Introducing Someone to the Game

[Myrmidon]

Brute, Scrapper or Stalker, depending on the players preference. 

[biostem]

Honestly, I would say Sentinels - you have armors and status protection, so the new player wouldn't have to worry about being mezzed, and the ranged attacks mean that said player wouldn't have to worry about chasing down enemies as much...

[ForeverLaxx]

The first character I ever made, way back in 2004, was a Blaster. Despite all the dying that character did, he was still my most fun character and the only character I really put a lot of time in. I had a ton of alts back then, too, and I would still play my main at least once every time I logged in.

 

Blasters are great at teaching the player the game, and with changes to their secondaries, they've never been easier to keep standing on their own. The best thing about them is that they teach you what enemies to watch out for without overly punishing you for it like would happen on a Defender. You have the damage to defeat mobs easily, an inherent that lets you fight back while mezzed (and learning what mez is and where it comes from is important, so I'd avoid ATs with mez protection for this reason), and some of the most varied attack sets with a very superhero-y, comic book feel. You even get to mess around with some minor control powers, showcasing how useful they are when combined with your knowledge of which mobs are the most dangerous (that you learned by getting mezzed all the time). Plus, since they're primarily ranged, he can have an easier time in fights by hanging back, though he'll probably get confused with having access to melee powers and you'll have to explain the risk/reward in their use unless he goes Devices or Tac Arrow.

 

Blasters are a great first character, but if he likes being ranged and is afraid of being overwhelmed by having to learn what mobs toss mezz, there's always the Sentinel option. The AT may be considered weak, but he won't feel that way while leveling and it's only an issue when he already understands the game and wants to drop an IO build on it. By that point, he'll have probably played a bunch of things so it may matter less.

Edited April 25, 2022 by ForeverLaxx

[TheOtherTed]

5 hours ago, biostem said:

Honestly, I would say Sentinels - you have armors and status protection, so the new player wouldn't have to worry about being mezzed, and the ranged attacks mean that said player wouldn't have to worry about chasing down enemies as much...

I hate to disagree - aww, who am I kidding, I love to disagree, so here goes:

 

If TygerDarkstorm's BF is playing CoD, safety and convenience may not be what he's looking for in a game.  I'd second Nemu and ForeverLaxx's suggestions to play a Blaster, in no small part because of the challenge.  Throw in the huge powerset diversity that Blasters have, with secondaries that include blapping, budget crowd control, and buffs/debuffs, and he's got nearly the entire game to explore in one AT.  Throw in a Dark powerset or two, and he's got a unique angle on tanking as well.

 

Though, personally, I would have said Corruptor first.

 

To be fair, though, any non-epic AT should work.  Once he's gotten his feet wet, though, I'd urge him to try Defenders and Controllers.  Maybe my experience is weird, but I learned far more about other ATs (and the game in general) by playing "support" characters on teams than I ever did from Scrappers, Blasters, or Tanks.

[TraumaTrain]

Brutes, scrappers, and sentinels.

 

Pretty straight forward. Toggle up your protections, and roll your attacks. Simple allows him to learn the game and enjoy the lore. Then he can figure out how he wants to progress.

 

Also, it's nice that he wants to do your thing with you. 

[oedipus_tex]

For better or worse, when I've had friends try the game and they are not experienced video game players, I've usually pushed them toward first trying a Dark Miasma Defender or Corruptor. My reasoning is:

• Blast powers are relatively straight forward. Most people quickly understand what a Fireball or Flare is. I have them choose which ever blast set they want, so they feel like they've picked something appealing to them. Although some Blast sets are obviously stronger than others, they'll all more or less function as expected.
• Dark Miasma specifically offers powers that showcase the variety that exists in this game: the "bounce heal", the tar patch, the toggle, the fear cone, and so on. So you're introducing some of the game's core concepts with training wheels on.

 

Those basic instructions have tended to keep my friend's interests. I had one who quit because her laptop couldn't handle it, but a few others have stayed around for a while.

[biostem]

4 hours ago, TheOtherTed said:

I hate to disagree - aww, who am I kidding, I love to disagree, so here goes:

 

If TygerDarkstorm's BF is playing CoD, safety and convenience may not be what he's looking for in a game.  I'd second Nemu and ForeverLaxx's suggestions to play a Blaster, in no small part because of the challenge.  Throw in the huge powerset diversity that Blasters have, with secondaries that include blapping, budget crowd control, and buffs/debuffs, and he's got nearly the entire game to explore in one AT.  Throw in a Dark powerset or two, and he's got a unique angle on tanking as well.

 

Though, personally, I would have said Corruptor first.

