Some Questions From a Completely New Player

[Hyperstrike]

3 hours ago, Rynjin said:

Thanks for the responses guys; wasn't expecting this many honestly.

 

You've got people here with nearly 15 years of experience in the game.  And there's a reason we're all still playing.

Your fellow players here are a HUGE resource.

While there may not be 10 million of us, there's lots of us.  And this community has always freely shared knowledge.

Hell that's why we have ParagonWiki in the first place!
 

3 hours ago, Rynjin said:

Every MMO I've ever played tends to assume click move or hold mouse to move as the default, so you can rest your left hand on number keys for abilities.

 

I guess CoH assumes you WASD move, Numpad for abilities, and always TAB target?

Generally, but you can remap the keyboard to your liking.

ALSO, you have options.

Tab is normally Target_Enemy_Next (or targetenemynext).
You can remap to Target_Enemy_Near (or targetenemynear) or put this one on a separate key.
I do this with my ship raid leaders.  This way, during bowl spawns, I don't grab something WAYYYY OUT YONDERRRRRR!  I get the nearest guy I can target, then I switch to tabbing for TENext to circle out from there.

TONS of utility in keybinds.

https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Bind_(Slash_Command)
 

 

Tons more in macro buttons:

https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Macro_(Slash_Command)

 

 

You can even create your own popup menus!

https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Popmenu_(Slash_Command)

 

Plus if you have a gaming keyboard (like the Logitech ones) with additional function keys (Logitech calls them G-Keys), you can use the native keybind software with the built-in functionality of the CoH keybind system for AWESOME effect.

Add to that the fact that you have up to NINE power bars for buttons...

One of the neatest are the bind setups for Peacebringers and Warshades...  Flippable power bars, etc, etc.

Edited October 6, 2019 by Hyperstrike

[Lost Ninja]

4 hours ago, cejmp said:

Assist. Select a teammate and you will see their target, and you will attack their target if you are in range. If you watch, for instance, how a blaster scans a room and a tanker scans a room you'll see that they are often looking at different things. Blasters will probably be targeting the biggest threat to them, the tank will be targeting the biggest threat to the team (not always the same thing) and the supports will in assist or setting up target locations for their buffs and debuffs. You can figure out a lot and sort of glide your way through the spawns by help teammates with their targets.

This is a really great tip.

 

If you target an ally the target you cast buffs/heals/etc on is the ally, but it's their target who you cast damaging abilities and debuffs on. It's a massively useful feature. You can also bind a key to /assist which picks up their target as your own. /bind <key> "assist"

[Lost Ninja]

3 hours ago, Hyperstrike said:

 

You've got people here with nearly 15 years of experience in the game.  And there's a reason we're all still playing.

Your fellow players here are a HUGE resource.

While there may not be 10 million of us, there's lots of us.  And this community has always freely shared knowledge.

Hell that's why we have ParagonWiki in the first place!
 

Generally, but you can remap the keyboard to your liking.

ALSO, you have options.

Tab is normally Target_Enemy_Next (or targetenemynext).
You can remap to Target_Enemy_Near (or targetenemynear) or put this one on a separate key.
I do this with my ship raid leaders.  This way, during bowl spawns, I don't grab something WAYYYY OUT YONDERRRRRR!  I get the nearest guy I can target, then I switch to tabbing for TENext to circle out from there.

TONS of utility in keybinds.

https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Bind_(Slash_Command)
 

 

Tons more in macro buttons:

https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Macro_(Slash_Command)

 

 

You can even create your own popup menus!

https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Popmenu_(Slash_Command)

 

Plus if you have a gaming keyboard (like the Logitech ones) with additional function keys (Logitech calls them G-Keys), you can use the native keybind software with the built-in functionality of the CoH keybind system for AWESOME effect.

Add to that the fact that you have up to NINE power bars for buttons...

One of the neatest are the bind setups for Peacebringers and Warshades...  Flippable power bars, etc, etc.

