Rock_Crag

You'll be better off if you suggest to people that you either get protection buffs, or invite a primary brute so you can be the secondary brute. Unfortunately, /elec in the mid ranges is brutal.... for you, not the enemies.

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Wow, why all this Osha hate? Should a persons opinion effect others so harshly as to cause hateful feelings? Especially over a *game*?

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My question is, are you being sarcastic or naive?

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Is there a better, third option?

Meh, I guess I'm a weirdo for thinking people shouldn't fight over something so insignificant.

Wow, why all this Osha hate? Should a persons opinion effect others so harshly as to cause hateful feelings? Especially over a *game*?

I was excited about Going Rogue..... once....

Now i kinda feel like it's not going to change much of anything...

This topic blows my mind.

I'm sorry, but i just have to mention....

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That's because your brain is full of fish.

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This is the greatest response ever. Cod, lmao.

Diablo 3 is out?!?!

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My subscription expires within a few days. I'll be leaving the game. I enjoyed all of my time with all of you. I thought Infinity had a great community and I was able to explore aspects of the game with all of you I might never have gotten to otherwise, like strike forces and PvP and raiding. I enjoyed the joke threads and the events and all of it. I'm not sure I'll miss the game, but I'll miss the people.

Take care, all, be happy.

Love,

Sins

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Aw Text... these next few months are gonna be rough without you and your OWNSFs.

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It's what they've always done before. Rikti Com officers portals were giving too much XP and allow people to exploit them by killing the portals and letting the com officers summon another. What did they do? They put all the XP into the officer. Simple, clean, and didn't get people accidentally banned.

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QR to Rock Crag:

Rock Crag, it was my understanding that what made those missions bugged was:
1) A mob of comm officers would only spawn one portal per mob yet the mob only included comm officers.
2) Comm Officers have less dangerous attacks
3) Comm Officers yielded higher xp since they took away the XP of the rikti that were spawned from the portals because that is what people used to farm prior to AE.

Combine that with allies that buff you, bombs in the middle of the mob, and you had a low-risk map that yielded very fast XP and ticket gain. Nobody certainly is going to argue that that particular set of issues needed to be fixed.

Positron made a reference to risk versus reward. The issue was that for very little risk there were incredible rewards.


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Oh, okay. Thanks for the clarification.

I bet it's an inside joke.
"Hey man, let's start calling this a 'meow farm' and see how many people say it without knowing what it means."

Wow, wall of text is a wall. Alright, I'll try to address the key points using quotes.

Please keep i mind that I'm replying at work.... so my thoughts might not be as focused as they should be. lol.

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Doc rocks, and he's right on the money.

Rock, the flaw in your analogy is that a restaurant asking customers to eat a burger with their hands in the 10-and-2 position is neither normal nor reasonable. On the other hand, every MMOG that I know of sets at least some basic rules to establish things that are not acceptable because it negatively impacts the gameplay of others. In that respect, City of Heroes is just like every other game, and it's entirely appropriate for it to do so.

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That's the thing, though. I don't consider this normal or reasonable. You can only go so far with rules and regulations before people take a step back and say 'Woah... I don't have to take this crap.'.

In other words:
CoH's basic rules = 8 players to a team. You must be in the mission and be within 5 levels of the enemy to get XP.
CoH's 'hands at 10 and 2' = Cracking down on farmers.

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If I go into Starbucks, I want a peaceful place where I can relax and drink a cup of premium coffee. If this is what I see on Starbucks commercials, but when I go in one, they're playing loud disco music and they're letting a bunch of homeless people wander around begging for money, I won't be going back.

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And if I go into a Subway, I expect to get a sub filled with all kinds of awesome meats, cheeses and veggies. That is the way it looks on the commercials. Instead, I get mostly bread. If someone goes by the 'commercials' they will always be dissappointed. Most online games don't advertise that they'll be occupied by cursing 10 year olds, but you'll run into them.

