Guys, I think youre judging the game too much by the early levels. When youre a lowbie you dont have much end and ur end recovery sucks. It also doesnt help that you only have a couple attacks. When you get higher in levels and spec out ur end & recovery your auto power fills ur end bar much faster and u can use more than one other attack before having your energy builder refill ur end bar.
This is an issue for a lot of MMOs. Some people talk about first impressions, other people say you need to stick with it to learn to appreciate it. I'm the sort of player that believes the first impression is vital. If I don't like my first 10 minutes of a game, I'm probably not going to keep playing.
What's weird is that COH nailed this aspect. Had one of the best first impressions out there, and only showed its major flaws as you got deeper into it, and realized it didn't go much deeper. How could they get that part right with COH, then screw it up in CO?
When I want a single-player story, I'll play a single-player game. When I play an MMO, I want a massively multiplayer world.
Guys, I think youre judging the game too much by the early levels. When youre a lowbie you dont have much end and ur end recovery sucks. It also doesnt help that you only have a couple attacks. When you get higher in levels and spec out ur end & recovery your auto power fills ur end bar much faster and u can use more than one other attack before having your energy builder refill ur end bar.
This is an issue for a lot of MMOs. Some people talk about first impressions, other people say you need to stick with it to learn to appreciate it. I'm the sort of player that believes the first impression is vital. If I don't like my first 10 minutes of a game, I'm probably not going to keep playing.
What's weird is that COH nailed this aspect. Had one of the best first impressions out there, and only showed its major flaws as you got deeper into it, and realized it didn't go much deeper. How could they get that part right with COH, then screw it up in CO?
I don't think they did screw it up. It's a matter of opinion. This game had me at the tutorial. The visuals, the art, the combat was all done really well for me. It grabbed me. Will I still be playing in 6 months after my 6 month sub is up? Don't know. It's according to how fast they add updates and such. The reason I stayed with CoX for 4 years was because of friends. Those same friends have moved over to Champs, and we all like it. I think the combat is deeper. The missions are much more interesting. I don't feel like I'm doing the same thing over and over again. (I know I am, as for all MMO's, but it doesn't FEEL like it)
As for your experience, I think you lost credibility to me when you said you didn't play it long. I try not to comment on a game if I haven't played it past the tutorial, so I give it a fair enough shot, but again, that's just my opinion.
Originally posted by silicnsmiley Originally posted by xaldraxius Yeah, you can do that, but it's not at all necessary. The combat is pretty easy and like the op said all you have to do is build up your energy and let loose with your best attack, you can change it up and complicate it sure, but in the end that's just you doing unnecessary stuff to make the boring combat seem more intuitive. There's very little need for teamwork or strategy, and even in those cases where you do need a team there is very little reason to do anything except pile on the damage. Maybe block now and again or use a hold, but in the end it's really all about spamming attacks.
Probably not necessary at lower levels against trash mobs. Will likely become more important to manage your skills, taps and holds in later levels, endgame and in PVP.
What exactly are you expecting? There are techincal limitations to what can be done for MMOs because of the large number of players. To me, combat feels pretty fast so far. The tap and hold options do give a new interesting wrinkle compared to the current MMO standard (WoW).
In PvP yes, at higher levels against major villains and giant monsters yes, but most of the time no. I played from 1 to 40 with no support type powers at all, no heal no hold, just a passive deffense (Munitions and Invuln), and I soloed most of the way. I was worthless in PvP with that character, but I didn't have any trouble with AI mobs.
That said I have been in beta for six months, so I've gone through my 'Wow this game is cool!' phaze, which is what I think many people are in now.
Yeah, you can do that, but it's not at all necessary. The combat is pretty easy and like the op said all you have to do is build up your energy and let loose with your best attack, you can change it up and complicate it sure, but in the end that's just you doing unnecessary stuff to make the boring combat seem more intuitive. There's very little need for teamwork or strategy, and even in those cases where you do need a team there is very little reason to do anything except pile on the damage. Maybe block now and again or use a hold, but in the end it's really all about spamming attacks.
Probably not necessary at lower levels against trash mobs. Will likely become more important to manage your skills, taps and holds in later levels, endgame and in PVP.
What exactly are you expecting? There are techincal limitations to what can be done for MMOs because of the large number of players. To me, combat feels pretty fast so far. The tap and hold options do give a new interesting wrinkle compared to the current MMO standard (WoW).
