Hube your biggest disadvantage (not your fault) is that you're playing a tank which can make the run and gun approach even more frustrating if that's not what you're into. Just keep one thing in mind it's probably more organized than you realize... just a much faster pace. I say that because I was thinking the same thing just the other day playing my tank, "this should be more organized, if that scrapper dies as he continues to charge in it's not my fault" etc. however...
I was playing my tank on an 8 person team and I was the only tank. It looked like utter chaos... then I realized looking up at my buffs specifically Rise to the Challenge that all or at least most of the mobs are on me... the rest are held or on the brink of death. Had I not been there, the over zealous scrapper would be dead as would a couple others I'm sure as I usually keep my difficulty at at least +2 for teams. On the other hand if the controllers hadn't been doing their controlly stuff I'd probably have died or someone would have.
Remember difficulty can be cranked if necessary the problem is that you're playing a game that a lot of people are already comfortable with so, knowing their role they charge in and do it and all is well. This kinda reiterates Seldom's point.
I would also say even if RPing isn't your thing you may want to consider Virtue for your server if you're not already on it... given that it's the unofficial RPing server you're more likely to find people that are ok with tactics as opposed to "I WANNA LVL NAOH!"
If you want to run with someone who appreciates a tanks desire to be the first one in look me up lol my global is @radubadu and I'm on most evenings on Virtue 
Global @radubadu
Usually playing one of the following toons blueside on Virtue:
Cadler 50 WP/SS tanker
Radubadu 46 Fire/Fire blaster
Hell Runner 35 Fire/Fire brute
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Like we've said, you really need to start your own teams to set those ground rules.|
Originally Posted by Hube02
I did not realize that the team cannot move on if all members do not exit the current mission. I will keep this in mind for the future. How do you think it would have been taken if I said, "I feel like sticking around" and quit the team? I'm guessing, not very well.
I have not been lucky enough to get on any teams where the leader asks questions or sets any type of ground rules. Knowing what the leader expected ahead of time would be a huge benefit. In the one case where I stayed behind, to be honest I did not realize that I shouldn't be doing the side missions (sometimes I find it difficult to keep track of everything going on) and I just ran off to find them. Next time I'm standing at a door waiting on a team member I will ask questions. I've tried asking questions like -> "What's your team doing" and I get "Missions" like that explains everything, I don't generally find out until I open the door. I am still learning, and while I am learning the layouts of the maps and I know which way to go just by entering a room, I still like to take some time. To me it's like re-reading a good book for the 4th (or 5th or Nth) time. I know the whole story, but I read it anyway because I enjoy the story. Like has been said several times by myself and others in this thread, it's about the journey. Agreed, there are many styles of play, I've seen a few, but "run and smash" or "dash and bash" is what I've seen the most of, and it's just not for me. |
"Starting Steel Canyon Bank Mission team, levels XX-XX. Will be staying to do all side missions, pst if interested."
Would be your best choice.
A lot of players are vets, and they know the missions, they know the layouts and already have a main badger so they don't want to hang out for Arsons or Weapons Trades side missions when their main has it already.
I completely understand that you want to sightsee, and when I was a new player in City, as well as MxO, LotRO, EQ, WoW, WAR and DDO I wanted to as well, but if you're not the team leader and calling the shots for the team, then you're rarely going to get the opportunity to do that.
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It's very unlikely that your ex-teammates would've cared. Staying in should keep the mission open for you but marked as complete for the team.|
Originally Posted by Hube02
I did not realize that the team cannot move on if all members do not exit the current mission. I will keep this in mind for the future. How do you think it would have been taken if I said, "I feel like sticking around" and quit the team? I'm guessing, not very well.
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| I have not been lucky enough to get on any teams where the leader asks questions or sets any type of ground rules. Knowing what the leader expected ahead of time would be a huge benefit. In the one case where I stayed behind, to be honest I did not realize that I shouldn't be doing the side missions (sometimes I find it difficult to keep track of everything going on) and I just ran off to find them. Next time I'm standing at a door waiting on a team member I will ask questions. I've tried asking questions like -> "What's your team doing" and I get "Missions" like that explains everything, I don't generally find out until I open the door. |
A good example is if I'm on a team that has two tanks most of the time someone will ask who the lead tank is. My general procedure is to select one almost at random and say that they're lead but the only reason I do that is it seems to make people feel better that we have a Plan (with a capital P). The truth is that the lead tank is the one in front. Pick any team with two tanks and you will invariably find that one is more aggressive than the other. They're the one that slams into a new group first and picks a direction at intersections. The thing is that on a new team I have no way of knowing which tank that is (baring the occasional case where I'm familiar with one or both of them).
