Greycat

Subtly? ... ok, I get how this might work on Dwarf form, but what about Nova?

Because two words. "Stuff" happens.

Peeking in and seeing some comments, I just have to say here as I've said elsewhere... It doesn't matter what the "forum posters" or "in game majority" says, when it comes to the direction of the game. Game development is not a democracy. The devs are going to do what they feel is best for the health of the game - hopefully with a long-term outlook (which HC seems to have.) Some of those will be unpopular. They may revert or change things with feedback - but feedback is not "voting." So let me say again - Game development is not a democracy. And that's a good thing.

See? We're having two different conversations and mentioning "hazard zones" turns into this big grey smear between them. 🙂 Honestly, I think we should do any changes to a *different* hazard zone *before* altering one that's more active (IE, The Hollows.) One that hasn't had changes since live. Boomtown would probably be overlooked (too much going on in the same level range - Yin, Sutter, Keith Nance, etc.) So, Perez, Crey's Folly or Eden. And of them, I'd think Crey's would be best to do any changes to. Perez... doesn't really have lore tied to it, much. (The flip side is, we could do a pretty direct comparison with the Hollows. It *hasn't* changed, after all.) Eden falls into Incarnate range, which skews any real sense of difficulty. So I'd say Crey's Folly. Plenty of potential story, hasn't really changed through or since live so it still has the original mob sizes and difficulty, currently, and too low for Incarnanigans.

... which, again, I think is going to go back to "everything we have now makes it easier." (And... you still didn't really answer about the other hazard zones. 🙂 )

You used to be able to do this with the guard towers, too. Note they have back doors now. And the Pocket D cages should have openings. Generally, doing this sort of thing is... *frowned upon* by GMs.

... Again, most of the hazard zones *have not been changed,* though. The game around them? Absolutely. That's what I keep trying to say (and trying not to get it meshed into the Hollows discussion here, I'm talking in general.) I mean... take the ocean. (Well, don't take it. We're messing them up enough, and the fish have to live *somewhere.*) They were once huge barriers. There were dangerous, epic trips across that almost nobody made except by longboat or ... I'm forgetting what the polynesian rafts were called. Getting across and just *navigating* was a major accomplishment. Today? The ocean's still there. Still just as big. But we have reliable ships, GPS, radar... or, heck, airplanes if you really want easy mode. That's what hazard zones have been through. Other than the Hollows (which I honestly don't think has changed as badly as you think, but we'll give that a pass for now 🙂 ) and Faultline (reclaimed to a story zone, though it was a trial zone, not a hazard zone,) the zones really haven't changed. There are still piles of council, vahz, trolls and clockwork in Boomtown. Yes, they had a GM added, but the zone itself didn't really change. Neither did Perez, or Crey's Folly, or Eden. They've really stayed very static, with the same mobs in the same numbers (ok, we can argue a bit about the "council vs column" in Boomtown, but that's minor overall, and still kind of fits.) They're *not* easier on their own. They haven't been made easier - Perez got a nurse, and I think that's it for "easier." Take someone who's level 30 - not min/maxed, not poorly slotted, but solidly average. Drop them in Crey's Folly and... they'll be fine. Do that in issue 3? They've got a fight. That's my point. It's not "the hazard zones are not hazardous because they've been made easier." Most of them have not been changed at all. The game *around* them has increased in power. It's like the kid that was a bully in freshman year to you somehow got trapped in time while you finished school, went to the military, got training, got in shape - then the bully shows up again as the same high school freshman and you can just laugh him off and say "go away, kid." So, why create different zones? Because, while the hazard zones need love, they need *content,* not just "let's jack up the levels." They should not be globally changed, in my view, because there's still plenty people *do* do in some of them. There's a small subset (no offense, but "I talked to people in game" doesn't really tell me much of anything as far as interest,) that wants to "buff the zone mobs." So, my suggestion would give that option without taking the current zones away from everyone else. Sort of like those who want to PVP can do so in their own zones (and the arena) without getting in the way of the people who just want to hunt, or RP, or run a Penny Yin or what have you. Edit: Honestly, my suggestion already has at least one example (of sorts) in game. At least as I recall. The villainside mission where you test or have to beat your clones... as I *recall* there's an option for just how many you want to face. The "create a challenge zone with these settings" would be that dialed up past 11.

