Crysis

I don't think it's a nostalgia concern. Although I'd agree that MOST forum contributors here are/were active in the Live days. But there was a time before the Global Defense Nerf and Enhancement Diversification when Defense was even HIGHER than it is now. Those higher values, coupled with zero aggro limits, allowed Tankers and Scrappers to herd the entire map for a waiting Kinetic Defender to Fulcrum Shift and Nuke. Repeatedly. I don't want to return to THAT level of silly OP Defense. I didn't want the GDN or ED to happen but it did years ago and the IO mechanism has allowed us to have a reasonable return to some semblance of Defense softcapping. The question then becomes not about Defense levels and relative ease to achieve softcapping, but rather what is "reasonable" Defense for each AT? And at what level? The Devs said at the time of GDN and ED changes that they considered the 25+ game to be the "high levels" and balanced around it. Prior to 25, Defense looks and behaves very differently. Once you start getting into Def Debuff critters, softcapped defenses are simply not enough and THAT is where outside +DEF buffs (or -TOHIT debuffs vs Critters) start to come into play. My softcapped S/L/E and Ranged Blaster at level 48 may as well not even HAVE defenses when I'm running like -38% Def after a swarm of Arachnos has DefDebuffed me.

Somewhat depends on solo vs. team play, but in almost every situation, I think KB to KD IO in there changes this from a situational power to a Alpha strike power. It's that big of a game changer. I honestly can't think of times when having it as a KB would beat KD, even for area denial purposes. Critters on their butts aren't shooting at you any more than critters flying away from you. The only thing you may gain from KB instead of KD is if you are Ranged Softcapped for DEF. But even in that case...just cast it from range.

I play Bots/, Demon/ and Thugs/Storm primarily. Endurance has and remains a massive hassle for me but thanks to HC I’ve managed to get it mostly under control even before things like Cardiac and Ageless. -Recovery serum from P2W vendor -The Survival Amplifier from P2W vendor -The Recovery amplifier from base buff generator -Victory Rush from Leadership Pool (actually works damn well properly slotted) -the +Recovery Accolades But I have to do ALL of those things to stay powered up. Demons is hardest because the Lash attacks do significant -RES, which is actually one of your key debuffs. I understand why this END penalty exists because if you build your MM’s for high +Recharge your DPS skyrockets. But it still sucks I have to wait for Incarnates to quit worrying about END management.

I’m a legend in my own mind. Isn’t everyone?

You basically just described Recluse Victory minus the PVP elements. Yet another empty zone. Badgers would come on boards barking about how difficult it is to get the badges in that zone. Someone from the group would come on here with a suggestion about how to have the ability to interact with objects in that zone without breaking stealth or while Phase Shift is running etc etc etc. At this point I think we have to look at the fact that difficult content was developed and put in place and all that work was pretty much wasted on the overwhelming majority of the player base. Casual wins.

Interesting, but again in the vein of "it's all a system" I can't see this viably having the desired effect unless they were to also roll back ED, allowing people to stack enough +TOHIT and +DMG to actually do anything beyond +4's. And THAT topic has come up pretty frequently, usually with a general consensus that the game pre-ED, pre-GDN, pre-Purple Patch (and maybe even pre-Aggro nerfs) was just hilariously EASIER not harder. Again, I go back to my perma-MOG Regenner's who literally ignored their entire secondary and just focused on 6-slotted Hasten and Moment of Glory. Most recent thread on it I recall....but there's dozens of them on these forums already.

My reply wasn’t to you, unless “you” have multiple accounts here? But ok I guess?

They'd have to reverse the Purple Patch which goes waaaaaay back to like the first couple years of Live. That's not even talking about what you'd have to adjust upwards for +TOHIT and +ACC and a whole host of adjustments to prevent a player from being one-shotted. But that's the issue another poster above was trying to demonstrate. Defenses, Hasten, whatever...they all exist as environmental variables and you can't just change one without introducing a whole host of other changes as well, making it a very complex and time-consuming change. No easy fix, which is why this argument comes back to "why does this NEED to be fixed/prove that its broken." I argued this when they just nerfed exemplaring influence as a means to "slow down the accelerated rate of influence creation." If the issue is concern over influence, just level the field for the price of what influence gets used for in the first place. Far simpler than changing a fundamental mechanic of the game....just flat-price everything like already exists with DO/SO Vendors. Problem solved. Obviously, this would disrupt the enjoyment a small handful of players get from marketeering efforts and/or crafting, so I doubt the devs would ever do this. Thus, see response to number one. Everything exists in a system and changing one part of the system is seldom an option to solve the problem, if indeed the problem even exists at all.