Hube:
My starting character (63 months ago) was a tank and I also wanted to go slow, read clues and the background info on the enemies, check out the all the details in the map, etc. I think it is eminently reasonable to do so and fun. But even back then when the game was young, I would get invited to teams that wanted to go much faster than I did. And either I or someone else would die, whereas I would never die solo.
I think your best bet, and what I ended up doing, is finding someone like you that is either fairly new or just likes to take things slower and plays at the same times that you do. Add that person to your friends list; global friends list if they will let you. Then the two of you can run as a duo, ocassionally pick up a few more, ocassionally merge with a larger team. As a tanker, I would try to find a scrapper or a blaster, but really anyone with any powers that has the same slow, steady, and strategic style would work. Actually, a traps defender or devices blaster would be perfect. They love to take the time to set up all their deadly toys and then have a tank lure the enemies into their trap.
Having a few close friends with a similar style makes all the difference in the world.
50s: Inv/SS PB Emp/Dark Grav/FF DM/Regen TA/A Sonic/Elec MA/Regen Fire/Kin Sonic/Rad Ice/Kin Crab Fire/Cold NW Merc/Dark Emp/Sonic Rad/Psy Emp/Ice WP/DB FA/SM
Overlord of Dream Team and Nightmare Squad
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That would be Speed Boost aka SB. If you get hit with it once, just ask not to be speed boosted. As you know, they will listen or they won't.|
Originally Posted by Hube02
.... however the one thing that annoys me the most is.... (well, i'm not sure of the technical term) ... but when another member of the team makes me super fast so that just tapping the "w" key sends me across a giant room making it completely impossible to navigate.
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| ... mayhem mission ... |
Hero "bank" missions are called "safeguard" missions.
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| ... When I do this in a team everyone rushes in, defeats the guards and rushes to the vault. However, when I'm alone I pull the group in the first room to the door and I position myself there. 1) The boss in the vault has to go out the front door 2) the 15 minute timer does not start until I've defeated the boss. I simply need to wait a moment till he/she comes to me and keep him/her from leaving. 3) I also like looking for those side missions which most teams do not do, at least not in my experience. I even stayed behind once to do them on my own and got begged by the leader to please exit because they wanted to rush to the next mish. |
Yeah, I think we have already seen in the thread that there are people that do both. There are going to be more people tending to do what you don't like on a certain server ... I'll say it - Freedom.
Virtue is the next most populated server, but it is the unoffical RPG server, so you may find teams there that are more to your liking, but since it is still highly populated there may still be many teams that are "runamuck".
After those two, you are going to find a different experience - on any of the others. You will still run into the berserker - "I see only red" teams, but they won't be as many....
....especially if you follow this next bit...
I think stated it before, but about the only way that you have control over a team is to be the leader - so run your own teams - and NEVER give up the star for any reason.
If you were leader, then you could say for the sides!
If the players are out of control then warn them that you are trying to run a tactical team. I try to give everyone a chance and the general 3 strikes rule. If you don't like their behavior and "as team leader" you have warned them, then they will have already quit or you are clearly "leader" and should have no bad feelings about kicking them from YOUR team.
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| Here's a question: How do I state, politely, in my search comment, that I am not looking for this type of team? |
If you get an "blind" invite - aka they don't send a tell first - then you know they didn't read your search comment. Don't accept the invite.
If you get a tell to join a team and they don't state the mission level, they probably didn't read your search comment. Don't accept the invite. Send a tell and ask if they read your search comment.
If you get a tell with a mission level, they probably a higher caliber of players and will tend not to "just charge in". I'd at least join that team to see what's up.
If you get a tell with a mission level and request that you send a tell in order to get invited to the team - that's even better.
