Things I love about CoH

I've been doing a lot of complaining lately. That's mostly just stress. (Stupid near-death experience.) But I actually do like this game quite a lot. Just signed on for another 6 months, in fact. Some things I love:

The new train stops. Man, that's a terrific addition.

Shadows. That whole graphical update has been cool in many ways (neat water), but some time ago I was running about doing my hero thing and a winged hero flew overhead. The shadow as it passed over me was awesome, simply ineffably cool.

Dual Blades. Are you kidding me? That's such a gorgeous powerset I can't even believe it. The whirling, the spinning, the swick-snakt-zing of the sounds... the kick in the crotch Brawl dishes out with swords in hand. Whoever did that set was hitting on all cylinders that day, let me tell you.

Super-sidekicking. Such a joy, what a great way to make the teaming experience even easier.

Okay, now you go.

True joy is setting up a big chain explosion of cars in Mayhem Missions.

Thugs. People are all raving about Demons and I'm not entirely sure that any Masterminds created since April used any other primary powerset, but Thugs is hands-down my favorite Mastermind primary. Between watching the Bruiser step all over everything, hearing the massive spamming of AoE damage and trying to keep the Arsonist alive, the set just goes above and beyond the others on the interest scale.

Incarnate Shard random drops. At long last, everyone has a reason to plow and play with their 50s.

Cross-Alignment and cross-server global e-mail. I can pool all my resources on one guy and craft goodies for everyone else.

Inspiration combining. And the new version: "someone e-mail me a small yellow!"

Side-switching. Soul Mastery on my Tanker is a godsend, and being able to use any character to play with friends no matter which side they're on is a major bonus.

Super sidekicking. Oh the joys of not having to juggle sidekicks anymore! No more trying to work out with friends who needs to log onto a character within x levels so that someone else can play! And no more dreaded "You are too far from your mentor!" when flying through Founder's Falls, just before a sniper picks you off like a bug!

The level-restriction removal of RWZ! Now my friends who prefer villains and those who prefer heroes can all get together and run missions, no matter what level we are, as long as there's at least one person 35+ to talk to Borea! Yay!

Oroboros. Oh, lovely Oroboros, with your flashbacks and your convenient travel, how I love you.

Character customization. Incomplete, but so very wonderful. Instead of looking like Every Other Level Capped Character in the other MMOs I played/play, my characters can be uniquely themselves no matter what drops they're "wearing" or what their level is.

The fact that pretty much any character concept can fit into this game's canon. Want to be someone from another dimension? C'mon in, Portal Corps got a door to everywhere! A fairy or ghost? That's cool, we got a whole zone fulla those! A terribly deformed mutant? Excellent, you'll fit right in! A bug-person, werewolf, vampire, radioactive child, catgirl, monster, reformed ex-con, cop, alien... it all works!

Willpower. Oh, delicious willpower. I would have you a secondary on every character if I could...

IOs. I find them deliciously addictive, especially when combined with Mid's Designer and a hefty case of OCD Way to play into my flaws like they're advantages, game!

I've thought about posting such a thread many times, but never do it...
Good job, Ironik!

Honestly, you all covered much of what I might say (probably won't stop me)...

Feycat, the customization and the open concept aspect are truly golden!

Also, I have to say (I sometimes forget this), just the powers and the way that they play-out so often mirror what I imagined: case in point -my main villain Malfaz. (short version): Malfaz has suffered his whole life from chronic migraines and dementia as side effects from his mild psychic mutation. After years of being mucked about with by doctors, he gained control of his powers to induce unbearable headaches and other psychic trauma.
I don't even have to try to role-play him sometimes... as I just use his powers (Mind/Psy Dominator) and watch all enemies around him hold their heads, suffering... It is pretty insane (Just as Malfaz would like it!).

Same goes for my main hero, the Electric-Knight.
It turned out that Electric/Electric/Electric Blasters just happened to mirror how I played that character in Pen and Paper games many years ago, just happens to be the powerset and AT combination that fits me the best with this game and gives me the most thrills, just happens to look and sound so very much to my liking... And just happened to be my first 50 and I never get enough of it (Well, not for longer than a week or so).
ZAP ZAP!!


Mayhem Missions alone might keep me playing this game, haha!!


Super Side Kicking... Oh yes!! We used to go through that maddening juggling act (Level Tetris, what a great term). Sidekicking alone was terrific... full team sidekicking is just great.


Mission Architect!
My friends and I have used this to create and customize our pastime even further.
It really has been a superbly awesome addition to our playing.
I have SG friends that make weekly arcs for our characters to go through.
And, honestly, some of the greatest uses I've gotten out of it were for creating atmospheric stages (sometimes with NPCs) chosen specifically for certain role-playing acts. The arena came in handy for a few of these as well!


