Pontification about why I chose CoH

So some comments here start me pontificating. City of Heroes is the only MMO I play. Why?

1. I'm not really a huge fan of swords and sorcery, epic high fantasy in the first place. And those themes get used in most MMOs. Additionally I actually table top RPG that stuff in hardspace so my jones gets fixed on those themes there.
2. The same is true of science fiction based MMOs because I read a lot of science fiction of the subgenre labeled as "hard SF." So I get my science fiction jones fixed there rather then MMOs of a science fictional nature.

As best I've been able to find, the most relevant meaning of the word "pontificate" is "to speak in a pompous or dogmatic manner," which I don't think is what you meant. And that's not to be a jerk, but I honestly don't understand the title. Did you mean "ponder" or "contemplate," perhaps?

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To point, one of the reasons I'm still here with City of Heroes is that pretty much all other MMOs suck, more or less. They're replete with annoying time sinks, don't give a crap about storyline, style or setting and are all too focused on the mechanics of the game that they sell themselves as "Market + loot + raids + crafting... Oh, and with a super hero skin." They're not fun to play, they're not fun to read and they don't give me as much operating freedom as City of Heroes

I'm in this game for the characters - MY characters - and for the interesting story, for what that's worth. A robust character designer, the ability to pick and customize my own powers and the ability to not just write my own story but having that be relevant (or at least not contradicted by the game) is key. It has continually kept inspiring me to write and create, which is more than I can say about World of Lineage: Galaxies.

Quote:

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've been playing COH for three and half years and have been around a lil after issue 11 and have been happy with the game and the advent of new systems and even additions of Going Rouge. i did beta for the other two super hero MMO's and let me say they lack that special thing and the community that COH gives in comparison.

For me, it's definitely the customisation that keeps drawing me back. I don't have to conform to a fantasy world concept where I'm just another run of the mill hero, especially in some settings where there's a fixed story and you just feel tacked on...I think the name Tolkien might help you understand where I'm coming from there.

Along with that is the broken mold of cookie-cutter characters. My Claws/Super Reflexes scrapper won't be the same as another's, and I really like that. And you're not penalized for your build at all. I don't need uber-phat lewt gear to hang with my contemporaries and even raiding now that it's here doesn't require me to book out my evening or a weekend.

Above all, concept is king here on a game that defies a lot of the rules. We're offered cosmetic packs that are just that, and why? Because we ask for them, and the devs genuinely listen. And when I say that, I can say that with confidence by comparison to so many other games. The Devs are fans, just like we are. They're the Simon Pegg and Nick Frost of the MMO world, and Paul is their game of in-jokes and embracing warmness.

Keep going strong, sausage.


S.

for me it is totally the customization. I dont like mmos much and the game play of even the best mmo is, in my not even remotely humble opinion, lacking. coh gives me the ability to craft the look i want regardless of practical applications. (tanker in jeans, check, glass cannon in 3 layers of armor, check) and furthermore, to go with synths point a bit more, its more than just a catch as catch can mix of fantasy and sci-fi, though it has those, its one of the few western games to have a well integrated eastern flare too, katana scrapper, the tsoo, those really cool ancestor spirits, kinetic melee, martial arts scrappers, it aint perfect, and i nag for more eastern things every time i get the option, but the mixture of so many different sub-genres kind of makes coh the open source mmo, make a dwarf with an axe or make a cyborg with a laser gun and robots (or vice versa) and throw em all in samurai armor, its all good.

as i only half jokingly say, gimmie a game where i can play a blue martial-artist dragon, and ill be there till the servers go dark, well this game lets me do that, and slap him in samurai armor.

Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.

I started CoV 4 years ago because a MMO buddy wanted me to try it out with her. She has long since quit the game but I'm still here.

When it comes to MMOs, I have a one track mind and somewhat of a stubborn streak. Once I start a game, I just have to keep going until it truly manages to rile my nerves and/or utterly bored. At that point, I'll just stop playing for a few months and possibly replace it with something else on a temporary basis (MMO, FPS, RTS, RPG or otherwise). If I miss that MMO, I'll resubscribe. If I don't, it's adios forever. On one hand, I feel like I have to keep going simply because I have already invested a lot of time to achieve a certain level of in-game progress. On the other hand, once I make up my mind about leaving for good, it's literally the point of no return.

Truth be told (and this is going to sound like blasphemy to a lot of people here), if my friend from 4 years ago had asked me to try another MMO, I probably would be playing that instead of CoV right now.

This was my first MMO waaaaay back in 2004 and I still get that lil' nostalgic feel when I hear the music in the char. creator screen. There has been alotta mess in between (other mmo's) but this is the game I keep coming back too...like someone said till the lights go out!

Customization is huge for me.
Not only with character creation, but with base editing.
OMG, when I discovered base editing, you could not pry me away with anything... no, not even chocolate.

