"It's too repetitive."
By
Anti_Proton,
Posted on: 2010-01-26 21:48 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
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I would ask what recent MMOs they've played for extended periods of time.|
Originally Posted by FizRep
That's really the part that surprised me: They all have extensive MMO experience, even with text-based MUDs. So... what gives?
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Coming from WoW I can say that the initial adjustment was tough for me and i kinda thought the same thing and honestly still do, it just so happens that I'd had my fill of WoW.
I hate to draw comparison because they're so different but one of those differences stands out when talking about this. All of the instances that can be run in WoW are set... when you do Shadowfang Keep (one of the early ones) it's the same every time you enter it. However... each one is entirely different from the rest. In CoX most maps repeat and do so often with the same enemy types and only slightly different objectives with different text telling you what to do. Go to this cave and defeat all of the enemies inside vs go to this cave and take out this specific enemy, his crew and maybe find a glowie.
They're right to a point that CoX is repetative... I would just point out as has already been stated that ALL MMOs are. Another part of the problem could be the setting. Most MMOs currently out there are sci-fi/fantasy in nature. So adjusting to a city of all superheroes causes you to have to put effort into suspending a different set of beliefs as opposed to the ones that already are because of how many times it's been done... if that makes sense.
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
Playing in the STO beta, I had seen repeated room types just after the first few levels of the game (a command center type of room is used quite frequently). I also had flown around the rings of a planet a few times... the missions were different (scan these anomalies while defeating Klingon incursions, or rescue stricken miners, etc.).
That's not necessarily a criticism of STO, though it would behoove them to try to branch it out a little more with some of their mission types. It's more of a statement of how MMOs work. You're going to get it in some way, shape, or form at some point.
CoX could certainly use more map types and tilesets, and to use more varied encounters like what you see in more recent TFs and story arcs (the Midnighter arcs are a good example of what they can do now). Just adding more of those is going to add a lot to the game.
Even so, there is pretty varied stuff now. I feel like our stories are a lot more involved than WoW's, so people should always be reading those. CoX also has a lot of different enemies, we have a lot of different looks and powersets, etc. Also, moving beyond radio/paper missions is a good idea. That's the repeatable content. Getting into other types of missions is where you get the good stories, different objectives, different feels, etc.
Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc: Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory
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I agree that the stories should be read, in both games. I think that this again boils down to setting. WoW's stories are intriguing enough if you enjoy that setting... the problem is that WoW caters more to the lvl as quickly as possible to get to endgame crowd who aren't going to bother with reading why they're doing a chain quest... they just know it's going to get them good xp and maybe a cool item in the process.
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Originally Posted by Grey Pilgrim
I feel like our stories are a lot more involved than WoW's, so people should always be reading those.
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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
Things I notice, playing both WoW and CoH:
Story Arcs and TF's really should have more imagination and work put into the maps. Hess is a good example for this, though even that could do with some work nowdays. Those Midnighter Missions where you have to go to that radio station? It's another bloody office map. Nothing radio about it. They might as well just warp you to a big box room and have the enemy groups port in, because the surroundings have nothing to do with the mission.
If CoH had the Villain style Story Arcs, with interesting maps in, and the TF's were unique mapped wiht interesting gameplay elements, I know I'd be much more interested to run them.
Interactive items in this game don't tend to come in many forms. Find glowy, click glowy, sometimes destroy glowy, or bring character to glowy.
Where is the shutting down a power supply to lower a Council Base's defenses? Or they could raise the bar with say, a hacking mini-game to get into a vault to steal riches while your villain friends hold off the attacking guards.
That's what I find interesting and not repetitive. So YMMV, IMO and all other disclaimers in acronym form.
The city streets are boring as well, they could add more character, mini events and street missions that weren't hunt x, or hunt x in y. One mission has you defeat 20 villains to get a clue. Why 20? Maybe the first one squeals?
I always remember my first instance in WoW, Deadmines, where you came across a locked door, and a Rogue could either pick the lock, or you could find some gunpowder and blow the door with a cannon. That stuck with me.
A more interesting AI would be nice.
The mobs in the game are dumber than the monsters from Pac-Man. The big deal about Pac-Man was the lack of REGs.
Giving mobs in CoX a little more IQ would help keep the game fresh.
