NCSoft is preparing their latest expansion for City of Heroes/City of Villains. As a veteran player who loves the game and thinks highly of its developing and marketing teams, I gush about it ad-nauseum to anyone who will listen. I am excited about the upcoming release. However, like all old timers, I like to think my experience and insight affords me the privilege to fuss every once in a while.

Sometimes you just have to wonder if the powers-that-be are thinking!

Issue 13 is now in Open Beta. As testers explore the introduction of Day Jobs and Dual Power Builds, some minor changes have also been discovered, the kind of stuff that makes you go, “Huh?”

Take this new option for instance: Disable Earning XP.

Yes you read it correctly. Here, I shall type it again: Disable Earning XP.

It’s a character-specific option offered under Menu-Options-General-Miscellaneous. I was dumbfounded. Then I laughed. Yet it took a visit to the official forums to confirm there was no more to this than meets the eye: Click here to disable the acquisition of experience points for your character.

Just one time in four years of steady play, have I come across a player who thought she was leveling too fast. She feared she would out-level her contacts. See, the game was designed so no one toon could experience all content. Out-leveling a contact meant skipping missions. There was no going back unless you landed those missions by way of a PuG. Since many missions led to a badge, an accolade and/or other goodies, missing out dealt a blow. So I could (almost) understand the notion of disabling XP --- back then.

However, it’s a moot point with the introduction of time travel through the Ouroboros Zone (Issue 11). Now, once your toon hits a certain level, you can access past missions and still get credit as if you were the intended level. If an important mission got past you, you need only jump back through Ouroboros to secure the bennies.

So I ask again, “Disable XP?”

Of all the testers' responses to this change, only two can be repeated in polite company.

1) Considering all suggested improvements for the game and (as with all MMORPGs) all the dumb little things that never quite worked right, how did ‘Disable Earning XP’ become a priority for the company’s resources?

2) For a game that has from Day One waged war against power-leveling, the introduction of an option to disable XP seems counter-intuitive, since it makes possible the concept of perma-bridging.

So! Coming soon to a City near you, day jobs, with dual builds so we can multi-task… While our resources are spent unwisely by the the powers-that-be!

Virtual Reality: gotta love it.

I suspect the devs will eat their code the first time someone employs this option for one toon --- and inadvertently saves the choice as a global default in their UI settings. I can hear it now: “Why aint I getting no XP?!”

I don't know how often that happens in CoX, but I know there are people out there who play in duo's/teams, and who wish to stay on the same level as they progress. This sometimes offers problems, in that a person has a lot of time on their hands, more than the other and wishes to play in that time, but can't since she would be gaining XP in that time.

Or she would like to help another part of her friends with something, but again, that would give her XP.

Disabling Xp is an easy way to let people control at which rate they are leveling and allowing them to remain with their partners as they want to. Don't know what there is to fuss about. Everquest 2 had it for a long time AFAIK.

Cheers.

Well, also in Issue 13, comes the introduction of Leveling Pacts, in which you can bind characters together so they level at the same rate. If one of them earns XP in-game without the other, the XP is not applied until both are in-game together. The XP is then split between them. This would resolve the issue of pairing up with another to level together, then splitting off occasionally to do your own thing or help someone else.

So. Again. "Disable XP?" 

you ever heard " for the journey not the destination" friend? disalbling exp is great for players that find area;s that they are enjoying but close to outlevelling, that way you can enjoy the area for as long as you decide to with it still being a challenge.

It's not all about levelling as fast as poss with many players. I for one like to enjoy games as much as possible and hate outleveling great area's. It is a choice remember!

Actually thats one of the options that should be in almost every mmorpg now days from the start , it may not be a big problem in this game but in most all games of the last 5 years leveling too fast was a huge issue for many people .

 I like many people don't like to out level our friends or guild ,  skip content or miss dungeons or parts of the world because the leveling curve is too fast to actually enjoy the world , and being forced into making alts just so you don't miss half the game is BS ( many people like my self HATE alts) so a toggle off exp option or an alternate advancement system where you can split the exp is a must if the game plans to have  fast leveling.

It might not have been a big need in this game , but it should be there for the people who dont want to level fast or want to stop and hang at a certain level for a while but still be able to play and enjoy the content they are on .

Originally posted by shukes33

you ever heard " for the journey not the destination" friend? disalbling exp is great for players that find area;s that they are enjoying but close to outlevelling, that way you can enjoy the area for as long as you decide to with it still being a challenge.

