El D

You're right. CoH is not a 'teaming required' game outside of a few select bits of content. If you go back and read my posts, you'll notice that I never said teaming was required outside of those specific bits of content. I emphasized that multiple times. It is, however, a game mechanically designed around teaming, which is a completely different concept. To provide another example (and one actually based around the specifics of the game we're actively discussing), CoH being designed around teaming is the entire basis of the archetype system. That's why Tankers have the innate survivability to herd but not deal high damage or mezz, why Controllers/Defenders can mass mezz/debuff mobs and mass buff other players but lack survivability and damage, and why Scrappers/Blasters deal high damage and survive well but lack team buffs/mezz. They weren't given those specific differences in powerset functions on a whim. Those differences directly enforce the roles each archetype is designed to play on teams and were done specifically to bridge the gaps that the other archetypes had in functionality. Those deliberate 'this is how this archetype plays on a team' design decisions are also what directly informs how well each archetype can inherently solo. That's why Scrappers, for example, have a much easier time soloing content than Defenders or Controllers. The role they were designed to perform on a team inherently alters how well they perform when not playing with one (and how much build work and IO investment is required to break them free of those innate mechanical limitations). The Redside archetypes were deliberately designed to more readily adapt to solo play, but how they perform while soloing is still determined by the roles they were meant to fulfil on teams. A Brute is going to have a much easier time out of the gate than a Corruptor, because a Brute gets the full function of both their powersets on a team or while soloing. Meanwhile, a Corruptor could still get benefits from their secondary while soloing, but the amount of benefit depends on what secondary they picked. Let's hope they didn't pick any of the secondaries with multiple powers designed to only be usable on teammates. After all, it's not like they're a Mastermind, where their primary is built around summoning AI-controlled allies, so their buffing secondary always has something to do. ... Nah. Soloing on a character when almost half of their powerset options are designed for buffing allies? Without pets or anything? That'd be silly. Even sillier would be making multiple powersets built primarily around buffing allies and putting them on multiple archetypes in a game not designed around teaming up and having allies.

I never said the design philosophy meant that teaming was required in every instance of content. I said that the basis of CoH's design is, first and foremost, set up as a team-based game. The fact that you can earn everything on a solo path (usually not by earning it from the intended content) was a deliberate choice by the devs to account for folks who prefer to solo in a multiplayer game built around promoting teaming. That does not mean that the default, core design is not centered around team-based gameplay. Likewise, End Game content flat-out requiring teaming up - and thus the primary, most effective path to its rewards requiring teaming - is a deliberate choice to recapture the classic task force set up that you're saying the game has moved beyond. So much content in this game can be accomplished solo, either by deliberate expansion of difficulty options or IOs/power creep, that the fact that said content was meant to promote or require teaming in the first place has been obfuscated. The game never stopped being about teaming up, soloing was just made so readily available that when given objectives that did require teaming, people complained. Said complaining is why the solo path to Incarnate powers exists at all - which is, like every other method of soloing in this entire game, deliberately slower than the promoted, team-based path. CoH, at its core mechanics, is a game built around teaming up. Those mechanics can be measured, tweaked, and accounted for to allow solo play, but when they get difficult enough, that means you cannot play as effectively without a team as you would with one. That's how the game has always worked.

We're not discussing leveling teams? Running story arcs at level 25 to level up =/= End Game requirements. As for not being able to find a team, can't help you there. Excelsior looks like it's got a hefty number of regular players (which makes sense, as the shard with the biggest population). Stands to reason it shouldn't be that difficult, but if it is then that sucks. Proclaiming someone's point moot on a nonexistent supposition of 'I bet there's a ton more solo players than people who like to team! So that means you're wrong!' isn't an argument, nor does it counter any point that City of Heroes is designed around team-based play. Also, all those other listed games are great, but we're not talking about them. CoH's brand of MMO design is not just 'play at the same time as other people' - it's specifically designed as 'play with other people.' That's the entire basis of the archetype system, the basis of task/strike forces, and the basis of most of the end game content. The ATs were designed to support each other and fill gaps in team composition, task/strike forces had to have their minimum team size requirements removed to even allow solo play to be attempted, zone raids and events require teaming, and end game content (especially at the higher tiers) is literally impossible to solo. Hell, it's the basis for the Notoriety system. If your character is capable of soloing as effectively as a full team, you can tell the game the provide that same level of challenge (and thereby earn the same level of XP/Inf/etc.) - meanwhile the full team is blowing through the same Notoriety settings much, much faster because they've actually got the multiple characters that the game anticipates will be active given that difficulty level/team size.

