Thoughts from a returning player

[LeFantasque]

I came back to CoH a few months ago, when the announcement was made about the licensing deal with the original publisher. I thought I could make this short post and share with you what it was like in the last few months of getting back the hang of the game and see if anyone else  shared a similar experience.

 

My first instinct was to try and grab the names of the characters I used to play and to recreate them. I was successful in most cases, but I soon  found that those characters were those I would neglect in favour of trying new power sets and concepts. Maybe my tastes as a player have changed in 20 years.

 

There’s also the fact that the game seems a lot faster now - faster to level up and mostly faster in the missions themselves. I was shocked when I did my first task force and it took less than an hour. The teams I join regularly clear maps in a fraction of the time it used to take back in the day. At least that’s my impression.

 

It also looks to me like damage is king now. I feel like a team with overwhelming DPS can easily overcome any challenge, regardless whether they have access to support or control. This feeling has changed the way I choose which archetypes I play. I used to mostly play defenders, now I play a lot of corruptors and blasters.

 

So anyway I just wanted to dip a first toe in the forums, maybe see if anyone else has had the same impressions I did when coming back. And if you ever run into Lady Meredith, Arbiter Jolicoeur, Lady Masque or Maggie Magnum, don’t hesitate to say hi.

[tatmia]

Welcome back to the game.   I started back playing as soon as the first server came up but I'm happy to compare experiences with you.

I'm one of the people that used the Sentinel tool at shutdown to save all of my characters.  I was very disappointed to find out that we wouldn't be able to bring our characters back (and even stood up my own server to do so) - so I immediately set to work to recreate them.   However, like you, it was hollow for me and the only one that I stuck with was my namesake.   I eventually realized that what made those characters special to me was the memories tied to them.     

I still use the names  that are special to me, but I'm having fun exploring different powers or even different ATs with them.   I've been especially tickled that my very first character (who was my original namesake before I created Tatmia) can now have the powers that I originally wanted when I first made her 2005.  

The faster speed of the game happened before shutdown.  The changes to debt had a huge impact on leveling speed along with  the introduction of IOs, the ability to change difficulty and team sizes.  Granted, the START vendors xp powers help, but I started playing on another sever that doesn't have those xp powers about 7 months ago and have 6 non-pl'd level 50s there.  

Defenders and controllers will always be my first love.   Damage may be king but I will always prefer the force multiplier teams.   I still love utterly destroying a TF with an "all support" team.   I mainly played on small severs on live (Triumph and Protector) and while the servers were just picked because they were the first in the list, I quickly learned to  love the "bring whatever you want" playstyle that was often required.  I've luckily found a group that gives me that experience again.   If you're missing that, maybe try a character on one of the smaller shards?   

Edited July 11 by tatmia

[Relocated]

I have a similar experience. Came back earlier this year thereafter the agreement between NCSOFT and HC.

 

I previously created a lot of names because I got excited, but I ended up focusing on one at a time and rotating between characters. Since you mentioned that you are a returning player, maybe you heard about the Name Release Policy. 

The game seems to be faster and we have a great player base. Each time I joined a team or formed teams, people have been pleasant. We have the S.T.A.R.T vendor (where you get double XP buffs). So much stuff in-game that this should be helpful to check out: https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/What's_new_in_Homecoming_for_Returning_Players 

Last time I played (wherein was weeks ago), I was focusing on base editing for my solo SG. IIRC, there’s so much to do with base editing when it comes to HC rather than back on Live. Seeing people such as Dacy, Easter Bunny, etc. is inspiring. Never thought it would be possible to make castle bases or apartment bases. It’s stuff that will leave you in awe. And I still focus on experiencing the game to the fullest though. 
 

Welcome back btw and enjoy the unofficial RP server. 😎

[LeFantasque]

13 minutes ago, tatmia said:

However, like you, it was hollow for me and the only one that I stuck with was my namesake.   I eventually realized that what made those characters special to me was the memories tied to them.

