First, welcome to the games and the forums.
Check out the Mentor Project at the top of this forum.
And my one bit of advice: Try everything. This game is all about alternate characters, and is famous for its balance. You have to try really hard to gimp yourself. Just try what looks fun.
Where to now?
Check out all my guides and fiction pieces on my blog.
The MFing Warshade | The Last Rule of Tanking | The Got Dam Mastermind
Everything Dark Armor | The Softcap
don'T attempt to read tHis mEssaGe, And believe Me, it is not a codE.
Welcome to the game and forums.
A good website to link is paragonwiki.com which has links to other useful resources.
Also be aware of the Guides forum below.
Questions on this forum get answered fairly quickly.
I am not sure what you are asking about worrying about PUGs. If you mean getting on one it is easiest on Virtue and Freedom but there are global chat channels on the other servers however since you are on a trial you will be experiencing unique challenges in that regard because you will be unable to send tells, reply to tells or use broadcast. The best thing you can do is set your looking for team prompt that you are on a trial and looking.
If you are wondering about the quality of PUGs, well the game is pretty easy so it is hard to get on a complete disaster but it can happen.
If PvP is your interest you will want to play on Freedom however since you are on a trial you will only be able to use the arenas. The PvP zones begin at level 15.
We have a major new expansion coming soon: Going Rogue. There's a lot of waiting for that going on.
total kick to the gut
This is like having Ra's Al Ghul show up at your birthday party.
First off, welcome to the game and to the forums!
Secondly, in addition to what others have said above, I wanted to give you a little bit of a perception warning. Coming from WoW, you may feel like the population here is 'dead.' It is not, however, people just aren't out in the world as much as in WoW. A lot of this game is in instanced missions, so people tend to be doing those a lot, versus hanging around outside.
Definitely check out the Mentor project, and feel free to ask any questions that you might have. We like to help new players out.
Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
"I was just the one with the most unsolicited sombrero." - Traegus
Thanks for the quick replies. I have basic questions in regards to the game. How are groups formed? Are instances, more or less dungeouns that have Bosses and adds? Are the instances real long time wise. What are the rewards you go after in these instances? What is the level cap? These are the basic questions I have. Is the games appeal more then just putting on levels? Can you still get a lot done if you play alone?
I will read the mentor guide too, thanks again everyone
Almost all activity is done via instances from contacts though you can fight "in the wild" so to speak.
A group is usually formed either by /sea (search) command to find people looking for teams and sending them a tell asking them if they want to join or by sending the invite. This can lead to some ruffled feathers either way so go with what you think is best. I would recommend a tell and wait for the answer but some people just want to get going.
If you do send a tell a short polite message is best "We are doing missions. Want to join?"
The great thing now is the team members get set to the same level as the mission or the team leader if no mission is set.
Level cap is 50 but mostly irrelevant since there's not much that just starts there. It all is pretty well going from level 1 on.
You can level to 50 and have a blast completely solo if you want to. I often do.
total kick to the gut
This is like having Ra's Al Ghul show up at your birthday party.
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Well, saying "lft" in Broadcast does work, but rather poorly. It's best to join the Global chat channel for your server and communicate with the people there, or join a good SG. Check out the Server specific forums for more info on this.|
IrishBrewed has specifics: Thanks for the quick replies. I have basic questions in regards to the game. How are groups formed? |
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| Are instances, more or less dungeouns that have Bosses and adds? Are the instances real long time wise. |
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| What are the rewards you go after in these instances? |
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| What is the level cap? |
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| Is the games appeal more then just putting on levels? |
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| Can you still get a lot done if you play alone? |
Dec out.
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1) Groups are formed in many different ways. The least effective, though arguably easiest way, is to do a search for people in the game of around your level, and to send them tells/invites to team.|
Originally Posted by IrishBrewed
Thanks for the quick replies. I have basic questions in regards to the game. How are groups formed? Are instances, more or less dungeouns that have Bosses and adds? Are the instances real long time wise. What are the rewards you go after in these instances? What is the level cap? These are the basic questions I have. Is the games appeal more then just putting on levels? Can you still get a lot done if you play alone?
I will read the mentor guide too, thanks again everyone |
However, there are better ways. Joining Super Groups or Global chat Channels can mean that you have other like-minded players that are often forming teams, and will gladly accept you onto one. This tend to make it easier to find teams, as you only need to read what your friends are saying. To find some super groups or global channels, head down to the forum for your server, and ask which ones a new player should join.
