Author Topic: Your opinion is valued!  (Read 6838 times)

Catharctic

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Your opinion is valued!
« on: July 06, 2008, 11:09:59 PM »
Hey guys and gals!

It's my view that we have some of the best players from various servers who visit our forums occassionally. Because of that, I'd like to take a moment to shamelessly plug an idea I recently posted on the official boards. Before reading the the post, I'd like to point out that it's not a service specific to the badging community, but it definitely benefit us. Please check out the post and toss your constructive thoughts up on the thread itself.

Thanks for your time and input!

Character Revamp
« Last Edit: July 07, 2008, 01:46:29 PM by Cath »

Archmage Chaos

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Re: Your opinion is valued!
« Reply #1 on: July 07, 2008, 05:25:34 PM »
I know this debate has come up many times before, so I'm not surprised at the general answers you're getting.  Really, I just don't see the need for the whole "powerset respec".  With so many slots and options, there's nothing to make the argument for this any better to me than the idea of just making a new toon. 

Sure, I can see a couple reasons why someone might want to, but none that make me feel like it's something that should be added to the game, you know?
"Not only did I disturb your precious angels, but I shredded their silken wings and drank their heavenly ichor." -- R.J.M. Lofficier
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Voltaic Shock

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Re: Your opinion is valued!
« Reply #2 on: July 07, 2008, 06:15:32 PM »
The main reason I wouldn't want this is because of the badge issues.  If I could copy badges to my other characters then I wouldn't need this system.

I just don't see why all characters can't have the 1 year badge if at least one character has it, this means your account was active.  I understand you had to log into your character.

I would love to change powersets.  Personally I prefer to play characters at lvl 40 and move on, not really into the lower levels.
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SuckerPunch

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Re: Your opinion is valued!
« Reply #3 on: July 07, 2008, 06:30:11 PM »
Yeah, the anniversary badges should be account-wide, not per-character.  It's not "fair" to penalize making a new alt when you're account has been around for forever.

SuburbanHell

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Re: Your opinion is valued!
« Reply #4 on: July 07, 2008, 08:15:47 PM »
Yeah, the anniversary badges should be account-wide, not per-character.  It's not "fair" to penalize making a new alt when you're account has been around for forever.

That, I wholeheartedly agree with.

Voltaic Shock

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Re: Your opinion is valued!
« Reply #5 on: July 07, 2008, 08:16:07 PM »
Yeah, the anniversary badges should be account-wide, not per-character.  It's not "fair" to penalize making a new alt when you're account has been around for forever.

That's what I have been saying from the beginning.  Other badges I can understand, but anniversary should be to every character.
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Catharctic

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Re: Your opinion is valued!
« Reply #6 on: July 07, 2008, 10:04:25 PM »
Yeah, the anniversary badges should be account-wide, not per-character.  It's not "fair" to penalize making a new alt when you're account has been around for forever.

Total agreement. Maybe they will do it at some point.

I posted my response to people's jerkery (not a real word, i know) and my reasoning behind it all. In a nut shell, I think it would bring people back to the game and retain more people as well. Regardless of what the forum trolls say, if people had the opportunity to revamp one of their powersets when certain changes occur, a lot of people would no longer have the right to gripe. I always lean toward customer service and how it benefits an organization, so this would be a step in the right direction for the City games as I see it.

One of the recurring arguments against this is "Just level the new character to 50 you f*&%tard!" My thoughts on that are "What if I don't want another (insert Primary) Tanker? Scrapper? etc." I have a hard time duplicating a powerset from a hero to a new villain, much less something on the same side having a duplicated powerset. I suppose the idea came about for me when I originally came to the realization that my badge character, Catharctic (Ice/Ice Tanker), was really, really weak offensively in the high level game. I've learned to maximize his build pretty nicely, but he still doesn't keep up with other Tankers offensively. If I had the opportunity to give him a little more firepower, I would think long and hard, but I would probably do it.

