Level 53 and weaker than a Hellion
By
AkuTenshiiZero,
Posted on: 2011-12-16 06:40 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
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Not everyone is superman, not everyone has a retarded weakness. A guy with a shield pretty much gives the middle finger to kryptonite like Captain America.|
Originally Posted by Scythus
And there's ways to avoid that.
The Seers are Kryptonite. They're what's causing the problem both mechanically and narratively. When around Kryptonite, Superman can be hurt by anything. Even by a two-year old kicking him in the knee. I really don't see why this is so hard to comprehend and I'm getting tired of repeating myself. |
See your logic and fails and it is stupid. Trymoarpls kkthxbye.
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Threadjack. I see this posted all the time, and it frustrates the hell out of me, because people try it in ignorance, and waste everyone's time. This is a big oversimplification. This approach to the trial is more successful when you have sufficient buffs (and maybe AoE DPS) to be able to ignore the telepathist's debuffs.|
Originally Posted by ketch
Easy there, killer. No need to get angry when someone points out your faulty logic. Maybe you should have noted earlier when I mentioned it, but in my experience trials have been more successful when people completely ignore the Telepathists.
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I have been on TPNs where this was not the case, and people ignored the Telepathists. The league got its collective derriere popped off, made into a nice garnish, and fed back to it with a hollandaise sauce. Edit: To be clear, the debuff from the Telepathists weakened the league to the point that the IDF was much more dangerous than normal, because they were hitting far more often and far harder than normal. It had nothing to do with being outside or with Maelstrom.
This tactic is fine if your league has the right composition in terms of having some folks along to counter the debuffs with their own buffs. That's not a generically true statement about all leagues.
Blue
American Steele: 50 BS/Inv
Nightfall: 50 DDD
Sable Slayer: 50 DM/Rgn
Fortune's Shadow: 50 Dark/Psi
WinterStrike: 47 Ice/Dev
Quantum Well: 43 Inv/EM
Twilit Destiny: 43 MA/DA
Red
Shadowslip: 50 DDC
Final Rest: 50 MA/Rgn
Abyssal Frost: 50 Ice/Dark
Golden Ember: 50 SM/FA
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How does [] flying make sense when no one has even unlocked the last five trees of Incarnate power? We're technically doing more of a jog-walk. Just because you're dusting off most of the core content because of the progression you have made doesn't mean you're all that.|
Originally Posted by Judas_Ace
Right there is the problem. We can already walk, run and even fly. Incarnate abilities should not be about going back to square one. They should be about moving forward against world-shattering threats.
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Just because you've made Incarnate progression doesn't mean the enemy groups that people are discounting because they've already faced and beaten them on numerous occasions aren't capable of providing further challenge. It just means that up until this point; you haven't been significant enough to be privy to the secluded halls of these groups esoteric workings. Whether by power level or by story concerns.
Rock throwing civvies got you down; so what... its a good story fit (at least for Incarnate Heroes). As an Incarnate, it's nothing for even one of you to flatten out a mob of possessed civvies... but that's not heroic at all and it goes against the entire reason you're at the TPN in the first place (hence mission failure). Tip toeing around the angry civvies means that you're going to take some rocks to the face and its not like you have a toggle for Incarnate armor that's going to keep it from making you wince at some point.
[And then there's the issue of mechanics and storytelling; it was stated from the jump that this was supposed to be a gradual progression. (Gives Devs time to create, test and release story content, player abilities and appropriate challenges, etc in such a way as to support the implied progression)
It's (sorta) the difference of having Luke Skywalker make progression towards becoming a Jedi master and just having him wake up one day and be one.
You'll eventually get new threats to work with just learn some patience.]
Apparently, I play "City of Shakespeare"
*Arc #95278-Gathering the Four Winds -3 step arc; challenging - 5 Ratings/3 Stars (still working out the kinks)
*Arc #177826-Lights, Camera, Scream! - 3 step arc, camp horror; try out in 1st person POV - 35 Ratings/4 Stars
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We learned to crawl at level 1. We're walking by level 22 and at level 50, we should very well have mastered running. We're half way up the tree at this point. That alone invalidates the excuse about the rocks. Thrown rocks shouldn't have been an issue at level 50. They shouldn't have been a problem once we got an Alpha, and they sure as well shouldn't be a problem now.|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
This is precisely my problem with the whole system. "Learning to walk" is something that I can easily see us having to do at level 1. At level 50, we're already super heroes. We shouldn't have to be knocked down to basics in a way that drops us far below what we were when we were level 50. I'm not saying it's unrealistic or it wouldn't happen, I'm saying it's humiliating and it SHOULDN'T happen.
