Why is the MA Booster Pack such poor quality?

My main toon is a female that's supposed to be tall at 6 foot. She's not.

I created a custom Council AV for AE and made him max on all sliders, making him just under 8 feet. He's impossible to see in a group of Council who have 9 foot minions, 12 foot lieutenants, and 15 foot bosses.

Originally Posted by PRAF68_EU Dispari has more than enough credability, and certainly doesn't need to borrow any from you.

You should try it with a character that is small. My main was created in the first week of the game and I used the smallest size possible. He would be easy to overlook, except he is an Inv/SS tank and Knockout Blow lands in some very painful places when he is fighting the huge bad guys.

It's not that what actually comes in the booster packs is poor quality... it's usually at least as good as similar content that came with the game, and often better (let's face it, pretty much all of the original boots models were complete crap, for example). The problem is how little you actually get, and the price you pay for it. The entire game, NEW, cost what, $60? That included hundreds of missions, dozens of families of critters, a bunch of arch types for the players to play, etc. etc. Now, for about 1/3 of the price, you get a couple of emotes, a handful of costume pieces, and a few gimmick powers that mostly don't affect the GAME PLAY one iota. How is that equitable? Can't you see the disparity?

I bought both of the Magic pack and the Cyborg pack at the same time... and regretted it within the hour. I played with the costume change emotes for a few minutes, (FINALLY) gave some of my magic and tech origin toons costumes that looked the part, and then thought, "$40 bucks for this? SERIOUSLY?!?!?" I really can't understand how you guys keep eating this stuff up. It makes me ANGRY every time they release a new booster pack.

Right: like the fact that this pittance of new content was not handed out to everyone who's already paying $15/mo. to play this game?

There are a lot of REAL ideas floating around the forums about how to improve the game, but as I read them, they're mostly the same ideas that people have been tossing around since I started playing. Here's a clue: the dev's aren't listening. Creating REAL content is costly and requires creativity, and NC Soft seems unwilling to expend either. They're happy to keep selling you the almost nothing that comes in these booster packs, since the players seem happy to continue forking over money for it. It's a giant snow job.

This article about i13 highlights everything that was, and remains, wrong with the game:

http://www.brighthub.com/video-games...cles/5691.aspx

It's on the money, and nothing has really changed in years. Time to unsub I guess, which saddens me because this game was a great idea that gets so much right, but in the end suffers from a lack of anything fun to DO. I had hopes that the new expansion will improve things enough to make it worth hanging on, but it turns out I can't wait that long. Another $15/mo to clear the same warehouses as my new toons continue to run the same boring mishes I was doing 2 years ago? None for me, thanks. Fix THAT, and maybe that's worth $20.

Here's the thing:

The article is written in a rather negative light. It sounds like it's written by someone who's in the same state as you, which is to say on the verge of quitting but wants to talk about why they're quitting.

Also, I could easily disagree with almost every point they make. If I did this would make for a very long post, of course. However, it's worth noting that I disagree that AE was the devs "giving up" on making new content (considering Praetoria is right around the corner?).

I also disagree that there's a lack of things to do at 50, considering you can literally do any content in the entire game at 50. And just like in competing games like WoW and the like, we have a crafting and bonus system that allows us to work our characters up to more powerful levels. There is a ton of 45-50 content, with a bunch of 35-50 content as well, plus some high-end content like Hamidon and Mothership raids. When people say there's nothing to do at 50, all I can imagine is that they expect there to be 500,000 level 50-only missions waiting for them, in some alternate dimension where none of the other millions of things you can do (any TF in the game, GMs, every story arc in the game, AE, PvP, invention system, badges) count.

Also, you're reaching into a dangerous territory. The devs are releasing things that people like and want. People wanted power customization, so we got it. They wanted to make their own missions, so we got it. We want to side-switch, so they're giving us that. We wanted shields, and dual pistols, demon summoning, willpower, Stalkers and Doms to be more useful, more TFs (i15). People like the booster packs, or the devs wouldn't still be making them. It's not a one-sided diabolical plan where the devs release pay content and then money is generated out of thin air. If nobody wanted the stuff, the devs wouldn't still be making it.

What you're essentially saying is that the devs should stop making things that people want, and focus on the stuff that you think the game needs regardless of whether it would make anyone (besides you) happy. The last guy who tried that was named Jack, and people didn't like him very much.

Originally Posted by PRAF68_EU Dispari has more than enough credability, and certainly doesn't need to borrow any from you.

er... $20, not $40.

And, as I said in another thread, if you're actually getting ANGRY about something that doesn't directly affect you, you need to take a step back and get a grip. Why in hell would you be getting angry when Paragon Studios releases a booster pack? Good lord, man, just don't buy it.


Here's a clue: you don't know what you're talking about. I guess more than TRIPLING the game staff doesn't count as spending money on the game, huh?


And we keep paying because we're all stupid, mindless zombies? Guess again. *WE* like the booster packs. Not everyone does, but the people who keep buying them; we're the ones who LIKE them.