I think you'd have to pair them, so someone couldn't say "OK, entrance to this room has no rank" but the exit is only accessible by one or two ranks - either intentionally or unintentionally. Granted, it would (potentially) be fixed by /stuck or just logging out, but still. (Honestly, there are a *lot* of things with rank that need looking at in general.)

What I was trying to say there had nothing to do with whether people wanted to be put in a category or not. I more found the categories themselves problematic - and ignoring the fact that people can fall into more than one of them. It's like talking about "PVPers" and "Badgers" and "RPers," not to mention the "casual" and (for a category usually thrown in as an opposite to that,) "hardcore," like they're exclusive categories. They're different shaped pegs people try to to fit others into like they're pegs, when they are in fact molasses and spread into multiple ones to various degrees. ... see, there's a bit of that exclusivity again. Why do you think players who didn't like that "hated" the game? The people who hated the game stopped playing it and went on to ... I don't know, call of duty or world of warcraft or hello kitty world. I mean, if you ask some people, the fact PVP zones were introduced "negatively impacted" the game. ED "negatively impacted" the game. Going F2P "negatively impacted" the game... but it was a positive impact for others. Or still others completely indifferent. Hell, if you look I think you'll find someone who thinks adding villains and villain zones "negatively impacted" the game because it - I don't know, divided dev attention or something. That's true for almost every change *made* in the game. I think the 45-50 game has been heavily homogenized and "negatively impacted" by having Incarnate powers around. I didn't ask for that change. I have to - to use your phrase - suck it up, though. There are also some changes I really like. I have to take the good with the bad, what I like with what I don't. Everyone who plays the game does, and will have their own ideas of what was good or bad. Besides, I disagree it was "all" taken away from you ("you" being "I want the challenge.") We have quite a bit of option in how we run our missions. If I just want to get a mission done, I can cheese through it at x0/-1. You can run it at x8+4. It may not affect the "outside world," but it will affect all of your missions. Same with the boss settings, flashback settings, etc. Avenues for self challenge are most certainly still available. And if it's an urge to have something to show off? I still say badges are perfect for it. You can even show off (badge as title, as well as easily available badge count.) About the only other thing I could think of there would be badge-related stuff to show off in a SG base. Going back to the hazard zones, though. Again... even the ones that have not changed, I don't think anyone considers "hazardous" any more. (I think that got lost in the hollows discussion - I didn't just mean it for there, I meant it in general.) I don't disagree (borrowing another point) that people need more reason to go there besides the occasional mission or GM hunt. I *want* there to be content in Crey's, for instance. I think there's a *lot* that can be explored there. Eden's got links to thinks like Hero Corp (as I'm recalling,) not just Crey and the DE. There *is* a lot of possibility in the zones. But I still don't think anyone would see them as all that "hazardous." Hmm... I think what you want (zone wise) would basically have to be given its own zone, to not affect the world at large. Call them "Challenge zones." Maybe you *could* pick this going into a hazard zone, maybe it'd just be an instanced portion of it. You select a "challenge zone," you get a popup. Minimum settings would vary by zone (minimum spawns in the Hollows challenge instance, say, would be x4, though I think that would be smaller than what we generally see now.) You could go up to something silly. X24+7 max, say (to give you a chance to *still* hit and do some damage.) Or select a range. And select flashback-like difficulties as well (no set bonuses, no temp powers, no travel powers, etc.) No ambushes, extra ambushes, boss ambushes - just a wide variety of settings (and let it save your favourites, while we're at it.) Yeah, give them their own badges, too. You'd be able to play through (solo, team, whatever) with these settings without changing it for everyone else. Someone complains they can't lower the difficulty farther and finish the content? The answer would be a blunt "then get a team." Though, frankly, the cynic in me adds in "and they'd mostly be used for farming and PLing." 🙂

I feel I explained what I meant fairly clearly, giving very specific examples, and Coyote had it completely right. There's really nothing to misconstrue there. It just sounds like you want an argument, and frankly, I don't care to.

