My own personal tinfoil hat territory idea with regards Praetoria is this.
It was not initially designed as 1-20 content, it was originally all going to be kind of the same way Dark Astoria is now, an Incarnate Zone, however at the time they couldn't quite work out how they wanted things to go (keep in mind the Incarnate system was a whole 1 power at Going Rogue release (on Beta, not even on live) and needed to be worked on still). They would layer on more stuff to do (First Ward etc.) with each passing moment until the Praetorian storyline was complete and we moved on to the Battalion.
Now when the Incarnate stuff couldn't be done in time they had all this high end content and no point to running it (besides lore) so they basically just decided to make it a 1-20, make side switching ATs the key draw to it.
This is why I reckon the mobs in Praetoria are pretty much overtuned for their level range, they're initially designed for level 50s to fight and then got dumbed down unlike other mobs which were either designed for a specific level bracket or 'scaled up' (which caused such things as the Family farms due to them basically being no challenge for a level 50).
However that is deep in tinfoil hat country.
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At this point Praetoria has been relegated to the status of a fancy level 1-20 tutorial. There's little reason to stay there much past just getting though it so that you can start playing the "rest" of the game.|
Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
With respect Aura, Praetoria was "dead" long before they opened up the AT's at the tutorial. I remember people complaining the zones were empty as early as Jan 2011, and most of the people that were running in Praetoria were complaining about the difficulty and excessive ambushes.
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I believe the only thing that might save Praetoria is for the Devs to create viable content for it all the way up to level 50. First Ward was a start towards that, but until Praetoria can stand on its own as a complete third "side" of the game it will always be taken as second class compared to the rest of the game.
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I don't know how really...but that zone does need sorting out.
the only good one i've seen over the time is connecting it to the other zones just like heroes and villains have cos atm..Prat isnt acting as an expansion but more a new game in its own
Simple buisness decision here... when everyone stops buying it... give it away... I suspect we're there or close.
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I wouldn't argue with that.
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Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
With respect Aura, Praetoria was "dead" long before they opened up the AT's at the tutorial. I remember people complaining the zones were empty as early as Jan 2011, and most of the people that were running in Praetoria were complaining about the difficulty and excessive ambushes.
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I do find it annoying when the free/preems-without-praetoria want to join me in Studio 55 and the outside areas but can't because they're blocked by a money-barrier. I only wish it were like First Ward where the zone was free but the content outside the normal spawns were limited to those who owned the content/pack.
You need 'create a praetorian' to start there and work through the storylines naturally but you could just make your way through the Pocket-D/Studio 55 portal and do various street-sweeping or zone events from Imperial City onwards and then progress to First Ward underground.
Basically any new zone that happens should be accessable globally, but just disallow free/unpaid players from running the story-arcs themselves.
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It is a shame - so much good work went into those zones, but the decision to split the player base yet again was just not a good one.
Maybe, after the Praetoria war, they can make high level versions of those zones for TFs, etc. Similar to how the Sewers and Abandoned Sewers are really the same thing, just different leveled foes.
Since in the game, level = time to some extent, this could be seen as how Praetoria is after peace is made.
I would just like to see all Praetorian content added to Ouroborus.
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Agreed. And maybe throw in a couple of contacts with repeatable missions for "visiting" primal heroes and villains. But that represents a lot of work, and I'm not even sure, lore-wise, how you'd fit in higher level Pretorian zones. Some fringe outpost even more torn up than First Ward? Maybe we can let them have the Shadow Shard after Darrin Wade's shenanigans are over. |
Originally Posted by Lothic
I believe the only thing that might save Praetoria is for the Devs to create viable content for it all the way up to level 50. First Ward was a start towards that, but until Praetoria can stand on its own as a complete third "side" of the game it will always be taken as second class compared to the rest of the game.
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Yeah, no. Those stories are very zone dependent. |
Originally Posted by TheJazMan
The beauty is, the stories could have been completely changed
 Perhaps the Praetorian content could've been introduced via trials and we could have done away with the Prae only zones. |
And not connected with that...
The Praetorian mobs are much easier than the Outcasts (which were severely depowered) that thronged the Hollows when it launched. The Praetorian mobs are just different, some using different mechanics and not the pushover mobs that inhabit Death From Below. Hellions have never been a real threat. The first low level boss of any real consequence are the Bone Daddies and I would prefer to face a Praetorian Clockwork boss in a fight over a Bone Daddy.
And "split the player base?" Really, when the low level game has been reduced to DFB all the time? Praetoria is a welcome distraction from the spam in Atlas. I'm certain something will probably be done to open it up to Freemium types, but adding DFB isn't going to "save" it. Neutropolis and Imperial will still be "dead," except for Nova and people asking for DFB.
My guess is they were testing how will preatoria do. If it was a successful model they would be adding more content to there (much like first ward) step-by-step untill zone itself become a 50 level one. However praetoria didn't meet the quota to do that change and/or management decided to go with freedom plan. My guess is after we dealt with Tyrant more Praetoria content will become available current one will take its echo in the Ouroboros.
I'll say it again, since the thread has been started a new!
I'll start back in Praetoria when I can start on primal, but do story arcs in Praetoria! Now, I could say my praetorian started character really is a primal, but the story arcs ruin that a bit, the exiting of Praetoria really does, and the badges do as well.
But give me the chance to go help the resistance or loyalists as a Primal and I'm back over to gold side! 
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Yeah, this.|
Originally Posted by BrandX
I'll say it again, since the thread has been started a new!
I'll start back in Praetoria when I can start on primal, but do story arcs in Praetoria! Now, I could say my praetorian started character really is a primal, but the story arcs ruin that a bit, the exiting of Praetoria really does, and the badges do as well. But give me the chance to go help the resistance or loyalists as a Primal and I'm back over to gold side! |
I can't really identify with any toon I've started in Praetoria, and this is going to sound weird, but I think it's because Praetoria is an alternate dimension.
I know Paragon City and the RI don't actually exist either, but whenever I create a toon blue or redside, I have an unconscious knowledge of that character's background, because it is rooted in a version of 'our' world, with our continents and countries, our history (with subtle and not-so-subtle alterations of which we are all quite familiar), etc.
With praetoria, I created acharacter who was a lawyer until the start of her superpowered career, and I found myself thinking 'do they even HAVE lawyers in Praetoria?'
I found myself creating a toon who got his superpowers on Primal Earth, and the explosion or whatever catapulted him between dimensions to end up in praetoria, but then all the content there sort of assumes your toon is a native.
A problem i thjink, for me (probably not for new players, who have little or no knowledge of any faction) is that we have so much backstory and lore regarding Primal, but very little regarding Praetoria. So any toons I make there just seem...I don't know, fake, maybe. Or at least, more like NPCs I happen to be in control of. I can't believe in them.
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Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
[The Incarnate System is] Jack Emmert all over again, only this time it's not "1 hero = 3 white minions" it's "1 hero = 3 white rocks."
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See, I like starting characters on Praetoria because they aren't from Primal and the stuff on Primal is shiny and new to them.
Right now, the only reason I start new characters in Primal is for fast leveling purposes to see what particular power sets do. Whenever I bring a Praetorian over at 20, I have a giddy sensation of stepping into a world of infinite possibilities.
All that and I like "Praetor" as my level 50 title dangit.
I really have to wonder about game direction sometime. I know its CITY of heroes...but we could have other zones....the city thing has been done to death. Get epic out there!