Samuel Tow hates Tin Mage and all he stands for

It is still an insult as that is not what I've ever said. The fact that you grossly misinterpreted what I have stated, is frankly insulting.

I wanted the Incarnate Trials for the Alpha Strike to MATCH the strength of the Incarnate Abilities of the Alpha Slot. They do not. The Alpha abilities

The way your post reads is as a series of insults, in a very condescending manner.

The game demonstratively cheats. For instance, the Aspect of Rularuu shoots and debuffs through his "Only Affects Self" Personal Force Field, even though the developers could not repeat it at the time, I was able to record it actually happening. Likewise the developers are trying to make a hard challenge for the players, but in doing so they have given the NPCs and the encounters an advantage that players can't counter.

An example in the Tin Mage TF are the invisible and intangible mine layers that continue to lay proximity bombs away from the AV, even if the AV is held or controlled. The mine layers are supposed to represent the AV tossing mines around. If that were the case, then the mine layers need to stop throwing mines away from the Director and stop while he is incapable of launching any attack.

Having one set of rules for the NPCs and another for the players is cheating.

It isn't that you are disputing what I'm saying. It is HOW you are doing so. You are implying or stating things I've never said and attributing those statements to me. The fact that you can't see that you are launching personal attacks means that I have nothing further to say to you.

There is a reason why Jack Emmert (Statesman) isn't well thought of by the players. This game has succeeded despite his effort to make single-solution "winning scenarios" a part of this game. The fact that the other game is, in part, failing miserably due to the same ideals is testimony enough. The best game masters (either pen & paper or electronic games) adapt to the unexpected. The current trend to make sure the players "do the right thing" as opposed to come up with creative solutions is a huge step back in terms of user-friendliness.

Triumph: White Succubus: 50 Ill/Emp/PF Snow Globe: 50 Ice/FF/Ice Strobe: 50 PB Shi Otomi: 50 Ninja/Ninjistu/GW Stalker My other characters

/glares at Master Illusionists

I think this is an excellent summation, and explains perfectly why some people see Apex as a refreshing change, and others see it as the devs kicking them in the jimmies.

Pavehawk's thread, here.

Your other comments bring up another point: at 40, my twitch reflexes are getting a little old and tired for action gaming. I really hope that this is not the future of CoH's endgame. (And if it is, they need to overhaul the engine so that attack animations don't root you and you truly can fire on the move.)

The issue with Rularuu was a bug and has since been fixed. However, Apex and Tin Mage are working like intended, so no, they're not cheating. Please stop with that idiotic notion.

I'm having a lot of trouble understanding what you mean by cheating in this context.

Is it something like this? In a game of chess, each side plays by the same rules, so if say black has an updated set of rules and white is playing with the standard rules, black is cheating?

And in this analogy, the AI is black and the players are white?

If that's what you are talking about, I must admit to never having thought about it that way in my life.

This is no different then the Devs coding Earth thorns to not cast more then one quicksand per mob same with Tsoo and Caltrops. Mobs in this game operate under different rules then the players. Mobs can't slot enhancements, mobs can't use inspirations.

Also I think you're looking at a bug and seeing some sort of Dev conspiracy to make life super unfun for us.

I have serious doubts that the mine layers carpet of bombs, to the point that the server will not send the information to the players so that they can avoid the bombs, is working as intended.

I can't see the fact that there are so many bombs that some of the warnings they are about to go off, thereby allowing the players to move away, is working as intended.

I can't see the fact that the mine layers do not lay bombs around Director 11, but instead go to the opposite side of the map, is working as intended.

The stated reasoning that Director 11 is chucking the mines all over the place is completely bunk because the mines will still be placed while the Director is in any way mezzed. Since this goes against the stated reasons for the mines existence, this is also likely "not intended".

That is exactly how I see it. One side has an unfair advantage over the other. It would be like challenging you to a car race where I told you that you have to use a stock Pinto, while I get a Ferrari Enzo. Could you honestly say it was a fair race?

Triumph: White Succubus: 50 Ill/Emp/PF Snow Globe: 50 Ice/FF/Ice Strobe: 50 PB Shi Otomi: 50 Ninja/Ninjistu/GW Stalker My other characters

I wish the KoA did not all throw caltrops, but they do.

As to the bug, yeah, it could very well be a bug. However it is a bug that they have reinforced with the last two patches.

Triumph: White Succubus: 50 Ill/Emp/PF Snow Globe: 50 Ice/FF/Ice Strobe: 50 PB Shi Otomi: 50 Ninja/Ninjistu/GW Stalker My other characters

Some of my characters

I have to laugh at this, and not in a mocking sense. But it's just so endearing to hear people talking about a "rush" and "fear" in a game this frikkin' slow-paced and glacial. I cut my teeth on action games, things like the later MegaMen, Oni and Kaan: Barbarian's Blade, to say nothing of Oniblade/X-Blades. These are games that give you near-instant dash moves, oftentimes require pixel-perfect positioning and split-second timing. And even in THESE games I rarely feel "a rush" once I'm actually comfortable with the controls and confident in my abilities.

Just as an example, fighting the Magma Dragoon (who looks like a dragon?!?) i MegaMan X4 is a rush. The guy has around three attacks that he spams, all requiring different actions to dodge, and he doesn't give even half a second's worth of warning when he's doing them. And hitting him in the head with a downward ice stab is lots of fun, too, since the ice stab doesn't extend more than a couple of pixels past Zero's feet.

