How skilled are you?

[FFFF]

So first off, I think City of Heroes is a pretty accessible game and has a low floor for being proficient at it. Reading the tutorial information gives you most of what you need, and experimentation plus Google can get you the rest of it. However, there are definitely areas of skill in this game.

 

• Movement skills - this can be everything from perfectly landing a super jump to avoid the "lava" to being able to line up mobs so that AoE cone can hit all targets. Some players are very good a this.
• Leading task forces/raids - I'm not talking about just getting them done, but doing them rather efficiently or at the various challenge levels. Sure, familiarity can compensate here, but I think an understanding of game mechanics, how certain encounters work, what powers are needed, etc. is skill based.
• Character builds - some players are really good at min-maxing builds, some are not. It's interesting to me that the meta for this has changed somewhat. With access to pretty much any IO and with the full incarnate system available, players build as much for damage (heavily using procs) as they do for various defense caps and recharge.
• Badging - getting exploration or plaque badges require almost no skill, but some of the defeat and achievement badges requires a pretty good understanding of where to make headway in that badge efficiently.
• Key binds - there are a lot of binds and macros that make the frustrating into the simple. Mastermind binds by themselves can elevate an entire AT's effectiveness. Binds for finding hard-to-find glowies or hostages make frustrating missions potentially a lot easier.
• In-game knowledge - most of this feels like familiarity instead of actual skill, but knowing where things are and what can be done in certain situations is definitely skill. For someone like me who left several issues before the live game went end of life, I'm amazed at the pieces of information I don't have (e.g., I had never seen Kallisti Wharf until yesterday). This also shows up in the ability to make innovative and original costumes.

 

So how do I rate myself?

 

• Movement - 3/5 (still stymied by CoT cake layer cave)
• Leading task forces/raids - 1/5 (I've forgotten too much, and am completely unfamiliar with newer content, challenge ratings, new power sets)
• Character builds - 4/5 (I build mostly old school style circa 2012, but I've adapted pretty nicely I think)
• Badging - 2/5 (mostly owing to Google)
• Key binds - 0/5 (sadly I'm too lazy to use key binds on most of my characters to my obvious detriment)
• In-game knowledge - 2/5 (anything issue 19 or older, no idea; I've also forgotten a ton)

[Snarky]

mostly 2/5 on all.  i know a few things, but i seen people just walk on stuff and pwn content

[Saiyajinzoningen]

2

1

4

1

3

3

 

of course if we also throw in 

 

Combat id be a                3/5

costume creation             2/5

Edited October 4, 2023 by Saiyajinzoningen

[Frostbiter]

4 - (Movement) I'm good at lining up AOEs and maneuvering my way around but I won't be first to the mission door because I don't care if I hurry.

0 - (TF/Teams) People suck so I don't group up. And I do include myself in the "people suck" thing. I'm awful. You're welcome for me not joining  your group.

4 - (Builds) I don't use Mids and I constantly tinker with my builds but I can squeeze performance out of them that surprises people. And I can do it cheap.

3 - (Badges) I explore, hunt and run missions to get badges but I won't team up just to get a few badges. (See TF/Teaming Score)

2 - (Key Binds) I know a few that I threw together because I needed to do some specific things but generally I get by without them.

3 - (In Game Knowledge) I have a lot of knowledge about game lore, zones, missions, badges, and mechanics but it's all blended together into one giant frappe over the years. It sometimes takes me awhile to bring somethign specific to the top.

 

Can I add a Costume Creation category? 3 I can make coherent costumes that look good but I'm not going to win any contests. I'm also not going to blind you by looking at me.

 

 

 

Edited October 4, 2023 by Frostbiter
Formatting

[honoroit]

I'm probably the greatest cox player, for all the ATs.

 

likewise, forum regulars are often astounded by my knowledge, contributions, theory crafting, and balance / powercreep expertise!

 

my costumes are the stuff of legend, and are regularly downloaded and copied at costume contests.