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| How do I tell the team, politely, that I'm leaving because I do not like the way they go about things? I've tried and generally what I get is a lot of hate from the team leader and other members about how wrong I am for leaving. |
"Sorry, guys. I have to go." should be enough.
Make it short and sweet and don't tell them why.
Isn't their play behavior kind of unthinking and bull-headed?
What kind of response would you expect out of a player that "only sees red" if you tell them that you don't like their play-style?
Check my rep!
I tangle with those guys in the forums all the time.
Get ready to build up some iron-skin!
They don't really care why you don't like what they are doing; they just want to bully you into accepting it. Just walk way slowly and quietly.
Sometimes its best to just flat out quit.
And here's a secret. If they are going to give you a hard time, type /gignore charactername. You won't have to hear from them again.
Brutal? maybe, but you don't want to hear that guff anyway and this will keep them from inviting you to another of those teams that you don't like being on anyway.
So it's a good thing.
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| This last part is the biggest sticking point, If the game is full of hateful people that can't take a simple "Your style of play is not my cup of tea" then I do not see much future in my staying. From my 2 months of experience this seems the norm rather than the exception. Have I simply been unlucky? |
And, as others have asked, and I will state again - Your play experience will be greatly affected by the server that you are on.
Try playing on another server. And I suggest trying a server that isn't the one you are on and isn't Freedom or Virtue.
The server at the top of the log in screen is the one you were on last.
The next one is the least populated and population increases as you go down the list.
Freedom and Virtue are the most populated.
Infinity and Justice have been floating at 3 and 4 and there tend to be tactical teams on those servers or, at least, they tend to wait until the team is ready before charging in.
The other servers are less populated or have erratic server populations depending on the time of day - that is to say they switch positions. Liberty and Champion tend to stay in the middle somewhere. I don't think I've ever seen Guardian or Victory in the lowest population spot.
The game really isn't "full" of hateful people. From what limited experience I have, the core CoH community is far more helpful than many MMORPGs.
If you are running into a large percentage of hateful people, I'd say that you were on Freedom. I don't want to say that, but it really seems to be the case. This really seems to be due to the AE exploitation that happened when the AE was first released. The players that joined to exploit the AE wanted to be able to find teams easily so they went to the busiest server at the time - which was Freedom - some also spilled over into Virtue because it was a high population server.
Use the [Help] channel by using /hc [message]
You'll find some helpful people there on almost any server. They might even have some room on their teams.
I'm not going to say that sometimes jerks don't harass people on the [Help] channel, but then they are jerks, so there you go.
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| I really enjoy teams, when those in the team are not simply looking to rush through it just to get the XP and move on. What I've taken to doing is to say, "I have time for one mish and then I have to log", then I see how it goes, if it's good I then say, "well, maybe just one more". If if goes badly (which is more then 75% of the time), then I leave, go to a day job location and log off for a while. And still, I get hateful comments about how inconsiderate it is to leave the team or that I'm just a freeloader, even after telling them up front that I'll only do one and see how it goes. |
I would put any players that harass you on global ignore by typing /gignore charactername
You don't have to listen to them again if you do, and really don't want to, do you?
It sounds like it is time to switch servers.
Which server are you on, btw?
Hmm...
I got a little late to this thread...
Well... Hube... WELCOME!!!!
I play mostly on Guardian. Our community seens small if you see it only taking into account the find command... but we have lots of hidden crazy guardianites there...
Some of us like strange things... like Casa and her unending deaths... or me and my vulnerabillity to butterflies (dont know what is it? find me on Guardian and then ask me).
But there is a lot of tactical people there... and, best of all... we have cookies...
Ahh, and from time to time we make themed task forces... Did you ever tried an ITF with only tankers? Come and join us on one of those!
** Guardian�s Crazy Catgirl **
************* 22 XxX 10 *************
Yes. I can get lost on a straight-line map.
He mentioned it a while ago.
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Originally Posted by Hube02
As far as what server I'm using, currently Virtue, I tried Triumph, but found it quite dead. I felt like I was the only here on and I actually did a search late one night to find out that I was indeed the only person on the server. I just found the idea of that disturbing. The reason for Virtue is the person that introduced me to CoH, who was my daughter. We've done some stuff together, but she's on to play with her friends and doesn't want to hang out with me unless they're not around.
