Old school playing is getting rare

[Diantane]

I read all of the posts. Some were very interesting and a few were pretty funny. I wasn't putting down PL'ing. I was just saying that I would be playing the game as it was designed to show players the content at hand. We ran missions for several hours today with a team of up to eight players. We all had a great time and everyone gained about five to seven levels. So they got to see their character level slowly and able to see any problems to fix along the way.  It was a experience for all.

 

My Tank went from 17 to 22 (started to get the SO's - man, are they expensive - lol)

[gurugeorge]

1 hour ago, Judasace said:

This is a superhero game where your superhero doesn't start with a travel power, and originally had to wait 14 levels to get one. That, to me, is the epitome of bad game design. It grossly misunderstands the genre and tries to copy fantasy MMOs of the time, where you had to work to get a mount. The similarity of design to other games of the time, which were pretty much all Fantasy games, aside from SWG and AO, was a big part of the game's problem. People came to play superheroes, not Knights in White Spandex.

That's a bit of a weird feature to pick as "bad design."  

 

But what you're highlighting is a problem with all the superhero MMOs, and it's one of the reasons why devs don't make more superhero MMOs.  It's basically a rod for the developers' backs, because as soon as you have travel powers and can scoot about everywhere really fast, the size of the virtual world shrinks psychologically your mind, so the zones have to be vast and the content necessarily spread thinly over it.  When you have to yomp about on foot everywhere, by contrast, the game world seems very big and lots of content can be jammed into it,.

 

I recall a discussion on the Champions Online forum about the size of the main city there, someone was complaining it was tiny, then someone else demonstrated that if you walk from one end of the city to the other, it takes about as much time as it takes to walk across one of the WoW continents.  It just feels smaller because you can zip about everywhere (right out of the gate, in contrast to CoH).

 

Of course this is all moot now, because CoH isn't really an MMO any more, it's a test bed for vets' builds.

 

But when you're trying to create a virtual world for people to feel immersed in, having travel powers is a real problem - there's only so much content devs can make, and travel powers multiplies the need for it.  CoH did pretty well in making the cities feel sort of lived-in, and for the first few years it did actually work pretty well as a virtual world - when you had to use either your travel powers, or the transit system to get from A to B, it just about worked and held together.  But after all the "fast travel" options came in, it no longer felt like a virtual world any more.  But that's just how it is as games get older and more filled with vets anyway.

[DSorrow]

I think one of the big issues in leveling traditionally is how character development feels very slumped in the 10-22 range. Enemies get seemingly more powerful quite quickly as you enter the DO range, but the same increase in power doesn't quite translate to player characters. More often, it seems like the access to a larger variety of powers without SO/set IO level enhancements to offset the additional endurance costs your character is out of Endurance. At the same time, you're also losing Beginner's Luck so instead of getting more accurate, the development is the complete opposite. 

 

So far I have 9 50s on Homecoming and I've powerleveled one character to the mid 20s. I like playing through story arcs and taking it slow because I feel next to no attachment to a character at 50 if it's been PLed all the way. However, that's me and even then I have to note that I prefer playing with DXP on. If I wanted to play PvP, I'd most likely PL several PvP only characters to 50 because the types of builds and powerset combos PvP characters have wouldn't most likely fit a character theme. These characters would just be tools for PvP. Having said that, it's not difficult for me to imagine people might feel this way about PvE, especially if like me they'd have somewhere around 3 dozen or more 50s between legacy CoH and HC. At that point there isn't much you need to learn about a powerset, especially if you've tinkered with your character builds yourself and you've probably done most of the content a bunch of times anyway.

 

The next two characters I'm planning to play to 50 would do a story arc only playthrough. One on blueside to catch arcs like new Faultline I haven't done in a decade and another on red, just to get my 3rd ever villain 50... 

[Parabola]

I have generally played my characters all the way through the levels, doing content and teaming often. Like others I felt that it was the only way to become properly attached to a character. However I've also found that I often burn out with a character doing this, generally prior to 50 or sometimes the moment I hit 50.

 

Recently I've wanted to do more endgame stuff so I have farmed my latest project straight up to 50 and started playing from there. Incarnating her out and collecting accolades still takes time and you have to run quite a bit of content to do so. I've found myself just as attached to her as the characters I have raised slowly through the ranks but with the benefit that she's fresh enough that I want to keep playing her.

