RemianenI

This is my view as well. My base has multiple bins for level ranges and I start slotting generic IOs at 7 and replace them outright every 5 levels, without exception. I don't generally move to sets until L30 (threat level 27) with only a few exceptions (i.e. fiery aura gets Karma:KB unique at the lowest possible level which is 7).

I tend to stockpile my favored sets (Thunderstrike, Crushing Impact, etc) in two bins and keep multiple salvage bins for the various level ranges (only commons though. Uncommons and rares I buy with tickets)

I make tall dollars...err inf off the 'must get now' folks. I love 'em!

I've started to frankenslot a lot after figuring the above out, especially with my doms (control sets are often less expensive than potting soil).

Yep, saw that during I9 beta. Back then, I'd slot 15s at 12 and then not again until 22. Then I'd go to DA (was mainly blue side then) and farm the bejeezus out of BP for arcane salvage and sell it for big $$$. Now, years later, with inf even less of a concern, I made tons of IOs chasing after the Fabricator badge...then find out the bar had been lowered. I was halfway there, demmit!

Anyhow, it's really going to depend on your individual financial situation. I start with generic IOs at 7 and turn 'em all over at 12, 17, and 22 then start loading up on sets at 27+.

Including myself, I know of 70 people who do. I'm at the extreme end with 14 tops (usually just 8 with multiple accounts here, in EVE, and EQ1) and the other end of the spectrum are a couple families who play 3 games. Nowadays, people with multiple accounts in one game are probably far more common than folks with one account in several games.

You're just coming to this realization?

You see this in every MMO, without exception. Folks go to try something new and the mouth breathers (some of whom have, sadly, procreated ) start talking about people being disloyal.

This is most likely the most common occurrence. I admit I am the most extreme of outliers.

Yes, I agree! The devs should, not now but right now, stop further development on this game and fix the European servers' issues.

Not now.

Right now.


When you wish upon a star....

I call bulls....shenanigans. You will do no such thing. No one who threatens on a message board to quit over a minor backend feature ever does so. You're a unique snowflake....just like all the others.

Um, Steele? The last double xp weekend was not a reactivation weekend. Should I link to all the posts where people commented on 'low turnout' and the like (not knowing why the turnout was lower)? Double XP weekend has to be paired with reactivation or you spoil the marketing potential of the event. Honestly, who cares if you (or I) play during a double xp weekend? You're already invested, you would've played with or without double xp. The beauty (and allure) of the event is the opportunity to win back those who might have stopped playing for whatever reason. Out of sight, out of mind is especially apropos for MMOs. How many people played UO and nowadays don't even know the game is still open? Or Meridian59 alums who don't know the game was re-opened a few years back? It's a means of keeping the game in front of people (since TV advertising seems like a dealbreaker for MMO publishers, save one).

Yes, I know you know this. That was for the benefit of those who perhaps don't know the 'why' behind double xp and holiday events and/or don't know why the last double xp weekend wasn't as jam-packed as they had been previously (and thus automatically assumed 'the game is dieing[sic]' because they could actually log in to Freedom at 11am on Saturday morning).

As said, it depends on the set.

My brutes all run at -1, 4-7, no boss/AV from level 14 on nowadays. I have an SS/Fire at 26 who I'm trying -1, 8, no boss/AV and while slower, it's still a heckuva lot more xp per hour, even with mission completion bonuses factored in.

I need to check my corrs and doms but I'm almost positive my scrappers will all be -1, 8.

I have a problem with this part.

As it stands now, people who 'would enjoy a more populated experience' have available options to make that happen. Your proposed method of merging servers removes the options available to those who don't enjoy 'a more populated experience'. I also have to admit that reading your posts, I couldn't help but hum 'Imagine' since it's just about as pie in the sky as that song is.