In PvP yes, at higher levels against major villains and giant monsters yes, but most of the time no. I played from 1 to 40 with no support type powers at all, no heal no hold, just a passive deffense (Munitions and Invuln), and I soloed most of the way. I was worthless in PvP with that character, but I didn't have any trouble with AI mobs.
That said I have been in beta for six months, so I've gone through my 'Wow this game is cool!' phaze, which is what I think many people are in now.
And I think this highlights the problem the lies with a lot of players. It isn't necesarily the game. I think you may just be burnt out of MMOs in general. Practically every MMO out there does exactly what you state: trash mobs require little to no thinking and you are never in danger while PvP and named/villain/raid mobs require extra effort.
I am just curious what you are expecting from MMOs these days...
Currently, there's only 1 endurance builder per character, unless they added a new patch yesterday or today. Furthermore, endurance builders deal as little as 1/10th to 1/20th the damage of many of the stronger attacks.
Well that is misleading as well. Most sets have alternative ways to build energy through innate passives and other powers. There are buffs that build energy, heal powers that build energy, block powers that build energy, etc. The important ones are the innate powers. For example, telepathy has a power that returns energy for being near held enemies. Once you get those powers going you can practically forget about your default energy builder.
Originally posted by SpectralHunt Originally posted by xaldraxius
Originally posted by silicnsmiley
Originally posted by xaldraxius
Yeah, you can do that, but it's not at all necessary. The combat is pretty easy and like the op said all you have to do is build up your energy and let loose with your best attack, you can change it up and complicate it sure, but in the end that's just you doing unnecessary stuff to make the boring combat seem more intuitive. There's very little need for teamwork or strategy, and even in those cases where you do need a team there is very little reason to do anything except pile on the damage. Maybe block now and again or use a hold, but in the end it's really all about spamming attacks.
Probably not necessary at lower levels against trash mobs. Will likely become more important to manage your skills, taps and holds in later levels, endgame and in PVP.
What exactly are you expecting? There are techincal limitations to what can be done for MMOs because of the large number of players. To me, combat feels pretty fast so far. The tap and hold options do give a new interesting wrinkle compared to the current MMO standard (WoW).
In PvP yes, at higher levels against major villains and giant monsters yes, but most of the time no. I played from 1 to 40 with no support type powers at all, no heal no hold, just a passive deffense (Munitions and Invuln), and I soloed most of the way. I was worthless in PvP with that character, but I didn't have any trouble with AI mobs. That said I have been in beta for six months, so I've gone through my 'Wow this game is cool!' phaze, which is what I think many people are in now. And I think this highlights the problem the lies with a lot of players. It isn't necesarily the game. I think you may just be burnt out of MMOs in general. Practically every MMO out there does exactly what you state: trash mobs require little to no thinking and you are never in danger while PvP and named/villain/raid mobs require extra effort. I am just curious what you are expecting from MMOs these days...
That's true, I am pretty tired of MMOs as a whole right now, but that's primarily because the genre has stagnated. I am glad that CO has gone in a little bit of a different direction, but I'm personally not satisfied with it. What do I expect? I'm not sure what it is I want, I suppose I'll know when I play something I like. I'm looking forward to SW:TOR because of the story heavy gameplay and voice over work, but I won't know if it's what I am really looking for until I play it.
I absolutely hated WoW when I played it, so I'm not at all saying that just because I don't like a game it's bound to fail, I'm just giving my general impression of the game.
What do I expect? I'm not sure what it is I want, I suppose I'll know when I play something I like.
You sound like my wife. I swear every time we go out to eat she spends 30 minutes picking out something and then isn't happy with it and eats my food (that I was planning on ordering before I even entered the restaurant).
The combat was one of the biggest turn offs for me and why I will not be buying this game. I made a plethora of characters and tried out various skill sets in hopes of finding something that felt right and none of it did. I felt no connection, in fact, I felt disconnected from the combat completely. Combat also lacked any OOMPH to it or depth, so while Im sitting here pushing my hot keys and seeing my characters go all nuts..it just felt wrong and hollow. Look at the dreaded WoW and how when you hit something you felt that oomph of landing a sword blow and the combat felt much more connected, or Aion when you blast something with your Fire Bolt and you can feel that fire blast into them and knock them back. That is combat being connected, flowing well and having oomph behind it, all things which I felt CO lacked. I also agree in that I found CoH combat to be better done and feel better. To top it all off aside from a janky blocking mechanic, combat is just to simple. I never feel any sense of danger, I just hit my hotkeys and move on. This is not a arcade action game like Golden Axe (ok ok that game was wayyy harder) but a MMO that offers risk vs. reward. CO has none of the risk I have seen as of yet or any depth to combat mechanics.
