The Pretty Good AE Debate

[Neiska]

A few thoughts from me.

 

First, I am glad the proposed change was reverted. For some of us, it's the main way we get veteran/incarnate materials. And there seems to be some people that seem to be under the impression that is somehow a bad thing.

 

Secondly, I wonder if it has ever occurred to some folks here that the AE is the only thing keeping some people around. True, I have no evidence of it, I am speaking only for myself. But if the AE was over nerfed, I would likely be looking to moving on before continuing to play, especially if the only other content that can advance me is either A) I have zero desire to do. Or B) involves me having to team with people I would sooner not interact with at all. If a random person is the "gogogogo" sort, or the sort to bring up hot topics of discussion, or to try to lecture me on unwanted advice, then I want very little to do with that person. And I shouldn't be "forced" to play with them, in order to get Emp merits, Veteran Exp, Incarnate Materials, and so on. Which, if the AE exp/drops/money were removed, I would have to do.

 

Now, I am fine with the Dev's "rebalancing" rewards. If they are over or under tuned, then tone them down. This includes even perhaps increasing weekly rewards or ITF rewards and so on. But not "removed entirely," because removing entirely completely removes a tool that many people use. And as time goes on I feel the urge to team with random people less and less, and no amount of "carrot on a stick" is going to change that, and no amount of "stick" is going to either.

 

An additional thought - the community is small enough as it is, and I suspect its only growing smaller. Now, is trying to force changes in rewards and play going to change that, or only make it worse? And perhaps, just perhaps mind you, how some people act or treat others in game might have far more effect on why they have difficulty finding teams, rather than the assumption that everybody is farming and needs to be stopped immediately so they will come join your Raids and Incarnate teams. Because I assure you, if forced to that choice - either play with random people I might not want to doing a task I have zero interest in doing, or play a different game entirely, well, that choice is a rather simple one to me and I am sure it would be for many others, making an already small community, even smaller. Now "you" might not care about that, but I think we can all safely assume that homecoming does.

 

Players need more options, not less. You want people out of the AE? The answer isn't to nerf AE into the ground. It's to make other activities more attractive. Which includes solo activities. Many people like to play the game alone. Shocking news, I know. And outside of Veteran EXP for their EMP merits and threads, what is a solo player to do if they don't want to put up with random teaming?

[Astralock]

6 minutes ago, Neiska said:

And outside of Veteran EXP for their EMP merits and threads, what is a solo player to do if they don't want to put up with random teaming?

 

If you play strictly solo, you don’t need Empyrean merits nor Incarnate threads as you don’t need Incarnate abilities.  Incarnate abilities are for Incarnate content, namely Incarnate trials.  Everything else can be played just fine without Incarnate abilities.

 

Honestly, one of the biggest mistakes Paragon Studios made in the end was to let Incarnate abilities other than Alpha work in non-Incarnate content.  I understand that they were actually against it but were pressured to allow it by NC corporate, but still.

[Neiska]

5 minutes ago, Astralock said:

If you play strictly solo, you don’t need Empyrean merits nor Incarnate threads as you don’t need Incarnate abilities.  Incarnate abilities are for Incarnate content, namely Incarnate trials.  Everything else can be played just fine without Incarnate abilities.

 

Not "strictly" solo, but "mainly" solo yes. And why do you assume there is a teaming requirement on Merits or Incarnate threads? Or that Incarnate abilities are for Incarnate content only? Or is it written somewhere that I am not aware of that all Incarnate powers are disallowed in non-incarnate content? Or is that merely an assumption on your part?

 

Lets apply your point to other matters shall we. Some tankers don't NEED healers outside of Incarnate content, ergo they should be removed. Some builds don't NEED inspirations either, so they should be removed. You don't NEED movement powers, those are entirely a luxury, and thus should be removed. Right?

