I'm not supporting these changes. However, in Statesman's defense, he did say that if we discovered a mission with a boss and there was no warning given in the description that we should report it as a bug.
Regardless, it feels like a square peg has been jammed into a round hole. I don't see much in the game that really indicates that these boss changes were planned all along and that the game is now working as intended.
Its troubling that these changes seem to ensure that scrappers are going to get the shaft. I feel like I've got a giant nerf target painted on my hero. And its not like I'm having an easy time with bosses myself, although I can imagine its worse with other archetypes...
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Oops... I just noticed a typo... I mean to say I don't support the changes, not that I support them.
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I'm supporting these changes. However, in Statesman's defense, he did say that if we discovered a mission with a boss and there was no warning given in the description that we should report it as a bug.
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So, I guess we'll /bug at least 50% of all missions? C'mon, that statement you are referring to comes across as faintly ridiculous, insofar as it implies the bulk of missions aren't "bugged" in this fashion. It boils down to Statesman is unaware of how most missions play out in this game,
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Its troubling that these changes seem to ensure that scrappers are going to get the shaft. I feel like I've got a giant nerf target painted on my hero. And its not like I'm having an easy time with bosses myself, although I can imagine its worse with other archetypes...
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And THIS my friend is why the scrappers should be VERY leary of any chest thumping over this change, you put your finger right on it. Because if the other AT's are running as they should for the new boss set-up, it stands to reason that if the scrappers are sliding through (not a breeze, but you get the drift) then they'll eventually get smacked back down to compensate.
Because if *not every mission should be soloable* and scrappers are still soloing them all, the devs WILL sit up and take notice.
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So, I guess we'll /bug at least 50% of all missions?
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I'd say go for it.
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And THIS my friend is why the scrappers should be VERY leary of any chest thumping over this change, you put your finger right on it. Because if the other AT's are running as they should for the new boss set-up, it stands to reason that if the scrappers are sliding through (not a breeze, but you get the drift) then they'll eventually get smacked back down to compensate.
Because if *not every mission should be soloable* and scrappers are still soloing them all, the devs WILL sit up and take notice.
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Actually... It was a typo which I just noticed... I don't support the changes and my other posts reflect that opinion.
I'm not having as easy a time with these changes as people expect. Its not like I can run up to bosses and have a field day with them. And having friends who play blasters and controllers I completely sympathize with their plight.
Sorry about the misunderstanding...
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And having friends who play blasters and controllers I completely sympathize with their plight.
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The people I feel most sorry for are those between 25 and 32 (sometimes 38). Having to fight these beefed up guys without your 'signature' power...? Le ugh.
Okay here is my suggestion. Please feel free to shoot me down, but I noticed that the dev's don't just respond to complaints. Some bosses could have been tougher, that was a given. Some bosses were insane and didn't need to be tougher. Here is what I suggest.
Tank swiper/ smashers;
These did not need a boost. With there self res ability they were tough enough as it was. When ever I fought one it seemed like they got back up 25% of the time at least. Roll back the hit point boost, roll back the acc to 15%, and up the self res %.
Crey Bosses;
Okay what was done here was insane. Fighting a force fielder with this many hp is just down right wrong, and I won't talk MOG, unstoppable, ect. This needs to be reversed completely. These guys were a fight before the change and are impossible now.
Others;
I understand the need to make the game more challenging but 40% was too much. Change it to 20/20% and keep the xp at 40%. Or if you insist on keeping it the same then at least up the xp to 60% to offset the debt that will be accrued accordingly.
Yup. I remember soloing <32 with my Grav/kin controller. Talk about tedium. The worse occurred right after Issue 2. She was lvl 30, and I was attempting to get her cape mission done solo. The +1 bug, the chief soldier 2x sword damage bug, and the fact that it seemed to be spawning groups for 2 people (how is a non-pet controller supposed to get by 2 +2 bosses?) caused for an extremely frustrating night.
I shudder to have to go through that again without singularities providing targets for them to shoot at and with the boss changes. They have since fixed the stunning minions and most of the other bugs. I do not know if she would be facing 2 bosses at points in there now while soloing it. I don't know if they fixed the boss spawning problems like that.
