Spud_Lover

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The only thing that can make the reaction worse is when you say something like "a little nerf" and then you make a major reduction.

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Or like when you say there's gonna be no more nerfs to powers ...

Then cut all enhancement effectiveness by half ???

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Personally, I hate the word, and try never to use it when talking about the game to players. It carries a very negative stigma that I like to avoid whenever possible.

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So does this mean no more nerfs? Or are you just going to use a different word for it?

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From now on, any action that may be seen as a nerf by the playerbase shall be referred to as "French"...


Oi the conotations.....

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I thought they preferred "small tweak"...



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Power Adjustment

Balancing

Changing the power to match it's description

Don't know what you're drinking at the moment ... But you're at least doing one of the three things I am

Ooh ... 57%

Na ... I'm totally multi-tasking with the Auto Assualt Download at 40% now ... Post padding away ... And I'm on my third Bourbon

No room for Al at the moment.

ooooh ...

How about Download the 14 day Auto Assualt Trial that came in my wife's Guild Wars Factions Box ...

Pad your post count ...

Drink ...

My kid lives there ... I'll have to tell him about it and maybe he'll like ... Represent

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I love playing this game, but I often get strange reactions from people when I tell them I play MMO's. How do you guys justify/explain playing the game/use of the game?

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Other than to my wife ... I never justify anything I think or do to anyone ... She's also a gamer that more or less thinks very much like I do on most matters (there are some exceptions of course), so uh ...

Unless the person actually means anything to you ... I'd say ... There's no need to justify your existence.

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...but then 5.5 million WoW players can't be wrong, can they?

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Uh ... Yeah ... They can be.

But I could swear I heard only about 500,000 are Americans (not that there's anything wrong with not being American) ... So it's not like 5 million Americans are playing WoW (or ANY MMO for that matter).

In Asia MMOs are so much bigger than they are here, that their number of players completely throws off the demographics ... Meaning that of that 5 million (I THINK I heard) 4ish or so (80%) are Asians (in Asia).

Now my numbers could be all wrong ... But I know for a fact that just saying 5 million people play WoW is sorta misleading in a 5 million Americans absolutely do not play WoW kinda way.

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Why don't you call them "healers" while you are at it??

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QFT !!!

And if you want an extra helping of whine with that ... Toss Corruptors in with them ...

You'll get twice the whining from the same number of people

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Relax, its Okay. You are not on the Defenders forum anymore

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LOL ... I never was.

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It's a graphic error. The debuff fades, it just leaves the graphic attached. It has been reported, and we're looking into it.

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I'm sorry ... But uh ...

What are you ???

We've never seen one of you before ...

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I could not think of a better way to alienate your casual playerbase.

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Well they COULD put AVs in your missions ... Oh wait ...

Still here ... Even with a little detour into WoW.

Still liken it ... It's definitely a unique game.

Thanks.

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Actually, our updates are intended to cover ALL levels (as much as possible).

Auxiliary Power Pools - levels 40 up
Kheldians - level 50
Council - all levels
Striga Isle - levels 20 - 30
Mission Customization - all levels
Global Chat - all levels

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All levels sure ... And no doubt all great additions to an already great game.

But would you please comment on the increasing types of additions to the game which force grouping and require larger blocks of time in each session to complete. And the effects of these additions on "Casual Players" (for the purposes of this discussion defined as not playing for more than 2 hours in any single session) ???

Specifically additions in which the rewards are otherwise unobtainable. Like Issue 2's Respec, and future TFs to unlock new ATs.

While it is technically possible to complete TFs over a few sessions, in practice it's virtually impossible for the "Casual Player" to accomplish.

The rewards for completing "Regular Task Forces" (except for the badges), are obtainable by anyone over time (like Single Origin Enhancements, Experience, and Influence).

Aren't rewards that truely affect one's gameplay experience, like being allowed to Respec your hero or to be able to make a new type of AT, the types of things that everyone should be able to experience, regardless of their ability to play for a specific amount of time per session ???

I'm not refering to the E.A.T.'s in Issue 3, everyone has the opportunity to reach level 50 at their own pace and experience them on their own terms.

But functional rewards which are tied to specific grouping/time commited tasks, and are otherwise unavailable (realistically, not technically) through "Casual Play", are less accessible to the entire paying playerbase.

