Black Talon

For my part - and I have virtually zero knowledge, professional or anecdotal, about the industry - I think Autodidactic Philomath has got the stranglehold on the matter. To the best of my understanding, City of Titans - and this may have well extended to the other successor projects - was a total-volunteer effort. Despite whatever's been achieved and accumulated through kickstarters, you're always going to be limited to the time, effort, and dedication of your contributing membership. It shows up enough with pure professionals who are actually paid for their work; families, outside matters, emergency and otherwise, are always going to interfere with completion dates. CoT and the others may well have had the pure financial requisites to move forward - whether they had a consistent, consistently-competent labour force is another question. Nearly two decades old or not, CoX has got my vote as the best independent superhero universe to work in. I have no doubt that Marvel and DC called it a day after they consulted the accounting department, took a look at the actuarial tables and decided, Nah...too great an investment for too little a reward. A study in diminishing returns. Let's get back to licensing movies and television series. CoX did and does survive on a diet of sheer love and dedication; no other superhero MMPOG can claim to have even been released to such acclaim, let alone enough to resurrect it back to functional life after nearly a decade.

Just remember that this is what they do on a predictable basis - their Lord and Master (Level 50 Arch-Villain), The Great Fir Bolg will appear if you're scrapping in the most sincere pumpkin patch (no, I don't know what that means, I don't think anyone does, it's one of those things that gets more obscure and arcane the more you try to figure it out), and hand out candied apples before dispatching your entire SG to the spirit world. And as you're all floating in the misty, zero-gravity purgatory, your SG mates are waving their index finger in your face and saying, "No-no-no, thank you." Just one of the things in store for you if you keep taking videos of Fir Bolg in their quiet time...

I'm still sticking with the Carnie chicks but there's definitely some room for argument on this side of the court. Plus, as has been mentioned in other resources, Ghost Widow is, for something that is basically in an undead state, "kind of hot". I always saw Arachnos as sort of a SPECTRE-type organization that just happened to have superpowered resources (if we're to regard the Daniel Craig SPECTRE as canon, that analogy bears even greater weight with CoX, I think), but those resources, as you've indicated, Triumphant, do score pretty damn highly on the coolness and, "I gotta get me onea those," scale.

Icy Mike, I will have to put myself down as linked with you and the rest of the "old school" players/members who've been signing on here, and all appreciations for the honesty in the viewpoint, for both yourself and everyone else who's submitted opinions. Seventeen years ain't a hell of a long time, in relative terms, yet it seems to have given blossom to an entirely new way of thinking and approaches to games as "fun". For myself, the whole IO thing is several steps too close to the d20 "It's all about the numbers" thing that resulted in me and my gaming group giving D&D 3.x the good old college try, then just shaking our heads and going back to AD&D 1st/2nd edition, or C&C. Similarly, for CoX, I'm perfectly content with those straightforward 42% SO enhances that can come into effect at level 47, and maintain that archetype specificity that's been mentioned. The characters who reach demigod status after racking up IO sets X, Y and Z is something I'm perfectly content to leave to others. And that, I would speculate, is part of what's contributed to the overall longevity of the game, despite its technical limitations in duplicating a number of comic book-style superhero power set types. The fact that we're able to travel not only the X axis but the Y as well, to any individual's particular taste, gives CoX a particular "open book" style that defies categorization fitting any one comic book "universe". I think this appeals to a certain rather open-minded group - age irrespective - who are perfectly prepared to establish their place in a universe where there's no one set "ideal" finishing type.

Oh, man - I literally cannot think of a villain group that doesn't have a "total suck" point that makes it a "Who the hell would want to be a part of this crew of losers?", but I was considering this one, and looking over the membership's arguments (and numbers) allows me to feel safe in a crowd. Carnival of Shadows, because there is no way I would turn down being able to look at and talk to killer (literally "killer") hot chicks on a daily basis, especially ones that seem so determined to show themselves off without restraint. Sure, Vanessa DeVore is in league with a major league psychic vampire and the Carnival kills for fun, but being able to ask the Attendants, Jugglers and Fencers out for a date on a regular basis might make those last few weeks of life worth the trade-off.