 

I think you've right: it's all about the memories. And a lot of those memories are linked to people who - more often than not - are not there anymore, twenty years later. I have a friend from back then I convinced to start playing again. Sadly she doesn't have as much disposable time as I do nowadays so she hasn't been around much. Still I think I will make new memories with new people too... and thus some new names will take on a more meaningful aspect for me.

 

As for the faster speed of the game I have to admit I wasn't around when it happened on live. I had left CoH before that. That's very interesting to know - thank you! 

 

I did notice that teams are appreciative of anything you can bring to the table. CoH has a very open, forgiving and easy-going community and it's something that I still find marvellous to this day. I just need to get myself out of the mindset of "am I contributing enough?" I constantly have - so more of a me thing than an actual issue with the game, I think.

[LeFantasque]

20 minutes ago, Unearthly Herald said:

Last time I played (wherein was weeks ago), I was focusing on base editing for my solo SG. IIRC, there’s so much to do with base editing when it comes to HC rather than back on Live. Seeing people such as Dacy, Easter Bunny, etc. is inspiring. Never thought it would be possible to make castle bases or apartment bases. It’s stuff that will leave you in awe.

 

I haven't really dabbled in base editing yet. There's so much in this game I haven't wrapped my head around yet, it feels like I'm an actual new player. Architect? Incarnates? No idea. I guess that just means I have more fun ahead of me yet than I thought.

 

Thank you for the advice and welcome back yourself! 🙂

[tatmia]

I'll admit that I don't  team very much on Everlasting, but the majority of my experiences were pleasant and I the only times my AT/powers were questioned it was the same type of people that did it on live (Asking me why fire/dark corruptor wasn't healing enough, etc. lol).   While I'm not a RP'er, one of the reasons I enjoy teaming with them is that they tend to care about more things that just how quickly we cleared the map.  

I'm sure the majority of the players just want you to enjoy what you're  playing at the moment.   

Edited July 11 by tatmia

[Relocated]

19 minutes ago, LeFantasque said:

 

I haven't really dabbled in base editing yet. There's so much in this game I haven't wrapped my head around yet, it feels like I'm an actual new player. Architect? Incarnates? No idea. I guess that just means I have more fun ahead of me yet than I thought.

 

Thank you for the advice and welcome back yourself! 🙂

I feel the same way. There’s so much to learn and the ride has been awesome.

 

If I were to describe Incarnates and based on what I was reading before from people, it is as if your character is a God (or is on the journey in becoming like one) once a character reaches level 50. Cool thing about this game is that there’s no finish line. As in so much to do. And look up DacysBaseBuilding on YouTube if you want to do some base editing and are interested in receiving helpful information. 

And thank you for the welcome back. Feel free to contact me whether here or

in-game (I go by the same name as the Forums). I’m either base editing or focusing on earning more influence and making my toons stronger. 

[Latex]

It's key to consider that Homecoming is not City of Heroes when it was shut down, there is likely thousands of changes at this point, the actual issue 24 client (http://web.archive.org/web/20121025123119/http://na.cityofheroes.com/en/news/game_updates/issue_24/overview.php) is out there - with some digging - with only the microtransaction shop stuff changed.

Though I think things might of changed mostly with the players, gaming changed a lot, people got better at it and 4 hour task forces are shrunk to like 30 minutes, some people know it off by heart. Some players are playing min/maxed characters, know the best powersets and stuff like that! If you want catalogued proof of player behaviour change look at World of Warcraft > Classic World of Warcraft, it was a radically different experience despite being 99.9% the exact same game, they'll be a handful of youtube vids discussing that sort of thing.

Welcome back though! For me, the game is as good as it ever was

[mrdeeds7]

Welcome back! Yes I'd say the game is basically on god-mode these days, which is neither good or bad just different. Infinite influence has made slotting multiple full sets throughout the journey the norm, which seems to have shifted the relevance away from support. Still just as fun for me! Although weirdly I do miss the days where a Synapse could easily fail with the wrong mix of heroes.