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On this path to power, as opposed to Recluse's for example, the Well only portions out power a bit at a time? Well, most of my level 50 characters were immune to thrown stones before this TPN nonsense. Before BAF, my Controllers could control Lieutenants. Before Battle Maiden, my Tanker didn't have to run like a coward from anything, least of all colored patches on the ground.
Sam is 100% right. There's no progression here, it is all very much a regression.
@Zwill
Trusting in Positron and that everything is going "according to plan" is a pretty ballsy thing to ask. We trusted in them for the Incarnate content in the first place, and we got these iTrials which, in my opinion, make you more of an anonymous mook who is anything but demigod-like than any content previously existing 1-50. We trusted "the plan" and got angry businessmen armed with sticks and stones.
Fool me once...
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My non armor have squishies would beg to differ (at least from a RP point of view). |
Originally Posted by Johnny_Butane
We learned to crawl at level 1. We're walking by level 22 and at level 50, we should very well have mastered running. We're half way up the tree at this point. That alone invalidates the excuse about the rocks. Thrown rocks shouldn't have been an issue at level 50. They shouldn't have been a problem once we got an Alpha, and they sure as well shouldn't be a problem now.
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I mean I could say that as a 50 level Ice Dom, I should be able to pull a Neo and freeze any small rocks thrown at me; mid-arc... (ignoring the existence of big rocks thrown by Carnie dudes and the like) but the simple fact is that I can't.
My Doms and Controllers hit 50; still squishy. They unlocked their Alpha; so what... still squishy. They're squishy until I get my Void Judgement and Barrier Destiny; then they're less squishy for about 30-90 seconds.
Incarnate abilities are not an automatic 'I win' button. You're stronger than you were but you're no more a demi-god (except maybe story-wise) than you were when you IO'ed out your toons prior to unlocking any slots... you just have more tools to work with .
And the issue really isn't rocks; it's the apparent use of lowbie types to bring some too-big-for-their-britches Incarnate wannabe down. People still would've been upset if their Incarnate-ling got shot in the face with a gun and wasn't able to shrug it off (hence the Malta beef).
Some of you act like Incarnate status automatically makes you Superman. It doesn't. And even if it it did, a civvy could still come up and find a way to put him down with a lowly rock (David vs. Goliath).
Instead of selectively suspending belief to find flaw against ones own narcissism; suspend belief to imagine out how a particular scenario could actually be feasible. For me, I already have.
Apparently, I play "City of Shakespeare"
*Arc #95278-Gathering the Four Winds -3 step arc; challenging - 5 Ratings/3 Stars (still working out the kinks)
*Arc #177826-Lights, Camera, Scream! - 3 step arc, camp horror; try out in 1st person POV - 35 Ratings/4 Stars
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Every player created hero or villain can shrug off multiple shotgun blasts at point blank at level 1. Sticks and stones really shouldn't even be entering into the picture.|
Originally Posted by Yogi_Bare
My non armor have squishies would beg to differ (at least from a RP point of view).
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My level 1 can't shrug off a punch to the face by a level 30 LB... or anything that resembles a firearm given a big enough level difference or rank discrepancy.|
Originally Posted by Johnny_Butane
Every player created hero or villain can shrug off multiple shotgun blasts at point blank at level 1. Sticks and stones really shouldn't even be entering into the picture.
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Game mechanics are funny that way.
Selective suspension of disbelief.
Apparently, I play "City of Shakespeare"
*Arc #95278-Gathering the Four Winds -3 step arc; challenging - 5 Ratings/3 Stars (still working out the kinks)
*Arc #177826-Lights, Camera, Scream! - 3 step arc, camp horror; try out in 1st person POV - 35 Ratings/4 Stars
I think the issue here is actually one of presentation rather than writing per se.
Story wise, I can totally get behind the idea of the Telepathists getting people to feel like they are being hurt when they are not, the massive irony of Incarnates being brought low by the very average citizens they have arrived to save, and the emotional need of the heroes to tell the people The Truth.
That is actually great writing, and I feel the writing overall has improved since the iTrials began. I love First Ward, even if it is "the feel bad story of the year"
But in the TPN, it is the presentation of the excellent story that is having problems.
- The Seer debuff is not clearly presented enough. It's lost in all of the other effects on your buff bar, and the effect of Pacified comes off inconsistent, since it is murderous against the crowd, and relatively mild against the IDF.
