Rudra

Your argument is farming? We're talking game content and you're arguing farming? Farms are specifically set up for specific builds. Fire farms are set up for fire brutes/tankers. Smash/lethal farms are set up for invulnerability characters and other characters with max smash/lethal defense and resist. So you want to argue niche for balance? Or rather, to be able to throw balance out the window. Yep, you're done.

Oh no! If all the sets on an AT perform roughly the same, people may actually play more power sets than 1-3 best sets! *gasp* The world is coming to an end because we have the ability to use all sets and not be penalized for it! Run for the hills! We will have the creative freedom to make what we want and not be stuck running the exact same builds with the exact same power sets as everyone else! You know, like you claim to want but never seem to actually want. They aren't cookie cutter. They may perform more or less equally when balanced, but they have different effects, different damage, different animations, and so forth. I'm talking about equal performance. Not cookie cutter everyone uses these exact same powers on everything, but you already knew that, didn't you?

Sure, no one likes seeing something they like get nerfed. To keep all sets and powers competitive though? Nerfs are as essential as buffs. If one set outperforms every other set on the same AT? It needs to be nerfed. If one set can't keep up with the other sets on the same AT? It needs to be buffed. That's routine in video games. You can hate it all you like. I don't like nerfs either. It doesn't take away the need for them to be used from time to time though.

*looks at all threads has seen comment on* *raises hand and opens mouth* *clamps mouth shut*

I could do that too! 😄 Edit: Though I think that is the difference. I think back on Live, the devs removed the level requirement for the travel powers (after 4th level when pools became unlocked), but you still had to have a prior power pick. And the private server took away the power pick. If I'm remembering correctly at least.

Mmmmmmm... slight disagreement. I'm just saying to put the power pick requirements back. I'm fine with hovering across zones for 2 levels. Hovering across zones for 10 levels rather sucks. 😛

To get back to the OP. Sure, let the power pools be standardized. The travel pools are what are different, so let's change them back to where you need one of the two starter powers to unlock the actual travel power. You'd have lots of players up in arms, but the pools would be standardized again. Edit: I don't really see the travel pools being reverted to match, but there you go. Standardized power pools that avoids any mention of creep and avoids making it easier to min-max your character.

They are introducing harder content because of all the power creep that has happened. Edit: If the goal is balance, making characters even more powerful than they already are steps all over that. More powerful characters demands more difficult content or players complain. With the harder content comes more requests to make the characters more powerful. With the more powerful characters comes the demand for more difficult content. Until you finally reach a place where the elite players are soloing Uber-Enhanced Ultra Hamidon and his equally powerful clones while the average player is left well behind. Edit again: Imagine for a moment progressing the game to the point several of these suggestions want. You start playing. You find the starter areas fairly easy. And the game keeps getting easier as you level. Not more interesting, just easier. And then you see the ultra elites solo annihilating the so-called end game final bosses. How interested would you be in continuing to play? There is no reward for your challenge because there is no challenge. Why would that person keep playing? And then that person possibly talks to his/her friends and says "sure, play City of Heroes if you want a grade school level of challenge." This is an extreme take, but it is where I see these suggestions going.

Damn good question these days.... Sorry, I don't think I have an answer for that.

I'm pretty sure the idea is to build for balance and keep the game interesting. I could be wrong though.

Sooooooooooo... if the already best players/characters get better, but not by more than some undefined limit, it is fine because they are already the best.... So if a change allows a min-max player to skip the min part and just go for max... that's good game play.... My head hurts.... Edit: And to be clear... all you want is something new? You are not trying to find a way to max out your characters' power/effectiveness? And maxing out is... somehow adding something new to the game? Oy.

Okay, my mistake, Thanks. What about the Olympian in the replacement Maria Jenkins arc? Is that just a renamed original Tyrant or is it a new Olympian too? (The original arc, it was Tyrant.)

Good post. Both entertaining and enlightening. I was under the impression the Holy Quartet consisted of Hasten (which I never take), Combat Jumping (which my ground bound characters do take, but not the fliers or teleporters), Maneuvers (which I take on my Masterminds for obvious reasons), Tactics (which I also normally take on my Masterminds for obvious reasons), Assault (my Masterminds again), Tough, and Weave. This is the first I've heard of Aid Self being a 'must pick or are noob' power. Still a valid point. Also, I guess that makes me a noob too. I'm scared to ask if I'm one of the ones with the holy cause, so that probably means I am one.

Thanks. May I ask what the differences are then? (Edit: I was under the impression the Olympians were just the old Tyrant from the ... Maria Jenkins' arc?)

Isn't Olympian 29 just a renamed original Tyrant just a re-colored Statesman? So isn't he just using Statesman's abilities?

There is a difference in my comment(s) you seem to have missed. With the Fly pool as the example this time. I am perfectly happy with having to pick up Hover to get Fly. The change made me happy because I no longer had to wait until level 14 for my winged characters to fly. I only had to unlock the power. Starting at level 4. So I am fine with the travel pools going back to the way the other pools are. Let the devs do that. There is the requested pool standardization. I just don't want to have to wait until level 14 to make use of something that is obviously a theme of the character. (Edit: And by obvious I mean any other person who even glances at that character knows that character can probably fly. Not just obvious to me, the person that made the character.) Edit: The being hypocritical part is about my being happy the level requirement was reduced. Not about the the lack of prerequisite.