Exactly what I'm talking about. I think you just said it better than I did. I wonder why some people seem to feel this way, while others don't seem to even understand what I'm talking about. "To each his own," I know, but usually when someone doesn't like something, I can see what they're saying, and maybe just disagree. With this combat issue though, it's like people who enjoy it don't even see the issue at all.
Anyone know if there's a way to cancel pre-orders from gamestop / ebgames? It doesn't appear to be possible
To be fair, you answered your own question. You can't understand why someone doesn't see the issue because to them, it's fun hence there is no issue.
Fun is very subjective. I was not a fan of Elder Scrolls, yet I think it won more awards than just about any other SP RPG on the market. It wasn't for me, that's ok. I think that's going to be the same for Champions.
I'm not sure about the connectiveness issue, I feel the same way here as I did when running around with my characters in CoH. With the exception that every character I've made here has been useful while many of my CoH ones were not. However, much of that is going to be personal opinoin and what you get out of the game. I see little difference here when I am blasting someone with my ice bolts than in CoH. Same mechanic, but I feel like more is happening CO. I have to time the charges, time the blocks, and so on. To me, that's a good thing.
So far, I've had fun, and as long as that continues, I'm here for a while. Don't get me wrong, I love CoH. Played it for 3 years. However, there are some glarring flaws with that game that seem to have been fixed here... of course I haven't had to smack into this games glaring flaws yet (of which I am sure I'll find some). So perhaps a three year run and then on to the next game.
Originally posted by Aganazer Originally posted by xaldraxius What do I expect? I'm not sure what it is I want, I suppose I'll know when I play something I like.
You sound like my wife. I swear every time we go out to eat she spends 30 minutes picking out something and then isn't happy with it and eats my food (that I was planning on ordering before I even entered the restaurant).
There are basically 3 kind of attack powers in CO. Single target, PBAoE, and Ranged/Cone AoE. You use those based on the situation. You'll probably want to pick up one of each. After that most of your powers will probably be best served going into defensive skills, holds, block enhancements, heals, offensive passives, defensive passives, and click buffs. The game doesn't really reward you for picking up multiple attack types for the same type of function, except in a few rare circumstances.
Keep in mind some of those 3 types of attacks have different levels of functionality. Ie holding the button down for a maintained damage, charging the power up to do additional damage, etc. So that sometimes mixes up how you use your powers.
Combat gets more exciting as you level up. The amount of endurance you have is greatly increased and the rate at which you recover it greatly increases. You start doing lots and lots of damage on a wide scale, and throwing a semi at someone just never gets old imo. The lack of having to chain together strings of moves is more than made up for by the fast paced dynamic and impressive "feel" to the individual powers. Add onto that the active blocking dynamic, which is actually important in this game unlike other games that people like to throw out there... That's just my opinion, but I find it much less boring than clicking the same "x" amount of skills in the same sequence as they come off cooldown.
By your 20s you spend very little time actually building endurance, you are mostly causing widespread mayhem... destroying multiple henchmen at the same time, flinging bad-guys bodies all over the map...its very fun imo. But to be honest I never though much of the CoX combat system, which you apparently enjoy, so take that with a grain of salt.
You are left without many offensives choices in the early levels. You basically just have the one attack and an endurance builder and thats it. Eventually those choices expand, and the game becomes much more fun. But it never does stray too far from a button masher. If you don't enjoy a more arcady game style you'll probably never like it.
Like I said, I find it much more engaging, dynamic, exciting, and challenging than CoX...but to each his own.
IDoes it get any better, or is this game simply not for me?
If you haven't figured out its really interesting combat, then it may not be for you.
It's not just random button mashing for sure.
You manage energy and use powers that actually increase your energy and do a little damage. You can build up some or tap the other powers and that changes how you use them. You've got a lot of ways to modify things. Like my gadgeteer can slap a bioheal on a target and anytime I attack him, he heals me a little. Thats really neat but I've got to have the energy to do it, so I have to decide "Do I go in and build up energy so I can slap this thing on him or just use my main sonic blaster power?"
The only thing that could make this better for me would be turn based/control of a party of heroes. Thats not going to happen, so I'll take an intricate and customizable combat system.
