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Here's a question for you all to chew on- should newbies to CoH/CoV ever Powerlevel?
In my opinion, no. Once you've been playing for a while and understand how the game/archetypes/powersets work, then go ahead and PL.
But if you're new, I don't believe you should be PL'ing. You do yourself and your teammates no favours if you've quickly gotten to a high level and still don't know where the auction house is, how to find the train stations, and such, or how your archetype should function.
Instead, if you're new, take your time. Play through the game's content- what's the point if you skip it all just to hit 50?
Learn how the different archetypes function, what their strengths and weaknesses are. Observe the different powersets in action, note their pros and cons. You don't have to be a master number cruncher, but take the time to understand how enhancements work, how to get around, use the markets and NPC stores, and so on.
In short, learn the game before you even think about PL'ing.
You have friends who've been with the game awhile? Either have them make new characters to play with you, or have them SK you and do some of their missions. The beauty of the SK/Exemplar feature is that people of different levels can play together (minus level restricted zones and TFs).
Of course, with any rule there are a couple of exceptions I can think of:
One might be that the newbie has some supportive real-life friends, or a very supportive SG who help them gain levels quickly, but at the same time are also doing a lot of teaching about game mechanics, playstyles, etc. So the newbie does not end up with a high level character they are clueless about using.
Or if newbie needs to level up a character quickly for a specific purpose (they are in a PVP SG, or their SG needs a few more of a specific AT for things they like to do), and helps the newbie roll a character for that specific purpose and level up, again with lots of teaching along the way.
Aside from those sort of scenarios, newbies should not PL, IMHO.
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Problem is newbies log into their brand new MA edition of CoH Atlas Park and bam!!!!! Not sewer teams, but this new thing "lvl 54 boss farm" "AE farm!" Poor newbies, no choice. They just simply think this is the way.
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Zzzzzt! You forgot a very important group of people whose opinion counts very much: the developers and suits at NCsoft and Paragon Studios.
If newbies PLing either 1) causes them to leave the game earlier than they would have otherwise, thus denying them of the long-term potential cash flow of their subscription fees, or 2) causes other players to leave the game, thus resulting in a net loss in fees, then it's just plain not going to happen.
"But... but... but..." Argue all you want, it wouldn't matter if you had ten thousand people lined up behind you agreeing with you. The devs and other managers who run this game aren't stupid. They didn't just fall off the MMORPG truck yesterday. They have their own facts that you're not privy to, their own market research to rely upon, and yeah, their own opinions and vision for what they feel would make the game the best it can be in the long run. If you think they're wrong, you're more than welcome to start your own game and make whatever ridiculous profits you envision a power leveling-friendly game will make.
And I'm not trying to tell you to shut up or anything. You're free to disagree as much as you want to. But it doesn't change a fundamental fact that I think that SOOOO many people miss here. Your $15 a month does not, in fact, make you a member of the board of directors. Does your opinion count? Within the confines of what the developers and managers of the game want, sure. Outside of it, not so much, actually.
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Actually I think the person you quoted is quite right. Your point would be valid if this discussion was on whether or not PLing should be something available in the game, but since PLing is already available in the game the discretion of whether or not to utilize it comes down to the individual player, not the developers.
Now, if the devs suddenly decide to take the option to PL out of the game (which would basically be the equivalent to completely taking the SK feature out of the game), then your argument is sound, but given the current circumstances the option of PLing is like I said solely up to the player.
No chewing needed.
I don't think that anyone should power-level.
People do it. I think that new players doing it are ruining their enjoyment of the game. What many consider to be a grind, I feel to be the hero's journey. You don't truly become something if it is handed to you on a silver platter.
You didn't earn it. Here it is.
The journey is the game. By bypassing the the experience of working your way up to the xp needed to level, you are missing the game. By leveling "normally" through content, you have plenty of time to get adjusted to each new power and use it enough to gradually get an over-all view of the interaction of your powers. This is to say nothing about missing out on actually "teaming" with other people in order to learn to play cooperatively with various groups of players and archetypes. I'm not even going to go into the one-tactic mindset or just considering yourself uber knowledgeable because you have a 50 or a epic archetype character due to the fact you were power-leveled.
