Some observation from a returning old timer.

I'm just not sure what it is you're asking for when you you want to be "more like a superhero'. Maybe that's because I already feel like one and have enjoyed this game without interruption since its release. To address the specifics you did bring up:

Fly being slow. First off, Fly has been sped up a couple of times, but for the sake of argument we'll deal with the fact that Flight at cap speed is still slower than other alternatives. There are two main reasons for this commonly given.

The first is that Fly's relative slowness is really its only drawback. It has full 360 motion and allows you to park whereever you like in that space (unlike TP or SJ). If Fly were as fast/faster than the other alternatives, it would fast become the only choice (i.e. other travels would be viewed as "gimp" by comparision.

The second reason often given is that flying at very fast speeds can be very graphically demanding as the game is having to render things all around you very quickly. While it seems likely that with the advent of Ultra Mode some of the technical limitation are falling away, there is probably still a point at which making Fly faster just isn't feasible.

Death Knight / comparison to WoW. Obviously, this isn't WoW, and comparisons between the two games don't really completely hold up, nor is it necessarily a good idea to make this game more like WoW. Starting someone most of the way through the leveling cycle makes sense in a game that revolves around an ever-increasing level cap and end-game level raids. If the game starts at the cap, getting to the cap faster makes sense as an epic reward.

That just isn't the case here, and skipping the early game in this paradigm would be a disaster for a number of reasons - not least of which being depopulation of the lower-level areas. In a game that's already heavily instanced, giving the false apperence of emptiness at times, this is not a good move.

Furthermore, since this game has always been designed primarily around alts and replay rather than around endgame, rushing just doesn't make all that much sense.

As for travel powers at 14, that's been addressed in a variety of ways and for most people is probably a non issue now. Level 5+ characters can get rocket packs from Safeguard/Mayhem missions. Players of any level can buy jetpacks from vendors in the Shard and in Grandville. There are jetpacks granted by dayjobs. There are jetpacks craftable with Inventions. There are holiday jetpacks. There are epic ATs (PBs and WSs) who start the game with travel at level 1. We've got a lot of travel goin' on.


I'm not trying to be confrontational here; I'd much rather have a conversation about this as I'm interested in just what it is you want in order to 'feel super' or how precisely you feel the game needs to evolve. What I've seen thus far in GR suggests we're already doing some significant evolution, but pehraps it's not the direction you would wish.

So, let's assume players can get Superman type powers. If a toon was like Superman or Capt Marvel, then you'd be more or less godlike and can pretty much defeat anything that's not kryptonite. 1 minute smash, bam, boom. Everything dead. Rinse and repeat. Where's the challenge?

IMHO, the game tries to simulate low to mid-level super types such as Batman, Wolverine and those wacky supers from Mystery Men. They're not gods and can be overwelmed by sheer numbers or powerful weapons. You develop your super toon from scratch and try to overcome anything thrown at you with your wits and powers.

If you have any ideas about how you could be more super, I suggest posting in the Developer's forum and maybe, just maybe, the devs can accomodate your ideas.

I don't know, my level 3 character feels pretty heroic when taking on half a dozen even-con foes in a single mob, often with at least one Lt in there.

Welcome home

Superman isn't opposed to fighting petty thugs. Really, if you want impressive numbers to battle against, using Superman is a bad example for epic, omg! fights. Just about everything cons grey to him.

When did Supes start flying? At first, he was only able to jump real far.

Did Spidey start his career fighting Venom and the like, or did he work his way up to it?

It is not out of context for a character to evolve as they go along, the precedent is in the comics themselves. I think your expectations may be a little unreasonable, considering the game actually has addressed many of your concerns.

As for in game traveling, when do players in WOW get mounts these days?

Welcome back though!

Welcome back.

To the 'Superhero' thing, I usually think that the CoH/CoV characters are far more akin to daredevil or batman than Superman.

Actually, since I can't think of a good Superman video game, I lean towards beleiving this to be a good decision. Being able to literaly clap your hands to obliterate a horde could get old fast.

Actually, the "feeling like a superhero" thing can really vary depending upon the character, and what you mean by "feeling like a superhero." Some super heroes can do huge amounts of damage. Some are invulnerable. Some have amazing powers to control and distract foes.

Want to feel powerful? Try a level 50 Elec/Shield scrapper, fully IO'ed out to softcapped defenses -- gather a large group, Build Up-Lightning Rod-Shield Charge! Zip-BLAM-BLAM and the entire group is down. I might have to use my other attacks to clean up a straggler or two.

If I want to feel as though I can withstand anything, I pull out my softcapped Invul/Axe tank or my Stone/Fire Tank. Either one of those can stand in large groups of foes and laugh at the feeble attempts to harm him.

My Controllers have a wide range of amazing abilities that can completely neutralize groups of foes, or sometimes a single foe. My Ill/Rad with Perma-PA can handle almost any situation, as long as I pay attention to what I'm doing.

The Inventions Enhancements have gone a long way to bringing back that "superhero" feeling . . . but it takes some work and thought to get there. If you are on a level 40 Fire/Fire Scrapper, you're not there yet.

Yeah, the feel from the old, pre-GDN and ED days, is really only attainable in the current game through IOs. That's kind of the point, really, the devs could not have introduced IOs in the old game, as everyone was already "at the caps". They had to pull everyone back down so a) there was room to expand with Inventions and b) support teammates would have a bigger impact.

This honestly may be what some people mean by "feeling like a superhero". Being so close to the caps that nothing touches you and nothing effects you. You obviously can still be challenged (at +4/x8 difficulty) but you have enough time to react that there is a sense of power and security.

OTOH, I find it's a lot of fun to go through a mission as a Stalker, taking on foes one by one and taking them down almost casually. Some ATs lend themselves to steamrollering over crowds of foes, while others feel "super" in other ways.

I've also posted in the past that I don't feel we, as the generation of heroes after the Rikti War, are the Superman type of heroes. We're the second stringers, the ones who might not have even KNOWN we had powers if it hadn't been for the Surviving Eight effectively begging everyone who could to join in the fight. We're the Mystery Men, as mentioned, or Matter Eater Lad or Infectious Lass. So it takes us a lot of work and training to get to the point where we're equals to Statesman and company. (from 40 to 50)