- Due to this, the average player has no idea why being pelted with rocks suddenly hurts. This is the dramatic point of the entire confrontation (along with public opinion), even moreso than defeating Maelstrom, and needs to be shoved in the player's face.
This issue is not new, and it is not constrained to the iContent.
This issue has been around since you went from beating up the super-powered Outcasts to being defeated by the unpowered but skilled Warriors, and the retro-tastic Family.
Red side, its the same issue when you go from defeating the inhuman Snakes and the well-equipped Arachnos and Longbow to being defeated by the Luddites and Misanthropic Mine Workers.
I actually beleive that if you get/take the time to read it (and have something of a stomach for retcons) the writing of the overall story and individual missions have improved.
However, the design of the iTrials in particular exacerbates an overall problem with teaming in the game that prevents people from getting to easily see the writing, which leads them to ignoring it and missing out.
Things like the 'MoM hub' and including more cutscenes and in-story dialogue, are appreciated efforts in getting more story out to the players.
Also, and I am dead serious, I want Paragon Studios to spend the time creating a free Nakayama/Hickman comic to be presented in electronic format and accessible from the site and ingame. This comic would let Hickman work his magic with the personalities and characterizations of the Phalanx, while providing a central place where those who have been dragged through iTrials unknowing and uncaring can catch up on the story if they so choose. And it would let Noble Savage work his magic with the tech, beefcake and cheesecake
You can't appreciate the excellent writing with a death timer running and while receiving a literally atomic wedgie every few seconds, so if the presentation isn't excellent, it comes off bad.
Story Arcs I created:
Every Rose: (#17702) Villainous vs Legacy Chain. Forget Arachnos, join the CoT!
Cosplay Madness!: (#3643) Neutral vs Custom Foes. Heroes at a pop culture convention!
Kiss Hello Goodbye: (#156389) Heroic vs Custom Foes. Film Noir/Hardboiled detective adventure!
On the subject of re-learning to crawl:
If having to essentially re-learn how to use your powers is actually part of the storyline of Incarnates, that's fine. That's great, actually, because it reinforces my theory that iCoX is essentially CoX II 
But if that is part of the story, the presentation of that critical story point has failed.
Story Arcs I created:
Every Rose: (#17702) Villainous vs Legacy Chain. Forget Arachnos, join the CoT!
Cosplay Madness!: (#3643) Neutral vs Custom Foes. Heroes at a pop culture convention!
Kiss Hello Goodbye: (#156389) Heroic vs Custom Foes. Film Noir/Hardboiled detective adventure!
Let's turn this on its head for a moment: I have two very powerful Incarnates: A Mind/Storm troller and a Mind/TA troller. If Zwill's logic works then give them a rock and they will pwn the world
Thelonious Monk
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Originally Posted by Yogi_Bare
Some of you act like Incarnate status automatically makes you Superman. It doesn't. And even if it it did, a civvy could still come up and find a way to put him down with a lowly rock (David vs. Goliath).
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I feel that that the argument most people are making is not about a rock specifically. It's that what's supposed to be taken seriously (at least, as seriously as a comic book gets) comes across as parody.
Prior to running TPN, these characters successfully performed daring daylight robberies in which they raced through a hail of automatic gunfire and squared off against a police force of hundreds. They've faced zombies, wizards, giant robots, ancient armies, and aliens. But none of these forces would have stood a chance if the civilians of Praetoria had just been brought in to hurl rocks.
I don't personally care one way or another about the rocks. But I do agree that this trial, as a whole, feels like a level 15 bank mission that happens to allow 24 players. You could actually put it in the level 20 version of Praetoria with very slight storyline changes and I think it would fit better. I don't care if they redesign it or not but I do hope the other trials aren't so mundane. Like I said earlier, whoever designed the tutorial seemed to understand why having a huge, threatening looking monster was important to creating a positive impression of the game. I don't know why that hasn't happened as much in the epic-level content.
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It doesn't explain why Recluse is an AV in a TF that requires a team to bring him down (even after his 'Net' is turned off) and also an Elite Boss in an arc that can be solo'd.|
Originally Posted by Snow Globe
The thing is that doesn't explain the increasingly level shifted AVs in the trials,
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The enemy has powers that can weaken you or level up themselves to make them a real threat. Classical comic book stuff which allows for new threats especially for heroes that get too powerful.
