New Changes suck for blasters, corruptors, defenders and dominators.

[Elvsrad]

The new Changes are practically painful for anyone trying to solo and play the game as a blaster, corruptor defender or dominator.  Seriously, dudes, pull your head out of your asses trying to appease all the people screaming they want their tankers, brutes, and scrappers and nerf them properly.  The rest of us are struggling to fight at +0/ 1 person team for all the stupid ass changes you made to the council, circle and other  villains while we constantly die to a +0 or +1 boss that then dies and rezzes as another plus one boss.  A Challenge is one item, but you need to nerf them and the villains so the rest of us can actually feel like we're accomplishing something.  Don't give me crap about inspirations or using "special enhancements".  This was supposed to be balanced against level 25  enchancements and it seriously sucks and is painful to try and complete. I have died over 7 time in the last story arc in Colleen Neslon at level 39, literally moving it from +1 for blasters to +0, and I am still getting defeated when bosses die and transform into warwolves after being defeated the first time. Fix this bs, as it's not just frustrating to me, but all the other players who don't min/max the bs like the player base you're sucking up to.

 

[Lunchmoney]

What changes? 

[Anthraxus]

Eh, I really enjoy the changes that the Homecoming team has made.

 

Have you considered moving over to one of the other servers?

[Ukase]

There's some meat on this bone. (merit to the argument) 
Unfortunately, it's obscured by a vile barbeque sauce. (you're not being specific enough - and you're letting your frustration cloud your writing.) 

So, I know what the OP is referring to. And - in a small way, he is accurate. There are a number of players that struggle with these changes. Now, most of these players are latching on to teams to carry them through these now, more challenging missions. Some of them don't feel comfortable teaming for whatever reason and whether it's poor build, or not enough practice. the changes are hard for some of the more fragile ATs to overcome. 

This below is more a theory of mine. I have no "proof". It's just what I think based on what I've read and experienced in game. 
**************
It's not a mystery to me this is by design. I continually have to remind myself "I'm a guest here". And sometimes, when I get heated, I forget. But, the powers that be - even though HC is funded by donations from the players, the direction is being controlled by a few who know more code than the rest of us - or at least, are willing to put the time in writing that code. 
Those players clearly want afk-farmers to become extinct. They want radio missions to be more difficult. They want people to team more often than not. And they want the content as a whole to require some sort of thought before we just slap any old enhancement into our powers. 
The theory they're working with is if it is too easy, people will get bored and do something else. And they also recognize that not everyone want's things super challenging. So, they allow us to change notoriety settings with ease, by using the tiny chat balloon by the text field where we type in chat. And of course, we can always get help if things are too challenging. 
**********************
I have stated before that some of these folks are very good at gaming in general. Fast reflexes, fast machines. Skilled, you might say. Able to think outside the box. Know the math behind procs and other game mechanics to create very viable characters for whatever the specific goal is. Some literally respec before specific TFs to cater their builds specifically for that effort. 
Most rely on a kin or a cold in some fashion; some are the kin or cold. Either way, when they create new stuff, it is with their own experience in mind. And then the folks that join them on the alpha, and then beta, try (and sometimes succeed) to get them to broaden or further refine certain parameters so the more of us might have more enjoyment. 

I look at CoH like a soft drink. 
Cryptic CoH was Coca-Cola
Paragon was New Coke. 
The secret server was a foray into a home brew version of Root Beer that only people who were invited got to try. 
HC is a healthy person's Soda Stream. One day it's Grape. The next day it might be Banana. 
Thunderspy is kind of like Stone Cold's IPA. With alcohol! Or maybe just a home brew beer. 
Rebirth is a blend of New Coke and old Coke, and maybe some Pepsi. 

One thing is constant - it's all carbonated, and it's all liquid refreshment. Some of us drink too much of it for our own good. 
Another thing is also always going to be true. Some people love it. Some people like it, but say it has an after-taste. I think that's me. I like it, but it has an after-taste. 
And some hate it. 

I think our OP is probably not enjoying the last sip. 
 

