New to game (its still downloading)

So the title says it all. I am/will be new to the game and am looking for some advice.

1. What would be a good build to start out with?

2. Could you post a link or a quick idea on a build?

3. Are all areas PvP?

4. I will be FTP at the start will this lock a lot of content?

Thanks in advance for any and all help!

Thanks for the quick reply. I really like to play either sneaky melee type characters or heavy armored muscle.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oliin Firstly, welcome. 1. I'd really need more to go on in order to help you here. I mean what sort of play style do you like? 2. As far as builds go, there's really a lot of possible variation. Take a look at Mid's Hero Planner and mess around with it a bit and you'll see. Though keep in mind you won't be able to use the set enhancements as a free player. 3. Only very specific zones are PvP areas. Personally I think that's a good thing as unfortunately PvP is not this game's strong suit. 4. There is a very minimal amount of content locked to you as a free player. You can't access the content that was part of the Going Rogue expansion, you won't be able to do the missions in the First Ward zone which was added when the game went 'free', you can't run the monthly Signature Story Arcs and you're blocked off from the endgame 'incarnate' content. That might sound like a decent bit, but you get the other 7 years of added content in addition to everything from CoH and CoV themselves so you shouldn't be lacking for things to do. Anyway, have fun.

1) brute or scrapper are probably the most beginner friendly
2) just experiment, part of the process is screwing up your first build a million times
3) lolno, you're not likely to see much active pvp til the 40+ zone and then only if you're on certain servers (freedom, virtue?, exalted (though that one's vip only)) If you're ftp, arena is probably your best bet for pvp (see below)
4) not a lot of content, mostly just the incarnate (50+) content, the signature arcs and iirc the going rogue expansion stuff. your bigger worries will be your inability to send private tells (whispers, depending on which mmo you're used to) and your inability to use the market and invention systems. Those two pretty much make the pvp and build questions above irrelevant, since there's only so much build tweaking you can do with Single Origin enhancements, and you'll likely won't want to try zone pvp with an SO only build either (cue 15 people saying they do just fine with only SOs in pvp).
Just have fun and don't worry about screwing up, it's impossible to get it all without trial and error.

Hi there !

Just wanted to add one item of note , if you do join us as a F2P player, you will be restricted with a few things, but one of the most important may be the ability to send tells. However you are not fully restricted, in that if you are sent a tell an need to reply to that person, simply use /r to begin your reply.

Hope this helps you in some way and welcome to the City !

i'd second the recommendation for willpower now that i think of it - versatile and has no endurance problems

alternatively, Katana/Regeneration scrapper is a nice introduction to the game.

Welcome to the game!

Just a couple of other things to add. You didn't mention if you had ever played in another MMO, but in case you have, I'll just say leave everything you learned there behind you.

CoH is not one of those games where you start a character and have to spend huge amounts of time and effort to make it perfect. It is perfectly normal here to have loads of characters, because the different playstyles make each one fun. I know free players can only have a couple, but if you decide to go Premium or VIP don't be afraid to make one of everything and enjoy all the flavors.

It is also not a game where you rush to the maximum level to start the 'real' game. Every level has challenges and fun mission arcs. And leveling is when you really build up skill. I mean playing skill, not character stats. It is really obvious which characters were played to level 50 and which ones were power leveled.

And lastly, it is not a game with perfect team combinations. Any group can handle pretty much any challenge, as long as the players know what they are doing (see previous remark about power leveling). The stereotypical DPS/Tank/Healer triad is unnecessary here.

Welcome to the game! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

Honestly, the best build in the game (imo) is the one you tinker with, rearrange and "fix" every now and again. It's not about the "best" build, it's the one you grow to love. The build you know intimately and play well.

I have dozens of characters on one server, alone, but I've fiddled with and deleted far more... because I didn't "feel" them. I love all the ones I've kept, because I know them inside and out.

Stalkers are a good beginning archetype that has the more "sneaky" sence to them. They are also probably my favorite archetype next being masterminds. I haven't found a good brute set so I couldnt suggest anything there.

I came to CoH from WoW and for a long time did not really understand the concept of mitigation.

Basically, in CoH, preventing damage is much better than healing it after the fact. Disorients (stuns), reducing the chance to hit ( called -to hit), knockdowns (because if somebody falls down they lose an attack while they stand back up) and other techniques are all very important ways to stay alive and accomplish the mission.

Go with a concept you like. The powersets are mostly close enough that you won't gimp yourself. Well except maybe Energy Melee...

Also, ditto on the comment(s) about DPS/Tank/healer paradigm. Many archetypes and powersets have the ability to perform different tasks. This will be apparent when you're in a group where the main tank is a scrapper.

