Prismatic Aether and locked costume items

[ivanhedgehog]

4 hours ago, ForeverLaxx said:

In my experience, new currencies are only added so people who have been around the longest can't immediately buy/unlock everything the day of release.

 

Personally, I think that's a weird reason. It feels like long-time players are getting punished for playing a ton. Destiny does this constantly and it's extremely frustrating to have been playing for years, building materials, just for the next update to make all of it useless and you're at the same level Joe Shmo is who just installed 20 minutes ago. Why invest time when it's going to be spat on is how I look at it.

the first people through the 4 star missions earned billions the first day. They can afford to buy everything. The economy of the game is now unruinable. they gave the hardmode runners a free pass on it.

[Clave Dark 5]

7 hours ago, Coyotedancer said:

 

... and the MiniMe is pretty much perfect for making my little black witch-cat tiny enough to, you know, look like a little black cat.

I have a small black witch's cat character too, hadn't thought about getting that for him.  Not that I'm about to start playing hard modes for that though.  😃

[Marshal_General]

I have a character that would love to have every female costume and another character that needs the mini me. I don't see me bothering for either at this point. Not at the drop rate and the prices for the costumes.

[Erratic1]

14 hours ago, Coyotedancer said:

My concern is that currently the only way for solos and small teamers to get Aether Particles at any reasonable rate is limited to the auction house.

 

My level 28 Dom, whom I mostly did not play this past week because AH prices for low level recipes was understandably high, has 2 Aethers. So too does my 50 Brute who I played considerably more, so yeah, she probably got a bit lucky. My level 37 baby Brute, whom I probably played 2-3 times as much as the Dom has 1 Aether. And one character played (44 brute) a bit less than baby Brute with no Aether drops.

 

As is the way of things, I do not overly care about the locked costumes so of course they dropped for me. Still, half of the 10 you would need for an unlock from a week of playing. At that rate I would have two unlocked costumes in a month? Or let's say I have been running high and should expect half that many. A costume unlock a month? 

[Marshal_General]

I started my new Peacebringer the day the patch dropped and at level 34 I have 2 or 3 drops.

 

TFs should at least have a 5% chance to drop. WST should give at least 2 upon completion for non 50s.

Edited September 6, 2022 by Marshal_General

[Ruin Mage]

I figure they will make adjustments when the Fresh Smell wears off.

Also bear in mind that we only have access to T1 Costume Powers and not the full selection.

[Neiska]

Submission - a few special cosmetic only rewards that can only be gained by other means.

 

Costume 1 - only obtainable by buying with raw INF. 1 billion. The costume? A top hat, cane, and monocle, like the monopoly guy.

Costume 2 - PVP only costume. A costume that can only be earned via pvp winnings or participation. The costume? No idea, whatever the pvpers might like. Big shoulder pads maybe?

Emote 1 - "Make it rain" emote, bought with 1 billion inf.

Emote 2 - Teabagging/tacodropping - earned through PVP

"Stinky Cheese" aura - earned by getting X number of "thumbs down" reactions on forum posts.

 

 

[arcane]

17 hours ago, Coyotedancer said:

My concern is that currently the only way for solos and small teamers to get Aether Particles at any reasonable rate is limited to the auction house.

They were nice enough to give solo’ers a pathway with a reasonable rate at all. I don’t see this as a problem. Great job by them making these available to everyone.

[Excraft]

18 hours ago, El D said:

CoH is a massively multiplayer game. The default orientation for content for MMOs is team-based and the rewards are set up accordingly. The 'position' that solo and small-team players are in is one they put themselves in, by choosing to go through content solo or with a small, select group and refusing to engage with the core team-based content.

 

Not all content can be soloed or easily managed by a small team. Not all ATs/powerset combos are even capable of soloing. That's not a misstep, that's the core framework of how the game operates. The further you venture outside of the team-based set up that game runs on, the longer things take - if they're possible at all - and the more rewards players miss out on because they're choosing to try and earn them in ways the game does not inherently incentivize.