Yeah, you can do that, but it's not at all necessary. The combat is pretty easy and like the op said all you have to do is build up your energy and let loose with your best attack, you can change it up and complicate it sure, but in the end that's just you doing unnecessary stuff to make the boring combat seem more intuitive. There's very little need for teamwork or strategy, and even in those cases where you do need a team there is very little reason to do anything except pile on the damage. Maybe block now and again or use a hold, but in the end it's really all about spamming attacks.
The game gets more challenging as you get higher in level. I die fairly routinely because I let myself get in over my head, or I just plain get surprised or blindsighted. I never die in a game like CoH, WoW, or Aion. Sometimes you push yourself that little extra bit hoping a health globe will drop or your heal will come off cooldown. Missing a block can be devistating, and its not as easy as you think to block when you have 4-5 villains all beating on you at the same time from multiple directions... especially if one of them lands a hold or knockdown on you.
If I really want to push up the difficulty/excitement I'll drop my defensive passive for an offensive passive and an offensive role. Your damage potential skyrocks and you absolutely roll baddies, but damn does it hurt when you get hit. You can change these roles on the fly so its kinda of fun to switch back and forth based on the type of challenge your up against.
Every MMO is about spamming attacks. I spam my assassins attacks in the same sequence every time they come off cooldown in Aion. I spam my warriors attacks as they come off cooldown in WoW. I spam my appropriate Bionic Electric Beetles attacks as I gain enough energy for them in CO... I'm not really sure what your point is...
Well that's a problem. You shouldn't die if you are being carefull and all that. (I don't care if I die but..) The combat to me seems very random as far as difficulty and the ammount of mobs ect. Sometimes you can run through a patch of mobs and be fine, othertimes you die very suddenly... I'm not sure what the problem is but I think they need to balance things a little better.. that's my opinion on the subject. Plus the aggro range seems very random even for the same type of mob.
Well that's a problem. You shouldn't die if you are being carefull and all that. (I don't care if I die but..) The combat to me seems very random as far as difficulty and the ammount of mobs ect. Sometimes you can run through a patch of mobs and be fine, othertimes you die very suddenly... I'm not sure what the problem is but I think they need to balance things a little better.. that's my opinion on the subject. Plus the aggro range seems very random even for the same type of mob.
It's because some mobs are henchmen and some mobs are villain/mastervillains etc. There is a relatively huge difference between the damage potential of the different classes of mobs. You die suddenly because they'll "emote" and hit you with a special attack thats meant to be blocked. If you get hit with those, and you don''t block... its going to hurt and hurt bad.
The mob damage range is generally fine. There are a few mobs that will sometimes surprise you with how much damage they do, but as long as you realize those mobs are potentially very dangerous and take the extra precautions when fighting them, its not bad at all. It keeps you on your toes, and thats a good thing.
You generally won't die if your being careful. That means making small controlled pulls, blocking "emote" attacks, using a defensive passive, and using your consumable heal devices if necessary. If you are constantly dying while being careful, then you are doing it wrong... not much else I can say there. I die because I'm careless or I want to see how far I can push myself. I've never had a situation where I felt it was "unfair". I can always look at what happened and blame it on myself.
Originally posted by comerb The game gets more challenging as you get higher in level. I die fairly routinely because I let myself get in over my head, or I just plain get surprised or blindsighted. I never die in a game like CoH, WoW, or Aion. Sometimes you push yourself that little extra bit hoping a health globe will drop or your heal will come off cooldown. Missing a block can be devistating, and its not as easy as you think to block when you have 4-5 villains all beating on you at the same time from multiple directions... especially if one of them lands a hold or knockdown on you. If I really want to push up the difficulty/excitement I'll drop my defensive passive for an offensive passive and an offensive role. Your damage potential skyrocks and you absolutely roll baddies, but damn does it hurt when you get hit. You can change these roles on the fly so its kinda of fun to switch back and forth based on the type of challenge your up against. Every MMO is about spamming attacks. I spam my assassins attacks in the same sequence every time they come off cooldown in Aion. I spam my warriors attacks as they come off cooldown in WoW. I spam my appropriate Bionic Electric Beetles attacks as I gain enough energy for them in CO... I'm not really sure what your point is...