[Astralock]

13 minutes ago, Neiska said:

 

Not "strictly" solo, but "mainly" solo yes. And why do you assume there is a teaming requirement on Merits or Incarnate threads? Or that Incarnate abilities are for Incarnate content only? Or is it written somewhere that I am not aware of that all Incarnate powers are disallowed in non-incarnate content? Or is that merely an assumption on your part?

 

Lets apply your point to other matters shall we. Some tankers don't NEED healers outside of Incarnate content, ergo they should be removed. Some builds don't NEED inspirations either, so they should be removed. You don't NEED movement powers, those are entirely a luxury, and thus should be removed. Right?

 

Incarnate abilities were first introduced in Issue 19, back in October 2010.  The only way you could obtain them was from Emyprean merits, Incarnate threads, and Incarnate salvage from... Incarnate trials and Apemage.  A solo-friendly method was added in Issue 22 with the introduction of the Dark Astoria revamp back in March 2012, a year and a half later.  For a year and a half, the only ways you could possibly gain Incarnate abilities were by running Incarnate trials and Apemage.  Paragon Studios relented and added a solo-friendly option a year and a half later to try to appease solo or mostly solo players, but it was time gated and you could not acquire Incarnate abilities anywhere near as quickly as you could by running Incarnate trials.  So, no, it's not an assumption on my part.  It's how Incarnates were originally designed.

Edited August 5, 2022 by Astralock

[Neiska]

Just now, Astralock said:

A solo-friendly method was added in Issue 22 with the introduction of the Dark Astoria revamp back in March 2012, a year and a half later.  For a year and a half, the only way you could possibly gain Incarnate abilities was by running Incarnate trials.  Paragon Studios relented and added a solo-friendly option a year and a half later to try to appease solo or mostly solo players, but it was time gated and you could not acquire Incarnate abilities anywhere near as quickly as you could by running Incarnate trials.  So, no, it's not an assumption on my part.  It's how Incarnates were originally designed.

 

"Originally designed" does not reflect the "here and now." So, yes, that is an insinuation on your part. I hasten to say I am not suggesting it is malicious or anything of the sort, I am more questioning why you are holding the "original" instead of the "updated" standard for "today," and then claim incarnates is not for solo play, when clearly, they added a way for solo method to gain them later. Which is 10 years old now, quite the old change to ignore, yes?

 

I guess to put it simply, I would ask why do you think its not meant for solo play NOW, even though they added ways to make it solo-friendly after its original conception? Seems a bit contradictory to me?

[Astralock]

1 minute ago, Neiska said:

 

"Originally designed" does not reflect the "here and now." So, yes, that is an insinuation on your part. I hasten to say I am not suggesting it is malicious or anything of the sort, I am more questioning why you are holding the "original" instead of the "updated" standard for "today," and then claim incarnates is not for solo play, when clearly, they added a way for solo method to gain them later. Which is 10 years old now, quite the old change to ignore, yes?

 

I guess to put it simply, I would ask why do you think its not meant for solo play NOW, even though they added ways to make it solo-friendly after its original conception? Seems a bit contradictory to me?

 

The "here and now" method is inherently broken.  Emyprean merits should never have been added to veteran levels, even developers now admit that.  It was done for the SCoRE server during the "secret years" as it had a far lower population than Homecoming has (even now), where getting enough people together for Incarnate trials was very unlikely if not impossible.  Many of Homecoming's problems originated from the Homecoming staff's decision to take what the SCoRE "secret" server had, and rush it into production as Homecoming.  What SCoRE had works for a tiny population.  It does not work for a server with the population of Homecoming.

[Bionic_Flea]

10 minutes ago, Astralock said:

The "here and now" method is inherently broken.  Emyprean merits should never have been added to veteran levels, even developers now admit that.  It was done for the SCoRE server during the "secret years" as it had a far lower population than Homecoming has (even now), where getting enough people together for Incarnate trials was very unlikely if not impossible.  Many of Homecoming's problems originated from the Homecoming staff's decision to take what the SCoRE "secret" server had, and rush it into production as Homecoming.  What SCoRE had works for a tiny population.  It does not work for a server with the population of Homecoming.