Is this an intended trend and direction for future City of Heros game features and something we'll be seeing more of in future issues ??? Or is there any consideration to making these types of functional features available to all players over time ...

Whether it be Statesman/Positron or Lord Recluse/CuppaJo ...

I'd like to urge the entire CoH playerbase to ...

MAKE SURE YOU VOTE TODAY !!!

At least those of you who are registered and legally can vote.

The game will be here waiting for you when you get back, but doing your civic duty and voting is heroic for real.

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Do you really think any of us think the dev's want to make a worse game?

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From reading a fair chunk of the posts out here ... Yeah. The complaining about things that haven't happened, in combination with completely not reading/understanding what the Devs are saying they are trying to do, would lead to the conclusion that there is a percentage of the posting public that think Statesman is trying to ruin the game.

You yourself are doing it too ... You say at low levels missions rock (I bet from an exp per hour point of view), but that isn't true throughout the game.

I read that and think ... You're only concerned about exp per hour and probably build for success and not for fun (granted you may have fun in getting exp per hour).

But Statesman is wanting to make missions (heck, the whole game) consistant in the late game, with missions in the early game. Wouldn't you think that's a good thing ??? In reading your post, I can't tell.

As for where players are ... In MY experience, Hazzard and Trial Zones are MUCH LESS populated than city zones. This is not just Atlas, Galaxy, and Perez Park ... This is everywhere.

The majority of missions are in city zones ... They're doing missions.

There's no need to get yourself all worked up over it (to the point of cussing) ... It may be that you feel strongly about something, but if you can't express an idea without being censored, then you won't be taken as seriously as someone who does. Just a bit of a constructive suggestion.

Well you're right about one thing for sure ... This is my first MMO. And ironically, I'm not a Comic Book fan either ...

I've been a gamer for years (I'm an old guy) ... But never liked the idea of paying to play (and still don't really). That's not to say I'm an online gaming newbie ... I played Blizzard's games from 1996 to 2004, so I'm very familiar with the development progression of games (ie. nerfs and changes). In my book, they are the BEST bang for the buck gaming company out there, buy it once and play it for a really long time (some of the most replayable and well balanced games I've ever seen) ... Well ... Until WoW that is (which I have very little interest in btw).

A friend of mine who was following the development of this game kind of ... Talked me into pre-ordering, based on the fact that I could play in late beta and get an idea for very little expense.

Obviously I liked what I saw.

I understand your concerns ... And actually appreciate the discussion (something all too rare on gaming forums). I also fully understand that statistics can be manipulated to show anything ... *coughtheeconomyisgreatcough* ... And I don't want to be forced into grouping (if I don't feel like it) either. And I don't "blindly" trust anyone (except for my wife - who btw isn't playing this game, but who games quite a lot), let alone a salesman (I didn't fall off the truck yesterday - I know all about business and have owned a few in my days - hence my assertion that Statesman has nothing to gain by lying).

But in reading this thread, and all of Statesman's comments in here (and in other threads recently), in combination with what I see in the game ... I had a different reaction than many folks seem to have had, to what he's trying to accomplish and the direction he wants the game to go. I think he's trying to make it a better game (from my perspective), not just doing what he wants to do.

Yeah ok ... I have an optimistic streak too.

What I was saying with the Dev Tracker comment is that people are making blanket statements about what EVERYONE is doing. What's REALLY happening in the game. When in fact by the statistics, those claims are wrong.

Most people do missions. Most people do not make optimal experience making heros and grind level 1 to 50 in the shortest amount of time possible.

They are not concerned about finding the optimal villain type for their hero-planner, planned out UBER build (path of least resistance) and farm them till the experience could be better somewhere else. They are following the missions and story arcs that their contacts give them.

I am part of that majority of players. I made an Ice/Energy Blaster as my first hero during pre-launch and have done nothing but missions with him. He's not UBER, and I've made, what you would probably call, tons of mistakes in power choices and slotting him. Imagine that ... A Blaster that can't take out 10 yellows in 2 seconds (heh ... I didn't even take Build Up till level 22). But I still play him and will continue to do so till he either reaches 50 or I decide to stop playing CoH. My second hero is a Mind/Radiation Controller ... Again ... Nothing but missions. In all, since pre-launch, I've made 12 to 15 heros (sue me, I like messing with different combos and the hero builder) and have settled on 4 that I play most often. Of all those heros, I have never devoted more than little bits of time here and there street hunting (mostly to get the last bits of a level between missions), beyond arresting baddies on the way to and from contacts and missions ... Yeah ... I do that too.

