King_Moloch

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The simple truth is that today's players are not simple at all. We are intelligent, intuitive, experienced, and informed. Many of us have grown up with video games of all types, and been part of the evolution of PvP since the days of Pong(for chrissake!). And ignoring the vocalization of that experience in relatively calm and intellgent threads such as this is akin to not accepting a twenty dollar bill because it came crumpled and worn from being in your friend's pocket instead of in the form of a printed paycheck with your company's logo stamped all over it!

Dismissing player feedback from forums because "it doesn't represent the majority of the player base" is pure idiocy. If anything, the players posting on the forums are the ones your should be listening to because they're the ones that actually care enough, and are (computer)-literate enough, to post in the first place!

The biggest mistake of conventional MMO developers is assuming that they know what players want more than the players themselves. That mode of thinking will not last much longer in today's competative gaming enviornment.

Talk to us. We're NOT stupid, we WILL understand when you say no if you bother to explain it to us.

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QFT!

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QFT again. The greatest pitfall to being a game designer is one I learned from watching the SOE and Blizzard devs at work.
Never, ever, under any circumstance, think you are smarter, more intuitive, or better informed than your playerbase. As has been adequately demonstrated in this thread, many of the people that play this game, and keep money in the till, are geniuses, and have an excellent grasp of both the situations they refer to, and the mechanics involved with them. DO NOT ignore them.
Many solutions to the difficulties we face on this game have been presented over and over again by such people. While some would be difficult to implement, they are still valid, and deserve a certain degree of follow-up.
Just sayin.

Oh, I can't WAIT. It's about time they did something dramatic with greates threat the world has ever seen. Well, aside from me, of course.
The new zone makeover and story sound pretty much dead on with what I've been waiting for.
I can't WAIT!

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So I had this idea pop into my mind today. I was thinking about how for some players the 32+ game starts to die down because you aren't getting powers as often and leveling is slower. I was looking at Arch Villains and Heroes and remembered each of them had their own signature power. I thought to myself, wouldn't it be cool if Heroes (And villains) could create their own signature powers? Well, here was my idea:

The Basics

Starting at level 33, you earn "points" toward your signature power. You basically get one point per level all the way up to 50. Each point is spent in a tree that modifies the ability of the power. There is a special "lock" system in place so you cannot just focus all your points into one category. (IE, focusing all points into "Hold" so that the power is like mag 20)

Players could choose from various attributes

Teleport Self
Damage
Hold
Heal Self
Heal Other
Accuracy
Speed
AOE
Etc.

A player could spread his points out creating a jack of all trades power master of none. They could chose to focus on certain categories but only to an extent. The various categories will work in a tree like system. The bottom of the tree would be:

Damage -- Heal Other -- Heal Self -- Buff (Speed, Recharge, +Damage, etc... only one of these) -- Hold -- Disorient -- Teleport

Focusing more points into a given category would enhance the effect. However, after X amount of points the category becomes maxed. Spending points in a certain category would unlock the next set.

IE

AOE -- Range (5 is starting range or melee, more points enhances the range) -- Recharge Timer -- Etc

All signature powers start out very generic. They all just about have the same recharge (Which would be very long to begin with until points are spent), and have the same statistics. (Assuming players invested in the same area, IE, Heal vs Heal, Damage Vs Damage, etc)

The Initial Pick, Target Foe, Self Buff, or Target Player

This is the player's very first pick at level 33. They will chose what their signature power targets. Perhaps your defender's special power is a heal on a player. Maybe your Corruptor wants to decimate his foe with an attack. Perhaps your Tanker uses a special shield. Etc.

All signature powers start out with the same animation.

New Unlockable, Level 35

At level 40, players will unlock the animations. Here is where players can customize the animation of their signature power. There would be various animations to chose from. The animation would have an impact on what the power does. Basically, the animations would be split up into:

1 Second Animations
2 Second Animations
3 Second Animations
4 Second Animations
Interruptable

Basically, the shorter the animation time, the less effect the power does, and the longer (all the way to interruptable) the greater effect it does. Thus, a 1 second power receives no bonus but perhaps a 4 second animation power receives a 60% bonus. (Just an example)

By this point too, you are earning more points (One per level) to further customize your power.