... I think you oversimplify quite a bit there, starting with categorizing players into different (and by the sound of your descriptions, exclusive) categories. And also make broad assumptions about them. For instance, why do you separate solo players from those who'd want a challenge? I mean, there are players who will play solo - and specifically work towards being able to solo, say, every GM in the game or an Incarnate trial. You're already hobbling what you want to try to describe just by doing that. Second, we've had a discussion between us about the Hollows, and a lot of what you - I think your words were "salivated over," but if not, well, it was the image that stuck in my head 🙂 - was not "difficulty," or the difficulty/challenge, but a good portion was inconvenience. In any case, even if they brought the old Hollows, including bugs and/or hardware limitations that had mobs spawn right on top of you, back tomorrow, the "challenge" still would not be there. You'd essentially have to spin up your own server, with the old pool power scheme so there are no travel powers, no IOs - and then edit the zone to remove the hospital and trainer. And find some way to block being able to get to SG bases. Because, simply, even cutting-pasting the old Hollows in with the current game would be a vastly different experience from what you had previously. (And I think I could count the number of people who'd look forward to sprinting back from Atlas when they died on one hand, and have fingers left over.) Plus, there's a difference between "challenge" and "inconvenience." Mob placement and such? OK, I'll throw that under challenge. Restrict travel powers so you can only sprint across (since, face it, even back in the day hover made getting around trivial,) and it would be a challenge to get around. (And, honestly, I seem to remember making the point on live that this taught aggro radius the hard way.) Removing the trainer, store and (most of all) hospital? Those two are just inconveniences. Or, putting it another way... If I want to climb a mountain, run a marathon, get a difficult certification, learn to drive (and win) in a race? Those are all challenges. I can train and work at overcoming them, and be justifiably proud at doing so. Getting up to go to work and finding my subdivision suddenly has road work closing the street and I have to drive ten or twenty miles out of the way to get to work now? That's an inconvenience, not a challenge. (Or having a tree fall down and crush my car - that's very much an inconvenience. There's not really anything I could do to overcome it... sort of like those insta-popup mobs - not the pumicites, who you just have to pay attention to spot, but the troll and other spawns that used to show up in the street right on top of you.) Honestly, you can experience *now* what I mean by "you'd have to change everything else." You say the Hollows is too easy now. Faultline, of course, was changed to a story zone, though the old version's still in Echo to be experienced. Boomtown is mostly untouched, Crey's as well - but I don't think anyone who's played from early live to now would consider them anywhere *near* as "hazardous" of a zone, and not just from familiarity. People (including those who don't "do builds," like me) casually wander into Crey's or Eden to wipe out 30 enemies to get a costume slot these days... and those are still hazard zones, which haven't changed. The game and the players *have,* though, and they *just aren't as big a deal* any more. Plus, I don't think your requested changes to the hollows would make it the "go to" place at all. Taking the story arcs and turning them into task forces means, for instance, there's one *fewer* place or path for someone to take while leveling. (I already don't have the choice to start in Galaxy, after all, and redside's always seeing the same few zones in the same order is one of the reasons I don't play my redsiders a lot.) I think most people would just put it down as a "don't bother unless one of them is the WTF" place, quite honestly, as (by taking those missions and turning them into TFs) you've *removed* reason for anyone to casually check it out. Third (I'm jumping around your post, sorry 🙂 ) you and I will probably *never* agree on the specific example of locking costume pieces away behind content. Though I don't think that's news from talking before. I'm one of those who's glad that was done away with, because part of the enjoyment of the game is making *your* character *yours,* as opposed to World of EverMining Nights where you can be wizard #2094782 at level 23 with level 23 equipment that looks like every other set of that equipment, but maybe you paid 100 gold to dye it fuscia. No, I don't even agree on "well, you can unlock it for merits." Having to win or unlock purely cosmetic items is annoying in every single game I've run into it in. Start locking cosmetics away again, and you might as well tell me I have to be a featureless grey blob running generic powers to 50, not a character. Those costume parts not only are *used by* characters, but at times inspire their creation. That shouldn't be locked away. That said, I'm honestly not sure where you get this: ... when that's done already. Badges already *are* the shiny at the end of content. (And in most cases I'll argue to keep them challenging.) Yes, you have an interesting twist on some - whether I agree with it would really be a case by case thing, and I've already made similar suggestions for (for instance) the "keep fir bolg from escaping" mission based on escapes (there's that soloist who enjoys the challenge, btw) - but these *are* the things to strive for now, and *are* as mentioned already locked behind content. You *have* to help defeat Lusca for Devilfish. You *have* to run Moonfire for Honorary Peacebringer. You *have* to do specific actions (or not do them) for the various Master Of badges. Anyway, that's typing enough for now.

