What Can Be Done to Recruit Players?

[BurtHutt]

On 4/26/2022 at 8:48 AM, DarionLeonidas said:

I donm't think the Admins -- now Devs -- can do what needs to be done to attract new players.

 

I think one way to get new players is to make the game challenging, again.

 

Everything, especially levelling up, is too easy. Incarnates are common as dirt and able to solo Task and Strike Forces. Why encourage friends to come into the game if you don't need a team to play?Eliminate Null the Gull's ability to freely change alignments. 

 

I think another way to get new players is to make players part of the game equation.

 

Make good story AE missions part of the canon and put the contacts on the streets. Let good AE mission creators add to the tapestry of the game.

 

And finally, whatever might be wrong with PvP, live with it and make PvP battles epic. Make them League versus League trials with the stakes being control of actual in-game Zones, or buffs which apply to an entire alignment class.

 

I know that a lot of people dismiss PvP because they don't like it. I don't like it. But I have friends who won't play a game without it. The people saying they're glad we don't have more PvP are missing the point; PvP brings in players. I'm fine with a low game population if it means I don't have to deal with PvP, but I also realize that the game population will always be low without it.

 

Those are just my opinions thrown into the stew. I could be wrong.

 

Dasher

I agree with a lot of what you've noted here. I am indifferent on PvP and don't do it so, for me, that's back burner stuff.

 

I somewhat agree on alignment change concerns. The Live devs really messed things up by dividing the playerbase so I am ok with a quick change on alignments. I don't like the easy incarnate xp or the easy access to 2XP for regular xp but whatever.

 

I think HC is getting to a point where maybe attracting new players isn't as important as retaining current players. There is a noticeable reduction in players these days and maybe they all come back. I am on the forums more than in game these days (and I am not here that much compared to before). I am worried about the future of the game and am still willing to help.

 

Again, I think adding player created materials to the game as canon would be a good start. The implementation is also important. 

 

Making new TFs etc is also a big deal and HC had some solid ideas but the actual product was not as epic. 

 

Here's to the future!

[Troo]

1 hour ago, PeregrineFalcon said:

New low level content only benefits veteran players who will be able to play new low level content, it does not benefit new players at all.

 

You might agree that some of the very low level is bad. Anything with Flambeaux specifically.

 

I am 100% onboard with all content is new for a new player.

 

 

Edited May 12, 2022 by Troo

[ShardWarrior]

Star Trek Online is currently running their Delta Recruitment Event, which got me to thinking - why not hold a recruitment event here to generate some interest?  Come up with some fun activities for new players to experience while diving into the game.

 

Might be fun to hold a mass Giant Monster event where there are dozens of Kronos Titans and Babbages invading Atlas Park or Mercy Island.  The story can be that the villains are banding together into a new Axis of Evil Doers and the current heroes are not enough to fight them.  Some kind of event that can be advertised on social media and MMORPG sites to entice some new players.

 

This can be combined with player run events.  We used to hold regular Supergroup Faires on Triumph back in the day.  SGs would run costume contests, sewer runs, badge tours etc. 

[PeregrineFalcon]

6 minutes ago, Krimson said:

But if existing players are interested enough in playing low level content, would that not be more players playing low level content, which translates to more teams doing something other than endless DFB before running off to AE? 

This is true. However, existing players who have played long enough to become bored of low level content they can no longer called new players. So, as I said, new low level content does not help new players as the person that I replied to stated.

[UltraAlt]

2 hours ago, DarknessEternal said:

Fixing the standard damage formula to include all the relevant information it currently does not, like animation time, and then actually making powers follow it would help.

 

The game play isn't the issue.

The current attention-span and willingness to be creative is the issue.

 

Most F2P gamers are in for an insta-fix.

That is why they can't take the time to play the actual game and want to be PL'd/Farmed/Door-sat to level 50.

 

2 hours ago, DarknessEternal said:

The only thing we have in CoH is generalized mission play.

 

I guess having one of the most diverse character creation systems, customized power sets, and diverse power selections for archetypes doesn't count for some reason?

How about base building?

How about the ability to create your own stories/scenarios? 

 

2 hours ago, DarknessEternal said:

80% of all power sets being a dumpster fire is pretty limiting on what people are actually allowed to play if they want to have any kind of fun with being a "super" hero.