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Teams are the number one killer of soloists.
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This is extremely good to here.|
Originally Posted by The_Alt_oholic
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And yes, most of my experiences have been on Virture. Please don't take this as saying that everyone on Virtue is rude. I have met some very good and helpful people there as well. It just seems that I run into more rudeness than niceness and that I've had bad luck. I'm not going to condemn the entire server simply because of the bad apples I've seem to run into.
And I'll state again. I do not presume that any style of play is wrong, I simply like some styles more than others. Yes, there is organization, even in the chaos. I can see this when I look at the HP and End. lines that are not falling and the buff symbols below it. I've also found that I like smaller sized teams when these are feasible, 2, 3, 4 of us.
To be completely honest, the reason that I have not tried starting teams much (I have tried and I've had both good and bad tries) is my lack of experience in the game. It's the fear of being told I'm doing things all wrong in a non-constructive manner. I wouldn't mind pointers and help but when you're main experience has been getting flamed it does tend to make one a little leery.
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What worked for me (I used to hate being Speed Boosted too)is this: Create a character or use your second build, and take the travel power Super Speed. Leave it on at all times for a while until you are used to navigating with it. After a while Speed Boost will not bother you anymore. | Well, it's been a while longer and I have been able to find others that feel as I do.... however the one thing that annoys me the most is.... (well, i'm not sure of the technical term) ... but when another member of the team makes me super fast so that just tapping the "w" key sends me across a giant room making it completely impossible to navigate. |
It has several benefits other than just making you run faster. It also increases the recharge on your powers so you can attack faster, and it increases your recovery speed so you will regain endurance faster.
I love Speed Boost now, but I do insist that my teammates either warn me or wait until I am stationary to SB me so I don't rocket into the next mob because I was unaware that I was about to be Speed Boosted.
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Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
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Perhaps... perhaps the 'gift' has chosen a new host...|
Originally Posted by Hube02
And yes, most of my experiences have been on Virture. Please don't take this as saying that everyone on Virtue is rude. I have met some very good and helpful people there as well. It just seems that I run into more rudeness than niceness and that I've had bad luck. I'm not going to condemn the entire server simply because of the bad apples I've seem to run into.
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If I could direct your attention here, you might be able to harness it for the amusement of everyone. Just make sure to change names to protect the (not really) innocent.
"My inner mind has become a reality-cracking overgod. He torments me! Help!"
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I don't know what your experience Supergroup-wise has been yet, but if you haven't yet researched and found a good one (there are threads within each server's sub-forum with some listings and posts regarding SGs/VGs, or you can ask one of the helpful people you've teamed with if they know of or belong to any), I urge you to take the time to do so. I think many of the team-related issues you're having can be virtually wiped out by finding a good, friendly and helpful SG that will take you in, help you get your arms around how the game works, and "mentor" you (and probably be happy to let you lead a team and play your style with you).|
Originally Posted by Hube02
And yes, most of my experiences have been on Virture. Please don't take this as saying that everyone on Virtue is rude. I have met some very good and helpful people there as well. It just seems that I run into more rudeness than niceness and that I've had bad luck. I'm not going to condemn the entire server simply because of the bad apples I've seem to run into.
And I'll state again. I do not presume that any style of play is wrong, I simply like some styles more than others. Yes, there is organization, even in the chaos. I can see this when I look at the HP and End. lines that are not falling and the buff symbols below it. I've also found that I like smaller sized teams when these are feasible, 2, 3, 4 of us. To be completely honest, the reason that I have not tried starting teams much (I have tried and I've had both good and bad tries) is my lack of experience in the game. It's the fear of being told I'm doing things all wrong in a non-constructive manner. I wouldn't mind pointers and help but when you're main experience has been getting flamed it does tend to make one a little leery. |
In fact, if you ever find yourself on Victory, please feel free to look me or my SG up (see my sig) -- I know for a fact we'd be more than happy to "get all tactical and stuffs" with you!
Best of luck with your search, Hube02!