H: Blaster 50, Defender 50, Tank 50, Scrapper 50, Controller 50, PB 50, WS 50
V: Brute 50, Corruptor 50, MM 50, Dominator 50, Stalker 50, AW 50, AS 50
Top 4: Controller, Brute, Scrapper, Corruptor
Bottom 4: (Peacebringer) way below everything else, Mastermind, Dominator, Blaster
CoH in WQHD
The solution is Dynamic Content (tm)! This game needs to feel like it's in motion, like everytime you log in, you are jumping into the action! In open zones, there should be turf wars, bank robberies, car chases, shootouts, etc. and in instanced missions, NPC should be actually DOING SOMETHING and not standing around in the same predetermined positions. The results of your actions in missions should have more of an effect that just "Oh well, we'll just get another hero to do it". No that I think there should be some form of tangible penalty, but when it comes to story arcs, failing a mission could be the difference between completing the arc the easy way or the hard way. The game should seem to change everytime you log in and in that, never feel repetitive.
"Samual_Tow - Be disappointed all you want, people. You just don't appreciate the miracles that are taking place here."
I like this as long as it does not lead to spawn camping.
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Originally Posted by Anti_Proton
The solution is Dynamic Content (tm)! This game needs to feel like it's in motion, like everytime you log in, you are jumping into the action! In open zones, there should be turf wars, bank robberies, car chases, shootouts, etc. and in instanced missions, NPC should be actually DOING SOMETHING and not standing around in the same predetermined positions. The results of your actions in missions should have more of an effect that just "Oh well, we'll just get another hero to do it". No that I think there should be some form of tangible penalty, but when it comes to story arcs, failing a mission could be the difference between completing the arc the easy way or the hard way. The game should seem to change everytime you log in and in that, never feel repetitive.
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H: Blaster 50, Defender 50, Tank 50, Scrapper 50, Controller 50, PB 50, WS 50
V: Brute 50, Corruptor 50, MM 50, Dominator 50, Stalker 50, AW 50, AS 50
Top 4: Controller, Brute, Scrapper, Corruptor
Bottom 4: (Peacebringer) way below everything else, Mastermind, Dominator, Blaster
CoH in WQHD
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This.|
Originally Posted by Zortel
Story Arcs and TF's really should have more imagination and work put into the maps. Hess is a good example for this, though even that could do with some work nowdays. Those Midnighter Missions where you have to go to that radio station? It's another bloody office map. Nothing radio about it. They might as well just warp you to a big box room and have the enemy groups port in, because the surroundings have nothing to do with the mission.
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As much as I enjoy the game, and playing the same mission with a different AT or even just different powersets can be a nicely varied experience, running around the same handful of locations over and over and over again does get very repetitive. It's even worse when an arc opens with a cool unique map then runs you through the same office/cave/warehouse ad nauseum for the rest of the arc (yes, I'm looking at you, Terra Conspiracy.)
Unique maps take time and resources to develop, but they invariably liven up any mission in which they are used and this game could really do with more of them. A lot more of them.
Is it too much to ask that some of the atmospheric detail conveyed in the pop up boxes that appear when you enter a mission should actually be visible, or audible, in the mission?
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Personally, I enjoy predictability and abhor consequences. That all sounds like very interesting stuff, and I'm sorry to be a downer here, but it also sounds like a lot of busywork for not much of a gameplay improvement and, to a large extent, for a lot of gameplay detriment. Turf wars sound like fun, up until you accidentally end up in the middle of one when you have a hunt mission and get repeatedly swamped, and arcs ending prematurely can actually be a BAD thing if you're like me and prefer longer, more involved arcs but do not enjoy failing missions on purpose.|
Originally Posted by Anti_Proton
The solution is Dynamic Content (tm)! This game needs to feel like it's in motion, like everytime you log in, you are jumping into the action! In open zones, there should be turf wars, bank robberies, car chases, shootouts, etc. and in instanced missions, NPC should be actually DOING SOMETHING and not standing around in the same predetermined positions. The results of your actions in missions should have more of an effect that just "Oh well, we'll just get another hero to do it". No that I think there should be some form of tangible penalty, but when it comes to story arcs, failing a mission could be the difference between completing the arc the easy way or the hard way. The game should seem to change everytime you log in and in that, never feel repetitive.