Just remember that Paragon Wiki while good for most things is still locked at information that the game closed down with. Anything added in i25 & i26... basically added post i24 isn't there. So no Sentinels for instance. So far I haven't found a comparable resource listing these updates. These forums or Reddit are pretty good, but not quite as definitive.

[gameboy1234]

3 hours ago, Lost Ninja said:

This is a really great tip.

 

If you target an ally the target you cast buffs/heals/etc on is the ally, but it's their target who you cast damaging abilities and debuffs on. It's a massively useful feature. You can also bind a key to /assist which picks up their target as your own. /bind <key> "assist"

There are a few powers in the game that targeting through a teammate won't work.  For example, a mastermind commanding their pets to attack a target, won't attack your teammate's target.  That's where you have to use "/assist" to get the target before you use the "/petcom" command.  Works I suppose for folks with commandable pets, like Lore pets.

 

My MM had /assist bound to CTRL-A ("A" for "assist") so I could quickly pick up targets and order my pets onto them.

 

[Hyperstrike]

17 hours ago, Lost Ninja said:

Just remember that Paragon Wiki while good for most things is still locked at information that the game closed down with. Anything added in i25 & i26... basically added post i24 isn't there. So no Sentinels for instance. So far I haven't found a comparable resource listing these updates. These forums or Reddit are pretty good, but not quite as definitive.

But remember that PW STILL LINES UP with roughly 99% of the game.
The mismatches are mostly in programmatic mechanics for powers.
Some exploration badges have moved around.
Some contacts.
Etc.

For things like slash commands?  Popmenu?  Binds?
ALL of that stuff is STILL 100% applicable.

I understand that PW is now a locked resource.

And, at some point, it'll be scraped and inserted into a new wiki setup for HC, from whence it'll grow and reflect the current game.

But, until then, trying to say "Dig through posts in the forums" or "Dig through Reddit" for stuff that's CLEARLY and completely well-documented in Paragonwiki is silly...at best.

[Lost Ninja]

13 minutes ago, Hyperstrike said:

But remember that PW STILL LINES UP with roughly 99% of the game.
The mismatches are mostly in programmatic mechanics for powers.
Some exploration badges have moved around.
Some contacts.
Etc.

For things like slash commands?  Popmenu?  Binds?
ALL of that stuff is STILL 100% applicable.

I understand that PW is now a locked resource.

And, at some point, it'll be scraped and inserted into a new wiki setup for HC, from whence it'll grow and reflect the current game.

But, until then, trying to say "Dig through posts in the forums" or "Dig through Reddit" for stuff that's CLEARLY and completely well-documented in Paragonwiki is silly...at best.

That's right go dig through Paragon Wiki for /powexec_location... go on it'll be fun.

 

As I said it's good for most things but not everything.

 

 

[Hyperstrike]

Fine.  You're right.  You win.  Blah blah blah.

Thanks for your time.

[siolfir]

On 10/5/2019 at 9:03 PM, Rynjin said:

Thanks for the responses guys; wasn't expecting this many honestly.

Every MMO I've ever played tends to assume click move or hold mouse to move as the default, so you can rest your left hand on number keys for abilities.

 

I guess CoH assumes you WASD move, Numpad for abilities, and always TAB target?

Because I've seen a few responses but nobody else mentioned it: click-to-move (as in "go to this location") doesn't work, but clicking both mouse buttons has to walk forward, and while holding the right mouse button you can change direction (which works while holding the left mouse button to move forward), so as long as you're not trying to jump you can use the mouse for movement.

 

I always bind different keys for targetenemynear (target the closest enemy), targetenemynext (cycles through enemies, which is what Tab does), and targetenemyprev (cycles backwards, in case you went too far).

[Rynjin]

Ahhh, gotcha. I'll try to get used to the default control scheme before trying that, but I'll definitely fiddle with binds. TEN sounds like a good one for one of my secondary mouse buttons.

