The News Thread

[Glazius]

The same lack of concern for the crappy grind that made them bump experience post-25 by 30%, right?

I should have been more clear. Levels 10 through the end.

The searing irony is that there's nothing to grind _to_. I mean, maybe travel power? Cape? But even that dies out around 20. Even that 30% boost seems to have been designed to balance out the shifting down two cons most heroes at that level would end up doing in the wake of I5.

Why does the thought process go "maybe this game that sucks would be better if I got 10 seconds more sparkly per hour of suck" rather than "I should stop playing this game; it sucks"? As if it's some terrible weakness that when a game stops being fun you stop playing it.

--GF

Yeah, and those people who like a game so much they forget other people have perfectly valid reasons for disliking it? Asstards, the lot of 'em.  :-D

[HaemishM]

It isn't that I'm grinding to 50 or to some endgame. I'm grinding because I want a new power, because I want to be able to fight a new way. There's way too much space between the rewards cycle of being able to add a new power or a new enhancement. Without loot of some kind (and I fucking hate lootcentric games, but...) to add to your avatar's power, you are stuck with chunks of time where nothing on your character really changes.

[Llava]

But its just a badge, you have no right to get it.

The Believer badge you get for Sally is part of an accolade you can get in Croatoa (for getting every Croatoa badge- Pumpkin Master, Pumpkin King, Cap Buster, Spellbinding, Bane of Danaan, Haunted, Giant Slayer, Alumnus, Cabalist, Ten Times The Victor, and Believer).  Once you obtain this accolade, you gain a new click power that increases your regeneration and recovery, while lowering your recharge times.  I don't know the recharge on this power.  But it's a very nice "Oh crap" button, and everyone has a right to expect it to be within their character's grasp.

[tazelbain]

Ok, my bad, I got a bunch of badges, but I got neither jack nor shit for them.  At this rate, I don't think I am going even if CoV doesn't raise the fee, things like that would skew PvP.

[Llava]

Accolades have been in as long as badges.  You can check a number of sites to see which badges add up to which accolades.  Most of them are handy, but not to be relied upon.  The Crey Freeze Pistol, for instance, has a nice slow on it, but has a recharge time of about 40 minutes.  I would imagine something similar for the Croatoa accolade.

Some add passive bonuses.  The Atlas Medallion, for instance, raises your maximum endurance by 5 points.  Some others raise maximum health by 5%.  Little stuff like that which is nice, but hardly unbalancing.

And then toss in that pretty much every accolade is attainable with just a bit of effort.  As long as you know which badges to get.

[tazelbain]

hmm, thanks for the info., Ya, not coming back, just more stuff to grind to be competive.

[Xanthippe]

Accolades?  What?

I had no idea such a thing was in.  Hmm.  Cool.  Cool?  Hmm.

[Llava]

Accolades?  What?

I had no idea such a thing was in.  Hmm.  Cool.  Cool?  Hmm.

Seriously?

They've been around since badges.

Never noticed that tab on your badge menu that says "Accolades"?

Well, here's a link that shows most of them, though I think it's missing the new Croatoa one.

http://www.unseen.net/coh/badges.php#Accolade

EDIT

Here's a much better compilation, scroll down to Accolades:
http://www.dtsimage.com/coh/badges.php

[Xanthippe]

Seriously.  Thanks!

[Llava]

I guess not everyone's a new whore like me.  :(  Crap, I'm a whore.

[Signe]

Are you implying that some of us are old whores?  That would be Llava, that would!

[Llava]

Er.

News whore.  I meant News Whore.

And hey, while I'm news whoring-

NCsoft Unveils Single Subscription Rate for City of Villains and City of Heroes Players
Thursday October 6, 12:00 am ET
City of Villains and City of Heroes Customers Can Play Both Games for the Single Subscription Rate of $14.99 Per Month

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051006/55715.html?.v=1

Also from that article

Along with the value of being able to play the two games for $14.99, players will receive four additional character slots per game server

So there you go.  Buy the box, and if you're already paying monthly for CoH then you have nothing else to pay.  Personally, though, I would've given 5 extra slots... since there are 5 new ATs.

[Trippy]

NCsoft Unveils Single Subscription Rate for City of Villains and City of Heroes Players
Thursday October 6, 12:00 am ET
City of Villains and City of Heroes Customers Can Play Both Games for the Single Subscription Rate of $14.99 Per Month

Well they got my money, assuming I don't burn out on the CoH-style gameplay before CoV comes out.

[CmdrSlack]

hmm, thanks for the info., Ya, not coming back, just more stuff to grind to be competive.

Yeah that 5% boost to max HP = UBAR COMPETITIVE!@!!!!

 

[Signe]

Yesterday, on the EU site, I read they wouldn't be raising the fee and just assumed it would be the same for the US.  I wouldn't bother with the game if they had.  As it is, I'm sure I'll resub before it runs out this month.  I don't play very often, but when I do I always enjoy it.

[tazelbain]

hmm, thanks for the info., Ya, not coming back, just more stuff to grind to be competive.

