[Weaksauce]

9 hours ago, Troo said:

Bring it.

 

[The Pretty Good AE Debate]

7 minutes ago, Krimson said:

The idea isn't to actually permanently divide the player base, since that might require new accounts and the like. I'd just like to see how many players who are against farming and AE would actually embrace a Shard without it, because I don't think the anti-farm crowd is the Legion they want you to think they are. 

 

Fair enough. I'm also interested in seeing how popular it'd be and share the same suspicion. 

[The Pretty Good AE Debate]

25 minutes ago, Krimson said:

I'd let them transfer freely and see who wants to play in a Shard without AE of their own free will. Segregation should be voluntary.

 

But then you'd have people transferring in with Inf and stuff. I think it'd have to be segregated unless that isn't a big deal.

[The Pretty Good AE Debate]

17 minutes ago, Krimson said:

What if we just made a Shard with no AE buildings at all, and see who joins it? If it was popular, there could be more Shards like it, and then we could have proper Apartheid in the game. 

 

I think that's a good idea, it would have to be locked from transfers though. My main worry is it might cause a split in the RP community. I could see a push for the new server to be the new Everlasting with mixed reception. 

[The Pretty Good AE Debate]

The fact that AE content is so accessible and drop in/drop out-friendly is probably a large reason why it's so lucrative. It's so hard to chain TFs unless you're willing to lead them yourself. If you could queue for an ITF like a dungeon in any other MMO, it'd probably be a pretty viable farming option. CoH is in a weird spot where teams are all formed over chat which is healthy for the community, but it greatly limits how many teams are forming due to the dreaded star that nobody seems to want. Meanwhile, want to farm in AE? Just run to the building and get started.

 

IMO, a lot of the "issues" with AE are due to underlying jank with the game itself. Even how high defenses and resists can get are probably not *the best* for CoH, but it's a large part of what makes CoH fun. But it's probably also the only reason why AE farming is possible as well. The game is honestly a hot mess and we should probably accept that and focus on building viable content up rather than tearing things down because we don't like it. 

[The Pretty Good AE Debate]

4 hours ago, Astralock said:

You are right, and wrong.  Veteran loss is due to what you said.  AE farming is, however, one reason for new player loss.

 

I know a lot of people have it in their head that Homecoming hardly gets any new players.  They are, of course, wrong.  A new player signs up on Homecoming.  He or she sees that Excelsior is the most populated shard, so he or she creates a new character.  The new player’s character loads into Atlas Park.  What does he or she see?

 

Loads of people begging for farms in the LFG channel constantly, and occasionally in zone Broadcast.  He or she will see AE farmers tell people in the LFG channel not to join a Citadel TF that was just advertised, because TFs are “crap XP” compared to AE farming.  He or she will see AE farmers tell others in the Help or General channel that only AE farming is worth doing, because it is the fastest way to both get to level 50 and get your Incarnate abilities.  Then that newbie may get a blind invite from an AE farmer, thinking that PLing the newbie is a favor.

 

The newbie, not knowing any better, joins, gets PLed to level 30+, and then leaves.  He or she has no knowledge of the game, does not know how to get to another zone, doesn’t know how to get a new mission, and has no INF to buy enhancements because the AE farmer told the newbie to get double XP boosters.

 

The new player has just been taught that Mission Architect is the entire game.  More than likely, he or she will log off and never return.

 

Everything I just described has happened quite a few times that I personally know of, with some variation.

 

There’s been a lot of “What harm does AE farming do?  I am not harming anyone,” in the thread.  There’s your harm.  AE farming has overall a negative impact on the health and longevity of the Homecoming community as at least some new players are driven off.

 

I've actually had some friends show interest in trying out CoH, and I'd probably consider suggesting that they eventually set up two accounts so they can farm and be self-sufficient. If you never played CoH back in the day, the game is *very rough* by today's standards. What it does have going for it that's quite unique is IO builds and the ability to basically break the game. I haven't played another MMO that lets you overpower enemies to such a degree. On the flipside, not many games start you off in such a weak state either. Strip away all of the nostalgia and the low-level CoH experience is absolutely abysmal. That's what I personally see as the major turn-off for new players and why I'd show my friends how to farm eventually. The brilliance of CoH is character concepts and builds, and AE is a huge convenience towards getting to the good stuff.

