Devchat Questions Thread: The Hero Games

[Archived Post]

We'll be holding a Devchat late next week (most likely Thursday), so I wanted to get this up before the weekend. Starting with this chat, we're going to begin focusing them on specific topics, so only ask questions related to the topic, please.

This week's topic is: The Hero Games!

Got a question about certain powers in PvP? Want to know more about how the scoring works? Interested in that upcoming "Zombie Apocalypse" map you've heard rumors about? Ask your questions in advance here and get them answered during the IRC chat.

Posts which are not questions will be deleted. Posts which do not relate to PvP will also be deleted. Please keep discussions and feedback elsewhere on these forums. Thanks!

[Archived Post]

Many have argued that changes to powers because of PVP have been hurting PVE and vice -versa. Will powers ever be changed in the future to have seperate effects in PVP/PVE to avoid the balancing problems that have angered so many fans and driven off so many players?

[Archived Post]

It's been suggested that Travel powers should be disabled in PvP matches to avoid accusations of imbalance associated with powers such as Teleport and Tunneling; what is the team's viewpoint on this? Is it something that would ever be considered?

[Archived Post]

One of the problems the PvP game faces is that there's a lack of diversity in maps. Or rather, there are many maps, but they are not always available. Will the lower bracket UTC maps be eventually available to the last bracket?

[Archived Post]

Many people have expressed concerns of OP in passive powers during PVP, how does the team intend to address this issue?

[Archived Post]

I seem to remember a Dev post stating that we would be getting a PvP zone with Bloodmoon. Lately there's only talk about a new Hero Game match, is the PvP zone still on the cards and if so is it still on schedule?

[Archived Post]

How will the scoring in Zombie Apocalypse work?

Does Zombie Apocalypse function like a team mission, or is it another PVP arena? Will it have all sorts of crazy gimmicks to keep users entertained as they play through the content? Players have said you can turn into a zombie hero, is that true?

[Archived Post]

Will lower tier maps be added to the higher tiers as options so that us who are level 40 may enjoy them? Being restricted to only the lava temple for UTC is really a downer when having a variety of each map would be funner.

[Archived Post]

There are currently a lot of issues with the two most commonly played game types, BASH'es issue being exploitable by joining as a team or "tagging" kills with AoE's and UTC's issue being the pug vs premade, What can the devs tell us if there will be any future solutions to these issues?

[Archived Post]

1) Any plans to address the problem of 5v1 contests in arena maps because people don't join? And, for that matter, plans to let us see who is actually in the map, not just who WAS in the map.

2) While assumedly more PvP rewards are planned, where in the pipeline are they? No offense, but I didn't fight against the mightiest warriors, magicians, power-armor-wearing madmen, fire-throwing mutants, and powerful telepaths to earn the right to dress like a nimrod in a mask who does choreographed slapfights on stage. Could the costume rewards please be something I might actually want?

3) When are groups going to be automatic upon entering a PvP map?

4) Currently, healing, while important and useful to the team, does not give personal benefit. Any plans on this regard?

5) Are there plans to add not just new arenas, but new modes as well? I would really love to see a 5v1 arena, where the 1 gets increased size (though not in the completely hideous way that Moreau's serum increases size in the MI crisis) and stats. It'd be like a boss fight, just with someone (hopefully) smarter than your average AI controlling it.

6) Block in PvP is currently on the one hand overpowered, and on the other, pointlessly nullified. Because it can be held indefinitely, it can make players (especially those with regen) like gods among men survivability-wise, and the only real counter is a (fairly expensive) 3 point advantage. On the other hand, one guy with that advantage can completely nullify block for whoever he is targetting, as it disables it for the duration of the cooldown of the ability. Any plan to make it so this advantage isn't so required-yet-expensive for PvP?

7) Currently, AoE is... well... pretty close useless in PvP, but pretty close to supreme in PvE. This (as with crippling challenge) can make for very distinct PvP vs PvE builds, such that a PvE-built character has very little hope in PvP. Any plans to bridge this gap?

8) If two defensively built characters fight, nothing will happen for 40 minutes or so until one gets bored and tries to go more offensive, especially with regen. And usually the one who goes offensive dies. What could be done to make it easier to interrupt heals (and possibly disable regen), keep travel powers suppressed so they can't get health bonuses, and deal damage to actually successfully kill a player who is built to be defensive, especially as a defensive character yourself?

9) Please tell me you AREN'T considering making powers different for PvP and PvE. That would be horrible.

