Worth getting back into?

brihtwulf · April 2006

I played CoH when it first came out for a couple months. I can't remember why I stopped playing, but I've been thinking about giving it another try. So my question is, is it worth getting back into?

Has the game changed for the better with the updates they have made?

Is it easy to solo, and is it easy to find a group when you want one?

Is the grind bad, or has it gotten better? How long does it take to level up?

Basically I'm looking for something that is fun and has enough variation to gameplay to stay interesting. I really prefer a good, mostly mature community, and I don't really like a lot of foul-mouthed "leet-speaking" kiddies (ala WoW). Like I said, I can't exactly remember why I stopped playing as it's been a while, but with the release of CoV I thought it may have gotten better and could be something to play for a while.

Yeebo · April 2006

I recently fired up my old account again, and the last time I played was likely around six months ago.

The populations seem pretty much the same as what I remember. Still enough players that I get three or four blind invites every time I enter the Hollows. It's still dead easy to get groups, and most players are pretty laid back.

The missions are exactly the same, utterly repetitive. However they seem to be easier to solo now then they were. There seem to be fewer mobs in any given insance, and I could swear that they are easier to kill and give more Xp. Certainly controllers solo a heck of a lot better then they did.

I haven't tried the PvP. I also haven't tried CoV.

Every archetype now has an intrinsic power. For example blasters do more damage as their health gets lower. Controllers do double damage to any opponent that is held.

The origins now also have bonus powers that yhou can use until level ten. For example technology origin gives you a taser attack that does really tiny damage and has about a 40% chance to stun your foe.

Overall the game seems to have improved slightly at least. I'm having some fun now, but I am reasonably certain I'll get bored within a month or so just like I always do. Hopefully CoV will change my mind!

Mthead · April 2006

CoV adds much to a game/series that is 2 years old. It added a new set of maps, character types, and the ability to interact through PvP. Also, Issue 7 is about to be released - and it looks like it's adding more graphically as well as storyline and character-wise. Now that the trail for CoV is out - you should at least give it a shot!

Serling · April 2006

It's a boring, bug-ridden, nerf-infested piece of garbage.

Last time I was on, my level 22 Warshade got a mission in the level 29 section of Independence Port. Upon completing the mission I clicked on "exit" and "exited" into a dozen level 29 Yellow Ink Men. Held, stunned, and more than 2k in debt litterally within 1 second of spawning outside mission.

Stuff like that happens a lot on that piece of crap game, and the developers seem more intent on nerfing powers with every release than fixing bugs like that.

The game is slowly being changed from a role-playing game (the way it was originally written) to a pure PvP game, and all the nerfs being added to the game are designed to make the PvP crowd happy.

Personally, I don't give a rat's @$$ about PvP. But apparently the devs at Cryptic think PvP is going to save their game. After all, gotta keep all those "uber l33t" PvP 12 year-olds happy, since we know that's where all the money in MMOs is these days, right?

moongdss · April 2006

Meh, the PvP isn't the main-stay really. I dabble in it every now and again, but the PvP zones are totally optional to enter. I think I've played for the last two months w/o even setting foot in the PvP zones.

I will warn new and returning players that the game has drastically upgraded graphics and even the 'recommended' specs cannot run all settings full-tilt. People who can play WoW and FPSs cranked up have still had problems with CoH/CoV. ATI card users beware... most of us have switched to Nvidia because unless you have the latest generation of ATI card, you have gads of video issues. As to the zoning lag the previous poster talked about... if you have a Gig of RAM or less, you will end up with that trouble. By the time your rig loads the zone, you've been creamed by a mob.

My rig specs: Pent 4 3.2GHz, 1.5Gb DDR400, Nvidia 6600GT, DSL connection. My boyfriend's rig runs 3.4GHz and 1Gb DDR2... same video card... and we both play CoH fulltilt w/o troubles.... we drop the settings for CoV as the polygon counts are outragiously high even in the starting zones.