 

This is complete nonsense.  The majority of the content in the game does not require a team to play.  Teaming is optional, not mandatory for most all of the game.  There is content specifically designed for teams, and even those do not require a full complement to start or complete. 

[Coyotedancer]

3 hours ago, arcane said:

They were nice enough to give solo’ers a pathway with a reasonable rate at all. I don’t see this as a problem. Great job by them making these available to everyone.

 

Ah, let us raise our hands in praise to our Kind and Benevolent Masters for the bounty of crumbs they've cast to the poor and unworthy BadWrongPlayers.  😝

 

But hey, if they want to push more people into INF farming to get their Particles... so be it. I just don't want to hear any future belly-aching from them (or from the Anti-Farming League) about how awful it is that "everyone is farming" to get the things. 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 6, 2022 by Coyotedancer

[El D]

2 hours ago, Excraft said:

This is complete nonsense.  The majority of the content in the game does not require a team to play.  Teaming is optional, not mandatory for most all of the game.  There is content specifically designed for teams, and even those do not require a full complement to start or complete. 

 

'Does not require a team' does not mean 'not designed around being played by a team' - especially so in the case of the primary progression path and vast majority of end game content, which outright requires a team or a league. Aether, being an extension of said end game content, is going to run off of those end game requirements. IE 'to progress in the most ideal fashion, you will need to team up.' That players can choose to solo rather than team for most of the game's content doesn't mean that teaming was never the focus on how the game's content was expected to be played or how it should be played for best progression, and at a certain point as difficulty ramps up (such as iTrials and Hard Mode) the sheer scaling numbers and mechanics will require teaming for success to even be possible.

 

It's a 'massively multiplayer' game, not a 'massively lone wolf with option of teaming up' game. Teaming has always been the default, expected playstyle, with allowances made for solo progression for players that choose not to engage with the game that way. That doesn't mean that they think soloing is bad or wrong, but that it's not the primary way they want the content to be run (which is to be expected for an MMO).

Edited September 6, 2022 by El D

[ivanhedgehog]

10 minutes ago, El D said:

 

'Does not require a team' does not mean 'not designed around being played by a team' - especially so in the case of the primary progression path and vast majority of end game content, which outright requires a team or a league. Aether, being an extension of said end game content, is going to run off of those end game requirements. IE 'to progress in the most ideal fashion, you will need to team up.' That players can choose to solo rather than team for most of the game's content doesn't mean that teaming was never the focus on how the game's content was expected to be played or how it should be played for best progression, and at a certain point as difficulty ramps up (such as iTrials and Hard Mode) the sheer scaling numbers and mechanics will require teaming for success to even be possible.

 

It's a 'massively multiplayer' game, not a 'massively lone wolf with option of teaming up' game. Teaming has always been the default, expected playstyle, with allowances made for solo progression for players that choose not to engage with the game that way. That doesn't mean that they think soloing is bad or wrong, but that it's not the primary way they want the content to be run (which is to be expected for an MMO).

wow put that concept to bed with pulling characters into instances where their team mates CANNOT help them in any way. swtor has their own version of it. They require you to solo a good % of the game.

[Yomo Kimyata]

3 hours ago, Neiska said:

Submission - a few special cosmetic only rewards that can only be gained by other means.

 

Costume 1 - only obtainable by buying with raw INF. 1 billion. The costume? A top hat, cane, and monocle, like the monopoly guy.

 

 

 

 

What?  No, no scrubs allowed!  100bn +!

[Neiska]

53 minutes ago, El D said:

 

'Does not require a team' does not mean 'not designed around being played by a team' - especially so in the case of the primary progression path and vast majority of end game content, which outright requires a team or a league. Aether, being an extension of said end game content, is going to run off of those end game requirements. IE 'to progress in the most ideal fashion, you will need to team up.' That players can choose to solo rather than team for most of the game's content doesn't mean that teaming was never the focus on how the game's content was expected to be played or how it should be played for best progression, and at a certain point as difficulty ramps up (such as iTrials and Hard Mode) the sheer scaling numbers and mechanics will require teaming for success to even be possible.

