Memphis_Bill

Heh. Lacking anything else, I'll go with the name's gender if it indicates one, and switch if corrected (and I remember. >.> )

Same thing happens with my main global. *shrug* Of course, I don't give it out all too often anyway. Just happened to be who I was playing when they introduced globals (and my first 50.)

People aren't complaining about Empaths. They're complaining about "Healers." From the description, you aren't one - using buffs and keeping them up, taking advantage of the debuffs of the secondary, attacking in general - that's an Empathy Defender.

Somewhat tangental - the way Quantum Flight used to work. (Initially - instant phase with max flyspeed. Then they added a slowly increasing END cost after X amount of time, before going to the current "phase is off after 30 sec.")

They can do some interesting things with toggles.

/this.

But, as mentioned - you'll find a whole range out there, both on and off virtue. I've seen people get thoroughly annoyed that you ((don't put your OC stuff in parenthesis)) even when answering a question in broadcast, I've seen people who don't care and go with the flow (if the team's RPing, they do too, if not, they just go with it.) I'll tend to slip in and out of it depending on what's going on, but what I'm saying should give a clue ("Ow. I think I broke something" is definitely in character, "anyone have another red" obviously isn't, and most people seem to be able to track pretty well.)

And of course, some people think RP stands for ripe pears, and wonder what you're on about, they just want to shoot stuff.

This has been brought up several times. For me, even though it's newer, redside is an absolute bore, moreso than blueside - if nothing else from being able to get a change of scenery blueside. Kalinda/Mongoose or Burke/Gheed, newspaper, V/H/B, etc, over and over again - ugh. But both sides could use a freshening up.

Heck, we have MA. Have the devs get some player involvement to write new storyarcs. Three month timeframe, winners become official arcs (credited, perhaps a 3-6mo. free time thrown in) - international legalities might be the biggest issue there. Of course, there are lowbie starter arcs in there already.

But yeah. Some freshening up there would be nice.

*notes a bit of a disconnect*

Er - ok. Looks like I'm doing a bit of explaining.

First bit - I have no idea why Arctic_Princess mentioned RV, given it is a PVP zone, and I'm not trying to put words in AP's mouth. I'll let AP do any explaining there if needed.

Second - the "look what you quoted" was referring to you quoting me, not your reply to AP.

And third, with the quote that started this chain, I was poking at the lack of interest in PVP in this game by saying PVP was not a concern in naming RV, which is obviously a PVP zone.

*throws a jellybean at Forbin* Stop overanalyzing a one off smartaleck comment.

Ooh, haven't read those in a while. Got far too disappointed with the later ones though - can't recall which one it was, but it was the first I'd picked up in some time, and the Writer! Loved! Using Exclamation! Points! Far! Too much! - to the point it was almost painful to read.

The early ones are still enjoyable, though. I should hunt them down.

What's sadder is what could be a great set being turned into a "healer." I can kind of understand Empathy (and Pain,) but... Radiation Emission? (Yeah. Guy still sticks in my mind after a few years. RE corruptor built as a "healer." Got on the team during one of the halloween events hunting GMs - we could have used the debuffs instead of the rather weak healing aura, but at 35, he had nothing. Just the aura, rez, and AM. It was painful to see, and made the rez more useful than it had any right to be on a rad.)

See also Green Machine. That was insane.

Re-read what you quoted.

Heh. I think the big thing here is that there *are* so many options and so many ways to go. IOs made it even more complicated than for the other ATs and powersets, I think, since we can use so many of them and have so many targets we can aim for.

Personal bias, here - I wish, when people asked for "a build," they were given a good, solid SO build (with whatever preferences they have - "I'd like a snipe" in a blaster set, for instance.) If they ask for "I'd like defense," "I'd like permadom," "I'd like to have as many Extractions out as possible," then the build can be tweaked for IOs. Instead, we tend to see "Here, have a multi-billion inf IO build" thrown out there (as a general statement, and across all ATs.)

Derailments can be interesting, too. >.>

Not necessarily. They could be arguing in their spare time... er... *reset*

Not necessarily. Some areas, at least, if you drive around you'll see signs about (say) "State prisoners working." I don't think they're exactly doing so willingly (they wouldn't be there cleaning up garbage or whatnot "just because," most likely) though given the choice between that and "sit in your cell," well... Paying off a debt, essentially, could also be construed as "serving unwillingly" without it being slavery.