Besides that type of scenario, i still think it would be a great roleplaying exercise to modify a character's abilities dramatically. I think of Marvel's "secondary mutation" stories that redefined some of their oldest characters in the past few years. Beast became a huge Panther-like creature as opposed to his traditional "furry blue guy" look; Bobby Drake became all ice; Archangel lost his blue skin and got healing abilities to boot, etc. It was pretty important to their entire universe.

Those are the things I was thinking of when I finally posted the idea I had been mulling over for about 3 years.

SuckerPunch

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Re: Your opinion is valued!
« Reply #7 on: July 07, 2008, 10:19:10 PM »
I have to say that I wholeheartedly disagree with your general idea, though.  I'm definitely of the mindset that if you aren't happy with your Fire/Ice Blaster, roll the Ice/EM you really want.

It's incredibly easy to level up these days. I created an MA/WP Scrapper about 2 weeks ago and she's already 45.  I created a Bane when I12 launched and he's 48 now.  I'm not even a powergamer really.

There's just no point to a full-powerset respec these days (if there ever was). Even badges as a reason I don't buy.  Use your old guy as your "badge" character and then get the badges  you want for the new one (i'm think accolades here mostly).

If you don't like whatever it is you took to 50, well then that's not really anyone's problem but yours, is it?  It's not anyone elses fault that you took a Fire/EM tank to 50 but now you want a Ice/EM. 

Voltaic Shock

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Re: Your opinion is valued!
« Reply #8 on: July 07, 2008, 10:32:32 PM »
I have to agree with Cath about how other franchises, even though not games let the characters find new abilities or change completely because it brought new life into the character.  Maybe that is what he is going for.
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SuckerPunch

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Re: Your opinion is valued!
« Reply #9 on: July 07, 2008, 10:46:21 PM »
I think the biggest stinker are the time-sensitive badges. The best way to attack that is to go for opening those up either account-wide (like anniversary badges), or making them available again (like they did with the first Halloween badges). 

I will side 100% with badgers on that... but powerset respecs I'll stand 100% against.  I guess it's just my playstyle. I don't play characters I don't like, and I have no issues deleting characters that get stale - almost regardless of level.   I've probably deleted 100's of levels worth of characters in my time here - and I don't regret a single one   8)

Voltaic Shock

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Re: Your opinion is valued!
« Reply #10 on: July 07, 2008, 11:29:09 PM »
See I never delete a character (I have deleted maybe one or two because I created them at the start of the game).

Badges 100%, Powersets 75% - :P

I have always wanted to change my powersets, would be a cool story to write - :P
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Catharctic

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Re: Your opinion is valued!
« Reply #11 on: July 08, 2008, 01:19:40 AM »
I have to agree with Cath about how other franchises, even though not games let the characters find new abilities or change completely because it brought new life into the character.  Maybe that is what he is going for.

Yep

I have always wanted to change my powersets, would be a cool story to write - :P

And yep.

I actually do see both sides of the debate. Like I said before, the thing that leans me toward the idea is customer repeats and customer retention. I may or may not use the service myself, but I think people really would come back to the game for it, and I think some might stick around through the so-called nerfs that are a point of contention with many people.

Basically, I think the pros outweigh the cons, especially with the in-game store expanding like it has.

SuckerPunch

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Re: Your opinion is valued!
« Reply #12 on: July 08, 2008, 12:42:41 PM »
I think you grossly overestimate the number of people that would "come back" or "stay" for this feature. Really, I think it's ripe for abuse.

Level a Fire/Kin up as fast as you can to 50 because it's easy - and then powerset respec into Mind/Empathy because that's what you really wanted.  That just doesn't seem right to me, and it's going to create more high-level noobs who have no idea how to use their sets.

I've played on other people's accounts before that had a large number of different 50's, and I have to say that the learning curve for playing a set I've never seen before was drastically high.  I consider myself a pretty seasoned player, and if it was difficult for me to "get into the groove" of a level 50 character that I had never personally played, I can't imagine what it would be like in the hands of someone that can barely play a character they leveled up naturally :P

The devs have gone back on the word a few times recently (making Isolator badge available out of Outbreak when they said it would never happen, for example) - but I pretty firmly believe that this is one issue that isn't worth holding your breath over.  There are just so many ramifications and I really believe that you haven't thought out every angle ... to my eyes, the cons far outweigh the pros.

