Old school playing is getting rare

[EmmySky]

35 minutes ago, MTeague said:

Exploration in general I very much enjoy though.

I don't use Reveal, I prefer to personally explore all the nooks and crannies of a map, and stumble across misc plaques and explore badges by chance.

I do use reveal but I have more than a few toons I leveled through street sweeping and it is always cool when I come upon a 'wow I forgot about this nook' spot.  I recently started a semi-perma-death toon..basically to keep my main name from live but I have zero interest in that old character so for this one death means reroll as new AT or powerset combo I do not have.  So far she is just hunting but I may take her in missions.  

[golstat2003]

17 hours ago, RageusQuitus2 said:

So thats a hard yes?  I guess its literally just me but i find fighting alongside vill or hero mobs in sirens hot spots fun.  Huuuge mobs lots of bosses. 

 

Pvp zones are the best street sweeping in game.  Especially now that actual zone pvp is dead.  Ymmv im on excel.  When I want to pvp i switch to indom.  So promise its not some reverse psychology trap.

That's still a no.

[golstat2003]

8 hours ago, Ironblade said:

Back on live, someone sent me a tell asking me if I wanted to join a Citadel TF.

I replied, "No thanks."

They replied that, since I was in an MMO, it was my duty to team with people.

I think many folks miss the point that if this were a single player game I'd still be playing it. I (and many others) got into this game cause it was a superhero game (and one of the few fully fleshed out around the time it came out) that kept getting updates. It being an mmo had jack all to do with it.

[Lines]

11 hours ago, Troo said:

{ mini rant alert }

However, the advice provided even to new folks often leans toward shortcuts and advanced play. This makes sense, folks sharing said advice are excited to help.

In this regard we are our own worst enemy.

A lot of knowledge in this game is tribal. One player passes it to another who then passes it on to another.

It's not one act that is the perpetrator. The reiterative nature distills the knowledge removing a lot of context and substance.

 

God yes. As a teacher, this annoys me way more than it should.

 

Shortcuts only make sense when you know what you're cutting short. If all you know is a shortcut, then the theory of the thing is obscured.

 

I know a lot of easy tricks in the profession I teach, but showing them to my students won't make them professional.

 

Very much a 'give a man a fish/teach a man to fish' distinction.

 

(Addendum: I do appreciate that it doesn't really matter in CoH. Just one of those personal bugbears, formed from my work habits, that I carry around everywhere.)

Edited September 4, 2020 by Lines

[Hew]

So, some context. I3? I2? I was farming. With a fire/axe tank. Dumpster diving in Creys Folly herding _the entire map_ (ah, those were the REAL herding days...). Why? It was efficient, and people didnt want to play the same levels to get stamina over and over and over and over again.

 

From there, fire demon portals. Before either of those, "farming" level 20ish force field generators in IP to mass level noobs with zero threat. Again, to get that stamina baby!

 

The seeds of farming and "that other play style" were sowed day one, when people came to feel that stamina was mandatory to run any sort of build (it really was, I cannot remember a single char I had back then without fitness pool), and it being level locked in the up-there levels. 

 

People did it just for level 14 travel powers as well. The game has a LOT to offer, but it comes with a lot of not-really-super leveling early on.

 

Different people have different levels of appreciation for the game at given power levels. For some, it is being kinda- self sufficient when you hit SO enhs. That requires a bare minimum to slot 25 IOs or your first set of SOs. For others, the level of appreciation changes based on a given powerset/at combo, which may play more self-sufficient earlier or later. 

 

But the idea that people have not been doing this ("powerleveling") since practically day one is disingenuous to the maximum.

 

I am sure even the OP has a certain point that they feel a given character begins to come together, and I am fairly certain it isn't level 10? 

[Grindingsucks]

After reading through the posts here, and spending some time thinking about it, I think play-style problems basically come down to one of two issues (or both):

 

1)  You enjoy group play (for the purpose of RP, team combat or whatever) but don't often find people that have the same play preferences as you to play with.  This one is at least "potentially" fixable, by putting very specific posts in the lfg channel on discord.

 

2) Mechanically, the game does not contain the mechanism to offer the kind of play that you would prefer.  In this instance, you're pretty much stuck unless or until the developer modifies the game in a way more amenable to your play style (which is neither a fair nor realistic expectation to have of the developer).

