Abraxus

Part of that bonus pay would be to work in a building that is laid out as those office maps are. It would drive one insane, so one would want to be well compensated for it. Of course, the reason they are that way is probably due to the constant reconstruction, and remodeling from the aforementioned frequent devastation. :o ::) ;D 8)

I don't think anyone disagrees that WoW is graphically superior, or that it has always enjoyed a much larger subscription base. However, I think it's been pretty well established that what people love about this game is not it's graphical presentation. So, while that level of polish would be great, it just isn't in the cards (and probably never was). But, now with the age of the engine, and the advances in video card tech in the years since it's been gone, most folks can run all the graphics settings to "11", still have a decent frame-rate, and it looks good enough. You also commented about the details in their world. Well, there are a lot of details here too, that a lot of folks just tend to run through so fast that they miss a lot of it. They don't hit one over the head with the Lore, but it's out there to find and explore if you want to do so. Like everything here, it's a choice to do, or not. There might not be the same level of detail, but again, it's appeal is not strictly in the settings, maps, or tiles. IMHO, it's because this allows one to feel like a newborn super hero, that gets stronger as they progress, until they are practically gods at the end. Isn't that what a super hero game should allow one to do? I believe it is, and this game does that very well. Just like any MMO, there will always be the mundane, less fun things to do on the way to those halls of ultimate power. But, all in all, it's an experience that most fans of the DC and Marvel stuff can really appreciate. It plays well to their fandom. It just suffers from having been published by a company (NCSoft) who never really understood the genre, and really didn't know how to market it as well as it should have been, considering it was around for the beginnings of the MCU, and went offline the same year as the first Avengers movie came out! That should have marked the announcement of CoH2, not the closure of CoH! The Devs in the US understood, and did their best, but without the backing of the folks back in South Korea, there was only so much they could do. As for the large player base of WoW, well let's face it. They started off with a huge advantage of years, and years of content before the game came out, and that carried over. CoH had to generate it's lore from scratch, which I think they did a pretty good job with, but that kind of thing is hard to sell to the masses that already felt quite at home in the WoW. I believe that the only real comparisons that can be made with CoH, are other games in the same genre (CO, DCUO, etc.). In those arenas, the others are again superior in the graphical representation, but I think the majority of folks here would agree that CoH is a better game in most respects. Having played both, I know I do! Don't get me wrong. I think there is plenty of room in the gaming world for both. But, I don't feel these WoW comparisons are really "apples to apples".

I have 17 characters that range from 1 (waiting for their time), and 50 (with 4 Incarnate powers at T3, and one of them at T4). The one that actually ended up at L50 was never the one that I intended to be the first. It just worked out that way. It took almost 2 months. I did a lot of the content, but certainly not all of it. I didn't farm with that character until after I hit 50. Now that I have one there, who now has sufficient funds to make sure that the rest won't have to struggle for funds, the rest will move steadily towards 50, and get there eventually, enjoying the ride along the way. So, you can have it both ways.

I went with Dimagnetic simply for the mad debuffs on targets.

I've yet to receive a PM on these boards, so I'm not sure if the reason could be that the alert is so subtle that if one is not looking for it, they won't normally see it? I'd like to think that folks don't intentionally ignore other folks wanting to speak offline.

It might have an effect, but I doubt we will lose enough players to be concerned with having to consolidate existing shards. We seem to have a steady influx of new players who are only now becoming aware of the existence of these servers, so while we might see a slight dip when that happens, I don't think it will have any noticeable effect on population.

Literally, nothing. Yes, nothing at all, that's why it has subscriber numbers in the millions, while free CoX can't bust 100k... Let's not forget that since this is basically a home-grown effort on steroids, and not an official release, unless one is plugged into some information source that talked about it, they would be unaware that it was back. Since it is not in the best interest of folks running the servers to advertise, they are at just a bit of a disadvantage in that regard. So, it's not exactly a fair comparison. If it weren't for the articles in gaming publications, we might not have the numbers we have. But, if they were free to advertise far and wide, I guarantee the numbers would be higher.

I can't put an objective opinion here, because I never played it. But, I can say that the one thing that it doesn't do better is...be a super hero-based MMO. I never had any interest in the fantasy-based games, at all. I resisted playing Everquest with a group of my friends for years, because the genre just didn't interest me in a game. I love me some LOTR in the movie format, but I never had the slightest desire to play a game based on it, nor by extension, WoW either. As soon as they switched to CoH, I was right there with them! It could be the best game in the world on paper, in all the right categories, but if the genre is unappealing, it means nothing. As far as I'm concerned, the only real comparisons are Champions, and DCUO. In that regard, played them both, and though they might have been prettier, they both lacked the heart, and sole that CoH always had, at least for me.

This was the very first in-game footage video I ever saw, and I think it perfectly captured the spirit of the game: Justice:

I think we all did on the first day we signed back in for the first time. Glad to hear it's still happening!