No, that article is BS written by someone with an axe to grind. He reveals his bias immediately: "Farming, levelling up alts, and badge earning are basically three of the only fun things to do in the game. " This guy is all about farming and power-leveling (he's specifically referring to speed of leveling in AE). AE wasn't catering to HIM so it sucks.

Anyway, if it's time to go, it's time to go. No game is going to appeal to everyone. If you really aren't enjoying this one, then stop spending your money on it.

Not even close. Try . . .






The boosters cost $9.99 each, and no matter how you do the math it doesn't add up to $40. bucks. Furthermore each booster advertisement at the NCSoft store clearly tells you exactly what you'll be getting along with pictures and short videos so you can see what the emotes and powers look like.

https://secure.ncsoft.com/cgi-bin/St...tem&item_id=77


https://secure.ncsoft.com/cgi-bin/St...tem&item_id=89


https://secure.ncsoft.com/cgi-bin/St...em&item_id=139


https://secure.ncsoft.com/cgi-bin/St...em&item_id=149


We are given ample opportunity to see exactly what we will be getting with our purchase. If you chose to buy a product without checking it out first to see what you'd be getting then the only person you have to blame is yourself.

It seems to me that the biggest problem you are having with the game lies between the chair you are sitting in and the keyboard of your computer, and that is something no one here on the forums or at NCSoft can fix.

It's also possible to research this stuff on the wiki if you need a better look at the parts. While it's not something I'd expect every user to know or do, people who are seriously worried about wasting their money have the option. And that way you know exactly what you're getting.

Originally Posted by PRAF68_EU Dispari has more than enough credability, and certainly doesn't need to borrow any from you.

4 x 9.99 = 39.96 so if you buy all of them and you pay tax on it where you are you are looking at over $60 for the "whole game" and that's if you don't consider the Valkyrie and wedding packs part of the "whole game".


---edit---

Quickie net search shows CA residents pay 9.75 tax.

So if "Whole game" includes initial purchase and 4 boosters you are looking at $65.80.

The article is negative, but that doesn't make it wrong.

Anyone can disagree with anything... But I can't see you making a rational argument that any of the points are wrong. As far as I can see, his comments are dead on.

I guess you (and several other responders) missed the fact that the article was a PREVIEW: it was posted in May of 2009, before the MA nerf, and long before the new expansion was widely publicized. Besides which, the big problem with the game, the big point that you're missing, is that none of the new content is actually new at all. It's just a different skin on all the same old content. Clear the cave/office/warehouse/whatever, beat up the AV, and collect the same old boring money, XP, enhancements, etc. Rinse and repeat. There's nothing new about it.

The author's point is that, for a lot of people who've been playing for a while, the old content is quite stale, and the new content is nothing more than a repackaging of the old content. There are no new mission types. There are no new challenges. There are no new ways to make use of your powers, no new strategies or techniques to defeat particularly difficult enemies or arcs.

Given that, for people like me who have grown bored with that, there is little in the game that is interesting. One of the things, as you point out, is to play with the invention system to improve your toon to its maximum potential. Can you see the problem here? Guess what you have to do in order to do that: play boring missions. Essentially, farm.

So when AE was released, yes, it was popular... because yes, people want to level their toons fast, and they do want to IO them out with sets, and if you have nothing else to do but play stale, boring missions to get there, it takes too damn long. So AE was fantastic! For a couple of months, anyway. Then it got nerfed, and it was just like all the rest of the stale content. Not so, you say? Well, then maybe you can explain why NO ONE USES IT ANYMORE. Well, OK, not noone, but before the nerf there was barely room for you to stand in the main room... now, if you go in there, you'll be lucky to see more than a handful of people there. It's dead. The joke is, AE = Always Empty. Broadcast that you want an AE team... people will laugh at you.

Which matters not one bit, if it's all the same as all the other content you're already bored with.

Done those, dozens of times. They were definitely cool, the first couple of times. Now, not so much. I haven't done all of the task forces, but I've done most of them, and I don't really feel like I'm missing out on anything. They're still a bunch of missions that pretty much fit the same dull pattern.

Oh, and you mentioned PvP. Most people will agree, PvP sucks in CoH. Actually I do PvP, and it is (for me) one of the only things that's still fun about CoH. But only if I'm playing one of my melee toons... I greatly prefer to play controllers, which in PvP is teh suck. If you bring a controller, and display any skill at all (or, well, if you don't), expect to die early and often. That, simply put, just ain't fun.

Here's what I think's going on. You're hitting on it with this comment, without realizing it. The game play is stale, the missions are dull, and just about the only thing left to do that really is fun is work on your toon. That's why farming is popular, and that's exactly why the booster packs are "interesting": they give you new options to customize your toon. Since this is one of the only remaining fun things in the game, the booster packs give the illusion that they're valuable. I'm not saying they're crap... quite the opposite: when you compare what you get to similar things that came with the game, they're better. I'm just saying that the value isn't there.

