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Phedre_D
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Posts: 395
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This is just a rant, and should not be taken too serious. I am exaggerating things, but it does has a bit of the way I feel in it.
In Guildwars the levelcap is at 20. The journey from 1 to 20 is just a formality. The real games starts at 20. That is when you can go chase titles, armor, farm, weapons, etc, etc. The game is not about levels, it is about how to pimp out your toon.
With the arrival of IO sets and the XP-curve changes COV is going in that same direction. It is not really an accomplishment anymore to reach 50, and a bit experienced player does it in a month or two. With my few first toons I had a fun struggle to get enough money to get a few SO's. Now anybody has a few millions by the time they are 20 or so. The real challenges of the game have moved from leveling to pimping out your toon. Life more and more starts at 50 when you can concentrate on getting all the sets you want. Farm a few missions, and another set is complete.
Ouroboros is another indication this is the case. It was created to that the level 50 toons can play all the missed content they rushed past, but now with their souped-up 50's.
Of course PvP has something to do with this too. An player without a whole bunch of sets is pretty useless in PvP. So better get those toons to 50 and farm infamy for sets. It makes a lot of sense, of course.
Just like GW, COV will soon no longer be about the journey. And I am no happy camper about it.
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| 03/25/08 05:52 |
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Mech beta
Posts: 0
Joined: 02/17/2007
Credibility: 0 pts
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| RE: Is COV becoming like GW? |
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I don't think its becoming GW at all, its just a similair idea thats been around for ages. You can say the same thing for just about every game that you pimp out your toon once you hit max level.
Fortunatly for me, I like the process of playing my character through all the story arcs and leveling more than using my 50 once hes well, 50.
Its a common idea, and a common comparison. CoX does it, but not as much because it doesn't matter what IO's you have, more skill based, GW does it, except its the whole point of the game really, and even WoW does it, and I gotta say they make it really fun.
City of Heroes
Burnt Scar 50 Fire/Devices/Fire blaster - Triumph
Goblino 33 Broadsword/Willpower Scrapper - Triumph
City of Villains
Mech Beta 50 Robotics/FF Mastermind - Triumph
Demon Juggernaut 20 Energy/Invul Brute - Virtue
Brawl: R.O.B!
**Post ends here**
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| 03/25/08 06:03 |
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lani
GameAmp Staff
Posts: 517
Joined: 09/08/2005
Credibility: 28 pts
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| RE: Is COV becoming like GW? |
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I can see the comparison, but I think what's going on is a bit different.
Over the years Cryptic employees, with Jack Emmert most vocally of late, have been criticizing their own game in regards to the way Powers and Levels are set up.
CoX has a problem in regards to powers and extending the level cap. Where Basic MMOG's like WOW and Everquest (I & II) follow the ages old tradition of D&D's Skill versions, CoX doesn't do that.
Skill version: First you learn "Cure Minor Wounds", then a few levels later "Cure Moderate Wounds", followed by "Cure Serious Wounds" some levels later on. In the case of MMOG's this goes on to level 80 or so. It's basically the same skill but it caps at a certain level and then you need to get the New and Improved (but amazingly similar) skill.
The way Powersets are set up in Cox is on the one hand way more creative and well planned out, but limiting on the other in that it does not easily allow for extending the level cap. I'd go as far as to say it's all but impossible from the clear evidence that CoX hasn't had a cap upgrade to 50 yet.
So from the start (well, 6 weeks after launch) Cryptic had to find other ways to keep people going. They made some mistakes and did some things right. Mostly they turned CoX into the most Altoholicism inducing MMOG out there. Badges, Mentoring down, What's his face the blob raids, IO's, and now Ouroboros are indeed ways to deal with that dual issue of a fixed level-cap and nothing much to do for a capped toon.
The main difference with Guild Wars is that with that game, the low level-cap is by design. Rather than keep "evolving" in a straight line, at 20 you expand sideways. The concept used for comparison was a Deck of Magic the Gathering. Your overall veracity doesn't change anymore at 20. But depending on how many skills and professions you unlock (you always have 2 professions with the second one switchable almost at will) you can put more variations, strategies and tactics to use in your deck. This is the core idea behind GW. It's by design and vastly different from the 'problem' CoX has with their level cap.
You're correct though in surmising that GW is about Pimping your Toon. That is an area where both games do meet. But where in GW you end up having the choice between endless PvP or endless grinding for wealth for Uber armor (looks-wise, no stats differences), I feel CoX offers more. Both games do lack any kind of side games or spheres beyond the always present Player Economies. An area where CoX has done very well imo. They managed to insert a system that does not mercilessly punish newbie players who don't have an L50 Sugar-daddy with millions of Influence to spare. Saldy, GW is subject to all the usual, predictable Mudflation issues.
