Freedom Player Summit News and Info
November 19, 2011 - 9:30pm
To start things off -
Dec 6 - Titan Weapons
Issue 22: Death Incarnate, includes the solo incarnate path as well as a revamp to Dark Astoria featuring level 50/incarnate version of Tsoo and Banished Pantheon.
Also includes Darkness Control, Staff Fighting and more powerset proliferation. Additionally, we will see a Flying Carpet travel power as well as a Super Pack that will be inexpensive purchases that will include 5 random rewards including costume pieces and the archetype IO's.
New VIP costume sets will be Fire and Ice based (this will replace/be an addition to the celestial set).
Speaking of costume sets -
Elemental Order
Fire and Ice Costume Set (subnote: Can I claim that I inspired the fire and ice sets? Cause I mean, there is this...)
Also, I know some were unhappy with how the First Ward stuff ended, and in particular a certain seer, but do not fret...it will be revisited.
I'll add more as I come across it.
November 20, 2011 - 7:53am
#2
Clarifications/Additions:
Dark Control will not feature the tentacleness of existing Darkness sets, but will rather focus on the murky/inky/darkity aspects instead - people said the previews looked cool.
Elemental Order set will currently only be attainable in the booster packs, but when you get a piece you won't get the same piece ever again from a pack (and thus increasing your odds of getting other pieces).
Dark Astoria will have incarnate story arcs, repeatable content and also street sweeping - with current incarnate rewards tied to different activities.
Still waiting for info from the endgame and powers panels.
Dark Control will not feature the tentacleness of existing Darkness sets, but will rather focus on the murky/inky/darkity aspects instead - people said the previews looked cool.
Elemental Order set will currently only be attainable in the booster packs, but when you get a piece you won't get the same piece ever again from a pack (and thus increasing your odds of getting other pieces).
Dark Astoria will have incarnate story arcs, repeatable content and also street sweeping - with current incarnate rewards tied to different activities.
Still waiting for info from the endgame and powers panels.
November 20, 2011 - 11:35am
#3
Something I have to get out of the way first: Seeing the base models for some of those costumes reminds me of "Why won't my hips unsway?!" Seriously, women in fiction must have constant lower back cramps, considering they have to maintain such uncomfortable postures all the time. My spine hurts just looking at it.
To point: The costume sets look really good. Surprisingly good, in fact. I love the wings of fire and... Is that water running down their shoulders? Awesome!
The crystal/ice blades also look pretty cool. That's been a long time coming. I wasn't as impressed with the other set, mostly because the helmets look goofy, but I'm sure it'll look better for real when it comes out. I'm more than a little disappointed they're random rewards, meaning we'll have to waste lots of money to chance them, though.
Titan Weapons coming out early in December is a pleasant surprise. I would have pegged it as coming next year. That'll really put a couple of my characters together. I've played with the set on Beta some, and found it to be amazingly fun. I had some fears about its performance, but playtesting revealed it to be well-enough balanced. I'm still not pairing it with Stone Armour, but that's more Stone Armour's fault than Titan Weapons' problem.
Revamping Dark Astoria for Incarnate content is an interest and unexpected idea, but I refuse to be excited about this until I see what that "solo Incarnate content" constitutes. I still strongly suspect they'll find some way to cripple solo Incarnate progression and browbeat players into running raids, though I'd like to be proven wrong.
So far, this looks like good stuff.
To point: The costume sets look really good. Surprisingly good, in fact. I love the wings of fire and... Is that water running down their shoulders? Awesome!
The crystal/ice blades also look pretty cool. That's been a long time coming. I wasn't as impressed with the other set, mostly because the helmets look goofy, but I'm sure it'll look better for real when it comes out. I'm more than a little disappointed they're random rewards, meaning we'll have to waste lots of money to chance them, though.Titan Weapons coming out early in December is a pleasant surprise. I would have pegged it as coming next year. That'll really put a couple of my characters together. I've played with the set on Beta some, and found it to be amazingly fun. I had some fears about its performance, but playtesting revealed it to be well-enough balanced. I'm still not pairing it with Stone Armour, but that's more Stone Armour's fault than Titan Weapons' problem.
