Played off and on for a number of years. Haven't played for 2+ now. Primarily played ghost side (Villain). Started at launch. So, the question is... is the game worth coming back to on villain side? And if so... how easy/hard is it to catch up? Technically I can be called "hard core" because when I play a game I play it upwards of 30+ hours a week. But being an alt-o-holic and not caring about being "elite" but rather just having fun in the game I prefer to think I am casual. So.. all that said... worth signing up for again?
You *know* this thread is going to get very messy and opinionated... If I were you I'd take advantage of the last week of Open Episodes and make your own mind up.
It's still not that hard to catch up. Mostly because there is CR skip to 255 that grants you free access to Justice League Dark. (still have to be required CR to enter). Most gear can be purchased with Source Marks so It makes it easier to obtain and grind. Metal I, Metal II and Birds of Prey is basically the end game and still have their own currency (Metal part I will convert to source marks when the new content launches). If you don't care much for elite stuff you can easily just have your artifacts at 80-160 rank, it works flawlessly for me and league mates as we're very casual. And I'm the league's healer next to the leader. I have a lot of alts too and I try to keep up all between 290-300 right now. I suggest reading about Artifacts & Augments on the official website and as other mentioned take advantage of open episodes, and the event version of Birds of Prey to see how much you enjoy the game as it is. I suggest leveling to level 30 before deciding anything.
I was in the same boat. Played for years, quit for years, off and on here and there in between and I just resubbed. Its a casual game and a good time killer. Everything is repetitive and some things are tedious but its fun making your character as strong as possible and having in game goals. Thats what the game always was and still is. It isn't too bad catching up if you want to do it the legit way in-game or you could spend real money and skip to 255 and work from there. You just missed double source marks week, that helped me level an old alt from 100-290cr. There's a gear vendor in the safehouses now that sells gear for your current tier and it was half price. So you pretty much run all of the content in that tier once or twice and if you"re smart about gear purchases you can raise your cr to get to the next tier and repeat. The vault also drops a piece of gear up to 250. This cr calculator helps as it'll let you plan out your move to get your cr up to the next tier: https://odyssey-gaming.net/cr-calculator
Skill Points are more important than what they were prior to GU 73 but they're not upmost important. There's little noticeable difference between two people of the same skill set with 328 SP or 500+ SP. The gear you wear is where the majority of your stats are. Skill Points along with Augments, Artifacts, League Proficiencies, Tactical Mods and Generator Mods are just additional stats that can set you apart from everyone else.