Yeah that 5% boost to max HP = UBAR COMPETITIVE!@!!!!

 

Lots of little advantages stack up to become big ones. Plus little advantages can make big difference in win/lose due to the predictable nature rpg combat.  But now that I think about it, the uber-enhancements probably do more than accolades.

I am glad they didn't drink the cool-aid.

[HaemishM]

Glad to see they finally announced a reasonable pricing scheme. I still think it's rather disingenuous to say that you are getting two games for the price of one, since you really aren't. But hey, it's marketing. Lies are the life's breath of marketers.

I may actually buy CoV then, if the beta thrills me (and I get in).

[CmdrSlack]

hmm, thanks for the info., Ya, not coming back, just more stuff to grind to be competive.

Yeah that 5% boost to max HP = UBAR COMPETITIVE!@!!!!

 

Lots of little advantages stack up to become big ones. Plus little advantages can make big difference in win/lose due to the predictable nature rpg combat.  But now that I think about it, the uber-enhancements probably do more than accolades.

I am glad they didn't drink the cool-aid.

But isn't feeling the "need" to "grind to be competitive" just another way of drinking the kool aid?  I mean certainly, I approach CoH from the mindset of "I'll get there when I get there."  I don't really care about levelling so much as reading through story arcs.  Eventually, I level and get a nifty reward.  Sometimes I get temporary powers and that's rather entertaining.  For me at least, CoH is the only game where I don't feel like I MUST level to be competitive because I don't see it as being competitive.

It's just something fun that I do.  Sometimes I find a group, sometimes I solo.  I always have fun.

YMMV and obviously does.

[jpark]

It isn't that I'm grinding to 50 or to some endgame. I'm grinding because I want a new power, because I want to be able to fight a new way. There's way too much space between the rewards cycle of being able to add a new power or a new enhancement. Without loot of some kind (and I fucking hate lootcentric games, but...) to add to your avatar's power, you are stuck with chunks of time where nothing on your character really changes.

Hmmm... they could add repair costs  :-D

[Signe]

You also get a free month, even with an upgrade... which is nice.  The news is also up at the PlayNC site. 

[tazelbain]

But isn't feeling the "need" to "grind to be competitive" just another way of drinking the kool aid?

You kinda "need" to unless you think being fodder is fun.

I am coming from more of a PvP mind-set, since that'd be the reason why I'd return.  Its the only thing that holds my attention past the afterglow.  If I came back my goal would be to have get to fun/fair PvP asap. So what is required to have a fair/fun PvP in CoH/V?  level to 50, get the best 4 or 5 accolades, and a couple dozen top notch enhancements, and guild with 20+ members with the same?

Since they stayed sane with their pricing(which is what I was referring to in the kool-aid reference), I'll probably keep watching and see how things shake out. But it seems to be going the the route of DAoC and that's not a good thing.

[Xanthippe]

Glad to see they finally announced a reasonable pricing scheme. I still think it's rather disingenuous to say that you are getting two games for the price of one, since you really aren't. But hey, it's marketing. Lies are the life's breath of marketers.

How are you not getting two games for the price of one?

Yes, you have to buy the CoV box.  But then you can play both sides.

What am I missing?

[Xanthippe]

But isn't feeling the "need" to "grind to be competitive" just another way of drinking the kool aid?

You kinda "need" to unless you think being fodder is fun.

I am coming from more of a PvP mind-set, since that'd be the reason why I'd return.  Its the only thing that holds my attention past the afterglow.  If I came back my goal would be to have get to fun/fair PvP asap. So what is required to have a fair/fun PvP in CoH/V?  level to 50, get the best 4 or 5 accolades, and a couple dozen top notch enhancements, and guild with 20+ members with the same?

Given where you are coming, I don't understand what a non-grindy mmog would look like.  A FPS?  Guild Wars?

Seems like the genre will always trouble you as being grindy, yes?

[Llava]

Glad to see they finally announced a reasonable pricing scheme. I still think it's rather disingenuous to say that you are getting two games for the price of one, since you really aren't. But hey, it's marketing. Lies are the life's breath of marketers.

How are you not getting two games for the price of one?

Yes, you have to buy the CoV box.  But then you can play both sides.

What am I missing?

I'd say because reports on information in the beta make it sound like there is too much reused content to really call it a new game.  The powersets, for instance (which have been publicly released), are like 75% old sets.  I could go into more detail about the sets, but NDA.

Tazel-
You're wrong.  All the health accolades would add up to, as a blaster/defender/controller, about one or two extra hits you can take. As a scrapper, 3, maybe 4 extra hits (unless you're regen, due to how regen works the accolades do actually provide them a useful bonus).  As a tanker, you can already take so many hits that the extra you're taking with accolade health isn't really noticable.

You're talking about uber enhancements, I assume you mean the Hamidon enhancements.  They provide the same bonus as other enhancements, they just do it to several things.  So if it was a damage/accuracy enhancement, it would be the same as if you had one accuracy SO and one damage SO.  These enhancements are not as common as you think.  Most people do not have them.  I do not have any, I have played against people who do have them- the difference was not apparent to me.