[What do the devs want (what what what what)?]

Trying to wrap my head around this. To be hyperbolic, you're basically saying that one shouldn't give negative feedback because every proposed change is for the betterment of CoH? I don't think the devs want that tbh. Like I'm sure they'd love to make changes that everyone loves but absolutely no game devs have accomplished that. But yeah, we should be appreciative of their work for sure. However, I really do think that they want both kinds of feedback as long as it's constructive. If I've learned anything from the feedback threads over the past couple of days, it's that's we (the players) could definitely do better at the "focused" in "focused feedback." 😬

[Focused Feedback: Symphony Control]

Hymn of Dissonance and Enfeebling Lullaby have a spell effect that sort of looks like a ton of spit. It isn't affected by tinting either. I just can't not see a literal spray of saliva, but maybe it's just me. I guess if you can't unsee it now it may be worth a touch up.

 

[The Pretty Good AE Debate]

4 hours ago, luficia said:

There's a serious problem grinding and not playing the game only to go try to do something like ITF and don't know what they are doing or because of the farm mentality is so high, they contribute nothing. I have to remove them.

 

This is exactly what keeps me away from trying a lot of content in CoH. The game is old and the expectation is that everyone already knows every bit of content. Guess what, I don't. I am pretty confident I can learn quickly since CoH isn't really mechanically difficult, but the assumption that if I don't know something I'm an AE-dwelling idiot is a huge barrier.

[Focused Feedback: Reward Merits]

I'm one of the less-seasoned players that hasn't really taken advantage of converting Emp/Astral merits. While this doesn't affect me, I can empathize with not wanting something removed entirely. So here's a thought: What about just halving the current conversion rate. It's still a pretty drastic nerf but it keeps some value for excess imerits. I'll admit that I don't know enough about the state of the game's market to know if this is a fair compromise, but I figure throwing ideas out there can't hurt.

[Focused Feedback: Temporal Warrior, Instant Level 50 PvP Characters]

This a really neat idea and I'm wondering if it wouldn't hurt to just go full Guild Wars 2 with it and allow PvP characters full access to Temporal Warrior-only IOs and respecs. I think that might increase PvP participation even more if it's possible/feasible. If not, this is still a good change as-is. Just a random thought.

[Focused Feedback: Architect Entertainment]

12 hours ago, Bionic_Flea said:

But the sky is not falling. No one is kicking you (generic you) out or preventing you from farming from 1-50 and including your I-power slots.  The only reward you aren't getting is Vet experience, which also equals threads and Empyrean Merits.  That's not insignificant, but it's also not the end of the world.

 

Yes, this is literally the patch note and what most people are discussing. It's not the end of the world for sure and I'm considering making some alts to future-proof how I've been enjoying CoH. But you know what? There's so many games out there. It doesn't have to be "the end of the world" for me to meander away from CoH. It just has to be less enjoyable than it currently is to bump it below playing something else. 

 

I'm honestly not even much of a farmer. I'd be perfectly happy with 10-15 vet levels grindable via AE. This is important *to me* because I have terrible teaming anxiety and it's been very nice to get a character prepped for level 45+ content while solo. I know this isn't how Incarnates worked during live, but I am pretty sure they were made considerably easier to obtain for good reason. Vet levels are a good system. Vet levels in AE clearly weren't an oversight because it's been three whole years. Changing this now just feels so weird, especially while introducing a new currency that promotes teaming outside of AE (on top of merits).

 

I just wish people would understand that removing something after such a long time feels bad, and that you don't need to be a professional full-time farmer to dislike this change. The sky isn't falling, but this is a dark cloud on an otherwise exciting-looking patch. 

[Focused Feedback: Architect Entertainment]

1 hour ago, The Curator said:

Characters at Level 50 can no longer earn experience towards the Veteran Level rewards (Veteran Badges, Incarnate Threads, and Empyrean Merits) from Architect Entertainment content; this does not apply to Incarnate Slot Experience which can still be earned in AE

 

I'm worried about this. Right now, the way I approach alts is I get them 5-10 vet levels in AE (I do this solo with a second account) and run some Heather Townsend for Incarnate salvage. I can usually get most slots to tier 3 this way without losing my mind. Being able to advance through the Incarnate system solo is something I appreciate a *lot*. This change won't get me into group content, I'll just farm more Heather Townsend. Which honestly I am already so sick of. 😭

 

Please consider allowing vet exp in AE for vet levels 0-15 or something at the very least.