Although I could likely have been a lot clearer, I was expressing some degree of consternation regarding the whole "Incarnate" thing - why the heck this system couldn't be a little more straight-forward is a big head-shaker - but the comments regarding the Devs who put this together were meant to be in the "Too ridiculous to take as anything but stupid comments" category. Yes, I do believe that the Incarnate thing is somewhat out of whack - at least what individuals have expressed here have indicated this - but I will simply continue to run my guys through their motions and work to somehow - somehow - alter the whole CoH algorithm thing through sheer force of will and restore real justice to this beleaguered city. Doc Vahz will never break parole again... Maelwys, your to-the-point guideline was much appreciated. I am likely going to put this to some serious use. Grouchybeast, knowing that there's been some communal agreement regarding the after-50 stuff helps as well. Hoping this can be navigated somehow without CoH turning into a misery grind. Aurora_Girl, for what it's worth, I have absolutely no intent of starting any conflicts with the current game membership, board members, or the game's original (and current volunteer) Devs/GMs/Mods, and offer all apologies for implied offence. As stated, I honestly believe that the post-50 stuff could have been managed a hell of a lot differently, but I am still with this game - and will be making the monthly contributions - for the foreseeable future.

All of you, thank you very much for the opinions, guidelines and links. From the submitted viewpoints, it's pretty easy to reach the definitive conclusion that the whole Incarnate thing...? Eh, well, maybe. I will get B.T. to 51 and proceed on from there, but with regard to any new power sets...? Bud, I'll just take the extra slots for the already-in-place powers that weren't quite filled to capacity and go from there, and the already-established power pool sets offer plenty extra to choose from. I will likely start a new thread after 51, with the title: "Incarnate Power Sets: Why the People Who Set This Up Should be Boiled Alive in Their Own Urine and Left to Rot in the Sun". Otherwise, submission of opinions on the whole "What Happens After 50...?" thing are still encouraged to post on here.

I've done a search for this - all too brief, it could be argued; the search-fu wasn't all that fu-lish - and haven't found a relevant thread. So here's the point: My main alt - Black Talon, pick your jaw up off the floor, it's not as big a surprise as some might take it to be - hit 50 some days ago, the first of my alts to do so. Been fooling around since that point, working on arcs-in-progress and adjusting the levels in order to keep it at least halfway interesting. The thing is, he is now literally one notch (4,000 xp or so) from hitting 51. What happens at this level? He's managed to accumulate about three dozen Incarnate "threads" as salvage, as well as a couple of rare Incarnate salvage pieces; what the heck does he do with those? I will state that, if this involves an invention-heavy time/cash investment, my interest in the whole inventions thing is pretty much nil. Otherwise, some insight into this game-engine addition - which I'm presuming has occurred following the Homecoming initiation - so that B.T. can make the most of his advancement would be much appreciated.

Rather interesting topic and subject analysis! The variety of comments and viewpoints submitted thus far indicate, from my perspective, that there's a heck of a lot of independent "from my experience" input on this, and I believe this prevents any definitive "one true answer". While I certainly don't have any huge variety of archetypes to draw from, let alone individual power sets, I do support the contention that Claws has got a heck of a lot of what I would call linear progression, rather than relative leveling out and taking big leaps with the acquisition of a new power and its successful use (e.g., and this one is from personal experience, Eagle's Claw; Back In The Day, my MA/SR Scrapper virtually one-shotted an elite boss when getting a critical early on in the fight). I would argue that, whatever the benefits of a "smooth" development, there are always those players and mindsets that are going to be perfectly happy with, and in fact revel in, the possibly uneven results of certain powers/power set progression. I would further contend that the existence of such differing viewpoints contributes to the longevity of the game, rather than turning things into a "Harrison Bergeron" experience where, because enforced mediocrity results in a perfectly level landscape, there's no choice except to be a happy warrior in the Army of Conformity.

Not being a cause to give up an alt, but a Fire/Fire Blaster I had Back In The Day (and the OP author and other will doubtless recognize this) - when he was doing the build-up for the sniper blast, looked as though he was dealing with constipation. There was endless ribbing about this during team-ups - and yeah, okay, I started more than my fair share of it - but for a guy who was supposed to be a merciless Heaven-sent avenger, it sure did detract from whatever seriousness he was trying to set. Also wish the fire sword could have been altered to look a bit less like the Eastern-style scimitar.

