Originally posted by xKingdomx

How is combat in CoX? Is it tab target only? or does it have multiple options like Champions Online? I like the way it goes auto target centre of camera =\

Depends on the type of attack. A pure AOE is just targeted at the gound somewhere within your range. For a single-target or AOE/cone attack, you have to pick a target by TAB or click. Generally, a targetted AOE attack (that puts an effect on the ground around the target) wont fire if the selected target is not on the ground.

Originally posted by CasualMaker

Originally posted by xKingdomx

How is combat in CoX? Is it tab target only? or does it have multiple options like Champions Online? I like the way it goes auto target centre of camera =\

Depends on the type of attack. A pure AOE is just targeted at the gound somewhere within your range. For a single-target or AOE/cone attack, you have to pick a target by TAB or click. Generally, a targetted AOE attack (that puts an effect on the ground around the target) wont fire if the selected target is not on the ground.

So its the same as most MMO?

Originally posted by xKingdomx

So its the same as most MMO?

Honestly if i were reading other peoples descriptions of combat in the game i'd be inclined to think the same, however that doesnt account for how the combat feels in CoH compared to other MMO's. Personally i think it feels a lot faster, more action orientated and less boring than in most games. I wouldn't say it's the best combat in MMO's today but its far from the worst.

As an example I tried WoW after playing CoH at launch and it just felt so stale and restrictive with how the combat felt in comparison, I just couldn't abide the staring at a bar filling up for 2-3 seconds before the skill went off in it and other games. CoH still has some time for skills to activate but they use animations rather than cast bars which make it feel all that more fluid. I still make the same comparison to this day with most games that release.

It is however tab and lock on targetting which sounds like something you don't like so all I can say is give a try when it goes free as you may well just enjoy yourself in spite of your preferences.

Originally posted by Kabaal

Originally posted by xKingdomx

So its the same as most MMO?

Honestly if i were reading other peoples descriptions of combat in the game i'd be inclined to think the same, however that doesnt account for how the combat feels in CoH compared to other MMO's. Personally i think it feels a lot faster, more action orientated and less boring than in most games. I wouldn't say it's the best combat in MMO's today but its far from the worst.

As an example I tried WoW after playing CoH at launch and it just felt so stale and restrictive with how the combat felt in comparison, I just couldn't abide the staring at a bar filling up for 2-3 seconds before the skill went off in it and other games. CoH still has some time for skills to activate but they use animations rather than cast bars which make it feel all that more fluid. I still make the same comparison to this day with most games that release.

It is however tab and lock on targetting which sounds like something you don't like so all I can say is give a try when it goes free as you may well just enjoy yourself in spite of your preferences.

Yea I'm just doing a bit of research on the game now.

Originally posted by Kabaal

Originally posted by xKingdomx

So its the same as most MMO?

Honestly if i were reading other peoples descriptions of combat in the game i'd be inclined to think the same, however that doesnt account for how the combat feels in CoH compared to other MMO's. Personally i think it feels a lot faster, more action orientated and less boring than in most games. I wouldn't say it's the best combat in MMO's today but its far from the worst.

As an example I tried WoW after playing CoH at launch and it just felt so stale and restrictive with how the combat felt in comparison, I just couldn't abide the staring at a bar filling up for 2-3 seconds before the skill went off in it and other games. CoH still has some time for skills to activate but they use animations rather than cast bars which make it feel all that more fluid. I still make the same comparison to this day with most games that release.

It is however tab and lock on targetting which sounds like something you don't like so all I can say is give a try when it goes free as you may well just enjoy yourself in spite of your preferences.

In some way, it works similar to some wow classes. In CoH dps is mainly optimized through attack chains, which are a series of powers queue in such an order so the maximum dps or dpe can be achieved. The main reason for attack chains like happen in wow is that most key powers have cooldowns. My only gripe with this system is that sometimes attack chains include powers that are clearly not meant to do that kind of damage, like doing an AoE power to a single target. Another side effect is that the combat might be perceived as kind of slow at early levels.

