The hami raids don't seem to be a option its a requirement if you want to compete in pvp. I've gone on 3 of them now, 2 total failures due to a couple people not listening and one success and I was lucky enough to actually get the damage/accuracy I was after. Even though I got what I wanted I hate the idea of the hami raid and heres why: the whole system rewards the hardcore I'm willing to sink as much time into something fun or not to gain a advantage over others in pvp type of player. The hami O's have brought uber items into COH so to speak. Those that doubt the effect of one heres the effect of it, one hami O adds 50 percent to 2 categories in one slot, by comparison a single O adds around 35 percent to one category. Now that means that one hami O in a move can lead to you have a 94.9 increase in one category and 75 pecent increase in 2 others where as if you didn't have it the best you could do is 35 percent in 2 categories and 75 or so in one. This leads to those that do the weekly 3 hour hami raids having huge advantages as they add a hami O to each of their attacks. Bacially its the introduction of the hard to get uber skills to the COH realm. I didn't hate the hami raid but it takes so long and fails so often that I find myself avoiding the raids even though I know that my toon won't be able to truly compete if I don't do it, I've simply been working on my other toons.
The Nerfs, from what I've seen in key areas they went too far. Classes that used to be uber are now completely worthless, and as time passes it becomes harder and harder to find tanks, this doesn't bode well for team play. I will say this some nerfing was needed or PVP would be unplayable. As is blasters/defenders still are at a huge disadvantage and thats after massive nerfs. I think once the balancing begins on the villains side this will be less of a issue but still I would agree some nerfs went to far. Balance is key in MMO's however and some builds needed to be weakened IMHO.
The accolades, this is a area that I disagree on, yes I used strategy guides and websites to find the info I needed but I can't remember a single MMO that I didn't do the same. I was able to get all the accolades within a couple weeks after hitting 50 so to me this is less of a issue.
Bottom line, if you enjoy good storylines and hate gold farmers, games filled with you have to have this item or you lose(hami 0's are somewhat takiing this away) and great team combat this game is still a great game that needs some tweaking to bring it back where I would like to see it, as is I love the SG base stuff especially if you lead your super group(base building is fun and actually useful once you get well established). I still love this game so much so that I'm working on my third toon and still loving it, for me I'm waiting to see what I8 and the coming expansion brings to the table before I get too critically of a game that does alot right with gripes here and there.
I agree with about 90% of what Trey said...I would argue that if tanks are harder to find it is cuz brutes are way more fun to play ATM. I also find it interesting that the two weak sisters in pvp are the 2 with the worst inherent powers (difience and vigilance are the suck).
I would be interested to hear what power sets/combos you think suck, and if you think they suck in pvp or pve
Yeah I think Grinreaper may have hit the nail on the head on the tanker issue. I have a brute and he's actually my only villain. The tank's just don't deal enough damage to be much fun atm. The brute on the other hand plays like a tank scrapper hybrid and is a blast to play, so well said and nice addition to my post.
On the defender and blaster having the worst inherent powers I totally agree, I have a 50 blaster and difiance has come into play maybe once or twice where it mattered and in pvp its totally worthless, while on the flip side my scapper's just keeps getting stronger as I grow in lvl hitting critical more and more til at 50 you hit critical at a pretty constant rate. The end result of that is the scrapper is the true damage dealer at 50 where as my blaster is relagated to being a support class and only truly useful in pvp when grouped.
For me here's the class/combos I think are the worst atm. Number one on my list is the ice tanker they can't deal damage nor take it. Second would be dark defenders, who have almost no healing abilities and limited protection powers which makes them a sort of weak controller and third is the energy blaster who has knockback on every single one of their moves.
Well, I certainly hope that 90% of what Grinreaper agrees with on your post Trey does not include your comment on nerfs that went too far because in other threads he said the game is too easy and does not have any wish to see rollbacks. Giving more damage to a tanker would certainly make playing them much easier. I read nothing in your post that would make the game more challenging, more fun yes, but the challenge Grin is looking for is not apparent in your post.