This is one huge non-issue, IMO. It's a manufactured crisis that ignores both comic book and CRPG conventions, both of which *requires* suspension of belief with regard to shifting power levels. Otherwise, Batman would never have made it to issue three past his first gunfight.
Kryptonite, red sun, magic, and psi all weaken Supes and people more or less accept that. But now there is a revolt that 6 psychics can weaken your own avatar?
A manufactured crisis.
Speeding Through New DA Repeatables || Spreadsheet o' Enhancements || Zombie Skins: better skins for these forums || Guide to Guides
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It is none of those things. It is not a crisis, it is not manufactured and it's certainly not a revolt. If you'd have read most of the posts in this thread you'd have understood that.|
Originally Posted by Zombie Man
It doesn't explain why Recluse is an AV in a TF that requires a team to bring him down (even after his 'Net' is turned off) and also an Elite Boss in an arc that can be solo'd.
The enemy has powers that can weaken you or level up themselves to make them a real threat. Classical comic book stuff which allows for new threats especially for heroes that get too powerful. This is one huge non-issue, IMO. It's a manufactured crisis that ignores both comic book and CRPG conventions, both of which *requires* suspension of belief with regard to shifting power levels. Otherwise, Batman would never have made it to issue three past his first gunfight. Kryptonite, red sun, magic, and psi all weaken Supes and people more or less accept that. But now there is a revolt that 6 psychics can weaken your own avatar? A manufactured crisis. |
It is simply a complaint and indictment of crap storytelling.
Had Batman's third issue been presented to a modern audience, there's a good bet it wouldn't have progressed, because audiences are more sophisticated and have higher expectations of the products they consume these days.
But congratulations on your successful defeat of a straw man
Thelonious Monk
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Originally Posted by Zombie Man
A manufactured crisis.
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Would you say the same thing if the rock throwers were women in bikinis?
Or would you agree that visual presentation might be something players talk about, evaluate, and value?
[P.S. Recluse in the Statesman TF is a good example of a powered up enemy who is presented well, IMO.]
The main problem is everything in the trials makes us feel weak, at no point do any of their plans fail because we're too strong. Marauder would have been invincible if there wasn't a glowing plot device we could poke to make him vulnerable and so on. The MoM would have been a great place to start bucking this trend, remove the timer and when we first enter the network we get a message from Tilman.
"What?! You're in my wonderful network but I can't control you?! T-This is impossible....."
The well obviously sees our charcters as having as much if not more willpower and potential than Recluse and Statesman. At this point it should feel like we have praetoria on the run, we're an unstoppable force now charging at at Cole even with his power to completely fill someone's incarnate tree to Omega as easily as one would pass gas. I know others might think differently but I'm getting really sick of every trial feeling like we're clawing uphill against insurmountable odds, the story full of despair, dread and "oh woe is us" and at any second the boss could yawn and destroy us all unless we have a plot device to disable/protect us from the yawn. I really want the final battle with Tyrant to just be a straight up one, no gimmicks, just us vs. him, two unstoppable forces crashing together, after of course we get a chance to give a speech.
"We heroes are sustained by willpower, even when mocked as wreckless and crazy. If there's a wall in our way then we smash it down, if there isn't a path then we carve one ourselves. The magma of our souls burns with a mighty flame! JUST WHO IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE?!" *cue volcano eruption*
There is a difference between retreating and giving up.
"A good evil villian kills with style"-Galgarion
"Ha you're more full of yourself than I am!"-Jack Spicer
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You'll find that's most often the case when one poster rips on another poster.
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Originally Posted by Scarlet Shocker
If you'd have read most of the posts in this thread you'd have understood that.
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You don't honestly believe that do you? I can point out at least two industries that say otherwise.|
Originally Posted by Scarlet Shocker
Had Batman's third issue been presented to a modern audience, there's a good bet it wouldn't have progressed, because audiences are more sophisticated and have higher expectations of the products they consume these days.
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The argument here is the same as it was when the content first came out, "My toon is too uber to be taken down by anyone unless its the Lord Savior JC himself (or acceptable equivalent).
Blaming the story is a strawman in itself being that most of the writing is a rehash of a rehash based in flights of nonsensical fancy and limited by mechanics, game balance and having to be merely satisfactory to tens of thousands of players at once.
Unless the Devs are able to update, progress and publish both current and future canon to satisfy mechanics, balance, gameplay and player aesthetics on a daily (or even a weekly) basis (while doing coding, design, promotions, PR, etc) don't expect literature level work.
