SUGGESTION: Unlock the four basic movement types for everyone at lvl 4

[Kid_Gloves]

Have the four basic travel powers (flight, superjump, superspeed, teleport) automatically available for everyone at level 4, in a new inherent power pool.

 

Not the entire pools, just those four specific travel powers.

 

Why?

As CoH has been trending towards more P2W travel powers and other unlockable travel powers, it becomes progressively more viable to have a build that doesn't need a pool travel power. You can fly on a magic carpet, or use a jetpack, or whatever else. Furthermore, requests for even more vehicles or similar travel-related powers are extremely common as additional suggestions. Such suggestions become much less questionable from a mechanics or balance perspective if everyone already has access to something roughly the same, albeit without cosmetics.

 

Travel is something that just happens in the game. People find all sorts of mechanisms for getting around the world quickly, from ouroboros to base portals to whatever else. Many missions even assume travel enough that they just hand out things like jetpacks or similar for players to use.

 

What about the existing travel pools?

Most of the other powers in the travel power pools have combat use - hasten, hover, combat teleport, air superiority, etc. Even Afterburner does a similar job to what Personal Forcefield does - giving it a valid in-battle use. The four powers that have very limited (and easily replicable) utility are the four basic travel powers.

 

I'd suggest, in order to keep the pool UI the same, looking closely at each of the four pick-able travel powers (flight, superjump, superspeed, teleport - and their more recent variants, such as mystic flight) and asking the question: what could these benefit from that makes them stand out in combat usage from what the auto-awarded, P2W or other temp/additional powers that doesn't require a precious power pick to acquire?

[Greycat]

You know, I *already* have builds that I run out of powers I want to take.

 

The P2W powers have drawbacks, which is the cost of taking them to free up the extra power pick (or just go with a theme) - typically cost, a time limit, or that (like the magic carpet) you cannot use powers while using them. Just "giving" the regular travel powers... I can't say I like the idea.

 

There is also the issue (yes, I'm going to say it) of power creep - not only in that you've just removed the need to take some power (and pool) choice for travel - or pay the cost for an alternative - but you've just given everyone four new set mules at no cost. And most basically, you've given everyone a spot for free knockback protection (Blessing of the Zephyr) and stealth.

 

It's already a big enough impact that we *don't* require a prerequisite any more to acquire a travel power - or that we get it at level four. (I've been playing two "2004 recreation" characters, see the classic hero challenge in the general discussion, where among other things we simulate having to take fitness picks as well as a prereq for travel, and at the proper levels - there is a *huge* difference in power, ability and planning and playing the character, just from the travel power being as it is now.) With being able to pick a travel power at level four, not only do you not have to pick the prereq, not only can you bypass a *lot* of potentially challenging situations (see people talking about the Hollows in the old days, for instance,) but it's not something that *needs* slotting... so you can fit more early slots in other powers, literally raising their power as well.

 

No, I just can't see agreeing that this is a good idea.

[Alchemystic]

The reason why the prestige travel powers (ninja run, steam jump, flying carpet, etc) exist is so that players can access weaker versions of the core travel powers without having to invest in the travel power pools themselves. None of these powers are slottable either, because you're basically getting something for nothing. 

 

That's the compromise the devs were willing to make to ensure that players could travel for free without creating any potential balance issues. If you want a decent travel power you have to make room in your build to do so.

 

There's already been plenty of change to the travel power pools to make them more accessible than they used to be. Originally you could only pick fly/teleport/super speed/super jump at level 14 and it required you to pick another power from the pool beforehand. Then they changed it so you could gain it at level 6, then again down to level 4, without even having to pick up another power as a prerequisite.

 

Gaining travel powers is so easy now, and giving them away for free just seems gratuitous at this point. If you really want access to all travel power types, you have dedicated space for 2 pool powers in every build... just pick Magic Flight and Speed of Sound and there you have it.

 

If that's not enough... well... play a Kheldian?

 

Edited January 17, 2021 by Tyrannical

[AerialAssault]

I'm generally against the homogenization of the game, so sorry, giving this a pass.

[SeraphimKensai]

Nightcrawler doesn't have Superspeed, Superman can't teleport, the Hulk doesn't fly,  and Wolverine can't jump over a building.

 

Having us choose to build those types of powers into our character instills build diversity.