I'm sure I could think of more, but that'll do for now.

[Archived Post]

I'd like to know if anything is going to be done about Melee, especially charged Melee powers. In City of Heroes, as long as you started an attack next to someone, even if they walked away you'd hit them when your attack came through. While I don't think it would be fair to get up next to someone and have them immediately jump away and still land a fully charged Haymaker on them, I think a grace period of, say, half a second should be given, so if they start moving away, we can let go of the charge and still hit them if we react quick enough. It's very frustrating when my attack is completely doged just by taking a step back.

[Archived Post]

Is there any chance of pvp game modes with a different focus being introduced?

Currently they all revolve around killing with a side of not dying.

A capture the flag mode or a territory control mode (think AB in WoW) would switch things up from the current find the weak player kill them 20 times style.

Apoc is somewhat like this already in that using the call reinforcements stations requires you to temporarily dominate the area, but it would be nice to get points for it rather than introducing PvE into a PvP situation.

Failing that is there any chance of a team variant of BASH and a free for all variant of the other maps arriving?

[Archived Post]

Just from an outsider looking in standpoint it'd appear the game developer's have failed to recongize that PvP aspect is one of the most key elements of the mass appeal of MMO's to most ppls. 9 of 10 of the 100+ ppls that I know who tried beta all said the same thing... " how the helll do you have a super-hero based MMO that totallly ignores the hero vs, villian pvp aspect of a game?" Unless you're a WOW fanboy, can you think of any successful MMO out there that has mass appeal w/o the whole pvp aspect of being able to track down and kill your most hated ****** in the game? (admittedly I'm usually one of those ****** you like to kill)

Jesus christ... how could any game developer in this day and age develop a "cops & robbers" MMO without having a thought thru the ppl cops vs. ppls robbers aspect?

[Archived Post]

2 questions

1. any plans to make healing/support/buffing count towards anything (War which is where i came from has heals on someone whose killing or contributing to killing someone count towards your score (if they have taken damage and the dmag etaken is what you heal)). It would be awesome if either healing someone who contributed to a kill counts as you contributing to that kill,

2. any plans to make melee feasable in pvp? (charge attacks that root you, attacks that take energy/go on cooldown without actually hitting anything pretty much suck the joy out of melee in pvp). Also the large number of knockback moves or melee roots that break instantly on damage (or appear to) make it very hard to be a 100% melee char.

[Archived Post]

Most of the main question have been asked. So here are a few more:

Powers:

I heard rumors that you have ways of tracking what powers are being used, which powers do you see as being the most and least commonly used for PvP? And perhaps more importantly, what powers are currently being looked into for changes?

Are there any plans for PvP power replacers, consumables, or temporary powers? I notice the PvP vendors have a few consumables already, but I was more wondering if any map objectives would revolve around them, or perhaps they could be distributed as a sort of handicap?

Environmental damage:

I love knocking people down off the tall buildings in B.A.S.H., I love picking up and throwing rocks/construction equipment at people. Those take more than a bit of set up and aren't quickly repeatable. But that Lava temple, that is a bit much, the lava is everywhere and quickly turns everyone who isn't a tank into ash. Are there any planed to change environmental damage in regards to lava?

What kind of environmental damage can we expect to see in the new map(s)?

PvPNPCs:

What kind of NPCs are we going to see in the new maps?

The bosses of Apocalypse have been said to be unbalanced (mostly due to their healing abilities or lack thereof). Are there any plans to change them at this time? Furthermore, are there any plans to change the NPC's so that the players are the center of the action rather than the reinforcements? Granted, there are a few builds out there that can pay little heed to the NPC's, but those builds are of questionable integrity in the eyes of many.

[Archived Post]

Will zombie map playing give exp that's competitive with regular hero games and questing? Questing gives items and exp, hero games give acclaim and exp, what will zombie pvp give? what will make me want to play it for more than 20mins after the 'new' feeling wears off?

thank you

[Archived Post]

The #1 rule of cagematch PvP is "find the weakest link and make their life a living hell". Is there anything that could be done to stop us all ganging up on the new guy and ruining their day?

Stronghold Apocalypse is currently a bit unbalanced (due to life-drain on Talisman/MindBreaker), is it possible to make any amendments?

On the new apocalypse map - I think everyone is excited, but will this be available to players under level 31?

Finally - block vs crippling challenge. It's a tricky balancing act, but are there any plans to reduce either/both in PvP?