Apparently, I play "City of Shakespeare"
*Arc #95278-Gathering the Four Winds -3 step arc; challenging - 5 Ratings/3 Stars (still working out the kinks)
*Arc #177826-Lights, Camera, Scream! - 3 step arc, camp horror; try out in 1st person POV - 35 Ratings/4 Stars
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The main problem is the characters coming into these trials are already too powerful for any normal enemy presentation to be taken as a challenge.|
Originally Posted by ElementalFury
The main problem is everything in the trials makes us feel weak, at no point do any of their plans fail because we're too strong. Marauder would have been invincible if there wasn't a glowing plot device we could poke to make him vulnerable and so on.
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There either has to be additional mechanics or insanely powerful NPCs to keep the players from walking over the content like its nothing. (Or a combo of both)
And, true to form, an improbable loophole that allows the protagonist to overcome those same mechanics/NPCs.
Apparently, I play "City of Shakespeare"
*Arc #95278-Gathering the Four Winds -3 step arc; challenging - 5 Ratings/3 Stars (still working out the kinks)
*Arc #177826-Lights, Camera, Scream! - 3 step arc, camp horror; try out in 1st person POV - 35 Ratings/4 Stars
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If I'm not mistaken, Prometheus already addresses this issue as non-critical. I think its supposed to be fluff (or bonus)...
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Originally Posted by Oedipus_Tex
I don't personally care one way or another about the rocks. But I do agree that this trial, as a whole, feels like a level 15 bank mission that happens to allow 24 players. You could actually put it in the level 20 version of Praetoria with very slight storyline changes and I think it would fit better. I don't care if they redesign it or not but I do hope the other trials aren't so mundane. Like I said earlier, whoever designed the tutorial seemed to understand why having a huge, threatening looking monster was important to creating a positive impression of the game. I don't know why that hasn't happened as much in the epic-level content.
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Apparently, I play "City of Shakespeare"
*Arc #95278-Gathering the Four Winds -3 step arc; challenging - 5 Ratings/3 Stars (still working out the kinks)
*Arc #177826-Lights, Camera, Scream! - 3 step arc, camp horror; try out in 1st person POV - 35 Ratings/4 Stars
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As I said, this is in my experience which is probably about 20 TPNs total across my characters, a number probably a bit hiring than most. (I was working towards a pvp IO.) I too have encountered the situation where ignoring the Telepathists created problems as well. However, allow me to point out that buffs are very easy to acquire due to the Destiny slot and Barrier is a very common choice. Single target dps, however, is not something as easily acquired as the league leader saying "Oh, can I get a Barrier count?" (or Clarion in the case of UG) and a few people quickly switching a power.
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Originally Posted by UberGuy
Threadjack. I see this posted all the time, and it frustrates the hell out of me, because people try it in ignorance, and waste everyone's time. This is a big oversimplification. This approach to the trial is more successful when you have sufficient buffs (and maybe AoE DPS) to be able to ignore the telepathist's debuffs.
I have been on TPNs where this was not the case, and people ignored the Telepathists. The league got its collective derriere popped off, made into a nice garnish, and fed back to it with a hollandaise sauce. Edit: To be clear, the debuff from the Telepathists weakened the league to the point that the IDF was much more dangerous than normal, because they were hitting far more often and far harder than normal. It had nothing to do with being outside or with Maelstrom. This tactic is fine if your league has the right composition in terms of having some folks along to counter the debuffs with their own buffs. That's not a generically true statement about all leagues. |
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Then bring them to our level, stop making every single thing we face -skyrocket- past us and require us to use a plot device or hit their weak point for massive damage. Marauder is a perfect example, he could drink the serum which would explain why we had to fight just as hard to beat him as when we fought him pre-incarnate and it would still be an increased challenge because of the constant stream of IDF coming in. Instead he might as well have drank pure starman concentrate because it makes him nigh invincible to everything. We've had 6 trials of our powers being made completely worthless because they have some kind of plot armor or plot device. |
Originally Posted by Yogi_Bare
The main problem is the characters coming into these trials are already too powerful for any normal enemy presentation to be taken as a challenge.
There either has to be additional mechanics or insanely powerful NPCs to keep the players from walking over the content like its nothing. (Or a combo of both) And, true to form, an improbable loophole that allows the protagonist to overcome those same mechanics/NPCs. |
It. Is. Old.
There is a difference between retreating and giving up.
