New player here, when does it get difficult?

[Danyool]

Hey! Not tryna be a debbie downer, i really love this game and the way it plays/looks etc, jw if the difficulty every ramps up? I started out rolling a healer and then around level 30+ realized i was totally useless so im playing a controller now and having a lot of fun, my only real problem is i havent really felt "challenged." ive done some teams and DFB's and etc and its mostly all just a breeze, do things harden up at 50? 

[Greycat]

What are you fighting? Different groups can challenge ATs in different ways as you level up. If all you're fighting is Council, for instance, you're missing out. If you're running teams with incarnated out 50s, well.. yeah, they're melting things not created for that degree of power.

 

What are your difficulty settings? You can adjust the level and team size the game will spawn for, even if you're solo. (If you see people talking about running +4x8, that's what they mean - enemies spawning at +4 levels, set for 8 characters.)

 

Also, don't play a "healer." Use all of your power sets. An Empathy or Pain domination Defender or Corruptor has secondary effects, buffs and debuffs to work with - even in their attacks. If what you're concentrating on is "I need to heal," yeah, you'll feel useless in the upper levels in most instances.

[Ironblade]

There are multiple answers here.  DFB is easy mode for new players.

 

1.  It gets more difficult when you make it more difficult.  To the right of the chat window where you type, there is a little speech bubble symbol to access the emotes menu.  There is also an option there "Set Notoriety" (or something like that - that might be the villain phrasing).  You can adjust your difficulty by setting the enemy levels from -1 to +4 (relative to your level) and you can set the team size up to 8 even if you are alone.

 

2.  The old content is much easier (and often not as well written) compared to the newer content.  For example there are two story arcs 'Who Will Die?' and 'Pandora's Box'.  Some of those missions are really hard.  An old task force would be Synapse or Citadel - not too hard, kind of grindy and boring.  New task forces would be Lady Grey, Ms Liberty, etc which are much better.

 

3.  Once you hit 50, you have access to Incarnate Trials which are harder than the regular content.

 

To look up details on a lot of the things I've mentioned, I would suggest visiting (and bookmarking) the wiki.

The original is at:  https://archive.paragonwiki.com/wiki/Main_Page  which describes the status of the game at the time it was shut down.

 

Also, there is a new one that includes all of the above and is gradually (and slowly) being updated with the newer content.

https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/wiki/Main_Page

[Coyotedancer]

For a little more solo challenge early on, consider staring up a character "gold side"... That is to say, a Praetorian... or a "red side" villain. Teams are harder to find in those two settings (In Praetoria in particular, you'll be on your own-), but the missions are not only better-written, they're also not such a cake-walk as the "blue side" early hero experience. 

 

Going to First Ward and Night Ward (also Praetorian zones, but accessible by Primal heroes and villains-) when you're in the 20's and 30's might be fun for you, too. That content is also newer and can, if you aren't careful, kick your butt.

 

 

Edited June 27, 2020 by Coyotedancer

[LiquidBandage]

Someone eventually will explain how one player character will be roughly equal to three even level minions. And that rough guideline is how things scale up. That roughly is how the game was designed, but it is not exactly what it had evolved into over the years. Some archetypes or powersets function better against X or Y but have trouble against Z.

 

Being new to the game means that you probably have not learned that yet and have only run across situations where characters are playing to their strengths. Also, this game does not fully rely on the trinity to make things happen. That dynamic can exist and it can provide success, but it is not the only way to play the game successfully. Part of the fun is learning how to play on the fringes or do something unusual. A lot of the game is learning how to play your mix of powers when in a group setting. Just setting up a rotation like you would in another game will only be effective in a closed/controlled setting. 

 

The challenge comes when you have to react to problems and make judgement calls. As a "healer" you may not be able to heal everyone, so you have to triage. Some characters can heal themselves or use inspirations, others might not have that capability. Yes, sometimes your "healing" won't be strictly necessary, but there are other things you can do to contribute (damage, buffs, debuffs). Other times challenge can come from just cranking up the difficulty. And if you don't feel challenged, try playing all of the content (that means playing multiple archetypes, playing villain side) and see the wide variety of mission arcs to experience the story that they crafted. 

 

The best advice I can give you is to dream up a concept then see if you can create that character. Learn how to read engagements and understand when you can over extend yourself to test those boundaries. There is challenge at every level of the game, not just 50, that's just where most characters end up since it is the level cap.  

[tidge]

If you're level 30, you are ready for the Night Ward. Feel free to crank up the number of mobs you'll be facing.

