Because some things don't need changing. If something was written in (say) I14, it *probably* hasn't changed by now. Some may also be over in the AT's forum instead of the guides section. Though I have seen new ones crop up.
Which are you looking for?
Interest in writing guides may have gone down, but that's not really why they stopped being written. Mid's Hero Builder is one of the key reasons, I'd say. For a few reasons:
1) It allows anyone to build and see how their character will be different with different slotting
2) It shows how many different ways there are to get to the same goal
3) It allows for quick and easy review of individual builds
IOs are also a big reason why guides aren't written much. With just SOs, a single guide could cover a lot of ground, since there were only a few ways to build characters at that point that were both effective and slot-efficient. Basically, powers could only be slotted so many ways. With IOs, that all changed, and so you could build for soft-caps, recharge, regen, etc. Guides could only usually cover one or two of these builds before they became too long for people to care about.
The last reason I'd say is the community. We've shown that we're very willing to help somebody out who gives us a build to work with. As such, there's less need to write a guide about something since there are so many threads on them anyways. We can just point to recent threads, instead of pointing to a guide. Or, we could just give the advice in that thread, too!
In short, guides just aren't necessary for our community, and they'd be unlikely to hold up to individual interpretations or slotting desires.
Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
"I was just the one with the most unsolicited sombrero." - Traegus
The guides are all player-written. Few new guides are ever added and few players can be bothered to update (assuming the player still plays).
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Except it does nothing to help people, especially newer players (the ones who are going to need/want the guides the most) know how the powers interact with each other in specific power set combos, when it'd be better to leave something out to have room for specific pools or just because it'll be no use for the build (eg, bet many Ill/Rads take Choking Gas because it reads like an awesome power 'til they read Local Man's guide and realize that it'll provide no actual benefit for them and really needs to be fully-slotted in any case), what it'll be best to build for when it comes to sets (even if they don't go into specifics about exactly which sets to get by name and power), what epics and incarnate powers synergize best with the sets, and so on.
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Originally Posted by Aett_Thorn
Mid's Hero Builder is one of the key reasons, I'd say. For a few reasons:
1) It allows anyone to build and see how their character will be different with different slotting 2) It shows how many different ways there are to get to the same goal 3) It allows for quick and easy review of individual builds |
Writing a guide is a lot of work, and I felt I needed a lot of experience in the powersets before I was competant to write my guides. It took me several months of cross-checking information to try to get it accurate, and then figuring out my format, then writing it all up, and then edits, and then putting it out for a preliminary review on the Controller forums . . . and even then I got some things wrong.
Not everyone is comfortable at writing something of the scope of a guide, either. All that annoying grammar and spelling stuff, and you need to (try to) be entertaining, too. I tried to be fairly comprehensive, while others go more for the entertainment value.
If you want the guide to continue to be relevant, you have to make a commitment to continually update it as new things are added to the game. As things have changed, I have tried to update my guide as well . . . but should have reserved a few extra posts for updates. I haven't really added stuff about the 4 Incarnate slots past Alpha because I haven't experienced all the options yet -- I can't say yet whether the ones I chose are better than the other options until I try the others.
And the rewards? Not exactly overwhelming. I get some nice comments and every now and then someone will recognize my Global name in game (all of which are nice). I wrote my guide because I like helping folks to enjoy my favorite powersets. But it is a heck of a lot easier to answer a quick question on the forums than write up a guide.
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
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Holy crap, couldn't have said it better myself.
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Originally Posted by Local_Man
Writing a guide is a lot of work, and I felt I needed a lot of experience in the powersets before I was competant to write my guides. It took me several months of cross-checking information to try to get it accurate, and then figuring out my format, then writing it all up, and then edits, and then putting it out for a preliminary review on the Controller forums . . . and even then I got some things wrong.
... And the rewards? Not exactly overwhelming. I get some nice comments and every now and then someone will recognize my Global name in game (all of which are nice). I wrote my guide because I like helping folks to enjoy my favorite powersets. But it is a heck of a lot easier to answer a quick question on the forums than write up a guide. |
Where to now?
