Paragon_Star

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The last post really got me thinking. Does "strategy" now mean nothing more than find ways to screw up the AI's path system? Does it mean the only strategy now is hit and run? It may not be the only strategy, but it certainly seems to be the predominant one, and... it is NOT fun and it takes forever.

I'm continuing to play to try to figure out fun strategies that will still let me continue to develop my characters, but the current level of difficulty (for a casual player) is exactly as the thread's title suggests: Not Fun. This has turned the game into more a chore. It is a stress enducer rather than a stress reliever, and that, my friends, is a problem. Obviously I speak only for myself, but that's the only basis upon which I can judge a game. Take it or leave it as you will.

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I am in your corner, Shortwire. Nicely stated.

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From Quicken: (about Miss Aurora)
You enjoy baiting other people by implying they should "play better". Like you do. Well, perhaps the playstyle that you enjoy would be completely boring for others. I like my challenges in the real world where there is a real reward - my game world is for me to have fun, escape from the stresses of the real world, and enjoy some play when I want, for as long as I want. Your playstyle would make me think : "Am I stupid, putting all this effort into a <bleep> game, when I could be putting it into something real ?".

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This is it right here. I can see that Miss Aurora likes MMOGs for she can feel like "somebody" here. In real life, she is nobody and lacks friends, mates, and other human interactions so she comes here, belittles everyone, and logs off happy as a clam. She "knows all" and will tell you that every chance she gets, even if you did not ask her.

Troll away, Miss Aurora. You're very transparent.

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I am not responsible for how you feel about yourself.

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No, but you were quite responsible for your own need to point
the finger from atop your soapbox.

And by "above it all", I was referring to your need to try and
categorize what many have called funny as so terribly "petty",
so, kindly, save your dimestore analysis for someone that is
interested..

Enjoy your position atop the soapbox.

Someone will knock you off it soon enough.

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::steps aside::
There is plenty of room up here if you'd like to join me.

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LOL so true. I consider 1 death in a mission to be considered a failure.

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Then you have an incredibly narrow definition of failure.

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I also think that not completing a mission in one shot IS a failure. In life, there are no "do-overs".

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What is funny to ONE person, is quite the pysche enlightener to MANY others.

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And that you deem yourself so "above it all" contains a few
volumes on your character as well.

Don't laugh, no sweat..

But as soon as you climbed onto your soapbox to point the
finger you became exactly like the one you are pointing at.

Do you feel like the "big man" now ?



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Sorry, Vegetator. I am not responsible for how you feel about yourself. Do you feel that you are "below it all"? I am thinking you may, since you felt the need to reply to me. Take your shots at me. I can take it.

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Here's my view on your situation, if you want to lvl, then you should avoid the missions because they are simply not effcient for exp gain. You won't be missing the story either, because there really isn't one. There's nothing blocking you from lvling fast and safer in the streets, or even in a hazard zone with a team. You can always lvl up higher and come back to finish a mission that you found hard before.(which will be balanced by the lvl when you got it so it will be easier when you lvl once or twice and come back to finish the mission.) The key thing is that missions aren't mandatory and sometimes they are even really tedious and always are bad, inefficient exp. It's much better and dare I say funner to solo in the streets or group with your SG members or friends to advance.

Seriously though, if this game has put you off so much due to the speed and tediousness of the lvling system I think you should look for a totally different genre, because as far as MMOs are concerned, this one is one of the fastest and has one of the lowest learning curves.

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Thank you for your opinion.

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From Statesman:
Hmmm. So the fact that we've....

1) rolled back stun attacks on Trolls and Outcasts
2) removed stun from Nemesis minions
3) made the Terra Volta trial easier several times
4) fixed the bug where Rikti Greater Swords were doing double their damage
5) Shrunk the level range at the entrance of the Hollows
6) Moved Contacts in the Hollows into safer locations

Does those actions perhaps support my "intentions..." about the lower levels?

I cannot stress enough - the +1 mobs everywhere are a BUG. We did NOT notice them on the Training Room server. It happens. I made a mistake. We're fixing it (though it isn't live yet).

Oh - we did make Nemesis and Rikti more difficult by giving them more powers - at the higher levels.

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I play the lower levels. I doubt I will EVER get a toon above 12. I have to be honest and say that since the big rollout, I have had trouble even logging on. I did a couple of times over the weekend and tried my clockwork mission in Steel Canyon. I did not get chain held by the Tesla Dukes anymore, so that was an improvement. Thank you. I still died without completing after 3 or 4 more tries. Since then, I have clicked to play, gotten to the log in screen and closed it down, uninspired.

Three out the six things you speak of are not "lower levels". Or maybe I am mistaken in that 20th level is considered low. I consider that MID level. I tried the Hollows once briefly and found it was more Perez Park than King's Row so I never went back. Not my own personal cup of tea. There goes two more fixes that went unnoticed by me. My apologies.

