Difficulty?

[JKCarrier]

Now that I've finally got a decent highspeed connection, I've been thinking about trying CoH. I was wondering, though... how difficult is it? I've been looking over the threads here and on the official site, and the character creation, powers, and combat systems look kind of intimidating. I've never played a MMORPG before. How would you rate the learning curve compared to something like Freedom Force, or the average first-person shooter (which is mostly what I play)?

[BlueBard]

Now that I've finally got a decent highspeed connection, I've been thinking about trying CoH. I was wondering, though... how difficult is it? I've been looking over the threads here and on the official site, and the character creation, powers, and combat systems look kind of intimidating. I've never played a MMORPG before. How would you rate the learning curve compared to something like Freedom Force, or the average first-person shooter (which is mostly what I play)?

I think it can be as easy or as difficult as you want to make it.

If you want easy, the game has a more or less gentle introduction with the Tutorial mission and the first few missions from your first contact.  So levels 1-5 are basically no-brainers.  It plays more or less like an FPS and you can totally ignore the social aspects of the game until you're ready for them.  You'd start out with either a Tanker, Scrapper, or Blaster as those character archetypes are fairly straightforward and more or less well able to solo effectively.

On the other hand, the game has a large variety of powers and enhancements (upgrades) and inspirations (powerups) and there are folks who tweak everything to the Nth degree to get the maximum effectiveness of their characters.  A lot of things aren't well explained up front, forcing you to dig for info on the web or pester more experienced players.  Team building with a bunch of strangers can be challenging, too.  But most players are not going to advance quickly unless they're willing to team up.

I enjoy playing it, but it does take a bit of getting used to.  Character creation and advancement is limited in certain ways that might feel unsatisfying to someone expecting Freedom Force like ability to customize their characters and powers.  The solution?  Don't expect that.  It's a different game with its own flavor and quirks.  The game excels at costume creation and as you advance more and more options get unlocked.

So, want to play casually and don't mind that you aren't rocketing up in experience?  A lot of people do that.  No problem.  Want to immerse yourself and claw your way to level 50 as fast as possible?  There's room for that, too.  Want to juggle a dozen (or more) different characters?  Check.

[MJB]

There is a learning curve in CoH but you have an advantage.

My first time playing I ran into Emerald Cloak while running the tutorial. After I first entered Atlas Park the good people of FR and NRF have looked out for me and showed me the ropes. Almost 8 months later and I'm still learning stuff.

This is a fun game. I wouldn't worry about the difficulty, you will always have FR to lend a helping hand. :)

-MJB

[captainspud]

Do a 2-week trial and find out for yourself.

*shrugs*

[Verfall]

This is the most simplistic game you'll ever play short of peek-a-boo.

Ok sarcasm aside, of all the MMO's on the market there really isn't one out there as easy as this. The lack of real items means you don't have to worry about needing the "uber loot" to achieve success in the high levels. From level 1 to level 50 the game is fairly straightforward. There are builds that are more powerful than others, but so long as you don't do stupid things like "take every travel power" you can do well the entire time.

My 8 months pregnant sister managed to get a blaster to level 8 in one night when she couldn't sleep. If she can do that, anyone can play this game.

[El Condor]

The game is pretty easy for a beginner.  The combat system is no more difficult than any new game you might pick up.  You might wish to spend some of your learning time customizing controls to your liking. In terms of game difficulty, you don't start getting into real challenges until you hit the teens.

I had similar pre-CoH experience (played fps games and Freedom Force prior), and started with a scrapper last fall.  It was a good choice to begin, because scrappers do high damage and have defensive capabilities.  Plus, anyone coming off of fps games will be very comfortable with an offense-first mindset.  You can go with blasters or tankers and do well, but know that blasters don't have much defense when enemies draw a bead on them, and tankers' damage is low and slow-going. 

You will want to learn to team.  That's a big hurdle that many players coming from single-player to MMOs have to cross.  Once you get used to it, though, learning and leveling speed up significantly.  If you join the FR community in-game, you'll have plenty of help available, too. Good luck!

