Abraxus

Absolutely this! I don't want to tell anyone how to play. However, I played the original game from start, to finish. When I came back, I found that I had a LOT to re-learn, and that took actually playing again, as opposed to skipping to the end. One definitely does his/her self a favor by leveling their first couple of characters up the old fashioned way, just to get reacquainted with the game. Then, they will be making informed decisions about how they prefer to play any that follow. It's totally up to the individual to decide how best to approach it. But, new or newly returning players do themselves, and everyone they play with in the later levels, a service by getting to know the game, their character, and their powers before jumping into the post-50 world.

The great thing about this game, in particular, is that it doesn't take a power house PC to run it with all the settings at max. I used to build my own PCs starting with an empty case, and working my way out from there. However, there used to be a measurable advantage to that, which has now diminished to the point where it no longer justifies the time/effort of doing so. These days, I buy an off the shelf mini-tower PC, and replace the power supply with something a little beefier than what they typically come with, and add a discreet video card (I'm an NVidia guy, but AMD is a fine choice these days too). If you can swing making the hard drives SSD, then everything just works faster. All fairly inexpensive as PCs go. However, your other choice is to just buy a gaming PC with all of that already done. That is usually a little more expensive, but all the work is done, and it just works right out of the box. The other advantage would be that, it will work for other games/applications than just CoH, and do very well with them. Dell, and Acer both make very nice gaming rigs (Alien, and Predator are the tags for them I believe). For reference, one of my sons has a Predator, and it is pretty awesome. My other son bought himself a gaming rig from a more boutique company that had more specialized parts. More expensive, but even more awesome. I can't recall the name at the moment, but if you are interested, I could find out. Needless to say, both their rigs beat the heck out of mine. But, mine still does what I need it to do, so it's fine. Especially, since CoH is all I play, or even want to play, anyway. 😎

Absolutely! The music was a copyright issue, without a doubt. But, it worked as part of the soundtrack for the original Spider-Man movie, and it works even better here. Plus, I'm one of those weird people who like Nickelback, despite the fact that it has become fashionable to hate them. 😉

There is so much to love about this game that so many might not see, because they typically don't do the mission content. It's pretty obvious that these missions, which were some of the last ones on the original run of the game, showed that the writers still loved the game too. It makes one wonder what could have been accomplished if it had not been so suddenly shut down. While I'd love to think that this new iteration of the game could provide some of that answer, it's probably unrealistic to expect entire zone refurbish, and accompanying contacts/story arcs on an all volunteer crew. But, I'd love to be proven wrong on that point. 😎

Regrettably, I do. I'll wager there are similar threads in any game forum currently in existence, highlighting the fact that it always has been a problem, and (unfortunately) always will be.

I like this endeavor! I'll be watching this thread for a Friday event when I'm free, and can join in!

I like that one! Here is one from VERY early in CoH history, that I always liked: Justice Video

Regrettable that some folks main enjoyment (likely not limited to their time in CoH) comes from pissing other people off. We all know they are out there, but it is just unfathomable that is what they consider the best use of their time. 🙄

Nice find! I was overjoyed to do a "kill all" ITF yesterday, as a matter of fact, and we looked high, and low for every Roman soldier, and 5th Column thug. We found them in places I had never thought to look, and before it was over, I had put almost 2 veteran levels on my L50 character, and was able to craft her 5th T3 level Incarnate power. So, good stuff all around.

I believe there were legal ramifications involved with the database from the "live" days. More serious than the ones for just running the game stripped of all that, which would have put a bigger target on their back than there already was at the beginning. I believe that, in order to avoid that level of concern, there was a conscious decision made to not make that data available, and to just start from scratch. If it meant reducing the chance that NCSoft would come swooping in and end this endeavor before it ever really got going, then I was fine with it. I had a considerable investment in characters, and a lot of in-game cash at the time of the original closure. I gladly, and wholeheartedly write that off, if it means we get to have what we have now.

Is it really math, or statistics? Granted, there is some math involved to add percentages, etc., but the Mids builder can do that for you. It seems like having a head for statistics would be the real advantage in this process. Keeping track of what sets enhance which set of abilities, to what degree, and the overlap between sets that combine for the increases you want to end up with. Or am I way off there? Then, of course, there is the administrative logistics of gathering all of the materials/resources to make a build happen. Either of these can be daunting, but the combination can be overwhelming. There again, I speak as someone who has avoided this for at least a decade, and finally dipped my pinky toe into that pool. But, that is how I see it in my mind. You're mileage may vary. 😎

As is typically the case in discussions of this kind, I believe we have arrived at the point where we all agree that CoH provides multiple avenues for acquiring XP, and folks are free to choose which best suites them, their time availability, and their play style. Thank goodness for a game that provides all of that, and for a community that recognizes that differences don't necessarily equate to argument, or ill will. We all play the game because we love it, and how we play is as different as we are as individuals. I see nothing wrong with any of that.

