Hmm, except not even one of my in-game buddies are left playing. So there's that. I could only hope they would add things to entice them to return someday...
Hi all. I would really appreciate it if when quoting us or me, the actual quote can be provided. Otherwise, sometimes these threads seem like a thinly veiled troll attempt at straw-manning an argument out of thin air. Just a request, if possible, in the future. It helps us get into a reality-based conversation quicker. Here are some of the things we have probably said in the past: A new powerset is an enormous endeavor for dev time that cuts across all teams Adding a new powerset adds complexity and upkeep game-wide, permanently, as new content and systems are added and as balance initiatives occur (and so on) Choosing to spend that dev time on a new powerset means choosing not to spend that time somewhere else, which is essentially the primary task we have around here in general - how do we best spend our time? A certain powerset's balance actually has little impact on how much that powerset is played Looking at the data, the most-played powersets are the six free powers, then following almost exactly in order of original release It is always a challenge to interpret data, but the general takeaway I get from that is that people like the powerset (maybe the character) they have, and dabbling into a new one is a short-term diversion for most players. For me, I read it a bit like people asking for new styles. Everyone wants new styles, all the time. When we release even a very well received style, most players give it a thumbs up and don't use it - they already have their character concept, and while they want a new style that fits *their* character, it is highly unlikely that whatever just came out actually does. Diverse preferences. Everywhere. Does that make sense? --- Now, is there lots of demand for new powerset-related additions to the game? Yes, of course. Does it have to mean new powersets? Maybe or maybe not. We're exploring ways to meet that demand. As examples, artifacts and allies are two avenues related to that exploration, that change that powerset-related gameplay without forcing you to change your whole power and without taking the whole dev team down for months. I'm sure we will have more. Realistic or not realistic, we're always excited to read your ideas, so I would encourage everyone to spend your time and forum efforts there.
Is it possible to open up the iconic tree to some of the powers that are on the NPCs and legends characters that we don't have access to? I know it was mentioned by a couple of green names in the past, but if added, it would open up a lot more thematic characters for us. Also, would love to have the movement mode powers added there too.
I wasn't talking about you. And in a video game you have to be prepared to make new friends, because players will leave for all sorts of reasons. It's only a game, online friends are not real friends. Most people won't stick around for years and years, not only because it's kinda sad, but also because the number of options for online interactive entertainment is much larger than it was 15-20 years ago, in the golden age of MMORPG - and growing. If you think anything the devs do will bring back the good old times - you're kidding yourself.
Why bother with facts, when constructed narratives of conspiracy and victimization are so much more appealing?
It is quite disappointing to see that you take this into account so that you can avoid making a new power, necessarily that it is the most play given that they are free and that the game offers a free to play "mentality" and even more now since the subscription has become less necessary than before, so it is certain that many players will therefore tend to move on free powers, but there are also many others who hope to new power and will even be ready to pay to get/play this new power.
That's interesting because if you look at characters at endgame CR you get a more mixed bag: Electric23041 Fire19180 Rage13355 Gadgets12917 Ice12377 Quantum11894 Sorcery11589 Munitions10805 Mental9592 Earth9190 Light8660 Water8400 Atomic7392 Celestial6997 Nature6194
This is a statistic that can lead to the wrong conclusion. It gives an idea of what end game players are using in the meta, but there are always new players and free players that are not end game nor are they following the meta. We don't have access to the actual stats of players who are active (they removed it because players didn't want that known) only the devs do. Also, this also shows that "most" of the paid powers are on the low end. Light, Water, Atomic, and Celestial are under used, while Electric and Rage are in the top. This definitely shows that unless there is something that shakes the meta, development can be wasted on it. This also shows that Fire is still top free power. Please note, I want more powers. I want them to allow us to open up our options, like things like Warframe does. I'm just trying to show that the smaller stat samples can be misleading.
i did the math. and based on these numbers here, there are actually over 20,000 more people that play membership powers than free powers. hmm
People can come to whatever conclusion they want. When I look at this list I see combo powersets towards the bottom and can come to the conclusion that players hate combo powers. Looking at all characters as a whole can be even more misleading because how is anyone supposed to guess which characters are actually played vs bank mules vs name holders?
