biostem

Saying "because that's how it used to be done" isn't really a valid argument, though...

That's the problem with anecdotes - they aren't indicative of the whole picture. If I say that I *did* have that problem on live, does it suddenly vindicate my stance? That's why I'm advocating for the less restrictive approach...

And your character couldn't just pick one up off of the numerous Lost that they defeated, or be gifted one by someone else in there backstory, why?

I get where you're coming from, but you cannot satisfy both the people who want to have to earn the costume pieces and those that want them freely accessible from character creation. Given this, isn't it prudent to go with the less restrictive approach?

Well, back on live, quite a few. I remember spending a lot of time to unlock that energy shield with the armature, for instance...

So then it's about the meta, and not actually about character accomplishment; Might as well just give it away for free...

The costume creator and the ability to realize all sort of varied and unique characters is one of the biggest legs up that CoH has over other MMOs, (especially so at its launch). I can't imagine how you could gloss over that so easily...

Let's say you have a character concept where you are a former Nemesis soldier. Perhaps you even stole a Nemesis staff as you fled. Maybe this act is central to that character. Why would you deny that player the ability to wield a Nemesis staff until they're able to get to PI and kill all those Fake Nem's, or wear the brass armor pieces until they accomplished some other arbitrary feat? What you could do, if you felt the need to "earn" such items, would be to limit your own use of them, until you reached whatever goal you set for yourself - then you could eat your cake and have it too...

Hang on a sec - let's say you aren't against a system where you have to unlock costume pieces through gameplay. That is diametrically opposed to someone else's preference to have all costume pieces available right from character creation. You cannot be in favor of both vantage points, so which is it?

Perhaps more "grindy" that the other person's suggestion, but nowhere near as grindy as what we currently have.

Let me propose a different scenario to you; Whenever you defeat a Fake Nemesis, there's a 50% chance of it dropping its staff, (just to use that as an example). Once you've maxed out your relationship with *any* Vanguard-affiliated contact, you gain access to the entire costume set. You don't need to make the means of unlocking stuff so grind-heavy, and if you call mindlessly killing 1000 of a particular enemy "determination", even if they con grey to you, then I don't really see why you think that's a feat worthy of special reward...

I think a lot of the problems stem from *how* you earned some of these items. For instance, if you have to kill 1000 of a certain enemy to unlock a temp power, then all that signifies is that you are willing to do the same thing over and over again for a long time. Let's say that an unlock is instead tied to the completion of a story arc. OK, but what if that arc isn't very good, is overly long, not otherwise very rewarding, or maybe in a level range where you can skip it if you're not careful? I get what you're saying, OP; I just don't think that locking all this stuff behind lots of grind is the way to go about it.

I'm not quite sure what you're asking, here: It seems, that at least in the CoH universe, attacking from a hidden state *always* reveals your location, even if just for a short period of time. The "poison ray", as you put it, could either be a an energy blast, that when hitting a target, causes some sort of reaction that results in toxic byproducts/damage, or it could actually be a sort of tightly held magnetic "bubble" that contains a quantity of some toxic substance.

I've been figured out! *hangs head in shame*

If you are interpreting the rules so loosely as to include establishing some ground rules for team play as a violation of the rules of conduct, then "causing chaos" is just as much a breach. You see, "telling you how to play" is not the same thing as "agreeing to abide by some ground rules established upon your acceptance of the team invite".

Easy: You join a team, they have a discussion before starting any missions, and they agree to only knock enemies toward the tank or into walls/corners. YOU choose not to heed this, and even after multiple requests to modify your behavior, you continue to go against what was agreed. You are then kicked. You see, you were not kicked for using knockbacks, you were kicked for agreeing to a certain set of behaviors/style of teamplay, yet chose to renege on that.

I don't understand how you're not comprehending things at this point: Group fly, KB, or group fly + KB were never the problem in and of themselves - It is a particular use of these powers that does not take into consideration how your teammates feel about their use, or how their use may negatively affect your team, that's the topic at hand.

Let me use your own words to illustrate my point, (slightly edited, of course): you’ll be hard pressed convincing any reasonable player that using chat or emotes is a bannable offense So would you say that nothing anyone says in chat or does with emotes can get them banned, or is it possible that *certain* uses of the chat system or emotes *could* get someone banned? Do you get it now? It's not the blanket use of group fly or knockback that's the problem; It's the use of said powers with no consideration for how they affect your teammates or those around you...

Why do you keep strawmanning your opposition? No one is suggesting kicking people merely for using group fly or knockbacks; What is being suggested is that such powers, due to how they interact with enemies, AoEs, and your fellow team members, be used with care and consideration for said teammates.

I've really been meaning to give plant control a go. I work until after midnight, though - do you folks find that there are still people playing at that time, (or later)? Besides having plant control, are there any other things/powers I should consider, and is there still room for more? Thanks!

I'm gonna go in a different direction with my advice, here: First, I'll second what SmalltalkJava said about going with Nature Affinity; It has a nice heal power that's effective while being unique among the other healing powers out there. It also offers a variety of buffs and debuffs to help keep your team alive. Second, and this is probably the more contentious opinion, but I'm going to suggest going with a mastermind. My reasoning for this is threefold: 1. There are a lot of powers in your primary that are "optional", thus freeing up other power picks. 2. Since your pets have their own endurance, you don't have to worry about choosing between healing/buffing/debuffing and attacking. 3. Your ability to solo, should you be unable to find a team, is much higher. The only other suggestion I'll make is that it's a really good idea to take some leadership powers, (especially in the case of a mastermind), since they offer a global buff to you, your teammates, and your pets, and since your tier 1 pets will be -2 levels to you once you get all 3, that extra tohit from tactics really makes a difference.

You are missing the point; Once you team up, it is no longer just about what YOU want to do or how you want to play.

In general, I agree with you. What I think we keep running up against is a difference of perspective; Is combing the various buffs, debuffs, and abilities of your teammates, in order to take on strong opponents playing beyond what you should, or is it just good tactics? Is using knock powers on enemies that moves them into another person's range good or bad? What if you didn't ask if that's what they wanted? What if they weren't prepared to face more enemies than they already had engaged? That's why I'm so hung up on communicating with your teammate first, then coming to some kind of agreement ahead of time. If you all agree to knock enemies into nice tight groups for easy AoE-ing, but someone repeatedly goes against that, then it's clearly that person's fault. If you agreed that anyone can KB at any time and in any direction, then no one can complain...

Are you assuming my bots' gender? 😅

Can we agree that, since some of the TFs were first added to the game, that the power level of players, especially top-tier ones, has gone up? Maybe even significantly? Could it, hypothetically, have increased to the point that such a player could complete what was originally meant to be challenging for 4 players, solo? It's not like they're forcing you to have 4 players through some sort of "click X distant items simultaneously" mechanic or anything, so why not?