Mister_Chicken

Thanks to some of you, I discovered I could change the thread title so it would be a discussion-opener and not a vote. Thanks to Thirty-Seven and Aggelakis for forcing me to learn how. I left my other goofs (value/price) intact, since removing those would make some of your arguements against me absurd and out of context.

I also see the Quote boxes in the main thread, but they are not available after you start typing your reply, I think.

So thanks again.

Thanks for the polite heads-up about my goof, Aggelakis, and your idea of having it respond to buffs is excellent.

It might also make sense to make the power more accessible based on player's veteran status or even the level or your character; 20 minutes lopped off for every ten levels of the character's progress.

I'm new to forums, so I didn't know about the policy against starting vote-threads. I apologize. Because of that, I'm pleased it's turned into a simple discussion instead.

I also dont' know how to insert quotes, but I promise to learn. This is my first day posting.

From Thirty-Seven: "This is a ridiculous comparison. The utility of the powers is completely different. Giving a colorful but very miniscule buff to another player is not comparable to giving yourself an incredibly useful time-saving travel boost, regardless of the price. And I would have STILL bought the pack if [Mystic Fortune] was on a 2 hour timer, it matters none to me."

Actually, it is not a ridiculous comparison if you consider that, regardless of the end result and who the power apparently aides, people buy that power based on a description on the store website and thought it would enhance their enjoyment of the game. Please don't tell me you wouldn't have gotten LESS enjoyment from the power if you could only cast it every 2 hours and don't feel you got MORE value because you don't have to wait that long. That's just confusing, dude.

One might argue that passing out "colorful but very miniscule buffs" to other players is merely a way of ingratiating yourself to them, and it's actually more for the caster's benefit than than the recipient. One could also argue that transporting yourself to a mission in just a few seconds is rather worthless if your teammates can't do it, too. Don't you still have to wait for them? However, if you had to pee or train your character and fill the empty slots, you could "catch up" with the group with Mission Transporter.

And I am not sure why it would have occured to me to type [Mission Transporter] in chat when the store apparently already had a pretty "straight-forward" description of the power on their website. It never occured to me that they would leave out essential details that might discourage me from purchasing the Item Pack. I gave them the benefit of the doubt. If there were three versions; a 2-hour version for $10, a 1-hour version for $15 and a 30-minute one for $20, it would been very clear what people were getting for their money. I would have paid $20, while others would have been happy they didn't have to pay extra for something of apparent little value. Like yourself, some people bought the item pack in spite the power, while others felt the power WAS the item pack.

[Note: I recently learned you could drag items into the chat line to read a description, but didn't know you could somehow fathom the actual title of a power you had never used or heard of before, hit return and see a description of it. And I certainly didn't know about it almost a year ago when I bought the item pack. Where were you when I needed you, Thirty-Seven?]

I'm pleased that there seem to be an equal number of people who are pleased with their purchases and also feel that lowering the recharge time would be beneficial.

If I could do it again, the thread starter would be "Would anyone else think Mission Transporter has a rather long recharge time?" I would never have made any mention of the cost or the value of the pack itself. What a can of worms!

Maybe someone should kill this thread. Can I request that?

I guess everyone enjoys the game for different reasons. Your are right about the capes and wings being available; I forgot about that. However, I don't understand how you got one month of free play. I sure didn't and the store does not list that as a selling point. I am not sure if this will work, but here is the text from the webpage, which does not mention a month of free game-play.
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City of Heroes® Mac Special Edition In-Game Item Pack

$9.99* Buy Now
Includes: •A serial code for account upgrade.
•Access to City of Heroes® Mac Special Edition In-Game Items. An existing City of Heroes® or City of Villains® account is required.
Digital purchase only. No physical box will be shipped.

Supported languages: English

* Plus US sales tax, where applicable. Player is responsible for all applicable internet fees.
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City of Heroes® Mac Special Edition In-Game Item Pack includes a set of exclusive in-game items - a Mission Teleporter Power, and the new Valkyrie themed costume set (available to all characters, both Heroes and Villains, from level one).

Additional Detail:

Mission Teleporter Power - Players can save time and get right into the action by teleporting directly to their active mission.

Exclusive Valkyrie Costume set - Costume pieces include two varieties of wings, a cape, a skirt/kilt, pants, boots, shoulders, chest, gloves, belts, and helmet with multiple details.
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After that, it just lists the game hardware requirements.

Did they drop the one month of free game-play before I made my purchase? Maybe.