I have successfully soloed most of my 'toons, but my defenders need the most help usually. Good healing Defenders don't have any trouble forming teams as for forced grouping... not really but there are some missions that require two items be clicked on together. There are always people who will run into your mission, click the thing with you, and go. I've helped a few people out like that. No biggie!

If you find things are too easy, you can increase the difficulty level by speaking with a Hero Corps Analyst or Fortunata Seer (CoV) and choose from 5 (irrc) settings. I have found that Masterminds (CoV) and Tanks/Brutes usually need the difficulty increase to keep it interesting. And yes, the missions are a little repetetive... but you can choose to street-grind in between to relieve the monotany.

There are also zone specific giant-monsters and events that crop up on a regular basis to fight as well as Task/Strike Forces for a several hour jaunt with a purpose. If you join a Super/Villain Group (ala guild) you can build a base and participate in base raids. There is also the afore-mentioned PvP zones. There were scheduled PvP zone events for a little while, but I'm not sure if those are on-going. It's neat to get to beat-up a live story-line character

Hope y'all find this helpful!

Diana

Ryeko · April 2006

Originally posted by Mthead
CoV adds much to a game/series that is 2 years old. It added a new set of maps, character types, and the ability to interact through PvP. Also, Issue 7 is about to be released - and it looks like it's adding more graphically as well as storyline and character-wise. Now that the trail for CoV is out - you should at least give it a shot!

Yes, I beleive this to be true, the fact that the missions are different, and not the same makes it much more interesting. I used to play CoH, but the missions got boring becuase they were the same thing each time. In CoV, you can rob banks, kidnap people, or do other stuff. It also has a new contact type, which is cool. I suggest it, you can try the 14 day trial for it too.

rasman · April 2006

I also use to play the game when it first came out but cancelled after a few months due to the repetitive nature of it. Ive just recently started the free trial for cov, its basically the same game but with different toons. I have noticed that it is easier to solo but that might be because Im running a tank.

Its ok in short bursts but I still dont see much staying power. The game's quests are pretty much all the same and theres no crafting at all. Pvp is something I keep hearing about but have yet to see. My advice is try the free trial but dont waste your money for subscription.

For me now its just a diversion for two weeks.

sygmas · April 2006

Originally posted by brihtwulf

I played CoH when it first came out for a couple months. I can't remember why I stopped playing, but I've been thinking about giving it another try. So my question is, is it worth getting back into?

Yes, definitely but you should wait until Issue 7 comes out so you get a nice update of new stuff right away. (By the way I dont recommend COH, im recommending you get into COV :P)

Has the game changed for the better with the updates they have made?

Definitely

Is it easy to solo, and is it easy to find a group when you want one?
Yes and yes, but also depends on your AT for soloing. Some have a harder time than others.

Is the grind bad, or has it gotten better? How long does it take to level up?
CoH and CoV have long grinds because the entire design concept was based around the PVE path from 1-50. The storyline is very deep and progressive, everything from 1-50 has a purpose and meaning as you level up, they also prolong the leveling path because they never really got end-game content in the game besides PVP. And to clarify purpose I mean simple things like needing to be level 20 for a cape, or the fact you get certain titles at certain levels. Your "levels" are supposed to really signify your rise in infamy / influence in Paragon City / Rogue Isles. The short? Yeah it can take awhile to level up unless you really play a lot.

Basically I'm looking for something that is fun and has enough variation to gameplay to stay interesting. I really prefer a good, mostly mature community, and I don't really like a lot of foul-mouthed "leet-speaking" kiddies (ala WoW). Like I said, I can't exactly remember why I stopped playing as it's been a while, but with the release of CoV I thought it may have gotten better and could be something to play for a while.

I'd say wait for Issue 7. Mayhem Missions are going to be seriously awesome, and if you haven't played COV yet I'd definitely recommend you got into it because its a starkly different feel in terms of leveling and such. It's more streamlined and smooth, less tedious, quality of life things like double mission completing so you don't have to redo the same missions you have with other teammates, and the fact you aren't often sent Zone hopping to a mission. 95% of the time its in the same zone.

sygmas · April 2006

Originally posted by rasman
I also use to play the game when it first came out but cancelled after a few months due to the repetitive nature of it. Ive just recently started the free trial for cov, its basically the same game but with different toons. I have noticed that it is easier to solo but that might be because Im running a tank.