Yeah no way this is real.....

Now it's you who are taking this too personal. Let me try to re-phrase my request with full sincerity and a more respectful tone. In any argument FOR change, the burden is ON the person who claims "Change is Needed!" to prove their case. This is true outside of the game world and we'd both agree on that. Demonstrate a better environment WITH the change. If you can't or don't want to do that, then SIMULATE it. Intentionally build a character with only generic IO's (or SO's if you prefer) using only native +DEF, and play it to 50 all the way into Incarnate territory. Do as much as you can with it. Then create a duplicate alt but this time with ALL IO's to build +DEF you can come up with. Try to ensure you follow the same approximate leveling path in terms of missions, critters, environments etc. Then, subjectively, tell me which was more enjoyable to play? Where did you feel inadequate and why? Dissect the "why" parts a bit to differentiate if it was situational or build related. By the way, this was part of the argument basis for awarding travel powers earlier many years ago, so it's not a totally unique concept, although it was mentioned by the Devs at the time that it factored into their decisions to make that change. Then go sell the results of that new experience to a handful of us. Make a SG of just these kinds of builds. The capability to do exactly what you want is there right now. You may argue it's not the same because there are a lot of other players NOT playing that way, and you'd be correct, but you don't have to force them to adapt to your playstyle preferences to test this theory of yours. It's easily testable the moment you start to recruit people to your SG and your playstyle methodology. Heck, I'd even be willing to join you in this crusade as one of your first recruits. It's not my preferred playstyle right now, I'll freely admit, but I build kooky stuff all the time just to see how it will play. But I will wager up front that the single biggest takeaway you'll have, I'd have, any one of us would have isn't how different the game feels with diminished Defense, but how different we feel compared to watching the capabilities of other players around us. This is why this simulation isn't complete without gaining a panel/peer group of enough similarly-built players to make a fair comparison. But no amount of coding change will address an individuals' feelings of 'value' to a team. That's entirely subjective. But the rest, I'd argue, can be simulated. And if you are calling for the change....you should prove the change to yourself and then share those results with us before asking us to adopt the same view. Otherwise, status quo can and should prevail. And please accept my apologies if I've offended you.

So download the server code, adjust it and test it. Easy enough if you have design/coding experience here, and please report back your testing results along with allllll the unintended consequences from doing same. The Global Defense Nerf and ED were introduced to pave the way for IO set bonuses. They were balanced that way. You could have a sturdy build but you’d have to make a trade off for them. You may believe, minus any evidence to support your beliefs, that the trade off isn’t enough. I believe it was and remains so today. So go build your evidence and report back and then we can talk.