I disagree.  What we have works and has worked for years now.  You may wish it was different, but the genie is out of the bottle and doesn't want to go back in. 

 

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, as am I, but that's all it is -- an opinion.

[Neiska]

11 minutes ago, Astralock said:

 

The "here and now" method is inherently broken.  Emyprean merits should never have been added to veteran levels, even developers now admit that.

 

Citation needed. I do wonder if you mean the original NC soft developers, or the Homecoming staff. "Broken" according to whom? And to be blunt, I could care less what the original developers said about a game they themselves no longer host. If Homecoming want's to do something different, then that's on them. And if you are trying to argue we should go back to issue 5 or whatever for the "way it used to be," I find that both laughable as well as unrealistic.

[Astralock]

2 minutes ago, Bionic_Flea said:

I disagree.  What we have works and has worked for years now.  You may wish it was different, but the genie is out of the bottle and doesn't want to go back in. 

 

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, as am I, but that's all it is -- an opinion.

 

If it's worked for years now, Homecoming wouldn't be bleeding population and currently have about one fourth the population it had two years ago.  The vast majority of my friends stopped playing two or more years ago.  The main complaint?  A variation of, "The game is too easy now.  Everything is just handed to you.  No one needs to run Incarnate trials."

 

 

2 minutes ago, Neiska said:

 

Citation needed. I do wonder if you mean the original NC soft developers, or the Homecoming staff. "Broken" according to whom? And to be blunt, I could care less what the original developers said about a game they themselves no longer host. If Homecoming want's to do something different, then that's on them. And if you are trying to argue we should go back to issue 5 or whatever for the "way it used to be," I find that both laughable as well as unrealistic.

 

 

 

No, no, I would never argue to go back to Issue 5.  It's too late to make any changes to veteran levels, unfortunately.  The genie has long been out of the bottle.  But I do recognize what we have now as inherently broken, and something that should not have happened.

[Neiska]

1 minute ago, Astralock said:

The main complaint?  A variation of, "The game is too easy now.  Everything is just handed to you.  No one needs to run Incarnate trials."

 

Funny, I find the exact opposite. The majority of my friends have left as well, the main complaints being A.) The overall attitude in the community both ingame and on the forums in particular. B.) The ongoing insertion of politics and other real life issues into an escapism hobby. But the big one is C.) The removal of things and tools we once had, such as the teleport command. Now instead of being able to move zones, one must collect badges to unlock them. I wouldn't call removing something we once had and having to "earn" it again, progress. Particularly when it serves no other purpose than something new and artificial to have to do, in order to enjoy something we all once had.

 

You say the game is too easy? A fair opinion, and I respect your right to have it. Personally I say the Trials and Endgame content are overpopulated by a growing number of persons that the rest of the community don't want to interact with, no matter what form of carrot on a stick is tied to it. If I want endgame content, I will hunt AVs/GMs alone, or go solo trials and arcs by myself or with friends whose company I enjoy. And artificially trying to encourage/force different groups of people to interact will rarely end well for anyone involved.

 

As an example, the last Incarnate Trial I tried to join randomly was not explained in any detail. I had never done it before, and did not know where to go or what to do, or even what the story was. When the leader got angry with me for lagging behind, I tried to explain that I was deaf and was trying to understand what the mission was. His response? "Then why are you here?" and I got removed from the group. Rather than take the 2 minutes to explain things, he was in such a hurry that he would rather boot me and find someone else. That is what the "public endgame" is like for some of us, and why we choose to avoid it. It actually has little to do with the rewards from AE at all. Its simply that there is a group of, well, shall we call them Elitists that are genuinely unpleasant to be around.

 

Now I will add that this is hardly a problem unique to Homecoming. It is the internet and gaming in general. However, at least City of Heroes has options for me to advance to the same level, power, and wealth that they are, without me having to be forced to play in such an environment. Not all games are so blessed. And frankly, I think that's what upsets many of them. That we poor "scrubs" have options, and don't "have" to do it like "ye olde golden years of 2010" and nor would many of us even want to, if that was the only option available.

