Valerika

It was a great TF, but the last mission can be a bit frustrating for melee heavy teams like the one I was on. It was almost impossible to put a dent in Battle Maiden before the lights on the ground told us it was time to move, and several times people died as they were just coming through the door. It was very satisfying to complete though, and the visuals were amazing.

When people talk about the "tedium" of having to complete new content for the Incarnate system, I have to ask myself why the content was added in the first place. Please forgive me if I'm wrong in the particulars, and I don't claim to know everything about the game, but here's my interpretation:

PROBLEM: People complained that there was no end-game in CoH. When you hit 50, people wanted something to do other than: Grind out Inf, purple-out your build, PvP, hold costume contests, roleplay, make more alts, etc.

As a result, people started proposing solutions, but most of them were based on things they saw in other games they played. The two biggest (in my estimation) of these proposals were:

1. Expanding PvP into the PvE zones (with /duel, etc). The idea being that since PvP is given as a rationale for playing your 50s instead of retiring them, it should be easier to access/more public. This was largely rejected because most people like the separation of PvE from PvP zones (which is rare in MMOs that have PvP and could be considered a selling point of CoH), don't want the associated griefing/lag, and also because they don't enjoy PvP enough to rationalize massive changes to the game to accomodate a change they wouldn't use (or would actively avoid).

2. Simply tacking on 10 more levels to the game. The idea being that this is the model most other games use when their end-game content starts getting stale. You can't retire a 50 if the new cap is 60. This idea was largely rejected because it did little to address the actual problem, since players would quickly hit 60 and start complaining about having nothing to do again. They complained that it would make their hard-earned level 50 purples obsolete. They complained that the resources needed to add the new levels would take away from content updates to the early levels which was sorely needed at the time (and I would consider Praetoria and Inherent Fitness to be attempts to address this very issue). They also complained that it would widen the gap between low level players and higher level ones even with the Super SK system, discouraging inter-level teaming.

CoH players didn't want another grind just for the sake of a grind, they wanted CONTENT, compelling, engaging, challenging content without the problems associated with either proposed solution. So the developers tried something new.



SOLUTION: A story-driven end-game that adds to character progression slowly enough that it can't be "finished" in a week, doesn't discourage (but also doesn't require) teaming, doesn't make level 50 purple enhancements obsolete, and doesn't (at least initially) require higher level zones to implement, and challenges your characters in ways they may have never been challenged before.

Naturally, not everyone will be satisfied with the implementation, but I'm absolutely amazed at how well the developers did this. Sure, people will complain that the arc is too hard, and other people will respond that the arc is SUPPOSED to be hard, because that's what we asked them to give us. People will complain that the arc will get stale, and eventually it will, but that's something they can change over time if need be (as they have done with the new cape mission, etc). Personally, I think it will be a long time before the Incarnate initiation arc gets stale for me, because I have very few 50s and because the time investment for maximizing the Incarnate system is so large (by design), that I'm only going to bother with it on characters I really, really enjoy playing. If you have the time and inclination, do it 60 or 100 times though--no one is stopping you. However, I'd argue that the lower level content will get stale much more quickly than the Incarnate arc because all of those 60 or 100 alts had to do the lower level content first (and that's why I love additions like Going Rogue).

Thanks, Electric-Knight.

I don't think he was stealth-editing that post, Forbin. I think he just didn't know how to use quotes, and as a result, he ended Panzerwaffen's post, hit enter, and then added his own highly sarcastic two cents. My guess is he just needs to learn how to use /quote twice in one post.

EDIT: You know, it is actually a little more difficult to post quotes from two different people in the same post. Does someone have things like that stickied somewhere?

It's not just you. I think that for some reason, the extended maintenance is still going on despite the server status saying everything is up.

Let me get this straight--this very old, very tired thread, which should have been removed from the forums long ago...was necroposted by a guy named...Purge. That's a special kind of irony. You can't make stuff like this up, because no one would believe you. You pretty much have to see it for yourself, and then you either laugh or scream until your head explodes.

I've been having exactly the same error for roughly the same amount of time. I've also /petitioned it. You aren't alone. As for a workaround, I'm still able to receive e-mails even though I can't send them, so I can still trade inf and such back and forth between my characters using my fiance's account as an intermediary. I hope they fix this soon.

Invulnerability is fine the way it is, especially after the passive power buff it recieved not too long ago. If you give an endurance buff to invulnerability, you'd have to give one to shields, SR, etc. No point to that--just slot properly to compensate.

I find myself liking Forbin more and more lately. He definitely has a way with words.