AE Experience Drop

Some of the dumbest players i've met in game are 60+ month vets. This includes people "set in their ways" who don't evolve with the game, people that have been here since 2004 and don't know the difference between an orange or a purple insp and even what they do, and of course the higfh and mighty carebears that think that since pvp wasn't in the game on day 1 that it's bad and that badgeing is more important.

It doesn't matter who you're "playing for". The fact that you're in the same game with other people in and of itself affects them. In a single player game, play however you want. But when other people are involved, nothing you do affects "just you".

Who cares? It's just a game?

I don't care if I play an MMO with other people. I'll play however I want, as long as it's in accordance to the EULA. It's a damn game. Get over it.

It's not like I let the actions of others affect the way I play the game. Theriouthly.

It just takes us a little longer.

Can already do this without using exploits, just regular dev created content.

Right.

You shouldn't really play the sympathy card to try and backup your argument.

I'd say that the dramatic upsurge in clueless 50 n00bs served as proof enough that the exploits were affecting everyone. 'course, I don't see what that statement had to do with "using my logic"...

Yeah, sure, I can quit a team with bad members. But when team after team ends up being like that in greater frequency since the exploits came to light, I don't see how anyone in their right mind can say that exploiting "only affects me if I let it"... Having to quit the team because of it affects me. Yeah, I choose who I play with...but that doesn't mean I don't end up wasting my time with PL n00bs trying to find a decent team.

And here we come to the point of the matter: If you're abusing an exploit, you're not playing in accordance with the EULA.

So just because I can PL effeciently to 50 at a faster rate than most, I'm using an exploit and I'm a noob?

Get real. It's a game. Get over it.

Oh, well I see that as way out exaggeration. Even in the height of the meow etc I never had difficulty forming mission teams, often found them extremely good teams too.

The complaints about it being impossible finding non farming teams I've heard again and again from farming in PI/Grandville days.

Ditto for the people playing non 50 content. Even less likly to be true so in light of how few people have 50's (judging by change in Epics unlocking).

That the zones with PL'd 50s are filled doing non farms (or why would it matter) seems more than a bit contradictory.

Maybe, if everyone on your global list was only farming, and refused to do anything else, and all you did was broadcast 'looking for team' in atlas and Cap could I really see the above happening, especially in recent times times.

I play on a virtue/justice during non peak US times which might have something to do with it, (though also play other servers/times just not as much) but I still see posts stating all of that as pure hyperbolic forum drama.

~

Oh, and re OP, just because a bug didnt get fixed, doesnt mean its WAI. *points to lots of bugs still not fixed*

I understand the point you're making and I sympathize with your concern. I really do. I'm familiar with the same waste-of-time finding the very kinds of teams you're referring to. Ultimately for me, I transferred my characters to a high-pop server specifically banking on probability helping to mitigate some of that; probability in the sense that because there are more players on a given server, your chances of finding teams - whether through random groups or SG interactions - tend to increase as well. The difference may be marginal but it's more than conducting the same search on a lower-pop server.

Even so, this doesn't negate the fact that I'll still need to be rather selective about teaming. Some of that effort requires a trial-and-error type of approach, wherein you're unable to make a solid conclusion until you've teamed with a group so you can see how they handle their characters during actual gameplay. You could argue that this is, in itself, wasting more time but I find the pursuit to be worth it.

I've had my share of experiences with this, too. The simplicity of your stated point is altogether beautiful and encouraging. Undesirable elements don't have to remain present. Not only that, but following up on forming your own team or finding an SG to team with helps build social connections. To some degree, that's what we're all doing here anyway.

There's another, slightly sadder element, and that is, some people are weak. I know I am. I have a high-ish levelled character I got through HDS stuff. I figured I'd use the HDS to get them to a key point (I think first I was thinking 22). I did so. Then I went out to 'level for real.' I compared, I cajoled, I thought about it and I figured, well, a HDS run is more time economical for certain things, so I'll just do them when my time is short. Then I got close to a key level and I figured I'd do HDS to get there. Then I figured I'd just get to another key, and another key, and so on.

I didn't like using HDS. I really didn't. Between a quiet social pressure ("don't bother IOing till 50," "We need prestige," "You're not 50 yet?") from people around me and an internal conflict ("This isn't fun, but it is fast," "When I hit 50 I'll experience the content, even if I haven't when similar things happened,") I wound up getting this character to level 37. They've a terrifingly small amount of time actually played; they've idled online in SG bases and the like, but not actually been really experienced.

I'm NOT a newbie; I know how to play and I can play this character easily, in no small part because the character is a stupidly easy character to play. I could make the 'I've done my time' argument, and I won't lie, when I make a newbie, I seek out a highby friend to cruise with until I get to a point where I'm happy to start doing 'my own stuff.' I don't think the problem is the amount of effort I put in...