In some ways, CoX is becoming more like the classic MMOGs (Wow, EQ VG et. al.) with IO's in that you end up spending millions and millions of influence on often a marginal gear boost. Much like grinding raids for your chance at that Epic item. The good old addiction milking.
***THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED***
MMORPG (Roleplaying): Mostly Men Online Role-Playing Girls
MMORPG (Acheivement): Miserable Malcontents Online Rehashing Past Glories
MMORPG (PvP): Macho Men Obviously Really Prefer Griefing
MMORPG (itemization): Misers May Obfuscate Recently Purchased Gold
MMORPG (Social): Virtual Worlds with Virtual Wealth and achievements, but with Real People with Real Feelings.
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| 03/25/08 07:48 |
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Phase_of_Echoes
GameAmp Staff
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| RE: Is COV becoming like GW? |
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Someone get Phe a cookie!!!
I can see your point Phe, but look at it this way. The way COH/COV is set up caters to all types of gamers. For those who are altohlics like myself, the game is always new and exciting when I roll a new toon. I get to live the story arcs and interact with new contacts. The journey is diffrent everytime, even if I do know each mission layout by heart, I still don't know what is standing around the next corner.
For those who don't care for making several toons NCSoft is adding new ways of giving these gamers something new to do with their toons. They can provide a lot of depth after 50, they are just going have to make sure the goal is appealing. Like you said IOs are a big hit, The Markets are booming with people selling/buying stuff so it is almost its own game within the game.
Yes ubering up a toon seems to be the new goal for the direction the last few issues are heading, but don't be suprised if we see new stuff for the lower content areas, like they did for Faultline and The Hollows. I'm betting in the next issue or so we are going to see more ideas like the Power Prolification to fuel the passion for gamers to create new toons with more power choices and new content to keep them coming back.
Join us in game on the Gameamp.com Channel
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| 03/25/08 08:01 |
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Warron Peace
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| RE: Is COV becoming like GW? |
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XP smoothing was set up to help casual gamers reach higher levels faster and easier. When I was leveling Warron, I hit 34 and it was like a big STOP sign popped up. It took a week of teaming Invincible missions to get another level. I got bored with this grind, and leveled up other alts.... Just to hit that same stop sign. I had a 34 kin/dark that couldn't solo effectively, so unless I had a team, she wasn't going anywhere... This has been the case with many of my alts. If I can't solo them and get progress, and can't get on a decent team, the char enters the unused list and becomes marked for possible/eventual deletion.
I like the XP smoothing, as it's enabled me to notice progress in a couple of hours time. I no longer get 1/10th of a bubb for an entire Invincible mission solo'd. I'll get anywhere from 1/4-1/2 a bubb, which is pretty swift. If I solo a late game story arc on Invince, I get half a level out of it! This is good!
Ouroboros was not put in for Power Levelers to go back and do arcs. There are alot of people who team exclusively on their way to 50. On a team, you only do so many peoples missions, and often if you are a lower level member of the team, as many defenders, scrappers, and blasters can get away with, your particular missions will be skipped over in favor of tougher, higher level missions. This means you can relatively easily outlevel your own content. If you do, now you have the option to go back and do it on your own or with a friend or two. Yes, a power leveled character can take advantage of this as well, but often a power leveled character would be power leveled for late game content or PvP. If they are willing to skip all that content (that many of them/us have experienced many times over and are bored with), then chances are they aren't going to go back via Ouroboros and do it later on.
The only thing that stood out as an action by the developers that supports power leveling is the change to Accolades making them available at all levels. This means you can PL to 50 and get the accolades at full power, then have them available for you when you exemp down for anything. I see this as very helpful for PvPers. Accolades can really balance out a tough matchup, and the auto accolades can make some tough to play builds alot easier, adding more HP and endurance. Because the most common PvP consists of exemping down to certain levels for zone play, having these accolades is very helpful. Previously, if you wanted an accolade for Siren's Call, for example, you had to work your butt off getting it before you hit level 30. Now, you can get it after you have leveled up a bit, when its easier to get, and have it available for you anytime. So, I see this as PvP-sponsored support of Power Leveling for PvP purposes. It just happens to help the rest of us out, who have 50s they like to exemp down with to play with lower level friends.
So, no, I don't see this game becoming a "rush to level cap" game. I see options available for players who do get there fast to still have things to do, and thats always a good thing. But getting to 50 fast doesn't mean you intentionally power leveled past all the content. A solid, consistent team of friends can get a few characters to 50 in about a month of consistent, 3-5 nites a week playtime, especially if they have a well balanced, strong team that can raise difficulty of missions up sooner, and go through tougher missions faster than they could be solo'd or PuG'd.
W.P.
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| 03/25/08 18:26 |
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