What is fun in COH to you?

Oh, fun thread! Here is my input, and of course, all of these are IMO. Hope this isn't too long...

Likes:

• The costume creator, there is just way too much fun to be had with it such as designing costumes along a particular character concept and costume contests
• Creating a character and playing around with the power sets, learning the synergy between the two and how they work together, like my illusion/time controller
• Superjump - Best Travel Power Ever!
• Ignoring an AT for a long time and finally making one and learning how much fun they are; my Ill/Time and Dark/Storm controllers and WM/SD scrapper come to mind specifically
• Playing a brand new story arc that really makes you laugh (such as Flambeaux's enhancement scrunchie)
• The lack of the fierce, teeth-grinding competition found in other games, such as the "big" MMO which I played for years before CoX. The drama associated with everyone competing for resources, drops, and more is pretty much the most unpleasant gaming experience I ever had. I love the fact that recipes drop for everyone randomly, missions are usually instanced, and teams encountered are generally laid back and a lot of fun
• Inherent fitness
• Architect Entertainment - I love playing arcs (like the Silent Hill inspired one) and even farming once in awhile
• Supergroup Bases - They're kind of clumsy to build but I really like having a place to go when trying to figure out what to do or talk to friends
• iTrials and other Task and Strike Forces - There are a lot of people with great senses of humor in the game, that's what makes these things fun and not get old for me
• Badges - I love finding the perfect badge that goes with my character's theme, or earning an accolade I'd been working hard to get

• There really aren't too many, and more like mild annoyances than anything, but one would be some of the critter AI and having to chase down run aways, or finding that one hidden mob in a defeat all map that's stuck in a wall
• My inability to level up masterminds, I guess that's just the AT that isn't for me.
• Maps, such as those in First Ward, where you get non-stop mobs attacking you with no chance to recover. This kind of really stinks on characters with low dps when you are soloing.
• Putting an enhancement on the market for 100,000,000 inf instead of 10,000,000 inf when you're exhausted and not paying attention to the warnings (yes, that is definitely not the game's fault)
• I'd like to have seen a little more flexibility for F2Pers, I think several friends might have become long term players if they had just a little more access to some of the game's paid features at the start

Great positive thread, rude not to contribute really:

Fun things:

* The whole creative process with new characters from the powers and costume to the back story and name. Has always been a big pull for me
* Accessibility. Easy to play and pick up meaning there are few, if any, basic gameplay frustrations
* Appeals to all levels of players. Whether you're a newbie or a harcore MMO veteran, there's something for you.
* Player jackwads are generally in the minority. Still amazes me just how many other MMOs where if you're a gobby idiot who likes trash talking over public channels or just generally being an idiot, you're the norm rather than the exception. In CoH, while this behaviour appears to be on the increase (at least from my experience), those kinds of people are in the minority, and generally fairly easy to avoid.
* Content old and new is always fun. Still amazes me that even though missions can be a little repetitive, there is something about some of them that means they'll always be heaps of fun. Doing the Flux arc in the Hollows and the ensuing Frosty mish, for example never gets and will never get old (imo).
* Having / Being your very own custom superhero is cool and awesome almost by definition. City of Heroes is STILL the best implementation of that.

Not so Fun Things:

* Population on EU servers. I'm probably going to get stick for this, but it seems to me it IS lower than in the heyday and with more zones, and incarnate content, the population is more dispersed meaning that teaming isn't quite as abundant as it once was. Also most of my friends seem to either not play anymore or play on US servers.
* Insufficient hours in the day. I'd like this to be increased so I can play more. Thanks.

Just to close, I started playing in March 2006 right through until about May 2009, more or less solidly. Got bored / burnt out and unsubscribed trying a few other games along the way. Came back once or twice since then but before now there was always some of that old magic missing.

Now though, it seems an awful lot has changed and drastically for the better, my other half is playing too so I've always got at least one guarenteed team member and she's as hooked on the game now as I was when I first started playing. I foresee another few years stint before my next hiatus

Fun:
- Costumes, oh, the costumes...
- Open Concepts. I've got characters that run the gamut: a wereweasel, classic superheroes, a humanoid killer whale, a WWII fighter pilot turned thunder god, an one-man alien invasion force, an average guy who happens to work for Arachnos, and (soon) a sentient water in a robot suit
- Soloing.
- Brutes, Tanks, Masterminds and Dominators, my fave four.
- Role-Playing with a fun group.
- Joke Characters. The aforementioned Arachnos soldier took Pummel at first level because his superiors neglected to give him bullets for his rifle.
- The 10-40 range.
- Fighting Nemesis. The guy's just such an awesome villain.

Unfun:
- Anything endgame. I've deleted and rerolled most of my 50's because there was nothing to do, and then when there was, they were trials.
- Trials, and specifically, the people who nominate themselves as leaders on them. It's rare that I don't have to bite my tongue to keep from snarking the whole time.
- Blasters. Just don't see the point to them.
- Malta. Oh god, Malta...

I was going to just second Nethergoat, Starflier, and Werner, but...