[Here's a CoH login screen using Freedom artwork]

Almost forgot: I also have a file for the Freedom login music if anyone wants it. It's a really nice theme!

 

 

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/105457922900807680/915428037162565683/Freedom_music.zip

 

Same deal applies as the login screen. Just drop the data folder into the Homecoming folder and it should be good to go. If anything is off, h_menumusic_loop.ogg goes in Homecoming\data\sound\Ogg\FrontEnd

[Here's a CoH login screen using Freedom artwork]

I whipped this up awhile ago and I thought I should share it before Endwalker drops and I forget. I planned on seeing how it would look with some things shifted around, but I never got around to it. I like how it looks though. I don't think anything will be perfect. I hope some of you folks enjoy it. 🙂

 

 

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/105457922900807680/915366622062075924/HC_Freedom_login.zip

 

It's pretty easy to install, just drop the data folder into your Homecoming folder. I nested the folders so it should end up where it needs to be. If it doesn't, coh.texture goes in Homecoming\data\texture_library\GUI\Creation\login

[Login menu and server selection alignment (very minor)]

Yeah, it's minor. I only noticed it was a thing due to lining up the Homecoming logo with the login prompt. But then you get to server selection and it's not lined up. It doesn't affect the game or anything, it just looks off from a graphic design point of view. I should probably just scrap that login screen and try something else. 

[Login menu and server selection alignment (very minor)]

While on a mission to create some custom login splash screens, I came across a dark discovery: The login prompt and server selection menu don't line up. I've overlayed them on top of each other so you can see what I mean:

 

 

It is honestly not a huge deal and I figure it's either a simple fix or completely impossible due to it being deeply entwined in code. It might also be a resolution thing. But if it's something that can be fixed I'd be grateful! 😄 

[Lev's Inspiration Icons]

Alright, it should be available on CoH Modder now. ❤️

 

[Lev's Inspiration Icons]

51 minutes ago, Lines said:

I like these a lot!

Edit: would you mind if I had a crack at editing them for my own use? The colourfulness of the insp tray has always been a bit of visual pollution for me, so I'd quite like to see how these ones looked a touch desaturated.

 

Sure, have at it!

[Lev's Inspiration Icons]

I'll definitely take a look at getting this up on CoH Modder soon! It looks like it's experiencing some downtime atm.

[Lev's Inspiration Icons]

Hello fellow heroes! So I've been working pretty hard on a near-total Inspiration icon replacement and I think I'm ready to share what I've come up with. First off, I really wanted to try and convey Inspiration tiers via something other than larger graphics. That's what the small diamonds are in the picture below:

 

Other than that, I've pretty much replaced everything except for Gift Inspirations, Hami/Eden Inspirations, and some teleport ones. There's 77 icons! 

 

Here's what they look like in-game (I'm a newbie with no fancy dual/team insps):

 

Download: (pending)

 

Update: Now available on CoH Modder as "Levs Inspiration Icons 1.0"

 

To Install: Unzip the data folder into your CoH install directory. You want the folders to look like this: ...\City of Heroes\data\texture_library\GUI\Icons\inspirations\[the .texture files]

 

To Remove: Just delete the files. Nice and easy.

 

I hope you guys enjoy 'em!

[How would you buff Sentinels?]

How about this for an Inherent: Keep the bar building the same, but change its activation to clicking Opportunity like Dom's Domination. Completely revamp Opportunity to a single target debuff that builds up -res and -def as it persists on the target. When the debuff ends, the Sentinel (and maybe allies neaby?) gain some health and endurance. If the debuff ends prematurely from mob death, the Sentinel (and allies? might be too much) gains some health, endurance, and refunds a portion of the Opportunity bar. This turns the inherent into something that can be used on weak mobs for sustain, or on tough mobs for a good debuff. 

 

As for an anti-Stalker mechanic, I have no idea how PvP in this game even plays out. Maybe Opportunity can buff the Sent's perception when the bar is full. My mind also went to WoW's Hunter's Mark which allowed Hunters and their party members to see a marked target even if it was stealthed. But again, I don't know what PvP is like in this game. That might alter things too much, unless Stalkers are an OP scourge atm or something.