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CoH: A Big-Ass Post About Issue 22
Mar. 7th, 2012 09:27 amSo, I was going to drop back into WoW last night, but Issue 22 dropped and I had to try ALL THE NEW THINGS!
Where should I start? How about with the changes to Stalker (because Selene)? First, the patch notes:
( Gushing about Stalkers. )
Final verdict: I'm more eager than ever to make that final push to level 50 so I can get Selene started on her Incarnate powers. I'm just awaiting the possible developer post that starts, "We may have made Stalkers a little too powerful," and ends with the words "incoming nerf." (I hope I'm wrong about this, of course.)
Oh, and speaking of Incarnate powers, since I do not like Task Forces and I'm still struggling to figure out how to best utilize the enhancement system, I've never done more than unlock my Alpha slot. With the newly revamped Dark Astoria, I can now focus on earning Incarnate shards and XP without the need for joining huge Task Forces. Last night Sam and I rolled out with NinjaWeazel and Ballari and went through Heather Townshend's arc and Mu'Vorkan's arc before we opted to call it a night for missions. Both of these new contacts offered a non-combat character story mission after the completion of the arc. So we got to see what's happening after we kick butt (and Mu'Vorkan's was especially superb), but that's getting into lore which I'll get to in a bit.
( Playing Dark Astoria. )
And finally, because this is getting long, let's talk lore. Of all the ways to bring in an ancient slumbering Lovecraftian inspired horror, NCSoft writers are on the right track. While I could make jokes about there being tentacles in both the MMOs I play (have you seen the Warlock tier 13 armor set in WoW?), I'll spare everyone "Tentacoo~" jokes and say that I am, quite frankly, thoroughly impressed. I don't usually get drawn into the story arcs I'm playing in CoH. My focus is usually on punching things in the face or shooting things with exploding arrows. Some of it boils down to personal taste, but prior to the release of CoH: Freedom, there just wasn't much of the story to draw in someone like me who isn't really enthusiastic about the whole comic book schtick.
( Spoiler-free discussion on new plot. )
I have to admit ever since the realease of City of Heroes: Freedom and seeing CoH go free to play, I was worried it was the beginning of the end. Instead, with a revamped Veteran rewards system and the implementation of the VIP program, NCSoft has been doing far more right than wrong. The Shivans' attack on Galaxy City shook things up and provided an interesting story, and now the new solo Incarnate arc offered by an updated Dark Astoria has only improved the game's allure for at least this player. I still wish they'd do a little work on the ehancement system to make it a little easier to understand/a little more intuitive. Sam admits that even after playing CoH for years, he's still learning the ins and outs of it. The one person I know who groks it really well is a freaking astrophysicist (not an exaggeration), but eh, ultimately, there's more positive I can say about the direction NCSoft is taking than negative.
I know they've made some mid-level mission changes with Issue 22 too, and I look forward to checking those out as well when I can, but the initial indications are that I'll be playing a bit more CoH when I'm not raiding in WoW.
Where should I start? How about with the changes to Stalker (because Selene)? First, the patch notes:
( Gushing about Stalkers. )
Final verdict: I'm more eager than ever to make that final push to level 50 so I can get Selene started on her Incarnate powers. I'm just awaiting the possible developer post that starts, "We may have made Stalkers a little too powerful," and ends with the words "incoming nerf." (I hope I'm wrong about this, of course.)
Oh, and speaking of Incarnate powers, since I do not like Task Forces and I'm still struggling to figure out how to best utilize the enhancement system, I've never done more than unlock my Alpha slot. With the newly revamped Dark Astoria, I can now focus on earning Incarnate shards and XP without the need for joining huge Task Forces. Last night Sam and I rolled out with NinjaWeazel and Ballari and went through Heather Townshend's arc and Mu'Vorkan's arc before we opted to call it a night for missions. Both of these new contacts offered a non-combat character story mission after the completion of the arc. So we got to see what's happening after we kick butt (and Mu'Vorkan's was especially superb), but that's getting into lore which I'll get to in a bit.
( Playing Dark Astoria. )
And finally, because this is getting long, let's talk lore. Of all the ways to bring in an ancient slumbering Lovecraftian inspired horror, NCSoft writers are on the right track. While I could make jokes about there being tentacles in both the MMOs I play (have you seen the Warlock tier 13 armor set in WoW?), I'll spare everyone "Tentacoo~" jokes and say that I am, quite frankly, thoroughly impressed. I don't usually get drawn into the story arcs I'm playing in CoH. My focus is usually on punching things in the face or shooting things with exploding arrows. Some of it boils down to personal taste, but prior to the release of CoH: Freedom, there just wasn't much of the story to draw in someone like me who isn't really enthusiastic about the whole comic book schtick.
( Spoiler-free discussion on new plot. )
I have to admit ever since the realease of City of Heroes: Freedom and seeing CoH go free to play, I was worried it was the beginning of the end. Instead, with a revamped Veteran rewards system and the implementation of the VIP program, NCSoft has been doing far more right than wrong. The Shivans' attack on Galaxy City shook things up and provided an interesting story, and now the new solo Incarnate arc offered by an updated Dark Astoria has only improved the game's allure for at least this player. I still wish they'd do a little work on the ehancement system to make it a little easier to understand/a little more intuitive. Sam admits that even after playing CoH for years, he's still learning the ins and outs of it. The one person I know who groks it really well is a freaking astrophysicist (not an exaggeration), but eh, ultimately, there's more positive I can say about the direction NCSoft is taking than negative.
I know they've made some mid-level mission changes with Issue 22 too, and I look forward to checking those out as well when I can, but the initial indications are that I'll be playing a bit more CoH when I'm not raiding in WoW.
