Issue 19's Inherant Fitness: The concerns

Here is my only concern: The lack of enhancement slots.

With the way the powers are selectable now, and with players' typical behavior to take the Fitness pool for Endurance management, that is two powers that typically don't ever see enhancement slots.

With Fitness going inherent, most players are typically going to expand their build design to include powers they never chose before. They may often choose powers that they'll want to enhance, too.

I typically only devote two bonus slots into the fitness pool, and they both go into Stamina. Now, if we wind up with the same distribution of bonus slots, those two slots are still going to go into Stamina... But the THREE other powers I can take? Where am I going to find slots for them and still be able to play my character the way I usually do?

in one sense I agree with the title to this thread but not the content

To me, Endurance has been one of the few things that actually needed to be managed - and one had to make careful choices about powers and slots based on how you planned to get to 20 - but a freespec was never far away (since I joined the game in I6) and we could always juggle once we'd got to 20 and had Stamina.

Fighting Clockwork and other end drainers is a challenge, and it is a balancing act. I've often thought the burden could be lightened - the pace of the game means as teams blitz the NPCs foes and suck end along the way and so you end up breathless which I think was the whole concept of endurance and to my mind that worked.

I know I'm mostly a lone voice in decrying the dumbing down of a great game - and commercial imperatives will have their way - but where does it end? Carry on like this and Ms Bianco will be popping round your house to spoon feed you custard every time you log on and Mr Miller will be giving you a nice foot rub after your show. Lord knows what the Ocho will do!

The Fitness pool didn't need to be inherent. It could have simply been tweaked: a lighter end cost of critical powers, or Stamina at 14 instead of health or any other. There's an even simpler altenrative: Give every player 500 End points in a full bar. But this way... just makes it seem a bit... blah. It strikes me as the easiest solution, rather than the best.

"You got to dig it to dig it, you dig?"
Thelonious Monk

Anyways...
I personally really hardly notice Swift.
However, I know that some people seem to have much more of an issue controlling their characters, and I mean that without any offense.
You see it come up all the time with much more extreme boosts (Speed Boost, of course).

Honestly though... I think (But I could be wrong) that the Issue 18 increase in Sprint was a higher increase than Swift gave to the old Sprint speed.
Any number people like to fact check that one? (I may have some cookies for you, if you do!)

While I don't see Swift as a "game changer" (Although, I do love it on hover... and I do notice the difference for running, it's nice) Hurdle is a game changer.

Unslotted Hurdle changes your jump height from 4 feet to 10.7 feet.
That is a mighty big difference.

Just as the OP, I'm just voicing my personal thoughts and small concern about making these powers automatically inherent (And we do not know how they will go about this, so Swift and Hurdle may not even be automatic, although they are seemingly intended to be inherent, for sure).

While the degree of importance it has for me is likely higher than most, I know that I am not the only one that truly enjoys this game's ability to personally customize characters around concepts.

Giving every single character the ability to jump over twice the height that was normal may not be the best way to go.
*shrugs*
Maybe Paragon Studios thinks it is and I'm not really going to worry about it.
Posting thoughts and worrying about it are very different things though, hehe.

Some people have brought up a possible concern of dumbing down the game. While I don't think that inherent Fitness Powers is accomplishing that in this game... I sort of feel the same thing from a conceptual viewpoint (As opposed to a game mechanic viewpoint). Running faster and jumping higher (and faster) were available as choices that could help better define the character's concept in a visual and virtua-physical way.

Some characters should leap taller and/or run faster.
Giving every single character those two powers automatically, without option, disrupts a bit of the freedom of conceptual design that players currently have.

If players can choose to unlock these powers, that could be great. Maybe like claiming veteran reward powers or maybe some other way.
I've seen it suggested as toggles, but I don't know that would be favorable (Nor easy to code). These powers work great as auto powers and I think it'd be worse to make them toggles than to bother the people who care about concept and jump heights and such.


Anyway, I've had characters that just rely on Hurdle and Sprint as a travel power... And Hurdle is a great power and can be a game changer.
(I know many people falling in the Motes in Praetoria would welcome Hurdle, hehehe)

If you can't relax and discuss things intelligently and respectfully... maybe you need to step away, eh?

Don't you ruin this for me. I'm looking forward to having both Hurdle and Swift for my running around like a ninja.

I'm sorry I compared Swift to Speed Boost hyperbole, I really am! *mashes [Beguile] while running away*

I'm sure whatever changes will come our way, I'll get used to it eventually. I wish people would actually respond to threads positively until they've given a reason to bring on the pain.

At least I didn't pull a GKaiser!

Unfortunately, such is the way of the Internet. The COH forums are among the most tame, even when you are getting lambasted. So you have that going for you at least.

Finally! All my characters can take jump kick, flurry and whirlwind!