Hi, new player with a few questions

hi, just registered today b/c this game seems awesome but i have a few questions

1. hows the population for freedom?
2. hows the PVP? (open-world? faction based?)
3. Gears aside, are there any cookie-cutter PVE (for farming?) or PVP builds?
4. say for a newb to start off, PVP probably won't be recommended right away... so what is the best way to go to start farming/gearing up?
5. lastly, are there any benefits for VIPs upon character creation? IE: if im not VIP, i won't be able to make the most optimal PVE or PVP build?

edit: if there are any buys that would help me out greatly @ creation, i wouldnt mind shelling out some dollars
thanks!

Oh, regarding PvP:

You will probably be told about pre-Issue 13 PvP by a lot of the PvPers.

Ignore them when they start rambling about it. Issue 13 was almost 4 years ago and people are STILL complaining about it.

Issue 13 had a lot of changes to how PvP works that drove off a lot of the PvP population. It is not going to be changed back, so listening to people tell you how cool it used to be is going to be worthless to you if you're trying to have fun with it now.

Also worth mentioning: Unlike a lot of games out there, what your character can do and what they look like have NOTHING to do with each other. Your character's appearance does not change when you get new powers, and you don't have to put on a stupid looking hat because it gives the best stats. YOU decide what your character looks like, not the items you pick up.

CMA mentioned it, but CoH is not a "gear" game at all. The only things you equip are enhancements, which increase the effectiveness of your powers. Choose them carefully though, because you can only put 6 on any one power.

I've explained the lack of gear like this: What use does someone whose skin is bulletproof have for a suit of armor? If you can throw fire, why do you need a sword?

The downside to that is if you create a character that uses a sword, that character will ALWAYS use a sword. There's no deciding later on that you want to use an axe now. But....you can always create a guy who uses an axe as well.

Www.paragonwiki.com is the "official" wiki. Mirrored at wiki.cohtitan.com. Mids hero planner is a good build tool.

Welcome to the game and the forum

As i didn't really see it mentioned in the various PVP discussions...

Browse through the PVP and server forums. As a free player, you'll be *very* limited where you can post - honestly, if you don't mind throwing money at the game, get a subscription and it will be a lot more accessible. (There's a Paragon Rewards system that will permanently unlock some things - ATs, as mentioned, INF caps, etc. - but a lot of it is "permanently" unlocked as long as you have a sub, like the ATs, tells, etc.)

Back to the PVP though - look for (a) a PVP supergroup and/or (b) the people holding "PVP Boot camps." If you're really looking for it, you'll likely end up on Freedom - but that's another benefit to having the subscription, you have a lot more slots on ALL servers if there's PVPers you want to interact with on another server as well.

See my Guides and Tutorials

Just addressing the questions that have a wide variety of opinion for responses. The 'cut and dried' questions have already been answered.

2. hows the PVP? (open-world? faction based?)
If you're MAINLY interested in PvP, this probably isn't the game for you. It was not designed with PvP right from the start. It was added later and, in the opinion of many people, not really done well and the attempted fixes made things even worse.

Lots of people, myself included, would not be here if the game had PvP everywhere. Just not interested in it.


3. Gears aside, are there any cookie-cutter PVE (for farming?) or PVP builds?
errr... yes and no. There are builds available, but you can argue all day about which ones are best. There's really quite a variety of archetypes (classes) and powersets that are good for farming. Many of these are better against one particular type of enemy. There are MANY missions available that you can farm, so you can pick and choose who to fight. Also, even when solo, you can choose to fight enemies up to 4 levels above your level and you can have the mission spawn enemies for a team size of 1 to 8 - even if you are alone. So, while many people look down on farming, this game is actually pretty good for it.


4. say for a newb to start off, PVP probably won't be recommended right away... so what is the best way to go to start farming/gearing up?
Maybe I'm misinterpreting, but it sounds like you're thinking you need to farm and gear up in preparation of the 'real content', i.e. the 'end game'. This game isn't really like that.

