Massively Speaking http://massively.joystiq.com This is the Massively podcast http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Massively SpeakingJoystiqMassively Speaking<![CDATA[A Mild-Mannered Reporter: The growing, creeping power]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/23/a-mild-mannered-reporter-the-growing-creeping-power/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/23/a-mild-mannered-reporter-the-growing-creeping-power/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/23/a-mild-mannered-reporter-the-growing-creeping-power/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

A Mild-Mannered Reporter header by A. Fienemann
City of Heroes is a rarity. It's a well-established game that hasn't yet raised the level cap even once. Oh, sure, the Incarnate system is cheating a couple of extra level-like improvements out, but you hit the cap at 50 now just like you did when the game first launched. Compared to World of Warcraft, which ups its top level biannually, the game provides a real sense of security that the cap hasn't changed. Level 50 content is still relevant because the top end of power has remained stable.

Of course, there's a downside to that as well. While having a forever-rising level cap has its own issues, a firm cap has left us with an endgame that's grown bloated as only games with entrenched caps can. We're not constantly having to relearn the entire endgame so much as we're getting new widgets added on, and we're finding ourselves stuck with a growing problem of old-fashioned power creep.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: The growing, creeping power

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: The growing, creeping power originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 23 May 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>a-mild-mannered-reportercharacter-powercharacter-strengthcity-of-heroescity-of-villainscohcovcoxf2pfeaturedfree-to-playfreedommild-mannered-reporterncsoftopinionparagonparagon-studiospowerpower-creeppower-levelpowercreepsuperherosuperheroesWed, 23 May 2012 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Why there are no more Epic Archetypes in City of Heroes]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/16/a-mild-mannered-reporter-why-there-are-no-more-epic-archetypes/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/16/a-mild-mannered-reporter-why-there-are-no-more-epic-archetypes/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/16/a-mild-mannered-reporter-why-there-are-no-more-epic-archetypes/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

A Mild-Mannered Reporter header by A. Fienemann
My weekend plans went cross-eyed, as they often do, but as a result I found myself looking through some old notes for future columns on City of Heroes. There were a lot of notes I took early on when I was first writing columns, some of which I wound up using and some of which wound up being discarded, but one particular idea jumped out at me: a column about potential future Epic Archetypes.

Specifically, I was looking back over and noting how a lot of the archetypes I listed wouldn't actually work at all.

I've gone on record as having been a big fan of EATs right from the beginning, as they're meant to be classes that break up the regular structure of the game's classes. That strikes me as laudable. But even disregarding the technical aspects of the epics that makes them more complex to develop and balance, I think there are some noteworthy basic problems with them on a conceptual level. We may very well never get another one just because the game has been structured to make them almost a design mistake that's never been corrected.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Why there are no more Epic Archetypes in City of Heroes

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: Why there are no more Epic Archetypes in City of Heroes originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 May 2012 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter header by A. Fienemann
If it hasn't become clear over the past two and a half years, I really enjoy speculation. I like crazy theories, I like exploring possibilities, I like thought exercises, and so forth. There's some speculation that I find particularly ill-informed or lacking in some fundamental point of logic, but that doesn't mean I don't learn about them first.

Why am I making a point out of this? Because I've developed a theory about the state of City of Heroes, and I want to make it clear before I launch into this somewhat grim theory that I'm basing this entirely on outside observations. I want it to be clear that I could, in fact, be totally wrong, and when I say that City of Heroes nearly committed unintentional suicide a couple of years ago, I don't want that to be seen as some grand behind-the-scenes revelation.

And if it weren't obvious from that line, yes, that's where I'm going. I think Going Rogue nearly gutted City of Heroes and burned the whole game to the ground. And I think everything the game has done since can be directly traced back to that expansion.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: How City of Heroes almost died

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: How City of Heroes almost died originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 09 May 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered reporter header by A. Fienemann
The past year of City of Heroes has been in no small part defined by the free-to-play revolution moving into full swing. 2010 was the year in which it became clear that free-to-play could work; 2011 was the year in which nearly every game moved over to the new model, with only a handful of stalwarts clinging to the subscription-only model. Unfortunately, this also means that the once-present divide between business models no longer exists, and by and large there's less sense that free-to-play games are inherently worse than subscription games. The imaginary barrier simply doesn't exist as it used to.

