battlewraith

Yeah this pretty much hits the nail on the head. Particularly when looking at a statement like this: This is hilarious to me because there is literally no trophy in this game that has any significance to me as a player. I don't care about other people's badges, how many 50s they have, how many merits they've accumulated, etc. Resources to me are essentially the cost of doing business. I'm pursuing some interest or creative endeavor and due to the game mechanics, there is a certain amount of grind thrown my way as a tax to pursue that interest. It's in my interest to minimize that tax so that I spend as much time in the game doing the things I actually enjoy doing. Unfortunately, there is a large contingent of the community that view their achievements relative to what other people are doing. They feel it is in their interest to keep this tax higher to protect the subjective value of their "earnings." I guess I can understand this mentality intellectually but can't relate to it at all. If an activity is fun--that should be the reward. If other people have the option to skip tedious content or get phat loot--and this destroys your fun--then the activity in question must not be all that.

Well if you're one of those drunken sailors then they're probably a great bunch. If you're not, then they may reasonably come across as assholes, particularly if you have to argue with them and shout over them every time you try to order a drink.

I didn't claim that. I said that by the time I had earned 50k I was in the late teens. The price of SOs at that time was such that I could buy 2. And yeah, being able to 10 rather than 20, of the lvl 5s, is a pretty big difference. Yeah I don't think I would describe using 2x boosters, running 3 dfbs, and then soloing at default settings all the way to lvl 26 as "speed leveling." The whole point is to show that buying SOs early is unnecessary, particularly with the other buffs available. Same deal. If it's easier to survive, then it's easier to grind. And I doubt most players in the early levels are doing anything about their survivability. Being able to kill mobs is more important than having good resists or def at the outset. If you're support and know you will be teaming a lot, then buffs and heals are worth slotting--but if you're teaming a lot, you'll fly through this early content.

Maybe it would be more realistic to work in the opposite direction. The graphics of this game are antiquated. Meanwhile modeling, texturing, sculpting, topology, etc. tools have become incredibly powerful compared to what they were like in the early 2000s. Perhaps the dev team could outsource the production of assets which could be added to the AE system. Not just Egypt---a variety of interesting locales. AE content creators could then incorporate them into new player made content, which would give the playerbase a compelling reason to check out these AE missions. This would also act as an extended beta for the new assets to make sure they work/integrate properly. After a period of time, the devs could look at which assets are particularly popular and then use those as a basis for further updates that included new coding related functionality.

Lol no. The cheapest lvl 5 SOs are around 3k. Some of the more popular ones like dmg are around 6k. Nobody is buying 20 of these things for 50k, even if they could enhance fear in every power or something. I tried a new character as I said. I didn't give it any money. Also, the point of the dfb was to get the buffs, not to speed level. Those buffs lasted me until level 26 without really needing to enhance anything. That was using the 2x xp booster, but you could so the same thing without using a booster. Either way, that's a better option than investing in SOs that are very quickly going to be outleveled. The illogic of this quoted statement is that if SOs and DOs make a significant difference, then you'll level faster and they will therefore expire faster. If you want to level faster, just run some dfbs and/or use a booster to make easier settings worth more. Don't bother wasting the money. If you aren't worried about earning faster, then you don't need the significant difference that those enhancements are going to give you.

I don't think people are critical of this idea because they have some objection to helping new players. It's more that 50k inf is so trivial and it's being aimed at the initial levels when enhancements are needed the least. Since this suggestion was made, I started leveling a new character. I ran DFB three times in order to get the acc, dam, and recovery buffs. I then just started doing normal content and got some additional powers from bank missions and whatnot. When I had earned roughly 50k myself, out of curiosity I went to the vendor and buy SOs. This was late teens and I could afford 2. The buffs from the dfb lasted me until I think lvl 26. I didn't buy enhancements again until lvl 27.

Glad to inspire you dood. Personally, when I picture a badge themed character--at least in my head it looks like Pacman and makes a "waka waka" sound when it moves around.

That's different than my recollection on all counts. Some of the zones were pretty steadily active, if not outright busy, and it doesn't take many lone wolf types or even small groups of pvpers to stop people from getting badges. They also had that outbreak guy spawning in RV so that people could get that badge, which was a major fiasco that got badgers pissed. Trying to promote pvp and organize events I often had to deal with pissed off badgers chiming in.

So that means that pvpers can't have badges related to pvp? I didn't bring this up to relitigate the whole farce. The point was just to show an example of entitlement. The devs at that time made a decision regarding incentives. There was a large subcommunity of players that were outraged by this and kept arguing that they were entitled to these incentives without having to actually earn them through pvp.