... But I was weak. As long as HDS existed and was so easy, it made me feel really bad to do normal content, as if I was wasting an opportunity. This is exacerbated by the knowledge - it's very easy to recognise! - that the exploit was going to get blown up. So suddenly it was an opportunity to get a character to key levels, get them past problem levels, etc. etc. etc., whatever excuse I wanted to use at the time.

So I did.

Now it's gone. And I'm really glad. I'm glad because I held back - I didn't completely blow to 50 on a pile of characters who I would toss aside as unearned rubbish. I'm more glad because the temptation to waste opportunities like that is no longer there.

This is not to say I was right - I think I did the wrong thing. I should have been reporting the farms and avoiding going on them. I can rationalise it however I like, but I did the wrong thing and I'm not happy about doing it. Lacking the temptation makes me happy, but were I stronger, it would not have been necessary to me for that to happen.

Heroes, Villains ♦ Reviews ♦ Retrospect

I can't believe nobody thought of this amazingly incisive and well-supported argument. I'm going to have to use this one.

Heroes, Villains ♦ Reviews ♦ Retrospect

That's not what the poster said.

Tyger42 just posted a fact - that exploit-based PL'ing did create a bunch of level 50 n00bs.

Personally, I don't like power leveling, but that's from joining teams, finding out that's what they were doing, and being told to sit in the corner and I wasn't having fun. If you do it, and you don't exploit while doing so, good for you.

There's a difference between "PLing efficiently" and "exploiting". You know damn well what I meant. Put the strawman away.

True, but the exploits make them more numerous by far.

Or it's simply a case of someone grossly exaggerating. That would be my impression as I had no such difficulty.

Go check the forum section for your server and look for a sticky listing it's global channels. Global channels are much more effective for getting groups than shouting out in broadcast or such.

Here's your answer. If you truly think you need to be psychic to vet potential groupmates, I don't know what to tell you. Maybe this is your first/only MMO, I don't know. But there was a time in MMOs where people only grouped with other people on their progression 'tier' or higher. There was at least one game where you had to be in a particular guild/progression tier to even have access to certain zones. Thus, birds of a feather flocked together to the exclusion of those of different playstyles or ability levels. That was a form of vetting. If a person was even able to ENTER said zone, it was a pretty good indicator that they're not a clueless n00b (notice I said 'pretty good'. It wasn't perfect. "Casual player" spouses of people in these "hardcore" guilds often found themselves flagged but ill-equipped to handle the increased challenge level).

There is a reason why some (or many, if some folks are to be believed) people only team with people from their SG or coalition or trusted global channels. Bottom line is, it's possible to reduce the number of moron teammates you wind up with, the best way being to put the team together yourself and only invite people you know are competent. Is this preferable? Probably not to most people who prefer to be lazy and passive and do what someone else wants to do but still reserve the right to whine and not do anything to remedy the situation. I notice all these posts about "I can't find a team". I haven't seen nary a one about "I can't find people to invite to my team".

You want to be passive, then accept the downside that comes with that. You'll constantly be at the mercy of "luck" and popularity swings. When I play the MMO with easily the most idiotic player community on the planet, I have zero trouble putting together teams that raze the "toughest" challenges in the game. The same thing happens here. I ask in my global channels first, then check my friends list, then run with whoever/whatever I happen to get. I don't need an 8 man team to get xp/drops/have fun. I also don't subject myself to clueless morons all the time (sometimes it's fun to team with these people for laughs).

I suggested it as one way to vet the undesirables. It's not perfect (no method is, outside of only teaming with close friends/family/people you know can "ball"). Not touching the PvP thing since, while not high and mighty, I only tend to get into zero sum PvP (which is why I play EVE and L2) so don't really like it here. But I see your point, though what's "more important" is a personal choice (or a developer's decision). There are people who have been playing this game since before Archetypes who couldn't tell you the most basic information about their powers (because numbers are inherently evil and a "powergamer" mechanism ).

True, but if that's your play style, then you're going to get tired of the game within a few months, after you've achieved every conceivable award. From a business perspective, it's smarter for the COH team to ignore you and focus in on the long term players who are likely to stay with them for a year or more.

Your money is still green, but if in the process of appeasing you, they alienate any of their base, then they are certainly not coming out ahead.

I've been for 5 years. Why would I quit now?

Broken Voltage (War Mace / Electric Armor Brute) Main Toon

I have been playing this game for 6 years now. I like to blow through the content, because quite frankly, I've done it once or twice. Dont get me wrong, I like to re read books and such. but not the same one every two weeks. Divide two weeks by six years...

From a business perspective, thats $2304 for 6 years with 2 accounts. Not to mention boosters expantialones (COV, back when you had to buy it seperately) Going Rogue, the 2 new computers I have purchased to play this game that I love, and am perfectly content to play another 6 years. I know dudes that have 6 accounts. I dont know, Is it really that smart of the coh team to ignore that kind of loyalty? Remind me not to invest in anything you run.

Dont worry about me messing up your teams though. I tend to solo.

Also, one thing I have noticed in my time here. The devs dont really mind alienating the playerbase.