Just quickly...
Among other things...
The ton of options: many powersets within ATs play vastly differently! I love that!
The casually friendly nature of this game, while still including greater levels of achievement and interest.
I hesitate to use those words "casual friendly", but it is so true. You can do just about anything in this game with any powerset combinations, power picks, limited enhancements, whatever... Log on, kill Skulz, have fun!!


Oh... Biggest kick... The Rag Doll Physics!! Every fight feels a bit new and different and spontaneous, in large part because of how enemies, teammates and my character may get knocked, batted, tossed around and such.


Thanks CoH and thanks for posting this, Ironik!

The story arcs. Especially, the newer ones (like the Doppleganger arcs) and the level 40+ ones.

Mission Architect. So a few people don't use it for its intended purpose. I do (use it for its intended purpose), and I love it. Makes me glad another MMO that I play has it's own UGC system coming in the near future.

Character customization. It's just awesome. And what I like even more is that it doesn't just stop once the character's created. You can always go back and edit it, and/or use a costume slot to create a whole new suit. While a newer superhero MMO has similar capabilties, 1) the models look terrible (okay, the overall graphics of that game aren't that great), and 2) the 3rd of those hero MMOs doesn't seem as though it'll have anything like that.

Knockback and rag doll physics. Being a MA Scrapper, I LOVE Crane Kick. There is no end to the amount of fun I have with that attack and the resulting lift-off of my target. Again, something the other two games lack.

The community. Even though I'm a loner and do most everything solo, I love seeing all the heroes around. Whether the mods see it or not, these forums are the best on the internet. Most everyone is friendly, and we all just seem to get along. It's nice break from, say the perpetual ****-slinging contest on the STO forums.

Honestly, it'd be a lot easier for me to make a list of things I don't like about CoH.

The ability to get missions any time. None of this "Oh sorry, you've done all the available missions and are still too low level to get any more, why not go and kill dogs to level up?"

Seriously, from the start the newspaper hooked me.

The people, all the people. From the Devs to the knowledgable forumers (the legendary 7 and all their helpful sidekicks) to the people they help. Well, most of them.

Flying... just flying around the city, especially with the Ultra Mode.

The community. The friends I have made here are more real to me than most of my "real life" friends.

MFing Warshades. I cannot express how fun it is to play my warshade. Even to level it up was the most enthralling journey to 50 I've ever experienced. Granted, I only have three 50s, but that's just showing how many other ATs couldn't give me the enjoyment to actually get to 50.

Variety. The ATs, the powersets, the missions, the rewards. Different characters look and play so differently, and I can pursue different rewards as the mood suits me...unlock a costume slot, pile up Vanguard merits for the salvage slot bonus, run some strange or funny Architect mission for tickets, duke it out on the Cimeroran Wall in hopes of an elusive purple drop, or almost at the drop of a hat get a bunch of eager strangers together for a Task Force...and that's only a small slice of what's available.

I also get way more enjoyment than one might think out of seeing all the wildly different characters other people make up...cool or funny names, all kinds of looks from classic to bizarre, and bios/descriptions of every stripe. In other games, most of the characters from the same class/AT look and act fairly similarly.

Only here can I be standing around on my slightly cynical Bronze Age minotaur, chatting with a Siamese catgirl with a funny name, while we wait for our teammates, an artificially-intelligent kitchen appliance and a mythical Irish heroine, to reach the mission door so we can commence fighting 1940s Italian fascists possessed by alien symbiotes. Meanwhile a psychic kitten riding a zombie-girl sidekick, a flying Japanese computer scientist/detective, and an elemental tree spirit pass us on their way to fight a satanic carnival. It's crazy in an endlessly entertaining way.

Diverisity in powers. Not only are archetypes a distinct play experience, powersets are. Heck, powerset combos. Not only does my dominator play totally different than my tank, it plays different from my other dominators. My Kin/psi plays different than my kin/elec. You can choose just about any new combo and have a very different approach to the same missions.

Customizability. Yes, you still glow yellow with hasten, and APP lightning is stuck at indigo-ish, but just about every other detail can be fine-tuned to be your own. With some creativity, you can and will stick out in a crowd as your own cool character.

Teaming! What is your friend bringing? It really doesn't matter! Just jumble together friends from different levels, archetypes, and powersets and you'll be hard pressed to find a group that just can't work. Everybody can have a good time without worries of having the right build, selections, etc.

The ability to do crazy things! I like popping a bunch of purples and running out to herd multiple groups on a squishy, only to fulcrum shift and nuke 'em all off to see St. peter. Or crank the enemies up to x8 solo only to decimate them with a shielded robot army. Or diving into a mob on a /dark brute only to stupify/terrify them, coming back from the brink of death when ever I want. You can go nuts in this game and succeed by doing so.