Aeroprism, I think you have pretty much encapsulated the reason why this is the only MMPOG I've ever played (and likely ever will), and why so many other people feel the same way. This game isn't just about mechanics or min/max solutions or "winning" in a game-accounting sense. There is an actual story involved here, and that invites the players to get involved, as much as digitally possible, in the developments and direction of this world and build their own stories with that. As so many others have related on this site, this encourages players to start constructing real and interesting bios and stories for their alts, and this leads to a sense of real accomplishment, should that be for a single mission, a task force, or a mission arc. Real game playing takes time, as any dedicated chess player can confirm. Not that I'm comparing CoH to chess, but building a story takes time, and all thanks and congratulations to the Devs who put this game together, Back In The Day, and decided to let real creativity and story-telling engines build the game, rather than just setting up the "Ooh, they can get a load of xp over in this area," minefields. Like yourself, I would heartily embrace the idea of this game continuing on in its current format, and if there are any changes to come...bud, you better check with all of us over here before you start shuffling the chess board around.

Stated clearly and succinctly, Crysis - agreed pretty much the big one-ten. I keep vacillating between hoping that some well-heeled corporate entity (could be Crey or Facebook; both are at about the same level of moral rectitude - or lack thereof) will see what's going on with Homecoming, decide it might be a good tax write-off and take it upon themselves to provide active subsidization for CoH's reinstatement in the MMPOG world; hey, stranger stuff has happened. The problem is that any indication on the supporting party's behalf to establish ongoing changes and alterations in the game system - "because it'll be fun!" - would be met with outright condemnation by the player base and a pretty near universal desire to relocate the game's servers in a genuine safe-house. Another part is quietly whispering prayers to powers above that things stay just as they are - the Homecoming crew has got CoH in basically a state of corporate benign neglect: the game and its population don't get messed with as long as we stick to playing our (from some perspectives) obsolete superhero game and don't rock the boat. If such is the case, I'll be perfectly happy to live with what we've got here.

My thanks to all who continue to contribute to this discussion. With regard to the WoW diaspora having little to no impact on CoH Homecoming - yes, I can certainly see the truth in this, but the creation of any possible additions to the player-base - and fulfillment of monthly hosting fees - does, I think, require at least some consideration on how to provide the most welcoming hand-of-beckoning possible, whether such an agenda is followed or not. The only element I can comment on with any degree of personal experience is the difference in player-versus-player arrangements serving as a possible draw/aversion to the WoW contingent. As I understand it - at least as far as "Make Love, Not Warcraft" made clear - players in WoW can engage in PvP at any point as long as they make a mutual agreement to do so. I was, and am, of the opinion that CoH would have been far, far better served to have followed this model, rather than the PvP zones which required amendments, then amendments again, then a few more amendments in order to achieve some kind of "balance" for those participating. On the rare occasions I had an alt with a mission in these areas, I made it a point to get the living hell in and out as quickly as humanly possible to avoid individuals or groups that were lying in wait, apparently with the conviction that taking down another player with absolutely no intention of engaging in PvP was "fun". I have never engaged in a PvP zone for the purpose of player-versus-player, nor have been in the Arena at any point. Any individuals who choose to do so are more than welcome to it, but I believe that the never-ending "amendments" that were made to the CoH PvP system indicate that this is something that, if it wasn't included at game launch, it should have been left in the shoebox for good. I would thus see such a marked difference in approach - and success in execution, it could be argued - as another reason the WoW gang would look at CoH and say, "Meh...I don't think so." The nature of comic book superheroes in the first place, ranging from your Punisher types to Silver Surfer/Superman, makes it clear that effective power level differentiations were, are, and likely always will be a core world- and story-building value. Trying to shoehorn one "type" into being able to take on another with some opportunity for success simply serves, from my point of view, to creating a "Harrison Bergeron" world where everyone is equal in mediocrity. Again, from my limited perspective, this is another solid point that will serve to keep a number of the WoW crowd away, although some may always decide, "Well, I kind of like this PvE stuff better," and stick around for a bit.