By power-leveling to 50, you undermine what it means to be a level 50. Being level 50 or having a Epic Archetype character doesn't mean what it used to. Once upon a time, having a 50 or an epic archetype character meant that you could be trusted to have some grip on the game content. Forget that. It's shot out the window and gone.
Luckily, we can look at other people's badges and see how long someone has played. That is the only way to have even a somewhat accurate estimate on how familiar someone is with game play.
No one should be power-leveled or should power-level. You can move fairly fast through content while playing it. You don't prove to anyone that you are a great Hero or a vicious Villain by being power-leveled. You are a cape-rider and a wannabe.
You may have the power of a 50, but that doesn't prove anything to me.
The more self-righteousness preaching I hear in these discussions, the more I want to powerlevel. Its having the opposite effect of the intended.
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Luckily, we can look at other people's badges and see how long someone has played. That is the only way to have even a somewhat accurate estimate on how familiar someone is with game play.
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If only a good 1/4 to 1/3 of long-time vets were not clueless re strategy and other gaming knowledge, you'd have a point; unfortunately Veterans Without A Clue are sprinkled liberally throughout the CoX universe.
If we're talking about truly new players (people who haven't played the game before), I think it would be an injustice to them to get powerleveled. Someone who has played before knows the ins and outs of the game. They've seen a good portion of the content, they know what the mobs are like, what the archetypes are like, how the different archetypes mesh together, how the villain groups progress in difficulty, and how the overall game is from beginning to end. They can make the informed decision to powerlevel.
A new player doesn't know this though. They don't know how the powers progress, how the archetypes complement each other. And especially, they don't know what type of content the game has. They haven't experienced the stories and the arcs. They haven't tried the various task forces. They don't see how a character progresses from a lowly level 1 hero who is basically just little more than a regular person with a special ability to someone who is a powerhouse. They simply don't have enough knowledge to be able to make a decision that powerleveling is good or bad for them.
Because of this, I think it's bad for the truly new player to be powerleveled. I think it's bad for two reasons.
1) Regardless of what we think of content and abilities at the various levels, especially the low ones, it's wrong for any player to determine for someone else that they should be skipping certain levels or content. These people came to this game for a reason, and they should be able to experience the game. Powerleveling someone strips them of that. They cannot be experiencing the content and the mechanics of the game if they're in a single mission the entire time getting fast levels. While we may think we're doing them a favor getting them to 20 or 30 or higher, we're not. We're just preventing them from experiencing something they most likely want to experience. They're new and see the game with fresh new eyes, and should be allowed to see it. It'd be like having a friend over to watch a movie he's never seen before, then fast-forwarding to the finale and telling him "you're not missing much".
2) The new players need to get some gameplay experience under their belt so that they can handle having the many new powers they'll be getting. The need to work with each power for a bit, see what it can do, what its drawbacks are. Having so much tossed at you so quickly can be frustrating. Yes, they can just ask questions, but there's going to be a lot of frustration as they wonder why everything is so complicated. It's hardly an environment where they'll want to stay very long. If after just a couple days, they're at the end of the game and are struggling with how to slot, how to fight certain enemies, how to work with your teammates, and just how to do all the things that we learned over months, they're not going to be having a very enjoyable experience and won't have much of a reason to stay or do it again.
As a seasoned player, I'd love to be able to fast-forward some of my creations a bit. But when I think back to when I first started playing, there was a lot of joy in discovering the game. Powerleveling a brand new player simply denies them that.
Arc ID#30821, A Clean Break
The only problem with defeating the Tsoo is that an hour later, you want to defeat them again!
"Life is just better boosted!" -- LadyMage
"I'm a big believer in Personal Force Field on a blaster. ... It's your happy place." -- Fulmens
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Of course the only opinion that counts on the question "should Player X powerlevel" is that of Player X.
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Zzzzzt! You forgot a very important group of people whose opinion counts very much: the developers and suits at NCsoft and Paragon Studios.