You’re not wrong about the combo powers being disliked. Im guessing it’s due to their slowness and lack of mobility Although I think fires main reasons why it’s as high as it is… it’s mobile so can kite really well, It’s damage doesn’t suck and is fairly easy to achieve compared to other powers, and the biggie absorb heat is broken, (people can tell me I’m wrong about this and that’s fine but nah sorry I don’t buy that it’s working as intended the devs just haven’t or don’t want to fix it), by all means keep using it I’m not gonna say don’t) but if absorb heat was brought back into line with other channel powers that do lose their benefits after the channel has been canceled I could See that power dropping significantly if not at the bottom of that tier or at the top of middle tier.. and I’m not shocked at all that ice fire and gadgets are as high as they are, it doesn’t hurt that those powersets are as mepps said freenpowers nut also for the simple fact that fire and ice are mmo staples, and gadgets is batmans powerset and they all happen to be versatile, they don’t require too much use in iconics to bring their damage up they are great at aoe, single target for both might and precision not shocked they are that high. I’m actually shocked munitions isn’t higher up, which I’m sure would change if you changed the criteria to anyone who has at the very least gotten to full shock to the system vendor gear… not including the op pieces but just straight up the cr or greater that the vendor gear would provide… I think it’s what 410 or 411… I’d be interested to see where the powers land there … something tells me atomic and celestial are still bottom tier and probably by a larger margin.
This is near max CR and max CR characters: Electric 1722 Fire 1184 Munitions 983 Ice 731 Gadgets 646 Quantum 636 Sorcery 584 Rage 584 Mental 443 Earth 433 Water 423 Nature 370 Light 286 Celestial 281 Atomic 227
Yup about as I expected although I’m shocked rage didn’t edge out ice … then again ice is the easiest tank class in the game and as you were saying seems like the community isn’t liking combo powers as much as it once did… so maybe I shouldn’t be shocked. Lol at how atomic plummets to last place…gee I wonder why .. heavily reliant on iconics to make up For where it’s lacking when it comes to dps .. most the it’s powers are useless as hell for dps, less mobile making kiting more difficult when tanking, and while dpsing avoiding one shots or any heavy damage is more difficult (not impossible but not as easy) celestial suffers the same fate and I’m guessing hardlight is the same I’m guessing it’s only edging out those two because of the whole Green lantern aspect. Anyway thanks for the post
Yep, it kinda follows the weapon combos/mastery’s that are used…Fastest output is preferred/easier to use/less time to “master/excel with.” Getting interrupted before you final combo input on celestial feel bad. Ice and fire are easy to learn…Atomic takes more effort to understand.
Another factor is the Meta Chasing mentality that a lot of players seem to chase. Players go to what they are told is best. Either for dps or support role. Or what is just plain easier to use. Case being munitions. The easiest power to use to perform well in. If they were to add a new power there is no guarantee it would be highly chosen as players will want what’s easiest and best.
Yeah, I'd also imagine it's similar to the whole "casuals always just DPS" idea. A lot of people who just play when they can or don't really wanna play and understand the game religiously and study it and all that are generally not gonna want to do the more complicated, learning heavy powers. They'll stick to the easier to understand and just pick up options. Even if a power is super great and OP, that's not really what matters to those players because they just wanna have fun and play when they get the time. This can be practical stuff like they're very busy and don't get much time to be some elite meta top player or it can simply be preference. Nothing wrong with either. There's a lot of factors at play in what powers are the most used. The obvious ones that I, as just a player myself, can recognize are: Accessibility (both in terms of the above stuff and in terms of stuff like being free for all players) Appeal/Cool Factor (people are always gonna be drawn to fire and munitions and Earth and such, that's just a given) Personal taste (IE me having a lot of Batman types and so a lot of gadgets toons) How powerful they feel/how fun they are How "good" or "viable" they are/the meta Roles (like if someone makes a tank toon for doing runs with their league or just simply likes playing the tank in games) Curiosity ("Huh, what's this quantum power entail?") And people using the available powers as stand-ins for ones not in the game (like using water to make a Blue Lantern) And I'm sure there's numerous other factors that the devs themselves would know or if you really studied the whole thing.
If there wasn't so much inequality between powers, whether in terms of power or mobility, maybe people would enjoy playing them more. Some powers almost freeze the player, preventing them from playing properly, while others won't be a problem, there's also this that plays, and others still have a long animation that's barely recognised in the difficulty of certain bosses...