[MoonSheep]

this is the type of high quality post i am on this forum for

 

the game is ridiculously easy in its current form, there’s constant discussion of a need to make things harder as people can solo +4/x8 on squishies

 

consider using strategy and positioning when fighting solo rather than using your blaster’s face as a shield, e.g use knockback, stuns, holds on harder opponents, break line of sight whilst powers recharge

 

i would also say that you’re in a lucky and fortunate position to find the game challenging - it becomes boring when you can auto-win any battle

[tidge]

Diantane, is that you?

 

[sarcasm]

Here are some possible fixes to help out the suffering Blasters:

• Allow them to make attacks while mezzed?
• Dial down the recharge time of the nukes?
• Give them some sort of power to help with endurance burn?
• Allow them to slot ATO in both primary and secondary powers?

[/sarcasm]

Edited July 6 by tidge

[Glacier Peak]

7 hours ago, Elvsrad said:

The new Changes are practically painful for anyone trying to solo and play the game as a blaster, corruptor defender or dominator.  Seriously, dudes, pull your head out of your asses trying to appease all the people screaming they want their tankers, brutes, and scrappers and nerf them properly.  The rest of us are struggling to fight at +0/ 1 person team for all the stupid ass changes you made to the council, circle and other  villains while we constantly die to a +0 or +1 boss that then dies and rezzes as another plus one boss.  A Challenge is one item, but you need to nerf them and the villains so the rest of us can actually feel like we're accomplishing something.  Don't give me crap about inspirations or using "special enhancements".  This was supposed to be balanced against level 25  enchancements and it seriously sucks and is painful to try and complete. I have died over 7 time in the last story arc in Colleen Neslon at level 39, literally moving it from +1 for blasters to +0, and I am still getting defeated when bosses die and transform into warwolves after being defeated the first time. Fix this bs, as it's not just frustrating to me, but all the other players who don't min/max the bs like the player base you're sucking up to.

 

This is your first post?

[Ukase]

3 minutes ago, Glacier Peak said:

This is your first post?

I have got to train myself to look at post count. It's just not something I normally do. That has to change. 

[Haijinx]

I'm still looking for the explanation of the changes and how they make it hard to solo...

[tidge]

Just now, Haijinx said:

I'm still looking for the explanation of the changes and how they make it hard to solo...

 

My guess is... FREEM!!, with a side of Umbral Shield.

[cranebump]

Haven’t run into this yet, since I haven’t solo blastered in a hot minute. What would concern me is if Insps are not helping. Chewing up my tray is a staple when I’m squishy and solo.

 

That said, you can always dial down a tough mish in order to complete it. 

Edited July 6 by cranebump

[TheZag]

Players that can solo +4x8 should be the exception,  not the rule.  When a single player can solo the hardest setting it makes the other 7 people on a team pointless.  Having teams be pointless is bad design for a team game.  And im saying this as a player who builds almost all of my characters to be nearly unkillable.

 

Players are certainly welcome to solo but shouldnt expect to do well when difficulty is set to more than default.  The fact that so many of us can and do solo at maximum settings contributes to the idea that everyone should be able to.  This leads to +4×8 being the standard setting and each lower setting being easier and easier mode with some people getting frustrated when they struggle on anything less than maximum settings.

 

Unfortunately,  the balance changes that would need to occur to prevent players from soloing max difficulty would be rather significant.  Hard mode TFs have made an attempt at preventing players from soloing the hardest difficulty and have been mostly successful in that regard in my opinion.  But the problem still remains how to balance around a 3k hp,  defense and resist capped tank and 900 hp MM both on the same team fighting the same enemies where it is a challenge for both without 1 shotting the MM every few seconds or making the tank quite literally unkillable.

 

[Snarky]

...my fire fire Blaster is insanely powerful, I regularly jump in front of teams to be first into a spawn.  Including on a recent 4/8 farm with 2 Brutes and a Tank.  They get bogged down, I leap at the next fresh group for big DPS

 

... my Dark Dark Blaster is a breeze to run.  

 

What exact changes have made my life unmanageable?  

 

 

[lemming]

6 minutes ago, Snarky said:

...my fire fire Blaster is insanely powerful, I regularly jump in front of teams to be first into a spawn.  Including on a recent 4/8 farm with 2 Brutes and a Tank.  They get bogged down, I leap at the next fresh group for big DPS

 

... my Dark Dark Blaster is a breeze to run.  