 

That said I'm not opposed necessarily towards a temp power that gives limited teleportation or speed as we have temp power jet packs and jump packs, but definitely voting no to just making all the travel powers inherent.

[FrauleinMental]

I also vote no.  You want all four travel powers, the price is spending power picks.  (Well, you already get flight and teleport in Mystic Flight, and there are P2W flight and jump powers).

 

If you want to see power creep, look no further than what happened on Live when the Fitness pool became inherent.  Before that, characters almost universally spent three power picks by level 20 to get Stamina.

[Grindingsucks]

I would say yes (with the exception of Sonic Speed and Mystic Flight) except for one important fact that occurred to me; you can mule several valuable enhancements with them, which should not be allowed without some cost, IMO.

 

So, yeah.  I also vote no on this one.

[Leogunner]

Maybe if pools like that were a build choice so you can choose a "travel inherent pool" which gives you a leg up picking powers from the actual travel pools but at the cost of inherent fitness pool.

 

Just giving players more powers "just 'cause" seems completely unnecessary but a lot of changes they've implemented have been mostly unnecessary power creep.

[Apparition]

As someone who takes Hover, Fly, Afterburner, and either Super Speed or Speed of Sound on every character... no thank you.  Those are choices that need to be made for every individual character, not handed out like candy to everyone.  No one can have everything.

[Marine X]

I just honestly think we are starting to get further and further from what a "Comic Book Super Hero" world would be like. No one wants to be the side kick, or Junior Team member. No one wants to be Spiderman or Hawkeye or Black Widow, they want to stand toe to toe with an Arch Villain or Giant Monster and duke it out. Some of the Archetypes are intended to be support, it's in the description when you choose them, they should not be God Killers. Adding more opportunity for Power Creep just isn't really helping anyone, and getting a travel power is not that much of a burden. I have several Tanks/Brutes that use Jet Packs for travel, it just seems to fit the Character better than anything else, but I still take a travel pool power.

[Greycat]

33 minutes ago, Marine X said:

No one wants to be the side kick, or Junior Team member. No one wants to be Spiderman or Hawkeye or Black Widow, they want to stand toe to toe with an Arch Villain or Giant Monster and duke it out. Some of the Archetypes are intended to be support, it's in the description when you choose them, they should not be God Killers.

.... going to be the "shouldn't make blanket statements" guy here and disagree with both of these statements. 🙂

 

I'm one of those sort who actually *enjoys* having limitations. Who has, RP wise, had characters hospitalized for weeks or months. Who's quite happy being up to Spidey-level, and making decisions on what to fight based on that.

 

And, power wise, unlike other games it's not a question of AT. It's not "the healer shouldn't try to solo this, the DPS can." The power levels within ATs can vary *wildly,* especially among support ATs. My old Earth/FF 'troller isn't going to go solo a GM, no... but I'll point out that the first AT to solo a GM was, after all, an Illusion 'troller... on SOs, too. With IOs these days, not even touching Incarnates, trying to say "X AT shouldn't do Y" in many instances is ... just a non starter.

 

Whether that's good or not and to what degree is - as I read it - part of the gist of your post, that's a discussion that's constantly being had, granted.

 

[SwitchFade]

Ah, no.

 

Sorry.

[Marine X]

Just was trying to make the point that by level 50, you have had many opportunities to choose powers. Among these are the pool travel powers, boxing, stealth, etc.

I think we are already overpowered from a " Comic Book " standpoint. Most Heroes do not have the level of power that we can have with almost any AT. Look at say Daredevil, he will never be the lead guy to take out Galactus. He's for the most part just a very skilled acrobat with an altered perception of the world. That type of character is not practical here, and there are probably more characters like him in comics than there are Superman types. I really like building effective and powerful characters myself, I just don't think we need any more freebies, if that's what happens, fine, but I just don't think it is needed.

[Normal Thomas]

Inherent Stamina and lvl 4 travel powers already free up a lot of choice when it comes to picking powers and I don't see any good reason to make that any easier.

[Dragon Crush]

While I'm against just handing them out for free, adding P2W options where you can buy 30 minutes of SS or SJ at a time for 50k inf blocks (price subject to change based on ideas from people not just pulling numbers out their rear) stacking to 8 hours at a time seems like it'd be acceptable inf sink. Not sure where to even start with a P2W tp though... maybe 50 charges at a time?