opticus2

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It was marketed as a team game that was solo friendly. Notice the emphasis was still on team play

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Really? The following quote is taken directly from an NCP soft press release about the european launch put out yesterday.

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Since its release in 2004, Cryptic Studios' groundbreaking massively multiplayer online game has swooped in and seized the public's attention like few others. With its non-traditional setting, a first for an MMO title, and its casual-player-friendly structure, City of Heroes has attracted gamers from across the spectrum and won two prestigious Billboard Digital Entertainment Awards.

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Notice it doesn't say "team" anywhere in that quote.
It could be argued that "casual" doesn't necessarily mean solo play. But I think I could easily be seen as meaning something other than team-driven play. In any case they are trying to make the case that CoH has a different attitude about casual play than most MMorpg's. Up until CoH most of the big MMorg's stressed grouping and raiding. Something the casual gamer was left out of because they could not give the time commitment that most guilds required for membership.
So if "casual" doesn't mean raiding players, or regular grouping players..it could still refer to "solo" play.

Statesman, thank you for the post regarding this issue. I am glad that you acknowledge there is a valid issue and that you are investigating. My question is this:
Are the amount of hit points a boss has tied directly to his damage output? I mean is there a slider or something that the programmer moves and all stats ramp up in proportion?
I am just trying to understand if the damage output was a diliberate change or a side effect of making the bosses tougher to defeat.
I started playing the game in beta and I really liked it because there was a "fun" factor and it seemed like you folks had developed a game that didn't take itself TOO seriously. I like CoH because it it not a game about time sinks. The option to solo your missions was a greatly appriciated feature. I would like to think it is still part of the plan.(I group 85% of the time).
thanks again for the post.

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So uh, what AT is the OP again? If you're any of the ATs that weren't designmed specifically for soloing (Defender, Controller, and to some extent, Blaster), then you're meant to have trouble, even find it near-impossible to beat an even boss.


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Except for the fact that Statesman has said that ALL ATs should be able to solo, that's almost a good point.

Yes, there will be a difference in difficulty, but the difference between possible and impossible is one that I personally consider to be a "show stopper".



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Even Tanks and Scrapper should find them a challenge. That's the point of the "Boss" class.


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You have no idea what a comfort it is for me to know that my enjoyment of the game has been sacrificed so that some scrapper can feel "challenged".
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If they want more difficulty they should use the difficulty slider. That's what it was DESIGNED TO DO. Why nerf all of the rest of us?

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AMEN ANGUS!!!
Don't forget to mention that casual players pay the same amount of money as any power-gamer.THREE AT's suffer so ONE can feel challenged. You hit the nail on the head my friend. I have been posting this for 5 weeks on test.

This is just ONE issue with this update.. not including the dissapearance of stacking armor for stone and dark armor, not to include how they also broke up the disciplines into two spires that you CANNOT buy..oh yeah.. going against those bosses with 50% more hitpoints and that do 50% more damage is going to be a cakewalk. Even when you know you are going against a mezzer or a sleeper/holder.. you wont be able to buy the spires to help you. Careful use of spire? Oh sure.

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.Statesman doesn't care. He was determined to make these changes regardless of how it affected the casual or solo players.



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Dooooooooom! Doooooooooom!

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This seems to be your only response to negative feedback on several threads.
Do you actually have something constructive to say?
If not I would keep your expansive vocabulary to yourself. You come off looking like a boot-licker.

Been saying this for 5 WEEKS on the test forums..Statesman doesn't care. He was determined to make these changes regardless of how it affected the casual or solo players.
The ONE area of this game you should always be able to solo is your own missions UNLESS it CLEARY states you will need help before you accept it.
Generic Bosses should NEVER have gotten the boss tweaks.
This is now a power-gamer's game..casual and concept players will be forced to group to finish their own story arcs for the entire second half of the game. Just when they should be starting to feel really powerful because they are starting to get the really cool powers..WHAM.. no we're sorry.. you are not a HERO you are just another peon in tights. Step aside third stringer.

Doctornick,
I never said every AT should be soloable at the same pace.
Clearly anyone with common sense can see that some AT's and some Builds work better solo. Just becausee you want to play a defender that will take a week to hit lvl 20 should not prevent me from playing a blaster and hitting lvl 20 in two days. Why do you care how fast I can level as opposed to you?
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And if everyone can solo so fast, why should you create a class (empathy) that has half its powers as OTHER ONLY. Please justify that. What's the point of having an other only class in a soloing game?

[/ QUOTE ] I never said anyone can solo so fast, nor did I say grouping isnt necessary. It just should not be required
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And is the argument that everything in Coh should be soloable. Should you be able to solo Hamidon? Why bother investing in servers? The stuff is on your comp, you can solo offline.

[/ QUOTE ] I did not say EVERYTHING in CoH should be soloable. And tell me how to run the game offline.. I would love that.
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And I don't buy the "casual gamer" argument. I've got a full time job. I group. I don't even have a super group. Just pick up groups. Because that's what I enjoy.

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That's what YOU enjoy. that was my point. YOU should enjoy the game how YOU like. and I should have the ability to enjoy the game as I like it. No harm, no foul.
For the record I am the leader of my supergroup, we have 40 members and we group alot.

Greetings,
I Don't think Wepps has articulated his point exactly.(I may be wrong) But what I think he is trying to say is this:
City of Heroes appealed to ALOT of people, including myself: because when it first came out, it was VERY solo friendly and a casual gamer could log on for an hour, solo and still make visible progress.
After experiencing other games (EQ being the worst case in point) which paid lip service to soloing, or freedom to pick you own path,being tweaked over time to minimize solo play or require grouping, I for one welcomed City of Heroes.In the case of EQ, once you get lvl 55 or so, if you are not in a good "Raiding" guild, most of the higher end content, and rewards are simply unatainable.
So Wepps concern as I see it, and with which I agree, is that someone who enjoys the game, but is not into group play is going to need to resort to grouping to advance his character in the hour or so he can play a night.
It was my opinion during beta and early release that the Devs were not interested in making the players "GRIND IT OUT", but the point was to have fun. Grinding is not fun.
Just because the hard core gamers found it too easy should not be a reason to tweak the game.
Many of us just want to have fun..we are not interested in grouping as we would like to enjoy the content on our own and still progress.
Personally I wish they would put in a game difficulty slider that adjusted your exp and influence rewards so the people that say it is too easy could make it harder for themselves and the casual gamer could slide it up all the way to it's max.
If the pro-grouping or grinders are all about a challenging game, then good for you . You can make it harder.. just don't worry if the solo'rs level at a faster pace that you.
the fact that people care if others can solo fast is immature in my opinion. We all pay our monthly fee. We should be able to enjoy the game at our own pace and in our own style.