Level 40 New Unlockable -- Effect

Here is the next custom option available. You are able to change the effect of what the power looks like. A player would have various choices from:

Explosion (Fire for instance)
Energy (Various range energy attacks)
Buff Effect (Maybe a shield)
Lightning
Etc

Basically, a player is chosing the particle effects associated with the power. Up until this point, all signature powers used the same particle effect. (Something generic)

Level 45 New Unlockable -- Colors

At this level, you can now chose various colors for the power. You can customize the look and change various aspects of it. This will give it a more unique feel.

New Unlockable Level 50 -- Sharing your power with others!

Using the invention system, a player can share his signature power with other players. He is able to create a one use temporary power. There are limitations though:

1) A character can only have one "gifted" signature power at a time.

2) A character can only receive a "gifted" signature power once every 30 minutes.

Basically, this would be a cool way to show your friends "Hey look what I made, try it and tell me what you think"

The requirements to make the temporary power would be the same for all signature powers.

Naming your signature power

A player can name their signature power at level 33. (When they first get them) This name can be changed at anytime.

How enhancements work in signature powers

Signature Powers will not be effected by any kind of enhancement. Their accuracy, damage, heal, duration, etc is all determined by how a player spends their points. They also cannot be buffed or debuffed similar to how Veteran Rewards work. Thus, no outside powers can effect them.

How will they not be imbalanced?

My main balancing factor for these powers will be giving them long recharge times similar to accolades. Basically, these powers are not meant to be part of an attack chain or turn a Brute into a healer. They would mostly be used for tough fights (Such as an Arch Villain). There is a place to spend points to lower the recharge time.

What if I wanted to modify my power?

There would be a place to edit them similar to the way you can edit costumes. It would cost a infamy, influence, or maybe some salvage pieces.

The place would be like a training room or something in the university. The idea is you "train" into modifying your skill.

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Wow. This is a pretty impressive idea. Probably one of the better ones I've read since I started a while back... Did anything ever happen with this?
If not, it really needs to.

Wow. That's quite a lot for an update. Looking forward to I7 now though, my friend's debuff routine is going to be hurting a little until it goes live.
What was the issue with the mission rewards? This another anit-PL fix?
Just curious. I'm trying to figure out what that means in relation to the difficutly slider. So, if I run a mission on relentless, the maximum bonus I can get is the same as it would have been for two levels above villanous? Or am I misunderstanding that?

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Even if we get grant invis used on us, scrappers will be so close to the perception cap that any perception bonus will put them over the top. Also, keep in mind that we got no defensive bonuses at all. We got absolutely no accuracy bonuses either. Scrappers all have an option of focused accuracy which not only helps negate any stealth we may have, but also allows them to hit us more easily. We recieved no such benefits in return.

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I don't think that you understand how the cap works. Lets say there is a Scrapper in RV who is running Tactics, FA, and has 23 Clear Mind Buffs active. You run by running Hide, Stealth, and one Grant Invis active. The Scrapper will see you from a whopping 10 feet away. Now, this _IS_ going to make it harder solo Stalkers and Stalkers who team only with other Stalkers for the GI buff. To that I say, good.

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+2 for useful data and good presentation

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The Harsh Reality of PVP

Are you thinking about taking your favorite hero or villain and enter a Player versus Player (PVP) zone to see what it is like? If yes, then there are a few things you should be prepared for when you enter PVP combat. I will first attempt to tell you what to expect. Then, I will attempt to give you some suggestions how to counter what you learned to expect. The thing I will not do is tell you how you must play. You play the way you want to.

The most important thing to expect in PVP is that there will be many times you will be defeated without any possible way to defend yourself. You may be thinking, "What? How is that possible? How can I be defeated without any way to defend myself? That does not sound fair!". PVP is not fair! That is exactly what you should expect when entering a PVP zone. Do not think PVP is fair. If you do not learn anything at all from reading this, then please remember this one thing: PVP is not fair!