Fireball at level two. LEVEL TWO!

The fact that I can start a new character and not have to level him up using the same missions my other 100+ characters have already run (thanks in large part to AE). That, more than anything, is what makes certain I rarely play the closest competitor.

Oh my gosh I almost forgot ragdoll physics!!! EEEE!!!

My husband and I have an Invul/SS tank and Storm/Mind controller combo and we NEVER stop laughing as we hurl guys around in all directions, off balconies, down stairs, up hills, into corners, on the ceiling...

The BEST is any outdoor instanced map with the glowy blue walls. You can stick guys up there!! We spend hours doing that!

Two players hitting foes with knockback attacks at the same time. Watch 'em fly!

The character creator. That could be a game in itself. (It was at one time, but they had to take it away, probably because they couldn't monitor what you created with it and make sure it didn't violate copyright )

Wings. Geez, devs, you took two whole issues to get out capes because "we won't do it unless we get it right", and then you added this gorgeous animation. Animated tails get an honorable mention, mainly because I noticed Minx's tail is now animating as well, when I went to train in Skyway last night.

Character creator, hands down. I love being able to make a classic looking superhero, or make a pig...or a robot...or an alien.

Community. This is the first/only MMO I've ever played, and it's great to be able to ask questions about the game and getting very courteous help. I also actually get along with most people I meet on here, which is more than I can say for real life.

Gaming versatility. I used to play for 5-8 hour stretches a lot, and I loved it. Now that I'm a new mother, I can STILL play while my daughter naps...because I can also do things on there that doesn't take up a large amount of time. I have gotten LOTS of badges since I've had her And, even though I can't really do the marathon runs anymore, I still love playing.

Off the top of my head:

Joining a PUG that kicks tail and keeps me laughing with witty banter at the same time.

Alternate approach to get great gear with the A-merits.

The immersive story writing and NPC dialog. Especially the newer missions. Just keeps getting better.

The ability to make my own lair.

O-portal, how I love thee.

Short circuit + Power sink = Bye-bye blue bar

Variety in mobs from aliens, witches, gnomes, talking trees, robots, fascists etc.

Battling the named, costumed rogue gallery villains like Hollow Point

Nurses selling inspirations in the hospitals

Slugging it out and coming on top against a really tough EB with a "squishy" (even if it takes a couple of tries)

Oh hello, Alpha slot. Will you marry me (don't tell O-portal).

Some of the things I love:

Knockback.

Confuse powers. Whenever I Confuse a Tsoo Sorceror, I giggle like a schoolgirl when he starts healing me and Hurricaning the other Tsoo away from me. Equally fun is Confusing an Embalmed Cadaver and watching it blow up the other zombies. KA-BOOM. Hee hee heeee....

Getting that little butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling when I jump my character off of something tall and fall towards the ground. It doesn't happen every time, but sometimes it just looks SO REAL that I get that feeling, like I'm on a roller coaster or something.

Knockback.

Being the last person standing on a near teamwipe, especially if I survived against impossible odds.

Getting a really cool name that I can't *believe* was available.

Knockback

Dying to the last mob at the end of a fight, only to be rezzed when I level up as the mob dies from DoT. It's only happened to me once, but it was sweeeeet!

All the other awesome people in the CoX community.

Did I mention knockback?

I love everything except the static hair

Sorry for those ions GG. My bad.

Didn't read the whole thread, sorry if mentioned earlier.

Thugs don't drop dead when dismissed anymore. That's good for my thugs/storm MM because those thugs are her sons. Her damn children. I hated to see them just drop dead when dismissed.

Things I love...

a) in general, the community - having participated in other online games before, this one has the nicest community, hands-down.

b) DEMORECORD. Oh, Cryptic, this may be the one thing you contributed to this game that I will forever be grateful for. Machinima was never the same after this little invention. And Ken Morse, at HeroCon 2009, saved my life with those fateful words... "Yes, Michelle, demorecord works with Ultra Mode." It is the single reason I dread the day a new game engine for COH comes out, because I live in fear that they will remove this wonderful, wonderful feature. Which leads to...

c) The Mission Architect. I admit, while I use it for its intended purpose, I use it for another reason... it's a ******* customizable soundstage and filming ground. I have maps... I have enemies... I have stuff I can place on the map... and if I take in my Mastermind, I have my own film crew. I almost cried with joy the day I discovered the EMPTY map feature.

d) The storylines and lore. Just... wow. Now if we could only get Ouroborous to flashback FARTHER than just in-game missions...

e) The creative freedom. Anything goes in this game (almost, but then you get generic'd). Hyperactive psychic with her own link to the Netherworld? Priest who suddenly develops superpowers to save his congregation in more than one meaning of the word? A walking Pauli effect who can fight crime by causing chaos amongst villains? Sure!

YES!

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite