Megajoule

It basically comes down to whether or not you trust humans to use power responsibly.

Thanks for only the second MMORPG that's gotten me to pay for a subscription. And the only one (right now) that's about superheroes.

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Cripes you're old school.

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And proud of it!

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Welcome to the post-Crisis universe.

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More like post-Crisis, post-Byrne, post-Death-of-Superman, post-Energy-Superman, post-Zero-Hour, etc etc. And now I hear they're gearing up for another Crisis? Things were so much simpler when they could count on 100% reader turnover every ten years.

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It's strictly red kryptonite that takes away your powers, and that's not around anymore.

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Actually, red kryptonite has random effects ... i.e., whatever wacky thing Mort Weisinger wanted to happen to the Man of Steel this month. And no one will convince me otherwise.

(Red K does not, however, contain tar.)

There are various examples in the comics of substances (gold kryptonite) or artifacts (ROM's Neutralizer and the weapon that Forge reverse-engineered from it) that can somehow alter an innately-powered hero to temporarily or permanently remove their "super" abilities while leaving them otherwise unharmed. Such items are obviously beyond the purview of the regular game (imagine making it to level 46, being hit by a Sapper, and told "you have lost your powers - game over.")

I seriously doubt that the teleporters and powers will be shut off for more than the first arc. It wouldn't be the game we play then, would it?

Heck of a way to kick off a reboot of the comic, though. And I think it'll provide an opportunity to address the subject of real heroes - people who act heroically with no super powers or extra lives.

That's why it's magic.

What makes magic so powerful, and so unpredictable, is that it follows narrative logic as much as scientific law. You can cast a spell, make a wish, that "All heroes in this city lose their powers"... and it will WORK, if you have enough power behind it. There's no "scientific" explanation - it just happens. As someone said on the other thread, "poof, you're a newt."

To counter what another poster said, I don't think you COULD do this with a bunch of Tech origins. At least not so comprehensively, or with Tech of sufficient level to almost qualify as "magic" itself (e.g. Clarke's Law).

On-topic: I love the preview, and the Perez cover. I note that Positron's energy aura is emitting kirbyons.


EDIT: Actually, here's a thought - depending on how the spell is "worded", I wonder if it could be broken by the Mayor going on TV and temporarily dissolving the municipality of Paragon City. No entity/boundary of Paragon, no spell. (Like I said, magic works by narrative logic, not physics.)

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Kheldian is much more simple. It's:
Khel-d-yun (pronounced as: "Gus").

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"Well, what's your middle name?"
"Ivan."
"Ivan. Well, maybe Gus isn't so bad. Might be something there."

I remember my resolve not to play an MMOG weakening as I heard good things about CoH from source after source.

I remember borrowing a friend's copy to try it out before I plopped down $50, only to find my machine bogging down to a slideshow in the Tutorial (which was not optional) and being soooo disappointed.

I remember my surprise when I updated my graphic drivers and finding out that was all it took to make the game playable.

I remember agonizing about not being able to make my main an exact copy of my old Champions character, and finally going in a new direction for her (glad I did).

I remember reading about the Terra Volta and Faultline trials in the strategy guide and wondering if I'd ever be uber enough to attempt them. (Well, 1 out of 2...)

I remember multiple Atlas Parks, Hovering up to the blimp, hunting in Perez and later Boomtown when they were populated/busy, and trying to enter the exit of the Atlas tram.

I remember figuring out that you could combine enhancements from the tray - they didn't have to both be already slotted in the power.

I remember poking my head into Skyway from north Kings, seeing some VERY purple Trolls, and beating a hasty retreat.

I remember City of Blasters and all the sound and fury from the Great Smoke Grenade Nerf. I remember when tankers were an endangered species.

I remember venturing into Founders Falls shortly after I got Flight (at 14), getting one-shotted by snipers right through my Personal Force Field, and staggering back to the gate with my tail 'tween my legs.

I remember being invited along on a portal-farming mission shortly before I2, watching my framerate drop to single digits as my teammates chewed through hordes of Behemoths, and going from 17 to 20 in a single night. I remember my instant karma afterward, as I suddenly panicked at the thought I'd outleveled the Vahzilok arc on that character, and my relief when I found out I hadn't.

I remember finding out, in-game, about Christopher Reeve. I remember wearing a long red cape for a week.

I remember when my bubbles made that noise ALL THE TIME.

I remember the old Storm Kick, and how sad I was when it went away, because it went so well with Flurry on my speedster ... I don't care if the new animation is shorter and more efficient, I wanna hit guys 20 times per attack cycle!

I remember when the team seek window only showed people that were seeking team and in your zone, and when teleport and resurrect didn't have an option to refuse (and teleport-griefing was rampant as a result).

I remember when the signs on and in City Hall were sharp-looking 3D gold lettering, not really bad flat textures (to make it easier for the foreign editions to translate, I guess). I want it changed back - and while you're at it, go back to the old font/signage for the highway signs and zone exits!

I remember reading the "Go. Hunt. Kill Skuls." post as just another complaint about in-game idiocy, before it spawned.

I remember when people went after Hamidon to say they'd brought him down, not for their sixth Hami-O.

And yes, I remember the Fifth Column - despite the clumsy attempts to eradicate them from Paragon and its history.

