Issue 6: Along Came a Spider is live

[Creole Ned]

Issue 6 is now out on live. This adds the three new PvP zones, some graphical improvements, a few new costume options and the humorously-named Enhancement Diversification.

Enjoy!

[Tai]

Enjoy!

Not likely ;) :(

[Creole Ned]

Eh, I've tested ED a fair bit on the test server and it's not as bad as you might think. There is a global endurance reduction that helps a lot and damage is still high enough to get through most fights without it feeling like you're slogging along. Defensive powers (whether active or passive) have taken pretty big hits, though. I think we'll see some adjustments post-release.

And if your character is in the low 30's or below, ED will have pretty much no effect on you, anyway.

The way the PvP zones are set up is interesting. Each zone actually has goals and missions unique to the area. Two are hero vs. villain and the third, Warburg, is a free for all. It's an interesting take, certainly a lot moreso than the unused arenas.

Speaking of arenas, they've added Gladiator matches. These pit opponents (teamed or otherwise) against each other but with a twist - you have no powers. Instead, you use NPC's from the game and control them like pets to fight other players' NPC's. You could, for example, have a Freakshow swiper, Crey medic and Fire Thorn Caster go up against someone's Death Head Buckshot, Behemoth Overlord and Tsoo Sorcerer. You earn Gladiator badges by defeating enemies in the regular game (most players will have a bunch available as soon as they log in).

[Circuit]

I guess it's just something I have to get used to with a MMO, but it's a little funny seeing the reaction when changes are announced. Granted, some for CoH have been pretty big with little positive impact, but not a single one has been as life-changing as many on the forums indicate. As Ned stated, we've tried characters with the new system on the Test server and it's not bad at all. Slotting enhancements the new way will take a bit of getting used to, but it's definitely not game-wrecking.

Even though the ED thing is unnecessary in my opinion, it actually will force people to think a bit more about how they slot their enhancements. It's getting a lot of flack, but it does actually live up to its name. Before, I always just slotted attacks for one accuracy and five damage and didn't think twice about it. Now, it forces me to consider other options since anything over 3 SO's is a waste. The extra slots in attacks that used to be damage and can't really be used to enhance those attacks in any other ways can now be used on other powers whose slots got neglected due to the priority of slotting up damage in the attacks. The negative effect, however, is that all attacks basically do much less damage, but I'm now able to put the extra slots to use in powers that boost damage or defense. Defenses, as Ned said, also suffer quite a bit from not being able to effectively accept 6 SO's, but it doesn't seem that bad.

I think the whole thing lacks elegance and the idea of forced diversification has never worked anywhere ever, but it's definitely livable. The game's still fun. Maybe my opinion will change as I get more playtime, but so far there are no glaring problems with it that I can't tolerate. Plus, I'll be playing City of Villains in a few days anyway and that will give me a completely fresh start. Now if I can just figure out what AT I'm going to start with...