Voltaic Shock

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Re: Your opinion is valued!
« Reply #13 on: July 08, 2008, 12:48:28 PM »
What if they made it so you could only change powersets once a year? (or made you do a TF by yourself -  :P)

Just trying to figure out what could make this work.
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Catharctic

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Re: Your opinion is valued!
« Reply #14 on: July 08, 2008, 01:43:13 PM »
Again...I see both sides of it. I'm not holding my breathe. I'm not sure why winning the thread is so important to people. "Discussion Forums" means "discussion forums" I thought. All the "you're wrong because you haven't thought it through" stuff is getting annoying.

Just sayin.

What if they made it so you could only change powersets once a year? (or made you do a TF by yourself -  :P)

Yeah...I said once per character ever. Intriguing proposition though. What if you actually had to use a trial to do it? At certain stages, you would be rewarded with a change to the powerset you are moving to. At the end of the trial, you get a respec to fix slotting and the order of powers chosen.

While I was just typing, I realized how that's a good groundwork for side switching...since powersets aren't shared cross-faction in a lot of cases.
« Last Edit: July 08, 2008, 01:49:57 PM by Cath »

Catharctic

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Re: Your opinion is valued!
« Reply #15 on: July 09, 2008, 01:52:47 AM »
I ran with the trial idea. Check it out. It would be a cool challenge.

Paladin

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Re: Your opinion is valued!
« Reply #16 on: July 09, 2008, 03:38:40 AM »
How about a variataion on the Trial/Task Force theme?  (btw I think it would be fine to have this as a Solo OR a Team event.)  I really do NOT like the idea of only being able to be done Once EVER per Toon; nor a "Monty Hall" like once per Issue either. 

How about instead the 2nd time a Toon makes a "Total Respec" (Origin, Power Sets, etc.) the Toon is re-set back 10 levels, the 3rd time Ever re-set 20 levels, etc.  The 6th and any subsequent "Total Re-sets" would allow you keep your Badges, Influence, and even Enhancements, and to re-pick your Toon's Powersets, Origin, etc. Even any unlocked costume items, including capes.  This would certainly add signifficant discouragement to over-use of this option.  It will also greatly reduce the "n00b" at 50 factor if players had to earn back their levels. 

I have Toons that I have had since the Beta that I can not bare to delete, yet I never really play either.  An option such as this would allow me to breath new life back into these foundly thought of, yet deeply flawed Toons.  But I Really do NOT want to see this as Once Only.  Mostly because I am hoping they will eventually create "new" Power Sets; such as the PISTOL Power Set I have been hoping for since the Beta! 

As for Enhancements I think they should offer the standard option to Keep or Sell them (perhaps they could treat these Enhancements just like when a Toon is Exemplared?), or they could be auto-placed into an Enhancement storage in your Toon's Super Group Base, assuming your Toon IS in a Super Group. 

I am an admitted "Alt-a-holic" and a Badge Wh@...   uh, "Badge Hunter".  I am also getting ready for another tour of duty in Iraq, I missed getting the First Aniversery Badges because I was on a base with NO possability of playing an MMO.  At least this time I should be able to at least log in to get the 5th Aniversery, if not really play. 
DUTY, it is the most sublime word in the English languge, you can never do more, you should never wish to do less.

Catharctic

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Re: Your opinion is valued!
« Reply #17 on: July 09, 2008, 01:26:47 PM »
I am an admitted "Alt-a-holic" and a Badge Wh@...   uh, "Badge Hunter".

Badge Titan  ;)

Second Chances

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Re: Your opinion is valued!
« Reply #18 on: July 09, 2008, 11:12:22 PM »
The Suggestions forum on the boards is a sad place. :(

Then again, the last one I made pretty much fell into the memory hole without much comment from anyone but a nonregular who didn't quite get what I was suggesting.