Fun:
* Creating a hyperactive meter maid with a riot shield, and watching big pretty orange numbers whenever she fires off Crushing Uppercut
* Creating a pistol-packing kids' show pirate, and seeing him become a fan favorite of his SG
* Creating a classy night widow, and enjoying every moment I've RP'd with her and almost every moment I've taken her teaming.
* Creating a big dumb brute who wields a railroad crossing sign, a third-generation Soviet man of iron, an animatronic Saturday morning superhero ferret, a radioactive Ukrainian teenager, a fairy cop on the edge, a slacker ninja, a valley cat girl, a crass former Destroyer, and dozens of other ideas I've whipped up on a whim
* Creating story arcs to entertain my SG/VG-mates
* Seeing what concepts and stories my VG mates, SG mates, and other players in Atlas Park and Pocket D can come up with
* Oh, and hitting bad guys / good guys until XP and loot fall out

I'm sensing a trend here.

Fun:
1)Costume creator
2)MA. Love it, although I have never put a story for the public, because I never can finish an arc.
3)The plethoria of powers, and AT's at my disposal.
4)The market.
5)Gameplay
6)teaming/soloing.
7)My wife plays
8)the community.


Not fun:
1)The stripped down time I actually can play because of my job, family.
2)No nemesis system. No, MA is not the same. I want my enemy showing up in a paper mission with me beating up the skulls.
3)Lack of redside teaming. I prefer villians side.
4)defeat all missions/find the glowies on huge city street.
5)I am the last of my friends to still play this game.
6)My wife playing the game. 1 computer, one game.
7)the lack of having any kind of presence on Itrials. It's just team up, and finish as soon as possible.

All in all, I will still be playing this game until the server shut down, or they make a COX 2.

Fun:

1.) Building OP, unconventional characters.
2.) Beating hard stuff by myself.
3.) Most Incarnate trials.
4.) Making fun of Speedy.
5.) Playing with my friends.
6.) The market. Flipping, etc. I wish I still had as much time for that.
7.) Farming, in small doses at least.

Not fun:

1.) Everything below level 50.
2.) Defeat all missions.
3.) Hostage escort missions.
4.) Street sweeping missions.
5.) TF's/SF's that span across multiple zones.
6.) TF's/SF's that take more than an hour to complete.
7.) The Shadow Shard.
8.) Those annoying, claustrophobic cave maps.
9.) The help channel.
10.) People who think the letter 'u' is a word.
11.) Any glowie that I can't find.

FUN : Solo-ing anything in the game with a character I have worked hard to make better.
Not-So-FUN : Solo-ing anything in the game prior to Single Origin level enhancements.

FUN : Teaming with 7 other good players on a task force or fun story arc.
Not-So-FUN : Teaming with any number of players on a Trial or Multi-team event of any kind, especially when it is a required part of some in-game reward.

FUN : Discovering thru my Alt-itus some incredibly new and fun combination of powersets, and promptly building a character concept and costume around it.
Not-So-FUN : Trying a new combination of powersets with high hopes only to realize after 25 levels that it does not get any better. RE-ROLL

FUN : Meeting new players in game that are fun to group with, who share similar game interests and who show off some amazingly creative costumes. *Yes, I too have borrowed some of those awesome costume ideas* Well... in spirit, not complete copies.
Not-So-FUN : Trying to get a new character name that meets with my personal standards for an actual superhero name. Years of my life seem to have disappeared into the character generator screen.

What is fun in CoH?



To plow your enemies, see them despawn before you, and to hear the lamentation of their designers.

I'm not sure I'd have said, "plow". Depends on the enemy, I suppose.

Generally I like making stupidly overpowered builds I will probably never actually realize in-game. I very much like exploring new content and experiencing the stories involved in them. I like playing with new power-sets and designing new characters to utilize them. I like that the combat in this game is still engaging despite its' age.

I don't like masterminds. At all. Every time one of you joins my team I groin silently to myself, and I'm constantly looking for reasons to get rid of you.

Fun: Everything (well maybe except PvP but I don't even feel its need can't really say it is not fun either)

Not Fun: Hybrid

Fun:

Creating "superhero" characters, and once they get to a certain level: playing them for a bit.
Creating builds in Mids also gives me a certain amount of amusement, even though it's unlikely I'll ever actually make them in game.


Not Fun:

Crafting
Marketing
iTrials
Building bases
Creating AE content
Sifting through AE content to find anything worthwhile
Inspirations
Temporary powers
Levels 1 through at *least* 26
Cimerora
Most TFs it's been my displeasure to participate in
Zone wide attacks (Zombies, Rikti, etc.)
Redside... mostly.
Movement suppression
The general over-squishiness and lack of damage of most characters IME/O
Stopping pumpkins from escaping
Outdoor instances
Stinginess of drops
Lack of reward for GMs

--

Yeah, that's a lot of negatives. If a superhero game ever manages to manifest which I find to be better, I will jump ship in a heartbeat. Lamentably, this is still the best there is.

Fun:
* Corruptors, Stalkers, my Illusion/Storm Controller (I really enjoy most of the ATs; these are just my favorites)
* The fact that most of the game can be played solo
* Teams and Trials, in moderation
* Being part of a regular duo
* The IO system and planning builds in Mids
* The auction house (with one caveat, below)
* Making AE stories for my friends
* Roleplay

Not fun:
* Mez! Loathe it, loathe it, loathe it. And yet I play primarily support characters. I guess I feel vindicated when I toss that mez right back at them.
* Blasters, Masterminds (personal preference; I'm in awe of those who enjoy them and play them well)
* The auction house (the interface)
* AE (the search interface)
* The change to the Team list that made the number next to each team member so tiny as to be unreadable on my display.