The article linked below details a number of problems that World of Warcraft has, is, and will probably continue to experience over the foreseeable future. I won't repeat too many of the details contained therein, leaving that up to individual readers to divine, but the fact of the matter is that the anticipated mass departure from WoW might, just might, end up having some effect on City of Heroes Homecoming. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58017429?utm_source=pocket-newtab As I've noted in a number of previous posts, I have little to no experience in MMPOGs aside from City of Heroes; as Pixie_Knight has articulated, very clearly, the fantasy games seem to experience a plague of repetitive character classes, settings and storylines, and any such experience I want to have, I'll drag out the Castles & Crusades or first-edition AD&D Core books and have a blast doing the pen-and-paper-with-dice bit. I don't know, to what extent, WoW may or may not have either played off previous tropes, created new ones - or both - in the online setting, but the point is that WoW ain't a unique experience now, if it ever was; the revelations about Final Fantasy XIV's phoenix-like rebirth following a disastrous debut indicate that many are migrating toward that online RPG for their sword-and-sorcery entertainment. The reason I'm starting this thread in the first place is that, with the anticipated diaspora from WoW, I think there may be a chance that CoH Homecoming will end up grabbing some of the players who are looking for a gaming experience that veers off the fantasy model. The "legacy" projects that initiated in the wake of CoH's shutdown in November 2012 have, to the best of my knowledge, gone into developmental hiatus, and thus there are no other resources for any who might be interested in trying the superhero genre. I'd be interested in knowing if the Homecoming crew have been informed about these developments, and what plans, if any, they may have made to deal with, or even encourage, a possible influx of homeless WoW children. And what does the population here think about the occurrences at Blizzard Entertainment, and do the people here see the WoW empire disintegrating, Roman style? Might there be a resurgence of interest in CoH that results in not only its maintenance and continuation for an indefinite time to come, but actual software development and technical upgrades? Pleased to know about the gang's reaction here.

Makes me think of a post I read x-years ago on the original CoH forums, Pixie_Knight; an individual was relating about how he and several others had done a Task Force with nothing but Defenders and Controllers on the team. He noted that the surprising thing about it was that nothing could stop or touch therm - sure, the individual missions took an inordinately long time to complete, but no one ever went down. It was like watching a slow-moving steamroller crush everything in its path. This brings to mind the truth that CoH is, ultimately, a defensive game, which draws it into stark contrast to what - at least as I understand it - is the rule for MMPOGs, especially the fantasy-oriented ones: the Scrappers, Blasters and CoV archetypes specializing in offense can finish a scrap pretty damn quickly, but if they're up against the wrong kind of opponents with the wrong power sets...call the hospital EMT staff and have them on standby. I've taken my Storm Summoning/Electrical Blast Defender to 27 with virtually no team-ups; almost every mission and mission arc has been solo. It is definitely possible with him, but he's gotta a) take his time, and b) use real serious tactical intelligence. I imagine the same holds true with a Defender/Controller team writ large, and I can understand why total offense teams are going to end up eating dirt repeatedly if the target is just too heavy on invulnerability/regeneration. The Defenders and Controllers are the roots around which the CoH offensive ATs get to blossom.