I've been in the beta for 6 months, I've had several characters of all levels, and I have beat just about every mob in the game, including soloing Grond. (Though this was at a time when he was broken and didn't attack back...lol)
Not all MMOs are just about spamming attacks, some classes yes, but in other MMOs you have classes that are designed to be primarily support, or crowd control or tank, in CO you really don't have these things until much later in the game. Even then there is little use in going the support route except for in extreme cases or PvP, the general combat; minions, henchman and even some super villains don't require any thought or teamwork at all. If you have a high enough dexterity you don't even have to block as your natural dodge ability will negate a lot of the damage.
If you are dying fairly often you have built a fairly gimpy character. The only character I had that died many times was a straight Might build. I only died once with my Munitions build, outside of PvP that is, and that was because I kept using my lead tempest in the desert and aggroing groups of mobs, and even at that I took down 15 or so before I finally got overwhelmed.
So yeah, you can make the game more difficult if you try, but handicapping yourself just to make the game challenging isn't a sign of a well designed game.
I've been in the beta for 6 months, I've had several characters of all levels, and I have beat just about every mob in the game, including soloing Grond. (Though this was at a time when he was broken and didn't attack back...lol) Not all MMOs are just about spamming attacks, some classes yes, but in other MMOs you have classes that are designed to be primarily support, or crowd control or tank, in CO you really don't have these things until much later in the game. Even then there is little use in going the support route except for in extreme cases or PvP, the general combat; minions, henchman and even some super villains don't require any thought or teamwork at all. If you have a high enough dexterity you don't even have to block as your natural dodge ability will negate a lot of the damage. If you are dying fairly often you have built a fairly gimpy character. The only character I had that died many times was a straight Might build. I only died once with my Munitions build, outside of PvP that is, and that was because I kept using my lead tempest in the desert and aggroing groups of mobs, and even at that I took down 15 or so before I finally got overwhelmed. So yeah, you can make the game more difficult if you try, but handicapping yourself just to make the game challenging isn't a sign of a well designed game.
They upped the difficulty across the board a few weeks ago. Prior to that the game was far easier, brokenly so. And no, I never died then... I could do whatever I wanted and pretty much come away unscathed. It's still not particularly hard, but now, unless you build a character specifically for tanking (super-statting for your passive defense + CON) your probably are going to bite off more than you can chew every now and then. As to whether your making a "gimp" character because you can't solo "harder" content as well, I think its a pretty ridiculous point when you consider how much better those "gimp" characters may be at other things. As an example most people would be familar with, I could take a prot warrior and level him from 1-80 and never die in WoW, but it would be slower and far more dull than taking a rogue from 1-80... sure, you will potentially die more w/ the rogue, but your certainly aren't "gimp".
I haven't seen how difficult the Omega team stuff is. I suspect its probably too easy. I also suspect they'll up the difficulty as the game progresses to give players a reason to use support/tank roles/advantages, as well as adding new content that is simply more difficult. The differences between roles is substantial, as I'm sure you already know... they just need content that challenges you to take advantage of those roles.
Just to clarify for anyone who is thinking that balanced roles is "the only" role. The difference in damage given/taken between a tank based character in a defensive role with a defensive passive and a DPS based character in an offensive role with an offensive passive is significant. Very significant.
Comments
This is an issue for a lot of MMOs. Some people talk about first impressions, other people say you need to stick with it to learn to appreciate it. I'm the sort of player that believes the first impression is vital. If I don't like my first 10 minutes of a game, I'm probably not going to keep playing.
What's weird is that COH nailed this aspect. Had one of the best first impressions out there, and only showed its major flaws as you got deeper into it, and realized it didn't go much deeper. How could they get that part right with COH, then screw it up in CO?
When I want a single-player story, I'll play a single-player game. When I play an MMO, I want a massively multiplayer world.
This is an issue for a lot of MMOs. Some people talk about first impressions, other people say you need to stick with it to learn to appreciate it. I'm the sort of player that believes the first impression is vital. If I don't like my first 10 minutes of a game, I'm probably not going to keep playing.
What's weird is that COH nailed this aspect. Had one of the best first impressions out there, and only showed its major flaws as you got deeper into it, and realized it didn't go much deeper. How could they get that part right with COH, then screw it up in CO?