 

What exact changes have made my life unmanageable? 

My blasters aren't having many issues, but I've been running my well built ones recently. Though one got their power build recently and before that, it was harder, but not insanely so.  iirc, some of the testers noted low level council was tougher with SO builds, so I think running a few around that level might be good.

 

However, tactics help a lot with those guys.

[Anthraxus]

To elaborate a bit more...

 

I really enjoy the sort of "mathematics" of building a lvl 50 toon for maximum overall efficiency; tanks in particular can become quite the effective tank-mages in CoH, eventually controlling/crushing waves of enemy factions in just about any radio +4/x8 map.

And that's fun...to a point.

 

And just when you think you've got any particular build dialed-in to complete, dominant destruction, along comes one of the "changes" that the OP remarked upon.

 

My latest example of this is my new lvl 50+ Rad armor/Stone melee tank; this bad boy laughs at Council, Arachnos, and Carnies (Oh my!), all without using much in the way of tertiary support powers like heals, inspirations, etc; but in the last few months Circle of all things surprises me with a brutal combo of cold damage combined with -resistance debuff, dropping me to the floor before I can remember that he has several timer-limited tools available to help! I have learned my lesson now, but there was a definite "WTF?!!" moment while I was trying to understand where that much damage could come from.

 

The changes the Homecoming team has made are GOOD for the long term health of the late game especially, but also for the earlier game, where they have made enemies fight using many power sets previously available only to players, and this makes things WAY more fun for me. 👍

 

[FFFF]

12 hours ago, Elvsrad said:

The new Changes are practically painful for anyone trying to solo and play the game as a blaster, corruptor defender or dominator.  Seriously, dudes, pull your head out of your asses trying to appease all the people screaming they want their tankers, brutes, and scrappers and nerf them properly.  The rest of us are struggling to fight at +0/ 1 person team for all the stupid ass changes you made to the council, circle and other  villains while we constantly die to a +0 or +1 boss that then dies and rezzes as another plus one boss.  A Challenge is one item, but you need to nerf them and the villains so the rest of us can actually feel like we're accomplishing something.  Don't give me crap about inspirations or using "special enhancements".  This was supposed to be balanced against level 25  enchancements and it seriously sucks and is painful to try and complete. I have died over 7 time in the last story arc in Colleen Neslon at level 39, literally moving it from +1 for blasters to +0, and I am still getting defeated when bosses die and transform into warwolves after being defeated the first time. Fix this bs, as it's not just frustrating to me, but all the other players who don't min/max the bs like the player base you're sucking up to.

 

This isn’t my experience at all. I’m leveling up a couple of blasters solo and I don’t find any of the upgraded mobs particularly challenging. 
 

Even with SOs, hover blasting works fine. So does old school pulling or even build-up + aim to insta-kill that pesky lieutenant. A lot of blaster builds can even stack holds/stuns to disable a boss. This doesn’t even factor in soft controls like knock back. 
 

I’ve played blasters since retail release so there’s an experience factor that probably colors my perspective. 
 

if you’re new, happy to provide any tips or build advice. I mean this sincerely without any sarcasm. I’m pretty sure there are things you could do slightly differently to make your gameplay experience less frustrating. 

[Greycat]

... this sounds more like "Should be in beta feedback."

 

(I'm guessing. I haven't had the time to check, and surprisingly with a vacation coming up I'll have even less time... still trying to figure that one out.)

[Yomo Kimyata]

12 hours ago, Elvsrad said:

Seriously, dudes, pull your head out of your asses trying to appease all the people screaming they want their tankers, brutes, and scrappers and nerf them properly.

 

There is method to this madness (although there is a lot of madness in the method.)  The current developers HAVE picked what classes/powers/etc. that they wanted to be enhanced and in my opinion haven't put much focus on balance.  And that is their right as owners of the ball, although I wish they would take other players' opinions into account.

 

6 hours ago, Ukase said:

There's some meat on this bone. (merit to the argument) 

 

Your whole post was good Ukase.  Nods.