Taking a few minutes and veering off the OP topic (more than) a bit, but I just have to state this: Pixie_Knight, I was nodding, eyes wide, from beginning to end while reading your post from yesterday. Your situation and mine - and I suspect thousands of undeclared others - are mirrors of each other in so many respects: CoH as our first (and really only) MMPOG, and realizing and having to come to terms with the fact that the experience had, in fact, become an outright addiction. No, I never missed work - paid or volunteer - because of it, but numerous social and personal commitments (including trying to keep myself in decent physical condition, which I set great store by) ended up suffering greatly. The situation came to an end with the third weekend of February, '08, when I had spent the entire weekend, from Friday afternoon till Sunday midnight, doing nothing but playing the damn game. Nothing else; no stopping except to eat. No fulfilling of commitments to get out to the gym - which I promised myself continually throughout the weekend - and no contact with other humans. I shut the game down on Sunday night and thought, Congratulations. You have to be at work in a few hours and you just f***ed away an entire weekend and have nothing to show for it. Way to be, champ. It wasn't the first time I'd had this thought, but there seemed to be something a little more...earnest, intense and perhaps desperate in it this time. I, gratefully, managed to lay off the game that week and got back to doing other stuff; real stuff, from Monday to Friday. The game became a weekend-only situation, Friday evenings to Sunday afternoon, with a few hours on each day. Getting back into condition showed exactly what sort of cost the CoH situation had taken, and I made a God-honest promise to never let this happen again. Part of the reason this was possible is identical to what you noted about the other online games, particularly fantasy genre ones: they're all essentially interchangeable. I tried D&D Stormreach for one month and then quit out of sheer boredom. Jack Emmert and his crew's skill, insight and sheer depth and love of the superhero genre - and yes, they were working within the technical/software coding limits of the time, but what they pulled off was flat-out amazing - was reflected, I think, in how much the community came together around this game, its Developers and each other. The same applies now to the Homecoming crew and their having taken unknown time, energy, resources with no guarantee of reward, and having applied the Delco batteries and jumper cables, getting the sparks jumping and crying out, "It's alive! It's alive!" Are there things that could be perhaps added on/altered as a consequence of the last eight years? Yeah, but nothing of real note that would change what we already have here. Gone on way too fricking long, and apologies for that, but just wanted to state very clearly, Pixie_Knight, my deepest thanks for what your statement had inspired and recalled from years and situations past. Thank you for your forthrightness and honesty in making a public statement like that, and further thanks for making me - and others, very likely - think about their own situations and how to avoid personal pitfalls and internal weaknesses again.

Just to note that I agree with the OP's opinion, and back up everything people have stated here the big one-ten. Crazyleo is your basic 1000% correct: it's the community from beginning, through the middle, till the end. Today, running with a new alt in the Hollows, a fellow player did a fortune reading, then handed over a mid-size rage insp in a spirit of total gratuity. I can't think of any other game I've ever played - and that hasn't been very many, just to be clear - where that sort of thing would even have been thought of, let alone carried through with. I keep suspecting that it's the genre and nature of the game itself that encourages this kind of interaction - your WoW-type game, at least as far as I've read and been told, is pretty much about what Captain Jack Sparrow uses as his motto: "Take what you can; give nothing back." Really unfortunate that encouraging people to use gaming formats to fulfill this Malthusian doctrine seems to be the choice line of approach for the MMPOG world. This game (CoH side, anyway) is about helping a world, and it's eternally wonderful to see that ideology carried through on a daily basis with other human beings. They, and we, are going to do nice things because they make us feel good. Also, this seemed a good place to note: Made the donation today, in my small (very small, relatively) part to keep the engines churning here. Eternal congratulations and thanks to the Homecoming crew, and hoping that CoH Homecoming has a very long and illustrious lifespan ahead of it.

At 56, hitting 57 in October. I was 39 when City of Heroes first came out; my youngest brother (just turned 33 at the time) had discovered the game and, getting married that August, arranged for his "bachelor party" as a mass CoH game-fest with myself, our other brother (34 for him), and two friends who owned their own software company - we played in their large, studio-style office. The game stretched on for fifteen hours. We made it a point to get together after that on pretty much a weekly basis, all bringing our desktop PCs - and yes, it was a hassle doing the disassembly, loading, transportation, moving into the friends' office, reassembling, then starting the game up - but it was something that we all acknowledged was a driving social force; we loved our superheroes and were prepared to make a load of sacrifices/take on burdens in order to have a game where all the characters looked like Jim Lee/Scott Williams-designed cover art. Like pretty much everyone else here, I mourned the loss of the game, and was unable to find anything that even came close to inspiring the same emotional investment; as noted in a previous thread, I tried DC Heroes Online and was never driven to go any further than designing a character...all of which were based on my CoH alts. The reawakening here has been an absolute joy to discover, and once again, all my thanks to the (as yet unnamed) cast and crew who took it upon themselves to resurrect something that so many people had given up as lost. Hoping CoH will be around, in its current incarnation, when the gang here and myself are well into the fourth quarter-century of our lives, muttering about how the punk kids just don't appreciate classic-style games. Pass over the antacid pills...

