First Surprises in COH

[dwturducken]

Level 50 SOs were the same effectiveness as level 25 SOs (33%) - I think you meant "being level 50 and having way more slots" made a huge difference, because THAT certainly is true.

I could also have the type of enhancements mixed up in my head. I didn't do a lot of crafting except in the first few months I was playing. (I was also one of those who didn't know Lusca's name until after the end. ) One of the "Lifers" in my group related it to enhancements, and, yeah, the number of slots made a bigger difference, sometimes, than what was slotted in them.

The point, though, was the issue of parity not really being much of an equalizer. It was a real turn off for me from PVP. We did the Arena a couple of times, but that was really only cool for a few minutes, sort of the "Batman v. Wolverine" kind of stuff.

[Senkan]

First surprise was joining a team and having some asshole TPing me from hundreds of feet up into a group purples.

[Golden Ace]

Inv / Ice Tank.  used to use Frozen Aura on the low level mobs in Atlas and Freeze them solid back when it did no damage.  I would then teleport them to the top of the globe, I figured everyone needed the top dog badge, even the mobs.   I think my record was 13 mobs on top of the globe at once. I would have kept going but someone would always come around and knock them off or kill them.

[Nyx Nought Nothing]

Inv / Ice Tank.  used to use Frozen Aura on the low level mobs in Atlas and Freeze them solid back when it did no damage.  I would then teleport them to the top of the globe, I figured everyone needed the top dog badge, even the mobs.   I think my record was 13 mobs on top of the globe at once. I would have kept going but someone would always come around and knock them off or kill them.

Wormhole was one of my favorites for mob relocation programs. Finding amusing bits of geometry to lodge mobs into (the AE building windows were especially good at adhering mobs), firing large spawns of Warriors into the air over the Talos tram station and shouting, "It's raining men!"

There were also a few police station and store interiors that were within Wormhole range of spawn points. i would occasionally Wormhole some in so they could get some shopping or community service done and keep an eye on them so they didn't cause trouble with any heroes who were also visiting. As soon as they started to act up i'd either Wormhole them again or arrest them. Random hero: "Why the hell are there Freaks in the electronics store?!" Me: "i think they needed some batteries. Don't worry, i'm keeping an eye on them."

[eabrace]

Wormhole was one of my favorites for mob relocation programs.

"Lay me out a field of Trip Mines.  I'm going to go find a spawn."

[Intone]

Oh wait, you mean I can sell those enhancement thingies that have been cluttering up my tray? 

[DarkCurrent]

Discovering there were DO/SO stores.  Before they were labeled on the maps.  Being able to click on a door of some shop in a zone and entering and seeing NPCs ready to sell me enhancers.  Remember hoping to get drops for your enhancers?  Fighting specific foes that would drop your origin?  And regretting picking something like mutant or magic origin because those foes were super hard to fight?

[doc7924]

First surprise was joining a team and having some asshole TPing me from hundreds of feet up into a group purples.

I had something like that happen to me. Was the first month or so COH was out. I had a level 10 or 11 blaster. My travel power was not hover. Some lvl 20 invited me to a team, tp'd me to the top of the tallest building in Steel (where I was) then quit team and flew off and left me there. LOL.

[FourSpeed]

Some fun stuff in this thread. 

I don't know that I recall my *first* surprise, but there were many.  Among them:

* My first ambush (5th Column in KR). Just finished the mission, I'm standing at that door, talking to my contact, and WHAMMO!  A 5th Column goon squad shows up to avenge their fallen comrades. 

* Later on, running into somebody else's high-level ambush ("Hmmm who are *those* weird-looking guys?  Let's have a look" -- Ruh Roh...)

* My first encounter with a clockwork Tesla Knight ... and getting Tesla Caged.  "Crap, I can't do anything!!!".  That ended poorly   

* First time I was Tp'd (not griefed, thankfully). I was never much of a teamer, but I did that time, and I'm running towards the mission and Pop! there I am -- following immediately by "Smack - Ow, I just ran into a wall") 

* On my first PB - Being 1-shot by the first Void Boss in my 3rd or 4th mission on that toon.  Ouchies.

* On same PB - around level 16 or so in Talos.  Hey, there's an Ancestor Spirit flying by and he's only got a sliver of health - I think my nova can pot-shot him ... sure he's conning purple, but heck he's 1 hit away from dead...    MISS!  WHAMMO!  (Ahhh, crap -- anyone got a wakey?) 

* Also in Talos (on my original E3 main).   Leaving the mission door -- zip around the building corner -- Smack! Right into somebody's  Kronos Titan... Ewpsie...

 
Cheers,
4

[SeaLily]

I remember two big awe-inspiring moments while playing City of Heroes, both being only a matter of weeks post-launch.