What does that have to do with City of Heroes for its next year of development? Almost everything. I've talked about how the game has two obvious and direct competitors in the superhero genre, but now they're all competing with the same business model. They all have the same initial outlay, instead of City of Heroes being the oldest, most respected, and cheapest option. In order for a game to be successful, and it no longer has to convince players that it's worth $15 a month for a few months -- it just has to convince you that downloading it and giving it a shot is worth the effort. That means flash, fun, and a quick dose of what you're looking for.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: What City of Heroes needs for its ninth year

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: What City of Heroes needs for its ninth year originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 May 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>a-mild-mannered-reporteranniversariesanniversarycity-of-heroescity-of-villainscohcovcoxf2pfeaturedfree-to-playfreedomfuturemild-mannered-reporterncsoftnext-yearopinionparagonparagon-studiossuperherosuperheroesWed, 02 May 2012 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Eight years of city life]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/25/a-mild-mannered-reporter-eight-years-of-city-life/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/25/a-mild-mannered-reporter-eight-years-of-city-life/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/25/a-mild-mannered-reporter-eight-years-of-city-life/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

A Mild-Mannered Reporter header by A. Fienemann
There are some things that were broken this year in City of Heroes beyond a shadow of a doubt. Then there were things that weren't necessarily broken depending on whom you asked. But one thing has been broken absolutely and completely: my format for these retrospectives.

See, from one point of view, this was a content-light year. I mean, we had two new issues and that's it. On the other hand, one of those was the launch of City of Heroes Freedom, and the result has been a steady stream of partial updates, minor improvements, new installments in the signature story arc, and so on. In previous years, going issue-by-issue worked as a way to look back over the course of the year, but it just doesn't work any longer.

But then, it's not supremely necessary. There are three big things that have defined the game for the past year: Freedom, the Incarnate system, and new toys. So we're going to break the format that doesn't really work and just talk about those in order.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Eight years of city life

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: Eight years of city life originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 25 Apr 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter header by A. Fienemann
What with one thing and another, a year has passed. At this time last year, things were very different for City of Heroes, and so I started up my usual trifecta of columns on the past year with a look back at what I said the game needed and how it's done on those fronts. So it's time for the second annual iteration because as we all know, the first annual anything doesn't really count. And if your memory is getting rusty from a year ago, by all means, take the time to refresh it.

Certainly if you had told me back then that every major superhero game would be free-to-play before the year was up, I wouldn't have believed it. But that's what's happened, and as the game has shifted, so has the market around it. That means that the game has really had to face off against its two "direct" competitors on a straight footing, and that might not have been in the game's best interests as a whole.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Status report, last year

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: Status report, last year originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter header by A. Fienemann
PAX East this past weekend was indeed filled with revelations, but none of them had to do with City of Heroes or any other NCsoft game, really, so I can't even complain about one getting all the love while the others were ignored. And while I could probably try to spin a thousand words out of wanting to insert a Rock Band Blitz-style minigame into the game under discussion, I have the feeling I'd get some odd looks and a rejected column.

What I did have opportunity to consider, however, is how pretty much the only thing I've brought up in regard to the Paragon Market has been the many, many choices made regarding it that I consider debatable. The Super Pack and the numerous power sets both have been targets for negativity, and I honestly haven't said anything corresponding about the positives. This seems unfair on many levels. Sure, I think the implementation is sometimes dicey, but there are a lot of parts of the market that are great, and I happily doff my hat to the team for them. So instead of burying the shop, let's praise it.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Positive charge

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: Positive charge originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>a-mild-mannered-reportercash-shopcity-of-heroescity-of-villainscohcovcoxf2pfeaturedfree-to-playfreedommarketingmerchmerchandisemicrotransactionsmild-mannered-reporterncsoftopinionparagonparagon-studiossalessellingsuperherosuperheroesWed, 11 Apr 2012 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Countless marvelous powers]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/04/a-mild-mannered-reporter-countless-marvelous-powers/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/04/a-mild-mannered-reporter-countless-marvelous-powers/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/04/a-mild-mannered-reporter-countless-marvelous-powers/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

A Mild-Mannered Reporter header by A. Fienemann
There were a lot of reasons I decided to stop collecting Transformers a couple of years back, but chief among those reasons was the fact that it was increasingly a hunt for novelty over permanence. A new wave of toys was released, and fans were expected to buy the lot of them, admire the novelty, and then almost immediately move on to the next wave. The idea of new releases playing into past toys was increasingly left out in the cold, meaning that you could essentially just keep grabbing a new set of toys every two or three months rather than enjoying the ones you had.