GVT, thank you very much for having the temerity and guts to broach a subject like this, and encourage the crew to actually avoid the digital food fights because, well, it's all fun and games until someone actually misses out on having Jello for dessert. What you've brought up - and many appreciations for the in-gaming-studio clarifications - confirms what I suspect many people here have already concluded by implication. Gaming studio executives don't have any awareness of "fun", they don't really care about "fun", they couldn't give a rat's unsanitized posterior about "fun" - what they care about is one thing and one thing only: What will make the game-playing population spend more money. "Fun" becomes an industry code word for "Ways to encourage people to pull out their credit cards and get more stuff in our game, because that's the positivist method we have for determining whether they're continuing to play." In economics, "utility" is defined by "what causes people to spend money". This is as close as economics, as an academic subject, comes to defining "happiness". Happiness, as so many people who have already posted here have stated, is something that utterly defies definition as a categorical term; the more you try to pin it down, the more elusive it becomes. "Fun" is a synonym in this regard, and the only method an existential company has of defining what "fun" is will be measured in terms of how much cash we pulled in this quarter. Your indication, GVT, about how the corporations are trying to "expand", to put it loosely, their terminology for "fun" is a pretty good indication as to how the executive mind functions in situations where the need for a redefinition of the paradigm comes around. They're pulling the officers on the Titanic maneuver; rearrange a few deck chairs so everyone (at least those in first class) have a better view of the ship going vertical. The MMPOG model had its hey-day from roughly 2003-14; after that it's become much like its pen-and-paper RPG cousin - a niche item that can still be profitable if management pays attention to what people are substantiating arguments for. This might lead to "fun"; it might also lead to an ongoing negotiation between management, developers and players that gets everyone on to a much more democratic, egalitarian, even keel where the lines of function may remain intact, but opinions become a much more equal-value commodity. Hoping this sort of discussion continues, GVT and all those others who have posted, because, well, this kind of thing is really educational and...uh,, what's the term...yeah, fun! Shows that MMPOGs ain't just fer having a few beer and hitting the, "Wise up, n00b" button.

Okay; yeah, it did happen, Back In The Day, when one of my mains (MA/SR Scrapper) had the Doc Vahz arc that had become stalled after my guy ended up outleveling the contact. I kept trying the contact as the levels went on, hoping to be able to finish things off one day. Things finally did click and the arc restarted, though maxed out at level 15 or thereabouts (been a while, obviously). My guy basically waltzed through the missions and finally got to the Doc Vahz scrap...and so here it was, a level 45 (again, thereabouts) Scrapper, alone, versus a level 15 AV. The ensuing scrap was pretty much a war of attrition; there was no way Doc Vahz could hit my guy, but a solo character - even level 45 - was taking yea amount of time to take him out. Yet finally it did come to fruition, my guy got the story arc completed - at last - and he had the Souvenir in his collection. I don't anticipate anything like that happening again, but it's a nice "Shake the head, smile, and say 'Remember when...?'" moment.

I honestly find it hard to articulate how much joy and applause this entire event, the individuals and groups it has brought into participation, and the thinking it has inspired has brought me. I look at this sort of thing and it's one indicator that maybe we can start taking steps in the right direction if we've got our sights on something that helps people, including ourselves, to simply have a better life. I do agree with June that one of the primary goals for this sort of thing is that it becomes unnecessary - a, "Huh. Remember when..." topic where those who would have been involved in it can look at each other, as well as those uninvolved with the group, shake their heads and say, "What was all the fuss about?" A character - and a person's - sexuality should (ideally) form about as much basis of conflict for the establishment of their identity as what colour eyes they were born with. Looking forward very much for the spirit of Pride month to continue unabated throughout the year. And to all those who have submitted artwork on this thread: Keep it comin'. 😁