'Does not require a team' does not mean 'not designed around being played by a team' - especially so in the case of the primary progression path and vast majority of end game content, which outright requires a team or a league. Aether, being an extension of said end game content, is going to run off of those end game requirements. IE 'to progress in the most ideal fashion, you will need to team up.' That players can choose to solo rather than team for most of the game's content doesn't mean that teaming was never the focus on how the game's content was expected to be played or how it should be played for best progression, and at a certain point as difficulty ramps up (such as iTrials and Hard Mode) the sheer scaling numbers and mechanics will require teaming for success to even be possible. It's a 'massively multiplayer' game, not a 'massively lone wolf with option of teaming up' game. Teaming has always been the default, expected playstyle, with allowances made for solo progression for players that choose not to engage with the game that way. That doesn't mean that they think soloing is bad or wrong, but that it's not the primary way they want the content to be run (which is to be expected for an MMO).

Solo Friendly =/= Solo Everything. Never has, never did. Especially in-regard to end game-level content. iTrials weren't designed to be soloed. Hard Mode, likewise, is not designed to be soloed. That's not 'late in the game,' that's how CoH has always worked under the various Live devs and the HC devs <points to above comments on End Game content> Yes, there are ways to progress solo on Incarnate content via Dark Astoria (and now earning Incarnate XP via all content at level 50) - but it's much slower than the intended, default method of 'gather a team/league and run trials.' That's the exact same design philosophy behind story arcs and task forces going by faster with a full team. You want a solo path to Prismatic Aether? There is one! WST rewards or inf purchases. It's just going to take longer, like soloing does for every other piece of content in this game that allows for it.

CoH is a massively multiplayer game. The default orientation for content for MMOs is team-based and the rewards are set up accordingly. The 'position' that solo and small-team players are in is one they put themselves in, by choosing to go through content solo or with a small, select group and refusing to engage with the core team-based content. Not all content can be soloed or easily managed by a small team. Not all ATs/powerset combos are even capable of soloing. That's not a misstep, that's the core framework of how the game operates. The further you venture outside of the team-based set up that game runs on, the longer things take - if they're possible at all - and the more rewards players miss out on because they're choosing to try and earn them in ways the game does not inherently incentivize.

If they don't spur you to do Hard Mode content - or spend the Influence on them - then that means you can readily live without them. Which is precisely the other half of what the PAP/Hologram Costumes are designed to serve as, given that they're basically just 'extremely visible bonus badges.' There are no numerical advantages, no 'If I don't get these, my character isn't as good as they could be' like with the Incarnate system. The PAP stuff isn't the innate goal of the Hard Mode content like those powers are for iTrials, they're just an extra goodie bag folks can earn. Some players certainly will run HM content solely because they want the PAP/costumes, but that's a personal choice at that point - their own determination of 'Do I want this purely optional extra enough for it to become my primary motivation.' Also, as @arcane and others have said, you can still buy them for Influence and skip Hard Mode altogether. Yes, they're expensive, but if they were cheap that'd just undermining what status they had as 'extra investment bonus' from the HM content to begin with. 'You pay more for the convenience' has been Rule #1 in the Auction House from the get-go (well, Rule #2. Rule #1 is 'Always double-check for extra zeros when making a purchase').