 

Food for thought.

[MoonSheep]

2 hours ago, Neiska said:

 

Not "strictly" solo, but "mainly" solo yes. And why do you assume there is a teaming requirement on Merits or Incarnate threads? Or that Incarnate abilities are for Incarnate content only? Or is it written somewhere that I am not aware of that all Incarnate powers are disallowed in non-incarnate content? Or is that merely an assumption on your part?

 

Lets apply your point to other matters shall we. Some tankers don't NEED healers outside of Incarnate content, ergo they should be removed. Some builds don't NEED inspirations either, so they should be removed. You don't NEED movement powers, those are entirely a luxury, and thus should be removed. Right?

 

“oh, i wasn’t aware of that, i was incorrect”

 

there you go, wasn’t that hard was it?

 

p.s if possible, please try to limit your foot stomping to this thread rather than following your way through my post history for downvotes. alternatively, a thread has been created specifically for individuals who need to unleash their inner thumbs down 👎👎

edit: the thumbnail of the above thread is just so wrong. have some decency, @Troo

Edited August 5, 2022 by MoonSheep

[Neiska]

1 minute ago, MoonSheep said:

 

“oh, i wasn’t aware of that, i was incorrect”

 

there you go, wasn’t that hard was it?

 

p.s if possible, please try to limit your foot stomping to this thread rather than following your way through my post history for downvotes. alternatively, a thread has been created specifically for individuals who need to unleash their inner thumbs down 👎👎

 

 

Turn about fair play I say, considering you "stomped" on my posts that more or less said "what about solo players too" first, and no, I was "correct" - His point is that he wants to go back to how it "originally" was designed, even stating it was more than a year and a half before they added solo-capability, despite that being over TEN years ago. So, I would say there has been SOLO capability, for far longer than there has not.

 

"Oh, I disagree, but I respect your opinion"

 

There you go, that wasn't so hard, was it? 😋

[Marbing]

54 minutes ago, Krimson said:

This is why Lord Recluse doesn't travel and only stays in neighborhoods where Incarnates work. 

Except when he needs some quick cash from PI Bank.  🤣

[Ghost]

1 hour ago, Neiska said:

 

Funny, I find the exact opposite. The majority of my friends have left as well, the main complaints being A.) The overall attitude in the community both ingame and on the forums in particular. B.) The ongoing insertion of politics and other real life issues into an escapism hobby. But the big one is C.) The removal of things and tools we once had, such as the teleport command. Now instead of being able to move zones, one must collect badges to unlock them. I wouldn't call removing something we once had and having to "earn" it again, progress. Particularly when it serves no other purpose than something new and artificial to have to do, in order to enjoy something we all once had.

 

 

Sorry bud,

But if they quit because 

A. They didn't want to stop coming to the forums like 90% of the player base doesn't

B. They didnt want to remove general chat

C. They were inconvenienced in a small way

 

Tells me they no longer enjoyed the game and wanted to leave.   The excuses given were just that, excuses.

 

 

[momentarygrace]

2 hours ago, Astralock said:

 

If you play strictly solo, you don’t need Empyrean merits nor Incarnate threads as you don’t need Incarnate abilities.  Incarnate abilities are for Incarnate content, namely Incarnate trials.  Everything else can be played just fine without Incarnate abilities.

 

I play mostly solo, and I don't agree with your opinion about what I need. Thanks!

[Astralock]

22 minutes ago, Ghost said:

C. They were inconvenienced in a small way

 

Especially when that "convenience" was a legitimate exploit never intended for players to use, and let people go anywhere in the game... including other people's missions and trials.