Revamping Dark Astoria for Incarnate content is an interest and unexpected idea, but I refuse to be excited about this until I see what that "solo Incarnate content" constitutes. I still strongly suspect they'll find some way to cripple solo Incarnate progression and browbeat players into running raids, though I'd like to be proven wrong.
So far, this looks like good stuff.
November 20, 2011 - 12:53pm
#4
Guess it's safe to share this now -
November 20, 2011 - 2:56pm
#5
Ember is going to need a new costume slot because those Fire costumes look awesome.
November 20, 2011 - 5:02pm
#6
Finally got some info from the incarnate/endgame panel-
I think it's worth noting the method the devs are using in regards to incarnate content: Praetorian incarnate content is supposed to have this epic army vs army, which is why there have been the larger trials so far. However, with the revamp to Dark Astoria is designed around the single hero/villain.
That said, there will be a trial in Dark Astoria that features Diabolique, and is supposed to be an epilogue of sorts, but not like the TF's in other hazard zones or Croatoa.
No new incarnate slots in I22.
We will end up fighting Cole.
I think it's worth noting the method the devs are using in regards to incarnate content: Praetorian incarnate content is supposed to have this epic army vs army, which is why there have been the larger trials so far. However, with the revamp to Dark Astoria is designed around the single hero/villain.
That said, there will be a trial in Dark Astoria that features Diabolique, and is supposed to be an epilogue of sorts, but not like the TF's in other hazard zones or Croatoa.
No new incarnate slots in I22.
We will end up fighting Cole.
November 21, 2011 - 9:02am
#7
For those curious about what Darkness Control will have -
Shadowy Binds- DoT/Imob
Dark Grasp- Mod Dmg/Hold
Living Shadows- Wide Cone/Dot/Imob
Posses- Confuse (with glowing eye goodness)
Fearsome Stare- Cone/Terror
Heart of Darkness- PBAoE/DoT/Disorient
Haunt- Summons Shades Dmg/Fear/Taunt (to the shades). Essentially, the shades will go out and attack the mob in question, casting taunt and fear on them while attacking them. If the mob dies, they will move on to another (like Gang War, we can't control where they go) to attack. They ARE killable, and somewhat squishy.
Shadow Field- Ranged AoE/Hold
Tier 9- TBA
Dominators will get Darkness Assault, which I figure will probably just be a port over of Darkness Manipulation from the Blaster set - with a few minor tweaks.
Controllers will get Darkness Affinity, which will be a tweaked version of Dark Miasma. Fearsom Stare and Petrifying Gaze will get replaced with two other powers: Soul Absorption and Fade, SA gives +regen to the group (based off defeated foes) and Fade will is a targeted MoG like buff.
There are some changes in the works for Stalkers as well, I hesitated on posting them since very few people in this group play them, but here they are now:
Assassin's Strike: using Assassin's Strike outside of hide will be an uninterruptible attack with no windup time, dealing Superior damage. This will allow Stalkers to do very competitive dps.
-All Stalker attacks that are not Assassin's Strike will build stacks of a buff called Assassin's Focus. Assassin's Focus increases your chance to critically strike with the out-of-hide Assassin's Strike.
-Stalker Buffed Max HP will be increased by about 400. This should allow them to fully benefit from powers like dull pain, hoarfrost, etc.
-These changes to Stalkers should make them very competitive top-end damage dealers, and help them with their early attack chain since they can use Assassin's Strike mid-combat.
I'm also trying to figure out a timeline for the start of beta, and with a number of things that are tied to I22 having an early 2012 tagline, I think we'll get the closed beta starting in Mid December and a live release around the end of February/early March. This is also in line with when they want to switch up the t9 VIP costumes, as their goal is around every 6 months and 6 months from the release of Freedom is Feb/March.