 

I think the best we can hope for is to make suggestions for what we would like to get out of the game on the forums or discord, then work with what we've got and try to enjoy the best possible play experience that we can.  Despite various frustrations about the grinding/level/influence system in the game, I will say that I still DO very much enjoy playing on Homecoming and I AM very thankful for the developers putting so much work into the game and making it available to play for free.

[Infinitum]

I'll weigh in here, 

 

There is no right or wrong way to play.

 

Its very true, I run through 1 - 50 at least once or twice a year and that's enough.

Ive lost track how many times ive old school level progressed over the years, so to not run the game in the ground I do power level concepts in AE because I don't want a grind on everything.

 

I find building concept characters fun, I find endgame fun, I find old school level progression fun.  But its like crops you have to rotate your crops otherwise you will burn out your soil and not grow anymore crops.

 

So I rotate the three - I'm currently running all end game for a few weeks - running the story mode praetorian war, Dark Astoria - then who will die and the pandora missions.

 

So I guess the end result is how best to live out your superhero fantasies vicariously through the game, or how best to number crunch and min max GenericAlt00765, or how best to hang out with friends and have a good time any way possible.

 

The game is pretty limitless on how to accomplish any of these scenarios, in any way imaginable.

 

There is no right or wrong way.

[ineffablebob]

I've never liked powerleveling, but it doesn't bother me when other people do it. Everyone enjoys the game in different ways. When I was running HeroStats, I'd often get requests for more specific stats on how fast XP was being earned or damage being dealt, because people loved to maximize every little detail. Personally, I didn't care about that on my toons, but other people did. I look at powerleveling much the same way.

 

Now what I would like to see is more people forming teams to just do whatever they'd be doing solo anyway. Pop on with your mid-20s villain or brand new hero or L50+4 incarnate to do whatever they have up next? Announce it in LFG, maybe someone will want to join. No need to wait, just go ahead and start your solo play and if someone sends you a tell, great - more fun for both of you!

[EmmySky]

27 minutes ago, ineffablebob said:

Now what I would like to see is more people forming teams to just do whatever they'd be doing solo anyway. Pop on with your mid-20s villain or brand new hero or L50+4 incarnate to do whatever they have up next? Announce it in LFG, maybe someone will want to join. No need to wait, just go ahead and start your solo play and if someone sends you a tell, great - more fun for both of you!

This is an excellent idea and I would love to impliment it.

 

BUT

 

I am very shy (don't laugh..I am!) and I always feel awkward on teams of just 2 or 3 people.  I have only in the last few months become comfortable door sitting or farming with one or two of the people I have become friendly with in the game.  If it is a random PuG then it feels way too, I dont know how to phrase it, but too intimate and personal and perhaps a but like the onus is on me to be dazzling at conversation and a perfect player.  If there is a larger group I can choose to stand out or fade away like a wallflower but small groups don't have that.  I know this is entirely a me problem and not a them problem.

 

Also, back on live my (then) husband didn't read chat much and took forever if he was going to try to type something so it became my job to direct, be the team leader and make sure everyone knew the plan and what to expect.  I dont relish that job and I dont want to do it ever again.

 

I lnow I am not the only antisocial awkward hermit person around, and thankfully there are plenty of people who will start and lead teams.  Y'all keep doing what you do because people like me appreciate it.  Or we solo a lot.  

 

Deep breath.  Okay this feels like therapy, who do I make my check out too?  😝

[Apogee]

14 hours ago, Lines said:

Just one of those personal bugbears, formed from my work habits, that I carry around everywhere.)

Wait, you have your own personal bugbear?!? Is it trained?

[Lines]

7 hours ago, Apogee said:

Wait, you have your own personal bugbear?!? Is it trained?

I wish. 😭

 

[Nyghtmaire]

Interesting to read others’ perspectives and practices. I basically solo level “old school” but will sometimes join groups IF it’s very late at night and everyone in my house is asleep so I won’t be interrupted. IRL has been so crazy these last few months that I just don’t have the time to be able to commit to a group (and I don’t want to bail on a team once I’ve made a commitment). On the rare times (very, very rare) I’ve formed a group, I never found it difficult to get a response or participant. Mind you, I prefer 3-4 person teams to keep everyone on their toes. 
 

And no objections to other play styles, preferences, farming, power leveling, what have you. It has literally no impact on my enjoyment. 