Citizen Razor, thank you for passing that along; I was unaware that there were any servers for CoH aside from this one. While I'm pretty darn content with what we've got on Homecoming, it's nice to know that there are "alternative universes" out there, each with their own point where elements shift in terms of value and effect on the world they're in. Regarding a total "old-school" CoH version...eh, I'm pretty much okay with what we've got here. End use is much more conservative and exhaustion much less common than it was previously? I'll deal with that, especially since it gives less "solo-friendly" Archetypes and builds the chance make it on their own without chopping mission-levels down. Contacts, and "stores" of all types now deal with all variety and origin-type of enhancements on an equal basis? Was kind of nice to have origin-exclusive shops for those in the 12-plus category, but the change is something I consider just a few steps removed from cosmetic. All contacts can now buy and sell salvage, recipes and enhancements? Again, a bit strange, but it doesn't detract from the game for me. SG bases now cost absolute zero to build, furnish and equip? Again, takes a little bit away from SG-loyalty and identification (the original Black Talon, on Virtue, was offered a spot in an SG the moment he finished the tutorial and made it to Atlas plaza; the SG rep informed me that the SG would pay for all enhances, always, as long as I played in SG mode. I agreed immediately and was a loyal, if bottom-of-the-totem-pole, member until the NCSoft shutdown), but it certainly takes away from the SG leaders putting pressure on the members to "Go. Hunt. Kill Skuls" in order to pay for that new teleporter or med-bay. I'll stick with Homecoming for the foreseeable future, and changes the Devs here want to make (if any), will be tolerated with a smile and a shrug until we've got a full accounting of the effects. Best, though, to all other CoH iterations and servers and the populations that choose those particular venues.

DrZeus, I very much appreciate the articulation of your comments. Some I'm nodding,"Yeah, yeah," at, others are "Eh - I get the point," others I would dispute somewhat, though not disagree with entirely. Like yourself, I was a CoH player from year one - August '04 - and saw a number of the changes go through that, in large part, I supported. One thing I do agree with you on is the trend toward abbreviation, though it could be explained, if not excused, largely on the basis of "We're dealing, in the vast majority, with players who did CoH for probably close to half a decade, if not more. If they don't understand the reference, they can request a translation." I don't know if the Homecoming team actually has their strategy set on bringing in new players; if so, a "common abbreviations guide" should be offered on this site for quick reference. Having travel powers available at single-digit levels isn't a major problem, from my viewpoint - although I have pushed myself to wait until at least 12 before getting the core abilities for such (I'd like to duplicate the pre-shutdown experience as much as reasonably possible). Like yourself, I do find the privilege of actually exploring Paragon City's characteristic-heavy zones to be of great value; gives some major appreciation for the time, thought and effort the Devs put into it Back In The Day, and makes it feel like an actual city rather than just Village X. Re the End reduction on powers in general: Well, although I see your argument, it's something that has allowed my Storm Summoner/Electric Blast Defender to get to 16 on his own - although there has been some major patience and tactical considerations involved in such - without loading up on End inspirations as opposed to the always-helpful Defs/Accs (yeah, getting exhausted after a solid minute or so of scrapping is a real-life consequence...but this ain't real life). Otherwise, personally I've felt that the game has maintained its essential beneficial qualities, and whatever's negative can be overcome, generally, with the proper assistance. Otherwise, DrZeus, all welcomes back to Paragon City, and hoping to run into you or one of your alts in the not-too-distant future. All best with the game.

Adding nothing of substance to the point here; just noting that, as many on this site have likely done, back in the days when Homecoming was naught but a dream, I too tried out DCUO after it went free-to-play. I never got any further than designing a character. I won't go into what aspects - and there were many - served as a turn-off for the game's premise, but one thing stood out above all: You had to pick Superman, Wonder Woman or Batman as a mentor. Like those individuals wouldn't have anything better to do with their days. The game-specific points that you've brought up here, UltraAlt, come across for me as little more than in-game colloquialisms, but overall it seems to indicate a game that seems more determined to rank itself as a game about a story than a game in itself. While I wish the DCUO players, Mods and Devs all the best in moving the game forward, what you've listed here points out, just as strongly as anything else I've heard or read, that I made the right decision in deciding to delete it from the hard-drive and just keep buying DC's comics. Thank you for having taken the time to indicate what's happening in another game's backyard, and give us yet more reasons to thank the entire Homecoming team for allowing us back into Paragon City.

I get the image of Hawkins and Billy from Predator doing this. Good second career choice for both of them.