Who's still alive?

[NiX]

Since CoV goes on sale for $9.98 this month a couple friends and I are going to be picking it up and playing. What server do you all play on if you still do? Also, is there a guild setup?

[Trippy]

I'm playing CoH on Victory (I have CoV as well but don't play it). I resubbed to try out I7 but RV is pretty lame and of course my character got nerfed some more so I don't know if I'll stay past the month.

[Signe]

Heroes on Victory, Villians on Virtue, when I play.  Which I'm not, at the moment.

[Surlyboi]

I was thinking of picking it up for a test run, so I'll go and create a toon just on the off chance I can torment Feet.

[Llava]

I'm still alive. Still on Virtue.

Not all that active though.  Been busy lately.

[Signe]

I was thinking of picking it up for a test run, so I'll go and create a toon just on the off chance I can torment Feet.

You couldn't possibly torment me or whoever that Feet person is.  You are much too adorable.

[Glazius]

Still playing. Mostly with my themed SG on Triumph and VG on Protector.

To humor my pathetic delusions of grandeur, I'll arrange for invites if anybody wants to PM me.

--GF

[waylander]

We're still on Freedom, but the sad state of PVP and lack of base raids is pretty depressing. Since the dev's added debt to the PVP zones, its been a ghost town.

[NiX]

Debt? PVP? Those two don't mix!

[Glazius]

Debt? PVP? Those two don't mix!

Debt is, basically, "free money". I have one character who I'm soloing (minimal XP/spawn) one level above the standard difficulty level, and WITH permadebt I still have to finish up my storyarcs one level beyond when the contacts should technically by giving me missions.

I'm not exactly sure what else they could have done, though. The signature NPCs don't do debt in Recluse's Victory, but for everything else, what's to prevent people from going off to some quiet corner and grinding things with their buddy from the other side watching over them and giving them a tap every so often so they count as "player killed"?

--GF

[Valmorian]

I'm not exactly sure what else they could have done, though.

Remove debt entirely from the game, then give players a slider bar that allows them to choose between experience and influence as a ratio?

[Llava]

Regarding them "adding debt" to the PvP zones.

Not exactly.

How it USED to work:

Whatever got the last hit on you determined whether or not you got debt.  You could be damaged for all but 1 hit point by a player, then get tapped by a mob, and you'd get full debt.  Similarly, you could get owned by mobs but barely escape, but a player breathes on you and you die without debt.

How it works NOW:

Let's say for instance a player does 95% of your health, a mob does 5%,  you'd only get 5% the normal amount of debt.  Whatever the mob did, that's what your debt is.

So unless you were REALLY getting your ass handed to you by mobs, the new system really cuts into potential debt in PvP zones.  I know I've gone from assuming I'm going to cap my debt every time I go in to getting maybe a bar's worth if I'm unlucky.

Also,  there is a substantial experience bonus for defeating mobs in PvP zones, so if they had this AND no debt, it'd be jam packed with people who freak out every time a player attacks cause they're "just here to PvE!"

[Glazius]

I'm not exactly sure what else they could have done, though.

Remove debt entirely from the game, then give players a slider bar that allows them to choose between experience and influence as a ratio?

You work for IGE, I take it.

--GF

[Valmorian]

You work for IGE, I take it.

--GF

I don't get your reference.  I just don't really understand the point of debt, never have.

[Chenghiz]

As I understand it, high level characters generally have a lot of influence and not much to spend it on, or at least it used to be that way.

[Surlyboi]

I started the other night and catassed my way up to a 10 blaster on victory. I dig it, it's fun in a sort of retarded, "get your rocks off beating heads together" way.

And yeah, the costume designer is a slice of fried gold.

[Horik]

I'm still happily playing on Vritue, CoX is still one of the best games for those of us with time consuming RL things and can only play in short bursts.

[Glazius]

You work for IGE, I take it.

I don't get your reference.  I just don't really understand the point of debt, never have.

If people could choose between experience and influence all the time, wouldn't a lot of people max out experience and buy their influence?

--GF

[Lantyssa]

Influence doesn't matter much.  I had more than I would ever need for all my characters by the time I reached 40.

[Llava]

My 40 is almost broke, actually, because I've been funding the rest of my supergroup, trying to get them all suited up with SOs and such.