Leader of Legion of Valor/Fallen Legion (Victory server)
http://legionofvalor.guildportal.com / http://fallenlegion.guildportal.com
StainedGlassScarlet - L50 Spines/Inv Scrapper | Badges: 1,396
Avatar detail taken from full-size piece by Douglas Shuler here
Sorry I haven't looked anyone up in game yet. I write down stuff, but I generally makes my notes at work and then manage to forget them, then the cleaning people come in and throw all my scrap paper away :P
Some have mentioned looking for groups that tend more towards RP, this would likely be a good choice for me. I mentioned that I've been around for a while... I've been RPing since the first version of D&D if that gives you any idea. This may have some effect on my views. Problem is strictly RP is that I don't type so fast. When I try to take the time to message the team.. well with the pace that is usually set with no one waiting for anything, including giving the Tank a chance to catch their breath ("REST") this gets a little difficult.
I do appreciate all the pointers and suggestions given so far. Things are looking up. Started putting my own small teams together. I've found I prefer the small 2 or 3 man team, 4 is okay, larger teams when they are absolutely necessary for TFs. These tend to have more organization and less chaos. It seems the smaller the team the more there is a need to have some plan of attach rather than just wading in and smashing everything. Steamrollers are okay once in a while. Sometimes I even enjoy rolling through a map like a steam roller. Did this with 2 tanks and 2 controllers the other night and it was amazing how we just rolled through everything (The tactics came in when there was one baddie left hiding on the map). But as a general rule I'll take the purposeful approach.
Also, when I talk about tactics, I'm not saying that every step needs to be planned out bringing everything to a gruelingly slow pace. Simple things like knowing who the point man is. If there is only one tank then the tank is point, simple as that, if there is more then one then they need to decide who is point. No tank, then the leader needs to state who the point man is. No one but the point man or the leader makes a decision on what direction to go, the leader defers to the point man (if not the same person) unless the leader knows better for some reason. The point man sets the pace. Simple things like always turning in the same direction at intersections rather than choosing a random direction. If the point man stops at an intersection to look around, give him/her a minute to choose a direction before you run off in your own direction (really it's only a second or two to pan around and look at the choices, are you that impatient that you can't wait a few seconds more to bash the next mob?) The squishes should stay several paces back, let the tougher members meet the enemy first, and everyone stays behind the point man until the enemy is engaged. As a tank, I expect to be at the front leading the way, not trying to catch up with the others. As a troller, I don't want to be in the front and I will gladly follow whoever the point man is and let them make the decision on direction and wait for them to do so. These, to me, seem like very simple things that would be good for any team, no matter what its makeup or how quickly they want to reach the objective.
Had a team last night that reminded me of this thread. I was running on my tank on the most god awful arachnos mission ever. I was running +2 which is usually not a problem but last night I died on my tank more times than in his previous 32 lvls. We actually got to a point where there were so many baddies in one room that we had to have our blasters sniping to avoid another wipe, oddly it was fun.
Anyway, glad things are looking better Hube, as far as starting your own team, this is what I usually end up doing and while it can be tedious it gives you the opportunity to set any kind of "rules" that you want and as the tank most will usually listen. You'll still have an overzealous blaster or scrapper run up and get killed from time to time (admittedly I've been guilty of this on my blaster) but usually they're very accepting that it was their own aggression that got them killed, and I have yet to have one blame me for not holding aggro or a controller/defender for not healing.
Also, while I do appreciate your preference to tactics... the next time you feel like "steamrolling" try an 8 man team of 2 tanks 4 blasters and 2 defenders/trollers. While there's no perfect team for anything IMO, this make up kills things so fast I almost felt like a spectator as the tank. Having also run the same make up with my blaster... well... I like inferno... a LOT.
Global @radubadu
Usually playing one of the following toons blueside on Virtue:
Cadler 50 WP/SS tanker
Radubadu 46 Fire/Fire blaster
Hell Runner 35 Fire/Fire brute
Hube, welcome to the game!
I'm sorry that you're having such troubles. I'd like to point you to the Guide To My Threads listed in my signature below this post, I have several guides that are geared towards new players. I'd strongly recommend you read the Combat Handbook and the Guide to Teams.