2) Instances are not consistent, really. Some of them are just against a bunch of enemies of a single type. Others have ambushes. Some have named Bosses that you need to fight. In higher levels, some of them will have Elite Bosses or even Archvillains that you will need to take down. These can be as easy or as hard as you want to make them (within limits), since now you can set yourself to be equivalent to a number of players, and set the level of your opponents from -1 to you - +4 to you in level.
Instances range from very quick radio missions (usually in the higher levels a few minutes long) to longer arc missions (at higher levels, even these don't last all that long. Single missions on Task Forces can last up to 45 minutes, but those are rare.
You're not going after gear, per se, in these instances. You will get XP and influence (money) for defeating the enemies, for sure. You will also get various drops, from Inspirations (potions), Enhancements, Salvage, to Recipes. Recipes are the 'top end' gear nowadays, but what you want will depend on your end goals for the character.
3) The level cap is 50, and is unlikely to change in the near future.
Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
"I was just the one with the most unsolicited sombrero." - Traegus
Welcome to the game. As far as solo-friendly goes, I've played for 4 years and haven't gotten around to trying team play yet.
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Welcome aboard! |
Originally Posted by IrishBrewed
I just started the demo, ... What can I expect from COH, do I have to worry about pugs, can it be enjoyed on a casual level... How is the PvP?
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This game is great for 'casual players'. I play about 5-6 hours a week on average and have lots of different characters spread across most of the servers. The game is balanced around standard characters using only commonly-available "enhancements". There are better enhancements that can make you more effective, but costs go up for those. Players can easily increase their difficulty levels to spawn more mobs/higher levels/more bosses if they feel up to that task.
PUGs can be great fun - I enjoy seeing different playstyles and adapting to them. You do occasionally run into rude/impatient/know-it-all players who'll give you a hard time but in my experience that's pretty rare. When you do, just say "Thanks for the team, gotta go" and quit team. There's a rating system you can use to note which players you liked teaming with and which you don't want to get near for your future reference.
As for PvP, I hear it's not very good, but I can't comment on it personally.
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Welcome to game!|
Originally Posted by IrishBrewed
Thanks for the quick replies. I have basic questions in regards to the game. How are groups formed? Are instances, more or less dungeouns that have Bosses and adds? Are the instances real long time wise. What are the rewards you go after in these instances? What is the level cap? These are the basic questions I have. Is the games appeal more then just putting on levels? Can you still get a lot done if you play alone?
I will read the mentor guide too, thanks again everyone |
Groups are easily formed in multiple ways but if you are on a trial account, you can only be invited to a team (so you are unable to start your own). In general, this should not be an issue especially in the case of Atlas Park where often, low level sewer teams are forming up.
You should be able to hookup with a team in short order.
Missions are vary in objectives from defeat everything, defeat a boss group, find some type of object or rescue hostages.
The duration of each mission can be highly dependent on your archetype and your primary/secondary combination. Other factors also include if you are teamed up or solo. So for instance, a scrapper having to do a defeat all mission may clear the map in 10 minutes while an empathy defender solo may take a bit longer. One of the reasons I love this game so much is that you can choose to get online and get about 10-15 minutes of action and then jump back off. Or you could stay on for a much longer block of time to achieve any numerous things you may want to do.
The current maximum level cap is 50 and after 6 years on the game, my motivation has changed to a much more team oriented play rather with task forces than primarily solo at launch. So to answer your last question, you can do a lot solo especially with the mission difficulty slider but I hope you will experience and come to enjoy the teaming aspect of the game.
Lastly, do check out the Mentor Project. Lots of folks can and will help someone new to the game to make learning the ropes easier no matter the server you choose to play on.
G'luck!
The Mentor Project - Because we were all new to the game at one time...
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=212083
Oh, and no one seems to have mentioned it yet. Paragon Wiki is your friend. http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Main_Page
One other way to get/form teams: Your friend and global friend list.
If you get on a terrible team with one good player (which is about average in my experience) you can use /gfriend to invite that good player to your global friend list. The global friend list goes both ways, it has a limited size (150 people maybe? They raised it at some point) and it's an excellent stalking tool- you can see your friend whenever they're on, whatever character, whatever server. For these reasons, some people may not want to be global friends with you. It's probably not personal.
There's a "regular" friends list which keeps track of that specific character, does not require the person to OK you, and only works from your specific character. (Did we mention that a large percentage of the playerbase has a lot of different characters? I have about ten that get regular play.) It doesn't work quite as well as global friends, but it's a start.
