NEW CAV EQ NODES: MY THOUGHTS
Amms90
Member Posts: 348 ★★★
Ok here are my thoughts on the new cav eq nodes:
First of all I want to say that the number of nodes and the amount of reading we're supposed to go through is getting out of hand. KABAM PLEASE MAKE IT SHORTER AND SIMPLER, THAT WAS THE GOAL RIGHT?
With that being said, I want to express the feeling that I understand that Kabam wants to try and make us use more champions than just a few. To encourage diversity in champion use. I understand this and it can be a positive. At the same time there is a negative to this in itself: the fact that I DON'T WANT to rank up champions only to deal with cav eq. And I'm not going to rank up champions that I have no use for in other game content I have to tackle (act 6 exploration, act 7.4 when it will come out, aq, aw). For example for the 1.2 quest the only champ I have above 6s r1 is red hulk. I have him both as r2 6s and r5 5s. Anything else that fits the tags, either I don't have it or I have it at low rank.
So a further question: given that I don't want to pointlessly waste resources to rank up champs only for the eq, since I do have some options for example as r1 6 stars, are they usable? Yes of course. Given that they benefit from the nodes, I could use them.
But then again, is it really an advantage? My answer is no. I'd rather use my ranked up champions that have better ways to deal with the defenders. Plus, the attack bonus you get from the node, even when fully ramped up, is not that impressive.
Let me clarify: in the 1.2 quest I did use rhulk and I got all the way to 10 furies but as I was getting power locked all the time (he has no consistent access to debuffs except from parry stuns) I had no access to my specials. I found out using other champs of the same rank which didn't fit the listed tags but were better match ups for the defenders and had better access to debuffs, so they could access their specials, was pretty much as effective as using rhulk. If not MORE effective (depending on the opponent). So given these considerations I'm gonna say that overall I'm not encouraged to use rank 1 6 star champs that fit the tags over my 5/65 or maybe r2 or r3 6 stars that I already use for everything else. Talking about doom, apoc, torch etc etc. Similar reasoning goes for the 1.1 for example... I do have hype and cap marvel which fit the tag, but I just used void and let the opponents die from reverting their regen. When I did use hype a couple times and got up to 10 furies I did notice some damage increase. But void was faster than hype with 10 passive furies + his own.
And I could go on... the chapter with the energize passive? Just doom cycle most of the defenders without worrying about the stupid energize and making them throw specials every 10 seconds. Like seriously...
Then let's talk about champions tags. OH MY GOD WHAT A MESS. Thankfully somebody is making charts to make things clearer but in game it's not possible to get a clue about all the champs in my roster that would benefit from the node. Every chapter lists 2-3 tags of champions, but from the in game options I can sort by 1 tag and then I can add an additional tag to restrict the sorting even more. It's not letting me view champions with 1 tag or the other, it's showing me champs with both tags. Given this, it's a complete mess. I would have to check every tag one at a time to figure out with champs from my roster would be good and then after checking that I'd have to remember which are which and then figure out a team based on the tags, the path, the nodes, the defenders, the boss... I mean this is pretty much a failure in itself. I can't even sort out the needed champs from the options that are available in game. I have to like build a chart and list all possible options and then from those figure out which I have available to use.
Therefore what I'm actually GLAD ABOUT is that I'm able to just ignore all this nonsense and just use whatever I want.
TO SUMMARIZE:
1) too many nodes, too much stuff to read to understand what's going on
2) the multiple tags make sorting messy and confusing
3) many available champs from most tags are otherwise useless in game content. Not encouraged to rank them up specifically for cav eq (also see point 4)
4) bonus from the node doesn't actually make a good enough difference when comparing using a champ with the correct tag and a champ which doesn't have it. Actually, it's quite the opposite. In fact when I have to deal with hyperion or something, I want power control. I don't care for using domino against hyperion because domino is mercenary and so she'll get some passive furies. Like literally, if hype doesn't cooperate I'll get destroyed by sp3s. While using doom I'll doom cycle him and get it done easily. Therefore I'll pick my team not based on tags but based on utility against defenders and ability to deal with other nodes.
CONCLUSION:
The node design is horrible. It's not making the eq unplayable since you can just ignore the benefits and the tags and all that mess and build a decent team without thinking about it. I mean what I like is that you don't REQUIRE those specific champs to get through it. Then again the benefits are so irrelevant that even when I do have available options I won't necessarily pick those champs over others. Because the attack increase is not everything that's needed to clear a path. Utility and abilities to deal with certain fights are more important than attack increase (especially given it's not that much).
-So is node design encouraging to use other champs? No
-Is node design better than last months? No
-Does node design make the fights faster? No. When comparing the hit count from ramped up champs that benefit from the tag and others that don't fit the tag but have a better match against the defender, I see they're pretty much the same. Rather, in 1.1 letting them die from their own regen with void was faster than using ramped up hyperion.