 

I entirely disagree with this.

Maybe you don't enjoy 80% of the power sets, but I enjoy playing every character I have created to one degree or another.

The variation gives the game longevity.

 

I can mix just about anything and be successful if I change my tactics and work with a team.

I don't cookie-cut my loadouts.

I'm a character conception player. 

 

if you are solo-only, you probably do have issues with many power sets as well as archetypes in general - especially if you are trying to use the same tactics with every character you make.

 

City of Heroes was designed to be a teaming game and not a solo-play game.

Edited May 12, 2022 by UltraAlt

[laudwic]

26 minutes ago, Krimson said:

But if existing players are interested enough in playing low level content, would that not be more players playing low level content, which translates to more teams doing something other than endless DFB before running off to AE? 

Too many players are more interested in the destination of 50 rather than the journey.  With that being said, some of the early launch missions are not super exciting.  I wish we could get more people to start out with Matthew Habashy as a first contact.  That is a fine story based experience.  

 

I understand the Flambeaux hate, but running Matthew's arc then twinshot is a nice intro to the game.

 

 

[ShardWarrior]

 

23 minutes ago, UltraAlt said:

City of Heroes was designed to be a teaming game and not a solo-play game.

 

For some content yes.  Not for the entirety of the game.

[Bill Z Bubba]

54 minutes ago, UltraAlt said:

City of Heroes was designed to be a teaming game and not a solo-play game.

 

33 minutes ago, ShardWarrior said:

For some content yes.  Not for the entirety of the game.

 

It's also completely false. Even as per the developers since day 1 with the existence of the scrapper. There is *some* content in the game that required a team. Far less these days.

 

 

[Glacier Peak]

33 minutes ago, ShardWarrior said:

For some content yes.  Not for the entirety of the game.

I'm going to agree with @UltraAlt on this from a legacy perspective. It was specifically advertised as a massively multiplayer online role playing game and content was continously designed with that in mind during legacy. At the same time @ShardWarrior, here on Homecoming, I've managed to collect around 1520 badges on my main - nearly 99% was done through soloing (or using multiple accounts when needed). So you have a point too. 

[Luminara]

5 minutes ago, Glacier Peak said:

I'm going to agree with @UltraAlt on this from a legacy perspective. It was specifically advertised as a massively multiplayer online role playing game and content was continously designed with that in mind during legacy.

 

And, per developer commentary, publicity releases, dev diaries and other sources, it was also deliberately designed to be as solo-friendly as possible so anyone could take any character, play for a while and log out with a feeling of accomplishment, even if they weren't on a team.  The sole purpose of archetypes, power sets, power pools and power pool restrictions was to make it impossible for anyone to make a character which could not function solo.  They actually threw the alpha build of the game in the trash and redesigned it from the ground up, consolidating powers into sets, creating archetypes and assigning those sets to them, taking leftover powers and compiling them into pools, and devising limitations like every player having to select at least one pool power by level 26, and every secondary automatically assigning the T1 to the player, whether they wanted it or not, to force every player to make a solo-capable character, even if they didn't want to.

 

Players forming teams was always Cryptic's preferred goal, but outside of *Fs, Trials and a very limited number of missions, it was never the enforced path of progression.

[Saikochoro]

5 hours ago, UltraAlt said:

Most F2P gamers are in for an insta-fix.

That is why they can't take the time to play the actual game and want to be PL'd/Farmed/Door-sat to level 50.

 

 

I guess having one of the most diverse character creation systems, customized power sets, and diverse power selections for archetypes doesn't count for some reason?

Snipped to just address one part:

 

For many players, farming and power leveling is playing the actual game. The actual game does not consist of only task forces and story arcs. That is just one subset of the game. Power leveling and farming is extremely common with most mmos and CoH is no exception. 
 

I point to the second paragraph the I quoted. You are 100% correct that CoH has one of the most diverse character creation and power selections of any game. There are more combinations than the mass majority of gamers could ever even put a noticeable dent into. 
 

Some players like to make tons of Alts and play them at their max power because thar is how they enjoy the game. So they power level and farm for levels and influence and then deck out their new character. Play it for a bit and then attack the next combination they are itching to try. Rinse and repeat for the thousands and thousands of possibilities they have before them. This can keep players engaged for a very long time even if they never even go back to the characters. 
 

