What are my options for challenging content?

[jubakumbi]

3 minutes ago, justicebeliever said:

Why do most adults outgrow Tic-Tac-Toe but not Scrabble?  Because they haven't defined what is challenging?

 

Why do most Spider Solitaire players do 2 suits, instead of 1? 

 

Because Tic-Tac-Toe and Single Suit Spider Solitaire represent games that can't be lost with a minimal effort...There is some objectiveness to challenge...

 

Now some people really like Solitaire because it engages the brain and is relaxing, but I don't because there is no challenge in Solitaire, it's almost 100% chance...

 

I'm not saying that the OP has met all the actual challenges in the game, he has been rather vague, but I don't hear any blame...I don't blame Tic-Tac-Toe or Solitaire, I just accept what is and move on...If I hadn't discovered the 2 suit challenge in Spider Solitaire, I would have moved on...

 

While I personally still have challenges in the game (like having one character run all the content, and badge hunting), PvE combat isn't really one of them (there are some exceptions) after lvl 40 for the most part, without nerfing yourself...I haven't done PvP, and I don't think I would be competent at it, so while it would be challenging, very few people like a challenge they would only lose at...

The OP has definately looked down thier nose at players enjoy what the OP considers to be a challengeless game.

People outgrow games all the time, sometimes before they play the game, which is why I sugessted the stock markets to the OP if they wanted a challenge, I was not joking.

 

The reason I love this game?

The simple fact I don't have to feel like it's a challenge to want to play.

I don't feel like I am grinding, I don't feel like I am working, I don't feel like I am following someone elses carrot, all of which I find challenging.

 

Falling down when I agro too many mobs or the RNG say "Not today"?

Wiping out hordes of bad guys in the blink of an eye?

That's just playing the game, IMO.

 

I play this game to relax and explore pulling the the characters in my head out into 3d worlds and fiddling with them.

To me it really is a video game, in the original arcade sense, just insert coin to continue, kill all the pixels.

[justicebeliever]

26 minutes ago, jubakumbi said:

The OP has definately looked down thier nose at players enjoy what the OP considers to be a challengeless game.

The OP has said nothing of the sort...that's an assumption you are making...I just watched another thread, where people are assuming the same of you, and I know that not to be true of you...Let's not go down the path of knowing how to read forum posters minds...

 

27 minutes ago, jubakumbi said:

The reason I love this game?

The simple fact I don't have to feel like it's a challenge to want to play.

I don't feel like I am grinding, I don't feel like I am working, I don't feel like I am following someone elses carrot, all of which I find challenging.

That's wonderful...Different strokes for different folks...there is no one right way or right reason to play the game...Same for the OP (both ways - I'm fine with his reasons, and he has no reason to judge yours)

[jubakumbi]

9 minutes ago, justicebeliever said:

The OP has said nothing of the sort...that's an assumption you are making...I just watched another thread, where people are assuming the same of you, and I know that not to be true of you...Let's not go down the path of knowing how to read forum posters minds...

 

That's wonderful...Different strokes for different folks...there is no one right way or right reason to play the game...Same for the OP (both ways - I'm fine with his reasons, and he has no reason to judge yours)

Oh, the other thread was spot on my attitude, I tell it like I see it.

My point with my additional information is simply that challenge is still player based, even if the game in fact is not challenging.

 

At this point, I am out anyway.

🖖

[_NOPE_]

There's also AE, where you have the ability to make your own challenges. 

[Megajoule]

Here's the one I accidentally subjected myself to recently:

 

Solo the Praetorian arcs as a mind-psi dominator, with no enhancements (because TO bonuses are nothing), no self-heal or mitigation other than (briefly) locking down individual foes, and repeated ambushes that know exactly where you are and come right on the heels of the one before it.