CO system, on the other hand, is based mainly on powers with no cooldown, the main limitation is energy. The optimization is based mainly on keeping gaining energy through some combos, to avoid going to the default energy source the low damage energy builder. Due to the lack of cooldown the combat might be perceived a little faster than CoH especially at the early levels.

Both combat systems are enjoyable, I would say it is a matter of taste.

Originally posted by iCaptainGeek

Now I will put in my two cents worth on this.  I have played COX for years, including back when it was just COH.  I have also played many other MMOs, including WoW, Guild Wars, etc.  As others have very skillfully posted here, there are numerous things that make this game different.  So rather than try to make a list, I want to say a bit more about just the one thing that, for me, has always been the biggest advantage that COX has over other MMOs.

The community.

Just to scratch the surface here: As a low level character, you are in a tough street fight.  Another character who is not on your team and doesn't even know you from Dr. Adam is running by, and either heals you or buffs you as they pass, often without even waiting to be thanked.  This is a very common in-game occurence.     High level characters (50s in particular) frequently hold costume contests in starting areas and give out piles of influence (in-game money) to the winner.    I have actually had a high level character hand my lowbie a pile of influence for no particular reason!   These sorts of things are a bit less common in the COV and Praetorian areas, but generally players there are more experienced players anyway, plus those things DO still happen in those areas, just less often.

The community is, as a whole (although of couse not everyone), more tolerant of and helpful to noobs than you will find in most other MMOs.  (Yes, I still remember what it was like to be a noob, even though I was young back when dinosaurs roamed the earth).   Helpful tips from fellow players - not to mention forums like this - abound.

Ok, Ok, the old guy will now get off of his soapbox and shut up.

I've often wondered what it is about CoV that makes it such a blast to play with other people.  In most other games, I avoid other people like the plague because the community is so meh.  When I play CoV, it's quite the opposite and I'm rarely disappointed by even random PUGs.  I even go out of my way to group up for even the most mundane stuff like street sweeping.

The game has a lot of great things going for it, but community was always one of the best of them.  The Pyriss story arc is up there too.  I still feel guilty about it, even after all this time.

Unlight, thank you for some great words about Story Arcs, which are another awesome thing about this game.  And I wholeheartedly agree that even on the CoV side of things, (or any other side for that matter) the community is absolute Awesome Sauce. 

Personally, I am also quite fond of the game mechanics, and all of the customization options that come with them.

On the grouping aspect of City of Heroes..

I've played when CoV launched for a year, and on and off for a year total over time after that. Looking forward to returning with the free to play.

It's easy to group. You can run through the opening missions with people.. By just asking. Task forces / raids if you ask you can get 10 people do do it. PLUS, it can basically be any combo of archtypes and you'll succeed, if you play smart. Groups without dedicated tanks will have to pace themselves, but even 4 stalkers can clear through an instance if everyone plays smart.

I have a similar feeling for Champions Online, but the groups don't feel so large or motley. 

CoX is best played with a friend or two even for regular missions, and picking up random folks isn't as dire of an aspect as other games.

So, solo needed? You can get through the game solo, but that's just a really piss poor way to play any MMORPG.

Originally posted by PukeBucket

 PLUS, it can basically be any combo of archtypes and you'll succeed, if you play smart. Groups without dedicated tanks will have to pace themselves, but even 4 stalkers can clear through an instance if everyone plays smart.

I have a similar feeling for Champions Online, but the groups don't feel so large or motley. 

CoX is best played with a friend or two even for regular missions, and picking up random folks isn't as dire of an aspect as other games.

 

Awesome point made here, PukeBucket.  I can think of a certain highly popular MMO that might rhyme with cow where a team of 4 rogues would wipe faster than you can say 'It's beginning to look a lot like this raid isn't going to happen'.

CoX allows for very unusual groups to work well (provided they all play smart, as you also point out).  This and the superb character creator tend to cause those who, like me, are very severely afflicted with alt-itis to go really nuts (not much of a stretch for me) and make all kinds of different characters, and enjoy them all.