The problem is manhours. While you seem to think that the solution you thought of in a few minutes somehow means the folks who actually make the decisions must have better ones, it's one thing you haven't considered. Coming up with a feasible solution to merge servers isn't worth the manhour investment it would take to make it happen. Period. You can't market server mergers, unless you're moving to a serverless environment. EVE promotes theirs. Champions does too. But you can't say 'We're going to merge Pinnacle and Liberty. Send that to Marketing'. Those manhours could (and probably are) be invested in producing "stuff" that'll actually generate revenue somehow. Merging servers because some dude can't be arsed to start his own teams, isn't something a lot of people are going to pay for. I can't see too much positive buzz occurring because CoX announced it's merging low pop servers.

Whether you want to admit it or not, the market (read: a lot more people than you) sees server merges by older games as a negative indicator. You're right in that if they wanted to or felt it would be advantageous, they could find a way to make mergers work within one fiscal quarter, I'd wager. But.....

Yeah, that.

This is what I see to. In fact, it's almost a 'duh' type of thing. When true combat level means nothing with regard to assembling teams, you tend to have more available characters to choose from.

MissInformed wins the thread!

Yeah, I've noticed the proactive people never have a problem forming teams and I16 made that even easier. Only the passive types will suffer now (as they should IMO). In my experience, across many MMOs since Meridian59 came out, the true 'team oriented' people assemble their own teams when the need arises. The passive 'can I join ur team plz' types go through cycles where people stop inviting folks they don't know (or can't vouch for) and then they complain about a lack of teaming when the truth is, it's only a lack of teaming with them (and people like them).

I don't get this. People doing sewer teams til 12 are largely doing what they want to do. If you want a team to do what you want to do, there's an easy way to accomplish that.

That ship has sailed (for good or ill). For the record, the vast majority of my ingame friends play on one server (Virtue). I play on Infinity (redside) and Victory in addition to Virtue. I have never had an issue teaming when I want to team. Not for boring scanner/newspaper teams, not for storyarcs, and not for TFs/SFs. The main problem I have is with short timers (those people who join a TF team knowing good and well they won't be able to see it to its conclusion, even after being told how long it'll typically take).

I don't think so. If anything, SSK and its ancillary features mean that literally anyone (of any level, of any AT, heck of any SIDE) can team together. That tends to mean 'spread out' no longer has meaning. So what if my friends are all in PI and I don't feel like playing my (50) blaster? I log in another character, join the team and voila! I'm getting rewards and enjoying teaming (with people I know, respect, and trust, no less!). The only thing separating people now is server architecture (and I wouldn't put it past them working on a way to 'fix' that, even).

A new player that doesn't take the time to learn the interface and use the tools at his/her disposal is....well, I'll refrain from the ad hominem that comes to mind. Bottom line is, it's wrong to design a game to cater to the uninitiated. If a new player can't be arsed to even access the (admittedly clunky and less than ideal) teaming interfaces, the devs shouldn't worry about a solution that will keep that player paying. Why? Because that player is an...a likely candidate for Hello Kitty Online or FreeRealms or any of the myriad MMOs that exist for people (usually small children) who may not be adept at grasping what many might consider 'basic' concepts.

What I can get behind is an auto-teaming feature. Something where a group leader can set a 'looking for more' type of setting with several parameters filled out so if a compatible player goes LFT, it becomes an auto-match. This would help the passive types with their perceived problem while also allowing existing teams to continue running without the typical 'pause to look for more' occurring. It would have its downsides (i.e. you couldn't vouch for the person's competence) but it could be win/win for those who seem to have trouble finding teams every single issue. And yes, this same 'problem' is stated every issue. In I9, people weren't teaming because they were busy farming salvage (so let's not advocate for a better system of loot distribution in teams, let's demonize those players who are perfectly willing to go out and get what they want themselves, accepting a lower xp reward in many cases). And in every issue since, the same recurring theme has been posted by someone because their passive style of teaming is impacted for a month or so.