Now, that you know what to expect, let me tell you ways to lower the amount of times you will be defeated without any possible way to defend yourself. But, keep in mind, that you will still be defeated without any possible way to defend yourself. Why? Because PVP is not fair! Hopefully, I have stressed that enough. So, what do you do to survive?

You should have on you at all times some Break Free inspirations. You may be thinking, "But, I have status-effect (mez) protection. I never get mezzed! Well, maybe once to about a dozen Malta throwing stun grenades at the same time. And, maybe once to some Carnies (Carnival of Shadows), but those were flukes". No, those were not flukes. Those were indications that mez protection is not total protection. It is a magnitude of protection that can be overcome when more than one mez hits you at one time. These mezzes stack with each other, each building more magnitude, and will eventually over-come the magnitude of protection you have. In PVP, you will be mezzed. Everybody gets mezzed. Carrying Break Free inspirations will help you when you are mezzed. If you remember nothing else from this section, remember this: In PVP, you will be mezzed.

You should have with you at all times some teammates. You may be thinking, "But, I like playing solo. I can solo invincible missions. I do not want to always team up with others. Pick up groups (PUGs) are usually horrible". What if my friends are not on?". It does not matter what you can do solo in PVE, PVP is not fair! You will be attacked by every opponent that sees you, whether you are alone or with a team. You must expect that. So, if you decide to go it solo, remember this, you will be attacked by many opponents at the same time. Therefore, you will be defeated without any possible way to defend yourself. When your inspirations run out, so does your health points. You can go it alone, but you will be defeated. In PVP, you will be attacked by multiple opponents, simultaneously.

You should stay close to your teammates. You may be thinking, "But, if someone kites us (kite: ranged attacker steps into range, fires, and steps out of range), we have to close in on their position." All of you must close on their position. Any separation of the group will cause some individuals to be at a great disadvantage. Opponents prey on weakness. If a group is scattered in all directions, they are easier to defeat. In PVP, you need to stick together with your teammates.

You should know that the Archetypes (ATs) with the lowest amount of hit points are the easiest targets. You may be thinking, "I wish I was not so squishy (low hit points)". Any non-melee oriented AT will be considered the easier target. The non-melee oriented ATs are the easiest to defeat, but are also the largest threat when grouped. If you are one of these ATs you will be targeted first. The non-melee oriented ATs have very little, if any, mez protection. In PVP, non-melee ATs (squishies) are targeted first.

You should know that you will be attacked by opponents you cannot see, some of which can defeat you before you will even realize you are being attacked. You may be thinking, "How can that be? How can I defend against that?". Well, the good news is, that perception (the ability to see stealthy/cloaked/invisible opponents) at it's maximum is 10 feet higher than negative perception (-perception) is at it's maximum. The bad news is, that it is easier for an individual to reach a -perception value higher than any +perception another individual can achieve. In other words, you alone will not be able to see them. That is another reason why going it alone is not a good idea. To enable you to see -perception opponents, you will need things that give you +perception. If you want to know more about perception, click here-> perception. In PVP, you will be attacked by opponents you cannot see.

You should not get caught up in the emotion of victory or defeat. You may be thinking, "How is it possible to not celebrate victory or mourn defeat?". You can, but don't let the opponents know it. If you openly boast, you will be alpha-target number one. If you openly cry foul, you will be alpha-target number one. Never say anything to the opponent in local chat, private chat, or global chat; especially, global chat. Resist the temptation to do so. If you have a fit of rage, count to ten, go get a drink of water, or just go watch some television. Never say anything to the opponents, ever.

In summary, PVP is not fair! You will be mezzed. You will be attacked by multiple opponents, simultaneously. You need to stick together with your teammates. Non-melee ATs (squishies) are targeted first. You will be attacked by opponents you cannot see. Never say anything to the opponents, ever.

I hope you have enjoyed 'The Harsh Reality of PVP'. Have fun

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This is one of the funniest, smartest, most honest and well explained depiction of the pathetic ganfest that is CoX PvP I have ever read. Anyone considering PvP MUST read this to be brought back to their senses.

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Okie I want to ask a related question, also yay first post.

What about the fact that fire has 4 situational useless powers.