The only time we should see 100% tohit is doing things like fighting fires or shooting at glowies in missions. Things that aren't moving, that you really don't have a reason to miss. (And even then, AFAIC, you should be "out of combat.")

There's a *big* gap between "Don't play a dedicated healer" and "healing is useless/doesn't have a place." It does have a place. The reason "dedicated healers" are put down is - well, it's the difference between a mechanic who uses a full toolkit and one that walks around with a screwdriver and a grin. One's going to use all the tools at their disposal to fix - and *prevent* - problems, the other just looks silly and isn't really going to help much with your flat tire.

*laughs as I sleep groups of enemies and wander by to get glowies... even in the bunkers in Keyes... without drawing aggro.* Sleeps are far from useless. Don't give in to this mindset that just because damage "wakes" them it's useless. Sleeps will shut down things other controls won't, and even if the mob's woken up right away, they often won't have a key power available (for instance, dispersion bubbles - which generally resist other controls, PBAOE -tohit auras or armors.) They make life *much* easier and are underrated. *wanders over to shut down some AVs in a MLTF. They need a nap.* As for the rest? Honestly, yes, I find people not *noticing* the contributions, sometimes, but they'll happily take *full* advantage of, say, that Quicksand or Ice Slick patch bunching up an ambush for easy AOEing, or taking out that Sapper that's stuck in a bunch of vines, or casually breaking that Gunslinger that can no longer teleport away or energy blasting PP that will never MOG because they're in a hunk of ice. Lack of big orange number generation doesn't mean lack of usefulness.

Well, look at what you're getting here. With you talking about how you're presenting yourself ("I'm a dedicated healer,") you're seeing peoples' reactions and the *why* of it (which you don't get if, say, someone just doesn't respond to you.) You have to keep an idea of what's wanted and what you're putting out there. There's a reason, after all, cars are named Mustang and Bronco and other exciting (or, granted, utilitarian, but usefully utilitarian) things in most cases rather than "model 2018 sedan 2" - and they try to avoid accidental names that are... less appealing. (Just ask anyone who owned a brown Ford Probe.) I mean, going back to your OP: (snip) What people are telling you, basically, is that from experience (live and here,) the "Dedicated healer" might be... great (well, useful) through the teens, maybe even up to level 20. But after that it tends to be half a character, and not that effective or useful. COH has *always* had this difference people have had to learn. Most MMOs go by the "holy trinity" of tank, DPS and healer. There, yes, you need someone focusing on keeping you alive... though there's often an "and buffed" to it, too. Here - we don't need that structure. The buffs and debuffs are important (and are often delivered through the attacks/controls that most people who call themselves "dedicated healers" or "pure healers" skip and/or don't slot.) You want shockingly effective, you get a team of emp/* Defenders (or corruptors) that get their rotation of their buffs set up. They're pretty much untouchable. (There's a group called Repeat Offenders. On live - maybe on here, too, I haven't caught up with them - one of their subgroups was called the "Green Machine." Dedicated to Empaths who did exactly this and basically turned themselves into regen blasters. A single emp/something defender might be a bit underwhelming. A team of them reinforcing each other? Frightening.) So. In your case, Illusion/Emp by itself is not a bad combo. It's a fairly classic combination. (Not least for keeping *yourself* safe, with an inherent invisibility.) You mention PA and Phantasm, sure... but what *else* besides "and I'm a healer" are you bringing to the table? Are you just being invisible while throwing out green numbers and pets? Or have you taken and slotted your controls (yes, even the placeable fear, yes, even the PBAOE hold, yes, even the confuse) and the attack? How are your buffs? If people aren't getting hurt, are you doing more than just sitting back and waiting for PA to recharge? You want to keep the rest of the team alive and kicking, you do it through being proactive (with your controls and buffs.) And if you're doing that, drop that "Dedicated healer" tag if that's how you're advertising yourself. An ill/emp is welcome for all the other ways they can change fights. So be that.