Shadowy Binds- DoT/Imob
Dark Grasp- Mod Dmg/Hold
Living Shadows- Wide Cone/Dot/Imob
Posses- Confuse (with glowing eye goodness)
Fearsome Stare- Cone/Terror
Heart of Darkness- PBAoE/DoT/Disorient
Haunt- Summons Shades Dmg/Fear/Taunt (to the shades). Essentially, the shades will go out and attack the mob in question, casting taunt and fear on them while attacking them. If the mob dies, they will move on to another (like Gang War, we can't control where they go) to attack. They ARE killable, and somewhat squishy.
Shadow Field- Ranged AoE/Hold
Tier 9- TBA
Dominators will get Darkness Assault, which I figure will probably just be a port over of Darkness Manipulation from the Blaster set - with a few minor tweaks.
Controllers will get Darkness Affinity, which will be a tweaked version of Dark Miasma. Fearsom Stare and Petrifying Gaze will get replaced with two other powers: Soul Absorption and Fade, SA gives +regen to the group (based off defeated foes) and Fade will is a targeted MoG like buff.
There are some changes in the works for Stalkers as well, I hesitated on posting them since very few people in this group play them, but here they are now:
Assassin's Strike: using Assassin's Strike outside of hide will be an uninterruptible attack with no windup time, dealing Superior damage. This will allow Stalkers to do very competitive dps.
-All Stalker attacks that are not Assassin's Strike will build stacks of a buff called Assassin's Focus. Assassin's Focus increases your chance to critically strike with the out-of-hide Assassin's Strike.
-Stalker Buffed Max HP will be increased by about 400. This should allow them to fully benefit from powers like dull pain, hoarfrost, etc.
-These changes to Stalkers should make them very competitive top-end damage dealers, and help them with their early attack chain since they can use Assassin's Strike mid-combat.
I'm also trying to figure out a timeline for the start of beta, and with a number of things that are tied to I22 having an early 2012 tagline, I think we'll get the closed beta starting in Mid December and a live release around the end of February/early March. This is also in line with when they want to switch up the t9 VIP costumes, as their goal is around every 6 months and 6 months from the release of Freedom is Feb/March.
November 21, 2011 - 10:58am
#8
I'm really excited about some of these things, including the Stalker changes. Some of these improvements are why we don't play them often now!
edit: And I think I'm rerolling Peregrine-Falcon with the staff.....
edit: And I think I'm rerolling Peregrine-Falcon with the staff.....
November 21, 2011 - 12:20pm
#9
November 21, 2011 - 1:46pm
#10
I'm really excited about some of these things, including the Stalker changes. Some of these improvements are why we don't play them often now!
Agreed - the Stalker changes are all good stuff. A lot better than I ever hoped they'd be, as a point of fact. I mean, making Assassin's Strike an attack that's worth a crap when out of hide? I suggested it, but I honestly never thought anyone would take it seriously. This is great news. So great, in fact, that as soon as this goes Live, I'll go ahead and finally reroll my 42 Ice/Ice Blaster as an Energy/Energy Stalker like I planned to long ago.
As for the "gambling packs," the less said the better. I hope those never materialise, now that I know what they are.
November 21, 2011 - 1:49pm
#11
Who's getting staff?
Just wondering if it will be a stalker set.....
Just wondering if it will be a stalker set.....
November 21, 2011 - 1:59pm
#12
Scrapper, Tanker, Brute and Stalkers. It may not necessarily be available when I22 launches though - it could be done similarly to how Street Justice came out a few weeks after I21 launched.
November 21, 2011 - 2:04pm
#13
The staff set to me is by far the most intriguing powerset they've released in a long time (quite possibly ever). Unfortunately for me, I think it's a little too late to save my subscription.
I've had many bouts with CCGs (played Magic on and off since the beginning). The whole digital Magic game is what finally turned me off of CCGs for the most part. I understand that Paragon is probably having issues getting players to buy consumables and that they need something to trigger those buys so they pack them in with non-consumable stuff. But for me at least, packing stuff I don't want with stuff I do want (costume pieces maybe) doesn't make me want to buy it. It just makes me miffed that I can't get the stuff that I do want.
