Can heroes get a win?

So I know that a lot of the mechanics and stories that have been hitting lately are cool. But still, I've gotta ask, can the heroes please get some kind of win here?

I remember back when Faultline was revamped. I thought, "This is kind of cool, it's a sign that the heroes really are making a positive difference in the city. For the sake of dramatic conflict, there will always be stuff hitting the fan. Still, it just seems like the heroes have been consistently losing ground for the past several issues. Galaxy City has been destroyed. (Can we please get a statue of Galaxy Girl somewhere? Just because her zone was clobbered, have we forgotten about her completely?) Statesman is dead. Now, Dark Astoria, which was not exactly a stroll in a sunny park before, is going to basically be lost. Even Faultline has been stuck for years in a limbo of not-as-dangerous but not-quite-safe.

I guess I just think that if I really were a hero or a citizen in Paragon City, I'd be terribly depressed all the time thinking, "Why the @*#! do I bother?" Have you guys ever considered writing into the story something that basically amounts to an outright win for the heroes? There seem to be a lot of good opportunities with all that's been going on lately.

How about, I dunno, a revamp of Boomtown and revert it back to Baumton, a normal city zone like Steel Canyon or Skyway City? It doesn't have to be the functional equivalent of Pocket D; there can still be street crime like the other zones have, contacts and intrigue happening in the shiny new zone, and maybe some kind of zone event. Or have the threat of Hamidon on Primal Earth once and for all defeated, opening The Hive up to development? Maybe have it become kind of a First Ward-like mystic zone with some kind of task force to keep him from being resurrected, the reward for completing which would be the badge and enhancement that used to be rewarded for defeating Hamidon?

I don't know, those are just a couple of ideas to get the juices flowing. It just seems like life in Paragon City keeps going from bad to worse. From a gameplay perspective, I commend the devs for doing a fan-freakin'-tastic job. From a story perspective, though, how about some good news for a change? Surely after almost eight years, there are a few things that we can wrap up and call done?

The same principle can be applied to villains, I suppose, though by their chaotic nature it's hard to define exactly what a "win" would look like. Maybe something like the destabilization of the Shadow Shard that allows them to gain a foothold in one or more of the zones there? Or Longbow gets their butts decisively kicked out of Nerva Archipelago? Johnny Sonata finally prevails over the Wailers and becomes a major political force and power base to be reckoned with? Again, just tossing out ideas.

Atlas Park got new flowers

I think this is the low point of our heroic saga. Where everything is going wrong and there's no hope of a bright future, but we end up making it anyways.

Or something...

Yeah, I commented to my friends a while back that things seem to be piling up here. We used to get one crisis at a time, now we've got, what three or four, with another couple looming on the horizon?

<Incredible>

"No matter how many times you save the world, it always manages to get back in jeopardy again! Sometimes I just want it to stay saved, you know?"

</Incredible>

Every time you log in and find Paragon City still there, the heroes are winning

Given the amount of things being thrown against Paragon City, I'd argue that it still exists is a big win.

/signed.

This is where I am glad that it appears that they are looking at old zones for updates. A dynamic world is essential toward feeling like you're making a difference. I don't mind if something (Dark Astoria) falls apart, so long as something else gets fixed (as you said, Boomtown or Faultline making progress toward getting rebuilt).

This harps on the main reason I have never been on-board with much of the repeatable content in this game. Once my character completes a significant piece of content, in the world of that character it is done. Hence, why I dislike the Incarnate System as designed thus far: if my character destroys the Lambda Sector, then I prefer to think of it as "destroyed" for that character. Returning to the trial removes the illusion that my character made any sort of positive impact in the world. Unfortunately, I don't make any meaningful progress in the Incarnate System unless I repeat the trials (until tomorrow :P).

I know that is not quite what you are talking about in the OP, but I felt I would add it since it is somewhat relevant. Perhaps unreasonable of me to want that in an MMORPG, but it is things like that that really enhance the game for me.

So villains have been getting crapped on since I6, and now that the heroes take one good hit everyone's up in arms?

Disparity much?

There's one particular "win" for the heroes, by the way, that (ironically) only the villains see: when we go to Boomtown, it looks different from when you go there.

This has driven me nuts for years now, because all the way back on day one of City of Villains, it was a plot point that Longbow and the PPD have pushed far enough into Baumton that re-construction has begun; one of the original CoV story arcs is about attacking a construction site there to slow them down. The devs remember this, too, because the level 20-30 villain morality mission takes place at the same construction site, where (does it still count as a spoiler after several issues?) you kidnap and attempt to ransom a redeemed villain who's donating his wealth to the reconstruction effort.

I have been begging, begging, ever since issue 6, for them to merge the geometry from instanced outdoor Boomtown into the actual Boomtown. Would it really be that hard?

- - - - -

That being said, one of the panels they've announced for the Player Summit is a focus group with the players on what zone should be revamped next and what should be done with it. If you think that the US military has allowed Paragon City's wealthiest neighborhood to be over-run way longer than is politically plausible and you want to see Perez Park at least partially cleared, or you want to see the street crime pushed back into the back alleys of Steel Canyon, or you want to see Baumton rebuilding begin, or whatever, either go yourself or persuade someone else who's going to make your case for you.

A win that I'd like to see, and would suggest at the Player Summit if I was there, would be for heroes to take Perez Park for the Galaxy City refugees, driving the gangs out of Hells Highway and such, and starting to make the park itself safe.

No.

I have to agree with Nalrok....

Villains have had to deal with crap stories and being told that we have to play the good guy since CoV was released. Now that heroes get an arc, an arc that is supposed to be game changing, that they haven't yet won, if you think that heroes will actually somehow lose to Wade you are insane this is an MMO after all, people are throwing a fit?

REALLY?

I will listen to your complaint as soon as my villains stop doing things "for the greater good." I don't mind co-op, I just wish that there was less lazy writing.

Here's a crazy idea: How about, as a win for the heroes, a new organization of heroes has emerges through St. Martial and extends into Nerva, forcing the questionable activities of Longbow into the light and therefore decreasing their influence there. This new group also helps fortify more safe living conditions for RI refugees on an island southwest of Port Oaks where they eventually ship them to safer places in the world like the United States. But as a base or safe haven, it must be defended against from villains or agents of Arachnos, ever struggling to topple the tyranny of Lord Recluse and his despot empire.