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Not that either, and in any case, we really really should not have to parse statements like this finer than Jesuits would to arrive a an interpretation.
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The difference is, States is a guy (a natural origin, no less), and falliable, whereas the Jesuits work with the revealed word of God.
That's a joke, BTW. (As far as I'm concerned.)
I suppose it's possible States is as fundamentally ignorant of his game as some suggest. OTOH, I'm still skeptical of that. And based on that skepticism, supposing that States actually thinks every single mission debreifing says "By the way, this mission, like every other, contains one or more bosses," still seems silly enough to make looking for the real meaning of what he said a legitimate exercise.
Choosing a Controller V2 | Splattrollers | Plant/Rad | Fire/Storm | Mind/Emp & Mind/Rad
Weird Controller Powers | Conf & XP/Time | Controller Damage
Being a Healer | The word Necessary | Natural Concept Characters
Boss level too low. (No seriously, I think it's perfect. And the rewards are much greater as well for XP)
CoH exists because there's a little hero in all of us.
Ridolfo 50 DM DA.
& far too many alts
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And THIS my friend is why the scrappers should be VERY leary of any chest thumping over this change, you put your finger right on it. Because if the other AT's are running as they should for the new boss set-up, it stands to reason that if the scrappers are sliding through (not a breeze, but you get the drift) then they'll eventually get smacked back down to compensate.
Because if *not every mission should be soloable* and scrappers are still soloing them all, the devs WILL sit up and take notice.
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Actually... It was a typo which I just noticed... I don't support the changes and my other posts reflect that opinion.
I'm not having as easy a time with these changes as people expect. Its not like I can run up to bosses and have a field day with them. And having friends who play blasters and controllers I completely sympathize with their plight.
Sorry about the misunderstanding...
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Consider the following:
1. Invulnerable (and to a lesser extent Regen) scrappers were nerfed with U 3.
2. Scrappers are supposed to be the AT most able to solo, the boss killers.
3. Things got incredibly harder for us, but scrappers like a challenge - if we didn't like a challenge no dark scrappers would exist.
IMHO, I fear no nerf bat, it has already hit me.
CoH exists because there's a little hero in all of us.
Ridolfo 50 DM DA.
& far too many alts
Maybe it would be helpful to list some example for Statesman? I've bugged the missions I've come across that don't list bosses now, since it's clear they're supposed to indicate such.
Here's one with dual must-defeat Lesser Devoured bosses:
Capture Several Test Subjects
"I just spoke with Dr. Victor Ido, that researcher you rescued from the Devoured Earth. He said that his lab is nearing a major breakthrough in determining the source of those strange biological contaminants they found in both normal human blood and and in the recently Devoured creatures in order to confirm their conclusion. Will you capture some Devouring Earth creatures for the scientists to study?
Well, it's all for science. They've located some appropriate creatures, and I've isolated them with an emergency force field. Just take the light rail over to the Ulysses Keys."
The green text is the missions, not mine. No indication of dual must-defeat bosses (right next to each other, no less) and in fact, the mission text seems to indicate that "capturing" any kind of Devoured will do.
Any Devouring Earth Mission has several Lesser Devourers in it that murder groups.
OK, haven't read most of the thread, felt the need to vent a little, and this was the topic best suited for it.
My lvl 36 defender decided to try one of his lvl 34 missions. Basically, everything but bosses con green and blue, bosses are white. Took out blues and greens all over the place with no real issues, got my glowies using stealth and phase shift when necessary to avoid the crey protectors (white) so that I would still have a full load of insps when I hit the named boss.
Fought him for a solid 10 minutes at least, popped RA 5 or 6 times, regen aura at least 3 times, went through all my insps, had the boss down to a quarter of his hp. At the time I was full end full health. The boss then proceeded to freeze hold me to death. I sat there and watched as ice appeared around me everytime he shot at me, and watched my hp drop until I dropped. No chances to run, no chances to hit back, full health to on the floor with me just watching the screen.
Now, I know, I play an empathy defender, not really meant to solo, but whats with me not even being able to solo a mission that I am 2 levels above? What do I have to do, wait until I am 3 or 4 levels above the mission so I don't get any xp except for the mission complete?