(Seriously, WTF were the devs thinking back in 2009-2010?  "A solo player is roughly equal to three white-con enemies, so let's throw a DOZEN at them, all at once!"? )

[DSorrow]

The way I see it, CoH (or any other PvE game) doesn't really offer the kind of challenge the OP is seeking. Chess (and PvP) is engaging because making mistakes isn't the only road to a possible loss as you can make really good plays but your opponent just outwits you. Against AI, you're not really going to see that kind of engagement in the long term because eventually you'll learn the AIs abilities and it won't be able to surprise you. After that point, it's just a punitive mistake system, to borrow a term from someone else in this thread.

 

In CoX, much of the PvE challenge comes from designing a build that can do X, and that's definitely something you can fail at. After the build's designed, it's pretty trivial to actually get all of the gear. Everything else is just mostly down to chance: RNG breaks through your soft caps, a critical debuff misses, etc. That said, I've had fun challenging myself with a solo ITF and solo LRSF even though I mostly like to play CoX casually and save the sweaty gameplay for stuff like Dark Souls and PvP shooters I also like.

[THEDarkTyger]

2 hours ago, jubakumbi said:

But what you describe is just a punitive punishment for missteps,

Give me an example of a challenge in an action-oriented game that doesn't boil down to exactly that.

[THEDarkTyger]

1 hour ago, justicebeliever said:

However, some of the other things (make a weaker build, master of badges, play a FF defender at all [just kidding PK, I have FF def and I love him]) are forms of "nerfing yourself" (let's call it what it is), but I haven't heard him refuse, he's just saying that's all that remains (which isn't true, unless he has done the above)

This response from him sounded like a rejection of the idea to me and apparently to most other people who read it:

 

Quote

So basically, you have to nerf yourself for a challenge. That's too bad. 

 

[Lockpick]

Interesting topic.  I would suggest building an AE mission that you personally find challenging.  I think a lot of people forget that we have a great opportunity for player created content and there is tons of it.  I have played some AE missions while leveling that are extremely difficult for me (or the particular build I was using).  I haven't really played any AE missions at level 50 with incarnate powers, but I would guess there are some challenging AE missions out there. 

[wjrasmussen]

On 8/9/2019 at 4:48 PM, Illy said:

After they dev team decided to get rid of prestige, it felt to me like there was nothing really to aspire to in CoH anymore. 

 

Then again, maybe there are task forces or trials that have been added by the team that I don't know about. Is there anything difficult to do in the game? I hear even the last iTrial is pretty easy. 

Create a new character and ser how long it takes you without help from other characters of yours to earn 500 badges.  Then create another new character of a different at and try to best the time.  Repeat as needed.

[FrostyDelicious]

Based on the question i would recommend the following suggestions as just a personal opinion:

 

- Try some of the new arcs in dark astoria through ouros. I pick these because the stories are really interesting. You can adjust challenge settings such as buffed enemies, no ancillary powers, and you can adjust the notoriety level you are fighting at. You wouldn't believe how hard it can get on +4x8, enemies buffed, player debuffed with no inspirations or deaths.  

 

- try soling a task forces with applying challenging settings such as the above

 

- you could try switching to an alternate build on your character with different powers you aren't used to to throw you out of your comfort zone

 

- try a archetype with powersets you havent never used, i cant tell you how different I had to play when i switched from always playing melee to a controller!

 

- badge hunting is always a challenge since some are hard to get (iTrails, master of tf's etc...)

 

- i like soloing tf's or even getting groups together and trying to beat my time for speed runs.

 

These are just some of many suggestions, among many others. This game can be as hard as you want to make it for yourself.

 

Hope this Helps!

 

 

[PaxArcana]

Frosty, he has already rejected each and every one of those as "nerfing himself".

[Fista]

Holy cow. Everyone.  The answer is no.  I love this game but it's so causal friendly that if you're a hard core gamer/min maxer then the only answer is no. There is not challenge like what the OP is looking for. In all honesty if that's a deal breaker for him I'd uninstall and never look back. 

Edited August 11, 2019 by Fista
spelling and grammer

[Hedgefund]

On 8/10/2019 at 5:16 PM, LaconicLemur said:

 

Out of curiosity and perhaps to try -- what challenging games are you referring to?

