PennyPA

My guess...

This, and something had to be done with stalkers for the final ambush. Yes, good stalkers can hang in there and dash in to use the power if needed.
But, without a big enough carrot, SF's, in the general population, would degrade into 1 bru/7 corr mentality.

If it does, never noticed. Only thing I have ever noticed on speed teams is knowing how to play and not doing things like pulling extra aggro for team wipes or going AFK during missions or getting lost on maps.

My comment on builds is that within ATs, there is usually a spectrum of powerset for performance (like stone tank in granite for example) and, in my experience, min/max'ers would gravitate to ATs/powerset to give the best chance for earning merits.

But that is human nature. The more you do something, the better you get. But you also will get bored faster - the game has been out 5+ years. We even have better tools like the O portal, base TPers, and mission TPer that saves time. We can reload inspirations from the Arena, O zone, or base bins. Why not use things to make it easier?

Let me ask again about the mobs in the hallway of the second mission of the STF. I have done the STF many, many times. I have yet to see once any team ever clear those mobs. Every time people just run by and get outside to the first AV. Just what purpose would be in clearing them? What do they add to content if you have run the STF dozens of times?

IMO, this is where the OP made an incorrect assumption.

People clearly did fast runs before merits were introduced.

Who would run a Dr Q TF when they could run another TF that was vastly shorter and more interesting and get the same reward?

And look at Dr Q's now. I see on the global channels people doing around 3.5 hours. People have gotten smarter and more efficient (I like it!) to maximize their merit returns for time invested.

People would just do the same again with setting the conditions to get the best merits for the least effort put in, and players could get left out because they don't have the right builds (to survive difficulty conditions) or the amount of time to play (to clear all mobs each mission).

My biggest concern would be "we need a healer (or other AT/powerset)" syndrome.

A team will want the best chance on settings that give the most merits. Let's say one spot left on an STF for a tank and one of the settings is no deaths for more merits, and there is me with my ice/ tank or another player with a stone/ tank. Just who do you think they will take? Players would get left out because teams will want to be "perfect" for their merits. As it stands now, I could join up if I said I had a tank, no questions asked.

The other concern is how to balance the reward. High DPS/debuff teams steamroll. So what if they get a few less merits, they can just run another TF (say ITF/LGTF) together in the time it takes another team to just run one. I have experienced these speed runs on TFs. It could be done.

Again, players will optimize their reward to time ratio, even with difficulty settings. They will know the right mix of ATs and settings since the maps/objectives do not change.

Yup, in the rubbish camp. If you had a point, it should have been put in the OP to actually make a point instead of making a problem of something that doesn't exist.

Care to prove to me that there hasn't been a single KHTF or Eden ran since their merit changes? I know I have ran them so I know for a fact that is not true they are not being ran.

People will run what they want.

Additionally, the OP fails to capture a couple of things:
1) players figure it out. After the umpteenth run of these TFs, players know what to do and what to kill. Has Rommie suddenly changed locations in the ITF? How about those heroes in the final mission of the LRSF? It's not like players have to search endlessly for the objectives on each run. Good playing skills should never be penalized.

2) players do what is optimal. No matter the changes the OP wants, players will figure the merit to time ratio that is optimal for them. In the OP, it is even indicated that if something like a timer was point put in, players will just go afk until the right moment and complete the task for the right merit reward. As mentioned, players still run KHTF, just not as much because it is not optimal for the merits. It is more optimal to run a high level (50) TF that gives merits and chance for drop for purple recipes.

As for the other items in the OP, just what are those other mobs for? For example, the STF (spoilers for those that never did it). Lots of mobs in that TF.