[Danyool]

Thanks for the great answers i think i got a better idea now. ill keep levelin and try this stuff out 

[ImpousVileTerror]

Also, most importantly, @Danyool:

Welcome Home!

 

If you ever need a hand with anything in-game, don't forget to look in to the Global Channels:

https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/20291-looking-for-a-group/?tab=comments#comment-231039

[Vulpoid]

Talk to these folks...
https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/wiki/Notoriety



 

[Crater Kate]

2 hours ago, Vulpoid said:

Talk to these folks...
https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/wiki/Notoriety

 

It's worth noting you don't have to on Homecoming - click the chat bubble next to chat, 'Set Notoriety'.

 

No more NPC hunting 🙂

[ImpousVileTerror]

This little dealy:

 

Cursor over it:

 

Click it:

 

Bop It:

[Dahkness]

4 hours ago, Danyool said:

Hey! Not tryna be a debbie downer, i really love this game and the way it plays/looks etc, jw if the difficulty every ramps up? I started out rolling a healer and then around level 30+ realized i was totally useless so im playing a controller now and having a lot of fun, my only real problem is i havent really felt "challenged." ive done some teams and DFB's and etc and its mostly all just a breeze, do things harden up at 50? 

You have to go out of your way to make it harder. 

[Nemeroff]

Make it harder, don't slot Accuracy, Damage, and/or don't slot ANY Invention Enhancement (reg or Sets).

[GM Crumpet]

If I'm running a fresh team I'll start the first mission on +1 or +2 with players consent. Then see how we go. If we romp through I'll adjust it upwards, if we struggle I'll drop it down. It's the team leaders responsibility to make sure everyone is having fun and to adjust the difficulty accordingly. As long as you have at least a couple of good damage dealers a team of mostly support can sometimes run much higher difficulty than you would expect. I've been the only tank in a team of controllers and defenders and had almost nothing to do as the rest of the team has locked down and AoE'd everything to death before I've finished hitting my one target 🙂 

[nihilii]

8 hours ago, Hops said:

You have to go out of your way to make it harder. 

This is IMHO the most concise and relevant answer. There are players who are happy hunting for their own challenges, and CoH provides venues for that; but there's also players who, just as legitimately, want the game to force a brickwall onto them, and these players will not be satisfied with the difficulty here.

Basically, you can get all the loot and run all the content in easy conditions. There's no gatekeeping whatsoever, which can be good or bad depending on perspective.

[Techwright]

Unless they changed it late in the original game, running a controller solo or with a smaller group proved challenging to level 20 due to endurance issues and to level 32 in some cases, when certain controllers would finally get damage dealing pets.  I have avoided all that in homecoming, but it certainly could be a challenge if it is still unaltered.

[Twisted Toon]

15 minutes ago, Techwright said:

Unless they changed it late in the original game, running a controller solo or with a smaller group proved challenging to level 20 due to endurance issues and to level 32 in some cases, when certain controllers would finally get damage dealing pets.  I have avoided all that in homecoming, but it certainly could be a challenge if it is still unaltered.

What are you talking about? Controller can have from 1 to 7 pets at level 1. 😀

[Skyhawke]

Welcome to the game and as has been said, go Gold.  You have less of a pool of players to pull for backup and it's definitely meant for more advanced players so, you sink or swim.  Plus, (at least for me) the stories there are pretty cool. 

[cranebump]

Run every Srike/0Task Force solo, at the appropriate level (no flashbacks).

 

Run the signature story arcs, too. 

 

Run them all with a support toon.

 

or: solo regular content with the switches turned all the way up. Make sure this is the case when you take on Calvin Scott in the Marchand arc. Or when you bull your way up Duray’s weapon’s platform. Heck, Veles might even hand your rear to you in Blue Steel,s arc.

 

Oh, and don’t use any inspirations. Should present something of a challenge then.

 

(it’s pretty easy to make the game brutal, if you want)

 

 

[Giocondi]

I don't know if you are a new player completely or just new to the homecoming server, but I would advise that you start forming your own groups. To me, it sounds like you might be hopping into 8 man teams of whatever is being advertised and all those teams can have very experienced players, incarnate players exempting, and/or players will full set IO's. Homecoming gives you the freedom to make the game as difficult as you can handle. I promise you can log in right now and set mobs to +4 to your level and have them spawn in groups meant for 8 people and you will get killed faster than you can shoot off your heal. This is not your traditional MMORPG in its current form and you have to figure out how you like to play. Try starting your own group and limit it to 4 people running +2 mobs for 6 to 8 players. Some power combinations can decimate higher levels mobs and some leave you begging for mercy. This will all come with experience but I would just figure out how you would get the most enjoyment out of the game and then do that.