The core decision behind Prismatic Aether being a reward from Hard Mode content is that Hard Mode needed an incentive beyond standard rewards (badges, merits, etc.) to get folks to run them more than once. There's no point to designing content that ends up as a 'one and done' and then sits there not being engaged with, which is what would have happened if all Hard Mode gave was stuff players could more easily get via standard task forces. NPC Costume powers fall precisely into the niche of 'Doesn't lock Costume Creator pieces behind any walls' and 'Isn't locking actual numerical boosts behind any walls.' They're a purely cosmetic reward to showcase personal investment, either through running Hard Mode content or having a bunch of Inf. Either way they reward long-term playtime and the investments players made leading up to Hard Mode content (having fully IO'ed out builds, fully finished Incarnate stuff, experience with game mechanics, etc.). It's a fun extra to incentivize trying the challenge (or serve as a money sink for folks who otherwise have nothing to dent their Scrooge McDuck-esque swimming pools of influence with).

Much as I think Talos Island could embrace the Greek theme a bit more strongly, as far as 'blueside zones to put a Tiki Bar' go it was definitely the best choice. The other zone options with beaches were Peregrine Island (which has the 'max level' issue to contend with) and that small patch of beach in Croatoa (where it would have been even more jarring, not to mention probably not fit anyway). Frankly, I always wished that the boardwalk in Talos had more 'stuff' to it, rather than just being a dreary expanse of beach where the Tsoo and Warriors have gang fights. This sort of RP attraction/hangout spot is a nice change. Still wish we could go into the Golden Fleece, though. <.< Come on, it's a restaurant that was owned by Statesman and is run by the Furies. I want to eat baklava and hear them shit-talk Prometheus.

It definitely captures that 'early GoT' feel - which is absolutely deliberate. 'Remember when the show was good? This is just like that! Please don't link this with the final seasons!' A pretty good start, considering. Now just need to see if they can keep it up and stop themselves from Stephen King-ing a second series (which I hope they can, given that D&D aren't involved with this one). Also, Matt Smith as a vindictive, petty villain alone has my interest, Elric Expy or no. xD

...You know, my SG has meme'd that task force so hard as 'Positron just throws jetpacks at everyone and tells them to f**k off' that I completely forgot he's not actually the one who gives them to you. So fair point! xD

As much as I think the explanations in the patch notes are all that's needed for the removal of the two buildings (during the Live days, these sorts of explanations and lore-posts for events got pushed pretty often after all <.<), if this had involved something active in-game I would have gone for something small and simple; a 'Personal Story Arc' where you play as Dr. Aeon getting absolutely destroyed in a short legal trial after having been caught using AE to spy on countless heroes. Once the verdict is reached (guilty, obviously) have another organization come in and take over the AE buildings in Paragon, while the Rogue Isles ones remain under Aeon's influence because Rogue Isles/jurisdiction issues. Why Paragon City allowed a corporation run by one of Arachnos' top scientists and globally known key associates (not to mention also funded by Crey) to continually record and analyze the fighting abilities of its heroes is beyond me. IMO, the Blueside version should have been run by Hero Corps from the get-go - their whole schtick since launch was assessing and promoting the capabilities of heroes and vigilantes. Bonus points, it'd give their organization actual substance in-game, which they've lacked ever since we got the ability to adjust Notoriety Levels from the chat window (seriously, when's the last time anyone ever spoken to a Field Analyst?).

Basically what @Direct Control said. It's as much an indication of the player's intentions as it is a glimpse at that character's role/history. Character Bios are all basically just advertisements anyway - some read like the sleeves of fiction novels, some read like dating profiles, some read like satirical internet posts, but they're all meant to espouse some sort of angle not immediately explainable by the avatar/name/powersets. Also, not everyone RPs the same way, or has the same goals in-mind for when they do RP. Though that's just looping back to 'player's intentions' at that point. Plus, some of the 'obviously for ERP' bios can at least be funny sometimes - intentionally or not - which is more interesting than the bios that say nothing about the character at all. Like the ones that go 'Here's a list of my other level 50s,' [Bio In Progress], or a completely blank slate. If you like a bio, send a tell/strike up a conversation. If you don't, move along to the next one. If the bio breaks the rules, screenshot it and hit the report button. Not much else to it. <.<

