SupaFreak

Back on Live, I went to 50 as slow as I could on all my main 5 characters - experiencing as much of the contacts as I could. Nowadays though - it's zoom to 50 as fast as I can and Ouro any content I want to relive again. I'll always check out the new content Homecoming team puts out though. *added* Note that I prefer not to engage in A/E farming though. I still do official content to level quickly. TFs, Radios, Dark Astoria missions, etc.

Try it on Brainstorm or make a Temporal Warrior PvP real quick and try it sometime. I love it.

Hello Developers! It has indeed been rather exciting playing Homecoming in the recent weeks. As someone who has been here since day one, the influx of new and returning players gives me hope that a number of them will stick around and help Homecoming's popularity grow and be able to maintain its appeal. The population boom has provided me with the opportunity to team with and help both new and returning players to the game and hear what they think about certain aspects of the game. While I'm not sure what the success or failures of Homecoming's appeal means to the longevity of the recent license agreement, I'm sure NCSoft is at least paying some attention in some capacity. Live Server Failures My opinion on why (behind closed doors) NCSoft truly decided to shut down the live servers was primarily due to the shortcomings of the Going Rogue expansion and its inability to grow and maintain its subscriber base. While the zones of Praetoria were beautiful to look at and the morality choice arcs were a breath of fresh air, a third starting experience was overall a horrible idea. The Praetorian zones were desolate and teaming there was minimal at best, making newcomers feel isolated from the vast population of an MMO game. Not exactly a recipe for success. The Freedom update was beginning to be a step back in the right direction, but it still wasn't enough to overcome the past mistakes. Homecoming Updates While I and likely others would prefer to see smaller and more frequent updates closer to three or four times a year, I will say this... I honestly do feel the development team has not made a single misstep yet on content added. From the addition and refining of the Sentinel to making Tankers and Brutes roles more unique to improving the underplayed primaries and secondaries, you show you care about the meat and potatoes of the game - the character. And Issue 27 (page 7) has a little bit of something for everyone. From character customization to vanity pets to Co-Op Striga to Advanced Mode Lady Grey... there's a little something for everyone. I may not personally be excited about every aspect of it, but it's not about me. It's about the community and the success of Homecoming. However, there is one aspect of Page 7 that gives me hope that Homecoming is willing to do something other MMOs do not... give some love to outdated aspects of the game. What do I mean by that? Why, I'm talkin' 'bout Giant Monsters and them rewarding 1-3 Unstable Aether. The Reward Merits were a nice carrot-on-a-stick but this is icing on the carrot (that is a thing, right?). The ability to either trade 10 in for a vanity pet OR trade 3 for a Prismatic Aether? Now that is a smart move. What makes it a smart move in my opinion is that it takes an older aspect of the game and gives it added meaning and appeal to a larger crowd that is likely to last a long, long time. See, I come from the mindset that every single aspect of an MMO has to have continuing value and/or appeal on some level and not just be "one and done". Badges may appeal to some, but to players like me... if it doesn't give me some way to monetize or enhance my characters stats or abilities in some way... it's a hard pass. Shallow as that may be, I'm not here to chew gum - I'm here to... Anyways... Forging Ahead I do hope the Homecoming team takes note of the comment about existing and less desirable content, because it IS a possible factor to new and returning players. When I'm explaining some aspect of the game to either one of them and the Q&A goes something like this: Q: "What is X used for?" A: "Those are pretty useless." Q: "Why isn't anyone ever doing X?" A: "Most already have the badge and it doesn't have any rewards." And their response is "Oh", I get the sinking feeling they know subconsciously that there's a bottleneck in the design of the game and they're about to step onto a treadmill of limited content. NOT a recipe for success, in my opinion. What I hope for the future of Homecoming is for the Q&A to be more like this: Q: "What do I do with these X things?" A: "There's really nothing useless in the game and those are good for X, no matter what level you are." Q: "Why are there level 50s doing X?" A: "People do that over again because it rewards X buff for the next 4 hours of gameplay (for example) on top of getting a badge the first time, which is really nice". Whether it was the original or Homecoming developers, someone put time and effort into creating some fun content that gets massively overshadowed because it's a "one and done" deal. I'd personally like to see that change for the betterment of the game. The tendency of MMOs to pump out "one and done content" over "one and done content" is an easy trap to fall into and a major reason why they fail to maintain an audience. Players consume new content faster than it can be pumped out and tend to be left looking for something to hold them over until the next dinner plate of "one and done content" is served. Sometimes the game provides enough sustenance to keep their gaming bellies happy, but I'd say most times not. In Closing I'm super proud of Homecoming for achieving the license agreement with NCSoft. That was both ground-breaking and legendary! I also want to acknowledge and applaud NCSoft for their massive display of humility and generosity for extending the olive branch to us players who gave them hell during the sunset of 2012. You have my admiration and gratitude for that, NCSoft. I'm very much looking forward to the additions of Victory + Paragon servers(?) and what the additional "hands-on-deck"(?) means for the future of Homecoming's longevity and success. I may not frequent the forums that much, but would love to see what I perceive to be underperforming or under-utilized aspects of the game addressed in the near future: Vanguard Merits Brainstorm Ideas Safeguard & Mayhem Missions Tip Missions A/E Dev's Choice Zone Events Praetorian Zones (x5) Kallisti Wharf I may have my ideas on what needs done about them, you may have yours - and maybe it's nothing at all. I suppose the subject of that debate is best suited for elsewhere, such as the Suggestions & Ideas section of the forums. I honestly just wrote this letter as personal "thank you" to you all with some feedback for the Homecoming team to chew on, for this game has brought me so much joy in my life. From Beta 2004 to Sunset 2012. From Homecoming Day 1 to License Agreement and beyond... Long Live City of Heroes!