Its ok in short bursts but I still dont see much staying power. The game's quests are pretty much all the same and theres no crafting at all. Pvp is something I keep hearing about but have yet to see. My advice is try the free trial but dont waste your money for subscription.

For me now its just a diversion for two weeks.

There is quite a robust crafting system involving Base creation. So you're wrong on that count, and the crafting is going to be further explored when they do the Invention system. Quests are only the same if you don't pay attention to the storyline or get involved in the Story Arcs, Strike / Task Forces and Trials. COV especially has quite a bit of unique missions and other content. Mayhem Missions are coming soon and no other MMO has done those, all the PVP zones are thematic / objective based and Recluse's Victory in Issue 7 also looks to be just as revolutionary as the Mayhem Mission stuff.

Sunrider · April 2006

Well I played this game from beta untill about 2 months ago. I was located on the freedom server and went under the same name as my forum name here. My big problem with this game was that the content updates never did ANYTHING. Prettier graphics, great. New villian, awesome. New content... no where to be found. It was constantly "well we're gonna throw a zone in here and create a few story-lines and maybe a new enemy or two..." well thats great and all, but you can only do SO many mission lines per 7-10 levels. Where are the new classes? the new BIG zones where whole new worlds could open up? Durring creation and release this was all promised at one point. Sure they are working on a new AT and all that jazz but, and i quote from the main CoH forum/site "Creating a new Archatype takes many months of planning and preperation." well thats great and all... start working on that. graphics are good enough already, and their are enough "bad guys" trust me.

You cant keep covering the lack of content with prettier pictures and a nicer looking brick wall. I want hard-core freaky superhero content that wont leave me wondering why i keep paying the montly fee to stare at an enemy that took 15 seconds worth of thought. I want to see appartments, role-playing action, vehicles, huge new zones! maybe even traveling to new planets via space ports, or even space stations to visit. for the love of god Cryptic and NC get creative.

The-Guyver · April 2006

Like has been previously said the missions and story-arcs are much more immersive if you read the story to it. Also the Devs seem to be listening a bit more to the majority of PvE players than PvP, but I don't see how they can't make PvP nerfs exclusive to PvP. They can make a mez only last 20 seconds in PvP, so why can't all the other nerfs be PvP exclusive?

Edit: They also asked a while back what new zones people wanted to see and on the poll was Space Stations, Underwater Areas and the Rikti Homeworld. Which makes me think that they are starting to be more creative.

Sunrider · April 2006

well when i see it, I'll belive it. The only reason i countinued to play that game as long as i did is because of the incredible player community. None of the bullshit you see in WoW with some of the players. Its a nice and well behaved community. Alas, even that could not hold my interest while NC Soft and Cryptic put their shit in a pile.

rasman · April 2006

Actually I feel like I should revise my initial statement on cov. Im now infamy lvl 15. At this point in COH I was getting seriously bored of the grind. However in COV, Im still having a lot of fun. Some of which is due to the prestige gaining and base building for my supergroup.

As far as missions go, there are some story arcs involved, and Im finding Im actually reading the mission descriptions before I start them...

So Id give cov a "B" atm.

Busterman484 · April 2006

If youre looking to get back into the heroes/villains game i think now is the time. Issue7 is about to go live in the next few weeks and boy have they added a slew of great things. The update is mostly for the villains cause they need the 40-50 lv content and some new costume options for the heroes. And pvp is going to be even better. I dont know how you feel about pvp but i wasnt a big fan but once i7 drops i will be pvping alot more cause they added some purpose to it. You will have control points to fight for and signature villains and heroes will be ther to help out there respective sides and they will have some other cool pvp features on the way. plus the new patron powers for the villains sound sweet(epics for villains). Attendance in the game has been pretty good and im sure once the new issue drops the population is going to increase. i personally know of alot of players who are just waiting for the new issue to go live. Dont let people discourage you make up your own mind. People have been saying that its almost impossible to solo no and i can tell you thats not true with the exception of a healer all my alts can solo but the real beauty of a MMO is grouping and you wont find it hard to find a team. If you do send me a tell @brotherblood Im on most nights and our SG/VG has a good base and we team pretty frequently. On weekends we even have events pvp or taskforces. Which is the best and easiest way to lvl up. lvling up doesnt take too long but ill admit it slows down once your in the high 20's but I feel that at that point youll have a good deal of powers that youll have fun going through missions using those powers.

