Pour the coals on your best features
By
Bubbawheat,
Posted on: 2010-02-08 24:38 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
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This kinda sorta exists. Channels have descriptions, and you can search for them:|
Originally Posted by Fury Flechette
2. The second feature would be a global chat channel directory. The directory should allow for the use of meta tags that could identify the nature of the channel (teaming, TFs, social, RP, etc.), show whether the channel is public or private and is accepting new members. Chat channels, more than SG affiliations, has become the primary social grouping mechanism in the game.
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http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Global_C...els#Search_GUI
Having Vengeance and Fallout slotted for recharge means never having to say you're sorry.
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Heroes only have more content because CoH was developed exclusively for a number of years. CoV hasn't always been around so the disparity between the sides is simply an artifact of the difference in development time. More villain only content (without any commensurate hero only content) would simply mean that blueside players (which are a majority of the player base) don't get any attention simply because their game has been around for longer, which isn't a good reason to do anything at all. They'd do much better sticking with their current strategy of releasing equivalent amounts of content for each side rather than attempting to give CoV 2+ years of specific focus in order to try to balance out the content disparity.|
Originally Posted by Fury Flechette
3. More villain only content.
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Of course, with Going Rogue, much of this could change. Because blue and red side populations will be able to alter alignment, it will be possible to do content from the other side, which could actually allow them to release content for a single side without as many negative affects, however, they would still be focusing on one side to the detriment of the other (because "new" is the lifeblood of an MMO).
*reads*
...yup. All looks good to me
/Signed!
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Originally Posted by Zwillinger
GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.
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Originally Posted by Captain_Photon
NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.
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I agree with that as far as it goes, but it shouldn't be an auto-join feature. A team lead should be able to list his team as LFM, at which point it'd show up in a Team Search window, along with any comments the leader has set, plus other stuff like leader's level, team size, mission level, and mission difficulty setting (there's a big difference between a mission set for +0 vs +4!). |
Originally Posted by Fury Flechette
1. The first is the oft requested 'Looking for More' feature that allows teams to advertise if they have open spots. A text field could be included so the team could state what they are looking for or if they'll take any character/AT.
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But the leader ought to be able to set filter criteria like you can in the existing Search window. So for example you could leave it as "all ATs, all levels" or you could be more specific. A character doing a team search who didn't fall within the level range or match an AT that the team lead set would simply not see the team listed on his Team Search screen.
Also, no autojoin function. You'd have a "request to join" button that would send your name, level, AT, and optional tell text to the team lead. The team lead could accept or deny the request just the same as an individual can accept or deny a team invite. Having that type of control would prevent a scenario in which a 4th tank joins the team and the team lead immediately kicks him.
Oh and if I've GIgnored someone or used the player note feature and given them 1 star, please have my team never show up in their Team Search window. It'd save me from going "Welcome to the team! Err, oh wait, it's YOU..."
*kick*
Freedom: Blazing Larb, Fiery Fulcrum, Sardan Reborn, Arctic-Frenzy, Wasabi Sam, Mr Smashtastic.
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No. We aren't asking for 2+ years of villain only content...we're asking for anything that isn't attached with blue-side strings. I want to be villainous, not a hero-side lackey if I want to do anything other than the content CoV basically came with. CoV severely needs new sfs to round things out, and we need more arcs, period. The arcs are better written, which stretches out the replay value a bit more than blue side, but there is only so many times you can replay any arc before it gets boring.|
Originally Posted by Umbral
Heroes only have more content because CoH was developed exclusively for a number of years. CoV hasn't always been around so the disparity between the sides is simply an artifact of the difference in development time. More villain only content (without any commensurate hero only content) would simply mean that blueside players (which are a majority of the player base) don't get any attention simply because their game has been around for longer, which isn't a good reason to do anything at all. They'd do much better sticking with their current strategy of releasing equivalent amounts of content for each side rather than attempting to give CoV 2+ years of specific focus in order to try to balance out the content disparity.
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And with releasing equivalent amounts of content each time, CoV will always and forever be behind in terms of content. Once again...we're not looking for a couple years of just villain things, but even just a couple bones tossed over would be nice.
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Hey! Y u kick me??? |
Originally Posted by Sardan
It'd save me from going "Welcome to the team! Err, oh wait, it's YOU..."
