playerbase never get to see - I don't want that here.
Mental_Giant's point about team composition is well made too - existing hard content leads to teams of Defenders/Corruptors backing up a few Brutes/Scrappers - players of the other archetypes shouldn't feel like they're fighting for 1-2 "pity spots" because the way the content is designed doesn't let them pull their weight. I've had to quit playing fun but "raid-useless" characters in other MMOs to level something else my guild needed that was useful on raids - I don't want that here either.
I hope CoH's endgame doesn't require more than a single team of 8 players (that would be harsh on low population servers) - not unless it's for a few Mothership/Hamidon style challenges that any L50 can pitch in with (as they're great for community building) - in fact I hope the endgame caters for soloers/duoers and small groups. Forcing lots of big raid gameplay into CoH from other MMORPGs would likely mean a decrease in pick-up group availability as more people would only have time to raid with their supergroups, and less time to PuG or play alts, dividing the playerbase (and some of you think CoH's servers are quiet now?). CoH has always excelled at bringing people together - lets not damage that by adding a raiding endgame that divides people into tiers by supergroup or the IOs in their build - I don't want that here.
I do like a challenge - I just don't see how challenge equates to larger team/raid sizes (quite the opposite in fact). CoH's strength has always been customisability, not just in costumes and builds, but in difficulty - we can make missions harder or easier to suit us, and they scale to level and team size - I see no reason why endgame content should be any different (except that it will be restricted to L50s). Give players choices, so that all content is available to all players to tailor the difficulty as they wish (like existing content is) then surely we all win - except for those who want gear-grinds and raiding guild gameplay, as in their case I'd have to say that this really isn't the game for them and it never has been.
CoH is a casual MMO - I hope it stays that way. -
Quote:Dark Watcher vanished in 1954 and we don't even know if he'd returned from the "nightmarish dimensions" in time for the First Rikti War and the Alpha/Omega Team missions - I also don't know of any in-game or out-of-game source that says he was part of Omega Team.Originally Posted by G-Star
It was dark watcher
Apart from Infernia & Glacia the only other two Omega Team survivors we know about are Hero 1 (arguable whether he can be counted as a survivor, though) and Ajax (who never went to the Rikti Homeworld as he was caught in a stasis ray as Omega Team entered the portal, and he survived the portal explosion thanks to his own powers).
The Wiki page has all the details of Omega Team that I've ever heard about, including the names of the 13 Omega Team members out of the total 50 whose identities we know from official sources. -
Quote:From what I can recall I've been on 2 green bars since pretty much the first month of the new forums, but last night they turned into 1 red one. I can't say I'm fussed - Internet popularity for its own sake means about as much to me as celebrity culture in general (i.e. its fairly pathetic/egotistical - like/respect deeds and their doers, but worship and/or sycophancy are a step too far) - I'm just here for laughs, info and good discussions - but I was intrigued at what caused such a big swing (and whether I'd unknowingly upset someone).Originally Posted by Prof_Backfire
Used to be two green bars, then it went to two red (probably because of that PVP thread), then one red, then two red again, and now it's one green.
There was only 1 thread I'd been mildly confrontational in, and sure enough it looks as if all the negative rep came from a single comment ("oh please") for this single post - that's what I get for sticking my head above the parapet, defending the Devs (that's probably what did it, heh) and rationally expressing a dislike for forum drama So yeah, I don't think you need to attract much attention to suffer a huge swing from green to red, nor back again. Isn't contributed rep weighted by your own total rep? (green rep = big plus/minus rep contributions, red rep = tiny contributions). If so then I guess I ruffled the feathers of someone with lots of green blocks who either likes bashing Devs or enjoys a good rant now and again
I have to agree - though funnily enough your post in particular has convinced me to leave rep turned off - I really don't see the point of it.Quote:Originally Posted by Scarlet Shocker
I have thought about turning it off but as people have pointed out it doesn't actually disable the Rep system it just prevents the results displaying. Added to which I'm not here to curry popularity - shooting sacred cows and tilting at windmills is a worthy method of operation at times and (hopefully) can make some people think, but on the whole I don't think the rep system adds anything positive to the general forum experience. -
Quote:Well that paints a disturbing mental image - that would really hurt!!Originally Posted by Thirty-Seven
I hope he's not delivering Jack!!
Mindbleach! -
Quote:Don't fight it - go redden your cheeks if you really want toOriginally Posted by Westley
Must..... resist.... urge.....
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Quote:In my experience of endgame raiding it wasn't even just playing ability, level and gear - it was also knowing the right people / being in the right guild, being disciplined enough to follow orders absolutely, plus having the kind of lifestyle that permitted the massive commitment required to put in the hours to earn your place on raids and earn the DKP necessary to get that gear you needed for the next tier of raids. If you had all that then you just needed a high tolerance for tedium and lots of persistence to get you through.Originally Posted by Steele_Magnolia
I have really enjoyed LOTRO - right up until I hit my late 50s (the level cap is 65 now) and realized that it wasn't just my ability to play and level that determined if I could participate in a raid, it was if I had the right gear. Having to repetively complete one raid to get the gear, piece by piece, to be able to participate in another raid, ad nauseum. Yuck.
I did all that in EverQuest and yeah people burn out on it fast - for me the breaking point was spending 3 weeks solid, every evening for 5+ hours, in the boring corridors of The Temple of Veeshan (basically almost featureless white walls/floors/ceilings) with 30+ people just constantly killing dragons as if they were trash mobs (which made dragons seem rather mundane for me
), for stupidly rare drops to gear up, and when I finally got the chain BP I supposedly needed for my dwarf rogue I suddenly realised that everyone else in the raid seemed happier for me than I felt (I think it was relief more than happiness). I'm just amazed I managed to stick raiding - especially leading the horrid things (I think herding cats must be easier than getting 71 other people on the same page and working in harmony, as I once had to do) - for 2.5 years before I reached that point - the things you do for friends
IOs are awesome - I want more purple sets too - but there's a big difference between loving IOs and wanting parts of the game balanced for them. If we want to push our purpled up builds then there are crazy challenges, tough AE missions and higher difficulty levels that allow us to do that - we don't need content devoted to it, nor an endgame that requires it - this is still a very casual MMO. Having awesomely expensive builds is reward in itself, even with no content balanced to require it.Quote:Originally Posted by Perfect_Pain
I know some of you refuse to admit how awesome IO's are.
Whatever endgame the Devs add has to be inclusive of everyone, as getting to L50 is so easy that lots of players will want to be able to participate.