 

To be fair, though, any non-epic AT should work.  Once he's gotten his feet wet, though, I'd urge him to try Defenders and Controllers.  Maybe my experience is weird, but I learned far more about other ATs (and the game in general) by playing "support" characters on teams than I ever did from Scrappers, Blasters, or Tanks.

Are we talking about a "new" player that is already familiar with mez effects and that you can't really actively dodge attacks by seeking cover, or one who is used to more modern games that use something akin to hit-scan mechanics, where whether the enemy's attack will hit or not isn't calculated immediately?  I doubt such a person would be happy to find out that bullets and other such attacks will follow them to the ends of the earth because their chance to hit has already been decided...

[TheOtherTed]

 @biostem, considering he'll be playing with someone who already knows the ropes, I'm sure he'll be fine with whatever he picks.  Blasters have the added benefit of Defiance, so mezzing won't be a total loss of function.  As for the magical bullet problem, well, he'd have to adapt to that with any AT.

 

On that note, maybe it would be helpful to coach him on the relatively unique "gotchas" that CoH presents instead of focusing on AT picks.

[Random Axis]

I suggest you ask him what type of character he wants to play. With a little guidance of course if he wants something that can't happen in game--like thinking a blaster can be played like a cover-shooting game. Your new toon should be the complement to his. So his DPSer/support would team with your tank (not necessarily a tanker) and vice versa.

 

If you're looking for good ways to level, here's a guide to going to 50 via story missions. You do the TFs once for the story, but not over and over and over again. I did it on a tanker and can vouch for it.

 As a grown up, I'm not sure how much he'll like it, but when I visited my brother's over the holidays, his kids liked watching me play and my reading out the mission boxes and dialogue in an overly melodramatic, comic book tone. Maybe you can trade off for maximum fun where he reads the male lines and you do the female ones.

Edited April 25, 2022 by Random Axis

[biostem]

31 minutes ago, TheOtherTed said:

@biostem, considering he'll be playing with someone who already knows the ropes, I'm sure he'll be fine with whatever he picks.  Blasters have the added benefit of Defiance, so mezzing won't be a total loss of function.  As for the magical bullet problem, well, he'd have to adapt to that with any AT.

 

On that note, maybe it would be helpful to coach him on the relatively unique "gotchas" that CoH presents instead of focusing on AT picks.

 

Or... you say "click this power and you don't really have to worry about mezzes".  Play whatever you want, but if we're talking about what would be easiest for someone with no prior knowledge to pick up and play, a Sentinel has a lot going for it.

[TygerDarkstorm]

I went to bed and an absolutely fabulous discussion happened, lol. 🤣 But seriously, this sort of discussion is what I was looking for. This community is great and super helpful and you all have given me lots of great advice and things to think about. 

[Xeres]

I would take a hands off approach.  Let him ask the questions and whatnot, also throw in a few "before you do that know this" type of things.  But let him figure out what he wants to play based on trial and error and such.  At least that's my opinion.

[cranebump]

On Sentinels, I’d suggest /Regen as a secondary. The game will be more enjoyable, I think, without constant energy crashes at lower levels. He can skip the click heals if need be for the inherents and toggles.

 

if not that, I’d suggest a straight up Tank of almost any kind. That allows you to play the fiddly support character while they wade on in.

[Crysis]

Honestly with Tanker changes I don’t know why everyone is recommending Brute, especially for a duo.

 

You didn’t really say what kind of AT you’d be playing alongside him but a Tank + Corruptor or Controller duo is potent.  Even more so if you are playing Kin so you can max out damage for both of you constantly.  Even poorly built tanks seldom need buffs in PVE content to survive but augmenting damage makes everything viable.

Edited April 27, 2022 by Crysis

[Cancrusher]

44 minutes ago, Crysis said:

Honestly with Tanker changes I don’t know why everyone is recommending Brute, especially for a duo.

 

You didn’t really say what kind of AT you’d be playing alongside him but a Tank + Corruptor or Controller duo is potent.  Even more so if you are playing Kin so you can max out damage for both of you constantly.  Even poorly built tanks seldom need buffs in PVE content to survive but augmenting damage makes everything viable.

Well, if you're just introducing someone to the game, you're probably going to be playing at +0 notoriety.  In that case, any AT choice is mostly fine (although Melee and Sentinels are simpler to train on, IMO).  The game is easy enough at base difficulty that you can play missions with pretty much any pair of characters.

[Marbing]

This is what I do under the same situation:

 

1. Ask them what play style they are most interested in. (Doing damage, supporting a team, healing, tanking, controlling, etc).
2. Explain to them the ATs that do that best. (Pros/Cons, don’t get too deep into the weeds, just basics)
3. Let them pick what they want.
4. Play.