*kick* |
*rejoins group*
my lil RWZ Challenge vid
Doesn't GR, I15 and Cimerora count as pouring more Coles onto the game?
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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Well played. |
Originally Posted by Golden Girl
Doesn't GR, I15 and Cimerora count as pouring more Coles onto the game?
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Ouch... |
Originally Posted by Golden Girl
Doesn't GR, I15 and Cimerora count as pouring more Coles onto the game?
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I'd argue that redside needs more content while blueside needs better content. Leverage adding more content to redside with revamping a lot of the older content blueside so it's much fresher.
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Originally Posted by Umbral
Heroes only have more content because CoH was developed exclusively for a number of years. CoV hasn't always been around so the disparity between the sides is simply an artifact of the difference in development time. More villain only content (without any commensurate hero only content) would simply mean that blueside players (which are a majority of the player base) don't get any attention simply because their game has been around for longer, which isn't a good reason to do anything at all. They'd do much better sticking with their current strategy of releasing equivalent amounts of content for each side rather than attempting to give CoV 2+ years of specific focus in order to try to balance out the content disparity.
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I can't wait for GR now if only so as to have a way to move my heroes over and get some decent content for them. Redside spoils you so much with contacts giving their phones right away, not sending you 2 zones away all the time, not sending you on a dozen fedex quests before even giving you an arc, etc... If only redside had Nictus and Martial Arts Brutes this wouldn't have happened.|
Originally Posted by Tiny Bolt
No. We aren't asking for 2+ years of villain only content...we're asking for anything that isn't attached with blue-side strings. I want to be villainous, not a hero-side lackey if I want to do anything other than the content CoV basically came with. CoV severely needs new sfs to round things out, and we need more arcs, period. The arcs are better written, which stretches out the replay value a bit more than blue side, but there is only so many times you can replay any arc before it gets boring.
And with releasing equivalent amounts of content each time, CoV will always and forever be behind in terms of content. Once again...we're not looking for a couple years of just villain things, but even just a couple bones tossed over would be nice. |
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Originally Posted by Sardan
I agree with that as far as it goes, but it shouldn't be an auto-join feature. A team lead should be able to list his team as LFM, at which point it'd show up in a Team Search window, along with any comments the leader has set, plus other stuff like leader's level, team size, mission level, and mission difficulty setting (there's a big difference between a mission set for +0 vs +4!).
But the leader ought to be able to set filter criteria like you can in the existing Search window. So for example you could leave it as "all ATs, all levels" or you could be more specific. A character doing a team search who didn't fall within the level range or match an AT that the team lead set would simply not see the team listed on his Team Search screen. Also, no autojoin function. You'd have a "request to join" button that would send your name, level, AT, and optional tell text to the team lead. The team lead could accept or deny the request just the same as an individual can accept or deny a team invite. Having that type of control would prevent a scenario in which a 4th tank joins the team and the team lead immediately kicks him. Oh and if I've GIgnored someone or used the player note feature and given them 1 star, please have my team never show up in their Team Search window. It'd save me from going "Welcome to the team! Err, oh wait, it's YOU..." *kick* |
Also it would make recruiting quite a bit easier if the stupid player search didn't list all the people who are already on teams by default. I wonder how many people are out there that I cannot find because they've been pushed off the list by a ton of greyed-out names.
Didn't I read a couple of years back that the devs were never ("never") going to do any more redside-only content? Something was said about any new content was always going to be content both sides could use, because (I presume) they didn't want there to be content that skipped half the player base (not that it's evenly split, really).
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I don't think they ever say "never" to anything - plus, GR will technically make there be no such thing as red or blue side only content |
Originally Posted by Clave_Dark_5
Didn't I read a couple of years back that the devs were never ("never") going to do any more redside-only content? Something was said about any new content was always going to be content both sides could use, because (I presume) they didn't want there to be content that skipped half the player base (not that it's evenly split, really).
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@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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My personal preference would be for the devs to revamp hero content while giving villains chances to mess with it. DA, Boomtown, and all four of the Shadow Shard zones are all completely underutilized zones that the devs could revamp so that heroes actually have something to do there besides streethunting (though I think streethunting should still be an option, which only requires that the large spawn sizes be preserved) and give the villains something tangentially evil to accomplish.|
Originally Posted by Zamuel
I'd argue that redside needs more content while blueside needs better content. Leverage adding more content to redside with revamping a lot of the older content blueside so it's much fresher.