Anyway, if you get [say]eight global friends by joining eight pickup groups, you can get on and check if any of those friends are on, see what they're doing and if they want help. Then you get to know THEIR friends and eventually you have a loose-knit group of people that you know who do stuff. It's tough getting started, because you have to do the part where you team with a bunch of strangers of highly variable skill and personality, but I've done it a couple times on different servers and eventually you get a solid group of people to team with.
Mini-guides: Force Field Defenders, Blasters, Market Self-Defense, Frankenslotting.
So you think you're a hero, huh.
@Boltcutter in game.
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YOu can do quite a bit solo. For regular missions, if you need more than one person, the game will do quite well at warning you (there are a VERY few, old "simultaneous click" missions still out there - where you need more than one person to click on multiple objectives.) Otherwise, you'll see "You may want to bring friends" or "<named boss> has been seen in the area" - you don't always need extra people to fight it, the game scales very well. |
Originally Posted by IrishBrewed
Thanks for the quick replies. I have basic questions in regards to the game. How are groups formed? Are instances, more or less dungeouns that have Bosses and adds? Are the instances real long time wise. What are the rewards you go after in these instances? What is the level cap? These are the basic questions I have. Is the games appeal more then just putting on levels? Can you still get a lot done if you play alone?
I will read the mentor guide too, thanks again everyone |
Instances... this is going to take a little getting used to for you, I think.
Every mission, save the "Defeat X many bad guy group" hunt missions, is an instance - thus the comment to "don't look around and think it's dead." If you think about it, it makes sense. Most games have you running around a wilderness of some sort, or small town - so you're going to run across people. Here, you're in a modern city, having to find people inside warehouses, office buildings and the like. So everyone does stuff "inside." So in that sense, everything is "instanced" and can take varying amounts of time. Now, there are some things - task forces, strike forces, a few raids (which for the last one you don't worry about 'til the upper levels) that are ... probably closer to the "instances" you're thinking of. You get on a team to do them, and you do need a team to start. That team stays "fixed" - people can leave, but nobody new can join until the task force is done. It will send you on a series of missions to finish some objective - you can catch the storyline, for the most part, by hitting the red "I" up in the navigation bar. They can take from under an hour to several hours, depending on the task force or strike force, your team and difficulty settings. (We have some which have taken 8+ hours to finish up in some cases.)
"Raids" - there are two. One, the Hamidon, (45-50, IIRC) goes up to 50 people. The easiest thing to do is join a global channel, or see your server forum (down below) for when these run. The reward is a HO or SHO - a special type of enhancement that is not an invention (get to that later, dont' worry about them for now) that enhances multiple aspects of your character. The other is the Mothership raid in the Rikti War Zone. The RWZ is a level 35-50 raid - best thing to do is go to paragonwiki and read up on it.
The level cap - The level cap is 50. The level cap, the way the devs see it, will remain 50. The game grows "sideways" instead of up - they add more content and more stuff to do instead of just piling more levels on the top. (For instance, the Invention system in issue 9, which can do... quite a bit to your character, and the upcoming Incarnate system which is designed specifically to make level 50s more powerful, but not be particularly *easy.*)
Rewards - Some will argue with me when I say this isn't a loot based game, so I'm going to clarify it here. Your powers and abilities are centered on *you,* not "the stuff you have." We don't go through a progression of armors and weapons, you don't pick up "noob leather armor," maybe enhance it once, throw it away to get the next one in five levels, etc. You don't replace powers, either - that basic punch or blast you start with, you get to keep. You do, however, get to add slots to fit enhancements in, adding accuracy, damage, or whatnot (and the powers will tell you what you can add.)
(By comparison, while I don't play WoW, I do play Aion. My Ranger is no longer ranged if I start using swords and daggers. The speed boosts she gets from boots, gloves, and other equipment go away completely if I upgrade to something that doesn't have those benefits. In COH, while the degree can be altered by enhancements, you don't "pick up" items for powers - aside from temporary ones.)
So - rewards. You will get multiple things dropping. Influence/Infamy = money, and it falls readily. (Plus you don't have to spend it on gear and skills.) Enhancements will drop that you can use to adjust your powers, or sell. Shortly into the game, salvage and recipes will drop - you can use them to make "Invention origin" enhancements, store, or sell them at a vendor or the auction house. Some are, of course, worth more than others - I'd generally say, as a start, watch them and look at what they do, but don't start worrying about them 'til you're comfortable with the basics. Also, some activities (some of which have prerequisites) as well as finishing your story arcs will drop "merits" of various sorts which can be used to purchase other items - another "don't worry about it at first" thing.
