je_saist

Part of the problem would solved by reducing lag. I've got a Bubbly / Rad defender and I once got kicked from an invasion team because the only thing I was doing was hovering in the middle of the fight with the Dispersion Bubble on and my PBAOE attack on auto... which... in the middle of the fight, was all I could do. There was a 30+ second delay between clicking on a power or hitting the number for a power before it activated.

Now, I do understand why there is so much lag. There is a hard-capped physical limit on not just the amount of information a server can-process, but also on how much information an internet connection can transmit and receive. In the Pre-I9 Hamidonk raids most raiders would have macro's instructing new players to use costumes without aura's, without capes, or without any additional costume parts. Also, since the Hamidonk's damage was untyped, tanks and scrappers would be better off turning their aura's and armors off. Most raiders took the time to instruct new players these procedures minimized the amount of information the server and the graphics system had to process, and the less the information the system had to transmit and receive, the less painful the lag.

Many of the players that have joined since then don't understand, or have not been taught, the performance impact that their powers and costumes have. With the I16 power customization, the situational lag is going to get even worse. Many spines players aren't going to understand that while the performance impact off color tinted spines is not noticeable on an 8man team... it does put a dent on what other users have to draw on their computers.

Some people say something to the effect of Turn your graphics down. Well, this is an incomplete solution, since it only affects the rendering on you're computer. Turning your graphics system down does nothing to affect the information being transmitted or received by the server. Turning settings down will only affect processing lag... not network lag.

***

There are some viable solutions to the lag problems though. One of the first is to improve Server efficiency. If the server's running Microsoft software, format and install a Linux or Unix. As the London Stock Exchange found out the hardway, Microsoft's server software just isn't up to the task of supporting a wide range of users in an efficient manner.

Another is to limit the number of players that can be gathered in one area. The Hamidonk zones were limited to what... 50 players now? Limiting the number of players that can participate limits the amount of processing power that the server needed for that instanced zone will need.

Another option is to improve network transmission efficiency. This can range from techniques to limit the amount of information needed by the server, to improving data compression ratios.

With more developers on staff now, perhaps there is hope that some of these options are under consideration or implementation.

***

Okay, onto the original post.

More monsters; Yep. Want them.

I'd like to see more GM's tied to Task Force's. e.g. in the Hess Task Force: Put the final mish on a timer. Don't take down Burkholder in time, his monstrosity threatens Striga Island... and if the GM makes it off Striga, it resurfaces in Talos Harbor after knocking it's way through the War Wall.


Also, Photon's right about the way existing raids work. Enemies go where the players are. So if the players are spread out, it looks like a warzone. However, the spawn rules are such that the Elite Bosses only spawn with a certain number of players are grouped together... hence the huge number of players congregating together.

Not to mention the starship design. No elevators? No in-ship transit system? If everybody walked, the picture would be over. So everybody has to run.

Does this look like home to you Francis?

I seem to recall Good winning that fight by blowing up MegaMaid.

certain types of enemies can follow you down elevators.

Basically summoned pets and ambushes will follow. I haven't seen anything in the patch notes about this being changed.

challenge is the right word. you might not realize how much dps you'll lose, nor how much aggro control you'll be lacking. As challenges go, it's easier if you couple your primary with a secondary that lowers to-hit or damage, say like /dark.

The idea stems from the previous technique of not bothering to buff the first tier minions because they died so quickly. When the upgrade system was revised to buff all summoned pets, the old technique became a bit of a moot point.

***

Edit: I'd seriously suggest doing this as a dual build. That way if it's just not working out, you aren't looking at a waiting or spending another respec. Also, try it with SO's first, make sure your powers and fight patterns are working as you're used to before sinking money into IO's.

Yes, I get the whole "multiple-role" thing. I've touched on that subject before elsewhere. (warning, really whiny and emo link). However, the original poster was asking if anybody ever felt burn-out on their avatars. I was listing reasons that had lead to my own burnout on Kheldians, and reasons from other people that I've played with over the years.

well, if you're playing a drinking game, I'd say you've got a shot at remaining drunk all the way up to Issue 20.