Yes, because we all know the MMO market is rapidly shrinking and there's never a lull in any bigger game in the months prior to an expansion release. If not for CO's players, this game would never grow, amirite?

I don't get this at all. The vast majority of my villains reside on Infinity (39 of the 43 of 'em). I have never (read that again, I mean it literally) had any issues putting together teams to do whatever it is I wanted to do. How are you defining 'teams'? To me, any group of 3 or more players (I say three because with my two accounts, I can duo at will so I don't count that) is a team. I don't wait to have 8 people before doing anything. 3 of us can run until we find a few more who fit what we're looking for. By that I mean, if you're a 'healer' (by your search comment or broadcast), I'm not inviting you. If you're a Corruptor or an MM, welcome aboard. Even with that admittedly staid and restricting bias, I can still put together teams at the drop of a hat. What makes that even more unusual is the fact that I don't even know what Infinity's global channel is, so I can't use that to draw from!

Every issue has someone complaining about lack of teams. I thought this issue would be different since it obviously is as pro-teaming as you can get without forcing people via game mechanics (i.e. all defensive powers reduced 70%. Bosses & above all summon. Air Superiority has been changed to a 15% chance to knockdown a target). But no, still complaints that a passive teaming playstyle isn't viable.

Bit of advice. When 'taking a long break' from an MMO, while patching all the stuff you missed out on during your break, read through all the patch notes from the last time you played to the present. The reasons are twofold: first, it helps you get up to speed on what has been introduced to the game and what has happened while you were gone. Second, it clues you in to where people are congregating (or might be drawn to). A tertiary benefit is it keeps you from making posts amidst the game's most ardent followers, speculating on the demise of said game (especially if you attribute it to a vastly inferior competitor that is still refunding long term subscriptions sold prior to its launch). Also, a game heavily based on instancing will tend to have fewer people in open areas in the weeks following a new content release.

As for whether CoH is dying, heh, EverQuest laps CoH in age. As does Ultima Online. Both still going. And unlike CoH, both of those games have in-genre competition worth mentioning. EVE is 6 years old...and still growing. It wasn't that long ago that a major MMO publisher felt this property was worth buying in its entirety and investing heavily into it. Given CoH's numbers (which don't even come close to the market leader), that must mean someone in Korea felt this game had staying power. No, CoH isn't 'dying'. Check back in 2014 though, the game might've caught a cold by then.

TL: DR version: Just because people aren't congregating where you last remember them hanging out, does not reflect on the game's life or appeal. It just means you're behind the times.

Unless they were, oh I dunno, looking at something that takes up the entire screen and thus didn't see your tell. Besides, it has nothing to do with politeness. If I'm futzing with a costume or SG details, I'm not going to stop what I'm doing and back up (perhaps losing the train of thought I had going) just because I hear a 'doo-doot' sound indicating a tell. No offense, but I'm busy and will get to you when I get to you. I often shut off invites (via the teaming menu or /lftset 128) but I can't expect everyone to do the same.

I always find it funny when folks send blind invites....to people not accepting invites.

Friends don't let friends run abacus aged rigs. Does she play games on an Intellivision too? (Yes, I'm kidding)



While I understand the sentiment, I think it might be a bit presumptuous to assume that everyone started CoH as their first game of this type. I only started because a guildmate from a game I had been playing for 5 years prior to CoH's release, raved about CoH beta and release, even though he was in danger of being booted from guild for raid skipping (and this wasn't a 'casual' type of player so this was very out of character for him). So I tried it and hoo boy! I outlasted him (he quit in the aftermath of the purple patch and smoke grenade nerf).

Harry (if I may call you that), this is a 5 year old game. Elitism among some of the more vocal veterans is to be expected. In fact, I'd be worried if that wasn't the case. If it's not people talking about 'hell levels' or 'hunters on the frontier' or 'raiding MC before Onyxia' or heck, I recently heard a 'man, I remember when we had to kill Kael'thas to get into Black Temple...and he was HARD. Not like this casual [expletive] now'.