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Villains could be the reason why the Boomtown reconstruction effort never actually finishes, while Heroes attempt to stop the villains from completely taking over the area. Villains could also be behind a task that prevents the heroes from fully banishing the BanPan from DA and finally saving the zone (i.e. in the timeline, Heroes do their TF/arc to save DA and then the villains come in and prevent it from actually having any effect). The Shadow Shard has so much potential I'm not even going to get in to it.
This has been my prediction for a while, and I'll restate it again. With the new hero/vigilante/rogue/villain functionality, they're going to *have* to revamp the team search window. And with that, will hopefully come with bonus functions that we all want (at the very least icons and filters for: team leaders, teammates on full teams, teams looking for more)
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actually as a regular villain we do need a issue to give us lots of things. the villain only issue would be great but those others wont like it and complain..blah blah but i always think a 75/25 villain issue will help the v side. all you have to do is list whats down about v side to h side to see we need work more...tho im not saying h side needs work.
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Originally Posted by Umbral
Heroes only have more content because CoH was developed exclusively for a number of years. CoV hasn't always been around so the disparity between the sides is simply an artifact of the difference in development time. More villain only content (without any commensurate hero only content) would simply mean that blueside players (which are a majority of the player base) don't get any attention simply because their game has been around for longer, which isn't a good reason to do anything at all. They'd do much better sticking with their current strategy of releasing equivalent amounts of content for each side rather than attempting to give CoV 2+ years of specific focus in order to try to balance out the content disparity.
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That's assuming villain arcs are unambiguously better, which they are not. The only thing they provably are is shorter and in relatively the same zone. Of course, CoV having 7 zones to CoH's eleventy billion helps, but that's besides the point. A lot of the CoV story arcs are very simply dumb, a lot of them are completely pointless and quite a few are really badly written. Operative Kirkland, for existence, has no reason to exist, other than to provide a newspaper in contact form.|
Originally Posted by Lazarus
I can't wait for GR now if only so as to have a way to move my heroes over and get some decent content for them. Redside spoils you so much with contacts giving their phones right away, not sending you 2 zones away all the time, not sending you on a dozen fedex quests before even giving you an arc, etc... If only redside had Nictus and Martial Arts Brutes this wouldn't have happened.
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Let's not be jaded and one-sided on the Issue, CoV's arcs are also very old and in need of a tune-up. The side needs at least one new zone and some more stories to its name, if for no reason other than because we end up replaying the same stories over and over and over again.
And for the love of pi, please kill the need to go through five paper missions to get a contact! That just KILLS!
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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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Except that the only reason that disparity exists at all is because blueside has simply been around longer. You don't get to magically start claiming that there needs to be an imbalance in development effort between the sides because redside hasn't been around as long and needs loving. It makes substantially more sense to simply do as they have said they are and continue to develop for both sides equally.
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Originally Posted by Dr_HR
actually as a regular villain we do need a issue to give us lots of things. the villain only issue would be great but those others wont like it and complain..blah blah but i always think a 75/25 villain issue will help the v side. all you have to do is list whats down about v side to h side to see we need work more...tho im not saying h side needs work.
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No, you aren't listening. We aren't asking for them to ignore blue side. We are asking for at least some villain only content! Since CoV has come out, we've mostly only had hero-heavy content or co-op things that are so badly written and copy/pasta'd in for villains it isn't funny.|
Originally Posted by Umbral
Except that the only reason that disparity exists at all is because blueside has simply been around longer. You don't get to magically start claiming that there needs to be an imbalance in development effort between the sides because redside hasn't been around as long and needs loving. It makes substantially more sense to simply do as they have said they are and continue to develop for both sides equally.
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We have content gaps, just like other, newer games. We've been out years! Yet we don't get our own content? I know heroes have been around longer, so blueside has enough content to sit on their hands while they get slightly less content in one or two issues so redside has more stuff to do. We are not asking that heroes get ignored, just that we get some shinies to play with that aren't terribly bugged and freshen things up on our side for once.
And Sam, I don't mind Operative Kirkland as much, but sincerely hate Hardcase. Just become a hero already, man, and leave us alone. Also, I don't understand his love affair with Wailers.
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I approve of this post.
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Originally Posted by Zamuel
I'd argue that redside needs more content while blueside needs better content. Leverage adding more content to redside with revamping a lot of the older content blueside so it's much fresher.