 

 

i try to stay humble, and help the citizenry of the isles and city.

 

yours, and always,

 

Figs (the famous)

 

[Spaghetti Betty]

I have a 12 in everything!

[KC4800]

2,1,3,1,1,3

[cranebump]

Hmmmm…well…

 

Movement: pretty good with “ground bound” toons, if being able to time rooftop leaps is any indication. I’m still not 100% at lining of Sands of Mu (still!). 3.6?

 

Tfs and such: 0. I don’t form anything these days. 
 

Builds: when I do actually concentrate on it, I produce decent enough characters. But…probably a 2.

 

badges: never focused on these before, and only focus on enough explore to make my zone TP power get me to the main places I go. I’ve memorized all AP and Galaxy: Echo spots, since this is my usual early game trek. But I think most people have done that. A 1?

 

key binds: used them in the past. Not at all now. 0

 

lore: since I study lore to an extent when crafting SFMAs I’d say better than average. 3.5 I suppose. Or maybe a 3.

 

The only thing I’d rate myself a 4 on is AE SFMA. I’ve spent so much time there I know a lot about it (mainly from doing so many things wrong early on).:-) can’t say I’m a 5 since I don’t do anything super fancy. Can say I script pretty quickly, though, for what that’s worth.

Edited October 4, 2023 by cranebump

[High_Beam]

• Movement - 3 - I am good enough at getting around and know the shortcuts but sometimes three hop simple obstacles and get hooked on bushes.  Fight positioning is good.  Cones hit baby!
• Leading task forces/raids - 1 - Yeah, I tried and don't have the patience for people who wont listen to simple instructions.  Conversely not a lot of experience.
• Character builds - 3 - Between Mids and Test server, I am pretty good but definitely not god-like.  No Purples but my tanks are solid and my Blasters fun.
• Badging - 4 - It was all I did back on live and wrote guides for the SG, a few gaps on the HC material but getting there.  Lost the OCD though.
• Key Binds - 1 - I use a few KB or Macro but not much else, I really don't feel hamstrung by not doing so.
• In-game knowledge - 4  Between play and reading all of the wikis and the books and other material I have a pretty deep understanding of the game and lore.

Edited October 4, 2023 by High_Beam

[arcane]

I’m probably a 1 across the board

[Yomo Kimyata]

(7^0.5) - 2i

[Scarlet Shocker]

Who gets to decide?

 

I think skill is a relative metric.

 

Truthfully I don't actually care so long as I am skilled enough to complete the relevant task set and enjoy the game.

[Go0gleplex]

Being a very casual player... I'd have to go with: 

2

0 (team? what's that? Is it tasty? {Hami: yes. very tasty!})

3

2

0 ( I still say the wheel was an incredibly bad idea! :P ) 

2 (know a bit...but at my age...forgot a lot of that bit. lol ) 

[TheOtherTed]

• Movement - 3.5 / 5 across the board.  Even with layer cake caves and Council maps - which I complain about anyway, because, hey, what else you gonna do?
• Leading task forces/raids - About a "nah bruh" out of 5.
• Character builds - One eyeroll out of 5 wrt Mids; 3+ out of 5 wrt puzzling out the build's strengths or weaknesses as I play.
• Badging - "Meh" out of 5, but I somehow manage to stumble across badges that fit my characters really well.
• Key binds - All the eyerolls out of 5.  If I find that I need more than a couple of non-RP key binds for a game, then it's not my game.
• In-game knowledge - 2.5-ish out of 5 for anything that isn't lore.  Somewhere in the negative numbers for lore-related stuff.  I tend to really suck at lore in any game.

I'll throw in another category:  Tactical awareness, 4/5.  If I'm on your team and I say "inc" or "patrol" or something similar, brace yourselves and check your six.  If I'm a controller and I suddenly stop using my secondary, it's because the fight's getting out of control.  If I'm zipping around in a fight like a maniac, it's probably to draw aggro from people who aren't prepared for it.  I'm like Tunnel Rat, but not quite as hot jittery.