The fact remains that what I read about before CoH came out and in the first few months (what drew me in) is not the game we have today, a mere six months later. Change is the plus of MMOGs. One can always look forward to new content. I do not see viable soloable classes across the board. I see MANY unheroic ATs and powerset combinations that rely on groups to get anywhere.

The fact that you even HAVE a respec trial is a HUGE indicator that you KNOW the game mechanics are messed up. You have admitted that there are powers that just plain suck and that players CAN and DO make gimped builds.

With the introduction of the status symbols (led off by the capes at 20), this game gets ever so closer to every other MMOG that I have stoppped playing.

I dislike myself for not being the "usual MMOG level grind loving player". I find myself complaining just like the people I try to NOT be like. Usually, I just quit and go on to something more my cup of tea. I feel in this instance I was misled, though.

The "idea" behind CoH is superb. I commend you on that, Jack. I think your vision was true to what you originally thought. I just hope that the product that now is called CoH is due to "the big guys" calling the shots and things being somewhat taken out of your creative hands. I pray it is not because so many here want another EQ/DAoC/SW:G/whathaveyou in a Super Hero genre. The game is so screwed up in my opinion that going back will never happen. You wanna see an uproar? LOL

I appreciate what you do, Jack. I did have fun for a couple of months. I applaud your vision. I am sorry I am lost now.

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Lots of people have told me that pic is funny.

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It is petty. Do *you* feel better about yourself having created that pic? Do you feel the "big man" now? Did ya get Statesman GOOD?

I am not happy about what Statesman is doing, but I'll be no better than a little spoiled child if I ever attacked him personally. What is funny to ONE person, is quite the pysche enlightener to MANY others.

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Here are some of the different posts in the test forum pre issue 2 launch

All missions now +1?
The Hollows - Some Constructive Feedback
Rikti Change in Update #2
So, I went out and tried those new Rikti...
Outcasts should NOT get Hurricane
12 things that should be reconsidered
Statesman - why the changes to pre-L25 difficulty?
thought about the increased difficulty of missions

And this is most likely not all of them but from what I can see its not like nobody said anything. It was tested and found to be an issue and from the looks of it ignored until after launch.

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Thank You, Ashey for these informative pre-update posts.

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From DarkArchAngel:
Ok I won't deny the existence of the problem if that's what you mean by actions. This isn't a really good analogy in comparing with this kind of debate, I mean did you actually see Stateman code the bugs in? You see a result, not an "action"...of course what this really boils down to is how this result came to be. Is it a bug that was not caught that will be fixed or was it known prior and put in intentionally in order to datamine and then fix it accordingly. Honestly, how many new characters were created during the testing phase, I doubt very many. How many of these posts are from testers that saw this and warned them ahead of time...not very many. My point is I don't think it was as clear as you all are making it out to be. I tested it myself and I never knew there were ANY problems until I rolled a new Scrapper. I didn't even see a problem in my new Defender so obviously this isn't a game-stopping bug nor is it really specific as it's only applying to a specific solo crowd. Maybe I should have paid attention more to the Test Server Forum but I don't remember seeing any of these kind of threads there either. Not until it went live. Please someone who posted in the Test Server prior to this going live stating the problems post a link so I can see it and maybe we can have a legit debate on the pre20 level difficulty.

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I do not know this for fact for I did not play on the Test Server nor read the Training Room boards. I have "heard" that the players who DID play there /bugged the Devs about the low end bugs. The devs apparently were aware of the problems. If ONE /bug report comes through, doesn't that warrant at least a look into by the Devs? Statesman appears to be the "idea man" behind CoH so that makes HIM accountable for what is put out live.

I do echo your thoughts on finding REAL information about what went on pre-issue 2 on the test server. I have to admit that much of my ire is based upon assumptions and heresay. I may be looking for that because of my dislike of where the game is heading with all the new status items. Status items just rub me the wrong way.

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From DarkArchAngel:
Do you even read the Dev Digest? They never said anything about increasing the difficulty of the game overall nor the low levels, infact Statesman says just the opposite. What the problem has been for months has been the end-game! All the focus was on the end-game and every post Statesman made about making that more fun for everyone was to increase difficulty and make it so other ATs felt needed. Unless you can quote a post that says otherwise then you're just thinking what you want to think.

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I am not a mind reader, but I DO believe that actions speak louder than words. Any Dev in any post can say whatever they wish. When that update rolls out, their true intentions are shown. They have a test server for crying out loud where they supposedly test the rollout and listen to players there and there ideas. I believe words when actions back them up.

I don't know if what Statesman said was truly the intentions or not. I DO know that this rollout went against MANY things he has said previous to this issue. I'll believe the actions for now, thank you.

[EDIT]missed a couple of spellings. [/EDIT]