Except this provides nothing new to the game. Just easier. You want new? Provide a suggestion for something new instead of easier.

Why? Using Touch of Death as an example because you did. Touch of Death is a 20-40 set. If a level 5 can get it as a drop, then what? The level 5 can't use it for another 12 levels. The level 5 can't even afford to craft it. I could see drops being available when you're 3 levels or less away from its level. You can use it. I can see a level 50 getting the recipe drop too, but I'd be willing to bet players would be upset their level 50 got a level 40 drop. Especially since they can just flashback to the 20-40 range and try for the drop or buy it. Unless you want the higher level recipes for selling purposes?

Let's take a look at power creep in the game... you can find people on the forums that claim the game is excessively easy. (Edit: Seriously, you don't even have to look for them. Their comments adorn most of the threads.) To achieve their game god status, they still have to give up some power slots to get their min-max builds. Now let's take away the need for that. Hmm.... We already have the Holy Quartet of power sets of Leadership, Leaping, Fighting, and Speed. Almost every character has those sets it seems. So let's just make every character even more cookie cutter cut-out! How long until the request is made to be allowed to have 5 power pools so those free slots can be taken up with more powers? You know, for the sake of better min-maxing. Sorry, I meant "creative individuality". They're also going to need more enhancement slots to fully utilize those new powers. Betcha that request will be made too. You can already make uber god builds. So let's just make it easier to do so. Why not? As the game's challenge goes away, the devs will face more demands for harder content because we already asked to make more powerful characters. Or people will get bored with the lack of challenge and leave. This is the development quandary. The game needs to be updated. Constantly. It needs to be fresh enough to keep existing players, interesting enough to bring in new players, and challenging enough that it is not a play once and walk away game. Edit: Oh lord, I argued power creep....

Copying that for remembering. 😄

The travel powers being available at level 4 was done back on Live. I think you still had to take either of the basic powers from the pool, I can't really remember, but I do remember that the travel powers were made available at level 4 back on Live. Edit: I know it makes me hypocritical, but the reason I remember that change happening was because I was so very glad it was no longer necessary to wait until level 14 for my winged characters to be able to fly.

A name is just a name. Like people thinking Rage is only applicable to anger because of the name rather than that boost of power you get from the adrenaline surge. My point is not the name. My point is the theme and the progression of power. Using the Fighting pool as my reference for this discussion, it is all about fighting, and apparently unarmed at that. (Edit: Whether it's boxing, a kick-only martial art (like... savate I think?), just being a natural brawler, or whatever. Pick your poison/idea for the unarmed fighting that the pool set implies in its build.) Yes, a character can be naturally hardier or wear armor. That has nothing to do with a generic power pool designed with unarmed combat in mind. Something like that is better represented by the AT the character uses rather than a generic power pool.

Your mutant is naturally tougher because of his/her AT abilities would be my guess. Same with your technology character's armor. The Fighting pool is not mutation. The Fighting pool is not worn armor, regardless of hi tech, primitive, or otherwise. It is Fighting. It is also a pool power set. Not cued for Tankers, Brutes, Scrappers, Stalkers, Corruptors, Blasters, Masterminds, Defenders, Controllers, Dominators, Soldiers of Arachnos, Widows of Arachnos, Peacebringers, Warshades, or Sentinels. It is blind to all the ATs. (Also not cued for Natural, Mutation, Science, Technology, or Magic except for the 2 origin pool sets we currently have.) So it doesn't matter if your character already knows how to throw a punch, kick, feint, or anything else. It is run off the assumption that a character that does not have an armor set and may be lacking a melee set may be taking it. Because all the pool powers until you get to the ancillary pool powers are blind to the ATs (edit; and have to assume that the character taking it may not already have powers in line with the pool's theme), they have to follow a set progression. (Edit: And even ancillary pools follow a progression of power, they just do so with the AT factored in.) They have to have basic abilities available that are used to unlock higher tier abilities. Regardless of whether you are talking about the Fighting pool, Medicine pool, Leadership pool, or anything else. Asking to skip the basic powers of a pool because your AT may already have access to those types of powers or because you imagine your character to inherently be something from the pool powers does not preclude progression of powers as a prerequisite for power acquisition. It is why no AT starts with an AoE attack or their T9 nuke. Because every power set in the game is built upon progression of power. Edit again: And if you want the pools to factor in the ATs? Then you will probably see Tough and Weave disappear as options for Scrappers, Stalkers, Tankers, and Brutes because they already have their armor sets. (Edit redux: And Sentinels. Can't forget Sentinels. They have their armor set too.)

Thank you, but if you read my comment, I basically said that. I thought it was based on the character's alignment, but zone alignment still falls under that category. My concern in that post was that the proposed team transporters are not keyed to anything, so I figured they would need to be their own power. @Psyonico then reminded me of power customizations. Which would still require the power to be modified to lock in the player's choice, but would also be much simpler to deal with than my original expectation of different powers that share a timer.

If they've despawned, which I've seen happen on mission ambushes, then they can't come back. They also don't count towards the defeat requirement. If they haven't despawned, then they eventually come back. Unless they glitched somewhere and are stuck?