Is PLing a Form of Cheating?

Well, I'm posting on the game boards regarding an issue I have with the game. I have not called the police or congress.
Almost all game have people that watch and regulate them. I also pay to play, so my opinion is just as valid as people that enjoy cheating. If you think about it some of you aren't saying that its not cheating. Rather, you are just defending cheating. I would like to have someone explain how it is not cheating or a fair part of the game. I don't mean just because people want to do it, but how is it a fair part of the game. How did the designers intend for PLing to be used?

Also, if the X-men just sat around at the school it would be a boring comic.

ok then, I will test it again Right now, please stand by for my reply

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I think that PLing is a kind of bug in the game. How is it right that a person can just stand there at the train station and level. I know a guy that went from 16 to 32 in four days by PLing. This is not right.
A feature should be added that cuts ex if the character is not moving for a certain time period. I believe that PLing is a form of cheating as it takes advantage of a game feature in a way that was not meant to be.
I have had two amusing encounters with people PLing. The first one was when I encountered some people doing it (they were sitting on the Brick station) and they denied that they were. Then, the one guy suddenly levels! He didn't know what to say! The second was after a week of working to get to 29 I finally made it! I then went to the trainer in Brick and two people leveled while just standing there. It appeared that they weren't even using their character and where afk.
Frankly, this took a little out of the game for me. What is the meaning of planning and spending months on a character and facing death and debt when others don't have to.
Remember games are supposed to have some code of conduct and instant advancement is not usually one of them.

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I had someone in AP ask me to Plvl'em. I told him I will not Plvl anyone that is not in my sg. To be frank its kinda hard not to Plvl someone. My lvl 34 blaster with a lvl 12 sk will tear mobs up. A person in my sg sk'ed with me and got 5 lvls in one night. I did not plvl him on purpose, it just happened that way.

The kind of Pling I hate is when people are just standing there. Its fine and even fun to have an sk or be sked. That's part of the game.
One day I encountered someone that was using other people's accounts to level them because they gave him money to do so. There's not much you can do about that but I bet the developers could do something about characters standing still and earning hundreds of thousands of points.

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I think that PLing is a kind of bug in the game. How is it right that a person can just stand there at the train station and level. I know a guy that went from 16 to 32 in four days by PLing. This is not right.


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No it isn't. I can get from 16-32 in four days without being power leveled so I would expect them to be faster.

Some people can't seem to do anything right.

All I can say to you is that the devs have already decreased the amount of exp people in the same team get if they're too far apart in levels. They also fixed the "put someone in between the highest and lowest members of the team" bug. I'm sure if they considered it a problem, they would be looking into it by now; especially if it was a bug, which it isn't.

They're not exploiting any bugs, they're just taking advantage of intentionally poor game design. It may not be fair, but it isn't cheating.

Well I'm a Tank and that would not be possible for my character. Additionally, I would like to know your technique. Does it involve the use of drugs and devices so that you can eat and use the bathroom at your computer?

I dont like when I see several toons standing by manticor in bricks, all who are way to low lvl to be there. But... there really isnt anything I can do so I just ignore'em and move on.
I understand what your saying though.

They only thing that bugs me, is that fact that it throws the leveling curve out of whack. If you have tons of people being pl'ed (take a look at the Bricks or FF trams) the dev's will see a levling trend that is actually much faster than what people who actually play the game can reach.

Then you start to see things like increased minion hit points, mobs taking on new abilities and tactics to defeat players, mobs built specifically to slow everyone down (any of that starting to sound familiar?).

All this does in the end is slow down the casual players, and really anyone who isn't pl'ing/exploiting, and usually doing little to slow down the type of players who caused the imbalance to begin with.

Some say it might not impact me, but it does. The playstyle itself and the tactics they use I have no problems with. The negative side-effects on the rest of the community I do.

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Well I'm a Tank and that would not be possible for my character. Additionally, I would like to know your technique. Does it involve the use of drugs and devices so that you can eat and use the bathroom at your computer?

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Lol. You mean im the only one on drugs and using a bed pan?

Well, I tested out what i thought was true, and well, the xp wasn't decreased, and I thought it was. I apologize for any inconvience there.

However, my test do indicate HP was increased by 1/3 on a Voltaic Tank.

New AI can be confirmed Here

And well, as I was wrong about their XP, I was right baout everything else.

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New AI can be confirmed Here


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I don't know what you're referring to in that link Is it the main post or the one about the Tsoo? The stuff in the main post is about Carnies, and they use those tactics on the live server (and yes, they are MADDENING).

The Tsoo having caltrops is new, however. The Knives of Artemis have them at higher levels and can be slightly annoying.