I'll take #1, the P2W vendor. I leave it to others to break down some of the other questions. The P2W vendor functions as an optional way to obtain much of which were Veteran Rewards for subscribers. Since the game is no longer subscription-based, they made it possible to obtain those perks via this method. You are under no obligation to take them, but they do make the formative levels a little more enjoyable IMHO. Your mileage may vary. There are other things available as well, such as XP enhancers, and a few other types of items as well. But, you have the choice to forgo all of that if you are looking to preserve the original experience of having 1 attack for your first few levels, and waiting until 14 to get a travel power. That's the great thing about the game. The choices are yours, and nobody, and nothing in the game forces you do it any other way than the way you wish. 8)

Now I have one bad thing to say. I don't have NEAR enough time to play, as opposed to how much I want to play. Well, I guess that's not a criticism of the game, as much as life in general. 8) ;)

For me, belonging to a SG is one of the social aspects of the game that I think adds to it's charm, and appeal. It also allows us to create SG bases, thus putting all manner of handy items in it (like hazard zone teleporters, and crafting tables), so one can go to one place to do many things. So, there is a functional aspect as well.

I could be watching it, but I'm already watching Jessica Jones. Once I finish that, then Stranger Things. I can only accommodate 1 series at a time, and still have time for the important stuff...like CoH!

Simply put, CoH is a unique game, in that, it is a rare instance of something greater than the sum of its parts.

In short, play like there's no tomorrow, because one really never knows!

Proof positive that this community, and this game are as eternal as the Incarnates! I missed the window, because I chose that 30 minutes to jump in the shower, and before I got back to the forums, it was already over. I regret the timing, and my inability to contribute once again, but I am uplifted by the continuing exuberance, and enthusiasm for this game! I guarantee I will be around for the next window of opportunity, and for any that follow!

I intentionally try to take in a much content as I can, but not necessarily everything on every character. I'll do Atlas on one, Kings on another, Hollows on still another. I am guilty of using DFB, like most, but with so many Alts, I manage to take in much of the available content intentionally. You might not see it, but I think others do something similar. If, somehow, all of the players on all 5 servers could somehow be concentrated on 1, you would see higher populations in every zone. But, since we are split into separate instances that host maybe 2,000 players each at their peak, things are spread out a little thinner. DFB is not the necessarily the death of other content. It is just another choice provided to players. The majority choose that as a way to blow through their formative levels. But, for those of us who love every aspect of the game, we still make a concerted effort to experience as much of it as we can. Because, in all honesty, it could all end tomorrow, and we remember what that feels like. Obviously, the likelihood is that it will be around for a long time to come, but we cannot afford to take that for granted again...so I don't.

It's like a super hero movie that has SO many different stories, all told according to the observer/participants choices. With the video skills of today, someone could make an EPIC movie using this game! Chronicling the birth of a hero, to their evolution confronting ever more dangerous foes as his powers increase, and finally fully developed with Incarnate abilities to save the world! It works for Marvel, and DC. Heck, I'd watch it!

I have now been touched by the power of a good AE farm. Yesterday I hit L50. Today, I decided to do the Mender Ramiel mission to unlock the Alpha slot. I did all of them solo, except for the last one. Once I got whupped a couple of times, I figured I was gonna need help. So, I put out the word, and got two takers. They made short work of the boss, and the mission ended, Alpha slot unlocked. However, one of them (a very powerful, Incarnate-laden Corruputer), asked if I wanted him to take me through some AE content, and get another slot, or two open? I said sure, and a couple of hours later, I had all 5 slots open, 31 Empyrean Merits, over 100 Incarnate threads, and hit Veteran level 3! I'm not huge on doing AE in order to bypass actually playing the game, but once at 50, I had no problem leaping over a little time, and grinding for Incarnate stuffs. With all of this treasure, I was able to get myself to Alpha Tier 3, Judgement Tier 2, and Lore Tier 2. Got the level shift, and started on some Incarnate content. Love being back even more now!

I play on PuGs when my friends are not around, and with them when they are. It ends up being about 75% PuG, and 25% Friends.

Thank you so much for feeding my addiction! ;D 8)

Most of my current characters ARE recreations of my former level 50 characters from the live server. I absolutely love playing them all again. Some as they were, some a little different, but all greatly missed, and now reborn!

I played CO, and I was back to CoH as soon as my 3 month subscription to CO ran out. I didn't like the mechanics, I didn't like the combat, I didn't care for the art style, and I wasn't crazy about the lore, or story lines either. It was prettier than CoH graphically, but that is not a deal-breaker for me. CoH is plenty pretty with all the graphical settings turned up to 11! Granted, all of these things are subjective, but personal choice/preference is always made of of a certain percentage of subjectivity. The percentages vary from individual, to individual. However, when it's all said, and done, whatever their reasons, they make their choice on things. In the case of CoH, folks have found what they like in measures that suit them. Why they choose them is fairly unimportant, unless one wishes to challenge them, which is ultimately futile, and typically presents as purely argumentative. People love this game for all of their own reasons, and those reasons aren't necessarily the same for any two people. I say why question it? It is, what it is, and dissecting why they feel the way they do won't bring any satisfaction to the OP. At least, that's my take on it.

I am also recalling, WAY back when the game first went live, there was a very static progression for any character one created. You did the same missions (especially in the formative levels) over, and over again for each new alt. Now, you have so many different ways to get to L20, that I could literally go a slightly different route for each of my alts! I have done a few of them, but I am looking forward to doing more in some of the lesser traveled alternatives very soon! And that is just with the "Hero" content. Then there is the "CoV" content, and the "Going Rogue" content for new characters. Lots of choices...