I would love some type of rollback on the nerfs such as aggro limit and AoE limits. It would be interesting to offer players a choice of one power not affected by ED. But that would be admitting ED was not such a good idea. I highly doubt we will see any rollbacks.
Also, Hami-Os haven't offered a 50 percent boost for quite a while(read official forums if you don't believe me). They are equal to SOs but still boosting two aspects of the power as you mentioned, which still is quite significant to a point.
I myself don't' find the game difficult to lvl, but I'm not obilivious of the fact that nerfs have occured. I think you misunderstood. I don't find the game to be overly challenging but at the same time I can see that the changes made in the name of pvp balance have gone to far in some character builds. My current build is a dark/regen scrapper which has recieved massive nerfs according to many but I find it to be a strong build when properly built. I'm sure at one time this build could solo Arches if it was stronger than it is right now, granted I've only got him to 29 so maybe I'll notice it more later in the game but I'm happy with the character.
I just looked at my move and I believe your correct on the hami o's my move that has a hami O is a 94.9 increase to accuracy 71.4 to damage and recharge reduction which would equal out to 2 singles in one slot so I stand corrected on that one.
The tankers need a overhaul they have been nerfed a bit to much I see it in the builds I group with. The blasters and defenders need boost in various areas as well as better innate powers. I see that the games not perfect but if you slot your toons right it seems like most toons are at least a viable option. Those that say that their toon should always be as powerful as when they made them don't understand the concept of a MMO. If your going to have pvp then changes have to be made to balance the classes. I think they may have gone about it the wrong way on some builds.
Just because I don't find the game difficult to lvl doesn't mean I don't see the issues people talk about. I have a tight knit super group that lvls together we routinely gain 1 to 2 lvls a night, but we're really efficient in our grouping.
[quote] Second would be dark defenders, who have almost no healing abilities and limited protection powers which makes them a sort of weak controller [/b][/quote]
Man, what? Thats the worst misunderstanding of Dark Miasma defenders I've ever seen. The AoE heal in Dark Miasma is only slightly behind the AoE heal in Kinetics for strongest heal in the game, and by combing Darkest Night and Fearsome Stare, they can reduce a group of opponents To Hit by 30% (just using base values, unslotted) and damage by 30%. And then there's the pet which also uses Darkest Night, and Tar Patch for a 30% damage buff on enemies in the area of effect. Oh, and Darkest Night also reduces damage if they do manage to hit you by 30%.
Dark is one of the strongest defender sets all around. It's slightly behind Rad is sheer power probably, but not by much. Its certainly not lacking in protection powers. If you want single target buffs, yeah, Dark Miasma doesn't have any of those.
Energy blasters, well KB is something that you can make work for you and your team, if you learn how to manipulate it. Unfortunately, lots of people don't do that, and they give Energy blast a bad name.
Originally posted by treysmooth My current build is a dark/regen scrapper which has recieved massive nerfs according to many but I find it to be a strong build when properly built. I'm sure at one time this build could solo Arches if it was stronger than it is right now, granted I've only got him to 29 so maybe I'll notice it more later in the game
Hehe , I remember for how long one of them used to try back in the pre nerf days. She was convinced she could too. Spent about 4 hours a day with that level 40 AV the big demon one.
Never did though. The only build I have ever heard of solo an AV was a controller, he did it using pets and illusions.
As far as dark defender, we we're asked our "opinion" on we thought to be weak. In my experience I prefer other defenders to the dark. I've had smoother groups with other builds involved. Regardless, this is my opinion and if you disagree thats cool. The question was what do you consider to be the weakest builds so I stated what I thought. Ice tankers blow, I'm not a fan of dark defenders and I don't care for energy blasters, opinion nothing more.
i have a dark defender at 32 atm dark servent is fun.just as said before their heal is one of the more powerful in the game BUT its got limits. need to hit a mob to make the power work which also debuffs mob as well.its aoe but short ranged.an sound effect can cause sound bug crash sometimes still.dark defender doesnt "buff" others by handing out individual buffs his shadow fall helps their resists an defense even vs psi.
got a ice/ice tank atm around 24 ice patch is fun.ice tanker is like a super reflexes scrapper.with new defense changes on scaleing both ice tanker an dark defender got much better to play.ill agree blaser at power sucks an defender one doesnt realy work as good as it should.
corruptors got the at power blasters wanted . ranged crits.
"Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing." Robert E. Howard, The Tower of the Elephant (1933)
Originally posted by baff Originally posted by treysmooth My current build is a dark/regen scrapper which has recieved massive nerfs according to many but I find it to be a strong build when properly built. I'm sure at one time this build could solo Arches if it was stronger than it is right now, granted I've only got him to 29 so maybe I'll notice it more later in the game
Hehe , I remember for how long one of them used to try back in the pre nerf days. She was convinced she could too. Spent about 4 hours a day with that level 40 AV the big demon one.
Never did though. The only build I have ever heard of solo an AV was a controller, he did it using pets and illusions.
HAHAHA...how long did you wait before you told her the Envoy of Shadow is like 50% Neg resistant? Hated killing that bistach 3 times as my Dark/dark scrapper...last itme non-uber builds could solo AV's was before the purple patch, IIRC.
Originally posted by tute Well, I certainly hope that 90% of what Grinreaper agrees with on your post Trey does not include your comment on nerfs that went too far because in other threads he said the game is too easy and does not have any wish to see rollbacks. Giving more damage to a tanker would certainly make playing them much easier. I read nothing in your post that would make the game more challenging, more fun yes, but the challenge Grin is looking for is not apparent in your post. I would love some type of rollback on the nerfs such as aggro limit and AoE limits. It would be interesting to offer players a choice of one power not affected by ED. But that would be admitting ED was not such a good idea. I highly doubt we will see any rollbacks. Also, Hami-Os haven't offered a 50 percent boost for quite a while(read official forums if you don't believe me). They are equal to SOs but still boosting two aspects of the power as you mentioned, which still is quite significant to a point.
You are correct tute...the only nerf I think could have been done better was the move suppresion nerf...they just took the lazy way out on that one. I also dont think there are any worthless builds...just some reduced to mortals with the rest of us. 3D defenders have been FOTM for a while now and dark/dark corrupters are my next guess for who gets the nerfbat. Tho with Posi in charge now...it could be a whole new ball game.
Originally posted by Axeion i have a dark defender at 32 atm dark servent is fun.just as said before their heal is one of the more powerful in the game BUT its got limits. need to hit a mob to make the power work which also debuffs mob as well.its aoe but short ranged.
I always think people undervalue the kinetics and dark miasma heals. Thing is they take a little more skill to use effectively and some players (particularly at low levels) don't know how to do this and the powerset ends up with a bad rap.
Once you can slot these heals with 2 accuracy DOs they rock. Get SOs in there and they almost never fail, and their cooldown is so fast that misses rarely matter.
I never liked that controllers could have defender powersets as secondaries - cos they end up being better defenders than defenders. And I say this mostly having played controllers and loved playing them. But dark defenders have one of the best powersets in the game. Go dark dark, and you have a character with some good control powers, a great heal, some of the best debuffs AND ranged attacks and aoes. Very versatile powerset.
You don't give freebies away for a successful product: you give them away for a product that's struggling to survive.
From that statement you imply that any MMO that offers free trials are struggling?
Just want clarification.
I've seen some recent WoW trial offers and Eve 14 day trial offers. Seems like every MMO is going that route, the try before your buy or the buddy offer.
With that statment in mind, are all MMO's going south?
I don't know about WoW. Please try to remember the forum and context in which this discussion is occuring. NCSoft didn't start offering free trials until a year after CoH's release, when the numbers started to fall rather dramatically. (Coinciding with travel suppression and I4).
Apparently, NCSoft felt compelled to start offering freebies to attract new players to a flagging franchise, and while it's been successful in propping up short-term numbers, the game isn't retaining players and is - in fact - losing money. (That often happens when you give it away).
