Prof_Backfire

I'm pretty sure that your character remains, for all intents and purposes, online for a few seconds after you log off, so it probably doesn't matter when you hit it, really.

To save the trouble of scanning everything, just asking in this very forum usually works.

As a general rule, ice themed foes are weak to fire, as fire foes are to ice; robots are strong against lethal and stronger against psi, but weak against energy (and maybe Smashing). Carnies hate lethal, and you will want to exploit this.

As for the rest, knowing the strengths of weaknesses of player powersets will often be very useful against enemies who have the same powers.

Why wait til we leave? We can argue in the dark.

I'm pretty sure that most Blaster melee attacks are more powerful than most of their blasts, for the record.

Well, my Blaster is AR/Fire, though lately I've respeced out of most of the Fire powers and focused on the AR side, with the fire attacks for melee finishing moves. It's an acquired taste probably, but it was true to my character concept and I love all the damage.

I joined long after ED went through, as did a lot of players. From all the talk it sounds like it was a necessary evil.

And you can start slotting IOs at 10, though it's very expensive and difficult.

IOs are kinda weird; they're much better than TOs and DOs, but SOs are better up until level 35, where IOs overtake them. Set IOs are another kettle of fish.

...oh, and so as not to confuse the newbies:

TOs: Training Origin, the original Enhancements that everyone can use, considered little more than placebos.
DOs: Dual Origin, the Enhancements that become available at level 15+, that come in flavours that fit two of the five origins. Better than TOs by far, but still considered optional by some.
SOs: Single Origin, the Enhancements that have long been considered a mainstay, and still are for most. As the name says they come in five varieties for each Origin, and provide a high enough bonus that Enhancement Diversification comes into play. (long story short: Don't slot more than three SOs of the same type into one power)
IOs: Invention Origin, the most recently introduced type that require crafting, are compatible with all Origins, and some come in sets that are only compatible with certain types of powers. They're a whole 'nother kettle of fish, wait til you've come to grips with the simpler game mechanics before you really get into this.

And there's also other weird things like Hamidon Origins and such, but they're not important.

And we all know essentially gamebreaking combos in PvE (well slotted bubbler, a Kin or two, whatever) but we don't mind those because they share the fun with everybody and only fight the computer. It's okay have a complete minmaxed tweak on your team because they're helping you. The game honestly isn't that challenging most of the time, except when fighting some particularly hard AVs. Even Giant Monsters and events are essentially a matter of getting enough debuffs and brute force going to take down anything.

In PVE, if all goes well, everyone wins. In PVP, by definition someone has to lose. The mindset is different. Maybe that's a problem.

I think it's stupid that PVP zone hospitals only restore a limited amount of health and end, for one. If people can recover faster from defeats, maybe they won't get as upset over them.

Until fairly recently I boasted that I never played with the same people twice.

Due to my incredibly erratic play times and hours, I'm kinda used to soloing or small, odd PUGs, and tend to only look on globals when recruiting for TFs or mothership raids and such.

I don't really feel a need for a regular group in this game. Besides, it makes the times when I encounter an old teammate again, or a forum regular, all the more special.

It's possible that the reason most enemy groups are level limited is the same reason groups that go from 1-50 sometimes have problems in progression. The Hellions and Skulls have few, simple powers and work well as a low level group, but how could you expand on that up to level 50? And do we even want to be fighting Hellions in different outfits for the whole game?

So, PVP. Just about every argument you can imagine is played out endlessly over these forums, and a lot of people will agree that they just don't like it, even if the reasons why can get complex. Some just say they don't want to fight other players in this game.

But many, including me, will gladly fight other players in games like Counter-strike, Team Fortress 2, Mario Kart, Bomerman, Chess, etc. It's not that we don't like PVP- it's that we don't like how this game handles it.

Let's face it, this game wasn't really built for PVP. Archetypes are balanced around the performance against PvE content, and how they sync together in a team. A well built team of competent players is a wonderfully fun powerhouse, and even though there's still unbalancing factors, that doesn't really matter too much as long as you're still having fun. The PvE you can just roll up a character, take some decent advice for power choices, and jump in.

But PvP is different. Before and after the changes, PVP is a completely different game, where your powers do different things, and balance is incomprehensible. You have to go out of your way, radically alter your playstyle and mindset, and make a lot of effort to PVP in this game, and most players don't want to bother. Not to mention, even if they make a good build, they can be beaten by a richer player with the fancy gear anyway. For all I know it's the funnest thing ever, but I just can't get my head around the effort.

I've been looking at another, different MMO coming out, which I probably shouldn't name in forum tradition, but PVP is touted to be an alternate path through the game, and built in from the start so it isn't too different from the PvE. And I thought; if the PVP was good, I'd gladly PVP in that game. But I've tried it here and didn't like it.

I can't really consider myself a carebear; I just don't enjoy the PVP in this game, even though I love the rest. Maybe in a different game, I'd be happily ganking away. What are we missing?

To be honest, villainside just feels like a slightly different version of heroside to me. It all kinda blends together.

I don't think I've ever really had to kick someone that I can remember. Usually AFKers either apologise and quit or turn up eventually.

They're in instanced missions. Question anwered.

Well, high level Crey, according to the weird-but-just-accept-it-OK story that progresses as you level, are no longer employed but renegades after the Countess has been finally exposed for all her crimes and the corporation is probably getting new management, so they probably wouldn't have much in the way of new stuff.

I think we're doing pretty good for enemy variety, though. Compared to other games at least, we rarely fight the equivalent of recolours of boars. (CoT and Council notwithstanding)

Arachnos is a good example of progression done right. At the lowest levels you fight grunts and foot soldiers, steadily moving up to elite troops, robots and power armour, and all kinds of cool stuff.

The Maniac Slammers got buffed to stop the farming I believe, they have psychic powers now.

I like the idea of ancient Roman soldiers being badass enough to stand toe-to-toe with superheroes. I think their power is a combination of Natural, Magic and Incarnate given that they're supposedly linked to the meta-origin of all superpowers.

Even with groups that spawn from 1-50, balancing that can be tricky. Look at the 5th Column compared to the Council- the 5th have vampyrs and bazooka soldiers spawning from level 1, and still have pistols at 50, while the Council are better balanced across the levels despite being little more than a pallette swap.

Dammit, someone beat me to it.

Y'know, a lot of people playing this game don't like to play the PVP parts... but unless I'm wrong, don't lots of us gladly play games like Team Fortress 2, online Starcraft and other games that are all about PVP?

I think it just really shows that this game just isn't designed for PVP. It's too different from regular gameplay, there's too many variables and a steep learning curve. I mean, I'm looking forward to Star Trek Online, and I'd probably gladly PVP in that game, though I don't particular enjoy doing it here.

If there is a similarity, it's probably deliberate.

The Rogue Isles are kind of a mashup of a generic tinpot dictatorship, Doctor Doom's Latveria, and a Tortuga-style pirate port. Villainy seems to be deeply ingrained into the Rogue Isles, much like Paragon City seems to naturally create and attract superheroes.

And Arachnos does seem to be set up so that the different divisions can keep themselves in check if one revolts- the ordinary soldiers are vulnerable to the psychics, who in turn wouldn't fare well against the robots, which would suffer from the Mu mages in a battle.

Batman AT arguments are an old flamewar. He's been argued as everything from MA/SR to DM/Nin. Honestly, it's up to you.

Sufficiently [s]advanced[/s] devolved game jargon is indistinguishable from gibberish.

Be warned, Red Caps are tough little buggers.

It's just another nonsensical tell from one of those incomprehensible players. It happens.