I hope you try the game again I dont think youll be disappointed.

The dicision is yours but i still ove this game and ive been playing for more about a year now.

quix0te · April 2006

Originally posted by Mthead
CoV adds much to a game/series that is 2 years old. It added a new set of maps, character types, and the ability to interact through PvP. Also, Issue 7 is about to be released - and it looks like it's adding more graphically as well as storyline and character-wise. Now that the trail for CoV is out - you should at least give it a shot!

I have to say, that a more accurate description would be that it adds a NEW GAME. CoV added ALMOST NOTHING to existing CoH players. A game that needed new content like premature babies need O2. All the new archetypes, 80% of the new maps, and any new enemies CoH players didnt get access too. Unless they have finally patched in heroic 'villain archetypes'. Also. They added PvP but forgot the balance.
I am so angry at CoH for screwing up what could have been an incredible game.
Forced Grouping. Insane grind. And now 2 and a half years in and STILL no expansion.

Serling · April 2006

Quests are only the same if you don't pay attention to the storyline or get involved in the Story Arcs, Strike / Task Forces and Trials.

BS. Ever do the Terra Volta respec trial? Every mission leading up to the final part of that in the reactor is EXACTLY like every other office/sewer/warehouse mission: "Defeat X, Arrest Y, Find Z." Change the variables in the above and you have EVERY mission of EVERY level from 1-50 period.

It amazes me how much faith people put in Emmert to get any game he touches right when he is on record on the Cryptic fora writing how often he has made mistakes in the design and implementation of the game. And yet the same people who trust Emmert to get it right are the same people who will then justify his mistakes by saying things like "Cryptic is a new company and they've only been doing this for a couple of years."

In the eyes of a fanboy, Emmert and Cryptic can do no wrong, despite Emmert's short history of doing and admitting precisely that.

CoH sucks, is heading down the toilet, and Jack Emmert is dragging it there.

aaron123 · April 2006

You're still lurking, Serling? I thought I shoo'ed your trolling away about two or three months ago?

In any case, I'd highly recommend CoV right now. Issue 7 (the next big update) is coming soon, and it's adding godly amounts of content to the game, including a Thugs (like Gangsters) set for Masterminds and Mayhem Missions where you can blow nearly everything up (think Grand Theft Auto).

warfarin · April 2006

I think Sunrider represents the real long term player metality in CoH in my opinion. It was fun while it lasted but you can only drag it out so long. Many are taking to it initially and have lots of fun.

I don't regret the long run I had at CoH or Villains - it was a blast but it just ran out of being fun. The time waiting for I7 is just taking too long - many have faith it will turn this game around - to me I had my main villain at 40 for 2 months and alts bored - then I quit and the patch is still not out, and I have not really touched my hero since CoV came out.

So enjoy it while you can, but don't expect a long term game to invest more than a year in (if that), becuase sadly I just dont see it going anywhere.

They did add the Peacebringers/WarShades, the Archers and some stuff but a lot of new stuff is just rehashes of current power set - dark miasma now for tanks, electricity for melee now, etc. So they do just enough to string you along, but big content boosts like level 60 stuff or diverse missions - it is just not there and it is not coming. If I7 is that good I would love to come back and check it out but not sure how long it would keep me interested.

I do miss those travel powers tho - flying around, or superjumping through a zone - no other MMO really gave me that feeling before.

Howdy, Stranger!

Worth getting back into?

Comments

Howdy, Stranger!

Quick Links

Worth getting back into?

Comments