1 Temp protection... really useless... there isnt enough fire or cold for it to matter.

2 Fiery embrace... situational, unless you are fire/fire its usefullness is highly questionable.

3 Rotp..... a tank shouldnt need a self res and it doesnt even come close to being as good as granite or unstop

4 Burn... a power that deaggros mobs and makes them run and gets your team killed is questionable at best.


Also what about the contention that regen can take more damage over time than fire.

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Off topic.

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Doesn't invalidate the question though. A lot of excellent points there.

((Bump))

Is this still a valid template, do you think?
I hate to see all of Vix's work go fall by the wayside.

The truly sad part of this is that, as I was reading, I had to restrain myself from screaming "STOP!" "Are you trying to get us NERFED??"
It's a truly shabby state of affairs when, despite the fact that there is an oversight in need of correction, we live in terror of the dev team "looking into" a fix for anything.

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Doublechecked Defiance - and its working for us (internally and on live). Can anyone give more details about this issue?

[/ QUOTE ]Thats better than the old "actually, its working fine, you guys are idiots."

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Strangely, the search feature doesn't turn up any red-name posts that use the term 'idiots'. Maybe you're thinking of some other game?

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((shakes head...sighs))

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Are we talking about PvP here or did you just try and solo Requiem at level 10?

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Actually it doesn't matter. Barring the situation of tackling stuff that is way beyond your level, getting one-shotted by anything is equivalent to the game randomly deciding it is time for you to die. Even getting 95% swatted isn't fun, since usually that other 5% has already been queued by another critter before you know what happened. And not being afforded an opportunity at all to respond isn't challenging in the sense that an adventure game is fun to play, it is challenging in the sense that draws people to Roulette or slot-machines.

So it really doesn't matter if what one-swatted you was a stalker, AV, nasty boss, or even a lucky minion. It sucks regardless of how it happens. Relying on random insta-death (from the dieing player's perspective) isn't challenging, it is a design crutch. It might have been fun back in the SNES days but this isn't Super Mario.

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Well said.

PVP requires no skill now if all a person has to do is make sure their victim has no perception powers/defense and one shot them. This becomes even easier when your victim is preoccupied with another opponent.

I dont mind getting 2 shotted. 2 shotted means I have a reasonable chance to heal, escape, retailiate. And I dont wanna be forced to play a more hearty, boring AT just bc there is a few ATs out there than have this 1 shotting advantage. Thats why I refuse to play blasters/stalkers. Hitting the "I win button" is pathetic. It requires no thought.

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Just wanted to say that it does take skill to play a stalker.

That is all.

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Just wanted to laugh at that. Stalker really was "Easy Mode" for me. That's why I abandoned the AT. It just made every victory feel...cheap.

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Am I missing something, I hit with shadow maul fairly often.

Is it just ranged cone attacks, exclusive to certain ATs or heroes?

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Have they acknowledged that Shadow Maul is broken? I was told it was just broken and to deal with it. I applied this power to a +1 con at level 12. I counted the number of applications vs misses with one acc and one dam slot. 17 total applications, 13 missed. No joke, not making it up. Those are the numbers. The adversary in question was a snake, a Viper Fang I think they are called. missed 13/17 times with an acc slotted.
So, my question is, is that normal? Is this working as intended? Or is it broken after all and I should just ditch the character?

Bump

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Well,,,, I'm not happy about I5. I'm not happy my friends and
SG mates are not happy with I5. And I am not happy with
you Statesman."

You say that as if he cares what you think. I''m pretty sure he's made it abundantly obvious that he has no interest or concern for the playerbase, as long as he appeals to the PvP market. Aside from that, really nothing you or anyone posts on these forums really even matters anymore.

Incredible work, Vix. Almost convinced even me to come back!

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Bo Bindel's Big-Time Diry
Bo Bindel
Resident Troll, Skyway City
AUGUST 25, 2005

Bo Bindel: Okay! Bo Bindel crew gotta pull it together!

You guys gotta Go Where Eagles Dare! When the Aces High and it Two Minutes to Midnight, you gotta say, 'Me no gonna Run to the Hills! Me gonna be Running Free!'

