New Idea: Danger Protocols

I was thinking about some potential ideas for COH:F. Here is one I think would be fun, and would fit well into their business model.

The Issue to be Addressed

When your playing the game, you will frequently be surprised when your toon goes belly up. The information is there to tell you, but your focus was on doing damage or control, and not on being damaged, or running out of endurance. More than likely you as a player had several options to prevent your death but because you didn't notice, your toon did a face plant.

I would like to see something that could help players prevent these face plants by implemting an automated solution, which means that when an event occurs, a preplanned protocol is executed.

In terms of how these can fit into the business model, well they could be sold at the Paragon Market, or unlocked via a levelling like mechanism. (see below for details)


Danger Protocols

DP - Auto-Inspire
In this case, what the protocol does is automatically use an inspiration type of your choice when it lands in you tray. The Inspiration is used in a normal fashion, so it would wait until the player has a lull in their actions. This could be set to work on any or a limited type of inspiration based on balance issues. This can be useful to remove unwanted inspirations, or to use useful ones as they drop.

DP - Oh-Crap
In this case, this is a power based protocol that is activated when your at 10-15% health or less (for example). The power, when in the Oh-Crap protocol is only available when triggered, To activate the power from your tray you would need to remove it from the Protocol (when out of combat for example). Powers that make sense here include things like Elude, Hibernate, Personal Force Field etc. You could even use temp powers that you have available (accolades etc)

(If your power is recharging, you're SOL )

DP - Fatigue
In this case, the protocl event is based on low endurance (say 20%), and it would use a pre-slotted endurance inspiration.

DP - Injured
In this case, the protocl event is based on low health (say 20%), and it would use a pre-slotted Health inspiration.

DP - Defense Debuff
In this case, the protocol event is when your defense has been debuffed, and it would use a preslotted inspiration (resist, def or health would work)

DP - Resist Debuff
In this case, the protocol event is when your resistence has been debuffed, and it would use a preslotted inspiration (resist, def or health would work)

DP - Slowed
The protocol even is hasten, and if available it would activate.

DP - Mezzed
The protocol event would activate a preslotted breakfree when you were mezzed.

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Ok, so how does one get this into the game? Here is a neat way I would consider doing it. I would make a new Story arc (level 15 or 20) which would reward the access to Danger Protocols. To get a DP as a reward, you have to spend experience. (So that means your delaying your levelling)

For example: You do the arc at level 15, and unlock the acess. When you hit level 17, you call your contact, and he grants you access to choose your reward. The 'penalty' is that you have to pay X number of bubbles of experience (like a death penalty). Getting another DP is done by calling the contact, and then paying off the 'penalty'. The penalty could vary based on how the developer sees the benefit, or could be made available at certain levels etc.

This would apply to level 50 toons as well. They could do the arc, and then as they play, they get access to the rewards based on experience gained. They could only work on one DP at a time.

You could also pay in the market to get the DPs as well of course.

This sounds sort of like automated macros that the developers don't like, because it encourages bots and afk farmers.

Interesting idea. I think you could probably get most of the effects you are looking for here with macros. There are macros that will make insps out of other insps, and macros that will use an insp even if it is not in the F1 row, I believe. Some people even use those gaming mice with multiple buttons and tie the buttons to the macros. I don't think I would pay for something that just fired off an inspiration, though.

I have to agree with Stone Daemon, too automated.

Secondly, personally the only times I have been "surprised" by my characters face planting have been when when I just snap back after a quickie map serve or bad rubberband jam session. However, not as surprised as when I am actually still standing after one of those.

Also, OP, you'll want to pitch your idea in the Suggestions and Ideas section of the forum, not here. This forum is for player questions.

I do understand that most of this could be done via binds, but the point is more along the lines of 'Had I known I was about to X I would have done Y' but because I didn't I ended up faceplanting.

As noted the Inspiration ones require a lull to allow the insp to be used. That is an acceptable tradeoff between automation and normal play.

I am a returning play (was away for 1.5 years) so perhaps my face plants are me just getting reaquainted with the game, but I have noticed that my face plants seem to happen fast, and I am unsure why. Was I debuffed and didnt notice? That sort of stuff.

The objective is to help people use tools that they have available.

Do not forget that the people making replies have likely played quite a bit, so this is not necessarily directed to helping out people who play in a more controlled manner with full IOed out sets.

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I will move this to the Suggestions forum as ummmm suggested

You guys don't faceplant anymore?

Ok, so you do faceplant. When you do so, did you have any means to prevent the faceplant? As in a T9 defensive power, or perhaps an Accolade, a temp power or an Inspiration?

I bet you do virtually every time. This idea is suppose to help, and the up front cost is debt, so it has a symmetry that way.

The question is: If this was available in some fashion, would you want it?

Learning how to survive and stay upright is a huge part of the game.

Implementing what you suggest would remove that part of the skills/knowledge learned about the game.

I've been playing the game for many years, often on the most fragile AT out there (see sig). I learned to keep an eye on my green and blue bars and the foes who will mez me. I learned to keep break-frees and blue and green skittles in my inspiration tray. I learned aggro range to keep from biting off more than I culd safely defeat.

None of this was hard to learn. The game is relatively easy - no need for twitch reflexes, which is why I am still here. No need to remove some of the rudimentary challenges (monitoring your own status in order to mitigate damage, etc.) left.

Pay more attention.
Don't get in over your head.
If you do faceplant, accept that it happens, take the rez or go to the hospital. Get back in the game, rather than taking it as a Failure Oh Noes.

If you're rusty from not playing for a while, get your skill back up.
Don't ask for the game to play itself for you.

You guys seem to be much better players than me then, because I die, and it is because I didn`t notice something. Like the other day when I was doing the Save Lady Jane for the Midnighters.

You know that she draws a lot of aggro and tends to wander and get in trouble, so off she runs and I go chasing, trying to keep her alive, and I end up faceplanting. Of course my Inspirations tray had a number of useful inspirations, and as I was runnign around there was time to use them, but I was concentrated on tyring to keep her alive. Had one of the Protocols been available, I would have known I was in more trouble that I thought.

It just seems strange that My toon would not notice she was near death.

Perhaps what we need are better ways to indicate low health low endurance than just a little bar. Other games do this now, so why not here?.

Try Menu > Options > Windows > Reticle, and set Player Health Bars to 'Show Always'. Your character will then have health/endurance bars above their heads.

Alternatively, try moving the Status Bar to somewhere where you can see the bars easier.

The game doesn't -need- to be any easier than it already is, infact quite the opposite.

I do sometimes miss my interface from the old three-letter-acronym MMO, where you could put your health and endurance in the dead middle of your screen so you could always see it. Otherwise, CoH's formula seems fine to me.

Curious, are you always this 'nice'?

Other games do in fact have much better ways of indicating health status. I was suggesting something that would be useful, fits well into the gameplay and the business model.

Macros to play your character for you, auto-potion, etc are a bit beyond "better ways of indicating health status", don't you think?