Best of luck to Paragon in this endeavor but all I foresee is a bunch of player resentment. I thought it was amusing how they were willing to cap the amount of super packs you could buy per day. That doesn't really solve any problems not even the issue of an addictive personality. All it does is delay the possible gratification.
I've had many bouts with CCGs (played Magic on and off since the beginning). The whole digital Magic game is what finally turned me off of CCGs for the most part. I understand that Paragon is probably having issues getting players to buy consumables and that they need something to trigger those buys so they pack them in with non-consumable stuff. But for me at least, packing stuff I don't want with stuff I do want (costume pieces maybe) doesn't make me want to buy it. It just makes me miffed that I can't get the stuff that I do want.
Best of luck to Paragon in this endeavor but all I foresee is a bunch of player resentment. I thought it was amusing how they were willing to cap the amount of super packs you could buy per day. That doesn't really solve any problems not even the issue of an addictive personality. All it does is delay the possible gratification.
November 21, 2011 - 3:08pm
#14
Your green eggs and ham reference was mostly taken in a positive light. But I would like to point out that at the end of that story, the character acquiesces and tries the green eggs and ham and finds out that he enjoys them quite a lot. And then proceeds to sings the praises of the green eggs and ham and thank Sam-I-Am for his persistence.
November 21, 2011 - 6:17pm
#15
I was going to say something about the CCG-style packs loaded atop what is already an item store and it wasn't going to be positive, but I figured since it wasn't something I'd ever do to myself, why bother?
When I worked at Wizards of the Coast, pre-Hasbro, pre-TSR, one of the reasons I left was because of the Pokemon acquisition (which actually started before WotC bought TSR) and what that meant. I already had severe misgivings about the nature of the business we were in -- selling boxes of chances at getting rare cards that were highly coveted not because of their utility, but because of the very rarity of their availability. It was a joy to make beautiful objects that spread our joy to others. But hearing about the addictive nature of some of the customers, how people would spend so very much money on something that cost almost nothing to make, I couldn't live with myself doing that once I understood how that was effecting people who didn't have very much, or any, disposable income.
That we were going to replicate that model with very young children made me sick at heart.
When I worked at Wizards of the Coast, pre-Hasbro, pre-TSR, one of the reasons I left was because of the Pokemon acquisition (which actually started before WotC bought TSR) and what that meant. I already had severe misgivings about the nature of the business we were in -- selling boxes of chances at getting rare cards that were highly coveted not because of their utility, but because of the very rarity of their availability. It was a joy to make beautiful objects that spread our joy to others. But hearing about the addictive nature of some of the customers, how people would spend so very much money on something that cost almost nothing to make, I couldn't live with myself doing that once I understood how that was effecting people who didn't have very much, or any, disposable income.
That we were going to replicate that model with very young children made me sick at heart.
November 21, 2011 - 7:01pm
#16
I can understand being apprehensive about it, but we've yet to really get any significant details about it, and even then the system could change significantly between now and release. I mean I am not thrilled by any means with the idea of costume pieces and ATIO's being locked behind this system, but I am willing to see how it all pans out and give the devs a chance with it given how well they listen to and work with the community.
November 21, 2011 - 7:26pm
#17
Your green eggs and ham reference was mostly taken in a positive light. But I would like to point out that at the end of that story, the character acquiesces and tries the green eggs and ham and finds out that he enjoys them quite a lot. And then proceeds to sings the praises of the green eggs and ham and thank Sam-I-Am for his persistence.
Did I miss something?
November 21, 2011 - 7:36pm
#18
Your green eggs and ham reference was mostly taken in a positive light. But I would like to point out that at the end of that story, the character acquiesces and tries the green eggs and ham and finds out that he enjoys them quite a lot. And then proceeds to sings the praises of the green eggs and ham and thank Sam-I-Am for his persistence.
Did I miss something? :blink:
Dito.
???? 
And if we are going to have mysterious green egg references, it's time to hear from my all time favorite band!
