Seven Best Hits of Seven Years

Just thinking about how long this has been around, it's a very different game from when it began. A better one, actually, in almost every way. In theme with the anniversary, what seven additions to the game have you enjoyed the most? I'll start!

1. Tailors. Deleting a character just to change their boots? Not fun.
2. Global friends lists. In a game that's best enjoyed with alts, this was a wonderful change.
3. Inventions. Look, I know some hated the idea of 'loot,' but this allows me to differentiate or expand on how my characters play...and bring things to a character their powers and pools never could. Win!
4. Power Customization. I can be a pretty, unique snowflake! ...Or I can make disparate primaries/secondaries cohesive. Or recolor powers to completely re-brand them to be something new. It's all good!
5. Dominators. Yes, other villain archetypes too, I guess, but this one takes the cake. It took a great many tweaks and changes, but I love how they play now more than ever.
6. Inherent Stamina. You can now easily access all of your primary and secondary, as well as a few pools without a problem. Also, pre-20 is SO much smoother.
7. Supersidekicking. Aside from SF's and Incarnate stuff, you can team with any alt you want on a hodge-podge team without a problem.

I didn't start playing until just before Issue 4, when global friends lists were already available, as were tailors. So, here are my seven, in no particular order:

1. Inherent Fitness

2. Super Sidekicking

3. Rikti War Zone

4. Brutes

5. Electric Armor

6. Side switching - my friends mostly prefer blue side, and I mostly prefer red side ATs. Now I get to have my cake and eat it too!

7. Imperial City Trading House

Okay in no particular order of importance..

1. Super Side Kick - Definately agree with you on this one. This actually opened up so much more content to players and even gave 50 levels something to do pre Incarnate content. LOL Prior to it unless a 49 level was after a particular badge most wouldn't dream of wasting time on a TF that they'd missed. Now they have no problem doing any of them.

2. Time Travel - Before Ouroborus I knew serious badgers that would purposely stay at the debt cap to avoid outleveling a contact with a badge mission and how many times did you see players offering millions to join a lower level that had a particular mission they needed.. now just go run the mission or arc through the portal and POOF your done and earnig added badges and merits for your efforts!

3. Field Hospitals and Combat Nurses - a pretty recent change but anyone that ever joined an ITF can attest to how much better this has made things. Prior to it the last thing a villain would ever think of doing was try to hit his or her base to replenish Inspirations since that resulted in being auto kicked from the team. Not even sure if that was ever fixed since no one has the problem now.. between missions just head to the cave and buy them from Nurse Nancy

4. Going Rogue - fulfilling a desire many of us expressed here on the forums for years. It has opened up so much more content and made it possible to take your Hero (Vig) to the Roque Isles to join friends or your Villain (Rog) to Paragon City to do the same. Badgers love it since it opened up SOOO many new opportunities.

5. The Invention System - without a doubt was a huge change to the game in many ways. It can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it but the end result is your character is more powerful with a full set of IO enhancers. But that is just the tip of the iceberg on this.. Prior to the IO system most characters struggled along to earn INF and I had older characters I revisted that were in their 30s and had a collection of training orgin, dual origin and a couple single origin enhancements because that was all I could afford and I was the same as most. Since we got Wentworths and the Black Market a 6 level can get the right salvage drop and have a couple million on hand to spend.. SEE how big a change it has been? Back then a MILLION in INF was considered a lot.. Now even a billion is just considered so so LOL

6. Email and the increase in transaction limits - Remember when it took forever to give another one of your characters any Influence? You had to find someone to transfer it for you and you could only transfer a million at one time (well 999,999). With the new email system and the new limits(??) I can easily transfer 30 , 40 or whatever million in INF to another character just by attaching it to an email and sending it to myself. No waiting around for a friend to show up on line or paying some stranger to assist you. These days when I create a new character they arrive in Atlas Park or Mercy at level 2 and have a nice little nest egg (usually 10 million to start) waiting for them. Heck I used to never waste inf on 5 or even 10 level TOs but now.. it may only be a small increase but every one helps and since I can always get more cash.. WHY NOT?

7. Radio and Newspaper missions (and the raptor packs they provided) - nothing changed this game more than the addition of these mission along with the Safeguard and Mayhem missions they grant. Every player out there used to have to RUN everywhere until level 14 when you finally got a travel power.. This was also before Vet reward Mission teleporters (only good once every 30 minutes anyway) and back then the Yellow and Blue line, Ferries and Helicopters were not all connected so getting from one zone to another took up a lot more time. I swore there were nights where I spent more time getting to missions and then back to the contact (prior to being FINALLY given a cell phone number) than I did actually in missions earning XP.