Check out all my guides and fiction pieces on my blog.
The MFing Warshade | The Last Rule of Tanking | The Got Dam Mastermind
Everything Dark Armor | The Softcap
don'T attempt to read tHis mEssaGe, And believe Me, it is not a codE.
I have always believed in playing the character for the fun of the game, not the "best" "flavor of the month" "uber" builds. If I like the way a character is playing I'm happy and keep going, if not I respec them.
Go for the fun and avoid guides and mids.
Rich the Uber guy
Da Falcon Scrapper lvl 50
Shadow Hunter Q Blaster lvl 50
http://psfcoh.com/
Step Up or Step Aside
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Guides were once a solid reference to understand what powers do, some feel and playstyle input, and moderate slotting assistance for SOs.|
Originally Posted by filcher
When I began playing CoH guides abounded about each archetype and the varying power sets. Now when I scroll through them many archetype power set guides are non-existant or waaaaaay out of date. Has interest in writing guides just evaporated or is there some othe explanation?
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With IOs and Mids now, 'share your build' or 'check my build' posts have simply replaced them.
City of Heroes was my first MMO, & my favorite computer game.
R.I.P.
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Vanysh - Eldrytch
Inflyct - Mysron - Orphyn - Dysmay - Reapyr - - Wyldeman - Hydeous
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And that's fine if that's the way you like to play.|
Originally Posted by Cinkidd
I have always believed in playing the character for the fun of the game, not the "best" "flavor of the month" "uber" builds. If I like the way a character is playing I'm happy and keep going, if not I respec them.
Go for the fun and avoid guides and mids. Rich the Uber guy |
I like to find out some of the details about the powers and the best ways to use them. I like to figure out how I can take a power that some people claim is subpar and make it effective. I like to learn from the experience of others to learn things that I might not have figured out on my own. Mids, guides and the forums have made the game more enjoyable for me.
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
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This, combined with Mids, IOs, and Power detail info, mean most guides tend to be suggestions/details of power usage, and not so much slotting, etc. Combined with the developers' general dislike of radically changing the usage of a power, there isn't often a need to update.
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Originally Posted by Local_Man
And that's fine if that's the way you like to play.
I like to find out some of the details about the powers and the best ways to use them. I like to figure out how I can take a power that some people claim is subpar and make it effective. I like to learn from the experience of others to learn things that I might not have figured out on my own. Mids, guides and the forums have made the game more enjoyable for me. |
Orc&Pie No.53230 There is an orc, and somehow, he got a pie. And you are hungry.
www.repeat-offenders.net
Negaduck: I see you found the crumb. I knew you'd never notice the huge flag.
I think folks like Dechs and Local_man (and other guide writers)have made such significant contributions by putting themselves out on that figurative limb, that they have made this game a lot more fun for many people, not just themselves.
I almost wrote a guide about being an ice/ice blaster once. But, after I reviewed it, it read so much like @Olepi's, that I decided to just leave his original. Anything I added would have been pretty much a duplicate.
It takes a certain element of courage to expose your words to the forum readers. Sure, some are looking for guidance, but there're a few who are very quick to point out mistakes, differences of opinion and some are just looking to troll.
So, my hat's off to you folks, not just Dechs and Local, but everyone who's written and posted a guide.
"Most people that have no idea what they are doing have no idea that they don't know what they are doing." - John Cleese
@Ukase
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Well, part of this depends on just what the guide is on, too. |
Originally Posted by Local_Man
If you want the guide to continue to be relevant, you have to make a commitment to continually update it as new things are added to the game
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That said, I would never, never, *never* do what I did with AE's release again. I loved doing it, and was glad I could put all that information out there, but it was a LOT of work and AE's changed a bit (power combinations, getting various amounts of XP, etc.) - and I haven't updated. I haven't actually *kept* up to date - and writing that pile of guides ended up being more stress at the end and burned me out on writing anything for a good while.