Yes, there is 'end game' content. It's called 'Incarnate Content' and you need to be level 50 (the level cap) and a VIP (subscription) player to access it. But plenty of people don't. Even as a VIP with two accounts, I don't bother with the Incarnate content on most of my characters. I have 30 characters at level 50 but less than a third of them have done the Incarnate stuff. More often, when I hit 50, I start a new character. I just like playing the game and, once I hit 50, there isn't really a feeling of PROGRESS, so I make a new (and different) character and start at the bottom again.


5. lastly, are there any benefits for VIPs upon character creation? IE: if im not VIP, i won't be able to make the most optimal PVE or PVP build?
Well, to make the "most optimal" builds for anything, you need 'IOs' (Invention Origin) enhancements. You can play the entire game fine without them, but if you want to kick it up a notch and create an uber build, you need them. In order to be able to use IOs, you need access to the Invention System. This is included in VIP membership or $2 per month for non-VIPs. From a practical standpoint, you would really also need access to the Auction House (where players buy and sell stuff to each other). This is also included in VIP or $2 per month for non-VIP.

A huge resource for this game is ParagonWiki.com. You might want to review the page detailing types of accounts and also the Paragon Rewards System. Short version: as you spend money on the game, you get access to more and more stuff for 'free'. Earning 8 tokens in the Rewards system gives permanent access to the Auction House - free forever from that point on. You'd need 27 tokens to get permanent free access to the Invention system. As a rule of thumb, you get 1 token for every $15 spent on the game. If you subscribe (which is $15 per month), you get a token every month. If you're premium and buy points to use in the market, you get a token for every $15 worth. In both cases (subscription time and direct point purchase) larger purchases get a discount.

Since you seem focused on high-end play, you might want to be free for a few weeks, then pay for a month subscription just so you can experience the difference. The links above go into excruciating detail about this, but I don't think it's quite the same as experiencing the difference firsthand. It's hard to tell from a text description how important a particular feature might be to YOU.


edit: if there are any buys that would help me out greatly @ creation, i wouldnt mind shelling out some dollars
thanks!
hmm..... Hard to say. I've never been free or premium status. If you want to experiment with different characters, free players start with only 2 characters slots TOTAL. VIP players get 12 slots EACH on all of the FIFTEEN SERVERS. (Is it fifteen? Maybe fourteen.) In either case, you can buy more character slots. I had to have two accounts because I was playing before we could buy more slots and 12 slots on my 'home server' wasn't enough.

If you want to PvP roll on Virtue or Freedom.
The game is different in PvP though, so if you are a squishie get 44 points of KB protect (you'll need Ios for that) or simply PvP with friends that won't juggle you.

Welcome to the game.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect I'd be happy to stomp you into the ground a few times until you get good enough to beat me. I play on Pinnacle. The only way to improve at PvP, is honestly to get your butt kicked. A LOT. Hopefully it is by someone who is willing to explain what you did wrong.

Also, this.

Gear is different here than in other MMOs. First of all what you wear makes no difference to you abilities. A bikini wearing cowgirl has the same defenses as a fully armored knight as long as they both are the same class (AT) with the same skill sets (power sets). If a power set uses a weapon, there may be multiple weapon models for it but again it's only for looks. This allows you to have several different looks for your character and no impact to your actual abilities.

The improvements in your skills come from enhancements and the mix you use in each power. The basic enhancements are fairly straight forward but the crafted ones can make it a very complex and expensive choice of what to use.

Excellent advice throughout -- someone should probably edit this thread down a little and post it as a guide.

"New Player Who's Just Arrived From Other MMO's? Welcome! Now Read THIS!"

So anyhow -- to the OP, welcome to CoH, and hope that you have fun here!