[Neiska]

35 minutes ago, Ghost said:

Sorry bud,

But if they quit because 

A. They didn't want to stop coming to the forums like 90% of the player base doesn't

B. They didnt want to remove general chat

C. They were inconvenienced in a small way

 

Tells me they no longer enjoyed the game and wanted to leave.   The excuses given were just that, excuses.

 

Right then,

 

First off, not your "bud."

 

A. I also said "in-game." If you don't know what I mean by this, then you are likely part of the problem. Such as kicking people from teams for their power choice, or for still learning their AT/the mission/the game, and rather than try to teach or help you rather just boot them and get the next person angling to get their weekly done.

B. It's not "only" chat. It's in local. It's in LFG. It's in team. It's where-ever it cares to pop up.

C. Ah yes, I shall be sure to tell my military friend who used to play with only one hand, or my other friend who was so nearsighted she is legally blind, that the difficulties they face are mere small inconveniences. 

 

To you, they might be "excuses." To other's those are certainly "reasons."

 

The fact that people push for AE/Incarnate changes "of old," and not other things such as, oh, I dunno, Removal of the Gull, paying upkeep on bases, locking some clothing behind achievements or badges, or removal of power updates/changes/new sets, tells me that it isn't about balance at all, but more about people just wanting to be Elitist Karen Gatekeepers and feel they have the right to dictate to others on how to play. Especially if they claim "for the good of the community" while ignoring the loss in players such proposed changes might have on that community. 

 

If you want to "take your ball and go home," you will more and more find yourself playing alone. And I can't say such persons don't deserve to. I respect your opinion, as well as everyone else's. But yours is not the "live and let live" option.

[MoonSheep]

43 minutes ago, Ghost said:

Sorry bud,

But if they quit because 

A. They didn't want to stop coming to the forums like 90% of the player base doesn't

B. They didnt want to remove general chat

C. They were inconvenienced in a small way

 

Tells me they no longer enjoyed the game and wanted to leave.   The excuses given were just that, excuses.

 

 

 

i think that’s an important insight - if people are avoiding gameplay because they no longer click with the core game structure, changes which are designed with the majority of players in mind is going to make certain groups feel unwanted or pushed out

 

hopefully some of the new content and challenges being introduced will be a good countermeasure if people feel their favourite activities have been diminished 

[Astralock]

2 minutes ago, MoonSheep said:

 

i think that’s an important insight - if people are avoiding gameplay because they no longer click with the core game structure, changes which are designed with the majority of players in mind is going to make certain groups feel unwanted or pushed out

 

hopefully some of the new content and challenges being introduced will be a good countermeasure if people feel their favourite activities have been diminished 

 

I hoped that some of my friends would return at least for a bit to check out the Dr. Aeon SF hard mode, but not a single one did.  It was just too late.  They've already moved on to raiding in World of WarCraft, Guild Wars 2, and other games.  They've tried to get me to join them, but I dislike the fantasy genre.

[MoonSheep]

6 minutes ago, Astralock said:

 

I hoped that some of my friends would return at least for a bit to check out the Dr. Aeon SF hard mode, but not a single one did.  It was just too late.  They've already moved on to raiding in World of WarCraft, Guild Wars 2, and other games.  They've tried to get me to join them, but I dislike the fantasy genre.

 

in your view, what are the reasons they lost interest in the game?

[Troo]

2 hours ago, MoonSheep said:

 

“oh, i wasn’t aware of that, i was incorrect”

 

there you go, wasn’t that hard was it?

 

p.s if possible, please try to limit your foot stomping to this thread rather than following your way through my post history for downvotes. alternatively, a thread has been created specifically for individuals who need to unleash their inner thumbs down 👎👎

edit: the thumbnail of the above thread is just so wrong. have some decency, @Troo

 

That pic is titled "In full vintage glory"

[Stoked]

I've read through this thread a few times now and honestly think that changes generally speaking, should be considered for far longer than is currently being done before integration. I've learned a bit of the history of why certain things were done like adding emp merits to AE because of population problems. Apparently no one cared to look down the road for what the inevitable impact was going to be long term. Or perhaps, maybe that was considered and they didn't care about having to change it back. Either way I agree, the decision to do it in the first place was a bad one. 