WHOOO HOO!!!!!

*dances*

Looks more like he got an IV-drip for it...

The big problem with this line is that it presumes that the developers vision doesn't matter. The developers have stated they don't want to set hard numbers on what players can earn in the way of in-game rewards. They say this because if they set a hard-number such as you can only gain 4 levels in a day if you are 40... then all of the power-levelers and farmers will make sure they only gain just under 4 levels in a day if they are 40. Basically, the developers have to keep soft-numbers on what constitutes abuse of the game.

Just because you pay for City of Heroes doesn't give you a license to do what-ever you want with the game. you still have to accept the terms of service and abide by the restrictions and rules set by the developers.

\

Because it wasn't fun. Because it churned out players who were making everybody else's in-game lives miserable. Case in point goes to one of the locked threads about bringing back the old SSK system. The thread starter is famous on one server for having several different avatars... and no clue how to play them.

As much as the players claimed that they were having fun... once the reward was taken away, they stopped interacting with it. The AE'ers got their panties in a wad when it was pointed out that boss-farms hadn't gone away. The reward for doing boss-farms had been lessoned. The boss-farms were still there. If the players actually enjoyed the game in that way... why did they stop? If boss farms were so fun? Why stop? If farming Praetorian 5th Column was such fun, why stop? If Farming freaks in TV's grandville mish was such fun, why stop?

Because it Was Not Fun!

The powerlevelers and farmers were lying through their teeth about whether or not the game was fun. As soon as it stopped being influence, recipie, or salvage profitable, they went on to find the NEXT THING TO OFFER HIGH REWARDS.

There was no decision to curtail their fun. They weren't having fun to begin with.

Um. With that statement, I feel safe in saying there's no way you've actually been playing for 4 years as you claim. I could make an argument that you've only been playing since I15, if that.

Fact is, the developers made it very clear back before Issue 13 even hit test that Architecture Entertainment was not for farming, power leveling, or any other kind of massive reward. Anybody who had even bothered looking at the main website at any time over the past literal calendar year... KNEW THIS!

Storm in a teacup. Basically, subscription rates haven't dropped. Yes, part of this is because of the deal to get Going Rogue beta access by paying for the Game from August to November (which basically makes sure the developers get approximate retail game value (at $10*4 / $15*4 = $40 / $60 spread). Part of this is because the vast majority of the paying / playing base doesn't use the forums. Part of this is because the abusers made up a very small amount of the player base to begin with.

The empirical point here goes back to Issue 13. Re-balancing the PvP caused a fire storm of protest from PvPer's. Some hung around. Others left. The impact on Subscriptions? None.

The number of players actively exploiting the AE system was indeed very high, a much larger percentage of the base. However, most of those knew they were exploiting and knew it would end at some time. The anvil dropping did very little to the majority of the game.

See above. To re-iterate. The vast majority of the game was happy with the changes. The number of players actually thanking the devs for the changes was a heck of a lot higher than those that spoke up against the changes.

One of the tips that pops up every-now and then on the loading screen is something to the effect of : Not all archtypes are built to solo

The defender Archtype really isn't built to be a solo class. Yes, there are some can can tweak their powers with IO's and come up with a build that can reliably solo. Yes, upping the damage to fit what's advertised would also help defenders to solo.

However, the devs have proven in the past they'll take drastic measures (like turning Defiance off on Blasters) to force archtypes to fit into the envisioned rolls. So while a lot of players realize that negligence desperately needs a rework... I highly doubt any anti-mez or the like is in there. Any rework to a defender's inherent is probably going to be very much focused on teaming.

In the same way, I somewhat doubt that the devs will up defender damage. I would expect them to just re-label the damage to low and just leave the class alone.

awww... and i worked so hard to make a counter line to that

Rather pessimistic way to look at it... There is the opposite viewpoint that it's the developers way of getting people to pay to move heroes to Villains.

All of these are gone as you knew them. Items of Power have been replaced by Invention Origin Enhancements. You are now able to get the same type of global buffs by your enhancements that you would get by IoP.