 

Based on advice I think I'll shelve the Mastermind (I dislike overly micro-heavy gameplay styles anyway) and was considering either a Scrapper or Blaster. Had a solid concept for a Fire Melee Psionic Melee/Shield Defense Scrapper with a "Paladin" theme that sounds fun. Have a few friends who are waffling on getting into it so i'm waiting for them to decide one way or the other first. Would be nice to have some other newbies to play with.

 

 

Edited October 7, 2019 by Rynjin

[EmmySky]

If your friends dont join you just make new friends on the game! 

 

Although right now I am trying to spec out my 50 tank with a second build and incarnate stuff (all very expensive) I enjoy making new toons and running through some low levels.

 

Just another bit of advice you didnt ask for ..... If you get a toon up to even the mid 20s and its just a slog and you don't like it...dont be afraid to ditch that toon and keep searching for an AT and power combo you do enjoy.  For me, if you arent having fun its not a game.  The time you spent on a thrown away character is still time you learned something (game mechanics or personal preferences, etc.).  

 

Have fun out there and maybe we will see you in the city!

[Shred Monkey]

Responding to question 2 about people playing lower content.  While there's not much happening below level 20 other than DFB runs, there are almost always DFB runs going.  I also find there's almost always radio mission teams running in the 20s (usually Talos Island) and 30s (Founder's Falls or Brickstown).  Perhaps this has gone down a bit the last week with the Trick or Treat events occupying a lot of people. 

 

Frankly, since coming back at the end of August, I'm quite surprised with how easy it is to find team for leveling.  It has been much easier then I remember it being 8 years ago.

 

[gameboy1234]

On 10/5/2019 at 6:03 PM, Rynjin said:

Thanks for the responses guys; wasn't expecting this many honestly.

Every MMO I've ever played tends to assume click move or hold mouse to move as the default, so you can rest your left hand on number keys for abilities.

 

I guess CoH assumes you WASD move, Numpad for abilities, and always TAB target?

 

One more thing that's a little different here.  CoH is/was an early MMO and didn't follow all the conventions.  We need to talk about the F key.

 

F is for follow.  So you can target a teammate and press F and you'll follow them.  Except that's almost never what I actually use it for.  You can also follow enemies.  And that means you can use F to move yourself into melee range quickly without having to actually maneuver around the battlefield.  In a crowded room on a map this can be highly useful.  (You may need to press W for a moment at the end to give yourself a nudge to move completely into melee range.)  Also jumping a lot is useful to clear obstacles on the way.  Pressing space (jump) won't interfere with following, so you can use jump to control your vertical while still staying locked onto a target.  This is really invaluable for melee toons like Tanker, Brutes and Scrappers.

 

Also mashing your powers (numbers) keys when you don't have a target (or your target is dead/invalid) will select the next closest enemy for that power.  So I usually mash 1 twice (once to target, and once more to "queue it up" so it fires as soon as I'm in range) and then F to move quickly to that enemy.  No mouse or WASD involved really.

 

For ranged toons F is less useful unless you have a shorter ranged attack that you want to orient (like a cone shaped attack).  I also use it sometimes just to orient myself towards an enemy if I've lost track of the action completely or if it's an enemy that shows up on Tab but I can't see/find.  Press F and then quickly press it again to turn it off, you'll just turn towards the enemy and then stop moving.

 

[Rynjin]

That is really interesting, and is very helpful. I thought melee felt really clunky when I tried playing that Brute, but I can see how it would be more fluid with that feature.

[Hyperstrike]

15 hours ago, Rynjin said:

Ahhh, gotcha. I'll try to get used to the default control scheme before trying that, but I'll definitely fiddle with binds. TEN sounds like a good one for one of my secondary mouse buttons.

 

Based on advice I think I'll shelve the Mastermind (I dislike overly micro-heavy gameplay styles anyway) and was considering either a Scrapper or Blaster. Had a solid concept for a Fire Melee Psionic Melee/Shield Defense Scrapper with a "Paladin" theme that sounds fun. Have a few friends who are waffling on getting into it so i'm waiting for them to decide one way or the other first. Would be nice to have some other newbies to play with.