[Archived Post]

Jesus Christ, can you guys come up with something not related to PvP? Hardly the mostpressing issue at stake.


1. How high on the priority list is improving UI responsiveness? I'm sure you've noticed that players are reporting annoyance with button presses not being registered, or there being a significant UI lag. In either case, players are being forced to 'guess' whether or not their action is going to happen or not. This often leads to uncharged charged attacks and unblocking when you need to block.

2. This game is all about comic book fantasy. What comic book stories or notable battles are you looking at to influence potential endgame content in the future?

3. On that note, the current state of the boss fights is something of a sad state of affairs. DPS, Block, DPS, Die, Run Back, Repeat. Are there plans to add more interesting fights and to update the more tedious outdoor bosses (Mega-Destructoid especially).


The focus of the devchat is the Herogames (PvP) im afraid, as stated in the title.

One more question:

A Dev mentioned in one of threads about a Hero Games Ranking system, can you tell us a little more about what you have planned for this, and what kind of rewards we can possibly expect to see when it is implemented?

[Archived Post]

Ok, second post, sorry mods!

Is someone looking into the effect of damage resistance debuffs both generally but especially in PvP? If so what is the plan moving forward?
Most of the complained about powers in pvp make use of them (for example ego blade breech, collective will, laser sword and the psychic reverberations advantage).
They are currently the greatest damage increasing abilities in game when stacked and for many builds stacking a few of them isnt hard.

It seems a strange balance decision for target speciifc debuffs (available to all attacking that target) to give greater damage output than self buffing which affects only one player in a group.

[Archived Post]

Will there be more fixes to improve on the state of the actual fighting in PvP? As many players have stated, there are alot of gimmicks to the game at the moment, like the safety of teleporting, and the cheapness of chain-knockback (I understand this is being worked on).

Ooooorrr

When players become zombie heroes, do they get a graphical change? Do we get flies swarming around us or different walk and run animations, or is there a complete model change? It would be weird to go from a wolf-man thing to a human zombie

[Archived Post]

Teleport. Everyone talks about its utility over the other travel powers in PvP. Is this working as intended or will it be modified. I don't care either way, I just want some sort of final answer on it.

[Archived Post]

So, regarding Zombie Apocalypse:

When you die in this battle do you came back as a zombie and take out those that are left?
And if so, what will the alteration in costume/animation be when in zombie form?

[Archived Post]

Here's a question about scoring: One of the most devastating teams I went against had a "hardened" healer on them and they stuck together.

How would the healer get scored there? PvP as implemented is fairly free-for-all, even though it's technically team based.

Does solo score, giving a ranking, really mean as much as you think it does in a team-based arena? I don't deny skilled players, but there's a lot more that comes into play than twitchiness.

[Archived Post]

The #1 rule of cagematch PvP is "find the weakest link and make their life a living hell". Is there anything that could be done to stop us all ganging up on the new guy and ruining their day?


In regards to this question, how do the devs intend to fix this? For instance once you kill someone, you get less XP or credit for that person for a certain period of time? This could prevent the new guy from having a target on their back. Everquest 2 implemented something similar to this, when killing or assisting in a kill against another player you cannot receive PVP XP from them for 30 minutes after you kill them. There was a list of recent PVP kills that showed who you had killed as well. I'm not sure how something like this would work in the Hero Games, but what ideas do the devs have for preventing farming one player in PVP?

[Archived Post]

Are there any plans for factions in PvP, or possibly PvP only aliases to avoid griefing after the match ends since we all have the potential to run into our most loathed PvP competitors in the PvE content?

[Archived Post]

Currently the best obtainable PVP rewards are only beneficial to specific builds. It would be nice if there were different versions of each reward, each with different stat bonuses. Are there plans to add more PVP rewards that reflect the stats required by different builds in the same way that quest rewards are offered?

[Archived Post]

Many a games have attempted to Balance their game around PvP; a few come to mind, are there any precautions in play at the moment to help prevent or thwart any type of Over "nerf" or compensation to the powers in regards to fighting other players. Obviosly if you try to balance a game around pvp it will feel more and more like a pvp game rather than a pve or combination of both.

It has been mentioned above to limit the damage a power does to a player as opposed to an Npc, which several games use this type of scaling. I for one think this is a very good idea.



*If you chase two rabbits, you will lose them both*


*edit Spelling

[Archived Post]

Are there any plans to make all of the maps available at every level? Like create different level range brackets for each map so once you're high enough level to access a Hero Games map you will always have access to that map?

