An Open Letter to the CoH Community
Good day to you all. This the The Player (Formerly Known as The Philotic Knight). I am constructing this post very carefully, as I have seen what I would call a slight degeneration of the forums lately. As to why it is happening, there are a variety of reasons, which I will go into in detail. What follows are a summary of all of the recent topics on the forums which I have been reading about and thinking about for some time now, and my opinions on the subjects. God help us all, for I am bloviating.
CoH vs. CoX vs. Co* vs. CoH/V vs. CoGoRO
I've seen a lot of debate over the years ever since Villains were introduced as to what to call the game. The announcement of the Going Rogue pack has caused this debate to flare up a bit. So, what do we call our beloved game? All of the above. It's very simple, people will call it what they WANT to call it, and no amount of conversation will ever convince them otherwise if they are dead set on it. As long as it has a "C" and an "o" and another letter in there somewhere, everyone will know what you're talking about. Just don't leave those two letters by themselves, that's a whole other subject entirely!
Champions Online
Speaking of the whole other subject: Champions Online. This game, being developed by Cryptic Studios, has just been pushed back a couple of months. Good for them, from what I've heard from MANY people that are in the beta, the game isn't ready to ship yet and still needs a bit of work. I've also heard the other side, of people that are largely not in the beta that are impressed with the look and feel of the graphics, along with the open power pools. Here is the truth: Champions Online will rise or fall based on the merit of the game itself. So will City of Heroes. It will NOT be a "CoH Killer". Sure, some people, probably many, will go over and give it a try. Some will stay there, some will return. But it will NOT kill this game. Period. The mass of the playerbase have voted with their dollars, and this game is just as profitable as ever, if not more, than it was five years ago. NCSoft also seems to have confidence in it, as they are putting a lot of money into this cash cow. If they were afraid of Champions Online, they wouldn't have hired so many new faces and put so much money into developing new content, a new box, and the recent marketing upgrade. This game is NOT going anywhere. I will not be trying Champions Online until I hear more about it from people actually playing the finished product. This is for the same reason why I don't install new Microsoft operating systems until at least 2 years or 2 service packs later. Because new software always start full of bugs and the public en masse are a good judge of the value of a product. The masses will speak for or against Champions, just as they have for this game, and I will wait for their verdict. I suggest everyone else here do the same, but you are free to do what you wish. If you ARE going to CO for sure and you know you won't be coming back, just go silently. Creating a "goodbye" thread will serve neither you nor anyone else well at all. That being said, I wish Cryptic the best of luck in their venture.
Playstyles
In my
Combat Handbook, I presented the "default" playstyle for heroic archetypes. This is what I call the Tao, the intent behind the archetypes. These are simple and easy to understand and will allow someone with experience in other MMOs or in no MMOs at all to jump right into the game and have a "role" to fill without being lost. That being said, once you really get into the game, you'll realize that any roles that you think exist, do not really exist at all. Tankers control by nature, Controllers can tank, Blasters can "scrap", Scrappers can defend, and so on and so on. It is good to start with a basic understanding of each archetype's strengths and weaknesses, but everyone should know that there is NOT only one way to play this game, and there is NOT only one way to play a given archetype. Play the game and characters how you want to, and LET OTHERS play the game they way THEY want to. Sure, give a helpful hint here and there if it looks like someone is struggling or the team is in trouble, but don't try to tell others how to spend their paid play time. It won't make either of you feel better, and it can only lead to anger. Don't bother with Vet Badges to determine experience either, as there are many people who have multiple accounts, and some people who have "inherited" their account from others. Watch the way people play. If they play like they don't know what they are doing at ALL, send them a tell asking them if they are new and need some help. Do NOT make public or team comments. This is something that I learned from my Navy brat upbringing, hanging around all the officers. Always praise in public and reprimand in private. It almost always makes things go more smoothly. Unless you're a drill sergeant, but that's a whole other story....
Official Threads vs. "I Want to be SEEN!