I will add, one thing that will be nice - you will feel more powerful than in some other games. Again, looking at Aion, most fights are 1v1 or 2v1 if you're solo vs mobs. More than that, you're in trouble. Elites are trouble. Generally, to fight a small group, you need a bigger group (and a "holy trinity" of tank-"healer"-DPS going on.) Here? You will regularly be fighting multiple mobs (of various sizes) and, while help might be *nice,* you generally won't need it ('til you hit named bosses, elite bosses, and Archvillains/Heroes - and even then, some powersets and builds can chew through them easily.) Giant monsters (if you're heroside, you'll probably see the Kraken, or Lusca in Independance Port, Jack in Irons or the like, villainside will give you Caleb, Scrapyard and his mob, Deathsurge and others) will need a team, generally. And for most things, pretty much *any* combination of ATs (classes) will work.
Beware -- there are two Paragonwiki sites. The one Tyrrano linked to is the right one, as the other has been taken over by bad people. You may get Adware if you go to the other site.
The CoHTitan site is a great place to learn about the game. That and these Forums will answer any question you may have. Make sure you download Mid's Hero and Villain Designer -- virtually all the builds you see posted on the forums use that program. Also, go to the Vidiotmaps site (www.vidiotmaps.com) to download and install the map patch. That will show you all the badges and plaques on your in-game map, and is a minor modification tolerated and approved by the Developers.
Try tons of characters. I started with a Scrapper, then a Blaster. Then I tried a Tank. When I tried a Defender, I thought I had my favorite -- and my namesake is that Defender. I then rolled up a Controller to be a sidekick to that Defender, and quickly found out that Controllers are my favorite.
This game is not all about taking one character to max level to play the end-game content. The journey is more important. The fun really comes from getting new powers, slotting them up and learning how to use them. Solo is fun but teams are better. I have stayed with this game for so long mostly because of a group of friends I have developed and team with on a regular basis.
Use the forums. There are lots of player-written guides to give you an idea of what various types of characters are like. Many of them are quite good, but there are a few that are off base. Some of the older ones don't take into account the changes in the game since they were written. If you decide you want to try an Illusion/Rad or Earth/Rad controller, you can see the guilds linked in my sig. I generally suggest an Illusion/Rad as a newer player's first controller.
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
Welcome to the game. Sorry the trial is so horribly lame.
Missions come from contacts, radio/newspaper, or Task Forces. TFs are generally about the same as a radio team, but with some crazy crap every once in a while and some unique maps.
If you go Radio often, and I like to, you'll see some of the same map types. Blue damn caves, the warehouse, the office, brown caves.
Some content needs to be unlocked. Say, if you want to do the ITF, one of the cooler Task Forces, you'll have to do the Midnighter's arc.
Enhancing your powers is key. If you're going to be at Freedom of Virtue, learn to use the ingore on the broadcast spammers, or, really, just get out of Atlas ASAP. King's Row is depressing, but I dig Steel Canyon, though the Talos WW is my home.
I'm probably usng jargon you don't know.
Well, welcome to the game. katana/wp scrapper ftw.
So the help and advise is overwhelming here...Thanks a ton you all.. Really looking forward to getting outta work and playing...
How are the instances handled, WoW has the Tank,Healer,DPS play..I would guess that is not the case here?
Welcome to the City!
Hmm I think everyone got your answers for you already.
Main thing in this game are the stories. Enjoy some of the adventures you come across.
Tasks Forces and Strike Forces (villain side) can last from one Hour to Hours depends on the team you have. Some even find the fastest way to do something and clear a few in under 30 mins. (note that not easy!)
Missions from contacts mostly take place in buildings and can be done Solo or in teams. Now here's something people haven't said. YOU can turn off your XP gain to not out level a contact. Or to gain extra Influence/Infamy(Game cash). So you can stop leveling at 20 or 30 for as long as you like.
Or put it simply....
DON'T RUSH TO 50! take your time enjoy the ride. New content is added often and at random levels. The latest are missions for level 20 involving clones!
Going Rogue going to be new at level 1 and up. So unlike WoW we get new content all over the place.
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We do not have healers. We have defenders. Some defenders have heals, but heals do very little in this game. Buffs and debuffs are the most powerful factors in our play.|
Originally Posted by IrishBrewed
How are the instances handled, WoW has the Tank,Healer,DPS play..I would guess that is not the case here?
|
Pretty much any kind of character can be built for any kind of role.