This would make the Hero Games feel like it had much more content/maps than it actually does and the Queue window wouldn't look so empty. Recycling content can do wonders and there are people who favor the lower level maps more than the ones available at the level cap.

[Archived Post]

I recall reading that the point of the energy system in this game, in which it does not passively regenerate but instead requires the use of "energy builder" attacks, was to fix the issue in CoX in which players would be forced to stand around doing nothing while waiting for energy to regenerate.
Functionally though, this system is identical to the normal system in most games that gives you passive resource regeneration paired with free-to-use auto-attacks, except that melee characters are left at a massive disadvantage in PvP by needing to actively hit their target to gain resources for real attacks, and even though you are still visually attacking while trying to regain energy you are effectively no longer damaging your target just as in CoX.
Do you feel this system needs adjustment?

[Archived Post]

Are powers such as Smoke Bomb and Stealth working as the Devs want in PvP? Do you feel there in need of a Buff or a nerf?

How do the Devs view pets in PvP? Are they where the devs feel they should be or are they in need of a buff or a Nerf?

Are there any plans to limit the impact changes for PvE have on PvP and Vice versa?

Can we look forward to more scenario type PvP such as capture the flag and other objective based PvP or is the main focus for PvP the arena model?

Will we be seeing a PvP ranking system any time soon?

Do you plan on adding more rewards to purchase with the Aclaim points you gain in PvP?

Are there any PvP specific powers and power sets on the horizon?

Will there be any tournaments of Champions or something similar in which players may compete in a sort of sanctioned tournament where there will be unique prizes for the victor?

Are there any plans for the future to add zones where there is a FFA PvP rule set?

What impact do you see the new Celestial Power set having on PvP?

Will there be any incentives added to give a bit of meaning to SG's fighting against each other as in a war or rivalry type thing such as wagers (meaning your team puts up something like 10 globals, my teams puts up 10 globals, the team that wins gets all the globals) or anything really?

Are there any plans on adding features to the Hero Games to make it easier to have team vs. team matches, such as SG's at war with each other or simply in a rivalry?

[Archived Post]

Questions:

What are the plans for allowing pre-set teams to fight each other?

When will an arena system be implemented?

Will we be seeing any new maps added to PvP, such as an area of Millenium City, The Desert, Canada, and Monster Island?

Will there ever be a dev-run ladder for supergroups?

[Archived Post]

1] What kind of priority would you say that PVP has [in comparison to PVE] from a development standpoint? Why?

2] Do you plan on adding/improving PVP content at the same rate as PVE content? Why?

3] When you sit down and look at player powers, do you look at put an emphasis on PVP balance or PVE balance? Which do you look at first? Why?

Thanks!

[Archived Post]

Major concern right now is the balancing of powers in both regards to PVE and PVP as they seem to function differently. Melee seems at a great disadvantage in PVP as players can simply move around quickly to avoid getting hit. Stuns in Melee do not effect players as well as PVE mobs so roots and holds are all that's left. For concepts in primarily melee it makes it difficult to stay close to players.

Question: Can we look forward to melee primary characters getting some kind of ability to move quickly towards our targets or drawing them close to us? Chain Kunai and thunderbolt lunge do not work effectively or consistently with players as they just move away as soon as they get up (not to mention a simple block prevents these abilities from being useful at all), leaving us once again looking to get closer after only a short burst of dmg which when fighting players with Regen or PFF or any dmg reduction leaves melee users primarily in the MA powerset wanting something more.

Is there a way for players to LOCK ON to targets so they don't lose track as when I'm trying to chase after someone I can often lose track of them in the small confines of arenas?

[Archived Post]

Is there going to be a ladder tournament to see what team comes out on top in the PvP arena's?

[Archived Post]

A.) Is there any chance of changing PVP so that all players have their chosen travel powers disabled upon PVP entry and the map (B.A.S.H. Apocalypes, etc) dictate what travel power all participates use while in the instance?

B.) You have made two changes to Teleport.

1.) adding a 10 second timer
2.) preventing the power from working while held or rooted.

the 1st is unnecessary and overly gimps the power. a teleport pvp player has no chance of keeping up with a super speed or flight character with this 10 second lock out. Is there any chance of seeing a rebalance to the teleport power?