It's not all about levelling as fast as poss with many players. I for one like to enjoy games as much as possible and hate outleveling great area's. It is a choice remember!

Whoa!   Wait a minute! LOL  I am all about the journey! I am more about the journey than any other player I know!

But  I would rather get credit for what I do in-game than not, that's all. If I find a great area of the game, I just get another character up to that level and run them through it too. Sidekicking and exemping works too. At least you get something.

But hey, ANYONE who would think DISABLING XP is a good thing because it offers the potential to expand the journey, is SOMEONE  I WANT TO KNOW ! If you love the game that much, we have a lot in common! 

Originally posted by TheRedPill

Originally posted by shukes33

you ever heard " for the journey not the destination" friend? disalbling exp is great for players that find area;s that they are enjoying but close to outlevelling, that way you can enjoy the area for as long as you decide to with it still being a challenge.

It's not all about levelling as fast as poss with many players. I for one like to enjoy games as much as possible and hate outleveling great area's. It is a choice remember!

 

But  I would rather get credit for what I do in-game than not, that's all. If I find a great area of the game, I just get another character up to that level and run them through it too. Sidekicking and exemping works too. At least you get something.

 That's great for you and for a lot of people , but many people don't like and wont make alts, so something like a toggle exp off option or something of the like is a must have  for the ones who want to do as much as they can.

If by "get credit" you mean getting exp/items for what your doing then i don't really understand this at all. I play to have fun , to see the world and explore dungeons and group with friends ,  "getting credit" is the last thing on my list. Ya its great to see those exp number when you kill something or get a nice item from a dungeon or quest , but that's just extra .

There's a small but vocal minority on the forums that frequently worries about leveling too fast.

Specifically this time they were worried about the bonus you get after your character has been logged off. They asked for a way to decline that specifically. Since that isn't possible, they put in a "no XP at all" option.

Actually there is a rare instance when I might find use for this - when I haven't done a Mayhem/Safeguard yet and am about to leave the range (on a TF for example). I might take the no-xp option for a little while rather than get in a position of trying to find and join someone else's safeguard. (That would of course be unnecessary if those were available Flashback-style, but they aren't.)

Originally posted by Boreil

 

 That's great for you and for a lot of people , but many people don't like and wont make alts, so something like a toggle exp off option or something of the like is a must have  for the ones who want to do as much as they can.

 

If by "get credit" you mean getting exp/items for what your doing then i don't really understand this at all. I play to have fun , to see the world and explore dungeons and group with friends ,  "getting credit" is the last thing on my list. Ya its great to see those exp number when you kill something or get a nice item from a dungeon or quest , but that's just extra .

True, true, I see your point. Still, when you weigh that feature against all the other things that could have been added or fixed...  (Shrugs.)

Oh and by "get credit," in CoH if my charachter outlevels the zone, story arc, mission, whatever, I can always exemp to get back into it and in so doing earn Prestige for my Supergroup at the very least.

I havent yet tried this Disable Earning XP feature on Test, and it hasnt gone live yet, but disabling XP would seem to me also to disable Prestige. Anyone know?

Originally posted by Amarsir

There's a small but vocal minority on the forums that frequently worries about leveling too fast.

Specifically this time they were worried about the bonus you get after your character has been logged off. They asked for a way to decline that specifically. Since that isn't possible, they put in a "no XP at all" option.

Actually there is a rare instance when I might find use for this - when I haven't done a Mayhem/Safeguard yet and am about to leave the range (on a TF for example). I might take the no-xp option for a little while rather than get in a position of trying to find and join someone else's safeguard. (That would of course be unnecessary if those were available Flashback-style, but they aren't.)

Now THAT is one instance when I might use the Disable Earning XP for myself, to keep from outleveling Safeguard Missions, especially when it comes to hunting Toxic Tarantulas for the badge. Toxics are so difficult to come by for Heroes. But in the larger scheme of things, it seems an awfully narrow scope of interest to funnel resources into, in my opinion. Just saying.

I used to have a toon who was dead broke and full of enhancements which were about to turn red next time he leveled. This option would have been useful at that time, so I could farm some inf before my enhancements died. Instead, I just found a sewer team in Atlas and asked them to exemplar me, but that's because I'm a team player. I can easily see a soloist choosing to use this feature instead of exemplaring.

I did disable my XP from killing mobs in EQ2, you still leveled there but slower.

In that case it was so you get AA (You use them to geat feats from a feat tree, like in Wow and most other games). On a PvP server that was the only way to stay alive, and it had great points on a PvE server also, even though it took 5 times so long to level.