Helping new players is awesome, but bringing in new players would be even better. The way I see several rather vocal vets here talk about the game on various other forums, you'd think this game gets destroyed with every issue. I14: The game is dieing[sic] due to MA farms. I15: The game is dieing[sic] due to MA exploits. I16: The game is dieing[sic] due to Aion/Champions/MA nerfs. Meanwhile coming here and posting as if the game is the picture of perfection. That's the main concern I have. Word of mouth can make a game (see EVE Online) and it can also break a game (off the top of my head: Shadowbane, Horizons/Istaria, SWG, arguably EQ1). Current players telling prospective newbies to stay away because 'the game is dieing[sic]' doesn't help IMO.

I remember how the Pwnz badge mission allowed CoH to steal a subscriber from...that game that wouldn't miss him. Was duoing with a guy who was playing the free month (says he got the Architect Edition for 20 bucks). Problem was, he didn't think he'd be able to keep playing because he couldn't afford to pay for two monthly fees and he didn't want to miss out on 'the new lewtz' (several months ago, before Ulduar's release). So I happened to get the Pwns badge mission. We zoned into the mission and, having never seen the Freakshow office map (or probably Freaks at all since he hadn't been anywhere but AP, the Hollows, KR, and Steel Canyon), he was blown away. During the mission, he's freakin' out (pun intended) on the map and Freaks rezzing ("WTF he got back up!") and at the end of the mission, the decision was made. Then we did the Faultline arc and Nocturne almost whooped our ***** (horseshoes & hand grenades...only times when that matters). Those experiences are awesome!

I did not know you could do that. Hand delivering Babbage would rock!

*shrug* I don't see anything wrong.

Then again, I also don't see 'MMO' as meaning 'You must team with others at all times or not play at all'.

Even prior to I16, Catwhoorg solo'd Positron (and most others, if I remember right) so this isn't a new thing. Might try it when I get bored.

Wish that were possible. If what you suggest actually happened, all of those words that were eventually added to the standard dictionary with pejorative definitions, would offend all those people looking for something to take offense to. Then the forums would be inflamed by them and their ilk and all the people trying to refute them (or belittle them).

Broad brush is cheaper.

'Rich' comes to mind.

Actually it is funny. And y'know what? Everyone else is too nice to let you have it square in the chops but I lack that level of restraint. You are the problem. Go look in the mirror. If there is a person in CoX responsible for high priced items, it is you and those like you.

You come here and whine about people jacking up prices artificially and then admit to paying said inflated prices, which makes you a, say it with me now, hypocrite. You say one thing and do another. You whine about exorbitant prices, and then you pay those prices. Anything in the world is worth only what someone else is willing to pay for it. If you're willing to pay 1 mil for a hydraulic piston (and I don't give a flying flip how you justify it to yourself) then a hydraulic piston is worth 1 mil. Man, until now I've never been one to take advantage of folks and do something like that but now I feel like I've missed out. Luckily, I also lack compunction so I'm definitely going to have a rarely played alt put up some stuff at crazy high prices.

You wanna stop high prices? Stop paying them. Or, barring that, stop coming here and whining about a "problem" you're contributing to. It's like a cokehead complaining about people selling drugs.

WTH? That's crazy talk! Hydraulic Pistons are worth 1 mil. Stop trying to kill my buzz, dammit!

OMG, Eran_, where do I send the bill? I need a new keyboard, thanks to you. By the way, is that the mouth that emits the strange odors?

You might be thinking wrong. Not everyone who prefers to solo does so with 'the bestest solo toon EVAR'. Since "best" seems to change every issue or with every change to powers, it could be Glazer is running a character that might have been considered a decent to good soloist when s/he created it but isn't so much now (controllers pre-APP nerf, as an example).

Basically, I get the idea that the OP is referring to arcs that give you a tangible, useful reward upon completion. CoX doesn't have those. 'Welfare purple' has no meaning here and you're not going to get a LOTG recharge recipe for finishing Hardcase or Tina Chung's arcs. That's how I understood the original post.

