Abraxus

Sentinel is an interesting AT. Trades secondary attacks for a higher degree of toughness, and dials back the damage just a bit as a trade-off. I haven't gotten into one too heavily yet, but the longer the game is around, the higher the likelihood that eventually, I'll try them all again!

Hard to tell someone what he will enjoy playing. It's a totally perspective driven, subjective experience. For myself, I have more Dominators, and Blasters than other ATs. But, I also have some Scappers, some Tanks, some Brutes, a Controller, and a Defender. Some of them are toons that I have to be in a mood to play. Others are to provide completeness, or balance to a team if that's what's called for. In other words, I have a toon for pretty much any situation I find when I log in. The important thing is that I DO login with all the frequency that life allows, and be ready to have fun no matter what's going on.

Any idea how much work has gone into modernizing the client to 64-bit? Might not have added as much content as the others, but what they have accomplished is to future-proof the client against OS updates that would invalidate it, sooner or later. Case in point, the newest update to the MAC OS kicked 32-bit app support to the curb, so players on those other servers, enjoying those new ATs that play on MAC computers, won't be able to play the game at all once that update is installed. Just a case of differing priorities, and timing.

When Icon, and later, Paragon Chat came on the scene, while they didn't provide for actual game play, they did offer the ability to create (or re-create) characters, and save their costume, and power profile files to a local drive. In the years I participated in those two endeavors, I pretty much recreated most of my mains from the original live game, and just flew them around zones, listening to the zone theme music, feeling nostalgic while at the same time, keenly aware that the most important elements were still missing. When Homecoming made it possible to play again, I was already using the Tequila downloader for those two projects, so playing on the live server became another option on that menu. This, in turn, allowed me to just call up those saved files, and most of my mains were reborn into the live server within an hour. 15 of them anyway (out of the 25 L50 characters I had when the game shut-down), and I've added 5 more back since then. But, whether you re-create old, familiar characters, or something brand new, I guarantee you are in for the time of your life rediscovering the game, and learning it all over again!

I recall clearly the very first day I logged into this game, after completing the tutorial, and finding myself standing at the steps leading up to the statue of Atlas. I was in awe. 15 years later, I was able to feel that again when the Homecoming server went online. Actually brought a tear to my eye, and I had to just stand there, pan around a bit, and take it all in. At the time, I didn't know how long it would last. But, since then, I have grown more comfortable that the game will never be completely taken away again, and set to work by creating 20 characters, playing them in PUGs, on teams with friends, and soloing them, depending on the time of day, and circumstances. In short, I couldn't be happier to be back in Paragon City! Pretty sure you will feel the same way.

Welcome home man!! I love seeing these kinds of posts! I'm hopeful that in a "post-deal" world, that more mainstream advertising will result in a LOT more folks realizing the game is back, legitimate, and actively being developed, leading to them also finding their way home.

I agree with most of what's already been written here, with some exceptions that were a little "out there". However, there is one thing I think could add a different twist to future development in a "post-deal" era. The SEGs team has been working for years on a totally revamped version of the game. They are still FAR from a complete working client, but through their efforts, they have insights into the existing code, and their vision of what the new one could look like, that some collaboration might be beneficial. They have shunned any implication of involvement with any of the new communities that sprang into existence following the leak of the code, mainly due to potential legal issues which they have worked hard to avoid since their inception. However, in a "post-deal" world, that would no longer be an issue, and their insights on the game code could be mutually beneficial to both teams, and by extension, beneficial to the players. I'm not a coder. But, they are, and their experience with that code could avoid future "reinventing the wheel" situations for problems that they already had to solve, or at least found methods to improve. In actuality, I'd like to see all of the teams coalesce into a single entity, working with, and for the community at large. But, I know that's probably not realistic. Too much water under the bridge for a lot of them, which is regrettable. So, we will hopefully attract a lot of them back with features, and improvements that no other server has. My hope is that, with a deal in place, that active advertisement will occur to pump up the numbers of players significantly. The larger the population, the more opportunities to fill teams, and fill otherwise low populated zones, like Pretoria, and the entire Red side. But, to do that, and have any hope of keeping folks for the long term, they will have to have compelling reasons to stay, which is where a lot of the suggested improvements will come into play.

To be fair, most of the time when I participate in a weekly TF, the difficulty settings are not cranked very high, and everything dies pretty quickly. If the team leader could be talked into turning them up, it's a little better. But, most of the time, the interest is in running them quicker, rather than harder.

Pretty sure that was still part of the Winter event.

Welcome home!

I feel like if things were still THAT far apart, they wouldn't have said even as much as they did. It was painted as something like the heavy lifting was done, with details left to settle. That could still take months, but I can't imagine years.