I did a quick test to compare level 44 Nemesis HP on live and test servers. They are exactly the same. This doesn't mean that some villains at various levels didn't get an HP boost, but I don't have the time nor urge to test them all, nor have the devs mentioned anything about it.

PS - To original poster - sorry I took parts of this thread way off topic.

I think throwing off the "leveling-curve" is a good point.

It only (directly) affects me when they end up in my team not knowing how to play the game and/or their character. I've met many people in the twenties that didn't know how to use the team roster. I met a kineticist (controller) that insisted on keeping repel on all of the time, and complained about not getting healed (I was also playing a kineticist).

can anyone explain to me how plling works? ive heard about it and have a general idea of someone sked to a high lvl player with the other doin the work and getting xp etc etc etc. can u xplain it fully cause im confused? i mean isnt there a level difference limit? when u say pll r u saying a lvl10 can be sked by a lvl40 and get xp? how? it doesnt seem possible, teaming? sking? im totally lost, someone explain it plz, btw to all u guys, u guys r bringing good points on both sides of the discussion, its like watching conservatives and liberals debate 2 yrs ago in my gov't class hehe

I agree that PLing is a form of cheating, but is very different from what could mean in a FPS...in that case, if you cheat I cannot beat you since the fight is me against you. This means that I lose the game and lose part of the fun of the game because of your cheating.
In every game the main reason to play is HAVING FUN. I don't think you lose part of the fun you obtain going around Paragon because others don't. You may have less fun if they steal your mobs, but if they just stay at the train they don't touch you. If you have fun going around with or without your friends thwarting Dr. Vahzilok's evil plans, the fact that someone don't do it is not taking away fun from you. There is not a goal you reach here, is not a car race. When you arrive to lvl 50 you just stay there. End. Now they're adding Prestige ATs you can obtain reaching lvl 50, but you gonna have it in the same moment and way both if others PL or not. So, they are not taking fun away from you. They are taking fun away from THEMSELVES. I enjoy going around and save citizens, fight villains and earning souvenirs(I have ten in my main), and the fact that they obtain new powers doing nothing means squat to me.

I'm not saying that is not cheating, it indeed is. And the only case I could be upset about it is the case in which, as previously stated by others, people PLing make the devs change something in the game that affect the others(but just in little amount the PLing guys). Apart from this, I agree with others that this is their way to enjoy a game they've paid just like me...if they enjoy do nothing for hours, why have I force them my point of view? I see more important issues in the game to be corrected instead make the devs lose time on this one...

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can anyone explain to me how plling works? ive heard about it and have a general idea of someone sked to a high lvl player with the other doin the work and getting xp etc etc etc. can u xplain it fully cause im confused? i mean isnt there a level difference limit? when u say pll r u saying a lvl10 can be sked by a lvl40 and get xp? how? it doesnt seem possible, teaming? sking? im totally lost, someone explain it plz, btw to all u guys, u guys r bringing good points on both sides of the discussion, its like watching conservatives and liberals debate 2 yrs ago in my gov't class hehe

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Sidekicking is not powerleveling...sk is a regular way of playing, in which a high level character take under his wing a lower level one. A lvl 40 hero can easily sk a lvl 3 one.
They take xp in different way, since is proportionated to the original lvl. So, a lvl 3 toon sidekicked by a lvl 25 one take about 5/10 xp from a mob while the high lvl from the same one takes about 60/100 (rough numbers...don't be too serious on them).

Powerleveling, on the other hand, means that a low lvl toon team up with a high lvl one. Entering in his team, the younger hero gets part of the exp given by the mobs the team encounter, even if it hasn't even seen the mobs. So people stay inside the train station, protected by the drone police, while the other members of the group go around fighting. Not being SKed, the exp doesn't scale down and they get similar amount respect the others member of the team. So they can easily obtain very quickly various levels, just sitting near the train

For me, PLing isnt about envy or jealousy. It's about the principle of the matter. Once when I was waiting for a TF in Talos there was a level 10 controller running around on broadcast say "Will pay 50k to be powerlevelled". That's not the bit that bothers me its when they actually expect ppl to spend thier time giving them a free ride (50k aint alot really at lvl 31). I spent the best part of 2-3 weeks getting my tank to lvl 32 (yes 2-3weeks! i actually like to play missions and TF's rather than run around on the streets beating up random mobs) so why should I spend hours levelling up someone else.
I don't mind so much if it's a SG thing say a friend joins an SG but is too low to play with the others so they bring him up to speed. Or even if the person actually went fighting with them for buffs and stuff. But standing around just annoys me.

