Grindingsucks

All that aside, I do agree that Laser Eyes is a cool/Iconic power and I often take it if it fits the theme of my toon. I tend to slot it with procs that do things like immobilize or inflict defense debuff and such. I can usually get them to fire off fairly reliably. Make's it a bit more fun to use. I do agree it feels quite under-powered for what it does at baseline, though.

If it's by design, it's counter-intuitive. At the very least, don't call them "Epic" powers, if there's nothing "Epic" about them. Perhaps "Extra" powers is a better descriptor.

I would say that if it happens consistently only when playing support toons (and to clarify, I have no idea if it does or not. I rarely do big league task forces, as I don't enjoy them), then it is more than simple RNG shennanigans. Of course, we've all felt that the RNG was screwing us over at one point or another. When you have a 95% chance to hit against an enemy that is white to you, and you miss with that attack 3 times in a row, you do start to wonder. 8P

A lot of the "Epic" powers seem to have less inspiring effects than low to mid tier regular powers. That really ought to be addressed. Honestly, for all the desire for new content, I really feel like the priority ought to be balancing issues and quality of life fixes for various quirks and bugs that the existing system already has. I'm sure it's a lot more boring than making new stuff, but it would make for an overall better game, IMO.

Hell, I didn't even know you could get outside of the club at Pocket-D. 😮

After reading through the posts here, and spending some time thinking about it, I think play-style problems basically come down to one of two issues (or both): 1) You enjoy group play (for the purpose of RP, team combat or whatever) but don't often find people that have the same play preferences as you to play with. This one is at least "potentially" fixable, by putting very specific posts in the lfg channel on discord. 2) Mechanically, the game does not contain the mechanism to offer the kind of play that you would prefer. In this instance, you're pretty much stuck unless or until the developer modifies the game in a way more amenable to your play style (which is neither a fair nor realistic expectation to have of the developer). I think the best we can hope for is to make suggestions for what we would like to get out of the game on the forums or discord, then work with what we've got and try to enjoy the best possible play experience that we can. Despite various frustrations about the grinding/level/influence system in the game, I will say that I still DO very much enjoy playing on Homecoming and I AM very thankful for the developers putting so much work into the game and making it available to play for free.

We'll simply have to disagree on this point. I don't believe the difference is negligible at all. It's the difference between grinding a new character for a few hours to get the character I desire, or just creating the character I want to play, whole cloth. I also don't agree that money is easy to make and that kitting out a character is barely a challenge. These are your opinions. I won't say that they're wrong, because you're entitled to have your opinion, just as much as I am. But I do hold a very different opinion of what constitutes "Easy". Also, if money is so easy to acquire, how can there be any relevant market or need to use and leverage that market for personal gain/pleasure (although, if running a market is mainly your thing, it's odd that you choose a Super Hero MMO. Surely you'd be more entertained playing a game about Wall Street and Stock trading, banking, or something similar. City of Investment Bankers? I dunno. Also, if you can easily make loads of money and quickly buy and kit out your character with whatever they need, why bother making us jump through that hoop at all? Just cut straight to the point, and let us slot whatever enhancements we desire from the get go, as other servers do (and as you rightly pointed out- although those servers lack the player base to provide the other important element I require to enjoy the game- interesting characters to RP with. This, of course, is why, having tried them, I remain on Everlasting/Homecoming, even though I hate to grind for xp and inf). You can switch xp on or off at will. I only meant that you have the ability to slow your own xp progression, if you desire- and if you feel you are progressing too swiftly. For instance, as in the example I described, when you're side-kicked in a much higher level group and don't want to quickly leap upward a couple of levels. However, as to what your preferred progression system might look like, I think it would probably be the ability to dial xp gain up or down, fine tuning the rate of advancement to your preference ( "X" experience points per mob/mission completion, etc.). I would support such a change, myself. It wouldn't be as freeing as being able to simply create my character to taste, but it would be more satisfying than the present system that I'm locked into.