C.) Taser Arrow. two changes were made

1.) the hold is now a % chance
2.) the power adds a hold protection

The 2nd is fine. the 1st, like teleport, overly nerfs the power. is there a chance to remove the % chance and put it back to a guaranteed hold

[Archived Post]

Do you make PvP balance decisions based more on 1v1, 5v5, or an equal mix of the two?

[Archived Post]

Question: In some Hero games the first team to reach a certain amount of kills wins. This has lead to undergeared, less experienced, and more "squishy" heroes being targeted and camped over and over in these Hero games to the exclusion of trying to kill anyone else, which some may argue has lead to a lot of newer players not wanting to play Hero games at all. How do the Developers feel about this tactic, and are there any plans to adress this issue through altering the way points are scared in this game type?

Question: Many people enjoy PVPing with their friends and guildies in "premades". However when placed against "PUGS" of random players, the organizational difference can be quite extreme, leading to very very one sided games. Is there any plans to adress this imbalance in placing Premades against PUG groups in Hero games?

Question: There seems to be something of an imbalance between melee-centric heroes and ranged-centric heroes in PVP. Are there any plans to change or alter the way the Ranged VS Melee dynamic of PVP works in CO?

[Archived Post]

I like the luchadore gear, but I wonder if they plan to add any onther PvP custome unlocks.

[Archived Post]

A few questions:

1) When are the powers that are blatently broke going to be tweaked or fixed. I.E. Mindful spam, conflag(dmg), Collective will, lash, etc.

2) When is any type of knockback diminishing returns or immunities going to be put in place?

3) Are there going to be more options added to pvp maybe having a 1v1,2v2,3v3 BASH, capture the flag objectives in apoc and more pvp zones to choose from.

4) When is any information regarding some of the pvp perks going to be released. Such as how to get them etc, like ceiling cat, and all the others. As of right now, its a guessing game that everyone is losing.

[Archived Post]

- PVP Questions -

POWERS
Some defensive passives are much more potent and usable than others, one of these is Personal Force Field, due to the PFF being set to 0 whenever you restore this leaves PFF heroes to have to stand around for upwards of a minute to get their Force Field back to enter PVP. No other passive defense really suffers from something this extreme. Is this power being looked at?

Teleport is still a major issue. Literally well over 50% of PVP is filled with characters who can "insta-escape" from anyone. While there are ways to combat this it is by far the hardest travel power to deal with, and the only travel power that requires pre-emptive countering. Is this power being looked at for further balancing?

PLAYSTYLE
Currently melee characters are at a severe disadvantage to ranged characters, especially where builders are concerned. This is never any more obvious than in the case of charge attacks. Is the dev team looking at ways to help melee in general rather than a specific melee power?

CRAFTING
Right now crafted items are inferior to mission drops in general. They aren't worth the effort to outfit for. These are generally not helpful to most in PVP especially in the higher levels. Are there any plans to make crafted items more favorable to use in PVP at any point in the future?

VERISIMILITUDE
Right now PVP doesn't feel "Heroic" and it doesn't encourage heroic behavior. PVP is generally a "gank and spank" where people find the weakest link on a team and farm them over and over. This isn't fun for the poor guy getting farmed, and it isn't very heroic behavior. Since we are here to emulate superheroes are there any plans to introduce more heroic styles of combat?

Examples:
Rewards for sticking out a fight rather than running.
Dueling Tournaments via the Hero Games.
Diminishing returns applied to farming the same guy over and over?

[Archived Post]

Can we get a /exp off option if we want to keep a toon in a specific bracket.

[Archived Post]

When will there be more Acclaim rewards added? Even if they are not costume unlocks and just items to wear for stats there need to be way more rewards to pick from. For lvl 40 there are only 2 items for each Secondary Slot and that's not enough...

[Archived Post]

* Why on earth does leveling up remove options in which maps you can play in UTC? Would it be that hard to just have it say, pick randomly one of the three maps when the teams are filled and the game is started? Just seems silly to waste two out of three maps as you can never play the other 2 outside your bracket ever again.

* Why is there still such a gap between basic moves like energy builders, especially in HGs? Moves like Strafe and Gunslinger are vastly worse then say, Kinetic Darts in any aspect of the game? Having your builder do an inferior job then other trees alone is just silly but on top of that you have builders that can root/hold/knock you down without even a single advantage point invested. How is that fair?