There isn’t a correct way to play the game. There are many different preferences and people play according to their preferences. Playing the game is playing the game is playing the game. 

[Bill Z Bubba]

21 minutes ago, Krimson said:

A level 50 token would probably calm down the calls for AE farms, but I know how that suggestion will go over. 😄

 

Cuz that thread ain't hard to find.

[Ghost]

1 hour ago, Krimson said:

Nah, I just know that suggestions are moot and won't accomplish anything. Much like this entire thread. 😄

So negative

[macskull]

10 hours ago, DarknessEternal said:

Fixing the standard damage formula to include all the relevant information it currently does not, like animation time, and then actually making powers follow it would help.

 

The only thing we have in CoH is generalized mission play.  80% of all power sets being a dumpster fire is pretty limiting on what people are actually allowed to play if they want to have any kind of fun with being a "super" hero.

The damage formula not taking animation time into account was a pretty big oversight, but that ship sailed a long time ago and rebalancing the entire game around it would be a herculean task with no real benefit. There are some powers which need animation trimming but that's being worked on already. I think "80% of all power sets being a dumpster fire" is extreme hyperbole - there are maybe a dozen sets across all ATs which are objectively bad and even that's probably a high estimate.

 

8 hours ago, laudwic said:

Too many players are more interested in the destination of 50 rather than the journey.

Perhaps for those players the things they do at level 50 are the journey, and levels 1-49 are just a hurdle to be cleared to get there? I know I personally don't like whiffing, running out of endurance, or waiting on the three attacks I have to recharge.

[DarknessEternal]

2 hours ago, macskull said:

The damage formula not taking animation time into account was a pretty big oversight, but that ship sailed a long time ago and rebalancing the entire game around it would be a herculean task with no real benefit.

 

Nonsense.  We know how power data is stored.  It would be trivial to update them all according to one formula.

[Bill Z Bubba]

7 minutes ago, DarknessEternal said:

Nonsense.  We know how power data is stored.  It would be trivial to update them all according to one formula.

 

Yea, just do it all in notepad with find/replace!

 

/sarcasm off

 

Which formula? Have you already calculated what the weight of cast time should be in relation to the existing formulae? Has anyone? Have any idea what the ramifications will be? Castle and BAB thought they knew with the Claws reconfig back on live and ended up with me on beta taking down a pylon in an absolutely ridiculously small amount of time (for back then, at least.)

 

I'm not saying I disagree. I've been asking for the same thing for ages but I rather doubt the work involved will be anywhere near "trivial."

[Excraft]

16 hours ago, ShardWarrior said:

Might be fun to hold a mass Giant Monster event where there are dozens of Kronos Titans and Babbages invading Atlas Park or Mercy Island.  The story can be that the villains are banding together into a new Axis of Evil Doers and the current heroes are not enough to fight them.  Some kind of event that can be advertised on social media and MMORPG sites to entice some new players.

 

This can be combined with player run events.  We used to hold regular Supergroup Faires on Triumph back in the day.  SGs would run costume contests, sewer runs, badge tours etc. 

 

This is actually an excellent suggestion.  Finally someone offers a good idea.  I'd toss in a couple of GMs from the Hive and a bunch of Nemesis Monstrosities.  Would be cool to get those giant Mechs from the ITF.  I like the idea of incorporating player run events into it. 

 

Mass Babbage and mass Kronos Titan spawns are super fun.  Too bad no one does them anymore.  Would love to see this idea for a recruitment event implemented. 

[UltraAlt]

11 hours ago, Saikochoro said:

For many players, farming and power leveling is playing the actual game. The actual game does not consist of only task forces and story arcs. That is just one subset of the game. Power leveling and farming is extremely common with most mmos and CoH is no exception. 

The game is the first 50 levels.

Other contents are add-ons to that and end-game content.

 

I won't argue with the power-leveling part. I made that quite clear in what  you quoted me post.

 

"Most F2P gamers are in for an insta-fix.

That is why they can't take the time to play the actual game and want to be PL'd/Farmed/Door-sat to level 50."

 

That, however, isn't part of the game. It's a method of bypassing the game to get to the end-game as I stated.

 

It is fine that we disagree on that point.

 

12 hours ago, Saikochoro said:

There isn’t a correct way to play the game.

 

But there are ways to play the game that keep players more engaged than others.