Fair warning - this is apparently as "flat" as it gets:

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/cityo....html?page=314

Here's a prediction I'm very confident about:

A popular power or powerset will be severely nerfed on Test. There will be considerable protests among the testers. When the nerf finally goes live, it will be much milder, prompting cries of joy and thanks.

(Optionally, the nerf may go live exactly as it was, in which case the outcry from the general playerbase will be much louder and longer, and include complaints from testers that they're never listened to. The eventual outcome, however, will be the same - a partial rollback and the gratitude and acceptance of the players.)

Whether the "mild" form is what was intended all along is left for the reader to decide.

Saw the link in your signature, clicked it, loved it. This deserves to be bumped again.

Positron and Synapse TFs shouldn't be affected either way (bosses below level 25). It's the Sky Raiders respec trial that presents a brick wall right now.

"More content for level 50s" is a perennial cry and, IMO, a separate issue.

EDIT: On my last post, I should have noted that "could" was the operative word, and perhaps put in a "possibly" after it.

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No offense, I like your other ideas - but this is completely insane.

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Why do you think so? The only potential issue I can see with it is that it will make PLing that much quicker...

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Well, if you tend to do missions with a group, it could also lead to outleveling contacts/content...

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I disagree with the boss changes since they were pathetically easy before. It was nice actually having a challenge sometimes. Granted, I am a scrapper so I am sure this is better for all the weaker classes.

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Way to roleplay your character there, o Prince of All (jerks)Saiyans.

Hey, now. Enough with the bashing.
As pleased as I am by Statesman's reversal on this issue, geekchick does make some valid points.
She's a tester, and lately it seems that the testers aren't being listened to - stuff like this is going live, despite extensive negative commentary and outright bug reports, and only then does it seem to get looked at. What's the point of having a Test server, then?

There's also the question of just how much Statesman knows about the current state of his own game - he's a busy man and has to leave a lot of the basic work to other people, and sometimes there's miscommunication (like the Atlas plaque being changed, the pretty-well-disproven statement about bosses being mentioned in mission text, etc). This ties back into the ivory-tower image.

I'm encouraged by this change, and I hope it's the trend, not the exception.

I couldn't ask for more. Thank you so much.

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A LOT of people in the 30+ game were getting BORED. The mission difficulty slider AND the Boss/AV and Monster changes have reveresed that trend for a number of people.

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I must be missing something in your examples, since I fail to see how getting a +4 blaster (and a defender SKed up to +3) or a +5 scrapper to come in and do your mission for you is fun or not boring.

That's not teaming, it's (abusive) herding. Huge difference, IMO.

And I'm pretty sure it's not part of the Vision either, given how examples (portal farming, wolf herding, etc) keep getting nerfed.

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If things are going to change, then why not demmand some new changes that benefit ALL of our playstyles instead of demmanding a return to the same old crusty stuff we've already done way too much of.

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Because one is much more likely to happen in the short term than the other, and if I have to wait 3-6 months, I'd rather it be for the additional mission styles than to be able to do missions with my main again?

Armsman:
I'd suggest waiting a few days, to see how many people are just logging in to use and then try out the results of their free respec. If loads drop into the green again, we'll know.

Statesman: Thanks for popping back in to give us an update. I'm very interested to see what you and the team come up with.


Lothart:
Your artistic ideals are breathtaking in their uncompromising purity, but irrelevant - we are talking about a commercial product, with a publisher and customers with monthly subscriptions. By your own statements, you are "not a capitalist," so please go back to starving in your garret, kthxbye.

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So you dispute that the player base is dwindling? This is hardly surprising yet, at the same time, now is the time to look at who are going to be the long term loyal segments of the player base and start working to keep them loyal.

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IMO, that would be the casual, slow-leveling, story-oriented players who enjoy the game for its story and its variety, and who will keep logging in for months to do arcs and try out alts. NOT the people who race to 50, get bored, and wander off to try the next Kewl New MMOG.

Just my opinion, of course.

I should think that there's plenty of evidence on this thread that people don't want "god-mode" or "mindless fragging". You DID read the rest of the thread, right?

I also think the case has been sufficiently, persuasively, and eloquently argued. The ball is now in Statesman's court. I hope that he chooses to respond, so that we might all know where we stand.

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As for the 'one-shot' problem -- have bosses always lead with their debuff, hold, or weakest damage attacks.

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Being held and then one-shotted while I'm unable to take any action is not a significant improvement. Although I suppose the new Inspirations might ameliorate this somewhat.

Statesman: Thank you very much for responding to this issue. To me, it really comes down to this: I want the option. Sometimes I want to group, sometimes I don't (or it's not practical, due to my playing hours or whatever). Sometimes I want to play my scrapper, other times my defender or controller.

The boss boost takes away some of those options, IMO. If I don't feel like grouping, but am required to do so in order to make progress with the character I want to play, I won't log in. This is true in both the short and long term.

Part of the problem is that a lot of those "surprise, the person you were sent to rescue is actually one of the enemy!" missions absolutely rely on NOT telling you about the presence of the boss. It would rather ruin the plot twist, what?

My main, a defender, was usually able to soldier/solo on and finish the mission/arc anyway. Because that's what a Hero would do. Now, however? I'm honestly not sure I can. I've been holding off on taking any new arcs while I wait to see which way this whole thing is going to fall.

I still don't see why we needed an increase in boss difficulty in the very same update that a slider was put in so that people could choose a higher difficulty if they wanted. (Unless the devs don't want to leave it up to player choice...)