* Why does it take so long to get obviously unbalanced powers in PvP dealt with? People were complaining about things like Mini-Mines since Beta and nothing was done till recently. The current "Flavor of the Month" is nonsense like Shadows Embrace and CoPD. I understand things have to be taken in to consideration when nerfing but when your HGs grind down to "which team has the most OP abilities", it stands to reason that you guys should be taking a more proactive stance with dealing with such one-sided situations these powers can create. Especially in the early stages of the game were people draw their initial impressions. I am already having second thoughts about staying with CO nearly solely on how bad PvP currently is. It seems PvP balance is little more then an afterthought lately and it is showing, especially in the later tiers of HG.

[Archived Post]

1. What are your thoughts regarding Teleport and Tunneling? How are you going to fix these powers for PVP?

http://forums.champions-online.com/showthread.php?t=79163&highlight=teleport

I'm sure that you are aware of the constant complaints from your members regarding people in PVP teleporting or tunneling at the last minute, regen and come back immediately back to battle. Many good ideas have been provided to limit these abuse:

Make Teleport and Tunneling have cooldown
(They will be allowed to run but not comeback any time soon unless they want to die and be fair.

Stop making Teleport and tunneling invinsible
(They can teleport or tunnel unlimited times, but are visible and can be hitted just like any other flying power)


Cannot Teleport and tunnel while on hold or rooted (etc)
(Longer and harder escapes for Teleporters and tunnelers)

Dev's ideas :



2. Will you be fixing Might Melee in PVP so they can build energy and hit at range?

http://forums.champions-online.com/showthread.php?t=79004&highlight=might+pvp

Might really needs to be looked at for PVP.


3. Ego blades has way too much damage, you should definitely take a look.


http://forums.champions-online.com/showthread.php?t=79264&highlight=ego+blades

http://forums.champions-online.com/showthread.php?t=77905&highlight=gadget&page=2


4. Pets and their damage needs to be fixed and buffed

http://forums.champions-online.com/showthread.php?t=78435&highlight=int

[Archived Post]

One of the cool things about Champions Online is the ability to create any Super Hero arch type you want. However due to the imbalancing of powers both Overpowered and Underpowered many times playes find themselves delving into other areas of a framework to allow them to survive, while this works it tends to throw concept ideas out the window and pure imagination is traded over for effectivness and survivability. Not just for PvP but PvE as well.

Do you plan on seriously buffing and adding to extreamly weak frameworks to allow them to stick more with their build and feel comfortable as well as feel as though they can compete with other powerful frameworks? So many powers have such a lack of synergy that alone they seem useless.

[Archived Post]

Q: What, if anything, will be done about Power Replacers? In concept they are a good idea, but are used very little because of the huge hit you take to your stats for slotting into Primary Offense with seemingly little returns. Could there possibly be something done to make these more useful? Perhaps having a Power Replace Slot, like your Passive slot, that they can go into rather than slotting them in Primary Offense?

Q: What, if anything, is going to be done to try to make PvP a little more balanced? It seems that some things are just over the top powerful....like Teleport (and Tunneling), Blocks and Spammed Holds.

Q: Are there going to be any free retcons given out anytime soon....like perhaps when Bloodmoon and the Celestial Power set is released?

Q: Is anything going to be done about the big difference in how slowly some of the Energy Builders build energy? Like Gunslinger and Strafe?

[Archived Post]

1) You (Cryptic) stated in the SotG during CB that you understood the problem of ranged vs melee but yet months later you have yet to fix the disparity that exists. Were you all just blowing smoke or is there something in the works to put melee on an even keel with ranged?

More specifically are there any plans to give melee END builders the ability to build END while in combat (and not necessarily attacking) similar to ranged attacks so melee players aren't forced to hold, root, or otherwise CC opponents just to get a full bar of END.

2) Are there any plans to buff MA? Specifically Single Blade and Unarmed that are consistently underperforming in both PvP and PvE.

3) What plans, if any, are there to give Teleport BACK its universal cooldown if someone activates it while in a combat situation (meaning both attacking or being attacked). Also why are otherwise intangible people able to pick up power-ups?

4) Will there ever come a time when I don't HAVE to take powers X, Y and Z just to compete in PvP (ESPECIALLY for melee) and feel more comfortable staying within a certain framework and thus allowing concept toons to be viable?

[Archived Post]

Another question, if you don't mind, Charagon reminded me of it:

There does seem to be a bit of laggy response to the interface, especially with clicking and dragging inventory items. I have to hold the mouse down for at least half a second before the UI recognizes me doing so. Also, will there be a way to save control schemes so we don't have to edit each character? Or at least set a master control scheme so that ALL characters behave the same? For the HUD as well?