Speaking of upping difficulty.... One of the more enjoyable aspects of this game to me are all-X ‘themed’ teams. There’s a player on Excelsior, EV-3000 or something can’t recall their name, that routinely sets up “dueling ITF speed runs” with themed teams. Gadget teams (Traps/Trick Arrow/Tactical Arrow/Devices) vs. All Offender (Procc’d out Defender) teams. Two teams compete for a speed run, no deaths, no inspirations. I’ve run these dozens of times and it’s a fantastic example of using the EXISTING game development framework, content PVE and all, and coming up with a new game difficulty level. This is absolutely KEY to the game’s design principle. Mix different AT’s with different abilities and you get different challenge levels. No brute/tank? Then don’t play the missions as if you have someone to soak the alpha while everyone else hangs back. Or let the Controller lead with an AOE Hold shot. Or let the Blaster/Corr/Defenders run in and drop nukes alternating between spawns. The TEAM makeup creates DYNAMIC tactics for how to approach the game. This is also what fuels Alt development. We see different Alts operating under different team dynamics/mission variables and it inspires us to “I wanna try that!” In ways we wouldn’t have otherwise. And these libraries of Alts we maintain become fuel for the missions as we realize “hang on a sec, lemme go get my Controller for this mission” based on the dynamic difficulty we are facing. You start messing with these dynamics at your own peril and that of the player base in general. Very few people on these forums are game designers. Myself included. Balance is a delicate matter and playing “Nerf that!” Is not only dangerous but outright destructive. You destroy the very things you wish to improve. Diversity of play style and difficulty abound in this game as-is. Change your attitudes to diversity and not the game to get the desired outcomes. Nerf your desire to change things to your liking, and adapt instead. EDIT: I also think the overwhelming majority of posters on this forum, myself included, greatly overestimate the number of players who even UNDERSTAND things like IO set bonuses, how To-Hit vs Accuracy works in the world of buffs/debuffs or even the broadest definitions of damage mitigation. They understand that Green = Heal and Bubbles = Shields. What they can see visually is about the extent of their understanding of the die-roll mechanics of this game. Heck, I played for a couple years on Live before I even took a look at the Combat Logs, let alone learned to decipher them. So pushing for a 2nd Pass Global Defense Nerf means jack and squat to anyone OTHER than those who understand what the 1st Pass Global Defense Nerf did to this game. Which means basically, you’ve got min/maxers trying to nerf other min/maxers, and that almost always boils down to simple control-oriented personalities trying to assert “I’m right!” Into the game mechanics.

It’s also POSSIBLE to LEAVE IO’s and DEFENSE values THE FARK ALONE and get your brave butt out to a zone/mission that’s harder than the norm to up your own difficulty level and enjoyment of the game. It’s also POSSIBLE to TARGET those who wish to punish players who enjoy the game AS-IS by claiming that they are somehow doing us all a grand favor by diminishing OUR enjoyment of the game for the benefit of....well, for nobody. Nobody gains anything from this. There’s a straw man argument that someone will gain something from this, but I’ve yet to see what the gain is other than to the person/people who simply want everyone else to define “enjoyment” and “casual” under their terms. The only dots I need to connect are the ones that have existed for almost 12 years. Some people really have an issue with how others define “fun.” And since they can’t realistically change the definition of fun, they yell for nerfs. Some of the nerfs of the past made sense when cast against a profit motive that was built around slowing leveling speed, improving longevity of subscriptions, paywall things like Invention licenses, etc. These reasons, veiled as they were, no longer exist. So just leave this alone and go find your difficulty that’s already built into the game.

@Sir Myshkindid a lot of testing on Traps and found this to be true as well.

I don’t think the +Influence works in AE but the +Drop rate certainly appears to work.

So much this. I joined a PUG for Night Ward 50+2 today. Eight on the team. Took 10 mins for half the 40-somethings to FIND NW. First mission multiple deaths. 2 players quit without a word. Recruited again. Another 10 mins waiting for new members to find the zone. Second mission no deaths but three people quit at the end saying “this is too hard.” Did I mention it was PLUS TWO?!?!? People saying “too ez, nerf Hasten, nerf Defense, nerf anyone but Empaths and Bubblers” has a secret wish for a private server with exactly eleven souls playing empathy defenders with six slotted First Aid pool and single slotted secondary T1/T2 blasts. Insanity.

Boy this list changed quite a bit with Homecoming vs Live but.... DP/MC Blaster....Ki a Boss across room and while he slo-mo flys away shoot him dead. A3on Flux. TW/Bio Scrapper....it’s OP broken in so many deliciously good ways and it’s fun to have a 7-member somewhat supportive audience while I basically solo the entire mission while they watch. AR/Tactical Arrow Blaster. Rambo never had it this good. Fire/Storm/Dark Corruptor. One person wrecking crew. Hold my beer. Tie for Thugs/Storm and Thugs/Time MM. Both with Burnout for double everything. Nice to have my own private army. Fun to watch the Tank say “so why am I here?”

It’s really not difficult to get softcapped DEF or near it on a Blaster with IO’s and at least Combat Jumping and an Epic shield. Thunder strike for all ranged attacks and two BOTZ IO’s in fly/SS/SJ. So no you don’t need maneuvers, but it does help. Actually, with minor investments in the P2W temps and base amplifiers you can pretty much skip a lot of powers in HC.

I’d also like to say that thanks to Brigg, farming on HC is actually a lot of fun. It’s always a hoot to me to burn down some big community names and I’ve greatly enjoyed seeing all the different and varying costumes. Made it a lot more fun than nameless Council or glowie bodies.