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I'd probably stretch as far as dialogue trees and branching story arcs, but I've never been a big fan of the "dynamic content" suggestions, specifically since things like Rikti Wars and Zombie invasions are some of my LEAST favourite things.
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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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Originally Posted by Anti_Proton
The solution is Dynamic Content (tm)! This game needs to feel like it's in motion, like everytime you log in, you are jumping into the action! In open zones, there should be turf wars, bank robberies, car chases, shootouts, etc. and in instanced missions, NPC should be actually DOING SOMETHING and not standing around in the same predetermined positions. The results of your actions in missions should have more of an effect that just "Oh well, we'll just get another hero to do it". No that I think there should be some form of tangible penalty, but when it comes to story arcs, failing a mission could be the difference between completing the arc the easy way or the hard way. The game should seem to change everytime you log in and in that, never feel repetitive.
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Couldn't agree with this more... while I love the mostly instanced portion of CoH the fact that there is very little excitement outside of that is kinda disheartening. At the risk of gettin flamed for continuing to compare the two... one of things I enjoyed about WoW was the fact that at any given point the city you were in might get raided by the opposing faction causing an influx of high lvl toons to get there and have a small war.
Knowing that few people play CoX for pvp (compared to those that pve) it wouldn't necessarily have to be other players... what about Atlas park or Steel Canyon getting randomly overrun by AVs and elite bosses?
I've had one "holy crap that was awesome" moment in terms of being taken by surprise while playing CoX (not counting the initial cool factor when picking ATs and powersets etc) and it was during a safeguard I was doing with my tank and Lord Recluse showed up... it took about 20 minutes for my team to take him down but it was awesome. I would love to have stuff like that happen more often... but not in instances.
Again I'm sorry for the comparisons to WoW. Please understand that I don't think either game is anywhere near perfect and even if I did that's a matter of perspective and after playing it for 4 years I'm obviously going to make comparisons but please don't take that as me saying it's better. Honestly I think Blizzard could learn quite a bit from CoX... sadly they're too busy appealing to the brainless masses that are attraced to WoW's pick up and play qualities.
The other comparison I find myself making is from my time in FFXI... while it's gameplay is incredibly dated (that's an understatement) there was something about knowing that while traveling to where I might be headed I might run into a mob that could wipe the floor with me. Even level mobs would destroy you in that game regardless of what class you were (except maybe beastmasters).
I guess what I'm getting at is that in every MMO I've played (even my EXTREMELY brief time in Aion) there was SOMETHING that kept you slightly on edge. In CoX there are no mobs that can kill you in the streets that you can't get away from or see in plenty of time to avoid. There's no eminent danger.
Please keep the "If you liked it so much in WoW, FFXI or Aion better go play those games" to yourself if you're considering such a post. I LOVE this game... but nobody can say that there isn't at least one thing they'd like to see changed and for me it's this.
Edit: just realized how long this is... for those thinking TLDR... in short I don't think the game is too repetative, I think it's too predictable.
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
I'd also like to see more missions structured like the Mayhems/Safeguards, with multiple things that you can do (or not) and ambushes and the sense of urgency that the timer provides.
I usually hate timed objectives in games, but Mayhems are without question my favourite missions in the entire game.
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We really don't have enough information to know what they were experiencing in-game.|
Originally Posted by Wicked_Wendy
... Did you manage to introduce any of these friends to some of the NON repetive things to try? ...
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It may have been ::
Exit training mission to Atlas.Apparently, this has gone on quite a bit, especially between the release of the AE and the release of i16.
broadcast: AE team lfm any level.
Player joins.
AE farm* begins.
First mission completes.
Team run AE farm* mission again.
New player gains the impression that the AE farm* is all there is to the game.
The starting arc missions for the origin contact arcs on hero side and the contact arcs on villain side have different maps for every mission, so they aren't repetitive due to maps. Some players may consider they are repetitive because they are often based around the game group of foes.
The groups are also repetitive as is the terrain if they ran around in the sewers at low levels.
If you prowl around the streets fighting foes instead of running missions, you will encounter various level foes of various groups. Of course the zones are rather large and there is plenty of different terrain to battle in and explore.
*note :: AE farming is an exploit. AE farms are against the rules. AE farms still go on.
AE farms tend to lure in new players due to the fact that they are often run in starting zones. AE farms are repetitive. AE farms give new players the impression that CoH is repetitive.
