So... No Freespec w/ I22?
By
Android_5Point9,
Posted on: 2012-03-06 18:42 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
Does anyone have an accurate history of issue releases in which we did or did not receive freespecs?
Some sort of authority on this would dampen one of the dimensions of this discussion.
My memory is that we almost always got one. I'm hard pressed to think of an issue in which we didn't, at least going back to #3, the first release I was here for.
Statesmonkey Sez: Lighten up! It's a game, for Lincoln's sake!
Also: Six years of casual play begins to look an awful lot like one year of hardcore play.
Nothing official, but since release, I think there's only been 2 or 3 issues w/no freespec. It was almost an unwritten rule that we'd get one w/each issue, to the point that I went around and burned any freespecs I had cached because I didn't want to "waste" one, just like I've done for the last half-dozen (at least) issues. But now that they're for sale, I don't expect any more freebies. Guess I'll burn a vet respec to slot in my ATOs and spec in those improved self-rezzes for my Regen & WP toons.
An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee
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Now see, you already had one, so why use it, if you didn't need to, just to get a new one in the cache?
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Originally Posted by dave_p
Nothing official, but since release, I think there's only been 2 or 3 issues w/no freespec. It was almost an unwritten rule that we'd get one w/each issue, to the point that I went around and burned any freespecs I had cached because I didn't want to "waste" one, just like I've done for the last half-dozen (at least) issues. But now that they're for sale, I don't expect any more freebies. Guess I'll burn a vet respec to slot in my ATOs and spec in those improved self-rezzes for my Regen & WP toons.
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BrandX Future Staff Fighter
The BrandX Collection
...because as we already said, even if we don't personally need it right now, it's inconsistent with past behavior, and possibly representative of a troubling policy change. I wouldn't have nearly so many vetspecs left if we didn't get a freebie with every issue.
No offense Hope but I think it's premature to assume this is indicative of a policy change. Respecs were being sold for real money for a couple of years before Freedom launched and they were giving us freespecs the whole time.
Hence why I said "possibly".
Quick thought re-Freespecs -
am I right in thinking that in the past, the Respec missions only gave you a respec once. Once you'd done it, and chosen the respec as a reward, that was it, done.
Now, I believe they are a selectable option whenever you do the mission. That means that a freespec is essentially unnecessary - it's a convenience, but even if there are drastic changes made, no need to give one out, if we want, we can just log in and run a respec mission (which as I write this is the WST)
If I'm right here, that puts things in a very different light.
Thelonious Monk
The limit of 3 respecs from the trial has never been changed, AFAIK. It was even specifically left in place when we gained the ability to switch sides and do both trials.
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Yes. In fact, this was such a common and well-known player behavior that Community Reps have, in the past, set a convention of reminding people to do this. In fact, we once received an apology when one forgot to provide this reminder.
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Originally Posted by BrandX
Now see, you already had one, so why use it, if you didn't need to, just to get a new one in the cache?
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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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True, and to be honest when I didn't see that reminder get made I (correctly as it turns out) assumed they weren't giving out a freespec this issue and I didn't waste the ones I hadn't used yet.|
Originally Posted by UberGuy
Yes. In fact, this was such a common and well-known player behavior that Community Reps have, in the past, set a convention of reminding people to do this. In fact, we once received an apology when one forgot to provide this reminder.
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Of course I don't expect others to make the same assumptions I did.
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I used a bunch of respecs, but I certainly don't feel I wasted them. All of them weren't made to make urgent changes, but all did things I wanted to do for my characters (whether specific to this issue - like my Stalker - or not).|
Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
True, and to be honest when I didn't see that reminder get made I (correctly as it turns out) assumed they weren't giving out a freespec this issue and I didn't waste the ones I hadn't used yet.
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My only potential source of irritation about the topic depends on their reasoning for not offering one this round, which they might never tell us. Of course if they don't, folks' imaginations will provide one.
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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The only issues I'm aware of that didn't get a free respec were 1 and 2. In 1 they hadn't created them yet, and 2 was when they added respecs to the game.
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Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
Depends. Occasionally they are late, sometimes the devs give two a week or so apart and sometimes they don't give any.
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The City of Heroes Community is a special one and I will always look fondly on my times arguing, discussing and playing with you all. Thanks and thanks to the developers for a special experience.
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What Uber said. Plus, if you have a very minor tweak you want to make on a toon, but nothing you'd burn a respec on? You ever have one of those? Well, when you're utterly used to getting a freespec that'll overwrite the one you have... yeah, you tend to use those up. Been doing that for a few years now, in fact.
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Originally Posted by BrandX
Now see, you already had one, so why use it, if you didn't need to, just to get a new one in the cache?
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An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee
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Try doing that after midnight PST and see how far you get...
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Originally Posted by Scarlet Shocker
we can just log in and run a respec mission (which as I write this is the WST)
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@Doctor Gemini
Arc #271637 - Welcome to M.A.G.I. - An alternative first story arc for magic origin heroes. At Hero Registration you heard the jokes about Azuria always losing things. When she loses the entire M.A.G.I. vault, you are chosen to find it.
