DCUO really needs veteran player input to balance out this game.

Power-sets are unbalanced...Weapons need an overhaul...Many raid mechanics can only be described as broken...

The devs really need to put some experienced players who actually understand all of the combat mechanics on their pay role, have them give feedback, and implement those changes, because this game could seriously use a lot of tweaks that could improve the game tremendously.

Devs, it is not your guys fault that you don't understand the game, as the original lead developer is no longer on the pay role. What is in the past is in the past, but what does bother me, and many others is letting the game play quality continually suffer because there is no one who actually understands the game, making changes to it.

No. It won't help with the development of the game or make it any better. It will be a way for certain players to prove they are better than the rest.

The problem isnt the lack vet input.....

Ummm the Dev team hasnt changed, its been the same guys since Development before the game even came out. These guys are also fellow players. Experienced players happen to be them. We report the issue and then they go through it to try and reproduce it, if they cant reproduce it then a bug cant be fixed but they will continue to try.

Power balance is always a work in progress. Cant tell you how many times Classes in WoW have to go through it too. Nothing is ever definite, there will always be balancing.

Peace you know the problem with that is the vocal minority will always get there way. They scream loud and cry so often that they must be the voice of the masses right?

Every game has issues like this and every game has the same underlying problem...the devs listen to those who cry loudest and when they do that something breaks or gets unbalanced. The only way to change this is for the vets to out cry the cryers which will never happen.

I agree with you man changes are needed and input from people that know would help but we all know if 2 threads of suggestions were put up one by yourself and one by a vocal forum member, the devs will listen to the other person. This has been proven time and time again.

This game is a business. As long as power respec tokens are sold nothing will ever be balanced. It will change from time to time, a new fotm will come out. A new weapon will be op, which you'll need to replay end game content to get. This is the dcuo life.

You make an interesting point but you have to think of the whole community, not just from the perspective of more experienced players......

balancing an mmo with overlapping pve and pvp elements is like trying to juggle cats

I, for one, am tired of nerfs of things that aren't obviously a bug/exploit.

It's not that hard to balance powers to be somewhat equal, keeping in mind that not all powers have the same aoe potential. Neither are they all the same when it comes to clippability (new word), and some are harder on your hands than others.

dps power = base damage / (cast time + animation time - the minimum clip potential)

Can people who drive a lot fix cars better than mechanics? Do you know how to raise cattle and grow food because you eat everyday?

Players know as much about the mechanics of the game as blind people reading about colors in books since all the formulas used by the game are never released.

I am just happy we got lex on fos moving.

Gates was unplayable for a while when it came out too.

Unless something is actually not working like crashing or not getting marks I think the time is better spent working on things they can sell.

Players know how the mechanics play out. Devs know how the mechanics are intended to play out.

Adding counter mechanics to t5 and up bosses made things easier, devs see it the other way around. A blocking boss isnt a threat, its an annoyance.

I think there is enough input from veterans, problem is that devs seem not to acknowledge it fast enough, unless it has dozens of likes (+ The time it takes to do the change.)

How is the damage calculated? How are gear stats generated? What are the ratios of stat values? How much damage do PI add? What is Tyrant's HP pool and defense? What is the aggro mechanics of Hank Henshaw?

For developing software, users are better served just finding problems and developers are better just sticking to fixing them. It doesn't work really well the other way around.

For the record, a blocking boss is a dead rage tank most of the time. That is probably the reason they are doing it.

You seem to be confusing mechanics with flat numerical values. They arent the same. Mechanics is lunge beats block breaker, Tachyon Burst stopping any CC from happening once its used, enrage timers, etc.

Clipping for example was an oversight, now they embrace it and made standard rules around it. They said it themselves, clipping makes balancing harder because of the variables. Phase dodge was meant to be used as a quick defense, now its used to speed up dpsing and getting tanks back into blocking quicker. Phase dodge is what..3 years old? and hasnt been touched from what I know (at least not recently), but now its become a "standard" for SS dps to use.

Nexus was designed for 2 tanks, how long did that last? Soon as people go blue gear, that went out the window.

Like I said, devs know how they want things to work, players see how they really play out. They design it, we play it. They might know the absolute details behind everything in the game, but the best players arent developers.

Great imagery and, honestly, true. Truly, there are couch quarterbacks everywhere today. Yet, many of us that enjoy this game continue to see (at times) a frustrating lack of maintenance on seemingly flawed mechanics. I'm the first one to say that it probably isn't easy to fix everything. I definitely don't know how to fix it, but I would like to see a change that allows me to have a fair chance.

Not everyone wants to buy respect tokens, min/max, or become a clip champion. Those that do will be the "best". Those that don't should still be able to play competitively. There will always be that pro toon that you just cannot kill. That should be the exception and not the rule. Otherwise, let everyone be overpowered: Give Fire insane health, let Sorcery have transmute/ clown box, make nature super poisonous (or something), etc. I've only been around since Sep 2012 so I'm sure there are lots of nerfs you guys know about that could be reinstated.

On a good note, the changes in the upcoming Rage powerset are promising. I do believe that the devs have proven they can be responsive. The priorities just come off weird to me sometimes.
For me, instead of (random example of a small fix):

Legends PvP

• Corrected an issue with weapon ability affecting the pre-order version the pre-order version of Batman

I'd like to see:

Legends PvP

• You can now kill that clipping MF Two-Face that hardly takes any damage but regularly dominates all takers on any given node.

But that's just me

That's exactly what I was going for, users are better at finding problems, but not better at fixing them because they don't know the real numbers.

I see it a different way... a game should have input from all sources. I would want input from the Veteran player that thinks outside of the box and figures out exploits. I also want input from inexperienced players to know how difficult the game may or not be post-changes. I want the mathematician-player that figures out stats, the damageower ratios, effectiveness of powers/weapons/roles.

The hardest part about balancing is that they add things before they're properly tested. Long time ago there was a nerf to 1-Handed's Spin Chop damage. After new powers, better stat gear and mods, suddenly the Focused Blast was overpowered... then subsequently nerfed.

Most importantly, they implement things that usually aren't tested. Or if they are, it isn't tested for a very long time. Not enough testers on the Server, and often by the same PC Legendary-players that are just goofing around with powers or maps. There are maybe a handful of Legendary players that actually test. That actually take the time and learn all the mechanics of each update and how it affects the game and community.

And here's the dig, if I wanted to test.... I'd have to pay for it? Forget that. I'm doing you a service, not the other way around.

We needed clipping for Heals, because the game is so slow.
Clipping with block led to the Rifle glitch.

Things like this aren't found in casual testing by people that aren't serious players.

Obvious things like duplicate Vendor items shouldn't get by casual testing.

Things like Inventory Spaces not working should be tested as part of a standard checklist, particularly if they've failed several times.

Um sorry if you havent noticed, its definately the lack of veteran input, the devs listen to the veterans, but the cries from the casual player is so larger than the vets. This casual player gets everything done such as nerfs, why dont you think electric has been fixed, because the casual player says to remain nerfed, nexus and paradox, super nerfed. Casual player wins always.