Triumphant

Loved most everything they've done so far, with a few exceptions. Also, there's Star Wars. It would take a lot for the Mouse to alienate me, at this point. They've just done so much to win me over. As will all things, time will tell.

I do get where you're coming from. Here's the thing, though: 1) The play experience is already great for the casual player. If you want to enjoy a non-optimized play experience at the low to mid (hell, even higher levels, to some extent, if you don't take incarnate powers and load up on the IO sets), there's already tons of content to accommodate that. 2) The MegaPowerMen of the game haven't got much, apart from the AE 801 content. This goes to hard in the other direction for me (and others, I would suppose), plus frankly (from an RP/story perspective) lacks any engaging appeal to me as a player. 3) Since most of the players in this game are running incarnates (or will quickly get there, after joining), PUG's you join will be comprised mostly of these, SG's you join (RP or otherwise) will be comprised mostly of these, and so the largest groups of players lack game content that is truly challenging for them. This could be solved by chucking IO sets and incarnate powers from the game. I would heartily endorse this solution, personally, as I mainly just want to be able to play with the full power suite of an upper 40's to lvl 50 character. You aren't going to sell that solution to the rest of the player base, though, so the answer is to introduce new content to challenge the MegaPowerMen.

I don't dual box (although I have no objections to it. Just too lazy to make a second account). I've never tried to chase those particular badges, regardless.

I neither object to the idea, nor endorse it. It just doesn't interest me, per-say. As an aside, I noticed you mentioned exploits in your OP. I wouldn't worry about that. What can can you possibly exploit in a game where everything is free and all players have equal access to the same things? Who could possibly be disenfranchised, with regard to play enjoyment/experience, when we all get access to the same powers/items/upgrades? The game should have a variety of content that will challenge full 8-person teams that make skillful use of all available options. If it doesn't, what's the point of having all of those options available in the first place?

Okay, you got me there, amigo. 😛

I just find it ridiculous that players gripe about RP on the server that is RP-focused. You didn't know it was an RP server when you joined? Okay, maybe you should have spent 5 minutes reading the forums/discord and inform yourself before choosing the server. Also, maybe you should quit bitching and just switch to a different server, since you can do that for free. 🤦‍♂️

Regardless of the pros and cons, this makes the OP's suggestion irrelevant.

Well, don't misunderstand me. I'm not imply any kind of malfeasance or malevolent intent to people that ask to receive the star (although, yes- there are those rare gems that get huffy about it, if you decline). I'm just saying that if you're shooting for a (just as an example) lvl 35 taskforce team play experience, having a level 50 join and take the star ruins that experience.

The problem I have with this is that many of the most fun/interesting powers in the game and the powers with the neatest animations are high level powers. I also find it fun to mix and match IO sets and global and procs to try different combinations of effects. This is a huge part of the attraction of this game- the large number of character builds and powers you can combine to make very unique and interesting characters. I want to play with all the toys that the game provides. I just want the game to provide a reasonable amount of challenge to teams of players while we enjoy all of those toys. I don't think this is an unreasonable expectation. If the game offers all of these bells and whistles to us, we ought to be able to use them and still have fun. If we just grow bored, then what's the point of having them in the first place? 🤷‍♂️

Well, that's kind of a dead-end discussion. All content in the game is impossible for some players and possible for others, depending on level, character build, and player skill/experience. For example, I have about 3 incarnate level characters. I find team play so easy on teams comprised of characters of my level that I often become actively bored, even when playing at +4 difficulty. On the other hand, when I take those same characters and play in groups doing AE 801 missions, I find them overwhelmingly difficult, often to the point of futility. There are people that can run 801 content, though, so it isn't impossible.

It's not really anything new to me. I've been playing here pretty much since Homecoming came online and it's always been a thing. The solution is to introduce content that is difficult enough that the whole group has to stick together and coordinate in order to overcome each group of mobs. That's the only way you'll get the team play experience you're looking for. This is supposedly coming down the development pipe, so be patient. The issue should (hopefully) resolve itself, at that point. In the meantime, I would recommend recruiting for taskforces that are lower level and when you recruit, state clearly and firmly that the taskforce is specifically for that level (15, 25, 35, or whatever). This should keep any incarnates for joining and asking to recieve the star, which is what causes the problem in the first place (Uber-character joining the taskforce that is so strong that the rest of the team is relegated to "Hold my beer" status).