When I get any of my builds perfect, then I'll let the free respecs overwrite. However, I do not foresee such a thing ever happening.
In fact, I have yet to check on a build with the next issue is close to release and not thought "aarrggh, WHAT was I THINKING!??!!"
Am disappointed there was no free respec this time. Am saddened to think that when I23 is close to release, all the arrgh-worthy misdeeds I just committed will continue, unnoticed, unresolved and unarrgghed upon.
....'course, I should add that I22 has been fabulous in every other way!
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I'm sure you're memory is correct about the first two issues, but I'm certain I recall reading a couple threads between then and now where people were upset that the devs didn't give out a freespec with at least one other later issue.
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Originally Posted by EvilGeko
The only issues I'm aware of that didn't get a free respec were 1 and 2. In 1 they hadn't created them yet, and 2 was when they added respecs to the game.
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Every issue since I started playing (i13 was my first issue release) has included a freespec. Luckily I only have 1 grav and 2 stalkers. Only one of them (the high level stalker) will need a respec in order to allocate more slots in AS so I suppose it isn't a huge deal to me. That stalker probably still has a freespec left over from i21... unless I used it to get fly earlier. At any rate I have a half-dozen vet reward respecs I could use.
But I am disappointed.
I saw in another thread that Zwillinger mentioned on Virtue Chat that there was no freespec with I22.
"03-17-2012 20:05:02 [Help] NCsoft_Zwillinger: <color #ff0101><bgcolor #010101>Development team determined that AT changes weren't significant enough for a freespec."
Which puzzles me a bit, actually, since in theory I22 was the first issue in a very long time when every single AT's build was potentially affected if they want to make use of Archetype Enhancements. ATOs were a featured item of I22, after all.
Ah, well, burned a real respec on my grav/FF controller since I'd used my previous freespec in yet another quixotic attempt to make him useful and interesting to play. With the new power changes, I have hopes that he will at least be good for some niche situations, so I'm giving him another try.
Not getting a freespec for I22 supports the suspicion I had when I first heard about Enhancement Unslotters. My guess is that with Enhancement Unslotters in the game the Devs will feel -less- inclined to bother with freespecs again unless there's a very major change. *shrugs*
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That's annoying. I use respecs way too often for that to be acceptable to me. I'll be blowing lots of points and/or inf on respecs in the future if that is the case.
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Originally Posted by Lothic
Not getting a freespec for I22 supports the suspicion I had when I first heard about Enhancement Unslotters. My guess is that with Enhancement Unslotters in the game the Devs will feel -less- inclined to bother with freespecs again unless there's a very major change. *shrugs*
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@Rorn ---- Blue Baron ---- Guardian
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That's only if they (the devs) consider putting in new enhancements as a major change to one's build, and if they think they'll be used that much (likely a distant second).|
Originally Posted by Scientist
I saw in another thread that Zwillinger mentioned on Virtue Chat that there was no freespec with I22.
"03-17-2012 20:05:02 [Help] NCsoft_Zwillinger: <color #ff0101><bgcolor #010101>Development team determined that AT changes weren't significant enough for a freespec." Which puzzles me a bit, actually, since in theory I22 was the first issue in a very long time when every single AT's build was potentially affected if they want to make use of Archetype Enhancements. ATOs were a featured item of I22, after all. Ah, well, burned a real respec on my grav/FF controller since I'd used my previous freespec in yet another quixotic attempt to make him useful and interesting to play. With the new power changes, I have hopes that he will at least be good for some niche situations, so I'm giving him another try. |
By this thought, any time they introduce a new IO set period, they should offer a free respec, just so people can slot using the new set.
BrandX Future Staff Fighter
The BrandX Collection
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Yes, I agree.|
Originally Posted by BrandX
That's only if they (the devs) consider putting in new enhancements as a major change to one's build, and if they think they'll be used that much (likely a distant second).
By this thought, any time they introduce a new IO set period, they should offer a free respec, just so people can slot using the new set. |
They should.
Glad to see you coming around to this side of the argument.
Statesmonkey Sez: Lighten up! It's a game, for Lincoln's sake!
Also: Six years of casual play begins to look an awful lot like one year of hardcore play.
Weirdly, I have a freespec on a recently-made (as in, after I21) character.
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I do believe that this is the entire point lurking just underneath the surface my friend.
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Originally Posted by Vauluur
That's annoying. I use respecs way too often for that to be acceptable to me. I'll be blowing lots of points and/or inf on respecs in the future if that is the case.
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The development team and this community deserved better than this from NC Soft. Best wishes on your search.
Put me on the list of people who are disappointed with a lack of Freespec in i22. I'm sure that this thread is full of irrlevant discussions and Golden Girl making the "
" face since it was posted in the General Discussion section of the board, so I'm not going to bother reading the thread aside from voicing my disappointment.