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On the other hand, if they have a sign up saying, "no soliciting," and then some guy comes up and starts begging me for money and they throw him out, that says to me that they are taking the experience they're selling seriously. I'm not going to let one bad experience tarnish my impression of Starbucks, and I'm pretty likely to return and probably even bring friends.

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I can understand that, but.... there is no sign here. The forums are the equivalent of a newsletter. Only a certain amount of people will see the 'sign' in it. While logged into the game, I saw no warnings that could immediately let me know the new rules they've decided upon (as well as the punishment).

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City of Heroes is selling a gaming experience. It's marketed as an online role-playing game in which you get to be a hero in Paragon City fighting crime. (Or if you prefer, a villain in the Rogue Isles causing mayhem.) When I signed up, and as I continue to play after five years, that is the experience that I am paying for, and it's what I expect.

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And, unfortunately, that is the experience that I'm getting tired of. Well, not the whole 'playing a hero/villain' deal.... but the content of the game. As I've said before, it's one of the major reason why I'm leaving.

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If I get in Paragon City and all I see are constant streams of "LF farm" and people sending me tells asking me to pad or anchor, chances are pretty good that I'm going to get disgusted and leave. It's not what I expected, it's not what I want, and I have better things to do.

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Agreed, but, IMO, there will always be people trying to get from Point A to Point B in the fewest number of steps possible. Why shoot wildly into a crowd trying to take out the criminals when you can more easily adjust the thing that draws them to do what they do? Architect. It's what they've always done before. Rikti Com officers portals were giving too much XP and allow people to exploit them by killing the portals and letting the com officers summon another. What did they do? They put all the XP into the officer. Simple, clean, and didn't get people accidentally banned.

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On the other hand, when I see the lead developer post a message saying that using a key new feature of the game for farming is unacceptable, and then the GMs follow up by actually taking action against those who do, it says to me that they actually care about the City of Heroes gaming experience that they marketed and sold and that I signed up for. It actually increases my loyalty.

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I'm not going to sit here and pretend I know what the Devs and GMs want. I only react to those things I see. I see Devs and GMs cracking down on an element of game-play and hitting bystanders more than actual offenders. I see them removing posts so people can't see the mistakes they've made (not saying this is the reason they do it. It's a fact, people can't see a post that's deleted). I see things getting worse, and not better.

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If I see someone farming now and then, it's no big deal, any more than being panhandled at Starbucks isn't the end of the world. It's a matter of scale, though. The Mission Architect was overrun with farmers, and for weeks, all the chatter in Atlas Park was farmers very vocally soliciting people for their teams. When Matt put the "no soliciting" sign up, they just kept right on as if he weren't there. People were frustrated and disgusted, and just like Starbucks would do, they finally reached the point where a sign asking politely wasn't enough. The panhandlers were interfering with the experience they were selling. Even if one bought a cup of coffee now and then, they knew that they couldn't keep the store open for long in that environment.

Some have openly wondered what makes my $15 better than a farmer's $15, that I should be able to stay completely unbothered while their activities get punished. The answer is simple and two-fold: First, because my experience is the experience that is being sold, the experience that the developers promised. Second, because I am much more likely to be a long-term loyal subscriber and bring in others who will be loyal subscribers than people who play the game to "win" in a few weeks.

And as for the competition, I guarantee you that they will all have rules that are pretty much the same. If you go to that burger joint across the street, they're going to get on your case if you don't hold your burger in the four-and-eight position. Ultimately, what matters really is the quality of the food. Go ahead and try another restaurant or two. When you figure out that the food really is better over here, I'm sure you'll be welcomed back.

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I really don't understand why you are stuck on this whole deal with punishing farmers. I'm not saying they *shouldn't* try to punish farmers. I'm saying they're doing it wrong. Instead of watching the broadcasts and... you know... punishing those people who shout for farms.... they hit the people who aren't even farming. Really? Is it that hard to keep tracks of daily chat logs? get it all in a text file and CTRL + F for "lf farm"? That's just one of the many ways I could see finding farmers... that are.... you know... better than looking for those are are gaining too much XP. That's as idiotic as an Internet Service Provider limited the amount of data you can send/receive in an attempt to stop illegal file sharing.
Hopefully the devs are doing the smart thing and actually working on architect in ways that help reduce farming. I really don't want to play a game with a worry in the back of my mind that I'll be sacked for something I didn't even do.