[Coyotedancer]

Duos and small teams are great fun. 8-member smash-fest can be, too... But sometimes I find myself just wanting to run on my own, without any pressure to "keep up" and the freedom to AFK when-ever I like. (Or when Mei insists it's "play with cat"-time. <_<)

 

One of the things that I love the most about the City is that solo play is possible for almost everything in the game.

Edited November 29, 2020 by Coyotedancer

[Force]

How about the folks who skip the leveling content and just run back to back Radios all the way to 50.    While not as "frowned upon" by some than PLing, I consider it a far worse fate to recycle radio content as a leveling choice over running actual story arcs across the various zones.  

[EmmySky]

4 minutes ago, Force said:

How about the folks who skip the leveling content and just run back to back Radios all the way to 50.    While not as "frowned upon" by some than PLing, I consider it a far worse fate to recycle radio content as a leveling choice over running actual story arcs across the various zones.  

If people run radios or tips in IP they are just masochistic...but I don't judge 😝

[Yomo Kimyata]

8 minutes ago, EmmySky said:

If people run radios or tips in IP they are just masochistic...but I don't judge 😝

Ha!  I did this the other day and was cursing every minute of it.  I had levelled to 28 and wanted the safeguard for 25-30 and I've learned from experience that at 28 you're too high to get the bank mission in Talos (even though I think you can still run radio missions).

 

Fortunately, I use both Mission Teleporter and Team Teleport, but yeah, having missions in the same zone over 2 miles apart is kind of a drag.

[Bill Z Bubba]

19 minutes ago, EmmySky said:

If people run radios or tips in IP they are just masochistic...but I don't judge 😝

I rather enjoy runnin repeatables in DA.

[Zeraphia]

15 minutes ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

I rather enjoy runnin repeatables in DA.

There is something satisfying about sticking it to a giant dark blue cheeseball that never gets old...

Edited September 5, 2020 by Zeraphia

[Coyotedancer]

30 minutes ago, Zeraphia said:

There is something satisfying about sticking it to a giant dark blue cheeseball that never gets old...

 

Ah, bashing good old "Maggot the Buttless" and his friends.... XD

[gamingglen]

8 hours ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

I rather enjoy runnin repeatables in DA.

I hate DA.

 

I want another level 50 zone, someplace with sunshine. Northern PI's main island gets boring after a short time.

[Myrmidon]

1 hour ago, gamingglen said:

I hate DA.

 

I want another level 50 zone, someplace with sunshine. Northern PI's main island gets boring after a short time.

They will populate Kallisti Wharf eventually.

[Xeres]

I agree with you for the most part, but lately I've been taking the easy way out.  There are some chars I want to "finish" as my alt-itis is almost cured for the moment, but I really don't want to run missions right now.

 

But people play games to have fun, whatever that means.  So, if questing to level does that, so be it.  If getting to 50 to finish your build and go for incarnate things is your deal, so be it.

[Infinitum]

11 hours ago, Xeres said:

"finish" as my alt-itis is almost cured for the moment,

"Cured"  hahaha. There is no cure my friend. 

[Sir Myshkin]

You can tell when someone has never leveled a character to 50, set all their enhancements attuned, and then went back and run Positron and Synapse Task Forces with most (or all) set bonuses, slots, enhancements (even if scaled) , plus the exemplar +5 level abilities, and felt that intoxicating difference of power.

 

The most risk-free Posi 1 I’ve ever done was with a team of exemplar players who were—at minimum—IO basics and level 25+, and I have never cleared Posi 2 since as fast as that team did either.

 

I still level my characters through teams and missions as much as possible, and never step into an AE farm unless I’m 50 for laughs, but I am certainly more incentivized to play those early TFs and missions exemp over fresh.

 

Just saying.

 

[Myrmidon]

34 minutes ago, Sir Myshkin said:

You can tell when someone has never leveled a character to 50, set all their enhancements attuned, and then went back and run Positron and Synapse Task Forces with most (or all) set bonuses, slots, enhancements (even if scaled) , plus the exemplar +5 level abilities, and felt that intoxicating difference of power.

 

The most risk-free Posi 1 I’ve ever done was with a team of exemplar players who were—at minimum—IO basics and level 25+, and I have never cleared Posi 2 since as fast as that team did either.

 

I still level my characters through teams and missions as much as possible, and never step into an AE farm unless I’m 50 for laughs, but I am certainly more incentivized to play those early TFs and missions exemp over fresh.

 

Just saying.

 

Attuned IOs (sans Purples).

 

This is the Way.