There are official threads already existing on MANY subjects. Try to find them if you have an opinion on a specific subject. If you cannot find them and you've done your best to search, then go ahead and post what you want to say. If the thread already exists, someone WILL point it out to you. At that point, I suggest you Notify the Moderator on your own thread so that he/she can delete it, and repost your comments on the official thread. If you KNOW that there is another official thread out there for your subject, and you KNOW where to find it... PLEASE don't make a new post just because "I want to be seen". I don't care if the official thread is the size of the Old Testament, it's there for a reason. If you just start to go through the official thread and READ it, more than likely you'll find that at least one person shares your exact same opinion on the subject. And the longer the thread is, the more likely someone else DOES share your view. Once you find that person, just simply quote them, or quote them and say "This". It causes a lot less pain and anger on the forums than starting your own thread on a subject that has already been hashed out a thousand times elsewhere. If you go look at the official thread, you'll find out that much of what you came to say has already been said.... so why say it again? Just emphasis what has already been said and you'll have a much happier forum life.
Farming
You knew this was coming, it was predestined. Ironically enough, this will probably be my shortest section. What do I think of farming? I don't. I don't do it, I don't see the point of it. To me, doing the same content/map/TF over and over again is like having a second job. And I don't want my play to be work. So I don't do it. You wanna do it? Great, good for you, go ahead. It's your money just as much as it is mine... just one thing. Don't bug ME to help YOU, because that cuts into MY play time. Developers, I've asked for this before, and I'll ask again, PLEASE give these people their own "team size" slider so that we can end the search for "fillers" once and for all and I can have more peace in my gaming time. That is all.
Mission Architect
The Mission Architect provides players a resource to tell the stories that they want to tell, and to play the stories that they want to play. It provides virtually unlimited content. The bright side is that it allows our imaginations to go wild. The bad side is that it is/was a great way to "abuse" the system. I'm happy with the ticket cap, I think it's fair and reasonable. If you want to play for more new content, then play in the MA. If you want to play to get more "stuff" faster, then go play the "normal" missions that have better rewards. The developers have already stated that the MA was not designed to be a PL tool or a farming tool, so go back to using the tools that you were using before the MA came around. It worked for you before, why does it not work for you now? Keep in mind at all times these two words: Purpose and Intent. What do you think the Purpose and Intent of a Mission Architect was? To allow players to level faster and get more stuff faster, or to allow for more user creativity and content? I strongly doubt it was for the former.
"Stuff"
George Carlin had a nice long spiel about "stuff". How we always want more "stuff". How we work and work and work to get more "stuff" and how once we've got a house full of stuff, we work to buy a bigger house, so we can get more STUFF! That is the sad truth for the most part in the real world. I play to escape the real world. This is my fun-time, my time to kick back and have a good time, maybe with a few friends. Here are a few facts: The missions outside of the Mission Architect did not get any harder since the release of Invention Origin enhancements. You don't "need" to have Purples, or even IOs at all to play this game. You can still get from 1-50 and still have a blast using common, ordinary, Single Origin Enhancements. That being said, if you WANT to get Purples and expensive IOs, you'll have to realize that it takes patience. You didn't just buy that sports car one day on a whim, did you? It could take months or maybe even years to get all the "stuff" you want, just as it does in the real world. I don't think that "stuff" matters, but if it really matters that much to you, just try to learn to take it easy and have patience, and it will come in time. Especially if you play the market with patience. The truth is that this is how you win more "stuff", both in the game and in real life... with patience. It's the impatient people that need it RITE NAO that end up paying the highest price. That's why food in convenience stores is so much more expensive. I call it the "impatience tax". You are paying for your impatience. So, in short, you don't NEED "stuff" to play this game, but if you WANT "stuff", then you will have it! Just wait and work for it. Don't gripe about how you wish stuff was easier to get, that's unrealistic.