Look...! You know The Number of the Beast no gonna call itself! You gotta pick up the phone and dial, dial, dial, baby! Dial hard!

You gotta Die with Your Boots On if you gonna die! Or else...! You never gonna have Sanctuary! You never gonna have Piece of Mind! You gonna be Powerslave all you life!

'Dat's it! Pep rally over!

*shooooooooom!*

Svrgyn: What was 'dat all about?

Dunnovel: Momma Bindel just get him Iron Maiden box set.

Svrgyn: Ah.

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((I think I just hurt myself laughing at that))

Well, stop on by the Eden studios discussion boards, and let em know your'e waiting on em big guy. For everyone getting a little irritable at the delays, I understand. It has been in the works a long, long time. But try to keep in mind that Eden has been hit very, very hard this year by closing distributors, bed print jobs etc, that have set many projects back months at a time. It's been a nasty series of circumstances.
Head over to the boards and ask Jason about or Thom about it. Both of them are freelancers, and post there pretty much every day.
As far as RPG's go, Unisystem is probably the best conceived and implemented, as well as the most versatile I have ever, ever seen. I currently own almost everything they have ever printed, and intend to own it all. I am also a rabid fan of CJ's work, and I think if you pick up the Armageddon book, you'll be greatly impressed with the ambitious, and surprisingly brilliant theme of the game. Pure genius there, from all contributors.

-King Moloch

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RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE

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((HATES it when people steal his lines....clears throat))

THIGHS FROM YOUR GRAVE!!!

Ugh.
After waiting a few weeks I think it is safe to assume none of the developers read these boards once they start them. Somone once told me that they very seldom, if ever, read the boards the people who play the games posted on, as that would lead to a conflict of interest. I didn't believe her, not really. After all, a dev started this thread, right?
((looks back up at the many, many pages of unaddressed concerns and unasnwered questions))
Hmm...
Maybe need to rethink what I thought...

-King Moloch

Oh god, I think i just wet myself. Started reading at the beginning of the thread and COULDNT STOP!
Oh, the pain of my abused bladder, as I put off going to the head to keep reading, and now....
Thank you so much Firewall.
Teh Win
YOU DA TROLL!!!!!


-King Moloch

/signed.

I expected to have a few unpleasent experiences with the changes, and figured that I would try and work around them, as with Supression. So far I have been instructed, based on the constant baselining and reduction of playability from the hail of nerfs that there is only ONE way to play this game. The dev way. SO, as has been mentioned in numerous other threads, CAN WE GET A WORD ON WHAT THIS "VISION" YOU ARE DESTROYING OUR GAME FOR IS? Because thus far, the development team seems to be the only people allowed in on the joke. I have accepted the weakening of the ATs, and have accepted the utter lack of high level content, and accepted the ruination of the only high level content worth performing. I have accepted the lack of immersion and utter sameness of the leveling process, I have accepted the dreary grind of ho hum missions. All this because I loved the characters I had created. Because I loved the story of the game, because I enjoyed teaming with my SG. Well, guess what. Out of 46 of us, there are 7 left. Seven. After today's latest debacle, there will be 4. Please, stop this. This game can still be salvaged. Stop trying to make everyone fit the same rigid mold and allow us the freedom to experience the world we have all helped to create, in the way that we are most comfortable.
Honestly, and forgive my earlier wailing, but after an "update" like this one, I feel I'm allowed a little venting. But honestly, tell us how were supposed to be playing, since so far, no one has ever seemed to match the dev team "vision" of what that's supposed to mean. Since we're all doing it wrong, tell us how to do it right?


-King Moloch

Gads Havok, I wish I could 5 star you more than once on a thread.


-King Moloch

I abandoned my empath at 28. it seems either my play style just isnt compatible with her loadout, or Psi is just so gimp its utterly without value of any kind. Either way, that character feels like a failure to me. Thinking about it thouhg, Im tempted to log her on and see where the problem is with her...


-King Moloch

((looks up at the extraordinary amount of time that has passed since a dev last posted on a thread STARTED BY THE LEAD DEVELOPER. Accepts this as confirmation of his fears. Looks into WoW and EQ2))