 

My point is simply that more care should be taken about making ANY changes, especially those that impact major pieces of content like AE and trials. I would recommend that a great way to get that extra consideration would be to ping your user base, see what they think and incorporate that knowledge. The main issue with that however is that you've already made the decision in a vacuum and only rely on the focused feedback threads for confirmation that everything is great. It's not all great. Some significant problems have been introduced by these decisions; some of them made long ago.

 

Interview players that are running the trials and AE maps for how things ACTUALLY work in game. Using stats from pylon tests or test server beta is not the same as real game, real population. A good example is the nerf on Titan weapons because in pylon tests, the DPS was too high. Seriously? When I'm on a team with blasters and enter a room full of mobs .. by the time I can swing a titan weapon and do ANY dps, the blasters have already nuked everything. How in the hell can you possibly say the dps is too high when it takes as long to swing a titan sword as it does to watch the countdown on a personal nuke timer. Complete insanity. You don't measure DPS as a single hit against a pylon when you consider a skill or buff change. Consider how that skill is actually played in game action.

 

Enough on that, sorry for the tangent - back to all things AE. There are a few related questions asked dozens of times I have yet to see well considered answers for. Why are Trials considered "normal" or "dev supported" content and AE is ... well ... something lesser? Why am I expected to join a team led by some egomaniac that has no time to explain what the story line is and how things should be done? Why is your definition of having fun in game the only way it's supposed to be done? These have all been asked by many members on these forums in relation to AE, emp merits, farming and so on. Not once in all the threads have I seen a response other than some 1/2 sarcastic comment or off-putting remark about why farmers suck.

 

Everybody in this game - EVERYONE - farms. You call it running a weekly, I call it hypocritical farming. You call it earning a badge or influence or whatever. Still farming. Why is your farming better than mine? Why is it accepted and AE isn't? By the way, if you don't like AE, don't do it. Just change the channel and quit whining about it. End of the day, mistakes were made in decisions about the game in a lot of areas. Do the people that have chosen HC as their place to go for fun a HUGE favor and stop changing existing config. PLEASE - just stop. Try focusing all that change attitude on costume parts or new content for lowbies or something like that. The existing population is used to playing a certain way whatever that might be. Please stop changing things. If someone doesn't like AE or trials or your costume editor, they can go to Rebirth or New Dawn or ThunderSPY. 

 

I know this is super long and will close simply by saying that I really appreciate all the work everyone does on HC; player and dev both. I chose to stay on HC because it had the best population and mix of things to do. I never felt forced to play one way or another. Now however, the population is sagging, auction prices are climbing and apparently running trials with sociopaths is the only way to properly enjoy the game on Homecoming. Such a shame.

[Ghost]

48 minutes ago, Neiska said:

 

Right then,

 

First off, not your "bud."

 

A. I also said "in-game." If you don't know what I mean by this, then you are likely part of the problem. Such as kicking people from teams for their power choice, or for still learning their AT/the mission/the game, and rather than try to teach or help you rather just boot them and get the next person angling to get their weekly done.

B. It's not "only" chat. It's in local. It's in LFG. It's in team. It's where-ever it cares to pop up.

C. Ah yes, I shall be sure to tell my military friend who used to play with only one hand, or my other friend who was so nearsighted she is legally blind, that the difficulties they face are mere small inconveniences. 

 

To you, they might be "excuses." To other's those are certainly "reasons."

 

The fact that people push for AE/Incarnate changes "of old," and not other things such as, oh, I dunno, Removal of the Gull, paying upkeep on bases, locking some clothing behind achievements or badges, or removal of power updates/changes/new sets, tells me that it isn't about balance at all, but more about people just wanting to be Elitist Karen Gatekeepers and feel they have the right to dictate to others on how to play. Especially if they claim "for the good of the community" while ignoring the loss in players such proposed changes might have on that community. 