 

 

Yeah.  Masterminds are, sorta, jumping in the deep end to learn to swim.
The controls for them are a bit fiddly, and the AI for the minions even more so.

Don't nuke him though!  Just come back to him later.  Once you're a bit more comfortable with the basic game.

[Tahliah]

A couple of quick reactions:  yes, the tutorial does deal with inspirations, but if you missed it: use them. They drop all the time and can be bought for a pittance (meds, sg meds, the ah).

 

Yes, people do low level content, but you may have to search for team.  Once you've done the lowbie arcs on 30 alts, the DFB develops a special allure (the defense/acc/damage/end accolades are not bad, either).

 

Related to the above, a few people do just play one toon and never revisit early content except maybe via Ouro to badge or with teammates, but most of us run (lots and lots of) alts.  So a negligible few ever "finish" content; after all, our new toons all have to start at the beginning. 

 

Others have spoken to IOs and archetypes, but no, origin doesn't really matter anymore (if it ever did).  I tend to pick the same origin on all my toons to share DOs until I get to IOs. 

 

All that said, welcome to your City.  We're happy to have you and to help in any way we can . . . because you will never find a better group of people than the COH/X community.

 

 

Edited October 7, 2019 by Tahliah
clarification

[biostem]

18 hours ago, Rynjin said:

Ahhh, gotcha. I'll try to get used to the default control scheme before trying that, but I'll definitely fiddle with binds. TEN sounds like a good one for one of my secondary mouse buttons.

 

Based on advice I think I'll shelve the Mastermind (I dislike overly micro-heavy gameplay styles anyway) and was considering either a Scrapper or Blaster. Had a solid concept for a Fire Melee Psionic Melee/Shield Defense Scrapper with a "Paladin" theme that sounds fun. Have a few friends who are waffling on getting into it so i'm waiting for them to decide one way or the other first. Would be nice to have some other newbies to play with.

Honestly, here are 3 simple binds/macros that make playing a mastermind much easier:

 

macro Att "petcomall attack aggressive" - This will create a little button on your power bar labeled "Att", which when pressed, will cause your pets to attack your target and go into an aggressive stance, (thereby attacking any valid targets in range).  Alternatively, substitute 'aggressive' for 'defensive', so your pets won't run off if they see an enemy.

 

macro Def "petcomall follow defensive" - This will create a little button on your power bar labeled 'Def', which will cause your pets to follow you and only attack if they themselves are attacked first.  The 'defensive' command also triggers bodyguard mode,  which will help keep you alive if you're being attacked.

 

And finally:

/bind lctrl+lbutton "petcomall goto passive" - This one allows you to issue a command to your pets to go to the location that you control-clicked, without stopping to defend themselves or attack.  This is great to force pets into melee range or simply to get them out of a crowded area, while ignoring all enemies around them.

 

Put simply, you have 2 "power icons" which tell your pets to attack an enemy or follow you, and a ctrl+click to get them to go to the exact spot you want;  Three little commands to make your master-minding easier and less of a hassle!

[Clave Dark 5]

On 10/5/2019 at 9:00 PM, cejmp said:

 

Dang it!

Edited October 8, 2019 by Clave Dark 5

[Clave Dark 5]

On 10/5/2019 at 9:00 PM, cejmp said:

Targetting is important to me, and Tab isn't really a great solution by itself. I recommend that you bind a key to Target Nearest Enemy. I use might 3rd mouse button. It's natively bound to Ctrl-Tab but that's too clunky for me, I hit the windows key way to much.

If you prefer, you can create a button in your power tray for third by typing the following in, just leave out the === I'm putting in it on either side:

===/macro TN "target_enemy_near"===

 

Do that and a little grey button appears in your tray with the letters TN on it (as there's not a lot of space for a long name).  Click on that and there's the foe closest to you.  A lot of players love keybinds, but I hate having to move hands hand off the WASD keys or the mouse and then move them back, so I favor the button.  This may be a bad habit, but it's how I pay.