I'm sad we didn't have more of a turnout.

This. 100% this. Mostly from prior experience with "dedicated healers" - like the 30-ish rad emission character who just took the healing aura, med pool, and no buffs or debuffs and didn't bother attacking - if someone describes themselves as a "healer" or "Dedicated healer," I pretty much write them off. (Yes, I know, "it's unfair." But it's from experience.) And yes, I play empaths and pain domination characters. "Healers" are just not needed. That whole secondary (or primary in the case of controllers and corruptors) is there, and I want to know you're interested in using it, because those controls and attacks (both as attacks and with their buff/debuff components) are of *far* more interest to me than something I can replicate with an inspiration. If one of my empaths (or pain doms) is in an MSR just "rocking the aura," one of three things has happened: 1. nothing is coming up as a visible target, so I'm watching for wherever the next pull is coming from, 2, I've gone to the rest room and will be right back, or 3, it's been a long day at work and I fell asleep. (Yes. This has happened. Finish work, get to the raid, get in the bowl, and at some point I wake up to the login screen because I just conked out.) Otherwise, I'm throwing out controls, attacks, running over to rez, getting impatient and blasting a gate to get some more Rikti into the bowl... something.

As far as awards, the raids have a ton of enemies at... don't they generally spawn at 54? So it kind of makes sense that killing them en masse is giving you a rain of merits. That's honestly irrelevant to what you're asking about, though. I want to say I've ended up with more than that, but given there are chunks of the arc you're not fighting Rikti (which are what drop the merits, after all,) but rogue Vanguard, Nemesis, etc.... it "makes sense" that they're not dropping. Regardless of that, though, you're still working for Vanguard. So while you wouldn't get them for individual defeats (since you're not fighting Rikti at that point,) there should still be a good Vmerit reward at the end. If this were implemented, I'd imagine that, say, the first time you run through (both "each arc" and "finishing the whole thing," you'd get a bonus reward, but even repeating, getting a reasonable vmerit reward for finishing the arc would make sense and make running them more desirable. (Of course, that comes back to "need more stuff to spend them on besides an HVAS, storage (once) and then converting." No, I do not want unlockable costume pieces to come back, that sucked.)

It is, under "moooo."

I generally need more than "I want to slot more stuff in there" as a reason for change, tbh. Want more slotting options, look at the sets available and come up with something useful that's missing or gives a new and interesting option.

... Don't give them to the Rikti drones. (Granted, the "continuous Rikti drone explosion"was one bug that had me laughing for a while...)

To be blunt? I don't care what you do on your private server. I'm not saying that to be an ass, I'm saying it because what goes on there is ... pretty irrelevant here. The HC team has shown they're concerned about how things actually *turn out* when they're available. They've earned my trust with what they expect the end results to be. I may not always *agree,* but I know it's not just "ooh I can turn this on" and spaghetti-against-wall development, seeing what sticks and just taking the resulting mess of what didn't as fine.

... *Small volunteer team.* Keep repeating that when you want to say things like this. Adding *anything* takes more time than it did on live. This is not Cryptic/NCNorCal/Paragon with full time paid developers and support staff. They'll do what they can, as they can, and as they see it as not detrimental to the game or their talks with NC.

I would. I want to keep my specifically chosen ST confuses. They're exceptionally useful, especially early. Large aoe controls in general need recharge looked at, as I recall, though.

Er... no thanks. This would make life hell for any support AT with a sleep in a solo/small team, and if you're shutting down an AV ... just no.