I think I should have been more clear when I started this thread. It's not the amount that I paid so much as the disproportionate recharge time for Mission Transporter compared to other transport powers. I'm pretty sure it's the longest recharge time of any power in the game (or possibly any game that's ever been created-just kidding). I just want to use it more often because, unlike some, traveling between missions is not a part of the game I enjoy. It's pretty cool how there are so many aspect of the game that appeal specifically from person to person. For me, I want to use the Mission Transporter to get to the mission quickly, then use Transport Friend for others like me who also don't enjoy the traveling part of the game. I am guessing that at least a third of the people who bought that pack were people like me who thought they were getting a power that would allow them a little relief from the tedium of traveling from mission to mission (as advertised).

I do admit, I do enjoy the puzzle of figuring out how to use the Orborous and Pocket D powers to get me to that odd desination the most efficiently. But, when those destinations are the far end of Terra Volta or Crey's Folly, I just want to get there (without having to flip my calender) and TP my fellow teammates.

I don't want a refund because the power is cool. I don't even really care about the month of free gameplay that I didn't get. I just want Mission Transporter to be in the same universe as every other power that comes in an item pack and every other transport power in the game. I don't feel like I'm being unreasonable. I'm just scratching my head wondering how they came up with 2 hours. Ya feel me?

Thanks, for your input, all.

By the way, I think the Martial Arts and God Verus Evil Items packs were very good values.

I hear what you're saying, Glub, but everyone will probably always value one item over another. If you got one month free, then you probably bought the Mac version of the awesome game retail and your first month was free. I am addressing the PC-users who seperatelyt bought the Item Pack from NCSoft's online store and didn't get a free month. The only two items advertized in the pack were a few costume pieces and the Mission Transporter. Someone probably really wanted those costume pieces because they're really into costumes and couldn't care less about the MT. However, if traveling to missions is one of the more annoying and tedious aspects of the game for you, a $9.99 one-time fee for a power that claims it will let you circumvent that tedium and save time seems like a pretty good value. And having never heard of such a thing until I visited the online store, I didn't know it had a 2-hour recharge time, or I never would have paid for it. What is the recharge time for Mystic Fortune, which is one part of another item pack and costs the same amount? The power aids the recipient for 20 minutes, but how useful would the power be if you could only cast it every 2 hours? Would you even remember to use it? Would your pointy, witches hat round out the value for you? Your opinion matters, Glub and I'm not harping on you. And, thanks for getting the ball rolling, pal.

You may be one of the majority of players who loves being on a team, but are are more comfortable having someone else lead it and select the missions. To get onto one of those teams, you have to rely on the limited, human perception of the team leader and the rough recruiting tools at his/her disposal. It sucks boogers when you have been diligently advertising your desire to get onto a team for almost an hour, and someone else with a similar build who just logged on gets invited right away because you didn't advertise at the exact moment the leader was looking to fill a slot.

Well, no more my friend! Introducing the Team Builder Deluxe! Now, you simply need to log onto on of our kiosks and register your desire to be placed on a team. Indicate what kind of team you desire and how many hours you expect to stay online. Desire to be on a balanced team, with a wide variety of archetypes? Won't play without a tanker or defender? Want to be a team leader? Don't care? Check all that apply, then simply wait. The Team Builder Deluxe will assemble a team based on your criteria, invite all the players automatically, including the team leader. If someone logs off, the leader simply queues the Team Builder to provide another one, based on whomever is next in line/is the appropriate archetype, etc. Dc'd? Return to the game within 3 minutes and your spot will be waiting for you. If it takes you longer than 3 minutes, just back into our kiosk when you do return and you'll be reinvited to the same team the first time someone leaves.
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Do you all think this would work? I would love to just log on, register to be invited, then wait for my invite to pop up. I think this would be especially useful on some the lighter servers, where I sometimes have to log off in frustration because my character wasn't able/ready to solo yet and I couldn't get invited to a team. Imagine a server where only 8 people currently logged on want to be on a team and the Builder brings them altogether very quickly. Chime in with your thoughts or refinements, please.

I feel the Mission Transporter recharge time should be shortened from 2 hours to a much shorter interval. This would put it in tune with other powers that you probably got for free (or even paid for), such as Pocket D Transporter, Base Transporter, Assemble the Team, Orborous Portal Power, Jump Pack, etc. At 2 hours, the power is almost worthless. You will probably only get to use it once per play session and you never know WHEN you should use it. By the time you DO use it, an even greater need for it arises a little while later, but you realize it too late. The limitations of the power are not divulged on the store website. In fact, here is a paste from the ONLY selling points of this feature: "Mission Teleporter Power - Players can save time and get right into the action by teleporting directly to their active mission." Save time? Once per play session I get to save a few minutes and zone loads for $9.99? It doesn't make sense.