EC

[JKCarrier]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I signed up for a 14-day trial, so we'll see how it goes. Got my Tanker "Cassiopella" up to 6th level over the past couple days. Died about a bazillion times already, mostly from wandering into the wrong neighborhoods.  :o Got to run around in the Sewers a little bit with an ad hoc team, that was kind of cool. My global chat handle is JKCarrier... come say "hi", and I might even figure out how to say "hi" back...  :lol:

[Kommando]

And no matter what you do, the veterans will tell you what you did wrong in building your character.  :P  So don't sweat it :P  Yeah I think the most I have done in a night is get to about level 10 with a character (Mind/FF Controller - everyone love teh bubbles).  Its fun, and the learning curve is pretty good - I thought it was pretty intuitive.

[JKCarrier]

And no matter what you do, the veterans will tell you what you did wrong in building your character.  :P

I have no doubt I'm screwing that up royally.  :lol: "Ooh, let's see, I'll take that one, and that one, and put this enhancement over there... I wonder what this does? I guess I'll find out..."

[Verfall]

That's the beauty of your first character, you can screw him up all you want, than just run a respec at 24 and fix your mistakes now that you know better.

Believe me, my first character was a train wreck.

[MikeB7]

I slotted Brawl on my first character....a blaster.  Not kidding one bit.

I look forward to seeing you in-game, JKC!   :thumbup:

[GhostMachine]

I have just one piece of advice for anyone worrying about difficulty or learning curve when it comes to deciding whether or not to try CoX:

MAN UP!!!

[JKCarrier]

MAN UP!!!

I'm tryin', I'm tryin'.  :P I gotta say, though, that I'm finding it a bit of a tough slog. Spent a couple hours teaming tonight, with less than stellar results:

Received a mission to go beat up some Outcasts in the Hollows. Tried to solo it a couple of times, but was way outclassed. Came back later and paired up with another hero, but that still wasn't enough, and I got smoked again. I saw there was an option to skip the mission, and I decided to do that, thinking that maybe I could get back to missions in easier zones. But no, skipping it just put me in line for another (harder) Hollows mission.  <_< Decided to go wander around for a while.

Got invited on a bank mission in King's Row, but somehow managed to get separated from the rest of the team, then surrounded by some fiery guys who proceeded to fry me in about two seconds. Got up again, got fried, got up again, got fried, and finally decided that maybe I wasn't ready for this mission yet.  :(

Went back to the Hollows, and this time hooked up with a decent-sized team that actually knew what they were doing. I'm not sure how much I actually contributed, but I managed to stay alive and the team cleared out the next 3 Hollows missions. Unfortunately, I forgot to call my contact in between missions, so I didn't actually get credit for completing the last two.  :doh:

I may not be man enough for this game, Ghosty...

[GhostMachine]

JK, if it makes you feel any better, the Hollows sucks and pretty much always has. You can make some great xp doing the Frostfire mission there if you have decent healing and firepower, but you're probably better off doing scanner missions in King's Row.

Sounds to me like you had some bad pick up groups.

[El Condor]

Don't get discouraged! The Hollows is fine if you can get  teams like that last one you had and run with them for a while.  It also helps if you're up in levels a bit (say, 10+), when toons become a little tougher.  Once you start into the later contacts (Frostfire and after), it's easy to get into mishes that are above your head.  That's a good time to break from the Hollows (if not leave altogether) and do mishes in other city zones.  But DON'T use safeguards as your model.  They are unique among the city zone mishes, and can quickly turn disastrous because of how easily teams become scattered and disorganized.  Stick with "regular" mishes and you'll do pretty well for the most part. It's good to remember that the joys of new and cooler powers await you. :D

When I started CoH (before I joined FR), I got stuck exactly where you are now, and thought that I had just hit a wall.  I actually stopped playing for a few weeks out of frustration.  Once I figured out that I was locking myself in the Hollows, I learned to team better and move around the city more.  That made a all the difference.

EC

[JKCarrier]

Sounds to me like you had some bad pick up groups.

Nah, it's not their fault I'm a total n00b. The bank team probably just assumed I knew what to do, and I should've made it clearer that this was my first run. I was hoping to solo a while longer and get a better handle on the game before teaming up, so I wouldn't be such a liability. I'll have to poke around and see what other missions I can find.

[BlueBard]

Relatively speaking, compared to guys like MJB who levelled their main toon at an astronomical rate, I'm still pretty n00bish.  Don't let it bother you.  Most of the folks here have been playing for 2-3 years.