There are a bunch of entitled mentalities in this community. Farmers, sure. Hang out in the suggestions forum and watch people freak out over proposals for minor changes that they think will destroy everything . There's also a nostalgic, reactionary bunch that things should be nerfed or rolled back to their preferred era of gaming. Probably the biggest shitfest in the history of the game came when the devs put badges in the pvp zones and badgers did not want to have to pvp to get them. Everyone has an interest that they pursue . Disruptions to that interest can be really aggravating and it gets amplified by the mockery of the forums. The alpha predator of this social dynamic is the disinterested nonplayer. "City of Heroes got shut down again and I can't play anymore!" "Oh, does that mean you'll go outside more and actually get some exercise?"

Yes, I think in terms of locales this one is a no-brainer. Would fit well with coh lore and offer a lot of creative possibilities. I would also like to some more eldritch/Lovecraftian themed content in the game and this would be a good bridge to that--maybe some of those old ruins in the deep desert aren't human in origin.

This is kind of how I picture the ToT witches when they come out the door and see a bunch of supers.

Somebody was wondering if they were getting bored with the game quicker as the result of getting older. He responded with this: It seems apparent to me that he's identifying himself as part of the group "older players" (whatever that means). And since he's apparently representative of these older players he feels comfortable just waving away somebody else's thoughts about aging and decreased tolerance for grind (which he mischaracterizes as wanting the "easy way"). That's bullshit. Different people have different shifting priorities as they age. It was a weird thing to say. And it's a weird thing for me to have to clarify and bicker about a question that he didn't bother to answer.

Yeah and???

No, not really. First of all you said it was false that a pipeline like that existed, which is incorrect. Secondly, yeah it's less complicated to just go to the vendor--and immediately start wasting that inf on low level content that they will pretty quickly burn through. And then once those SOs are red, wonder why the character isn't performing that well anymore. So how about instead of the 50k, there is a contact you get immediately on entry that leads you though this process. It introduces you to the free p2w movement options, marks the exploration badges on the map (so that you learn the significance of badges and that they may reward you with things like merits), and then guides you through the auction house process. You get more money and learn more about the game then getting a small inf gift to support the easiest and most fleeting levels. Also, if there was a message at the start that said, if you need some startup money ask the friendly community! They would probably get more than 50k lol.

This is from the newcomer's guide in the guide section: If we assume that the new player doesn't know anything, and isn't going to do any research or ask any questions, then I doubt throwing 50k inf at them is going help them much either. They don't know where to buy enhancements, what enhancements to buy, etc. etc.

Ok, so first off nice clickbait. As for the actual suggestion: 1. I thought there was already some scheme in place to get cash for lowbies. You get an exploration badge or something that grants you some merits, then exchange those for converters which you then sell. I thought the return on this was at least 150k. 2. I logged on a character to check. At lvl 2, you can start buying SOs for around 4k a pop. Doing so would strike me as really foolish since you burn through those early levels pretty quickly even if you're not using xp boosters and/or running dfb. Personally, I don't think I bother even slotting any SOs until around lvl 20, at which the price is much higher. I think at least 10k. So that 50k really doesn't do a whole lot. If you used it to slot earlier, then you would level faster--and the SOs would expire more quickly. Ok it's some free money. It will help a little. But it's a weird place on which to focus dev attention. If you don't like this content, you level through it quickly to the point where 50k isn't a big deal. If you do like it--then you go slow and savor it? Why are you in a rush to get enhanced, which would presumably get you through it quicker?

I haven't ignored anybody in the game, so I was unaware of these options. Everything you mentioned should just be part of ignore, especially topics. If somebody can't stand your opinions to the extent that they're going to block them, that person shouldn't be able to chime in on discussions that you started.

Why do the butthurt people that have me ignored feel the need to reference me when they have a meltdown lol?

It was ridiculous 13 years ago. Therefore...they shouldn't be lowered now? Is that the point of this?

Yeah the merit cost of enhancements is ridiculous. Lower the cost of buying them with merits or further increase the rewards you get for running content. Ideally, a player should be able enhance a new character without buying anything from the market. Using the market should not be a mandatory aspect of this game for someone who wants run at what would be considered a typical level of achievement (ie, having enough to alt, have decent builds, etc.). Then we can maybe dispense with the endless horror stories of inflation on live and the use of the market as the game's schizophrenic moral compass: Farming is bad because it leads to inflation. Can't skip the farming because it leads to inflation. Yada yada.