Serling is full of shit and angry because be cant beat the game so quit your bitching and go to some other forum CoH's pop isnt falling its raising slowly but surely
Serling is full of shit and angry because be cant beat the game so quit your bitching and go to some other forum CoH's pop isnt falling its raising slowly but surely
LOL! Read the investor reports. Even some of the most rabid fanboys here don't dispute NCSoft's own numbers which show the numbers are FALLING AGAIN!!!
Speaking of angry, try wiping the spittle off your screen and keyboard next time you post. Maybe you'll be able to read and type with far better comprehension.
you know what...i beg to differ, NCSoft has somthing going and CoH/CoV is about to get way better their competing with DC and Marvel so id expect some very nice add ons in the next couple of months
CoH's pop isnt falling its raising slowly but surely
Read the investor reports. Even some of the most rabid fanboys here don't dispute NCSoft's own numbers which show the numbers are FALLING AGAIN!!!
i beg to differ, NCSoft has somthing going and CoH/CoV is about to get way better their competing with DC and Marvel so id expect some very nice add ons in the next couple of months
Speaking of reading comprehension problems, what does better content (your second quote) have to do with your original assertion that the player population is "raising?"
But since you insist on disagreeing with me, try disagreeing with NCSoft. The latest update (8/22) to the second quarter investor report is out here:
Not that I expect you to understand any of this, but look at the highest concurrent users since Dec. 05 (Q4 of 05). That number is falling, even though monthly access went up for the last quarter of 05.
Hmmm...wonder what could account for that. Simple: people were playing Villains because the game was new, even though there was only a marginal increase in the player-base (concurrent users) from September 05 to December 05. But even according to these latest revised numbers, the highest number of concurrent users (accounts logged on at the same time) has been slowly FALLING since Dec. 05!!!
Furthernore, NCSoft cites the June 06 MMOGCHART.com to announce that CoH/V is one of the "Top subscription-based MMOGs world-wide". On that chart it is 6th on the list with a total of 160,000 subscribers. If - as some here have argued - access = subscription, then the total number of subs as of June 06 is actually even lower than NCSoft's own numbers would have you believe: 160,000 vs. 171,000!!!
One more thing: this latest revision doesn't even count the 16th (Korean) server as was originally counted in the Q1 report. I suspect it's because the game couldn't survive in Korea (Asia) due to it's uniquely American appeal.
In 2005, CoX accounted for 10% of NCSoft's sales. In 2006, NCSoft estimates that CoX will account for 7% of its sales at a time when estimated revenues for the company have dropped about 9 billion KRW (Korean Won). (From Q1/06 to Q2/06, sales of CoX went from 6,523 million KRW to 5,532 million KRW [1 U.S. Dollar = roughly 1,000 Korean Won]).
CoH/V isn't pulling it's weight anymore, as sales continue to decline and subs are dropping.
New content may be coming but that has nothing to do with the fact that subs are falling, sales are declining, and at least one server has either been closed or is no longer even being reported by the company.
One more thing: the game has NEVER been as popular as it was just after release, even with CoV figured into the mix, suggesting that new content may not be as important as creating a unique and distinctive playstyle and sticking to it.
Nerfs drove a lot of people away and few are returing to fill the void left by them even when new content is considered.
A company that pisses off its current customers in the faint hope of replacing them with even more new ones will have neither.
Originally posted by Serling One more thing: the game has NEVER been as popular as it was just after release, even with CoV figured into the mix, suggesting that new content may not be as important as creating a unique and distinctive playstyle and sticking to it. Nerfs drove a lot of people away and few are returing to fill the void left by them even when new content is considered. A company that pisses off its current customers in the faint hope of replacing them with even more new ones will have neither.
Or, maybe people burned through the content and left because the game was too damn easy?
That would pretty much explain all your numbers right there
But, hey, dont let me stop your one-man crusade...it is nothing if not entertaining...you just keep bending those numbers...if you hit them hard enough, it will eventually fit in your world view...grin
Or, maybe people burned through the content and left because the game was too damn easy?