Part of that is teaming because teaming and being part of a community fosters deeper connection to the game.

 

12 hours ago, Saikochoro said:

The actual game does not consist of only task forces and story arcs.

 

In fact, that is the core game.

There are other things you can do to keep you busy, but the core of the game is running missions and task forces.

 

AE was not designed as a power leveling tool.

Homecoming has taken steps to decrease the extent that power-leveling can be done in the game.

 

When you have to struggle to overcome something, the reward means that much more when you achieve victory

If you play your way to 50, you get that ding spread out.  You worked for each ding. You feel triumphant with each ding. With each ding, you link deeper to your character and to the game.

If you door sit, ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding means nothing. No effort. No emotional reward for the ding.

No "The Tsoo have to be avoided or tricked because those sorcerers are out of hand" becoming 5-6 levels later "We sure showed the Tsoo!"

Lost. Entirely lost by door sitting 50.

 

I understand what being L337 is about.

I don't think someone that power-levels to 50 is very L337. It takes no skill to be power-leveled to 50.

In fact, to me, power-leveling means anyone can be a 50 so being 50 is no big deal.

But still, many will assume that they are better than other players that play lower level content ... like new players that are trying to learn how to play the game by playing it.

 

When level 50's power level players that are new, they rob the experience of the game from those players.

If people that play 50's want to support the game, they need to take some time each week to play with players that play lower level content instead of trying to rush new players into the the end-game.

 

You don't have to agree with me. That's where I'm coming from on this.

[ShardWarrior]

 

3 minutes ago, UltraAlt said:

When level 50's power level players that are new, they rob the experience of the game from those players.

If people that play 50's want to support the game, they need to take some time each week to play with players that play lower level content instead of trying to rush new players into the the end-game.

 

This absolutely without question is not true. 

 

First, claiming level 50s are not taking the time to play lower level content is demonstrably false.  Any given time of day there are groups being formed by level 50s to run lower level TFs/SFs or story arcs.  

 

Second, if a new player would like to be powerleveled and then experience the content they may be interested in via Oro or exemplaring down, that is unquestionably their decision to make.  Forcing those new players into a style of play they do not like or enjoy is not going to keep them here.  You truly have no idea what the majority of new players may or may not want to experience here.  I do not mean this to be an insult, you are blinded by your own perspective.

[Bill Z Bubba]

33 minutes ago, UltraAlt said:

The game is the first 50 levels.

 

Wrong again. The game is everything the game has to offer.

[KaizenSoze]

I still believe the primary issue is advertising. Except for an small percentage of hardcore players, everyone else will get bored and take a break. This is true for all games.

 

We just need more people in general, drastic changes to the game mechanics won't necessary help and might just alienate the existing population.

 

CoX is good for playing intensely for a month or two, taking a break, then playing game. The game doesn't really pass you by if you take a month off. It's easy enough to pick up again, once you have gotten over the initial learning curve. That is a strength, not a weakness.

 

Of course, I play all the time, but I am a nut.

[arcane]

1 hour ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

 

Wrong again. The game is everything the game has to offer.

Yeah I don’t really understand the position that “the game” is anything less than everything that happens after you load up the game and log in…

 

I guess I literally don’t play this game because all I do is make 50’s and then play them. Who knew. I may play lower level content but only ever with a level 50. Can anyone help me understand what exactly I *have* been doing all these years?

Edited May 13, 2022 by arcane

[Without_Pause]

I still think the primary issue is adding in devs from where ever that might be. More so when we know one of the devs has already left.

[InvaderStych]

2 hours ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

Wrong again. The game is everything the game has to offer.

 

Yup.

 

But I wouldn't bother trying to convince UA of that fact.  The Costume Creator is the Game. IOs are The Game. SOs are The Game. Self-imposed restrictions like No Trust Fund, No P2W, or Nothing But Brawl are The Game. Working unique builds is The Game. Playing post-50 content is The Game.  Playing only up to level 40 and locking yourself there is The Game.

 

What UA will never understand is that the beauty of this game is flexibility; they are too busy insisting that everyone play the way they play and insulting anyone who doesn't.

 

Waste of time to engage them.

[Bill Z Bubba]

18 minutes ago, InvaderStych said:

Waste of time to engage them.

 

Pretty sure I'm on his ignore list anyway but at least yall will see my corrections.