I'm curious as to what other players would think of a support role simulator. The DPS role has practice dummies and single player mission options to pactice new loadouts or power types. However the support roles (tank, healer, and controller) are unable to practice new loadouts or familiarize themself with new powers without possibly inconveniencing entire groups during actual on-duty runs. Players can watch all the videos on YouTube they want, but nothing compares to practice and experience. Thoughts?
We've asked for something similar for years... Met with crickets from Devs Love to see it, they won't or don't care enough to do it
Not sure how difficult it would be to come up with it. Perhaps create an instance where when you enter it automatically joins you with a NPC "group" that you can heal or give PoT to. But what I just described could be a programming nightmare for all I know.
I understand that it might not be easy from a development standpoint. ' While I'm not going to pretend to know anything about game design here are some things to consider: *CR/Stat locking (like seasonals) this way the devs don't need to worry about NPC scaling. *1 simulator per role - instead of trying to create a one-size-fits-all. However the location/map & NPC's can come from existing models. (We don't need a new story, place, or characters) *Use NPCs voiced by in-house staff (trying to keep the cost down) Any other suggestions? This will only help the DEVs & maybe actually see it happen.
How would practice dummies that fight back be even better? How would that help healers, trollers, and tanks practice playing their role?
Well this sure is bringing me back to the forums of 2013/2014. Many have asked from something similar but I'm fairly certain it is out of the realm of Unreal3's capability to do it in a fun and dynamic manner. If they came out with something I believe it would be too simplistic and met with further forum complaints of it taking too long, not really helping or people not feeling "super" enough.
Are practice dummies fun or dynamic? I'm not suggesting a great new price of content. I requesting the equivalent of a practice dummy for support roles. Something short & simple to test new loadouts & powers (especially after major changes in the game that seen to roll out every 12 - 18 months). What I'm suggesting is not a tutorial or support role trainer.
If you're asking for a sparring dummy equivalent, as a controller I've found the sparring dummy to be perfectly hospitable for working on power giving and regenerating mechanics for the past 6 years. As far as healers and tanks I'm not experienced enough with those support roles. Controlling hasn't changed much as far as loadouts and doesn't vary between powers. The only thing that has changed is it getting much easier.
they'll really be in action instead of fighting something standing still. just like any other game you learn better when your put to the test. if your a healer there should be training dummies fighting you and you should have ally dummies whom health you have to monitor. if your a tank you should be attacked by a bunch of adds if your a troll you should have ally dummies that are burning through alot of power that you must monitor and debuffs that must be used ... each role have dummies that cater to your role and you should be able to que into anytime you want to practice like legends practice.. whatever role you que in and is the set of dummies you get that feed off your role you que'd in as simply have a screen informing you what your role is and what its intended to do before the fight begins.
I see you point, a troller can practice applying debuffs, but with no other party members to restor power to it only really help a troller practice 1/2 their job. Dummies don't need to be pulles/taunted (tank), not do they damage other players health (healer). The devs have some some amazing things over the years, this shouldn't be outside the realm of possibility.
Okay, so how does that help support roles? Your suggestion sounds like it to help the DPS, and they have solo content to practice against real targets.
1/2 their job is an over statement. PoT and passive group power heals effect the Controller the same way they effect the group. The only power heal move that doesn't is Instant Power which does not make up half the role of a controller but one of his/her tools for doing it. If I want to test IP on a group member I grab a buddy and say "hit the dummy and then dump your power/use your rotation". But there's not much to test with it anymore outside of how big of an IP heal you get. For tanks, I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure almost every power you use is a taunt which would make that not very relevant and I'm pretty sure tanks can pull sparring dummies to kingdom come if they wanted to test their pulls. You got me on the healer one short of going into open world with a friend and asking them to get beat up
Instead how about support role players start running solos, duos, and alerts as support players. There really is no need for a simulator if players stop complaining about support roles running in any content especially solos, duos, and alerts. How about instead content gets buffed requiring every player to use there abilities to survive. The big difference is with damage and support well that could be done by eliminating the Speed of completion and increasing the need to use your abilities for more endurance to increase the chance of completion. Trolls buffs and CC need to scale and not be static, it needs to go back to dominance value. Then the recharge would grant a better buff to the Troll that increases the damage output plus increased CC would help with solos all the way up to raids. Healers and tanks damage output, well healers anyway should be buffed up as well. Dev's need to step up a lot with the content. We shouldn't be able to run 3 dps through no content, I don't care if we are 100+ CR above the content. They can make easy content so we can run with our friends and family.