"A good evil villian kills with style"-Galgarion
"Ha you're more full of yourself than I am!"-Jack Spicer
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This is [how an abundance of] heroic fiction works, sorry.|
Originally Posted by ElementalFury
Then bring them to our level, stop making every single thing we face -skyrocket- past us and require us to use a plot device or hit their weak point for massive damage. Marauder is a perfect example, he could drink the serum which would explain why we had to fight just as hard to beat him as when we fought him pre-incarnate and it would still be an increased challenge because of the constant stream of IDF coming in. Instead he might as well have drank pure starman concentrate because it makes him nigh invincible to everything. We've had 6 trials of our powers being made completely worthless because they have some kind of plot armor or plot device.
It. Is. Old. |
Whether its an episode of Stargate, Star Trek, Sanctuary or movie like Independence Day, Star Wars, etc. It's usually an improbable plot device that ultimately wins the day.
Apparently, I play "City of Shakespeare"
*Arc #95278-Gathering the Four Winds -3 step arc; challenging - 5 Ratings/3 Stars (still working out the kinks)
*Arc #177826-Lights, Camera, Scream! - 3 step arc, camp horror; try out in 1st person POV - 35 Ratings/4 Stars
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Yogi_Bare
You don't honestly believe that do you? I can point out at least two industries that say otherwise.
The argument here is the same as it was when the content first came out, "My toon is too uber to be taken down by anyone unless its the Lord Savior JC himself (or acceptable equivalent). Blaming the story is a strawman in itself being that most of the writing is a rehash of a rehash based in flights of nonsensical fancy and limited by mechanics, game balance and having to be merely satisfactory to tens of thousands of players at once. Unless the Devs are able to update, progress and publish both current and future canon to satisfy mechanics, balance, gameplay and player aesthetics on a daily (or even a weekly) basis (while doing coding, design, promotions, PR, etc) don't expect literature level work. |
I do honestly believe it. If you produced a superhero comic today, with the same quality of art and story as was produced in the Golden Age it would be laughed off the stand - and would crash and burn because in the subsequent 60ish years, the medium has grown and improved - to put the original works in the shade.
Again you miss the point - nobody is saying "We're too uber..." We're saying this is a jarringly inconsistent and stupid plot device that simply doesn't work. That's not simply one voice - it's true for many of us judging by the voices in this thread.
Thelonious Monk
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In some cases; but I've seen the argument made (right on these forums) that a return to Golden Age sensibilities are in order (costumes, NPC, plots).|
Originally Posted by Scarlet Shocker
I do honestly believe it. If you produced a superhero comic today, with the same quality of art and story as was produced in the Golden Age it would be laughed off the stand - and would crash and burn because in the subsequent 60ish years, the medium has grown and improved - to put the original works in the shade.
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It's also some of these outmoded Golden (and Silver) Age works that command the highest dollar and/or respect.
And not everyone would agree with you that the medium has improved much (despite its growth).
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| Again you miss the point - nobody is saying "We're too uber..." We're saying this is a jarringly inconsistent and stupid plot device that simply doesn't work. That's not simply one voice - it's true for many of us judging by the voices in this thread. |
Apparently, I play "City of Shakespeare"
*Arc #95278-Gathering the Four Winds -3 step arc; challenging - 5 Ratings/3 Stars (still working out the kinks)
*Arc #177826-Lights, Camera, Scream! - 3 step arc, camp horror; try out in 1st person POV - 35 Ratings/4 Stars
I steered the commentary in that direction during Ustream, and made some comments to explain our story driven reason behind that (telepaths weakening you and whipping ordinary citizens into a mentally induced rage). If that didn't come across, then I apologize.
We have a reason that the story is told in whatever way it is. Whether it's due to a nuance of the actual story or because of limitations imposed by mechanics (it could be either or in this particular case, I honestly don't know), we wanted there to be the chance that you could be brought low by a guy throwing a rock. I'm not a story designer, so I'm not going to pretend to know why TPN was written in the way it was, but I know the way that Positron, Protean, Baryonyx, Viridian and Dr. Aeon work: Deliberately and with purpose.
I'm not asking you to agree with our story telling decisions 100% of the time. I am asking you to discuss the story for it's merit.
Also, if every single fight was against Galactus, it would get a little boring after awhile
Well, perhaps it would be beneficial to get somebody in the story team responsible for this particular effort to share their thoughts. This doesn't seem like a "chance of being brought low by a rock" it definitely feels like that is what is designed to happen - we're supposed to get stoned to death in one of the singularly most improbable stories in the game.
And honestly, fighting Galactus would be a lot better than what is being served up right now, and as Sam said, how do you know til you try it?
Thelonious Monk