Of course, Transformers are meant to be toys for children, so the marketing strategy is pretty defensible. But I'm beginning to wonder whether City of Heroes isn't adopting a similar attitude with the steady onslaught of new powersets. Since Freedom hit, we've seen an absolute explosion of new sets with new mechanics and new ways to play... but we've also seen a real dearth of anything tying players to a given powerset. It's novelty on a steady basis, but we might not have appreciated the slow pace of new sets before.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Countless marvelous powers

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: Countless marvelous powers originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter header by A. Fienemann
This may already be clear, but I'm a pretty big fan of comics, superheroic or otherwise. City of Heroes first attracted me because, well, superhero MMO. Like most fans of the genre, I've been creating my own superheroes since I was old enough to think of an appropriate name, and the thought of being able to create these characters and throw them against all manner of villains was more than enough to pique my interest. I dropped my money on a boxed copy and never looked back.

Unfortunately, for all its strengths, City of Heroes isn't all that great as a superhero game.

It's clear that the people working on the game also know a lot about comics, and there's a definite sense that Paragon Studios works overtime at replicating the source material. But there's a lot of stuff that the game can't or won't handle, and as a result it's never felt like a game about superheroes so much as a game inspired by them. Most of the notes are there, but the music isn't, and I think I've finally nailed down a few reasons why.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Superheroish

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: Superheroish originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 28 Mar 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Illustration by A. Fienemann
Last week, I covered the raw basics of Enhancements in City of Heroes. This was a good place to start, but it also glossed over everything but the basics. It's telling that glossing over everything but the basics still involves stuff that's as bogglingly complicated as diversification, but then, there's a reason I decided to do these columns in the first place. But with all the basics out of the way, what more could there be to cover?

Lots, as it happens, because last week didn't touch upon dual Enhancements or Inventions, both of which cover the same ground and take into account the specifics of Enhancement Diversification and so forth. So for those of you wondering why I didn't talk about IOs, those still trying to get a handle on the system, or those just morbidly curious about how the game works, it's time to start in with the enhancements that broke the entire system in half more or less the second they were introduced: Inventions.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Digital Enhancements

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: Digital Enhancements originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 21 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>a-mild-mannered-reportercity-of-heroescity-of-villainscohcovcoxcraftingenhancementsf2pfeaturedfree-to-playfreedomgame-mechanicsinventionsmechanicsmild-mannered-reporterncsoftopinionparagonparagon-studiossuperherosuperheroessystemsWed, 21 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Some Enhancement evening]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/14/a-mild-mannered-reporter-some-enhancement-evening/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/14/a-mild-mannered-reporter-some-enhancement-evening/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/14/a-mild-mannered-reporter-some-enhancement-evening/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

A Mild-Mannered Reporter header by A. Fienemann
Using the Enhancement system is pretty important to playing City of Heroes successfully. It's a combination of both gear and (arguably) character specialization, and it's the main way that you increase your power over the course of your leveling. Sure, you get new powers as you level up, but your earlier powers remain your steadfast workhorses. Mastery of Enhancements is the path to being imbalanced.

Unfortunately, the Enhancement system is also really, really complicated.

I don't say this lightly; in fact, I say this specifically after a conversation with a fellow Massively staffer who has never fully understood how this system is supposed to work. Said staffer is an intelligent man, but the system is rife with corner cases, strange rules, exceptions, and several elements that are never really explained in full. So for all of the newer free-to-play people or old hands at City of Heroes who never really got the system, here's a primer on how Enhancements work.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Some Enhancement evening

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: Some Enhancement evening originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter header by A. Fienemann
So, the Super Pack is out. Not a whole lot has changed in City of Heroes as a result. The skies have not been raining fire any more than they already do on a regular basis (superheroes, you know the deal). People still log in and play and enjoy themselves. And my enormous ranting diatribe still sits in the archives for anyone who missed it the first time or just wants to take a second look for posterity.