That is what the majority of players are doing. Missions and playing for fun. Not grinding experience. When I level I feel accomplishment, but it's not the goal of my playing. The goal is fun.

I'm very happy about Issue 2. I took my Blaster to the test server to see the changes for myself, and was very pleased with the changes to mission rewards and my Tanker will surely like the endurance reductions. So far so good in my book.

So statements like the one I used as an example (which was all I was doing there), are simply wrong. Unless of course, you'd like to assert that the Devs are lying when they say things like ... According to our data, The majority of players do missions and less than 1% of the players of CoH post on the forums.

I happen to think Statesman would have nothing to gain, and everything to lose by lying to us, so I take his statements as facts. YMMV.

As for the rest of all the discussion about optimal experience per hour and the purple patch and all ... I kinda don't care as it really doesn't affect me.

Now I'll admit that I'm not too keen on a huge increase of villains that have status effects because I do solo a fair amount of the time too, but there are already many things I can't solo and I do have a regular group that plays together.

Bottom line ... I've enjoyed most of the time I've spent playing CoH. Statesman and the Devs are responsible for my enjoyment of the game so far ... I trust them to keep it enjoyable for me in the future.

If they don't ... Then I won't play. It's simple really. No complaining, no demanding changes, no whining, just a canceled subscription.

Great thread ... Fantastic Dev input and insight into the things to come and the motives behind them.

But I have to say either people just aren't getting it, or they aren't trying to get it.

Does anyone actually use the Dev Tracker and read (comprehend) what they are saying ???

By this statement:

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...but here lately it's like you've completely lost touch with the reality of the game, and somehow channeled yourself into this narrow vision of what's going on..and well..your vision and reality don't match.

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I'd say the answer is no. Because if people used the Dev Tracker they would know that ...

1) The VAST majority of players play missions and don't hunt.
2) Less than 1% of the players post in the forums.

So who would have access to the "reality" of the game ??? People who post ??? Or people who have access to the datamining results on play statistics ... And since mission experience is getting upped, it seems to me that the Devs are adderssing the majority in Issue 2.

From this thread alone there's enough information from Statesman, that if one were to put it all together, they'd see that the changes that will be coming after Issue 2 goes live, will address both difficulty and experience gain for grouping as well.

The answer isn't allowing groups of 8 to take out packs of +10 level Mobs (purple patch rollback, which everyone seems overly fixated on - for obvious reason), but in making +1 to +4 Mobs tougher and ... Wait for it ... MORE rewarding to groups.

This is completly consistant and logical with the game's mechanics.

If you are level 20 ... Could 8 level 10s take you down ??? Not in a million years (unless you were afk for about 30 minutes). Heck ... Could 8 level 16s take you down ???

So why would you expect that 8 level 20s could take down ONE level 30 ??? Let alone a pack of them ...

I'd say ... If a group of 8 heros can take out 1 +10 Mob, then a pack of 8 -10 mobs, should be able to take out 1 hero.

What ... You don't like that idea ??? Hmmm ... Wonder why.

Well ... Statesman has said it ... 1 Hero = 3 Minions (white con) ... I would think that means 1.5 lts (yellow con) ... Which would mean more or less 1 boss (orange con). Or there abouts ...

So 8 heros should be able to deal with a pack of 8 +3 minions (orange) pretty easy, add in a couple lts (red) to make a challenge, and a boss (purple) to make it pretty tough. Increase everything to a +4 and everything should scale up in difficulty.

When you are level 2 out of Outbreak and you get that first mission in a warehouse in Atlas and have to run through a pack of level 6s to get there ... You go around don't you, because just 1 level 6 is more than you can handle at level 2 ... Why should that change at level 30 ???

Now I'm assuming that your experience will increase proportional to the challenge (something Statesman hasn't specifically said yet), but if that's the case ... Then what does it matter if the purple is deep purple or light purple ... Purple is about undoable for a single hero. So how can a group of heros take an equal sized group of purples ???

