Why no villains?

[dreamer05]

Sorry if it's been answered, but I looked. Why are there so many heroes vs. so few villains?

Also, can villains and heroes group together? I'd prefer to play villain but I'd like to be able to have a lot of grouping opportunities.

[Nalerenn]

Pure heroes and villains can't team together outside of cooperative zones like the Rikti War Zone, if I recall, but Vigilantes and Rogues can team with anyone, they just need to visit the zones of those they want to team with.

[Charistoph]

Aren't there many more story and TF options on the Hero side?

 

That and since the Hero-side came out first, a lot of people (including myself) are recreating their old mains who were Heros more often than not.

[dreamer05]

Is there a dungeon finder or any type of group finder?

[THEDarkTyger]

Is there a dungeon finder or any type of group finder?

 

You mean like that button that says "LFG" at the top of your chat window? ;)

[KelvinKole]

There is a bird NPC in pocket D, Null the Gull, that lets you switch at will. Play a villain and just switch to hero side if you cant get a team, then switch back.

[_NOPE_]

Is there a dungeon finder or any type of group finder?

 

You mean like that button that says "LFG" at the top of your chat window? ;)

 

This.

 

I think there's more people playing heroes because I'm an optimist and think most people are good at heart.

[CircularMoon]

You can still create your villian, including its powersets, but just be on the Hero side... then later on set the alignment back to vigilante and your good!. or in this case.. bad! :)

 

[VanCorp]

Is there a dungeon finder or any type of group finder?

 

You mean like that button that says "LFG" at the top of your chat window? ;)

 

I believe he means the queue systems found in WoW, SWTOR, DCUO, and other MMOs.

 

And the answer to the original fella is: No.

 

City of Heroes is bit more old school in MMO design. You use the LFG channel to assemble your team. While it might have eventually gotten such a queue system, City of Heroes was originally shutdown in 2012, before such queue systems became a staple of design in MMOs. You have to remember that while WoW had it even back then, games like SWTOR and DCUO didn't get them until later. And to be honest, there's nothing wrong with the old way of doing things. I remember when MMOs were much more social than they are today, and CoH was especially a social experience. That social experience was a major draw for a lot of us that played it during its retail era.

[LycraBoy]

I think there's more people playing heroes because I'm an optimist and think most people are good at heart.

 

I believe nothing of the sort.

 

If you really do, and aren't just blowing hot air (you know where), you're likely to be a victim.

 

At least this game seems to inspire courteous behavior in players more than not. I'm sure, however, it's a response to the mechanics and design on some level, accounting for the disparity with more twitchy and competitive MMOs. Ditto for why players choose blueside over red. I mean, you'll even find people mostly behaving the same on that 4chan server, despite a few edgelords spamming garbage for the Lulz.

 

 

You mean like that button that says "LFG" at the top of your chat window? ;)

 

I believe he means the queue systems found in WoW, SWTOR, DCUO, and other MMOs.

 

And the answer to the original fella is: No.

 

You mean yes.

 

Have you not clicked that LFG tab? Sure, if you're just a low-level scrub you'll only see Drowning In Blood there, or maybe one other trial if there's a holiday event running, but it is a queue that you can just join and get added to a team for the Trial if you want. You could also gather a team, or even a League, and then join the queue, but you don't have to.

[Mac]

I think there's more people playing heroes because I'm an optimist and think most people are good at heart.

 

I believe nothing of the sort.

 

If you really do, and aren't just blowing hot air (you know where), you're likely to be a victim.

 

At least this game seems to inspire courteous behavior in players more than not. I'm sure, however, it's a response to the mechanics and design on some level, accounting for the disparity with more twitchy and competitive MMOs. Ditto for why players choose blueside over red. I mean, you'll even find people mostly behaving the same on that 4chan server, despite a few edgelords spamming garbage for the Lulz.

 

 

You mean like that button that says "LFG" at the top of your chat window? ;)

 

I believe he means the queue systems found in WoW, SWTOR, DCUO, and other MMOs.

 

And the answer to the original fella is: No.

 

You mean yes.

 

Have you not clicked that LFG tab? Sure, if you're just a low-level scrub you'll only See Drowning In Blood there, or maybe one other trial if there's a holiday event running, but it is a queue that you can just join and get added to a team for the Trial if you want. You could also gather a team, or even a League, and then join the queue, but you don't have to.