Oh, I don't regret it. Not one bit. I love the difference it has made in the character. I'm just not sure I'm as content hunting down all the components on the Auction House. Still, if I do it more often, the theory is, I'll get better at it, and then...who knows. Oh. and "Hey!" back sir! 😎

Give it time. It could still melt down. 😉🤣

Whatever our opinions on the topic, let's try to at least keep it civil. Yes? 🙂

I'm sure everyone would love for there to be a top-to-bottom refresh on the mission content. The problem is, this is still essentially a rogue server, operating on voluntary monetary contributions, being tended to by all volunteer staff. While I'm sure they'd love to be able to provide even a small percentage of what you suggest, the idea was to just be able to play CoH again. The fact that we got the updates/changes that we have is nothing short of miraculous. Now, things could change if the deal with NCSoft goes through. Advertising to the world without fear of legal retribution, in order to attract a larger player base, and from there, begin to map out what is possible in terms of baseline changes. But, at this juncture, I just don't see it being possible. Heck, news of the deal could come at any minute, and totally blow everything I just said out of the water. But, as things are at this moment, QOL, and some cool stuff will likely come our way sooner, than later. However, the big ticket items are probably not in the foreseeable future.

Absolutely! I believe I'll embrace the strategy of going the extra mile on those characters I REALLY want to keep playing into the later veteran levels, and not worry too much about the ones that will only get hauled out of mothballs when a special occasion arises where they would be thematically fun to play for a short while.

I agree wholeheartedly! I love that the game provides various methods to players about how to power their hero/villain/rogue. That's what makes this game so awesome! Choices! I was just having some difficulty reconciling my reticence to do this for so long, with the obvious value it brings to any character. And, like so many other things in this game, there are trade-offs to deal with, and as long as you are good with the trade-off, then everything is great! In this case, it is the time/research/effort/in-game resources, and brain power it takes to do this vs. staying with the less resource intensive methods that are not as powerful, but still quite viable. The take away here is not feeling like this is a must for every character. I will take this kind of time for those that I just have to see their ultimate evolution, and not worry about it for those who I deem "fine as is".

I did find one helpful thing that I had never really considered, until it became necessary. While I was in the process of building this awesome set, I respec'd the character to adjust for the different slotting, and the powers I never used before, that added to the bonuses of the build. From that, I created a secondary build to further the building process, while still playing on my primary build (the old fashioned crafted enhancement build). It helped being able to continue playing the character, while still assembling resources with which to complete the secondary (I/O set) build. Up to now, I had never had a use for additional builds. This experiment finally provided the scenario where it was quite useful.

Some of it is probably self-inflicted, because I had heard for so long how much better this approach was, and I knew that in order to form any kind of informed opinion, I had to do it at least once. I resisted for 15 years (only 8 of which involved actual play opportunity, as opposed to discussion), and now that I've done it, I'm still weighing the repercussions against my available play time, and style of play. I had to know, and now I do!

Yup, happily playing for every bit of this game's existence. But, I was wrestling with where this fit into things in my big picture. Thanks to the input of you good folks, I think I have a better bead on it. 😎

Cool! Nice to know I am not alone in this thinking. I think what it will come down to for me is perhaps taking the deep dive on those characters that I have absolutely loved playing to L50, and just have to see what more they are capable of, as opposed to those that just felt every bit of the grind to get there.

Perhaps that is a strategy I can embrace, as it sounds pretty similar to how I feel. Very helpful! Thanks!

I don't disagree with either of you. I totally get it! It's awesome! I know I can play how I want to, but I guess I feel a little guilty about not wanting to spend the extra time to correlate all of this information into a workable build, then spending the time, and resources to make it happen; when a L50 character with crafted I/Os (not the set bonus type, just the simple crafted type) could get me around 80% there in most cases without all of that, and still be an effective member of a team. For me, it really comes down to how I want to spend what little time I have to play. I love getting the most bang for the buck, and the two weeks it took me to assemble everything I needed for this one build just kind of put me off doing this again any time soon. Now, admittedly, I'm probably not the most efficient at the process, and it might get easier with each iteration. Guess I'd have to put that to the test in order to really know.

I will first admit that, while I always knew IO/Set Bonus' were the only way to take a character to absolute maximum potential. The combination of set bonuses just can't be duplicated using SOs, or Crafted I/O enhancements. Friends that I played with just couldn't understand how I could play as long as I have, and never gone down this path to ultimate power. Well, the answer was actually quite simple. While I freely admitted that this was the superior way to out fit any character, it requires a LOT more thought, time, and in-game expenditure than the more traditional methods. It really came down to how much of my precious play time did I want to spend gathering resources, formulating a build, farming when I would run low, and hours in the Auction House getting what I needed, as opposed to actually playing? Was the experience of a fully realized character SO much better from the perspective of the play experience that it justifies all of that? Now, after finally taking the deep plunge into that pool, I find the answers not to be as easy as "yes", or "no". It's not so clear-cut a choice, and like so many things in this game (or any other, for that matter), it is a subjective matter from a perceived play experience perspective. Statistically, there is no question. But, cases could be made for being less statistically superior, and still be effective enough to have fun. I now have an electric blaster that is fully outfitted, and I am noticing a big difference in damage, recharge, and defense. But, when I think about the hours involved in creating this damage monster, I'm still not convinced I would do this for every character I have. What do you all think?