(Want to see what I mean, go to guides, search for "Threads started by" and my forum handle. MA Tutorial ### series.)
On the other hand, stuff like the Combat Attributes monitor mini-guide or the "Raising a Peacebringer" one won't need a lot of updating, and the PVE'ers Guide to PVP, while it *could* use some tweaks, will probably be able to stand as-is until the devs actually revisit PVP... which I'm not holding my breath for.
I'd still agree with the meat of what Local_Man said, though - the guides are by players, for players, and other than some satisfaction in doing it and helping out (much the reason for hanging out in the Help channel, too,) there's not a lot of reward for what can be a lot of work. That's offputting for some people.
I thought it was because the Numenorean blood has been slowly dwindling away.
@Zethustra
"Now at midnight all the agents and the superhuman crew come out
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
They also added the detailed power information (real numbers), making most of what guides offered (quantification) kind of pointless. With actual numbers available, you didn't need a guide to tell you that Temp Invulnerability was better than Resist Physical Damage, you could just look for yourself.
I still use the available guides, but they're a lot less necessary. Asking for help on the forums will get you several peoples' opinions on a powerset or combo rather than just one.
They ALL float down here. When you're down here with us, you'll float too!
@Starflier
I haven't used a character build guide in years. (I've used multiple guides that have nothing to do with building characters, but that's beyond the scope of the OP.) The ratio of new players to veterans is skewed fairly heavily toward vets, and it skews more toward vets over time...which means over time, the player base gets more experienced, it doesn't stay flat with "a bunch of newbies" and "a bunch of vets"... eventually the curve leans over to the vets. Vets generally have less need of guides, and more need of brief clarifications. The game is not hard, the powersets are not difficult to understand. Guides become less and less of use to veterans as they grow more experienced.
Paragon Wiki: http://www.paragonwiki.com
City Info Terminal: http://cit.cohtitan.com
Mids Hero Designer: http://www.cohplanner.com
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Originally Posted by Dispari
I don't know why Dink thinks she's not as sexy as Jay was. In 5 posts she's already upstaged his entire career.
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I've written one guide (Bot/Trick Arrow Mastermind), got a little bit of notice for it, although much of it is eclipsed by someone else's better guide (Luminara's Trick Arrow Enchideron), and there hasn't been much need for updating since I wrote it around i12. I did mention the new batch of IO sets, and the change to the MM upgrade powers (I think so at least), but not much else has changed since then.
I've also considered trying to write a comprehensive guide to fire, but I've still got a long ways to go before I know enough to write a guide on it. I've only got 3 level 50s, and would like to have a 50 in every combination first.
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Guides almost never did that though. They were very very rarely written for the new person leveling up. Not to mention the kinds of make or break decisions you're talking about only exist very rarely in today's game. Is there an ideal? Yup. Does it matter much if you don't know it and just pick what seems cool? Not really.|
Originally Posted by JD_Gumby
Except it does nothing to help people, especially newer players (the ones who are going to need/want the guides the most) know how the powers interact with each other in specific power set combos, when it'd be better to leave something out to have room for specific pools or just because it'll be no use for the build (eg, bet many Ill/Rads take Choking Gas because it reads like an awesome power 'til they read Local Man's guide and realize that it'll provide no actual benefit for them and really needs to be fully-slotted in any case), what it'll be best to build for when it comes to sets (even if they don't go into specifics about exactly which sets to get by name and power), what epics and incarnate powers synergize best with the sets, and so on.
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The kind of person to look for guides is the kind of person with their head on straight enough that they almost don't need them. Like Aett said, it often boils down to a few pertinent questions about very specific things, and that kind of help isn't best handled by a guide.
"Null is as much an argument "for removing the cottage rule" as the moon being round is for buying tennis shoes." -Memphis Bill
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This. Especially if you want to try to say something more than just stating what the powers are and what you took and not simply repeat what someone else has said. I've been working on my guide for almost two years now, and hope to finally get it finished this summer.
