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Pro’s and Con’s

What are your personal opinions about what makes CO great or not so great?

Freeform is a given, just wondering what makes most people loyal or Veterans for this game. What makes this CO in your eyes, and what is the downside aside from Lootboxes?

Comments

  • qawsadaqawsada Posts: 736 Arc User
    edited August 2019
    This is one of the few games where you can create any characters you want. I could make a robot, I could make a dragon, I could make a comic superhero, I could make any beastman I want, hell, I would make a celebrity. Its without a doubt one of the best in the market right now. This MMO is the Altitis: the MMO due to both the Freeform and the Character Creation.

    Aside from this, getting into the endgame on this mmo is much more quicker and easier compare to many other mmos that base around their game on endgame. Shove a bunch of blue gears on your character, mod it with r5 mods, and you're good to go. The community is closely knitted one at that.

    For the Con, I would say that there are MANY costumes that is exclusive to the Lockbox that might disinterest potential customers. Another Con would be the Freeform itself. Its the most customizable character build out there and one of the best way to enjoy Champions Online, but its behind a paywall. I would actually be fine if the Premium Pack added one Freeform slot just to give the buyer a taste of what Freeform has to offer, but even that is not an option.
  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Posts: 4,915 Arc User
    The best parts of the game are free, so you can play and enjoy it without paying. :D
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  • spinnytopspinnytop Posts: 16,450 Arc User
    Pros: Me.

    Cons: All those guys who've been escaping Westside Prison for the last 9 years.
  • dreadjaws2dreadjaws2 Posts: 58 Arc User
    The versatility in character creation is definitely the high point of the game for me. There's no other game in the world that allows this much variety in both character visual design and abilities. Plus, I find the combat quite fun. I know people like to praise City of Heroes as the best superhero game ever, but I could never get into the combat.

    Speaking of that, the focus on superheroes rather than fantasy like most other MMOs is a major plus, as I find the genre more attractive. I like Lord of the Rings and the like fine, but the visuals are not as colorful, the character abilites are not as varied and generally the situations are not as imaginative.

    As for cons, I think the things I like the less are the ones that were taken away. The lack of a monthly subscription is a sore spot. The current model is alright, but I would like to still have the option without having to go for the ultra expensive life subscription, which rarely goes on sale for over 33% off. The fact that there's one starting area rather than being able to choose between three like before makes the start of the game feel monotonous, as it's the part of the game I see the most.

    And while I like the Nemesis system, I wish more care was put into it. A few more missions here and there would be nice and all, but if you're going to put a Nemesis alert, then make your algorithm first pick from a character that has a Nemesis created. I shouldn't be able to see one of those randomly generated ones unless it was literally the only option. And please, for the love of God, let other people read the bios we write for them. I stopped writing Nemesis bios once I realized only I can see them.
  • nbkxsnbkxs Posts: 766 Arc User
    Customization; nothing else has it anymore. And appearance/customization is EVERYTHING. If you don't have that, why bother?
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  • chaosdrgnz43chaosdrgnz43 Posts: 1,674 Arc User
    Pros: Customization (Builds and Tailors)
    Cons: Lacking a big dev team for more fun content.
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  • deadman20deadman20 Posts: 1,529 Arc User
    Pros: Basically a Character Creator Sandbox, could make all sorts of things ranging from your classic Superhero, to a mystical fantasy creature or a cosmic sci-fi alien. You can even go so far as to make your character a sock puppet or a sentient thumb just because you feel like it if that's your thing. Even better, you can mash it all together to create YOUR hero the way YOU want to, powers and all.