Mission 1 - clear pipes and an AV. I have been on teams that clear only pipes avoiding mobs and then taking the AV and exiting. Why should we be punished for not clearing all those other mobs? Did we not meet the objectives?
Mission 2 - Defeat AVs and find exit. There are mobs in the hallway, on the way outside. Should they should be included? Why? What are they to the content or the objectives? The cutscene even spells out exactly what you need to do to complete the mission. In short, a small amount of mobs cleared.
Mission 3 - Get the Thorn Tree Nexus. If we choose to stealth/TP down and clear only the vines, ignoring the CoT in the room. The only mob killed is the AV - 1 mob! Again, did we not do what was required?
Mission 4 - What happens if the 1st chief has the key? Is the OP actually suggesting we have to go and clear the other mobs and other chiefs?
Mission 5 - I have been on teams that ignore the mobs on the ramps and just pull all 4 patrons and finish from there. Again, what purpose are those other mobs to the objectives or content of the game? Do we not complete the objectives put in by the devs?
In the end, some of the teams I have been on avoided a vast majority of the mobs. What's the problem?

If we could defeat one set of mobs (like the security chief and his minions), is the OP actually suggesting the next set of mobs is going to be any more difficult -the second security chief? Or the third? Or fourth?

And using difficulty to increase merits wouldn't be great. We could have easily ran the same missions at diff 5 vs. diff 1 (would like to see new system now) and avoided the same mobs all over again, especially since the patrons and LR are hardcoded for their level. And if people want to optimize their merits, then players will want to optimize their teams for maximum kill speed.

Fastest MoSTF run I had done is 43 minutes. That is no temps and no one dies, as you know. I was on a team of experienced players. What did we do that was so wrong except knowing how to play?

Bottomline: The devs are watching the game. They make merit changes up and down where needed. Players will shift to what is optimal for their style of play.

It does, as does the Labor Day weekend, school, the economy, people moving, taking new jobs, and numerous other things. Games come and go all the time, CoX goes up and down with each event.

First, welcome! Hope you enjoy CoH/V.

Very good tips, but just wanted to add since you are on the forums and if you are concerned on burning a respec. There are AT specific forums and you could post your build (from Mids for example) for comment. I am pretty sure by now there isn't a scrapper, defender, etc. powerset combo that hasn't been reviewed, nitpicked, modified, and all kinds of other comments written up. There is even links to Guides for ATs too in the forums.

Edit:
Just posting an example of a build question here.

And just thought of saying, if you are looking for more players or teams/SFs/TFs, be sure to look for your server's global channels once you have a full account.

I hope we have high (max?) diff set because I think we are going to outnumber the mobs in the final mission!

Just chiming in, but don't stalkers get snipes in their Patron powers? This gives access to those sets. Personally, I never thought of AS as a snipe, but can see how it is a zero range snipe.

As for the last question, I have seen stalkers w/o AS, but in PvP, where it was better to have something else rather than try to set up an AS. My thought in PvE is that AS-less stalkers probably are as common as petless MM's or Granite-less tanks/brutes. IMO, players will play for something to be different or the challenge or just for the idea of it to test out.

Edit: Oops, I see I took too long to type and got beat by Bill.

Well thought out post Samuel Tow.

I just wanted to toss in my 2 inf for the last past in that, IMO, I think the devs took this somewhat into account. They created a spectrum of powers within each AT and added some synergies.

Sticking with defenders, there are those that solo great (rad/son comes to mind or even a D3, which I have one of). There are those that have more issues when soloing (I notice a big difference with my emp/psi def). My kin/arch def was not as great an experience because kin and arch do not synergize well. But there are secondaries that do with kin/, I just wanted something different.

Or like my corruptors: dark/therm, ice/cold, fire/rad, son/kin. My dark/therm was very sluggish to solo due to the DPS of dark powers and the DoTs. /therm was not a good synergy, maybe I should have went dark/dark like my defender which has great synergy. My fire/rad is really powerful, but one status hit w/o a BF handy and my toggles dropped and I may be in trouble. In my experience, my ice/cold is the most powerful because she could hold bosses. My son/kin I felt was just a notch below my ice/cold (but that could my experience). Anyhow, solo-wise, only my dark/therm was an issue - the other 3, even with there other player/team buffs, were all around great.

If I wanted to solo AV's with a controller, would I go with Ill/rad or my grav/ff?

Would my ice tank solo faster as ice/EM instead of ice/ice?

If you were running a MoSTF and had a choice of stone tank or ice tank, which would you prefer for the best chance?

Again, a spectrum of powers for players to try for each AT, depending on what they want to do. And your suggestion at the end is very interesting in its possibilities, but I feel it would be very difficult because of the extremes within an AT (in other words, how do you balance out the large number of possible combinations of powers that synergize or do not synergize?).

