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Let's be honest. What do people really buy these guides for. There are only two things that guides are generally used for. The base numbers of powers and some background information on NPC's.
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There is a third & fourth reason (at least for console games): Cheats & Eastereggs. That works fine in a console game because those don't get updated until the next game comes out.
For something like an MMO I don't understand why you would want it. The game evolves so regularly that they'd need to be cranking out pudates on a quarterly basis (if not faster).
And on top of that, what information could be in that guide that isn't available on these forums or on one of the many excellent fansites? -boggle-
thank you for the post artic. If you get a chance, would you ask them if they plan to post "patch notes" with the CoV badge information please?
-k
I"ve never understood why people waste their money on these guides. The forums and various other websites always have all this info for free and are 99.9% of the time more accurate/up-to-date than any published guide. Sure they're greate for console games that never change, but for an MMO? What a waste, if you need badge info go to vidiotmaps, the rest has better guides right on these forums than anywhere else I've ever seen, even a poor game community has better guides than a printed book and coh has a fantastic community.
w00t Radio
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The forums and various other websites always have all this info for free and are 99.9% of the time more accurate/up-to-date than any published guide.
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ARE YOU ON CRACK!?!?!?!
The number of pinheads, blowhards, and motards that post on these boards (and others) is beyond counting. That's not to say that there ISN'T more current and also valuable information on boards, but it can take some serious time and effort to determine what is "right" and what is "crap". Some people don't have the time, or want to take the time, to sift through much of the fluff and banter here, to get to the good stuff. I'm sure Prima will do well with these guides, IF they put some solid effort into it.
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I"ve never understood why people waste their money on these guides. The forums and various other websites always have all this info for free and are 99.9% of the time more accurate/up-to-date than any published guide. Sure they're greate for console games that never change, but for an MMO? What a waste, if you need badge info go to vidiotmaps, the rest has better guides right on these forums than anywhere else I've ever seen, even a poor game community has better guides than a printed book and coh has a fantastic community.
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I got them because they make it easier for me to find the information than on websites. Often these websites have laborious search methods for finding badge information, and it's MUCH easier to have a book handy so that I don't have to alt-tab back and forth to find things. Second, they give information that is EXACT because it's from the devs themselves. I'm not working with information 'hacked'(illegally mind you) from the game's source code, and I'm not working with numbers guessitmated through trial and error.
I never bothered with the first guide because it KNEW that it would be a waste since ALL MMO guides release along side the game itself are a waste within a month or two. However, these guides are going to be constantly updated with new information. Besides, I've played this game since launch and have no plans to leave for another. Why NOT spend a few extra bucks on something that garners so much of my free time? 
If you buy the binder guides, get sheet protectors.
Is there going to be a sticky(sp?) so people who decide to order the Update packs can find the links/sites? For the Updates, would that include any patches that were released since the previous Updates (such as changing the order of some powers, rebalancing issues like increasing/decreasing attack times, consolidating enhancers, adding new inspirations, etc.)?
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- LOTS of typos and grammatical errors. I'm clearly not a master of this, but some the errors are VERY obvious.
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Not an excuse at all, but I work in tech writing and unless there's a stringent copyedit process on hardcopy, you'd be amazed at what gets through...
For example, did you notice your own typo in your own criticism? That irony is one reason I'm posting, it made me laugh (good-naturedly). 
That being said, NCSoft would benefit from spending a little time on the proofing process. (Usually it gets left as an afterthought, since accurate, working code is prioritized over documentation.)
My buddy and I both buy the COV binder. His is as illustrated here, my binder was different , the actual binder was an incredibly cheap binder with a thin sheet with the COV graphics loosely glued to the cover. His COH binder had no holes punched in the pages. Seems there's a few QA issues. All theses were purchased at EB games.
I'm just going to post this and be done with the binder/strat guide threads.
I finally got to see both guides today. It's obvious that production was rushed. 6 months ago we had a really good idea, but poor execution and poor decisions have made it mediocre. My apologies; I truly thought it would be better this time.
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And on top of that, what information could be in that guide that isn't available on these forums or on one of the many excellent fansites? -boggle-
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Doesn't really matter if it doesn't contain anything that can't be found on these forums, except that it should have one item these forums do not. An Index. This will make information easy to find within the guides. The forum's search engine really sucks to put it in its best light. Add to that the fact that posts are deleted every two weeks for whatever reason and having everything in a central location is good. Besides these are binders, I want to add something from the forums then I just print and add it. Voila, up-to-date guide.
If the COV one has decent information on base building which is cryptic (pardon the pun) on these forums at best, then it will be worth it to me.
I plan on buying both soon.
I read about the guides when they were posted in the new here. My first issue with them is that according to the link, the CoH covers Issue 1:Through the Looking Glass!! Issue 1??? That's a completely different game. I know time for publications and such but wasn't Issue 3 or 4 out when this idea was brought up? There's no excuse for the CoH binder to be that out of date.