AE farms are bad for the longevity of CoH as they drive away new players by exposing them to repetitive content.
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I think the problem with a skills system would be making them useful, but not required - like what if you had no ability to hack, would you fail the computer hacking mission? Or would you still be able to hack it, but with some sort of penalty? And what would the penalty be? An ambush? Less XP?|
Originally Posted by Chuut
It would be nice to see some non combat type skills added and utilized for missions. Things like actually hacking computers with a computer skill, disarming traps, finding secret passageways, being able to use detective work skills to get a different mission in the arc where you got the drop on the badies, etc.
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While it wouldn't be a problem for teams - you'd just recruit someone with the hacking skill if you were doing that arc/mission - it would cause problems for solo players.
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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For me, that would have translated into a "Holy crap that sucked!" moment, myself. Coming into a zone for a hunt mission only to discover it has been turned into a free-serving buffet for every Archvillain in the game except any from the cation I am hunting would not go over well with me, and would likely send me off to another zone to kick my heels, sit on my hands and eventually log out to play a better game. I've done just that during Zombie invasions of zones I need to hunt stuff in, and it never leaves me with a pleasant memory to take home.|
Originally Posted by Radubadu
I've had one "holy crap that was awesome" moment in terms of being taken by surprise while playing CoX (not counting the initial cool factor when picking ATs and powersets etc) and it was during a safeguard I was doing with my tank and Lord Recluse showed up... it took about 20 minutes for my team to take him down but it was awesome. I would love to have stuff like that happen more often... but not in instances.
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In the purest sense, messing with places I need to work in or pass through does nothing for me other than cause an inconvenience and most likely a delay. I will not feel better and more alive for it, I will feel the same way I do when I drive into a intersection that has half a mile of traffic backed up against it so I have to sit on my *** for 10 minutes until I can even come within view distance of the light. It'll make me feel the same way I do when I arrive at work with a bunch of documents to work on and the power dies for two hours while they fix the apocalypse somewhere along the line. It will make me feel the same way I do every time I want to do something, but either can't or I have to jump through ten hoops just to get to it.
Where people see "dynamic content," I tend to see "PITA" in their descriptions of it.
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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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I always saw skills like travel powers, a variety of ways of getting from point A to point B. In the case of missions, it's not just being able to stealth a mission to completion, but finding different ways (non-combat) to complete a mission, while still getting the same credit as if you went the brut force route.
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Originally Posted by Golden Girl
I think the problem with a skills system would be making them useful, but not required - like what if you had no ability to hack, would you fail the computer hacking mission? Or would you still be able to hack it, but with some sort of penalty? And what would the penalty be? An ambush? Less XP?
While it wouldn't be a problem for teams - you'd just recruit someone with the hacking skill if you were doing that arc/mission - it would cause problems for solo players. |
"Samual_Tow - Be disappointed all you want, people. You just don't appreciate the miracles that are taking place here."
I totally agree, I think new/updated AI would be a benefit to what is already a great game!
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Originally Posted by newchemicals
A more interesting AI would be nice.
The mobs in the game are dumber than the monsters from Pac-Man. The big deal about Pac-Man was the lack of REGs. Giving mobs in CoX a little more IQ would help keep the game fresh. |
"if I am guilty for what goes on in my mind, than give me the electric chair for all my future crimes"
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It think you and I are seeing the sheer density of the content. I think (correct me if I am wrong) you see zone event-scale, where I am seeing something more along the lines of the street battles between the Council and the 5th, with the other things happening in locations where one would expect them to happen, ie a robbery at the jewelery shop, bank, or convenience store. There is a difference between Dynamic and Calamidic.
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Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
For me, that would have translated into a "Holy crap that sucked!" moment, myself. Coming into a zone for a hunt mission only to discover it has been turned into a free-serving buffet for every Archvillain in the game except any from the cation I am hunting would not go over well with me, and would likely send me off to another zone to kick my heels, sit on my hands and eventually log out to play a better game. I've done just that during Zombie invasions of zones I need to hunt stuff in, and it never leaves me with a pleasant memory to take home.