 

It's a 'massively multiplayer' game, not a 'massively lone wolf with option of teaming up' game. Teaming has always been the default, expected playstyle, with allowances made for solo progression for players that choose not to engage with the game that way. That doesn't mean that they think soloing is bad or wrong, but that it's not the primary way they want the content to be run (which is to be expected for an MMO).

 

Just as "you can team" doesn't mean "obligated to team." And call it a wild and crazy hunch that there are more people who solo than team, going to say your point is moot. You are trying to make this game into something that it isn't. "Massively multiplayer" doesn't mean "required to play together," it means "shared space," as in a virtual world. There are many, many, MMOs out that have absolutely nothing to do with being required to team up to do activities. No Mans Sky. Racing Games. Flying Simulator Games. Fighting Games. All of these games can be played together with other people across the world and have absolutely nothing to do with "teaming up."

 

The reference to MMO means that many people can play it together, but not necessarily on the same team or activity. In fact most of them involve playing against other players.

 

And just so there is no doubt, here is the definition -

 

 

So please, stop trying to pitch the idea that CoH is some sort of "teaming required" game. Because it most certainly is not.

[Coyotedancer]

56 minutes ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

 

What?  No, no scrubs allowed!  100bn +!

 

Hush you. I'm already going to be spending a few hundred farm runs getting the 15+ billion I'll need to buy enough PAPs to micro-size my token cat-girl. I can't afford anything else fancy.  

[El D]

1 hour ago, Krimson said:

If you have the kind of free time to wait for a team like we did 18 years ago, then good for you. But I'm not going to sit around waiting on others to get stuff done. The idea of Massively Multiplayer is great when you have a large enough player base that you can log in at any time and find a team. But this is not Live, and Homecoming will never be Live. Sure, I can find a DFB team. Sure, I can find a PI radio team. Now about all those levels in the middle... If I have two hour to play in the evening, am I going to sit around waiting for a leveling team that is right for me, or am I going to participate in reality and get things done myself because waiting on others is a Fool's Errand?

 

We're not discussing leveling teams? Running story arcs at level 25 to level up =/= End Game requirements. As for not being able to find a team, can't help you there. Excelsior looks like it's got a hefty number of regular players (which makes sense, as the shard with the biggest population). Stands to reason it shouldn't be that difficult, but if it is then that sucks.

 

1 hour ago, Neiska said:

 

Just as "you can team" doesn't mean "obligated to team." And call it a wild and crazy hunch that there are more people who solo than team, going to say your point is moot. You are trying to make this game into something that it isn't. "Massively multiplayer" doesn't mean "required to play together," it means "shared space," as in a virtual world. There are many, many, MMOs out that have absolutely nothing to do with being required to team up to do activities. No Mans Sky. Racing Games. Flying Simulator Games. Fighting Games. All of these games can be played together with other people across the world and have absolutely nothing to do with "teaming up."

 

The reference to MMO means that many people can play it together, but not necessarily on the same team or activity. In fact most of them involve playing against other players.

 

And just so there is no doubt, here is the definition -

 

 

So please, stop trying to pitch the idea that CoH is some sort of "teaming required" game. Because it most certainly is not.

 

Proclaiming someone's point moot on a nonexistent supposition of 'I bet there's a ton more solo players than people who like to team! So that means you're wrong!' isn't an argument, nor does it counter any point that City of Heroes is designed around team-based play. Also, all those other listed games are great, but we're not talking about them.