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Originally Posted by Zwillinger
GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.
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Originally Posted by Captain_Photon
NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.
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To be fair, the only things I can think of that have come out since CoV that weren't mirrored on both sides were the villain 40+ content and the Faultline revamp. After GR, I'm kind of hoping we get a few issues with new unique content for both sides.
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Originally Posted by Tiny Bolt
No, you aren't listening. We aren't asking for them to ignore blue side. We are asking for at least some villain only content! Since CoV has come out, we've mostly only had hero-heavy content or co-op things that are so badly written and copy/pasta'd in for villains it isn't funny.
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Having Vengeance and Fallout slotted for recharge means never having to say you're sorry.
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Yet what you are asking for specifically is that one side receive more development time than another. There's nothing wrong with getting unique content. The problem exists when you start asking that one side get content at the expense of the other which is specifically what you're asking for. Redside is always going to have less content than blueside. Any disparity in further development is going to be detrimental to the game as a whole because it discourages people from playing the side that isn't getting as much new stuff (i.e. developer prejudice).|
Originally Posted by Tiny Bolt
No, you aren't listening. We aren't asking for them to ignore blue side. We are asking for at least some villain only content! Since CoV has come out
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What you don't seem to comprehend is that equal development doesn't necessarily mean that everything needs to be co-op (which happened for such a long time primarily because it's an efficient way to provide content for both sides which was important when the developers had been pared down to a skeleton crew).
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| we've mostly only had hero-heavy content or co-op things that are so badly written and copy/pasta'd in for villains it isn't funny. |
If you actually look at all the content that was introduced after CoV, you'll notice that very little of it is actually preferential towards heroes. The only reason you're misconstruing it is because of Cimerora, which was hero-centric, while completely ignoring the fact that more was done for villains in that patch thanks to the VEAT content. Compare all the stuff that Alan Desslock gives compared to the synopsis contact, repeatable mission contact and 4 mission TF that, while being nominally hero-centric, is still available to both sides.
You can have villain only content while simultaneously releasing hero only content and there isn't a content release disparity. The Barracuda SF and the Dr. Kahn TF are both side exclusive content released at the same time. Villains got villain only content, and heroes got hero only content. It was additional content that was generated through equal development and what villains got was villain only. That's precisely what you're asking for and, through some strange quirk of development voodoo, didn't actually require drawing resources from one game to do so for the other.
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Wrong.|
Originally Posted by Umbral
The first patch after CoV came out was exclusively villain content. The issue after that was hero centric thanks to the incredible backlash that ensued from developing preferentially.
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I7: Destiny Manifest
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-New high level zones (Grandville [CoV], Recluse's Victory [PvP]) -Villain level cap raised to 40 -Mayhem Missions -Patron Pools -New Power Sets (Brute Elec Melee, Brute Elec Armor, MM Thugs, Stalker Dark Melee, Stalker Dark Armor) -New Base Features (CoH/V) -New Quality of Life Features (CoH/V) -CoH Art Upgrades (CoH gained CoV level graphics) |
And then your "Hero-Exclusive" issue because of backlash...
I8: To Protect and Serve
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-Safeguard Missions (CoH) -Police Scanner (CoH) -Faultline Reborn (CoH) -Pocket D Arenas (PvP, CoH/V) -Veteran Rewards (CoH/V) |
Issue 12: The Midnight Hour, bringing Cimeroa and VEATS, with the VEAT-only contacts. Yup, seems like a red-side disparity again... waitaminnit, looks like CoH got all that back in I3: A Council of War, as well as gaining a new zone, mission tree, and 2 TF's. So, again, red-side falls short.
And regarding your statement on the new 5th Column TF... Khan's can be run in about 45 minutes with a good team, whereas I've yet to hear of consistent times below 90 minutes for Barracuda. And aren't both Barracuda and Lord Recluse's SFs still bugged? Wait, I shouldn't ask you, you're a blue side player.
Anyhow, CoV players are not asking for the world, just a little parity, and catching up to that 5 issue lead CoH has.
While I'm ********, though, hey Devs! When are ya'll gonna bring the new mobs from CoV over to CoH? Can't wait to go scrapperlock on my teammates when a Succubus confuses me... ^_^
I am the 99%. Occupy the World.
