Archived from groups: alt.games.coh (More info?)
I have finally figured out exactly why I've been opposed to the changes
in Issue 5. Get comfy and grab a drink, this could take a bit of time
and then you might want to think about it.
We play games for fun. In CoH "fun" is being defined as "challenging."
Now "challenging" falls somewhere between "smack down villains with no
danger" and "unable to hurt villains enough to defeat them." As things
currently stand on the live servers there are characters who cannot be
challenged and others who find two blue minions more than challenging.
Issue 5 is an attempt to challenge every character, to increase the
difficulty level of the game for those characters who were not being
threatened while increasing the capabilities of those who could not
threaten.
The chosen method of increasing the difficulty has been to reduce the
capability of players to avoid or resist damage by reducing the effects
of players powers.
Some powers were moderately affected, a toggle that provided 17% base
resistance to a damage type may have been reduced to 13% resistance.
After full slotting this could translate into a difference of 12% more
damage taken from a paticular attack. Some powers were significantly
affected, a hold that could prevent slightly more than half of all
targets in an area from attacking for 18 seconds out of every two
minutes would change to preventing up to ten targets in an area from
attacking for nine seconds out of every four minutes. After full
slotting plus perma-hasten the power would be effective on ten targets
for 18 seconds every two minutes. The global changes to defense and
maximum numbers of affected targets will result in players being hit
more often and hitting less often.
All of these have been implemented as functionally global changes. All
players will have weaker defense powers, all controllers will control
fewer enemies, all tankers will take more damage. All of these changes
will challenge players as the characters take more damage and affect
fewer enemies. This is not a horrible thing, some people needed more
challenge while others still have the option of reverting the mission
slider to 'Heroic.'
The reason I have been unhappy with the changes is because they hurt the
players. They remove options, decrease choices, and reduce the players
ability to be heroic. Players aren't going to be taking more damage
because the bad guys do more damage, but because the players are weaker.
People aren't going to control less because the enemies have any
defenses, but because the powers only last half as long. These changes
reduce a players ability to act in order to make the game more
difficult, players now have fewer options to acheive goals with. That is
what I don't like.
I do not belive that large scale reductions in player abilities and
choices are a better way to improve the game than minor, cumulative
improvements to foe abilities and mission content.
To my mind the constant free respecs offered, and needed, after every
issue are an alarming symptom of this. When one or two powers in a
paticular set are changed, or an upper limit on an entire archtype is
applied, then a free respec is nice but probably not truely needed.
Overslotted powers or a tweaked power or two will not decimate a
population of characters beyond the ability of those characters to do a
respec trial in order to adjust. The fact that large numbers of full
character rebuilds occur after almost every issue release can not be a
good sign.
It's late and getting hard for me to think. After almost two decades of
RPGs, CRPGs, and MMORPGs, every time I played or managed one once the
players stopped being challenged you started upping the difficulty. That
was good. But you never did it by hurting the players, never by removing
powers or weakening them. You challenge players by giving them bigger
and badder emenies, more dangerous missions and foes. Don't tell them
they can't do something anymore or only let them do something half the
time, give them a challenge that requires them to do more with what they
already have.
Making the good guys weaker makes them feel less heroic. Making the bad
guys stronger makes the good guys feel more heroic.
--
If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.
I have finally figured out exactly why I've been opposed to the changes
in Issue 5. Get comfy and grab a drink, this could take a bit of time
and then you might want to think about it.
We play games for fun. In CoH "fun" is being defined as "challenging."
Now "challenging" falls somewhere between "smack down villains with no
danger" and "unable to hurt villains enough to defeat them." As things
currently stand on the live servers there are characters who cannot be
challenged and others who find two blue minions more than challenging.
Issue 5 is an attempt to challenge every character, to increase the
difficulty level of the game for those characters who were not being
threatened while increasing the capabilities of those who could not
threaten.
The chosen method of increasing the difficulty has been to reduce the
capability of players to avoid or resist damage by reducing the effects
of players powers.
Some powers were moderately affected, a toggle that provided 17% base
resistance to a damage type may have been reduced to 13% resistance.
After full slotting this could translate into a difference of 12% more
damage taken from a paticular attack. Some powers were significantly
affected, a hold that could prevent slightly more than half of all
targets in an area from attacking for 18 seconds out of every two
minutes would change to preventing up to ten targets in an area from
attacking for nine seconds out of every four minutes. After full
slotting plus perma-hasten the power would be effective on ten targets
for 18 seconds every two minutes. The global changes to defense and
maximum numbers of affected targets will result in players being hit
more often and hitting less often.
All of these have been implemented as functionally global changes. All
players will have weaker defense powers, all controllers will control
fewer enemies, all tankers will take more damage. All of these changes
will challenge players as the characters take more damage and affect
fewer enemies. This is not a horrible thing, some people needed more
challenge while others still have the option of reverting the mission
slider to 'Heroic.'
The reason I have been unhappy with the changes is because they hurt the
players. They remove options, decrease choices, and reduce the players
ability to be heroic. Players aren't going to be taking more damage
because the bad guys do more damage, but because the players are weaker.
People aren't going to control less because the enemies have any
defenses, but because the powers only last half as long. These changes
reduce a players ability to act in order to make the game more
difficult, players now have fewer options to acheive goals with. That is
what I don't like.
I do not belive that large scale reductions in player abilities and
choices are a better way to improve the game than minor, cumulative
improvements to foe abilities and mission content.
To my mind the constant free respecs offered, and needed, after every
issue are an alarming symptom of this. When one or two powers in a
paticular set are changed, or an upper limit on an entire archtype is
applied, then a free respec is nice but probably not truely needed.
Overslotted powers or a tweaked power or two will not decimate a
population of characters beyond the ability of those characters to do a
respec trial in order to adjust. The fact that large numbers of full
character rebuilds occur after almost every issue release can not be a
good sign.
It's late and getting hard for me to think. After almost two decades of
RPGs, CRPGs, and MMORPGs, every time I played or managed one once the
players stopped being challenged you started upping the difficulty. That
was good. But you never did it by hurting the players, never by removing
powers or weakening them. You challenge players by giving them bigger
and badder emenies, more dangerous missions and foes. Don't tell them
they can't do something anymore or only let them do something half the
time, give them a challenge that requires them to do more with what they
already have.
Making the good guys weaker makes them feel less heroic. Making the bad
guys stronger makes the good guys feel more heroic.
--
If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.
When I had all powers slotted with green DOs I eventually felt like a 
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