My feelings haven't changed. But while launching into a full-on rant was certainly cathartic and managed to hit a lot of good points, there were a lot of good points brought up in the comments that I simply hadn't touched on. So it's time to address some of the those ideas and complaints, both the good and the bad. (Although under the circumstances, it's pretty much all bad in varying flavors.)

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: That's really super, Super Pack

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: That's really super, Super Pack originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>a-mild-mannered-reportercity-of-heroescity-of-villainscohcovcoxculturef2pfeaturedfree-to-playfreedommicrotransactionsmild-mannered-reporterncsoftopinionparagonparagon-studiossuper-packsuperherosuperheroeswhat-is-this-i-cant-evenWed, 07 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[A Mild-Mannered Reporter: City of Heroes 2]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/29/a-mild-mannered-reporter-city-of-heroes-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/29/a-mild-mannered-reporter-city-of-heroes-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/29/a-mild-mannered-reporter-city-of-heroes-2/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

A Mild-Mannered Reporter header by A. Fienemann
Before the comments light up, I'm just going to say outright that City of Heroes 2 does not currently exist. We've heard no news about it, no announcements, nothing beyond the speculation of many City of Heroes players such as myself. I'm deviating (again) from the set schedule and talking about a purely hypothetical sequel that all of us are kind of expecting but that does not, at this point, exist. But considering all of the recent talk about Guild Wars 2, I think it's apropos.

Let's assume, for the purpose of this article, that Paragon Studios is knee-deep in development of City of Heroes 2 and simply isn't telling anyone. What sort of things would the game need? What would be the best possible route for the game to take? How could it satisfy fans of City of Heroes while drawing in new players? I don't have the absolute answers... but it sure does make for some interesting speculation, based on the things the team has been doing over the past several years.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: City of Heroes 2

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: City of Heroes 2 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter header by A. Fienemann
In a subscription game, the developers have a certain degree of built-in obligation to the playerbase. You pay $15 a month, and while some of that goes toward the simple logistics of running the game, some of that also goes toward keeping the game in development. When you're putting down money, there's a tacit understanding that you are owed something in return. Strictly speaking, we know the only thing we're owed is access to the game, but even that is something.

City of Heroes has entered the realm of free-to-play, though, and that means the expectations of what players are owed has become all kinds of skewed. There's a huge pile of content available to players who haven't paid a cent. What do free players actually deserve in this environment? What do paying players deserve? Where do you draw the line between what should be free for everyone, what should be free for subscribers, and what should just plain cost money?

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: You owe me for this

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: You owe me for this originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter header by A. Fienemann
It doesn't seem that long ago that I was looking back on my past year of writing this column, mentioning how negative I had gotten overall and sort of quietly wishing that I could spend the next year being more positive. I don't really want to write a column on City of Heroes once again that winds up being full of complaints.

But if Paragon Studios is going to do something to induce rage, I'm not really given many options. Case in point: the Super Pack.

I don't need to tell a lot of you why this is a bad idea. I shouldn't even really need to say this is a bad idea. This is one of those ideas that shouldn't have ever made it past the conceptual stage. The moment it was suggested in a board meeting, everyone else in the room should have rushed for the person who suggested it, driving him or her into a closet for safety. That this did not happen speaks volumes.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Assume I'm making a pun about the Super Pack

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: Assume I'm making a pun about the Super Pack originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter header by A. Fienemann
I'm going to let all of you in on a secret. Actually, it might not be a secret; everyone might have figured this out by now independent of any admission on my part. But here it is, just the same.

I'm not actually a very good City of Heroes player.

I mean, I'm "good" in the sense that I play the game, enjoy it, think about it, try to improve my character appropriately... but I'm not actually very skilled at the game. My rotations look awkward, my slotting is usually sub-optimal, and my ability to recall important data is pretty paltry. I understand the mechanics just fine, but when it comes time to log into the game, somehow I wind up as the guy who just subtly makes the entire team worse. I'm not terribly skilled. And for all that I'm going to be playing the game for some time to come, I don't think that I'm ever going to reach the point that I say I'm really any good.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: The obligations to the useless

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: The obligations to the useless originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter header by A. Fienemann
It's been a little over two years now that I've been writing a regular column on City of Heroes, and in one sense that still feels very strange to me. I'm guessing that the novelty of doing this for a living is never going to entirely go away, for reasons that really have nothing to do with the topic of this column. But I'm not going to dwell on the more meta facts here; I'm going to focus instead on the past year of the column.