Strategy games are my favorite.   My time during the no COX days was mostly spent with XCOM 2 (and subsequent DLC).  At the highest setting, there's a very real risk of something terrible happening (like losing a favorite soldier).

 

Also, I've put in enough time with Civilization series to... well it's so much time I don't even want to say.

 

Now, while they offer a challenge, like anything, eventually a player will "git gud", especially after a few hundred, or a few thousand, hours.  Still, mistakes get punished.

[FrostyDelicious]

2 hours ago, PaxArcana said:

Frosty, he has already rejected each and every one of those as "nerfing himself".

Im not tying to start an argument or poke the bear but in my opinion, I think that upping difficulty settings and making content harder in a game shouldn't be considered as "nerfing yourself". You can make the content easy by putting enemies on -1x1 of course. I constantly push what my character can do and it can be almost impossible at times, so i stand my previous statement that this game is as hard as you want it to be. If the OP is not looking for this type of gameplay, this is not the game for him.

 

Ill leave it at that, apologies if this sounds brash. 

   

[_NOPE_]

The fact that the OP hasn't come back to explain their definition of "challenge" in a comprehensive way is telling. You might even say the way they approached this thread is to garner a certain type of response intentionally... I'll drop it there, for now.

[PaxArcana]

1 hour ago, FrostyDelicious said:

Im not tying to start an argument

No worries, you won't get an argument from me - I think your list is a damned fine one.

The OP is the one who dismissed them all out of hand.  He doesn't want things that make him less than The L33t Uber Best-of-the-Best-of-the-Uber-est.  I remain convinced that  he just wants content that ONLY such a manly, uber-being such as himself could even attempt, let alone succeed at.  So that he can prove his uber-superiority.

Which, thank heavens, just isn't going to happen.

[MunkiLord]

Since we've touched on it a few times, and the thread is about challenge, what do yall think it would take to solo the STF? I'm most experienced with Scrappers, but I'm not so sure that's the right AT for the job. The damage is there, but it's only gonna take two hits for Recluse to kill you before you knock down a single tower.

 

Thinking definitely Shivans, nuke, T4 Incarnate powers for all six, and a tray full of Super Inspirations. 

 

What restrictions should be put on such a challenge? Or should there be none until somebody actually does it?

[wjrasmussen]

2 minutes ago, MunkiLord said:

Since we've touched on it a few times, and the thread is about challenge, what do yall think it would take to solo the STF? I'm most experienced with Scrappers, but I'm not so sure that's the right AT for the job. The damage is there, but it's only gonna take two hits for Recluse to kill you before you knock down a single tower.

 

Thinking definitely Shivans, nuke, T4 Incarnate powers for all six, and a tray full of Super Inspirations. 

 

What restrictions should be put on such a challenge? Or should there be none until somebody actually does it?

I think the better issue is one of life and challenge.  Life has many more interesting challenges than video games have. 

[LaconicLemur]

59 minutes ago, The Philotic Knight said:

The fact that the OP hasn't come back to explain their definition of "challenge" in a comprehensive way is telling. You might even say the way they approached this thread is to garner a certain type of response intentionally... I'll drop it there, for now.

Or maybe the OP thinks there's no point in further responding except to generate more personal attacks and hate directed at them because they are not interested in the types of challenges presented in this thread. You're not helping civil discourse by insinuating there are sinister motives behind their posts.

16 minutes ago, PaxArcana said:

He doesn't want things that make him less than The L33t Uber Best-of-the-Best-of-the-Uber-est.  I remain convinced that  he just wants content that ONLY such a manly, uber-being such as himself could even attempt, let alone succeed at.  So that he can prove his uber-superiority.

 

You're entitled to your opinion that the OP is a wanna-be L33t, misogynistic, incel, insecure (and probably racist) nerd who probably lives in a basement with his mother and stalks underaged girls online. But that doesn't make it true. And there's not much I see in this thread to base your opinion on.  And honestly, it's rather hateful and rude.

[GM Capocollo]

I think the thread's over, then!