Being that I'm the highest level in the SG because we're all very casual players exacerbates that problem to a level most others won't experience, though.

[Valmorian]

If people could choose between experience and influence all the time, wouldn't a lot of people max out experience and buy their influence?

--GF

So what?  What difference does it make to me if someone else decides to spend money on in game material that doesn't compete at all with me in any way?

[Llava]

Trouble is, the company is then rewarding people for buying influence with real money.

Which would be seen as punishing people who don't buy influence with real money.  Justifiably so.

It's a bad idea.  Influence rewards need to be examined, and the grind needs to be lowered.  Encouraging people to buy it through IGE isn't such a great idea.

[Valmorian]

Trouble is, the company is then rewarding people for buying influence with real money.

Huh?  Right now, you can do that.  The thing is, almost nobody bothers because it is EASY to get influence, to the point where once you reach the mid-game, you can rake it in far faster than you can spend it.

Not only that, but there's already a method by which influence earned can be converted to prestiege for SG bases, and THAT didn't cause a huge amount of people to buy influence with real money.

I just simply don't see the problem with this, IGE will exist as long as there is a demand.  As long as there are players who aren't content with the game and have some strange delusion that getting to 50 will make everything better there will be a demand.

[Shrike]

The point is there are severall "flat spots" in infamy earning in CoV. It's hard to get by unless you cap debt or malefactor down a lot. That tends to clear up by the mid-30s, but if you throw in base development or subsidizing the younger members of your VG, then infamy can get very tight indeed.

Hero-side it's not quite as bad, especially if you have pre-I5 heroes around (and mine do have way more influence than they know what to do with). Still, heavy base development can even burn up these old, bloated nesteggs in a hurry, since the influence to prestige exchange rate is truly obscene.

To wander back to the original subject matter, I'm still around on Virtue (villian-side) and--occasionally--on Victory hero-side. I've cut play time down quite a bit since I7. It slammed my machine pretty hard and I'm on semi-hiatus until the new box is done sometime in early August (gogo AMD price cuts!).

[Llava]

Trouble is, the company is then rewarding people for buying influence with real money.

Huh?  Right now, you can do that.  The thing is, almost nobody bothers because it is EASY to get influence, to the point where once you reach the mid-game, you can rake it in far faster than you can spend it.

My point exactly.

If they let you shut off influence gain and instead get a big fat experience bonus, they're essentially saying "level faster by spending moeny at IGE!"

[Valmorian]

My point exactly.

If they let you shut off influence gain and instead get a big fat experience bonus, they're essentially saying "level faster by spending moeny at IGE!"

Again, so what?  There's no end game to get to, no epics to acquire, and the gameplay doesn't really change all that much as you get to 50.  What would be the point?  Furthermore, without debt and with a funnel from xp>influence or influence>xp, you could set your own pace. 

By the way, I'm still not seeing the big deal here.  If someone wants to blow their money on influence, why should I or anyone else care?

[Llava]

You really do work for IGE, I take it.

And frankly, debt has been so marginalized at this point in the game that it's almost ridiculous to complain about it.  But I do think something needs to be there, because I want a motivation to try not to die in any given fight.  Given how fast travel speeds are, running back to the mission isn't really a problem except at low levels, for which debt has been largely eliminated anyways.

This would especially create a problem in missions with jails, basically making it a spawn point from which players can become an endless hero zerg.

Want to get rid of debt, I'm listening, but come up with a better solution.  The influence/experience option just makes the grind longer, and there's no reason to do that.

[Valmorian]

You really do work for IGE, I take it.

Huh? What in the WORLD makes you think that?  Because I don't see a problem with purchasing influence/whatever with real money?  I've never done it myself, and never would.   And in case you are really that paranoid, no, I do not work for IGE.  Nor for any company like it.

And frankly, debt has been so marginalized at this point in the game that it's almost ridiculous to complain about it.  But I do think something needs to be there, because I want a motivation to try not to die in any given fight.  Given how fast travel speeds are, running back to the mission isn't really a problem except at low levels, for which debt has been largely eliminated anyways.

Hey maybe you want extra motivation not to die.  For me, not dying is enough of a motivation.  I personally find debt to be pretty meaningless in CoX. 