    Cons: Well, personally, I feel that a lot of CO's potential hooks are essentially paywalled. A lot of those really nice costume pieces you could be using are in lockboxes. Freeform, the absolute best thing about the game, takes a good $30 USD when it's not on sale for just one character. Otherwise, to avoid the $30 USD price tag for just one freeform slot, you take the Lifetime subscription, which is a whopping $300 USD. ($200 USD on Sale)

    Sure, on the bright side when you go LTS you get to use normal character slots in place of the Freeform ones, but that's still a hefty investment not everyone is willing to take. You can also grind your way to get what you want, but that may not be very satisfying to endure. I guess it kinda depends on how far you're willing to go to get what you want out of CO.​​
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  • theravenforcetheravenforce Posts: 7,065 Arc User
    Pro: Champions Online has been pretty damn reliable for...almost ten years now. Although the content additions aren't thick and fast, I've only completed the game's missions on ONE character from my roster, and I have the option to run it through in many different ways with virtually every different build I could want to create, as well as characters. Despite being almost 10 years old, Champions Online's community is largely positive and helpful, we're very low on trolls and idiots (from my experience).

    Additionally, CO has a lot of potential both from the lore side of things and existing in game content being re-purposed etc. It's always a treat when we see new stuff.

    Con: This is more a byproduct of the situation CO is in, but changes to powers / power sets and content additions don't always go down smoothly and this can create friction, as the powers and customization part of CO, when changed, fundamentally alter the experience of the game and this can really screw over players whose play style doesn't conform to what the Developers (or whoever) believe it should be.

    I think this is due to the small Dev team, so there's only a handful of Dev perspectives to contend with / consider content. Equally there are internal deadlines (as a business) they have to meet, so player requests or suggestions cannot always be looked into / met.
  • flyingfinnflyingfinn Posts: 8,408 Arc User
    Pro: The game.
    Con: The lack of understanding from our Asian overlords about the longest-running superhero MMO.
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  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Posts: 4,915 Arc User
    dreadjaws2 wrote: »
    And while I like the Nemesis system, I wish more care was put into it. A few more missions here and there would be nice and all, but if you're going to put a Nemesis alert, then make your algorithm first pick from a character that has a Nemesis created. I shouldn't be able to see one of those randomly generated ones unless it was literally the only option. And please, for the love of God, let other people read the bios we write for them. I stopped writing Nemesis bios once I realized only I can see them.
    My main gripe with the nemesis system is how few opportunities other players have to see your nemesis at all. :/
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  • psychicslugpsychicslug Posts: 721 Arc User
    costume creator is the best

    need more low to mid level leveling options, no costumes and powers locked behind game currency pay walls like onslaught, gold, silver etc. Zen for power options may be ok and questionight for costumes may be ok as well if the have to.

    They need to do radio or news paper like missions in City of heroes and use it to drop a nemesis mission after so many so that there is another way to get the currency if someone needs too.
  • bluhmanbluhman Posts: 2,410 Arc User
    edited August 2019
    Our pluses:
    • Unrivaled costume creation options, by far the most options for being non-human, and insane ranges in what body-shapes your character can be
    • The paradigm of total freeform power choice is extremely admirable
    • Alert system is up there for good PUG systems I've played with
    • Friendly community
    • Low focus on PvP, traces back to community meaning that toxic edgelords don't hang around this game that much.
    • Core gameplay's ok
    • Huge control customization, can play with M+KB or XBox pad, with a layout anywhere between your standard MMO to a funky Third-Person Shooter layout.
    • Some UI development's moved in the right direction recently at least.

    Our minuses:
    • 0% content worth repeating
    • Stories are terribly written, pop-culture references don't age well. Incredibly cringe-inducing.
    • None of the NPC designs, enemy designs, become designs, or other default designs of people are at all compelling or inspired
    • Same general story with environments for the most part, very cookie-cutter interiors and lack of environments
    • Not even attempting to hide the fact they're shilling for monetization with all the lockboxes.
    • Misprioritization and assignment of rewards for different missions and content contributes to lack of replayability - huge time sinks such as the Vibora Apoc don't really unlock worthwhile rewards. Lots of farming. Difficulty setting does not scale up gains in items or exp.
    • We've been stuck in maintenance mode for 7+ years
    • PvP basically doesn't exist, which I know many people are turned off by.
    • Horrific underlying balance issues surrounding devices, power combos...
    • Buggy mess that wasn't documented at all making it impossible to even fix the game, thereby giving off the impression that Cryptic developers are incompetent when they are actually very good and qualified
    • Myopic, dead game features that never expand, including: adventure packs, epic lairs, comic series, supervillain onslaught, rampages, basic alert types, creepies...
    • Also some game development history that has gone down extended paths of idiotic monetization that most players didn't care for at all, like vehicles - hey we just wanted to like, ride a motorcycle or car-mobile to get to our location, not become an x-wing pilot and spend 380 dollars to pimp it out with a rank 3 farming cannon thanks, we aren't STO so we aren't whores for starship models that have some kind of canonical relevance to the setting like the enterprise X8 borgernator or whatever happens in Startrek.
    • Looping carousel of never-ending events that just get 1-2 extra costume parts tacked on per update to try and justify players logging on.
    • Questionable UI design decisions at times and a lack of feedback from suggestions, makes me doubt intentions of developer team.
    • Related to above, horrific mis-prioritization of development resources. No I don't want another bird mask or more fur parts.
    • Whenever they do deliver on content it's in incredibly tiny, granular pieces that do not last the dev cycle for the next part at all.
    • Longstanding balance issues behind how core mechanics of the game work, stuff like this bug: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkzWg5BoUMs <- still in game!