After reading the guide to teams, you can use the tips in it to quickly get teams on ANY server, even servers that appear to be "dead". And once you command your OWN teams, YOU get to decide the tactics and kick anyone that's being an idiot and not listening. That's a big plus.
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about the content of the guides. And keep asking questions! This is one of the most friendly and helpful forums on the net!
Welcome to the game
First the good news, there are options if you like a more tactical controlled style of play. /Dev blasters, Traps defefenders, /traps corrputers, /traps masterminds are all very strategic in their play. The /dev blaster may be the most strategic of the lot. With a little prep time you can easily wipe out just about any normal spawn with these.
The bad news you are going to go slower than the run around willy nilly people. Teams won't stand around for the setup, your minefields will be left behind spawns will be dead before your time bombs go off. You will be an excellent soloer though and that is really the only way you can go at the pace you want.
Single target blasters such as ice might also be your cup of tea. Once again though its a solo thing.
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This is somewhat team dependent really. A lot of teams don't really need a tank or at the very least can manage a spawn or two without him by firing off their long recharge powers and so will continue to the next spawn while he's resting. For example on my TA/A defender if EMP Arrow is up then I really don't care if the Tank is resting or not, I'll lock the entire spawn down rendering a Tank unnecessary (unless it's Romans or something with else with mez protection).|
Originally Posted by Hube02
When I try to take the time to message the team.. well with the pace that is usually set with no one waiting for anything, including giving the Tank a chance to catch their breath ("REST") this gets a little difficult.
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| Also, when I talk about tactics, I'm not saying that every step needs to be planned out bringing everything to a gruelingly slow pace. Simple things like knowing who the point man is. If there is only one tank then the tank is point, simple as that, if there is more then one then they need to decide who is point. No tank, then the leader needs to state who the point man is. No one but the point man or the leader makes a decision on what direction to go, the leader defers to the point man (if not the same person) unless the leader knows better for some reason. The point man sets the pace. Simple things like always turning in the same direction at intersections rather than choosing a random direction. If the point man stops at an intersection to look around, give him/her a minute to choose a direction before you run off in your own direction (really it's only a second or two to pan around and look at the choices, are you that impatient that you can't wait a few seconds more to bash the next mob?) The squishes should stay several paces back, let the tougher members meet the enemy first, and everyone stays behind the point man until the enemy is engaged. As a tank, I expect to be at the front leading the way, not trying to catch up with the others. As a troller, I don't want to be in the front and I will gladly follow whoever the point man is and let them make the decision on direction and wait for them to do so. These, to me, seem like very simple things that would be good for any team, no matter what its makeup or how quickly they want to reach the objective. |
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Originally Posted by Another_Fan
First the good news, there are options if you like a more tactical controlled style of play. /Dev blasters, Traps defefenders, /traps corrputers, /traps masterminds are all very strategic in their play. The /dev blaster may be the most strategic of the lot. With a little prep time you can easily wipe out just about any normal spawn with these.
The bad news you are going to go slower than the run around willy nilly people. Teams won't stand around for the setup, your minefields will be left behind spawns will be dead before your time bombs go off. You will be an excellent soloer though and that is really the only way you can go at the pace you want. Single target blasters such as ice might also be your cup of tea. Once again though its a solo thing. |
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You are awesome. | For example if the team has a FF Defender then I'm quite likely to jump in an take the alpha with my Blaster. Sure I don't have the survivability of a tank, but with the shields up I've got enough survivability to take out the minions in the spawn by which time someone else will hopefully show up to deal with the bosses (my Blaster is AR so bosses are hard to kill). |
By the way, when I am on an FF Defender, especially in the early levels before tanks are "tankable", I usually tank for the team with PFF. Especially on sewer teams. Once the alpha is taken, the rest of combat usually goes very smoothly. I've found that 9 out of 10 team wipes are caused in the first 10 seconds of a battle.
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And it blows people's minds beautifully when they realize that the Defender is far more qualified to take alphas than the Tank.
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Originally Posted by Westley
By the way, when I am on an FF Defender, especially in the early levels before tanks are "tankable", I usually tank for the team with PFF. Especially on sewer teams. Once the alpha is taken, the rest of combat usually goes very smoothly. I've found that 9 out of 10 team wipes are caused in the first 10 seconds of a battle.