 

4 hours ago, TheZag said:

The fact that so many of us can and do solo at maximum settings contributes to the idea that everyone should be able to.  This leads to +4×8 being the standard setting and each lower setting being easier and easier mode with some people getting frustrated when they struggle on anything less than maximum settings.

 

Unfortunately,  the balance changes that would need to occur to prevent players from soloing max difficulty would be rather significant.

 

This is the crux of the matter.  Can I solo at maximum settings?  Generally yes, although it is trivial for some ATs and some power sets, which goes to the original poster's point.  I know how to play and how to play well, and I know how to maximize my character's output, and I know how to make tons of inf doing it.  Everyone CAN be able to; this is truth.  The problem is as you say whether or not everyone SHOULD be able to.  I think that hard mode was a stab in that direction because some of the devs got bored with their overpowered tanks, and I'm supportive of that change, but this is neither a difficult nor an even balanced game.  So it goes.

[Riverdusk]

I also agree @Ukase.  It wasn't presented well as you do have to read through a bit on his post to what changes he is talking about, which is the buffs to Council and CoT.   

 

I've managed to do fine with a dominator solo against them (as well as MM, the only two AT that have tried the new council solo).  But, I could see how those that aren't as familiar with the game and character building could struggle with these changes on certain characters.  It isn't as outrageous as a post as some people are making it out to be imo.

 

Just saying to keep in mind, the "everyone says the game is too easy" and "everyone is soloing at +4/x8" that you hear on the forums are not really indicative of the general population.  Not entirely scientific, but when I do team I tend to take a look at how people with missions in their list are set and it is almost never +4/x8 (not even close) except the leader who knows they are filling a team or already running a full team.  

 

There is also just personal preferences, not everyone is looking to turn this into something akin to the 'Dark Souls" of MMO's.  Some people just want a chill experience and a way to to feel heroic.

 

I think the changes were fine, (I've actually been posting Council needed to be buffed, or that their xp should be lowered, for a long time before the changes were made).  But at the same time the call to keep the more 'squishie' AT's and the more casual players in mind when changes like this are made I think is a fair point.   

 

 

 

[lemming]

1 hour ago, Greycat said:

... this sounds more like "Should be in beta feedback."

It's a complaint about already released.  Way past beta

[FFFF]

50 minutes ago, Riverdusk said:

Just saying to keep in mind, the "everyone says the game is too easy" and "everyone is soloing at +4/x8" that you hear on the forums are not really indicative of the general population.  Not entirely scientific, but when I do team I tend to take a look at how people with missions in their list are set and it is almost never +4/x8 (not even close) except the leader who knows they are filling a team or already running a full team. 

 

Yeah, for vets who sort of min-max, this is a different, albeit easy game. Just out of curiosity, I just picked up Colleen Nelson as a contact and ran through a few missions. I'm running at +1/x0 and the difficulty is trivial (as it would be for most veteran players). This is NOT the newer player experience. My character has significant range defenses, probably much more influence than your typical new player and is kitted out with decent IOs. Hard to balance a game which has such a wide range of experiences.

 

FYI, this is on Beam Gal, my Beam/Ninja Blaster.

 

[Scarlet Shocker]

Perhaps the issue here is not the Difficulty Level per se - because most players are veterans and have been playing a long time and experienced.

 

But for newer players (and there are quite a few) that can be problematic.

 

I know from my own experience some missions are much tougher than others. Maybe there's a need for a caveat warning to alert newer players to the fact that some missions are meant for more experienced players and they can then choose whether to accept it

 

[cranebump]

9 minutes ago, Scarlet Shocker said:

I know from my own experience some missions are much tougher than others. 

 

After rolling through Protean numerous times, I was shocked last week to find my Sent (who has L25 IO's in virtually everything) couldn't take out Protean by himself. I could get close using insps, but came up short. I asked for help, got a Troller partner who mezzed the guy, and he went down fairly easy. Saved me from having to spend on large insps.

[Ceejer]

What are the sets  of the Blaster??

[Psyonico]

The more difficult Council/CoT don't come into play until level 40... I feel like at level 40 you should have some sort of ability to handle a challenge, even with SOs.