What you're essentially saying is that the devs should stop making things that people want, and focus on the stuff that you think the game needs regardless of whether it would make anyone (besides you) happy.[/quote]

It's hardly just me... If you think it's not, ask yourself why, a year ago, freedom at peak gaming times was nearly full all the time, and actually impossible to get on during events, and now never has more than one green dot on the server list screen. Ask yourself why at 9:30 PM Cimerora (some of that wonderful new content you keep raving about) has exactly 6 people in zone. Where did all the people go?

I can't say for sure, but I assume they left, looking for something interesting to do.

The highlighted portion pretty much confirms that you have no idea what you are talking about. The dots represent server load not server population. The servers specifically Freedom have recieved several upgrades so that they handle load much more efficiently and now don't go into the yellow, red, or even gray like they used to.

Sorry Charlie. The game hasn't been NEW since April of 2004. But actually, you're making my point for me.

Entire game, with 100's of missions, hundreds of enemies, dozens of powers, emotes, costume pieces, etc.: $20
Booster pack, with a couple of emotes, costume pieces, and mostly useless (but interesting, I admit) powers: $10.

So, are you going to tell me that you honestly think the content in two booster packs (you can even choose which two!) is roughly equivalent in value to the entire original game? Not by a long shot. Let's say that the original price of the game was $60. Even then, do you seriously believe that 6 booster packs is equivalent in value to the entire original game? I really don't think so. So, what the devil are you paying for?!?!

Yeah, I confused the price, I paid $19.98, but that was the price for both, not each one. But it hardly matters... if they were $1 each, my point is still the same: The content you're paying for isn't worth the money, if you compare it to the price you paid for all the content that came with the original game. You'd need maybe like 10,000 booster packs for it to be comparable. Not to mention that I'm paying for a subscription to the game... So, shouldn't I be getting all this content as part of my subscription? THAT is why it makes me angry whenever they release a new booster pack (though, this really should have been clear from my previous post). There's a lot of old, crufty content (like almost all of the original boot costume pieces, a lot of the other costume pieces, all of the old CoT and Council cave maps, etc. etc.). I don't think I've ever been on a CoT or Council map without someone on the team complaining about how much they suck. They owe you newer, better content: you're already paying for it... 15 bucks a month. Some of you a lot more than that, for those who have 2 and 3 accounts. So, let me be clear: I'm not saying the booster packs are crap in fact they're quite good; I'm saying they're a total rip job that you should all already be getting with your subscription. That's the problem with the booster packs. Well, that, and the fact that the devs should probably be focusing their time on creating new, more interesting game play instead of emote animations and costume pieces. That's what will bring back the masses who have left the game. And to be perfectly honest, I don't see any way that the new expansion won't have the same problem, at any price.

Yeah, all I can say is, it seemed better than it actually was. Good marketing I guess. At least I realized that I was getting ripped off... a lot of you clearly still haven't.

Sorry. They still did, after the server upgrades. Freedom still did, right up until the AE nerf.

You must not play much, or else you'd know that a lot of people are moving to freedom and virtue from other servers because they're dead. I hear it all the time. I moved there myself about a year ago, from guardian, because it was getting hard to get on (decent) teams. Freedom itself has started to suffer the same fate... a lot of the people I've played with are gone. It used to be easy to get on pug teams at any time of day... that's much less true than it was, even just a couple of months ago.

Right. You don't agree with me, but you have no rational rebuttals to any of my points, so you call me a troll. I'm sure that's very satisfying for you. But after all, we're on the city of heroes forums, so you can feel self-assured in your fanboyism.

Nope, got nothing else to say. You either agree or you're clueless... continuing would just be stale and droll. a lot like playing CoH has become.

Now THAT's trolling! (Get it? I was joking above...)

Look, there are lots of great ideas out there about how to make CoH better. I like the premise of this game, and I like a lot about the way it's implemented, but the content is stale, and I think you're all crazy for paying for marginal, minimalist content improvements when you're already paying for a subscription. If Paragon/NC stops with that nonsense, and implements some actual game play improvements like some of the great stuff being discussed in the thread about task force improvements, I'll be the first one back at the store renewing my subscription. I just don't think they have it in them.

Yeah you're right I obviously don't play much. I'm an eccentric millionaire that gets a kick out of paying for games I don't play. In fact I'm the only customer NCSoft actually has. I own all of the accounts and I spend all my time posting on the forums under hundreds of pseudonyms. Every character you have encountered in the game are actually bots I had created to simulate other players.

Nerdrage is so amusing. Fanboyism? Classic troll response. Be careful tho, with all that foaming at the mouth your doing you might short circuit your keyboard.

Geez, I even TOLD you that I was joking, and you still missed it... Sigh.

You may be right Westley, I acknowledge I'm not adept at forum fencing, and bow to the experience of a true Master like yourself.

At least I avoided Godwin's Law.

*snerk*

This from the guy that missed me making fun of his joke.

Here's a hint I used the winking emote.

The servers are powered by nerdrage






EDIT: Oops - double post