This year was a try for something slightly different in both the tone and approach that I'd been taking with these columns. I finished off one major project, started another one, and along the way, I found that I gathered a very different attitude over time. In relationship terms, the first year of A Mild-Mannered Reporter was apparently still the "gushing" phase of a new relationship. This year has been much more about the flaws that City of Heroes has, both in structure and in design choices.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: A critical year

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: A critical year originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>a-mild-mannered-reportercity-of-heroescity-of-heroes-freedomcity-of-villainscohcolumncolumnscovcoxfeaturedfreedomncsoftopinionparagonparagon-studiosretrospectiveyear-in-reviewWed, 01 Feb 2012 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Issue 22 is all juiced out]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/25/a-mild-mannered-reporter-issue-22-is-all-juiced-out/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/25/a-mild-mannered-reporter-issue-22-is-all-juiced-out/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/25/a-mild-mannered-reporter-issue-22-is-all-juiced-out/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

A Mild-Mannered Reporter header by A. Fienemann
On Christmas, Ms. Lady and I received a power juicer.

This wasn't a bad present by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a present that left us momentarily baffled. We hadn't asked for a power juicer, we didn't feel a great need for a power juicer, and we weren't even sure exactly what to do with a power juicer. (Make juice, obviously, but beyond that?) It was a great present but one that struck us as so far out of left field that we really weren't quite sure how to use it at first, much less what it would offer us.

Issue 22 of City of Heroes strikes me in much the same way. It's not that the update is bad or unwanted or unnecessary; it's that the entire thing is essentially aimed in a direction away from my own playstyle. I imagine a lot of free players are going to run into the same issue because even though it's being touted as the game's newest free update, there's precious little in there that's actually changed on the free side.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Issue 22 is all juiced out

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: Issue 22 is all juiced out originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter header by A. Fienemann
I have a nemesis, but it's not a person. It's an idea, and that idea is optimization.

Given enough time (about seven minutes), people will figure out the best builds and abilities for pretty much every single character class in any game. This is great if all you're interested in doing is banging out the best possible character to tackle endgame challenges, but it's kind of disappointing if you like creating odd characters, ones that play strangely or feature under-utilized abilities or specs. That's the sort of stuff that I like, the things I find fascinating.

City of Heroes is hardly the first game to do this, so I've had plenty of time to learn how to fight my nemesis. And so I offer you today the lessons of nemeses, the path to figuring out how to make your bad character into a force to be reckoned with. There are certain rules to being a nemesis rather than simply an adversary, and some of them aren't what you think.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Be the nemesis

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: Be the nemesis originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>a-mild-mannered-reporterabilitiesbad-characterscharacter-abilitiescity-of-heroescity-of-villainscohcolumncolumnscovcoxculturedesignfeaturedgame-mechanicsmetancsoftopinionparagonparagon-studiosunderpowered-charactersWed, 18 Jan 2012 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Spotlight on the 5th Column and the Council]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/11/a-mild-mannered-reporter-spotlight-on-the-5th-column-and-the-co/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/11/a-mild-mannered-reporter-spotlight-on-the-5th-column-and-the-co/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/11/a-mild-mannered-reporter-spotlight-on-the-5th-column-and-the-co/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

A Mild-Mannered Reporter header image by A. Fienemann
There are certain villains that just resist all logic and refuse to go out of style. Case in point: Nazis. Despite the fact that they were a political party in a war that ended about 70 years ago, somehow it's still satisfying to beat them up. That was the basis behind the initial placement of the 5th Column on the launch of City of Heroes... a position that was later usurped, then reclaimed, and now remains in a sort of back-and-forth limbo.

You can't talk about the 5th Column without talking about the Council because the two groups are almost the same. Of course, one is a lot more reprehensible than the other, which oddly makes them far more interesting. Put simply, it's a tangled web of subterfuge and backstabbing, and the two organizations are still struggling for dominance on the streets of Paragon City. They're like a slightly more accessible version of Nemesis for one another.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Spotlight on the 5th Column and the Council

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: Spotlight on the 5th Column and the Council originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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