 

I will always be a 'play through the levels' person at heart but powerlevelling to endgame does have its place.

[Lines]

14 hours ago, Judasace said:

This is by all respects a bad game that fills a very particular niche for a lot of people. But objectively, it's still a bad game, poorly designed and not something that would hold a very large audience for long.

I think this is half true. Where the game is bad, it's really bad. But where the game is good, it's really good.

 

A lot of MMOs feel this way, especially as they grow and try to maintain a playerbase of bored veterans. CoH and others may have had a new lick of paint now and then, but the old badness still lingers and it's enough to wear me out.

 

I'm glad that CoH at least was starting to replace some of the outdated and irrelevant content with something newer, but it still feels like most of the game has fallen behind itself.

 

 

I play less than I did, and when I do I play 'classically' and slowly up the levels. But I solo: it's more social. Groups don't give you time to chat, it's so dang rushed, I just get sad.

 

A leader in a group I was in sent me a message telling me to stop helping in the Help chat because it meant the dead silent team was carrying me - team was having zero issues face rushing everything. That shit's offputting as hell, and I'm super gone if that becomes the prevailing attitude.

 

I think that's why 'old school' players seem rare. We're out there, but grouping doesn't go very well with our playstyle.

Edited August 31, 2020 by Lines

[Soyuz]

I only re-discovered the game a month ago, and I last played on retail in late 2008, so there's a lot I've forgotten and a lot that's simply new to me. I do play through the levels and always did, to experience the content, but just like Lines I mainly solo, and for the same reasons. Teams feel rushed more often than not. There's no time to simply enjoy the stories and the scenery.

[cranebump]

It's always interesting to me how people use the word "objectively" to offer their subjective views.

 

The game is much easier now, for all sorts of reasons. That said, if you want a more grindy experience, more challenge, or some such other individual way of playing, you can do that. I've done a few "self-imposed limitations" type toons since the return (only redside; solo only, unless invited; gold, to blue, to vig, to rogue, via tips only).  It's there for you. Options out the wazoo. This includes "slow play" style. That said, if I wanted to run on teams with like-minded fans of traditional play, I think I'd have to organize outside the game, or perhaps dedicate an SG to the concept.

Edited August 31, 2020 by cranebump

[Silverado]

"wHy dOn'T oThEr pPl pLaY tEh wAy i LiKe???"

[dopeninja]

I've played both ways. Depends on the character, power sets and other factors. Sometimes I'll make challenges for myself, or "only level doing X" characters. I've made some that only run TF's (outside of getting to lv8 for Posi) to 50. That is rather easy to do honestly. Some that only run TF's after I've hit 50 and so on. It keeps things interesting. Others I just wanted to get to 50 because they are late bloomers, or characters I had on live that I wanted to recreate and didn't want to wait because I liked playing them at higher levels.

[Judasace]

9 hours ago, gurugeorge said:

That's a bit of a weird feature to pick as "bad design."  

 

But what you're highlighting is a problem with all the superhero MMOs,

This is factually untrue. In CO, DCUO and Marvel Heroes, you started  with travel powers from level 1. These worlds, in spite of some that will always find something to complain about, especially if it can make their personal preference of game seem better, didn't seem "tiny" or suffer from having a travel power. It let you play the basic hero you wanted from the start and grow them in power, but not have them suddenly turn into differently powered characters 1/3 of the way through the levels.

 

It also prevented things like people quitting because of frustration from things like slogging through the Hollows. Forcing tedium and travel time on players in order to artificially extend an experience is not good game design, in fact it's so bad that people, on the whole, would prefer to door sit in an AE mission, just watching the character gain levels, than actually play any of that content. The very SECOND they were given a choice, people abandoned the content for AE in droves. It's part of what killed the game, in the end, but it wasn't AE that killed it...AE was just the alternative to the godawful game design choices that actually killed the game.

Edited August 31, 2020 by Judasace

[Llewellyn Blackwell]

Well frankly I tend to push to 50 pretty quick because I want to know if Ill even enjoy the power mixture. Now I dont PLV, dont need to. with dbl XP on I can runa  few arcs, the TF commander TFs as I reach the lvl range, and street sweep if Im in the mood and cap in a few days.

 

Im way to old of a hand at this game to need to lvl slowly to know how to use my build or powers. The only thing I need to see is them in play to get a feel for if they are fun to actually play with for me personally with the concept I am trying to bring to life.