This would especially create a problem in missions with jails, basically making it a spawn point from which players can become an endless hero zerg.

Huh?  Like, say, at the beginning of the mission? 

Want to get rid of debt, I'm listening, but come up with a better solution.  The influence/experience option just makes the grind longer, and there's no reason to do that.

Why in the world would an influence/experience sliding scale make the grind LONGER, especially if you remove debt?  That's just the most bizarre thing I've ever heard.  If you had lots of influence and wanted to get to the next level more quickly, you'd just change the slider to all experience.  If the other way around, slide it to all influence.  Or, you could set it at a level where you are happy with your XP and influence ratio yourself. 

[Llava]

You really do work for IGE, I take it.

Huh? What in the WORLD makes you think that?  Because I don't see a problem with purchasing influence/whatever with real money?  I've never done it myself, and never would.   And in case you are really that paranoid, no, I do not work for IGE.  Nor for any company like it.

I'm being snarky.  Relax.

This would especially create a problem in missions with jails, basically making it a spawn point from which players can become an endless hero zerg.

Huh?  Like, say, at the beginning of the mission?

No.  Totally unlike that.  Because you still have to run back to the mission.  I mean literally you die, click release, and you respawn 20 feet away with no debt or penalty.  That's how jails would work.

Want to get rid of debt, I'm listening, but come up with a better solution.  The influence/experience option just makes the grind longer, and there's no reason to do that.

Why in the world would an influence/experience sliding scale make the grind LONGER, especially if you remove debt?  That's just the most bizarre thing I've ever heard.  If you had lots of influence and wanted to get to the next level more quickly, you'd just change the slider to all experience.  If the other way around, slide it to all influence.  Or, you could set it at a level where you are happy with your XP and influence ratio yourself. 

Because you force people to not only grind experience, but to grind influence.  You split the existing grind into two.  That doesn't help.

[Valmorian]

No.  Totally unlike that.  Because you still have to run back to the mission.  I mean literally you die, click release, and you respawn 20 feet away with no debt or penalty.  That's how jails would work.

And if you just respawn the cell door after the defeat?  It's really not that different.

Because you force people to not only grind experience, but to grind influence.  You split the existing grind into two.  That doesn't help.

It's no different than what it is RIGHT NOW, except that you get to choose to get more experience at the expense of less influence or vice versa.  With the removal of debt, I can't see how you could possibly say this would LENGTHEN any grinding.

[Soln]

I signed up last night for both CoH and CoV on Victory, I think, or wherever one of the 2 server that have a medium load

FWIW, I was able to buy CoH and get CoV free at the same time from EB.  I was buying TitanQuest at the time.

CoV looks slicker than CoH.  Will play and get the gf involved.  Seems straightfoward beat-em-up grind.

[Stormwaltz]

Getting back to topic...

My account is still open (Heroes on Pinnacle, Villains on Virtue), but I haven't logged in since shortly after I7 went live.

[raydeen]

Most toons on Freedom with one or two on Victory. Main is Redd Death (Necro/Poison MM) on Freedom. I love my pukin' zombies. Main heroes are Retro Rockette, Star Kross, and Sylver Starr though to be honest I've been mostly a bad person for the last year or so.  I need to dust off the CoH side of things.

[Lantyssa]

My account is still open (Heroes on Pinnacle, Villains on Virtue), but I haven't logged in since shortly after I7 went live.

I'm not playing right now, but I imagine I'll be back on Pinnacle one day.  If you ever pass Jersey Girl, say 'hi'.

[kb3edk]

Hey there, I'm one of the new CoV players lured in by the $10 retail box price and I'm *really* enjoying my first 3 days in-game.

I have a level 8 Brute on Freedom, who has made it to Port Oakes. He's very powerful but frankly, I think I'll get bored playing him after a while. Next I am going to make a Corruptor which is the closest thing to a "cleric" type job in this game and much more my style.

I would like to meet up with some F13 folks in game and maybe join a Super Group (or start our own!). Is there any "official" F13 group?

Where did you wind up NiX? Freedom is definitely hopping with players (and friendly ones at that) but I have been lag booted off the Mapserver a few times and I'm wondering if some other servers are maybe a little more stable.