This is a topic I have strong (if mixed) feelings about, and I'm happy that someone brought it up so that I can offer my own perspective. Firstly, I should say that I am a role-player first and a computer gamer second. Thus, finding a good group of people to RP with is my primary concern. However, having said that, I come to CoH seeking a very specific kind of RP; namely- that of the Super Hero/Comic book genre. Now, I got into the hobby of role-playing games way back in 1981, at the tender age of 9 years old. I started playing with the blue box dungeons & dragons game, by David Cook. I love old-school style D&D, where you start out as a common schlub with a sword and shield, and slowly overcome dangers and perils of all kinds, hopefully surviving long enough to grow in strength and power and carve out your own kingdom. As a lover of sword & sorcery and fantasy fiction, this style of play serves very well to emulate those genres. However, as a reader of Marvel and DC comics since I was a wee lad, I'm looking for an experience that emulates the genre. In super hero comics, we don't typically (I won't be so dogmatic as to suggest that there are NO examples of this kind) read about the journey from being a common man and slowly training and learning, gaining power in increments over time, until the hero arrives at the pinnacle of power. Comic book heroes tend to be either naturally powerful at their outset (Superman and Wonder Woman) or are normal humans who, in a single incident (exposure to weird rays/chemicals, gaining a mystic artifact, etc.) are transformed into powerful beings with amazing powers. Even street level heroes such as Batman, Punisher, Captain America, etc... we don't spend half the run of the first volume detailing their years of training (Yes, we might have flashbacks to that training in certain issues, or a few panels that show the characters training; the X-men danger room, etc.). Instead, they tend to debut in their stories as extremely potent and capable beings, that are able to challenge foes that give the normal authorities (Police and such) too much to handle alone. Comic book heroes often don't even change that much over time, in respect to their powersets. Captain America is relatively the same as he was at his inception. Superman has roughly the same powersets since his inception. Yes, the characters occasionally receive a power adjustment (up or down, or both, over time). Superman began as simply being able to jump over buildings, being more powerful than a locomotive, and having the ability to deflect bullets with his skin. In the sixties/seventies he grew in power to such a degree, that he could crack apart planetoids with his punch and fly through interstellar space. Later, he was nerfed back down, as writers felt he had gotten too powerful (and yes, there was that brief incidence where he was split into three weird versions. Fans didn't care for that, and it didn't last very long). My point is, conceptually and power-wise, most comic book heroes appear in their first issue with their classic set of abilities and retain (more or less) the same over time. They may grow and change a great deal, with regard to their relationships with other characters, their personalities, and the story of their various successes and failures. But their story is not one of grinding out levels and gaining power over time. This is the style of RP I want to experience in CoX. I want to imagine a cool hero or villain with a certain array of powers and abilities, and I want to dive into and play the character that I imagine, without the grind of old-school, hero to zero, D&D mechanics. If I wanted that kind of experience, I would play a fantasy themed online game and level up slowly over time. But, again, that's not why I'm here. I want an authentic, comic-book super hero experience. I'm always baffled by players that are distressed because other players don't want the classic D&D grind experience. Firstly, because it seems strange to me that people seeking super hero play would prefer that experience, to an experience that cleaves more closely to emulating the genre. But secondly, because they object to someone enjoying the game differently to them. I may not understand other players desire to grind out levels over time, but I DO respect their way to play the game the way they wish to. In fact, a mechanism already exists to accommodate players of this kind. This is at the very bottom of the general tab in options- the last selection under miscellaneous, labelled "Turn off Experience." If you wish to control the rate at which you level, you can turn off experience (for example, when being side-kicked up to higher level teams, so that you can enjoy play with those teams and not level to o quickly). It also allows you to keep from out-levelling story content you haven't finished yet (even I have used it for this purpose, and I hate level grinding). The same option does not exist, for players such as myself, who desire the opposite game experience. Yes, I can find someone to let me door sit and level in a fire farm. I can then use that character to grind influence, to more quickly accrue funds to fit my other characters with IO's (which are insanely expensive to gain through normal play), but I resent being forced to do these things to get the play experience I would like to enjoy, because I could otherwise be using that time do do something that I actually enjoy. The grinder has no restrictions preventing them from enjoying the game in the way that they desire (apart from finding like-minded players which, judging from the comments in this topic, should not be difficult to do). Conversely, people like myself, DO find themselves restricted from enjoying the game in the way that they prefer. I feel quite frustrated about this. The grinders have the option to turn off experience gain. Why can't I have the option to make a character of whatever level I desire, and outfit it with whatever IO's I desire, without grinding for cash to do it? How would other players be disenfranchised, or their play experienced diminished, by the fact that I was enjoying the game in this way? Why can't players have the freedom to make a group of characters as powerful as the members of the Justice League, and then dive right into playing the characters (and supergroup) that they imagine? Grinders (particularly grinders that are also role-players) tend to deride this kind of play as "Powergaming" and not "True" roleplay (whatever that is- what constitutes "good" or "real" role play is entirely a matter of subjective opinion). In the strictest sense, they are correct. Super Hero play, for me, is about having "Power" and "Agency", and the ability to leverage those powers directly to make a real difference in the environment by battling evil and righting wrongs. In the real world, I grind every day, struggling to enjoy my life, even though I'm poor, have little to no political or other secular power, and seem to never get ahead, no matter how hard I work. Superhero play offers me (at least, theoretically) the opportunity to escape that reality (if only for a little while) and enjoy the fantasy of a different reality, in which I have power and the ability to do the things that heroes do in the comics. I would be very happy if the devs would include an option for me to enjoy the game in this way, rather than being forced to play as the grinders do, in order to enjoy the content, or jumping through hoops (such as farming for levels and influence) to do the same. It's understandable that a pay to play MMO would require you to grind for levels and cash to get more abilities. Buying your way past these kinds of "Pay Walls" is how they generate income and run a profitable business. But the devs have provided access to these game severs for free and, while this is quite generous, and I certainly am thankful to them for doing it, I find it hard to understand why they (and other players) still want to box me into a certain type of play, as opposed to giving me the option to approach play according to my own preferences. Anyway, I realize this was a rather long post, and I apologize for that, but I hope it at least gives you a better understanding of players that have a different view of game play than the OP, and why we feel this way.