 

There is also the snow ball effect. You mention SO's being pricey. Once you have a single 50 such thoughts vanish. Ive been on HC now over a year and half, have about a page full of 50s, and all of them are arounda  half bil or more in inf invested in their IO builds. Im also a pretty casual player who mainly does story arcs and TFs.

 

So hey im glad you found HC and are enjoying the game again like the rest of us. And sure enjoy a nice slow stroll through the park, smelling the flowers, riding every ride. Just dont act like those of us who know the park well, and know which rides we want to go ride on, are somehow not doing it oldschool.

 

Oldschool in CoH would be joining an SG that will ladder PLV you to cap with a fire/kin farmer in return for staying in sg mode the whole time.

[Llewellyn Blackwell]

18 hours ago, Judasace said:

A lot of "Old School" playing sucked, and it's mostly down to the design philosophy of the original devs, who instead of believing that fun was achieved through a balance of risk and reqard, they somehow got the idea that fun came about as a mixture of Fun and Not Fun. So they did things like make surprise timed missions, kill alls full of places where mobs could easily get lost or stuck in walls, hostages and rescues that you have to lead out like you're trying to lure a cat to a bath.  Even in the later years they designed horrible missions - Faultline's "revamp" brought us Fusionette who will usually get herself killed unless it's on missions that are solo and -1, the field agents in Talos that will give you a surprise timed mission, followed by a nearly impossible rescue and then a ridiculous series of timed rescues. None of these are fun or engaging, they're all just frustrating. At least they somewhat improved Positron's and Sister Psyche's TFs, but the others - Synapse, Manti, Citadel mainly although Numina's hunts are still idiotic - are horrid specimens of game design. Don't even get me started on Trials like Eden and Terra Volta.

 

What they got right were the mechanics of playing and feeling like a superhero, and the character building (eventually). This is what keeps most people coming back, not the actual game content. The game has too much influence from the pre-WoW MMO king, Everquest, to ever be anything but a slogfest if you try to play it the regular way.

 

The game struggled at about 80k players for most of its life and was cancelled for good reasons. The number of people that I recall quitting out of frustration between the initial release of CoH and CoV was staggering. I had an entire 8 person SG just not return to the game after we had to quit a mission during a TF because we couldn't find a glowie...back before they made noise you could look for hours and not find them. I'm still here, but I do and always have taken LONG breaks from playing...had played since launch but hadn't played in a year when they announced the cancellation.

 

This is by all respects a bad game that fills a very particular niche for a lot of people. But objectively, it's still a bad game, poorly designed and not something that would hold a very large audience for long.

 

 

Bloody hell, what are you a Champions Fanboi here taking out your issues with cryptic on us? I love faultline 2.0s NPCs and arcs and do them on nearly every toon. If you cant keep Nette alive on anything but -1 one solo that speaks more to a "YOU" problem them a game design one frankly.

 

Being a super hero is all about the ticking clock, and saving the day in the nick of time, timer and hostage missions belong more so in CoH then any other mmo of another genre. Its funny how you sight revamped SpTF aka PYTF even though it ends with bowrrowing the final fight arena of TV trial which you hate on. Frankly I actually love the 3rd respec trial as a casual lvl 50 TF,  easy 20 merits and a ton of rikti bashing for more v merits.

 

The game also had way way more then 80k as a playerbase. It had on its 2 top servers roughly 100k each, with both being at max server load of 30k just about every single hour of every day. It was generally considered to have a stable active sub pop of around 250k which while not WoW or even EQ1 numbers, held those numbers very consistently and thrived modestly in the shadow of the growing titan that WoW was fast becoming at that time.

 

Maybe you are unaware that CoH was frequently cited positively in online game review sites for its legendary player retention numbers? While the vast majority of MMO only hold between 3-5% of all players that try them, CoH had a massive 25% retention rate. No other MMO has ever had that kind of success in holding those who come here as long term ardent fans.

 

And the game play and content is very fun. Unlike most MMO that have vastly better single player options. Most super hero type games made for the single player come nowhere near CoH in terms of character design and power choices. Hell some dont even seem like they would, for example, the game that best scratched my super power itch during the Blip, was Saints Row 4. Didnt have flying but the super speed and jumping, energy blasting all gave me some real coh nostalgia back when we didnt have CoH.

