What is MOST important to you with new mission content?

xrazamax

Not all updates are powers and customization options. When new mission content hits, what do you MOST hope to see in it?

Second option is supposed to say, "run our under level 30 characters while playing"

spinnytop

I want it to be challenging or add to the End Game

Option 4 is kind of assumed to be the case for option 3 as well. Endgame isn't much use without replayability and rewards. Put me down for a side order of being able to solo it as well. Basically, it being max lvl content, being replayable, having good rewards, and being soloable are all things I want out of new content.

ealford1985

I want to be able to solo it. I don't like looking for groups or having to join others.

I also like lore and rewards with interesting characters.

Unknown

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lezard21

I need a reason to replay it, better give me cool rewards/unlocks.

gradii said:

I also like teaming up but focusing on nothing but team only content is dumb.​​

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massively_multiplayer_online_game

Dazee plz.

On topic, the options don't necesarilly have to be mutually exclusive.

I do want more endgame content, but also I want said endgame content to be worth it to play through. For instance, Cosmics the rewards are randomly distributed which means the player that barely met contribution and then went AFK has as much chance of getting a reward as someone who participated the whole fight contributing with a vital role; TA offers average rewards and is also very random. Desert event is the event I found most fun, followed by NI event, but both of them have really terrible reward lists.

Going back to a pseudo crafting system and have the endgame content dropping materials for buying/crafting endgame gear is a good way to reward players in a consistent manner while also creating an economy flow around it.

revanantmorituri

Actually there was something else... (Other)

Other: it needs to fit in the difficulty niche between the bulk of the game and QWZ/Cosmics. Something interesting endgame that doesn't need "golden trinity or else", but I can ask 1-4 friends to join me on in whatever characters they feel like playing today, and we can figure our way through without having to study the gospel of some forum thread. It would be nice if Cryptic would dust off their old team size scaling code from back when they ran that other superhero game, to prevent the extremes of "any more than 1 and it is a cakewalk" and "any less than 5 and you may as well not bother".

guyhumual

I'd like to solo missions, but I don't mind people joining in, but when none of my friends are online I'd like to be able to run things on my own.

spinnytop

I want it to be challenging or add to the End Game

revanantmorituri said:

Other: it needs to fit in the difficulty niche between the bulk of the game and QWZ/Cosmics. Something interesting endgame that doesn't need "golden trinity or else", but I can ask 1-4 friends to join me on in whatever characters they feel like playing today, and we can figure our way through without having to study the gospel of some forum thread. It would be nice if Cryptic would dust off their old team size scaling code from back when they ran that other superhero game, to prevent the extremes of "any more than 1 and it is a cakewalk" and "any less than 5 and you may as well not bother".

I just have to point out ( again ) that QWZ does not fit your description.

pantagruel01

I want it to be challenging or add to the End Game

revanantmorituri said:

It would be nice if Cryptic would dust off their old team size scaling code from back when they ran that other superhero game, to prevent the extremes of "any more than 1 and it is a cakewalk" and "any less than 5 and you may as well not bother".

My understanding is that the way the team size scaling code worked was that they built three different versions of the map (1 player, 2-3 player, 4-5 player). That's probably not three times the work of building one copy, but it's a large increase, and if you're trying to build interesting mechanics into the fight, a lot of them don't scale very well (for example, there's no plausible way to scale the Medusa or Teleios fights in Teleios Ascendant for solo play).

spinnytop

I want it to be challenging or add to the End Game

Well one way they mitigated that a bit in QWZ is if you have 3 or more people in your party NPCs starting running off to aggro other groups into the fight. That's a less work intensive way of doing that sort of thing.

jonesing4

I need a reason to replay it, better give me cool rewards/unlocks.

Some good options there, but MOST important to me is getting rewards, mostly in the form of costume unlocks or auras, things that will help me customize my characters.

Challenging stuff can be fun, but simple and easy stuff can be fun to take characters through. OMs are great sometimes (I really enjoy High Noon, for the most part), but the realities of our population and my general tendency towards being antisocial make me want stuff that I can solo. A new zone/area would be great; I’m doing a lot of stuff in Vibora lately, and have been surprised at how much I’ve enjoyed some of those instanced locations. New lore or storyline could be fun, though I don’t enjoy the general tone they’ve set up in the game (blame the original devs), so that isn’t very big for me.

So, the longer version is that I’m pretty happy with new stuff as long as it does SOMEthing. But #1 on my list is the loot.

magpieuk2014

Actually there was something else... (Other)

I like Bloodmoon best, tbh, and I would like more of the same in a future event. I like it because it offers:

1) Whole Zone fights (Takofanes) which have a bit of depth to them and can be failed but without being Cosmics or Mechanon. It's a zone event, let everyone play and contribute, but still challenge and offer up unique rewards. And sure, have a damage table which rewards over-achievement, too... that takes effort.