 

52 minutes ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

(7^0.5) - 2i

...show off.

[Yomo Kimyata]

1 minute ago, TheOtherTed said:

..show off.

 

I'm complex.  And irrational.

[FFFF]

24 minutes ago, Scarlet Shocker said:

Who gets to decide?

 

I think skill is a relative metric.

 

Truthfully I don't actually care so long as I am skilled enough to complete the relevant task set and enjoy the game.

This is all self-rated, so yeah pretty relative. 
 

What prompted this was a recent TF I joined and there was a DM scrapper that was just amazing lining up his cones. Also had really good situational awareness. Used a ranged attack to pull a mob off of one of squishier teammates. And seemed to beat everyone to the mission door using only super speed. I think I’m pretty good, but I wasn’t as good as that dude. 
 

Edit: ratings are just for funsies

Edited October 4, 2023 by FFFF

[A Cat]

5

1

3

4

1

0

3

 

I'm definitely a pretty brainless player. I just grug smash with melee generally. 

[WanderingAries]

I used to be a Pinn regular if that says anything. 😛

 

Also:

 

 

 

[Seed22]

4 hours ago, FFFF said:

So first off, I think City of Heroes is a pretty accessible game and has a low floor for being proficient at it. Reading the tutorial information gives you most of what you need, and experimentation plus Google can get you the rest of it. However, there are definitely areas of skill in this game.

 

• Movement skills - this can be everything from perfectly landing a super jump to avoid the "lava" to being able to line up mobs so that AoE cone can hit all targets. Some players are very good a this.
• Leading task forces/raids - I'm not talking about just getting them done, but doing them rather efficiently or at the various challenge levels. Sure, familiarity can compensate here, but I think an understanding of game mechanics, how certain encounters work, what powers are needed, etc. is skill based.
• Character builds - some players are really good at min-maxing builds, some are not. It's interesting to me that the meta for this has changed somewhat. With access to pretty much any IO and with the full incarnate system available, players build as much for damage (heavily using procs) as they do for various defense caps and recharge.
• Badging - getting exploration or plaque badges require almost no skill, but some of the defeat and achievement badges requires a pretty good understanding of where to make headway in that badge efficiently.
• Key binds - there are a lot of binds and macros that make the frustrating into the simple. Mastermind binds by themselves can elevate an entire AT's effectiveness. Binds for finding hard-to-find glowies or hostages make frustrating missions potentially a lot easier.
• In-game knowledge - most of this feels like familiarity instead of actual skill, but knowing where things are and what can be done in certain situations is definitely skill. For someone like me who left several issues before the live game went end of life, I'm amazed at the pieces of information I don't have (e.g., I had never seen Kallisti Wharf until yesterday). This also shows up in the ability to make innovative and original costumes.

 

So how do I rate myself?

 

• Movement - 3/5 (still stymied by CoT cake layer cave)
• Leading task forces/raids - 1/5 (I've forgotten too much, and am completely unfamiliar with newer content, challenge ratings, new power sets)
• Character builds - 4/5 (I build mostly old school style circa 2012, but I've adapted pretty nicely I think)
• Badging - 2/5 (mostly owing to Google)
• Key binds - 0/5 (sadly I'm too lazy to use key binds on most of my characters to my obvious detriment)
• In-game knowledge - 2/5 (anything issue 19 or older, no idea; I've also forgotten a ton)

Movement: 4/5. Positioning in CoH has some benefits, and over the years I've gotten pretty good at it. Compared to a lot of other games its next to nothing in difficulty (some games have INSANE movements to try and maximize).

Leading taskforces/raids: 5/5. I used to lead every iTrial on the virtue days, still could now if I wanted and could get enough people. I also lead multiple starred (3 and 4*)  content while inebriated and succeeded on HC. Thats not necessarily a skill thing, CoH has very easy content overall, so leading it isn't as demanding as it could be.