Or Rian's explanation

Strangely enough, those that play on large AND small servers make up the *total game population.* All those subs, regardless of server, make money for the game.

Try to think through your own arguments. Oh, a hint - read prior statements about "people playing on multiple servers." I don't pay a Virtue sub, a Victory sub, etc. I pay for a subscription (multiple, actually) to City of Heroes.
Again - everybody's subs pay for these. Not just Freedom's.
One you can almost prove, just from adding the word "largely!" Since, after all, even you wouldn't go so far as to say the smaller servers don't generate any.

Unsurprisingly, you ignore the fact that hardware can be added to handle larger populations. (The developers, for instance, have told us that Freedom has more hardware dedicated to it.) Your "point" proves exactly nothing. (Of course, given it's your strawman, it's not meant to.) They would not need to add a twelfth through twentieth server. Just give the existing servers additional hardware to handle this (say) extra 200,000 people that suddenly showed up.

With as popular as PVP here is, neither did Arctic Princess.

Tabula Rasa didn't turn a profit. It was a huge money LOSS for NCSoft. THAT is what killed it. Not just a "population drop," but never gaining and sustaining the population to make back the *massive* investment NCSoft put in (due in no small part, I'm sure, to Richard Garriot's name.)

COH, on the other hand, HAS managed to return its investment, and be profitable and sustainable enough for NCSoft to buy the IP, hire the majority of the dev team, provide new offices, hire more people and generally *re*invest.

Saying "Tabula Rasa's servers were busier" (and having played it, honestly we're talking "visibly busier," as it had the typical-MMO, everyone run outside to the same spawn points to fight over the same spawns design that's a staple of all but a few MMOs... that few including COH) ignores everything else that went wrong with it. Fun game? Sure, sort of. But its population had an initial spike and such a massive, immediate downward fall that it had no hope of ever paying back NCSoft's investment. Thus, it died - not from server populations, but business realities.
See above. (For another example of visible population not mattering here where it matters elsewhere, see Aion. It's an open world PVP game, barring a few zones, and its population drop has led NC to decide to merge servers - and the initial interest I had in dusting off my characters there and playing has fizzled because of it.) COH, not being an open-world PVP game (and PVP itself never being a huge draw even at its peak) wouldn't have that issue to worry about. COH's playstyle and profitability are in a place that, no, server merges aren't needed.

What would the bean counters see? "Initial investment - paid back. Profitable, yes. Profitable for the next fiscal year with current subs and trends? Yep. Next?"
For someone who apparently likes calling out "logical fallacies," you make quite a few yourself. How many people play *only* on one server? Especially in a game that caters so heavily towards alts? A fair number I run across have people on multiple servers. Get them (and, I'll say, me) irritated enough to leave, and guess what - they're leaving your *large* server too. (I do have characters I play on Virtue, for instance, including a villainous version of my forum-namesake. I leave, the loss of my accounts is not just affecting Victory and Pinnacle. It's affecting every server - since I have characters on, and play on, every server, though I tend to avoid Freedom because I find the teaming experiences and "community" there unpleasant.)

Practicing to be a politician trying to misattribute things? Let's see, where did my list REALLY stop... oh...

I would appreciate you NOT going through and altering things, attributing it to me without admitting you EDITED it (much like I did via altering the name in the nested quote, or will do with formatting or a "Fixed" comment, generally with explanation.)

My already low personal opinion of you has shot down even farther, for presenting that as dishonestly as you did. "My" last point as you put it there was certainly not mine, as anyone can see from the original quote, and yet you add it and then say it's mine? I'll not have someone skim through and see that misrepresentation as the fact of what I said.

Since you wish to be immature and call that my quote, let me put this a way you may be able to understand. "Liar, liar, pants on fire."

Now, as far as lowest subs - here, let me put it at your level again - "Duh." It's a six year old (and change) game. MMOs tend to go through a population bleed - either rapidly, a la Tabula Rasa, or slowly - like us. That said, I'm still running into new people with regularity (and they don't seem to be having all too many issues with "where is everyone," understanding instancing and getting teams,) on top of our various cycles and subscription rises and dips (time of year, resubbing for new features, playing, then going to another game.)