I can say I'm guilty of branching off from team ONLY when it's apparent they are fine without me and damage output is excessive as a squad and that's only on non-support characters. I always stick with main squad with support characters. You branch off, you better be able to handle it. I understand when others do it and, in my mind, they're doing it for the same reasons I do. Sometimes players like me feel it's not really beneficial to stick with the team when excessive damage is being dished out. When I'm forming and leading and someone does that, I'd personally never kick them but I do say we're not going to speed this unless a majority wants to. I didn't form as speed, we're not switching to speed unless it's a collective agreement. They complete the mission for us too soon... they can wait outside, soak up the XP, continue to solo or join us. No harm, no foul on my end.

To be honest, a lot of casual players I've ran into don't want to bother with macros or do the research on macros. I'm kinda curious in general if people actually "like" the targeting radar all that much. Do they also use it for a quick TP where there's no enemy or something?

4 is generally all I use as well.

Just curious if others would prefer the "teleport to target" abilty of Feral Charge on these attacks as I would OR if people really dig that targeting radar.

Yea, I know it's shallow of me, but I only run story arcs with other people if it's through Ouroboros for the reason everyone gets the Reward Merits. As far as I know, it's always been that way since implementation of Ouro. I've suggested in the past for ways to reward people joining pick-up storyline teams, but I assume it's not a venture worth exploring.

I, too, could go for something in the vein of this.

My main is Dual Pistols / Martial Combat Blaster. Started originally as Assault Rifle / Devices on Live. Always wanted primary to be a "Gun Melee" and return back to Devices secondary. Something along the lines of this would have me rerolling him yet again.

Love being a part of the SNSs when I catch them. Last night was EPIC as all out! Think we got 21 + Kronos Titan? Thanks again TB!

That's the info I was looking for! Thanks a ton Michiyo!

Yea, that's the method I was using for Tequila but don't see the CityOfHeroes.exe in Homecoming folders... do I just use the launcher instead?

Ack, haven't searched for demorecord topics since 2021. Glad I found this and hearing that demorecord works with HCLauncher - I been using Tequila for demos for over 2 years. My computer either won't allow me to download the DemoLauncher or link is dead(?). How do you do demo playback the old fashioned way with HCLauncher using the Shortcut like I do with Tequila? Thanx in advance!

I had been regularly checking out "City of Titans", "Valiance Online" and "Ship of Heroes" updates on YouTube and in doing so I actively followed "Positive Gamer" - as soon as the news broke, I was there. First for the server that lasted like 3 weeks (?) then here since launch of Homecoming shortly after. I love, love, love this game and nothing I've tried comes even close.