Finding a Team
I keep hearing "the game is a ghost town, I can't find a team anywhere" DOOOOOOOOOOOM! It's not true. With the addition of Mission Architect, there is literally an infinite amount of content that can be run, and many MANY people are running that content, often times solo. What makes this different from before? Because before everyone was running the same content for months until the next Issue was released, and then they'd run that content for a few weeks before getting bored of it and going back to the old content. So "pick up groups" were easier to find because people had "old" stuff that they were playing all the time. Then Mission Architect came around and blew that out of the water. Now, instead of having to wait for the next Issue, people have new content to play ALL the time. So they've become more organized and formed groups... or decided that they want to experience the content so they go solo so that they can go as slow as they want. Now, the pick up group isn't DEAD, it's just slowly disappearing. Guess what that means? That means you have to actually *gasp* put EFFORT into getting on a team now! Here is my short answer. If you want a team, FORM YOUR OWN TEAMS, then you'll never be teamless. Become a leader, and you'll find that there are dozens of people who are exactly like how you used to be.... wishing and wishing and wishing for a team, but doing nothing about it. By you leading, you fulfill their wish for someone else to do it, and you fulfill your wish for having a team. Everybody wins.
I even have a guide that might help you out a little, try it out.
Nature of the Developers
Our developers do not eat babies. They don't watch you while you're not looking, plotting on ways to "get you" and make you personally upset. They probably don't even know you exist. You're just another number, to be honest. But that doesn't mean they don't care. The developers can't look at your personal experience in the game, all they can do is look at their experiences playing the game and the larger scope of the "community's experience" in playing the game. They are the ones that have to make the hard choices. ANY move that they make WILL be hated by a minority of the player population, this is just a simple matter of fact. To paraphrase and rewrite Abraham Lincoln: "You can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not please all of the people all of the time." The truth is, they WILL do something that will make you unhappy someday, it's fate. The longer you play this game, the closer you come to that moment. Get over it. For me, it was the fact that you can't manually place spawns in the Mission Architect, which killed a lot of the plans I had for intricate stories, plots, and scenes. But you know what? I got over it, and I'm better for it. The developers have to look at what is best for the game as a WHOLE, and they cannot make everyone happy. So, please, realize this, and realize that it's not a personal vendetta against you or against your small "group" of like-minded players. They have to look at the bigger picture. If what they do bothers you that much, then sure, give your opinion. But TRY to stay reasonable and rational and don't get emotional. Just remember: it's NOT personal. It's business. They aren't saints or sinners, they are just men and women who love this game as much as you do, and want to try to make it work the best they can. They aren't perfect, but they do a DAMN good job if you ask me.
tl;dr version:
<ul type="square">[*] Call the game what you want to call it, as long as it's not CO.[*] The game isn't going anywhere, and if YOU want to go, including to that "other game", just go silently and don't throw a hissy fit.[*] Don't tell others how to play and don't be annoying to others, either in the game or on the forums, unless you're trying to be funny.[*] Use the Official threads. Don't make your own to "be seen", it just makes you look like a jerk.[*] Farming is not inherently bad or evil, just don't bug other people to help you farm.[*] The Mission Architect was designed to let people CREATE missions. That means, to be creative, not to let people farm or PL.[*] You don't need "leet stuff" to play this game. But if you WANT it, work for it and wait for it. It will come in time.[*] Teams are not dead, you just have to work harder for them. Make your own and you'll never be teamless.[*] The developers are not out to get you. They only want to try to make the game as enojoyable as they can for the most number of people. Sometimes, you WILL be in the minority.[/list]
That all being said, no I'm NOT going anywhere any time soon. And no, you can't have my stuff, go get your own stuff.
To the Players: Thanks for teaming with me for the last five years, here's to another five!
To the Developers: Thanks for giving me this world to play around in, and keep up the good work!
To the Defenders: I may be playing tons of alts of other ATs now, but know I'm always playing as a Defender at heart!
To the Forumites: Keep sane, keep rational, keep logical. Think Spock, not Kirk.
I look forward to interacting with you all for another five years. I love you all, no matter how much some of you might annoy me.
Yours Truly,
-The Player