The first was in the beta, when I first got to Steel Canyon.  I'd experienced Atlas Park and Kings Row, which had plenty of buildings, sure, but... Steel Canyon was different.  The buildings were huge, imposing things, towering overhead.  I felt absolutely tiny on the streets there, with only Combat Jumping to help me get around at all.  The people that had invited me onto a team had to snap me back to reality as I kind of stood around staring up at the buildings for a while.  It felt like a REAL city, a HUGE place, so dense and impressive.  Even games like GTA3 hadn't given me that sensation.  That's when I was hooked on the game, that moment.

The second was my first task force.  We were doing Synapse, and it was pretty exciting overall, going from mission to mission and seeing the story unfold as we fought through all these clockwork.  When we fought Babbage, I was excited.  But when we reached the Clockwork King's lair?  The first time I got to see the leader of the groups of Clockwork I'd been fighting for weeks through the beta and live on any number of characters?  That was the first time I was intimidated by the game.  That guy was BIG and SCARY and, man, I don't wanna mess with him.  And then we stomped him into the ground.  And I felt like a superhero.

I wish I could experience those moments again for the first time.  Nothing else in any game, CoH or not, ever gave me the same kind of feeling as those two moments.

[ahmpizzedoff]

My first and most memorable surprise was the very first time I saw , 8 years ago, CoH. My daughter and son in law were playing when I walked into the room. I took one look at their screen, said "WOW! What's that?" watched the game play about 10 minutes and listened to them explain the way the game was played and the community that was built around it. I was hooked and hooked good. That same day it was on my PC. I used to call it, "My On Line Crack Habit!" I'd sit for hours in front of that PC playing and making friends. Good thing I have an understanding wife and I was retired! One of my favorite things on CoH was when I played my toon Older'n Dirt I'd get tells from other players saying, " I'll bet I'm older than you are." Most would ask my real age and I'd usually be 20 - 30 years older than they were until one day I got the question again. I answered, "I'm probably old enough to be your grandfather." The reply came back, "Well if you are you'd be pretty darned old, I'm 75." She had me by 13 years and my only reply was, "Well I finally found someone to look up to!" We both had a good LMAO minute before we went our ways!

Since that very first time I saw CoH, my bumbling around as a "noob" and up to the very last second CoH was on, I've had so many surprises, good times and made so many friends it's impossible for me to remember all of them. Now all I have are the memories of some of the wonderful things that were CoH and I truly miss the game and all good things that came along with it.

My forum name was the last toon I built the day they announced CoH would be shutting down. It was my little way of letting them know just how I felt.

[Risha]

I always like to check in here and see what will make me smile and nod and think, "Me, too.  Me, too."  Thanks.

[MaidMercury]

yes...My first lesson...never. NEVER ever join  a  low level Team while flying .

[Ultrarocket]

When I started playing and a lvl 50 invited me to be their sidekick.

Me not knowing that it actually meant to team, I thought, "Psh! YOUR SIDEKICK? YEAH RIGHT BUDDY! I'M A HERO, I AIN'T NO SIDEKICK!

[Rust]

The first time I activated Telekinesis in a full group mission and ended up throwing the entire room full of Mobs against the wall.

I just found that so entertaining and fun.

[Golden Ace]

yes...My first lesson...never. NEVER ever join  a  low level Team while flying .

hahahaha.

had that happen to me once.


Good times

[goodtime]

Bugs!


More bugs!

[Rust]

Heh, I like that second picture. It's like someone off screen is going to shoot the bugs.

[Night-Hawk07]

Malta Sappers!  Look up "rat bastage" in the dictionary, and you see a picture of one of these guys.

No kidding. Upon seeing Malta:



Upon seeing Malta Sappers:

That's a big part of it, yes. The other part is, when the current enemy falls you must rush on to the next spawn as if you were a Brute, still remaining all but blind to everything around you. The difference is, while Brutes are focused on keeping their Fury bar as full as possible, Scrappers have no mechanics-based reason to act this way. They do it simply because they are having so much fun smashing stuff that it becomes difficult to think of boring things like safety and tactics. Usually the "Don't stop, don't think" part is an unintentional side effect of the "Yay! Smash stuff!" part, but I've seen people do it deliberately too.

Cause it's crazy fun

Having played a Scrapper as my main toon for the whole 5 and a half years I played, I'm now dying with laughter knowing there's a name for that condition.

[Cinnder]

Don't know if this really counts as a surprise, but it was a revelation of sorts... In a Brer Rabbit Tar Baby kind of way.

CoH was my first MMO, so I was unfamiliar with most of the common terms.  On my first day back in 2005 I was wandering around Atlas, fascinated simply at the fact that there were other people in the same game with me.  Then I spotted a hero who seemed different from the others, standing next to a pillar outside City Hall.  He had a special label, so I figured maybe he was a developer or at least some sort of admin.

I walked up and said, "Sorry to bother you, but can you tell me what that label above your head means?"

Silence.

"I don't want to intrude, but I was just wondering whether it meant you were one of the people who brought us this interesting game."

Still nothing.

Waited.

Still nothing.

"Oh well," I said.  "Hope you have a nice day anyway," and I walked away.

The label I was asking him about?  You've probably guessed: "AFK"