The only sort of "rush" City of Heroes ever gives me is through sheer information overload. Complex encounters with complex power mechanics involving characters with many, many powers simply makes it hard to remember what I have to use and when I want to use it. I keep forgetting my Fire/Fire/Flame Blaster has Bonfire, just as an example, simply because she has something like 15 attacks of different colours.

Mind you, I like these mechanics in the new bosses. I think they're a far superior solution, as opposed to mountains of hit points and heavy damage. And while I may treat City of Heroes like an action game (i.e. flip out and kill stuff), it just doesn't have the speed or control responses to make it a true action game. Tactics like these present at best a puzzle to be solved.

*edit*
And it's always fun having a thread named after me that I didn't make myself

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

I agree! All NPCs should be given +25% ToHit, ten times as many powers, and massive stat buffs so that a group of 8 green enemies have a significantly high chance of taking down 20 players.

Originally Posted by PRAF68_EU Dispari has more than enough credability, and certainly doesn't need to borrow any from you.

The longest ApexTF I've been on, was still under an hour.

The longest TinMageTF I've been on was 1 hour 8mins, and that was a Master run, with setup time, sitting around talking about what we were doing before going in and getting the Bomber Badge.

Apex, have done Master twice already on it, that means less than 15mins on BM to take down.

The TFs really aren't that bad.

Thing is, if the Pinto was being driven by a moderately competent human, and the Ferrari by a self-guiding AI, I'd bet on the human every time. This is why the game has to 'cheat'. If the CoX devs were capable of writing AIs that were as flexible and adaptive and able to react to situations as people...well, they probably wouldn't be wasting their time with CoX in the first place.

The War Walkers are the worst offenders: non-threatening enemies with absurdly high damage resistance? Nothing but glorified timesinks. The only thing they have going for them is their impressive entrance. Cut their resistances in half and give them another location-based autohit AoE that forces players to pay attention and they might actually become a little interesting.

This is the same reason I loathe the DE GMs in PI and Monster Island. They have a whopping two or three attacks (generally of the S/L variety), the only thing that makes them "difficult" is their massive HP and corresponding regeneration rate. They don't even give worthwhile rewards unless you're into stockpiling EoEs.

I always keep a handy Envenomed Dagger around on my brute. Sure -250% regen isn't something to brag about, but it's something. It's also ranged, so even melee characters can chug 'em if Battle Maiden refuses to leave the area of one of her halberds of death. I didn't find any particular problems with the regen of Director 11 even the successful Tin Mage team I was on only had a kin for -regen. And myself, and one other melee who also mentioned using the dagger.

Some of my characters

I've yet to see a gross misinterpretation pointed out. I believe I have only criticized the points you have made.

Honestly I don't even vaguely get your point here. Did you expect the TFs to be easy because the Alpha slot isn't the be-all-end-all?

And yet there's aren't any actual insults. Funny that.

As someone else said, that's a resolved bug. In any case, NPCs in the game always follow different rules from the PCs. We aren't two bit AIs which gives us a huge advantage. We can think and adapt. As such the NPCs have to be made challenging somehow. You call it 'cheating' but in a game where the devs define the rules, we don't arbitrate what cheating is.

That's your interpretation of how it should be. I would have to guess the Devs beg to differ. Personally I don't have any beef with the encounter. It is challenging, and keeps you on your toes. I do pity the people who are badge hounds in there, but people have even found solutions for that.

This is patently false. NPCs have a completely different set of rules in their construction, how their powers work, and how they interact with the game world. That has always been the case, and is a necessary requirement for making a stupid AI capable of providing any challenge without merely swarming the PCs with enemies. That is the case in pretty much every video game.

If you cannot demonstrate a mis-attribution of your position I'll call this claim bunk.

I've followed your complaints on these TFs and the incarnate arc since the beta, and it's been a consistent series of requests that the hard parts be made easy. You've stated again and again, that the new content is just too hard. Demonstrably it is not, as plenty of people are capable of doing the TFs and arc without trouble and without tuned builds. The game has introduced 'too hard' content before and it has been solved without it having to be nerfed on the developer end. Heck, the ITF's final fight was once deemed 'too hard' and people caterwauled about it. Nowadays people breeze right through that whole TF in no time.

And if the other driver was a child that could barely reach the peddles and didn't know how to drive? That's what we're talking about with game AIs after all. Unless the PCs in question are somehow unwilling to use their brains enough to out think a very mediocre AI, they have a colossal advantage. That has to be offset in some way. You might, for some odd reason, call it cheating, but it is standard in video games.

[Please pardon my digression, but I feel I must.]

It's also endearing to be told that something is 'not in a mocking sense', then be told that this game is, "frikkin' slow-paced and glacial," and that someone cut their teeth on "action games", "that give you near-instant dash moves, oftentimes require pixel-perfect positioning and split-second timing. And even in THESE games I rarely feel "a rush" once I'm actually comfortable with the controls and confident in my abilities."

Quick condesceding tip: In order to not sound condescending, try not to BE condescending, and especially, don't deny you're being condescending, and then tell someone how much more awesome than them you feel that you are. It's condescending.

Also, look up "condescending," to make sure you know what that means. Because I'm not sure it means what you think it means.

To further comment on games that "require pixel-perfect positioning and split-second timing:"
YAAAWWWWN.
ymmv.