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I only extend vendors limited prerogatives to dictate to their customers.
I stand by my original thesis.
My scrapper doesn't need an AoE. She IS an AoE.
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The more self-righteousness preaching I hear in these discussions, the more I want to powerlevel. Its having the opposite effect of the intended.
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Not everyone is as contrary, though.
On topic, I've always held an opinion that people can do whatever they damn please, as long as they don't make a big mess out of it. We've seen hideous exploits, (beneficially) broken mechanics and stupid design decisions stay in the game for years when only a handful of people bother with them. Endemic problems tend to linger, because they don't actually bother much of anyone. When it becomes epidemic, however, and we've all seen what that looks like, things tend to happen. "Should" new players powerlevel? From a purely practical standpoint, no, because it runs the risk of turning into a problem, which is bad both for the people who powerlevel as their roads are closed and bad for those who don't as their game is negatively altered, to say nothing of the flamewars that no-one benefits from.
From a philosophical standpoint, my answer remains no. The reason here is rather simple - starting a game at the "end" misses the point of what a game actually is. I'm not one to preach to veterans who've been to 50 multiple times. They know enough to pick and choose where to start and end. But a new player is literally missing the entire game doing so, and this is bad not just in the physical amount of content skipped, but in striding over what I find is a very important step in getting into a game long-term - getting familiar and "into" the game itself.
It's somewhat easy to refer to some people who are "into" a game as opposed to those who are not. Not having delved into a game, it is often very hard to care about the game. That's part of why so many good single-player games fall into a black pit. "OK, I'm done. What else can I play?" Getting through the game once, or at least getting sufficiently far into it, is something I find is integral to truly appreciating a game. Obviously not everyone is going to want to get into every game they play, but we shouldn't really encourage new people to skip.
To me, it's kind of like renting a good, complicated movie with interesting plot and great characters because you heard there was a cool shootout at around 90 minutes in. Sure, if that's all you care about, go ahead, but I'd say it's missing the point. If you've watched the movie and that one scene is all you care about, then by all means, indulge. But not having seen the movie at all is, in my opinion, a loss.
I'm certainly not going to bible-beat a new player for wanting to powerlevel (even if I refuse to help), but I still feel it's a bad idea, and an especially bad way to start a game.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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The more self-righteousness preaching I hear in these discussions, the more I want to powerlevel. Its having the opposite effect of the intended.
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The more you do stuff like this, the more noticeable it is, thus the more likely it is to be nerfed, thus the more you come here and whine about those awful devs and self-righteous preachers like me.
In the end, it all balances out, and I'm still happy. But hey, good luck with that.
We've been saving Paragon City for eight and a half years. It's time to do it one more time.
(If you love this game as much as I do, please read that post.)
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The more self-righteousness preaching I hear in these discussions, the more I want to powerlevel. Its having the opposite effect of the intended.
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Not everyone is as contrary, though.
On topic, I've always held an opinion that people can do whatever they damn please, as long as they don't make a big mess out of it. We've seen hideous exploits, (beneficially) broken mechanics and stupid design decisions stay in the game for years when only a handful of people bother with them. Endemic problems tend to linger, because they don't actually bother much of anyone. When it becomes epidemic, however, and we've all seen what that looks like, things tend to happen. "Should" new players powerlevel? From a purely practical standpoint, no, because it runs the risk of turning into a problem, which is bad both for the people who powerlevel as their roads are closed and bad for those who don't as their game is negatively altered, to say nothing of the flamewars that no-one benefits from.
From a philosophical standpoint, my answer remains no. The reason here is rather simple - starting a game at the "end" misses the point of what a game actually is. I'm not one to preach to veterans who've been to 50 multiple times. They know enough to pick and choose where to start and end. But a new player is literally missing the entire game doing so, and this is bad not just in the physical amount of content skipped, but in striding over what I find is a very important step in getting into a game long-term - getting familiar and "into" the game itself.