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Originally Posted by Local_Man
Writing a guide is a lot of work.
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Draggynn on Virtue: lvl 50 Storm/Psi, 1389 badges
Draggynn's Guide to Storm Summoning(Gale-Tornado, updated 6/25/2011)
Avatar by Wassy full reference here
Eh, I'll be honest. This kinda inspired me to get off my butt and finally do my Shield Guide... I just decided it was better to give the community some of my knowledge, even though pretty much all of it is common knowledge now. I just wanted to contribute...
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Yep. I'm too much of a completionist to really do a guide even if I think it would be cool and fun on some level. I would just want to include everything I possibly could. I could easily see me having to update it any time an issue came out and I would just rather play the game myself at that point.
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Originally Posted by Draggynn
This. Especially if you want to try to say something more than just stating what the powers are and what you took and not simply repeat what someone else has said. I've been working on my guide for almost two years now, and hope to finally get it finished this summer.
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You've been here for 4+ years, have you written a guide?|
Originally Posted by filcher
When I began playing CoH guides abounded about each archetype and the varying power sets. Now when I scroll through them many archetype power set guides are non-existant or waaaaaay out of date. Has interest in writing guides just evaporated or is there some othe explanation?
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Your reasons for not writing a guide are going to be similar for most people.
Its a shame, guides are really useful. But I'm too lazy to do one myself, even for the few powersets that I feel I have enough expertise to share.
I don't suffer from altitis, I enjoy every minute of it.
Thank you Devs & Community people for a great game.
So sad to be ending ):
Lots have changed, from having access to actual numbers to IOs as enhancements. Also there hasn't been as many tweaks to the older power sets since the global defense nerf and ED other than in PVP and there simply aren't that many that PVP since that round of changes.
Also some may have gotten lives now, it's been 7 years. People graduate, get jobs, get married, have children, buy homes and all of those things cut down on the amount of free time. I know I would rather use my limited time to play then revamp my hardware guide, even though I thought about it almost a year ago.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
Guides what are those? :P On the other hand tho, I've wanted to make a few guides on the power sets I've used the most, but I changed my mind pretty fast to against it, for the reason that it is a lot easier to just answer questions, tweak builds, or offer advise to people over help channel or on the forums. (/e Shrug)
My third iteration of the Empathy/Psychic Blast guide was written for I11 and IO's. The main reason this has not been updated is because of the sheer amount of time involved in writing it out.
It did have hyperlinks to City of Data (all now broken) and was nicely formatted, only to be laid to waste with the forum upgrade (along with our shiny "Guide Contributor" titles 
)
I also am not sure of the reward vs time benefits either. I've had relatively few comments on the guide considering the 2,600 views. Only three people thought it worthwhile to say something, so that doesn't inspire me to revisit it. That said, I did add an update post at the request of a few PMs I'd received over the time. (I have to add that I'm as guilty as anyone of reading a guide, thinking "that was really good", then not adding a reply comment)
Then there's the problem of doing something twice. Having had a lot of experience with a Fire/Storm controller and a TA/A defender, I could write guides for those, however Eldandil and Luminara have already really covered the bases with their excellent guides already written.
It's probably a combination of much of the above, and the fact that folks can generally get a better view from an answer to a specific question... Unless you're me...
-H
I tend to look for a guide when I try a new power set. I'm not looking for concrete Mids data or anything, just some opinions on what's better than you might think and what powers look better on paper than in practice. I'm not much of a numbers cruncher or data monkey so the guides certainly helped me out.
I understand why people have gotten out of writing them but I do notice their absence when I can't find a semi-recent one. Thanks to those who have contributed in the past.
When I began playing CoH guides abounded about each archetype and the varying power sets. Now when I scroll through them many archetype power set guides are non-existant or waaaaaay out of date. Has interest in writing guides just evaporated or is there some othe explanation?