No. You don't understand correctly. The point is that people have builds in mind that are possible at lvl 50, but not earlier. They want to skip the content that is decades old and they have done probably a million times in order to get to the actual build phase. They may or may not exemp and play that lowbie content. The character will not feel the most absolutely powerful. It doesn't even have the alpha slot unlocked yet. It wouldn't be changed for all players. Nobody is forcing anyone to take an instant lvl 50. It would be completely optional.. That's why these objections are so ridiculous. Implicitly everyone here knows that we're not talking about a few players. And we're not talking about people who are bored with the game. The anxiety is that people would be able play the way they want without having to pay the 4-5 hour grind tax. And this is upsetting to people who have really bought into the retail philosophy of early 2000s MMOs and see everything as a pseudo job and their characters as flexes on what they've earned. This is not The Sims. Right, and it's also not 2004 COH. Which is good. You can't go back and you shouldn't go back. Imagine what the market would look like if all the sandbox people up and left.

The HC team doesn't have to go for anything. The market, any fucking market, will always benefit the wealthiest players. How naive are you? The whole point of playing the market, as people on these boards constantly reminded me during page 4 arguments, is to redistribute wealth, not generate it. The reason this, as a playstyle, is allowed to be more lucrative than other types of grinding is that it destroys inf through fees. But this is a large part of the reason you have so many billionaires running around to begin with. Yes, new players wouldn't be able to purple out their fifties. The also can't really afford SOs either unless they....dun dun dun!...play the market. Or ask other players for money. The amount of resources that are generated while leveling a new 50 is trivial. Maybe a couple purples and a few other useful recipes. And there is certainly better content that you could've been running with the 4 or 5 hours you spent pling that character in order to pay for enhancing. You seem hung up on the idea of a 50 earning for itself, which is meaningless. Pay for it with drops earned by other characters, do hardmode content, play the market, whatever. All of this is dodging the question anyway, which is not irrelevant. You're painting this nightmare scenario based on supply and demand. People are leveling 50s all the time. What is the demand right now? If it's high, and the market remains stable, then your reasoning fails. People might not be willing to shell out that much for enhancements. Or they are content to use merits to buy things, or just incremental enhance things as they get the drops.

I already skip that chunk. I have for years, as have probably a near majority of other players. When Homecoming came back, there seemed to be this general attitude amongst the playerbase that the game was amazing because it allowed players to follow their bliss in different ways. Sadly there's been a sort of move back towards a weird nostalgic orthodoxy lately. The argument is that the end result is the same. I will have a 50 either way. If I have 10 hours in a week to commit to actually playing, it would be better for me to spend that 10 hours playing that 50 on teams rather than grinding on a farm. And better for other people that are looking to fill their teams. And if you will permit me to get real for a moment--sheer laziness is not skipping the farm phase in making a 50. Sheer laziness is playing this game in the first place when there are thousands of more productive things that any of us probably should be doing. Anyone getting on my ass about not earning things or being lazy--is barking up the wrong tree, in the wrong forest, in a galaxy far far away.

Wow. You sound so hip. Really. Your apocalyptic scenario, like the ones other people have brought up, involves some bold assumptions. 1. Everyone is going to do this. The entire playerbase. Immediately. This is amusing because half the time people argue that there would be no demand for this sort of thing. Also if that many people would want it--if it would be so wildly popular--why are people so hell bent on not having a reasonable implementation? 2. Everyone is going to immediately buy up everything from the market. Bullshit. First of all you go on a lot about purples. Those are what I need the least. I have a bunch of them in storage or spread out on different characters. The number of enhancements on the market is not the same as the number of enhancements in the game. Secondly, if you don't have a lot of enhancements on hand--you probably don't have a lot of inf either. If you cannot afford things, you're not going to buy them on the market. Thus you're not going to be driving up demand. That means the ones buying all the stuff up on the market would be the people who are already sitting on a pile of cash and can mint a new 50 whenever they feel like it. 3. You don't address the most basic question: How many new 50s are created right now over say the course of a month? If you knew that number you could make some reasonable estimation about how an influx of 50s, some of which would fully enhanced with purchases from the auction house, would affect the market. But you don't make any kind of analysis like this and just assume the worst. If I play that game, I can assume that thousands of new 50s are made every month and the market can fairly easily bear an additional influx--maybe a new 50 every month for interested players (maybe around 500-100). If you don't use it, they expire and do not accrue.