Abraxus

Like any pursuits that we find preferable, pleasurable, or just plain necessary, it's all about balance. You play in between the "have to" things, and the "should do" things, as this definitely falls into the "want to" category. Some other things in your life that were also in that category likely find this competing for your time, and attention. But, you will feel better knowing, while you might not get to play as much as you'd really like, you're also not putting off more important things, or people in your life. I recall doing that in the original run, and I made a point not to fall into that behavior this time around, and it's worked out pretty well.

All T4's! That's some CoH dedication there! 😎

If that's your thing, absolutely!

One thing I have noticed, is when folks are actually playing, as opposed to taking about playing in the forum, or on Discord, it's a totally different scene. When on a team, even when things are not going well, very seldom will you see accusations leveled at someone specifically, or that their shortcomings are due to a specific thing that was a topic of discussion outside the game. When playing, by and large, what prevails is the joy of playing. It's really only here where we break things down to the theoretical levels which are topics for discussion. But, what would we have to talk about if we didn't. 😉

Yeah, there are situations like this one, where someone's unfamiliarity with the game, their archetype, and their powers due to not learning any of the above on the way to L50, starts to have an impact on my enjoyment of my available play time, or anyone else's; then it's a problem. But, I can't really think of any other circumstances where it is an issue worthy of much notice, let alone critique.

Probably not that many. So, what I stated wouldn't apply to very many, leaving most with my blessing to do whatever the heck you want! 😎

No, you're right. Folks need to first, and foremost have fun. For those who have done this process countless times, with multitudes of archetypes, and powersets, you've earned the right to skip over some stuff. However, I reserve the right to be critical of a team situation caused by a player who knows nothing about his high level character, because they skipped the entire learning process to get there. There is a minimum level of familiarity to not be "THAT GUY" on a high level team.

I have three level 50 characters so far, with a few still coming through the ranks, and I have yet to decide which will be my standard bearer for the long haul. I love that it is such a difficult decision, made even more so by the fact that I love playing them all in different ways.

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.