As far as your later, foolish "Force new players post-GR to start in Praetoria?" Yes, the zone shows off the latest tech, assuming the new player's system can handle ultra mode. But this is a game about choices. You can *choose* archetypes and a wide variety of powersets instead of being pigeonholed into narrow playstyles. You can choose to go nuts with costumes or stay in the first one. You can choose to PVP or ignore it completely. You can choose to IO out a character to the gills or run solely on SOs. Removing a choice - especially, by the way, when EATs must start in their "native" zones - goes against all that. If I *want* to start out as a villain, I should have that - here's that word again - choice. If I know my character's heroic from the top of his head to the tips of his pointy boots, I shouldn't have to start in a "grey" area. I should be able to head to Atlas or Galaxy - whether on my multi-year-old accounts or a brand new, five minute old one - and spout off heroic cliches and be an overgrown boy scout from XP 0 on up.

One? I've had several a day show up. At least 10 a week for a while. No WoW account.

And carrying more than one.. say, three hostages? Solo? One on the left shoulder, one on the right, drag the third with your teeth!

APB and our timers come to mind.

We've already got items ("get information from computer," etc.) that have an interruptable timer to perform an action. Over in APB, you have actions (raid, break in, mug, etc.) that also have timers (that can be interrupted.)

Apply them to more places.

- Villainside - mug. Simply because heroside, you can get INF for rescuing people getting beat up/purses snatched/etc. Not a LOT, but still. Villainside, they just run.

- Take Hostage / Arrest X - if you can manage to get them without getting interrupted, no reinforcements show up. Otherwise, their cries alert everyone.

- Interrogate. If you don't kill a boss (say) right away and start to "interrogate" when they're under, oh, 20% health, if you're not interrupted - get a tip. (Not neccessarily the next issue's Tips from the announcement, but something building to a mission/arc related to the group.)

Prove this is "easy." Especially with being told very recently that, no, the max characters per server would not be raised. Otherwise, SCR upon you.
How about no.

Given Calvin Scott doesn't need a rewrite due to a major exploit (among other things,) it shouldn't be that bad. The biggest problem is that Calvin Scott no longer exists in the game to use as a contact.

EVE online did it right *for them.* They are based around PVP. Single server = target rich environment. AION is merging servers not least for that same reason.

COH? That emptiness you feel?
- Teleport to mission
- Use base teleporters
- Get teleported
- Fly high overhead so you can AFK and get a drink
- Almost everything instanced

That contributes quite a bit to the "emptiness," as you don't see everyone going to kill the same 100 bats to get 7 Bat Nostril Hairs to turn into Bat Control Girl to progress on your quest to get to the Dragon of Diarrhea and end the flow of reinforcements besieging Tolkeintown etc etc etc. Of course, the instancing of everything also means you don't have to stand in line to be Team 27 waiting to kill Boss #174 or rescue Hostage 18 from the Cage of Cinnabons or whatever.

I play on every server. My opinion on my Freedom experiences is easy enough to figure out when you see those are my *least* played characters. I transferred characters *from* Freedom during the free transfers. Freedom contains most of my worst teaming experiences. I play most heavily on Victory and Pinnacle, not high-pop servers, and don't have issues getting teams as desired. Of course, I also don't insist that "team" has to equal "6-8 people of the perfect AT mix," either, since pretty much *any* mix is going to be fine with a group of even moderately-aware players behind the keyboards.

I don't believe you can find playing on the oft-nicknamed Freedumb enjoyable. Wait - OMG - you mean I might like different things? Imagine that!

Stupid statement to make, OP.

Edit: Oh, and the copypasta:

They put the limit there at 50 people for a reason. (I remember the prior Hive slideshow far too well.) No thanks.

See... demand wouldn't remain the same. Plus, again - we already have ways of "hoarding." I just don't see this having an impact at all, really. (Though, again, I don't really agree with 1000 since that seems a bit high.)

Who said it'd be 1000 of one item? And again, if we're told over and over that one person can't manipulate the market by the marketeers, why are we seeing that as "not a valid argument" here? We can already make "loot hoards" if we want - one base, 18 storage racks, 30 pieces each (which is already over half the OP's suggestion @540 pieces,) plus 10 of whatever in each market slot just sitting there (rising by level/market activity,) plus personal storage and vault storage.

Honestly, even if it *were* 1000 (which, if it were ever brought into game, I highly doubt it would be) that's a drop in the bucket compared to what's generated daily. 50 people, 20 pieces of salvage... how long do you think that takes to generate?

Sorry, I see the "it would drive market prices up!" as complete and utter bull. (Not to mention that, well, some people who'd use this tend to avoid the market anyway. Not getting business from people who wouldn't use your business anyway = no impact on your prices.)