[Archived Post]

I have a few questions.

1) teleport. Can we hope to see better counters in place for this skill and better combat functionality for teleport in general? Probably one of the most annoying aspects of any game is beating your opponent and not getting credit for... in this case they disappear right in front of your face unless you can manage to chain CC them - which should not be the counter for anything. Im pretty easy to please as far as balance goes, and this skill is one of the very very few id openly complain about. I just hate how it works in pvp. I don't want to see it destroyed, I want to see it properly counter able. Is that in the pipeline? Soon? Pretty please? Sugar on top?
Note:
(oh and if it has to be destroyed, im ok with that too... just preferably not) :)

2) why can't we play older maps? Why arent there more outside/city maps like bash?

3) Will we ever be able to buy something useful with acclaim? Im level 40 so I don't care about exp and have over 200k acclaim and I don't want any of the items on the vendor, I have never wanted any of those items, and you couldn't even bribe me to use the million point purples. Basically making acclaim pointless to me as well. The stat spread on these items are a nightmare, yes they have more "stat points" but when they have less points that are useful to me (and apply to my build) then they aren't really useful at all and just a waste of points.

and isn't it feasible that the dynamic nature of a game such as this with no set rules for classes or stats would benefit from more customization in all rewards, pve and pvp included? I couldn't imagine it even being possible creating premade gear that covers everyone.

4) Holds: A lot of holds simply do not work in pvp. Why? Will this be fixed? Theres only 3 useable holds, are they going to be nerfed into uselessness too(please say no)? All of the melee holds don't work, but just apply hold resistance to the target (if its a player target). Seriously, test them out (I did). Can we expect to see these holds returned to pvp? Doesn't the lack of useful pvp holds undermine your balance considerations for melee (based on what you said about melee ina previous chat requiring snares and holds to hit their targets?)

5) Knockbacks: Will nerfs in this field undermine the strength attribute? Balance adjustments in this field could potentially undermine the strength attributes primary function at high point levels (knockback resistance and knockback strength) if the balance adjustments include substantially high resistances to knockback every time a target his hit with knockback. Not only does that make strength far less important defense-wise, but it also hurts its ability to knockback in the offense department. Please tell me this is a consideration when and if you start swinging the nerf bat around on knockback skills. Could we see maybe knockback resistances applied for specific knockbacks and only those knockbacks (and not on a global level)?

6) can we hope to see melee skills be less "self-rooty" and more mobile? 3 second charge times on a melee skill that ALSO roots you makes a very very unreliable move in pvp - yet in pve the mobs will gladly (usually) take it on the chin so the moves usefulness is far less diminished there (plus you can hold mobs with moves that otherwise don't work at all on players even though they are supposed to). Is this a current balance consideration?

[Archived Post]

Will you be applying any kind of open world PvP option for players to play by taking sides between two or more factions. We understand that the game is designed for us to play the part as Super HEroes but I would like to see something going on in the background that is much like the Marvel Civil War stories which is a good example and concept to build around in the champions universe and give an excuse for players to fight eachother in open world PvP so long as their is a unique purpose. Any plans like this along these lines?

[Archived Post]

Currently, a "top tier" piece of PVP gear is worth 1,000,000 acclaim. Assuming the average tier 4 match lasts 20 minutes and gives 2000 acclaim in UTC or Stronghold, that equates to about 100 hours of gameplay for a single piece of gear. Do the devs feel this is reasonable, and can we look forward to a reduction in price any time soon?

[Archived Post]

any plan to separate pugs from premades and eventually make a competitive environement like a regular tournament?

[Archived Post]

Are there any plans to make the earlier PVP maps availible at later levels as well? The lava UTC is my least favorite one. Also, I'm sure there are plans for SG vs. SG PVP. How far is that in the pipeline?

[Archived Post]

With the new Celestial framework coming out, have you considered its impact on PvP?
The Framework seems really powerful, and in UTC matches good healers can render their team immortal, what steps are you taking to prevent UTC and Apocalypse from being a "Whoever has the healer wins" game?

[Archived Post]

I don't PvP, I dont really anticipate doing so, certainly not to any extent. It bothers me that the game mechanics and powers are constantly being modified to balance issues that I really couldn't care less about. Most importantly, that my feasible variety of power choices shrinks continuously because the PvP balancing process reduces everything to the lowest common denominators.