 

Bad game my lily white wrinkly old arse. Someone call Caligula, this guy here needs a Daisy.

[Judasace]

3 minutes ago, Bentley Berkeley said:

Bloody hell, what are you a Champions Fanboi here taking out your issues with cryptic on us? I love faultline 2.0s NPCs and arcs and do them on nearly every toon. If you cant keep Nette alive on anything but -1 one solo that speaks more to a "YOU" problem them a game design one frankly.

 

Being a super hero is all about the ticking clock, and saving the day in the nick of time, timer and hostage missions belong more so in CoH then any other mmo of another genre. Its funny how you sight revamped SpTF aka PYTF even though it ends with bowrrowing the final fight arena of TV trial which you hate on. Frankly I actually love the 3rd respec trial as a casual lvl 50 TF,  easy 20 merits and a ton of rikti bashing for more v merits.

 

The game also had way way more then 80k as a playerbase. It had on its 2 top servers roughly 100k each, with both being at max server load of 30k just about every single hour of every day. It was generally considered to have a stable active sub pop of around 250k which while not WoW or even EQ1 numbers, held those numbers very consistently and thrived modestly in the shadow of the growing titan that WoW was fast becoming at that time.

 

Maybe you are unaware that CoH was frequently cited positively in online game review sites for its legendary player retention numbers? While the vast majority of MMO only hold between 3-5% of all players that try them, CoH had a massive 25% retention rate. No other MMO has ever had that kind of success in holding those who come here as long term ardent fans.

 

And the game play and content is very fun. Unlike most MMO that have vastly better single player options. Most super hero type games made for the single player come nowhere near CoH in terms of character design and power choices. Hell some dont even seem like they would, for example, the game that best scratched my super power itch during the Blip, was Saints Row 4. Didnt have flying but the super speed and jumping, energy blasting all gave me some real coh nostalgia back when we didnt have CoH.

 

Bad game my lily white wrinkly old arse. Someone call Caligula, this guy here needs a Daisy.

If you can't respond without name calling and personal attacks, maybe that's a "you" problem.

 

Reported and ignored.

 

[Dazl]

11 hours ago, Diantane said:

My Tank went from 17 to 22 (started to get the SO's - man, are they expensive - lol)

SO's and DO's are a waste of influence. You should slot basic IO's . Either craft them or buy them from the AH. A level 25 basic IO is nearly the same as a level 50 SO and you don't need to keep updating it. Once you hit 50 you'll probably start using set IO's and replace them, but the basic ones will carry you through as you level up and save you a bunch of influence along the way.

[GM ColdSpark]

Hi all, just a gentle reminder, please keep posts civil and in line with the Code of Conduct at all times - Thank you!

[Llewellyn Blackwell]

16 minutes ago, Judasace said:

If you can't respond without name calling and personal attacks, maybe that's a "you" problem.

 

Reported and ignored.

 

Hm I reread my post I cant find a single personal attack. Some inferences yes but no direct insults. Questioning someones game play ability is not an insult especially when said gamer has stated they struggle with a piece of content at anything above -1 solo.

 

And lol sure ignore the person who actually was engaging in discussion with you, because you didnt like what you heard.

 

I mean I may be a silly ol berk, but your being less then genuine in your desire to have a discussion if your going to respond like this.

[Neiska]

@Diantane- There is nothing wrong with "enjoying the journey" style of play. Many people favor that. But with that, many people have already enjoyed that journey, several times now. Also there are other considerations - 

 

- Homecoming has been out over a year now, and I daresay the initial rush is over. I too have noticed a drop in player numbers, but I still have no difficulty finding teams. I like to hope that the folks around now are here to stay, for awhile at least.

-You also might want to consider things like timezones and what day you play on. It's far easier to get teams for me in the evening during the week, than say, 7AM on a Sunday. 

-You also might be forgitting that some people, myself included, find the "story mode" method of leveling to be very slow and tiedious. Unless I enjoy the story or content, I will not spend months of time to "storymode" leveling. Many people who played this game when they were younger, simply dont have the free time to sink into an online hobby like they used to. People have jobs, kids, bills, classes, responsibilities, etc. They may not be able to spend months grinding away in an MMO like they used to. There is such a thing as "too grindy", or too much time required for a character.