"Content"??? You call mindlessly mashing buttons against the same mobs in the same mission maps over and over again "content"???
All the nerfs did was make you fight lower-level mobs to grind out the xp. The game is every bit as easy now as it was then, you just don't get as much reward for grinding through it against blue and green cons. The goal of I5 and ED wasn't to make the game more difficult. It was to slow the pace of levelling to keep subs up longer: a cynical means by which to separate suckers from their money.
Originally posted by grinreaper Originally posted by Serling Nerfs drove a lot of people away and few are returing to fill the void left by them even when new content is considered.
Or, maybe people burned through the content and left because the game was too damn easy?
That would pretty much explain all your numbers right there
Or, maybe people burned through the content and left because the game was too damn easy?
"Content"??? You call mindlessly mashing buttons against the same mobs in the same mission maps over and over again "content"???
All the nerfs did was make you fight lower-level mobs to grind out the xp. The game is every bit as easy now as it was then, you just don't get as much reward for grinding through it against blue and green cons. The goal of I5 and ED wasn't to make the game more difficult. It was to slow the pace of levelling to keep subs up longer: a cynical means by which to separate suckers from their money.
Please, tell me a game that isn't a grind.
And while you're at it, please tell me of a game where they don't attempt to keep their player base.
I look forward to your answer.
---------------------------------------------- "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb." -- Batman
Comments
It was sarcasm (for the literacy-challenged).
The hami raids don't seem to be a option its a requirement if you want to compete in pvp. I've gone on 3 of them now, 2 total failures due to a couple people not listening and one success and I was lucky enough to actually get the damage/accuracy I was after. Even though I got what I wanted I hate the idea of the hami raid and heres why: the whole system rewards the hardcore I'm willing to sink as much time into something fun or not to gain a advantage over others in pvp type of player. The hami O's have brought uber items into COH so to speak. Those that doubt the effect of one heres the effect of it, one hami O adds 50 percent to 2 categories in one slot, by comparison a single O adds around 35 percent to one category. Now that means that one hami O in a move can lead to you have a 94.9 increase in one category and 75 pecent increase in 2 others where as if you didn't have it the best you could do is 35 percent in 2 categories and 75 or so in one. This leads to those that do the weekly 3 hour hami raids having huge advantages as they add a hami O to each of their attacks. Bacially its the introduction of the hard to get uber skills to the COH realm. I didn't hate the hami raid but it takes so long and fails so often that I find myself avoiding the raids even though I know that my toon won't be able to truly compete if I don't do it, I've simply been working on my other toons.
The Nerfs, from what I've seen in key areas they went too far. Classes that used to be uber are now completely worthless, and as time passes it becomes harder and harder to find tanks, this doesn't bode well for team play. I will say this some nerfing was needed or PVP would be unplayable. As is blasters/defenders still are at a huge disadvantage and thats after massive nerfs. I think once the balancing begins on the villains side this will be less of a issue but still I would agree some nerfs went to far. Balance is key in MMO's however and some builds needed to be weakened IMHO.
The accolades, this is a area that I disagree on, yes I used strategy guides and websites to find the info I needed but I can't remember a single MMO that I didn't do the same. I was able to get all the accolades within a couple weeks after hitting 50 so to me this is less of a issue.
Bottom line, if you enjoy good storylines and hate gold farmers, games filled with you have to have this item or you lose(hami 0's are somewhat takiing this away) and great team combat this game is still a great game that needs some tweaking to bring it back where I would like to see it, as is I love the SG base stuff especially if you lead your super group(base building is fun and actually useful once you get well established). I still love this game so much so that I'm working on my third toon and still loving it, for me I'm waiting to see what I8 and the coming expansion brings to the table before I get too critically of a game that does alot right with gripes here and there.
Peace
I agree with about 90% of what Trey said...I would argue that if tanks are harder to find it is cuz brutes are way more fun to play ATM. I also find it interesting that the two weak sisters in pvp are the 2 with the worst inherent powers (difience and vigilance are the suck).
