Short Form Node Descriptions

I think it would be nice if we could have this. Full descriptions are important but for someone who's going in there, not too concerned if they need to back out and go in again it would be nice.

maybe this wouldn't work

throw some examples up down below.

Comments

SkyLord7000

‘No Retreat’ Take degen damage when dexing

Edit: don’t think this is better though because it leaves out what the node actually does, I like the current way nodes are described ig.

DawsMan

Yeah smt like don't dash back twice in a row.

Scarcity27

While it would be nice to get some pointers or instructions in the node descriptions, I think the entire point of the game is to understand the nodes and champion's abilities for yourself.

And of course, different champions may counter different nodes in different ways, so it isn't logical to just give out generic instructions. For example, while using most champions to fight an opponent with Icarus, you'd have to land a heavy to remove the furies, however, an awakened Angela basically shuts the node off.

unknown

This content has been removed.

TrashyPanda

I honestly think they do a pretty good job for most nodes.

There's occasional consistency and clarity issues, like with labeling whether effects will be passive or active, or inconsistency in describing effects that affect both parties, etc. -- but it's mostly clear and concise. Despite occasionally looking like a short story. Just the nature of complexity I guess.

JuggerNot

As long as the interactions themselves are well thought out (skillful) and not unit-draining I'm happy

Scarcity27

Some nodes can be a bit wordy to get through, I agree.
Most of the time I read to node, try to make heads or tails of it, then repeat a simplified version of it to myself while doing the fight.

For eg, when fighting Dorm or another opponent with Spite:
"Don't dex, don't dex don't dex, don't you dare freaking dex"

Malreck04

@DawsMan be like: “When me president, they see…they see”

DawsMan

I have the confusion

Kabam Miike

Are you saying "See the world" or "Sea World?"

Kabam Miike

I wish this was something that we could do, but as we all know, some of these nodes are pretty complex, and making sure that we have the most information available in-game and we can be as clear as possible is important to us, especially when it comes to Node and Ability descriptions.

DawsMan

Very true. I can imagine the potential hell to come with confusion over nodes and frustrations. Reading it is

Jaded

One day there will be a collage course on this game and people will write dissertation papers on the nodes. So much reading, so much research and knowledge needed to interpret them.

SpideyFunko

I’d take a college course on these nodes
edit: no joke I’d take a college course on these games nodes and their interactions with champions

Jaded

We all might have to one day 😂

FlyGalaxyBomb

since when did mods make jokes

lmaooo

Mobile_P0tat0

Ever since their HR rep moved to Costa Rica

Godliek

I wish there's a way to see the nodes while you're in the fight, like when I pause the game I can see a description of the buffs/debuffs, but I can't see the nodes again.

That would help a lot specially for newer players.

J0eySn0w

Wait a min, I thought we've started already? Or we're still in high school?

Jaded

Idk about you but I haven’t thought about schooling of any kind in 15 years. 😂 but I’d go back for a marvel course.

Ercarret

I don't think individual nodes need to be simplified but it would be nice if there weren't always half a dozen nodes or more to read through and understand the interactions of. It works when you're familiar with them all but if they're all new to you, things get overly complicated really fast. I would prefer if things were slimmed down a little in that regard and that the node spamming was trimmed down a bit. I'm not saying the fights themselves have to be easier, just easier-to-understand.

KingInBlack

Unfortunately that would result in too many complaints and/or bug threads due to incomplete descriptions. I'm not a fan of reading a chapter or two per lane but dont see a better way to convey the info.

DNA3000

Actually, while I can understand this perception because (like most games) the mechanics started off very simple and have gotten more complex as the game has developed, so there's a tendency to compare the current mechanics complexity with the original simplicity, in objective terms if MCOC was an MMO it would be the simplest one I've ever played. Traditional MMOs tend to have far higher complexity in mechanics, at least every one I've ever played (and delved into the mechanics) did. Games I played in 2004 had higher mechanical complexity than MCOC has now.

And it is not like the MMO community is known for being full of brainiacs either. There's just an expectation that MMOs will have a lot of moving parts and a lot of theorycraft, while the expectation in general is for mobile games to have less. But MCOC is not a traditional mobile game, and as phones become more powerful and more of a primary platform for games, higher complexity games are carving out a significant niche on the platform.

MCOC will never be a traditional MMO (if for no other reason than everything happens in one dimension and customization will always be limited due to the Marvel license), but it has been reinventing a lot of MMO features over time, and higher complexity combat mechanics are one of those things. It is actually the organic evolution of those mechanics that creates a problem, in that they tend to be implemented without a stable mental framework for players to understand them. Things like Ability Accuracy, Passive effects, Modifier math, and Damage mitigation have all been reworked internally and explained to the players in different inconsistent ways, and that makes the complexity of the mechanics seem higher than it actually is.

AverageDesi

I have no idea what an MMO is supposed to be but I like MCOC for how simplistic it is. Only a handful of moves can be performed in a fight and every fight is just a variation that has to be adjusted according to those.

GroundedWisdom

While this is true, comprehension is also important. The game encourages decision-making skills, and understanding the challenge is a large part of that. It's what sets the game apart from let's say, Street Fighter.

DNA3000

That's the problem. Fundamentally we can only do a couple things on screen: dash forward, dash back, hold block, tap to attack, and launch special. Eventually the game can become very boring for players who want more than that, and it is the dynamic mechanics that add that richness to the game. At the end of the day, no matter how complex the problem, the solution is going to be a tap or a swipe. Most of the game is played in the head, not on the screen.

There's nothing wrong with the game remaining simple forever, except this game is designed to be a pursuit game: players chase champions and that fuels a competition to get as many or as many of the strongest as possible, and that eventually pyramids up to the players who keep the lights on: the people willing to spend money to acquire things.

No one is going to spend money chasing after a new champion that does what all the others does. And with simple mechanics, eventually the champs are doing everything that is doable. And once the content is presenting every possible challenge and you solve them, there's no reason to pursue anything else even if they were different. This is a game that makes a great past time for people who want simple games, until it shuts down because none of those people are spending money chasing things.

As to MMOs, that's what most people call the traditional massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs). Games like Everquest, or World of Warcraft. Most of them build on a core set of design ideas, character progression and customization being one of them. Characters generally have a wide range of abilities, often segregated into class boundaries and roles. They often have skill trees or gear or both, which adds further ability to customize characters into different builds. The idea is to give players the (at least theoretical) ability to make unique in-game characters that will interact with the content in unique ways, which generally involves having a lot of both mechanical complexity and ability complexity.

Once upon a time, MMOs were not *an* online game, they were *the* online game. It was mobile gaming that changed that, in part because initially no one through deep rich games were something mobile gamers would want to play. That and phones were pretty primitive to start. So mobile games started off as very casual shallow game experiences. But as phones have gotten more powerful, and mobile game players have gotten more sophisticated in their tastes, mobile games have increasingly gotten more depth. There's still plenty of space for casual games that tend to be quick and simple, but there's also a much larger space for games like MCOC that can be played very casually, but contain a ton of depth for gamers who want it.

And they tend to be the ones that spend money, so games like this need them to survive.

AverageDesi

You know I love the absolute best? Only one champ can attack at one time