November 21, 2011 - 7:58pm
#19
The "green eggs and ham" thing referred to is something I posted in the official forums in response to people accusing me and other dissenters of being non-constructive and not suggesting how the system could be improved. My response was to say that I dislike the system as a concept and can see no way for it to be improved short of scrapping it entirely or gutting it so that it doesn't resemble a gambling system, thus defeating the point. "Green eggs and ham" was just my way of saying that, no, I don't want this system irrespective of what's done to it. I want it GONE.
It's interesting how that one addition is enough to overshadow all the positive stuff to come out of the Pummit. Staff Fighting looks interesting (though not my thing), the Stalker changes are pure gold, solo Incarnates (if it's legit) is great, but those gambling packs just ruin everything. It has less to do with what they represent or contain and more to do with the attitude the studio is communicating through them. They're not getting enough people to pay for stuff continuously, so they're resorting to one of the most underhanded marketing ploys to essentially trick more people into buying things they don't want.
Worse still, there's no "out" for VIPs. One would think that we, as subscribers, are already providing a continuous cash influx month after month (hint: it's our subscription fee), yet this soulless cash grab is being tossed our way too. Why am I paying a subscription, only for the studio to turn around and tell me "players" aren't paying enough and they need to use addiction to sell their crap? Why am I paying a subscription to have the things I want locked behind that nonsense? Am I paying for the upkeep of free players? What happened to the promises that we would lose nothing at all with Freedom? Apparently, the freedom of choice as to what to buy is among the things we lost.
I'm with CT on this one. It's getting harder and harder for me to justify paying these guys a subscription if they're looking for ever newer ways to condition my behaviour and scam me out of my money. Aside from Dr. Seuss' green eggs and ham, I brought up the tale of the goose that lay the golden eggs. If the studio doesn't have enough from the subscriptions we pay it and it's trying to effectively extort more money out of us, we may well stop paying them money at all.
This idea is dead in the water and should never have been approved. If they needed sustained profits, subscriptions are it. Subscription perks to get more Premium people into VIP status should have been the way to go. Instead, they went out of their way to make it so T9 vets like me would lose next to nothing if we dropped down to Premium, and they're wondering where their money went. Idiots. They're trying to eat their cake and have it, too. They're trying to sell a subscription game that pretends its free or a la carte, but they still expect subscriber level return on their players.
Pardon my English, but why the f*ck did we have to go F2P/Hybrid if all we're doing is inventing a subscription fee by another name? Just charge a subscription and be done with it. Then keep adding subscription perks so VIPs don't feel like suckers and Premiums have a reason to care.
God this pisses me off every time I think about it. I can't even ignore it long enough to enjoy the Stalker changes!
*edit by Gopher to keep things NC-16.9
It's interesting how that one addition is enough to overshadow all the positive stuff to come out of the Pummit. Staff Fighting looks interesting (though not my thing), the Stalker changes are pure gold, solo Incarnates (if it's legit) is great, but those gambling packs just ruin everything. It has less to do with what they represent or contain and more to do with the attitude the studio is communicating through them. They're not getting enough people to pay for stuff continuously, so they're resorting to one of the most underhanded marketing ploys to essentially trick more people into buying things they don't want.
Worse still, there's no "out" for VIPs. One would think that we, as subscribers, are already providing a continuous cash influx month after month (hint: it's our subscription fee), yet this soulless cash grab is being tossed our way too. Why am I paying a subscription, only for the studio to turn around and tell me "players" aren't paying enough and they need to use addiction to sell their crap? Why am I paying a subscription to have the things I want locked behind that nonsense? Am I paying for the upkeep of free players? What happened to the promises that we would lose nothing at all with Freedom? Apparently, the freedom of choice as to what to buy is among the things we lost.
I'm with CT on this one. It's getting harder and harder for me to justify paying these guys a subscription if they're looking for ever newer ways to condition my behaviour and scam me out of my money. Aside from Dr. Seuss' green eggs and ham, I brought up the tale of the goose that lay the golden eggs. If the studio doesn't have enough from the subscriptions we pay it and it's trying to effectively extort more money out of us, we may well stop paying them money at all.