Edit:
Just additioinal comment in that "buffing" toons would get the biggest boost out of these kind of modes. For example, what would my D3 get? Using your example, my emp/psi def would be able to boost herself. My D3 has nothing to self buff with. Or my fire/rad corr vs. ice/cold corr. Yeah, it would be nice to cast my ice shields on myself, but my fire/rad has no other player only buffs to make into self buffs. And how to deal with overlap like on a kin. Would they get both siphon speed and SB when solo?
Okay just rambling now, need more coffee.

Team TP?

Must..

Resist...

Respecing...

Any one have group fly?

And this is the central point I am trying to make to you - what is the benchmark to be? What is a Widow balanced against for leveling speed - stalker? scrapper? bane? controller? PB?
Should doms be balanced against controllers or blasters - which are they?
Is a stalker more like a blaster or scrapper?
MM's I hear are the "tanks on red side". So my MM's should be toned down to the leveling speed of a solo stone tank?

Okay, I admit too many different ATs there. Let's stick with one - controller - should fire/kin be the standard or earth/rad? Ill/storm maybe?
My grav/ff is probably slower than a grav/storm, grav/rad, grav/kin but faster than a grav/emp?
Just where is the line drawn for speed? I am boggled!

If even a single one of my pets die just once, I will blame Voodoo.

What does the Freakshow change have to do with this? It was due to status protection??? I believe Castle's post did not indicate status protection. Haven't seen any later posts on this from the devs. Was there?
Clarity would be appreciated on how that change equates to AT rebalancing.

Anyhow, when I leveled up each of my blue side to 50 (currently at 1 scrap, 3 def, 1 contr, 1 tank, 1 blaster, 1 WS), they each had different challenges to overcome. I wanted to scream about Tsoo sorcs healing mobs when I was on my ice/ice tank. I used to cry how long my grav/ff contr took to complete missions before getting my sing. And so forth.

Let's take some real game examples that I have experienced. My scrapper will try a carnie radio mission with a DRM boss at the end. She gets END drained, held and killed unless I take measure to protect my scrapper. I take the same carnie radio mission with my controller and pretty much laugh at the DRM boss held up in the air, helpless to do anything to me. No inspirations or planning requiring. Since I have time, I take another carnie boss mission, and this time it is a MI boss. My scrapper is the one laughing now at the MI and her silly pets. My controller is getting smacked around unless she uses inspirations and planning. Same missions, different results depending on the AT. Just how do you balance this?

And to remind the OP since it is brought up on controller and scrapper. The OP seems to forget that once held, the mob doesn't do anything. In my example above, yes, my scrapper can jump in and hit mobs. But I am not going to be one-shotting them. That means I still get damage or secondary effects, like END drain from a Malta sapper. My controller will hold the sapper and take the rest out. And every AT has a chance to hit. Slot up accuracy if you are not holding/hitting reliably. There will always be a chance to miss either as a melee attack or a hold, but at least if the hold hits, you are protected 100% from damage.

My dark/therm corr was hard to solo compared to my fire/rad, ice/cold, and son/kin corr's.
My claws/WP scrapper (currently 35) plays completely different from my DM/regen scrapper.
How do you balance these powers???

How do you balance a stalker vs. an MM? Stalkers have status protection and can one shot mobs very reliably. My MM's doesn't have status protection and doesn't one shotted a mob. I guess my MM's need a buff!

QFE

Thanks, Sharker Quint, I was going to reply to the OP's new post, but saw this and have to say that sums it all up IMO. There is a even an loading screen tip that says the same about the ATs/power sets solo and team. That tells me that the devs already know this since they put that tip there.

And one other point again to the OP, think red side besides all your blue comparisons. If true balance is made, should my stalker or dom solo AVs as easy as my MM's?

Yes from what I have seen.

Taking Castle's post as being still serious with some humor mixed in, it would sound to me that this would be something he would like to see but knows what it would take to get added which makes it unlikely.

Personally, I am not sure I would ever use swinging as a travel power, but not opposed to it being added if people let their imaginations go free.