 

CoH's brand of MMO design is not just 'play at the same time as other people' - it's specifically designed as 'play with other people.' That's the entire basis of the archetype system, the basis of task/strike forces, and the basis of most of the end game content. The ATs were designed to support each other and fill gaps in team composition, task/strike forces had to have their minimum team size requirements removed to even allow solo play to be attempted, zone raids and events require teaming, and end game content (especially at the higher tiers) is literally impossible to solo. Hell, it's the basis for the Notoriety system. If your character is capable of soloing as effectively as a full team, you can tell the game the provide that same level of challenge (and thereby earn the same level of XP/Inf/etc.) - meanwhile the full team is blowing through the same Notoriety settings much, much faster because they've actually got the multiple characters that the game anticipates will be active given that difficulty level/team size.

Edited September 6, 2022 by El D

[Neiska]

21 minutes ago, El D said:

 

Proclaiming someone's point moot on a nonexistent supposition of 'I bet there's a ton more solo players than people who like to team! So that means you're wrong!' isn't an argument, nor does it counter any point that City of Heroes is designed around team-based play. Also, all those other listed games are great, but we're not talking about them.

 

CoH's brand of MMO design is not just 'play at the same time as other people' - it's specifically designed as 'play with other people.' That's the entire basis of the archetype system, the basis of task/strike forces, and the basis of most of the end game content. The ATs were designed to support each other and fill gaps in team composition, task/strike forces had to have their minimum team size requirements removed to even allow solo play to be attempted, zone raids and events require teaming, and end game content (especially at the higher tiers) is literally impossible to solo. Hell, it's the basis for the Notoriety system. If your character is capable of soloing as effectively as a full team, you can tell the game the provide that same level of challenge (and thereby earn the same level of XP/Inf/etc.) - meanwhile the full team is blowing through the same Notoriety settings much, much faster because they've actually got the multiple characters that the game anticipates will be active given that difficulty level/team size.

 

Um, no. That isn't how that works. You see, if it was "specifically designed" to play with other people, then it would be mandatory, required, or the only option to advance. Obviously, it isn't. The fact that I can get everything you can on a team when entirely solo, proves your point invalid. There are team activities certainly, just as there are solo activities. More solo activities than there are team activities I might add. Tell me this, are there more "team required" things to do, or more things where "teaming is optional" things? And the point that someone can entirely solo the majority of those "team required" activities as well.

 

You are using the "ye olde golden days" as stipulation to measure current play, and the game has gone through many, many changes since then, many of which you listed yourself. It doesn't matter what the game was, or used to be, because that isn't what it is now. This isn't live. This is Homecoming. It's a different ship, with a different crew, with a different voyage. Stop trying to make the game "ye olden bygone era." Because if we went by your metric, a great many things would be removed - ATs, Powersets, Missions, Content, etc. 

 

CoH is a "sandbox" game. Meaning you play as you like, do what you enjoy doing. This may or may not include teaming. And for a growing number of players, that is "not teaming," in part due to attitudes similar to yours - "MY way. No. No, you can't have fun. You aren't allowed to progress. You have to do it THIS way. I know they added options to do otherwise, but they were wrong!" all the while ignoring all the updates and changes made to change that. So stop using issue one as a sort of measuring stick to gauge the current game. That was over a decade ago. Almost two decades in fact. If the game was a living person, it would be old enough to vote now. 

[UltraAlt]

1 hour ago, Coyotedancer said:

Hush you. I'm already going to be spending a few hundred farm runs getting the 15+ billion I'll need to buy enough PAPs to micro-size my token cat-girl. I can't afford anything else fancy.  

 

You gotta do the real marketing work to become an Ebil Marketer.

 

 

[El D]

49 minutes ago, Neiska said:

 

Um, no. That isn't how that works. You see, if it was "specifically designed" to play with other people, then it would be mandatory, required, or the only option to advance. Obviously, it isn't. The fact that I can get everything you can on a team when entirely solo, proves your point invalid. There are team activities certainly, just as there are solo activities. More solo activities than there are team activities I might add. Tell me this, are there more "team required" things to do, or more things where "teaming is optional" things? And the point that someone can entirely solo the majority of those "team required" activities as well.