This idea is dead in the water and should never have been approved. If they needed sustained profits, subscriptions are it. Subscription perks to get more Premium people into VIP status should have been the way to go. Instead, they went out of their way to make it so T9 vets like me would lose next to nothing if we dropped down to Premium, and they're wondering where their money went. Idiots. They're trying to eat their cake and have it, too. They're trying to sell a subscription game that pretends its free or a la carte, but they still expect subscriber level return on their players.
Pardon my English, but why the f*ck did we have to go F2P/Hybrid if all we're doing is inventing a subscription fee by another name? Just charge a subscription and be done with it. Then keep adding subscription perks so VIPs don't feel like suckers and Premiums have a reason to care.
God this pisses me off every time I think about it. I can't even ignore it long enough to enjoy the Stalker changes!
*edit by Gopher to keep things NC-16.9
November 21, 2011 - 9:19pm
#20
Though I am not happy with the whole surprise bag idea either, I think it might be to early to get worked up about it. As far as I can tell there is no real details regarding what will be in these packs and what they will cost. To go and call it a blatant cash grab before we know what it will actually cost might be a bit soon. It certainly could be a fast and lose attempt to earn some extra money, but it could also be them trying something new, or an misguided attempt to add a bit of fun randomness to the game for those who like that sort of thing. Do I approve? No. But I do think that until we get some solid details that it is too early to get this upset about it. Besides knowing COH, they will make the content available through other means after awhile anyways.
I certainly won't be buying them, but as long as they do not bestow a significant advantage to players, is not having every costume set really going to effect your enjoyment of the game? Now those ATIO's do have me a bit worried, but again lets wait and see.
The other thing to keep in mind is that COH has always been good about listening to their players. The changes to the Stalkers that Sam wanted and the scraped design of the new Circle of Thorn Costumes are just two examples of this. Why not give them a chance to show us what they have in mind, and then decided what to do.
And Sam, don't let one bad idea stop you from loving all the good ones. Everyone makes a few mistakes. Let them at least have a chance to correct it before you give up on them.
I certainly won't be buying them, but as long as they do not bestow a significant advantage to players, is not having every costume set really going to effect your enjoyment of the game? Now those ATIO's do have me a bit worried, but again lets wait and see.
The other thing to keep in mind is that COH has always been good about listening to their players. The changes to the Stalkers that Sam wanted and the scraped design of the new Circle of Thorn Costumes are just two examples of this. Why not give them a chance to show us what they have in mind, and then decided what to do.
And Sam, don't let one bad idea stop you from loving all the good ones. Everyone makes a few mistakes. Let them at least have a chance to correct it before you give up on them.
November 21, 2011 - 9:25pm
#21
Honestly, what upsets me far more then these 'surprise bags' is how we have to keep paying for new power sets. My VIP points covered only 1/2 the price of street justice, and then there was beam rifle before that and soon to be titian weapons and then staff and then dance fighting.... I can live without travel powers and new costume pieces. But I really resent being a paying player and having to go out and buy new powers to keep up with my fellow VIPs.
November 22, 2011 - 6:07am
#22
I certainly won't be buying them, but as long as they do not bestow a significant advantage to players, is not having every costume set really going to effect your enjoyment of the game? Now those ATIO's do have me a bit worried, but again lets wait and see.
As I said, what bus me more than the packs themselves is the mentality behind them. Paragon Studios have a problem getting people to buy their consumables repeatedly. I'd ask why they're trying to sell them to ME when I already pay a subscription, but we've already covered that. Let's just say for the sake of argument that we want non-VIP players to buy consumables over and over again. What's the solution to this? Make better consumables or drop the price on existing consumables.
Instead, what do they do? They bundle consumables that people don't want in random packs with items people DO want. In essence, they've turned consumables into vendor trash or spam mail, depending in how you look at it. They will FORCE you to buy and use consumables if you want the exclusive items in those packs, and the items you actually want are going to be the rare ones, that much we know already. On top of that, they're using blatant psychological manipulation and capitalising on people with poor impulse control by putting exclusive items on what is effectively a lottery.