With the way overworld maps function, that'd be the same amount of work as just making them all the 'non-echo' maps level 50 anyway. Mob levels are set by the neighborhood they spawn in, provided that particular enemy group actually possesses mobs in the range set for that neighborhood - so like, any non-'up to 50' mob would need to have level 50 versions made to even be allowed to spawn on those revised maps. This is also why all of the Event/Invasion mobs don't have levels, as that allows them to spawn anywhere in any zone without level issues. ... That is an interesting idea. Could even work with the levelless mob thing in there too, so there's no issue of having to tweak level ranges for the various assorted mob spawns (having level 50 Rikti absolutely faceroll all the spawns of lowbie Infected or whoever else would be bad times for players xD).

... Twinshot going through the Keith Nance story arc needs to be a thing now. That's hilarious.

Not a Dev or a GM, but in-general my understanding has been 'so long as the name/costume/powers aren't an exact replica' it should be fine. To use some current media examples, think of Omni-Man from Invincible or Homelander from The Boys - both are obviously inspired by Superman (having similar powers, similar origins/places in their world) but due to their narrative, plot differences, and the role they play in their settings they end up as very different characters. Their outfits are also obviously inspired by Supes as well, but different enough either in color or additional themes that it's not infringing on anything. Heck, Statesman is basically a mash-up of Superman and Captain America coated in a heavy dip of Greek mythology, but he's still not the same as either of them.

No permission changes as far as I know. My best guess is, given the recent flood of new folks in the Homecoming Discord, it might be due a batch of new players. Off the top of my head, I can recall a post involving a team that was made up entirely of One Punch Men that earned a GM/dev finger-wag. >.>

Temporal Warriors are supposed to make accessing PvP easier specifically without cutting folks off from the rest of the game's community or requiring undue playtime hurdles to use. Heck, given its reliance on PvE earned resources for high tier effectiveness it pretty much requires contact with the rest of the game's community/markets. If Temporal Warriors were shifted to a PvP Only shard, there's no PvE markets being run to build off of and it'd just further segments an already pretty heftily segmented population instead of encouraging cross-play among established shards. Basically, it becomes less of a 'Hey, come join in!' feature and more of an 'Out of sight, out of mind' thing that brushes PvP under the rug. That said I totally get the concern for possible loophole abuse, but this seems like an overall net positive - and if there are loopholes with the set-up, I'm pretty sure the devs would close them. xD

How does this give up from PvE experience? It does require that enhancements, IOs, etc. all be bought from personal resources gained the 'main game'/PvE side, yes, but that's just encouraging people to play PvE content and use the market as it already has been used. Once someone buys an IO from the auction house, it doesn't matter what they use it for - toss it in a new PvP only character, slot it in an alternate build for a PvE character, or just horde it in their base, the effect is still the same. Heck, PvP Only characters just seem like yet another avenue to promote more drops put it to the market, given that they'll also be earning recipes, salvage, and things. Also, given that the PvP Only option literally locks these characters out of all PvE content outside of PvP zones, I don't understand how it might affect power leveling either. Is it worry that Temporal Warriors will be able to easily power level non-PvP Only characters? That seems like a mighty tall order, given they don't have access to any mission content. IMO, if someone manages to use a Temporal Warrior to effectively power-level a non-PvP only character within a PvP Zone, with the massively shifted numbers and constant possibility of getting ganked... At that point they've earned it.