In the purest sense, messing with places I need to work in or pass through does nothing for me other than cause an inconvenience and most likely a delay. I will not feel better and more alive for it, I will feel the same way I do when I drive into a intersection that has half a mile of traffic backed up against it so I have to sit on my *** for 10 minutes until I can even come within view distance of the light. It'll make me feel the same way I do when I arrive at work with a bunch of documents to work on and the power dies for two hours while they fix the apocalypse somewhere along the line. It will make me feel the same way I do every time I want to do something, but either can't or I have to jump through ten hoops just to get to it. Where people see "dynamic content," I tend to see "PITA" in their descriptions of it. |
"Samual_Tow - Be disappointed all you want, people. You just don't appreciate the miracles that are taking place here."
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Originally Posted by The_Alt_oholic
We really don't have enough information to know what they were experiencing in-game.
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I ought to have been more specific. They all tried out the game before AE, most of them at or a year or so after CoV came out. A few have tried the game again recently but only briefly, citing the "same ol' same ol'" problem. Sadly, I wasn't aware of their retries until after the fact, or I'd have steered them towards newer mission arcs, new and revamped zones (Faultline and Croatoa, etc), and taught them how to find highly rated AE mission arcs.
All of this takes a vet holding their hand though. Especially after above comments, I feel that we're missing out on a bigger player base in great deal because of endlessly repeated maps and AI behavior and I'm missiong out on getting many of my Internet pals to enjoy what's really the best damn MMO out there. I mean seriously: RAGDOLL + KNOCKBACK.
Ah well, lets hope Going Rogue has more dynamic missions and interactive stuff in the zone (really, being able to get street sweeping missions by the Resistance to blow up Tyrant's military hardware and battle their goons in the streets instead of instances would be SWEET. Heck, just being able to go Mayhem on things period would be fun times.).
@Quantum Evil Rad/Rad Corruptor
Making the world safe for maleficent particles since 2004.
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Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
For me, that would have translated into a "Holy crap that sucked!" moment, myself. Coming into a zone for a hunt mission only to discover it has been turned into a free-serving buffet for every Archvillain in the game except any from the cation I am hunting would not go over well with me, and would likely send me off to another zone to kick my heels, sit on my hands and eventually log out to play a better game. I've done just that during Zombie invasions of zones I need to hunt stuff in, and it never leaves me with a pleasant memory to take home.
In the purest sense, messing with places I need to work in or pass through does nothing for me other than cause an inconvenience and most likely a delay. I will not feel better and more alive for it, I will feel the same way I do when I drive into a intersection that has half a mile of traffic backed up against it so I have to sit on my *** for 10 minutes until I can even come within view distance of the light. It'll make me feel the same way I do when I arrive at work with a bunch of documents to work on and the power dies for two hours while they fix the apocalypse somewhere along the line. It will make me feel the same way I do every time I want to do something, but either can't or I have to jump through ten hoops just to get to it. Where people see "dynamic content," I tend to see "PITA" in their descriptions of it. |
A couple things in your post that I'd like to comment on... don't take this as me giving you crap... just some observations...
When you say log out and play a better game as a response to something unexpected that made your mission not go as planned I have to ask... you do realize that this is essentially a comic book game and that comic books (typically) are not predictable right? What keeps people reading them is the twists in the story, the epic battles and the sometimes failures so that their favorite hero can get back up the next issue and pound the crap out of whatever baddie made it so. If Wolverine (using the most popular one I could think of) won EVERY fight with Sabretooth hands down, hadn't had his adamantium taken away and every issue was just him destroying everything in his path (which is awesome when it happens) it would be the most boring comic ever.
Your second paragraph as a whole is indicative that you probably stopped having fun with this game a long time ago. "Messing with the places you need to work in"? It's a game, mission after mission of kill all the baddies, have an easy time at it and move to the next mission is repetitive and predictable. I honestly don't mind it so much but I've only been playing for 7 months, I'm sure that once I hit that point where doing that it's boring I'll have to stop playing you might want to do the same or even just take a break especially if running into an AV in a safeguard mission is an "inconvience".
I don't mean that to have the tone of "why don't you just go play another game then if it's so bad here?" I just know that if I was at that point (which I was with WoW which is why I'm here) that I logged in and it felt tedious I'd quit or take a break.
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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You should probably be forewarned that Samuel Tow doesn't think quite like most folks when it comes to games. I'd explain it to you...but I don't actually think I'm capable...just used to it.|
Originally Posted by Radubadu
A couple things in your post that I'd like to comment on... don't take this as me giving you crap... just some observations...