2) Events for local, informal teams - the Bloodmoon "pain train" - with moderate rewards and levelling/XP bonuses so that people can just merrily grind event currency for special items, improve their equipment, get better costumes or just level up without playing Grabs all the time.

3) Local, soloable dungeon runs - difficulty somewhere between normal Level 40 and QZone. Playing along with the pain train means you open up more content; A bit of a solo challenge, build tester, technique refiner with a chance to get more event currency than normal and (maybe) some special drops.

That way, everyone's catered for...

markhawkman

I need a reason to replay it, better give me cool rewards/unlocks.

pantagruel01 said:

revanantmorituri said:

It would be nice if Cryptic would dust off their old team size scaling code from back when they ran that other superhero game, to prevent the extremes of "any more than 1 and it is a cakewalk" and "any less than 5 and you may as well not bother".

My understanding is that the way the team size scaling code worked was that they built three different versions of the map (1 player, 2-3 player, 4-5 player). That's probably not three times the work of building one copy, but it's a large increase, and if you're trying to build interesting mechanics into the fight, a lot of them don't scale very well (for example, there's no plausible way to scale the Medusa or Teleios fights in Teleios Ascendant for solo play).

The way it works in STO is that all mobs have a trigger that hides some of the mobs if the wrong number of players are playing. NOTE: it's NOT necessarily showing all of them at 5-man. It sometimes hides some of the weaklings at 5-man.

jaazaniah1

Endgame content that can be run solo with decent rewards that is set in MC.

ogremindes

I want to be able to solo it. I don't like looking for groups or having to join others.

For me, content being solo or PUG friendly. I don't like group content that's actually hard because I'm perpetually convinced that I'm not good enough, regardless of whether that's true or not.

Also Science themed, rather than Arms or Mysticism. I can shoot paramilitary goons or throw fireballs at demons in any number of other games.

guyhumual

ogremindes said:

For me, content being solo or PUG friendly. I don't like group content that's actually hard because I'm perpetually convinced that I'm not good enough, regardless of whether that's true or not.

Also Science themed, rather than Arms or Mysticism. I can shoot paramilitary goons or throw fireballs at demons in any number of other games.

I agree with this completely.

Unknown

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theravenforce

I need a reason to replay it, better give me cool rewards/unlocks.

Whilst I do value teaming up from time to time, if I am going to do it frequently, or rather be forced to, I'd like to be able to complete it with friends or people who I know well enough in a smaller group of perhaps team size or a little bit bigger like 10 of us...and I don't mean 5-10 of us among "tons of other players".

I would like also to see more content that has a "regular" feel to it, less "bring X or don't come" inducing content. Something along the lines of a new level 40 mission chain or some sort of system to re-run entire zone missions at level 40 and gain appropriate rewards, would be great.

There are plenty of missions which I can no longer access which were amazing, I'd like to see them at level 40 and run through them again.

aesica

I want to be able to solo it. I don't like looking for groups or having to join others.

lezard21 wrote: »

I also like teaming up but focusing on nothing but team only content is dumb.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massively_multiplayer_online_game

Dazee plz.

You realize that the "team or gtfo" model for MMOs is from a much earlier era, right? This is 2017. ​​

spinnytop

I want it to be challenging or add to the End Game

Yes, 2017 where all MMOs have learned that solo content is where it's at and hence that's what the majority of content in MMOs is. These hip new realizations other MMOs are coming to might be the reason none of them can keep my interest :3c

pantagruel01

I want it to be challenging or add to the End Game

aesica said:

You realize that the "team or gtfo" model for MMOs is from a much earlier era, right? This is 2017. ​​

And in 2017, MMOs still advertise raids and other team-based content, not their solo content.

eviltwintwo

Lots of interesting choices, and as usual, I can't seem to settle on one.

I think I like dynamic, adaptable content which can either be soloed or teamed. It's fine if some content is team-only, I'll either play it with a team or skip it, depending on what mood I'm in. I've always mostly soloed regardless of the MMO I've played; "mostly" does not mean "exclusively".

The open missions are good. Ascii Oakley is a lot more challenging; I've had fun trying to solo it, and I've had fun PUGing it.

The challenge is all over the place, but I think all MMORPGs are like that, to one degree or another. I've managed to solo Mechanon with a tank...that was challenging to my poor fingers.

New areas and characters are nice, but this game isn't the best at NPC characters. The main heroes are a snooze. Defender alone...thank goodness NPC's aren't why I play games. I guess some of the others are a little better; frankly a certain other game Cryptic once worked on had much the same problem with some notable exceptions. (Penelope!!!)

I do want to say I don't get the argument about soloing. Some content does require teaming, but there's no law anywhere saying you can't solo if you want. The game is massive, not the missions. No offense intended.

aesica

I want to be able to solo it. I don't like looking for groups or having to join others.

pantagruel01 wrote: »

And in 2017, MMOs still advertise raids and other team-based content, not their solo content.