Again, this is just one reason why I'm leaving. But it seems to be the one you're focused on... so....

Indeed. I had a great time, as always. ^_^

I agree. Doc, you earned a ton of respect points from me for posting that. It was well thought out, and didn't seem angry at all. I can appreciate that sort of thinking.

I agree with what you said, as well. It is unfortunate, but they have the right to 'refuse service' to anyone. To further push this analogy....

I go into a burger place. I order a burger and go sit at a table. As soon as I'm about to take a bite of the burger, one of the people behind the counter tells me I'm eating it wrong. My hands have to be in the 2 and 10 o'clock position. If I eat it any other way, I'll get kicked out. Suddenly I see a man getting booted from the place. I ask the man from the counter what's going on and he tells me "Oh, he was eating his burger too fast.... so we kicked him out because that made us suspect he was eating it in a way other than the way we want him to eat." They, then, bring him back because they had made a mistake. He was using the correct way of eating. In fact, he was using a special stand they gave to him that held his burger for him. This allowed him to eat while he was typing on his laptop. Outraged by the mistake, the man marches up to the counter, takes the mic, and announces what has happened. The cooks step up and punch the man. They tell him he can't say anything about what just happened. Angry, the man leaves the store.... cursing all the way.

Did the employees of that place have the right to do all that? Sure. But that doesn't mean it's right and that doesn't mean we should have to take it.

So how does the restaurant do? Well, they lose a lot of customers because of the way they treat them... but a lot still stick around because it's the best food in town.... Well.... until a competitor opens up next door and offers new food and (possibly) less hassle.

lol, sorry, got carried away there.

I don't quite understand the "you were fun on tequila night AND on russian roulette night" part. Is that kind of like saying I was fun through good times and bad? I hope so... Because I don't drink and i certainly wouldn't (willingly) put a gun to my head. lol.

They probably will. My bosses are really good guys.

It still doesn't change the fact that we have to move a massive optics table.... It should be done with a machine of some sort.... but we don't have the money to rent one. At best we'll probably 'drop' it onto some sort of rolling device and try to push it into the truck. It's going to suck.

Post deleted due to me not read so good.

So anyway, yeah, Elec Armor needs to be looked at.

My Tuesday is actually a Monday.... Yes, I have to come in to work on Saturday.

*sigh*

Fricken moving into a new work building and all of us have to come in and help.

Tony, I'm sorry man, but your logic is flawed. I don't know what the other peoples reasons are, but the reason I'm not 'GO'ing is because I want to make the most of the money I've given to the game. I've already paid my money for the subscription up to November (was on a 6 month program, or whatever) and to leave any earlier than that would be throwing that money down the toilet.

Doctor_A_Science, I'm afraid your analogy is a bit off. Censorship of children isn't the same as deleting the opinions of adults. It's not even like this is happening so much that it can't be addressed by the Moderation/Dev team. They simply won't have any of it. It is what it is. A man, who created a game, is telling another man that he shouldn't have an opinion about the negative aspects of that game.... and then... literally... taking his voice away from him. If you want to make a game good, you have to be able to accept negative feedback. But that's not what they're doing. They're telling us they are making the game the way they want to make it and if we don't like it, we should pick up and move on. So that's what we are doing.

Tony, I like you (and Taxibot Belle) as well. =)

The idea behind this thread was to let my friends online know what's going on and also explain why.

If I posted thoughts or ideas that could be considered flame bait, I sincerely apologize as that was not my intention.