The group you're in makes all the difference and most groups don't mind a lower level character riding their coattails a bit.  Even a low level character SK'd can contribute in 2 ways.  First, the additional team member boosts the difficulty for the others... this is usually welcome because it means more XP.  Second, you're a body that can draw some of the aggro off some of the other team members. 

Low level Defenders actually have an advantage in teaming because every little bit of buff/debuff helps when you don't have any.

And when you solo, think 'So Low XP'.  Because that's what you usually get when you solo.  Don't get me wrong, I spend a lot of time soloing and there's nothing wrong with that.  But I accept that I am not going to level as quickly as I will in a team, even a so-so team, and I'm probably going to spend a lot more time... Time spent setting up kills so I don't draw too much aggro, or time spent running back to the mission door from the hospital.

Look up @BlueBard in the game... if I'm on, I'll be happy to join you.  As long as you're below level 20 or so I've probably got a toon in the right level range to run with you.

[Kommando]

Sounds to me like you had some bad pick up groups.

Nah, it's not their fault I'm a total n00b. The bank team probably just assumed I knew what to do, and I should've made it clearer that this was my first run. I was hoping to solo a while longer and get a better handle on the game before teaming up, so I wouldn't be such a liability. I'll have to poke around and see what other missions I can find.

Bank team.  1)  Run straight to the bank.  Do not pass go.  Do not collect $200.  Unless its specified they are doing mayhem villainside.  2)  Stay alive until you get your travel power.

Hollows.  2)  Never ever, and I cite personal experience, ever do Frostfire 5 times in a row.

Respect TF.  1)  Did this last night.  The enemies will try and kill you with boredom in between waves.  Keep your chin up and you will get your respect, unless you luck out and build it right the first time.  However, see my previous comment if you think you have a good build.

[Bugbear]

And when you solo, think 'So Low XP'.  Because that's what you usually get when you solo.  Don't get me wrong, I spend a lot of time soloing and there's nothing wrong with that.  But I accept that I am not going to level as quickly as I will in a team, even a so-so team, and I'm probably going to spend a lot more time... Time spent setting up kills so I don't draw too much aggro, or time spent running back to the mission door from the hospital.

Just to offer a counter view... at low levels, I level faster when I solo.  That's mainly because I spend significantly less time waiting at mission doors for the rest of the team to show up, or standing around inside missions waiting for team members to come back from afk.  :banghead:

-BG

[BlueBard]

Won't argue with you BG, especially as a really bad team (ie no coordination of attacks, poor individual tactics, etc) will get you wiped and in major debt faster than anything else.

Sometimes I bail after the first wipe, if I think the group simply doesn't know what they're doing and they're going to repeat their mistakes over and over.  Most teams improve their tactics after the first wipe and you can earn back whatever you lost on debt.  If you wipe twice, think seriously about whether the team is a good one.  If you're in danger of wiping the third time, hang back and let the rest of the team wipe then quit.  Chances are the team is about to fall apart anyway.

Some people insist on rushing from mob to mob without waiting to see if everyone else is ready and without trying to figure out if there's a second mob within aggro range.  If you happen to be on a team with that guy and you're level 10 or higher, run don't walk to the mission door, exit, and quit.

[GhostMachine]

Here's the screwy thing:

Hero-side bank mission (safeguard) - ALWAYS head directly to the bank instead of doing some street hunting first. No exceptions.

Villain-side bank mission (mayhem) - Take your sweet time getting to the bank, causing destruction and fighting mobs, because if you don't you'll end up with a lot of Longbow operatives jumping you within a minute or two of entering.

JKC, around what time do you usually play? You might find someone from here on who can give you some pointers or sidekick you for a few missions to train you so you can get a better handle on things.

[Jade Chrysalis]

Feel free to send a tell to @Jade Chrysalis whenever you're on and I'm on, and if I'm not tied into something else I would be more than happy to grab one of my lower level alts to run around with you, and explain anything you have questions about.  I am re-learning the game myself after a very long break.  The game is lots of fun, and in many ways way easier than others I've played.  What times are you usually on?

[Kommando]

Yeah I have a bunch of lower level alts too. You playing on Freedom?  I can go for that, once I get my two bars to finally get level 30.

[JKCarrier]

Thanks, everyone. I'm usually on in the evenings, sometime between 9:00 pm and midnight, eastern time. I'm running on the Freedom server.

Don't be offended if I don't respond to a message right away, because the chat window is one of the many things I'm having trouble figuring out...  :oops: