what in the game mechanically/content has gotten worse in the past 2 years?

I saw all these posts about him walking into an obvious trap. I played the mission - there was nothing obvious about it.

We walk into patterns on the floor, glowing crystals, and all sorts of things all of the time - you just think the circle was an obvious trap because it turned out to be a trap.

And States was magical from the well of furies. He fought a ton of magical beings - we fight CoT all of the time. There was no reason to think Darrin posed a threat to him.

Let me tell you what the average day is like for me logging on to one of my vilains on the Virtue server. I stand there in whatever location I log into, swith to my dedicated LFG tab, and begin the hunt. After about twenty minutes of "LF DFB Blue" and "DFB Forming Blue" I resign to the usual solo grinding. I get bored after not too long because the XP-to-Team-Size ratio is insanely skewed towards teaming and check the LFG again. DFB blue, DFB blue, DFB effing blue. And before you ask, yes I have attempted to start teams. As it turns out, nobody gives a rat's rectum about mid-level paper missions anymore because they're all doing DFB BLUE!

It wasn't like this a few years ago. We had a huge villain population. Yeah, there's some people left but it's not enough. Not compared to the staggering amount of active hero players. I don't know what it's like on other servers but Virtue is so skewed towards heroes nowadays that the Rogue Isles just feel empty. I used to see people running around doing stuff, AFKing at the market, hosting CCs, forming SFs...None of that anymore, not since Going Rogue allowed them to take their favorite archetypes to the other side.

If a magical worm (sorry for the insult worms) like Wade was obviously trying to draw you out by murdering your kin to the spot where Imperious (aka your former self ) snuffed it, I'd be a little cautious. Perhaps not nuke the site from orbit with another Rikti mothership cautious, but close.

It's not like the Midnighters contained Rularuu or anything that powerful at all, and who knew Wade was an ex-midnighter and that he'd have access at his leisure to their vaults since we could not touch him in #2.

I only ignore such objects because years of playing the content we have has proven that the developers ignore the trappings they put before us, and don't bother making them traps. As a long time pen-and-paper superhero gamer, I fully expect giant glowing crystals to lash out at me with lightning, raised, heavily inscribed floor patters to trap me, or barf out demons like the vertical rings in the Behemoth Rooms, and mad cackling wizards carefully standing on the far side of the encounter area to have something up their sleeves. And Statesman, the character, didn't play "content", like we do. He's part of the story of the game, and presumably his seventy years of activity was better detailed than the game engine allows us to enjoy.

Or perhaps he, and the Freedom Phalanx, are the band of two-bit yahoos that Who Will Die painted them to be, and all the competent senior heroes bought it in the Rikti War.

That's because "DFB BLUE" is unreasonably popular and partly because those of us left on the red-side are the kind of people who weren't all that interested in teaming anyway. I see a lot of people running around the Isles when I play there, but most of them run around alone. I realise your point is teaming, and I do appreciate that aspect, but teaming opportunities are not quite the same as population issues. You may not eliminate too much teaming opportunity if you were to remove redside, but you'd still take a chunk out of plenty of people's characters.

This is the same argument as the removal of Skyway City - just because it's not popular doesn't mean there isn't a decent number of people who still like it and want it around. There may not be enough to have a visibly high population, but there are enough to mind.

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

And pretty soon everything will be GONE TO THE AMERICANS!

Definately agreed.. especially that "dont use everyone" advice [try most players or the majority instead]. Three huge things have spurred the current trend toward DFB and DIB:

1. Lack of other content ... they completely removed all of the old missions the various contacts in City Hall gave out and replaced it with the tutorial. That was great for brand new players but after 6 years I can find the train station in Atlas thanks. Add in only limited new contacts/arcs and its easy to see why ANYTHING new would be used.

2. Buff benefits/Enhancements ... Even if the old missions still existed in Atlas they don't offer up Single Origin Enhancements at level 4 and they don't offer a buff to a players Defense, Damage, Accuracy and Recharge like both the DFB and DIB do. So by a show of hands who here doesn't like things that make them stronger? And before ANYONE say "I do!" let me ask,... So you still use Training Origin enhancers at level 50? or are you slotting IOs?

3. Ease of use ... When the old missions did exist it required a player to roam all over Atlas Park or Galaxy City to enter and complete them. The DFB allows players to stand around in front of Ms. Liberty (so you can quickly train if needed when you come out) and never really have to go anywhere. I have started about 5 new characters since the DFB came out and on average in about 1 hour I can have 4 runs in and be level 14 or 15. The old way I would have not only had to race around Atlas Park till level 5 or 6 but then I'd have been headed to Kings Row to get to at least level 10 and then on to Steel Canyon [no I didn't always run to Steel at level 10 .. I know you can do mission to 14 or so in KR. before anyone asks].

Oh let me add a number 4 ... Inexpensive! The last two characters I started and did the DFB with never bothered to BUY a single enhancement until they slotted SOs at level 22. Because the trial requires a minimum 4 man team and usually has no problem finding 7 or 8 I have been able to make do quite nicely with no enhancement at all and by using the SOs that dropped. I rarely buy inspirations since I can fill my trays just defeating mobs inside the mission. I knew players that started buying salvage and recipes and crafting IOs as low as level 12 before. No those are NOT that expensive but its still Influence out of pocket and the SOs that drop in the sewer are more powerful.

Now lets be honest .. As I recall the first actual story arcs I remember seeing were from contacts I got at around level 10 in Steel Canyon and Skyway. All any of the contacts in Atlas, Galaxy and KR ever had were a series of unrelated missions available that were designed to help you get more levels. Not even all of the contacts in Steel/SKy had actual ARCS at level 10. No one is missing out on any reward merit drops or an interesting story line by doing a trial .. A large number of players (please note I did not say everyone LOL) used to arrive in Atlas Park and immediately start looking for a sewer team so they could get beyond level 6 and head to KR to do RADIO missions until they finally hit level 12-14 and could go to Steel Canyon!

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

True, but it's a lot less funny when it happens to your own Assault Bot and you essentially lose it for the rest of the fight. Or permanently, as I've had to dismiss and resummon henchmen due to ragdoll stiction.

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

Is this a meme I missed? I wish to remain aware of all internet traditions.

The look alone is one reason I like redside better. PC is a pretty sterile looking place, too sleek and shiny (and bland, in a "cheaply-CGIed" way). Redside buildings look like buildings, older style buildings, which I happen to like. More of it is also more human-scale, not tall tall boxes of glass.

Personal architectural preference.

It's a special CoH one

But you're not comparing red-side to blue-side, you're comparing red-side to Atlas Park and possibly Steel Canyon. Not all of blue-side is "sterile," and that's precisely the point of zones like Kings Row and Skyway City and Independence Port and Brickstown. In fact, the game at Launch was pretty much designed this way for the most part - two zones per level range, one clean and nice like Metropolis, one dirty and crime-ridden like Gotham City.

That was actually my primary complaint with City of Villains at its own launch - where City of Heroes at least tried to juxtaposed the clean with the dirty, City of Villains was all dirty all the time. Oh, sure, some sections of some high-level zones are clear, but there are long level ranges where only "dirty" is available. Sharkhead Island is probably the worst offender - that entire place is depressing, and it's the ONLY place to level 20-25 in.

Well, I suppose you could bring up First Ward, but that's also dirty and devastated and it's really not part of "red-side."

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

It's visual storytelling.

but the drop rate is terrible

That's not the way opinions work