As for get a team, waiting for any of my friends to get on so they can save the day. I like teaming with my friends, unfortunately, they are all higher level than me and so we do their missions. It was nice to be able to finish up some of my arcs on my own when I had basically out leveled them. Guess the only content I get to see is the content that my friends happen to see when I am on with them.
OK, rant off, back to the game.
Psy-Kid, Vanguard, Paragon City Search and Rescue
www.pcsar.net
I'm a guy that likes his game damn hard, and I'm afraide I gotta agree. For most players out there, the bosses are way too tough.
Please note that I said most players.
All they have to do is get rid of 80% of the boss population in the game, and It'll work. Or, y'know. Roll back the changes.
I don't mind a tough game either, but my main is a defender, never been able to solo very well at all. In a team, he is great, masive heals, ra fully slotted, regen aura getting there, grant invis to add some extra defense....you get the idea. He loves a good challenge in groups. Try duoing un-sidekicked to a blaster with delusions of grandeur that is 5 levels above you. Keeping him alive was extremely hard, yet extremely fun.
Soloing my own missions that are 2 levels below me should not be impossible.
Psy-Kid, Vanguard, Paragon City Search and Rescue
www.pcsar.net
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Actually, if a boss will appear in a mission, the mission briefing mentions it. Check the text.
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If a player sees a boss of his level, he should probably get help...
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Okay, I need to vent now too. 
I read this today and let me say it got me a little bit miffed. Let me translate...
1. There's nothing wrong with the game, you don't know how to read.
2. There's nothing wrong with the game, you don't know how to solo.
Funny, I thought someone sent something out about a wonderful first 8 months or something? So, for that entire first 8 months when I DID know how to read and I wasn't getting slaughtered by the random boss in my mission, that was all fairy tale? Must've been, because I didn't see anywhere in the patch notes that said "Hey, we noticed everyone had it way to easy, so we're changing the way you have to play drastically." I don't remember being told I had to find a group to finish missions that ALWAYS told me when there was a boss at the end I would not be able to solo (even though I could do it, albeit with some difficulty, for the past 8 months).
Here's a little link. One of my missions...
You may notice, in the mission text there isn't a mention of a boss. In fact there isn't even the mention of rescuing hostages, but reading it literally I should just and watch their performance, which might be dull. Nevermind that the performance is in a warehouse.
Now look at the screenshot. Not only are there people that need to be saved, but there's a boss there! Now being a Fire/Fire without Concealment I can't just run past her to the hostage that you can see placed behind her. Nope. I need to go ask people to help me because I couldn't read.
After 3 deaths trying vainly to prove to myself that I might have a chance (isn't it funny how Carnies can summon Phantasms and cast Spectral Wounds all while Phase Shifted. Neat trick!) I gave up. I logged out. I could've asked for help, but none of my friends are on, they've become disheartened by I3 already. My supergroup was busy or not on (same reason).
So the bosses are worth more XP. So far this one has been worth close to -90k for me. So I'm not a solo AT, funny...I was mislead for the previous 8 months. So I'm not a boss killer, maybe I3 should be relabled the "Rude Awakening" patch. 
Okay...i think that's all the venting I needed.
Guys, Devs, States... I love this game. I *PAY* to play this game, that should tell you something, it should tell you I WANT to play this game. I work hard for my money, as do you, so please respect it and me when I choose to give it to you willingly for the enjoyment this game brings. I do NOT want this game to be easy or cater to my every desire. I bought into your vision, it entranced me and got me excited. Why are you blaming me, the player, for not knowing how to read. Why are you changing so drastically things that have been in place for so long (from could kill a boss with strategy and patience to no-way, must group). Why have you taken my "hero" and made me a support character for a Scrapper -- especially when it seems many Scrappers now don't need support at all? Not all Scrappers have been unaffected by this patch, and more power to you guys for your moment on top. I just don't know why it had to come at the price of my enjoyment, my feeling heroic.
*sigh*
On a positive note, the Clockwork Paladin event was fun...complete chaos, but fun. Good job on trying to add some exciting events.
Here is the thing that bothers me the most about the changes in the difficulty. In our SG we now have mabye around 10 level 50s. Most of them hit 50 before the big chnages in I3.