I love playing super heroes. I have since I was a kid, and got my first taste of comics, live action series like Batman (campy as it was), Super Friends, and the like. As I got older, I still loved the genre, but since I was never much of a cosplayer, it just kind of took a backseat to everything else in my life for lack of ways to express it which worked for me. That is, until 2004 when this game first came out. Finally, a way to live out my super hero fantasies (in a manner of speaking), and share that experience with others who felt much the same way. This game makes it feel like a super hero story that you have the power to craft to your liking. The moments I enjoy the most are those when a team is quite balanced, and working exactly as intended. However, I also really love those moments when I realize that the configuration of a team is all wrong for what we are attempting, and yet we find a way to make it work anyway! I love the ability to make things more difficult when I really want a challenge, or not so much, if time is a factor, and I just need some quick game time to cap off a great day, or sooth a bad one. I love being able to get by with the minimum of enhancements on some characters, if I so choose; or doing the research into powering them to new heights of invincibility if I wish to go that route. I very much enjoy the ability to farm a character for resources, or designate one to play only mission content (solo, or team). I sometimes make it a point to work a zone as much as possible to get ALL of the content exposure, and feel like a part of the lore. All of these things, and so much more are there, and with so many choices, I absolutely do not tire of playing. This game is a perfect fit for me, which is why my desire to play anything else went right out the window the moment it returned.

After spending the last couple of years around Halloween, doing the Paragon Chat version of Trick-or-Treating, and also the glowie package opening during the Christmas season, I'm very much looking forward to doing the real thing on a live server this year! Anyone else jonesin' for some holiday CoH action?

Hey! I'm excited for the possibilities! I love the idea of having an additional, and more up to date reference library. But, I'm more of a content consumer, than a creator.

If that's the price, then I'll pay it. Just give me a little advanced warning, so I can let him know that his circumstances are about to change drastically, and he might have to relocate to South Korea. 🤣

Part of the perception issue might revolve around the information already provided, which alluded to the majority of the big issues already being agreed to, with only the minutia left to deal with. That tacitly implies that it could wrap up quickly. Whether true, or not, it's not hard to imagine folks drawing those conclusions, and setting some mental timelines. Just to be clear, not judging here. I don't possess enough information on which to base an intelligent opinion, or judgement, and outside of the actual negotiating team(s), neither does anyone else. But, in the absence of fact, the vacuum fills with supposition, assumption, and fearful imaginings of all kinds; including the creeping feeling that the longer it goes on, the less chance of success it has. In all likelihood, not true. Just summing things up as I have observed them. Obviously, most of this has already been discussed at length in this thread, and I don't want to spark another wave that becomes a circular exercise. 🙂

Yup. That's pretty much the long, and the short of it. When the legal haggling is done, and the "I's" are dotted, and the "T's" are crossed, then it will be done. Not a second before that. 😁

My son is majoring in Theater, so I've been to a lot of plays that I would ordinarily never seen, over the past few years. I love watching him do, what he does, but it's never been something I yearned to do for myself. I do have a new appreciation for all the time and effort that goes into even the smallest productions, on the part of everyone involved. So, godspeed sir!

On Torchbearer, between the LFG channel advertisements, and the near constant ones that are assembled in Pocket D, I've never had to wait too long to get on one.

I don't mind posting a link to point someone to a place where they can educate themselves, but that is usually the extent of my spoon-feeding. The exception to that would be if I know someone wanting to get into the game, especially if they have never played an MMO at all, and they obviously need some extra help. Then I will take time to tutor them until they understand enough of the basics to have fun, and become more independent. I actually had to do that for one of the players in my Super Group who was struggling to keep up, and was constantly lost. I remembered all to clearly the very first time I logged into the game, after the thrill of spending 2 hours in the character creator on my first toon, the finally connecting with my friends who were Everquest veterans, and already knew the basics, for some team play. They seemed to be moving around maps, and missions effortlessly, and I was silently going out of my mind trying to quickly assimilate the knowledge, and techniques required for basic play. I finally got it, but only after weeks of anxiety filled playtime with them, that should have been fun. So, I made a special effort to take this individual, who reminded me so much of myself in his lack of prior experience with MMO gaming, and spent three hours one day, walking him through the tutorial, and the basics of the game. It was gratifying to help someone who desperately wanted to play with the group, and even more, wanted to have fun while doing that. All that said, it's not something I'd be willing to do for just anyone.

Well, to be clear, when I speak of folks asking about Incarnate stuff, it's typically here in the forum, or in Discord. I don't get a lot of chatter in-game asking for complex information. I know it happens, but I have not personally encountered that situation much.

What a wonderful predicament we have, when folks are unhappy because they miss the opportunity donate to the cause, and look for ways it could happen. 🙂 Not sure if there is a short term solution, but I'll bet there are plans made (or being made) for what happens in the event that the NCSoft deal is successful. I suspect that will open up avenues for a variety of things that just aren't an option in the current state of things. I for one, plan to be around to hear about all of it the minute such news becomes available. 😎

Interesting. Lately, when I see someone talking about Incarnate stuff, I refer them to the excellent guides poster here that go over it in better detail than I could provide. Then, I also recommend they hit the Beta server, create a character, level them to 50 instantly, then craft any Incarnate powers they still wonder about in mere seconds, and actually try them out on the spot! I did this myself on T4 powers I had never taken, but was curious about. As soon as it was done, I went and found a mob to devastate with this new power, and see if it was what I envisioned. If so, then I could shoot for it on the Live server. If not, I knew I wasn't missing anything, and wouldn't waste my time or resources pursuing it. That is a demo you just can't duplicate on the Mids Hero Builder. 😎

Exactly this! 👆

I visited Null just this morning, to bring two Red side toons, over to the Blue side. I had them over there waiting for someone I usually play with, to express an interest to play over there. In 4 months, none of them have. So, now they are where I tend to spend all of my time, and they will finally get their shot!