Praetoria's morality...

All of this is beside the point.
All of the choices you make in praetoria have evil in them. Resistance, loyalists, all use reasons to justify their evil actions.

Working with the resistance does not make the resistance less evil. The USA has worked with many governments in the past that we are currently or later went to war with and vice versa. Primal earth is USING the resistance, not necessarily endorsing every action they've taken. Nor do I suspect Vanguard is advertising to everyone how they planned to destroy their only water supply.

In my case, at least, it's a deductive argument based on your other posts. I know we've had this conversation before.

This isn't a single-player game. You can't be the Protagonist, the Lone Wanderer, the Nameless One, the fixed point that the rest of the game revolves around and responds to. You simply can't be that powerful, that important, in a game with other players in it. You can't be the (original definition of) Ubermensch, the being with the power to exist outside society and force it to conform to him.

You can't. Not here. I'm sorry.

In the original hero game, you are always the agent of others. They give you tasks and errands for you to carry out. The only choice you have is not to accept these assignments - to opt out. You can't choose to oppose or act against the Powers That Be, or to harm innocents, or follow your own agenda. You cannot tell the game WHY you completed, or did not complete, the mission you were given, and get a response. You can't demand to be paid double.

It only looks like there's no side because there's only one side for the player. Does a fish know of water?

This is one the innate problems I can see that there seems to be with CoH. I think it is common to many MMORPGs and many video/computer/digital games in general.
What is so hard to understand that I want to the game to be about my character and the other players that I directly interact with and not about Signature Characters or the World Views?
Fine. The Statesman is running around, but I don't really care. (I won't bring up that this is the Player Character of the Lead Designer that is with Cryptic and, therefore, has nothing to do with CoH as far as I know.) Why I want to hear that he is so great and overshadowing my characters and my fellow player's characters? (Maybe at the very end end-game with 50 +10 "Incarnate Levels of Lordly Might" content they might actually be just sub-par to the Statesman?!?)

This is the same kind of thing with the Loyalist and the Resistance. There isn't a movement of your own that I know of. I have said the before. I like neither of the options. The Loyalist are pretty much fascists; so you get to play a fascist. And the Resistance aren't what I would hope for out of freedom fighters; they are more like a bad 1980's underworld gang of thugs out of a Don "the Dragon" Wilson movie - but then I've only had limited exposure - but that's okay because you won't get to hang out with them - instead you get to go play a fake fascit.
..wait ... that seems like even less of a choice.... having no choice that is!

PS. I'm excited about the Animal Pack. Best thing since the AE; and I don't think it can get exploited like the AE has been. So that's a win-win for me.

But that is assuming Loyalist means siding with Tyrant. I'm actively hoping that the Loyalist responsibility (in the future) will split from the Tyrant faction; there's already hints of disagreement, from Antimatter and Marchand. Which is partially what you do in the Loyalist storyline: in both power and responsibility you mess with Tyrant's plans, whether because you don't want a city block to be nuked to secure the guilt of Arachnos, or because you think Neuron (and Cole) don't deserve that power.

And for that matter, again, Marchand wants you to go to Primal, not to help Resistance, not to defeat Cole, but to make peace, which fits with Loyalist Responsibility attributes, but unfortunately goes directly against Cole's wishes (as he makes known to you).

But then they'd be on the same side as the Resistance

Maybe. But only the Warden side. And you do end up helping the wardens at times.

Of cause, one can note that inevitably Cole would end up fighting everyone (well, except maybe Nightstar and Siege cause they're constructs), if only because he's the apparent champion of the Well and his master plan would lead to the destruction of both Praetoria and Primal.

Not necessarily. Recluse still allows a lot of freedom, and by GG's measure, that's pretty good.

Recluse has his own bands of brainwashed psychics (Bane Spiders/Fortunatas) he deliberately tries to keep people as miserable as possible (Westin Phipps) the only one he allows freedom are the Destined Ones... And it's not clear that they're really any more free than the Powers Division folks. (who also seem fairl privilegied)

Doesen't matter what you think. If you act against the Resistance the Resistance leaves you. (at least until you regain their trust)

Recluse does have his army of brainwashed psychics, BUT nothing else you say is true. Recluse does not try to keep people as miserable as possible, he only goes against those who cause too much trouble (and even then, there are specific limitations). There's a difference between restraining freedom from a select few, and restraining freedom from everyone.

No, Recluse specifically tries to keep people misreable. Do Westin Phipp's arc.

EDIT: A few quotes:

"But I want the poor to be hungry. It keeps them more miserable and desperate for my help. So I want you to destroy and poison those donations."

"He's also become a light of hope to the people here, showing them that they just might be able to improve their lot. That can't be allowed. I want him eliminated."

Westin Phipps != Arachnos, even if he's a tool. Like you, he has his own mind, and he uses it to do evil.

He's specifically deployed there to do a job. (A job he enjoys, but that's a different matter) he's an arachnos agent, working under Arachnos orders.

I repeat: By no metric possible is Lord Recluse better than Tyrant (except that he is less competent: He has not, after all, taken over the world, which makes Tyrant a greater *threat* but that's a different matter entirely) everything Tyrant does Recluse does and worse. He is more oppressive, his citizens live in greater squalor, Tyrant is constrained by at least trying to maintain the *facade* of benevolence. Recluse has no such constraints.

Which does not mean that he does not treat his lackeys well as long as they are successful (and has a grudging respect for those who manage to trick or overpower him) but then again: So does Cole.

Assuming they know how to work and maintain the sonic field to keep Hamidon out.

His job scope specifically: Phipps was planted by Arachnos to take up the role of a crusader for the downtrodden before a real one could show up. Any good he does for the poor of Grandville is offset by all the information he funnels into Arachnos.

Nowhere in there says his job is to make people's life miserable, that is his choice alone. As for a counter argument, if Arachnos REALLY wants to make people's life miserable, how can you explain Cap au Diable?

Neither side is the right side. Loyalists use and kill innocent praetorians for their own motives. Either because they're (to quote sam) Jerkass's, or they believe it's for the good of the people.

Interestingly enough, the resistance do the exact same thing. They kill innocent praetorians and risk their well being, all for what they believe, is their own good.

Not to mention, the devs seem to have made Resposibility loyalists the heroes, while Wardens are more vigilantee (Fits sam's vigilantees are Jerkass's theory, because that's exactly how the Resistance acts), Power loyalists are rogue, and Crusaders are most definitely villains.

A little Primal Earth know-how will fix that

You should go check-out how both sides are flagged for the Valentines event

Too busy seeing which side tried to kill every living thing in Nova, or tried to destroy all drinkable water available, or turned living beings into suicide bombs, or tried to blow up a hospital.

Obligitory smiley

How are the crusaders better than the responsibility loyalists?

The crusaders do things that'd make Westin Phipps ill.

Take away his drinking water?

I'm surprised they're not mentioned as more of a threat to the multiverse in the BAF overview:

I highlighted some of the best bits, but all of it is pretty good

Which means there is no real choice. Atleast not to me. The moral choice system is near non existant to me.