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Having Vengeance and Fallout slotted for recharge means never having to say you're sorry.
Hube, your luck has definitely been poor with regard to team who flame you. In the 2+ years I've been playing, I can probably count on one hand the number of teams I had to quit because I couldn't stand the other members. And I play mainly on Virtue (and Guardian).
I have/had lots of the same issues as you - I can't fight effectively and carry on a chat conversation at the same time. In one recent TF someone on the team mentioned how quiet everyone was being. I replied, "I can either type or kill stuff, I can't do both at the same time." The team favored me killing stuff.
I also have had , and to some extent still have, the problem you mentioned with the power Speed Boost (SB) - it's great outdoors, but it's a pain in tight Council or CoT caverns. One thing I have found to help mitigate the problem is, if I have Hover, I use that to move instead of running or flying, it is much more controllable. Unfortunately SB is such a great power otherwise, I never turn it down.
Lastly, I like doing the side missions on the Safeguard missions too. Sometimes I even stay long enough to clear the whole map. It seems like when I started playing, most teams would do side missions, but these days, few do. For that reason I generally plan to do Safeguard and Mayhem missions solo at least once.
As others have said, once you have a few more months, or hopefully years, of playing under your cape, you may find the run-n-gun teams the way to go. When I want to take my time and enjoy the scenery, or read the clues and enjoy the story, I play solo. When I want to get some levels behind me, or I run into a challenge I can't handle solo, I team up.
It can be fun to occasionally run with a small team that takes their time and/or RPs, but in your (and my) days of playing D&D, the group was usually a bunch of friends with like interests and/or backgrounds sitting around having a good time. But when you form a PuG in a game like CoX, you might be playing with a 15 year old boy, a woman in college, someone who has read comics for 20+ years, and someone who has never picked up a comic book in their life and just likes MMORPGs. When that's the case, it's tough, if not impossible to get everyone on the same page and when the group's playstyle goes against the individual's they indiviudal usually quits to find a group that better fits their style.
Oh and one other thing - 24 months into this game and I woudl still rather join a team than form one, unless it is for a limited duration event like a Rikti/Zombie invasion or a Giant Monster team.
ETA: Wow, that ended up being really long!
(Sometimes, I wish there could be a Dev thumbs up button for quality posts, because you pretty much nailed it.) -- Ghost Falcon
Quote:
That's what she *SMACK* - jeez Niv...at least let me finish...oh no I feel another one coming on... That's what *SMACK* - man you're fast...oh crud...That's *SMACK*. I give up. |
Originally Posted by mousedroid
Wow, that ended up being really long! |
Quote:
Yes, I agree, sometimes it becomes obvious who the point man is without needing to make a designation, but the point is that there should be one.|
Originally Posted by Adeon Hawkwood
To be honest, I'm not a big fan of designating a point man. On most teams it will quickly become clear who is most comfortable playing point man and letting them take point is normally more effective...
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For instance the team I mentioned I was in a few nights ago. It was obvious that the other tank wanted to lead the way so I simply let him and did my best to keep up. But, he was the point man. He went in first, I followed and the controllers stayed well out of the "Combat Zone" Allowing us to keep all the aggro focused where it should be. There was never an instance when the controllers went off ahead of us or without us or when I went a different direction on my own.
Team makeups may vary, but there should always be the one guy or gal that leads the way. I've seen this more times than I can remember... The team gets to a complicated intersection (room) with 5 ways to go. 3 corridoors and 2 flights of stairs, one going up and one going down. It still makes my jaw drop when one heads in each direction and I'm left wondering which one I should follow
. Generally I take a quick look at my map and figure out which way the team leader went and that's the way I go, of course, unless he/she's the one standing there with me spinning in circles... Then I laugh because I find it quite amusing.
Quote:
I agree that a point man shouldn't need to be designated... it should be assumed that it's the tank and the tank should not have a problem doing that, that's what the class was designed for. IMO the only time it should be discussed is when there's two tanks or none.|
Originally Posted by Hube02
Yes, I agree, sometimes it becomes obvious who the point man is without needing to make a designation, but the point is that there should be one.