Note there no real "healers" in the game. Only two powersets, IIRC, actually have multiple healing powers. Most other support sets have one. But they can stun, reduce hit chance, and other techniques to help out the group.

CORRECTION: There are three powersets with multiple heals - see post below.

I would say most, not all, groups, can handle any challenge in the game. I've been in some melee only PUGs that got their ***** kicked by things like Longbow or Arachnos. So occasionally groups meet some they can't handle, but its rare.


Some recommendations:

Ditto on Katana/Willpower recommendation.

I liked my Shield/Warmace tanker but may it have some endurance issues as Free to play. Warmace/Shield brute is a higher damage version.

I like Dark Melee/Invulnerability (two self heals!), but haven't tried it free to play.

Even Energy Melee is perfectly usable. It's the "worst", but it's only the worst in that one set statistically has to be the worst. (In this case, the main problem is that its most powerful attacks - Total Focus and Energy Transfer - animate very slowly, and Energy Transfer also damages the user, but the set will keep your targets stunned a lot of the time, so it has its advantages)

But, yeah, for a beginner, I'd definitely suggest Willpower for a defensive powerset (assuming you start with a melee type), regardless of what attack powerset you go with. I'm having fewer endurance issues with my Super Strength / Willpower Brute than any other character I've ever had, and it has nice well-rounded protection (a bit of Defense so attacks won't hit at all, a good deal of Resistance to reduce the damage you take when you get hit, and lots of Regeneration to quickly heal back any damage you do take).

Stalker is the "sneaky, gonna stab you HARD" character
Scrapper is a pure melee character, good damage, can crit (change for double damage), and good armour.
Tanker is, well, a tank. Very robust and hard to kill, meh damage
Brute is the middle of the road between Scrapper and Tanker. Lower hp/mitigation than tank, lower damage than scrappers. Better damage than tanks, better survivability than scrappers. They build a "fury" bar by hit and being hit that improves their damage

The choice is yours. Good sets for armor: Willpower, Regen, Invul, Elec (not sure if this will be available for you) Good melee sets...almost anything. Katana and dark melee have really nice perks.

By being purely free you can level 1-50 with no problems at all. Anyway I recomend spending a few bucks to get access to tells and supergroups. Buying one month VIP is enough

Thanks all for the quick and helpful replys. I have played several MMO's in the past (UO, Everquest, WoW, DDO to name a few) and I am really enjoying this one. As a new player I am sure that there are a hundred different things I should be asking but I'm just to new to know what they are. I have to say that I am enjoying the soloabilty of the game for now, but I know I will want to join a group sooner than later. The build I chose to follow is the Katana/Willpower build. Its really fun even at early levels. If there is any advice that anyone can offer please feel free to post it here. Im also on the look out for a second build as well. Thanks again

If you play villain and log in 8-midnite pacific time, you are welcome to join me and my friends on virtue. Let me know your toon name.
For teams, I suggest setting looking for team in the team menu and setting your comment to:f2p, plz invite

Thanks again for all the help. I started play on Virtue and made the Kat/Wil type. I've made it to lvl 9ish solo, but am looking to do some team missions. Since I'm not a ViP I can not send any tells. I am sure there is a lot more to learn about the game and I'm looking for someone who might be willing to teach me or show me some of the mission stuff. My handle on the server is Jaodon, so feel free to send me a tell if you see me on. Again, thanks for all the help.

OK, here's some quick tips. If you've got to level 9 solo, then you've done enough of the game to have an idea how stuff works. So far so good.

1. Stand around Ms. Liberty and ask for a "DFB" team. You should get one pretty quick on Virtue if you play at normal hours. Welcome to XP heaven.

2. Almost any good, full or nearly full team will generate almost as much XP, so keep that in mind. Teams are good.

3. Get to a higher level zone (appropriate for your new level) and look for a "Detective" in that zone in your contacts list. Good zones are Steel Canyon, Skyway, Falutline (south of the south Skyway tram), and Talos. Detectives give short "radio" missions that a lot of folks use to level quickly.

4. Do try to explore and do regular missions. Try to lead at least to lead a small team, even if you're F2P. It helps to see how things work for a leader. You can use the help channel (/hc) to recruit.

5. Somewhere in there you'll have to learn about picking powers (what's best), and how to slot. I don't think anything in Kat or WP is bad, so you can just pick them in order. Make sure to take as many defensive (will power) powers as offensive, since face-planting is never fun. Also, be sure to take at least one travel power. For new folks I recommend Fly, it's just the easiest to use.

Good luck, but don't be afraid to ask more questions when you need too.