 

You are using the "ye olde golden days" as stipulation to measure current play, and the game has gone through many, many changes since then, many of which you listed yourself. It doesn't matter what the game was, or used to be, because that isn't what it is now. This isn't live. This is Homecoming. It's a different ship, with a different crew, with a different voyage. Stop trying to make the game "ye olden bygone era." Because if we went by your metric, a great many things would be removed - ATs, Powersets, Missions, Content, etc. 

 

CoH is a "sandbox" game. Meaning you play as you like, do what you enjoy doing. This may or may not include teaming. And for a growing number of players, that is "not teaming," in part due to attitudes similar to yours - "MY way. No. No, you can't have fun. You aren't allowed to progress. You have to do it THIS way. I know they added options to do otherwise, but they were wrong!" all the while ignoring all the updates and changes made to change that. So stop using issue one as a sort of measuring stick to gauge the current game. That was over a decade ago. Almost two decades in fact. If the game was a living person, it would be old enough to vote now. 

 

I never said the design philosophy meant that teaming was required in every instance of content. I said that the basis of CoH's design is, first and foremost, set up as a team-based game. The fact that you can earn everything on a solo path (usually not by earning it from the intended content) was a deliberate choice by the devs to account for folks who prefer to solo in a multiplayer game built around promoting teaming. That does not mean that the default, core design is not centered around team-based gameplay.

 

Likewise, End Game content flat-out requiring teaming up - and thus the primary, most effective path to its rewards requiring teaming - is a deliberate choice to recapture the classic task force set up that you're saying the game has moved beyond. So much content in this game can be accomplished solo, either by deliberate expansion of difficulty options or IOs/power creep, that the fact that said content was meant to promote or require teaming in the first place has been obfuscated. The game never stopped being about teaming up, soloing was just made so readily available that when given objectives that did require teaming, people complained. Said complaining is why the solo path to Incarnate powers exists at all - which is, like every other method of soloing in this entire game, deliberately slower than the promoted, team-based path.

 

CoH, at its core mechanics, is a game built around teaming up. Those mechanics can be measured, tweaked, and accounted for to allow solo play, but when they get difficult enough, that means you cannot play as effectively without a team as you would with one. That's how the game has always worked.

Edited September 6, 2022 by El D

[Neiska]

1 minute ago, El D said:

CoH, at its core mechanics, is a game built around teaming up. Those mechanics can be measured, tweaked, and accounted for to allow solo play, but when they get difficult enough, that means you cannot play as effectively without a team as you would with one. That's how the game has always worked.

 

And yet, somehow as if by magic, I can accomplish more by myself than with a team in some situations. I mean anyone with enough stealth can race to the end of most missions, take out the boss or click the glowy, and be in and out before a team finished the first few packs of mobs. Especially true in a multiboxing scenario. Ergo, Sandbox. And at this point you are arguing semantics. 

[Songseven]

36 minutes ago, Neiska said:

I mean anyone with enough stealth can race to the end of most missions, take out the boss or click the glowy, and be in and out before a team finished the first few packs of mobs. Especially true in a multiboxing scenario. Ergo, Sandbox. And at this point you are arguing SEMANTICS. 

[Neiska]

14 minutes ago, Songseven said:

 

[Songseven]

but you won't be solo'g 4star for 30...

[Songseven]

1 minute ago, Krimson said:

It's costumes. Not like I'm losing out on something with value. 

cool..

 

 

1 hour ago, Neiska said:

I can accomplish more by myself

 

21 minutes ago, Krimson said:

In some cases, the weakest link in the game is other players.

and while i don't entirely disagree with the second comment,

 

why not just download the client and set it up locally, then do as you wish...

[Neiska]

2 minutes ago, Songseven said:

why not just download the client and set it up locally, then do as you wish...

 

Or you know, go by live and let live? Let others enjoy what they like doing too? That's an option too?