Right, but it's about having a healthy mix. Many of the older MMOs were borderline impossible to do without some sort of team, so what did people do when teams weren't available? They sat around or logged off to play something else. Balance, balance, balance. ​​

spinnytop

I want it to be challenging or add to the End Game

Sure, a mix is good. I guess you just didn't communicate very well that you didn't mean focusing on solo content was the way to go. After all, it's still a multiplayer game, so that's what people are coming here for. Also I've been playing MMOs for over a decade and I remember always having some solo stuff to do, so I'm not sure exactly what you're referencing.

aesica

I want to be able to solo it. I don't like looking for groups or having to join others.

spinnytop wrote: »

Sure, a mix is good. I guess you just didn't communicate very well that you didn't mean focusing on solo content was the way to go.

I didn't need to because nobody anywhere in this thread called for that. (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

spinnytop wrote: »

After all, it's still a multiplayer game, so that's what people are coming here for. Also I've been playing MMOs for over a decade and I remember always having some solo stuff to do, so I'm not sure exactly what you're referencing.

Which of those were early-generation MMOs? Games like Everquest, FFXI, and Dark Ages (my god how is that PoS even still running?) weren't solo friendly at all until much later. Unlike those games, modern MMOs (which CO technically counts as in this regard) have content designed to be played solo rather than content people have managed to solo in spite of the original design.​​

spinnytop

I want it to be challenging or add to the End Game

Yeah I played Everquest.

avianos

I need a reason to replay it, better give me cool rewards/unlocks.

Nothing wrong with solo content in MMO

Solo missions can be used to embrace the lore, develop characters and explain events mechanics while avoiding people

something which CO would greatly use for narration, but i guess the ship has sailed and it's too late for such investment
I'm sick of open world event/bosses/cosmics/lag/zone stupidity​​

nbkxs

I want it to be challenging or add to the End Game

I want something that a smallish group can do, ~10 or so, something that demands perfection from every, single person involved, or instant fail. Something that keeps the leechers out, and makes sure those that only want to be carried get no rewards for that behavior.

To go along with this, those that can actually manage to finish it have access to exclusive stuff to show off their accomplishments. (Titles, mods that have benefits, or an edge over others, incredibly nice costume bits.)​​

spinnytop

I want it to be challenging or add to the End Game

nbkxs said:

I want something that a smallish group can do, ~10 or so, something that demands perfection from every, single person involved, or instant fail. Something that keeps the leechers out, and makes sure those that only want to be carried get no rewards for that behavior.



To go along with this, those that can actually manage to finish it have access to exclusive stuff to show off their accomplishments. (Titles, mods that have benefits, or an edge over others, incredibly nice costume bits.)​​

jaazaniah1

Huh? And here I thought I came to this game because it was a superhero game? I sure fooled myself! The content I actually enjoy most is leveling characters solo. The limited amount of end game content, which is team oriented, is more stale to me because it is even more repetitive than leveling. But heck, I fooled myself about why I came to this game, maybe I am fooling myself on the content I most enjoy as well?

spinnytop said:

After all, it's still a multiplayer game, so that's what people are coming here for.

spinnytop

I want it to be challenging or add to the End Game

jaazaniah1 said:

Huh? And here I thought I

Trying to dispel general trends with personal anecdotes doesn't work. I know a guy who hates MMOs and refuses to play a single one ever... and yet, that doesn't change the fact that it's a popular genre. Funny how that works.

sterga

I'd like content that awards me a fabulous, flying, rainbow pony just for showing up. Travel power, not vehicle. Super fast but can't fight which is fine since it's really just for showing off in RenCen.

Too bad Ravenwood's simulator wasn't used as an alternate hub for content. I mentioned it before and it still probably won't happen.​​

jaazaniah1

Exactly my point. I'm glad you agree with me against what you said in the post I quoted. It's not a good idea to make sweeping claims about what drew/draws people to CO. Those will almost always debunked by players who came/come here for reasons far removed from this being an MMO.

spinnytop said:

jaazaniah1 said:

Huh? And here I thought I

Trying to dispel general trends with personal anecdotes doesn't work. I know a guy who hates MMOs and refuses to play a single one ever... and yet, that doesn't change the fact that it's a popular genre. Funny how that works.

magpieuk2014

Actually there was something else... (Other)

To go along with this, those that can actually manage to finish it have access to exclusive stuff to show off their accomplishments. (Titles, mods that have benefits, or an edge over others, incredibly nice costume bits.)​​

Good old irony. Please tell me you were being ironic.....