One thing that goes with that theme above that nobody addressed (because it wasn't a specific question) is "as you level up and hopefully team with others, forget that whole tank/healer/DPS "Holy Trinity" nonsense from other MMO's. COH teams don't need a tank, though they can be helpful, but other ATs can do almost as well at holding aggro and staying alive. Teams don't NEED "healers", and often the healing-type support classes can provide a lot better team buffs than "just" healing. And here, most everybody does decent to good (or better) damage per second. You can make awesome teams out of eight scrappers and brutes, or eight controllers and defenders, or eight tanks (though they might not finish missions quite as quickly as other teams) or eight squishy blasters (who will do RIDICULOUSLY high amounts of DPS and occasionally faceplant their "glass cannon" selves spectacularly in the process. )

Any eight players who can work together can make a great team out of whatever ATs they bring to the group, with whatever 'gear' or enhancements they came with, and roll through probably 99% of the "normal" non-Incarnate content just fine!

now why.. does the thought of taking 8 trollers (non pvp enhancements) and 8 tankers (non pvp enhancements) to the arena team event sound like fun ?

Here's what I did when I was on trial acct before f2p.
- log out at a police station / arach base for patrol xp. This gives some xp bonus next time you play
- log out at store / ferry for enh bonus
- log out at vault for money bonus

After I subscribed, I just used my enh drops until I reached 50. I had about 5 Mil inf, and I thought that was plenty to get by.
Basically, it's not the 'gear' that makes you strong, it's what's between the keyboard and the chair. Enh make it easier, but knowing the strategies for you powers take you farther in the long run.
I agree with the other posters in that you should play the game instead of rushing your way to 50.

I don't PvP. But from what I understand if you rush to 50 you are going to have your backside handed to you on a plate very very often

There is no quick way except by playing thru the levels (the only real way you get to learn what each power is like).

That aside welcome.

Hi, and welcome to the game!

One thing I haven't seen anyone mention specifically is that you don't really need to worry about exactly how you create your character, or about getting the 'right' one. It's common in CoH for people to have dozens or even hundreds of characters.

Firstly, it's pretty easy to level a new character up to the level cap. Secondly, you don't need any specific 'gear' to play any of the PVE content, and in fact you can have a perfectly playable character all the way through the end-game enhancing your powers simply with the cheapest enhancements available in-game. So it isn't prohibitively expensive to have many different characters. Finally, there are great mechanics for teaming seamlessly with characters way, way above or below you in level, so if you're playing on a brand-new character you've just rolled up, while your friends are running some level 50 missions, you can tag along with them no problem.

So, try a few things out, and see what you like.

If you wanna PvP, I believe corruptors are preferred. If you wanna learn the game, I recommend playing a brute or a scrapper as a hero. I find villian zones and stories to be not informative as a new player. Plus, hero side is often more populated than villian side. Stay away from Preatoria until later as it is more difficult than either hero or villian zones.

Couple of keys to keep in mind as a new player:

1. Mez sucks and a lot of mobs have it... Scrappers and brutes have mez protection. Tanks do too but they lack the dps and are over survivable when playing solo. Keep in mind that not all mez protection is created equal. For example, fiery aura has no knockback protection which is a huge drawback. You can fill these gaps in later if you want, but might as well get it from the start. Electric Aura uses Grounded power that requires you to be on the ground for it to be effective so you will get knocked around and mezzed if you're jumping or flying. I like Martial Arts and Willpower's mez protection powers.

2. Redraw sucks so keep that in mind selecting your power sets. Pairing Broadsword with Regen is probably not a good idea. Regen has a lot of click powers that will force you to redraw your broadsword for each attack and regen is only survivable when using the clicks.

3. IMO, having more defense is better than having more resistance. If you do a brute or a scrapper, try a set that has some of both or one that has more defense... Martial arts, Shield Defense and their ilk. I like Willpower too but that works a little different. This conversation can get complicated fast but generally speaking, more defense is better than more resistance.