I think I'll stick with what I made. Printed maps (before I downloaded the VidiotMaps. Plus sometimes Its just good to look at the map before you're in the zone...), story arcs so I know when an AV is coming so I can recruit help, and badge info. As mentioned earlier, I use my orginial guide, which DH bought me so I'd have maps and an understanding of my first MMO, for Enhancement names.
Uhhh, I checked out the COH binder at Best Buy today (they are sealed in plastic so you can't even leaf through them). 35 bucks??? 
I don't think so. I can just buy another game for that much. 
I like the concept and I can understand Prima struggling to find some way to keep their print guides updated for mmorpgs and trying to remain relevant when fan sites post everything there is to know. And back in 1999-2000, Prima invited my Darkstone fan site (Shadow's Darkstone Tomb) to be a Prima Affiliate for a time, so I have a soft spot for them.
But $35? For a binder? Glossy paper must be expensive.
Walmart has the binder for about $22.00. I am getting them there!
Kenja's Logitec G15 Masters Guide
Kenja's Concise Commands and Emotes Guide (I10)
Kenja's Links Guide for Badge Collectors
Visit SalsaVille!
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ARE YOU ON CRACK!?!?!?!
The number of pinheads, blowhards, and motards that post on these boards (and others) is beyond counting. That's not to say that there ISN'T more current and also valuable information on boards, but it can take some serious time and effort to determine what is "right" and what is "crap". Some people don't have the time, or want to take the time, to sift through much of the fluff and banter here, to get to the good stuff. I'm sure Prima will do well with these guides, IF they put some solid effort into it.
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Not to mention that if someone needs to look up something like "Where is the magic store in talos..." The guide won't respond with "OMG just use your map n00b!"
"You're the sun and the moon to me..."
My Antiquated Earth/Storm Controller Guide!
@KokopelliJoe
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ARE YOU ON CRACK!?!?!?!
The number of pinheads, blowhards, and motards that post on these boards (and others) is beyond counting. That's not to say that there ISN'T more current and also valuable information on boards, but it can take some serious time and effort to determine what is "right" and what is "crap". Some people don't have the time, or want to take the time, to sift through much of the fluff and banter here, to get to the good stuff. I'm sure Prima will do well with these guides, IF they put some solid effort into it.
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Not to mention that if someone needs to look up something like "Where is the magic store in talos..." The guide won't respond with "OMG just use your map n00b!"
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But it's on your map! No looking up necessary, hit M!
I agree with your sentiment in that the strategy guides provide fast access to information without any commentary on your intelligence level for not already knowing said info, but soooooo many questions that get asked in broadcast or request could be avoided if people just looked at their map.
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Not to mention that if someone needs to look up something like "Where is the magic store in talos..." The guide won't respond with "OMG just use your map n00b!"
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But it's on your map! No looking up necessary, hit M!
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But it isn't though is it? Yes, all stores are listed on your map. You have a number of $ symbols on your map equivalent to the number of stores in the zone but it doesn't say which one is the Magic Store or which is the Technology store.
If someone like myself buys these binders because we want to what problem does it cause anyone else? It is our money and our decision. It doesn't effect overall game play.
well as much they ar hyping these binders they should do a lot of checking
they seem to be trying to milk this game with all the "other" game stuff coming out.
Fluffy Bunny 1 Person SG
Rabid Bunny 1 Person VG
Both on Pinnacle
Hobbit's Hole 1 Person SG
Spider's Web 1 Person VG
Both on Freedom
That is true, and I'm not trying to talk anyone out of buying the guides. I wouldn't but part of that is because I have all of the store locations in Steel Canyon and Talos Island memorized and I'm working on the ones in Port Oakes (still don't know where the SO stores in the rogue isles, and I'll need that info soon). One weird incosistency I noticed is that in CoH (last I checked) the stores simply say "Store". In CoV the stores are named "Quartermaster" for Training only, and "$Origin Store" for the rest of the Origins. So much information that gets put into guides could so easily be placed in-game, and yet, it isn't. Why?
I happen to have picked both of these binders up and I DO like them, but there are a couple things that I'd like to see either added or fixed.
- The zone pages for CoH don't have a history section like the ones for CoV. I happen to enjoy reading up on the background of the zones, and I really hope these are added in future updates.
- The zone maps in CoV don't have any badge locations while the CoH has the badges marked AND an index of badge locations and requirements. Hopefully this will also be updated.
- LOTS of typos and grammatical errors. I'm clearly not a master of this, but some the errors are VERY obvious.
- I don't recall seeing a 'world' map in either binder with zone connection information. This seems to be a HUGE oversight, especially if these are meant to be a one stop source.
- The Perez Park map does NOT have the forest paths marked on them. Considering that 3rd party maps exist WITH these in place, I think these should be added.
- A Task Force/Strike Force section should be added to both binders with mission details, contacts, minimum group numbers, and how long the Dev's think each should take an average group to complete.
- I don't recall seeing a Binds section in either book(IIRC), and it would be VERY helpful, in light of the Mastermind AT especially, to have some simple binds and macros for controlling everything from pets to chat(like the afk bind some of us use).