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In any case, in terms of the too repetitive criticism: I do tend to agree that this game is guilty of that. Of course, as people have pointed out here, all MMOs are like that.
I actually don't think that they all have to be like that. In fact, I believe that needless repetition is a fault of game design. Sometimes a lack of imagination, sometimes a perceived limitation. A lot of times, it's a reluctance to let go of something that's been done before by a game's peers and predecessors.
What I find interesting, is that in a genre like the MMO, repetition is something that should actually lessen over the course of a game's life, not increase. And yet we often see exactly the opposite happening.
How long have people been asking for new and different things to do in the game that don't directly involve combat? Things that superheroes do that people find compelling and yet break up the constant fighting as the only way to get anything done? I'll give you a hint...it's been since around Issue 1.
We have, hands down, the best combat system in any MMO I have played to date. I don't say that lightly. Fighting in COX is great stuff. We have the best costume/character creator in any game I can think of. And yet, with those 2 strong elements, we haven't really seen our numbers growing over time. Stable with very slow degradation is probably where we're at.
Now if I voice the question as to why this is, I'll probably incite a mob of angry forum defenders pointing out that I don't know anything about MMOs and that they are supposed to decline in numbers as time goes by and that WoW is an aberration(which it is...and somewhat an abomination...) etc. etc.
In my mind(and I'll willingly admit it's probably a scary place), an MMO is supposed to do exactly the opposite of what most MMOs end up doing. I'd say that an example of a perfectly executed MMO is EVE Online. Not because it's a space MMO, or because it's a sandbox MMO. But because it started out with less than 20k subscribers at launch and is now making COX look pretty small in comparison.
I don't think a fantasy setting is the key, or a sci-fi setting, or a modern superhero setting. I think the key is in having a good core game with strong elements and then building and expanding on that game. Not only building up those strong elements that you got right at launch, but expanding and adding meaningful breadth to the game as you go along.
I think COX failed at some of this in a real way. And I don't think that even if the OP was to hand-hold more folks and point them at 'better' content, that he'd get the player retention people think he might. That shouldn't be a requirement of any game.
Ya' know.. if the AI actions were as interesting as the NPC dialog, we'd be set.
Over the past couple days, i've been really appreciating the oft-hilarious NPC dialog. It really shines as a bullet point of "cool stuff" in CoX.
Having the AI be much more dynamic would go an insane length to making this game that much more awesome. Maybe some lower level enemies scatter away from you, or higher levels chase you more. Commentary from enemy NPCs (including non-mission/instance) that is relative to the comparative level.. i.e., Greys will be afraid/respectful/wary, Purples would say challenging/demeaning stuff, etc..
Lots of room for improvement and interactivity/immersion with an increased AI.
Granted, that may not be the easiest thing to implement, but it's not necessarily all that difficult either. As in, it's mostly a matter of behavior modification and some extra text.. instead of having to create new maps/costumes/content/etc..
I have no doubt that type of experience would help keep new players interested, not to mention create an interest for people not even thinking about playing currently.
My first MA: It's a No Good day. (Arc ID: 92684)
@CybinMonde: Nethershift - (50) - Dark/Regen/Dark scrapper (Infinity)
@Solunis: Desumater - (27) - Elec/Dark brute (Pinnacle); Syrah - (23) - DB/WP scrapper (Pinnacle) (proud member of Pinnacle on Tap)
Funny thing is there is an entire thread, I think in Player Questions, complaining about mobs that run away, which I think is the smart thing to do if you are facing off with a super hero and he/she/it just took out most of your buddies.
Of course less of a run away and more of a fall back while still fighting could be a nice change but the game AI runs up at the server so multiply by number of mobs times number of active missions plus mobs in zones at I can understand why the AI can't really burn to many CPU cycles per critter.
A lot of the problems are a side effect of making instanced missions too attractive somewhere around Issue 3 or 4, I think. By upping the XP bonus and halving the debt on defeat, and this was a time before difficulty settings and lowering of the XP debt cap, simply made doing instanced missions the desirable way to go up levels. Before that the streets were full of teams sweeping, even after they had their travel powers. Now you only see teams on the street during events.
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4 only sorta works as long as something interesting happens like Mary MacComber's repeated resurrections.