It's somewhat easy to refer to some people who are "into" a game as opposed to those who are not. Not having delved into a game, it is often very hard to care about the game. That's part of why so many good single-player games fall into a black pit. "OK, I'm done. What else can I play?" Getting through the game once, or at least getting sufficiently far into it, is something I find is integral to truly appreciating a game. Obviously not everyone is going to want to get into every game they play, but we shouldn't really encourage new people to skip.
To me, it's kind of like renting a good, complicated movie with interesting plot and great characters because you heard there was a cool shootout at around 90 minutes in. Sure, if that's all you care about, go ahead, but I'd say it's missing the point. If you've watched the movie and that one scene is all you care about, then by all means, indulge. But not having seen the movie at all is, in my opinion, a loss.
I'm certainly not going to bible-beat a new player for wanting to powerlevel (even if I refuse to help), but I still feel it's a bad idea, and an especially bad way to start a game.
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Sam and I don't always agree on things. But this is just -soooo- right....
-Rachel-
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It'd be like having a friend over to watch a movie he's never seen before, then fast-forwarding to the finale and telling him "you're not missing much".
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A friend of mine used to do this- we would be watching a movie, and he would fast forward through the scenes where people were talking. When I got mad at him, he was like "I've seen it before!" and I would answer "But I havn't!" What was the point of watching a movie if you never saw anything but the fight scenes and skipped everything else?
I confess- when I was new to this game and got my first character to 14 or so, a friend of mine with a high level character SK'ed me, and I joined him for a few missions on a high level team. That was fun. But it was not farming or outright PL'ing. No bridging or door-sitting involved, just a heckuva lot of butt-kicking.
A (Golden Gate) Bridge Too Far- arc 299315
Crazy NIMBY's, Railroad robber barons, and kickboxing Engineers, Oh My! Go back in time and join the fight to save a San Francisco icon!
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Zzzzzt! You forgot a very important group of people whose opinion counts very much: the developers and suits at NCsoft and Paragon Studios.
If newbies PLing either 1) causes them to leave the game earlier than they would have otherwise, thus denying them of the long-term potential cash flow of their subscription fees, or 2) causes other players to leave the game, thus resulting in a net loss in fees, then it's just plain not going to happen.
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sure, but not PL'ing may cause the players to experience CoT in PP, and other really bad low level content and quit the game - when they would have stayed if they had PL'd to 15 and gone to Faultline, or 35 and gone to RWZ.
There is zero reason to think that more players will stay in the game if they experience low level content than if they powerlevel.
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Zzzzzt! You forgot a very important group of people whose opinion counts very much: the developers and suits at NCsoft and Paragon Studios.
If newbies PLing either 1) causes them to leave the game earlier than they would have otherwise, thus denying them of the long-term potential cash flow of their subscription fees, or 2) causes other players to leave the game, thus resulting in a net loss in fees, then it's just plain not going to happen.
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sure, but not PL'ing may cause the players to experience CoT in PP, and other really bad low level content and quit the game - when they would have stayed if they had PL'd to 15 and gone to Faultline, or 35 and gone to RWZ.
There is zero reason to think that more players will stay in the game if they experience low level content than if they powerlevel.
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Except that after PLing there's -nothing- to do.
How many times have you seen people on the forums complain about the lack of 'end Game' content? Exacerbate this with a lack of knowledge of the game itself and you've got a Newblet who really doesn't feel there's a point to the game.
If you're talking about PLing 3-10 levels then... I don't -really- care if newbs do it. If you're talking 12+ levels then yeah. They should NOT powerlevel.
-Rachel-
Should newbies PL? By definition newbies don't know the game, the zones, the enemies, the back stories, the ATs, the powersets, or the powers. If they catapult past all the content, how are they supposed to learn? Even experienced players from other games need to spend some time learning how we do things here...ten thousand hours in World of Walking doesn't tell you what a Malta Sapper is or how to handle it, or why you get so exhausted listening to Carnie death-shrieks at close range, or why Practiced Brawler isn't "a waste of end" on your SR scrapper. I'll happily answer questions for low-level characters who ask, but when a level 50 says "wuts stamina" or "where's the tailor", I've got nothin'.