The second reason I'm still hangin' 'round is the Community.
CoH has THE BEST community, hands down. Yes, we have our spats, but in comparison to other forum communities I've seen... well, there is just NO comparison.

Speaking of Community, this is the only MMO where I have seen the Devs and CR's so involved. And, while I don't always agree with everything they say or do, their involvement does show that they care. I appreciate that.

The game itself is gravy on top of it all.
I love how *generally* kind to the soloist this game is. I don't mind teaming, but I do like to solo as well, and I don't feel penalized for it (mostly).
I love the fact that I don't have to grind for gear. I love crafting, and I even have a soft spot for the market.
I love that I don't feel like I have to create alts just to be mules. I can actually PLAY the alts I create when I'm so inclined.

So, even when I find myself bored, or time restricted, there are still plenty reasons for me to keep hangin' round.

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I actually fell into the game by accident - a friend of mine bought the game and discovered his computer was insufficiently beefy to run it. Since the idea vaguely appealed to me (and the concept of KGB Special Section 8 was hashed out at my gaming table before launch), I figured I'd play it for the free month, because there was no way I was going to pay to play a game.

Still here, 7 years later.

Why I like this game over others? Because a dwarf fighter is a dwarf fighter, and you can't really fluff it too many ways. But an invuln/fire tanker can be a psychic mutant, a Soviet power-armor soldier, a djinn, or a magic tiger-girl. The story is open enough that you can make a comic book character with whatever background you want, and it will probably mesh fairly well with the established game. I never got the feeling that was the case in any other MMO out there - their story was more important than your story.

I also love that you can make your character look like the thing they're supposed to be at level 1, walking into Outbreak, instead of washing up on the shore of an island in rags and killing rats with a dagger. If I want to make a fire-slinging wizard or sword-swinging barbarian in CoH, I can have my high collared, many-colored robes and special red-bladed sword to start with. Or I can make an energy-blasting robot instead. I don't have to level up to look super-cool.

So, in essence, the design team of CoH said that my concept for a hero or villain is more important than their overall aesthetic, and I'm comfortable with that. I've had more problems when I tried out other MMOs, because my vision can't be replicated near as well.

My son got the game back in i3. He is on indefinite hiatus and I am still cruising on. Not interested in any of the other MMOs out there, including the "other" superhero ones. I have an amazing group of amazing-looking heroes with a wide variety of playstyles. Game, set, match.

A note of amazing Irony to me: If you try to play some iconic DC or Marvel superhero in CoH, you will get "generiched," since you are using intellectual property of DC or Marvel. The notion is: If you want to use one of their iconic heroes, then play THEIR MMO. Except that apparently with DC's MMO, you are basically rolling up your own made-up helper superhero... you STILL do not get to play the iconic DC heroes. It is to chuckle.

No, no. By 'pontificate' he means he wants to be a bridge.

See? Makes sense now!

For me it's the customization, the modern setting and the wide open freedom granted in the comic hero genre. I can have my sword and sorcery and Steampunk and cyborg science fiction all in the same setting and they get along just fine.

Nothing else comes close to that genre and nothing else comes close to CoH implementing that genre.

well, sam, maybe david's busy. hope hope

and on to the pontificate divergance, its more that words drift in meaning over time in colloquial usage. as a non-native speaker its not surprising that the softened usage hasnt moved over yet, but its really more a term for when anyone gets on a soap box.

does anyone still use soap boxes? most workers when i was in grocery used dairy crates

Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.

costume customization
archetype selection
power selection
power color customization
power enhancement diversity

Yes, please, let me play another 84 months.

As well as agreeing with all of the above instances, I also keep playing this game for the sheer joy of suddenly getting an idea for a new toon, usually while at work, then thinking about the bio, the powerset, the backstory and completely fleshing out this character in my mind. Then I can rush home, and within 20 - 40 minutes of logging on I willl have created this character I had in my mind and I'm running around in game, super-excited to see what this new build can do.

I love to create characters that with just the name it creates an association.

Heart of Glass
Molly Wallop
Gothic Decay

Many others that just with a look at the costume and the name you don't even need to read my bio to know what I am doing. I than can create the costume to match the idea. No where else can I do this and most times I feel like a Shadowrunner and that is what I want.

Hmmm. I eventually bought the game because I had watched a friend play it a few times. I liked the look and the music in Atlas Park. The first time I heard him Taunt something I was hooked. I asked to borrow the manual and read over it and showed it to another friend.

That 2nd friend bought the game right away and played for 2 weeks or so before I was able to also buy it.

What keeps me here is primarily the ability to choose solo, small team, or large team play AND my ability to mostly be able to play any character I want. I can jump onto any of my characters at anytime for some solo play, never having to think, "Oh, I can't play this character right now, because they are at quest point 6 and that needs a team." For regular teaming I can bring any level character and I can invite any of my friends irregardless of their level.

If I want more structured teaming, I can choose task forces or trials. I can also just do nothing but travel around and get some badges, looking at the beautiful scenery.