I object to the entire approach wholesale. It's exploitative, it's dishonest and, frankly, it's insulting. They are literally using the exclusive items as bait to get people to spend more money than they should, buying things they don't want in the first place. The whole point of Freedom was that people would be free to buy only what they wanted, only when they wanted to, but it turns out that giving people that choice, they'll think for themselves and NOT be duped into being ripped off. Sure, a few might, but in a game with a generally high age average, most players are responsible adults who don't like throwing money off a bridge.
Finally, all this does is devalue the worth of our subscriptions even more. I pay a consistent fee, yet I'm told that I need to also buy consumables. And if I refuse to buy consumables, they'll bundle the things I do want with consumables and force me to buy them anyway. I pay my subscription, yet I'm told that the game is facing greater overhead because of the many free players who won't pay, therefore I have to pay more for the things I want to cover their expenses. Not only will that not happen, I resent the studio for even suggesting it.
The thing with Paragon Studios is that it consists of two entities. One is the entity of the developers who put their blood, sweat and tears into making the best damn game they can. People like David Nakayama, Tunnel Rat and Synapse, whose work I appreciate greatly. Then there is the entity of Margeting, who do their darnest to mooch every last penny out of my wallet, for whom no approach is to dishonest if they can actually get away with it. This also extends to getting players to play parts of the game they don't want to, getting players addicted to Skinner box game design and so forth. These are people like Matt Miller and Second Measure, who I honestly do not like.
I appreciate the people who create the game very much. I don't appreciate the people who keep finding ways to keep me from playing it nearly as much.
November 22, 2011 - 6:20am
#23
Yeah, having to pay sucks at times, but at the same time I am willing to pay 5-10 bucks every few months for a new power set because that money helps fund even more power sets or other cool things that we'd not otherwise get. Before GoRo launched the last time we had any truly new power sets was issues 11 and 13 and not sure how you want to qualify Pain Domination as entirely new given the amount of animation recycling it uses and Shield Defense probably came by way of the Cimerora stuff an issue prior.
So yeah, I'm ok with paying some money if it gets me 1-2 or even more new power sets in addition to every thing else we get in a new issue.
So yeah, I'm ok with paying some money if it gets me 1-2 or even more new power sets in addition to every thing else we get in a new issue.
November 22, 2011 - 8:40am
#24
So yeah, I'm ok with paying some money if it gets me 1-2 or even more new power sets in addition to every thing else we get in a new issue.
Oh, I'm OK with paying for my stuff, as well, don't get me wrong. What I'm not OK with is consumables wrapped up in gambling aimed at getting repeatable income out of me, when I'm already paying a repeatable fee via subscription.
If these guys had mad new costumes, enhancements and consumables and offered to sell me the ones I wanted, I would not have objected. I'd have bought the costumes and screwed everything else. However, the gambling packs aim to make me buy things I literally DO NOT WANT just so I can get a shot at the things I do want. That's not going to happen. I refuse to pay money for a chance drop.
They want to sell things to us, I get that. That's fine. But they need to treat us like responsible adults who can make our own decisions, not like children who need to be tricked into buying shiny baubles. I'm not going to buy their consumables, and if I HAVE to in order to get something I won't, I won't buy anything at all. VIPs should have been allowed to buy those straight off the rack, bypassing the gambling angle entirely. Call it a VIP perk. Heavens knows VIPs need a few more of those.
November 22, 2011 - 8:55am
#25
I complained about the heavy incarnate focus on a lot of the recent updates/planned updates, but I have to agree with Razor. I've seen more substantial updates to this game in the last few months than in previous years, with the full paid expansions as exceptions.
I don't mind waiting a little longer for the power sets that I really, want, though. I don't feel the need to have the same set that everyone else is trying out this month. If it's cool, I'll get it when my points accumulate a bit more, or I'll go subscription free and pick it up with cash when I want it.
As for the grab bag, I don't mind the concept. It's a business and if it helps build the business and keep the game 'Free', etc., then it's cool, but then I'm not a real impulse buyer, most of the time. However, if I were to make any changes it would be to allow some other way to unlock the costume pieces, etc., that are currently only planned to be available through this 'chance' system. As a player, that part bugs me.