One more thing: imagine that you hear about a new online game. Your friends are playing it, they say it's fun, it looks cool, so you sign up. Your brand-new Level 1 gets on a PL farm, and after a few hours or days of playing (or just standing in) one mission, you've "won" the game. If that was all there was, why would you stay?
Arc 55669 - Tales of the PPD: One Hell of a Deal (video trailer)
Arc 64511 - The Wrecking Ball
Arc 1745 - The Trouble With Trimbles
Arc 302901 - HappyCorpse
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Except that after PLing there's -nothing- to do.
How many times have you seen people on the forums complain about the lack of 'end Game' content? Exacerbate this with a lack of knowledge of the game itself and you've got a Newblet who really doesn't feel there's a point to the game.
If you're talking about PLing 3-10 levels then... I don't -really- care if newbs do it. If you're talking 12+ levels then yeah. They should NOT powerlevel.
-Rachel-
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When I first started playing CoH I played with my bro and some rl friends, and we mainly just did random radio missions with the occasional TF - I think we only did Synapse's (to which we were robbed of a Babbage fight due to a Rikti Raid bugging it out) and Sister Psyche's - and when we got to the upper 30's I believe we started doing the actual story driven missions in RWZ.
But I've quit the game a couple times, and both times was pretty much for the exact same reason: nothing to do at 50. I told my brother that it seems like the game is like "Congratulations, you reached 50! Now go make another character and do it all again!!".
Personally, and I know this is probably just copy paste from what other MMOs have done, but I think the main reason there isn't much of an endgame is because endgame in other MMOs is driven by items that can only be achieved via completing certain content. CoH lacks this due to everything being buyable from the market. I know this probably isn't an original idea, but I think they should introduce a line of enhancements that can't be bought. Kinda like when you finish a TF and you get a choice of rewards and you can choose enhancements and recipes etc. Make those recipes and enhancements unsellable, so people actually have to go through content in order to get the best stuff instead of just having to farm for days and days to get the influence to just buy what they need.
Yeah I know, it's pretty much the exact same mechanic that's in other MMOs like Everquest and WoW, but it works and it keeps people playing their high levels, and I think introducing something like that to CoH would make certain content more meaningful.
If they quit, they quit. If they don't, they don't. It's easy to say "if they just played and learned the game they wouldn't quit." I did that with WarHammer. Guess what, still didn't stay. Why? Because overall the game regardless of "content" didn't interest me overall. I couldn't get past the low level crap that I had to endure.
Each person is different. Sure, it's bad if a NOOB PLs without really knowing the game mechanics, but so the [censored] what? If they quit, they quit. If they don't, they don't. There are way too many variables to consider to make a statement such as:
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If newbies PLing either 1) causes them to leave the game earlier than they would have otherwise, thus denying them of the long-term potential cash flow of their subscription fees, or 2) causes other players to leave the game, thus resulting in a net loss in fees, then it's just plain not going to happen.
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Seriously...folks....let it friggin go. Should they PL? Whatever, they pay their subs. That's all there is to it.
I don't really care what they do with their 15 bucks a month.
I have known newbies who PLed and then figured it out that thats just stupid at a later time.
I have known newbies who PL to 50 and then kept doing it for years.
I have known 1 newbie who PL to 50 and quit because he was an idiot.
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Of course the only opinion that counts on the question "should Player X powerlevel" is that of Player X.
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Zzzzzt! You forgot a very important group of people whose opinion counts very much: the developers and suits at NCsoft and Paragon Studios.
[/ QUOTE ]
I only extend vendors limited prerogatives to dictate to their customers.
I stand by my original thesis.
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Being correct, you should.
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Personally, and I know this is probably just copy paste from what other MMOs have done, but I think the main reason there isn't much of an endgame is because endgame in other MMOs is driven by items that can only be achieved via completing certain content. CoH lacks this due to everything being buyable from the market. I know this probably isn't an original idea, but I think they should introduce a line of enhancements that can't be bought. Kinda like when you finish a TF and you get a choice of rewards and you can choose enhancements and recipes etc. Make those recipes and enhancements unsellable, so people actually have to go through content in order to get the best stuff instead of just having to farm for days and days to get the influence to just buy what they need.