The Tank/Heal/DPS trinity does not exist here.
I've seen amazing teams with no tank, no DPS, and no heals. It was all defenders. All buffs and debuffs, and the piddly damage that a defender does solo was buffed beyond stupid levels of power.
Where to now?
Check out all my guides and fiction pieces on my blog.
The MFing Warshade | The Last Rule of Tanking | The Got Dam Mastermind
Everything Dark Armor | The Softcap
don'T attempt to read tHis mEssaGe, And believe Me, it is not a codE.
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SO not needed!|
Originally Posted by IrishBrewed
So the help and advise is overwhelming here...Thanks a ton you all.. Really looking forward to getting outta work and playing...
How are the instances handled, WoW has the Tank,Healer,DPS play..I would guess that is not the case here? |
Teams can be any mix of Types and powers.
Not only do each AT have an effect but each Power has a secondary effect.
A simple Tanker build has Gauntlet that adds Taunt to their attacks. A Fire Tanker would have extra Damage to the attacks where an ICE Tanker would slow foes down.
This makes the Tank/Healer/DPS triad kind of not important. A team of nothing but Controllers can kick as much **** as a team of all Blasters.
So yes you don't need a "HEALER" or a "TANKER" they are very nice to have but a good team with good builds of any AT and Power mix can really take down foes.
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This said (which I agree with), it's a good idea to play on a team which has a bit of diversity in most situations. A team of all blasters tends to have an Achilles heel, as does a team of all tankers, a team of all defenders, and a team of all controllers. Diverse powers can cover the holes that the other players on the team may have... a scrapper on a team of 'fenders and 'trollers can add the bit of damage that they are missing and take some of the agro away. A 'troller on a team of blasters can lock down a boss or elite boss so that it can be saved for last, once all of the minions are taken out.|
Originally Posted by RottenLuck
SO not needed!
Teams can be any mix of Types and powers. Not only do each AT have an effect but each Power has a secondary effect. A simple Tanker build has Gauntlet that adds Taunt to their attacks. A Fire Tanker would have extra Damage to the attacks where an ICE Tanker would slow foes down. This makes the Tank/Healer/DPS triad kind of not important. A team of nothing but Controllers can kick as much **** as a team of all Blasters. So yes you don't need a "HEALER" or a "TANKER" they are very nice to have but a good team with good builds of any AT and Power mix can really take down foes. |
Every power set has many uses and many play styles. Once you see how someone plays a character, though, you can team with that character pretty well as any of your characters which you're familiar with... My wife only plays scrappers and I have 'trollers, 'fenders, blasters, and tanks that all team with her well.
The trinity... not a thing here, but diversity can make things more fun.
Well it appears I have a lot to learn, good thing is, the player base seems helpful and the Mentor resource is nice..
Is there anyway to turn off the auto run feature, I use my mouse to move and it seems that if I hold down my left and right mouse buttons to move that after a few seconds it auto runs which is kinda annoying I would like to stop once the buttons are released...
Also, does the game support addons of any type and if so is there any you all recommend?
Welcome Newby!!
Noob = a negative person here.
Newby= New person.
While others have mentioned teams and the Trinity mentality, I will add that... just have fun!
You can make a team of all blasters/tanks/defenders/etc and smash through missions/Task Forces and all.
"every defender needs to fight. I don't care if you have to use BRAWL!"
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No other "add on's" other than the Map Patch. No stuff like WoW, etc. are allowed here. And if you want to stop just click the left of right mouse button to stop.
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Originally Posted by IrishBrewed
Well it appears I have a lot to learn, good thing is, the player base seems helpful and the Mentor resource is nice..
Is there anyway to turn off the auto run feature, I use my mouse to move and it seems that if I hold down my left and right mouse buttons to move that after a few seconds it auto runs which is kinda annoying I would like to stop once the buttons are released... Also, does the game support addons of any type and if so is there any you all recommend? |
"every defender needs to fight. I don't care if you have to use BRAWL!"
Welcome to the game and the forums, IrishBrewed 
Also, there are no noobs - only inexperienced veterans
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
I just started the demo, I, like many people played Wow for awhile and got tired of it, looking for something fresh... I really like COH over CO and after a couple hours with the demo I am really considering sinking my teeth into this one Any advise a veteran would give a noob who is just getting there feet wet with the game...
What can I expect from COH, do I have to worry about pugs, can it be enjoyed on a casual level...
How is the PvP?
Just the basic MMO questions.. Thanks for any advise, and or help..