I would be interested to hear what power sets/combos you think suck, and if you think they suck in pvp or pve
On the defender and blaster having the worst inherent powers I totally agree, I have a 50 blaster and difiance has come into play maybe once or twice where it mattered and in pvp its totally worthless, while on the flip side my scapper's just keeps getting stronger as I grow in lvl hitting critical more and more til at 50 you hit critical at a pretty constant rate. The end result of that is the scrapper is the true damage dealer at 50 where as my blaster is relagated to being a support class and only truly useful in pvp when grouped.
For me here's the class/combos I think are the worst atm. Number one on my list is the ice tanker they can't deal damage nor take it. Second would be dark defenders, who have almost no healing abilities and limited protection powers which makes them a sort of weak controller and third is the energy blaster who has knockback on every single one of their moves.
Well, I certainly hope that 90% of what Grinreaper agrees with on your post Trey does not include your comment on nerfs that went too far because in other threads he said the game is too easy and does not have any wish to see rollbacks. Giving more damage to a tanker would certainly make playing them much easier. I read nothing in your post that would make the game more challenging, more fun yes, but the challenge Grin is looking for is not apparent in your post.
I would love some type of rollback on the nerfs such as aggro limit and AoE limits. It would be interesting to offer players a choice of one power not affected by ED. But that would be admitting ED was not such a good idea. I highly doubt we will see any rollbacks.
Also, Hami-Os haven't offered a 50 percent boost for quite a while(read official forums if you don't believe me). They are equal to SOs but still boosting two aspects of the power as you mentioned, which still is quite significant to a point.
I myself don't' find the game difficult to lvl, but I'm not obilivious of the fact that nerfs have occured. I think you misunderstood. I don't find the game to be overly challenging but at the same time I can see that the changes made in the name of pvp balance have gone to far in some character builds. My current build is a dark/regen scrapper which has recieved massive nerfs according to many but I find it to be a strong build when properly built. I'm sure at one time this build could solo Arches if it was stronger than it is right now, granted I've only got him to 29 so maybe I'll notice it more later in the game but I'm happy with the character.
I just looked at my move and I believe your correct on the hami o's my move that has a hami O is a 94.9 increase to accuracy 71.4 to damage and recharge reduction which would equal out to 2 singles in one slot so I stand corrected on that one.
The tankers need a overhaul they have been nerfed a bit to much I see it in the builds I group with. The blasters and defenders need boost in various areas as well as better innate powers. I see that the games not perfect but if you slot your toons right it seems like most toons are at least a viable option. Those that say that their toon should always be as powerful as when they made them don't understand the concept of a MMO. If your going to have pvp then changes have to be made to balance the classes. I think they may have gone about it the wrong way on some builds.
Just because I don't find the game difficult to lvl doesn't mean I don't see the issues people talk about. I have a tight knit super group that lvls together we routinely gain 1 to 2 lvls a night, but we're really efficient in our grouping.
Peace
[quote] Second would be dark defenders, who have almost no healing abilities and limited protection powers which makes them a sort of weak controller
[/b][/quote]
Man, what? Thats the worst misunderstanding of Dark Miasma defenders I've ever seen. The AoE heal in Dark Miasma is only slightly behind the AoE heal in Kinetics for strongest heal in the game, and by combing Darkest Night and Fearsome Stare, they can reduce a group of opponents To Hit by 30% (just using base values, unslotted) and damage by 30%. And then there's the pet which also uses Darkest Night, and Tar Patch for a 30% damage buff on enemies in the area of effect. Oh, and Darkest Night also reduces damage if they do manage to hit you by 30%.
Dark is one of the strongest defender sets all around. It's slightly behind Rad is sheer power probably, but not by much. Its certainly not lacking in protection powers. If you want single target buffs, yeah, Dark Miasma doesn't have any of those.
Energy blasters, well KB is something that you can make work for you and your team, if you learn how to manipulate it. Unfortunately, lots of people don't do that, and they give Energy blast a bad name.