But I think Adeon_Heartwood's advice was totally on point.

Are you new? That exact same thing happened before AE. Jeez, have you never played a Dark/Dark Defender? Have you never had anyone say 'We need a healer' while you're on the team already? Those same morons existed prior to AE, prior to WW/BM, prior to, hell, when level 40 was the cap they existed.

Please begone. I too bought a lifetime sub to Champions. But I also re-upped both my accounts here for a year (and would've added two years if NCSoft allowed it. But they don't, which boggles the mind). Y'see, I've been playing these games long enough to know how they work. People said the same thing about Age of Conan....and Warhammer, hell, let's go back further, EQ2, DAoC, Anarchy Online. Y'know, I'm gonna use an old school acronym that most people here probably won't even recognize: GQLLFM. So yeah, when the 'new car smell' wears off of CO (like it did with AoC and WAR and AO and EQ2 and DAoC and...) and folks start filtering back to the game they prefer, tune up the whine time band and play that song on that game's message board.

What's funny to me is, people play these games and verbally castigate people who prefer to play solo using that "it's a multiplayer game. You need to be social!". But it's often those same 'antisocial' types who seem to have zero trouble putting together teams whenever they feel like it. If your social network can't provide a team for you at your beck and call, that's a personal problem, I think.

Hello, I play on Virtue too and have zero trouble putting together groups at any and all times of the day. I prefer to solo (because PUG are such a mixed bag) though I team with friends fairly frequently. However, I almost never try to team with my brute prior to level 20 or so. Those levels fly by too quickly and teaming often has me at level 22 with little inf due to the loot split in teams. No one's going to ensure my characters are "equipped" but me so that's a bad thing.

Sorry, I am probably THE most particular group leader in this game. I won't even send a tell to someone with a name I don't like (all lower case, period at the beginning or end, blatant copyright rip, etc). If I do invite and someone says (seriously) "We need a healer", I use the /kick button with extreme prejudice. Even with all that, I can put together a group of 4 with little trouble, doing regular content. If it's a low level team blueside (and a few times, even redside), I do the Nuclear in 90 arc Cavatina made and a few other non-farm AE missions. Like Snakebit mentioned, I'm not one of those people who thinks an 8 person team is the only viable team. In fact, many times, 8 person pickup teams can be a huge headache since you have no idea how competent all of your teammates are.

Celestial_Lord, I've done the same thing in every MMO I've played since EverQuest in 99. I don't consider it 'work'. I consider it the best way to get the kind of team I want. It's the same as only recruiting groupmates from guilds of your raiding tier. If you're planning to run for 3 hours, you really don't want to invite the person who can only play uninterrupted for 30 minutes. Likewise, if I want a particular kind of team here, I put it together myself. I don't wait around expecting others to do it for me. Because of my experiences playing various powersets, I tend to look for those sets when I'm building a team (or even when I'm not). If I'm on my ice tanker, I look specifically for a force field defender because I know how people discriminate against that set ("OMG no healz?!?").

I think the reason some people are unable to find teams is because they're either not using the tools available to them (notes, friends list, search, etc) or....well, other people are using the tools against them.

Bad idea. First, NC still gets paid off the box sale so dissuading someone from buying would be bad (from NC's perspective). Second, someone's bound to get offended by that disclaimer. Heck, people get offended by game specs ("That game sucks! The sys reqs are too high! My PC can't run it!" Yeah well, we can't have prettier visuals sticking to systems that your FX 5700 and 1 gig of RAM can handle) so basically putting a note on the tin saying "This is not the WoW you're looking for" would have a vocal contingent calling PS/NC "elitists" or some other ridiculous term.

Oh, and WoW isn't the only game where "the game starts at the level cap". There were MMOs before that (EQ1, DAoC are two examples I can think of) that WoW got its basic philosophy from.