Don't fall into the "If it goes to 10.2, 10 is fodder" mindset.  In CoH PvP, there's a lot to be said for smart playing.  If a Defender corners you with Hurricane, you're not worried about your enhances or accolades- you're worried about how you can get out of there and actually start hitting stuff and moving around again (for this reason, I suggest everyone buys the flight temporary power available in the arena, so you can fly up and out of the hurricane... or else you're mostly just screwed.)

[tazelbain]

Seems like the genre will always trouble you as being grindy, yes?

Maybe. I still hold out hope PvE vs PvP is not unsolvable.

You're talking about uber enhancements, I assume you mean the Hamidon enhancements. They provide the same bonus as other enhancements, they just do it to several things. So if it was a damage/accuracy enhancement, it would be the same as if you had one accuracy SO and one damage SO. These enhancements are not as common as you think. Most people do not have them. I do not have any, I have played against people who do have them- the difference was not apparent to me.

Sounds like a free slot to me.  How can that not be powerful?

We'll see.

[Signe]

But isn't feeling the "need" to "grind to be competitive" just another way of drinking the kool aid?

You kinda "need" to unless you think being fodder is fun.

I am coming from more of a PvP mind-set, since that'd be the reason why I'd return.  Its the only thing that holds my attention past the afterglow.  If I came back my goal would be to have get to fun/fair PvP asap. So what is required to have a fair/fun PvP in CoH/V?  level to 50, get the best 4 or 5 accolades, and a couple dozen top notch enhancements, and guild with 20+ members with the same?

Given where you are coming, I don't understand what a non-grindy mmog would look like.  A FPS?  Guild Wars?

Seems like the genre will always trouble you as being grindy, yes?

I sure haven't found an MMOG that doesn't have, at least, a fair bit of grind.  I suppose WoW may have the least, but I did finally find the grind there, too.  I guess different people find different sorts of grind acceptable.  The CoH sort doesn't bother me as much as the WoW sort... even though I find there to be much more of it in CoH. 

[Llava]

Sounds like a free slot to me.  How can that not be powerful?

We'll see.

You overestimate the value of a single slot.  Try out a power 5 slotted sometime, then try it out 6 slotted, see how night-and-day the difference really is.

ACTUAL NEWS.. KINDA:

Purchasing the CoV box DOES include a free month.  So if you are paying monthly for CoH already and pick up CoV, you don't have to pay that next monthly fee.  So actual cost to upgrade to CoV- roughly $35, equivalent to most expansions.  I'd say that's a pretty damn good deal.  New customers are buying a new game with content that's totally new to them, old customers are picking up an expansion at expansion prices with more new stuff than most expansions.

[Signe]

ACTUAL NEWS.. KINDA:

Purchasing the CoV box DOES include a free month.  So if you are paying monthly for CoH already and pick up CoV, you don't have to pay that next monthly fee.  So actual cost to upgrade to CoV- roughly $35, equivalent to most expansions.  I'd say that's a pretty damn good deal.  New customers are buying a new game with content that's totally new to them, old customers are picking up an expansion at expansion prices with more new stuff than most expansions.

I already said that in this thread.  That news isn't new news, it's just my sloppy seconds.   

[Llava]

ACTUAL NEWS.. KINDA:

Purchasing the CoV box DOES include a free month.  So if you are paying monthly for CoH already and pick up CoV, you don't have to pay that next monthly fee.  So actual cost to upgrade to CoV- roughly $35, equivalent to most expansions.  I'd say that's a pretty damn good deal.  New customers are buying a new game with content that's totally new to them, old customers are picking up an expansion at expansion prices with more new stuff than most expansions.

I already said that in this thread.  That news isn't new news, it's just my sloppy seconds.   

Ah hell.

I was distracted by your avatar's ass.  Also, her left elbow looks like it's a boob when you just glance.

[Signe]

 

[tazelbain]

I am Jack's complete lack of surprise.

[Llava]

I like it.  In fact, I'll change mine too.

[HaemishM]

Glad to see they finally announced a reasonable pricing scheme. I still think it's rather disingenuous to say that you are getting two games for the price of one, since you really aren't. But hey, it's marketing. Lies are the life's breath of marketers.

How are you not getting two games for the price of one?

Yes, you have to buy the CoV box.  But then you can play both sides.

What am I missing?

It's not two games, it's two sides of the same game engine. It's new powers/archetypes, and new zones, but it is not a new game. EQ2 as compared to EQ1 was a new game (though not worth buying because it sucked monkey ass). CoV is not an entirely new graphics engine, it's not an entirely new code base, it's not an entirely new game. It's Madden 2006 when I had Madden 2003.

If at any time the player base of one side can interact with the other side, even if it's only to PVP with each other, it's not a new game, it's an expansion onto the old game.

[Nevermore]

It's two games in the sense that you can pick up CoV and play it without ever having bought CoH, though.  While I haven't played all the MMOs that've been released, none of the ones I've played have had expansions you could just buy (when they're first released) and play without also having the original game.  CoH and CoV are two very similar games, but they're still two games.

[Signe]

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