I don't think they did screw it up. It's a matter of opinion. This game had me at the tutorial. The visuals, the art, the combat was all done really well for me. It grabbed me. Will I still be playing in 6 months after my 6 month sub is up? Don't know. It's according to how fast they add updates and such. The reason I stayed with CoX for 4 years was because of friends. Those same friends have moved over to Champs, and we all like it. I think the combat is deeper. The missions are much more interesting. I don't feel like I'm doing the same thing over and over again. (I know I am, as for all MMO's, but it doesn't FEEL like it)
As for your experience, I think you lost credibility to me when you said you didn't play it long. I try not to comment on a game if I haven't played it past the tutorial, so I give it a fair enough shot, but again, that's just my opinion.
Probably not necessary at lower levels against trash mobs. Will likely become more important to manage your skills, taps and holds in later levels, endgame and in PVP.
What exactly are you expecting? There are techincal limitations to what can be done for MMOs because of the large number of players. To me, combat feels pretty fast so far. The tap and hold options do give a new interesting wrinkle compared to the current MMO standard (WoW).
In PvP yes, at higher levels against major villains and giant monsters yes, but most of the time no. I played from 1 to 40 with no support type powers at all, no heal no hold, just a passive deffense (Munitions and Invuln), and I soloed most of the way. I was worthless in PvP with that character, but I didn't have any trouble with AI mobs.
That said I have been in beta for six months, so I've gone through my 'Wow this game is cool!' phaze, which is what I think many people are in now.
Probably not necessary at lower levels against trash mobs. Will likely become more important to manage your skills, taps and holds in later levels, endgame and in PVP.
What exactly are you expecting? There are techincal limitations to what can be done for MMOs because of the large number of players. To me, combat feels pretty fast so far. The tap and hold options do give a new interesting wrinkle compared to the current MMO standard (WoW).
In PvP yes, at higher levels against major villains and giant monsters yes, but most of the time no. I played from 1 to 40 with no support type powers at all, no heal no hold, just a passive deffense (Munitions and Invuln), and I soloed most of the way. I was worthless in PvP with that character, but I didn't have any trouble with AI mobs.
That said I have been in beta for six months, so I've gone through my 'Wow this game is cool!' phaze, which is what I think many people are in now.
And I think this highlights the problem the lies with a lot of players. It isn't necesarily the game. I think you may just be burnt out of MMOs in general. Practically every MMO out there does exactly what you state: trash mobs require little to no thinking and you are never in danger while PvP and named/villain/raid mobs require extra effort.
I am just curious what you are expecting from MMOs these days...
Well that is misleading as well. Most sets have alternative ways to build energy through innate passives and other powers. There are buffs that build energy, heal powers that build energy, block powers that build energy, etc. The important ones are the innate powers. For example, telepathy has a power that returns energy for being near held enemies. Once you get those powers going you can practically forget about your default energy builder.
Probably not necessary at lower levels against trash mobs. Will likely become more important to manage your skills, taps and holds in later levels, endgame and in PVP.
What exactly are you expecting? There are techincal limitations to what can be done for MMOs because of the large number of players. To me, combat feels pretty fast so far. The tap and hold options do give a new interesting wrinkle compared to the current MMO standard (WoW).
In PvP yes, at higher levels against major villains and giant monsters yes, but most of the time no. I played from 1 to 40 with no support type powers at all, no heal no hold, just a passive deffense (Munitions and Invuln), and I soloed most of the way. I was worthless in PvP with that character, but I didn't have any trouble with AI mobs.
That said I have been in beta for six months, so I've gone through my 'Wow this game is cool!' phaze, which is what I think many people are in now.
And I think this highlights the problem the lies with a lot of players. It isn't necesarily the game. I think you may just be burnt out of MMOs in general. Practically every MMO out there does exactly what you state: trash mobs require little to no thinking and you are never in danger while PvP and named/villain/raid mobs require extra effort.
I am just curious what you are expecting from MMOs these days...
That's true, I am pretty tired of MMOs as a whole right now, but that's primarily because the genre has stagnated. I am glad that CO has gone in a little bit of a different direction, but I'm personally not satisfied with it. What do I expect? I'm not sure what it is I want, I suppose I'll know when I play something I like. I'm looking forward to SW:TOR because of the story heavy gameplay and voice over work, but I won't know if it's what I am really looking for until I play it.
I absolutely hated WoW when I played it, so I'm not at all saying that just because I don't like a game it's bound to fail, I'm just giving my general impression of the game.
You sound like my wife. I swear every time we go out to eat she spends 30 minutes picking out something and then isn't happy with it and eats my food (that I was planning on ordering before I even entered the restaurant).