For instance the team I mentioned I was in a few nights ago. It was obvious that the other tank wanted to lead the way so I simply let him and did my best to keep up. But, he was the point man. He went in first, I followed and the controllers stayed well out of the "Combat Zone" Allowing us to keep all the aggro focused where it should be. There was never an instance when the controllers went off ahead of us or without us or when I went a different direction on my own. Team makeups may vary, but there should always be the one guy or gal that leads the way. I've seen this more times than I can remember... The team gets to a complicated intersection (room) with 5 ways to go. 3 corridoors and 2 flights of stairs, one going up and one going down. It still makes my jaw drop when one heads in each direction and I'm left wondering which one I should follow . Generally I take a quick look at my map and figure out which way the team leader went and that's the way I go, of course, unless he/she's the one standing there with me spinning in circles... Then I laugh because I find it quite amusing. |
There's nothing more annoying when teaming that the scenario described above especially if you're the tank. What does come in at a close second however is a tank that is hesitant to move forward which is somewhat understandable at lower lvls but IMO after lvl 20 (if not sooner) you should really be charging in full bore like it's your job, cuz it is
Typically, when I'm tanking I ask "ready?" once at the start of each mission. Moving forward after that I go in at my pace unless someone gives me a compelling reason to slow down and am usually on the next group of mobs while what's left of the last group is falling stopping only when needed (i.e. someone dies).
Global @radubadu
Usually playing one of the following toons blueside on Virtue:
Cadler 50 WP/SS tanker
Radubadu 46 Fire/Fire blaster
Hell Runner 35 Fire/Fire brute
Quote:
Well, for one, the "Make it the tank" doesn't work on Villains!
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Originally Posted by Radubadu
I agree that a point man shouldn't need to be designated... it should be assumed that it's the tank and the tank should not have a problem doing that, that's what the class was designed for. IMO the only time it should be discussed is when there's two tanks or none.
There's nothing more annoying when teaming that the scenario described above especially if you're the tank. What does come in at a close second however is a tank that is hesitant to move forward which is somewhat understandable at lower lvls but IMO after lvl 20 (if not sooner) you should really be charging in full bore like it's your job, cuz it is Typically, when I'm tanking I ask "ready?" once at the start of each mission. Moving forward after that I go in at my pace unless someone gives me a compelling reason to slow down and am usually on the next group of mobs while what's left of the last group is falling stopping only when needed (i.e. someone dies). |
Orc&Pie No.53230 There is an orc, and somehow, he got a pie. And you are hungry.
www.repeat-offenders.net
Negaduck: I see you found the crumb. I knew you'd never notice the huge flag.
Quote:
...and if someone says, "But Brutes are just red-side Tanks!" I'm gonna Hulk out and start smashing some heads. |
Originally Posted by Rajani Isa
Well, for one, the "Make it the tank" doesn't work on Villains!
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Leader of Legion of Valor/Fallen Legion (Victory server)
http://legionofvalor.guildportal.com / http://fallenlegion.guildportal.com
StainedGlassScarlet - L50 Spines/Inv Scrapper | Badges: 1,396
Avatar detail taken from full-size piece by Douglas Shuler here
I did not realize that the team cannot move on if all members do not exit the current mission. I will keep this in mind for the future. How do you think it would have been taken if I said, "I feel like sticking around" and quit the team? I'm guessing, not very well.
I have not been lucky enough to get on any teams where the leader asks questions or sets any type of ground rules. Knowing what the leader expected ahead of time would be a huge benefit. In the one case where I stayed behind, to be honest I did not realize that I shouldn't be doing the side missions (sometimes I find it difficult to keep track of everything going on) and I just ran off to find them. Next time I'm standing at a door waiting on a team member I will ask questions. I've tried asking questions like -> "What's your team doing" and I get "Missions" like that explains everything, I don't generally find out until I open the door.
I am still learning, and while I am learning the layouts of the maps and I know which way to go just by entering a room, I still like to take some time. To me it's like re-reading a good book for the 4th (or 5th or Nth) time. I know the whole story, but I read it anyway because I enjoy the story. Like has been said several times by myself and others in this thread, it's about the journey. Agreed, there are many styles of play, I've seen a few, but "run and smash" or "dash and bash" is what I've seen the most of, and it's just not for me.