As Siolfir pointed out, I am not a farmer. I am not upset that I won't be able to farm. It is not what's made me want to stop playing the game. I simply do not appreciate (among other things) the lengths in which the Devs are willing to take in order to prevent it.

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

While I wouldn't be surprised if they deleted this thread, I really hope they don't. It'd do nothing more than confirm my choice as being the right one to make.

It's a shame the game hasn't gotten anything really solid in terms of game-play lately. If they would ad more events like the RWZ raids or ITFs. I sincerely hope something is done by November that will change my mind.... but I just can't see it happening....

I wish my farewell post could be as well spoken as Eran's, but I'm afraid my way-with-words just isn't as good.

Ever since i13, I've been no the fence with this game. I never really played PvP all that much, but knowing how poorly the situation was handled didn't *help* either. Seeing the huge uproar from recent events... I can't help but evaluate my own experiences in the game and wonder: Can I afford to keep playing?

I have been a loyal subscriber for nearly 2 and a half years. For most vets, that's just a drop in the bucket... but that is easily the longest amount of time I have ever devoted to a game. That should attribute to how amazingly fun and addicting it has been. And yet, I find myself playing less and less these days. Over the years, I've gone through several personal changes. I've lost and gained jobs. I've out of my parents place and into an apartment in a neighboring town.
Yet the game was always there. It has provided an significant amount of fun for me, and for that I am truly grateful. Unfortunately, all things must come to an end. I'm now only spending about half as much time online as I used to. And most of that is just being spent playing with a select number of friends or just chatting with them as I solo (very slowly) through the game. I just can't do that anymore. The experience of trying to level my characters to their fullest potential has become boring and tiresome. The only real things that kept drawing me back were badge collecting, playing with friends, and creating characters. Everything else was just a means to an end.

With the whole idea that farming is considered a bad thing.... I can't help but wonder how far this will go. How many of my fellow gamers will leave? How many restrictions on game-play will be added? I was never one for farming, but it was nice knowing the quicker option was there. That if I ever did tire of the same content.... I had something that could help me get where I wanted to go. Something that's not just a shiny distraction.

This brings me to I15: Going Rogue. Everyone is talking about how interesting it could be.... and it just reminds me of how everyone talked about how awesome I14 would be. The Mission Architect. The same feature that I played through heavily in beta.... and stopped playing entirely, shortly afterward. I really don't think I15 will be much different.

tl:dr version:

So... I've decided I'm going to let my subscription run out. Since it was a 6 month subscription, that won't be happening until November. I don't mean for this to sound like an angry 'OMG, That's BS, I'm outta here!' kind of thing. I just thought I should let everyone know what's up. I've gotten to know some really cool people in this game and I'd hate to lose contact with them. So if you want to keep up and join me in other online games, please, feel free to IM me and ask for some contact info.

With Dark Melee? Nah, I don't think so. IIRC, it has a nice endurance recovery power you can use when Power Sink is down. You may need it early game, though. It might be best to take it as soon as you can, and then drop it once you get both DM and ElA's endurance gain tools.

As for powers to skip, definitely skip touch of fear. It helps your survival, sure, but it also detracts from your possible gained Fury. I would also skip taunt...... and maybe Shadow Maul since it anchors you and has a massive animation time. The long animation keeps you from using other attacks to help build Fury.

Hasten will be good with this build. You'll be able to get a buzzsaw going and keep it going for some time thanks to your great endurance tools.

Well, that's my opinion, anyway. Don't have much experience with DM on a brute....

How about a compromise?

For a set that relies almost completely on resistance, Elec Armor has poor resistance values (in anything other than energy and Psi resists).

Does that sound fair?

I can't say I did see it..... although... I have a hard time seeing pop ups (eluded, deflected, etc) while fighting. I'm mostly watching my power tray, the color of the numbers to see if a hit went through and my opponents moves. I'm afraid I have difficulty paying attention to anything passed those 3 elements.

Oh! Oh! My Brute can help! Electric Reflexes, level 37 (ish) Electric Melee/Super Reflexes. ^_^