Exactly what I'm talking about. I think you just said it better than I did. I wonder why some people seem to feel this way, while others don't seem to even understand what I'm talking about. "To each his own," I know, but usually when someone doesn't like something, I can see what they're saying, and maybe just disagree. With this combat issue though, it's like people who enjoy it don't even see the issue at all.
Anyone know if there's a way to cancel pre-orders from gamestop / ebgames? It doesn't appear to be possible
To be fair, you answered your own question. You can't understand why someone doesn't see the issue because to them, it's fun hence there is no issue.
Fun is very subjective. I was not a fan of Elder Scrolls, yet I think it won more awards than just about any other SP RPG on the market. It wasn't for me, that's ok. I think that's going to be the same for Champions.
I'm not sure about the connectiveness issue, I feel the same way here as I did when running around with my characters in CoH. With the exception that every character I've made here has been useful while many of my CoH ones were not. However, much of that is going to be personal opinoin and what you get out of the game. I see little difference here when I am blasting someone with my ice bolts than in CoH. Same mechanic, but I feel like more is happening CO. I have to time the charges, time the blocks, and so on. To me, that's a good thing.
So far, I've had fun, and as long as that continues, I'm here for a while. Don't get me wrong, I love CoH. Played it for 3 years. However, there are some glarring flaws with that game that seem to have been fixed here... of course I haven't had to smack into this games glaring flaws yet (of which I am sure I'll find some). So perhaps a three year run and then on to the next game.
LOL! Yeah, sounds like something I'd do.
There are basically 3 kind of attack powers in CO. Single target, PBAoE, and Ranged/Cone AoE. You use those based on the situation. You'll probably want to pick up one of each. After that most of your powers will probably be best served going into defensive skills, holds, block enhancements, heals, offensive passives, defensive passives, and click buffs. The game doesn't really reward you for picking up multiple attack types for the same type of function, except in a few rare circumstances.
Keep in mind some of those 3 types of attacks have different levels of functionality. Ie holding the button down for a maintained damage, charging the power up to do additional damage, etc. So that sometimes mixes up how you use your powers.
Combat gets more exciting as you level up. The amount of endurance you have is greatly increased and the rate at which you recover it greatly increases. You start doing lots and lots of damage on a wide scale, and throwing a semi at someone just never gets old imo. The lack of having to chain together strings of moves is more than made up for by the fast paced dynamic and impressive "feel" to the individual powers. Add onto that the active blocking dynamic, which is actually important in this game unlike other games that people like to throw out there... That's just my opinion, but I find it much less boring than clicking the same "x" amount of skills in the same sequence as they come off cooldown.
By your 20s you spend very little time actually building endurance, you are mostly causing widespread mayhem... destroying multiple henchmen at the same time, flinging bad-guys bodies all over the map...its very fun imo. But to be honest I never though much of the CoX combat system, which you apparently enjoy, so take that with a grain of salt.
You are left without many offensives choices in the early levels. You basically just have the one attack and an endurance builder and thats it. Eventually those choices expand, and the game becomes much more fun. But it never does stray too far from a button masher. If you don't enjoy a more arcady game style you'll probably never like it.
Like I said, I find it much more engaging, dynamic, exciting, and challenging than CoX...but to each his own.
If you haven't figured out its really interesting combat, then it may not be for you.
It's not just random button mashing for sure.
You manage energy and use powers that actually increase your energy and do a little damage. You can build up some or tap the other powers and that changes how you use them. You've got a lot of ways to modify things. Like my gadgeteer can slap a bioheal on a target and anytime I attack him, he heals me a little. Thats really neat but I've got to have the energy to do it, so I have to decide "Do I go in and build up energy so I can slap this thing on him or just use my main sonic blaster power?"
The only thing that could make this better for me would be turn based/control of a party of heroes. Thats not going to happen, so I'll take an intricate and customizable combat system.
Yeah, you can do that, but it's not at all necessary. The combat is pretty easy and like the op said all you have to do is build up your energy and let loose with your best attack, you can change it up and complicate it sure, but in the end that's just you doing unnecessary stuff to make the boring combat seem more intuitive. There's very little need for teamwork or strategy, and even in those cases where you do need a team there is very little reason to do anything except pile on the damage. Maybe block now and again or use a hold, but in the end it's really all about spamming attacks.