Of course this only scratches the surface of changes that have improved the game experience.. from added powers, power customization as you mentioned. and even the new Incarnate System .. it has its critics but take a 50(+1) with 5 powers all at tier 3 or higher and do an STF or ITF and tell me you don't feel more like a demi-god. I did an ITF with a whole team of 50 (+3)s and Romi went down so fast I know he ran home to his mommy to complain about the big bullies that were picking on him. And before the posts hit YES I am very much aware that outside of the new trials those other 2 level shifts don't apply BUT I still get to use the powers SO I referred to a player with all 4 new ones open as a 50(+3). Sue me!

The game has its bugs but one thing I have always told people, here and in game, is it amazes me how much they LISTEN to what we ask for. Most of the major changes we have seen in the game are a direct result of us coming here and saying 'HEY We'd like to see this....." Businesses may say the Customer is Always Right but as long as it is feasible to do .. NC Soft actually tries its best to give us everything we ask for. Scary isn't it?

I. Global Defense Changes and Enhancement Diversification
While the PR for these could have been better (thank you, Jack Emmert...), these were a fundamental change that I believe let this game survive as long as it has.


II. Global Chat System
This sytem is what has made communication in this game the best that I have ever seen in an MMO.


III. Super Sidekick System
This was, without a doubt, the best upgrade to the game, on a whole. I have enjoyed the game far more with this system than any other single thing ever added.


IV. Invention System
While I am not a fan of the current method of implementation (it could use an Incarnate-style upgrade), the benefits of the system as a whole cannot be denied. The most useful part has to be the common IO recipes.


V. Mission Architect System
This idea is great, even if it does get abused by people with the whole "farming" mentality


VI. Alignment System
Being able to switch sides has made this game orders of magnitude more enjoyable.


VII. The Development Team
I have tried several MMOs (although this is the first I've ever played) and none of them hold a candle to the development team that this game has had since Issue 7. While I don't agree with everything they do (and will give them hell for things I don't like, I still wouldn't trade them for the MMO world. We should all thank them for working on this game for us and (more importantly) putting up with our insanity.

Inventions
Tailors
Global Friend Lists
Respecs
Inherent Fitness
Super Sidekicking
Side Switching

And many more

Inventions

The Market

Tailors

Power Customization

Shield Defense

Judgement

4XP/SRSLY (the enhanced difficulty settings)

In no particular order:

Villain ATs, most notably Corruptors, Dominators and VEATs.

IOs

Tailors and all the costume stuff thats been added over the years

Sidekick and SSK systems

Power Customization

Global friends/chat system

Inherent Stamina

Super Sidekick System without a doubt. Every MMO should have this as a foundation to keep casual players in the game.

Rather than repeat, I'll try to come up with a few that haven't been mentioned yet:

- Revamped Faultline zone: They turned a zone that no one went unless they absolutely had to into one that people wanted to go to. The storylines, the special store, the flavor of having Arachnos breaching Paragon from the other side of the Dam, the whole zone is cool. It hasn't resulted in more full revamps yet (outside the RWZ...see below), but the possibility is still there, and we see what they can do when they want to.

- Ouroboros Portal: It's made us all lazy, but damn if you jones for it when you're below 25.

- Wings, rocket boots, etc: Stuff that not only looks cool, but does more than just sit there. Attention to detail is always welcome.

- Goodbye Rikti Crash Site. Hello Rikti War Zone: Co-op missions, TFs, and a fun little Raid. It also ushered in the Invasion Zone events, which are fun when everyone's in the right spirit to do them.

- Ding-Rezzing: Nothing sucked worse than when you were just about to level when you died.

Heh, entirely wrong forum for this one.

Carry on.

Capes. We wouldn't be a super without it imo. We didn't have them in the beginning.

Vet Rewards. Not only great additions to the badge hunters but A great way to see who else has been on for how long and Sands of Mu can kill a contaminated in on hit....when it hits >.<

Respec Trials...Most fondest memory was doing the Terra Volta trial and coming to the reactor only to have a full team of bodies come falling out the door. But the respec was worth it all in the end.

Pocket D teleporter.

Unlockable costume pieces.