 

 

Yes.... But also kinda...  It exists,  but isn't very good...

 

The LFG finder doesn't always grab a full group if you queue solo..  It'll often go with the minimum and for much of the game content, is not enough folk to complete the mission.

 

I've tried it a couple of times and it often sticks me and one other unfortunate soul into an un-winnable situation.  (I never used it back when the game was live, only on homecoming)

 

Best bet is to join or start a team to take on the contect you want. - Old fashoned, but its going to work better everytime.

 

 

 

[markofantares]

I started with City of Villains, and I ended (at shuttering of old CoH) with a Villain.

 

Pure Villains (Or Rogues) exist! We are small, but we are mighty!

[Blackshear]

Blueside has always been more popular then redside.

 

[villainrant] This is because most players are weak-minded FOOLS who do not understand the will to evil.  They are simpering, pusillanimous dolts who attempt to justify their greed and their bloodlust by draping themselves with the noble cloak of heroism!  These so-called "heroes" are feeble, pandering halfwits and despite their advantage in numbers they will be DESTROYED.  And before the end they will beg, they will weep, they will grovel, but they will receive no mercy.  And we, whom they call villains, will take our rightful place as the RULERS of this world! MUA HA HA HA HA! [/villainrant]

 

The best fix?  Roll up some villains and encourage all your friends to do the same!

[_NOPE_]

Blueside has always been more popular then redside.

 

[villainrant] This is because most players are weak-minded FOOLS who do not understand the will to evil.  They are simpering, pusillanimous dolts who attempt to justify their greed and their bloodlust by draping themselves with the noble cloak of heroism!  These so-called "heroes" are feeble, pandering halfwits and despite their advantage in numbers they will be DESTROYED.  And before the end they will beg, they will weep, they will grovel, but they will receive no mercy.  And we, whom they call villains, will take our rightful place as the RULERS of this world! MUA HA HA HA HA! [/villainrant]

 

The best fix?  Roll up some villains and encourage all your friends to do the same!

LOL, love it. +1 Inf!

 

[Generator]

For me right now it's just a matter of resource commitment; in this specific case, the resources are time and Inf.  God knows I wanna make a million alts and play them all, but that will only end with me having a million broke alts.  I've got two heroes in that high-20s/low-30s zone where Influence is starting to come online, and I have two other heroes in the pipeline behind them (high teens/low 20s).  Once everyone's got some basic IOs and I can send cash around to alts without flatlining myself, the villains are gonna get theirs...

[Dr. Gemini]

[villainrant] This is because most players are weak-minded FOOLS who do not understand the will to evil.  They are simpering, pusillanimous dolts who attempt to justify their greed and their bloodlust by draping themselves with the noble cloak of heroism!  These so-called "heroes" are feeble, pandering halfwits and despite their advantage in numbers they will be DESTROYED.  And before the end they will beg, they will weep, they will grovel, but they will receive no mercy.  And we, whom they call villains, will take our rightful place as the RULERS of this world! MUA HA HA HA HA! [/villainrant]

 

Awesome!

 

of course, you are now on my People to KillArrest list

[jubakumbi]

The easiest answer is simply that when it come to capes, most people prefer to be the hero rather than the villian, it's not a hard formula.

 

IME, most of the red-side has been more mature on average and better players, in years past.

 

Personally, I played the 'villians' for years and years in PnP games, I have gotten tired of it, even if doing the right thing in a game makes me feel so wrong sometimes...

 

To be blunt though, I think it is that most people cannot separate themsleves from the avatar, so doing evil makes them uncomfortable. My wife falls into this category, she is never the bad character, she only kills the bad people. :)

 

The whole thing has always been a fascinating thing to watch.

[Nylonus]

If I play a villain, it's the over the top camp kind.  You know they kind who will launch giant mirrors into space to fry the Earth.

[VanCorp]

You mean yes.

 

Have you not clicked that LFG tab? Sure, if you're just a low-level scrub you'll only see Drowning In Blood there, or maybe one other trial if there's a holiday event running, but it is a queue that you can just join and get added to a team for the Trial if you want. You could also gather a team, or even a League, and then join the queue, but you don't have to.