    All that 2nd list is why I'm not really logging on that often anymore.
    The 1st list is why I'm still here, posting. Waiting.

    And I'm of course still spending money on the game, kind of foolishly hoping it becomes something cause I like my superhero MMOs and my only other alternatives are sidekick simulator and a great old game that isn't being developed anymore.
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  • jaazaniah1jaazaniah1 Posts: 5,424 Arc User
    Like, say, a mass jail break of Nemeses from the MC prison?
    dreadjaws2 wrote: »
    And while I like the Nemesis system, I wish more care was put into it. A few more missions here and there would be nice and all, but if you're going to put a Nemesis alert, then make your algorithm first pick from a character that has a Nemesis created. I shouldn't be able to see one of those randomly generated ones unless it was literally the only option. And please, for the love of God, let other people read the bios we write for them. I stopped writing Nemesis bios once I realized only I can see them.
    My main gripe with the nemesis system is how few opportunities other players have to see your nemesis at all. :/

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  • avianosavianos Posts: 6,021 Arc User
    edited August 2019
    PROS
    +The BEST character costumization! I'm you are a creative person and enjoy creating characters and stories, this is the best game for you! Even if you don't care for Super Heroes! Are you a writer or an Artist with a lot of OCs? This game is for you!
    +Freeform System!
    +The Playerbase has amazing creativity (both costume and FF building wise)
    +The focus only for PVE
    +Dynamic Action gameplay! Best played with a gamepad
    +Very chill game to relax and play solo content
    +The game has some really good Soundtrack but it's unfortunately gets ingored


    Con
    -The game has been in Maintenance mode even since NWO happened
    -The game's DEV team is so small compared to other PWE games
    -A graveyard of Abandomed Ideas and outdated content (Comic series, Adventure packs, Nemesis, UNITY mission, Vibora Bay, Lemuria, Onslaught, Emanation points, Sidekicks)
    -Lootboxes! The poison that rots the Videogame industry! The fact we have to wait 3 months for a new lootbox so they can add "content"
    -Events became repetitive grind fest with small or no updates
    -Character bound Emotes and Costume transformation are stupid cosmetic gimmicks!
    -Powerframes imbalance and The fact that the Powerframe revamp project has been so slowed down, old powerframe's flaws and outdated mechanics are extremely glaring now and need help ASAP
    -Bugs and glitches which were reported years now but still haven't been fixed (some of them are from recent Revamps too SEE: FIRE)


    and basically what Bluhman already stated​​
    POWERFRAME REVAMPS, NEW POWERS and BUG FIXES > Recycled Content and Events and even costumes at this point Introvert guy who use CO to make his characters playable and get experimental with Viable FF Theme builds! Running out of Unique FF builds due to the lack of updates and synergiesPlaying since 1 February 2011 98+ Characters (7 ATs, 91 FFs) ALTitis for Life!
  • jaazaniah1jaazaniah1 Posts: 5,424 Arc User
    Hmm, lots of people hate lootboxes. I actually don't mind them. For a trivial amount of money (or other resources) I get something I can use or sell to buy other stuff I want. Gamers seem a cheap lot, so not sure how the Devs can monetize the game otherwise (save for nickel-and-dime micro-transactions, which, personally, I would dislike more than lootboxes), given that subscriptions other than LTS are gone. Maybe the 10th anniversary event will reveal a brand new way of prying cash from the player base? ;)
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  • qawsadaqawsada Posts: 736 Arc User
    avianos wrote: »
    PROS
    -Bugs and glitches which were reported years now but still haven't been fixed (some of them are from recent Revamps too SEE: FIRE)

