I like the Council changes to their forces fielded. They've gone from a snooze fest, to an actual danger. I was thinking how this might be implemented further in future (filling in a gap in a weakness of damage/troop type; really leaning into a focus, etc), and wondered how viable/possible it is, to tie them into community events--special missions.
The first X (for whatever structured period of time) would be basic little short missions: the Council is fielding some strange weapons. Where'd they get those?
The next X, the missions might get a little more in depth: new weapons and new troops?
The third and final X, the missions leading up until the full patch level change: strange new weapons, new troops, and a shadowy benefactor? All that gear had to come from somewhere!
I do not know how mechanically viable it is with the game's code, but I recall back in vanilla WoW with AQ 40 and the opening of the gates. How it took both factions to build up the materials necessary, before that global server event would trigger. If similar is possible with CoH's code and tools and all that under-the-hood stuff I don't know about--I'm curious how that might be used in potential rollouts like this as well.
Perhaps, with an example!
Lord Recluse is up to some devious scheme of plotting some new hybrid of troop--mixing a big ol' Crabbo with some Fortunata mind-powers. Dang, that'd be somethin'! Something probably not very good. Those on the blue side might undertake missions of sabotage and the like, in favor of reducing that potential future. Those on red might undertake missions of their own, to try and bring it to fruition. Such give all manner of people with their own varying interests in the game some way to engage on the larger scale: from SG banding together internally to run 'em, to RP-focused fun, to that solo player who just likes to chill and do their thing--it helps build that larger feeling of a world.
The payoff? A binary yes/no pass/fail usually brings about more bitterness of time spent 'for nothing', than much else, so something of a sliding scale. Yes, Arachnos will be able to field some of such hybrid troops--but what the fight is over, is how much. Maybe the blues really stifle them, to where they're a rarity to be seen--maybe those handsome and cute red-siders do one heck of a job, and through their efforts, see Arachnos fielding said troops as regular support. Either way, no one100% wins, and no one 100% loses. A binary choice as such works in super duper small groups (like a D&D game), but that sliding scale of success I think is much required for an MMO-sized gathering.
Anyways. I like the changes. Please keep making more of such in the future. I just think it would be neat if they were built around something in game that we as players got to do to influence it further/uncover more of whatever story's behind it.