Anyway, as I said above... there are at least three different groups to please in every Event. Players, Casual PUGs, Solo.

spinnytop

I want it to be challenging or add to the End Game

jaazaniah1 said:

Exactly my point. I'm glad you agree with me against what you said in the post I quoted. It's not a good idea to make sweeping claims about what drew/draws people to CO. Those will almost always debunked by players who came/come here for reasons far removed from this being an MMO.

Well then you didn't get what I was saying at all. Sweeping claims are fine when you're talking about trends, since that's kind of the point of talking about trends. The point that I was making, that you just agreed with, is that your personal opinion being different than the trend doesn't make the trend any less valid. So I'm glad you agreed with me against the thing you said in the same post where you said you agreed with me because you didn't understand what I was saying in the post you were responding to o3o

I mean geez how did you even manage that... I literally started with the statement "Trying to dispel general trends with personal anecdotes doesn't work." How you got to "talking about general trends is a bad idea because they'll be debunked by personal anecdotes" must be a pretty interesting story.

chaelk

Actually there was something else... (Other)

something new.
i level by missions so any new missions are usually good.
though i would prefer the random stats gear rewards got changed on current missions.

chaelk

Actually there was something else... (Other)

magpieuk2014 said:

To go along with this, those that can actually manage to finish it have access to exclusive stuff to show off their accomplishments. (Titles, mods that have benefits, or an edge over others, incredibly nice costume bits.)​​

Good old irony. Please tell me you were being ironic.....

Anyway, as I said above... there are at least three different groups to please in every Event. Players, Casual PUGs, Solo.

lots of players, min maxers, casual, groupers, soloers. altaholics, 1 character only etc

spinnytop

I want it to be challenging or add to the End Game

Wait, if "players" is a group, then what are casual pugs and solo composed of if not players?

deadman20

I want it to take place in new or interesting areas with new or interesting characters.

Personally, I like looking at new locations in the game. New environments to toy around with and new allies and enemies. I also like when these new places come with their own unique gimmicks and tricks that I need to learn and adjust to so the combat doesn't feel so stale.​​

magpieuk2014

Actually there was something else... (Other)

I also like when these new places come with their own unique gimmicks and tricks that I need to learn and adjust to so the combat doesn't feel so stale.​​

As long as it isn't that knock/lock-out combo they're so fond of in the Nightmare event. God, that's tedious.

deadman20

I want it to take place in new or interesting areas with new or interesting characters.

magpieuk2014 wrote: »

I also like when these new places come with their own unique gimmicks and tricks that I need to learn and adjust to so the combat doesn't feel so stale.

As long as it isn't that knock/lock-out combo they're so fond of in the Nightmare event. God, that's tedious.

Hah, I agree with you there. Nothing worse than insta-gibs and perma-knock chains.​​

spinnytop

I want it to be challenging or add to the End Game

deadman20 said:

Hah, I agree with you there. Nothing worse than insta-gibs and perma-knock chains.​​

Nothing better than blocking them tho :'3

raphaeldisanto

I want to be able to solo it. I don't like looking for groups or having to join others.

I've always regarded MMOs as a metaphor for real life. Real life is a massively-multiplayer game too, but you don't have to do everything grouped there either. It's like driving to a destination. Sometimes you carpool, sometimes you drive yourself. If you carpool you save money and you can switch out drivers if you want to, but you're stuck trying to agree when to leave and when to arrive. You have to stop for bathroom breaks when someone wants to. If you drive yourself, you have to do all the work, but you can leave when you want, stop when you want, drive at the speed you want.

Massively multiplayer simply means lots of people existing in the same persistent world able to interact with each other if they should so choose. It doesn't specify whether or not those players are grouped up or not. If grouping was required, they'd be called Massively Teamed Online.......

I'm not saying group content is good or bad. I'm an old school EQ player myself. I've put my time in, led 60 man raids using nothing but /ooc and /zone for communication to kill Vox and Naggy. I've been part of a phone circle to wake the guild up at 3am because Ragefire popped and our Cleric's about to get KS'd by a rival guild.

Conversely, I also play solo. A lot. My time is important to me, and I rather like spending it doing something I want to do, at the pace I want to do it.

So no judgements here from me as to which playstyle you prefer. I'm just saying that just because MMO has the second 'M' in its title, that doesn't mandate that teaming up is a requirement.

Just means lots of players, each doing their thing.

spinnytop

I want it to be challenging or add to the End Game

Group content is an expected part of any MMO, and is an expected focus of the genre. It's also really easy to think a game is dead if you're constantly doing everything by yourself, and that is actually one way that players will judge if an MMO is worth continuing with. Group content is not only expected, it is vital to the continued operation and growth of an mmo.

scildtruma

Actually there was something else... (Other)

Other. Because the game runs best for me solo or in small teams of 5 or less. Unfortunately for me this should have no bearing although I will say I like the ease of alerts. I don't like to chat much most of the time and being able to jump into smaller groups for quick runs works well for me.