    ​​
    You should probably bump those threads or make them independent. If possible, make a gif or video of it.

    jaazaniah1 wrote: »
    Hmm, lots of people hate lootboxes.
    I don't mind if I was online during the time of a certain lootbox, but imagine all the costumes that are hidden away in the collector a year or so later. Your only source would be to get lucky if there is a piece in the AH, go get a voucher from another lockbox, go to the Collector NPC, and either get a RNG box or get one of those expensive vouchers for the complete costume set from the older lockbox. One would argue you could play the game by farming global, and hope you could buy one from a player, or convert it a few times as zen, then get keys, then open the RNG boxes to get the costume or vouchers. Newer players are kind of screwed that way.
  • avianosavianos Posts: 6,021 Arc User
    edited August 2019
    I do not need a Lootbox Apologists
    qawsada wrote: »
    You should probably bump those threads or make them independent. If possible, make a gif or video of it.
    I'm scared of bumping my old report threads, some of them are from 2016 and I don't want to make Forum mods angry :B
    I thought of it as well as making a personal HUB thread for all the bug reports I made through the years
    Using LICECap to make gifs certainly help reporting with more details​​
    POWERFRAME REVAMPS, NEW POWERS and BUG FIXES > Recycled Content and Events and even costumes at this point Introvert guy who use CO to make his characters playable and get experimental with Viable FF Theme builds! Running out of Unique FF builds due to the lack of updates and synergiesPlaying since 1 February 2011 98+ Characters (7 ATs, 91 FFs) ALTitis for Life!
  • jonsillsjonsills Posts: 6,315 Arc User
    avianos wrote: »
    I do not need a Lootbox Apologists

    I must have missed the part where this was to be a thread about what you needed.
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  • jaazaniah1jaazaniah1 Posts: 5,424 Arc User
    Especially when I only said that I don't mind them, not like them. I'm neutral on them as a way for the game to earn money so it can stay open and I can continue to play.
    jonsills wrote: »
    avianos wrote: »
    I do not need a Lootbox Apologists

    I must have missed the part where this was to be a thread about what you needed.

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  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Posts: 4,915 Arc User
    jaazaniah1 wrote: »
    Hmm, lots of people hate lootboxes. I actually don't mind them. For a trivial amount of money (or other resources) I get something I can use or sell to buy other stuff I want. Gamers seem a cheap lot, so not sure how the Devs can monetize the game otherwise (save for nickel-and-dime micro-transactions, which, personally, I would dislike more than lootboxes), given that subscriptions other than LTS are gone. Maybe the 10th anniversary event will reveal a brand new way of prying cash from the player base? ;)
    Honestly, this payment model is WHY the games industry has so many games to choose from. Old-school subs work, but it limits the size of your player base. Who wants to pay 15$ a month just for the opportunity to learn how to play a game? People are far more eager to pay if they know what they're getting. It's why free to play is great. People can play a game and participate in the community without paying a dime.
    jaazaniah1 wrote: »
    Like, say, a mass jail break of Nemeses from the MC prison?
    dreadjaws2 wrote: »
    And while I like the Nemesis system, I wish more care was put into it. A few more missions here and there would be nice and all, but if you're going to put a Nemesis alert, then make your algorithm first pick from a character that has a Nemesis created. I shouldn't be able to see one of those randomly generated ones unless it was literally the only option. And please, for the love of God, let other people read the bios we write for them. I stopped writing Nemesis bios once I realized only I can see them.
    My main gripe with the nemesis system is how few opportunities other players have to see your nemesis at all. :/
    I like using GRAB and Red Winter as examples. fighting a group of Nems all at once would be great. :D
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