Hehe , I remember for how long one of them used to try back in the pre nerf days. She was convinced she could too. Spent about 4 hours a day with that level 40 AV the big demon one.
Never did though. The only build I have ever heard of solo an AV was a controller, he did it using pets and illusions.
Peace
i have a dark defender at 32 atm dark servent is fun.just as said before their heal is one of the more powerful in the game BUT its got limits. need to hit a mob to make the power work which also debuffs mob as well.its aoe but short ranged.an sound effect can cause sound bug crash sometimes still.dark defender doesnt "buff" others by handing out individual buffs his shadow fall helps their resists an defense even vs psi.
got a ice/ice tank atm around 24 ice patch is fun.ice tanker is like a super reflexes scrapper.with new defense changes on scaleing both ice tanker an dark defender got much better to play.ill agree blaser at power sucks an defender one doesnt realy work as good as it should.
corruptors got the at power blasters wanted . ranged crits.
"Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing." Robert E. Howard, The Tower of the Elephant (1933)
Hehe , I remember for how long one of them used to try back in the pre nerf days. She was convinced she could too. Spent about 4 hours a day with that level 40 AV the big demon one.
Never did though. The only build I have ever heard of solo an AV was a controller, he did it using pets and illusions.
HAHAHA...how long did you wait before you told her the Envoy of Shadow is like 50% Neg resistant? Hated killing that bistach 3 times as my Dark/dark scrapper...last itme non-uber builds could solo AV's was before the purple patch, IIRC.
I always think people undervalue the kinetics and dark miasma heals. Thing is they take a little more skill to use effectively and some players (particularly at low levels) don't know how to do this and the powerset ends up with a bad rap.
Once you can slot these heals with 2 accuracy DOs they rock. Get SOs in there and they almost never fail, and their cooldown is so fast that misses rarely matter.
I never liked that controllers could have defender powersets as secondaries - cos they end up being better defenders than defenders. And I say this mostly having played controllers and loved playing them. But dark defenders have one of the best powersets in the game. Go dark dark, and you have a character with some good control powers, a great heal, some of the best debuffs AND ranged attacks and aoes. Very versatile powerset.
From that statement you imply that any MMO that offers free trials are struggling?
Just want clarification.
I've seen some recent WoW trial offers and Eve 14 day trial offers. Seems like every MMO is going that route, the try before your buy or the buddy offer.
With that statment in mind, are all MMO's going south?
I don't know about WoW. Please try to remember the forum and context in which this discussion is occuring. NCSoft didn't start offering free trials until a year after CoH's release, when the numbers started to fall rather dramatically. (Coinciding with travel suppression and I4).
Apparently, NCSoft felt compelled to start offering freebies to attract new players to a flagging franchise, and while it's been successful in propping up short-term numbers, the game isn't retaining players and is - in fact - losing money. (That often happens when you give it away).
Serling is full of shit and angry because be cant beat the game so quit your bitching and go to some other forum CoH's pop isnt falling its raising slowly but surely
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheAmbryZealot/
Technically speaking.
I.E. mathematically, the population is falling.
Slowly but steadily.
Rising is when the numbers get bigger.
LOL! Read the investor reports. Even some of the most rabid fanboys here don't dispute NCSoft's own numbers which show the numbers are FALLING AGAIN!!!
Speaking of angry, try wiping the spittle off your screen and keyboard next time you post. Maybe you'll be able to read and type with far better comprehension.
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheAmbryZealot/
Speaking of reading comprehension problems, what does better content (your second quote) have to do with your original assertion that the player population is "raising?"