I don't mind waiting a little longer for the power sets that I really, want, though. I don't feel the need to have the same set that everyone else is trying out this month. If it's cool, I'll get it when my points accumulate a bit more, or I'll go subscription free and pick it up with cash when I want it.
As for the grab bag, I don't mind the concept. It's a business and if it helps build the business and keep the game 'Free', etc., then it's cool, but then I'm not a real impulse buyer, most of the time. However, if I were to make any changes it would be to allow some other way to unlock the costume pieces, etc., that are currently only planned to be available through this 'chance' system. As a player, that part bugs me.
November 22, 2011 - 9:05am
#26
We don't know what the % chance of getting a costume piece in each pack is though, or what the cost is. I mean each pack could end up costing 100 points and have a 60% chance of a costume piece...and there are pieces at each rarity level so you could end up getting 3 costume pieces from one pack and then you won't get those pieces to drop again, so you wouldn't be wasting money on the same pieces.
At least this is what I am telling myself - trying to think positive and being open minded about it until more details are revealed.
At least this is what I am telling myself - trying to think positive and being open minded about it until more details are revealed.
November 23, 2011 - 6:39am
#27
A nice update from Zwillinger -
Apologies for the late in the day post...been in meetings all day and just got out of a meeting about Super Packs. Thank you for your feedback up to this point. There's certainly a lot of it and it will take some time to digest, but it's definitely been under consideration the last few days.
There's some confirmed updates I can now share with you all:
- The base price per pack for the first series of Super Packs is set at 80 Paragon Points. When we mentioned at the Pummit that the packs would be priced lower than 350 points, we couldn't share just *how* much lower, mainly because that was still in discussion.
- There will be a discount for multi-pack purchases (thematically, we're thinking a 10 pack or a "box" of 36). We'll let you know how much that discount is at a later date.
To those concerned about costumes being available exclusively through the Super Packs; We hear you, and we're open to the idea of making them available through an alternate means (obviously there would be some give and take with this). It's something we're discussing, but we haven't made a decision yet.
These packs will be hitting Beta in December, so we look forward to your input during this testing phase. I'm sure there will be some more tweaking and adjustments along the way, as we are prone to do during our beta phases, so your feedback will be very helpful.
-Z
There's some confirmed updates I can now share with you all:
- The base price per pack for the first series of Super Packs is set at 80 Paragon Points. When we mentioned at the Pummit that the packs would be priced lower than 350 points, we couldn't share just *how* much lower, mainly because that was still in discussion.
- There will be a discount for multi-pack purchases (thematically, we're thinking a 10 pack or a "box" of 36). We'll let you know how much that discount is at a later date.
To those concerned about costumes being available exclusively through the Super Packs; We hear you, and we're open to the idea of making them available through an alternate means (obviously there would be some give and take with this). It's something we're discussing, but we haven't made a decision yet.
These packs will be hitting Beta in December, so we look forward to your input during this testing phase. I'm sure there will be some more tweaking and adjustments along the way, as we are prone to do during our beta phases, so your feedback will be very helpful.
-Z
November 25, 2011 - 8:59am
#28
If you want to see better pics of the new DA (which does look really awesome) or the Fire and Ice sets or even what Dark Control looks like, then check out the Coffee Talk Highlights thread
November 25, 2011 - 10:29am
#29
If you want to see better pics of the new DA (which does look really awesome) or the Fire and Ice sets or even what Dark Control looks like, then check out the Coffee Talk Highlights thread
Hey! There was nothing about coffee at that link!
November 27, 2011 - 2:23pm
#30
Awesome info
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I totally dig the elemental order, fire, and ice sets. And I definitely think that image of yours was an inspiration for it
Darkness control sounds interesting - guessing it will borrow heavily/retweak much of the Defender Dark Miasma set, but that set rocks, so it could be a good thing. Titan Weapons (coming sooner than expected) and Staff fighting I'm on the fence about, but I'd probably enjoy both. Proliferation usually yields good results, so I can't wait to see what the changes are this round.