4. Lastly, and probably the most important, take a travel power at level 4, you will regret it if you do not. There are 4 choices of which I think two are truly viable for most players. Fly, Super Jump, Super Speed, and Teleportation, that is the order of their usefulness imo for most players. Fly is nice cause you can move freely about all axis, chat while traveling if you want and it's pretty passive. I started using this on all my toons from the get go and don't regret it... the downside is it is relatively "slow" as compared to the others. Super Jump is what I use on all my toons now as it is quicker and I am more familiar with zones and instanced maps. Super speed is preferred by PvPers, in fact, I see a lot of PvPers take Super Speed and Super Jump since super speed has no vertical component. Super speed is the fastest in a straight line but is horrible when it comes to anything vertical (Villian zones have a LOT of vertical). Teleportation is my least liked travel powers... very active travel power in the sense that there is a lot of clicking and turning and clicking and aiming and ... ugh, waste of time. Don't take this unless you really want if for concept.

I realize you didn't ask these questions but I think these are more important answers than the questions you asked...

To address more directly your questions, if you wanna PvP, subscribe to the game. You will need lots of things the free account doesn't get without paying through the nose for. Hit Freedom or Virtue server as there populations are highest and will find plenty of folks to team with. Cookie cutter, not really, though there is lots of free advice out there. The builds for PvP will cost you a lot of in game currency that will require you to farm or play the market. Both of these activities will take time to actually develop your war chest so I would recommend not starting with PvP. Don't buy or subscribe from the start, play the game for a bit to figure out if you like it and so you make sure you're not wasting your money... buyer beware on digital content.

One thing I didn't see mentioned is that, while invention enhancements give you a lot of versatility if you can afford them, the relatively cheap {in in-game money} store enhancements are adequate to deal with pretty much anything. You might want to run Twinshot's story arcs the first time you play - they're a little slow, but they serve as an excellent extended tutorial, walking you through most of the amenities and concepts in the game.

Second, a phrase you might hear from time to time in regards to leveling is "it's the journey", and it holds true. Unlike some games where most of the content is crammed at the level cap, CoH has plenty of things to do at any level. You can rush your way through the levels if you really want to, but there's no real benefit in it. If you didn't enjoy reaching Lv50, you won't enjoy being there either.

As for travel powers, it's usually a good idea to grab them soon, but it's not as crippling as it sounds - there are also travel powers {beast/ninja run, jetpacks, flying carpets etc.} you can purchase with cash, and some missions, like the low-level safeguards, will award you with temporary travel powers as well.

{also, teleportation is useful in combat if you're being immobilized or slowed}

An open letter to NCsoft

Wow, some of these things are so subjective.....


Couple of keys to keep in mind as a new player:

1. Mez sucks and a lot of mobs have it... Scrappers and brutes have mez protection. Tanks do too but they lack the dps and are over survivable when playing solo.
True, but so what? To completely avoid the possibility of being mezzed, you have to rule out... what, 9 out of 14 archetypes? That's absurd. Getting mezzed is not a death sentence to fun. It's really only a significant concern if you're solo AND playing an AT with no mez protection AND fighting enemies that have mez AND forgot to bring Break Frees.


2. Redraw sucks so keep that in mind selecting your power sets. Pairing Broadsword with Regen is probably not a good idea. Regen has a lot of click powers that will force you to redraw your broadsword for each attack and regen is only survivable when using the clicks.
Completely subjective. To me, redraw doesn't really matter. Furthermore, my first, favorite and most-played character is a broadsword/regen scrapper. It's a very powerful combination. Actually, regen is a good secondary for most sets because it gives you a second endurance recovery power and can make 'END management' a non-issue. (Willpower does this also.)


3. IMO, having more defense is better than having more resistance.
No argument here.


4. Lastly, and probably the most important, take a travel power at level 4, you will regret it if you do not.
BIG argument here. I have plenty of characters that too *NO* travel power at all. And I had some that did this before Ninja Run existed. Now that we can get Ninja Run and/or Beast Run for the entire account, getting a travel power is a non-issue. If you WANT a particular travel power, great. If you can identify 15 other powers you want FIRST, no problem whatsoever.