Someone said: "...you are paying to be entertained"
Lets look at this line shall we? I imagine that most of us have the goal of getting to lvl 50 wether it takes us 1 week or a month or a year. We want to get there. It "entertains" us when we hit that mark, after all that hard work we finally get their. Then as you get to a trainer to lvl up you see that lvl 1 guy you was talking to 5 days back who has now gotten to lvl 50 way before you have. You sat their doing all that hard work and someone who didnt do anything got their before you.
It's not very "entertaining" is it?

P.S i totally agree with the poster of the "throwing things out of place" bit. Lot's of you dont care about PLing but you probably will when it causes everythng to get screwed up

That's not quite how it works. Not being sk'ed, if the level range is too great, the low level hero wouldn't get any xp at all.

The PL'ing technique that is going on when you see people sitting at the tram involves manipulating the sk's level range so the low level hero gets major XP.

Take one higher level hero and he joins a team with a mid ranged level hero. The mid range level hero sk's a low level hero to -1 his own level (notice there is usually another hero with that low level at the tram). The higher level hero then goes and rounds up boatloads of mobs and kills them quickly. Thus giving the lowest level toon tons of kills at the xp cap.

I'm not sure exactly where the level ranges are the best. I think it is around High level toon is X lvl, mid range is X-7, and the sk'ed low level is then X-8, or something like that. There is a point where a level difference either way garners less xp for the low level toon.

If you're referring to the one where you get a high level, a level 2, and a mid-level hero, and it distributed the exp in a way where the middle guy got buttloads of it, then that was ner--- fixed a while ago.

At least part of this is getting hit with Issue 2: SK/mentor pairs are going to be required to be teamed, no more having a l50 gain a ton of XP while a level 43 SK's the PL'ed toon and stays out of the group.

XP will have to be split 3 ways now, instead of 2. It's a start.

If you feel the need to PL a character, go for it. don't whine when you can't get your badges for low-level missions, don't whine that there's nothing to do at 50, and don't complain that the game is too easy. If you want to play the game, them PLAY, don't be a spectator as your character is levelled without any effort.

I don't know why anyone would pay $15 a month to watch someone else play the game for them. Unless they're selling the accounts, which I PRAY Cryptic will stop by simply dropping an email to EBay saying that it's prohibited.

I wouldn't go so far as calling PLing cheating, but in all seriousness, if someone wants to get power leveled, let them do it...they are only cheating themselves out of some decent game content from story arcs or low level TF missions. Some people like the earn things on their own, others like to earn things through teamwork, while others just want things given to them on a silver platter. It really doesn't directly affect my enjoyment, except when you group with someone that has no idea how to play their power leveled character due to the lack of learning technique, strategy and other things from doing the xp grind themselves. If someone chooses to be power leveled and is ignorant of techniques or group strategy, all I ask of them is to accept any suggestion from group members or the group leader...that's it. Go ahead and get power leveled if you want. I just choose to do the xp grind myself, and either way, both of us will have fun.

Because maybe they've already leveled several characters into their 40's, and now they've got a great idea for a character concept and don't want to go through the horrible grind, and the low- to mid-level content that they've seen so many times before.

Never having joined a supergroup, I lack the resources to power level myself. But I can certainly relate to the feeling of wanting to play a new toon with new power sets, and having to drudge through the thick mucus that are the low levels.

in short no its not cheating,when PVP comes around then yes, it could possibly in a small way be classed cheating, as someone being able to lvl up stupidly fast will affect others of opposite moral code. as is now, someone being lvl 40 when you're lvl 10 doesn't affect you at all EVER, even if he worked his backside off to get there or had one of his friends pl him there. there is no bug there is no exploit, they use game mechanics to do it therefore it is not cheating.

to cheat is to gain an unfair advantage, they are not gaining an unfair advantage as enemies scale up to lvl's a lvl 40 fihting lvl 42 mobs would have a hard time same as a lvl 10 would have with lvl 12 mobs.

frankly they shoulddn't and can't, without screwing up an amazing game, remove powerlvling.

and how it affects you i have no clue, why care??? you got there the right way bully for you, they pay as you do, they could argue in reverse, he took so long to get up to my lvl its not fair, he's boring (granted i doubt they would as thats a lame [censored] complaint)

but then this complaint is lame [censored] and you made it... so who knows

Its a feature. Not a bug.

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And them doing it affects your gameplay how exactly? How does them doing that diminish or hamper your ability to play?

Or is it that you are mad that someone has friends that are willing to help them lvl like that and you do not? Either way it doesnt negatively impact your ability to play your character in the slighest.

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I agree. Just have fun playing your character and don't worry about what other people are doing. This game will be a lot more fun for you.