Blue Wave, no offense here but, do you actually know what a Korean grinder MMO is? Any idea? Comparing any Korean grind game to WoW basically tells me you don't. You can't typically go from 1 to max level in a month of casual play in a Korean grind game. Try it. You don't tend to have half a level's xp handed to you just for saying hello to someone in a Korean grind game. Go load up the Lineage 2 trial to see what a mild Korean grind is like.

As a person with two CoX accounts (and four EVE accounts, and 31 EQ1 accounts, and...), it wouldn't piss me off at all. I have more than one account for a reason that has nothing to do with a possible Pass option. I don't know who you're talking to but they're probably the same people who want to be able to play two characters on the same account at the same time.

I have significantly more than six accounts in EQ1 and for the four I did Station Pass on, I didn't feel the least bit slighted or wronged. A Pass is designed to allow one account in each game for the stated price. Not five accounts in the same game. Jeez, if that's the case, ask for a "Family Plan" or summat.

Actually, this makes sense. If they're doing the 'centralize aggro on the tank/brute and AoE to your heart's content' strat, your bots run counter to that (knockback and burn/ignite patches). So inviting you to bubble is the same thing as inviting a defender or corruptor to buff/heal. There are many people who prefer to keep things as simple as possible. A "Oh look, the assault bot just blasted a mob into the next group/spawn. Incoming!" situation requires thought. Some people don't like that.

This is a very good point.

How often is your blaster going to be using Total Focus? Every few seconds, or once in a while? It's a similar reason why blasters don't get Energy Transfer (do you really want to give up HP as a squishy, for a melee attack?). Also, keep in mind that that power is also available to other studier ATs (Tanker, Brute, Stalker), ATs that earn their living using that kind of attack. Plus, stop isolating one power from a set and trying to compare it to another, completely different one. Most of Energy Manipulation (and Energy Melee) has disorient up the wazoo. Claws has very few secondary effects (-def in one power and knockdown/back in two others?).

You're judging those two powers as if they exist in a vacuum. They do not. What level does a Scrapper first have Eviscerate available? 26. Now, what level does a Blaster first have Total Focus available? 38. What's the base recharge time on Eviscerate? 8.9 secs, roughly. What's the base recharge time on Total Focus for blasters? 20 seconds. So, in the time a blaster can do one Total Focus, a scrapper can do more than two Eviscerates (and the scrapper can crit with ALL of them). Why is this grapefruit not as sweet as this orange? I mean, they're the same thing, right?

My point is, you're judging these powers on a 'damage per activation' basis. I won't say that's 'wrong' per se, but you'll find you're constantly finding disparities because that method is seriously flawed. In the numbers you posted in the OP, multiply the Eviscerate damage by 2.1 (being conservative) to account for the massive difference in recharge time. Eviscerate also animates faster so factor that in too (you're not doing anything else for the extra second you're jumping in the air). There have been many powers whose performance changed when their animations were redone/replaced (Storm Kick comes to mind. Swipe too, I believe?) so it does matter.

Yeah, all of the hardcore PLers/farmers that I know cite similar things. Two of them (RL couple) even have graphs and a Powerpoint presentation done to illustrate this in four games (here, EQ1, EQ2, and WoW), comparing and contrasting. When I was designing my personal mission, they gave me a lot of recommendations to make it lucrative xp wise, while still adhering to the story I was putting together. The key thing to remember is that, due to the ticket cap, completion is more important now. You'll hit the ticket cap fairly quickly (not even halfway through most boss missions) so scaling down so that more of the mission is completed before actually doing the primary objective, garners you more xp and tickets (from the end of mission bonus). Lower level bosses make the mission more widely accessible (in other words, even non-optimal teams can do it) while still maintaining challenge level.

Also, familiarity factors in HUGE. People who have played together alot (even in other games), tend to perform better than those simply trying to familiarize themselves with others' playstyles.