See my comment above. Rularuu, Carnies, the entire Night Ward and DA Zones. Redside has some tough foes as well, although that entire side of the game is devoid of more than a handful of players most of the time. But the game is filled to the brim with tougher critters. Almost ENTIRELY devoid of organized, active teams. Adding more "tough foes" to this game will NOT matter. People will gravitate to the easier-to-feel-super/heroic/powerful missions and foes because that is the total essence of this game. You wanna feel like you can take on +4/x8....and you CAN with the right teams or even the right solo builds. But there are very, very few who go out and solo the Miss Liberty TF. It's entirely do-able, but takes some dedicated effort, strong builds and the right strategies and tactics. But almost nobody wants that. They want easy gaming, fun experience and the ability to chat about the recent episode of Westworld while taking down foes and earning rewards. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with this. It's what the game is, what is has become and what it likely will forever be. You want difficulty, go look elsewhere. You want a game built around a social interaction engine, play this one. Trying to "fix" this is only going to destroy it further.

-REALLY- good build. I'm not into Hover Blasting (concept reasons, although it's a very effective tactic), but you can swap out Maneuvers for Hover, drop in Shield Wall and Reactive Defense Scaling Resists proc's to augment already-impressive softcapped S/L (44.8%) and E/R +DEF with some good Resists for backup as well. Agility will put you over Softcapped for all four. This may be my new build!

Until I see zones like DA and Night Ward so full of teams that they spawn a second instance, and Arachnos, Longbow, Rularuu and Carnie AE farming the norm, I’d say the overwhelming majority of players do NOT want additional challenge in this game. Additional challenge exists aplenty in this game for those that want it. Almost nobody does. So using this as a means of trying to minimize every other AT just to make a bubbler or “pure healer” feel loved and needed is an asinine argument.

You’ve obviously not tried Unleash Potental on a squishy with high recharge. It’s a Scrapper/Brute level T9. Damn near Incarnate Barrier T3 by level 40.

Hard to say, although graphics bottlenecks don’t always lead to network congestion. They can, but really shouldn’t. Perhaps try some experimentation. Lower your graphics settings (Particle counts in particular for MSR’s) and see if things improve. You can save a configuration file and I often load one just for MSR’s and Hami’s, and I’ve got a RTX 2080 Ti and you can’t go a whole lot higher than that. But old game and drivers aren’t optimized for COH so.....it helps to keep things running smoothly. You generally don’t have to go to potato quality, just lower things from Ultra settings a bit. If you do that and still have issues with drops and rubber banding, I’d try to load another visually demanding game that has online play and see if the problem exists there also. Could be any number of things.

No, buying stacks of recipes, stacks of salvage and sitting there clicking converters is the most tedious activities in the game. Perhaps figuring out which recipes can create the most value in the shortest number of clicks is a cerebral pursuit of enjoyment, but I’d argue the same for using MIDS to create the perfect build is the same. But the actual act of Marketeering is incredibly tedious and has nothing to do with playing a superhero, which is the point of this game. Farming isn’t by any means the MOST enjoyment I get out of this game, but at least I’m actually focusing on targets and some degree of strategy to try to min/max my efforts and using the actual “superhero” game mechanics to do it. Except for AFK farming obviously. Which is neither tedious nor time consuming. It just runs in the other instances while I’m actually playing in the foreground. To directly answer the question, I used to do it for Influence and PL’ing to kit out my fleet of alts on primary account. I was a “buy it now” player and barely crafted anything for the first 8-10 months of the game. But I had far, far more influence than I had alts to outfit so that eventually slowed down considerably. I’ve burned through several billion in influence in past few months since I slowed my farming down, and from here on out given the recent influence nerfs, likely will only AFK farm. But I did enjoy trying to “beat my time” when active farming. It was more fun than running solo PVE content and faster than trying to form a team. I really didn’t find repeating the same AE fire farm any more/less boring than repeating the same kinds of content missions over and over again. I skip over the dialogue boxes at this point in PVE anyways, having played them so frequently. Honestly, Brutes and the Fury mechanism makes ANY content other than run-and-smash irrelevant. Farms feed this the best.