The game gets more challenging as you get higher in level. I die fairly routinely because I let myself get in over my head, or I just plain get surprised or blindsighted. I never die in a game like CoH, WoW, or Aion. Sometimes you push yourself that little extra bit hoping a health globe will drop or your heal will come off cooldown. Missing a block can be devistating, and its not as easy as you think to block when you have 4-5 villains all beating on you at the same time from multiple directions... especially if one of them lands a hold or knockdown on you.
If I really want to push up the difficulty/excitement I'll drop my defensive passive for an offensive passive and an offensive role. Your damage potential skyrocks and you absolutely roll baddies, but damn does it hurt when you get hit. You can change these roles on the fly so its kinda of fun to switch back and forth based on the type of challenge your up against.
Every MMO is about spamming attacks. I spam my assassins attacks in the same sequence every time they come off cooldown in Aion. I spam my warriors attacks as they come off cooldown in WoW. I spam my appropriate Bionic Electric Beetles attacks as I gain enough energy for them in CO... I'm not really sure what your point is...
Well that's a problem. You shouldn't die if you are being carefull and all that. (I don't care if I die but..) The combat to me seems very random as far as difficulty and the ammount of mobs ect. Sometimes you can run through a patch of mobs and be fine, othertimes you die very suddenly... I'm not sure what the problem is but I think they need to balance things a little better.. that's my opinion on the subject. Plus the aggro range seems very random even for the same type of mob.
It's because some mobs are henchmen and some mobs are villain/mastervillains etc. There is a relatively huge difference between the damage potential of the different classes of mobs. You die suddenly because they'll "emote" and hit you with a special attack thats meant to be blocked. If you get hit with those, and you don''t block... its going to hurt and hurt bad.
The mob damage range is generally fine. There are a few mobs that will sometimes surprise you with how much damage they do, but as long as you realize those mobs are potentially very dangerous and take the extra precautions when fighting them, its not bad at all. It keeps you on your toes, and thats a good thing.
You generally won't die if your being careful. That means making small controlled pulls, blocking "emote" attacks, using a defensive passive, and using your consumable heal devices if necessary. If you are constantly dying while being careful, then you are doing it wrong... not much else I can say there. I die because I'm careless or I want to see how far I can push myself. I've never had a situation where I felt it was "unfair". I can always look at what happened and blame it on myself.
I've been in the beta for 6 months, I've had several characters of all levels, and I have beat just about every mob in the game, including soloing Grond. (Though this was at a time when he was broken and didn't attack back...lol)
Not all MMOs are just about spamming attacks, some classes yes, but in other MMOs you have classes that are designed to be primarily support, or crowd control or tank, in CO you really don't have these things until much later in the game. Even then there is little use in going the support route except for in extreme cases or PvP, the general combat; minions, henchman and even some super villains don't require any thought or teamwork at all. If you have a high enough dexterity you don't even have to block as your natural dodge ability will negate a lot of the damage.
If you are dying fairly often you have built a fairly gimpy character. The only character I had that died many times was a straight Might build. I only died once with my Munitions build, outside of PvP that is, and that was because I kept using my lead tempest in the desert and aggroing groups of mobs, and even at that I took down 15 or so before I finally got overwhelmed.
So yeah, you can make the game more difficult if you try, but handicapping yourself just to make the game challenging isn't a sign of a well designed game.
They upped the difficulty across the board a few weeks ago. Prior to that the game was far easier, brokenly so. And no, I never died then... I could do whatever I wanted and pretty much come away unscathed. It's still not particularly hard, but now, unless you build a character specifically for tanking (super-statting for your passive defense + CON) your probably are going to bite off more than you can chew every now and then. As to whether your making a "gimp" character because you can't solo "harder" content as well, I think its a pretty ridiculous point when you consider how much better those "gimp" characters may be at other things. As an example most people would be familar with, I could take a prot warrior and level him from 1-80 and never die in WoW, but it would be slower and far more dull than taking a rogue from 1-80... sure, you will potentially die more w/ the rogue, but your certainly aren't "gimp".
I haven't seen how difficult the Omega team stuff is. I suspect its probably too easy. I also suspect they'll up the difficulty as the game progresses to give players a reason to use support/tank roles/advantages, as well as adding new content that is simply more difficult. The differences between roles is substantial, as I'm sure you already know... they just need content that challenges you to take advantage of those roles.
Just to clarify for anyone who is thinking that balanced roles is "the only" role. The difference in damage given/taken between a tank based character in a defensive role with a defensive passive and a DPS based character in an offensive role with an offensive passive is significant. Very significant.