 

If you want to "take your ball and go home," you will more and more find yourself playing alone. And I can't say such persons don't deserve to. I respect your opinion, as well as everyone else's. But yours is not the "live and let live" option.

 

"Not my bud" - no, of course you aren't literally.  Its a term commonly used where I'm from to mean "friend" or "buddy", as opposed to "doofus" or "idiot" (not calling you either one) .  Sorry if it means something else where you're from.

 

A.  Nope.  Never done any of that.  I like to play the game with other people.  I don't speed through missions/TFs, and don't care about team makeup when putting together PUGs. I just want to play.

I'm not saying that people haven't been kicked for the reasons you've mentioned.  I'm just saying its never happened to me, to  a team I've been on, or to anyone I know.

Still don't think it happening once or twice is enough to make me stop playing a game I enjoy.

B. Yeah, No.  If its in local, take three steps in either direction.   I do remember it in LFG, way back during the last presidential election.  Rather than quit, I simply put those people on ignore for a few weeks.  Once again, not going to let a few bad seeds ruin a game I enjoy.

C. While it may be big to them, its still small a small inconvenience.   I stand by what I said.

 

There are people on here who try to dictate how others play.  Whether it be the "no AE/farming group" or the "force PvP on everyone crowd". 

Is it honestly any different than what you're saying?  You prefer a playstyle, and don't want it to change.  Others enjoy a differing style, and want it to change.  Still sounds like two different styles trying to impose what they want on others

People enjoy how they play, and they think other will enjoy it to.  Its only natural.   

Nothing wrong with disagreeing on here.   I disagree with a lot.  I just dont take it personally, and forget all about it once I log into the game 🙂

Edited August 5, 2022 by Ghost

[Coyotedancer]

I'm getting the feeling more and more these days that a vocal segment of the forum population, and at least some of the Powers That Be. have a very definite "type" of player that they want to encourage, attract to these servers and keep engaged.... Team-oriented, challenge-oriented, all-about-the-struggle sorts with Lore/Plot Snob tendencies (Not Roleplayers, mind, but people willing to put up with buckets of exposition and all of the god-awful writing of the legacy content).

 

Anyone else is "doing it wrong" and seems to be seen as extraneous, or even actively harmful to what they want the game to be.

 

Farmers (Active, AFK< whatever. We're all BADWRONGEVIL, apparently-), dedicated solos and small-team players, casuals who couldn't care less about Hard Modes, people who are here for the spectacle more than the backstories? Undesirables. Not the target audience. Not the 'right kind of people'. 

 

I don't get it. I really don't. One of the real strengths of the City has always been its variety of playstyles. Solo, full team, farm, roleplay, read all the things Loregasm... It all works. Or at least it always has. Apparently that annoys some people.

[Ukase]

4 hours ago, Astralock said:

 

If you play strictly solo, you don’t need Empyrean merits nor Incarnate threads as you don’t need Incarnate abilities.  Incarnate abilities are for Incarnate content, namely Incarnate trials.  Everything else can be played just fine without Incarnate abilities.

 

Honestly, one of the biggest mistakes Paragon Studios made in the end was to let Incarnate abilities other than Alpha work in non-Incarnate content.  I understand that they were actually against it but were pressured to allow it by NC corporate, but still.

Need? We don't need to play this game. We don't need to DFB. There's so many things we don't need. 

This particular flavor of CoH server got popular due to it's many options. I sometimes call it "City of Options". This notion that a soloist doesn't need incarnate abilities is true, but it also misses the mark. It's not about need. It's about the elusive subjective "fun", or amusement, or interest, or whatever a player chooses to pursue. 

I NEED Judgement. I NEED Barrier. I NEED Hybrid. I NEED all the incarnate abilities. Or, at least, I want them. And they're available to me now. To make them no longer available, or tell me I have to team up to get them takes away my options. So, no. I loudly disagree with your opinion.