I hate myself!

If it were just new stories, at the end of the day, you would be doing the exact same thing the entire time.

Not everyone really cares about the stories when they play. I mean, when was the last time you heard someone say "Hold up, I want to read what Imperious has to say before we go fight Romulus."? When's the last time you saw someone say "Hey, we should save Glacia and Infernia"?

Once you go through the story one time, it is going to be the same story the next time, and the time after that. Without the occasional new system to introduce, the game gets really stale when people are just doing the same repetitive things over and over as quickly as possible.....without even reading so much as a word of the contact's dialog.

Unfortunately, Leandro, you're in a minority. The majority of the people I know in the game stopped caring about the storyline ages ago in their quest to get more shinys.

I like reading the stories too, but even I have to admit, after the hundredth time I've saved the past from Romulus I just don't care anymore.

I do sympathise with the OP. Right now, all the Incarnate content makes me want to do is go and play something different. And that’s a first for me. To me, what I’m seeing from the Incarnate system is a huge disappointment. I am glad that people are enjoying it and good for them I say, play the hell out of it. But for my part, the whole system just screams ‘Not For Your Kind’ at me.

CoX has always been about options, it’s one of its greatest strengths. But the content that’s coming has too many imperatives to it: You WILL grind trials, you WILL fight Praetorians, you WILL have to be a hero, you WILL have lore related powers, you WILL bow before your new god, the Well. There’s no choice there and after five and a half years of playing in a number of styles of my choosing, the Incarnate system demands that I obey. Now it’s not like there aren’t similar requirements such as unlocking contacts or costume pieces but they last a few hours at best and then they’re done. I can fight Nemesis or Carnies or Malta or Rularuu and I can do it through TFs, story arcs, tips, AE or just street hunting. This system only caters for those who like trials. If you don’t, tough, you have a long grind ahead of you and a huge inf penalty for daring to play a different way.

I’ve already said I couldn’t care less for the story either. But in all my time here, I’ve seen players clamouring for something to be done with the Shadow Shard, or for us to fight Mot or go to the Moon, or the Rikti homeworld. Battles with interesting, bizarre mobs in epic locations. Instead we get yet another lunatic with his robot army. (And if you don’t think that idea’s overused, go fight some Council, Fifth Column, Nemesis, Arachnos or Malta and then come back to me.) Not once do I remember anyone saying, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be awesome if we did more Praetorian content?’ However, the players don’t dictate content or story, the Devs do. But to turn their noses up at those ideas people have been hanging out for and concentrate solely on one area for so long is a waste of potential and a massive disappointment for me.

I get that the Devs want to cap off the story that was started with Going Rogue. Fine. But give us other options. Allow different playstyles and don’t penalise us for wanting to do something other than grind the new shiny until it’s no longer shiny anymore. I’ve maintained an unbroken subscription since 2005 but if all that’s coming in issues 21 and 22 is yet more Praetoria and Incarnate system grinding, the time may be nigh for the hanging up of my cape.

By the way, this is solely my opinion. Feel free to disagree with me. I’m not here to try and convince anyone that I’m right and so far, no-one’s responses have convinced me otherwise. I’m simply stating my feelings on the matter as I believe that I am in the same boat as the OP. Thank you.



(That said, there’ll probably be a snarky reply from GG in 3..2..1…)

It is funny to see the fanboi responses. The structure of the game is changing. It happens in every game. It will continue to happen. When it becomes less fun for people, they will leave. The real question will be if the "end game" causes more people to leave than join.

Believe me, I am skeptical of the path they are taking with the content. I think Praetoria did not deliver like it could have. I have concerns that this is not going to be the success they envision. I like the game but I do not participate in parts I do not enjoy.

There once was a thread titled something like "Generic Rant" that featured various posters putting up formulaic responses to the topic and then to previous posts, such as "Obligatory declaration of 'playing since Beta' status" and the like. I guess this thread was overdue for ad hominem slights being deployed.

I think the primary point of departure regarding the Incarnate System is choices. There have been choices available since launch, and a number added on afterwards, that ran in parallel to one another. One could reach the highest level in the game, level 50, through any of these parallel paths. Now that is not the case.

The lore and the backstory can be ignored, but only up to a point. I suppose that point will differ with individuals. But to take an obvious example, if someone wanted to play a villain, the argument could be deployed that they should just ignore the details of "City of Heroes" and pretend that they were doing villainous exploits instead of noble ones. (Indeed, there were many "Rouge Angle of Satin" types in Paragon City Back In The Day. ) Instead, out came "City of Villains," in which the story and lore explicitly supported playing a villain. This Well business is unfortunately shoehorning everyone into being a servant of a "mad" entity that can apparently take control of you at will. There is no other way to advance to the highest levels now.

The discussion, I think, is a valid one to have. We are participating in a comic book story, in essence, and noting that we don't like the way the story is going because it "feels tacked on" or whatever other reason is part of the process, because the storyline being bad will have consequences; there are numerous storylines in venerable comic book series that caused great losses of readership. Perhaps the Devs will catch wind of this, perhaps they will not. It ought to be discussed. And however Wicked Clever it feels to deploy them, responses along the lines of "You are just stupid, and a poophead" are not discussion.