But since you insist on disagreeing with me, try disagreeing with NCSoft. The latest update (8/22) to the second quarter investor report is out here:
http://ncsoft.com/eng/nccompany/ir_data_report01.asp
Operating Metrics (City of Heroes)
June. 2004: 11 servers, highest concurrent users: 31,085, monthly access, 169,925
Sep. 2004: 11 servers, highest concurrent users: 26,870, monthly access, 163,053
Dec. 2004: 11 servers, highest concurrent users: 15,741, monthly access, 124,435
March. 2005: 15 servers, highest concurrent users: 21,283, monthly access, 140,481
June. 2005: 15 servers, highest concurrent users: 20,911, monthly access, 162,922
Sep. 2005: 15 servers, highest concurrent users: 22,340, monthly access, 150,068
Dec. 2005: 15 servers, highest concurrent users: 23,730, monthly access, 194,000
Mar. 2006: 15 servers, highest concurrent users: 23,699, monthly access, 171,951
June. 2006: 15 servers, highest concurrent users: 22,274, monthly access, 171,000
Not that I expect you to understand any of this, but look at the highest concurrent users since Dec. 05 (Q4 of 05). That number is falling, even though monthly access went up for the last quarter of 05.
Hmmm...wonder what could account for that. Simple: people were playing Villains because the game was new, even though there was only a marginal increase in the player-base (concurrent users) from September 05 to December 05. But even according to these latest revised numbers, the highest number of concurrent users (accounts logged on at the same time) has been slowly FALLING since Dec. 05!!!
Furthernore, NCSoft cites the June 06 MMOGCHART.com to announce that CoH/V is one of the "Top subscription-based MMOGs world-wide". On that chart it is 6th on the list with a total of 160,000 subscribers. If - as some here have argued - access = subscription, then the total number of subs as of June 06 is actually even lower than NCSoft's own numbers would have you believe: 160,000 vs. 171,000!!!
One more thing: this latest revision doesn't even count the 16th (Korean) server as was originally counted in the Q1 report. I suspect it's because the game couldn't survive in Korea (Asia) due to it's uniquely American appeal.
In 2005, CoX accounted for 10% of NCSoft's sales. In 2006, NCSoft estimates that CoX will account for 7% of its sales at a time when estimated revenues for the company have dropped about 9 billion KRW (Korean Won). (From Q1/06 to Q2/06, sales of CoX went from 6,523 million KRW to 5,532 million KRW [1 U.S. Dollar = roughly 1,000 Korean Won]).
CoH/V isn't pulling it's weight anymore, as sales continue to decline and subs are dropping.
New content may be coming but that has nothing to do with the fact that subs are falling, sales are declining, and at least one server has either been closed or is no longer even being reported by the company.
You stand corrected.
One more thing: the game has NEVER been as popular as it was just after release, even with CoV figured into the mix, suggesting that new content may not be as important as creating a unique and distinctive playstyle and sticking to it.
Nerfs drove a lot of people away and few are returing to fill the void left by them even when new content is considered.
A company that pisses off its current customers in the faint hope of replacing them with even more new ones will have neither.
Or, maybe people burned through the content and left because the game was too damn easy?
That would pretty much explain all your numbers right there
But, hey, dont let me stop your one-man crusade...it is nothing if not entertaining...you just keep bending those numbers...if you hit them hard enough, it will eventually fit in your world view...grin
"Content"??? You call mindlessly mashing buttons against the same mobs in the same mission maps over and over again "content"???
All the nerfs did was make you fight lower-level mobs to grind out the xp. The game is every bit as easy now as it was then, you just don't get as much reward for grinding through it against blue and green cons. The goal of I5 and ED wasn't to make the game more difficult. It was to slow the pace of levelling to keep subs up longer: a cynical means by which to separate suckers from their money.
Or, maybe people burned through the content and left because the game was too damn easy?
That would pretty much explain all your numbers right there
Definitely not all of them. I'm a nerf-refugee
"Content"??? You call mindlessly mashing buttons against the same mobs in the same mission maps over and over again "content"???
All the nerfs did was make you fight lower-level mobs to grind out the xp. The game is every bit as easy now as it was then, you just don't get as much reward for grinding through it against blue and green cons. The goal of I5 and ED wasn't to make the game more difficult. It was to slow the pace of levelling to keep subs up longer: a cynical means by which to separate suckers from their money.
Please, tell me a game that isn't a grind.
And while you're at it, please tell me of a game where they don't attempt to keep their player base.
I look forward to your answer.
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"Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb." -- Batman