Character Builds: 5/5. I can build to any goal I have in mind reliably and affordably. I've taken builds and have done insane things with em. I'd love to eventually share them all once I've got time to do so!

Badging: 2/5. Dont care to do it besides explorations and the occasional accolade

Key binds: 1/5. I only know how to do the targetting AoE bind and the base TP macro,

In-game knowledge: 2/5. I know the major things, but a lot of minor things that add up I tend to forget or just not care about.

[SeraphimKensai]

• Movement: maybe a 3/5 these days. back during my pvp days of live I'd say a 5/5, but I've lost an edge in my old age. I can barely super jump from light post to light post these days while drinking.
• Leading Taskforces/raids: probably a 3/5 as well. I used to do it all the time and still occasionally do for a TF/SF. Back on live I even occasionally led hami raids, some private, some public, and one solo.
• Builds: 5/5. At one point I had pretty much every set bonus for each set memorized to the point I didn't need mids to make builds, I could reasonably just do it in my head. I don't build new characters that often anymore and over the last year becoming a father and the demands at work I've probably slipped enough that I'd want to check my work in mids before I slapped a seal of approval on it these days.
• Badging: 1/5. To me the only badges that matter are ones that give you a stat boosting accolade, any other badge i get is merely a byproduct of playing the game and I don't go out of my way to get them. kudos to you if you're big into badges, as they never really lured me in.
• Keybinds: 4/5. I'd reserve 5/5 for people like @Shenanigunner I mean he actually wrote the book on binds/macros. I'd say though I'm an advanced bind/macro user and have custom binds unique to a lot of my characters, and then some ones I use all the time.
• Marketing: 2/5. Good enough to fund all my toons and then some, but I'm not a trillionaire where I have 500 alts at influence cap.
• Base Building: 1/5. This is one area of the game I wish I was good at that I'm not. I see some of the creativity that some people can do and I get blown away. If you haven't checked out some of the bases that get made, seriously check a few of them out and then go back to your own base that just has salvage racks, IO bins, and teleporters and just appreciate the days and weeks that some people spent building their bases.
• AE Story Arc Design: 1/5. Here's another area that I wish I was good at. There's a lot of talented individuals that make some awesome stories with the AE. Yes that's right it can be used for something besides farming (although I do my share of farming given the 200 or so lvl 50s I have at this point). Checkout some of the stuff by @Ankylosaur and @cranebump among others' work as well.

Edited October 5, 2023 by SeraphimKensai

[Greycat]

I rate myself: 7, banana, C#, I-94 Eastbound, Fnord and Taylor the Singing Antelope.

[lemming]

• Movement - 4/5 5 when I'm not lagging, 1 when I am. 
• Leading task forces/raids - For some, I have a 5, some I have 1, but 3 for most.
• Character builds - 3/5 Most of the builds I put together are fairly solid, but I don't tend to build for max anything.
• Badging - 5/5 Most badges I can get if I bother.  It's getting to the "do I feel like this one?"  I only have one that is a badger, but I get the stat accolades barely looking at any guide/tools now.
• Key binds - 0/5 I have to look up anything to do anything.  I'm OK with popmenu construction after reading ATC's examples.
• In-game knowledge - I can remember the NPC you meet in one mission that is then never referenced again, but can't remember what to get from the grocery without a list in hand.  I also remember some stuff that is now different, so that's always tripping me up.

[lemming]

24 minutes ago, Greycat said:

I rate myself: 7, banana, C#, I-94 Eastbound, Fnord and Taylor the Singing Antelope.

Whoa! Taylor!  And I thought @Spaghetti Bettywas exaggerating.

[Lines]

6 hours ago, Scarlet Shocker said:

I think skill is a relative metric.

 

In this case, relative to the number 5.

[roleki]

1

0

0

0

1

1

1

0

1

0

1