Will it work similar in COH?

Just locking your XP without gaining something is pointless, no one will use that then, 'cept maybe a few twinks.

I shall put it to the test for you and see, but I doubt it. The benefits seem to be purely circumstantial, whatever the player derives from NOT gaining XP at the time.

Originally posted by shukes33

you ever heard " for the journey not the destination" friend? disalbling exp is great for players that find area;s that they are enjoying but close to outlevelling, that way you can enjoy the area for as long as you decide to with it still being a challenge.

It's not all about levelling as fast as poss with many players. I for one like to enjoy games as much as possible and hate outleveling great area's. It is a choice remember!

areas like dark astoria?

I see no harm in another way to control your advancement rate without relying on others.  Those social options work... but its not exactly 'fun' to sit around in a lowbie zone spamming the channels for invites.

I guess it takes some lateral thinking to imagine what I'm about to point, but hey, I'm a fan of wackiness and bizarre ideas to begin with, just go with me for a while.

In the Comicverse, you have heroes for every threat. Be it the thugs at the corner of the street and small time robbers or planet-eating exotic-though-oddly-humanoid forms of life. Spiderman beats your average street mob every day for breakfast while the fantastic four don't give a sh*t about'em. So there you have your first reason to cap yourself. Get past level 20 and you never get to fight those street-level minions and lesser Supers again. Any supporter of roleplaying could see an opportunity in being given the possibility of being and staying a street-level Hero / Villain. Though the counterpart would be that for complete harmony of the schema, actual "cosmic monster fighting" heroes generally don't get through some street mob fighting phase before they become some überpowered destruction machine, and translating that to the MMO would mean allowing characters to start off at any level they'd see fit to their role. Maybe an option for the future ? Doesn't sound so insane to me (but maybe allow it only for players who have a lv 50 toon in the first place).

The second use I see to this was whispered to me by my "greedy motherf*ck*r" persona : materials farming. Low level materials are always in demand by high level players. I've seen lucky charms, first tier whites my low level toons loot by the dozen, sell for 10K apiece (on Vigilance, CoH EU). A profitable source of revenue that goes down the drain once you don't fight the corresponding mobs anymore. Cap a toon at lv 15 and reap to your heart's content.

There. Hope my somehow bent point of view was of use to anyone 

(GASP!)   NeoDodge, you are my new favorite hero!

Superbly stated!  

(Hands you THE PEN --- the one that is mighter than the sword)

Originally posted by TheRedPill

I havent yet tried this Disable Earning XP feature on Test, and it hasnt gone live yet, but disabling XP would seem to me also to disable Prestige. Anyone know?

They already have a "Disable Influence/Prestige" command of sorts - the whole level 34 cap when you're in SG mode. You basically have to choose which one to earn.

When you're auto-exemped on a TF, you still earn Influence and Prestige, right? (Really not sure, that's why I'm asking.) What if disabling XP enabled something else? Like reversing the lvl 34 cap - you can still earn inf & prestige, but you have to give up levelling for a while.

Holds the Pen with both hands wide open over his head while a catchy fanfare resounds in the background

Now all I have to do is find the Papyrus and the Precious Pearl of Pan and the way to the castle will be open !

Originally posted by themilton

 

They already have a "Disable Influence/Prestige" command of sorts - the whole level 34 cap when you're in SG mode. You basically have to choose which one to earn.

When you're auto-exemped on a TF, you still earn Influence and Prestige, right? (Really not sure, that's why I'm asking.) What if disabling XP enabled something else? Like reversing the lvl 34 cap - you can still earn inf & prestige, but you have to give up levelling for a while.

Ahh, good point about the Level 34 cap on earning both influence and prestige. I'd forgotten about that. (Makes a note to self to disable SG mode on her Level 37 defender whose been VERY SLOW to progress these days.)

EDIT: D'oh! Okay did that make sense to ANYONE? (Remind me not to respond to posts while drnking Egg Nog.)

I think I was confusing the influence/prestige with XP, 'cause we'd been discussing it.

Nonetheless Milton, a good point.

You pose an interesting question regarding the ability of the Disable Earning XP feature to enable or affect something else. I havent heard anything at all to this effect. Neither have I been able to play the game either, between my work and holiday preparations. But possibly tonight, and definately no later than Thanksgiving evening, I will be in-game with my husband. We will test this Disable XP and I will report back to you all on Friday or Saturday.