First, as this is my first post, I must begin by complementing the R&D staff of Cryptic for the extraordinary acheivement that City of Heroes is. So many elements, from the graphics and animation through the game and graphic design to constant content and game improvements demonstrate rare creativity and diligence, not just for game development but for software development generally. Thank you.
I also want to commend the majority of responses on this thread which have been thoughtful and carefully considered. No wonder teaming with heroes like these can be so much fun.
Nevertheless, I have to applaud the previous poster's many good suggestions and fundamental summary about using the carrot instead of the stick. Another metaphor you might want to consider is the one about herding cats. That was coined for software developers but applies equally to players in my humble opinion.
I'm empathetic to Statesman's concern about preserving and creating balance but it also seems to me that the specific issues that the boss changes were supposed to address may not have been defined with sufficient precision to enable clear analysis of the consequences. I cannot believe, given the richness of controls that the developers have in the game, that solo play had to be damaged so much to balance team play. Further, as several others have pointed out, these changes strongly discourage teaming at higher levels: the amount of debt that can be incured does not balance that possible experience gained. I suggest that some risk versus benefit analysis, taking into account the additional time played to eliminate debt would show this clearly.
I hope Cryptic pays particular attention to this thread and the issues in their planning for future patches and updates.