I just want to add a comment saying I agree Empathy (and Pain Domination) should get PBAoE "Break-Free" type power with a moderately long recharge and higher endurance cost... here being "Clear Mind". I also wouldn't be opposed to the R-Auras being combined into a "Rejuvenation Aura" encompassing them both. Let Pain Domination stand out by being the one that can affect enemies... keep Empathy to best Ally heal set. Just my feedback.

Okay, so I was wrong - but with good reason to be. It totally slipped my mind that on Homecoming - the Auction House pools all like Uncommons & Rares together regardless of level or attunement - and I felt Breakdown would need to reflect that, so I went ahead and removed all Uncommons & Rares from all level ranges except 30 and used Level 30 as the basis for rewards. I also wanted to state the reason for me sinking so much time and effort into this Suggestion. I agree with the statement "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link" and targeted what I believe are some very weak links in our chain. For many of us, cycling through endgame content and task/strike forces works just fine. For many I know that no longer play Homecoming - it does not. They see a majority of content (their options for teams) being ignored completely because they have no real meaningful rewards to offer. I do fear that eventually the cycle will wear on some veterans (if it hasn't already) and that while 1 or 2 new HC missions from time to time are excellent and welcome... it's just not enough to entice the longevity of one's return. So I tried to make any new suggested systems & UI such as "Breakdown" and "Find Daily Mission" as non-complex to create and comprehensible for new/returning/existing players as possible. They may not be perfect and could possibly benefit from better ideas, but I felt the core of the systems were a strong basis on which to start - as are any suggestions I've presented here. I also tried to suggest systems that could bring veteran players and new/returning players together more with the Tribute Powers system both parties would have a desire to pursue and upkeep on without being bottlenecked into only one path to acquire. And with the badge requirements suggested, it encourages further teaming outside of the boost to lesser teamed content and rewards badge-hunters with desirable but not overpowering rewards. In closing, like many of you... I just want to see Homecoming thrive because aside from having the best MMO ever created, we've got a great Dev Team and community. I just would personally like to see some of our chains in the system strengthened to secure our longevity. PEACE!

Possibly, but I think I'll stick with the NOV-3012 I changed it to earlier today. 😎

Dang-it... why did I think for years it was in September? ARRRRG!!! Now I need to change the dang passcode! Thanx!

*injects vote for C*

Still need to finish my fun/dumb story 'Adventurous Times' and possibly add more to FAQ from Imaginary Sources - but did a total revamp of presentation which includes an all-new section of Daily Missions to go along with this massive Suggestion. I did previously have Daily Missions in mind, but was unsure of how to introduce them until today. And this is where I'll no longer post replies to myself here and just update the title when I make an edit. 😎

Controllers and Dominators are currently my 2nd favorite AT playstyle in the game, but I personally feel I do fine with them on end-game content. It's just my role becomes more apparent in certain situations, so I partially agree and partially disagree. All 4 of my control ATs (and quite a few control types I've teamed with) can survive the alpha and control plenty on TFs like Apex/Tin Mage, Incarnate Trials, and up to about a 2-star challenge ITF. I'm sure the tankers/brutes on the team wonder what their role on the team is when typical squishies can excel and hold their own during those times of the TF/Trial. But then it comes down to the few instances where some of us are out of our league and need that tank/brute to compensate for our lack of ability to control. So, we have to lean on our non-control powers a bit more and take a bit of a back seat. Or sometimes our ability to Control isn't even wanted - like when I had 2-3 on a team chewing me out for (Plant) controlling Battle Maiden on Apex. I simply co-operated and shifted my attention to keep the swords occupied and gave my teammates the occasional heals. Granted, there's the few rare epic Control builds I've seen that make me feel like a novice, but generally speaking anytime there's 2-3 solid built control types on a team I'm on... they can run the show when they work in unison. I just can't think off the top of my head where 1 of my 4 fully incarnated control ATs feel they didn't contribute on at least a moderate level on end-game content... but that's simply my experience.

Also could accept a Rescue/Kidnap mission then Abandon it. It would be nice if: Mission Choice 1 > "Defeat X Boss" Mission Choice 2 > "Click X Glowie" Mission Choice 3 > "Rescue/Kidnap X NPC"

Hopefully I didn't lead you to believe I was just coming back. Been here the whole time. Just rarely on red-side.😎

Unfortunately only the 2nd time since founded that I've been online during donation time, but... DONATED! Massive thanx again to the HC team for all you do!