As many have asked, does it really make sense from a development standpoint to attempt to simultaneously balance these two systems, each with very different requirements, within one framework? I think the answer has to be no. How about finding a different system that allows you to build two separate but linked frameworks that are balanced within their own requirements, yet do not interfere with each other?

[Archived Post]

With the introduction of the dual usage Celestial Power Set, it shows that you are able to program powers to opperate under different rules based on certain conditions or parameters. Has there been any thought given to make all powers dual usaged, one for PVE and one for PVP?

That way, if balance changes need to be done, they can then be managed on just one side of the powerset, without adversly effecting the playablity of the otherside of the house?

IE, the latest flavor dujour appears to be chains in the PVP arenas, from the complaining I have seen the past couple of days on the boards. With this concept in mind, you could alter the percentages of knockdown/hold/cooldown for this power in PVP only, for those that play PVP, without effecting the way the powerset works for those that only do or mostly do the PVE.

[Archived Post]

I didn't read the whole thread, so appologies if this was already asked.

Will we ever have the ability to choose the UTC arena we want to play in, as opposed to being forced into an arena based on level span? I just recently reached the level 31-40 range with my main character, and I find the lava temple is a MUCH worse arena than either the cage or high tech arenas. It made me wish I had never reached level 31 so I could just keep playing the high tech arena.

It would be nice if we could simply choose which arena we want to play from the ones we've unlocked, and keep the level spans the same. What I mean, is that level 1-20 players would only be able to play the cage arena, level 21-30 players could play the high tech arena or the cage, and 31-40 characters could choose to play any arena. If you are level 31 and you choose to play the cage arena though, you would only play against other people level 31-40 on that arena. You would not be dropped down to level 20 and thrown in with the lower level players (I see terrible balances regarding gear differences).

Some people might love the lava temple arena and hate all the others. Personally I hate the lava temple and love the high tech arena. I think it would at least be good to give people a choice instead of forcing them into 1 arena map.

[Archived Post]

Travel power suppression doesn’t feel heroic but I understand that it is needed in PVP. Is there any way to have a power work one way in PVP and another way in PVE without it affecting one or the other? In addition if this were to be done could all suppression effects be removed from the travel powers (only in PVE)?

[Archived Post]

Is there going to be a Head to Head type in PvP coming soon? Maybe a first to hit 3 kills wins?

[Archived Post]

I absolutely love PVP, and I love the PVP in Champs. My questions is, will we be able to get top of the line gear for doing PVP matches? Also, are there any plans to expand the notifications at the end of a PVP to include other metrics of the match? Other than just kills and deaths. The biggest reason for this is that I love to roll support classes. I may heal my time, and keep them alive for an entire match, but in the end I may have 2 deaths and 0 player defeats.

Also, would you guys consider adding more tiers of the UTC arena? I love that map, and would love to PVP there at 40.

Last question, would you guys consider an arena team system. Three to five members could join a PVP team, and then participate in rated matches 2v2, 3v3, 5v5 etc?

[Archived Post]

The current issues with the UI and powers/block not activating properly or the UI totally locking up is compounded when in PVP.

In PVE, failure of the UI can mean loss of a star and running back to try again, maybe after having to relog.

In PVP, failure of the UI (either powers not activating or locking up) can mean KOs (or non-KOs) that have a direct effect on the outcome of the match, which can impact myself and others, depending on the type of match. And if it's a lock-up of the UI, you need to log out, forcing you to leave the match.

I've been avoiding PVP primarily because of this issue, so would like to know what's being done about it? It was acknowledged as a legitimate, repeatable issue by Cryptic end of last week, but I don't believe we've seen a follow-up.

[Archived Post]

There's a Test and Live Shard, why not just make a PvP Only Shard>?

[Archived Post]

How much of an impact dose the forum posts & threads have on your decisions regarding pvp.

[Archived Post]

Are we eventually going to see a Hero Game introduced that resembles something more like a superpowered sport than a gladiatorial event? SuperBall, could be our version of the ever popular Griffball.

[Archived Post]

When is something going to be done about travel powers being the defining skill in PvP. Possibly make them targetable and still be able to be hit in PvP while teleporting or tunneling? Personally speaking I have quit even bothering with PvP since those seem to be the alpha skills and people with them are extremely hard to impossible to kill.

[Archived Post]

Thanks, everyone, for your questions! I've gone and submitted a ton of them to the developers for us in preparation for this week's devchat. Come to IRC on Thursday at 4PM PDT to see your questions get answered!