 

Oh bloody hell. Was that in retail? Because if it was, yet another thing I didn't remember the game ever having. Wait, then again, I ran a large SG back then, so wouldn't have noticed.

 

Either way, I gladly stand corrected.

 

 

Yes.... But also kinda...  It exists,  but isn't very good...

 

The LFG finder doesn't always grab a full group if you queue solo..  It'll often go with the minimum and for much of the game content, is not enough folk to complete the mission.

 

I've tried it a couple of times and it often sticks me and one other unfortunate soul into an un-winnable situation.  (I never used it back when the game was live, only on homecoming)

 

Best bet is to join or start a team to take on the contect you want. - Old fashoned, but its going to work better everytime.

 

Oh, I see. So it doesn't necessarily do the complete job that one would expect.

[Blackshear]

In purely practical terms I've found that the stat-granting accolades are a bit easier to earn redside than blue.  The zone design is tighter and there are fewer garbage areas like Boomtown and Crey's Folly.

 

In regards to people's qualms about playing evil, I get that, but there are levels to it.  I play lot of villains, but I lean toward semi-principled rogues or well-intentioned evildoers with a sense of honor.  I avoid soulless monsters and anybody that Westin Phipps would have on his friend list.  Everyone's mileage varies there, but there is a lot of villainous ground to be trod without being a complete sleaze.

 

Another fun villain type is one who opposes the heroes mostly for the excitement and the challenge of it.  I like to play this character as powerful but nonlethal, a Robin Hood type who steals from the rich and the corrupt then dares the heroes to try and stop or catch him.  The character never stoops to cowardly acts like kidnapping, never hurts the innocent. etc.

[khy]

Primarily because there's more content available for heroes.

 

Hero-side there's 11 normal 'city' zones, 9 Hazard Zones, 6 Trial Zones, and the tutorial zone.

Villain-side there's 7 normal city zones, 1 hazard zone, 1 trial zone, and the tutorial zone.

 

Heroes can fight off 10 giant monsters, Villains have 5.

 

Heroes have 20 task forces, villains have 10 strike forces. There's 4 co-operative ones.

 

Second, people go where the population is - since there's so many more heroes it's easier to find a team, easier to do groups, and thus more people play them. Fewer villains means fewer options for teams, strikes, et cetera.

 

And a big one is that I do see a lot of people who dislike villain zones. Grandville in particular is bad for villains with little vertical movement abilities. Thanks to prestige powers and abundant jetpack inventions/temp powers from mayhems/etc this isn't as bad as it used to be, but I still see complaints.

 

Personally I love the villain side more, Mayhems are much more fun than Safeguards, but I wish there was more 'hero' groups and fewer infighting between villain groups. Villains spend WAY too much time fighting other villain groups with newspaper and other missions; the only hero groups really are Longbow, Legacy Chain, and Wyvern. If they would have added in another 3 hero groups and give the villains a more active 'evil' role and I'd be so very, very happy.

[Mjolnerd]

I play both heroes and villains, depending on the character. The heroes see vastly more play, though, because teaming is such a pain redside.

 

Unfortunately, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy and/or vicious cycle: People like me play heroes more because it's easier to find teams of heroes. It's easier to find teams of heroes because people like me play heroes more.

[Dr. Gemini]

The reason I rarely play villains is the setting. Playing a villain in a villain-run empire feels pointless. If villains also played in Paragon City, or even another, not so overrun with super-heroes city, you could at least feel like you're doing villainy. Instead, the Rogue Islands either make me feel like a flunky for another villain or an anarchist.

[Dr. Gemini]

Given the low population of villains, maybe the GMs could designate an Unofficial Villain Server. At least that could channel villain players to the same place so you might start having enough for more teams.

[Mjolnerd]

Given the low population of villains, maybe the GMs could designate an Unofficial Villain Server. At least that could channel villain players to the same place so you might start having enough for more teams.

I've suggested this too, and I still think it could work.

 

As before, I nominate Indomitable, because it's also the unofficial PvP server, and the two designations would naturally help each other grow; more villains mean more opponents for heroes in PvP zones, more PvP opponents for heroes mean more villains.