This nor a tutorials coming to dcuo. Its been highly requested since year 2011 and the response we have gotten since has been dumbing down the game to a point it's just not fun anymore.
I'll just add my two cents.... As already mentioned that idea has been requested numerous times over the years and .................. (still waiting for any response). Game has always been geared toward DPS. Now understandably being the guy that goes pew pew and things die is more fun than being the guy that keeps everyone else alive... But there are players, myself included, that get a lot of satisfaction out of keeping their TEAM alive and in the case of trolls .. keeping them in power and debuffing everything in sight so it all dies faster. But look at the very early game and you see even the Dev team decided long ago to concentrate their efforts of DPS... 1. The first under 30 level alert we get in Area 51 which is available at level 9.... the very first piece of support armor anyone ever gets is that ring from Oracle or Calculator at.. (wait for it) .... Level 10. So pretty safe to assume that alert is designed to be done with absolutely no support at all. 2. Still under 30 level if you get VERY lucky you might have 2 or 3 pieces of support armor by the time you make it to 30 level. Almost everything that drops before 30 is DPS and some of the stuff that isn't is the wrong support role for your power set. Can't really practice using those powers when you have no armor designed to help you. 3. The BUFFS... how many times have we seen some one on here telling people that having a TANK on a mission just eliminated the Defense buff you get by NOT having one on your team? Never bothered to TEST that myself but if true.. the DEV team gave us Tanks and then turned right around and designed a way to make them obsolete? Love to see a tutorial for all support roles .. especially with some of the ones we see now pretending to be a troll or a healer .. but Doubt it will ever happen
WOW its amazing how fast you forget about stuff when its gone.. When i posted yesterday I completely forgot to list this one... 4. AM /WM both history now but gee the Dev team actually created two system that when and IF used properly would allow a DPS to generate their own power back...there by spawning the age of the 6 DPS raid. Please not I did say IF they were used properly since I Trolled countless raid where more than half the DPS and the Healer would be down to practically no power in seconds and I'd spend that entire raid firing off my POT and Power Push and sucking down soda, using my supply drop and even busting barrels to keep MY power up enough to supply them with more. Now I openly admit that my Atomic Tank is guilty of generating power AND heals but some how I get the feeling no one minds that the TANK is holding agro and never needs to be healed or given a ton of power to continue that. Oh and that bring up yet another issue that in my opinion kind of illustrates a lack of support for support... 5. Okay so we got the revamp so STAT supposedly matter .... During that change they also decided to "help" Controllers by making any and all attack deliver POT. Sounds like a fabulous idea doesn't it? THEN they decided to eliminate counting any of the power that power over time generates on the TOTAL the scoreboard shows. Still can not get my head around the logic on that one. Okay so every attack I have is generating POT.... but if there is NO controller on that team then that POT does not exist so how exactly all that power not a direct result of that Troll being on that team? I teamed up with a Controller just yesterday on a duo and the entire time we were there and battling mobs or bosses I would see the little blue numbers ticking off over my head.. Then at the end the scoreboard appeared he had some Power Out listed but I'd also busted several healing barrels during some of the mob and boss battled... We were both just barely at the CR needed to be in that duo so we were taking a good bit of damage... MY power out was higher than his......... From using 2-3 healing barrels? So not one bit of that POT counted.