Hazarding a guess, it's because PvP as is effectively an 'optional extra' which basically functions as its own separate mini game. Were there actually a way to go from 1 to 50 in PvP this probably wouldn't have been put in but there isn't, and as is the only way to even try a PvP build to know if a player might like it is to go through PvE first. Which requires building for PvE first, which given that PvP operates on entirely different numbers via a heavily modified rulebook and requires a different skillset... It's entirely likely to invest in a great PvE build, only to find that it doesn't function nearly as well as a player wants it to in PvP due to slotting (Hell, that's why the option for multiple builds got implemented in the first place). Also, the fact that there's no 'game skipped' via a PvP only Level 50 like there would be with an 'Endgame Only' option. An Endgame-Only 50 button would be even more of a content skip than AE can be at its most egregious - a literal 'I Win' button - but PvP has no content. Sure, there's lore-reasons why the PvP zones and the Arenas exist, but those are just fancy backgrounds for the sole purpose of 'fight other players.' A PvP-locked 50 can't farm in AE, or PL alts, or run story arcs or TFs or anything else. The closest thing to content PvP has would be the badges and temp powers from the PvP Zones, which were just tools to coax PvE players into even going into them it in the first place (and often times aside from getting Warburg nukes those are either 'one and done' or ignored entirely anyway). Plus, given that the player still has to purchase a build for the PvP-Only character, it still requires time invested in PvE to earn the resources to make it really worthwhile. This option just lets players get a pre-emptive sense of 'Will investing in this even be worth it?' rather than the current system of 'Extensively research the massive, nitty-gritty of builds, playstyles, and numerical changes between PvE and PvP beforehand or suffer buyer's remorse.'

In Blackbeard's Pub, there's an NPC sitting at one of the tables across from the bar that's misaligned - butt hanging way off the seat. Also, a little odd that they're not doing the /e sitstool emote given, well, they're on a stool. >.> Also also, whoever had the idea of putting Bad Penny at the gambling tables? That's hilarious and you are the best.

Initially I was surprised by the sudden jump, but I can see the logic for it. If a player makes a character and can't get past level 5 with them in 30 days with this timeframe arrangement, what's the point? That's like 30 minutes at most for a DFB that cruises you into 'play at least once a year' territory (even less if you hop onto a higher-level team). With that timeframe, it breaks up the 'required log in time' into much more manageable chunks for folks with tons of characters.

That's a fair, accurate summation! I suppose I ought to have added the caveat in my prior post that it wasn't meant as a takedown of the Thor movies - I've seen them all and enjoy them (honestly like Taika's take the most) - mostly just grumblings of missed opportunities. A sort of 'I enjoy what the MCU has built with him, but it's also easy to see where things could have gone differently has the focus been shifted here or there' sort of deal. xD

In a general sense yes, the game can account for more color options - it's already got other pre-existing palettes that contain different suites of options, though they're only for select powersets. Other servers have already done things like expanding the color options available too (some to almost ridiculous amounts).

I can definitely understand why folks take issue with 'Current MCU Thor' - he basically got the Gimli treatment from the LOTR films. IMO the core issue, at least as far as MCU progression goes, is that while Thor was much more serious/accurate to the average comic portrayal in the beginning they never expanded on Asgard or much of the Nine Realms. The origin film took place mostly on Earth with a depowered Thor for most of the runtime, and The Dark World was... well, The Dark World. The Warriors Three were just sort of 'there' after the first film, Lady Sif got sidelined, Heimdal had a few cool scenes but not much else, Odin was relevant for a bit, but Frigga never did much (aside from that great appearance in Endgame). Loki was the only other Asgard-based character with an arc, so much so that he kind of stole the focus from Thor for a bit - even in his own movies. The sad fact is, as far as the MCU goes, Asgard getting invaded and the nuked in Ragnarok was the most interesting thing to happen to it. Had the first Thor been about Dr. Foster discovering a path to Asgard and the mortal science team helping Thor learn humility there, on a grand fantasy adventure (while Loki sneakily gathers intelligence on 'Midgard's protectors' from her, Darcy, and Selvig) things might have progressed very differently. Asgard might have been a place worth investing in, instead of a really pretty but flat background that was viewed as holding Thor back. An understandable view (again, Dark World) but also one that the MCU kind of did to itself.