Well ... That's how I look at it.

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Your statement suggests that you are a typical fanboi, and would promote the product regardless if it were badly designed or not.

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Wrong ... My statement suggests I have played on the test server and have seen the changes for myself. It is an answer to your question about soloing in Issue 2. Sure I like this game ... Why would I waste any time on it if I didn't. But there are some things I don't like about it ... I simply choose not to whine about those things ... If that's what a fanboi is then I guess that's me.

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So, listening to your response is tantamount to that which you apparently despise the most...listening to somebody else's opinion which happens to be negative.

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Touche' ... Although "despise", and your prior use of the word "angry", are not remotely accurate. It's more ... Providing accurate information based on personal experience in an attempt to dispell the myth.

Gaming forums, contrary to popular belief and posting habits, are a place to gain information about the game. Misinformation, exaggerations, hearsay, and flat out false claims do not provide information ...

I care that the content of the forums is relavent to the game (notice I don't despise or get angry about it) so something beyond OMG!!1!one!1 U NERF MY SG I QUIT can be found out here. What I want is to be able to waste some "casual" time at work here and be rewarded with entertainment and information ... Not COH IS TEH SUK CUZ U NERF MY SG !!!1!1!

But enough about me ... YOU are the one taking people's negative posts for granted. Has there been a single post in this thread saying soloing is impossible now ???

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No, I'll make up my mind for myself as usual.

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Again ... YOU'RE the one who said ... (paraphrased) Based on a few posts I'm gonna have to quit so I want an official response from Cryptic so I don't waste any more money on a game that I can't be rewarded for playing casually.

When all you have to do is spend a little of your precious time seeing it for yourself on the test server if it's that important to you.

OR ... You could take the word of the many posters in this thread who HAVE played on test and are telling you that soloing is not a problem in Issue 2.

As someone else posted ... If you wanted an official answer about this from a Dev, then you'd have emailed or PMed them. Posting it here and arguing with replies designed to answer your question ... is Trolling.

Admit it ... You're not happy about Smoke Grenade are you.

Well at least you finally explained your concerns rather than just saying "I've been reading some bad reviews from the vocal minority" ...

EVERYTHING (in my experience on the test server) is increased in missions ... Experience, Enhancements, and Influence.

The first mission I did there (when you start with ZERO influence from transfering your hero), got me more than 40k influence (at level 22) ... That was (and still is) UNHEARD of for me on the live servers.

I had lots of enhancements to sell (and use) and arrest influence and mission influence is much higher.

Now I don't hunt (except maybe to complete a level when real close before starting a mission) ... Missions are all I do ...

In terms of advancement, enhancements, and challenge (sure it's a bit tougher ... But I think that is good) ... From what I've seen on the test server ... Issue 2 is MORE solo friendly than what is currently live. Keeping in mind that I built a hero to solo with (even if it's not one of the more powerful solo builds).

Lots of posts say these things ... Why not listen to them over the few whiney ones ???

Frankly, I don't care if you play or not. But I do care about posts which are either factually wrong and based totally on hearsay (posts that simply continue the myth), or whiney rants with grand threats of quitting if their demands aren't met ... Basically ... Posts like your original in this thread.

So ... Go ahead and quit based on whiney posts. Or give Issue 2 a try and decide for yourself.

Either way though ... You're being told over and over that you'll be able to solo in Issue 2 ... You can't believe that but you can easily believe some whining over how tough it is now ... Most likely from people who think that Smoke Grenade was nerfed rather than fixed ...

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... I don't know what changes are coming except for some of the alarmist posts I have been reading.

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Ah ... I see ... Troll.

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... I am seeing a general trend in these posts, and reports from test server ...

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If you haven't experienced it for yourself then don't you think it's just a bit premature to be whining about stuff that you have no idea about first hand ???

I took my main over to the test server and played a little bit ... All he did the whole time he was on was solo, and he's not the most efficient solo build.

In fact it's much easier to make progress while soloing now that mission experience has been upped.

Granted there are now missions that require a team to do, but they are not something you HAVE to do and you can clearly see them when they are presented ...

Why don't you either go over to the test server and see for yourself (if it's that big an issue to you), or wait till Issue 2 goes live before spouting off about how your sky is falling ...