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*nitpick*
Everything is not buyable from the market. The potential to get almost everything from the market is there, yes (including things that don't exist,) but to have everything buyable from the market in fact, the market would have to be "stocked" regularly. By comparison, all standard SOs are buyable without reservation - you just have to go to the vendor and buy them. They're available any time the game is up.
Everything is, however, available via playing. It may not be a playstyle you like (such as PVP enhancements,) but that option *is* there. All the stock on the market is from someone playing, after all. And I'd much rather have someplace I can put a drop (of any sort) that I can't or don't want to use which allows someone who DOES want it a chance of getting it, than to have some marked "unsellable," where my only option is trade or vendor.
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Zzzzzt! You forgot a very important group of people whose opinion counts very much: the developers and suits at NCsoft and Paragon Studios.
If newbies PLing either 1) causes them to leave the game earlier than they would have otherwise, thus denying them of the long-term potential cash flow of their subscription fees, or 2) causes other players to leave the game, thus resulting in a net loss in fees, then it's just plain not going to happen.
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sure, but not PL'ing may cause the players to experience CoT in PP, and other really bad low level content and quit the game - when they would have stayed if they had PL'd to 15 and gone to Faultline, or 35 and gone to RWZ.
There is zero reason to think that more players will stay in the game if they experience low level content than if they powerlevel.
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If that is true, which it's not, then there's zero reason to think they'll stay in the game if they bypass content entirely. Like I and Sam pointed out, it's not up to us, the seasoned players, to determine for other people what they should and shouldn't experience. They come to this game for a reason... to play it and see what it's like. You're advocating that they shouldn't play it and see what it's like, and just jump to later levels that you approve of.
Coming to a game to play, and being offered to be powerleveled so you don't have to play, doesn't make sense from any perspective.
Arc ID#30821, A Clean Break
The only problem with defeating the Tsoo is that an hour later, you want to defeat them again!
"Life is just better boosted!" -- LadyMage
"I'm a big believer in Personal Force Field on a blaster. ... It's your happy place." -- Fulmens
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*nitpick*
Everything is not buyable from the market. The potential to get almost everything from the market is there, yes (including things that don't exist,) but to have everything buyable from the market in fact, the market would have to be "stocked" regularly. By comparison, all standard SOs are buyable without reservation - you just have to go to the vendor and buy them. They're available any time the game is up.
Everything is, however, available via playing. It may not be a playstyle you like (such as PVP enhancements,) but that option *is* there. All the stock on the market is from someone playing, after all. And I'd much rather have someplace I can put a drop (of any sort) that I can't or don't want to use which allows someone who DOES want it a chance of getting it, than to have some marked "unsellable," where my only option is trade or vendor.
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Fair enough. Still, whenever someone talks about about tweaking out a build or something they usually put it in terms of cost, so it's assumed that these things are going to be readily available.
I guess the merit system also adds a little extra fluff. You run some content, you get merits, you spend the merits on the more expensive things you're looking to get. I guess you could also use it as an extra means of earning inf if you hate farms (I hate farms). And then I guess now they have the AE tickets though I guess those are used more for salvage and stuff like that correct?
I guess I've just played WoW too long. I'm use to having to run a raid 20 times before I get my epic dagger that ups my DPS by 400. It would seem weird to me if I were ever able to just buy said dagger I guess is my point..
My apologies for mentioning WoW >_<
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By leveling "normally" through content, you have plenty of time to get adjusted to each new power and use it enough to gradually get an over-all view of the interaction of your powers.
[/ QUOTE ] Most powers in the game don't need time to adjust to. For example, Blaze from fire blast isn't a tough power to figure out. It does more damage than the other blasts. There are many more powers like that.
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This is to say nothing about missing out on actually "teaming" with other people in order to learn to play cooperatively with various groups of players and archetypes.
[/ QUOTE ] Teaming isn't important to everyone.