- Also bare in mind that for many people we already have serveral fully equipped 50's now. I have over a page of them. So the only time I want to make a new character is to just check out a powerset I want to try, or to just goof around. And if I just want to test build mechanics, why would I spend all that time grinding up when I can spend a single day in the AE powerleveling myself to 50. Often times i find that I did not like that powerset or playstyle one bit, and then delete that character. If I had played "story mode", it might have taken me a long time to realize that - hey, this setup just isnt for me.

-Another option that people have that you might be forgetting is Ouros. I know a few people at least that skip the "story part" when leveling up, then go back and simply play their favorte story missions through Ouros, either because they like the content, or they are getting badges, or whatever reason compells them to do so.

 

Some people are going to run story/contact/radio missions. There is nothing wrong with that.

Some people are going to prefer to run AE's for quicker leveling. There is nothing wrong with that either.

Some people don't even care about leveling at all. They get to level 2 just to open up walk power. Roleplaying "is" their game. There is nothing wrong with that either. (besides, I know some absurdly wealthy level 2's that spend their time roleplaying, and playing the markets. And have never once stepped foot in an AE or done missions.)

 

There are different sorts of activities for different sorts of people. And in my book, that is a good thing. Any sort of activity that keeps people interested and involved in CoH's return is a good thing for everyone. But lets play hypothetical here. Lets say (for arguement sake) they nerf all leveling across the board, so that it is all activites are entirely equal in terms of EXP and INF gains. I don't believe that would encourage folks to do more story missions. In fact, I daresay it might only make more people do the AEs more. Its less travel involved. Less random mission types. Less random bank missions. Less annoying enemies like Carnies. Less random map types like caves. 

 

Now the INF thing has been beaten to death in past topics, and debated by heads wiser than mine, so lets not start that over again. All I will say is that I wouldnt oppose them equalizing the INF gain somewhat, either by lowering the AE gain a bit or increasing the "story mode" gains, or even a bit of both to make them even out a little. But thats my mere humble opinion.

 

That said however,

 

If they over-nerf the AE/farms/etc, I think you would find the "nobody around" problem go even worse. I am sure a good many people would say to themselves "Whelp, it was fun returning. But character progression just takes too long now. Im going elsewhere." Which would lead to more people leaving, instead of staying, which I think we all agree on is a bad thing.

 

Addtionally please keep in mind this game design is an aged one. Lets take Everquest for example, where it would take literal "years" of real life time for your character to fully develop and grow. Some abilities, spells, quests, and gear might take months of time to complete. It was a massive undertaking in terms of time investment that is unheard of today. But that ended up being its own pitfall i think, because that makes the game very unfriendly to "alting" or having more than one character. Also, I'd say that is an aged sort of gameplay that we rarely see now. (I am not saying its BAD at all, only an older style of MMO character progression.) And it is one that only diehard fans play and enjoy. And theres nothing wrong with enjoying or not enjoying it.

 

My only advice would be to try and make global friends who enjoy the same content that you do, who play on the same times that you do. Maybe check the forums and find a supergroup who is similar to your own favored activities. Or mabye even start your own. Perhaps do other activities during the slow times? Base building for example. Badge hunting/collecting. Title hunting. Exploration. And so on. I would start trying to record what I noticed were "peak" activity times when I could find groups, and highlight times that I had difficulty, and make plans accordingly. Either do other things in the game during those low peroids, or mabye pick that time of day to do things like laundry or the dishes. Another thing that might help is peeking in on other servers. It is quite possible that your server just has a main population that plays at a different time than you do. No harm in looking at other servers and their times/activities. You might be pleasently suprised!

 

Bit of a long winded reply I suppose. But I guess what I am trying to say here is that by whatever outside mechanic to artifically "force" people to enjoy any particular activity, will not end well for anyone, be it the game or the community. People will either like something, or they wont. And trying to force it one way or the other, well, there are lots of examples of past games doing that and we got to see the results. It wasn't pretty.

 

Just my two cents, for what its worth!

 

Best wishes

[Greycat]

6 hours ago, Lines said:

A leader in a group I was in sent me a message telling me to stop helping in the Help chat because it meant the dead silent team was carrying me

I absolutely hate that phrase. This is a game. I'm playing for enjoyment, not to maximize XP per second and every ounce of DMG out of every attack like my life depended on it. Being told to stop helping because they're "carrying" you? That's pretty much a 1-star, tell to F off, and leave.