-Does clearing cav eq take longer or shorter when compared to last months? It takes considerably longer because last months the restriction was class specific and we all have SOME champs that are already ranked up and benefit from the class nodes. Not to mention that some champs were so great with pretty much all variations of the class specific nodes that maybe we even ranked up some of them for that specifically. To run that content faster. Let's take a simple example: Angela was great with every possible cosmic node variation. With some variation, she'd be able to clear a fight in 20-30 hits. Not saying she's useless elsewhere, which again is a reason why one would be encouraged to rank her up. But let's be real I'm not ranking up iron patriot because he can be used in 2 different missions in the eq. That champ sucks and I wouldn't pick him over any other champs, not with 10 passive furies nor with 20 passive furies. And he's useless in story content and aq and aw (both as a defender and as an attacker) and so on and so forth. Useless champ will keep on being arena fodder and that's that.
Given all the things written above I must say I'm veeeeeeeery disappointed in the direction the game is taking. Nodes getting more annoying, taking forever to read and often confusing. Fights taking longer than before (no matter if you use the right champ or not, the fights are long). And I'm not even talking about kraven. I thought the community was clear about root being awful but here we have it. It's funny. You ask us: "Do you like root?" we: "NO!" you: "ok, just asking... we're still giving you root anyway"
First of all I want to say that the number of nodes and the amount of reading we're supposed to go through is getting out of hand. KABAM PLEASE MAKE IT SHORTER AND SIMPLER, THAT WAS THE GOAL RIGHT?
With that being said, I want to express the feeling that I understand that Kabam wants to try and make us use more champions than just a few. To encourage diversity in champion use. I understand this and it can be a positive. At the same time there is a negative to this in itself: the fact that I DON'T WANT to rank up champions only to deal with cav eq. And I'm not going to rank up champions that I have no use for in other game content I have to tackle (act 6 exploration, act 7.4 when it will come out, aq, aw). For example for the 1.2 quest the only champ I have above 6s r1 is red hulk. I have him both as r2 6s and r5 5s. Anything else that fits the tags, either I don't have it or I have it at low rank.
So a further question: given that I don't want to pointlessly waste resources to rank up champs only for the eq, since I do have some options for example as r1 6 stars, are they usable? Yes of course. Given that they benefit from the nodes, I could use them.
But then again, is it really an advantage? My answer is no. I'd rather use my ranked up champions that have better ways to deal with the defenders. Plus, the attack bonus you get from the node, even when fully ramped up, is not that impressive.
Let me clarify: in the 1.2 quest I did use rhulk and I got all the way to 10 furies but as I was getting power locked all the time (he has no consistent access to debuffs except from parry stuns) I had no access to my specials. I found out using other champs of the same rank which didn't fit the listed tags but were better match ups for the defenders and had better access to debuffs, so they could access their specials, was pretty much as effective as using rhulk. If not MORE effective (depending on the opponent). So given these considerations I'm gonna say that overall I'm not encouraged to use rank 1 6 star champs that fit the tags over my 5/65 or maybe r2 or r3 6 stars that I already use for everything else. Talking about doom, apoc, torch etc etc. Similar reasoning goes for the 1.1 for example... I do have hype and cap marvel which fit the tag, but I just used void and let the opponents die from reverting their regen. When I did use hype a couple times and got up to 10 furies I did notice some damage increase. But void was faster than hype with 10 passive furies + his own.
And I could go on... the chapter with the energize passive? Just doom cycle most of the defenders without worrying about the stupid energize and making them throw specials every 10 seconds. Like seriously...
Then let's talk about champions tags. OH MY GOD WHAT A MESS. Thankfully somebody is making charts to make things clearer but in game it's not possible to get a clue about all the champs in my roster that would benefit from the node. Every chapter lists 2-3 tags of champions, but from the in game options I can sort by 1 tag and then I can add an additional tag to restrict the sorting even more. It's not letting me view champions with 1 tag or the other, it's showing me champs with both tags. Given this, it's a complete mess. I would have to check every tag one at a time to figure out with champs from my roster would be good and then after checking that I'd have to remember which are which and then figure out a team based on the tags, the path, the nodes, the defenders, the boss... I mean this is pretty much a failure in itself. I can't even sort out the needed champs from the options that are available in game. I have to like build a chart and list all possible options and then from those figure out which I have available to use.
Therefore what I'm actually GLAD ABOUT is that I'm able to just ignore all this nonsense and just use whatever I want.
TO SUMMARIZE:
1) too many nodes, too much stuff to read to understand what's going on
2) the multiple tags make sorting messy and confusing
3) many available champs from most tags are otherwise useless in game content. Not encouraged to rank them up specifically for cav eq (also see point 4)
4) bonus from the node doesn't actually make a good enough difference when comparing using a champ with the correct tag and a champ which doesn't have it. Actually, it's quite the opposite. In fact when I have to deal with hyperion or something, I want power control. I don't care for using domino against hyperion because domino is mercenary and so she'll get some passive furies. Like literally, if hype doesn't cooperate I'll get destroyed by sp3s. While using doom I'll doom cycle him and get it done easily. Therefore I'll pick my team not based on tags but based on utility against defenders and ability to deal with other nodes.