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I'm not even going to go into the one-tactic mindset or just considering yourself uber knowledgeable because you have a 50 or a epic archetype character due to the fact you were power-leveled.
[/ QUOTE ] Maybe its not uber knowledgeable people and maybe this game is easy to learn. The basic mechanics are not rocket science.
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By power-leveling to 50, you undermine what it means to be a level 50. Being level 50 or having a Epic Archetype character doesn't mean what it used to.
[/ QUOTE ] All it ever meant to be a level 50 was that you put in time. That's it. It doesn't take any skill. Play the same character enough and you'll get there. Now if other people getting there quickly ruins or diminishes it for you, that's your problem. Nobody elses.
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Luckily, we can look at other people's badges and see how long someone has played. That is the only way to have even a somewhat accurate estimate on how familiar someone is with game play.
[/ QUOTE ] Saying that is equivalent to saying a forum user should be trusted because they have a high post count. It makes absolutely no sense.
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No one should be power-leveled or should power-level.
[/ QUOTE ] LMAO
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You can move fairly fast through content while playing it. You don't prove to anyone that you are a great Hero or a vicious Villain by being power-leveled.
[/ QUOTE ] So what?
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You are a cape-rider and a wannabe.
[/ QUOTE ] And your view is meaningless and insignificant.
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You may have the power of a 50, but that doesn't prove anything to me.
[/ QUOTE ] And you are somebody important?
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If that is true, which it's not, then there's zero reason to think they'll stay in the game if they bypass content entirely.
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Another assumption. Maybe they find leveling to 50 fun? Without doing "content"? And if they did, so what? o_O
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Here's a question for you all to chew on- should newbies to CoH/CoV ever Powerlevel?
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Sure, if they want to.
I personally don't see the point- when I'm new to a game I like to discover the gameworld organically. That's the most fun for me. There's plenty of time to learn how to be efficient and work the system later on, when you've burned out on 'regular' play.
But anybody who buys a game is entitled to play it however they like.
The Nethergoat Archive: all my memories, all my characters, all my thoughts on CoH...eventually.
My City Was Gone
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The more self-righteousness preaching I hear in these discussions, the more I want to powerlevel. Its having the opposite effect of the intended.
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The more you do stuff like this, the more noticeable it is, thus the more likely it is to be nerfed, thus the more you come here and whine about those awful devs and self-righteous preachers like me.
In the end, it all balances out, and I'm still happy. But hey, good luck with that.
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LOL @ the idea that what I personally do causes the developers to readjust the entire game[s]; I don't think I'm anywhere near that powerful.
Please continue with the nerfherding and preaching, I find it amusing. Not real effective as in changing people's behavior, true - but amusing nonetheless.
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Of course the only opinion that counts on the question "should Player X powerlevel" is that of Player X.
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Zzzzzt! You forgot a very important group of people whose opinion counts very much: the developers and suits at NCsoft and Paragon Studios.
If newbies PLing either 1) causes them to leave the game earlier than they would have otherwise, thus denying them of the long-term potential cash flow of their subscription fees, or 2) causes other players to leave the game, thus resulting in a net loss in fees, then it's just plain not going to happen.
"But... but... but..." Argue all you want, it wouldn't matter if you had ten thousand people lined up behind you agreeing with you. The devs and other managers who run this game aren't stupid. They didn't just fall off the MMORPG truck yesterday. They have their own facts that you're not privy to, their own market research to rely upon, and yeah, their own opinions and vision for what they feel would make the game the best it can be in the long run. If you think they're wrong, you're more than welcome to start your own game and make whatever ridiculous profits you envision a power leveling-friendly game will make.
And I'm not trying to tell you to shut up or anything. You're free to disagree as much as you want to. But it doesn't change a fundamental fact that I think that SOOOO many people miss here. Your $15 a month does not, in fact, make you a member of the board of directors. Does your opinion count? Within the confines of what the developers and managers of the game want, sure. Outside of it, not so much, actually.
We've been saving Paragon City for eight and a half years. It's time to do it one more time.
(If you love this game as much as I do, please read that post.)