Based off of comments from Positron on the old forums about putting deactivated Task Force's into Ourobous, it's been rumored that Cathedral of Pain will be coming back as it's only one of two currently de-activated task forces. However, if the developers do this, it will likely occur after the launch of Going Rogue when more developers are available.

Base Raiding: Okay. Lets be honest. PvP in City of Heroes is like the Titanic. It already sailed and sunk. The noisy bunch of PvPer's that left after the I13 changes didn't do a thing to the subscription rates... which shows just how small a group they were to begin with. Most supergroups couldn't get over the prestige cost of their bases either. It was only practical for the really huge super-groups with maxed numbers of members active to base-raid since they were the only ones who could really afford having their SG base destroyed... and they were far and few between.

Now, if you take a quick glance at these forums, you might think that Base-Raiding is an oft-requested feature... but you'll quickly find that it's generally the same bunch of avatars making the request multiple times. Right now the majority of the game couldn't care less... or never intends to raid... giving the developers very little incentive to do anything to make Base-Raiding a viable activity in the game.

This doesn't mean that Base-Raids won't come back in the future... but I don't think they'll come back as we know them. What I suspect will happen is that SG's will get an option to import their base into Mission Architecture, and use the MA to construct stories were players can raid a base with pre-set SG based NPC's. It allows either side to trash out a base, doesn't ruin a group's prestige, and if MA is ever expanded to work on a team-versus-team basis, allow groups to compete against each other directly in defense / offense.

***

I think if you mean Ghost Widow's hair style, that's actually based on Cape Physics. Sort-of like trenchcoats.

***

Personally the whole point of SG bases need to be revisited. Used to be that you needed them to get around the game-world. With the additions of train stations in South Skyway and Founders Falls, the Ourobous Teleport, the Pocket D teleport, and the Mission Teleporter... base Teleporters aren't as... important to in-game travel as they used to be. The introduction of IO's also has seen a decrease in the number of people running temp-buffs from SG bases. I'm actually able to think of only one person who ran temp-buffs from an SG base... and he'd always get a group of 8 together for a KTF, then disappear to his base for 10 minutes while buffing up, start the TF, die on the 9th or 10th wave of KTF because the buffs ran out. Probably why it sticks in my mind.

Anyways, it'd be nice to see the devs coming up with more reasons to have a well-equipped base. Exclusive Task-Forces or Story-Arcs would be great.

One of the complaints from another thread is that in CoH, you can't be an A-list Hero or Villain. Even after reaching 50, taking down Loony the Mad, Ruladork the Weak, Lord Excuse, or even the Hamidonk, you'll still have mission contacts giving you jobs that are beneath them... or having you run errand missions because they can't be bothered. Well, here's my suggestion. Use the SG / VGbase to have Freedom Phalanx or Lord Recluse's Arbiters contract out jobs they can't handle and they need a real hero or somebody really dastardly to accomplish.

***

No solution has been announced yet.

lmt: I get that. The problem that I have is that the terms used by the developers don't match what the powers do. If the developers listed the Defenders damage as Low.. then the numbers would fit. The defender's secondary numbers aren't listed as low though. They are listed as medium... and aren't even close to the ratios used in any other archtype that has directly comparable powers.

If you want my opinion, it's because they weren't there a few years back. When I slotted up my own Ill / Storm after IO's came out, there were no options for Defense debuff on Freezing Rain or Tornado. Hurricane's To-Hit debuff was also pretty useless unless you were on-top of a mob and in knock-them-out-of-their-socks range... and that was after 5-slotting with Dark Watcher's To-Hit debuff.

Because Storm was so light on applicable debuffs for so long, most players seem to skip over them. Even though I've got Freezing Rain slotted for Accurate Defense Debuff, I still have problems thinking of it as anything other than an AOE slow.

Some LCD's will accept Component to 15pin-VGA. If they do, they'll have provided the adapter with the monitor.

Other monitors will have direct component inputs, which are identified by ports colored Red, Blue, and Green.

If you're monitor didn't come with a Component-VGA adapter, or doesn't have component ports, you're pretty much stuck with a VGA box converter like the ones linked earlier and hoping it works properly.