CONCLUSION:
The node design is horrible. It's not making the eq unplayable since you can just ignore the benefits and the tags and all that mess and build a decent team without thinking about it. I mean what I like is that you don't REQUIRE those specific champs to get through it. Then again the benefits are so irrelevant that even when I do have available options I won't necessarily pick those champs over others. Because the attack increase is not everything that's needed to clear a path. Utility and abilities to deal with certain fights are more important than attack increase (especially given it's not that much).
-So is node design encouraging to use other champs? No
-Is node design better than last months? No
-Does node design make the fights faster? No. When comparing the hit count from ramped up champs that benefit from the tag and others that don't fit the tag but have a better match against the defender, I see they're pretty much the same. Rather, in 1.1 letting them die from their own regen with void was faster than using ramped up hyperion.
-Does clearing cav eq take longer or shorter when compared to last months? It takes considerably longer because last months the restriction was class specific and we all have SOME champs that are already ranked up and benefit from the class nodes. Not to mention that some champs were so great with pretty much all variations of the class specific nodes that maybe we even ranked up some of them for that specifically. To run that content faster. Let's take a simple example: Angela was great with every possible cosmic node variation. With some variation, she'd be able to clear a fight in 20-30 hits. Not saying she's useless elsewhere, which again is a reason why one would be encouraged to rank her up. But let's be real I'm not ranking up iron patriot because he can be used in 2 different missions in the eq. That champ sucks and I wouldn't pick him over any other champs, not with 10 passive furies nor with 20 passive furies. And he's useless in story content and aq and aw (both as a defender and as an attacker) and so on and so forth. Useless champ will keep on being arena fodder and that's that.
Given all the things written above I must say I'm veeeeeeeery disappointed in the direction the game is taking. Nodes getting more annoying, taking forever to read and often confusing. Fights taking longer than before (no matter if you use the right champ or not, the fights are long). And I'm not even talking about kraven. I thought the community was clear about root being awful but here we have it. It's funny. You ask us: "Do you like root?" we: "NO!" you: "ok, just asking... we're still giving you root anyway"
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Comments
That being said I'll have it explored in one evening and not have to think about it again. Which I hope isn't what kabaam is going for. Just have to rush through content to clear it and it's more like a chore than a game.
I don't have much hope for 7.4 if the beta is any indication. At this point I'm invested enough to explore 7.4 but that's about it.. The game just isn't fun anymore. I'm having trouble even wanting to log in at times.
This game years back was very enjoyable but now it's so much stressing and games are supposed to let you have some fun while getting some relief from your personal life stress but this is now adding up to the pile.
@Kabam Miike you really need to have this acknowledged.
The entire game is built on classes, class typical abilities and their use in EQ, AQ, Acts and AW.
This tag design is trying to encourage use of champions that have no use outside of this mode and has boosts that offer no appreciable gain. I look forward to the cav EQ story and challenge, even when it looks hard.
This just looks like work and not only that, but it also makes a mockery of the rationale for rank ups for the last 2-3 years:
Tech - armour, power control, utility
Mystic - nullify, power control, utility
Cosmic - buffs, fury, armour break, damage
Science - debuffs, slow, heal reversal, utility
Skill - debuff shrugs, bleed, minimal buffs, damage
Mutant - prowess, Regen, damage
What's the skill set of mercenary? Avengers? Sinister six? What value do I have in ranking someone for those tags outside of variants and this fail of an attempt?
You do realise that if we even consider ranking up for tags, that we are ALWAYS thinking which of the above class areas they fall into? No one is ranking for tags. No one.
However...
If tags are now going to be core gate mechanics, you need to tell the community NOW and clarify on what basis the gates will exist and what the tag development and advantages are going to be. We can adapt for the long term, if this will be consistent.
If it is not, then along with others, I'm going to consider the future here. 40+ r2/3 or 5/65 and years playing this game under a set of loose rules and this tears it up.
That's fine, but you HAVE to be clear that this is a directional change and that ranking up on tags will be as meaningful as class rank up in future and explain the rules idea behind it.
As mentioned in above posts, it seems as if we need an A level in deciphering mcoc node descriptions prior to choosing a team to play. Also, people's view's and comments need to be listened to and surveys filled out talking of the issues & problems found addressed, otherwise why are we constantly wasting our time.
Last month's side quest and EQ was made too difficult for alot of people unless they had high enough, SPECIFIC champ counters but this month's EQ has gone in an even worse direction what is going on. Side quest however is somewhat more enjoyable and doable (so far) but otherwise for a supposedly exciting month on the mcoc calendar its not off to a good start.
For me the monthly event always has been fun and something I was looking forward to.
But this month... sorry not sorry, what the hell is this? Even without the consisting bugs.
3.1. Champs need to be stunned so they don't get unblockbable, even without the nodes that makes it nearly impossible to stunned the opponent, we still have a parry-bug.
Just go back to class-related nodes and everything will be fine...
Although I didn’t realize people were struggling with Kraven. Corvus with the cross fight abilities or cgr basically demolished him quickly. Didn’t even worry about him throwing specials.