[GM Tock]

1 hour ago, Neiska said:

Homecoming has been out over a year now, and I daresay the initial rush is over. I too have noticed a drop in player numbers, but I still have no difficulty finding teams. I like to hope that the folks around now are here to stay, for awhile at least.

Ignoring this year's particular situation, August and September historically have decreased attendance counts across MMO properties due to school impacts.  There will be some bounce-back when Fall is actually underway as folks adjust to the routine and return for a distraction.

[Judasace]

1 minute ago, GM Tahquitz said:

Ignoring this year's particular situation, August and September historically have decreased attendance counts across MMO properties due to school impacts.  There will be some bounce-back when Fall is actually underway as folks adjust to the routine and return for a distraction.

I really don't think Zoomers are playing a 16 year old cancelled MMO on a private server. Most of the people that would have their gaming impacted by school starting hadn't even started going to school when this game came out. The people playing this now were in their teens at best in 2004 and I'd say 95% are between the ages of 30 and 60. Sure there are a few kids that might have wandered in, but not enough to have the school schedule impact player numbers as a whole.

[Lines]

1 minute ago, Judasace said:

I really don't think Zoomers are playing a 16 year old cancelled MMO on a private server. Most of the people that would have their gaming impacted by school starting hadn't even started going to school when this game came out. The people playing this now were in their teens at best in 2004 and I'd say 95% are between the ages of 30 and 60. Sure there are a few kids that might have wandered in, but not enough to have the school schedule impact player numbers as a whole.

This month affects parents too.

 

I'm not a parent myself, but I am a lecturer. This time of year always takes some adjustments.

[thatdarncat]

I'm a returning player who had several 50s on the old servers. I'm power leveling my main to 50 but already have 5 more characters at various points between 1 and 11. I plan on using those characters to play with friends who are playing for the first time or taking the slow route, as well as for exploring the new content. 

 

Best of both worlds?

[DoctorDitko]

It can be disconcerting when a team member is busy posting on Help instead of bantering on Team, but we are supposed to be heroes, so helping is sort of in the job description.

 

I'd say your team leader has "redoubling efforts while losing sight of the goal" disease.

Edited August 31, 2020 by DoctorDitko

[GM Tock]

18 minutes ago, Lines said:

This month affects parents too.

 

I'm not a parent myself, but I am a lecturer. This time of year always takes some adjustments.

Exactly, school isn't all K-12.  College, parenting kids and changing shifts in retail to take advantage of that are also a part of the impact.

[cranebump]

2 hours ago, Judasace said:

This is factually untrue. In CO, DCUO and Marvel Heroes, you started  with travel powers from level 1. These worlds, in spite of some that will always find something to complain about, especially if it can make their personal preference of game seem better, didn't seem "tiny" or suffer from having a travel power. It let you play the basic hero you wanted from the start and grow them in power, but not have them suddenly turn into differently powered characters 1/3 of the way through the levels.

 

It also prevented things like people quitting because of frustration from things like slogging through the Hollows. Forcing tedium and travel time on players in order to artificially extend an experience is not good game design, in fact it's so bad that people, on the whole, would prefer to door sit in an AE mission, just watching the character gain levels, than actually play any of that content. The very SECOND they were given a choice, people abandoned the content for AE in droves. It's part of what killed the game, in the end, but it wasn't AE that killed it...AE was just the alternative to the godawful game design choices that actually killed the game.

I think what ultimately killed the game was a business decision?

 

Never heard of anyone quitting because they didn't want to slog through the Hollows. Certainly never heard "droves" of complaints. Was that actually *a* thing or is it *your* thing? (P.S. Players can avoid the Hollows by going to KR at lower lvls, as well--Hollows was not automatic).

 

Never had any problem getting teams or playing content, before or after Live. The "droves" that went to AE went there to power level, but there were still plenty of us who didn't. Still don't see a ton of AE PL'ing, but that's probably because you can do it through DFB/2XP. So, I would agree people are skipping story content now, in favor of a fast run to level 20, thus skipping some early stuff (which is the criticism this thread addresses). I would agree that AE allowed the same type of skipping content. I would offer this skipping isn't due to "poor design," but rather the usual stuff: some players just want the levels, so shortest route to them is "X." 

 

A discussion about being able to select a default/inherent travel power at level 1 is not a bad discussion (though prestige everything already allows plenty of standins that can carry a toon awhile).  But wouldn't we have to decouple the travel powers from their sets?