[Clave Dark 5]

On 10/5/2019 at 9:00 PM, cejmp said:

 

Got caught by the "post doesn't appear so why not stupidly hit the button a few more time?" effect again.  Sorry bout that!

Edited October 8, 2019 by Clave Dark 5

[Twisted Toon]

14 hours ago, Tahliah said:

Others have spoken to IOs and archetypes, but no, origin doesn't really matter anymore (if it ever did).  I tend to pick the same origin on all my toons to share DOs until I get to IOs.

 

There are a couple of things that Origin has an affect on. 1) what non-TO and non-IO enhancements you can use. and B) Whether the P2W Nemesis Staff or the Wand will get bonus damage.

 

1 hour ago, Clave Dark 5 said:

 A lot of players love keybinds, but I hate having to move hands hand off the WASD keys or the mouse and then move them back, so I favor the button.  This may be a bad habit, but it's how I pay.

I use the numberpad for my movement. That leaves my left hand free to hit the attacks and 99% of the keybinds I set up.

[Call Me Awesome]

I'd like to endorse the comment about trying different AT's and power combinations to find something that clicks with you.  Way back in 2004 when I started playing my very first character was a Fire/Energy blaster.  I went through hell with that character since I was always dying and it was frustrating as anything.  I tried a number of other AT's before I finally found one that felt right, an Invuln/Stone Melee tanker who became my namesake and first level 50.

 

A number of years later and after a half dozen other level 50 characters I revisited the Fire/Energy blaster combination and found it a LOT of fun now that I had some skill in game and understood aggro and how to manage it.

 

One thing to be aware of on a ranged damage dealer, it's REALLY easy to get into a rhythm of attacking a mob, then have it die and your next attack suddenly hits a mob way over there and gets the attention of all his buddies.  Watch out for that, it WILL happen and it WILL lead to interesting times and your teammates will love you for it.

[Lost Ninja]

37 minutes ago, Call Me Awesome said:

One thing to be aware of on a ranged damage dealer, it's REALLY easy to get into a rhythm of attacking a mob, then have it die and your next attack suddenly hits a mob way over there and gets the attention of all his buddies.  Watch out for that, it WILL happen and it WILL lead to interesting times and your teammates will love you for it.

In a team target whoever is the hardiest team member, or the tank/brute. When you fire off a damaging power the game will automatically shoot at who they're targeting, as a buffer type doing this means you can hit the "Tank" with your buffs and heals (etc) and still shoot whoever they're targeting.

[siolfir]

5 hours ago, Lost Ninja said:

In a team target whoever is the hardiest team member, or the tank/brute. When you fire off a damaging power the game will automatically shoot at who they're targeting, as a buffer type doing this means you can hit the "Tank" with your buffs and heals (etc) and still shoot whoever they're targeting.

And when they're scanning the room to see where the boss is in the next spawn over, it means you can shoot the boss first! 😄

[gameboy1234]

31 minutes ago, siolfir said:

And when they're scanning the room to see where the boss is in the next spawn over, it means you can shoot the boss first! 😄

If you're careful, not really.  But I have this problem on my /Kin.  I typically have Siphon Power on auto, so I can buff as much as possible.  But if I target a teammate who's scanning, I'll trigger this power and pull.  I either have to stay well back so SP is out of range or I have to remember to clear my target (ESC) every time we finish a group.  Otherwise: fun times.

 

[Snakebit]

10 minutes ago, gameboy1234 said:

I have to remember to clear my target (ESC) every time we finish a group.

I do that in the middle of a fight on squishy toons when I'm trying to avoid or shed aggro.  The new slash commands for location AOE's are a godsend. I have a try full of macro's for them on my elec/shield/spring scrapper.