Edited April 27, 2022 by Marbing
Grammar

[iBot]

Lot's of solid advice.  My 0.02 inf for what it is worth:

 

Try one of each.  Coming from CoD (assuming this is Call of Duty) I'd personally go with Blaster primary Assault Rifle or Pistols with secondary of either Devices or martial combat.  However nothing stopping you from allowing them to roll a dozen different toons and then running them through a few opening story arcs to get a feel for what to expect.  The levels under 20 if done slowly will give you a pretty decent idea of how the character will progress.

 

As for the duo aspect all I can suggest is play what you feel comfortable with.  If you go too synergistic then your SO will have a skewed view of how their character plays because you'll provide buffs/debuffs that they don't have naturally.  There is helping and then there is hand holding.  You'll need to be the judge as to how much your SO expects of each.  Not to get too philosophical here but resist the urge to prevent them from failing.  Best part of learning is figuring out how to overcome that obstacle rather than just having someone point out the solution.  Again, you'll need to gauge that frustration level but from experience the best way to hold someone's attention is to provide just enough challenge to trigger that "OH I'm gonna beat this!" part of the brain. 👍

Edited April 27, 2022 by iBot
spez

[biostem]

4 hours ago, Marbing said:

This is what I do under the same situation:

 

1. Ask them what play style they are most interested in. (Doing damage, supporting a team, healing, tanking, controlling, etc).
2. Explain to them the ATs that do that best. (Pros/Cons, don’t get too deep into the weeds, just basics)
3. Let them pick what they want.
4. Play.

The problem with 1 & 2 is that the player may not be familiar with the concept of "roles" insofar as CoH goes.  To that end, it may be better to ask what they want their character to do - "Do you want to use a sword?  Do you want to shoot lightning?  What comic book character would you like to be like?"  As you play, you can slowly introduce different game mechanics and how the different ATs fit in...

[Doomguide2005]

1 Tanker (Stone/SS)

2 Scrappers (Claws/SR, Kat/Regen)

1 Defender (Empathy/Energy)

1 Controller (Earth/Sonic)

1 Blaster (Fire/Fire)

 

     That was the AT of the first character made by myself and each of my circle of friends when we started.  All except one hit 50 (The Tanker but it was the friend with the least in game time.  It was still his highest level character).  All except the Controller were created prior to Going Rogue.  All of us were playing our first MMORPG when we started.  Literally 1 of every AT possible when created except for  Controller (Earth/Sonic).  It really does not matter which as long as it fits in his head, meeting his concept of the Super Hero (or Villain) he wants to play.   

 

And a big welcome to the game!

Edited April 27, 2022 by Doomguide2005

[Marbing]

2 hours ago, biostem said:

The problem with 1 & 2 is that the player may not be familiar with the concept of "roles" insofar as CoH goes.  To that end, it may be better to ask what they want their character to do - "Do you want to use a sword?  Do you want to shoot lightning?  What comic book character would you like to be like?"  As you play, you can slowly introduce different game mechanics and how the different ATs fit in...

The problem with this approach is that it explains nothing about the game and there always ends up being heroes that are hard to reproduce in game. Also, sure… you can ask what kinda of heroes they like but that may have nothing to do with the play style they prefer. So you simply give them an overview of the different roles and ask what they are most interested in. This approach has seemed to work the best for me to get new players interested. 
 

Regardless of your approach, the idea is to start a conversation. Both your way and my way do that. I’ve found my works best for me, you do you though.

 

 

[TygerDarkstorm]

I wasn't expecting this to still be going, lol. Regardless, all of the advice and opinions from everyone are greatly appreciated. ❤️ 

[Bill Z Bubba]

32 minutes ago, TygerDarkstorm said:

I wasn't expecting this to still be going, lol. Regardless, all of the advice and opinions from everyone are greatly appreciated. ❤️ 

 

Tis the danger of starting threads. They have been known to grow and change in ways no one could ever imagine.

[iBot]

On 4/27/2022 at 5:22 PM, TygerDarkstorm said:

I wasn't expecting this to still be going, lol. Regardless, all of the advice and opinions from everyone are greatly appreciated. ❤️ 

You do realize that we will require a follow up post on how all this amazing advice actually worked out 🙂

[TygerDarkstorm]

2 hours ago, iBot said:

You do realize that we will require a follow up post on how all this amazing advice actually worked out 🙂

Ha, I will if we can ever bring him home from deployment. Right when he was getting ready to return to the states, he caught COVID and is fighting off a pretty gnarly strain of it from the sounds of it, so he has to stay there until he's cleared of the virus and okay to return home. 😞 

[TheOtherTed]

That's awful.  Here's hoping he regains his health and can get home soon, without any sticky red tape.