Minister of Infinity's Secret Police, Official Mooch of dUmb and League, Official Purveyor of Free Straws, the Most Interesting Man in the World.
http://www.change.org/petitions/ncso...city-of-heroes
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Agreed, that's very annoying.
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Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
And for the love of pi, please kill the need to go through five paper missions to get a contact! That just KILLS!
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Freedom: Blazing Larb, Fiery Fulcrum, Sardan Reborn, Arctic-Frenzy, Wasabi Sam, Mr Smashtastic.
tl;dr version: continue improving teaming, costumes and content
In my mind there are three features that are largely responsible for the longevity of the City of Heroes franchise and arguably raise it over some of its competitors. If I was responsible for game development, I would ensure that these features were constantly enhanced and made best in class.
Teaming
The City of games have arguably the best teaming mechanics in the market. This is the game that pioneered features like sidekicking and the looking for team search interface that has been widely leveraged in other games. What's more, subtle things like having the number of enemies scale automatically to the number of teammates allow for very quick ad hoc additions/subtractions of teammates without having the mission become too hard or too easy.
However, many games have made advances in this area. World of Warcraft, for example, has introduced a very popular feature that allows you to join a pick up group at a click of a button. Say what you will about this feature, but the people I've talked to who have actually used this feature are largely positive about it.
This isn't to say that I'm advocating having this feature in this game (though admittedly, I'd like it). However, there are two enhancements that I think could improve teaming substantially without resorting to an automatic grouping function:
1. The first is the oft requested 'Looking for More' feature that allows teams to advertise if they have open spots. A text field could be included so the team could state what they are looking for or if they'll take any character/AT.
2. The second feature would be a global chat channel directory. The directory should allow for the use of meta tags that could identify the nature of the channel (teaming, TFs, social, RP, etc.), show whether the channel is public or private and is accepting new members. Chat channels, more than SG affiliations, has become the primary social grouping mechanism in the game.
Costumes
Character customization is another area where the City of games have set pioneering standards. Many players get hooked to the game when they get exposed to the character creator for the very first time. However, the competition have noticed and have answered. There are now other games that boast fairly impressive customization features of their own.
Issue 16 brought power customization, a feature that was long wanted by much of the player base. I would hope that the developers continue in finishing out this feature, allowing for the customization of epic ATs, epic power pools and perhaps more customization options.
The other thing I hope to see is the inclusion of more plain but flexible costume pieces. The booster pack costume pieces look great and while clever players have figured out how to use them for a variety of different characters, the pieces aren't as flexible as a new (but plain) boot style or a new jacket. I look at booster packs as akin to the Star Wars or medieval-themed LEGO sets. The packs contain a lot of intricate pieces that usually work better as a unified set than in mixing and matching. I'd like to see more plain LEGO (costume) pieces that are not limited by a preconceived theme.
Content
With the promotion of War Witch as lead developer, one of the game's new emphasis will be content. That's a great move since while the content and lore of the City of games is rich, years of playing the same content have made much of it stale for much of the player base.
Here's a few things I'd like to see:
1. Less warehouse, office, tech lab, cave maps. While such a setting suits some of the low level thugs you see in Atlas Park or King's Row, they aren't really suitable when you face high powered villains such as the Rikti. I don't think it's a stretch to say that these maps are overused and should be phased out as newer and more interesting maps become available.
2. Continuation of the Coming Storm overarching story. When Cimerora and Ouroborous was introduced hints of the Coming Storm excited lore junkies such as myself. Unfortunately recent issues never developed this story further. This should be rectified in future updates.
3. More villain only content. One of the easiest and most compelling ways to even out the hero and villain populations is to offer more stuff for villains to do. Offering co-op content that allows villains to fight the greater evil is a cop out. Alternate leveling paths, particularly in the teens, where Cap Au Diable is the only choice for villains, would also be very welcome. Further, villains can use a new strike force or two, particularly at levels 10-15 and 30-35. Actually, they can use more than just two, because villains have nothing to compare to the two task forces available in Stirga and the Katie Hanon in Crotoa.
4. Refresh the 1 to 20 game not just in Praetoria but also in Paragon City and the Rogue Isles. The first few levels are your first impression to a new player. It's not much of a stretch to say that such an impression is one of the key determinants of retaining new players. Players should be given a choice to start from any one of the three possible alignments and turn towards one of the other two. It would be wonderful to see branching capabilities as promised in Going Rogue make its way into Paragon and the Rogue Isles.