I have it on a brute. It doesn't make them run away, but they do drop dead from radiation poisoning while they're attacking you, which I find immensely satisfying. 😁

The OP thinks a baby panda controlling a robot is a bad idea? I think it's pure awesome, personally. I do love creative character concepts, though. 😃 Maybe you were referring to choosing energy, though. If that's the case, never mind (but, either way, the mutant panda idea is aces! 👍).

I would only ignore if I was being harassed by another player. I do silence the General channel, because I find the random chatter on there distracting.

Okay. Well, that wasn't my intention. I guess my irritation at the knee-jerk reactions and unhelpful replies I was getting (I don't mean your reply- or Troo's, both of which were helpful and relevant) got my dander up. Rereading my follow-up post, it does sound like passive-aggressive snark, so I apologize for that.

I mean, honestly, it's not that big of a deal to me. Would I like the flexibility of being able to respec all my powers? Sure. Am I devastated that I can't do that? No, of course not. A simple answer of, "This suggestion is moot, because the game is hard-coded and this aspect can't be changed," would have sufficed. Instead, I got a lot of histrionics and hand-wringing from players terrified that their enjoyment of the game was going to somehow be destroyed by a change, which isn't even possible in the first place. Not that I'm bothered by this; quite the opposite. I find the melodrama amusing (even if I am baffled why so many are threatened by it. So another player rolls a "fast starting" combo and then changes to a "late blooming" combo. Yeah? So, what? What has that got to do with me, and why should that negatively impact my own game play- particularly, if I have the freedom to do the exact same thing? Anyway, as you guys pointed out to me, it's a moot point, but do keep 'em coming. I get a real chuckle out of reading this stuff. 😀

Troo, thanks very much for the informative link (and the only actually constructive reply that I received to my suggestion). Seeing that this has been brought up before, and was generally poorly received, I think you can comfortably disregard my suggestion.

I don't think your the only one. I enjoy it too- most of the time. But when I want to get right to the mission in question, I don't enjoy it. It would be nice to have the option to take the quick or the long way, rather than having it force-fed to me.

Allow Primary and Secondary power sets (not just the powers within a set) to be changed during a respec. For example, allow characters to respec from a claws/regen brute to a Katana/Super Ref brute, or whatever.

A nice quality of life change would be to have the option to talk to detectives remotely, instead of having to run to their location to accept/decline bank robbery missions. I don't know if this is possible (or how much work it would be to implement), but surely I'm not the only one who tires of chasing down the detectives, am I?

Well, I get the massive amount of work argument. That's legit enough. Still, I think it's pretty sad. I've got nothing against Gal Gadot. She's a beautiful woman and a great actor. But I want my super-amazon to look like a ripped MMA fighter, not a fashion model. An easier way to accommodate the idea (possibly- I'm no programmer/coder) is simply reworking the female face/head choices to work on the male muscle bodies. Yeah, I know- no boobs. But not all women have huge breasts and maybe the additional muscle mass and loss of fat tissue would reduce what's there. You can sometimes see this effect in Real-life, female bodybuilders. Just shooting an idea out there.

I also like this suggestion, because there are some models (e.g. the energy pistols in dual pistols) that have the same visual and sound effects as ballistic weapons, which is rather jarring and immersion breaking.

Well, I'm too new to the game to really care, one way or the other. I was just offering a possible suggestion that I thought might be helpful. It does seem to be an issue that a lot of people are irritated by knockback (I'm not one of them, for what it's worth). Maybe peeps running knockback power sets should just group together and form pure knockback teams (No non-knockback toons allowed! Ha! Take that, you anti-knockback goons!). 😁

Okay, judging from the follow-up comments, apparently this is a touchy subject that has been approached before, even if it seems like a logical request to me. 😁 With apologies to Anubys for hijacking their topic (if it's a sensitive or divisive issue, I don't want to create an additional topic to exacerbate the problem), let me suggest something even more straightforward than what they suggested (In concept- not necessarily in execution. I know zilch about coding and such); what about simply disabling knockback in groups- either by default, or via a setting that could be toggled by the Team leader?