I am now level 40 and ready to make my push to 50. But now suddenly, the rules have changed for me. It is okay that everyone before I3 had a huge advantage for their push to 50. But now for everyone else, it is "just deal with it and adapt."
I don't want to adapt. I want the game the way it was. I am angry at the devs that they are doing what every other online game eventually does, they cave to the powergamers at the expense of the casual player.
Sophia Lynn
40 Energy/Electric Blaster
Sophia Lynn
50 Blaster
Infinity Server
Considering how many other threads Statesman has been replying on, I think we can conclude the answer to the claim that bosses are now too hard is "It's the VISION tm, suck on it!"
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Considering how many other threads Statesman has been replying on, I think we can conclude the answer to the claim that bosses are now too hard is "It's the VISION tm, suck on it!"
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Agreed... As soon as the complaints come in about this, he's a true superhero... Able to dodge speeding complaints, can leap big issues in a single bound...
Hey, how about a whopping SEVEN undocumented bosses, in one solo mission?
Just got done with the last mission in the "Scroll of Tilekku" story arc, and thats what I ran into:
Spell Breaker Hanazuth (Agony Mage)
Blade King Caesar (Warrior Boss)
Guardian Spirit of Pain
Guardian Spirit of Sorrow
Guardian Spirit of Desire
Guardian Spirit of Death
Guardian Totem (+1 lvl).
Okay, Yeah this was the end of an Arc, so It's not like they were completely unexpected or anything, but that's not really the point. It's more a point of Statesman saying one thing, and reality being a different matter. There was not word one about bosses in this mission, not even the typical "expect some trouble on this one" or "You might want some help"
And yeah, IF I had stealth, I probably could have ignored those bosses, but I don't, so I had to fight them. Does that mean that Stealth is now a required pool for those who want to solo?
For the record, The spirits weren't that tough, and I ate 4 lucks for the mage, so he wasn't too bad, but the totem and the warrior boss both had me going through my insps like candy- the totem and I literally came down to whoever's attack recharged faster, we were both on our last pixel of life.
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IMHO, I fear no nerf bat, it has already hit me.
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No, the first one hit you.
Considering that Statesman believes that a Scrapper and a second AT are what is required to take down a boss I would be a bit leary of chest beating. Then again if you think this is where the Nerf Bus stops then you can enjoy your time. Personally I think Statesman is on the Nerf bus till it hits the dump.
Damn, do you people actually play this game, or sit around in your pity parties all day?
I have my difficulty set to invincible. I walk into a Rikti mission. +1 and +2, giant [censored] mobs. How many times do I die? Not once.
I get a team together. Me a DM/Regen scrapper, and an inv. tank. How many deaths? Nadda.
Another team: just me and the Scrapper. How many deaths? Zero, zip, and ziltch.
Every mob spawn had at least 1 boss. Even solo.
And I'm a Gravity/Kinetics controller. According to the "experts" on the Controller forum, I'm weak. Yet I'm able to solo +2 Rikti bosses, no problem.
Maybe the game isn't hard, and you just... what's the word I'm looking for... suck? Hey, I'm a "gimp" Powerset taking on bosses no problem, but you can't. Something to think about it.
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Until HE says to the contrary, I'm remaining convinced that he meant that every mission that *requires* you to beat the boss *to finish the mission* mentions the presence of a boss.
IOW: The issue isn't undocumented bosses, because you don't need to beat those to be able to solo.
And, at this time, I believe all missions that require you to defeat a boss do list the presence of a boss, with one exception.
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Not that either, and in any case, we really really should not have to parse statements like this finer than Jesuits would to arrive a an interpretation.
Bosses who must be defeated are not identified up front. And even if they were, with a big banner and spotlights, it would not alter the profound change in game play introduced in issue 3.
Mr. Emmert can reframe the vision of the game all he wishes - the boss design decision itself was flawed.
However, tossing out the "oh we always meant this" or "oh, the game tells you that" remarks, which then become a separate focus of the debate, have worked well to draw attention (pro or con) away from that core question.
My scrapper doesn't need an AoE. She IS an AoE.