You know, I'm going to confess that I don't actually know the answer to this. I always assumed that it would increase the difficulty for teams, just as it does when playing solo. Of course, this may not necessarily be the case. Nice! 😁👍

I don't think it's ever been top damage, has it? 🤔 I dunno, though- I never played during live, so maybe it was different back then. I do play Street Justice a lot, but primarily because I love the animations and sounds that go with it. It's always performed very solidly for me, though, regardless of AT. Of course, I am not a dedicated power-builder, so you will likely want to take that last bit with the proverbial grain of salt if you are looking for advice on apex-level performance.

@Diantane Skilled character builders can get some astonishingly effective results by slotting their toons in ways that many might find unintuitive. That's part of the creative appeal of the game. I don't mind a well built "dedicated" tank constructed in a traditional way, but don't be so quick to write off players who don't do it the same way as you do as ineffective or sub-par. This is often not true. Also, there is the plain fact that this game is astonishingly easy and you can succeed in groups with a sub-par character in most of the content. All you really need is one powerful damage dealer and they can murder pretty much every mob on the map.

Ah, yes- that site. The superhero one is probably the best of the lot. You can at least mix and match results to get something coherent. 99% of the generators on that site produce nothing but idiot word salad, though. 😄

Fair points. That's true enough.

What's Werner Rules? 🤔 Google hath failed to enlighten me. 🤷‍♂️

It's not that I object to players doing solo content, mind you. It's just that Task Forces were designed for team play and I don't know how you can keep a task force fun for a team and a single player at the same time, given the current state of the game. There's plenty of solo content that's perfectly viable for solo play. I just feel that TF's/SF's should be challenging for the 8-person teams they were designed for, when set at the highest (+4/8) difficulty level.

It's an MMO. If you make Task Forces sufficiently easy to solo at +3 or higher difficulty, they won't (and haven't been) sufficiently challenging for teams of the levels (35 and up) that they're designed for, unless you get rid of IO sets/globals/procs, and incarnate abilities. And getting rid of that stuff will always be a non-starting. The practical answer is to make at least a few enemies/TF's harder to challenge high level characters with all the bells and whistles. Solo players will still have plenty of content to keep them busy.

Agreed. It's massive multiplayer game, not a massive single player game. 👍

To follow up on what Doomguide said here, you can also grab the teleport target power, which has quite a good range. Pluck one foe out from a group of them at a distance to thin the herd. Rinse/repeat as much as desired. Works pretty good for solo play, if you're not into team play.

I've been playing this game for two years now. Remembering what it was like as a new player, let me say that I fully sympathize with your frustration. This is a wonderful game, but there are a few tips (most of the important bits have already been mentioned, above, by our friendly player base) that you need to follow to get the most out of it: 1) This game has a lot of moving parts and a high initial learning curve. Once you understand all those moving bits and how they interact, the game becomes much easier. 2) Reading the wiki and forums and asking questions there and on discord will help you to get a good grasp on all the factors involved in playing various AT's and power sets. 3) Be patient. The time for overcoming this learning curve will vary by the player. I was quite slow. It took me months (very nearly a year) of playing and tinkering before I was able to confidently and competently play different AT's. Most people probably learn a lot quicker than myself; you are likely one of them. 4) Learn how enhancements work and acquire Procs, Globals, and Sets and slot them on your character as soon as you're able to afford them. 5) Learn how to make merits by doing task/strike forces and convert those merits into enhancement converters. Sell the converters on the market and use the influence to buy the enhancements you need. 6) Join a supergroup or try to join pickup games (radio/newspaper missions are great training wheels) as much as possible. Teammates can often offer buffs that will protect you from mezz effects and a good tanker will draw aggro so that you can blast the enemy with less risk to yourself. Let the melee toons engage first, to draw that aggro, before you start blasting. 7) To reinforce # 3, be patient. Keep practicing! Ask for help when you get stuck or frustrated. The game will get easier in time, I promise. Once you have a year or so of play under your belt and a fully IO'ed lvl 50, you may even begin to find it too easy. You'll find that hard to believe, now, but it's true.

Ha, ha! Yeah, definitely has a Die Hard feel to it. Not really a huge Hawkeye fan, but it looks like it could be fun.

Could definitely be helpful for reducing confusion when you're rping in a high traffic area with lots of people milling about. It can be pretty challenging to keep up with the text and parse the local conversation from distant chatter. I'll vote yes on this one. 👍

I like her where she is now. I don't have to fly or jump up to the balcony to access the trainer.